Schlieffen Plan

[06 Maestro]

The A/H forces are not quite stong enough for a major invasion of Serbia. The fifth Army will besiege Belgrade as the main attack in this area. The fall of Belgrade will hurt the Sebians' badly-so this one effort needs to be made, The KUK will be entrained for the Belgrade area with some heavy artillery.

[06 Maestro]

Right off the start, thing are not going to well for A/H. The Serbians attacked into Belgrade, and after inflicting some losses, drove out the A/H Army. It will be a while before Serbia will be conquered.

[06 Maestro]

King Albert is going crazy-he launched a major attack against the main body of the German 1st Army located in Brussels. The results were predictable. This did have the unpleasant side effect of delaying the 1st Army's move toward the coast.
I do not know of the AI is smart enough to figure these kinds of things out, but it did move some French forces north of Ghent while the Belgians sacrificed themselves.

[06 Maestro]

The German 3rd Army is trying to clear the Ardennes. It has finnaly been able to attack one French army without being hammered first. It might be a case of bad luck, or a General that needs a different line of work, but the 3rd Army has the worst recod of any of the German Armies so- far.

In any event, the battle of the Ardennes was a German victory-better late than never-maybe.

[06 Maestro]

The German 8th Army finally got some action. The Battle of Soldau was a cheap victory. It might be time for a thrust on Warsaw. There is a slim chance of success for that operation, but it would take some heat off the A/H forces.

[06 Maestro]

On the Galician Front, the A/H Army has held its own. There were several battles in which the the Russians were attacking. The Russians have suffered slightly more losses, but had achieved victory more often than not.

The Battle of Zamosc was one the Russians lost.

[06 Maestro]

The east had several small battle with light loses. One notable exception was the battle of Chelm. The A/H were on the offense to secure a rail line. The Russians must have been out of supply, as they did worse than I expected. As it was, it was very close. I had to throw in the cavalry corps at the end. Every unit in the 1st Army was damaged, but none destroyed. It was an important victory which has left a hole in the Russian lines south of Warsaw.

[06 Maestro]

This is the situation in Belgium and N.W. France at the start of Nov/Dec. It appears that the Germans have not made great progress, but that is not the whole story. The Entente AI made a major effort to save Belgium. The French Army has paid a big price in trying to hold back the German invaders. It was not really a cheap fight for Germany either, but 2 French corps were surrounded and will soon be destroyed. The Belgium Army should be just about finished.

When the ET lines give way, there should not be much left to stop the Germany Army from marching into France-except for the BEF-ha ha ha-they shall be brushed aside.

[06 Maestro]

There have been some interesting development along the Moselle. The French have stubbornly clung on to Longwy. After several brutal battles, they are still there. Their position is now becoming vulnerable due to the flanks giving way.

To take advantage of this situation, the German 5th Army will attack south of Longwy in an effort to cut off the French Army located there (along with the GHQ). If this operation can be pulled off, France may be left at a permanent disadvantage.

The 4th Army will make an effort to take Nancy. This is risky, as there is at least a garrison there along with a major fort, and the 4th Army only has regular artillery. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If this attack is successful, France may be done.

Everyone may be back home in time to see the cherries bloom-the leaves have already fallen.

[06 Maestro]

The Army cuts off the French 3rd Army and the GHQ!. The Battle of Cote de Meuse was a close affair. German losses were significant, and it took all reserves to push through victory.

Note: I do not entrust the AI with offensive battles. There are some special considerations for saving units from being over used which the AI sometimes seems to ignore. I frequently let it handle a defensive battle if I'm sure of the outcome. If a "retreat" may be a smart move to save units, I will conduct that myself.

[06 Maestro]

The A/H Empire is engaged in a defensive campaign at this time. The 1st Army may take some action, otherwise, it is time to dig in.

[06 Maestro]

The situation around E. Prussia has not change too much. It appears the Russians are ready to launch a major attack from the east on Koenigsberg.

[06 Maestro]

Lodz is apparantly an important place to the Russian AI. They were driven out, and then counterattacked. In each case, the German 9th Army was too much for them.

There were several other small battles around E. Prussia. The Russians are taking the worst of it, but Germany is suffering losses also.

[06 Maestro]

The Battle of Lubieszow was a major A/H victory. This was a relief for me, as the A/H forces are getting spread a little thin.

[06 Maestro]

The Sebian front has not change too much in the big picture, but there has actually been a lot of activity. Belgrade was captured, then retaken. The Serbs have actually crossed int A/H territory. I think they are getting alittle too pushy-a hammer will fall.

[06 Maestro]

The KUK moves onto Belgrade followed by a short battle. The siege was a rather short affair this time-one bombardment with some of those special A/H guns.

[06 Maestro]

The Ottoman Empire has finally joined the fray on the CP side. The OE Army is not in position for any action yet against the Russians, but gave it one small effort. There is a large OE Army in Palestine-I'm sure things will heat up there.

[06 Maestro]

At the end of the Nov/Dec turn, the game inters its first "interphase". There was a boatload of political actions from all sides.
It seems that everyone had the following actions;
1. Improve War time economy.
2 Improve NW.
3. Appoint a new Leader.
4. Added conscription.

France also formed a new government. There were many other changes as well.

The A/H's took a big hit that I was not expecting; mutinies. I think it was an event card played by the ET AI-very bad effect on the Army. Replacements were barely adequate before-now, the A/H Army may have to retreat just to survive. This is too bad as they were putting up a great fight.

Another bad event for A/H; it looks like Italy has joined the ET. That frontier is still covered, but w/o reserves.

[06 Maestro]

On the Political front the CP is having a tough time. For some reason, many countries had no "path" to send AMB's after August-not even to bBulgaria. Rumania is still in Reach for bother Germany and the A/H Empire. They have recieved much attnetion from the Cp with some good results-but not each time.

[06 Maestro]

I lost track of the losses, but it is significant. This mutiny business has strategic implications. I will have to pay more attention to the mutiny event cards the next time around.