Ash V Will: SC2:WWI edition (CP - Ash)

[AshFall]

The fight is picking up as the western powers get serious about landscaping and turning central Europe into a lovely series of mud-pits!

Turns 11-14 are up, with Central powers hopes of early victory proving premature!

[AshFall]

Turn 15 is up

[AshFall]

We have nor played until the start of 1916, which looks to be the year of the meatgrinder and the relentless pounding of big guns!

[AshFall]

Turns 21-24 are up!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q1I ... sp=sharing

The war enters a new phase, and the Germans face some grim realities after some maths on the morale front...

[AshFall]

Turns are flying by so fast I'm missing out on counting some of them!

Sorry about that everyone. Nonetheless, the game is coming down to a nail-biting and dreadful all-out slugfest in the west. An old power is rising, and the kraken has surfaced to swallow the wealth of an empire.

Read on up to turn 35!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q1I ... sp=sharing

[AshFall]

And the game is a wrap!

AAR updated with the end of the war.

Comments, thoughts and tips all very appreciated.

Would you all like to see another AAR in this format?

[Will952]

Good game mate.

A very tough early game for the Entente with an early Serbian and Russian exit. Attacking through Belgium was a bit of a last throw of the dice but the benefit of France being largely left alone was a hefty economy able to field large amount of artillery and tech up quickly.

Once the Brits and French took the initiative on the attack it made for a very tricky recovery for the CP - each turn holes were opening and the arty behind was being wounded.

Tricky match, but fun - well played.

[AshFall]

ORIGINAL: Will952

Good game mate.

A very tough early game for the Entente with an early Serbian and Russian exit. Attacking through Belgium was a bit of a last throw of the dice but the benefit of France being largely left alone was a hefty economy able to field large amount of artillery and tech up quickly.

Once the Brits and French took the initiative on the attack it made for a very tricky recovery for the CP - each turn holes were opening and the arty behind was being wounded.

Tricky match, but fun - well played.

Thanks mate! Fun game, well played!

You did really well focusing solely on the western front pretty much. Aside from rather token efforts with the British in Palestine and Mesopotamia, everything the western Entente had just bulldozed in from the west front.

Goes to show that Austria and Ottomans seem to be sideshows in some ways, doesnt matter how good their morale is 100+% or more, if Germany is beaten then that's a wrap.

[AshFall]

Copied and posted here from out post game chat.

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I think I made a couple of key mistakes. Logistics tech (not making the connection to shell capacity until very late and leaving austria/ottomans very low there in the end) was one, but the larger ones were probably:
1. Spent too much time and troops killing the pocket in Poland, dont need that many troops or a full encirclement to do it.
2. I was way too slow shifting fronts to also pressure the west, I let you take the initiative there. Basically, once I had driven the Russians to a certain point (which should have gone faster if I hadnt dawdled) a much earlier shift west could have made the difference
3. I think it's a good idea to hit the Brit NM squares sooner, and periodically throughout the game instead of just at the end.

The only thing I really think might be something to implement, but will need more play experience first, is something to mirror this ahistorical situation.

Basically, Germany surrendered due to exhaustion (well modeled in the game) but very much also because their allies were either surrendered (ottomans) or were also beaten and exhausted, pretty much unable to keep on fighting (Austria).

In the game there is fairly little incentive to care about the Ottomans and Austrians once the war starts going badly for the Entente in those theatres.
If both the Ottomans and Austrians were strong and rearing to go, I think the Germans would have been much more resilient.

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[Will952]

I wonder if it would be interesting to have some sort of allied strength mechanic - whereby if 1 country is below, say 25% NM, but an allied nation is still above 75%, the higher morale nation could uplift the other by some small effect each turn? Maybe for a cost? Thinking aloud.

[AshFall]

ORIGINAL: Will952

I wonder if it would be interesting to have some sort of allied strength mechanic - whereby if 1 country is below, say 25% NM, but an allied nation is still above 75%, the higher morale nation could uplift the other by some small effect each turn? Maybe for a cost? Thinking aloud.

I was thinking about something along those lines as well. That would give some incentive to go after the other majors.

[BillRunacre]

Thanks for the AAR, I hope you both had fun and it was very interesting to see Germany struggling to defend its western borders.

Germany's NM is something to think about, but then they must have suffered heavily for them to surrender without the hefty penalties the loss of their allies cause?

[AshFall]

ORIGINAL: BillRunacre

Thanks for the AAR, I hope you both had fun and it was very interesting to see Germany struggling to defend its western borders.

Germany's NM is something to think about, but then they must have suffered heavily for them to surrender without the hefty penalties the loss of their allies cause?

Well, hm.

It was an odd game to be sure.

Germany had pretty much total success until late 1915, crushing Montenegro, Albania and Serbia quickly. By end of 1915 Russia was pretty much done, army slaughtered in Poland for not much loss for the Germans and pushed far into the country.

Mid 1915 Entente invaded Belgium, then Netherlands. Austria focused on taking the remainder of Crimea and Greece, Germany started railing back to the west to deal with the entente.

Russia surrendered without Lenin event in June 1916. With no Italy involved, the rest of the game was mopping up Egypt and Greece with Austria and the Ottomans and trying to hold the Entente back in the west and getting slowly pushed east into Germany. Most of the Austrian forces went to the west after the fall of Russia.

In July 1916 German morale was at 52%, Austrian at 88% and Ottoman at 102%.

Entente kept throwing men into the grinder, and by August/september 1917, despite four turns of full unrestricted warfare and some partial turns, the bleed, losses, and lost NM locations had Germany down to 9% or so, the US in the war, Egypt and Greece surrendered.

Despite 2/3 of the front being covered by Austrians and Ottomans, battlefield losses added to ongoing drain meant Germany was down to 9% NM and losing about 1-2% per turn. No way to turn that around, even if by then I had the means with both Ottomans and Austrians building tanks, troops and top-line aircraft.

I made several mistakes like I outlined above, mostly thinking in terms of historical context and also perhaps some late game "resilience" for Germany if their Allies are very strong. Austrian and Ottoman morale were both at well over 75%. Probably shouldnt be super much, and only kick in once they need to be "propped up" (below 25%, maybe 50-100 nm per turn per major above 75% nm?)

Picture shows the state of it, the red line is the extent of the Entente advance into Germany, still plenty of the Fatherland left at our backs, but...

[pjg100]

Thank you for the AAR. So interesting and so unlike SCWaW - for CP to lose even after conquering Russia.

[BillRunacre]

Thanks for the explanations and AAR AshFall! [:)]

[redrum68]

Interesting AAR. I kind of like to see that the CP needed to probably focus more on the Western Front as otherwise the all out against Serbia and Russia is too strong.