Difficult

[stormbringer3]

I finally won playing as the CP by conquering Belgium and setting up a defensive line close enough to Paris to keep the AI worried about an offensive against Paris. I never launched another major offensive in France until late in the game. I focused on the East and was able to win the Campaign by attacking the Russians and Italy. After Russia surrendered I was free to assault France.
I hope this helps.

[catwhoorg]

With a couple of good dice rolls I think the Schlieffen plan can get you to Paris. Holding it is another thing...

Both game I have played as the CP (yay for a week off) I pretty much set my line around the Marne river, then focused on the East Front and Egypt.

Serbia fell both times, just in time to redeploy those forces to Italy (with a couple of new builds). Sent a fighter and AH-arty to help out the Turks (plus Bulgarian inf reinforcements after Romania was dealt with).

The AI really likes putting British stuff in Egypt, makes for a very interesting and dynamic fight. Got pushed back to N Lebanon both times, before the reinforcements turned it round.

[Empire101]

ORIGINAL: Myrddraal

The trick to beating the Serbs is to outmanoeuvre them. They start with a large army, but their economy can't support much more. You don't need to worry about the Serbian army expanding.

They start with a large force which is well entrenched. You won't be able to shift them through direct assault or attrition. Try instead to outflank them. Create salients where they leave a gap. Threaten to cut off their forces and you will force them to abandon their entrenched positions. This way you can capture Belgrade, and the economic blow caused by the loss of Belgrade can be enough to cause the chain reaction you need to roll them all the way back to the Greek border.

Serbia has a tough outer shell, but they don't have any reserves, economic or military.

After numerous clangers and schoolboy mistakes, I restarted a new campaign and followed Myrddraal's advice.

Myrddraals advice was spot on.

As soon as you start outflanking them a la Orms strategy in his game versus warspite, and develop the 'Nis' salient, the Serbs are doomed.

This screenshot will encourage any potential CP player!![:)]

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Empire101

ORIGINAL: Myrddraal

The trick to beating the Serbs is to outmanoeuvre them. They start with a large army, but their economy can't support much more. You don't need to worry about the Serbian army expanding.

They start with a large force which is well entrenched. You won't be able to shift them through direct assault or attrition. Try instead to outflank them. Create salients where they leave a gap. Threaten to cut off their forces and you will force them to abandon their entrenched positions. This way you can capture Belgrade, and the economic blow caused by the loss of Belgrade can be enough to cause the chain reaction you need to roll them all the way back to the Greek border.

Serbia has a tough outer shell, but they don't have any reserves, economic or military.

After numerous clangers and schoolboy mistakes, I restarted a new campaign and followed Myrddraal's advice.

Myrddraals advice was spot on.

As soon as you start outflanking them a la Orms strategy in his game versus warspite, and develop the 'Nis' salient, the Serbs are doomed.

This screenshot will encourage any potential CP player!![:)]

warspite1

Yeah and just so you know Empire, you CANNOT use that tactic next Tuesday. House rule for our game: You have to make full frontal attacks on the Serbian line - no outflanking.

[Empire101]

Fair enough Mr. W.

As long as we impose the 'other' House Rule, that Plan 19 must be followed to the letter by the Allied player in the opening weeks of the War.!!

I look forward to lots of hopeless attacks against the Franco-German border in the first months of the war, as my Prussian forces wheel round a la Schlieffen and are tucking into bratwurst and jagerschnitzel on the boulevards of Paris by winter 1914.

Yum!![:)][:)]

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Empire101

Fair enough Mr. W.

As long as we impose the 'other' House Rule, that Plan 19 must be followed to the letter by the Allied player in the opening weeks of the War.!!

I look forward to lots of hopeless attacks against the Franco-German border in the first months of the war, as my Prussian forces wheel round a la Schlieffen and are tucking into bratwurst and jagerschnitzel on the boulevards of Paris by winter 1914.

Yum!![:)][:)]

warspite1

Sadly, I do not know what Plan 19 is, ergo and theretofore I cannot allow your house rule [:)]

Looking forward to Tuesday!

What shall we call our AAR? We've had the Rumble in the Jungle, The Thriller in Manilla.... let's have a think about that. We need something appropriate for the Mother of all Battles!

[Empire101]

ORIGINAL: warspite1


Looking forward to Tuesday!

What shall we call our AAR? We've had the Rumble in the Jungle, The Thriller in Manilla.... let's have a think about that. We need something appropriate for the Mother of all Battles!

Indeed Mein Herr!! A duel of giants!!!![:D]
I have my false Kaiser moustache, a pickelhaube and a matchstick firing cannon ready for mobilisation.
So tremble in your boots kleiner entente, I am fully prepared for the campaign.

I've been following your AAR against Orm. Great!!

I shall have a think about the title, lets see......it must be to the point and punchy, yet magisterial and awe inspiring!!!

How about, 'The Great War, 1914-1918'......or do you think its been done before?[;)]

Here is a picture of myself in full attire in front of my computer ready for the game against Warspite.
( Note that the pickelhaube is actually made out of tinfoil....you can't be too careful these days. My resemblance to the Kaiser is purely intentional. )

[Hideous42]

There is one thing that the AI is able to do as Belgium that I cannot do on balanced or the AI starts the game with more units. On the very first turn Belgium is able to move for AI there is one more garrison unit in Antwerpen.

[Falke]

Either the AI has additional units or it has no production queue.(It produces without delay)

The AI Garrison Unit in Antwerp proves that one of the above apply. The latter would explain why no matter whether i play CP or entente the opponent seems initially overwhelming on the Russian front.

[Myrddraal]

I've been looking into this and can confirm it's a bug.

The AI is not supposed to receive this additional garrison unit unless you're playing on Privileged (in the same way that the player gets additional units in handicapped), but it appears the Belgian AI gets an extra garrison unit in all difficulties. This will be fixed in the patch.

EDIT: this bug does not affect the Russian front

[Ichirou989]

I was also wondering about that extra garrison unit the Belgians get. In truth though that garrison may not be a bad thing even on balanced, as once you figure out the optimal attack for the Germans through Belgium one can sweep through to Calais, the doorstep of Paris, and still take out Antwerp. I kind of feel that maybe that garrison should be there on balanced.

[TheWombat_matrixforum]

The Russians sure seem to get an awful lot of units--more than you get playing the Entente, and faster. It could just be observer bias, of course, as I have no way to confirm, really, but it seems like there's very little the CP can do to stave off the Russians unless you gut the Western front entirely. More bothersome though are the Italians, who not only seem to be able to generate, nearly instantly, a huge army, but also seem able to traipse across the Alps into southern Bavaria without any trouble, making it very hard for the CP to hold in the West with the additional forces needed to hold off the Italians.

I'm willing to accept that my handling of the Russians is my fault, but I'm also wondering whether it might not be best to have a tweak to the rules so that minor powers can't ship their armies out all over the map (Bulgarians to Flanders!) or mount long-range offensives in other people's territory (our Italian foreign legions).

[EUBanana]

Italy does seem extremely powerful. In the Entente it is a key power; I had them garrisonning Egypt in several games. [:D]

[Myrddraal]

Well, they did fight in Greece... but I take the point about there being _no_ units left in the home country. I think an effect on morale would be the best way to restrict this. We may be able to include something along these lines in the/a patch. As Lukas said, it's a little bit more complex than just the rule change, we also need to make the AI 'aware' of the rule.

[TheWombat_matrixforum]

ORIGINAL: Myrddraal

Well, they did fight in Greece... but I take the point about there being _no_ units left in the home country. I think an effect on morale would be the best way to restrict this. We may be able to include something along these lines in the/a patch. As Lukas said, it's a little bit more complex than just the rule change, we also need to make the AI 'aware' of the rule.

Absolutely. The game is working well enough as it is, no need to do anything radical. But there's always room for tweaking and improvement!

[Bossy573]

ORIGINAL: TheWombatBut
there's always room for tweaking and improvement!

Entente, Central Powers - it's all the same to me. I get rolled. I'll never be confused with Napoleon but damn. I have to be missing something game mechanic-wise because the computer AI is slaughtering me every time I boot the game up.

Suggesting a tweak: Let Bossy573 win one game mode.

[vonRocko]

ORIGINAL: TheWombat

Absolutely. The game is working well enough as it is, no need to do anything radical. But there's always room for tweaking and improvement!

I find the game easy, please don't make it easier.

[Vasquez]

^^ Ive just beaten the Central Powers at balanced in June 1917. The AI did pretty well during the first 2 years. But from middle 1916 they falled apart =) the AI started no Submarine Warfare tho. 

[TheWombat_matrixforum]

ORIGINAL: vonRocko

ORIGINAL: TheWombat

Absolutely. The game is working well enough as it is, no need to do anything radical. But there's always room for tweaking and improvement!

I find the game easy, please don't make it easier.

If you find it easy playing as the CP, I'd love to hear how you handle the Russians and Italians. I have yet to develop a strategy that works.

[vonRocko]

ORIGINAL: TheWombat

ORIGINAL: vonRocko

ORIGINAL: TheWombat

Absolutely. The game is working well enough as it is, no need to do anything radical. But there's always room for tweaking and improvement!

I find the game easy, please don't make it easier.

If you find it easy playing as the CP, I'd love to hear how you handle the Russians and Italians. I have yet to develop a strategy that works.

I don't know what to say, other than build enough troops and keep heavy pressure on France. Get Paris as early as possible, use artillary to get one city at a time. Italy seems to want to help France more than defend herself. When the pressures on France, she sends most of her troops there. I had no problem using AH artillary to roll through Italy. In Russia, all I can do is hold the line, till troops from the west show up. Focus research trenches all the way up.
On "balanced" I won the first try.[:D]