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In the West, the 1st Army is still advancing unopposed; however, I should have left some corps behind, as the situation looks a bit dangerous operationally. The 2nd Army manages to capture Brussels, while the 3rd Army takes Sedan after a minor engagement. The 4th Army captures Longwy after inflicting heavy losses on the French. Well, Hindenburg does seem to be repeating history — though in a much less impressive way. He destroys two Russian corps at Tannenberg and reestablishes the land connection. The 2nd Russian Army appears isolated, but I think it’s just an HQ unit; otherwise, the territory would probably not belong to Germany. The BEF is on its way. By the way, World War 1 Centennial Edition (CE) is currently on sale at GamersGate for less than $2. The difference between Gold and CE is mostly technical — the latter is a modified version of the former, developed by a different company. Some say (myself included) that CE runs better than Gold — with fewer crashes and smoother movement on the map — while others say the opposite. It’s so cheap that you can simply try it out for yourself.

Apparently, due to a legal issue, CE is not listed on the Steam store, but the key activation works just fine. https://www.gamersgate.com/product/worl ... l-edition/

Here’s a forum discussion on the issue: https://forums.matrixgames.com/viewtopic.php?t=260987

So where's the main body of the French Army? Enquiring minds want to know.

Nice job isolating Samsonov's army in East Prussia. The German Fourth Army inflicting horrific losses on the French is historical; look up the Battle of Rossignol on 22 August where the German VI Corps effectively annihilated the elite French 3rd Colonial Division suffering trifling losses in the process. The Wikipedia article here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rossignol does the battle little justice but Terrance Zuber's excellent The Battle of the Frontiers 1914 goes into significant detail.

I bought CE from Digital Froggies when it released but they failed to fix many of the stock WW1G errors and omissions. I rewrote my collective Naval Mod fixes to it including for the 1917 scenario, if you're interested, drop me a PM. Unfortunately I cannot get the program to run on my Win-11 laptop since the installation refuses to legitimate recognize my user key. No idea why, it's not the only program that Win-11 breaks. Thanks Microsoft.

-C

Randomizer wrote: Thu Oct 16, 2025 11:16 pm

Metalist wrote: Sun Oct 12, 2025 8:17 pm
Mata Hari also told me that French is gonna hit hard at Alsace-Lorraine (note the red flags above the French counters, they mean it is mandatory for that unit to attack).

Well, the latest intel indicated that it was near Alsace-Lorraine, but most likely they will move towards Northern France to face my armies.

Thanks for the historical note, my WW1 knowledge is quite limited.

PM sent for 1917 scenario.

Email response sent.

-C

The siege tests occur right after the military phase is completed, and Belgrade surrenders after a bombardment. A crucial technology, Chlorine Gas, is now available. However, using it will require successful deployment of relevant doctrine, a topic we will see later on. The British initiate a blockade of the Central Powers. While it won’t cause much trouble at first, the situation will eventually worsen. At that point — or whenever they choose — the Germans may attempt to use their navy to break the blockade for each turn they control the North Sea. There is also a more serious type of blockade, called the Neutrals Blockade, which the British may choose to implement. Both types of blockades also have the following diplomatic effects:

"When the “Central Powers Blockade” is declared, some neutral countries react and their diplomatic levels shift towards Central Powers. If Britain decrees the “Neutrals Blockade”, the same happens, with even more drastic effects.
The diplomatic effects are immediate and the diplomatic levels are adjusted as follows:
● Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden:
Central Powers blockade: +1 or +2 (50% chance each).
Neutrals blockade: +1, +2 or +3 (33% chance each).

● United States: their level moves 1 up because of the Central Powers blockade, and another 2 up when the Neutrals blockade is decreed." Enver Pasha forces me to conduct offensive operations.

Now whom should I send a diplomatic mission to? The Balkans are on the brink of erupting: both Romania and Bulgaria are very close to joining the war on opposite sides. If one of them joins, the other will most likely follow automatically because of the geopolitical factors mentioned earlier. However, I don’t want to create more trouble for Austria-Hungary by prompting Romania to enter in reaction to Bulgaria, so I decide to send my mission to Romania to try to counter a likely Entente mission. German AMBs manage to drift Romania only slightly toward the Central Powers, while the Entente goes after Spain. Actually, I think I should have realized they wouldn’t carry out their mission in Romania by noticing that there were no Entente AMBs there. Such details could be included in the Fog of War if desired. An interesting nation from a diplomatic perspective is Italy, and it can become a real point of struggle between the opposing camps. Here is some information on Italy’s diplomatic standing:

"Italy, despite being an official member of the Central Powers, has distanced itself from the Triple Alliance, and intends to offer its services to the “highest bidder”.
● Italy is divided and unreliable, and its current attitude is randomly determined: even pro-Entente, odd pro-Central Powers. BUT, if her Diplomatic Level is 0 and if the Entente has at least the same number of AMB as the Centrals Powers, then Italy is always pro-Entente (no die roll in this case).
● It is checked each time a Diplomatic Action is executed in Italy.
● In addition, Italy makes voracious demands, and this limits the AMBassador’s efficiency in 1914: as in the Balkans, the Diplomatic table uses only the -2 to +2 columns, even if the AMBassador differential is more than that (including the pro-xxx bonuses).
● In 1915, Italy will be very receptive to territory promises. "

In the West, the German army will continue advancing through Northern France, while replacements are deployed to Alsace-Lorraine to hold off French attacks. In the East, Hindenburg aims to annihilate the subordinate forces of the 2nd Russian Army. The latter’s main HQ is doomed, as isolated units are being destroyed during the second consecutive turn of their isolation. While Germany is doing fine, Austria-Hungary is not in a good situation. The Russians are advancing faster than I expected. Fortunately, the Central Powers have the initiative this turn, meaning my units will move first. The game is WEGO, but it still preserves some elements of board game logic, unlike other AGEOD titles. On the Serbian front, the 6th Army will attempt to capture Cetinje. The 5th Army, on the other hand, is going to pursue Serbian forces that appear to be moving toward our interior.

The 2nd Ottoman Army has been formed in Trabzon (automatic) and is preparing to advance toward Batumi under von der Goltz’s command. Enver Pasha is en route to Kars, albeit slowly. Hopefully, the 4th Army won’t encounter anything terrible in Egypt.

Ottoman Turkey is a difficult ally. The Army is reasonably effective even if the army commanders are mostly mediocre but when Enver's obstination events kick in, the Army will be required to make attacks or lose NM, except that these offensives often also cost NM due to losses. With three fronts (four if the Entente invades the Dardanelles), you have little wiggle room . Invading the Caucasus does not really get you anywhere and throws strength against strength. You probably cannot take Suez and it takes forever to get sufficient forces to reinforce the Baghdad front, which probably offers the best opportunity to hurt the British. Try to get Persia on side and throw the British into the Persian Gulf for late 1915.

The dispersion on the Western Front is a bit worrisome as is the collapse of the Austrians in Galicia. That said, so far so good.

-C

The Western Front is doing well. The Belgians receive no help from their allies and therefore can’t put up strong resistance. The French launch an all-out attack on Metz, Colmar, and Saarbourg but are clearly defeated. The Germans capture Lille and Reims and are well positioned to strike deeper into French territory. Home before the leaves fall, maybe? In the East, a Russian attack on Posen is thwarted, and Hindenburg manages to isolate the remnants of the 2nd Russian Army as well. The 1st Russian Army renews its thrust toward Königsberg, though. Galicia looks very bad. I really need to withdraw quickly and establish a proper line. In Serbia, Cetinje is captured. West of Belgrade, the Serbs manage to repel an Austrian attack, but they are trapped nevertheless.

The Battle of Kars ends in Turkish defeat, heavy losses for both sides. Surprisingly, the survivors retreat toward the enemy interior and become isolated. Ageod games have taught me to make peace with such unexpected moves. So I’ll just try to save them with the 2nd Army, but it looks difficult. In the south, Ottoman forces defeat the British, but with heavy losses. The current state of the 4th Ottoman Army isn’t really suitable for any further advance.

Randomizer wrote: Sun Oct 19, 2025 11:05 pm Ottoman Turkey is a difficult ally. The Army is reasonably effective even if the army commanders are mostly mediocre but when Enver's obstination events kick in, the Army will be required to make attacks or lose NM, except that these offensives often also cost NM due to losses. With three fronts (four if the Entente invades the Dardanelles), you have little wiggle room . Invading the Caucasus does not really get you anywhere and throws strength against strength. You probably cannot take Suez and it takes forever to get sufficient forces to reinforce the Baghdad front, which probably offers the best opportunity to hurt the British. Try to get Persia on side and throw the British into the Persian Gulf for late 1915.

The dispersion on the Western Front is a bit worrisome as is the collapse of the Austrians in Galicia. That said, so far so good.

-C

I see the Ottoman role as one of distraction, so I'm not that worried if they will be successful on capturing their objectives. If they draw enemy forces from other fronts that's fine. That said, the result of the Battle of Kars seems to be supporting your position regarding Caucasus.

Ageod games have taught me to make peace with such unexpected moves.

Fair point although given that area Kunamy has a lower movement point cost than the alternative where the Third Army detachment is located. This might explain the seemingly counter-intuitive "withdrawal".

Fast forward to the summer of 1915 and MGen Charles Townshend and his Poona Division was defeated at Ctesiphon, outside of Baghdad and withdrew to Kut-al-Amara, which anyone who could read a map, knew was a trap. Townshend, like Enver was both arrogant and incompetent so seeing the AGEOD AI make such moves can be a bit less painful. The consensus by some historians is that Townshend allowed himself to be besieged in Kut to force the theatre commander, LGen Nixon to rescue him. Townshend surrendered in May 1916, almost 14,000 British and Indian troops marched into captivity and fewer than 5000 survived the war.

Idiots in real operations sometimes do stupid things.

-C

Germany receives a generic, economic boom event, which gives 20 EPs and -1 civilian (hence +1 war time) industry. In the game, economy is scaled from 9 to 0, from a civilian economy to a total war economy. The lower the number gets, production is increased (more EPs) and new factories become operational bringing various benefits such as increased munitions output. However, it also leads to a decrease in national will of the country, I will talk about this later on. Central Powers again targeted Romania, while the Entente went after Sweden. Both of us have failed. The importance of Sweden stems from the "Agricultural Shortage" dynamic. Here's the relevant section from the manual:
"Germany needs to import a huge quantity of agricultural products, because her agricultural production is far below her needs. In 1914, it has a 7 point shortage (requirement 16 – internal production 9). Germany must acquire these missing 7 points. It may do so in two ways: either by trading with neutral countries (through the obtaining of a diplomatic agreement of Agricultural Aid), or by military conquest.
The following countries each provide 1 point, but only if their diplomatic levels are within certain limits (which is OK in 1914, and is rather easy to continue):

level 0+: Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

level 1+: Romania, Belgium and Italy.
● If a minor country’s level is below the limit or if it is at war against Central Powers, it provides no agricultural points.
● When a minor country (from this list) is conquered militarily by Central Powers (all its cities are occupied) or if it is at war on the side of Central Powers, Germany gets 1 agricultural point.
● Germany may get 1 extra agricultural point when she conquers Russian Poland or Ukraine. She also gets these 2 points if peace is signed with Russia.
● If France surrenders and sues for peace, Germany’s agricultural shortage ends completely."

Hindenburg has been promoted (automatic) to Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front, while Falkenhayn replaces Moltke in the West — good news, as he is considerably more capable.
I also drew a card that removes the fog of war on one front and immediately used it on the Western Front.

Randomizer wrote: Tue Oct 21, 2025 3:48 am

I actually like that commanders can sometimes do suboptimal moves. It feels like I'm not in total control and this makes the game more exciting.

Thanks to the event card, I’m able to see the enemy forces on the Western Front. It’s going to be a tough turn, especially with the arrival of the BEF. The German 1st Army will attempt to advance closer to Paris, while the 2nd and 3rd Armies cover its flanks. In the Alsace-Lorraine sector, the French seem to be retreating — most likely due to our advances in northern France. The 4th Army will try to slow them down by attacking Verdun, while the 6th Army moves forward to capture the abandoned regions. In the East, the 8th Army advances to face the Russian 1st Army, while the newly formed 9th and 10th Armies (created automatically from corps transferred from the Western Front) move toward Poland. Due to bad weather, the armies are progressing slowly almost everywhere. Austria-Hungary is struggling desperately to establish a continuous front.

Hopefully, the Serbs will be eliminated by their inability to break the isolation. The Ottoman 3rd Army appears to be doomed; they won’t be able to link up with the 2nd Army. The 5th Army is on its way to capture Kuwait. The 4th Army, on the other hand, is retreating to El Arish after British reinforcements were spotted.

Annihilating the Serbian Army at this stage would a good thing, well done. It also looks like you have a shot at knocking Belgium out of the war. Eliminating two minor countries helps defray some of the NW losses for casualties while exacerbating NW losses for the Entente. Finger's crossed.

-C

The Entente had the initiative this turn, meaning they moved before my own armies did. To block the movement of the 1st Army, they launched an attack that was easily repulsed. I ordered a counterattack, but I must have selected the wrong region. Instead of marching toward Compiègne—closer to Paris—they attacked and captured Péronne. The French made another attempt to capture Colmar; the bloody battle ended in a German victory. However, the Germans’ own attempts to capture Saint-Mihiel and Val de Moselle were not successful either. Verdun is an exception, but since there is a fort there, a siege—probably a long one—will follow.

The first encounter with the British has occurred: the BEF attacked Lille. It was shaping up to be a major battle given the forces involved, but the British did not press on after their initial losses.

In the East, unfortunately, the Königsberg field unit was unable to hold out until I could move up the reserves, so the city is now under siege. The 9th Army’s advance units managed to capture Lodz. Yet the loss of Lodz actually boosted the Russians’ national will. There is a dynamic of national and patriotic resurgence, which adds a nice layer of flavor to the game. Here’s what the manual says about it:

"Whenever a city or fortress of a Major Power is taken by the enemy, there is a 33% chance of “National Resurgence”. The Power gains NW instead of losing it. The enemy’s NW gain, however, is unchanged. A power may not make a National Resurgence test if its capital has been taken by the enemy (for example Budapest for Austria-Hungary, or Paris for France). Merely besieging it is not sufficient.

The Patriotic Reaction (rare)
Beginning in 1915, if a Major Power is beaten in its homeland, after an enemy Grand Offensive, or if it loses a national city or a fortress (even by a secondary offensive), it undergoes a Patriotic Reaction Test. There is only 1 test, even if the Major Power loses several cities, fortresses or regions in the same turn. A Patriotic Reaction has very positive effects on its NW, its Parliament, and its war economy."
In the Balkans, the Serbs’ attempt to break out has failed, and there were many low-intensity battles between Austria-Hungary and Russia.

In the Caucasus, I noticed that I actually have some reinforcements available for the Ottoman army—two corps, to be precise. I used them to renew my offensive from Sarikamish toward Kars. The attacks were barely successful, but in the end, the remnants of the 3rd Army are no longer isolated. In Mesopotamia, the British were defeated in the Battle of Al Jarah, and after the battle, Kuwait was captured by advancing units.

The movement phase of the war is now coming to an end: Germany (and Austria-Hungary) have changed their doctrine to “transition to trenches.” I’m going to copy the manual in full, partly because I use this AAR for easy reference.

"In October 1914, then in Nov-December, the Movement Warfare will disappear progressively and will transform itself into Trench Warfare. In 1915 at the latest, the transformation is complete.

Test of Passage – end of September 1914

Uncertainty exists in October 1914. Each side has a 50% chance to change to Trench Warfare. This is tested at the end of September 1914. Entrenchment will be automatic for non-moving stacks, at level 0 for the start.

In October 1914

There is a partial evolution towards Trench Warfare (first step). If a side is applying Firepower doctrine ( i.e. Trench Warfare) on a front, the following effects apply (for this front):
● The Trench Table becomes the new Combat Table when that side is the Defender in a battle.
● The Morale check Table stays the same one as used in the Movement Warfare (because it is in a transition stage towards trenches)
● Reaction: only 1 authorized voluntary attack.
● Breakthrough: any number of free attacks.
● Interception: the Defender only has a 50% chance to intercept at each attempt.
● (Only in October), if the Enemy is still in Movement Warfare, its attack receive a negative modifier of -1.
● All other rules of the Movement Warfare still apply normally (Reinforcement, Cavalry retreat, Counter-offensive).

In Nov–December 1914

The partial evolution towards Trench Warfare continues (second step).
● The passage to Trench Warfare becomes automatic and obligatory for all nations. Apply the same effects as in October, with in addition:
● Defender’s ZOC (Zone of Control) becomes fixed (See below).
● Defender has a bonus of +1 to all his morale checks (trenches bonus, whatever the Trench level).

Fixed ZOC of the Trenches
A fixed ZOC does not cut supply, nor movement by rail, but it blocks movement in the following case:
● A friendly stack may not enter an empty region and then move directly towards another region, if these 2 regions are situated in an enemy ZOC (fixed). The friendly stack stays blocked in the 1st region (empty).
● Exception: except to go directly attack an enemy stack exercising the ZOC. If 2+ enemy stacks exercise ZOC, only the closest stack may be attacked directly.
● The following turn, the stack may progress into the second region, etc.
Remember: A stack besieging an enemy fortress doesn’t exercise a ZOC. The presence of friendly units in a region (before their movement)
neutralize enemy ZOC. There is no ZOC across a major river. Example: 2 enemy units, separated by an empty region, exercise a fixed ZOC between themselves. The player sends 3 corps into the empty region, without being able to go further (because he doesn’t intend to attack 1 of these stacks).

From 1915

Trench Warfare is now in full operation. Firepower doctrine is the prevalent one for every nation."

At the end of each Winter or Spring Interphase, a special general Redeployment phase takes place. On all fronts, units can be moved and redistributed freely, without any consideration of distance, as long as the unit remains within the same front. For instance, Germany cannot move a Western Front unit to the Eastern Front, but she can move a unit from Alsace-Lorraine to Northern France immediately. Note also that the mod I’m playing with adds Redeployment phases to every winter turn; hence, I have one even before an interphase occurs. Finally, isolated units cannot redeploy, as expected.

Following the recent gains, the German armies redeployed as follows: the 2nd Army was moved to the coastline, while the 1st Army remained in place to continue threatening Paris. Note that the Belgian units are isolated, though I believe they consist of only two corps. The recently formed 13th Army has been tasked with capturing Antwerp. In my previous game, I faced naval invasions, so I don’t want to leave a weak spot this time. Russians in France!!! Note that Verdun is under siege. In the East, I hope to save Königsberg, but that seems rather difficult in winter. Hopefully, the garrison can hold out a little longer.

Austria-Hungary had to abandon a considerable amount of territory to the advancing Russian units. I hope to keep enough of them occupied here so that the Germans can perform better in Poland. I aim to occupy Serbia as quickly as possible so that the armies here can be redeployed to face the Russians. The Ottomans liberated Kars, but they are rather weakened. Well, there's a storm coming

Randomizer wrote: Thu Oct 23, 2025 8:03 pm Annihilating the Serbian Army at this stage would a good thing, well done. It also looks like you have a shot at knocking Belgium out of the war. Eliminating two minor countries helps defray some of the NW losses for casualties while exacerbating NW losses for the Entente. Finger's crossed.

-C

Thanks, but the Serbian case was just bad play from AI, in my opinion.

The Entente brings about a serious change in Sweden’s diplomatic standing; the latter no longer provides additional economic support. She still supplies Germany with 1 agricultural point, however. Germany fails to impress Romania enough to draw her closer, and instead Romania moves toward the Entente.
Due to bad weather, movement will be heavily limited. In the West, the 1st Army will attempt to capture Compiègne, while the 13th Army will lay siege to the fortress of Antwerp. During the siege resolution, Königsberg has surrendered. The 8th Army will immediately move to retake it, while the 12th Army covers its rear. Austria-Hungary assigns the 1st Army the task of relieving Krakau.