SerbiAAR: a veteran Serbia-only AAR

[FOARP]

Hi again. In this game I'm playing Serbia with similar rules to my previous Austria-Hungary AAR. Specifically, I'll only control other countries to give myself convoys and do diplomacy, or if their units come on to the Serbian front.

This game is going to be played set on veteran difficult so it should be quite a bit more difficult. indeed I may be lucky to survive the first year without being crushed by the Central Powers. If I am I'll probably switch this to being an Italy-only AAR.

There's only on thing I've modded from the base game for this AAR - Albania will be a Serbian minor. Whilst I know that relations between Albania and Serbia are not close, this still makes more sense than having Albania be governed than either Italy or Russia.

[FOARP]

8 August, 1914 - In the first turn the detachment guarding Belgrade got severely mauled. However, Belgrade just about held and now an infantry corps has moved up to the line and dug in. At least for the moment things seem secure. In Belgium, the Germans have already captured Brussels...

In terms of MPP, France and Russia will send everything they can. Rather than operate the army in southern Serbia up to the front line I'm having them march in order to save resources. I hope to at least start researching trenches soon. I'm going to need them!

[FOARP]

22 August 1914, Serbian front - The Serbian Royal Army is now dug in all along the front and reinforced as best as the resources of the small kingdom (and it's larger supporters) will allow. All the same the odds are stacked against it.

Speaking of support from larger powers, the convoy route from France was briefly threatened by Austro-Hungarian warship until a Royal Navy battlecruiser chased them away.

Elsewhere on the map the Germans have already entered Lille and are battering on the gates of Nancy. In the east the Russians have made a good start, though - Tarnopol is nearly surrounded and Gumbinnen is in the hands of the Tsar.

[FOARP]

5 September, 1914 - Serbian forces have now been reinforced by the South Serbian Corps, and it appears that the Austro-Hungarian offensive has been stopped all along the line. A local counter-attack even destroyed an Austro-Hungarian detachment that had been damaged in an attack on Belgrade. Meanwhile I've been able to invest 50 MPP in trench warfare. With the coming of winter, hopefully we'll be able to get Serbian forces up to full strength and possibly make some counter-attacks somewhere on the map. Hold tight!

Elsewhere the Germans have withdrawn slightly near Lille as the French stage an offensive into Belgium. Unless the Germans can take Ypres next turn the Allies should be able to hold them. In the East Tarnopol has fallen and the Russians are now battering at Lemberg.

[FOARP]

19 September, 1914, Serbian Front - The forces of the Serb king have successfully destroyed another Austro-Hungarian corps mauled in the fighting around Belgrade. Albania has joined the Entente and the weak Albanian Gendarmerie detachment will join the front presently (don't worry, I will deploy them where they can do minimal harm).

In the west the Germans have failed to capture Ypres and have been driven from Lille. In the East the Austro-Hungarians have relieved Lemberg. this looks like it may last a long time....

[FOARP]

10 October, 1914, Serbian Front - Spotting an opportunity, and trusting that the defences in the Bosnian Mountains near Sarajevo will hold a little bit longer, my forces have carried out an offensive on the North bank of the Sava, towards Novi Sad. Good progress has been made, and an Austro-Hungarian detachment has been destroyed.

Elsewhere the Germans have re-entered Lille, captured Kutno, and the Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive seems to be gaining ground in Galicia.

[FOARP]

7 November, 1914, Serbian Front - The rains have come after an eventful 1914 campaign. I've been able to invest a chit on infantry weapons as well, so Serb forces will hopefully be able to weather the coming storm in 1915. Along the front the Serbs have held though the corps holding the line near Sarajevo has been virtually destroyed a number of times and reinforced (at great expense) each time.

Elsewhere the German and Austro-Hungarians continue to make progress against the Russians, with Lodz now in the hands of the Central Powers.

[FOARP]

5 December, 1914, Serbian Front - In the depths of winter (where there is no snow yet...) the Montenegrin army are conducting an offensive into Bosnia aimed at outflanking the Austrian Corps advancing along the Adriatic Coast. The Serbian army forces defending near Sarajevo are thus granted a reprieve. I invest in a chit on aerial warfare - whilst the Austro-Hungarian air raids at the moment are strictly of nuisance value, I know they will grow ever more intense so a fighter wing will be needed to protect my forces.

[FOARP]

2 January, 1915, Serbian Front - My advance near Sarajevo is forced back. The snows come, but so does a outbreak of typhoid that causes a lot of units to fall in strength. A massive Austro-Hungarian attack on Belgrade involving four corps is stopped by my detachment there, which falls dangerously low in strength before being brought up to strength from my limited resources. Adding to my troubles, an Austro-Hungarian cruiser and submarine are raiding my convoys from France. All-in-all, a bleak start to the year.

In the west the Germans are battering against Ypres with little success. Rather more success attends the attack towards Warsaw, which is now at the gates of the city and surrounds the fortress of Novo-Georgievsk on three sides.

[FOARP]

27 February, 1915 - The snows continue to fall, but my luck improves a bit with the destruction of another Austro-Hungarian infantry corps on the front before Belgrade. As the Austro-Hungarians have now lost 2 detachments and four corps in total, they appear to have suffered the majority of their losses in fighting with Serb troops. A gap opens that could allow a corps to attack their bombers - but none has the capacity left move into the gap, and even if one did, they would likely be crushed on the next turn.

Out of sight behind the Austro-Hungarian lines, but visible during a break in the bad weather on the CP turn, is a heavy rail-mounted gun that now points straight at Belgrade. And in distant Poland, the fort of Novo-Georgievsk has now fallen to the Kaiser's men...

I've put one more chit on trench warfare this turn. Looks like we're going to need deeper dug-outs!

[FOARP]

10 April, 1915, Serbian Front - Another turn where the Austro-Hungarians batter at the Serb defences near Belgrade. This time a Serbian corps defending the banks of the Danube opposite Novi Sad loses half of its men and is driven into retreat. A badly damaged Austro-Hungarian corps advances into the gap but is in turn destroyed in a counter-attack. Fresh men are brought in to restore the situation and the damaged corps is moved on to a marginally more quiet bit of front.

In Poland the town of Radom falls. Bulgaria is encouraged by each victory of the Central Powers on this front, and the one thing Serbia cannot survive is a combined attack from Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary.

[FOARP]

8 May, 1915, Serbian Front - This turn I focus on reinforcing my front line units to bring them back up to strength. At least three new Austro-Hungarian infantry corps have been identified on my front, so my respite may be brief.

On other fronts things look dark. Ypres has fallen and Belgium has surrendered. Nancy has also been taken by the Kaiser's men. The Italians look likely to enter the war soon which should more than offset the impact of the Ottoman declaration of war in April - the British decided to send the dreadnought to them which will now go on patrol to sink Entente ships! I hope this was worth the ~6 month delay they bought!

[FOARP]

5 June, 1915, Serbian Front - The Austro-Hungarian batters my defences north of Belgrade but fails to break through, and in return I risk a crossing of the Danube in order to deliver a right-hook against an exposed Austro-Hungarian infantry corps. The results are less successful than I would have wished, but at least causes some damage. Unfortunately the advance of my corps on the right on my line near the Romanian border uncovers the arrival of Austro-Hungarian artillery to which I have no counter...

In the Adriatic the Austro-Hungarian navy advances a pre-dreadnought into my all-important supply-line from France. This is countered with great difficulty by the deployment of numerous Entente naval units, including the Italians, who joined the Entente this turn. The advancing Entente fleet was ambushed by an Austro-Hungarian submarine and a minefield, but at least sank the pre-dreadnought.

I am hoping that the Italians start to stretch the Austro-Hungarians a bit, I cannot take much more of this battering.

[FOARP]

3 July, 1915, Serbian Front - It seems that the Italian entry into the war has stretched Austro-Hungarian resources a bit, as two of the infantry corps opposite my forces have been withdrawn and replaced with weak detachments. I seize the opportunity and destroy one of them, advancing my forces into the gap.

It seems I am reaping the benefits of my earlier destruction of three enemy infantry corps, as had Emperor Franz-Josef still had these men at his disposal the Serbian Front would not need to have been weakened sufficiently for me to carry out this offensive.

[FOARP]

17 July, 1915, Serbian Front - A gap opens in the Austro-Hungarian front line exposing the heavy artillery unit that has been harassing Belgrade, however my forces are too exhausted from the offensives of the last month to take advantage of it. Instead I reinforce them as much as my meagre resources will allow - which is not much because German submarines are again raiding the convoy route from France, reducing my income.

On the Western Front the Germans are battering against Verdun from three sides, without any result other than high German casualties. Unfortunately the men of the Tsar have not been such stalwarts - Warsaw has fallen and the Tarnopol oil fields are back in the hands of the K.u.K. army.

[FOARP]

31 July, 1915, Serbian Front - Serbia is in grave danger after an Austro-Hungarian corps slips through the front and takes Uzice. A scratch force is assembled from various fronts and the corps is surrounded and destroyed. However, parts of the front are left undefended by this move - the gap at Belgrade can be covered by a newly recruited cavalry division, but the only unit available to cover the gap at Valjevo is an HQ unit. Let's hope the front holds!

[FOARP]

14 August, 1915, Serbian Front - Uzice is now back in Serb hands, and the front has stabilised, and our cavalry are on a tentative raid around the enemy's eastern flank. However, we are now seeing German troops arriving on our front lines. These will be much tougher opponents than Franz-Josef's men!

And as if to underscore that fact, the fortress of Verdun has now fallen.

[John B.]

Very interesting AAR!

[FOARP]

ORIGINAL: John B.

Very interesting AAR!

Thanks John!

PS - First time I've chatted with a sloop!

[FOARP]

28 August, 1915, Serbian Front - This turn a lucky hit against the Austro-Hungarian corps in front of Cetinje opens the way for an Albanian detachment to take Ragusa, encircling Franz-Josef's men in a trap. At the other end of the front my cavalry division is raiding further into the Austro-Hungarian rear.

Elsewhere the Italians have taken Trento but are on the brink of losing Udine, whilst Boulogne is close to falling in France. Russia's woes also continue.