The Price Of A Mile (TEAW PBEM AAR)

[HunterICX]

The Price of a Mile
Throw your soldiers into positions once there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight.
http://i.imgur.com/UnGzOFX.jpg

HunterICX: Western Entente
Raptor1 : Eastern Entente

http://i.imgur.com/k8R69i1.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/nrQuXX9.jpg

With the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand it marks the beginning of the end of Europe as it was known.
With the major powers tangled in alliances and their military industry in high gear they all mobilize their troops marching them towards a slaughter on a scale never seen before in history.

---

After the decleration of War on Serbia by the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, France itself found itself at War with the German Empire.

[HunterICX]

Plan XIX

http://i.imgur.com/lJjMdh4.jpg

I got this plan by coin toss as it was either this plan XIX or Plan XVII (The historical French War plan) the other two plans well the less said about those the better as Plan XX for example was me being a naughty French men invading Belgium to get to the German Empire myself and this would seriously damage my relations with the rest of the Westen Entente nations.

[HunterICX]

Turn 1, Early Aug 1914

My first move is to make a dash towards Bonn, however first I step into Luxemburg with the Deuxieme Armee, 20e Corps and 9e Corps to see what the responce is of the Germans near the border.

http://i.imgur.com/wxdtNkP.jpg?1

On the Diplomatic Front I've send out Diplomats to Great Britain to have them join the war and to Romania and Bulgaria to draw them closer to our side.

Meanwhile on sea I've dispatched my Mediterranean fleet to hunt the Austrian-Hungarian Fleet and to secure my merchant shipping in the Med.

http://i.imgur.com/96OrSMn.jpg?1

My Atlantic Fleet went out to start a blocade against the German Empire while the Manche Squadron sailed out to the North sea to scout for any German Activity in the area.

http://i.imgur.com/wRDG9CX.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/FoKNeJY.jpg?1

The Antilles Squadron in the open sea has received orders to hunt down the German comerce raiders that pose a threat to our colonies.

http://i.imgur.com/aubfMFR.jpg?1

---

[HunterICX]

Turn 2, Late August 1914

My initial move into Luxemburg has been with succes and without contest from the Germans, this means I now make my next move towards Bonn with the Premiere Armee, 7e Corps, 13e Corps and the 14e Corps.

http://i.imgur.com/10cBhn2.jpg?1

20e Corps has received orders to move into Trier to secure to road to Bonn.

http://i.imgur.com/44YZiRp.jpg?1

In the North Sea the Manche Squadron did indeed discover Germans east of their location, a decision was made to head North-West to join up with the Atlantic Fleet as too little was know about this German fleet and would be to dangerous to risk an engagement at this point.

http://i.imgur.com/4ZOECjL.jpg?1

Meanwhile Turkey is starting to show their true colours, it was ofcourse to be expected but still this is making the war for our side a bit more difficult especially for our Ally Russia.

http://i.imgur.com/r1MlF8K.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/s45ExKn.jpg

The hunt for the German commerce raider was without results and the fleet was send up North passing Dakar in French Africa.

http://i.imgur.com/trFKrys.jpg?1

[eddie]

C'mon Raptor, don't let Hunter take over the world! He's tried it in about every strategy game you can think of, and he's not done trying yet!:haha:

[Betonov]

C'mon Raptor, don't let Hunter take over the world! He's tried it in about every strategy game you can think of, and he's not done trying yet!:haha:

Here he plays the French, in Pride of Nations he plays Prussia/Germany.
I think a case of shizofrenia might be at work here :)

[HunterICX]

Here he plays the French, in Pride of Nations he plays Prussia/Germany.
I think a case of shizofrenia might be at work here :)

Absurdité! dast is purer unsinn!

C'mon Raptor, don't let Hunter take over the world! He's tried it in about every strategy game you can think of, and he's not done trying yet!:haha:

What, I'm just going to Berlin to ask the Kaiser to stop pestering my Russian friends.

[HunterICX]

Turn 3, Early September 1914

Désastre en mer du Nord
http://i.imgur.com/M2RAgib.jpg

A serious blow was inflicted on the Manche Squadron by a German Battle Fleet. Unfortunate this wasn't the only incident as a few days later Manche Squadron got intercepted again by a German Torpedo boats which inflicted more losses on the already badly beaten Manche Squadron, this serious blow will be put under investigation but blame is already put on the Admiral who failed to stay out of the range of the Germans when ordered to. Over a 50 ships lost with over a thousand men who served upon them.

http://i.imgur.com/Zjjhpfc.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/SBA7Lt5.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/JZL2vRd.jpg?1

Next to the severe losses the rest is seriously damaged and hopefully they'll make it to the port of Calais.

http://i.imgur.com/XBCXTlH.jpg?1

In trier our forces where more succesful against the Germans, they held the road open for our troops to move to Bonn.

http://i.imgur.com/vGvAyoR.jpg?1

Meanwhile we got word that the Russians are in trouble on all fronts and thus the French high command decided to up the troop build up and reconnaissance flights near the frontline for a massed assault against German positions later this fall.

http://i.imgur.com/LE4OSna.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/nq74jcm.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/0WkLBj6.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 4, Late September 1914

Britain declares war on Germany
http://i.imgur.com/G0cp2cC.jpg

Finally the French diplomats where successful in persuading Britain to Declare war on Germany as it was made clear that if the Germans where allowed to win this war that it would hurt Britain in the long run especially on the Sea where Gemany has been trying to rival British naval Supremacy.

---

Victory at Bonn, we managed to beat the Germans to it as our units of the Premiere Armee managed to push them out of the Rheinland. We'll hopefully have the area under our control and secure it for further operations.

http://i.imgur.com/DDW37Te.jpg?1

At sea the Atlantic scored some victories over a small German Squadron in the Halibut Bank.

http://i.imgur.com/eeiCVDL.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/teM94AL.jpg?1

However we lost contact with the Manche Squadron after reported it being attacked again by the German Battle Fleet it encountered earlier.

http://i.imgur.com/SOPwEmE.jpg?1

This raises concern for the British Empire as it shows clearly the french fleets are not able to contain the Germans within the North Sea thus orders where given to make an example out of the fleet that sails near the coast of the isle, Beaty has been dispatched to make short work of it supported by the High seas fleet under Jellicoe.

http://i.imgur.com/Qq9akqG.jpg?1

Furthermore the Royal Navy has send out it's submarines to scout in the German Bight to give us intel regarding the activities of the German fleets and gave instructions to the fleets around to world to look for the Kaiser's ships and sink them. Other units of the Royal Navy are to protect the Merchant fleets in order to keep Britain from starving.

http://i.imgur.com/9KMVL3v.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/poBXWGH.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/vJGTxeh.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/Z0G2c8a.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/w98KuHF.jpg?1

On land the 21e Corps has been attached to the Quatrieme Armee and ordered to attack the Germans in Koeln and a Colonial Corps has been send of to the Forest Eifel to support a future attack on Aachen.

http://i.imgur.com/VugbSOa.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/oVIZGUR.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 5, Early October

Another French Disaster at Sea.
This German threat has shown us the French are ill equiped in regards of their ships and leadership to deal with this properly. This worrysome for the British Empire and therefor it's now up for the Royal Navy to show the Germans that a fight with Britain means a fight with a high price, Sir Jellicoe has been ordered to clear the North Sea of the Germans with the support of Sir Beaty to prevent Britain to be threatened and to secure a stable blocade to starve Germany and it's warmongering allies.

http://i.imgur.com/DCxrHFZ.jpg?1

Small Skirmishes between the German Battlefleet and the Grand Fleet did happen with minimal casualties on both sides, however further down South in the Halibut Bank Sir Beaty gave the Germans a good trashing.

http://i.imgur.com/GTHGbmx.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/XkwfMN5.jpg?1

On land the operations are going smooth, victories at Bonn and in the forest of Eifel and also Koeln.

http://i.imgur.com/Y8LGf7N.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/rjGFy8O.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/C77elK8.jpg?1

The B.E.F has been ordered to relocate to Longwy so they'll be taking part in securing the Rheinland. Further orders where given to the Colonial Army to make a move to Aachen as intelligence shows the Germans are weak in that position and the sooner we take that city the sooner we can regain full control over the area and start hitting Germany where it'll hurt.

http://i.imgur.com/py4nlWI.jpg?1

Jellicoe has been given orders to see if the Grand Fleet can do some serious damages to the German Battlefleet which still sails closeby, it's time for a battle that may decide the fate the nations taking part in this Great War.

http://i.imgur.com/dPj4xC5.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 6, Late October

The battle around Koeln goes on and the B.E.F and 7e Corps has been send to reinforce the Area. There seems to be a lot of German Activity in the area and it's important to hold Koeln at all cost while we secure the whole area.

http://i.imgur.com/7zqMJiX.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/n6MGvcy.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/gZN2TC9.jpg?1

Furthermore the Anglo-Japanese Treaty has been signed.

http://i.imgur.com/licdLNc.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 7, Early November

Japan has joined the Entente and is now at war with the German Empire and their allies. Their first objective is the capture on Qin Tao.

http://i.imgur.com/bZNKnxA.jpg?1

German attempt to recapture Luxemburg ended up in a German defeat, further North the battle for Koeln continues in favour for our side.

http://i.imgur.com/fqrbf1e.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/pHOwB8l.jpg?1

The Blocade has been set up and Submarine captains have confirmed a large amount of German ships docked in Wilhelmshaven. Meanwhile in Britain and France war new units are to be assembled to increase men available for a Spring offensive planned for next year as the build up will continue throughout the Winter.

http://i.imgur.com/mXBljaF.jpg?2
http://i.imgur.com/onZfcnB.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 8, Late November

Another Fight, another victory for the French Army at Koeln and Val De Moselle. It seems we got their attention as we notice a increase of German forces near the front line.

http://i.imgur.com/WG2KUos.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/uKz8A3q.jpg?1

At sea the West Indie squadron is told to head resupply in Cape town for a planned operation in Soutwest Africa.

http://i.imgur.com/kFWykll.jpg?1

[Betonov]

I see the Schlieffer plan broke down before it even began

[HunterICX]

I see the Schlieffer plan broke down before it even began

That's because they went with the ''Moltke Plan'' and the Austrian Hungarians with the Kaiser plan.

[Oberon]

How are things in Moscow? :hmmm: Or should I say Petrograd.

[Betonov]

That's because they went with the ''Moltke Plan'' and the Austrian Hungarians with the Kaiser plan.

Damn, google can't find the Kaiser plan and Moltke plan keeps showing Schlieffer plan :hmmm:

[Oberon]

I think the Moltke plan is Aufmarsch II West (at least the part of it on the western front):
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=178902&start=0

Can't find much on the Kaiser Plan though.

[Raptor1]

How are things in Moscow? :hmmm: Or should I say Petrograd.

I'll get to some reporting soon, I hope. So far the situation is this: Initial offensive into Austria-Hungary by Russian and Serbian forces has been crushed, and Central Powers counterattack has gained significant ground in Northern Poland, the Baltic States and a salient north of Galicia. The Serbians managed to destroy the Austro-Hungarian counterattack into their land but they're still recovering while the front in Russia has more or less stabilized, though the Baltic sector is pretty much wide open to German attack until I get together enough forces to oppose them.

I think the Moltke plan is Aufmarsch II West (at least the part of it on the western front):
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=178902&start=0

Can't find much on the Kaiser Plan though.

I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be representative of Aufmarsch II Ost, which was devised by Moltke. Both the plans that Germany and Austria-Hungary chose in this game call for mass deployment against Russia.

EDIT: The corresponding Austro-Hungarian war plan was apparently called Plan R, though it's not exactly that.

[HunterICX]

Turn 9, Early December

Boer uprising!!!
12 Years it has been since the second Boer War and it seems we're on the edge of a third one. We are pretty certain this is the work of German agents using their base in South West Africa. This rebellion will be delt with by the forces still loyal to the Empire and this'll also act to put the topic of German colonies a bit more urgent up the Agenda.

http://i.imgur.com/K8ltoPL.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/0nzgi48.jpg?1

In Koeln another German commander made an attempt to throw us out, this was met with fierce opposition by French and British troops.

http://i.imgur.com/s5FH5Gg.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 10, Late December

Koeln
No matter how many times they try, our men shall hold
Today marks a glorious victory achieved by our forces in Koeln as we gave the Germans the boot and had them pay a high price for this attempt at retaking Koeln. Our Commanders where told not to get drunk from this victory as the Spring offensive that's been planned will deal a serious blow to German morale and will contribute a lot in ending this war as soon as possible.

http://i.imgur.com/JA505MY.jpg?1
*

Another small skirmish in Val de Moselle resulted in another French Victory

http://i.imgur.com/Sm2FXZo.jpg?1

Germans have been spotted threatening our merchant fleet in the atlantic hopefully the Western Patrol can deal with this and drive them away.

http://i.imgur.com/lE30RJa.jpg?1

In Qin Tao the offensive has started by the Japanese to take this colony from the Germans.

http://i.imgur.com/UuVUMtm.jpg?1


*-Had the list of forces scrolled down when taking the screenshot if you wondered why nothing is listed on the german side.

[HunterICX]

Turn 11, Early January
-
A New year, A step closer to a new offensive.
The Welsh forces have arrived on the French mainland and are moving to Aachen to join up with the Scottish forces already stationed there. More units which are either being transfered or recruited are planned to be ready within the next month so they'll be able to join up and form a new army that will lead the attack on the German lines.

The Situation of the Front and another Victory at Koeln
http://i.imgur.com/AqXb6xd.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/0ALdwKw.jpg?1

With the Boer crisis over it's time for our turn to do something about the German Colony from which the agents operated that started the mess in South Africa.

http://i.imgur.com/5XcjZTE.jpg?1

Some advances where made in our technology, we invested in Air to improve reconnaissance and the posibility to arm our planes to prevent the enemy from returning to base with valuable intel. Also the infantry got a new look.

http://i.imgur.com/nSj6lgN.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/aWQpRbS.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 12, Late January
-
A quiet month is has been which saw little action along side the front and abroad. Everything is still moving towards the Spring Offensive with new units arriving each day. Cape de Good Hope division has arrived at the German Colony in southwest Africa and has gotten orders to support the attack with their guns for when our troops arrive.

http://i.imgur.com/n4fPYIi.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 13, Early February

Treaty of London signed
Italian's war goals recognized.



Tyrol, up to the Alpine water divide at the Brenner Pass, which includes the modern-day Italian provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol.
The entire Austrian Littoral, including the port of Trieste and the Cherso-Lussino (Cres-Lošinj) archipelago, but without the Hungarian port of Fiume (Rijeka).
Northern Dalmatia, including Zara (Zadar), Sebenico (Šibenik), and most of the Dalmatian islands, except Veglia (Krk) and Arbe (Rab).
The Dodecanese Islands (held by Italy since 1912)
The port of Vlorë in Albania
A protectorate over Albania ("Italy should be entrusted with the task of representing the State of Albania in its relations with Foreign Powers").
Parts of the German colonies in Asia and Africa
In the event of the partition of Turkey, Italy "ought to obtain a just share of the Mediterranean region adjacent to the province of Adalia"


http://i.imgur.com/Zrmo2Vx.jpg?1

In Koeln the B.E.F has been ordered to make the final assault on the town itself to clear it from German troops to secure it in preperations of the Spring offensive, Reserve units have been send up North to be the ones responsible holding the Northern flank secured while the main force will push east and the objective has been decided.
Stuttgart
http://i.imgur.com/nRUVCyq.jpg?1

-Combined forces of Welsh, Scots and fresh new recruits from the British Isle will lead with the B.E.F the primary swing towards Stuttgart.
-Later assembled French forces will make their push from Val de Moselle into the 1870's lost terrain of Alsace-Lorraine closing the south-eastern escape route for the Germans in the Rheinland.
-With this pincer movement we hope to trap a substantial amount of Germans in a pocket.

[Betonov]

Sell us to the Italians ???

YOU WESTERN MONSTERS !!!!!!
Better dead then green, white and red

[Oberon]

:hmmm:

I smell over-extension... :hmmm:

[HunterICX]

:hmmm:

I smell over-extension... :hmmm:

Well...maybe, hopefully the units I build up in England and North West France will be done in time so they'll be able to fill the gap. However I have to move out because can't have the men sit in the Trenches all year now can I :D

[Raptor1]

:hmmm:

I smell over-extension... :hmmm:

The French can afford some casualties. Meanwhile, if it keeps the Germans off my back long enough for the big push into Galicia, I might be able to capitalize on Austria-Hungary's deteriorating war situation.

[Oberon]

You might be better breaking through a little bit further south than the currently planned attack, then you'll only have to cross the Rhine once instead of twice. In fact if you push down to Mainz and Speyer then you can put the Rhine between you and the enemy, making it harder for them to counterattack.

Of course, it also puts you between the Rhine and the encircled German forces, but hopefully you can attrition them at leisure.

[HunterICX]

http://i.imgur.com/3DE7YrI.jpg

''Don't worry mah boy, I'll cross the Rhine 3 times if I have to''

The route I pick for the British forces will stay as it is, I took it as this way it has my way clear of dense forests which will benefit the defender and hinder my troop movement.

[HunterICX]

Turn 14, Late February

Banzai!!!
http://i.imgur.com/R94M6s5.jpg
Victory at Qingdao, the assault was a succes as the German colony fell at the hands of the Japanese forces. This is great news indeed for the Entente nations who hope that more of these victories will follow shortly.
http://i.imgur.com/Bve7dRT.jpg?1

Also Koeln has been fully secured by the B.E.F
http://i.imgur.com/iT37Lj1.jpg?1

[Oberon]

Happy paddling! :haha:

[HunterICX]

Turn 15, Early March

The cost of victory and defeat.
I think for a moment we dared to be a bit more optimistic came at a price, a victory but a costly one has been obtained in South West Africa with over 16000 men lost in the fight. At Qindao the Japanese thought they could overrun the weakened and battered garrison of the fortification but they where proven wrong at the hands of a garrison that showed they aren't done yet and won't give up the colony just yet.

http://i.imgur.com/MZZE7Oj.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/qCZ7yzp.jpg?1

The Army of Jan C. Smuts are depleted of any strenght after the long march and harsh fight with the defending forces of South West Africa that they won't be able to continue the fight but hopefully they are spared from any counter attack untill reinforcements arrive to continue the operation.

The Japanese are also abandoning any further frontal assault and will instead bombard the remaining defenders into submission by non stop artillery fire.

[Raptor1]

Stavka Operational Report and Analysis, Vol. I
The Campaign of 1914

Part I: Planning and Mobilization

The ultimatum delivered to Belgrade by Austria-Hungary on July 23rd, 1914 in response to the Franz Ferdinand assassination assured the imminent outbreak of war between Serbia, Russia, France and the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires. As a result, an emergency meeting of the General Staff of the Russian Army was called on July 25th. After many hours of discussion, it was decided to adopt a modified form of Plan 'A' of Mobilization Schedule 19 in the event of a general mobilization. Under the revised plan, four of the armies available would be deployed facing Austria-Hungary with the remaining two deployed to the German border in Poland. A general offensive would be conducted into Galicia, Lesser Poland and Silesia with the intent of knocking the Austro-Hungarians out of the war before the expected fall of Serbia. These plans relied on the assumption that the German army would focus offensive operations against the French front in the event of war, leaving the Russian border relatively undermanned; assumptions which would later turn out to be faulty.

On July 28th Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and within two days a general mobilization of the Russian army was called. On August 1st, Germany issued a declaration of war against Russia, and thus began the Great War.

Part II: The Battles of Krakow and Volhynia

Within days of the declaration of war, the First Army of Paul von Rennenkampf has completed its mobilization and began marching towards its objective. On August 13th, it crossed the Austro-Hungarian frontier and attacked Krakow, which it invested after a brief but bloody skirmish with the Austro-Hungarian army. Meanwhile, the Third and Eighth Armies of Nikolai Ruzski and Aleksei Brusilov began their march into Galicia, with the intent of seizing the provincial capital and critical railway junction of Lemberg, while Alexander Samsonov moved his Second Army towards Königshütte in Silesia in a diversionary attack.

It soon became apparent that Stavka has severely misjudged the Central Powers' deployment plans and ability. At the suggestion of Moltke and the German army, the Austro-Hungarian army abandoned its plans for an immediate invasion of Serbia to deploy its entire strength on the Russian front. Furthermore, the majority of the German army was deployed to East and West Prussia, ready for an offensive into Poland and the Baltic states.

In late August, Ruzski's Third Army was assaulted and decimated by two Austro-Hungarian armies, which crossed the Bug River and invaded Volhynia. By September 15th, the Austro-Hungarians had advanced nearly 100 kilometers into Russian territory, taking Lutzk and Dubno before stopping on the outskirts of Kowel and Rowno. Meanwhile, the First Army was attacked by German and Austro-Hungarian forces outnumbering it three to one. After a bloody engagement on September 4th, which cost the Russian army 13,000 men to the Central Powers' 24,000, Rennenkampf abandoned Krakow and began a retreat back towards Kielce. Samsonov's Second Army briefly managed to hold Königshütte, defeating Paul von Hindenburg's first counterattack against all odds, but he too was eventually defeated and destroyed in a disorganized retreat.

Only Brusilov's Eighth Army managed to progress relatively unopposed into Galicia through Rawa Ruska. On September 13th, Brusilov seized Zloczow without opposition and turned north, into the rear of the Austro-Hungarian armies in Volhynia, in an attempt to avert the collapse of the Third Army. Suffering massive casualties, Brusilov managed to briefly cut the Austro-Hungarian supply lines at Kremenetz, but an Austro-Hungarian counterattack soon forced him to retreat eastwards. At the same time, the Third Army was attacked and routed from Kowel. By the start of October, Russian armies had retreated to the far banks of the Pripyat and Horyn rivers, ending the Battle of Volhynia in defeat.

Part III: The Poland-Baltic Offensive

The greatest failure of Stavka's war plan at the outset of the war was its failure to predict the German offensive into Poland and the Baltic States. Pre-war predictions of German actions has strongly predicted that Germany would commit the majority of its forces into the invasion of France, but German deployment had proven completely reversed from this plan. By late August, multiple German armies have crossed the border from East Prussia. In Poland, the Fifth Army under Pavel Plehve lost Lodz to a German assault, but managed to regroup in the forests to the southeast. The Ninth Army under Platon Lechitski held onto Warsaw because of the German army's apparent unwillingness to assault it. The situation was most dire in the Baltics, however, which were devoid of nearly any defense. On August 16th, the fortress of Kowno in Lithuania fell to Karl von Bülow's troops, and the German army advanced rapidly.

By the end of October, German troops had managed to advance as far north as Riga. However, with the onset of winter and arrival of Russian reinforcements from Finland and elsewhere, the front stabilized, ending major combat operations in the campaign of 1914.

Part IV: The Serbian Campaign

The abandonment of the Austro-Hungarian offensive against Serbia afforded some respite to the isolated country. A limited offensive to distract the Austro-Hungarian army was undertaken by Radomir Putnik, but a disasterous battle outside of Festung Peterwardein soon sent the Serbian army reeling back to Belgrade. Michael Edler von Appel, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian army attempted to capitalize on the Serbian defeat by pursuing the remains of the Serbian army, but his forces were soon demolished by the reorganized Serbs. The Montenegrin army also attempted an attack against the coastal town of Cattaro, but the Austro-Hungarian garrison offered a tenacious defense and forced it to retreat.

[Raptor1]

Think I'll do seasonal reports or something like that, rather than reporting every turn. Also, I'll add some screenshots or maps to the above post when I have time later.

[HunterICX]

Turn 16, Late March
-
Italy Declares War!
http://i.imgur.com/qNAqqaX.jpg
The Italians have officialy declared war on German, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire and have begun quick preperations for their campaign to strike at the Austria-Hungarian forces. With the knowledge that it's clear the the majority of the German and Austrian-Hungarian forces are deployed against Russia it's most important we start strike at them soon to have them focus on 2 more fronts which are about to push into Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Italian Campaign
http://i.imgur.com/PCeDWoW.jpg?1

[Betonov]

Isonzo river my.... IT'S SOČA :stare:

[HunterICX]

Turn 17, Early April

Italians...
Hoping for a quick start in the Italian campaign to have it go together with the French-British Spring offensive seems to still be a thing to ponder about as the Italian leadership is having an hard time do pretty much anything, hopefully they'll have it sorted by the end of this month as then suprise and quick dash through their defences might proof essential for a succesful long campaign as the terrain is in favour of a well deployed defender and a nightmare for any attacker.

The French Alp forces however are on the move to take Trento and will expect help from the Italians as quick as possible.

http://i.imgur.com/Uyx1k7r.jpg?1

[Betonov]

War is coming home, this is going to get personal :stare:

The town of Flitsch is called Bovec today and was the epicenter of the Soča campaign

[HunterICX]

Turn 18, Late April

Attack, Disorder and Anger.
http://i.imgur.com/jKy8mPu.jpg?1
A message came from the British Officers on the field that their Armies aren't able to do any offensives on the day of the planned offensive, further intel gave a picture of the Command structure as in there wasn't any.
Discussing this with the French resulted in loss of Face for the British Army as they wheren't happy about the news that the British forces wheren't ready.
They told before the meeting was concluded that this blunder will have a high price, a French price. Lord Kitchener himself will come over from London to resolve the issue and have the British forces in the offensive at full strenght as soon as possible.

The French quickly threw around their army structure, added 2 new ones under Joffre. Quickly an opportunity came out of recent intel they couldn't let ignore as Metz seemed after increased reconnaissance flights poorly defended so Joffre ordered the French 3th Army to attack it.
The plan and objective will remain the same however, the French will make their push sooner then planned and will help with an army stationed North in Koeln the British flanking move towards the city of Stuttgard.
http://i.imgur.com/A9lVzEZ.jpg?1

In Italy, things are starting to move as the French Alp forces managed to score an easy victory and are now in Trenton, the Italians south of the city of Trento have moved towards Bozen which lies next to Trento from there with the help of the French they'll start moving North East towards their objectives.
http://i.imgur.com/KkG5PLJ.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ckxQhmz.jpg?1



Qindao has been successfully captured by the Japanese, the garrison fled into the open fields and the place is now under Japanese control.
In Africa however things wheren't so good the feared counterattack came and the South African forces under Smuts suffered an defeat.
http://i.imgur.com/LW7rVks.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 19, Early May

Beaten Beaty
http://i.imgur.com/3Tdw9ng.jpg?1

We laughed at first when the French where beaten, but no more as at sea the Germans bit us where it hurts the most when it comes to our pride. The fleet of Beaty got attacked by a German squadron of similar size however better prepared and organized they gave Beaty a bloody nose. Loss of life is high and a ship has been lost but luckily for us Beaty managed to avoid further loss and escaped.

http://i.imgur.com/cpCsP08.jpg?1

It seems the Germans dared to reach out for us leaving the safety of their ports and harbours, if they can so can we!
All fleets around the isle have been given order by the admiralty to hunt down and sink any german fleets that get in reach of our mighty guns. The risks are great but we can't wait for another slap in the face where the Germans showed they have what it takes.

http://i.imgur.com/LxPQb2B.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/LPvEgbo.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/R0EyAMN.jpg?1

In Southwest Africa another defeate suffered at the hands of the Germans but it came at a high price for them too. While they deplete their forces ours are building up in Capetown ready to be shipped by sea to reinforce Smuts and his men.

http://i.imgur.com/wNv8n38.jpg?1

The French attack saw succes as the first encounter of the Spring Offensive at Fort Metz is a victory, they immidiately send in another Army to attack Morhange. The B.E.F and it's smaller forces also are now finally on the move while the B.E.F and a corps of fresh recruits from the main isle go straight for Frankfurt the Scottish, Welsh and Canadian are to take Koblenz.

http://i.imgur.com/49qRt2d.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/oFzpUYU.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/qPLJJEf.jpg?1

[Oberon]

You had one job Beatty, one job... :/\\!!

Assign him to patrol Loch Ness. :nope: With any luck Nessie will eat him.

Get Admiral Reginald Bacon in there, him and Jellicoe will fix the High Seas Fleet alright. :yep:

[HunterICX]

Turn 20, Late May

The Greek sided with the Entente.
After more then a year conducting diplomatic meetings with the Greeks they finally have decided that they'll side with us in this struggle and have formally declared war against the Central Powers.

In the North Sea the hunt for the German fleets go on, the fleets will sail in close proximity to come to ones aid when one makes contact with the Germans.

On Land victories have been scored by the British, French and Italians. Nothing mayor but it makes for a nice start of the offensive.

http://i.imgur.com/cG1gkTg.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/wQ4ODw9.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/zeB2LLY.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 21, Early June

Metz
A fierce battle has been fought to dislodge the Germans from their fortifications in Metz, it didn't succeed but it seems the price was high for the Germans while defending. The French will keep the pressure on Metz as we predict they won't be able to sustain another loss of life as last battle.

http://i.imgur.com/GNKKNJk.jpg?1

North in the Rheinland the French 4th Army is to attack the city of Dusseldorf in order to keep the Germans from attacking the Northern Flank of the British in Koblenz and Frankfurt.

http://i.imgur.com/qnoX8ey.jpg?1

Italians have set their eyes on a new valuable objective, the city of Trier appears to be of great value to the Austria Hungarians so threatening that may inflict serious unrest among the population when it becomes clear their military is unable to keep their cities safe. The 1st Army task with support of a Cavalry detachment will be to lay siege on Trier and to capture it.

http://i.imgur.com/x5RaTe2.jpg?1

The Italian 3th and 4th Army are ordered to continue their advance towards the city of Bozen.

http://i.imgur.com/KLC5KXR.jpg?1

Portugal has joined our side and have dispatched their forces to Greece to support as we are very sure it won't be long before Bulgaria enters the war on the side of the Central Powers.

http://i.imgur.com/ii8AAJ2.jpg?1

[Oberon]

The French will keep the pressure on Metz as we predict they won't be able to sustain another loss of life as last battle.

That's a familiar saying from that war "Just one more push will finish them!"

http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ap/a/a000786.jpg

[HunterICX]

Turn 22, Late June

The Gamble
While it kept the German from attacking the Northern Flank of the B.E.F and their forces it did however came at a high price as what wasn't expected that Boehn's army further North would join the defence. Reinforcements are on the way to hold their gained positions and to keep the Germans occupied while 2 other important locations are about to be attacked.

http://i.imgur.com/LlQdJaf.jpg?1

Dubail's army together with that of Gallieni are about to launch a mayor attack on the fortifications of Saarbourg while the French Army of Castelnau with the help of the 12th Corps attacks Thionville

http://i.imgur.com/3LiRmHm.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/vFgTtBG.jpg?1

The Italian 2nd Army has received orders to attack Klagenfurt.

http://i.imgur.com/hyuuyXu.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 23, Early July

The Price
http://i.imgur.com/MQTBNPe.jpg
We've underestimated the reserves of the Germans around Dusseldorf as it seems they spared none to pull in from other areas to defend the city at all costs.

http://i.imgur.com/O6Gl3YA.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/9bPDhud.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/rsTb5Ba.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/hJ5OUkb.jpg?1

The whole Northen flank has been drained from reserves and is now held by the few corpses that didn't take part in the attack. Over 70.000 men lost and nothing to show at least not in Dusseldorf.

Further down South General Gallieni with his army and that of Dubail scored a glorious victory over the German defenders, it's reported that the Germans suffered over 100.000 casualties and Saarbourgh is as good as ours. Also the Army of Castelnau scored a victory in the fortified area of Thionville

http://i.imgur.com/hk47cBP.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/QcYYFVI.jpg?1

The Italians are making good ground in their Campaign scoring some victories at Gorizia and Saschenburg however the army of Frugoni wasn't able to take the fortifications of Klagenfurt.

http://i.imgur.com/Q0WEw8Z.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/i1HS2Fc.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/8Hwy61I.jpg?1

1st Army continues to the city of Trieste, all fleets in the North Sea have been given orders to ressuply and reorganize in Scapa Flow and a combined colonial army of Portugal and France are about to tackle the Germans in Kamerun and will then move to Togo.

http://i.imgur.com/QA1qaK6.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/aRexqhp.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/3EXiuUn.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 24, Late July

The Italian Navy has engaged a Austrian-Hungarian fleet that was spotted in the Croatia Bay succesfully sending some of them to the bottom of it.
On land some defending Austrian-Hungarians where cleared from their positions but Klagenfurt remains to be a problem.

http://i.imgur.com/b6oePkR.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/sT5ishs.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/A6lC4NB.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/o94RsZS.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/j536HDv.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ERfGOyO.jpg?1

The French scored victories over some defending Germans in Metz and Saarbourg and started to move units that are available further into the Rheinland.

http://i.imgur.com/RXgu7c7.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/lfGhLyY.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/fuKCC1T.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ZeRTGyC.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/oMjpm1S.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 25, Early August

Fleet or just Floating Junk?
The Performance and coordination of the different fleets of the Entente forces show again that if it isn't done right the cost is high, whilst in the Bay of Croatia the Italian Navy and the British engaged the Austrian Hungarians instead of coordinating a single attack together they engaged it on their own with mixed results.

http://i.imgur.com/qHfZ0Jm.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/5L5lmmm.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/CHuwSAa.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/cjdB4kz.jpg?1

The British Med Fleet has been ordered to return to Malta to repair and rearm and will be put on blockade duty in the Med as soon it's operational again. The Fren Med Fleet has been send to the Bay of Croatia to support the Italians in further engagements with the Austrian-Hungarians.

The French are now making very good ground and are pushing the Germans out of the Rheinland dislodging them from their defences, Mulhouse and Colmar are ours thus clearing a route for a unit of reserves to head for Strassburg.

http://i.imgur.com/Yu78HxN.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/6kk1Lhp.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/sWnMNCa.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/QtxnQUM.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 26, Late August

Securing the Rheinland
Slowly but surely the French has gained the upper hand in the area and is pushing the Germans out of it, the ones trapped in their fort will soon have to surrender or be burried under the rubble.

The Italian navy however are in dire need of the French support as they just suffered an defeat when continuesly engaging the Austrian-Hungarian Fleet.

http://i.imgur.com/HAIYvqQ.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/sXUvfHk.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/cC978AM.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/OIf0rts.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/xVSJhg8.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ohSEr0c.jpg?1

Rheinland's situation:
http://i.imgur.com/Gelgh8b.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 27, Early September

British Victory at Frankfurt
A great victory has been obtained at the city of Frankfurt where the British under Lord French defeated the Germans inflicting lots of casualties. Also Lord Kitcheners army is now ready and underway with new artillery pieces to do something about the Fortifications of Koblenz and Frankfurt.

http://i.imgur.com/bJVAqan.jpg?1

Further down the line the struggle goes on with dislodging the Germans from some of their fortifications.

http://i.imgur.com/SzqaREJ.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/nyKuvoj.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/NUnxrTu.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/VOmOPQK.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 28, Late September

Gallieni
Another great victory this General can add to his resume, at Strassbourg he defeated the Germans inflicting heavy losses on their side and we are hopeful that he'll have the fortifications captured soon so he may move on further into Germany.

http://i.imgur.com/RM66OUY.jpg?1

Also more great news, the colony of Southwest Afrika is now in the hands of the South Afrikan forces and they'll be ready to move on to help the capture of the others soon. The Italian front as well continues to move ahead with positive results

http://i.imgur.com/rIhWnHm.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/mOXVEc1.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/wEVEIWN.jpg?1

A new weapon is to be developed by the Entente and hopefully it'll soon be ready to be deployed in the Field.
http://i.imgur.com/lhXihTX.jpg?1

Mata Hari accused for spying for the enemy has been executed
http://i.imgur.com/qdxNKe8.jpg?1

Deutschland, desperate resorts of the German navy to boost their countries morale by sailing to the United States unhindered by the Entente's blockade.
http://i.imgur.com/cIC24v5.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 29, Early October

2 Down
Saarbourg and Klagenfurt both have fallen at the hands of the Entente Forces. Hopefully with the production of new guns we can have this process even go faster as it appears to be as of now a very time consuming process.

Also the British forces under Kitchener has aided a French army in securing the area around the fortifications of Mainz.

http://i.imgur.com/Bjy1fla.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2BXbChH.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/rEo1rlO.jpg

[HunterICX]

Turn 30 & 31, Late Oct-Early Nov

Bulgaria enters the war on the side of the Central Powers and news arrived they are trying to knock Serbia out of the war whilst also moving into Greece, the first encounter however didn't play out so well for the Bulgiarian army that met heavy resitence of the Greeks and Portuguese.

http://i.imgur.com/EnhFZEa.jpg?1

More victories scored by the British and French who almost have the whole of the Rheinland under control which is just in time for Winter to set in and for our troops to recover and make plan for the next offensive set in 1916.

http://i.imgur.com/uUfzODa.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/kimyVWr.jpg?1

Also a Turkish army has been completly destroyed when they met the Anzac forces in Egypt.

http://i.imgur.com/7EJ7wiz.jpg?1

Also victories reports came from the Italians

http://i.imgur.com/D0GY5St.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ICFcwlW.jpg?1

[eddie]

Have been enjoying your AAR Hunter! BTW, have you seen what's coming for this sim at the end of Feb? New scenerios!!

http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?38678-Twitch-Stream-Summary

[HunterICX]

Danke :salute:

Yes, with the release of the game I was aware that their continued support by gameplay updates would also include scenarios. I wasn't able to watch the stream but it's nice to see that they made a summary on their forum. Thanks for the heads up.:yep:

[Oberon]

As we approach the end of 1915, how are things on the Eastern Front?

[Raptor1]

As we approach the end of 1915, how are things on the Eastern Front?

I'll write up a detailed report on the first half of it in the next few days and the rest after 1915 ends. I have to organize the mess of everything that happened into something somewhat coherent.

The short version is this:

There is an extremely bloody (but mobile, as the front is too wide for trench warfare) stalemate on the Russian front. The Central Powers hold the numerical superiority, but they've been somewhat contained so far.

The Caucasus are overrun with Turks but the Russian counterattack is underway. No telling whether it'll succeed.

Serbia succeeded in inflicting massive casualties on the Austro-Hungarians and generally holding out well well for the majority of the year, but Conrad von Hötzendorf's second offensive and the entrance of Bulgaria on the side of the Central Powers tore apart the lines completely. The Serbian army is still not completely defeated but Belgrade has fallen and it's doubtful they'll survive for much longer.

The total casualties on the Eastern Front have by now risen to about 1.9 million on the Entente side and I estimate slightly more than 2 million (out of 3.1 million total) for the Central Powers.

[Oberon]

:doh: Good lord, that's more than the RL Russian Empire suffered in the entire war! :o Why on earth haven't you been communised yet? :doh:

EDIT: Come to think of it, that's more than the RL German Empire suffered too...unless in regards to casualties that's wounded AND dead, in which case you're both about half-way.

[Raptor1]

Given the casualty rate I assume this would also include wounded, though I'm not sure if the game has a mechanic for casualty recovery from those like, for example, Hearts of Iron does. I'm not sure if that figure includes prisoners either (I have about 125,000 of those in my POW camps, for the record).

As for communising, I've somehow managed to keep my national morale above the inevitable doom point so far and it looks like at this rate Austria-Hungary will fall apart before I do.

[HunterICX]

Turn 32, Late November

The Portuguese with the Greeks stand Firm.
A most notable vicotry has been won over the Bulgarians who probably thought it Greece would be a walk in the Park but they where again proven wrong as for the 2nd time they paid a high price for entering into the lands of the Greeks ofcourse this was with the help from the Portuguese who are there as well to aid them in their defence untill more forces who are currently being recruited in Britain.

http://i.imgur.com/lHOK8E5.jpg?1

Mainz also fell at the hands of the French assault with the help from the British and is now ours, we managed to capture some of the German heavy guns which will be put to good use to crack the other Germans forts still manned in the Rheinland.

http://i.imgur.com/aqxheGB.jpg?1

In Italy a concern came to be as the Austrian-Hungarians with the help of the Bulgarians managed to establish a foothold in the area of Gorizia by scoring a victory at a high price, still this is a concern as if they manage to kick our men out they'll cut of the army besieging Trieste thus the 2nd Army in Klagenfurt has been ordered to swing down to deal with this while a reserve army has been put inside Klagenfurt to hold untill the 2nd Army's return.

http://i.imgur.com/2ZITyNz.jpg?1

[Raptor1]

Stavka Operational Report and Analysis, Vol. II
The Winter-Spring Campaign of 1915

Part I: Conrad's First Offensive

The defeat of von Appel's counteroffensive in the Battle of Belgrade in October 1914 had cost the Central Powers nearly 50,000 men, leaving the Serbian front nearly undefended and the way clear for the Serbian army to march on Sarajevo and all the way to Budapest. The end of major offensive operations on the Russian front at the end of autumn 1914, however, allowed Austria-Hungary to pull back forces and use its rail lines to rapidly redeploy a large amount of troops to the Serbian border.

The main force of the newly raised Austro-Hungarian army, under the direction of Conrad von Hötzendorf's General HQ was comprised of four army corps, estimated by the Serbian General Staff to number over 150,000 men, and was supplemented by additional independent divisions. To counter this army, the depleted Serbian army managed to field approximately 90,000 men to cover the main area of the front.

Conrad's force had arrived at the front lines at the end of November, 1914 and a large column of troops crossed the Sava river into Serbia later that same month, attempting to flank the Serbian defences to the west of Belgrade. Their advance was blocked by Serbian General Miloš Božanovic's corps, whose corps was dug into defensive positions on the far bank. Due to poor coordination between the units of the Austro-Hungarian army, which were composed of a mix of front-line troops, Landwehr and local Grenzers, Božanovic was able to catch Conrad's troops in an ambush at Loznica on November 27th and inflict nearly 40,000 casualties on the Austro-Hungarians. Despite the victory, however, Božanovic was forced to withdraw towards the east because of the enemy's numerical superiority.

http://i.imgur.com/pivbmWG.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/Tes6fN4.png?1

Reorganizing after the bloody defeat at the Battle of Loznica for next several weeks, Conrad elected to continue the offensive, apparently under the impression that the Serbian line was nearing collapse. On December 30th, Conrad launched his corps forward in an attack, but a quick response by Radomir Putnik, commander of the Serbian army, enveloped Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli's corps and destroyed it in the climactic Battle of Obrenovac. The remnants of the Austro-Hungarian army, broken and demoralized, withdrew back to Loznica. The twin battles had cost the Serbians no more than 7,000 men in exchange for well over 70,000 Austro-Hungarian casualties, marking one of the Serbian army's greatest achievements in the Great War. Over the first month of January, 1915, Božanovic advanced and re-occupied Loznica, which the Austro-Hungarians abandoned without a fight.

http://i.imgur.com/hsQBmIx.png?1

The next month saw little action. The Austro-Hungarian army, now unable to continue offensive operations, entrenched into positions around Festung Peterwardein. Several independent Austro-Hungarian units infiltrated behind Serbian lines in an attempt to cut supply lines to the army in Belgrade, and were in turn pursued by Serbian militia units with both sides acting to little effect. By the start of March, the attention of the Austro-Hungarian army was diverted elsewhere as the Russian army launched its spring offensive. In March, the Serbian army decided to launch a second attack at Peterwardein to support Russian operations. The remnants of three corps under Karl von Pflanzer-Baltin engaged Radomir Putnik's army near the fortress on March 27th and managed to win a Pyrrhic victory, losing most of their fighting strength in the course of the fighting. The Austro-Hungarians then withdrew and allowed Putnik's army to lay siege to the fortress.

http://i.imgur.com/4lgKpwX.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/ze33xuY.png?1

Part II: Winter Advances

The 1914 campaign on the Russian front ended with a definite victory for the Central Powers, who captured a large part of Lithuania, a large salient centered around Lutzk and Dubno in Volhynia and the majority of the Polish border with Germany. Due to the Russian army's lack of available units, the German and Austro-Hungarian armies remained largely unchecked on both flanks of the Warsaw line in Poland, which formed the core of the Russian position, but Stavka discounted the possibility of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians attempting to exploit their position in an encirclement of Poland because it did not believe that the Central Powers possessed the forces required or the ability to coordinate such an operation.

http://i.imgur.com/FXGzUIa.png?1

The Russian armies were reorganized and reinforced over the end of 1914, restoring their fighting strength to a degree. In December, 1914, Stavka ordered Nikolai Ruzski's Third Army to commence a cautious advance into the Lutzk salient. It soon became apparent that the majority of the Central Powers' forces have evacuated the area, likely weary of an attempt to cut their supply lines to Lemberg. Ruzski captured Kowel and Dubno without incident and proceeded to besiege Lutzk, which would manage to hold out for over half a year. By February, the front lines in the area have returned to their original positions at the start of the war.

http://i.imgur.com/1VnG3YZ.png?1

Meanwhile, troops from Finland and other areas arrived to reinforce the exposed front line in the Baltic states. The German advance in the area has apparently been hasty, likely an attempt to exploit its poor defences, and the German army was found to be wildly scattered and lacking in manpower to sufficiently garrison it. Reconnaissance-in-force and a series of hasty advances subsequently allowed the Russian army to reclaim a large part of the territory over the winter, during which time the German army was reluctant to move from its quarters. A corps under the command of Aleksandr Ragoza recaptured Riga and proceeded to advance through the western part of Lithuania, nearly arriving at the border of East Prussia, while Wilna was briefly reoccupied by Russian troops before a counterattack by the German army reclaimed it.

http://i.imgur.com/LqCvKzP.png?1

Part III: The Battle of Galicia

Learning of the success of the Serbian army, Stavka began planning another offensive against Austria-Hungary, to be launched in late winter and carried out over the spring. Aleksandr Brusilov, the most able of the Russian commanders, was chosen to lead this offensive. A plan was drawn up for a massive encirclement of Lemberg by Brusilov's Eighth Army, Nikolai Ruzski's Third Army and Anton Saltza's Fourth Army, the last of which was nearly unengaged during the 1914 campaign. Meanwhile, a second attack on Krakow by Rennekampf and Samsonov's armies would act as a diversion. The operation was put into action in late February, with the southern pincer of the Russian attack, consisting of the Fourth and Eighth Armies, launching from Chotin Fortress.

http://i.imgur.com/dI0xVws.png?1

Marching along the rail lines to Lemberg, Brusilov's forces fought skirmishes at Kolomea and Stanislau, arriving at Stryj by the end of March. Meanwhile, Ruzski's army advanced from the north, through Rawa Ruska and towards the Dniestr river. Over the month of April, a bloody and protracted engagement was fought in Grodek by the Austro-Hungarian army to prevent Lemberg from being surrounded. While initially pushed back, Russian forces regrouped and attacked again, this time managing to drive the Austro-Hungarians back. Meanwhile, a large amount of reinforcements were railroaded into the battlefield east of Lemberg, and a general advance began. Alexander von Kluck's German army and Liborius von Frank's Austro-Hungarian army were caught by Russian troops in the middle of May and almost completely destroyed, with the Central Powers losing nearly 100,000 men in the process.

http://i.imgur.com/v4Res9s.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/CkvVJGG.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/AYkZrnJ.png?1

Just as the encirclement was completed, however, Russian lines in Krakow collapsed. Rennenkampf has managed to hold the German army in place for months, but has lost nearly all his forces in the process. Erich von Falkenhayn then reorganized the German army in a quick and perfectly timed counteroffensive. In early June, German troops attacked the Russian line in Grodek and broke through the exhausted Russian troops. With the encirclement now broken, the German army exploited its success rapidly, making contact with the remnants of the Austro-Hungarian army in Lemberg, capturing Tarnopol and advancing north and south into the rear of the Russian armies.

http://i.imgur.com/Ue03u3m.png?1

Within a month, the Russian lines have been broken completely. Furthermore, the Warsaw line was now outflanked by Falkenhayn's army. Both Saltza and Brusilov were cut off by the Austro-Hungarian army, and the rest of the Russian forces have been pushed to Zloczow in disarray. Stavka hastily ordered a retreat from Galicia. Marching quickly back towards Kaminiets, Russian forces south of Lemberg managed to avoid Central Powers forces and successfully escaped the encirclement. Meanwhile, Ruzski's Third Army employed massive rail movement to evacuate the last positions in Galicia and set up a new line to the north. Large portions of the Warsaw line had to be abandoned as the Russian army retreated from western Poland. Falkenhayn proceeded to besiege and capture Zamosc Fortress, but did not advance farther. With that, the front lines once again returned to a stalemate as both sides attempted to make up for their losses.

http://i.imgur.com/zG6h9NM.png?1

[Raptor1]

Phew, that was long. Half of that technically happened in 1914, but I forgot it did.


In Italy a concern came to be as the Austrian-Hungarians with the help of the Bulgarians managed to establish a foothold in the area of Gorizia by scoring a victory at a high price, still this is a concern as if they manage to kick our men out they'll cut of the army besieging Trieste thus the 2nd Army in Klagenfurt has been ordered to swing down to deal with this while a reserve army has been put inside Klagenfurt to hold untill the 2nd Army's return.



Seems to me like the Italians won the battle and then retreated for no apparent reason. Very typical.

[HunterICX]

Phew, that was long. Half of that technically happened in 1914, but I forgot it did.

Quite the mouthful indeed, nice report :up:
It's good to see some visuals from the Eastern Front and it seems like the chaos I imagined it would be.

Seems to me like the Italians won the battle and then retreated for no apparent reason. Very typical.

The only way that General will ever get promoted is with a bullet through his head.

[HunterICX]

Turn 33, Early December

Winter
With the weather turning really harsh for further offensives we are glad that 2 forts have fallen that of Frankfurt and Strasbourg, though Strasbourg came at a high price as at first the guns remained intact and inflicted a lot of casualties but the French pushed and the 2nd attempt was more succesful.

http://i.imgur.com/gdU2hep.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/SCXW7MU.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ufttS3I.jpg?1

On the Italian front the 2nd Army succeeded in helping out in Gorizia and kicked the Austro-Hungarian force out and secured it so the siege of Trieste may continue.

http://i.imgur.com/GKpsRqC.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 34, Late December

Sachsenburg & Gorizia
At the loss of no italian General Duca Emanuele scored a lovely victory over the Germans at Sachsenburg whilst the Italian 2nd Army fend off a desperate attempt by the Austrian Hungarians led by Friedrich von Osterreich to kick us out of the area which cost them dearly.

http://i.imgur.com/M7xvP8q.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/YJUNnxr.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/NCV9Qyt.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/7AZN1l1.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/61OPGNW.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/C9IOP9W.jpg?1

[Oberon]

Good lord, what are the Italians using, nukes? :o

[HunterICX]

Good lord, what are the Italians using, nukes? :o


You mean the General's wife with a rolling pin?
That's about right, the effect of the impact is the same. :D

[Oberon]

You mean the General's wife with a rolling pin?
That's about right, the effect of the impact is the same. :D

http://greenlea.ru/Articles-Directory/The-Number-One-Thing-To-Say-To-Your-Woman-When-She-Is-Mad-At-You/i0060rp.png

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Waffenstillstand_gr.jpg

[HunterICX]

Turn 35, Early January

Gorizia part II
It seems the Austrian-Hungarians really want the Italians out of Gorizia and even deployed the help of Von Bohm, however his first attempts met with little succes as the Italian 2nd Army stood firm.

http://i.imgur.com/5xpaonW.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/vgknJ4S.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/VKI165D.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/fl8sjNq.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/9dDlxWv.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 36, Late January

Trapped
A Austrian Hungarian Fleet was spotted near the North East coast of Italy and has been forced up a large river as it's now trapped by the French and Italian Fleet who block it's exit. Skirmishes by the Austrian Hungarians to break through has failed and we'd hope we can force them to surrender or they'll be sunk.

http://i.imgur.com/prcXCn7.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/cGTizPM.jpg?1

Irish Revolt!
Seems the Germans still had some dirty cards to play as they incited the revolt by the promise of arms. Britain will deal with the situation promtly with extra troops ready to embark from Liverpool to be send to Ireland to supress the revolt and restore order.

http://i.imgur.com/O7GGv3V.jpg?1

[Betonov]

Turn 35, Early January

Gorizia part II
It seems the Austrian-Hungarians really want the Italians out of Gorizia



Something we still want to do to this day :03:

[HunterICX]

Turn 37, Early February

Italian Winter
Whilst the Western Front in French is very quiet the Italian front has seen a lot of action during the winter especially in Gorizia and as of last month the battle with the Austrian-Hungarian Fleet and again this month saw action in these parts.

http://i.imgur.com/yjXA7Tp.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/M5yVxcT.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/uAFhsMF.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/PX9Sa2u.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/GIG0a7m.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/oMrMYhA.jpg?1

Also in the Middle East the Arab Revolt.
http://i.imgur.com/yOY3ztI.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 38, Late February

Luigi Segato
http://i.imgur.com/E7omS1Q.png
The men who took part in the Battle for Sachsenburg will remember his name and his courage as he fell in battle whilst leading his Alpine forces. Sachsenburg including the fort is now in Italian hands.

http://i.imgur.com/rWKT2NZ.jpg?1

Also the Austrian Hungarian Fleet is a good as done for as when it tried to break through the blocade he was put in the French and Italian fleets managed to deal a devastating blow and sunk some of their capital ships.

http://i.imgur.com/FQhnytR.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/OAXAKkX.jpg?1

Fighting around the fortifications of Gorizia is still going on.

http://i.imgur.com/qXwlJDH.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 39, Early March

The 1916 Offensive

This offensive will be very decisive for the outcome of this great war.
The Plan will be as followed the French 1st ''Gallieni'', 2nd ''Dubail'' and 3th ''Ruffey'' will spearhead towards the River Elbe and secure the area and have a stable line of supply comming from the Rheinland.

The French 5th Army under Lanzerac will head into Wurtemburg with some French Corps units to form a protective wing on the right of the Main offensive further up North.

The British 1st ''Haig'' 2nd ''D.P. French'' and 3th ''Dorrian'' will head towards the North West and engage the Germans who reside in the area of Hessen and thus securing the left side of the Main offensive.

Then there's the French 4th and 6th Army who are in reserve and will be pushed forward if encountered fortification that proof to be hard to crack.

http://i.imgur.com/CsTuREi.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 40, Late March

Metz & Thionville
After many months that these forts where under siege the final assault was a succes and the area is now fully ours.

http://i.imgur.com/Vifn9vP.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/jGNZuSD.jpg?1

The British have intercepted an German unit moving to reinforce their positions in Hessen and destroyed it.

http://i.imgur.com/adFXn4W.jpg?1

Fighting in Gorizia is again in full as three battles where fought in the last two weeks, the Italians fought hard and held the location secured for the operation in Trieste to go on uninterrupted.

http://i.imgur.com/xUihi0R.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/AGGq7y0.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/YKGnEz1.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 41, Early April

Trento
The City of Trento is ours and thus the French Alpine forces can finally move forward and with the help of the Italians make an attempt to reach Vienna by the end of this summer.

In Karlsruhe a fierce and bloody battle has been fought but the French army under Lanzerac came out victorious.

http://i.imgur.com/Kvi4qzR.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 42, Late April
A mayor battle was fought over Karlsruhe and again Lanrezac's forces where succesful in defeating the Germans.

http://i.imgur.com/yNOEi1e.jpg?1

In Egypt after the capture of El Arish by Murray he argued that the best defence of the canal would be an offensive taking the fight to the Turks.

http://i.imgur.com/hOFpi6C.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 43, Late May

The most recent news we've received from our Eastern Allies is that the Russian Czar has taken over command of it's military forces, what effect this will have on the fighting capabilities of the Russians which has been under the most fierce and brutal attacks by the Central powers since the start of this war. Our effort won't even come close to what these brave men has given on the field of battle.

It seems by that news is that the situation is looking grim and that quick action must be taken by the British, French and Italians to relieve the Russians from this constant pressure. We've given orders to the armies of Kitchener and Dorrien to attack the city of Dusseldorf whilst D.P. French and Haig are preparing their attacks.

The Italians in Gorizia have been ordered to assault the fortification now as it appears that the defences are in weak state and shouldn't be much of a issue to dislodge the defenders who still hold onto them.

French 3th Army has been ordered an attack on the city of Erfurt.

Our French Alpine unit in the Italian campaign is very close to the city of Vienna but first had to fight through some Austrian-Hungarian forces who stood in the path, they've been defeated and pushed back into the city of Vienna itself but the French will need a moment to regain their strenght before moving in to attack and hopefully by the time they're ready the Italian armies behind it will have delt with the seperate Austrian-Hungarian forces and will join in on the siege of Vienna.

http://i.imgur.com/xJ1klBG.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/vmguzc1.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 44, Early June
With the Offensive on the French and Italians front in full motion the engagements planned the previous month are reporting positive results as victories in Gorizia, Karlsruhe, Dusseldorf and Togo have been scored over the Enemy whilst the defenders of Erfurt retreated to make way for the French 3th Army which now has established a defensive postion acros the river for further reinforcements to pull in while securing the railway lines for a proper supply flow.

D.P. French is about to attack the city of Graz whilst Haigh moves further North to disrupt the railway lines going to the city of Graz and hopefully will cause delay in supply and reinforcements to the German units that are in Hessen.

On the Italian front the road has been made clear and thus the French Alpine forces with the help of the Italians are to attack the city of Vienna and thus hopefully making an end to the contribution of this decaying empire to the war.

http://i.imgur.com/Oc1Bd8r.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/zZTFFyA.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/rEzLo6e.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/oN1u4Ad.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/mfXa19B.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 45, Late June

Battle of Wuerzburg saw one of the bloodiest battles so far in this offensive and the Western Front, Gallieni with 136.000 men had to fight off an counter attack of the German army of Hugo von Kathen who we estimated to have deployed 90.000 men in this fight. Victory came at a high price but it left the German army lose over more the half of the men they brought in while the French army after giving it a few days rest and reorganization can resume it's operations and move on.

Lord Kitchener with the help of Dorrien managed to secure the Ruhr area by capturing both Dusseldorf and besieging Essen.

The Germans suffered a heavy blow but it isn't likely they're out of the war yet as we're uncertain how much they have in reserve and ofcourse the units they have deployed in the East who we might have to fight in the future as they'll be redeployed to save Berlin when it comes under Threat.

Gorizia is now in Italian hands and in Afrika the siege of Togo continues in our favour.

http://i.imgur.com/xDfRE0X.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/JOO35qH.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/qhGBXWO.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/2u5KQf1.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/S1mhpmE.jpg?1

Progress French Offensive:
http://i.imgur.com/bBA0bXb.jpg?1
Progress Italian Offensive:
http://i.imgur.com/wR3MJZw.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 46, Early July

AUSTRIAN EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEF DEAD
http://i.imgur.com/hEh2pqU.jpg

Remarkable Reign Filled With Domestic and Dynastic Tragedies is Ended
London. Emperor Francis Joseph died Tuesday night, at 9 o'clock at Schoenbrunn Castle, according to a Reuter dispatch from Vienna by way of Amsterdam. The death of Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria was caused by a cold
which the aged monarch caught while walking in Schoenbrunn Park ten days ago with the King of Bavaria, according to a Zuricn dispatcn to the Parisien, Paris. The cold developed into pneumonia of the right lung. When It was realized yesterday that the Emperor's condition was serious his daughter, Archduchess
Marie Valeric, and his nephews, the Archduke Charles Francis, heir apparent, and Joseph Frederick, were summoned to the bedside. Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria practically died in harness, according to an Amsterdam dispatch to the Central News, London. The dispatch said that the Emperor rose at his usual hour Tuesday, and engaged In governmental business. He received his daughter, the Archduchess Marie Valeric, at eight o'clock, and two hours later gave audience to Foreign Minister Burian. In the afternoon his condition grew worse and in the early evening his temperature rose and the physicians; realized that death was approaching. Archduke Charles Francis, grand-nephew of Emperor Francis Joseph, became heir to the throne of AustriaHungary by the assassination of . Archduke Francis Ferdinand prior to.the outbreak of the war. He has been in command of the Austrian armies on various fronts during the past two years. Archduke Charles Francis was born on August 17, 1887.


---


Whilst that Happened over in the Austrian Empire the fighting continues on all fronts, the capital Vienna won't be holding out for long as more Italian forces are underway to speed up the siege and have the capital taken from them as soon as possible to further damage the Austrian-Hungarian war effort. The battle for Dusseldorf saw one of the most bloodiest encounters so far in this war where both sides suffered greatly but at least the B.E.F had something to show for it as they where victorious.


http://i.imgur.com/OcRRE80.jpg?1

Other battles where won by Lanzerac, Gallieni and by the South African Army in Togo.

http://i.imgur.com/OsdR0IQ.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/WPOYG15.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/K1zhseI.jpg?1

[Betonov]

Gorizia is now in Italian hands



http://www.destgulch.com/movies/platoon/plat09.jpg

[Oberon]

[/CENTER]

http://www.destgulch.com/movies/platoon/plat09.jpg

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/27/273ce8c99f971a4414b0212a17ca59598b19beef767f025ff2 4a41d57023ea89.jpg

[HunterICX]

Turn 47, Late July

Battle of Duisburg
General Dorrien with the help of French commanders have a struck a mighty blow onto a German army led by Augustus II causing them to lose nearly a 100.000 men in a single battle. We'd hope to reach an end to this war quickly as more and more news from the Russian Empire is grim and doesn't sound too good so for their sake we hope it'll be over soon.

http://i.imgur.com/SZ8b5qT.jpg?1

Vienna is now under control of Italy, the effect on their armies should become apparent very soon and hopefully it'll be in our benefit.

http://i.imgur.com/ubv2iqO.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 48, Early August

Togo Captured, Offensive still going strong

With the Capture of the German colony of Togo marks the end of German settlements on the west side of Africa, whilst it is important to hurt the Germans and it's allies everywhere possible most resources are currently being focused on the main offensives. They're so far showing great signs of progress with more victories to show and Germans being pushed out of important industrial areas like that of Hessen.

http://i.imgur.com/GD4lfdG.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/65Xc8jH.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/YhGpBTV.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/ireMEcP.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/GNKyx8t.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/4JXBi5h.jpg?1

Franco-British Front
http://i.imgur.com/gFMpS96.jpg?1

Italian Front
http://i.imgur.com/JGt4FFq.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 49, Late August

French armies are slowly but steadily advancing towards the German Capital.
A message arrived from our Eastern Allies if we where to try to make an advance into South Bulgaria and into the Ottoman Empire to threaten their capital Constantinople. A British, Greek and Portuguese Army will be assembled at the border and start the attack in a few weeks as the British who have to be recalled from West Bulgaria will need some time.

http://i.imgur.com/Sfs7viB.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/XFFPE1q.jpg?1

[eddie]

Aww c'mon Hunter, you still playing around inside Germany!?! I would have thought you were already through Berlin and on your way to Warsaw to get some Polska Kielbasa by now!:D

[Oberon]

To be fair, his tanks should be coming online within the next few months...although that's not going to help much because most of the time the Mark I tanks looked like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Bundesarchiv_Bild_104-0965,_Bei_Cambrai,_zerst%C3%B6rter_englischer_Panz er_Mark_I.jpg

or this:

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo81/Shirocco2/Tanks/tank-passchendaele.gif

The performance of the tanks was patchy. Of the 49 ordered only 32 were able to reach their assigned start positions on the battlefield and of them, seven failed to start, leaving 25 moving forward at the commencement of the attack. In the end, the tanks proved to be largely a psychological asset, emboldening the attackers and intimidating the defenders where they moved forward. Tactically however, they provided little advantage or support to the attackers with most breaking down or becoming immobilized in the terrain of the battlefield and only nine actually reaching and penetrating the German lines.

And that's when, of course, they weren't accidentally shooting their own infantry due to poor sights and carrier pigeons for communication... :/\\!!

As Winston put it, after the Battle of Flers Courcellete:

"my poor 'land battleships' have been let off prematurely on a petty scale."

[HunterICX]

Turn 50, Early September

Stuttgart has been captured, the French Army of Lanzerac attacked and succeeded in a swift capture of the area kicking the Germans out.

The fighting in the Ruhrgebiet rages on but it's clear that the British have the upper hand. Lots of Industry has already fallen into the hands of the French and the British in the Ruhrgebiet and we're hoping the effects will become apparent soon.

In the Pacific the Australians with the help of the New Zealand forces are attacking the Bismarck Archipelago.

http://i.imgur.com/Sjlvxol.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/MzJMiNM.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/hTAjhaN.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/MrPIvzw.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/2sZpkPe.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Aww c'mon Hunter, you still playing around inside Germany!?! I would have thought you were already through Berlin and on your way to Warsaw to get some Polska Kielbasa by now!:D

I think by now the Russians have ate it all.

To be fair, his tanks should be coming online within the next few months...

Puppy's been running since the beginning of the year at a whopping 4mph and had to look for replacements a few times already :haha:
http://i.imgur.com/Cr80bOF.jpg?1

[Oberon]

French? Blimey, careful he doesn't 'shell' the British Liberal government. :03:
Surprised he's still going, but then you haven't had the Second Ypres, so he hasn't been forced to resign. I'd consider binning him though, he's not the best of our generals, try Smith-Dorrien or Plumer. Allenby is good though, smart chap and epic moustache:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Allenby.jpg

His nickname was 'Bloody Bull' and let's face it, he doesn't look like the kind of guy you'd mess with. Between him and Plumer, the Germans would probably just spontaneously explode on contact with the 2nd Army. :haha: He wasn't the best in the Western Front though, did better down in Egypt and Palestine. Might be someone to consider sending to the Bulgarian front? :hmmm:

Is John Gough still alive? :hmmm: And is the 19th (Western) Division over in the army that Kitchener is leading?

EDIT: Ah, I just spotted them with Smith-Dorrein. What's the setup of the 19th? What Regiments are in it?

[Raptor1]

Allenby should be detached from his cavalry unit (I guess that's still the 1st Cavalry Division) and given a proper corps or, better yet, promoted and put in charge of an army.

Also, John French is bloody Napoleon compared to some of the morons on my side, like Rennenkampf and Samsonov (who I finally found the good sense to exile to Siberia). It's a good thing Brusilov is there to single-handedly save the day every time.

[Betonov]

Progress Italian Offensive:
http://i.imgur.com/wR3MJZw.jpg?1




My god, this map is wrong :nope:
Geographically I mean.

Karawanken are north of river Sava and instead the Julian Alps sit there :/\\!!
How can you miss place an entire mountain range

[HunterICX]

Turn 51, Late September

D.P. French managed to capture Kassel very quick, the Bismarck Archipelago is under Australia Control, the French are about to cross the final river into Potsdam and then the capital of Berlin comes under serious threat.
It seems it'll all be over by Christmas.

But we are not about to relieve pressure and we keep on attacking the Germans wherever we find them on our path.

http://i.imgur.com/BRAkx5Z.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/goDSTnL.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/EM0bOWL.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/zU7dnpJ.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/tk44fxq.jpg?1

[HunterICX]

Turn 52, Early October

RMS Lusitania
http://i.imgur.com/5AFmS00.jpg?1

The Germans must be really desperate to resort to this barbaric act, the British ambassador has been summoned for a crisis meeting which means that support for the Entente's war effort will grow overseas. We've been already informed that the steady flow of War Supplies from the US will increase to help in whatever they can to make a quick end to this bloody war.

[HunterICX]

Turns Late October to Late December

Berlin

With the French advancing into Potsdam with ease it was a matter of time before the final battle which will be fought in Berlin would be fought.

Dubail and Gallieni would be the 2 main commanders in charge of this attack.
Moving in Potsdam went with some resistance but the costs on the defenders where great and they had to pull back and move into Berlin to dig themselves in.

http://i.imgur.com/ZAtk3aY.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/xYTrydO.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/ZV01tF5.jpg?1

Leipzig was important to be kept under our control for supplies to move through and reach the main assault forces going for the German capital.

http://i.imgur.com/A9c8ggO.jpg?1

In the first half of December the Assault was succesful but there where more Germans on the defence then anticipated thus the French wheren't able to capture Berlin in the very first assault but having numbers on their side (initial numbers where estimated to be 300.000 French versus 100.000 Germans)
They could sustain losses and keep the pressure up.
A great deal of losses where inflicted on the German sides and their numbers where pulled down just to 10.000 men for the 2nd half of December in which we knew that the last assault would be a major victory unless the Germans would manage to pull in a large force from somewhere else but they didn't and thus Berlin fell and that concluded the War by Christmas.

http://i.imgur.com/LGAIU1f.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/1ou9aQ6.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/BafhDxL.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/LY0TJyx.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/5S1bz97.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/iR0lN6J.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/R5NBiAY.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/HWda8Nc.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/seEQlbJ.jpg?1

This concludes my side of this AAR, hope you enjoyed it and till next time :salute:

[Stealhead]

I'm still confused how much dose a mile cost? Also nautical mile or imperial mile? :D

[Raptor1]

We could probably tell better if we knew how to count. :hmmm:

Right, this is overdue but for some reason I feel obligated to finish this, so I guess late is better than never...

[Raptor1]

Stavka Operational Report and Analysis, Vol. III
The Summer-Fall Campaign of 1915

Part I: The Eastern Front

The collapse of the Russian army in Galicia in June, 1915 prompted Stavka to evacuate western Poland, where the Russian army now found itself outflanked on all sides. The Russian army abandoned all positions farther south and west of the now destroyed First and Second Armies and retreated approximately 100 kilometers to a line near the river Vistula. In a last ditch attempt to head off the German army which was now heading south from the Baltics and save the remainder of Poland, the army of Pavel Plehve was sent to Brest-Litovsk in a hasty counteroffensive, where it defeated the vanguard of the German army under Hermann von François and blunted its offensive.

http://i.imgur.com/oKJZ6fu.png?1

Meanwhile, Brusilov gathered the remaining forces of the southern pincer of the Russian offensive into Galicia and managed to redeploy his army back to Volhynia in a mere week thanks to the use of interior rail lines; ahead of the Central Powers forces pursuing the retreating Russian army. Over the next few days, Brusilov began construction of a network of fortifications and trenches around the fortress of Dubno, which he used to ambush and utterly annihilate the advancing Austro-Hungarian army of Svetozar Boroevic von Bojna. The opening day of the Battle of Dubno on July 26th became the bloodiest engagement of the war up to that point, with Brusilov's forces suffering slightly less than 16,000 casualties to the Austro-Hungarians' 73,000. Over the next several weeks, Austro-Hungarian forces in Dubno were mopped up with little resistance. On August 15th, Erich von Falkenhayn ill-advisedly attacked Brusilov with an army corps and was subsequently destroyed, ending the campaign. The Battle of Dubno had cost the Central Powers well over 100,000 and, together with the Battle of Brest-Litovsk, utterly reversed the superiority they had gained following the failure of the Galician offensive.

http://i.imgur.com/EanV5fL.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/Blb3sX6.png?1

The following month saw few advances on either side. The Austro-Hungarians attempted to assault Lublin and retreated after several weeks of bloody and inconclusive fighting with Pavel Plehve. In late September Stavka drew up plans for a limited offensive in Volhynia and northern Poland to clear the flanks of the Russian line. Brusilov advanced south from Dubno but soon met the army of Archduke Eugen and was stalled with both sides taking heavy casualties. In the north a large advance was organized, spearheaded by the armies of Nikolai Ruzski and Rennenkampf and supported by the Army of Finland and other troops. Over the course of October and November, the Russian army recaptured Bialystok and Wilna and advanced nearly as far as the East Prussian border. In December a large Central Powers army of well over 200,000 men under Max von Boehn, the victor of the Battle of Düsseldorf earlier that year, arrived to counter the Russian advance. Ruzski engaged this army in a brief skirmish near Oswiecz before falling back to Bialystok. With the onset of winter, the Central Powers did not advance further.

http://i.imgur.com/E76Hptf.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/MlgYcSo.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/ca0dvZw.png?1

Part II: Conrad's Second Offensive and the Fall of Belgrade

For several months following the end of the previous campaign, little open fighting occured on the Serbian front. Peterwardein was beseiged by the main body of the Serbian army to little effect, as it lacked the heavy artillery necessary to breach the walls of the fortress. Meanwhile, the Montenegrin corps attempted to advance on Sarajevo, but failed to make any progress because of bad terrain and lack of infrastructure.

The stalemate was short lived. June saw the return of Conrad von Hötzendorf, who arrived at Peterwardein with little warning at the head of a reorganized and reinforced Austro-Hungarian army. Caught out of position, the Serbian army was defeated and forced to retreat in disarray. The Austro-Hungarians pursued and laid siege to Belgrade, which fell in short order. By the start of August, the remnants of the Serbian army were scattered and the Austro-Hungarians firmly in control of the capital and northern half of the country.

http://i.imgur.com/b1AKsam.png?1

Radomir Putnik attempted to reform the remaining combat-ready units of the Serbian army for a counterattack to retake Belgrade. However, in October Bulgaria joined the war on the side of the Central Powers and declared war on Serbia, invading the eastern part of the country with several corps, supported by token forces from the Ottoman Empire, spelling doom for these plans. The reformed Serbian army fought several skirmishes with the invading forces and was close to a second collapse when the timely arrival of the Montenegrin corps cleared its rear and allowed it to retreat. The remainder of Allied forces in Serbia took up encampments in Loznica and Zvornik (which was captured from the Austro-Hungarians by the Montenegrin corps) for the winter.

http://i.imgur.com/m5E3iDX.png?1

Part III: The Caucasus Campaign

Details are sketchy on this campaign, as few records were kept by the disorganized Russian forces on the Caucasus front and yet fewer survived the war. In February, 1915 the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Allied powers, prompting Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov, commanding Russian forces in the Caucasus, to launch an invasion of Asia Minor. Despite seeing early success in the Battle of Sarikamish, the Russian army advanced little before being attacked and overwhelmed by the numerically superior Ottoman army. Kars fell soon after the defeat, and the Russians retreated to positions around Erevan and Kumany.

http://i.imgur.com/wjIcpFM.png?1

Despite constant Ottoman raids in the rear, these positions were successfully held against many Ottoman attacks throughout most of the year. However, with the majority of resources being diverted to the German and Austro-Hungarian fronts, the mounting casualties gradually took their toll on the Russian army. A local counterattack at the Battle of Artik on November 4th became a highly pyrrhic victory for the Russians, who had lost most of their forces. Erevan was abandoned soon afterwards, beginning a slow retreat towards Tbilissi.

http://i.imgur.com/zlqRuh8.png?1

[Raptor1]

Stavka Operational Report and Analysis, Vol. IV

The Campaign of 1916

Part I: The Invasion of Bulgaria

Worried by Bulgarian territorial expansion and seeing opportunity for its own expansion, Romania joined the war on the side of the Entente in December 1915. Despite misgivings about the quality of the Romanian army, Stavka entrusted the Romanians with a counteroffensive against the Bulgarian army. In October 1915, the Baltic Sea Brigade of the Russian Navy was landed in Varna under the guns of the Baltic Sea Fleet; it assaulted the port but failed to dislodge the defenders. Laying siege to the city, it was ultimately counterattacked and defeated by a Bulgarian force in December. In the same month, the Romanian army crossed the border at Rustchuk and Widin, meeting little resistance from the Bulgarian army.

http://i.imgur.com/K2lt8dc.jpg

In February, the remnants of the Serbian army left its encampment and proceeded back towards Belgrade, also meeting little resistance; the advancing Allies from the west and mounting losses on the Eastern Front have forced much of the Austro-Hungarian army to withdraw. In March it reached Belgrade and fought a successful series of engagements with the remaining Bulgarian and Austro-Hungarian forces, recapturing the capital.

The first pitched battle of the Bulgarian Campaign was fought in late March between the Romanian army and the Bulgarian LXXXV Corps at Plevna, ending in a stalemate. Early the following month, Sofia came under siege from the Romanian army of Constantin Cristescu after a brief battle. The siege continued until a Romanian assault destroyed the defenders at the end of May and captured the Bulgarian capital. With Central Powers forces in the theater greatly weakened by force redeployment and the capture of both Belgrade and Sofia, the campaign became a pursuit as the Serbian and Romanian armies moved to eliminate the last pockets of Bulgarian resistance, a process which continued for the remainder of the war. Two hasty counterattacks were mounted on Belgrade by Bulgarian general Nikola Zhekov in July and Austro-Hungarian crown prince Rudolf in November, which were repulsed by the garrison and the army of Radomir Putnik, respectively.

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In December, Romania crossed the border between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. The Romanian army of Cristescu engaged and defeated the Ottoman army of Hasan Izzet Pasha in a pitched battle at Edirne, the historical city of Adrianople, on December 23rd, 1916. This event would mark the end of combat operations on the Eastern Front.

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Part II: The Retreat from the Caucasus

With the destruction of much of the Russian army in the region in the previous year and reinforcements not arriving due to Stavka determining the Caucasus theater to be of secondary concern, Ottoman forces regrouped and began a renewed and steady offensive. Batum fell to the Ottomans in March after stiff resistance from the garrison. Erevan held out for longer but was eventually surrendered in May. Setting up defences at Tblissi, the army of Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov managed to hold out for months, inflicting many casualties on attacking Ottoman forces. However, he too was defeated, with Tblissi falling in August and the battered Russian army being routed at the Battle of Rustavi soon after. Ottoman forces as far as advanced far as Sotchi on the Black Sea and arrived at Baku on the Caspian Sea, which they put under siege but failed to capture.

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The Caucasian campaign was the only front of the war on which the Central Powers achieved undisputed victory, but it proved to be of little consequences to the outcome of the war.

Part III: The Eastern Front

While winter descended on the front in Poland, a new threat emerged on the southern flank of the Russian line. Due to a shortage of units, a large area along the Dniester river in the Ukraine has been left virtually undefended for the majority of the campaign. Using forces stationed in Galicia, the Central Powers now moved to exploit this gap. Braving the winter cold, an ad-hoc army of Germans and Austro-Hungarians moved from a staging area east of Galicia deep into the Ukraine. Using interior lines, Stavka ordered Brusilov to redeploy to the vicinity of Odessa using railway lines. A short battle was fought at Tsebrikowo between Brusilov and Franz Rohr von Denta in December, 1915, ending with a victory for the Austro-Hungarian army. Despite their victory, however, the Central Powers decided to abandon their incursion and retreated back to the Galician border.

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In February, 1916, the Austro-Hungarian navy managed to sneak into the Black Sea undetected and landed a force of troops on the Kerch Peninsula. They were engaged and defeated by the Black Sea Fleet under Andrei Eberhart in a series of naval engagements in which many Austro-Hungarian ships were sunk to no Russian losses. The landing force was never seen again; some believe it was destroyed by attrition and lack of supplies in the Crimea, while others argue that it could have linked up with the Ottoman advance in the Caucasus and escaped. Meanwhile, forces were assembled in the Ukraine for a counterattack by Brusilov's army, augmented by several corps of the Russian army and a corps of the Romanian army. They began advancing in March and soon managed to trap a Central Powers force of nearly 200,000 men. Despite a protracted siege, however, the enemy managed to break out of the encirclement and escape the following month.

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In April, tanks were put into production by the Russian army. The first units were attached to Brusilov's army and would prove to be effective in combat despite their unreliability.

In Poland, Alexander von Kluck mounted the first attack on Warsaw in February, which came close to defeating the Russian garrison until the arrival of Pavel Plehve's army, which was rushed to the area by railway to prevent the fall of the city. Plehve engaged Kluck in a three-day battle and routed his army. It would not be long before the Germans attacked again. Catching Stavka completely by surprise, Max von Hausen led the attack on Warsaw on May 8th with a force exceeding 450,000 men and comprising nearly all armies which have arrived on the Polish front the previous year. The defenders, numbering around 150,000 men under Pavel Plehve, put up stiff resistance, but were soon routed under the weight of the German army. The Second Battle of Warsaw would prove to be the largest single engagement of the war, with over 600,000 men engaged. It was also one of the bloodiest, with nearly 130,000 men lost on both sides. The retreating Russian army was caught by the German army again the following day and suffered another 58,000 casualties. Warsaw was placed under siege and fell to the Central Powers in early June.

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The effects of the defeat at the Battle of Warsaw were immediate. Grand Duke Nikolai was sacked as head of Stavka and replaced by the Tsar. Revolutionary forces in the Russian Empire, already growing by mounting losses in the war, were bolstered by the perceived failure of the Russian army and backlash against the Tsar's assumption of command of the entire Russian army. On the front, the effects were less dramatic; the Russian army retreated behind the Vistula and managed to establish a new line which would largely hold for the remainder of the war.

Major combat operations continued elsewhere. Fedor Marston captured Kowno in April and managed to hold it against sustained Germans attacks, repulsing them with few losses. By December, his force was committed to a limited offensive into East Prussia and managed to capture Gumbinnen. Rennenkampf's army fought a bloody and inconclusive campaign at Chelm which only ended when Central Powers forces in the area ran out of manpower. By far the largest series of the battles outside of the Warsaw campaign was fought at Dubno and Rowno, which came under constant attack by Central Powers forces between April and July. Under the incompetent command of Samsonov and Rennenkampf, the Russian army suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. In August, Brusilov's army was sent in a counterattack and quickly turned the tide of the campaign, destroying the Central Powers forces at Rowno. That month, Pavel Plehve's position on the Vistula was attacked by German general Carlowitz and he was forced to retreat, but Brusilov's army once again counterattacked, defeating both Carlowitz and Austro-Hungarian general Nádas and preventing a breakthrough.

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Part IV: The End of the War

The stalemate continued until the end of the year. With so many troops committed to the Eastern Front, the Central Powers were unable to stop the breakthrough of the Allies in the west. Vienna fell quickly, and French troops reached Berlin shorty before Christmas. Unable to recover his military situation, the German Kaiser sued for peace. The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed as its various ethnic groups declared independence. With most of its country occupied and its allies defeated, the Bulgarian army also laid down its arms. The Ottoman Empire, despite remaining largely intact, surrendered soon after. And so ended the Great War.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which formally concluded hostilities, Serbia gained large territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, from which it formed the pan-Slavic nation of Yugoslavia. Romania occupied Transylvania as well as parts of Bulgaria, while Russia annexed Galicia and other German and Austro-Hungarian territories along the Polish border.

Rennekampf and Samsonov were blamed for many of the Russian army's blunders in the war and executed after a trial. Facing the threat of a socialist revolution, a new constitution was adopted by the Russian Empire, and a new government was formed with Georgy Lvov at its head.

The forces of the Eastern Entente suffered an estimated 3 million casualties in the Great War; a far greater number than the number of men lost by western forces. While it was not Russian troops who marched into Berlin and ended the war, the war efforts and sacrifice of Russian, Romanian and Serbian troops were chief among the deciding factors that allowed the Allies to bring the war to its end.

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[Raptor1]

Sorry about the necromancy. I doubt anybody cares, but I did say I was going to finish this. Oh, well, better late than never...