Icarus Mod playtest-AAR, Moongaz3r vs Jazon

[moon1]

Guns went blazing on the Western Front as well. German Chief of Staff Von Falkenhayn, who was always skeptical of eastern endeavours, finally got his battering ram to launch a limited offensive near Boulogne in order to push enemy away from Lille and its mines and get a port in the English Channel for German u-boats. However, inclement weather and fierce British and French counterattacks have postponed the main push for now.

Snow has stopped all offensive German actions

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Meanwhile in the Near East Ottomans were hastly retreating to Palestine, constantly harrassed by Arabian raiders. British launched a naval invasion to support this push and cut the railway by taking Tabuk, only to be greeted by fresh Ottoman reserves.

The situation is serious, yet not dire. For now.

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[moon1]

Now it is time to look at the bigger picture. A year and a half has passed since the beginning of the war. We've seen naval battles across the North Sea, the Baltics and Mediterranean. Warsaw and Vilna, the ancient capitals of Europe, have fallen to the Germans. Russians are badly battered but so are the Ottomans and France had a lot of time to prepare her army for the future offensives. For now the initiative is on Central Powers' side but only time will tell whether it will remain so in the following year.

The forces of the opponents

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And their losses

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And a little bit for the future. Kaiser ordered a construction of several more big ships for Kaiserliche Marine. With Norwegian ports in the North Sea, there will be a feasible chance to defeat the Royal Navy and lift the blockade from Germany, which promises to knock her out of the war in the long run.

There will be time to challenge Britain for her crown of the master of the seas

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[mdsmall]

Given that the Central Powers have made no progress at all on the Serbian front since August 1914, the Romanians are going to start taking an unhealthy interest in joining the war on the Entente side. There are scripts for that which start to fire in January 1916.

How are you finding the artillery in this mod? Are they too weak or too strong? I see that both the Germans and Austro-Hungarians are using heavy artillery that has a range of 3 hexes.

I also am pleased to see that Prince Faisal has arrived as an Arabian HQ - this happens in this mod via a decision event if Arabia is liberated by capturing Medina. So now the Arab partisans have both the Lawrence HQ - who helps with supply - and the Faisal HQ, who provides a command rating to his followers. (By the way, the designer of the Blue Max mod might wish to make a different counter for Faisal and Lawrence. I don't think either of them would have been wearing a metal helmet in the desert!).

Michael

[moon1]

Given that the Central Powers have made no progress at all on the Serbian front since August 1914, the Romanians are going to start taking an unhealthy interest in joining the war on the Entente side. There are scripts for that which start to fire in January 1916.

How are you finding the artillery in this mod? Are they too weak or too strong? I see that both the Germans and Austro-Hungarians are using heavy artillery that has a range of 3 hexes.

I also am pleased to see that Prince Faisal has arrived as an Arabian HQ - this happens in this mod via a decision event if Arabia is liberated by capturing Medina. So now the Arab partisans have both the Lawrence HQ - who helps with supply - and the Faisal HQ, who provides a command rating to his followers. (By the way, the designer of the Blue Max mod might wish to make a different counter for Faisal and Lawrence. I don't think either of them would have been wearing a metal helmet in the desert!).

Michael

Hey Michael!

If I remember correctly, at this point of the game Romanians had about 65% mobilisation. Jazon hadn't really invested into diplomacy until 1916, otherwise he could have brought them into the war already.

Introduction of heavy artillery with 3 hex range is a very nice addition, gives more tactical flexibility to the game, allows for offensives on fronts, which usually remained static (what I will demonstrate later) and somewhat off-sets boosted defensive capabilities of infantry. I've bought all the limit heavy artillery in the winter/spring of 1915 and it carried me all this year.

Yeah, was suprised to see default minor counter for Arabian HQs too Definitely could use a little more personalisation, considering an importance of this front for the war.

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Pretty interesting and entertaining AAR so far.
I worked extensively with mdsmall to redesign the Arab and Libya theater especially. Glad to see all kinds of action there!
PS. Your Ottomans and Bulgars maybe hard pressed soon unless something is done about Serbia...a hard nut for sure but one that needs cracking.
Very good match!
Cheers
Mike aka OldCrow.

[moon1]

Pretty interesting and entertaining AAR so far.
I worked extensively with mdsmall to redesign the Arab and Libya theater especially. Glad to see all kinds of action there!
PS. Your Ottomans and Bulgars maybe hard pressed soon unless something is done about Serbia...a hard nut for sure but one that needs cracking.
Very good match!
Cheers
Mike aka OldCrow.

Hello Mike!
I can only praise you for the hard work, it is very interesting to play out different kind of manoeuvres there!
Yeah, and, little spoiler ahead, Balkan theater will be probably the most active during 1916. Powder Keg of Europe is about to explode again.

[moon1]

February-March 1916

As usual, late winter is the most quiet season as snow and cold halt any offensive action. Unlucky for poor soldiers, stuck in Cyrenaica, there is no snow in the desert. Yet there are diseases, heat and poor supply, a truly nice package for any army. Italians, British and French dig in around ports, while Senussi tribes, native to this region, harass them from hinterland. Ottoman expdeitionary corps still holds its positions at Bardia and raiders enter British Egypt, threatening Mersa Matruh and El-Alamein.

Fighting with raiders and partisans mostly consists of positioning

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Ottomans still continue their retreat to Palestine. Rearguard clashed with Arabian raiders at Tayma while British Marines are left stranded in Hejaz Mountains where Ottoman infantry attacks them day and night. However, the condition of these tired soldiers who marched all the way from Medina under constant enemy attacks, leaves a lot to be desired, so British managed to hold their ground.

Arabs soon will be at the gates of Palestine

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Meanwhile Austro-Hungarian and German subs clash with British Mediterranean Navy which received reinforcements. After the sinking of Sultan Osman-I Evvel, Turks are reluctant to send their remaining ships to the open sea, so they are on their own against the opponent which month by month grows more equipped and experienced in fighting with underwater menace.

British ships are equipped with depth charges which present a big threat, especially to more obsolete Austrian u-boats

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And in Belarus German army stands in just a few dozen kilometres away from Minsk. Soon the battle will commence...

Just a little push...

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[moon1]

A little extra: our small banter exchange with Jazon during this game

Dear Willy,
Not so long time ago we were friends.

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Yet look what have you done with my army!


Dear Nicky,
We can still be friends! Just accept my peace terms.
Yours
Willy

-----------

Dear Willy,
I may not accept your peace terms, due to my vows to my Allies. I shall not blame my honor by breaking the Entante. We will continue knigthly fight between our armies.
Yours Nicky
PS
Please play like a Gentelman. Please keep Mr. Lenin away.


Dear Nicky,
I swear on my Granny's grave that I won't send Lenin to you.
Yours, Willy.
PS
But only if you tell Georgy to lift the blockade

-------------

Dear Willy,
I wish you Fruhe Weinachts. I sent you Tolstoy's "War and Peace", beautiful edition in German. I read this masterpiece again this Autumn, and I must admit I found Marshal's Kutuzov strategy against Napoleon in 1812 quite inspiring. Stay warm Willy.
Yours Nicky

Dear Nicky,
I shall remind you that we are the descendants of fearsome German warriors who destroyed the First Rome. Surely, we will manage with the Third one, even if it gets a little cold.
Yours, Willy
PS: But please, talk with Georgy about that blockade. That Ersatzbrot is stucking in my throat already. Or we will take measures.

-------------

Dear Willy,
you must have malnutrition delusions. This blockade affect even your court? I can send you some provisions from our Embassy in Zurich. You need vitamines.
Yours
Nicky

Dear Nicky,
My armies are victorious across all fronts. What can you do against the might of German war machine? Throw peasants at me? Don't make me laugh. As for blockade, soon the British will get a taste of their own medicine!
Yours
Willy
PS: please help ludendorff and hindenburg are reading these letters and telling me what to write

-------------

Dear Willy,
I was suspecting those militarists are pulling the strings. German armies are successfull, but in tactical and operational matter. The French and British will finally prevail.
PS
In case of any trouble, run to Holland. We both have contacts there, after all we are all family.
Yours Nicky

Tsar Nicholas II,
Stop sending these provocative letters. Or our peace terms will be even more harsh.
First Quartermaster-General Erich von Ludendorff

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Those letters are great!

Can't wait to see where this goes next

- BNC

[moon1]

Those letters are great!

Can't wait to see where this goes next

- BNC

Thx, glad that you enjoyed it!

[moon1]

April-May 1916

Spring in Europe turned out to be quite warm and mild. For wartime, however, this means only one thing: killing starts early this year. And so across all fronts German and Austro-Hungarian infantry went over the top, marking the beginning of 4 (!) big offensives.

On the Western Front Von Falkenhayn renewed his Boulgone operation. Under thunderous creeping fire of artillery, soldiers crushed all the opposition and achieved a breaktrough. British field artillery couldn't retreat to the new positions in time and Germans inflicted serious casulaties on them, preventing any meaningful response. Also this left French open to flank attacks. Forced with a tough decision, French Chieff of Staff Joffre ordered a retreat to Amiens. And so the German forces, inspired by an easy victory, push ahead despite the threat of counterattacks. If they can take Amiens, the positions on this bridgehead can be solidified and Germany can threaten Paris itself.

German initial breakthrough

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Onwards, to Amiens!

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For Serbia, this war was relatively quiet for all these time. Austria-Hungary, threated by Russian steamroller in Galicia and traitorous Italians in Tirol, was forced to keep in the Balkans merely defensive force. The arrival of British troops have boosted the morale of Serbs and they even liberated a town of Valjevo earlier in January. Yet Kaiser Franz Ferdinand was no longer willing to leave this proof of his failed 1914 invasion alive any longer. The build up of the reserves and stocks of ammunition was finished and just a few days later after the Von Falkehayn's offensive, Balkan one of general Von Krobatin has kicked off. For several days without an end Belgrade was shelled and rocked by heavy artillery. When the first regiments of the 6th Army was starting to enter city, they found only rubble and weak resistance. The Serbian capital had fallen and it was just a first step in one of the bloodiest campaigns of the war. The advance of Austria-Hungary over the next several weeks was slow and painful. Surely, its army of 1916 was no longer a hapless and disorganised force which it had been in 1914 but Serbs and British spent a lot of time, preparing their defences. Time will tell, whether Kaiser's sword will be dulled over their shield.

Belgrade has finally fallen

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British take over parts of the frontline and their line holds

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[moon1]

The long prepared offensive of Prince Rupprecht had finally begun and all hell broke loose as artillery wrecked Italian defences and Germans descended upon them from the mountain ridges of Tirol, crossing the river Isonzo and entering Udine in the first week of the invasion, cutting of an infantry corps north to the city. Italians may be brave but Germans are better prepared, equipped and led. In this war, this decides everything, not personal courage. Soon they will find themselves pushed with their backs next to the city of Padua - second goal of this campaign.

Although the front is too narrow for operational maneuvers, Germans still manage to pinpoint their strikes thanks to the support of heavy artillery

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Italians are getting utterly crushed, losing at least 1 infantry corps every turn

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Even on the Eastern Front Germans don't let their enemies to rest. After the hasty retreat of 1915, Russian positions stretched right in the outskirts of Minsk. Von Hindernburg's forces were preparing to storm the city, like it was done in Grodno, Kovno and Vilna but this time Tsar decided not to push his luck. The population of the city was rushed further into the country as Russian regiments retreat back. Germans find Minsk completely abandoned yet, as Sun Tzu wrote, the total victory is the one achieved without fighting. Soon German soldiers won't even have to fight the enemy since he will be too afraid of their might and reputation!

Germans reach Minsk...

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...and Russians leave it without fighting

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[moon1]

The only Central Power to be in deep waters was still the Ottoman Empire. The retreat from Arabian peninsula was finally finished but the defensive positions in Palestine were nowhere near prepared to withstand the attack. If British attacked now, the entire front could have collapsed. Luckily, looks like they have their hands full on other theatres, so Turks will get a little breather.

Time to dig in, we can't allow ourselves to retreat further

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Also Ottoman forward observers and spies report that Arabs reinforced the British expiditionary corps in Mesopotamia. Somewhat panicked, Turks immediately abandon Qurna and retreat to the positions closer to their supply bases in Baghdad in order not be cut off by camel raiders.

Perhaps, retreating was a bit hasty but it looks like the enemy will be up to something soon...

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[mdsmall]

It looks like the Entente took advantage of the features in this mod which transfer control over large chunks of the Arabian desert to Arab control once the rebellion starts. That way he could send an Arab partisan across the desert to Kuwait without you be able to see him moving by the change in control of captured hexes. If he moves one more partisan onto one of the hill hexes due west of the Sakaka Oasis, the rest of the Syrian desert will transfer to Entente control.

(BTW - it is curious that the Blue Max mod represents Arab partisans in Arabia with camel counters, but the same partisan when it moves to Kuwait is represented by a traditional European partisan counter. Same thing with the Senussi rebels).

Michael

[mdsmall]

PS - What are the current National Morale levels at this point in the game?

[moon1]

PS - What are the current National Morale levels at this point in the game?

UK - around 80%
France - around 77%
Russia - around 45%
Italy - around 75%
Serbia - 100%

Germany - 96-98%
Austria-Hungary - around 85%
Ottoman Empire - around 65%

[moon1]

June-July 1916

As summer rolled in, fighting grew more and more fierce and tenacious across all fronts. On the Western Front, Germans forced the British army to retreat behind the river Somme and abandon Amiens. Much to the shock of French public, Germany takes the city on July 1st. However, Von Falkehayn hadn't receive a single infantry corps for reinforcements since the beginning of his offensive and German forces were stretched thin. An immediate French counterattack followed, inflicting haevy casulaties and forcing Germans to abandon the city as well. A few dozen kilometres of no man's land now separate the enemies.

Great successes...

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...turn out to be not so great, when you can't reinforce your gains.

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Advances were happening on Italian front as well. On July 15th Germans took Padua and now were threatening both Verona and Venice. To salvage the disintegrating Italian army, French command sent their own men to the frontlines but for now it is not near enough to stop the Teutonic steamroller.

That what you get for treachery, Italy.

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[moon1]

After series of defeats of 1915, Russians were finally ready to make a stand against the Central Powers and stop their endless retreat. Germans and Austro-Hungarians finally clashed with Russians near the town of Vinnitsa and found out that their resistance had stiffened a lot since 1915. The intitial attack for breakthrough had failed and Von Mackensen together with Von Straussenburg were forced to hault all the offensives until further reinforcements would arrive.

Looks like they finally stopped running.

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And it also looks like Von Mackensen and Von Straussenburg won't make it without more troops and artillery.

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The same thing happened with Von Hutier and Von Hindenburg to the north. Russians were now outnumbering their forces and they were reaching the end of the supply lines. Further advances were considered to be futile and dangerous and the armies were ordered to go on full defense in Belarus and the Baltics. Heavy artillery was put on trains and sent to the other fronts. Germany took enough already and secured her own Polish and Prussian lands. So if the Russians want to take back their territory, they will have to attack the fortified positions in Kovno and Minsk. We'll see, how eager they will be to face Kaiser's finest.

It will have to do for now.

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[moon1]

As usual, things were not going so good for the Ottomans. Their positions in the Caucasus were heavily shelled and the town of Bayburt had fallen to general Yudenich's army, forcing Pasha Kemal to pull back his forces, opening the road to Erzurum. Pressed from all sides, he still was reluctant to withdraw and wouldn't abandon the city without a fight. Russians would have to assault it if they want to take it.

Ottomans under heavy pressure..

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The only hope is that Russians won't be able to assault heavily entrenched Turks without preparations.

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Further south, Russians have decided to make a risky move: send in their forces to Mesopotamia without proper reconnaissance. Soldiers marched forward under the glistening sun with rations and water only for several days until they reached Kirkuk, populated by Arabs and Kurds. And though the population was relatively welcoming of the new guests, Ottoman Mesopotamian army was not. Since British and Arabs were not active in this region, Ottomans sent their cavalry and reserves to intercept the Russian raid and defeat it at field. Soon Russians found out that they were cut off from their Armenian allies near Mehbad. A decision was made to rush towards Bagdade, courageous yet absolutaly futile and desparate. Suffering from the lack of water and heat, the Russian regiment marched forward, losing their soldiers daily to the hostile environment until they found death at the tips of Ottoman sabers and bayonets in the battle of Samarra on July 20th.

Truth be told, Ottomans were not expecting such a risky move.

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It was a foolish endeavour from the beginning.

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[moon1]

Meanwhile in Lybia Entente was putting an end to Senussi revolt. Back in April British scattered the raiders, approaching El-Alamein, and Ottoman forces in Bardia were on their last legs. Italians and French were pushing the Senussi out of Cyrenaica and the last of their organised forces marched towards British Egypt. Britain tried to put an end to the rebellion right here and now but raiders yet again proved to be cunning and deadly opponents. Lured in the desert by promises of easy victory, British forces were cut off from the supply bases and faced with a terrible fate of death in the open desert. Thirst, heat strokes, enemy bullets - all that they have found so far from their homes.

Allies are starting to take back the ground.

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The last of the Senussi searching for an opening.

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I am not envious of these poor lads.

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