Birdsong Mod v4
The idea of doing a mod of the excellent Icarus 6.7 mod (and a huge thank you to Michael for agreeing to me modding his mod) came from wanting to keep it historical when playing, with a Schlieffen Plan enacted by CP at the start, but seemingly always being overwhelmed in the East by the Russians. A solution would be Russia first strategy but then this didn’t feel like a WW1 game and I felt lost a lot of its appeal.
So it started with the idea of weakening the Russians a bit – the mod is really based on the assumption that CP player will enact a Schlieffen Plan. After much testing it appeared that a bit of tweaking of the Russian strength provided the right balance – and before the cynics pipe up - I still haven’t won a game, its not all about the winning
Then it sort of snowballed a bit.
Changes I’ve made to the map are unlikely to have any impact on a game but I felt added a bit of geographical interest – and maybe in some cases accuracy (sorry - Siwa Oasis was in the wrong location and Yazd is a desert city, famous for it’s baghirs)
Game changes I have made are, I believe, largely based on the evidence of research/reading done – there is a list of reference sources at the end.
The Birdsong mod is in no way intended to be a rival or competitor to the excellent Icarus mod – indeed Michael and myself have been frequently communicating ideas. It’s been an interesting and enjoyable project and if anybody wishes to play it – great – and any feedback great
*Austria-Hungary is referred to as AH.
*The mod is designed for multi-player and not been tested with the AI.
Changes from Icarus 6.7
Serbian surrender is now a flat rate NM boost for Germany and AH as per original game
Command & Control is now capped at lvl 3 for UK, France, Germany, USA
Russia now starts with lvl 1 Command & Control however this only adds +1 unit & +1 range – commanders ratings are not changed.
AH now starts with lvl 1 Command & Control however this only adds +1 unit & +1 range – commanders ratings are not changed.
Russia, AH and Ottomans and Italy can research lvl 2 C&C which adds +1 unit & +1 range but no addition to commanders rating. Max lvl is 2 at cost to research of 50MPP
Detachments/Divisions – as the combat value of detachments in Icarus has been reduced from (A3/2 D3/3) to (A3/2 D3/2) and divisions has been increased from (A3/2 D2/2) to (A4/3 D3/3) – the following countries now have the option to build divisions UK (3), France(3), AH(2), Germany(3), Italy(2), USA (3) - these countries inf corps build limit is reduced by 1. Russia and Ottomans are already able to build divisions under Icarus 6.7.
All detachments that previously had starting exp (0.0) now have (0.4) (Russia, Austria Hungary, Ottoman Empire). AH & Ottoman detachments that previously started with strength 5 now start with strength 8 (*this is intended to in some way offset their decline in effectiveness)
Mobility Tech can now be used to add +1AP to field artillery (not hvy artillery)
Camel Corps – The Ottomans and UK are now able to deploy camel corps. These use the cavalry brigade slot and have the same combat effectiveness as cavalry brigades but with the following changes. They have 5AP but receive a bonus +2AP in desert or oasis terrain. They also have a bonus when fighting in desert or oasis terrain.
Russia
All corps start with exp (0.5) except Caucasian, Siberian & Turkestan which start with exp (0.6)
Grenadier and Guards corps start with exp (1)
There is a desertion script that fires when Russian NM hits 75% affecting inf detachments, divisions (except Mtn/Marine) and corps only
*The Russian General staff estimated that in 1915 37.5% of enlistees surrendered or ‘went missing’ – in 1916 that rose to 44%.
Helsinki detachment arrival – removed
I & II Turkestan Inf Corps no longer arrive as reinforcements but start the game at Tashkent and Ashgabat respectively. There is now a loop representing the Trans Caspian and Trans Aral Railways that takes 2 turns and arrives at Orenburg (256,77) – only one unit can travel per turn as it is largely single track (still in Turkmenistan). The loop works in reverse.
*This gives Russia the option of deploying II Turkestan Corps against Germany/AH straight away but will then be weaker in the Caucasus on Ottoman mobilisation. Also I hope it gives something of an historic feel of Russia pulling in units from its far flung corners for the war. (it was also quite enjoyable editing the map and setting up the loop
)The 2 Turkestan corps Russia receives as reinforcements now arrive 14 July 1916 at Tashkent
Von Rennenkampf is now a lvl 3 commander
Ruzski is now a lvl 3 commander
Brusilov is now a lvl 6 commander
Von Plehve is now a lvl 4 commander
Russian units suffer same attrition as Austro-Hungarian for first winter in Carpathians
*historically the Russians were as ill equipped for the first winter as the Austro Hungarians
Austria-Hungary
Von Böhm-Ermolli is now a lvl 5 commander
50th Inf Division arrives as reinforcement on 15 Oct 1914
*AH raised 4 inf divisions in Oct 1914 (50th, 52nd, 54th, 55th) +2 later reduced to brigades – the 50th is listed as having been sent to Serbia in Oct 1914
Krakow – a garrison has been added
*the garrison at Krakow did play quite an important role in fighting in Nov 1914 allowing AH units in the area time to regroup
Germany
Verdun does not need to be in Entente hands for DE612 (Von Falkenhayn HQ) to occur
IX Reserve Corps now has exp (0.6) – up from (0.0)
Marines division now has exp (1) - up from (0.0)
XXII & XXIII Reserve Corps arrive with exp (0.6) – up from (0.0)
Ottoman Empire
The starting 2 half strength cavalry corps are now 2 strength 8 cavalry divisions
*historically the Ottomans only deployed 2 cavalry divisions – there are references to a third in 1916 but little seems to be known.
On mobilization the Hejaz Camel Corps arrives at Ha’il.
The Ottoman Empire now starts with 1 chit invested in Infantry Warfare.
Ottoman units are subject to a desertion script which fires every turn after entry into the war (affecting inf garrisons, detachments, corps and divisions ((except Marine/Mtn)), cav corps/divisions)
*The Ottomans were able to mobilize about 13% of the population (comparing well with the major European powers) and the army can be regarded as having performed well above expectation. However the army suffered major problems with desertion from the very outset of the war.
UK
On Ottoman mobilization the Bikaner Camel Corps arrives at Cairo.
*during the ‘actions on the Suez canal’ in early 1915 the Bikaner Camel Corps charged an Ottoman unit, routing it.
USA
Sinking of Lusitania reinstated as a mobilisation event
Turnly increments of mobilisation towards Entente start in 18 Nov 1916
Fortresses
Fortified Towns have maximum entrenchment level of 4 and their defensive bonus against Soft and Hard targets is 3
Fortresses have a maximum entrenchment level of 5 and their defensive bonus against Soft and Hard targets is 4.
Major Fortresses have a maximum entrenchment level of 6 and their defensive bonus against Soft and Hard targets is 5.
Verdun is a single hex fortress, its loss/recapture results in +/- 4000NM for France and +/- 2000NM for Germany
Toul is in the same position as per the standard game and is a fortified town
Sere de Rivieres Line - fortification has been added between Verdun and Toul and also between Epinal and Belfort – the river Meuse now runs on the Eastern edge of hex 159,87
Map Changes –
UK
A new town of Scarborough has been added at (145,69)
The river south of Hull has now been correctly renamed The Humber and is now a major river (it is an estuary that is responsible for 20% of the UK’s surface water drainage). The terrain for Hull has been changed to #227 which creates Spurn Point where the Humber meets the North Sea – WW1 era forts were built on it (remember playing in them as a kid).
The River Swale is now the River Ouse (East of Leeds)
The Thames at Oxford now runs South and West of the city and has been renamed the Isis (it’s an Oxford thing) - its route to the West has changed slightly where its source in the Cotswolds is.
Egypt/Libya
Oasis (194,127) is now (198,128) – Siwa Oasis
(204,132) – Bahariya Oasis
(206,135) – El Kharga Oasis
(167,125) – Ghadames
(171,127) – Ubari Lakes
(170,122) (171,122) (172,123) (173,122) - hills
(208,127) (208,129) (208,130) (209,131) – fields
Syria/Palestine
The hexes bordering the Med are now Mediterranean weather zone as far south as Gaza – Summer heat event does not affect units in those hexes.
(216,119) – field
(217,117) (217,118) – now forested hills to represent the Cedars of Lebanon
(215,122) – field
Central Asia
The hexes are now Russia weather zone (the region has a continental climate))
(250,105) through to (267.111) – Trans Caspian Railway
The Karakum Desert has been added
There is now a gap where Kara-Bogazkul joins the Caspian Sea
(263,109) – Ashgabat
(266,108) – Tashkent
*this is not Tashkent’s true geographical position but the only way to fit it on the map
Persia
Various weather zone and other geographical changes have been made that I feel better reflect Persia
UK National Morale Events
The only German naval units that can effect these events are DN, BB, CC, CA
A German naval unit on hex (146,69) – Flamborough Head at the end of an Entente turn will cause a -500NM event for UK. This is a once only event and cannot reoccur.
*in December 1914 German ships bombarded Scarborough and Whitby (and Hartlepool) causing a deep shock to the British public.
A German Naval unit within one hex of (149,77) – entrance to Port of London and Dover Strait – at the end of an Entente turn will cause a -250NM morale event for UK. This is a reoccurring event for every turn a German naval unit is there.
*the importance of the Port of London and shipping passing through the Dover Straits to Britain’s war effort is hard to overestimate and disruption of shipping would have caused major problems
***a huge thank you to Michael who put the London script in Icarus 6.7, which gave me the idea of adding Scarborough***
Historic Names
Where possible historic names for units have been added i.e, one unit of UK field artillery is now named 3 Brigade Royal Field Artillery (3 Bde RFA)
Reference Sources
WW1 Data Book – John Ellis & Michael Cox
The Eastern Front – Nick Lloyd
Between Acceptance & Refusal – Soldiers Attitudes Towards War (Russia) – Aleksandr Borisovich Astashov
Between Acceptance & Refusal – Soldiers Attitudes Towards War (Austria Hungary) – Richard Lein
Between Acceptance & Refusal – Soldiers Attitudes Towards War (Ottoman Empire) – Mehmet Besikci
Sere de Rivieres Line – aroundus.com / globalsecurity.org and various other online sources
Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I: A Comparative Study. By Edward J. Erickson (Brief)
Warfare 1914-1918 (Ottoman Empire) – Mehmet Fatih Bas
