August 26, 1916
On the Western Front, this turn it is the British who have retreated, so that they are now only one hex in front of Paris. What Old Crow does not know is that this is ideal timing, as it allows me to upgrade all of my corps in western France to Infantry Weapons 2 without having to retreat them. On the rest of the front, I decide to use Germany's surfeit of MPPs to swap and replace Duke Albrecht (rating 5) for von Hutier (rating 8). This now makes my "backup" HQ one of the strongest in the game. The German manage to kill three French corps. Even with four heavy artillery, they do not have extra shells to spare, so I am glad that I brought in that Bulgarian field artillery unit. It will still take a few more turns to crack the French line.
In Italy, he retreated as well, so no Italian units are in reach of AH artillery. He cleverly evacuated the division in Venice by sea (should have anticipated that). So, I move up my line, coming down out of the Alps and am now pressing on Verona. Venice was empty so I occupy it.
On Poland, Austria-Hungary have their first attack using only their own corps, heading towards Lemberg. It goes well. I make good use of one elite German cavalry unit to kill the remaining strength Russian point.
The Ottomans pull back their lines a bit further in eastern Anatolia to avoid casualties. My thin liner facing them in central-southern Anatolia is now as risk. On the other fronts I hold firm and bring up rear area detachments. In Arabia, the Ottomans attack the partisan that formed north of Tabuk which threatens Amman - unfortunately for me, it evades combat.
In naval moves, Old Crow does not seem to be looking for subs, so his destroyers must be upgrading. Three subs in the North Atlantic start heading towards home now that they have reached 5 supply, while three more arrive. By the end of the turn, I have three subs raiding in the Mediterranean as well.
Germany spends most of its MPPS upgrading corps to level 2 in infantry weapons. It invests 2 more chits into Long-Range Aircraft, and it buys a fighter. Austria-Hungary decides to spend surplus MPPs on naval weapons and starts building up its navy in the Adriatic. The Ottomans buy back the destroyed detachment and invest in a second chit in Command and Control - which will be helpful in expanding their generals command range over widely dispersed front lines.
1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
Re: 1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
September 9, 1916
The Central Powers' war machine continues to grind forward. At this point on the Western Front, I have four generals, all with 2.5 - 3.0 XP, two with a rating of 7 and two with a rating of 8. This is a large part of why the Germans can continue to prevail in constant attacks against both the UK and France. My large number of corps upgraded to elite status, and now Infantry Weapons 2, is also a significant factor. I move up to meet the British line screening Paris with my newly upgraded corps. Further east, I move up to meet the French army and despite forests and hills south of Toul, I manage to kill two corps and capture Dijon - France's last NM objective before Paris.
In Italy, I concentrate on taking out the mountain division defending Verona and get one entrenched corps over the river line. If I had a wider front not impeded by marshes, I could have attacked two Italian defenders.
In Poland, the nearest salient is defended by an elite Russian corps, so I use on German field artillery to attack a weaker corps due east of Ivangorod. I move up my other German field artillery to support the Austro-Hungarians next turn when they start to roll up the line in front of Lemberg.
For the Ottomans, in Anatolia the Russians have ceased to move forward, so I move a corps further south towards Diyarbakir and hold my position. I anticipate he will start moving artillery back to the East, but perhaps towards northern Mesopotamia. I hold my front line in southern Mesopotamia and do a little reinforcing in Arabia. I suspect he may try to restart an offensive in Gaza, so I move one corps back to Aqaba so it can reinforce this sector if needed.
In naval moves, I pull my two damaged subs in the Aegean back to port for repairs. I keep my AH sub in the western Med raiding convoy lines for one more turn, so that it reaches 1 full point of experience. In the Atlantic, I have level 1 subs returning home to upgrade and new level 2 subs arriving to start raiding. Within two months I plan to start unrestricted naval warfare against British ports, to offset the NM losses of turnip winter (though Germany can afford them at this point). Last turn CP subs in total inflicted 151 MPPs losses through convoy raiding - almost all against the UK - so the effects can be considerable.
Germany spends most of its MPPs upgrading corps and now fighters. I invest one more chit in Advanced Fighters. I decide to buy a new HQ, largely to command planes and artillery in my rear areas on the Western Front. (I considered investing in Command and Control, but buying a new HQ will be faster). It will arrive in December. Austria-Hungary buys two new detachments to replace cavalry units on the line in the Carpathians. I continue to upgrade their less than full strength naval fleet. I don't think I need more AH corps to carry out my offensives against Italy and Russia, but I may buy another corps in the future. The Ottomans spend most of their MPPs buying a new corps. At the end of the turn, Austria-Hungary reaches level 1 in Mobility - which will offer interesting new possibilities.
The Central Powers' war machine continues to grind forward. At this point on the Western Front, I have four generals, all with 2.5 - 3.0 XP, two with a rating of 7 and two with a rating of 8. This is a large part of why the Germans can continue to prevail in constant attacks against both the UK and France. My large number of corps upgraded to elite status, and now Infantry Weapons 2, is also a significant factor. I move up to meet the British line screening Paris with my newly upgraded corps. Further east, I move up to meet the French army and despite forests and hills south of Toul, I manage to kill two corps and capture Dijon - France's last NM objective before Paris.
In Italy, I concentrate on taking out the mountain division defending Verona and get one entrenched corps over the river line. If I had a wider front not impeded by marshes, I could have attacked two Italian defenders.
In Poland, the nearest salient is defended by an elite Russian corps, so I use on German field artillery to attack a weaker corps due east of Ivangorod. I move up my other German field artillery to support the Austro-Hungarians next turn when they start to roll up the line in front of Lemberg.
For the Ottomans, in Anatolia the Russians have ceased to move forward, so I move a corps further south towards Diyarbakir and hold my position. I anticipate he will start moving artillery back to the East, but perhaps towards northern Mesopotamia. I hold my front line in southern Mesopotamia and do a little reinforcing in Arabia. I suspect he may try to restart an offensive in Gaza, so I move one corps back to Aqaba so it can reinforce this sector if needed.
In naval moves, I pull my two damaged subs in the Aegean back to port for repairs. I keep my AH sub in the western Med raiding convoy lines for one more turn, so that it reaches 1 full point of experience. In the Atlantic, I have level 1 subs returning home to upgrade and new level 2 subs arriving to start raiding. Within two months I plan to start unrestricted naval warfare against British ports, to offset the NM losses of turnip winter (though Germany can afford them at this point). Last turn CP subs in total inflicted 151 MPPs losses through convoy raiding - almost all against the UK - so the effects can be considerable.
Germany spends most of its MPPs upgrading corps and now fighters. I invest one more chit in Advanced Fighters. I decide to buy a new HQ, largely to command planes and artillery in my rear areas on the Western Front. (I considered investing in Command and Control, but buying a new HQ will be faster). It will arrive in December. Austria-Hungary buys two new detachments to replace cavalry units on the line in the Carpathians. I continue to upgrade their less than full strength naval fleet. I don't think I need more AH corps to carry out my offensives against Italy and Russia, but I may buy another corps in the future. The Ottomans spend most of their MPPs buying a new corps. At the end of the turn, Austria-Hungary reaches level 1 in Mobility - which will offer interesting new possibilities.
Re: 1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
September 23, 1916
Old Crow decided to strike back last turn and killed no less than three German corps - which was a surprise. Still, checking the XP ratings of my generals, I can see that in two cases, they went up rather than down, which tells me that the Entente lost more strength points than it killed in these attacks. Fortunately, I have brought more corps up from the East and new corps arrived this turn in the production queue. I counter-attack against his weakest front-line corps and kill one British corps and two French. The four swamp hexes around the Marais east of Paris are serving as an important defensive feature for the Entente, as attack strength is halved if a unit is sitting on a swamp hex.
In Italy, the Entente did a major retreat to a much better defensive line along the Apennines, from Milan to Bologna. Most of his units are beyond artillery range - the best I can do is kill one detachment using my field artillery unit in Venice.
In the East, my offensive rolls on and kills another Russian corps in front of Lemberg. The Austro-Hungarians are providing most of the manpower, but two elite German corps in this sector and their artillery are critical to success.
The Ottomans decide to pull back their general from the town of Diyarbakir in southern Anatolia. I want to avoid having the Russian snipe this critical unit and I can't afford to move another unit in front to guard it. The other Ottoman fronts remain static.
In naval moves, my submarines seem to be unopposed in their convoy raiding. Last turn they sank over 150 MPPs worth of shipping; this turn it will be somewhat less as I decide to send two subs in the Atlantic whose supply is now at 5 back to home port. A refurbished sub leaves Germany and heads out into the North Sea. Now that the AH sub in the western med has reached 1 XP, I prefer to have it return to home port so it can resupply and buy an elite strength point.
Germany spends its MPPs buying back the three destroyed corps and upgrading units. Austria-Hungary buys a new submarine. The Ottomans buy back a destroyed corps. At the end of the turn, Germany reaches level 5 in Trench Warfare and level 4 in Production Tech; Austria-Hungary reaches level 2 in Infantry Weapons and level 1 in mobility; the Ottomans reach level 2 in Command and Control and level 1 in Artillery Weapons.
Old Crow decided to strike back last turn and killed no less than three German corps - which was a surprise. Still, checking the XP ratings of my generals, I can see that in two cases, they went up rather than down, which tells me that the Entente lost more strength points than it killed in these attacks. Fortunately, I have brought more corps up from the East and new corps arrived this turn in the production queue. I counter-attack against his weakest front-line corps and kill one British corps and two French. The four swamp hexes around the Marais east of Paris are serving as an important defensive feature for the Entente, as attack strength is halved if a unit is sitting on a swamp hex.
In Italy, the Entente did a major retreat to a much better defensive line along the Apennines, from Milan to Bologna. Most of his units are beyond artillery range - the best I can do is kill one detachment using my field artillery unit in Venice.
In the East, my offensive rolls on and kills another Russian corps in front of Lemberg. The Austro-Hungarians are providing most of the manpower, but two elite German corps in this sector and their artillery are critical to success.
The Ottomans decide to pull back their general from the town of Diyarbakir in southern Anatolia. I want to avoid having the Russian snipe this critical unit and I can't afford to move another unit in front to guard it. The other Ottoman fronts remain static.
In naval moves, my submarines seem to be unopposed in their convoy raiding. Last turn they sank over 150 MPPs worth of shipping; this turn it will be somewhat less as I decide to send two subs in the Atlantic whose supply is now at 5 back to home port. A refurbished sub leaves Germany and heads out into the North Sea. Now that the AH sub in the western med has reached 1 XP, I prefer to have it return to home port so it can resupply and buy an elite strength point.
Germany spends its MPPs buying back the three destroyed corps and upgrading units. Austria-Hungary buys a new submarine. The Ottomans buy back a destroyed corps. At the end of the turn, Germany reaches level 5 in Trench Warfare and level 4 in Production Tech; Austria-Hungary reaches level 2 in Infantry Weapons and level 1 in mobility; the Ottomans reach level 2 in Command and Control and level 1 in Artillery Weapons.
Re: 1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
October 22, 1916
Old Crow has made the bold decision to retreat his UK forces to the line of Paris itself. However, mud on the Western Front slows my advance. I decide to concentrate on two weakened corps on either side of the swamps of the Marais just each of Paris and kill them both. This will enable my corps to move around the swamp and make their final push to Paris in the next two turns. I am operating at close to the limit of the shells in my artillery, so I decide to forgo a third attack and take the opportunity on the German right flank to bring up more corps and upgrade them at the same time.
In Italy, I start an attack on Bologna but to my surprise find that even after de-entrenching the defending corps, my odds are only 1-2 attacking over a river with an elite unit. So, I take the opportunity to upgrade three corps to level 2 in infantry weapons and level 1 in mobility and I move forward to be able to attack Milan next turn.
In Galicia, the Austro-Hungarians and German kill another Russian corps, and the Austro-Hungarians upgrade rear area corps to level 2.
The Ottomans have some respite from further attacks - I suspect because the British are upgrading their units. But the annoying Russian sub, now upgraded, has returned to Zonguldak and refuses to dive when I attack it. I am wary of his naval unit sniffing around the Aegean, so I place a newly arrived detachment back in Smyrna to cover it.
More shuffling of subs along the convoy lines in the Atlantic. I move one sub that arrived in Boulogne last turn back to Antwerp - it unfortunately, hits the British mine-field on the Flanders coast and takes 5 points of damage. I decide to organize a limited naval push next turn to attack the Russian subs in the Baltic.
Germany has now more destroyed corps to buy back, so after upgrading every corps that I can with infantry weapons, I buy two maritime bombers, invest one chit on Production Tech, and two diplomacy chits on Norway. At this point in the game, there is not a lot of point in investing in new technologies. Austria-Hungary spends its funds upgrading corps with infantry weapons and mobility. The Ottomans buy their first field artillery unit, now that they have Artillery Weapons 1. At the end of the turn, Germany reaches level 3 in Advanced Subs, and the Ottomans reach Infantry Weapons 2, which will be very helpful in the future.
Old Crow has made the bold decision to retreat his UK forces to the line of Paris itself. However, mud on the Western Front slows my advance. I decide to concentrate on two weakened corps on either side of the swamps of the Marais just each of Paris and kill them both. This will enable my corps to move around the swamp and make their final push to Paris in the next two turns. I am operating at close to the limit of the shells in my artillery, so I decide to forgo a third attack and take the opportunity on the German right flank to bring up more corps and upgrade them at the same time.
In Italy, I start an attack on Bologna but to my surprise find that even after de-entrenching the defending corps, my odds are only 1-2 attacking over a river with an elite unit. So, I take the opportunity to upgrade three corps to level 2 in infantry weapons and level 1 in mobility and I move forward to be able to attack Milan next turn.
In Galicia, the Austro-Hungarians and German kill another Russian corps, and the Austro-Hungarians upgrade rear area corps to level 2.
The Ottomans have some respite from further attacks - I suspect because the British are upgrading their units. But the annoying Russian sub, now upgraded, has returned to Zonguldak and refuses to dive when I attack it. I am wary of his naval unit sniffing around the Aegean, so I place a newly arrived detachment back in Smyrna to cover it.
More shuffling of subs along the convoy lines in the Atlantic. I move one sub that arrived in Boulogne last turn back to Antwerp - it unfortunately, hits the British mine-field on the Flanders coast and takes 5 points of damage. I decide to organize a limited naval push next turn to attack the Russian subs in the Baltic.
Germany has now more destroyed corps to buy back, so after upgrading every corps that I can with infantry weapons, I buy two maritime bombers, invest one chit on Production Tech, and two diplomacy chits on Norway. At this point in the game, there is not a lot of point in investing in new technologies. Austria-Hungary spends its funds upgrading corps with infantry weapons and mobility. The Ottomans buy their first field artillery unit, now that they have Artillery Weapons 1. At the end of the turn, Germany reaches level 3 in Advanced Subs, and the Ottomans reach Infantry Weapons 2, which will be very helpful in the future.
Re: 1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
November 21, 1916
The end is in sight for France in the West. Despite the Entente's furious counter-attacks, Germany did not lose a single corps last turn. They easily dispatch a weaked French corps one hex east of Paris and deploy three upgraded, experienced corps adjacent to Paris by the end of the turn. Two more attacks further east kill another two French corps. By the end of my move, their NM is down to 18%. So, once I take Paris, it will drop by 10,000 NM points and France should surrender.
Italy is not in much better shape. Having upgraded three AH corps last turn and put a fourth corps over the river line defending Bologna, I am in a good position to capture it. With only a detachment defending Mila, I take that too. Together, those objectives are 4000 NM points. The fall of France will cause Italy to lose another 7500 points, which will push it under 1000 points left in national morale. For good measure, I decide to put my newly arrived AH marine division into amphibious transports so it can land on the Adriatic coast of Italy next turn, before winter makes this move impossible.
I grind onward in Galicia and after killing one more Russian corps, I have a two hex frontage on Lemberg. With a couple of AH corps upgraded with mobility in this sector, I think I will have the firepower to capture Lemberg next turn and occupy it. The arrival of a new AH field artillery unit, which I deploy in the mountains south-east of Sambor, will also help.
The Ottomans can now upgrade their corps to Infantry Weapons 2, so I hold my ground in Anatolia where possible, and do that. In Gaza, it is easy to reinforce the corps that was attacked last turn, and having a third upgraded corps nearby, this line will hold. The Arabs appear to be upgrading their infantry weapons and probably buying elite reinforcements. In Mesopotamia, a Russan cavalry corps has advanced to Kirkuk and looks like it might try to cut my rail-line back to Antep. I walk back the corps defending Baghdad to Tikrit and force march a detachment from southern Mesopotamia to defend Baghdad.
In naval moves, I tentatively move up my task force in the Baltic. His subs have been upgraded to level 1, whereas my destroyers have no, so my aim is more to prevent them from raiding the convoy to Sweden than to sink them. In the Atlantic, I have another free hand to adjust the positions of the nine subs that are raiding the convoy lines from the USA, Canada and India. Although "turnip winter" is about to begin, Germany is so far advanced in terms of its NM level - 126% - that I do need at the moment to send my subs to carry out unrestricted naval warfare closer to Great Britain and Ireland. I have the pleasure of upgrading one sub with 2 points of XP to level 3 in Advanced Subs - it is located in my forward base in Boulogne.
At the end of the turn, Germany reinforces all of its under-strength surface fleet. They invest two chits into ASW - which is symbolic at this point, but it is what I would do if the game were going longer. And Germany invests two diplomatic chits into Norway. Austria-Hungary upgrades more corps and puts its marine division into amphibious transports. The Ottomans buy an upgraded infantry division. At the end of the turn, there is a diplomatic breakthrough, and Norway reaches 41% for the Central Powers which will result in Norway giving Germany the use of two ports next turn.
The end is in sight for France in the West. Despite the Entente's furious counter-attacks, Germany did not lose a single corps last turn. They easily dispatch a weaked French corps one hex east of Paris and deploy three upgraded, experienced corps adjacent to Paris by the end of the turn. Two more attacks further east kill another two French corps. By the end of my move, their NM is down to 18%. So, once I take Paris, it will drop by 10,000 NM points and France should surrender.
Italy is not in much better shape. Having upgraded three AH corps last turn and put a fourth corps over the river line defending Bologna, I am in a good position to capture it. With only a detachment defending Mila, I take that too. Together, those objectives are 4000 NM points. The fall of France will cause Italy to lose another 7500 points, which will push it under 1000 points left in national morale. For good measure, I decide to put my newly arrived AH marine division into amphibious transports so it can land on the Adriatic coast of Italy next turn, before winter makes this move impossible.
I grind onward in Galicia and after killing one more Russian corps, I have a two hex frontage on Lemberg. With a couple of AH corps upgraded with mobility in this sector, I think I will have the firepower to capture Lemberg next turn and occupy it. The arrival of a new AH field artillery unit, which I deploy in the mountains south-east of Sambor, will also help.
The Ottomans can now upgrade their corps to Infantry Weapons 2, so I hold my ground in Anatolia where possible, and do that. In Gaza, it is easy to reinforce the corps that was attacked last turn, and having a third upgraded corps nearby, this line will hold. The Arabs appear to be upgrading their infantry weapons and probably buying elite reinforcements. In Mesopotamia, a Russan cavalry corps has advanced to Kirkuk and looks like it might try to cut my rail-line back to Antep. I walk back the corps defending Baghdad to Tikrit and force march a detachment from southern Mesopotamia to defend Baghdad.
In naval moves, I tentatively move up my task force in the Baltic. His subs have been upgraded to level 1, whereas my destroyers have no, so my aim is more to prevent them from raiding the convoy to Sweden than to sink them. In the Atlantic, I have another free hand to adjust the positions of the nine subs that are raiding the convoy lines from the USA, Canada and India. Although "turnip winter" is about to begin, Germany is so far advanced in terms of its NM level - 126% - that I do need at the moment to send my subs to carry out unrestricted naval warfare closer to Great Britain and Ireland. I have the pleasure of upgrading one sub with 2 points of XP to level 3 in Advanced Subs - it is located in my forward base in Boulogne.
At the end of the turn, Germany reinforces all of its under-strength surface fleet. They invest two chits into ASW - which is symbolic at this point, but it is what I would do if the game were going longer. And Germany invests two diplomatic chits into Norway. Austria-Hungary upgrades more corps and puts its marine division into amphibious transports. The Ottomans buy an upgraded infantry division. At the end of the turn, there is a diplomatic breakthrough, and Norway reaches 41% for the Central Powers which will result in Norway giving Germany the use of two ports next turn.
Re: 1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
December 16, 1916
This will be the last turn of this game, as Old Crow and I have already agreed we will end it once France surrenders.
I start in Italy, where the Italians seem to have left Turin open. After checking that there is no unit behind it, I advance an AH corps into Turin and take - which will cost Italy 2000 NM points. My forward corps on the north Italian plain then destroy two Italian corps on either side of Bologna and move into those hexes. I realize that I need my generals in Italy, so I move the HQ on Klausenberg that has been holding the very quiet sector in the southern Carpathians to Italy, now giving me three HQs there.
In a quixotic gesture, last turn I put an Austro-Hungarian marine division onto amphibious transports, which somehow jumped two hexes away from the target, rather than just into one of the four ports of Pola (how the game engine manages amphibious transports is a mystery). I scout with my airship and see that the port of Ancona is occupied by an Italian HQ. I do an amphibious attack with the transport and discover that cost its remaining movement points, so it remains at sea this turn. To protect it against an unlikely Italian naval attack, I put up a screen of AH surface ships across the Adriatic.
In Galicia, mud slightly complicates my plans to use my AH corps now upgraded with mobility. Nevertheless, I destroy the Russian corps entrenched on Lemberg and am able to move an elite AH corps onto that hex and entrench there. With winter next turn, and no Russian artillery in the area, I am confident it will survive. If the war continued into 1917, the Austro-Hungarians would be in a good position to slowly recapture all of Galicia, as there are now three field artillery units there and they are supported by three German corps and General von Hindenburg, rating 8 with 3 XP. I bring up a newly arrived German airship to this sector to help scout in the future.
The rest of the Russian front further north is quiet on both sides, so the Germany army upgrades its units where it can to Infantry Weapons 2. I pull back my German marine division from the front line, so it can be operationally moved somewhere else where it might be useful in 1917 - likely in the Adriatic or the Aegean.
The Ottomans now have their railroad operational from Antep to Baghdad, though Old Crow is wise to this and used the Russian heavy bomber to reduce the settlement of Al-Qamlishi on the rail-line to level 4, thus preventing me from using it this turn. Given the build-up of Russian forces coming in from the Caucasus and Persian Azerbaijan, this railroad will be vulnerable to being cut. If the war continued, it would be an interesting fight in this sector. The Russians have artillery and an elite general and several killer mountain divisions. The Ottomans though now have a lot of corps arriving as reinforcements and they seem to be ahead of the Russians in upgrading to Infantry Weapons 2. I hold my line in southern Anatolia, and force march a corps in front of the advancing Russians pushing into the mountains of central Anatolia. Only winter is likely to help me stabilize this front in the next couple of turns. Elsewhere, the Gaza, Arabian and Mesopotamian fronts are all quiet. If the UK had the forces, they could make a push into towards Gaza, but they would need more corps here and probably a second general. If it were not for a glitch, they would be making slow but steady progress in southern Mesopotamia using the field artillery unit which should have arrived in late July.
In naval moves, I decided to keep my Baltic task force stationary, since the convoy from Sweden will freeze over anyway for the next couple of turns. In the Atlantic, four German subs are now at level 5 supply, which is the signal that they should start heading home. Two aim for the English channel and two more head north to move around Scotland. Four subs with higher supply remain on station raiding the convoy line from Canada, the USA and India, and a new sub is moving into position to cross the distant blockade line. Reykjavik has been reduced to zero supply, so it is only useful as a bolt-hole for a damaged sub (even at zero supply, the port still protects naval units). However, I gained the use of the Norwegian ports of Bergen and Stavanger through diplomacy last turn, which will be very useful in resupplying and upgrading returning subs. If the UK decides to blockade them, their blockading ships will also be vulnerable to German attack. Finally, given that Germany reached level 1 in Naval Weapons, I upgrade the entire German surface fleet using every Baltic port. It is still smaller than the Royal Navy, but if the war continued after France surrendered, the IGN could now put up a serious fight for supremacy in the North Sea.
Finally, in France, I use a cavalry corps to scout and see that the French lines east of Paris are in complete tatters. I send two corps towards Lyon - which is defended - and destroy an unentrenched corps in the open. Then I execute my operation to capture Paris. Using my concentrations of artillery and upgraded corps, I manage to kill both French corps on either side of Paris and then take Paris easily, where I place an entrenched, full-strength, elite Landwehr corps. The fall of Paris costs France 10,000NM points which is more than enough to push it to 0% National Morale, and it surrenders at the end of my turn. I anticipate Italy will do the same, but that will happen at the end of Old Crow's final turn once the Italians calculate the NM implications of France's surrender for them.
This will be the last turn of this game, as Old Crow and I have already agreed we will end it once France surrenders.
I start in Italy, where the Italians seem to have left Turin open. After checking that there is no unit behind it, I advance an AH corps into Turin and take - which will cost Italy 2000 NM points. My forward corps on the north Italian plain then destroy two Italian corps on either side of Bologna and move into those hexes. I realize that I need my generals in Italy, so I move the HQ on Klausenberg that has been holding the very quiet sector in the southern Carpathians to Italy, now giving me three HQs there.
In a quixotic gesture, last turn I put an Austro-Hungarian marine division onto amphibious transports, which somehow jumped two hexes away from the target, rather than just into one of the four ports of Pola (how the game engine manages amphibious transports is a mystery). I scout with my airship and see that the port of Ancona is occupied by an Italian HQ. I do an amphibious attack with the transport and discover that cost its remaining movement points, so it remains at sea this turn. To protect it against an unlikely Italian naval attack, I put up a screen of AH surface ships across the Adriatic.
In Galicia, mud slightly complicates my plans to use my AH corps now upgraded with mobility. Nevertheless, I destroy the Russian corps entrenched on Lemberg and am able to move an elite AH corps onto that hex and entrench there. With winter next turn, and no Russian artillery in the area, I am confident it will survive. If the war continued into 1917, the Austro-Hungarians would be in a good position to slowly recapture all of Galicia, as there are now three field artillery units there and they are supported by three German corps and General von Hindenburg, rating 8 with 3 XP. I bring up a newly arrived German airship to this sector to help scout in the future.
The rest of the Russian front further north is quiet on both sides, so the Germany army upgrades its units where it can to Infantry Weapons 2. I pull back my German marine division from the front line, so it can be operationally moved somewhere else where it might be useful in 1917 - likely in the Adriatic or the Aegean.
The Ottomans now have their railroad operational from Antep to Baghdad, though Old Crow is wise to this and used the Russian heavy bomber to reduce the settlement of Al-Qamlishi on the rail-line to level 4, thus preventing me from using it this turn. Given the build-up of Russian forces coming in from the Caucasus and Persian Azerbaijan, this railroad will be vulnerable to being cut. If the war continued, it would be an interesting fight in this sector. The Russians have artillery and an elite general and several killer mountain divisions. The Ottomans though now have a lot of corps arriving as reinforcements and they seem to be ahead of the Russians in upgrading to Infantry Weapons 2. I hold my line in southern Anatolia, and force march a corps in front of the advancing Russians pushing into the mountains of central Anatolia. Only winter is likely to help me stabilize this front in the next couple of turns. Elsewhere, the Gaza, Arabian and Mesopotamian fronts are all quiet. If the UK had the forces, they could make a push into towards Gaza, but they would need more corps here and probably a second general. If it were not for a glitch, they would be making slow but steady progress in southern Mesopotamia using the field artillery unit which should have arrived in late July.
In naval moves, I decided to keep my Baltic task force stationary, since the convoy from Sweden will freeze over anyway for the next couple of turns. In the Atlantic, four German subs are now at level 5 supply, which is the signal that they should start heading home. Two aim for the English channel and two more head north to move around Scotland. Four subs with higher supply remain on station raiding the convoy line from Canada, the USA and India, and a new sub is moving into position to cross the distant blockade line. Reykjavik has been reduced to zero supply, so it is only useful as a bolt-hole for a damaged sub (even at zero supply, the port still protects naval units). However, I gained the use of the Norwegian ports of Bergen and Stavanger through diplomacy last turn, which will be very useful in resupplying and upgrading returning subs. If the UK decides to blockade them, their blockading ships will also be vulnerable to German attack. Finally, given that Germany reached level 1 in Naval Weapons, I upgrade the entire German surface fleet using every Baltic port. It is still smaller than the Royal Navy, but if the war continued after France surrendered, the IGN could now put up a serious fight for supremacy in the North Sea.
Finally, in France, I use a cavalry corps to scout and see that the French lines east of Paris are in complete tatters. I send two corps towards Lyon - which is defended - and destroy an unentrenched corps in the open. Then I execute my operation to capture Paris. Using my concentrations of artillery and upgraded corps, I manage to kill both French corps on either side of Paris and then take Paris easily, where I place an entrenched, full-strength, elite Landwehr corps. The fall of Paris costs France 10,000NM points which is more than enough to push it to 0% National Morale, and it surrenders at the end of my turn. I anticipate Italy will do the same, but that will happen at the end of Old Crow's final turn once the Italians calculate the NM implications of France's surrender for them.
Re: 1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
January 27, 1917
As expected, Italy surrendered at the end of Old Crow's turn and by prior agreement, he resigned the match. The USA swung back to 0% mobilized for the Entente after the fall of France.
In technical terms, the Central Powers have only achieved a Minor Victory at this point, since they control the necessary Entente objective for a victory (Paris, Verdun and Warsaw) but have only defeated one of the three major Entente powers, namely France. Had we continued the game, the UK would have retreated all of its forces from France and Germany would have maintained a sufficient ground presence there to deter nuisance amphibious assaults. It would have been mildly interesting to see what an occupation of France looks like in the World War One game, compared to the War in Europe for WW2 - I have never seen a match in Icarus or the regular game where France surrendered before Russia. But my estimate is that Germany would need to maintain less of a presence in France, given that air power is much weaker in WW1 and the UK has no strategic bombing force capable of disrupting Germany's ability to send units if needed by rail to France. Germany would have every reason to launch an all-out sub offensive against the UK, and which would disrupt its remaining convoys and cripple its economy. They might even try a surface fleet raid against the Northern Blockade line using their upgraded surface fleet. Having the use of two Norwegian naval bases makes this attractive.
The direct route to securing a decisive victory of course is to take out Russia. Using both the German and Austro-Hungarian armies - which between them could deploy six heavy artillery units to Russia's one (currently still in the Caucasus). Even so, Russia is a big place and by constantly retreating, they could buy time. Driving Russia to an armistice would take somewhere between ten to fifteen turns, meaning a final victory by late summer 1917.
In reality, if this happened, I think both the UK and Russia would have sued for peace within a month or so of the collapse of France. The Germans probably had contingency plans for what they would demand from France after defeating them for a second time in less than fifty years. In the east, the German territorial demands would probably have been to acquire all of Russian Poland and some of the Baltic states. Whether Austria-Hungary would have wanted more territory in Ukraine is something I doubt - more likely a guarantee of grain shipments from this region. However, I would expect they would annex much of northern Italy. The Ottomans would have been content with recovering the territory they lost to Russia and perhaps gaining Kars and Batum, as they do when Russia withdraws from the war.
Anyhow, this is all speculation. We know what happened in real life, and we are still living with the consequences.
On to my rematch against Old Crow in the Icarus 1916 campaign!
As expected, Italy surrendered at the end of Old Crow's turn and by prior agreement, he resigned the match. The USA swung back to 0% mobilized for the Entente after the fall of France.
In technical terms, the Central Powers have only achieved a Minor Victory at this point, since they control the necessary Entente objective for a victory (Paris, Verdun and Warsaw) but have only defeated one of the three major Entente powers, namely France. Had we continued the game, the UK would have retreated all of its forces from France and Germany would have maintained a sufficient ground presence there to deter nuisance amphibious assaults. It would have been mildly interesting to see what an occupation of France looks like in the World War One game, compared to the War in Europe for WW2 - I have never seen a match in Icarus or the regular game where France surrendered before Russia. But my estimate is that Germany would need to maintain less of a presence in France, given that air power is much weaker in WW1 and the UK has no strategic bombing force capable of disrupting Germany's ability to send units if needed by rail to France. Germany would have every reason to launch an all-out sub offensive against the UK, and which would disrupt its remaining convoys and cripple its economy. They might even try a surface fleet raid against the Northern Blockade line using their upgraded surface fleet. Having the use of two Norwegian naval bases makes this attractive.
The direct route to securing a decisive victory of course is to take out Russia. Using both the German and Austro-Hungarian armies - which between them could deploy six heavy artillery units to Russia's one (currently still in the Caucasus). Even so, Russia is a big place and by constantly retreating, they could buy time. Driving Russia to an armistice would take somewhere between ten to fifteen turns, meaning a final victory by late summer 1917.
In reality, if this happened, I think both the UK and Russia would have sued for peace within a month or so of the collapse of France. The Germans probably had contingency plans for what they would demand from France after defeating them for a second time in less than fifty years. In the east, the German territorial demands would probably have been to acquire all of Russian Poland and some of the Baltic states. Whether Austria-Hungary would have wanted more territory in Ukraine is something I doubt - more likely a guarantee of grain shipments from this region. However, I would expect they would annex much of northern Italy. The Ottomans would have been content with recovering the territory they lost to Russia and perhaps gaining Kars and Batum, as they do when Russia withdraws from the war.
Anyhow, this is all speculation. We know what happened in real life, and we are still living with the consequences.
On to my rematch against Old Crow in the Icarus 1916 campaign!
Re: 1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
Great AAR, much enjoyed reading it and watching along with OCB's videos. Will you be doing one for your 1916 match?
Re: 1914 Icarus Version 7.0 campaign - Old Crow Balthazor vs mdsmall
Hi Peek - Glad to hear that you have enjoyed reading these lengthy missives. I decided for the 1916 match not to write a turn-by-turn AAR (given the length of time it takes me to make daily moves in this very complex game). But I will write periodic comments on Old Crow's YT channel explaining my thinking at certain points in the match, plus a wrap-up AAR from my point of view after the game is over.