Apologies to those following along as I've skipped a few turns, largely because not much was happening. A bit more detail this turn.
Stalemate on the Western Front (some light trading of corps, but no breakthroughs) and similar in the East. Galician line has been static although there's been a bit of action in Prussia. Of note, to keep Konigsberg alive for as long as possible, KZ was ferrying his troops out via transports and replacing them with fresh corps and marines. With the Russian navy still barricaded in dry dock under siege for the better part of a year by the German fleet, they couldn't assist to prevent it. Fortunately, that trick has a limited lifespan and this turn he finally gave it up, with the corresponding NM hit.
In Galicia the Russians have been sniping key towns. This turn they hit and took Krakow with relative ease. It seems to have caught the Austrians a little on the back foot as there was no reserve line behind it, so Russian troops have stormed in and captured the town behind it just adjacent to a juicy mine.
In the Caucasus a steady drumbeat of artillery has whittled down the Ottoman presence here.
In Iraq, the Brits are starting to push up against an unsupported force of a few Ottoman detachments and the odd corps. Don't think there's an OE HQ here so progress should be slow (owing to terrain and supply issues) but steady.
Bit of a potential breakthrough in Gaza. British troops split the Ottoman line in two, and landed Royal Marines behind the Ottoman HQ to prevent the most obvious line of retreat. I'll probably turn my attention briefly south shortly to capture Aqaba and stimulate the Arab revolt.
Italy is a bit of a concern - large swathes of the north have been captured and Italian forces are rather sparse. I don't want to sacrifice Italy, but I don't have enough British/French troops to redirect reinforcements there either. Bit of a puzzle and while I think about it, they are continuing to lose territory and manpower...
Austria continues to commit a full 3 guns to the Serbian front, although the defenders are proving surprisingly resilient. Corps losses are about 1 per turn and while their defeat is pretty much inevitable against that kind of investment, they're sucking up resources from other fronts. Nish is now a front line city and probably won't last more than 2 more turns at most.
On the research front, although all Entente nations still fall somewhat short of the German technological powerhouse, I am starting to catch up a little. France and Russia both have inf weapons 1 and are starting to upgrade. Britain and Italy should have them before the bunting comes down from the 1916 new year's parties.
Russian NM is now at 101% and climbing thanks to their relatively light losses and significant territorial gains. I'm trying to invest in industry so as to bring their income to a level where even if Italy goes down, they can churn out enough troops to stay a menace for the rest of the game.
Quite a bit of diplomacy is happening in the background, although neither of us have had any major swings. CP have evidently invested in Denmark, presumably to preserve their convoys. Norway is leaning slightly Entente but not enough to start sending money to the UK. I have a small investment in Romania but so far have only landed a 5% hit. Taking Krakow seems to have persuaded them a bit, though. Currently they are around 60% while Bulgaria is around 80+%. When Bulgaria joins and rams their meaty fist through Serbia's backdoor it's curtains for the beleaguered Serbs.
