1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall

[mdsmall]

August 1, 1914

I thought I would start an AAR for the new match I am starting against Old Crow Balthazor of the latest version of my Icarus mod - Version 7.0. We are playing the 1914 campaign, and I will be playing the Central Powers. You can watch the match from the Entente on Old Crow's YouTube channel. I won't cover all my moves each turn in this AAR but will provide some perspective on what I am trying to accomplish in this game.

I decided to pursue a standard "West first" opening by invading Belgium and bringing the U.K. into the war immediately. In my experience, Germany needs the resources of Belgium from the start, and it has to occupy space in the West and take France down a few notches before it can afford to concentrate on the Russians.

This involves placing both cavalry corps in the Deployment Phase as close to Belgium as possible. My attacks went well against the weak Belgian forces, and I was able to get both German cavalry corps past Brussels so they could take Lille and the Loos mine next to it. I forced marched corps to occupy all conquered hexes in Belgium behind the cavalry. In Alsace-Lorraine, despite some adverse rolls I was able to destroy one French corps in front of Épinal and was able to swap a German corps into that hex and entrench it.

The new features in this version of the mod concern the Serbian front (see my notes and screenshots under my Icarus thread in Mods and Scenarios). Now that Belgrade cannot be attacked from four sides on the first turn, it is not worth trying to attack on Turn One. Instead, I take out the weak Serbian detachment defending Sabac and get across the Sava River line. I use the MPPs that Germany starts with in this mod to operationally move the half strength German artillery unit to Novi Sad, so that it can help attack entrenched Serbian units next turn. In this mod, artillery units can de-entrench without Artillery Weapons tech, so this weak artillery unit is useful right from the start of the game. I decide not to send other German reinforcements to this front right away, preferring to see how far I can get with Austro-Hungarian corps, reinforced by the Second Army. But I did force march one AH cavalry corps from Galicia to provide additional support, if needed.

In Galicia and East Prussia, I adopted pretty standard defensive positions, anticipating the Russian steam-roller striking eastern Galicia in the coming turns.

At the end of the turn, I opted to have the AH 2nd Army deploy to Serbia. But contrary to my normal practice, I decided to send the Goeben to Pola rather than Constantinople. My primary reason was to delay Ottoman entry by a turn or two to make it possible to send a detachment to occupy Basra before the Ottomans enter the war. But also in this version of the mod, AH gets an extra port, so I wanted to see how I might be able to use the Goeben in the Adriatic in the early months of the war.

[shri]

You chose not to operate the Northern Corps + Marines to the East? are your forces enough to stop the Russian steamroller into Galicia and West Prussia?

[Cfant]

Thanks for this AAR, I'm looking forward to it. Taking down Serbia fast without Germans is a hard project in Vanilla, will be interesting if it works.

[mdsmall]

You chose not to operate the Northern Corps + Marines to the East? are your forces enough to stop the Russian steamroller into Galicia and West Prussia?

Hi shri - yes, I moved both those units to the East using the MPPs Germany gets in this mod on the opening turn. See the screenshot below of my position in East Prussia at the end of the second turn. The Marine division is on Memel and the ero experience corps that starts close to Denmark is on the Masurian Lakes fortifications.

August 15, 1914 East Prussia.png (1.5 MiB) Viewed 449 times

[mdsmall]

Thanks for this AAR, I'm looking forward to it. Taking down Serbia fast without Germans is a hard project in Vanilla, will be interesting if it works.

I like the challenge! In Icarus, the Central Powers have a bit more breathing room to deal with Serbia as Albania does not join the Entente in September 1914. So, if France or the UK want to send ground forces to help the Serbs, they have to move fast in the early autumn of 1914 and dispatch them via through a narrow road corridor from the port of Antivari in Montenegro; or the Entente has to wait till the summer or early fall of 1915 when the option to occupy Salonika becomes possible.

[mdsmall]

August 15, 1914

Since the Entente decided to hold Belgrade but not reinforce it last turn, I decided to attack it using the German artillery I transported to Novi Sad last turn. After three shells, the AH detachment was no longer entrenched, and I was lucky enough to destroy it with two attacks. That allowed me to move a fresh corps into Belgrade and attack the Serbian 3rd army behind the Sava River line. Although it retreated, I was able to destroy it in four attacks leaving Austria-Hungary in a strong position in Serbia. I was also a bit lucky with my destroyer in port in Cataro. The French submarine bumped into last turn and lost two strength points in a surprise attack. One more lucky attack by me this turn killed it. I decided I could afford to move my half-strength Austro-Hungarian sub into port to be able to reinforce it. For further naval support, I brought the AH recon bomber down to the Dalmatian coast at Dubrovnik.

In Galicia, I decided not to attack the exposed Russian cavalry corps advancing towards Lemberg - even though I could have destroyed it - preferring to entrench two AH corps and the AH cavalry corps instead to help screen Lemberg. I shuffled AH corps and one German corps from the west to help screen Lemberg. I placed my HQs on Sambor and Przemyśl, knowing that reinforcements at the end of this turn would arrive in both locations and would thus deploy one hex further east, helping screen against Russian cavalry probes towards Przemyśl. In East Prussia, I decided to retreat from Gumbinen by one hex, but built up the Marine division I sent to Memel last turn to full strength and spent 22 MPPs to add elite reinforcements to one of the corps defending in East Prussia. In my experience, Germany should protect the experience advantage of its corps as much as possible in the East, so they can attack with maximum effect once I can shift more units to that front.

On the Western Front, it was easy to eliminate the corps holding Brussels. Having forced marched a lot of corps into Belgium last turn, I largely consolidated my position by bringing up two fresh corps to entrench in front of the B.E.F. and occupying and entrenching in Reims and Sedan - two hexes the Germans often have to fight to capture in 1914. The rest of my forces in Belgium cut off Antwerp so that the detachment defending there will not get a defensive bonus next turn. In Alsace-Lorraine, I decided to attack the corps due east of Nancy, so I could position two units adjacent to Nancy by the end of the turn. The French defender retreated. Rather than expending more forces to kill it, I took the opportunity to entrench two full strength corps next to Nancy.

The Austro-Hungarians invested three chits in Trench Warfare and saved the rest of their MPPs. Germany invested four chits in Trench Warfare and one in Artillery Weapons. I naturally opted to bring in Hindenburg in the east and send Liman von Sanders to the Ottomans - both "no-brain" decisions for the Central Powers.

Pasted below are screenshot of the start and end of my moves this turn in Belgium and northern France.

August 15, 1914, start Belgian front .png (1.62 MiB) Viewed 424 times

[mdsmall]

August 29, 1914

Old Crow has really sent the Russian steam-roller full bore against Austria-Hungary in Galicia and was almost able to enter Lemberg last move, forcing me to respond more quickly than expected. In my experience the Russians can usually capture Lemberg in autumn 1914 before Austria-Hungary reaches Trench Warfare level 2, and 1915 is usually spent by the CP manoeuvring to retake it. But he might well take it in the next two turns. On the plus side, he clearly is not making any effort in East Prussia, since a recon bomber flight confirms that there are minimal forces around Warsaw. So, I decided to make a significant shift of German forces to cover western Galicia between Krakow and Tarnow, railing two reserve corps from the Western Front here, and kept only a screen of detachments facing Warsaw. I decided to spend the MPPs to move Hindenburg (rating 8) via operational movement to this sector and railed my other German general, von Bulow (rating 5) to East Prussia. Around Lemberg, I counterattacked to get rid of a Russian cavalry unit and created a screen around Lemberg. I also used a swap move to shift a mauled AH corps into the fortress of Przemyśl and reinforced it back to full strength. Rather than investing in tech this turn, I used my remaining AH MPPs to buy back a shattered corps and saved the remainder for reinforcements next turn.

On the Serbian front, I was surprised that Old Crow decided not to fall back. I decided to attack an entrenched 8 strength Serbian corps that had only 0.15 experience points, rather than an adjacent unentrenched corps with 1.3 experience points. I managed to kill it, and reduced the unentrenched corps to only 4 points, at some cost to me. The name of the game on this front is to keep killing Serbian units every turn if possible, so they never have a chance to rebuild their strength. For now, I am happy not to blockade their port in Antivari, as France can only convoy about 15 MPPs through that port to Serbia. If I blockaded it, they would have the option to shift the convoy to Salonika increasing the value of the convoy to 30 MPPs. I plan to reinforce my one AH sub and then start raiding the convoy line.

In Belgium, I wiped out the detachment defending Antwerp easily (though one 0-4 attack prediction yielded a 0-1 result). I executed my plan of attacking one of the B.E.F corps facing Lille at the first opportunity. They are the most experienced units in the game and if mauled or killed, the UK is almost never able to regain that advantage. However, the I B.E.F. corps retreated after two attacks and I could not get two units into the hex it retreated from to kill it, so I reinforced my position and will see what he does next turn. I considered occupying the forward hill hex of Chemin des Dames but decided to wait. Instead, I easily killed the unentrenched French cavalry units between Reims and Sedan and decided to occupy that hex in order to protect my forward position in Reims and Sedan. I expect France will counter-attack here, so I left the hex behind it empty in order to be able retreat safely. In moved up the remaining newly arrived reserve corps into the Belgium and simply reinforced damaged units in Alsace-Lorraine. With its remaining MPPs, Germany invested one chit into Infantry Weapons.

[mdsmall]

September 12, 1914

Well, that last Entente turn was a bloodbath – two German corps and three AH corps killed. I anticipated losing one of each, but not five corps in total. In Galicia, it was obvious that the Austro-Hungarians have to retreat immediately and cannot afford to even try to defend Lemberg, so the corps in Lemberg retreats and entrenches adjacent to the fortress at Przemyśl. I now have a line of units defending entrenched along the edge of the Carpathians with a one hex gap between them and the Russians. I decide I need to spend 75 MPPs immediately to sack and dismiss the AH general defending this line (Von Brudermann, rating 3) and replace him with General Pflanzer-Baltin (rating 5). This command upgrade will reduce the Russians significant advantage with General Brusilov (rating 6) and might save prevent one or two corps from being completely destroyed in future Russian attacks this autumn.

One consequence of losing Lemberg in this mod is that the Bulgarians stop swinging towards the Central Powers, due to my capture of Belgrade. Bulgaria is now 61% mobilized – which is pretty good. But I will either have to take Nish in Serbia or be very successful with diplomacy to get them swinging again towards the CP side.

In Serbia, I destroy the token detachment he has left defending his rearguard but am less successful reducing the experienced corps defending Ucize. I decide not to advance to Sava/Danube river-line this turn, as my forward units cannot entrench. The AH forces in this theatre will need a lot of reinforcements to get back up to strength, so Serbia will likely get some breathing room, despite their heavy losses to date. I decide to move the German artillery unit onto the rail-line into Serbia, so I have the option of keeping it in this theatre or sending it to the Western front next turn. I also decide to afford the luxury of reinforcing my AH sub up to 9 points so that it can start raiding the French convoy to Antivari next turn.

In this mod, the third and last capital of Belgium is a new town of Nieuport on the Flanders coast, which is partly protected by a swamp hex (see the same terrain in the Ludendorff Offensive game for reference). This makes it hard to take via a frontal assault, so I decide to eliminate one French corps further south and move into the salient along the Sommer river-line. I try reducing the French Fusiliers Marins division next to Nieuport but take unexpected losses and halt the attack. A counterattack to the south against a unentrenched French corps next Reims succeeds easily in destroying the unit. I move up units and reinforce losses where I can.

It is apparent that Old Crow decided to place the Russia sub Karp in the Baltic on the first turn, and it is now raiding the German convoy to Sweden. Two German destroyers reduce it to 4 strength points, so it will likely retreat into port and lick its wounds next turn.

Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans both invest one chit (the max) in infantry weapons – this is a long-term play, but I find you have to bite the bullet early and do this or risk falling far behind. Germany invests one chit (the max) in Gas/Shell tech at a cost of 200 MPPs in this mod – also an essential long-term investment.

[mdsmall]

September 26, 1914

A quieter turn this time, given that both of us need to reinforce and reposition on the Serbian and Eastern fronts. In Serbia, mud plus the need to rebuild my AH corps after the last four turns limits my willingness to move to contact the enemy along his new defensive line in front of Nish. But I decide it is time to blockade Antivari, so I use my AH destroyer to drop a mine and place my sub next to the port.

In Galicia, I shuffle one German corps further east so that I can move an AH cavalry corps behind the line that I am now defending on the edge of the Carpathians. All my AH MPPs this turn were spent rebuilding units.

In Belgium, I decide to press forward and easily capture the last Belgian capital in Nieuport. In this mod, the surrender of Belgium triggers a 2000 NM hit for both the UK and France. I also destroy an unentrenched French cavalry and an 8-strength UK corps. Behind the lines, I decide to rail the German artillery unit back from Serbia and position it to attack Nancy next turn. At the end of the turn, Germany spends one chit on Industrial Tech and one on Production tech.

AH commits to spending 50 MPPs on refugee relief in Galicia, thus reducing the NM hit from 2000 to only 1000 NM. In this mod, Austria-Hungary suffers a number of additional NM hits in the early turns if Russia drives into Galicia. By the end of the turn AH morale has fallen to 80%. Germany invests one chit in Industrial Tech and another in Production Tech - a very useful long-term investment at a reduced cost in this mod.

[mdsmall]

October 24, 1914

Another straight-forward turn on the Serbian and Russian fronts. In Serbia, I move four corps up to his front line and finish reinforcing corps in the second line. I have my eye on occupying the Bror mine next turn, which cost Serbia about 40 MPPs a turn from the lost income and the cut in the land convoy line from Russia. In Galicia, I anticipate he will attack in the southern Carpathians where my supply lines are stretched and there is no rail line to bring in reinforcements. So, I send one AH cavalry corps by rail to cover the Jablonka Pass, and I force march the Polish detachment to the Pass of the Tatars to cover it as well.

In the West, I execute my planned attack on Nancy and take it with three corps. This is a hard position to retake by the French from the West, given the curve in the Meuse river around the city. I think for a minute about whether to occupy the "killing zone" hex at Woevre. It is next to two Major Fortresses with supply 12 which can easily kill enemy corps. But it is too tempting not to move to surround the first Verdun fortress on five sides, and at this early stage in the game, I reckon France may be reluctant to take any losses on their heavily entrenched corps in the two Verdun fortresses. So, I decide to move into Woevre and I place a newly arrived airship near Mulhouse, so it can spot over a wide swath of the French rear areas behind Verdun. In northern France, I kill another French corps covering Boulogne and an unentrenched UK cavalry corps.

At this point, I am in a strong but not overwhelming position in Belgium. The corps lost from French counter-attacks have reduced my ability to sustain losses from constant attacks over several turns. So, using the extra MPPs from plundering Belgium, I buy back three destroyed German corps this turn. At the end of the move, I reach Trench Warfare Level 1 with both Germany and Austria-Hungary - which is welcome news.

[mdsmall]

November 21, 1914

On the Serbian front, I spot the opportunity to execute my plan to reduce their economy. I move up an experienced corps to seize the Bror mine and shut down the convoy from Russia, which will cost them 45 MPPs a turn. Given that they are only earning about 100 MPPs a turn now, this will mean that the Austro-Hungarians should be able to kill as many Serbian strength points per turn going forward as the Serbs can replace; and on some turns more. In effect, I am attempting to take Serbia without relying on German forces, beyond using their artillery unit in 1914. It will be interesting to see if this proves possible.

In Galicia, I find myself in a good defensive position, especially since my units now have Trench Warfare level one. I reinforce my front line after his costly attacks and move up the cavalry corps I sent to Transylvania last turn to guard the Jablonka Pass against advancing Russian cavalry. I now have a corps guarding the entrance to the Pass of the Tatars, with an entrenched detachment behind.

In northern France, I take the opportunity to kill two unentrenched French corps. I considered pushing forward to cut off Bolougne, but a recon bomber check showed that Old Crow has considerable reserves behind his front line on the Somme, so I went for the easy targets on either side of Boulogne. In a flourish of glory, an elite Prussian cavalry corps annihilated one French corps that had been reduce to 2 points, without taking any losses. That brought my lead general in this theatre, von Kluck (rating 7), up to a maximum of 3 experience points. In Alsace, I reinforce to cover losses from his counterattacks last turn.

The Ottomans tip over 90% mobilized at the end of my turn and start preparing for war. I deliberately did not send the Goeben to Constantinople on turn 1, so that their war entry would be delayed, and since then, I have been marching a half strength detachment from Alexandretta on the Mediterranean in an attempt to reach Basra before the British amphibious assault. Sadly, I realized last turn that even with optimal force-marching it would fall one hex short of Basra before the Ottomans entered the war. So, I have left it on Baghdad so it can be reinforced. The elite corps that starts on Constantinople has been walking across Anatolia, but I am keeping it more than 5 hexes from Erzurum so it will not be affected by the typhus outbreak that will fire as soon as the Ottomans go to war. In the west, I have placed an entrenched corps on the town of Gallipoli and a detachment on the second narrows before the Sea of Marmara - which is the key position the Entente must take if they attempt a Gallipoli style assault.

At the end of the move, I invest one Ottoman chit in Industrial tech and buy a detachment. The Austro-Hungarians invest chits in Artillery Weapons and Industrial tech, bringing both up to the max of 2. And Germany invests one chit in Trench Warfare and two in Spying and Intelligence - which is never my favourite investment, but necessary if the Central Powers are not to fall behind the Entente in tech bonuses. Checking the Reports, I see that the Germans have far outstripped the UK and France in tech investments - together they have spent less than 800 MPPs, while Germany alone has spent 1030 MPPs on tech. I find that they have to lay a strong foundation of investments in tech at the outset of the game in 1914 if they are to sustain their military edge into the heavy attrition years of 1916 and 1917.

[mdsmall]

December 19th, 1914

Old Crow sent me a text after pulling his last turn saying, "who said Winter is boring" and I have to agree. He made some significant strategic choices last move, retreating the French from Boulogne and shortening his lines in the West, and pushing the Russians through into the Carpathians in the East. He surprised me with a deep cavalry push (probably aided by clear weather) into the Hungarian Plain. He also finally pushed his corps forward in East Prussia, menacing some future pushed past my lines.

Fortunately, the Germans had bought back three corps arriving this turn. So, I did some creative shuffling in East Prussia and used newly arrived corps to plus gaps. I move up newly arrived General Mackensen (rating 7) to command the still thin forces facing him in Poland. Fortunately, a recon bomber check confirms that he is still relatively weak there.

Then, I pulled out all three German cavalry corps in the West, plus a regular corps and operationally moved the block his advancing cavalry in the Carpathians. I sent Prince Albrecht's HQ as well from the West to command these forces. The remaining AH corps on the front line are in a tight spot with low supply and in mountains, now that he has captured Stanislaw, so I sacrifice the Polish detachment in order to stand a chance of retreating one corps. I bring up another AH corps from the rear area in Serbia to prevent a further Russian push in the southern Carpathians towards Klausenberg.

One advantage of sending German units to plug these holes on this turn, is that the "first winter in the Carpathians" attrition effects in this mod only apply to Austria-Hungary and Russia. It is not a huge advantage, but in a tight position, any advantage matters. For the next two moves, I need to keep AH corps on hill and mountain hexes in the Carpathians where they are absolutely necessary.

In Serbia, the AH forces getting thinner, but given that the enemy is suffering from a typhus epidemic this turn, I decide to attack and succeed in killing the corps in front of Nish. I also push a corps into Montenegro and entrench there, cutting his two units there off from command by Serbian generals. He may counterattack my un-entrenched units but given his very low income now (about 3 corps strength points per turn), I can afford it.

In the West, I reinforce my damaged rear area forces and decide to move forward into the empty hexes between Chemin des Dames and Sedan. Given that I still have an entrenchment advantage at the moment and the next two turns will be winter, I reckon this is relatively safe. If possible, I would like to take Amiens in the spring and turn the British line along the Somme.

The Ottomans entered the war this turn, with the expected loss of Basra to an amphibious landing by Force D from India. I do not think he is building up forces in Gaza, so I avoid spending funds railing units to the front line. Instead, I try to keep my units in the Caucasus in towns (to avoid the winter attrition effects there for the Ottomans) and wait for the typhus epidemic to pass.

In terms of investments, the Germans reinforce units in the West and buy back one corps. AH does the same. The Ottomans buy two detachments, which they need to cover their coasts against possible amphibious landings.

Finally, I execute my long-planned "December surprise" naval move against the UK. Since the first turn (before DOWing Belgium), I have had a destroyer and two subs crossing that Atlantic. They now take up positions in front of Halifax: the destroyer lays two mines, which will reduce the port and cut-off the convoy from Canada and the two subs position themselves for surprise attacks at any ships trying to clear the mines. I am mildly surprised that Old Crow did not send anything to block potential mine-laying in front of Halifax - given that I learned this trick from him when he was playing the Central Powers. Finally, a sub that has come down the English Channel moves to start raiding the convoy from India. The economic effects of these moves should be significant.

At the end of the turn, Austria-Hungary declines the suggestion to cede Trento and Trieste to appease Italian nationalists. Instead, I say yes to the new DE in this mod and offer the Italians a diplomatic proposal, which would allow them to occupy Albania immediately without declaring war, in return for slower mobilization against the CP in 1915. We will see if he takes up this offer.

[mdsmall]

January 30, 1915

Well, I am pleasantly surprised that Italy decided to accept the diplomatic proposal from Austria-Hungary and has annexed Albania rather than mobilizing rapidly to join the war. This will be the first time in my play-tests that the Entente player has accepted this proposal, so it will be interesting to me (as the mod designer) to see how this works out for both sides.

Sending those German reinforcements to Hungary last turn proved to be a wise move. Given that the weather is mud in the Central European zone, rather than frozen, I can attack. Using the German corps and one elite cavalry unit, I destroy one of advancing Russian cavalry corps on the Hungarian plain; using a second German cavalry corps, an entrenched AH cavalry corps and then swapping in an AH corps I sent up from Serbia last turn, I destroy the second Russian cavalry unit. That should "cut the head off the snake" for now. I move all of the German cavalry at the end of the turn back onto rail lines, in case I need to send them to East Prussia next turn. In East Prussia, it is frozen, so I make some minor adjustments to my line and make a small attack to gain experience for an elite German corps and General Mackensen.

Serbia is frozen and the AH corps there need to be entrenched, so I simply move up to face his four entrenched corps in a line between Pristina and Nish. I can see from reports that France has not been sending resources to Serbia via convoy, so I infer that Old Crow has decided the Serbs will have to hold out as long as possible with their own resources. The key target to take is Nish - but because it is the capital, the Serbian corps there has an entrenchment level of 3. That will take an artillery unit to kill - fortunately, AH receives one next turn. But it will take a couple of moves to get it in place.

The Western front is frozen too, so I move up reinforcements from taking Boulogne last turn. I have my eye on attacking the UK corps next to Amiens when weather allows it. I am certain he will counter-attack too with the French come spring.

The Ottomans have only 70 MPPs this turn - after buying two detachments in DE events, plus dealing with the typhus epidemic. I reinforce one of the two HQ in the Caucasus and walk more units down to Palestine. I deploy a newly arrived detachment next to Gallipoli, so it can replace the corps that has been defending there. Two entrenched detachments along the Straits should be sufficient to deter an amphibious invasion from the north - especially since the Entente decided to mine the entrance to the Dardanelles, it is obvious he is not planning to attempt a frontal attack here.

My Naval moves were interesting this turn. I retreated the damaged sub he found in the English Channel back to Germany. Noticing that he has a destroyer guarding the Dover Straits, I decide to set myself up for a surprise move next turn to kill it. I move a German dreadnought to the forward base in Antwerp, plus a light cruiser in front of it. And I forward position two German subs, plus my recon bomber and an airship into northern France. Between all these units, if weather permits next turn, I should be able to recon the UK naval defences in front of London and then sink this destroyer with the DN which can then retreat to Antwerp. This may trigger a massive counter-attack by the Royal Navy coming down from the forward blockade line. But the fact that my units can retreat into a protected position in front of Antwerp, with subs to block in front of them, makes me think this might be worth attempting. Meanwhile, in front of Halifax, he did have a destroyer in the port which kills one mine but takes casualties from my hidden sub. I simply decide to place my destroyer and the sub on the red hexes in front of Halifax, which should be sufficient to reduce the port to 4 next turn, and this disrupt the convoy from Canada.

At the end of the turn, Germany invested two chits in Advanced Subs and two chits in Shock Infantry tech, thus maxing out Germany's tech investment limits for now. Both are long-term plays which will only yield results in 1916 (for the subs) and 1917 (for German stormtroopers - which can only be built with Shock Infantry tech). But if I don't start making those investments now, I won't have these special capabilities when I need them for the late stages of the game. Germany also bought back its last destroyed corps (i.e. at a reduced cost of 135 MPPs) while Austria-Hungary buys back two destroyed corps - with two left still to buy in the queue.

[mdsmall]

March 27, 1915

This turn demonstrated the value of having aircraft to spot behind enemy lines before you make a move. So much of the WW1 game happens behind the trench lines, or before ships are committed to combat, so they can not be seen. Last turn, I decided to bring up a dreadnought and light cruiser just off the coast of Belgium, so they could raid the UK destroyer guarding the English Channel. I also sent in an airship and recon bomber to the French coast for advance spotting. The destroyer disappeared, but I reckoned it just moved out of sight of the port of Boulogne. To check, I sent my airship on a spotting mission over the English Channel to reveal a huge surface armada which Old Crow dispatched there last turn. So, change in plan! - the surface ships returned to port in Germany, and I dispatched three subs north into the North Sea towards to navigate around distant blockade line instead. In the Atlantic, he seems to have retreated his sub in front of Halifax, so I place another mine there and am content to wait and reduce the port further.

In France, I was considering just waiting for two turns to upgrade my artillery unit to artillery weapons 1. But a recon bomber check behind the UK lines revealed the newly arrived French artillery unit positioned to attack the salient at Chemin des Dames. So, given that the UK is still at Trench Warfare 1 (how is this possible?), I decided to launch a pre-emptive attack and killed the UK corps adjacent to Amiens, defending behind the Somme. My plan is to keep the pressure here through the summer of 1915 so I can capture Amiens and form a straight line. This will not only reduce my vulnerability to attacks but also give me complete control of the port of Boulogne as a forward base for sub operations into the English Channel.

In East Prussia, I decide it is time to start moving up to contact the enemy and I deploy the newly arrived second artillery unit in Thorn. It will need to be upgraded when I get Weapons 1 tech and brought up to full strength over the next two turns.

In Galicia, rather than counter-attacking, I was able to entrench the German corps at the end of my line in a spot where it will have both supply level 6 and command from the Duke Albrecht HQ. I have three much needed AH corps arriving this turn as reinforcements to help shore up this line.

In Serbia, I simply reinforce my line and deploy the newly arrived AH artillery unit, ready to be sent to this sector next turn.

For the Ottomans, I replace the entrenched detachment on El-Arish with a newly arrived corps. The Ottomans still need a couple of turns to get their HQs up to full strength and to recover from winter and typhus losses in the Caucasus. Fortunately, I have four full strength corps in western Turkey which can be brought in by operational movement as needed over the next few turns. I place two newly arrived detachments in Antalya and Alexandretta to cover likely areas for landings by British or French marines, attempting to cut the rail line to the Middle East.

The Germans buy their first heavy artillery unit (now available as of this turn). Austria-Hungary buys back one more destroyed corps. The Ottomans invest a second chit in Industrial Tech. Germany reaches level 1 in both Artillery Weapons 1 and Industrial Tech at the end of the turn.

[YouStas]

At the end of the turn, Germany invested two chits in Advanced Subs and two chits in Shock Infantry tech, thus maxing out Germany's tech investment limits for now.

What is Shock Infantry? Is it a new type of corps or upgrade for corps like scouts or skirmishers in Strategic Command:ACW?

[mdsmall]

At the end of the turn, Germany invested two chits in Advanced Subs and two chits in Shock Infantry tech, thus maxing out Germany's tech investment limits for now.

What is Shock Infantry? Is it a new type of corps or upgrade for corps like scouts or skirmishers in Strategic Command:ACW?

Hi - it is a new tech category I added to this mod which enables Germany to build stormtroopers (also a new kind of infantry unit in this mod). Only Germany can invest in this tech. Each level in Shock Infantry tech allows Germany to build 2 stormtrooper corps, for a maximum of 8. At level 4 in this tech, stormtroopers have one point more in attack than regular corps, and they evade losses on attack 25% of the time. They also have a prepared attack bonus of 60% compared to the normal 35% for all other units. Overall, they are very powerful, but they take a long time to build and only appear sometime in 1917 or early 1918.

[mdsmall]

April 24, 1915

The first half of 1915 is a period on the game which I call "waiting for artillery". In this mod, artillery can de-entrench without Artillery Weapons 1, but they are much more effective in terms of demoralization per shell and the likelihood of killing strength points through artillery fire alone when upgraded that tech. It is in the first turns of 1915 that all the majors (apart from Italy and Serbia) receive at least one field artillery unit in their production queue, or through Decision Events (in the case of the UK in Egypt and Russia in the Caucasus). This also coincides with when Germany able to reach Artillery Weapons 1 (since they start with a chit invested in that tech). And it coincides with when all majors can start to build both field and heavy artillery.

Germany decided to go all in with improving artillery this turn. I upgraded to Level 1 both half-strength field artillery units on the map (one in the West in northern France, the other in the East, on Thorn). And I bought a second heavy artillery unit for 300 MPPs (I did not have the funds to buy it upgraded this turn). Buying these units is a heavy lift for the Germans in 1915, but it is essential if they are to be able to hold their positions in the West n 1916, while making progress in defeating the Russian in the East. Germany can build four heavy artillery, while the UK and France can only build two and Russia only one - so it is a critical advantage for the Germans.

In France, I simply move up rear area units I reinforced last turn. I decide not to place my upgrade field artillery directly behind the Chemin des Dames salient, as I expect he will attack their next turn and I do not want Old Crow to snipe my still half-strength artillery.

In East Prussia, I start moving forward and kill one forward Russian detachment. I still do not have the mass of corps needed for a full scale offensive here, and my HQ commands are thin as two HQs are still in Galicia, holding the lion's share of the line against Russia. But my command rating and experience advantage is so great, I can still begin to attack with low casualties.

In Galicia, despite having zero experience replacement AH corps on the front line, I decide to attack the Russian corps that moved into the hex in front of Sambor last turn. Fortunately, I killed the unit, but my lack of spotting aircraft prevented me from looking behind the second trench line, so I did not re-occupy the hex. But I did move an elite German corps into the key fortress of Przemyśl, replacing an inexperienced AH corps there, as I can see that Russia now has an artillery unit in this sector and he will continue to hammer this section of the front for as long as possible. Further south in Transylvania, Austria-Hungary was able to move up two corps and now has a respectable defensive line with a General and two cavalry corps in the rear areas.

In Serbia, I managed a very efficient attack and destroyed the Serbian corps next to Nish. Using my cavalry, I could move into the empty hex and then entrench an AH corps there. I also brought up my newly arrived AH field artillery unit behind the line, so I could use it to de-entrench Nish next turn. As Old Crow knows well, Nish is a key position for the entire game. Once I have taken it, Bulgaria will start to mobilize rapidly and once they are in, I can send supplies directly to the Ottomans. The Ottomans continue to strength their positions in eastern Anatolia and the Gaza.

In terms of naval activity, I move two AH subs into the Ionian Sea, so they can start raiding next turn. One runs into a lurking French sub - which is not surprising. In the Atlantic, I decide to send the two subs that were in front of Halifax to raid the convoy line from India - and one runs into a light cruiser heading for Halifax. There were no casualties, but it will be an interesting cat and mouse for the next number of turns between Entente destroyers and German subs, as three more now arrived near the Distant Blockade line in the North Atlantic.

At the end of the turn, AH bought back a destroyed corps, and I decided to buy an airship for military reconnaissance. Germany reaches level 2 in Trench Warfare. The Ottomans received the important Decision Event (specific to this mod) giving them the chance to start building a railway to Baghdad. This won't be completed until early December 1916 - and it can't be completed until Serbia is conquered - but it is truly a strategic asset for the Ottomans once built.