Icarus Mod, Version 5 Available

[mdsmall]

I am pleased to release the latest Version 5 of my Icarus mod for Strategic Command, World War One. I have now play-tested the mod extensively and do not plan further revisions for a while. I would encourage players that are interested in the mod to try this version and post any feedback they might have here. I will be happy to make corrections to the mod to address any problems that players finds in play-testing.

Please find the Icarus Version 5 mod files by clicking this link to Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/egrcple9jcnf ... aIqVa?dl=0

Version 5 of the mod adds a number new features in the Ottoman theatre:
- a new weather area in the Caucasus that has harsher winters than before;
- enhanced scripts for attrition in winter for Ottoman forces in the Caucasus that are not sheltering in resource hexes;
- new summer heat affects in the Middle East, Egypt and Libya that reduce the morale of regular troops there;
- flooding in the spring along the Tigris and Euphrates that reduces supply;
- there are no roads across the Sinai and the supply value of El Arish is zero until a freshwater pipeline is built there;
- revised scripts for the UK seizure of Basra, so that Force D occupies Basra if it is empty and lands in Kuwait if it is not;
- making India a UK minor with a port in Karachi where replacements arrive that can be easily sent to the Middle East;
- the Ottomans receive 50 NM points a turn if a rail connection is established to Berlin;
- the cost of building a railroad to Baghdad is shared with Germany but requires a rail connection to Berlin to complete;
- German and Austro-Hungarian expeditionary corps can arrive as Ottoman units or their original nationality;

There are also some important changes in the Balkans:
- Albania no longer swings to the Entente in September 1914 but remains neutral;
- a new DE enables Serbia to retreat its units through Albania to safety if Serbia surrenders the next turn;
- France can occupy Corfu if Serbia has surrendered;
- The Greek corps in Salonika and the detachment in Kavalla automatically mobilize when Bulgaria joins the war;

Plus some other significant changes:
- I have gone back to the regular settings for corps' defence strength against hard targets (i.e. 3);
- Mountain corps are replaced by mountain divisions which are stronger in mountains but weaker on open terrain;
- Russia receives only one mountain division to start in the Caucasus (not three corps, plus one more in Moscow);
- Russia starts at zero in 1914 in Command and Control but with one chit invested;
- Subs only cost 5% of their base cost to upgrade with Advanced Submarines tech (equivalent cost to ASW tech);
- Diplomatic chits have been capped at 10 per side for the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark;

You will also find in the folder the files for a new 1916 Icarus campaign. This game starts on January 1, 1916. Serbia has retreated into Albania and is on the point of surrender. The British army is building up in Flanders for its summer offensive in the Somme. In the east, the Russians have lost Poland and Lithuania, but have amassed a significant army in Ukraine which they can use to launch the Brusilov Offensive. Austria-Hungary has defeated Serbia but is stretched by the new front in Italy and by the Russian threat to Galicia. At the same time, the Entente has finally abandoned their beachhead at Gallipoli but are holding on to the territory around Salonika that has transferred to French control. The Senussi revolt has started in Libya, and the Arab Revolt is about to begin. Germany has reached the peak size of its submarine fleet and has already declared unrestricted naval warfare against the Entente blockade, bringing the USA to 35% mobilization.

Overall, the 1916 campaign offers a new option for players who are very familiar with the opening moves and who want to start the game in mid-war while everything is still in play. I hope you will enjoy it!

Michael

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Here's a link on YouTube on how to install this mod. (Or any other SC Game Mod)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY4rLgQDnOI

Its a great mod!

[mdsmall]

Strategic Command: World War One
Icarus Mod, Version Five

Explanation of Modifications

Contents:

1. Overview

2. Unit Capabilities and Upgrades

2.1 Artillery
2.2 German Stormtroopers
2.3 ANZAC Corps
2.4 Mountain Divisions
2.5 Infantry Divisions and Detachments
2.6 Tanks
2.7 Airships and Maritime Bombers
2.8 Submarines and ASW
2.9 Torpedo Boats
2.10 Coastal Guns

3. Technology

3.1 Tech Maximums
3.2 Starting Tech Chits
3.3 Tech Chit Costs
3.4 Selling Tech Chits

4. Building Units

5. Unit Morale

5.1 Swapping Units
5.2 Impact on Unit Morale of Surrenders
5.3 Summer Heat Effects

6. National Morale

6.1 Naval Blockades
6.2 New NM Objectives
6.3 Reversing NM Gains and Losses
6.4 Ending MPP Payments to earn NM points
6.5 Surrender and Liberation of Minors
6.6 National Morale Impact of Surrenders
6.7 National Morale Value of Warsaw

7. Diplomacy

8. Mobilization

8.1 Reversing Mobilization Swings by Minor Powers
8.2 Reversing U.S.A. Mobilization

9. Ottoman Empire Modifications

9.1 Gallipoli Campaign
9.2 Mesopotamia
9.3 Arabia
9.4 The Caucasus
9.5 Armenia
9.6 Expeditionary Corps
9.7 Ottoman Resources
9.8 Ottoman National Morale Objectives
9.9 Ottoman Armistice and Surrender

10. Persia

11. Balkan Modifications

11.1 Albania
11.2 Serbia
11.3 Bulgaria
11.4 Montenegro

12. Greece

12.1 Greek Mobilization
12.2 Entente Intervention in Northern Greece
12.3 Re-routing the Convoy to Serbia through Salonika
12.4 Greek Convoy to Austria-Hungary
12.5 Greek Build Restrictions

13. Austria-Hungary

13.1 Naval Saboteurs
13.2 Polish Legion

14. Denmark

15. Egypt

16. Finland

17. Gibraltar

18. Iceland

19. India

20. Italy

20.1 Signing an Armistice with the Central Powers
20.2 Convoy to Italy from France
20.3 Italian Frogmen

21. Libya

22.1 The Senussi Uprising
22.2 Italian Garrisons

22. Netherlands

23. Norway

24. Morocco

25. Portugal

26. Russia

26.1 Deployment of the Russian Navy
26.2 Caucasian and Turkestan Corps
26.2 Armistice
26.3 Surrender
26.4 Tech Limits
26.5 NM objectives

27. Spain

28. Sweden

29. Switzerland

29.1 Swiss capitals
29.2 Swiss mobilization

30. United States

30.1 The Zimmerman Telegram and its Aftermath
30.2 General Pershing
30.3 Spanish Flu Events

31. Information Settings

32. AI Settings

33. 1916 Campaign


1. Overview

The primary purpose of this mod is to expand the range of strategic options available to both sides, using the existing game system (version 1.09). The core campaign areas of the game on the Western and Eastern fronts are largely unchanged. But many new Decision Events have been added to make the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire more interesting theatres of war. Other scripts have been added to bring minor powers like India and Portugal into the game. Some of the new features make historical events more plausible as options for players - like the Gallipoli campaign, the Arab Revolt, the Persian theatre of war, or the Zimmerman Telegram. Other features have been added which did not happen but could have - like the Ottomans extending a railroad to Baghdad, or Sweden starting a convoy to Britain through Norway. The Russians can make different choices about which coast they wish to build various naval units. Diplomacy has been made more powerful, combined with a range of new options with minors which can only be achieved through the creative use of diplomacy.

A second purpose of this mod is to slow down the tempo of the war so that games will more often run to 1917 or even 1918 before they are decided. This should allow players to experiment with new technologies that only emerge in the later stages of the war. Trench warfare tech takes longer to reach higher levels and maximum levels depend on the front; only the powers on the Western Front can achieve trench level 5. The lethality of artillery has been reduced by restricting the number of shells that artillery units can store and by slowing down investment in Gas /Shell production. Heavy Artillery units are introduced. Counter-battery fire can now take place. Several kinds of air-power tech have been made cheaper to encourage investment in them. German stormtrooper units with some unique capabilities make an appearance starting in October 1917.

Strategically, the naval campaign in the North Sea and the North Atlantic has been made more deadly by increasing the impact in 1917 and 1918 on national morale of the British blockade against Germany and German submarine warfare against Britain. The national morale impact on Russia of losing Warsaw has been somewhat reduced, which makes it more likely that Russia will hold on for longer in the East. If powers can recapture lost national morale objectives, they can win back lost national morale points. These changes should give both sides more capacity to hold on until at least 1917, increasing the odds that the United States will enter the war. At that point both sides should be in a race to see which side can push the other's national morale to the breaking point.

The full set of changes in this mod compared to the standard 1914 campaign are as follows.

2. Unit Capabilities and Upgrades

2. 1 Changes to Artillery

Artillery forces have now been divided into Field Artillery and Heavy Artillery. (Field Artillery are still just called "Artillery" in the game system but referring to them "Field" Artillery makes it easier to distinguish them from Heavy Artillery).

Field Artillery units have a range of 2 hexes, 3 APs, a maximum of 6 shells after upgrades. They cost 250 MPPs and take three turns to build. They have a base demoralization rate of 5% and a maximum of 15% per shell after upgrades.

Heavy Artillery units have a range of 3 hexes, 2 APs and a maximum of 8 shells after upgrades. They cost 300 MPPs and take four turns to build. They can be upgraded to Artillery Weapons 2. They have a base demoralization rate of 10% and a maximum of 20% per shell after upgrades.

Gas/Shell production costs 200 MPPs and only 1 chit can be invested at a time (as opposed to the current limit of 3 chits at 100 MPPs each). The maximum level for Gas/Shell tech is now 2 (as opposed to 3 in the regular game).

Each increment of Artillery Weapons Tech adds one shell to the maximum for Field Artillery and two shells for Heavy Artillery. Logistics Tech has no effect on the number of shells per artillery unit. Neither Artillery nor Heavy Artillery can be motorized.

Majors build limits for both types of artillery have been changed as follows (compared with existing levels):

U.K.

Heavy Artillery: 2
Field Artillery: 3
Net Change: -1

France

Heavy Artillery: 2
Field Artillery: 1
Net Change: 0

Italy

Heavy Artillery: 1
Field Artillery: 1
Net Change: 0

Serbia

Heavy Artillery: 0
Field Artillery: 1
Net Change: 0

Russia

Heavy Artillery: 2
Field Artillery: 2
Net Change: 0

U.S.A.

Heavy Artillery: 0
Field Artillery: 2
Net Change: -2

Germany

Heavy Artillery: 4
Field Artillery: 2
Net Change: +2

Austria-Hungary:

Heavy Artillery: 2
Field Artillery: 1
Net Change: 0

Ottoman Empire:

Heavy Artillery: 1
Field Artillery: 2
Net Change: 0

Entente Total: 16
Net Change: -3

Central Powers Total: 12
Net Change: +2

Note that the U.K. receives 2 artillery through Decision Events (in Egypt and Mesopotamia) and Russia receives 1 Artillery through a Decision Event (in the Caucasus). These units are included in the build levels shown above. The artillery units built through these events will be Field Artillery and the costs of these DEs have been reduced to reflect that.

In addition, the UK, France, Russia, USA, Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire can build 1 additional Field Artillery unit when they reach level 2 in Gas/Shell tech.

Minors can only build Field Artillery, not Heavy Artillery.

Heavy Artillery can only start to be produced in January or February 1915 for the UK, France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary, and January 1916 for Italy and the Ottoman Empire.

Note that because Heavy Artillery have a range of 3, if set on Auto they can trigger defensive counter-battery fire against other artillery behind the enemy line. Artillery Weapons tech increments do not increase artillery attack strength against other artillery.

When Rail Guns are upgraded to Artillery Weapons 1, they can fire 2 shells per turn. As strategic artillery, their main function is to attack resources, not units.

Comment: These changes have been made to slow down speed at which artillery becomes more lethal until later years in the war. They also offer more flexibility between the capabilities of the two kinds of artillery. These changes have been made to distinguish between the artillery used combat between the Major powers on the Western Front, where concentrated firepower is the most important factor; and artillery combat in Russia, the Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus, where mobility is a more important factor between dispersed targets. Build limits for Artillery have been partially re-balanced (previously the Entente had an even greater advantage). The extra Field Artillery unit that can be built by most Majors at level 2 in Gas/Shell tech is meant to partially offset the reduction in the maximum level of that tech.

By giving Heavy Artillery a range of three, attackers can use a second line for reinforcing corps and reduce the risk of artillery being killed by enemy counterattacks. However, this reduces the number of hexes they can hit; if placed in the second line, Heavy Artillery can hit a wider range of targets but are also vulnerable to counter-battery fire. The effectiveness of Artillery Weapons tech against other artillery was reduced because the existing game settings made counter-battery fire too powerful against artillery on open ground.

2.2 German Stormtroopers

German Stormtroopers have been introduced into the game using the German Colonial Corps sprites. They have a base attack strength against hard targets of 3 and a 15% ability to evade losses on attack. Each Infantry Warfare tech increment increases Stormtroopers attack strength against Hard and Soft targets by 0.5 and increases their ability to evade losses on attack by 5%. Thus, at Infantry Warfare tech level 4, they have an attack strength of 5 against hard and soft targets (versus 4 for regular corps) will evade losses on attack 35% of the time. They also gain experience points when attacking at 0.25 per enemy point killed (versus 0.15 for regular corps), meaning they gain experience faster when used to attack. They have a base cost of 225 MPPs to build and take three turns, like regular corps. They can be built as of October 6, 1917, with a build limit of four stormtrooper corps. They cannot be reformed, so if destroyed they can only be built back at full cost.

In addition, Germany will receive four decision events - one per turn - starting on August 18, 1917 , offering the option of building one stormtrooper corps at a cost of 75 MPPs per turn over the next three turns. These units will arrive in Berlin starting on October 6, 1917, with 11 strength points, full research and one point of experience. These four units built through DEs are over and above the build limit of four stormtrooper corps.

To avoid confusion, build limits for Colonial Corps for other majors have been eliminated and their regular Corps build limits have been increased accordingly. British and French colonial corps that arrive in the game have been replaced by regular Corps units.

Comment: the use of German stormtroopers were the major tactical innovation on the German side late in the war. They were built by concentrating the most experienced troops into elite formations that could not be easily replaced. These changes create a capability that was previously missing in the game.

2.3 ANZAC Corps

British ANZAC units no longer have a 20% demoralization bonus. Instead, they have an increased ability to gain experience when attacking. They earn experience points at 0.25% per attack, versus 0.15% for regular corps. The Canadian Corps has been reclassified as an ANZAC Corps, so it has a similar capacity to gain experience.

Comment: This better reflects the true capabilities of Australia, New Zealand and Canadian units in the British Army, which was their capacity to innovate new tactics and learn from experience, rather than an intrinsic ability to de-moralize the enemy.

2.4 Mountain Divisions

Mountain Corps have been removed from the game in this mod and have been replaced by Mountain Divisions. Mountain Divisions receive a 2 point bonus in attack and defence against soft and hard targets if the Mountain Division is located on mountain or high mountain hex. This means they have an equal attack and defence strength as Mountain Corps on the same terrain in the regular game. However, their attack and defence strength on all other kinds of terrain is equal to a regular division, i.e., one point less than a corps. Mountain Divisions cost 150 MPPs, the same amount as a regular division to build. They have been upgraded in this mod to have full zones of control.

Comment: this change makes a sharper distinction in the advantages and disadvantages of mountain divisions versus regular corps. The lower cost of mountain divisions compared to corps may encourage players to build more of these special purpose units.

2.5 Divisions and Detachments

Infantry Divisions including Marines now have attack and defence values against other hard targets of 3 - 3. Detachments have an attack and defence value against hard targets of 2 - 2. This represents a 1-point increase in the defence strength of Divisions and a 1-point reduction in the defence strength of Detachments.

Like Mountain Divisions, Infantry and Cavalry Divisions have been upgraded to have full zones of control, comparable to Marines (which are also division sized units).

Comment: these changes are meant to bring the combat capabilities of these units more in line with their cost.

2.6 Tanks

Tank Corps base Defense Value against Artillery is now set at 1.5 (as opposed to 1). Each increment of Tank Development increases their de-entrenchment by 0.5. so that at Level 2 they will de-entrench at 2 per turn.

Comment: these changes are meant to make Tanks more effective as shock front-line units and slightly less vulnerable to taking casualties from artillery fire (since they cannot entrench).

2.7 Airships and Maritime Bombers:

Airships can only be upgraded to Airship Tech 3 (rather than 5). Their base strike range is 8. Each Airship tech increment adds 2 to their strike range (for a max range of 14) and 1 for naval spotting (for a maximum of 4). Aerial Warfare tech adds 0.5 per increment to the build limits for airships.

Maritime Bombers can only be upgraded to Long Distance Aircraft 3 (rather than 5). Each increment adds 2 to their strike range, but zero to naval spotting. Their base strike range is reduced to 8 (rather than 10) giving them a maximum strike range of 14. Their fixed naval spotting range is 2. Maritime Bombers can be upgraded to Anti-Submarine Warfare 2.

Comment: Airships and Maritime Bombers are both very useful at sea, but their range and especially their spotting values were over-powered. These changes rebalance that and differentiate more between the spotting value of airships and the ASW value of Maritime Bombers.

2.8 Subs and ASW

Subs that are upgraded with Advanced Subs tech gain an additional 0.5 strength per increment in defence against Naval units. ASW tech reduces subs ability to dive by only 5% per increment, rather than 10%. Upgrading subs with Advanced Subs tech only costs 5% of the base cost of a sub (not 10% as in the regular game), making this tech comparable in cost to ASW upgrades.

Comment: Although the patch in version 1.09 of the regular game helped subs to survive by eliminating their supply loss when attacking, ASW tech can still overpower the benefit that subs earn by investing in Advanced Subs tech. These changes increase subs defensive strength and their ability to dive if they are upgraded, even if facing an enemy that has ASW tech.

2.9 Torpedo Boats

Torpedo Boats now have 7 Action Points (increased from 5) to allow them to move two hexes, enter a naval zone control, attack and then return to port. Their cost is reduced to 80 MPPs (from 100 MPPs).

Comment: these changes should increase the cost/benefit value of building Torpedo Boats, compared to Destroyers.

2.10 Coastal Guns

All majors (except Serbia) have been given the option of building 1 Coastal Gun. Their cost has been reduced from 100 to 75 MPPs. They can be upgraded with Naval Weapons tech which will increase their attack and defence strength by 1 against Naval targets and Transports and will give them one extra shell.

Comment: Coastal Guns were a common defensive feature in this era, so they have been added to the build limits give players the option to use them. The cost has been reduced to the equivalent cost of a detachment. This also reflects the limited combat capability of coastal guns. For game engine reasons, they only inflict damage on enemy ships when attacking, not when being attacked. Their main advantage is their ability to automatically fire during the enemy turn if amphibious transports move adjacent to them.

3. Technology

3.1 Tech Maximums

Maximum levels in Trench Warfare now differ across majors. Germany, the UK, France and the USA can each reach level 5. Austria-Hungary, Italy, Serbia, and the USA can reach level 4. Russia and the Ottoman Empire can reach level 3.

The maximum number of chits that can be invested at one time in Trench Warfare has also been reduced from four to three.

Comment: There changes are meant to accentuate the differences between fighting on the Western Front where there were advanced trenches by 1917 versus fighting on the Eastern Front or the Caucasus where trenches were less sophisticated. It also makes field artillery units more useful for offensives on front where the trench maximums are not as high.

As noted above, the maximum level for Gas/Shell tech is now 2.

The maximum level for Spying and Intelligence for the UK and Germany, has been raised from 2 to 3. Serbia now has a maximum level of 1.

Comment: this should prolong the competition between the UK and Germany in particular for dominance in this important tech. Serbia's ability to contribute to Entente intelligence should be more modest.

Russia can only invest two chits in Industrial Technology, rather than three.

Comment: this is intended to slow down the rate of growth in Russian economy, while still allowing them to reach the same maximum levels. If game circumstances allow it, the Russian economy can grow to be larger than Germany's.

Serbia cannot invest any tech chits in naval or aerial technologies.

Comment: since Serbia has a zero build limit for ships or aircraft, it makes no sense that they could invest in these techs.

3.2 Starting Tech Levels

Russia starts at zero in Command and Control (rather than one in the regular game) but it starts with one chit in this tech.

Comment: this is intended to better reflect the truly awful quality of Russian generalship at the start of the war, while still enabling them to improve by 1915.

The UK starts with one chit on Armoured Warfare.

Comment: The is meant to encourage the arrival of tanks in the game and recognizes their early lead in tank development.

Germany starts with one chit on Aerial Warfare.

Comment: this is meant to compensate for the two extra chits the French and British receive on Armoured Warfare.

The USA starts with 2 chits invested in Trench Warfare.

Comment: this should enable the USA to partially keep up with the investments all the other majors will make in this key tech, even though the USA has not entered the war. Presumably American military observers on the Western Front would be learning about trench warfare methods from the British and French before the USA entered the war.

3.3 Tech Chit Costs

As noted above, Gas/Shell tech costs 200 MPPs per chit and only one can be invested at a time.

Comment: this intended to slow down the acquisition of surplus shells until later in the game.

The cost of Trench Warfare Russia has been reduced from 75 MPPs to 60 MPPs per chit.

Comment: Russian armies' historic reluctance to entrench is better reflected by having a maximum entrenchment level of 3. The reduced cost for Russia in this tech puts them on the same footing as their enemies in Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.

The cost of investing in Long-Range Aircraft, Anti-Aircraft and Logistics has been reduced from 50 to 40 MPPs per chit.

The cost of investing in Heavy Bombers and Production Tech has been reduced from 75 to 60 MPPs per chit - except for Serbia which is reduced from 50 to 40 MPPs per chit for Production Tech.

Comment: these changes are meant to encourage players to invest in these infrequently used technologies.

3.4 Selling Tech Chits

To start the game, Germany has been given 60 MPPs; Austria-Hungary, Russia and France have each been given 44 MPPs. In return, players should observe a house rule that they will not sell any tech chits on the first turn (only).

Comment: this house rule is needed to reduce the Central Powers first mover advantage which can be greatly magnified by selling tech chits on the first turn. To compensate, extra MPPs have been given to these four Majors to enable them to operate two or three corps on the first turn.

4. Building Units

Mountain corps have been removed from the build limits for all powers and have been replaced by mountain divisions.

Germany's build limit for regular corps has been reduced from 50 to 46 to reflect their additional ability to build 4 stormtrooper corps. The French build limits for regular corps has been increased from 24 to 26 to offset the 2 colonial corps that they can no longer build. The UK can no longer build colonial corps, but India can build its own corps, as explained below.

The Ottomans can now build 6 Infantry Divisions and 2 Cavalry Divisions at a cost 150 MPPs each. Their build limit for Corps is reduced to 18 (down from 22).

Comment: Given the Ottomans' MPP constraints, this makes it more affordable for them to build a new unit in most turns.

Russia can now build two infantry divisions through Decision Events relating two Persia. They can also build two cavalry divisions.

Comment: these smaller units may be useful in secondary theatres such as the Middle East.

Italy can now build 9 Detachments rather than 6; their build limit for Corps has been reduced from 15 to 14. They can also now build one Garrison.

Comment: this is meant to give the Italians more flexibility in the size of the units they can build, given that they usually need many smaller units for defensive purposes rather than full strength corps.

Italy can now build 2 Torpedo Boats

Comment: I could not see why Italy should not have the same capability as the other Majors.

Canada can build 2 Destroyers and the UK build limit for Destroyers is now 14 (down from 16).

Comment: building one or two Canadian destroyers may be useful if German subs raid off the coast of Canada and the U.S.A.

Greece can only build 3 Corps (down from 6). Greece can only build units after January 1, 1916.

Comment: Greece's original build limit of 6 Corps is out of proportion to its Balkan neighbours. The same six Greek corps can be mobilized through DEs if an enemy approaches, but after combat losses, only 3 can be rebuilt. The later build limit reflects that Greece was very slow to mobilize and rebuild its armed forces until the second half of the war.

The Netherlands can build a 1 Fighter and 1 Recon Bomber.

Comment: It seemed strange that they have an Artillery unit but no ability to build aircraft, unlike neighbouring Belgium.

Portugal cannot build Fighters or Recon Bombers.

Comment: I could not see why Portugal was given these aircraft in the first place.

Sweden's HQ arrives when it mobilizes.

Comment: every other minor has a HQ that mobilizes when it goes to war, so I could not see a reason not to allow Sweden to do the same.

India (which is a new minor in this mod) can build 4 corps, 1 cavalry corps, 1 division, 1 detachment and 2 field artillery. This represents all of the Indian Army units that normally deploy for the U.K. as a result of DEs in the regular game, plus two corps and one division in addition. See section 20 on India below.

5. Unit Morale

5.1 Swapping Units

Units can now swap places with an adjacent friendly unit at 0% cost to morale.

Comment: this is very handy game feature, especially in situations like the Western Front where there is usually two lines or more of troops at the front. It represents the standard tactic of having rearguard units move up to replace front-line units that have taken casualties. It seemed a mistake to me to penalize the morale of units that use this feature.

5.2 Impact on Unit Morale of Surrenders

The standard settings that penalize the morale of land and sea units when a minor or major power on the same side surrenders have been eliminated. Instead, the impact of a surrender is registered on National Morale, not at the unit level.

Comment: it has long seemed unbalanced to me that the surrender of minors would have an impact on the morale of majors, apart from possibly their direct parent. Since it not possible to fine-tune these settings in the Game Editor, I have simply set them to zero.

However, to model the unit morale boost that Germany receives on the first turn in the standard game from the surrender of Luxemburg, all Central Powers land units within seven hexes of Luxembourg receive a 20 - 30% boost in unit morale and all Entente land units in the same range receive a 20 - 30% unit morale penalty. These unit morale boosts, and penalties do not apply on other fronts.

Comment: Keeping this swing towards the Germans in unit morale is important for an effective German attack in the West in the opening turns of 1914, so this new DE provides a specific offset to the general rule above.

5.3 Summer Heat Effects

All regular units will suffer a loss of unit morale during the summer turns when they are deployed in Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Mesopotamia, southern Persia, Kuwait, Egypt and Libya (but not in the French territories in North Africa or within the borders of the Ottoman Empire). For European majors and minors, the morale loss will be 25 - 35%. For forces from the Ottoman Empire, India, Egypt and Persia, the morale loss will be 5 - 10%. Arabian and Libyan partisans are not affected.

Comment: The heat of summer in the Middle East and much of North Africa affected all forces operating in these regions. The difference in morale effects are meant to give the Ottomans a slight edge over European units in this region in the summer turns; while also giving the U.K a greater reason to deploy Indian forces to campaign in this region (as they did historically).

6. National Morale

6.1 Naval blockades:

The effectiveness (in terms of the NM points lost per hex per turn) of both the British naval blockade against Germany and German unrestricted naval warfare against the UK has been increased by 50% in 1917 and 100% in 1918.

Comment: These changes are intended to make the naval game for both sides a greater threat to National Morale and to increase the incentives for a major German naval push against Britain later in the war.

6.2 New NM Objectives

The following resources have been added as NM objectives which will cost the owning Major NM points if captured:

UK: Kuwait, Cyprus (requires control of both Limassol and Nicosia)

France: Dijon, Lyons, Marseille

Italy: Benghazi, Rhodes, Tobruk

Russia: Baku, Batum, Kars, Tiflis

Germany: Mulhausen

Austria-Hungary: Sarajevo

Ottoman Empire: Angora, Mosul, Zonguldak

The following NM objectives have been added to the list of those that will earn NM points for the following majors, if they capture them:

Italy: Trieste, Pola

Serbia: Sarajevo

Russia: Konigsberg, Krakow, Przemyśl, Thorn

Austria-Hungary: Venice

Ottomans: Baku, Batum, Benghazi, Cairo, Cyprus, Kars, Kermanshah, Kuwait, Rhodes, Tabriz, Tehran, Tobruk, Tripoli

6.3 Reversing NM gains and losses:

Many NM losses due to towns and cities being captured can be reversed if the objective is recaptured by the side that originally controlled it. This applies to cities and towns close to national borders which the original owners might reasonably regain later in the game.

Specifically, these changes apply to:

France: Belfort, Lille, Nancy, Paris, Verdun

Italy: Benghazi, Padua, Tripoli, Tobruk, Venice, Verona, Udine,

Serbia: Belgrade, Cetinje, Nish, Pec, Pristina, Uskub

Russia: Brest-Litovsk, Batum, Ivangorod, Kars, Minsk, Novo-Georgievsk, Riga, Tiflis, Warsaw, Vilna

Germany: Konigsberg, Metz, Strasbourg, Thorn

Austria-Hungary: Bruneck, Klagenfurt, Krakow, Lemberg, Przemyśl, Pola, Trento, Trieste

Ottoman Empire: Amman, Aqaba, Basra, Baghdad, Damascus, Deraa, Erzurum, Jerusalem, Maan, Mosul, Trabzon

The same logic applies to all NM objectives outside their borders which Majors can earn NM points by capturing. If these objectives are lost, the capturing power loses the NM points earned.

6.4 Ending MPP payments to increase National Morale

The Decision Events that commit powers to paying 25 MPPs every turn when their National Morale drops below 50% or 25% will cease to fire if their National Morale later rises above that threshold.

Comment: It seemed reasonable that powers would cease to divert MPPs towards civilian production if their National Morale rose again above the trigger threshold. This should give players an incentive to try to raise their National Morale, rather than regarding its progressive decline as a foregone conclusion.

6.5 Surrender and Liberation of Minors

The UK and France will lose 2000 NM if Belgium surrenders. They can recoup those NM points if
Belgium is subsequently liberated.

France and Russia can recoup the NM the points they lose when Serbia surrenders if Serbia is subsequently liberated.

The UK will lose 1000 NM and the Ottoman Empire will earn 2000 NM if Greece surrenders to the Central Powers.

Comment: As the controlling power for Greece, the UK should take a NM hit if Greece surrenders. Given the sharp tensions in this period between the Ottoman Empire and Greece, the Ottomans would welcome the surrender of Greece.

6.6 Surrender and Armistice of Majors

The negative NM impact of an Ottoman armistice on Germany and Austria-Hungary has been reduced to a level that simply reverses the NM points earned when the Ottomans entered the war. To achieve the full impact, the Entente has to push the Ottomans to surrender.

Comment: these changes are intended to give an incentive to the Entente to push for a full surrender by the Ottomans, rather than settling for an armistice. In the existing game, the scripted NM impact of an Ottoman armistice is the same as surrender and in many situations could be enough to trigger the surrender of the other two Central Powers. This is close to the actual sequence of events in 1918 but makes for a less balanced game.

New scripts have been added for the UK, France and Serbia to increase the negative NM impact on them of a Russian surrender versus a Russian armistice (post Brest-Litovsk). New scripts have also been added to increase the positive NM impacts on Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans if the Russians surrender, though not if they withdraw through an armistice.

Comment: Driving Russia to surrender requires a heroic effort by the Central Powers, given the NM boost they receive if the Germans reject their offer of an armistice and the distance the Central Powers have to cover to capture both Petrograd and Moscow. These changes are meant to offer a modest incentive for the Central Powers to try anyway to push for a full Russian surrender.

New NM scripts have been added for the UK and France if Italy surrenders.

Comment: in the existing game, the UK seems relatively untroubled by what happens to its Entente allies in France or Italy. This has been corrected, although the negative impact of these surrenders is still less than the impact on France or Italy of a surrender by the UK.

New NM scripts have been added for France, Austria-Hungary and Germany if Italy signs an armistice with the Central Powers (see section 20.3 below). If Italy withdraws from the war or surrenders, Spain will swing towards the Central Powers (see section 27 below).



6.7 National Morale Value of Warsaw

The national morale impact on Russia of losing Warsaw is reduced to 4000 NM points (down from 6000). Germany gains 2000 NM by taking Warsaw (rather than 3000). However, Russia loses 2000 NM rather than 1000 if Brest-Litovsk is captured.

Comment: One reason why East first strategies for the Central Powers have become so frequent is that Warsaw is such a huge national morale liability for Russia. At its original value of 6000 NM, it is the most valuable NM target in the game after Paris and London; Russia incurs far more by losing Warsaw than they do from losing Petrograd or Moscow. This reduction to 4000 NM points makes Warsaw a comparable target to Verdun for Germany. Combined with the increase in the NM value of Brest-Litovsk, it means that the Central Powers will have to push further into Russia to capture more NM targets in order to push Russian National Morale below 25% (thus triggering the start of the Russian Revolution) or sit on their gains in Poland for many more turns before the Russians cumulative NM losses bring them below 25%. This reduction is also meant to offset other changes in this mod reducing Russia's capacity to benefit quickly from investment in industrial tech.

7. Diplomacy

The probability of a hit per chit is raised to 8% (up from 5%). The normal swing per hit is raised 5 - 10% (up from 4-8%). The bonus swing against Minors is raised to 10% - 20% (up from 8% - 16%).

Austria-Hungary has its Diplomacy chit limit raised from 4 to 5; the USA has its chit limit reduced from 5 to 4.

Comment: these changes are made to make diplomacy a more attractive investment for both sides compared to investing in tech or buying more units. Many new options have been added for minors in the game that are only achievable through diplomacy (see the sections below on Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal). The Entente still has a significant edge in diplomacy chits, but these changes slightly rebalance the number, reflecting Austria-Hungary's historic status as a diplomatic power in Europe, versus the newcomers from the United States.

The ability of both sides to invest diplomacy chits in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden has been capped at 10 chits per side. For the Central Powers, only Germany and Austria-Hungary can invest in diplomacy chits in these minors (at 5 chits each). For the Entente, the UK, France and Russia are able to invest a more limited number of diplomacy chits in each these minors, for a total of 10. The specific limits for each major are specified in the Diplomacy menu and explained in the sections on each minor below. Italy and Serbia cannot invest in diplomacy towards these minors. However, the USA has no constraints on where it can invest in diplomacy once it enters the war.

Comment: these specific limits have been introduced for game balance reasons to reduce the Entente's ability to use its significant edge in diplomacy to flip the alignment of the four minors that send resources to Germany at the start of the war. However, the Entente retains an overall superiority in diplomacy chits, which is significantly increased when the USA enters the war.

8. Mobilization

8.1 Reversing Mobilization Swings by Minor Powers

The following swings in the mobilization of minor powers can be reversed if the NM objectives which triggered the swing are recaptured by the original owners. This only applies if the minor has not yet fully mobilized for one side or the other.

If the Entente recaptures Nish or Belgrade, Bulgarian mobilization will swing back towards the Entente by 8 - 12%.

If the Central Powers recapture Krakow, Przemyśl or Lemberg, Romanian mobilization will swing back towards the Central Powers by 8 - 12%.

Comment: the ability to reverse these swings is meant to reward success by the original owning side in recapturing these heavily fought over NM objectives

8.2 Reversing USA Mobilization

If Italy surrenders before the USA enters the war, the USA will swing 25 - 35% away from the Entente. If France or the UK surrender before the USA enters the war, the USA will swing 50 - 70% away from the Entente.

Comment: The surrender of any of Majors should have a significant deterrent effect on the U.S. determination to enter the war on the Entente side.

9. Ottoman Empire Modifications

Comment: One of the main purposes of this mod was to enhance the range of strategic options for both sides in the Middle East, the Caucasus and in Persia. This has been done by a variety of new Decision Events that give the Entente greater scope for attacking the Ottoman Empire, and to increase the Ottomans' ability to defend their territory. Additional scripts have been added to reflect the weather and supply challenges of campaigning in this region. Some small changes were made to the map to increase realism and to enable the new DEs.

9.1 Gallipoli Campaign

Comment: the following changes have been to increase the realism of the Gallipoli theatre in western Turkey and to encourage the Entente to attempt an amphibious invasion there.

The map for this region has been extensively redrawn:
- narrowing the Gallipoli Peninsula;
- moving the town of Gallipoli onto the Peninsula;
- making both Straits hexes hill terrain, as well as the hex 199,103;
- moving the port at the tip of the peninsula one hex up, adjacent to the town of Gallipoli;
- adding a new port on the Sea of Marmara south of Adrianople at Tekfurdagi;
- adding a new town on the Aegean coast next to the Bulgaria border at Aynoz.

The 8 strength corps that starts the game on the town of Gallipoli has been moved to Panderma on Asia side of the Sea of Marmara. The Ottoman Empire also starts the game with a 5-strength coastal gun deployed at the mouth of the Dardanelles.

Two new Gallipoli campaign DEs have been written for the UK and France, offering the UK the option of having a unit of the Royal Marines deploy to Lemnos, along with a new French Marine division. The Royal Marines arrive on December 5, 1914, followed by the French Marines. A one-time loop will automatically transport to Lemnos any Entente unit sitting on Alexandria on January 2, 1915 (this allows the I ANZAC Corps to take part in the initial assault without paying to transport them from Alexandria to Lemnos). Once deployed to Lemnos, these units can be loaded one per turn on Amphibious Transports. This means that all three units will be on transports by April 10, 1915, and they can launch an invasion on the nearby Turkish coast the next turn, on May 8, 1915.

If the UK says NO to the Gallipoli Campaign DE, they will then be given the option of saying YES to the existing DE to occupy Lemnos and deploy only the Royal Marine division there. If the UK says NO, Lemnos will remain in Greek hands.

If the Entente says YES to the Gallipoli campaign DE, the Ottomans will be rewarded if they can contain or defeat the invasion. Specifically, the Ottoman Empire gets a 500 NM boost if the Entente has only captured the town of Gallipoli by August 1915; and a 2000 NM boost if the Entente holds no Ottoman towns or cities between Smyrna, Constantinople, and the Bulgarian border by January 1, 1916.

If the Entente can place a naval unit in the Sea of Marmara, either by capturing both Straits hexes controlling the Dardanelles or by capturing the Bosporus, there will be mobilizations swings by Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania towards to Entente. The Ottomans will also lose 2000 NM points. This replaces the NM losses and mobilization swings in the regular game if the Entente captured the town of Gallipoli in its former location. This more accurately reflect the impact on nearby minors if the Entente is able to threaten Constantinople. If the Ottomans subsequently retake control of the Sea of Marmara by recapturing the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, they will regain the 2000 NM points lost, but will not reverse the mobilization swings against them.

9.2 Mesopotamia

To increase their ability to hold Mesopotamia, the Ottomans have a new DE that fires in April 1915 allowing them to build a railway line from Aleppo to Baghdad by December 1916. (To enable this, a new settlement has been added to the map on the railway line two hexes south of Diyarbakir). Building this line costs 4 X 25 MPPs, shared between the Ottomans and Germany. However, the line cannot be completed until the Central Powers are able to establish a rail link from Berlin to Constantinople (by capturing Nish from Serbia and bringing Bulgaria into the war).

Mosul has been made a NM objective for the Ottomans. This makes it a more valuable target for capture by Russia or Britain if they plan a campaign in Mesopotamia. An additional Ottoman corps now mobilizes in Mosul when the Ottomans enter the war - as happened historically.
Campaigning in Mesopotamia was made more difficult by the marshes and the spring floods in the region. To reflect this, new Supply scripts have been added that on a random basis in spring turns will temporarily reduce the supply levels of the towns in lower Mesopotamia between Baghdad and Basra.

A new DE has been added to give the Ottomans the option of creating a new HQ in Baghdad (Khalil Pasha) in May 1916, at a cost of 4 X 50 MPPs. The timing reflects the historic date when Khalil Pasha was promoted to take command of the Ottoman Sixth Army in Baghdad.

A glitch in the regular game has been corrected so that if the British send an Indian Army detachment (Force D) to seize Basra as soon as the Ottomans enter the war, Force D will actually deploy onto Basra (rather than Kuwait). However, if the Ottomans manage to force march a unit to occupy Basra in time before they enter the war, the British invasion will fail, and Force D will deploy instead in Kuwait.

If the Ottomans recapture Basra from the British, it will revert back to Mesopotamia. If the Entente liberate Mesopotamia (by capturing Baghdad), Basra will also revert back to Mesopotamia to allow the Mesopotamian convoy to the UK to begin.

The Ottoman Mesopotamian Volunteer unit that mobilizes through a DE when the British seize Basra will now deploy in Amara, rather than Baghdad, putting it closer to the front.

Kuwait has been added as NM objective for the Ottomans, worth 1000 points.

Comment: Building the new rail line and the new HQ in Baghdad should make it easier for the Ottomans to defend Mesopotamia and potentially use it as base to invade Persia. The small changes to the British invasion of Basra in 1914 and the Ottoman response make it less predictable that the British will capture Basra and more important that they do so, as they will need to control it to trigger the Persian oil convoy and later to serve as the base for General Maude to launch the Mesopotamian Campaign. The seasonal flooding in the spring and the heat effects in the summer will make it somewhat harder to campaign in this region for part of the year. Taken together these changes should make Mesopotamia a more complex and interesting theatre in the war in the game.

9.3 Arabia

Comment: in the existing game, it is easy for the Ottomans to suppress the formation of any Arab partisans and thus thwart the Arab Revolt. These changes make the Revolt a much greater threat for the Ottomans.

The British Decision Event to sponsor the Arab Revolt by sending T.E. Lawrence to Arabia can start as early as November 1, 1915, but it has only a 20% chance of firing per turn. This makes the start date of the Revolt more unpredictable for both sides.

Both the number of partisan spawning hexes in Arabia and the number of chances per turn for partisans to spawn have been increased, making it almost impossible for the Ottomans to prevent the Revolt from beginning. The maximum number of Arab partisans that can be active at one time is 6. However, the Arab partisan hexes spawn in waves, starting first around Medina in January 1916; then in the Hejaz Mountains in March 1916; then north and east of Tayma in July 1916; and finally, east of Amman and Damascus, only if Jerusalem, Maan or Amman have been captured by the Entente.

To make it easier for Arab partisans to move into the desert to escape detection, the remote desert and mountain hexes of Arabia will become Entente territory in three waves. The first wave covering the mountain hexes east of Medina triggers when the Arab Revolt starts. The second wave is triggered when the Arabs capture Ha'il. It covers all the desert hexes on either side of the road to the Persian Gulf. The third wave covers all Syrian Desert hexes that extend north to the road from Jordan to Mesopotamia. It is triggered when a partisan occupies one of four mountain hexes on the western edge of the Syrian Desert. Once the Arab Revolt DE fires, these hexes will be identified by a pop-up if you move your cursor over them. Since Arabia as a minor remains occupied until Medina is captured, these hex transfer happen by having them transfer to the new independent minor of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia only exists in this mod for this purpose).

The attacking strength of Arab partisans has been increased by 1 against soft and hard targets, making them comparable in attack to detachments. They also have a 30% chance of evading combat losses when attacked. Their action points have also been increased to 5 (up from 3), giving them greater range of movement. In addition, they get a one hex movement bonus if they start their turn in a desert hex, thus enabling them to move three hexes per turn across deserts.

Cutting the Hejaz Railroad from Amman to Medina becomes an important objective for the Arabs, as the Ottomans will lose 75 NM for each player turn that the rail line is cut. Two new Ottoman garrisons deploy when the Ottomans enter the war, based in Tabuk and Tayma, to help protect the rail line.

If the Arabs capture Medina and liberate Arabia, it becomes a British minor. In addition to having a build limit of 5 partisans, Arabia can build 1 regular infantry corps, 1 cavalry division, 3 infantry detachments and 1 HQ (Faisal).

T.E. Lawrence can now arrive as an Egyptian HQ if one of the following towns is captured by the Arabs: Aqaba, Tabuk, Tayma, Yanbu, or a new settlement on the coast north of Yanbu called Weij. The Lawrence HQ has the same movement abilities as the Arab partisans. Since he not an Arabian general, he cannot contribute his command rating to the Arab partisans, but if placed on supply level 3 resource hex, he can enable the Arabs to be upgraded to Infantry Weapons 1. If Arabia is liberated by capturing Medina, Faisal appears as an Arabian HQ with the same movement abilities. He can command Arab partisans with a command rating of 8, but his maximum strength is only 5, limiting his ability to increase their supply.

Comment: this differentiation between Lawrence and Faisal was made to restrict the benefits of two extra Entente HQs largely to the Arab partisans. Faisal's high command rating is offset by the fact that his maximum strength is 5. Neither of them their contribute command ratings to regular British troops.

9.4 The Caucasus

High mountain hexes have been added to the map for Mount Ararat (between the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Russia) and around Mount Elbruz in southern Russia.

A new weather zone has been created for the Caucasus region in eastern Ottoman Empire and southern Russia (see the weather layer in the Editor for details). The Caucasus weather zone has a much high probability of freezing and snow in the winter and a greater chance of mud or snow in the spring, compared to the adjacent European weather zone. This better reflects the harsh weather conditions that affected military operations in this theatre. The negative impact of winter on the Ottoman forces in the Caucasus has been expanded to cover the entire Caucasus weather zone (not just the area between Erzurum and Kars as in the regular game). On its western edge, the zone runs in an arc from Bayburt through Erzincan, Mus, Bitlis to Van (Trabzon and Rize fall outside the zone). As per the existing event, there is a 75% chance each winter turn that Ottoman units in this region will lose one strength point and 20 - 40% morale. However, this penalty does not apply to Ottoman units based in towns or cities in this zone. These winter weather effects will apply as well to Ottoman units on the Russian side of the Caucasus weather zone.

Comment: the increased winter effects will adversely affect the Ottomans in this region; the reduction in the number of mountain corps will adversely affect the Russians. Since both sides are very sensitive to gains or losses in National Morale objectives, the Caucasus should remain a significant theatre of conflict.

9.5 Armenia

Russia can build an Armenian detachment in Erevan through a DE after the Armenian uprising in Van. The uprising is only triggered if an Ottoman unit is within 2 hexes of Van, starting on January 1, 1915. Russia also receives an Armenian volunteer detachment if the Ottomans move a unit to the border with Persian Azerbaijan (see section on Persia below).

Comment: this makes the Armenian uprising in Van more consequential to the campaign in the Caucasus. It also allows the Ottomans to avoid triggering the uprising if they are prepared to leave Van relatively undefended.

9. 6 Expeditionary Corps

The German and Austro-Hungarian expeditionary corps which can be sent to aid the Ottomans through existing DEs, can now be triggered if the Entente gets within 3 hexes of Baghdad (as well as Jerusalem and Damascus).

If the CP player says YES to build either of these units, an additional DE allows these corps to arrive as units in the German or Austro-Hungarian armies respectively, or as Ottoman units.

Comment: given that Ottoman generals cannot add their Command rating to German or Austro-Hungarian units, the CP player might prefer to have these corps arrive as units in the Ottoman army. However, that reduces their usefulness if they later need to be redeployed to other fronts.

9.7 Ottoman Resources

An additional mine has been added to the map two hexes from Zonguldak one hex from the Ottoman Black Sea coast. This will give the Ottoman 15 additional MPPs per turn.

Comment: This is to offset the increased resources earned by the UK and Russia from Persia. The Zonguldak coal beds extend to this location.

The DE allowing Russia to send agent to sabotage the Zonguldak mine has been extended to cover second mine hex, as well as naval units in the ports at Zonguldak and Trabzon.

Comment: This makes it a more damaging attack for the Russians to launch and could reduce the Ottomans willingness to put fleet units in their Black Sea ports, similar to the Italian and Austrian naval saboteurs in the Adriatic.

9.8 Ottoman National Morale

Angora, Mosul and Zonguldak have been added as NM objectives inside the Empire which will need to be defended.

New National Morale scripts have been added enabling them to recover all the NM points lost if they recapture most of their NM objectives inside their own borders. (The exceptions are cities in the core of the Empire - Angora, Constantinople, Smyrna and Zonguldak).

Additional NM objectives for the Ottomans to capture outside their borders have been added in: Batum, Baku, Cairo, Cyprus, Kars, Kermanshah, Kuwait, Rhodes, Tabriz, Tehran, Tobruk, and Tripoli.

If Bulgaria joins the Central Powers and the rail route between Vienna to Constantinople is fully in CP hands, the Ottomans will earn 50 NM points per turn.

Comment: In the existing game, Ottoman National Morale starts to sink from the outset and is almost impossible to rebuild. These changes give them a chance to recoup some of their losses, and perhaps even earn some NM bonuses by regaining territory lost in the past to Russia, Britain and Italy. The 50 point NM bonus every turn for being connected by rail to Vienna is meant as an alternative to the bonus the other two Central Powers receive when Bulgaria joins their side. It should also give the Ottomans a buffer against the automatic NM point losses every turn if they lose control of border cities in the Caucasus and/or Palestine.

9.9 Ottoman Armistice and Surrender

As noted in 6.5 above, the NM impact on Germany and Austria-Hungary of the Ottomans signing an armistice and withdrawing from the war has been reduced to the equivalent of the NM points gained when the Ottomans joined the Central Powers. To have the full NM impact listed in the regular game, the Entente has to drive the Ottoman Empire to surrender.

10. Persia

Comment: Both the Russians and British had significant zones of influence in Persia by 1914 and the oil wells in southern Persia were an important strategic source of oil for the British Empire. Persia was a complex secondary theatre of conflict between the British, Russians and Ottomans from the beginning of the war. These changes are meant to reflect that.

High mountain hexes have been added to the map on either side of Tehran to represent Mount Damavand and the Alborz mountains.

A new DE has been given to Russia which fires when the Ottomans enter the war, enabling the Russians to exercise their sphere of influence over northern Persia in the area known as Persian Azerbaijan. If they say YES, an area of northern Persia centred on Tabriz is transferred to Russian control. (This done by giving it to Armenia which becomes a 100% mobilized Russian minor). A Russian division will deploy in Tabriz. An Armenian Volunteer Detachment will also deploy if Ottoman troops move to the border with Persian Azerbaijan.

In the south, the oil well at Abadan has been transferred on the map back to Persia. A new Persian oil convoy route to the UK will start as soon as the UK seizes Basra. The land convoy will link the oil wells at Maidan-I-Naftun and Abadan and will end in Basra. The convoy will be worth 25 MPPs for the UK (or 30 MPPs if the Russians do not occupy Persian Azerbaijan). This is a net increase for the UK of 15 MPPs over the production of just the Abadan oil well when it was part of Mesopotamia. If the Entente liberate Mesopotamia, the Persian oil convoy will be re-routed to the U.K. through the port of Bandar Mashahr (so that Basra may be used for the convoy from Mesopotamia to the UK).

Germany can send agents into southern Persia, led by Wilhelm Wassmuss. Their target is to sabotage Basra and thus disrupt the Persian oil convoy to the UK. The cost of this DE has been reduced from 50 to 30 MPPs. The Central Powers can also interrupt the oil convoy through diplomacy by swinging Persia to the Central Powers. Or the Ottomans could choose to invade southern Persia and occupy one or more resource hexes on the convoy line. If the Central Powers conquer Persia, the UK can send agents to sabotage cities in central Persia.

Kermanshah, Tabriz and Tehran are now NM objectives for the Ottoman Empire. These new objectives should provide some incentives for the Ottomans to declare war on Persia. Kermanshah, in particular, should be a tempting target as no Persian unit will mobilize there to defend it.

If the Central Powers choose to DOW Persia, the 5 strength Persian Cossack Corps will mobilize to defend Tehran. However, the four 5 strength detachments of the Persian Gendarmerie (based in Kazvin, Hamadan, Khorramabad and Qum respectively) each have only a 50% chance of mobilizing against the Central Powers if Ottoman units come within 3 hexes of their bases. The other 50% of the time they will defect and become Ottoman units.

If the Entente chooses to DOW Persia, all four of the Persian Gendarmerie units will mobilize if the Entente units come within 3 hexes of their towns. However, the Persian Cossack unit in Tehran will only mobilize against the Entente 50% of the time; the other 50% of the time, it will defect and become a Russian unit.

From October 1915 onward, another new DE allows the Russians to create a Persian Expeditionary Force with one infantry division that deploys in Astara as soon as they DOW Persia. When that happens, the UK will seize automatically control of the resources hexes in southern Persia, so their interests will not be adversely affected by the Russian DOW.

Comment: All of these changes are meant to give both sides incentives to declare war on and occupy Persia, in order to gain greater control over its resources and positional advantage vis-a-vis the enemy.

11. Balkan Modifications

Comment: World War One broke out in the Balkans and the loyalties of the new states in the region were highly volatile. It is a critical theatre for the Central Powers if they wish to establish a land bridge to the Ottoman Empire. The longer Serbia survives, the easier it becomes for the Entente to send additional forces there through Greece or Albania. The following changes were made to better reflect history, and to make it an even more competitive theatre in the first fifteen months of the war.

11.1 Albania

Albania no longer has 75% chance to swing to join the Entente after the Albanian civil war breaks out in September 1914. It will remain neutral until one or the other sides declares war, or the Serbs decide to retreat through its territory (see below).

If the Central Powers declare war on Albania, Italy will swing 25 - 35% towards the Entente and Bulgaria will swing 10-15%. If the Entente declares war on Albania, both Italy and Bulgaria will swing by the same amounts towards the Central Powers. DOWs on Albania by either side have no effect on USA mobilization.

Greece will not be affected directly by a DOW on Albania. However, in October 1914 after the Albanian civil war breaks out, Greece will annex Northern Epirus, which is a small region in southern Albania.

Italy is now the Entente parent for Albania (rather than Russia in the regular game).

Comment: Albania only became an independent state through a pact among the Balkan powers in the spring of 1914. Italy was the major power with the greatest political ambitions in Albania. Although it is the poorest and weakest minor in the game, Albania occupies a potentially strategic location adjacent to Serbia and Montenegro. By not having Albania join the Entente in September 1914, the Entente no longer can use the port of Tirana to reinforce Serbia and thus will be forced to rely on reinforcing Serbia through Salonika in Greece, as happened historically. In this mod, once Bulgaria and Italy have joined the war there are no remaining disincentives for either side to declare war on Albania. A new DE will also allow Serbia to retreat through Albania if it has to survive.

11.2 Serbia

A new DE for Serbia has been added which fires when Uskub is the last remaining Serbian capital, and the Central Powers have one unit adjacent to Uskub. This event allows Serbia to swing Albania to join the Entente, so that the Serbian army can retreat through Albanian territory to reach the port at Tirana, where they can be transported to safety. In return, Serbia automatically surrenders at the end of its next turn. This option is a last resort to save what is left of the Serbian Army if a retreat route through Greece is not open. Free Serbian units in Albania will undergo a special attrition round in their first turn there.

Comment: this new DE reflects the choice that the Serbian government had to make in November 1915 when three Central Power armies were descending on Uskub, and their escape route to Greece was cut off by the Bulgarians. Another new DE (see below) allows the Entente to occupy Corfu, to serve as a destination for the surviving Free Serbian units.

11.3 Bulgaria

Bulgaria's alternate capital has been moved from Varna to Plovdiv.

Comment: As an alternate capital, Varna is very vulnerable to a surprise attack by the Entente from Romania; thus, it does not offer much of a back-up to Sofia if either side declares war on Bulgaria. Moving the alternate capital to Plovdiv in the centre of the country makes it impossible to take out Bulgaria in one move.

11.4 Montenegro

A new post-surrender partisan spawning hex has been added to Montenegro.

Comment: this seemed reasonable as a complement to Serbia's two partisans spawning hexes.

12. Greece

Comment: Although Greek forces played a minor role in active combat in World War One, its strategic location as a potential supply line and staging area for the Entente to support Serbia gives it an outsized importance in the early phases of the war. It starts as an opportunistic minor that can swing towards either side depending on threats and opportunities presented by its neighbours. However, the coherence of Greek policy was hampered by the political schism between the King and the Prime Minister. These modifications reflect that.

12.1 Greek Mobilization

Greece starts aligned with the Entente but at 0% mobilization. Once the Ottoman Empire enters the war Greece will swing to 15% for the Entente. If the Entente captures the Dardanelles and is has one naval unit in the Sea of Marmara, Greece will swing a further 30 - 45% to the Entente. If the Entente has one ground unit within 3 hexes of Constantinople, Greece will swing a further 10-15% each turn towards the Entente.

Comment: The Ottoman Empire was Greece's former imperial ruler. Greece and the Ottomans were at odds in 1914 over the protection of Greek communities in Anatolia. If the Gallipoli campaign had gone any further and the Entente seriously threatened Constantinople, the Greeks would have been keen to join the fray and pick-up more spoils from an Ottoman defeat.

Once Bulgaria reaches 70% mobilization for the Central Powers, Greece will start to mobilize for the Entente at 5 - 8% per turn and will continue every turn unless Serbia surrenders. If Serbia surrenders, however, Greece will swing 20 - 30% towards the Central Powers.

Comment: Greece was highly sensitive to Bulgaria altering the balance of power in the Balkans. If the Entente had not jumped the gun by intervening in northern Greece to support Serbia, Greece would have eventually mobilized and come to Serbia's aid as per their mutual defence pact.

12.2 Entente Intervention in Northern Greece

A new Decision Event replaces the British/French events in the existing game to "Pressure Greece to use Salonika as a Base". Starting on July 3, 1915, provided that Bulgaria has reached 60% for the Central Powers, each turn there is a 35% chance that France will be presented with a new Decision Event asking if they wish to intervene in northern Greece to open a new supply route to Serbia. If the Entente player says YES, northern Greece including Salonika transfers to Entente control, and the Entente can land units there. When Bulgaria enters the war, one 8 strength corps will mobilize as a new French unit in Salonika and one 10 strength detachment will mobilize in Kavalla. The rest of Greece will swing 10% away from the Entente. Greece will remain neutral and will not be affected by what subsequently happens to Serbia or Bulgaria. If the Entente player says NO, then the whole of Greece can still join the Entente at a later date after Bulgaria reaches 70% mobilization as described above.

Comment: this DE reflects the political schism that was precipitated in Greece in when the Entente responded to an appeal for intervention by the Greek Prime Minister that did not have the support of the King.

If the Entente intervenes in Greece, France will receive a new DE as soon as Serbia has surrendered giving the Entente the option to occupy Corfu, which they can use as a base for Serbian units to retreat to from Albania.

Comment: this happened in January 1916.

If the Entente does intervene and then Serbia surrenders and the Entente loses Salonika, Greece will shift a further 20-25% and become aligned with the Central Powers rather than the Entente.

Comment: This outcome would reflect the pro-German King Constantine consolidating his authority and shifting Greece towards the Central Powers after an Entente defeat in the Balkans.

If the Entente maintains control over northern Greece, they will have the option to force King Constantine to abdicate after the Russian Czar has been overthrown in the First Russian Revolution. If the Entente says YES, Greece will swing towards the Entente at 5-8% per turn every turn until it enters the war.

Comment: this happened in June 1917.

12.3 Re-routing the French Convoy to Serbia through Salonika

If the Central Powers occupy one of the five land hexes on the road between Cetinje and Pristina (including either of those towns), the French convoy to Serbia through Cetinje will be disrupted. A new DE will give France the choice to re-route the convoy through Salonika (rather than making this automatic, as in the regular game), provided Greece is aligned with the Entente. If Greece is not fully mobilized, re-routing this convoy will cost France 50 MPPs.

Comment: It seems reasonable that the Entente would have to pay neutral Greece to use the port of Salonika to supply Serbia. This also imposes a modest trade-off for the strategic benefit of being able to re-route the convoy.

12.4 Greek Convoy to Austria-Hungary

If Greece becomes aligned towards the Central Powers (0% or higher) through diplomacy and/or events, and if the Central Powers have occupied all of Serbia, the Eastern Mediterranean convoy from Greece to the UK will stop and a new overland convoy from Greece to Austria-Hungary will start running along the rail line from Athens to Budapest. Austria-Hungary is now the major for the Central Powers for Greece (to enable this convoy to fire).

12.5 Deployment of Greek Units

In the regular game, most Greek units will mobilize 50% of the time or less if an enemy unit is within the prescribed distance of their home base. This reflects the divided loyalties of the Greek army due to the political schism that emerged between the King and Prime Minister Venizelos. In this mod, that political fact is represented by the new Entente Intervention rules described above in 17.2. Instead in this mod, if Greece actually joins either the Entente or the Central Powers, there is a 100% probability that its units will mobilize as soon as enemy units are in range. In addition, the Greek corps in Salonika and the detachment in Kavalla mobilize as soon as Bulgaria joins the war, to prevent either town from being captured in a surprise attack.

12.6 Greek Build Restrictions

Greece can only start build new units in April 1916.

Comment: Greece was very slow to mobilize its army and really only geared up its war effort in 1917 after King Constantine was forced to abdicate. This limit prevents Greece from being a troop contributing minor until the latter half of the war.

13. Austria-Hungary

13.1 Naval Saboteurs

The DE for the Austro-Hungarian saboteurs attacking Italian port now cost 25 MPPs for two turns (rather than 50 MPPs for one turn).

Comment: The existing DE triggers early in the campaign at a time when Austria-Hungary needs all the MPPs it can get to build up its armies on the Italian frontier. This change makes this option easier to afford for Austria-Hungary.

13.2 Polish Legion

The DE for Josef Pilsudski's Polish Legion now costs Austria-Hungary only 1 X 30 MPPs and the unit arrives at the start of the third turn, on August 29, 1914.

Comment: The reduced cost more fairly reflects the value of the unit (it arrives at half strength) and it makes the DE more attractive for Austria-Hungary in the opening weeks of the war.

14. Denmark

If Denmark swings to 30% for the Central Powers, a loop is created in the Baltic allowing German ships to move through Denmark from the Baltic to the Kattegat. If you move your cursor over the Baltic near Denmark, the hexes of this new loop will be identified. German ships can also use the existing loop to move into the Baltic through Denmark without a causing Denmark to swing to the Entente. This is explained in a new DE that fires for the Central Powers when Denmark reaches 30%.

If Denmark swings 40% to the Entente, the same provisions will apply to all Entente ships. A different loop has been created for the Entente to use to move from the Baltic to the Kattegat, which is also visible if you move your cursor. A new DE fires for the Entente as well, explaining this.

The U.K. can allocate 5 diplomacy chits to Denmark; Russia, 3 chits and France 2. Italy and Serbia are blocked from allocated chits to Denmark but not the U.SA. For the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary can allocate 5 diplomacy chits each, but not the Ottomans.

Comment: these options create a limited ability for both sides to move from the Baltic to the North Sea without bringing Denmark fully into the war. It could lead to more naval combat in the Skagerrak and the Kattegat around Denmark, or the lower Baltic.

15. Egypt

To reflect the severe supply challenges of combat in the Sinai, the roads across the desert hexes in the Sinai and the Suez Canal have been removed from the map. The town of Nekhl in the middle of the Sinai has been removed too. El-Arish has been reduced in size to a settlement. It will have its supply value reduced to zero until U.K. can complete a rail line and a freshwater pipeline from Port Said to El Arish. A new DE gives the UK the option to rebuild the supply from El Arish starting in April 1916, provided that it controls the route from there to Port Said.

Comment: these modifications are intended to make it harder - though not impossible - for either side to mount attacks across the Sinai. Historically, the U.K. only launched its campaign to conquer Palestine in 1917 after the freshwater pipeline and rail line across the northern Sinai had been completed.

16. Finland:

If Finland becomes independent and is aligned with the Central Powers (after the German DE to send General von der Goltz there) it can swing an additional 20% if the Central Powers capture Revel in Estonia and an additional 20% if the Central Powers capture Narva.

Comment: this is intended to give the Central Powers an incentive to bring Finland fully into the war on their side so they can attack Petrograd from the north. This could encourage them to try to conquer Russia outright, rather than acceding to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

17. Gibraltar

If the UK does not enter the war on the first turn, a new DE pops up allowing the French navy (only) to use a naval loop to move through Gibraltar from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and vice-versa. The loop will operate without any delay between the two sea hexes due east and due west of Gibraltar. These hexes will be identified by a pop-up if you move your cursor over them. Once the UK is fully mobilized, this loop will disappear.

Comment: In the standard game, the French navy cannot pass by the UK fortress of Gibraltar until the UK enters the war. This is intended to remove that obstacle. See also the new provisions for Spain which can trigger a loop in Spanish African to by-pass Gibraltar.

18. Iceland

If Denmark swings to 30% for the Central Powers, a new DE gives Germany the option of gaining control of the port of Reykjavik for 100 MPPs.

Comment: this could be very useful for resupplying German subs raiding in the North Atlantic.

19. India

In this mod India has been added as an active U.K. minor. The units of the Indian Army that deploy in Egypt and Mesopotamia as a result of U.K decision events now arrive as Indian units. Karachi has been added as a port and an Industrial Centre on the map in Balochistan (since the map extends to this far western edge of British controlled India). Indian units that are built or rebuilt will appear here and can be transported from Karachi to Egypt, the Middle East or the Mediterranean. Two additional corps and one division have added to India's build limits over and above the units that arrive as DEs, in case the UK wishes to use them.

Comment: India was a major troop contributor the British Imperial forces in World War One, so it seems reasonable to give them this visibility in the game. The Entente has an incentive to use Indian Army units in Egypt and the Middle East (as was done historically), since it is faster and more secure to transport them there compared units coming from Great Britain, and they are better equipped than other U.K. forces to deal with the effects of summer heat.

[mdsmall]

Explanation of Changes, continued:

20. Italy

20.1 Convoy to Italy from France

A new DE has been written giving France the option of starting its convoy to Italy as soon as Italy enters the war. Previously, the Entente had to wait until Serbia had surrendered before the convoy from France to Italy could begin.

Comment: Depending on the situation in the Balkans, Italy may be able to make better use of the extra resources than Serbia. Also, Serbia may still have access to the convoy from Russia.

20.2 Italian Frogmen

The DE for the Italian frogmen against Austro-Hungarian ports now cost 25 MPPs for two turns (rather than 50 MPPs for one turn).

Comment: As with the equivalent change in the cost of the Austro-Hungarian saboteurs, this is intended to make this DE easier for Italy to afford early in the war.

20.3 Italian Armistice

A new armistice script has been added if Italian national morale falls to 25% or below. Austria-Hungary will be asked if they wish to respond positively to a signals that Italy is ready to sign an armistice. If they say YES, there is a 35% chance of the Italians signing an armistice each CP turn, as long as Italian national morale stays at 25% or below. If an armistice is triggered, all forces on both sides will be automatically moved back to friendly territory and Italy becomes neutral. Italy will transfer territory in northern Italy to Austria-Hungary, including the towns of Brescia, Padua, Venice, Verona, and Udine. Austria-Hungary will earn 2500 NM points and Germany will earn 1500 NM points; France will lose 2500 NM points. However, if Austria-Hungary rejects the overtures for an armistice, Italy will gain 2500 NM points and will fight until it surrenders.

Comment: This script was added to make attacking Italy a more interesting strategic option for the Central Powers. They can gain permanent NM gains and inflect a NM loss on France while permanently protecting Austria-Hungary's southern border from attack if an armistice with Italy is accepted. However, if the CP side fights on and pushes Italy to surrender, then the NM benefits and costs will be double the above amounts and the Central Powers can threaten to invade France from the south. The threshold for triggering feelers towards an armistice has been set at a relatively high threshold (25%) to reflect the brittle level of public support in Italy when the war starts to go badly.

21. Libya

21.1 The Senussi Uprising

The DE for the Ottomans to fund the Senussi revolt has been moved up to August 7, 1915, and the trigger has been set at 25%. This will make the starting date for the revolt somewhat more unpredictable for both sides.

More partisan spawning hexes and more spawning events have been added to in Libya to make it difficult for the Italians to prevent Senussi partisans from spawning. The spawning hexes south of Tobruk have the highest likelihood of spawning partisans, the ones further west have a lower trigger per turn. The maximum number of Senussi partisans that can be active at one time is 4.

Senussi partisans have the same increases in combat and movement capabilities as Arab partisans.

Comment: these changes were made to make the Senussi uprising a more potent threat to the Italian position in Libya, and to partially offset the increased threat to the Ottomans from the Arab uprising.

21.2 Italian Garrisons

A 5 strength Italian Colonist Garrison will mobilize in Benghazi if CP forces (including partisans) approach within three hexes.

22. Morocco

Two more partisan spawning hexes have been added to Morocco. If one Moroccan partisan hex spawns on a 2% chance, the chances of the other two partisan hexes spawning increases to 10%. The cost to Germany of funding the Moroccan partisans has been reduced from 50 to 30 MPPs. This DE now triggers with a 20% chance starting in November 1914. If Germany says YES, France has a 20% chance of receiving a pop-up advising that German agents are funding subversion in the Riff.

Comment: these adjustments makes the German option to fund subversion in Morocco more attractive and should require France to pay a bit more attention to Morocco over the course of the game.

23. Netherlands

The U.K. and France may each allocate 5 diplomacy chits to the Netherlands. Russia, Italy and Serbia are blocked from allocated diplomacy to the Netherlands, but not the U.S.A. For the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary can allocated 5 diplomacy chits each, but not the Ottomans.

24. Norway

If Norway swings to 40% for the Central Powers, Germany obtains control of the ports of Bergen and Stavanger.

The Norwegian convoy to the U.K. that is triggered when Norway reaches 20% for the Entente will shift from Narvik to Trondheim if Sweden also moves to 20% for the Entente. The Norwegian convoy to the U.K. will terminate in the port of Rosyth rather than Cromarty.

The U.K can allocate 5 diplomacy chits to Norway; France 3 chits and Russia 2 chits. Italy and Serbia are blocked from allocated chits to Norway, but not the U.SA. For the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary can allocate 5 diplomacy chits each, but not the Ottomans.

Comment: securing these two Norwegian ports could prove very useful for German naval attacks against the Entente blockade line in the North Sea. Rosyth is a much bigger industrial center and thus a more logical endpoint for these convoy than Cromarty. The slightly longer convoy route may offer some additional raiding options for German subs.

25. Portugal

Portugal starts the war 50% aligned for the Entente, which will increase to 60% after the Germans surrender in South-West Africa in July 1915. A new DE has been added that fires on March 25, 1916, reflecting the historic events that brought Portugal into the war on the Entente side. Portugal will swing to 85% for the Entente, followed by a 75% chance that the Central Powers will declare war on Portugal. Portugal can also swing 3- 6% towards the Entente if Germany has ships on the convoy route that passes in front of Lisbon to Bristol, or near Lisbon.

Comment: these events can bring Portugal into the war on the Entente side by early 1916 at a cost of 50 MPPs, perhaps aided by one or two diplomacy chits if the Central Powers do not declare war.

26. Russia

26.1 Deployment of the Russian Navy

On the first Entente turn in August 1914, Russia is given the choice through three new Decision Events of deploying one sub, one destroyer and one heavy cruiser in either the Baltic or the Black Sea. At the end of that turn, a new DE gives Russia the same options for launching their second dreadnought, which arrives in June 1915. The DE that fires in December 1914 offering Russia the option of building a seaplane carrier, also comes with the option of building it in the Baltic or the Black Sea. The Russian naval mine that was placed in the Gulf of Finland in the regular game has been removed, giving the Russians two mines they can place on either coast.

Comment: these modifications give the Russians more options in deciding how to allocate their navy between their two separate coastlines and against different enemies.

26.2 Caucasian and Turkestan Corps

The Caucasian and Turkestan Corps that mobilize for Russia have been reclassified from mountain corps to regular corps. The exception is the 1st Caucasian Corps which is now the 1st Caucasian Mountain Division.

Comment: in the regular game, four Caucasian and Turkestan units arrive as a mountain corps - which makes Russia the only power that receives these units for free. It also gives Russian forces an excessive advantage against their Ottoman opponents in the Caucasus. This change corrects this imbalance while still giving Russia one free mountain division at the start of the game.

26.3 Russian Surrender

If Russia surrenders to the Central Powers (rather than signing an Armistice at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) both Germany and Austria-Hungary receive 5000 NM points.

26.4 NM Objectives

Russia's NM losses for Warsaw and Brest-Litovsk have been modified, as noted above.

26.5 Tech Restrictions

Russia's ability to invest in Trench Warfare and Industrial Tech has new limitations, as noted above. Russia does not start with level one in Command and Control, but it does start with one chit in this tech.

27. Spain

If Spain reaches 20% for the Central Powers, a new DE will give Germany the option of spending 50 MPPs to obtain access to the ports of Tangier and Melilla in Spanish Africa. A new loop will come into effect allowing one Central Power ship per turn to move between these two ports, by-passing the British fortifications in Gibraltar. The loop fires 75% of the time.

Comment: This will give the Central Powers some flexibility to either reinforce their fleets in the Mediterranean or in the Atlantic. Given that the Entente can relatively easily blockade these two ports, they will most likely be used by CP submarines rather than surface ships.

If Italy withdraws from the war or surrenders, Spain will swing 30% towards the Central Powers. This will normally be sufficient to trigger the DE offering the Central Powers the option to gain access to these ports in Spanish Africa.

Comment: This swing was added to increase the chances that this new Spanish naval loop will come into play in a later stage in the game. It seemed reasonable that if Italy is defeated that neutral Spain would shift its alignment somewhat towards the Central Powers.

28. Sweden

If Sweden and Norway both reach 20% to the Entente, the Swedish convoy to Germany will be re-routed through Narvik and will flow to the U.K. To enable this, the port of Narvik and three rail hexes in northern Norway will be transferred to Sweden. This convoy is worth 30 MPPs per turn; unlike the Swedish convoy to Germany, it is not affected by winter as Narvik is an ice-free port. Like the Norwegian convoy, the Swedish convoy to the U.K. will terminate in the Rosyth.

Russia can allocate 5 diplomacy chits to Sweden; France 3 chits and the U.K. 2 chits. Italy and Serbia are blocked from allocated chits to Norway, but not the U.SA. For the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary can allocate 5 diplomacy chits each, but not the Ottomans.

Comment: These changes are intended to give the Entente an additional incentive to use diplomacy to swing Sweden away from the Central Powers.

29. Switzerland

29.1 Swiss capitals

Geneva and Zurich have been added as alternate capitals for Switzerland.

Comment: given that Switzerland is a decentralized, federal state, it is realistic that they could move their capital if Berne is captured.

29.2 Swiss mobilization

The German Decision Event to send agents to influence Switzerland to swing towards the Central Powers has been reduced in cost from 70 to 50 MPPs.

Comment: it seemed reasonable to reduce the cost of this DE to the equivalent of one diplomacy chit.

30. United States

30.1 The Zimmerman Telegram and its Aftermath

Comment: this single event has been converted in a series of interlocking DEs, reflecting the fact that there were four parties involved: Germany, Britain, the USA and Mexico and they each had their own calculations to make. Although it is still a desperation move by Germany, they now have more incentives to attempt it; and this will force some risk assessments by the British and the Americans.

Germany is presented the DE to send the telegram to Mexico as soon as U.S.A. mobilization reaches 70%. If Germany chooses to send the telegram, there is an 80% chance that British intelligence will intercept it.

If they do, the UK then must decide whether to leak the telegram to President Wilson or not. If they do, there is a 70% chance he will believe it - in which case the USA will go to war immediately. But there is also a 30% chance he will think it is a forgery - in which case the USA will swing 30 - 35% away from the Entente.

If UK decides not to leak the telegram or they fail to intercept it, Germany must decide whether to follow through in making a 50 MPP arms shipment to Mexico as a down payment. If they do, there is a 66% chance the Mexican government will accept the Germany's proposal of an alliance, in which case Germany will make a second 50 MPP payment to Mexico. There is also a 33% chance they will reject the German offer, keep the money, and maintain their neutrality.

If Mexico accepts the German offer, the US government has to decide whether to send a punitive expedition to Mexico, which will cost 3 X 50 MPPs and cause U.S. alignment against Germany to drop by 20 - 25%. The alternative is that the US government could ignore the threat from Mexico to keep their current level of mobilization against the Central Powers, but accept 5000 NM hit, a permanent loss of 20 MPPs per turn (needed to shore up the southern border) and a 10 - 20% swing towards the Central Powers on a 75% chance by other CP aligned neutrals in Europe (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands).

30.2 General Pershing

Once a cease-fire is reached with Mexico, or the USA goes to war with the Central Powers (whichever comes first) the U.S.A. has a new DE to create a HQ for General Pershing in Washington at a cost 4 X 50 MPPs. If there has been an American punitive force sent to Mexico, Pershing will arrive with one point of experience.

Comment: Pershing was given command of the U.S. Army in early 1917, before the U.S.A. entered the war, after commanding the punitive expedition against Pancho Villa in Mexico (covered in one of the information pop-ups in the game). This DE reflects that fact and also gives the U.S.A a chance of having an HQ which they can afford when they enter the war.

30.3 Spanish Flu Events

Comment: the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic was a major factor in the last year of the war which so far is missing from the game. These changes model the early stages of the flu pandemic, as they affected American forces being sent to France and other Entente units in affected ports. The effects are similar to the Serbian and Ottoman typhus epidemics in 1914.

Starting in February 1918 if the U.S.A. has entered the war, American land and naval units on or within one hex of the ports on the East Coast of the U.S.A will have a 20% chance per hex of being affected by the "Spanish Flu". Affected units will lose 1-2 strength points and will suffering a 10% - 40% loss in unit morale loss. The flu will then spread in March to all Entente units within one hex of ports in Western France, and then move on in April to ports on both sides of English Channel up to Boulogne and London. In April it will affect Entente units with a diminished risk of 10% per port hex.

31. Information Settings

New pop-ups have been written in the form of memos to different leaders describing the diplomatic dynamics at play with many of the minors in this mod.

If you wish to turn these offs, go to the Options menu before you make the first move, click Advanced, then Scripts, and then Decisions. At the top of the Event list on the right, untick DE175 and the new diplomatic pop-ups will not appear in the game. If you untick DE174, the existing strategic advice pop-ups will not appear. If you untick DE173, the historic event pop-ups will no longer appear. These options can be very handy if you are doing a hotseat test and do not need the eyestrain of having to click past these pop-ups to make each move.

32. AI Settings

The AI settings in the game have been adjusted to encourage the AI to carry out research and make purchases reflecting the new features in this mod (e.g., buying Heavy Artillery units). All of the new Decision Events have been given probabilities of firing for the AI which reflect a reasonable amount of risk-taking. A few new scripts - for example the British amphibious assault on Gallipoli in early 1915 or the Serbian retreat into Albania - have been set at 0% for the AI, because they require a degree of co-ordination with other moves by the same side which it is not possible to script in advance.

One significant AI setting that has changed is the probability of France declaring war on Belgium in September 1914 if Germany has not attacked in the West has been reduced to 50% (from 80% in the regular game). Instead, if the AI does not attack, it will aggressively try to bring Belgium into the war on the Entente side using diplomacy. This was done to give the Entente an alternative to attacking Belgium, given the heavy NM costs of doing so for France and especially the UK. If there is no German offensive into Belgium, the AI has been scripted to send UK forces to Egypt to carry out offensive operations there. Portuguese units (when they enter) will be sent to Egypt or Mesopotamia.

33. 1916 Campaign

A new campaign has been added using the mod, starting with the CP turn on January 1, 1916.

Serbia has retreated into Albania and is on the point of surrender. The British army is building up in Flanders for its summer offensive in the Somme. In the east, the Russians have lost Poland and Lithuania, but have amassed a significant army in Ukraine which they can use to launch the Brusilov Offensive. Austria-Hungary has defeated Serbia but is stretched by the new front in Italy and by the Russian threat to Galicia. At the same time, the Entente has finally abandoned their beachhead at Gallipoli but are holding on to the territory around Salonika that has transferred to French control. The Senussi revolt has started in Libya, and the Arab Revolt is about to begin. Germany has reached the peak size of its submarine fleet and has already declared unrestricted naval warfare against the Entente blockade, bringing the USA to 35% mobilization. Overall, this campaign offers a new option for players who are very familiar with the opening moves of the war and who want to start the game in mid-war while everything is still in play.

The 1916 Icarus campaign uses all the same settings as the 1914 Icarus campaign. It assumes that the Entente has intervened in northern Greece and Serbia has decided to retreat to Albania. Russia has occupied Persian Azerbaijan. The UK has seized Basra and is receiving the oil convoy from Persia. Russia has placed its naval units in their historical settings between the Baltic and the Black Sea. The Ottomans have funded the Senussi uprising.

There are only three specific additions to the 1916 campaign from the 1914 game. First, the British have sent an Indian Army division to capture Baghdad and it has been surrounded and besieged by the Ottomans at Kut-al-Amara in lower Mesopotamia. This happened in 1915 and was only resolved when the British surrendered in April 1916.

Second, France is given a new DE on their first turn offering a choice of sending an artillery unit from Gallipoli either back to France or to the new Salonika front. This is intended to increase the Entente's chance of holding on in Salonika if they choose to reinforce their position there.

Third, a new script has been added that will increase Romanian mobilization for the Entente to 60% as soon as the Russians make some gains in Galicia. This is intended to reflect the interest in entering the war that Romania started to show in early 1916, which led them to joining the Entente in June 1916.

The front lines have been placed where they were at this point of the war. The order of battle for each major is based on the units they would have received from August 1, 1914, onward, plus some losses due to combat.

I have set the National Morale levels at levels that reflect the NM events that have happened by January 1, 1916, plus a reasonable assumption of the military losses by both sides. Tech levels for each major have been based on an estimate of what each major could have achieved by that point - recognizing that tech setting can only be allocated whole numbers, and not in percentages reached by that turn. Each major starts with the amount of MPPs they would have received at the end of the previous turn.

[ReinerAllen]

Tried to DL from Dropbox, but the mod doesn't show up to download.

Any thoughts?

[mdsmall]

Tried to DL from Dropbox, but the mod doesn't show up to download.

I have checked the settings and recopied the link into my first post above. Please try it again.

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Tried to DL from Dropbox, but the mod doesn't show up to download.

I have checked the settings and recopied the link into my first post above. Please try it again.

I just tried the download link and it works fine as of 12pm PST 3-18-23

[ReinerAllen]

Success. That one worked.

Thanks.

[mdsmall]

Based on recent feedback from Go_Rascals, I have corrected a glitch in the script for Romanian surrender in both the main 1914 Icarus campaign (Version 5) and the 1916 Icarus campaign. The most up to date version of both mods are in the dropbox folder. See the link in the first post in this thread.

Michael

[mdsmall]

Hi - based on further play-testing, I have been able to correct some glitches in the opening moves of Icarus 1916 campaign. These concern control of some captured territory in Greece and the Caucasus, and in a few of the initial land and naval deployments. However, I have not yet been able to adjust the AI scripts to respond properly to the new starting positions in this scenario. I will post another note here when that is done. In the meantime, while the AI works well enough to enable you to study this game, I recommend playing it in MP mode. This caveat does not apply to the 1914 Icarus campaign which seems to work well in SP mode.

A new updated version of the 1916 campaign is now in the Icarus mod DropBox. You can find the link at the top of this thread. Just download the folder labelled 1916 Icarus.v1 and the file 1916 Icarus.v1.cgn. I look forward to hearing feedback from players who have tried playing it.

Michael

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Hi, here's a link to a series on YT covering Michael Small's Icarus 1916 scenario that he has included with his latest update for his excellent Icarus 1914 Mod.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXP1qBd64jo

[Chernobyl]

This mod is great!

[mdsmall]

Hi Chernobyl,

I am glad you like the mod and this feedback is great! I will post my replies to you in the thread below titled "Feedback on the Icarus Mod" so readers do not have to scroll past my lengthy guide to the mod posted higher up in this thread to see you comments and my replies. I will also reply in a few separate posts to make it easier for readers to follow the discussion on specific points.

You have caught a couple of glitches in both the 1914 Version 5 of the mod and the 1916 Version 1. I will correct those immediately. The link to the corrected versions of both campaigns will be in the post at the top of this thread.

Michael

[mdsmall]

As mentioned in the post above, I am regularly making corrections to any glitches discovered in both the 1914 and 1916 Icarus mod campaigns. I am updating files for each campaign as well as the Guide in the dropbox link given in the first post in this thread.

Before playing either campaign, check to see if you have the most up to date version of the mod files, as follows:

The most recent version of the _1914 Icarus.v5 folder is dated March 13, 2023;
The most recent version of the _1914 Icarus.v5.cgn file is dated April 27, 2023

The most recent version of the _1916 Icarus.v1 folder is dated April 1, 2023;
The most recent version of the _1916 Icarus.v1.cgn file is dated April 27, 2023

The most recent version of Icarus V.5.docx file is dated April 27, 2023.

[mdsmall]

I have just corrected a glitch in the mod that was recently reported by shri which was limiting players from reversing national morale losses if they recapture a formerly friendly NM objective hex from the enemy. (See his AAR on his current play-test of the mod in the AAR forum). For the corrected version of the mod, please go to the Dropbox folder linked at the beginning of the thread. Check to make sure you are downloading the .cgn dated August 6, 2023.

Michael

[shri]

Thanks Michael for this prompt correction.

P.S.: Had the Germans not been in so much of a hurry to counter-attack, i wouldn't have had this problem

[shri]

//- Reducing the ability of the Russian economy to grow so huge, so fast. This could be done by only allowing the Russians to invest two chits in Industrial Production, rather than three.//

Perhaps this needs to be reduced to 1 chit at a time in IP, the Russians gain a whooping 125 MPP or so for every level, even in WW2 till 1943 they never managed to ever outproduce Germany (considering Germany fought on several fronts in both wars) and in WW1 the German army was very well armed and trained (for the tech available) whereas those memetic WW2 hordes were actually in WW1 not WW2 (where in 1941 they actually had a working sub-machine gun).
In WW1 the Russian reserve infantry units often had a battalion or even two without any arms whatsoever, sometimes not even proper uniforms which they would pick from dead and wounded and march into the front lines.

[shri]

Hey Michael,
some feedback from the 1916 game i am currently playing from both sides.

1. Germany should start with full trench, level 5 thus giving minimum level 6 entrenchments. It was bloody hard for the English to fight at the Somme and it should be. Right now an English well time offensive can reach Lille and roll the left flanks. Far too fast and early historically. Historically, Germans built the formidable Seigfried (called Hindenburg by the English) line which was the best trenches of the entire war and nearly impregnable (other than the high mountains of the Dorian by Bulgaria and Trentino by Austria and Italy).

Germany also can start with level 2 submarine and level 2 Air-ships and maybe 1 more Zeppelin, after all major Zeppelin raids and Submarine raids occurred in 1916. It maybe can start with Naval Warfare researched, thus giving the German player an alternative to spend massive MPP to upgrade German ships and fight a Jutland. (otherwise fighting Jutland is nonsense in 1916).
Additionally, General Bulow was dead by 1916 and Kluck was into retirement, maybe von Below and some other maybe von Hutier can replace those 2. (this gives a slight advantage to the Germans and compensates for 2 additional Russian corps to some extent).


2. I understand the need for Historical accuracy demands Monte N**** and Albania and Serbia surviving into 1916, but their ends give AH a-historically high NM and extra MPP. Maybe they can start dead and Serbian army in Albania preparing for departure. A-historical but game wise more balance. This will compensate by removing free NM and MPP for Austria.


3. Russian artillery esp. Heavy artillery needs to start in the build (it should need minimum 3 turns to deploy), right now in turn 2 or max 3 you can launch Brusilov and reach Oil fields. But Russia needs more troops on the northern Front, maybe the "Detachments" can be replaced by Corps.
Historically at the time of Brusilov, Russians outnumbered Germans around 3:2 at the beginning and 2:1 at the end (due to Germans sending troops to help AH). An additional 2 corps for the Russians one between Riga and Duagapolis and one near Minsk will help to stabilise the line for more turns.


4. French and English both can start with 1 heavy artillery in the build, arriving in 2/3 months. They both delayed the Somme offensive for artillery reasons. On the other hand, UK can have maybe 2 detachments in the Western desert to deal with Senussi. Right now Senussi can become a real challenge and can take Benghazi and threaten Tobruk.


5. Arabian revolts working great, true nuisance for Ottomans. But Kut-Al-Amara is getting some supplies (no idea from where), shouldn't be so. Maybe that Corps needn't start as it does allowing Ottomans to deploy further ahead and make it tougher for the English to march up in Mesopotamia.


6. Level 1 infantry (though not level 0) perhaps should give 1 offensive and 2 defensive thus making it more difficult to kill. In 1916 the fronts didn't move easily in the Western part. Similarly for level 2 infantry also. Though this perhaps should be restricted to only - Germany, France and UK. With Germans starting the campaign with 1 chit, thus giving them a small advantage to reach it earlier.

As far as i understand-
Level 0 (base infantry) - Mostly flat infantry guns, very limited co-ordination and limited ammunition, few or no howitzers, few heavy machine guns, primitive communication of horse riders and pigeons. More of a manpower heavy formation.

Level 1 infantry is - Howitzers, Mortars, very high ammunition and co-ordination, lots of Heavy Machine guns, many Light Machine guns and good telephone lines cables for communications

Level 2 - Huge number of Howitzers and Mortars, Nearly unlimited ammunition and full co-ordination with balloons + forward aircraft spotters + artillery observers etc, Huge numbers of Machine guns (similar to the modern infantry), Trench clearing equipment like shot guns, flame throwers etc. Grenades, modern training, excellent communications etc. More of a firepower heavy formation.

[DustyJenkins560]

This mod is really great, both games I'm playing using the mod are some very exciting matches.

[mdsmall]

This mod is really great, both games I'm playing using the mod are some very exciting matches.

I am glad to hear that you are enjoying the mod! Many thanks for the feedback.

Michael