SMK vs. Boogada

[boogada]

SMK and me returned to GoA after long periods of absence. We had quite an interesting first match. And this is its story:

My original war plan:

a) Serbia:

Belgrade is way too exposed against an Austrian attack from the North, so I concentrated my forces in the South. Maybe I can strike back once or twice?



b) Eastern Front:

I decided to have an active Russia. But what should be my target? Attacking Austria or Germany? Heading for Berlin, or East-Prussia? Vienna or Galicia? My choice was to go after the German food hexes in the east. Therefore I aimed at East-Prussia and the area between Berlin and Königsberg. Therefore I concentrated big armies south of Eastprussia, with some cavalry in the far east, ready to strike north-west.



At the same time I needed to protect my own food resources near Rowno, the industry in Lublin and had a thin cavalry screen against Galicia.



c) Western Front:

No specific plan here. The usual Dyle plan: Man the fortifications against Germany and have an army group ready to stop a German advance through Belgium in close contact with the Belgian army. British forces are deployed in Playmouth to be able to be shipped to the continent.



d: Other:

One British corps is guarding Cairo, a Russian army sits in the Caucasus.

[SMK-at-work]

And here's how I started -

In the West - just your basic Schlieffen plan...

[SMK-at-work]

Hey how do you upload multiple images in 1 message? It tells me I can only do 1 per post

So this one is going to be a big composite of all the other fronts!

In East Prussia I just garrisoned the cities, with the Danzig garrison being only cavalry and hence a "bluff" unless he used air recon to see what the 2 units were.

In Galicia again it was only a light defensive screen, and, at the bottom, Serbia was going to get over-run!

[SMK-at-work]

I made a big mistake with Austria not having any leaders on the Galician front - I didn't need them all in Serbia, and as a result he Austrians were unable to put any pressure on Russia at the start - I won't make that mistake again!

[boogada]

I upload images to my own webspace, thats how I can post multiple in one message. 

[boogada]

August 1914:

At the beginning of the war Germany declares war on Belgium. That means SMK is gonna focus on the Western front and my war plan is perfect. I have forces to counter him in the west and the Russians can counter him in the East.

Naval:
Yet the very first thing that happens is a surprise sortie of the Austrian Fleet catches two British crusiser squadrons who cannot escape the superior KuK dreadnoughts. My transports manage to escape but the Austrians control the Eastern Med and the trade routes are closed.

Serbia:

Serbia doesn't get a lot of action. The Austrians advance but slowly. No contact between armies is made. They surround the capitol, but don't take it. So at the beginning of September a new Serbian artillery piece will be produced by factories in Belgrade, but thats it.



Eastern Front:

The Southern part of the front sees little action too. The Austrians are awfully quiet so far. Some cavalry of both sides advances into each others country. Thats it.



The North though sees a major Russian offensive. My initial attack on Thorn is repulsed, even though intelligence showed few German troops. Thats the point where I decide to just by-pass the strongholds. If I can manage to isolate this part of Germany I can use famine instead of shells to kill the Germans. And why head for the cities when I can head towards the food hexes? There is one key battle. When the Germans realize they are in trouble, they try to leave Königsberg and retreat to Danzig. But the Russians advance faster and catch them during their retreat. Even though the Russians are outnumbered they have the initiative and win this battle.



As a result I manage to completely isolate Danzig and the rest of East-Prussia. I even manage to split the German forces in three separate armies. One food hex is already down.



Western Front:

Now the West sees the Schlieffen plan in full effect. The Germans rush into Belgium. Luckily the Forts of Liege manage to delay their advance. At the same time the French try to make counter-move and send one army into southern Belgium. The armies collide and this might be the wet dream of the French general staff: The Dyle-Plan works to its finest. In two bloody battles the French manage to hold the German advance!





Of course the small Belgian army cannot hold Liege forever. Luxemburg is lost too. But this is a wonder of the Marne, but in Belgium!

On the side though, the Germans attack further south, and manage to wreck havoc on the defenders.



As a result of all of this the German trust to the west is halted completely by the end of August. The fighting dies down. Antwerp falls, but overall Belgium is not a problem for the Entente. The German attack south of Verdun has ruptured the front though.

[boogada]

September 1914

Naval:

The Austrians do some damage to my transports in the Eastern Med, but fail to sink one. I have no ships to support the Med cause I take control over the North Sea. The British submarine catches and sinks a German transport in the Baltic.

Serbia:

Austria takes Belgrade and keeps advancing slowly.

Eastern Front:

The Russians manage to take Posen without firing a single bullet. The weak Danzig garrison falls too. Instead of pushing west asap I halt my offensive and consolidate my gains.



Seeing how inactive the Austrians are, I start thinking about taking their food hex as well and shift some units.



Western Front:

First off: Artillery has now become a major part of this scenario. Shells are being fired 24/7 and with almost no trenches they cause quite some casualties.

Belgium:

I sent reinforcements to Belgium. Also the BEF arrives in Dunkirk! So when the Germans resume their attack, Belgium sees heavy fighting:

The BEF can stop the Germans heading for the Channel and they counter attack and re-take Antwerp!



The French arrive in Brussels in large numbers and the Germans have no chance:



Yet the Germans (with recently developed poison gas) gain the ground between Brussels and Luxemburg, Verdun fights another German attack without big losses.



So at the end of October the northern part of the front looks like this:



The Schlieffen plan has failed completely. A fast advance through Belgium did not happen. Most of Belgium isn't even occupied by the Germans. But south of it, the Germans did advance and the French armies are unorganized and took some big hits. The image shows a big stack of troops under General Lanrezac, most of these are in bad shape!

Alsac:

Initially I don't really have to worry about the German breakthrough. They have to tanks or Stuckas to Blitzkrieg me. They try to take the French forts in the East, but they hold. I even successfully counterattack the spearhead.



But then hell breaks loose over my southern armies.




Nancy and Epinal fall. The troops that just counter-attacked are pushed back again. Some other troops are overrun.



The southern part of the front is totally disorganized. The Germans widened and deepened their breakthrough. They are outside of Dijon and there is nothing between the border and Orleans. Worst thing: There are two headquarter units in a contested hex and will not be able to move them out of it eventually. They are lost. Without headquarters I cannot counter attack here at all.

[SMK-at-work]

Yes - my plans failed to unfold as desired - the French & Belgian resistance in Belgium comopletly upset the timetable.
I was able to shift the focus of my attack south with some success.....but not for long as Boogada will show...and of course the East front was a disaster! :/

[boogada]

November 1914

Naval:

No action except the Germans sinking the British sub.

Eastern Front:

Not much change. I move the massive Russians reinforcements to the front. Also I start shelling Thorn to storm it later. Only some cavalry advances.

Serbia:

Finally some action on the Balkans:


Western Front:

War in the north wages back and forth. I try to keep counterattacking from Belgium. I don't gain ground, but I manage to do some big damage on the Germans.




But I do manage to gain the hex south of Brussels. Verdun fights off another attack, but is beaten on the second. So we are basically just trading here. Losses start piling up.



The south sees some fighting as well, but on a smaller scale. The first British reinforcements help. But the Germans manage to get close to Paris from the south. And I have no troops near them to stop it. BUT: I know the Germans there are pretty beat as well.



At this point I have no idea what to think about the Western front. There is a threat for Paris for sure by now. The only thing that helps is the damage I have done to the Germans. But if they manage to pull together a big offensive here I would be in trouble. There is also the possibility of capturing Dijon and then Lyon and the south. And with the French food hexes in danger, he might be able to counter my moves in the East.

Rest:

The Turks attack into the caucasus and are advancing in Egypt.

So after 1914 all this amounts to:

[SMK-at-work]

Back to the invasion of Belgium - a major mistake was to not attack Liege on T1 as seen here - the German troops opposite Liege have not suffered any damage as they didn't advance.

I have destroyed the 2nd Belgian corps in the hex to the south, but was waiting for the siege artillery to do its thing before advancing - a major error, and not one I'll be making again