Led By Donkeys - Western Powers AAR

[The Land]

July 1916: Bloody July on the Moselle

On the Western Front, Germany has been relentlessly counterattacking on the Ardennes and Moselle fronts. On several occasions the Germans now have been able to destroy even well-entrenched front line Corps and break into the rear areas, inflicting damage on artillery and HQs. On every occasion they have been thrown back with bloody losses - so far. Entente offensive capability is very limited against enemy units that are fantastically well entrenched.

Further progress to targets like Aachen, Luxemburg or Metz is considered very unlikely in the short term and the risk of the enemy taking a major French fort e.g. Verdun cannot be ruled out. Still, we have sufficient reserves to almost guarantee that any German advance will be limited in scope.

[The Land]

July 1916: The Live Bait Squadron

In the North Sea, the Royal Navy is mounting an offensive operation. Reconaissance by submarines located a German destroyer flotilla creating a mine barrier off the Frisian Islands, supported by a dreadnought squadron. HMS Queen Elizabeth, stationed in the Channel, sortied to sink the minelaying destroyers. The entire Grand Fleet has left its stations in the North Sea on the blockade line, to cover Queen Elizabeth. Hopefully German dreadnoughts will try to attack the retreating battleship - and be sunk.

The submarine war has also intensified recently. German submarines have been conducting unrestricted operations off the West coast of the UK, with a noticeable impact on British food supplies and morale. Fortunately several German submarines have been sunk and we have recently commissioned extra destroyers and coastal motor boats. Britain has 2 levels of ASW tech, which is very useful at this point.

[The Land]

Also a quick update on how the house rules are affecting the game!

As you will see, I have gone to town on Salonika and the Dardanelles. The jury is still out on whether this is a good move or not. Usually in single-player I'd just hammer the Germans and Austrians, until the Austrians surrender. However, with the Western Front crippled by giving Germany a tech advantage, and the Eastern Front crippled by having the AI play as Russia with a disadvantage against the Central Powers AI, that doesn't really work. So investing time in taking down the Ottomans is probably well spent. But I think that I'd probably have had more payoff by investing more effort in Egypt and possibly Mesopotamia.

In terms of research 'chits', at the start of the turn the position is as follows.
Britain: 8 earned, 2 as yet unspent, 6 spent on: Infantry Weapons, Infantry Warfare, Trench Warfare x 3, building Smith-Dorrien HQ
France: 9 earned, 2 as yet unspent, 7 spent on: Infantry Weapons x2, Infantry Warfare, Trench Warfare x 3, Gas and Shell Production
USA: 3 earned, none spent.

note that parts of that research hasn't completed yet!

This has, as intended, resulted in me diverting my spend away from some 'obvious' techs and towards some less obvious ones, while also creating a tech advantage for Germany. Which in turn has meant there's been more reason to focus on areas that aren't the Western Front. Good fun!

[The Land]

August 1916: Sofia falls, Sarajevo under siege

More baby steps in the Balkans. Sofia has fallen, but Bulgaria fights on! I expected it to surrender right away, but as Bulgaria actually has many units left in the field it may take several turns before it actually surrenders.

Constantinople is... under attack. Still. It's getting more difficult as British shell supply is pretty limited. The readiness of the Ottoman Corps holding Constantinople keeps falling, but there is no guarantee of success. On the beachheads on the East side of the Straits, there is still stiff Ottoman resistance and bloody fighting.

Serbian-British units have crossed the border into Bosnia-Herzegovnia and are currently investing Sarajevo. In bad news they have no artillery support. In good news, it's held by Austrians. In bad news, there is a German HQ right next door.

[The Land]

August 1916: Ardennes and Moselle continued

On the Western Front the ceaseless attrition continues. The Germans keep attacking, the British and French and Belgians keep counter-attacking. This turn the Germans very nearly destroyed the garrison of Belfort. Austrian cavalry were destroyed in the open near Liege, but powerful German artillery deters more counterattacks near Luxemburg.

The Central Powers line is starting to look ragged again - the Germans have retreated from contact in much of the Vosges sector, and there are Austrian units holding the line. But still there is no imminent potential to capitalise on this.

Tech update: Britain has now unlocked tank production and will build a tank corps soon. Both Britain and France have finally invested in Artillery Weapons. France has invested in Command and Control And, the British have finally fired the incompetent Sir John French and replaced him with the more competent General Hubert Plumer. Britain has 0 chits, France has 1 remaining (after earning 1 for the near loss of Belfort).

[The Land]

September 1916: Sara-YAY-vo and Constanti-NOPE-l

Mid-September 1916 and Sarajevo has fallen! It may be possible to make further progress into the Adriatic coast. But this will be hard going, particularly as the Central Powers seem determined to move as many troops as needed into the area.

Offensives against Constantinople have been paused for the autumn and winter to allow troops to rearm and shell stockpiles to rebuild. The Ottomans do at least seem to have un-garrisoned the land/sea hex east of Constantinople so the new plan is for the Royal Marines to land there and create a proper siege.

[The Land]

September 1916: Send Three and Fourpence, We Are Going to a Dance

In the West, the Germans have pulled back from the Moselle and Vosges fronts and the French are following up! This turn the Germans left an artillery unit exposed in the front line, which has been destroyed.

It will be important to keep up the pressure on this sector - both to maximise the opportunities, and to stop the Central Powers moving forces to the eastern fronts. After all the Germans can't afford to fall back much further - if Entente forces start taking cities within Germany, that's very bad news for them.

[FOARP]

Loving the AAR so far. How is the AI doing on the Russian front?

[The Land]

ORIGINAL: FOARP

Loving the AAR so far. How is the AI doing on the Russian front?

Glad you are enjoying it! Great to know

I am planning a series of situation posts for winter 16-17 shortly. But the brief answer is the Russians are doing appallingly, but still better than history. Kovno and Brest-Litovsk are still in Russian hands, and so is Riga (the latter being historical). They are also doing disastrously in the Caucasus where the Turkish are making a general advance and the only thing stopping them besieging Tblisi is the quality of the terrain they're going through.

Russia may well collapse completely during 1917 - their NM is just above 30% and they have a lot of territory (and therefore NM points) just waiting to lose.

[The Land]

New Year 1917: The East

Here is a summary of the Eastern Front at the very start of 1917, in the snows of winter. The Russians are hard-pressed with National Morale at a mere 27% (12,338 points left).

The Germans are at the gates of Riga, which is only held by a battered Corps at the moment. Further south the Russian position in Poland is much stronger with well established units protecting Kovno, Grodno, Bialystok and Brest.

Further south yet, the Austrians have not been able to push out of Galicia and into the Ukraine. The whole Ukraine is held by two Russian Corps, so if any Central Powers troops make a determined attack, they will inevitably succeed.

In the Caucasus, there are again 2 Russian Corps trying to hold the entire Front, outnumbered maybe 4:1 by the Turks, who will soon be able to take both Tiflis and Batum.

Russia's overall position is dire and any serious losses of territory will result in the collapse of the Tsarist regime and Russia's departure from the War.

The only good news is that British supplies have been increased massively since the Autumn and the Russians are reliably rebuilding 3 Corps every turn, which will hopefully be sufficient to maintain the Imperial Army's strength to a modest degree during 1917.

[The Land]

New Year 1917: Overall Situation

National Morale totals are now:

Britain 88% (44k)
France 67% (30k)
Serbia 63% (13k)
Russia 27% (12k)
Germany 38% (19k)
Austria-Hungary 30% (10k)
Ottomans 39% (9k)

US War Entry is 31%.

As you can see, Russia isn't the only place whose position is dire. I think it's likely that I can get the Ottomans out of the war by the end of Spring 1917. Then Russia will fall at some point during 1917. By then, however, both Germany and Austria are likely to be on their last legs - even with a bounce from defeating the Russians. It would now take some pretty bloody, one-sided losses for the French on the Western Front for France to topple before Germany.

Still... anything is possible....

[The Land]

March 1917: The Month of Revolutions - Russia

The inevitable has happened, and the Russian Tsar has fallen - after months of military humiliation, food shortages and labour unrest. Finland has declared independence, the Tsar has abdicated, and the country is now run by a Provisional Government composed of socialists, anarchists, communists, communards, democrats, and other undesirables.

To celebrate the occasion, the Germans assaulted Riga, destroying the garrison and capturing the city.

Russian Morale has increased to 30%, and the Western powers reaffirmed their support for any Russian regime that was prepared to keep on fighting.

Seen below is Alexander Kerensky, demagogue and newly-minted War Minister.

[The Land]

March 1917: The Month of Revolutions - Palestine and Arabia

However, Russia isn't the only place where revolution is afoot. This is the situation in the Holy Land, where British troops have finally taken Jerusalem, and Britain has declared Palestine an independent state under British protection.

The road to Jerusalem has been a long and hard one. In October there was a serious reverse as Ottoman troops counter-attacked British forces attempting to encircle the city with over-extended supply lines, resulting in the loss of one Corps and one Cavalry Corps. However the arrival of additional forces from the Mesopotamian Theatre and from Britain meant that troop levels could increase, including the addition of heavy artillery.

Further South, the Arab rebels have finally starved the garrison of Medina into submission, and have declared an independent Emirate - again, recognised by and allied with the Entente powers...

[The Land]

April 1917: Constantinople Falls

Great news, and some vital reassurance for the Entente powers! Constantinople has fallen! To put this in historical context:

330AD: Constantinople is given that name and becomes capital of the Eastern Roman Empire
1204: Constantinople besieged and taken by a mainly French Crusader army, sacked and looted
1453: Constantinople besieged and taken by the Turks, not sacked and looted
1917: Constantinople besieged and taken by a mainly French Entente army, not sacked and looted

The assault has been carefully planned since offensive operations were suspended in October. It is a true combined arms operation, involving air, sea, infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Several regiments of heavy and field guns from the Indian Army Artillery provided a well-planned preparatory bombardment, in close cooperation with an Anglo-French fighter and observation air force. French infantry units carefully trained and planned for the operation, using the latest experience gained in the bloody trench warfare of the Western Front.
Then at dawn on the 7th, there was a simultaneous assault by the French II Colonial Corps and also by a detachment of Royal Marines conducting amphibious landings on both sides of the Bosphorous. The attack proved to be a total success, with far lower than expected casualties. The French Foreign Legion in the second wave of assault managed to push through as far as the Bosphorous on only the second day of the attack. The Ottoman Government is widely expected to collapse shortly.

As you can see, after the artillery bombardment the French troops had exceptionally favourable odds of 1:7.

[The Land]

May 1917: The Seven-Power Plan for the Balkans

The Ottoman Empire has now surrendered. Syria and Mesopotamia join Palestine and Arabia as independent states under British protection, while Turkey itself is under French military administration.

The effect on Central Powers morale has been catalcysmic. Germany is on 18% (9.4k) and Austria-Hungary, 11% (3.6k). Russian morale has risen to 35% (16k). Furthermore, the Russian Provisional Government seems to be succeeding at rebuilding the Army, so there is no imminent threat of Russia being overwhelmed. In bad news though, Bolshevism is spreading in the Russian army and there is still a major risk of a Russian surrender in the long term.

Time to seize the opportunity and mount an offensive in the now-very-large Balkan theatre that can knock Austria-Hungary out of the War.

The Entente coalition here is composed of the local powers Montenegro, Serbia, Greece and Romania as well as Britain, France and Russia. Of course there are many other nationalities involved - Algerians and Moroccans in the French army, Indians and Australians and New Zealanders and Canadians in the British. The Western powers have several armies available now the Turks are finished. The plan is as follows

French Expeditionary Force under Dubail will move NW, finishing off the Bulgarians and move into Romania then push through the Transylvanian mountains onto the plain of the Danube, probably at the Iron Gates gorge. The Romanians and Russians will assist.

British Army of Turkey under Haig (which includes the Greeks) will move to assist the Serbian National Army around Nish and pushing on Belgrade and then into Slavonia. The Marines will detach for potential amphibious operations in the Adriatic.

British Army in of the Balkans under Hamilton will hold its positions around Uzice and support offensives on either its left or right flanks. (You will note that Sarajevo is back in enemy hands; this was a planned withdrawal as the position had become overextended.)

The British Army of Palestine under Smith-Dorrien will take transports to Montenegro and commence a push along the Adriatic coast. The Marines units will be attached to this force - if the Adriatic can be cleared of Central Powers submarines (which is a big 'if'), then they will conduct amphibious operations in the enemy's rear.

The overall concept is that this flurry of simultaneous blows will overwhelm the Central Powers at several points and provide a decisive end to Austria-Hungary as a political entity. If Austria-Hungary can be defeated then Germany will not be far behind.

No-one is putting dates on anything, but it seems likely the war will be over before the next winter.

[The Land]

May 1917: Third Battle of the Ardennes

Meanwhile on the Western Front, a new phase of the Battle of the Ardennes opens. The British are making an attempt to open the front between Aachen and Luxemburg, while there will be a secondary offensive on the Moselle front betwen Luxemburg and Metz. If successful, the next objective is Luxemburg. If that can be taken then there is a four-hex front with no major obstacles before the cities and factories of the Ruhr.

Here the newly formed Royal Tank Corps is about to assault a German reserve corps, after artillery preparation. Tanks are powerful units to lead an attack as they inflict extensive de-moralisation, reducing your target's Readiness and reducing casualties in the followup. However in this case the de-moralisation isn't even a factor - the Tank Corps has Hard Attack 6, and an effective readiness of 147% accounting for the prepared attack bonus. That means its expected damage is pretty near 9. It did, in face, do 9 damage - destroying the defending Corps at one shot.

[The Land]

June 2 1917: The screw tightens

June 2nd, 1917, and the screw has tightened another turn.

German Morale is now 14% (7k), Austrian is 9% (3k). Russian is 33% (15k).

In the Balkans, Entente troops are still mainly relocating. However, the Indian Army Artillery had first priority for transport and is already in action. They have participated in advance towards Kragujevac which eliminated two German Corps.

Elsewhere in the theatre the Belgians have retaken Sofia, which had been retaken by the Austrians and then re-encircled. The French have been engaged in mopping up the remains of the Bulgarian army in Eastern Bulgaria.

[The Land]

June 2 1917: The screw tightens pt2

On the Western Front, the Battle of the Ardennes is going well, with Eupen and Malmedy back in Belgian hands. Both Luxemburg and Metz are now vulnerable, being surrounded on 3 sides, and the mines at Briey are starting to enter production again. The line between Metz and Luxemburg was held by von Hindenburg's HQ, so the French took a break from other operations to ensure it was destroyed. Next turn, assaults on Luxemburg and Aachen are planned, with Metz also possible.

[nicwb]

With the Ottoman collapse what do you propose to do with the Commonwealth forces currently in the Middle East ?

[The Land]

ORIGINAL: nicwb

With the Ottoman collapse what do you propose to do with the Commonwealth forces currently in the Middle East ?

They're on their way to Montenegro to push up the Adriatic coast.

(And in this period - Empire, not Commonwealth )