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I am sorry. I got out of order. Entente Turn 8: Ivanov is advancing on the East Front. At least the Russians have Level 1 Trench Warfare now.

I almost had Przemysl! I was only one strength point of damage short of taking it and I could have if I had managed my attacks better. Unfortunately, I saw another good attack further West and took it first. For some reason, all of the AH units are vulnerable, even in the bad weather. I moved additional Russian units nearby for another attack on Przemysl next turn. The Russians rebuild an Infantry Corps.

I moved the UK Armored Cruiser South to Malta to get an ASW upgrade before I realized that most of the AH Navy in the Adriatic was visible. The French and UK pounced, sinking an AH Battleship, Destroyer and damaging a Dreadnought.

Serbia is stable. I repaired all damaged units.

A scouting French Armored Cruiser noticed that Aqaba was vacant. A UK Cavalry Corps occupied it. Aqaba can be hard to take. This enables a larger Arab partisan revolt along with activation of the Lawrence of Arabia HQ.

The other French Armored Cruiser didn’t spot anything good on the Palestinian coast.

Palestine is lightly defended. One UK Infantry Corps landed in Egypt. The UK Calvary Corps continued sailing onto Mesopotamia.

I lost another French Corps on the West Front. The French rebuild one.

The UK recalled all Destroyers and the Seaplane Carrier to ports for an ASW upgrade. The UK Light Cruiser Chatham was repaired to full strength. A UK Sub arrived. Soon the English Channel U-Boat Freeway will be closed.

The Russians invest one further point into Trench Warfare. The UK invests one further point into Trench Warfare. The French invest one further point in Trench Warfare. The US invests one point in Industrial Technology.

The UK advanced one Level in Trench Warfare.

For screen shots please visit https://postimg.cc/gallery/25r6i7bgu/

I'm stunned. A-H hast 59 moral? So without giving territory to Italy it still would have only 69? How comes this? End of october A-H had only lost 3 units...

I guess the loss of many NM-Objectives in Galicia caused the missing NM.

Together with what I noticed in HvS's AAR, especially AH seems to be very vulnerable compared to Breakthrough; they're seemingly not able to hold their line in Galicia. Also no german major offensives in France or East Prussia, and the advance on Warsaw is halted for winter in both AARs, with both CP-Players waiting for heavy art. to continue. Very surprising.

This is catastrophic for AH, perhaps conquest of Belgrade and retaking Galicia should have high NM boosts to AH so as to make it stay till 1918 else in 1915 its game over, with 59NM a chance for revolt will trigger.

The Germans haven't gone full out on the Belgian front though they have attacked with the Bavarians in the southern sector against France.

Also for some reason, the German player is afraid of Russians in front of Warsaw, infact it should have been the other way around. Maybe Germans lack artillery or tech advantage to repeat their Tannenberg & Masurian lakes in the East.

I think - too much money invested in reserach and too less in battles. I think best Axis choice: 1914 - Belgium and Serbia, 1915 - strong blow to Italy, Warsaw and Galicia.
Serbia is a bone in your throat.

Just an observation on tech. I think Germany should probably start with a point in Airships - historically they had by far the best and most numerous airships throughout the war (parts of the Royal Navy were very frustrated with the Germans' advantage in this area...)

ORIGINAL: Cfant

I'm stunned. A-H hast 59 moral? So without giving territory to Italy it still would have only 69? How comes this? End of october A-H had only lost 3 units...

With the Italy DE, the AH National Morale plummeted 30% from over 90% to a little over 60%.



So the continuous string of defeats in Galicia prior to that decision, caused less that 10% NM loss. The impact of giving the territory to Italy was more severe than I expected. The combat capabilities of AH army have fallen dramatically due to the mutinies. Right now, c.u.k can't even hold the defensive line in the mountins. Worst of all, it seems that the DE automatically leads Romania to join the Entente, which is probably worst than having to deal with isolated Italy. The Romanian production points will feed Russia, which is quickly converting into a Godzilla. I have no access to the game until Sunday, when I'll be able to provide more insights.

ORIGINAL: shri

This is catastrophic for AH, perhaps conquest of Belgrade and retaking Galicia should have high NM boosts to AH so as to make it stay till 1918 else in 1915 its game over, with 59NM a chance for revolt will trigger.

The Germans haven't gone full out on the Belgian front though they have attacked with the Bavarians in the southern sector against France.

Also for some reason, the German player is afraid of Russians in front of Warsaw, infact it should have been the other way around. Maybe Germans lack artillery or tech advantage to repeat their Tannenberg & Masurian lakes in the East.

It's not really possible to advance against Russian Poland without the upgraded artillery. The Russian forts have 5 entrenchment value. With Russia having already researched trench warfare 1, even attacking Russian units in the open ground would be very costly. Also, if the Russians don't advance into East Prussia, then it's rather difficult to repeat the Tannenberg [:D]

Note, that there'll be some changes introduced before the release and they will help the attacking sides in 1914 and 1915 [:)]

ORIGINAL: The Land

Just an observation on tech. I think Germany should probably start with a point in Airships - historically they had by far the best and most numerous airships throughout the war (parts of the Royal Navy were very frustrated with the Germans' advantage in this area...)

They do start with one chit invested in the Airship research but I sold it. I've decided not to invest in extravagant weapon systems or in the navy. Germany is a land power [:)]

Ivanov,

WW1 Gold had compulsory attacks-
Austria for Serbia
Russia for East Prussia
France for Alsace
Germany for France (either north or south)
if at end of 1914 it didn't happen or failed, NM loss, if successful NM gain.
This feature stopped the GAMEY tactics of being passive on fronts i.e. Germany attacking only Russia or Russia only Austria and France being totally comatose defensive. because such tactics were extremely a-historical.

Also, i understood from earlier reply that your gifting of Hapsburg land collapsed NM (rightly so). This is a great feature, that decision would have never been agreed in Vienna it is totally anachronistic for it to have 0 consequences. Kudos to Bill & Hubert for scripting an immediate Romanian invasion (though Bulgaria would also have declared war against Romania immediately on a Historical context)

ORIGINAL: shri

Ivanov,

WW1 Gold had compulsory attacks-
Austria for Serbia
Russia for East Prussia
France for Alsace
Germany for France (either north or south)
if at end of 1914 it didn't happen or failed, NM loss, if successful NM gain.
This feature stopped the GAMEY tactics of being passive on fronts i.e. Germany attacking only Russia or Russia only Austria and France being totally comatose defensive. because such tactics were extremely a-historical.

Also, i understood from earlier reply that your gifting of Hapsburg land collapsed NM (rightly so). This is a great feature, that decision would have never been agreed in Vienna it is totally anachronistic for it to have 0 consequences. Kudos to Bill & Hubert for scripting an immediate Romanian invasion (though Bulgaria would also have declared war against Romania immediately on a Historical context)

Yep, I agree with severe penalty for the Italian DE. I just didn't expect it to have such a negative consequences based on my experience with the previous version of the game years ago. I also like the variant with the compulsory attacks for the major powers, this sounds pretty cool and historical. Reminds me of the mandatory offensives in the board game Paths of Glory.

Turn 9

30th of January. Winter of discontent.

This time I wanted to show you a mod created by IronX. He is already renown for his excellent SCWW2 mod, but I think that with the WW1 mod, he managed to create his opus magnum. These are probably the most beautiful counters I've ever seen in a game. The sound has been updated too. I'm pretty sure you'll love it too!


After ceding the territory to Italy, Austro-Hungary is facing all kinds of problems. The hit on front unit morale was severe. A lot of them mutinied, so their morale and readiness are very low. Russians took a full advantage of this situation and attacked viciously along the whole front in Galicia. Despite of having their attack strengths halved due to the snowy weather, the Eastern hordes almost managed to take Przemysl. The discipline inside the fortress has almost collapsed, but we'll be sending them reinforcements in a due course.



Because because the territory was given to Italy, half of the AH fleet was ejected from the ports and ended up in the middle of the sea. We didn't really consider this eventuality. Entente has a massive presence in the Adriatic Sea and our homeless ships will become an easy picking for the enemy.

In the Warsaw area, Hindenburg's 8th Armee struck the Enemy, despite of the adverse whether conditions and destroyed one enemy corps. We need to do everything we can, in order to help our vulnerable, Southern ally.




Better news came from the West. The 6th Armee struck again and this time captured the important city of Nancy! The French no doubt will try to take it back, but it will be very hard for them, to sustain this rate of attrition.






There was no combat on the Ottoman front, but the Russians started moving in the Caucasus. The Russians seem to be everywhere in strength!



It seems like the British are starting the invasion of Palestine, so the Ottoman forces consolidate their forces there:

Turn 10

27th of March 1915. The shoe soles of Mesopotamia.


The impact of giving the territories to Italy have been really terrible for the k.u.k armies. Right now, with their morale low, they can't even hold the defensive line. A general retreat to the Carpathian Mountains is ordered.



Another unexpected effect of the Italian decision, is that Romania is going to join the Entente next turn. This is a real disaster. It would be preferable to deal with an isolated Italy, than with Romania, which is going to lend it's MMP's to the Russian Godzilla. Oh, and half of the AH Adriatic fleet has found it's new ports on the bottom of the sea. The Italian decision was a really bad one. So my advice is: dear children – don't give the territory to the greedy Italians. It's better to fight them.

The German armies attacked in Poland and destroyed another Russian corps but we still need the upgraded artillery, to be able to achieve a real breakthrough there.



As expected, the French recaptured Nancy and German army has destroyed an enemy corps in the city in return. If the French want to play the attritional game, then we are fine with that.



In Palestine an Ottoman corps moved to block the British cavalry in Aqaba. Note the presence of colonial and ANZAC corps on the Sinai Peninsula:




In Mesopotamia the Ottoman force moved against the weak British detachment, which has taken position in Amara. The spies reported to Nureddin Ibrahim Pasha, that the provisions of he British unit are really poor. Apparently the enemy soldiers are reduced to eating the soles of their boots.

Wow those unit counters are really nice. I hope they get added into the game permanently via community pack

Entente Turn 10: Ivanov destroyed another Russian Corps. I must hold him in front of Warsaw or I will lose Warsaw.

It appears that AH in making the very unpopular peace deal with Italy, dropped the morale of all AH land forces down to 20-30%. That is why the Russians can do some much damage to them. I don’t know if this is a permanent or a temporary drop. The Russians continue to advance and attack against the AH. Other Russian forces fronting the AH advance and entrench.

The Russians advance into the Ottoman City of Van.

The Romanians prepare for the defense of Romania, as it appears that Ivanov wants to knock out Romania quickly with German forces.

The Serbs nibble at the AH, advance into vacated Sarajevo and assists the Romanians in defense. The Serbs rebuild a destroyed Serbian Detachment.

The French sink a damaged AH Sub in the Adriatic. Entente Subs attack AH ships in port, but don’t get any hits.

The UK advances in Mesopotamia and take a town with Calvary. This front is likely to be stalemated now.

Ivanov destroys another French Corps. The UK take over the French portion of Belgium defense to free up French Corps for service in France. France builds another Corps, fully repairs a Dreadnought, adds ASW upgrade to the two Armored Cruisers in the Channel.

Between paying installments for Decision Events and U-Boat raiding, the UK is getting very few MPP’s.

The UK viciously attacks a U-Boat in the Channel with the new ASW weapons. The second UK Motor Torpedo Boat arrives. The U-Boat Channel Highway is almost closed.

The UK add ASW Level 1 to a Dreadnought and a Destroyer. I intend to upgrade all Entente ships on the blockade lines to Level 1 ASW. The UK Corps in Belgium is repaired to full strength and the new UK Corps in England is repaired to 8 Strength.

The Russians invest one point in Air Warfare.

For screen shots, please see https://postimg.cc/gallery/39rtdv5n2/

The "Territory to Italy" deceision seems to be a no-brainer. I cannot imagine any situation, where the cost would be justified. While it may be ok in the historical context, it's not really a deceision. Would be better to also give a little territory to Rumania and keep them out of the war too. This maybe could be useful sometimes.

Turn 11.

24th of April 1915. Chained to a corps.

With the Romanian entry, Austro Hungarian Morale falls further and reaches 53%. If this dynamic continues, the war may really end by Christmas. Of 1915 that is. From the other hand, the German army is still strong. Romania needs to be punished and a Strafe-Expedition is organised. A newly formed German army starts the invasion of the country.





At the same time, the k.u.k nearly colapses in the Carpathians, which forces the Ober Ost to form the so called Südarmee. This new, army size formation, is composed of German and AH units. It's immediate task is to stop Russian penetrations from the Southeast.





Meanwhile a disaster struck in Bosnia. The AH command foolishly left Sarajevo unprotected, which allowed the Serbs to occupy an empty city. This in turn forced k.u.k to shorten the frontline and abandon the two of three Adriatic ports, remaining the the AH hands. More ships will be sunk. For now they sailed on a suicide mission against the Entente ships.





The only positive news came from the shores of Red Sea. Ottoman forces have attacked the port of Aqba, which is expected to fall quickly.





The Western Front and the front in Poland have been quiet, but there are some good news coming from German artillery depots...

Entente Turn 11: Peace in East Prussia and in Poland. The Czar is pleased.

The Russians destroy two AH Corps in Galaxia and advance. Demoralized AH POW’s curse the peace deal with Italy.

The Romanians are worried as they can’t hurt the Germans in an attack.

For play balance purposes, the two Romanians marked with the Sleep dot will not be added by script in the finished game. I am therefore moving them off to be disbanded to make this game fairer.

The Serbs advance into vacant Mostar and Ragusa. The Serbs repair all damaged units.

The French and UK ships in the Adriatic sink an AH Battleship that was attacking my Destroyer. Entente Intelligence believes that the AH Navy only has a damaged Dreadnought left.

French Destroyers naval cruise towards France for a full repair and an ASW upgrade. All current AH Subs have been sunk. The upgraded UK Destroyer naval cruises towards Gibraltar.

Mesopotamia is stable.

Ivanov reinforced Gaza faster than I expected. I had to move my UK Cavalry out of Aqaba or it would have been destroyed next turn. Hopefully, I will still get the Lawrence of Arabia Decision Event for having taken Aqaba.

The Russians prepare for a push in the Southern part of the Caucasus. I need upgraded Artillery to successfully attack in other spots. The Russians build a Detachment for a sneak sea invasion of Zonguldak.

The French Recon Bomber sadly learns that the Germans now have a Fighter. ☹

The French shift forces to the East, repair and rebuild a French Corps.

The UK attack and sink a damaged U-Boat in the English Channel. The U-Boat Channel Highway has officially been closed. ASW ships sail to port to resupply for deep sea U-Boat hunting.

Several UK capital ships are upgraded to ASW Level 1. Upgraded ships return to the Blockade Lines.

The French invest a point in Air Warfare. The UK invests a further point in Trench Warfare.

For screen shots, please see https://postimg.cc/gallery/1oic5pxou/

Turn 12.

22nd of May 1915. The Carpathian hope.



Austro-Hungarian National Morale falls below 50%. We are presented with a decision:



We are going to say "yes". Every little helps in this critical situation.



Südarmee managed to beat the Russian cavalry spearhead, that was already reconnoitring the Hungarian plain. It was critical to stop the enemy right there. A Russian cavalry corps was destroyed and the k.u.k cavalry gave a good account of itself in this battle. The rest of the AH front holds despite of the loses. It seems that the Russian are desperate to achieve a breakthrough somewhere.




In Poland the army of Hindenburg is almost ready to attack towards Warsaw. The artillery has been finally upgraded thanks to efforts of a industrious colonel Georg Bruchmüller. New tactics have been rehearsed and implemented, so during the next turn, someones fortresses will be pounded to dust.

It will take some time before the Romanian invasions kicks off fully. We also need artillery there and it too needs to be upgraded first.

All quiet on the Western Front, but as soon as the artillery is ready, we are going to strike locally around Nancy to inflict the attrition on the French.



Meanwhile the brave Ottoman troops, clear Aqaba from the infidel forces:

Entente Turn 12: This was a rather quiet turn. Russian gets a Sub in the Baltic, which exposes but didn’t detonate two German Naval Mines.

Ivanov badly damaged a Russian Infantry Corps and destroyed a Cavalry Corps. The Russians destroy an AH Corps in Galaxia and advance. The average AH ground unit morale is healing back up to around 40-60% from the negative effects of the land for Italian peace deal.

The Russian Seaplane Carrier attacks the port of Zonguldak, so the Russian Sub can move in safely to raid. A Russian Dreadnought and Battleship stand by in ambush positions.

In the Caucasus, the Russians bomb Erzurum and prepare for a ground attack.

The Romanians better prepare their defensive line.

The Serbs advance to protect the naval use of a captured port and build a detachment.

The French and UK Subs and the Seaplane Carrier attack the damaged AH Dreadnought in port, almost sinking it.

French Destroyers dock in France for a future full repair and an ASW upgrade. The upgraded UK Destroyer sails into Gibraltar to eventually join the U-Boat hunters.

Mesopotamia is stable.

The UK repairs and entrenches in Egypt.

The French get a Fighter. The French Sack/Replace a 4 HQ with a 6 HQ. The French repair and strengthen the lines.

Several UK capital ships in Britain are upgraded to ASW Level 1. Upgraded ships return to the Blockade Lines.

A UK Destroyer escorts the transported Haig HQ and two UK Infantry Corps from England towards Egypt.

The French and Russians achieve Level 2 Trench Warfare. The Russians achieve a Level in Industrial Production. The Serbs achieve Level 1 Trench Warfare.

For screen shots, please see https://postimg.cc/gallery/2fk63tdxq/