Author: Carl Kleihege (Page 4 of 5)

Spring has come to the Western Front with Mud weather. The British reinforce their front lines. The Italians continue their advances on Trient and Triest. Some shifting of French reserves to support the weaker parts of their defensive line completes the Entente’s moves.

The Italian 1^st Army, attacking from the northwest of Trient attempting to cut the supply line, is forced to retreat. The Italian 3^rd Army, attacking from the southeast of Trient attempting to cut the supply line, almost destroying the defenders at large cost to the attackers. The Italian 4^th Army now attacks eastward. The 5^th Corps successfully captures Villach. The 7^th Corps is stopped with casualties. The 8^th and 9^th Corps come close to destroying the Austrian defenders, but they do hold and throw back the Italians with large losses.

The Entente lost 40 Italian Manpower and 11 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 11 Austrian/Hungarian Manpower and 6 Equipment points.

The Central Powers are unable to react in any meaningful way.

Tom: I think I would have been better served if the Italians had waited until better weather to declare war. I have been pressing attacks that only harm the Austrian/Hungarians on a 4-6, and two of those results are DRs. I just don’t think I can afford to wait until clear weather on the front because the Central Powers are sure to reinforce the Austrian/Hungarians soon. As it is, the combat is centered around Trient (with 3 Italian armies attacking it) and Triest (with 1 Italian army). If additional Central Powers armies appear (and I am sure they will), I will have to pull back some of the attacking armies on Trient. Trient is a hard enough nut to crack (half attack for improved old fortress and halved for mountain terrain) without attacking with only one or two armies. The supply situation in the mountains is just too restricted to maintain a large front with a single army HQs.

The last of the cavalry divisions head to the Eastern front. The army reorganization begins but falls short due to lack of equipment. Hopefully next month will see enough equipment points from mobilized artillery to finish the job. The Austrians begin to dig in near Trient and in Triest. The newest army is defending to the north of Trient to stop the Italian drive on Klagenfurt. The French front reorganizes due to the new army reorganization. All offensives are put on hold until the weather clears.

The Entente fails to react.

Carl: I have been considering sending some of the Bavarian mountain troops to aid the Austrian/Hungarians. So far, though, they do not seem to need it. Now that the bulk of the reinforcements are in down there, the Italians do not appear to have an easy time of it. One thing that I have been thinking about is a counteroffensive into the eastern plains in northern Italy. Perhaps try and cut off the Italian 4^th Army attacking Triest. I will have to wait and see what will occur. I have decided to postpone my drive to the English Channel until good weather comes. I am going to be able to rebuild my forces faster than the Entente can, so waiting should not cost me much. If I can reach the channel, it will cause heavy casualties for the Belgians and British and force the French to send troops to help them. I am considering going after one of the southern French fortresses and create a situation much like Lille where the French must bleed for a while. This may send them into serious morale problems later this year.

The Entente rebuilds their line behind Lille. The Belgians now have a single corps holding Dunkerque. The French 1^st Corps is between the Belgians and the two British armies. Some more movement of reserves to strengthen the area is all that occurs during the turn.

The Central Powers continue their attacks near Lille with an assault on the British 1^st Corps. The British are able to reinforce the line and bring the odds down one column. The Central Powers lost 14 German Manpower and 34 Equipment points to the Entente’s 20 British Manpower and 13 Equipment points.

Tom: I had hoped for some peace, but Carl is continuing to put more pressure on my forces. Although the British morale is high, their manpower situation is not good. He has almost taken the Belgians out of the war, the French morale is low, and now he looks to be going after the British. This could get very bad very quick. My morale is slipping almost as bad as the others.

The Central Powers shift more forces into the Lille area to face the British. They attack the British line, the British 1^st Army is out of resource points so they will not have combat supply. The British 1^st Corps is shattered. The British 3^rd Corps is reinforced with an Indian Cavalry division and it holds with heavy losses. Total losses are 8 German Manpower points versus 8 British Manpower, 5 Indian Manpower, and 17 Equipment points.

The Entente react by sending a French corps moving towards the Lille area to help bolster the French and British defense of the area.

Carl: The attacks on the British were kind of a last minute decision. I had thought to wait and rebuild the strength of the army back up and for better weather. But there I was with a good odds attack on the British 1^st Corps in my reaction phase. This used up the last of the British resource points for the area and gave me good odds against two British corps. The losses that the British suffered will take a long while to replace.

The weather has cleared, but Zone D continues with Winter weather. Great news picks up the morale of the Entente as Italy enters the war on their side. An interesting event where Zone D (most of the Western Front) is in Winter while Zone C (the Alps) is in Mud weather.

The Italians advance against both Trient and Triest. The Italians are at maximum odds but most of the attacks are with -4 die roll modifiers due to weather and terrain. The Austrian border guards are forced to retreat in a few areas (notably around Triest) but the Italians are halted in their attacks towards Trient. The Italians lose 2 Manpower and 17 Equipment points.

The German 2^nd Army attacks the British 1^st Army causing some casualties but the British hold the defensive line. The Central Powers lost 32 German Manpower, 10 Bavarian Manpower, and 22 Equipment points. The Entente lost 22 British Manpower, 8 Canadian Manpower, and 4 Equipment Points.

Tom: There I was with visions of an Italian blitzkrieg, much like the Central Powers marching through Belgium, and then nothing happened in Austria. I am adjacent to Triest and Trient, but it is obvious that the terrain and the weather is just too bad for a very good advance (especially with the 6:1 Mobile CRT ceiling). Obviously, the Italian front is going to go slower than I had hoped. In the meantime, Carl is picking on the British now. All of the March production manpower points are already gone into units. The French are stronger now and may have to defend more of the line and allow the British to consolidate for a while.

All is quiet on the Western Front as the Austrian/Hungarians rush up to defend Triest and Trient. On the French line some shifting and rebuilding occurs, but the Central Powers are looking forward to the reorganization of the German army starting next turn.

The Entente breathes a sigh of relief in France. The Italians react with the 3^rd Army and tries its attack towards Trient again. The Austrian defenders mow the Italians down as they attack and the Italians lose 12 Italian Manpower and 1 Equipment Point without anything to show for it.

Carl: I definitely needed a breather on the French front. The Austrian/Hungarian front is more stable than I had feared. I think that his successful activation of Italy was too soon, at least weather-wise. The Italians will have a hard time slogging through the Alps and Trient should be able to hold. The worry for me is Triest and its factory. This could be a bad loss for the Central Powers if the factory falls to the Italians and halves the Austrian/Hungarian production. I have not yet sent the Bavarian mountain divisions to help, but it is possible that I may have to do so. They should stop any hope the Italians have of advancing too far.

Another scramble to put fresh Belgian troops in the front line, fresh French troops to defend Lille, and fresh British troops to their front line. All three Entente nationalities were hit around Lille during the last turn. All held their ground, but the losses had to be made up to prevent another assault by the Central Powers succeeding.

A low odds attack on the Belgians north of Lille sees only a single full strength division remaining as the Central Powers react and roll an AX result. Another assault on Lille results in another AX – much to the Entente’s dismay. The Central Powers lost 23 German Manpower, 24 Saxon Manpower, and 89 Equipment points. The Entente lost 11 Belgian Manpower, 12 French Metropolitan Manpower, 8 French Colonial, and 27 Equipment points.

The Entente decides not to reinforce Lille with the French heavy cavalry since a full strength division is still present in the hex.

Tom: Talked too soon last turn. He lost 47 Manpower and 89 Equipment points to my 31 Manpower and 27 Equipment points, about two to one in losses, but the Belgians are going to have to pull back to only one hex and the French or British will have to take over, probably the French. This does not bode well for holding around Lille, although the city is still holding, I think I will probably let the Central Powers have it after Italy enters the war. I can’t afford the French losses. It is like Verdun was – bleeding the French manpower and morale.

The Zepplins attack London again, this time the KLM L3 registers the first terror hit on London, and history is made. All of the available Central Powers resource points are now present around Lille. Some minor troop movement allows the Central Powers to prepare in the area and renew the assault. The Belgians are crushed and retreat from the hex. This is the first hex captured by either side that was entrenched. The French are also forced out of Lille with heavy casualties. The Central Powers rubs it in further by capturing the factory.

Total losses are 1 German Manpower point against the Entente total of 7 Belgian Manpower, 5 French Metropolitan Manpower, 13 French Colonial Manpower, 8 French African Manpower, and 10 Equipment points. A very successful Central Powers turn.

The Entente reacts by sending what few reserves they have towards the coast and Lille. The Central Powers have taken two hexes this turn and the Entente will have to stop the advance with some very worn out troops.

Carl: A very good turn for me. After rolling all those ‘1s’ last turn, I finally got turned around and rolled two ‘6s’ on the critical battles, destroying the defensive forces and being able to advance into the hexes. I should be able to defend Lille and Ypres for the turn to get over the contested hex problem and entrench at Lille during the next turn. I am now satisfied to wait for better weather and more troops. The victories have come very hard and many of my spare divisions are cadred or destroyed. It will take a while for me to build up enough troops to really launch another good series of attacks to bleed the French, British, and Belgians more. The Belgians are now down to 22.5 morale points while the French have dropped to 153. I will take the time to rebuild my spare divisions and build up the resource points. The next attack will probably include a bombardment, something I have not really been able to afford the resource points for. Replacement points and production capability increases in the Mar I 15 production phase, something I truly need to rebuild my battered army. Of course, the Entente will benefit from the same type of increases, but I am confident that I will be able to resume the attack before they can.

The Entente reinforce Lille and continue to entrench their second defensive line. Some slight movement occurs to maximize the second line and improve the placement of reserves.

The Central Powers are unable to react with an attack on Lille, however they do manage to pull a surprise attack on the Belgian 3^rd Corps adjacent to Lille. The Belgian reserves are unable to move up to reinforce the line in the bad weather and one Belgian division is cadred. The Entente lost 7 Belgian Manpower Points versus the Central Powers loss of 3 German Manpower and 1 Equipment Point lost.

Tom: It is strange how this CRT works. The DX result on the 8:1 odds on the Positional CRT caused the Belgians to lose half of their defense factors and the Germans to lose half of my losses. A DL result would be the same to me, but the Germans would lose only a quarter of my losses. The DD result is the deadly one, but is very hard to get, even at maximum odds. Consider, though, that if the German assault had been at only 4:1 odds, the result would have been a BX which would have caused me to lose all of my defensive strength and the Germans to lose the same, although I still would hold the hex, I would be too weak to hold against another BX result. Thus, it costs more casualties to attack with the lower 4:1 odds, but it is more effective on weakening my hold on the hex. What I really fear is an AX result. The attacker loses one half of his attack strength while the defender must lose half of the attacker’s losses. A quick way to die if the attack is a 3:1 or 4:1. Fortunately, Carl has not yet made the adjustment, but it is only a matter of time.

Another ineffectual bombing raid on London by the Zepplins. The Belgians are attacked again for another division cadred. Lille is attacked and the French defenders lose heavily while the German attackers are equally bloodied. The British 1^st Corps adjacent to Lille is also attacked with bloody results on both sides.

Total losses for the Central Powers were 32 German Manpower, 2 Bavarian Manpower, and 86 Equipment points. The Entente lost 7 Belgian Manpower, 16 British Manpower, 46 French Metropolitan Manpower, 8 French African Manpower, and 10 Equipment points. The British National Will was reduced to 4 in result of their losses, negating their slight benefit over the German National Will.

The Belgians react and reinforce their front lines. The French use their reactions to strip any excess from the front line and their reserves and start sending the troops towards Lille.

Carl: I have started widening my attack on Lille to the adjacent Belgian and British troops. The Belgians will never have a high manpower replacement rate (at 0.5 Manpower Points per production phase because of the loss of their native major city) and the British are low at the moment. I think he may have spread the British too thin trying to free up French troops to hold Lille. The British NW is now equal to the German NW, removing his brief advantage there. The French lost another 10 morale points this turn, down to only 185 left. If I can continue reducing his morale by 10 each turn, by fall of 1915 he will be in BIG trouble. While I would like to capture Lille for the factory, railroad deterioration effects, and the adjustment on the Italian entry, perhaps keeping it as a place to bleed the French dry would be nice. Instead of bleeding them at Verdun, I will bleed them at Lille. Eventually something will have to give, and with German morale at 765, I hope it is not the Germans.

The new year has begun. A massive reorganization occurs among the Entente front line troops. The British now form the 2^nd Army and adds another hex to defend south of Arras. The French still hold Lille with their 5^th Army. The reorganization will allow the Entente to have a chance at reinforcing almost any hex in their front line. The second line is also preparing to dig fieldworks and entrenchments when and where possible.

The Central Powers decline to react and assault Lille again. The DRM’s are just too steep in winter weather for a good assault without artillery HQs included.

Tom: The new year is here. Soon I will be able to increase my production multiplier (as will the Central Powers) and get more equipment and manpower points to begin to rebuild the French army. I will even begin to get an air force! I hope that my building up a reserve line is worth it. I had to weaken the main defensive line to build it, but the chance of reinforcing the attacked hex may keep him from attacking along the entire French line at once. I am still afraid of French casualties and the French morale level is getting too low for me.

The Central Powers celebrate the new year as the coal resource center in Liege is repaired and all of the factories can produce at full capacity. In addition, the Central Powers expends their last 5 resource points on repairing another 3 coal sites in Belgium and France and the captured Belgian factory in Antwerpen. The Central Powers also take advantage of the snowing weather to reorganize their front lines and pull back units for replacements. The new replacements received this production cycle are gone before enough cadres are back to full strength or new units are brought in. The first air raid of the war is finally pulled off as the Central Powers has a successful Zepplins air mission over London. Unfortunately, the bombs fall wide for no effect. At least this time they found the city!

The Entente do not react and the Christmas truce stretches on.

Carl: The new year brings the realization of just how many units have been chewed up in the war so far. I have a hard time collecting full strength divisions to assault Lille again and leave sufficient full strength divisions to maintain the defensive line and keep full strength ZOCs into the Entente line. I hope to be able to attack and capture Lille sometime before the end of February, 1915. In March, the rolling for Italy to enter the war begins and the capture of Lille would help keep them out for a while. The longer the better.

Snow has arrived. The Entente is almost completely entrenched, only two hexes in the Verdun area remain to finish. Reinforcements are rushed to the defense of Lille, putting 6 full strength divisions into the city. The British and Belgians continue to ensure that their portions of the line are well defended with ample reserves to help defend any attacked hex.

The Central Powers are unable to react in any organized manner.

Tom: 1914 is almost over and it looks like I was able to dodge the bullets in some respects. The major victory of holding Lille is necessary for the French rail net. It currently stands at 36 (not counting supply depots) which will only be reduced further as more British armies come to the mainland. The British have survived with a NW of 5, above the current German NW of 4. The Belgians are 5 full strength divisions. The French, on the other hand, are extremely battered. They are down to a NW of 2. This does not look good going into the new year. The French could be in big trouble in late 1915 if the Germans are able to continue to batter their morale. I am hoping to have the British stage a counter attack in the Lille area to try and capture at least one of the hexes adjacent to Lille and cut down on Lille’s exposure. Right now, Lille has become a major sinkhole for French troops.

The Central Powers line is quiet for the end of the year. Another attempt at a Zepplin raid results in them getting lost before reaching their target. The Central Powers do not launch any attacks, preferring to move their three remaining resource points into position to attempt the repair of some more coal resources.

The Entente is not able to react with any of his armies.

Carl: 1914 is ended with a whimper. The arrival of snow and a lack of resource points to spare, has prevented me from another assault on Lille. It is best to be able to do one attack during the reaction combat phase and another during my normal combat phase. If the results work out right, I should be able to take the city during my normal combat phase. It is time to rest the troops and build back up my strength for spring. I hope to be able to take Lille sometime before the winter is over and keep the French morale going down. This is the only place for me to concentrate on the offensive for now. By the time summer arrives, I hope to be able to pressure Reims again and perhaps one of the fortifications in the south, either Toul or Epinal. Once again, these fortifications are worth too much national morale for the French to afford to lose. He will have to defend them and lose the troops.

The weather is still mud. The BEF takes over the responsibility for another hex while the French 5^th Army is only defending Lille now. The French 4^th Army consolidates its line behind Verdun by retreating one more hex. The rest of the line continues to entrench and prepare for the winter season.

The Central Powers react with another assault on Lille which reduces the defense to only two cadres remaining. Verdun falls to another assault. The French are almost reduced to a NW level of 2 (morale is 201)! The Central Powers lost 36 German Manpower, 4 Saxon Manpower, 4 Bavarian Manpower, and 8 Equipment Points. The Entente lost isolated 5 Equipment points in Verdun and 13 French Metropolitan Manpower, 11 French Colonial Manpower, and 30 Equipment points in Lille.

The French use exploitation movement to reinforce Lille with some cavalry and motorized troops. These are unsupported troops and will not add much to the defense, but it is something.

Tom: It looks like Lille is about to fall during the Central Powers turn. The French morale situation is extremely poor. It looks like it may hit bottom during 1915 if I am not careful. The British are still at NW 5, but they will not last there for very long. The British will have to bear the brunt of the attacks during 1915 to save French morale.

The Central Powers begin to switch to a defensive mode along the front lines. The third attempt to raid London with Zepplins fails again as they get lost yet again. An assault on Lille occurs, but once again the French defenders hold with heavy losses. This forces the French NW to 2. The Central Powers lost 8 German Manpower and 8 Equipment points. The Entente lost 8 French Metropolitan Manpower and 8 French African Manpower points.

The French are able to react and start two corps moving to the rear to rail up to Lille during their next turn.

Carl: Lille is still in French hands. It is bleeding the French to hold it and French morale is falling to dangerous levels. Things are looking up for a French collapse during 1915. It is the French need to take their losses in brigades and regiments while the Germans cadre their divisions that is really pressing the French down. The French have not been able to send enough full strength divisions to Lille’s defense to minimize their morale exposure while maximizing their combat strength. I hope the Entente continues on this path, it will make it easier to continue to reduce the French morale.

The Belgian Army relieves the French at Dunkerque while the BEF relieves the French at Arras, allowing the French 5^th Army to defend Lille and Lens. More Corps entrench along the defensive line. The French 5^th Corps is left to defend Verdun while the other French troops withdraw to the main defensive line.

The French decline to attack near Verdun at a 6:1 -4 on the Mobile CRT but do attack on a 6:1 -3 near Reims. This attack goes home and forces the German 4^th Hv Cav Corps to pull back behind the main German line. This eliminates the thrust towards the Marne that has been the cause of so much combat over the past few turns. Neither side suffered any casualties in the combat.

The German 1^st Army reacts and stages another assault on Lille. The attack results in light casualties on both sides. The German Fal/A Army reacts and attacks Verdun with a much bloodier result, but the French hold on to Verdun. Total losses are 43 French Metropolitan Manpower and 18 Equipment points for the Entente. The Central Powers lost 32 German Manpower, 8 Bavarian Manpower, and 17 Equipment point losses.

Tom: I decided I could no longer hold onto Verdun, it was getting too dangerous. Lille is still too valuable to lose and I have given as much of the line to the British and Belgian armies as possible to strengthen my defense of Lille. The elimination of that thrust near Reims has stabilized that section of my line. I think I will end up withdrawing further in the Verdun area, but the rest of the line should be fairly stable now. Hopefully, winter will be here next turn and it will be too costly to attack on the Positional CRT for the CP to gain much more ground. Resource points for both of us are getting to be real slim.

The German 5^th Army completes its isolation of Verdun. Resource points are shifted to the Verdun and Lille areas and attacks are launched at each. The French are very bloodied in both battles but manage to hold on to the fortifications.

The Central Powers lose 30 German Manpower and 13 Equipment points. Entente losses include 9 Equipment Points lost in isolation, 23 French Metropolitan Manpower, 2 French Colonial Manpower, 4 French Foreign Manpower, and 14 Equipment points. The losses also reduce the German NW level to 4.

The Entente is able to react with his armies in the Verdun area and reorganize a better defensive line. Everywhere else along the line is reorganized for better defense.

Carl: Lille is not falling very fast, nor is it in danger of falling right away. It is, however, a good place to bleed the French more since the French cannot afford to lose the city, factory, or railroad benefit. Verdun should fall next turn, allowing me to consolidate in that area and go on the defensive everywhere but near Lille. The lack of resource points are becoming a major issue for both of us. I may not be able to assault Lille until the new year, depending on the weather and resource point availability. Overall, I am pleased with my current status and I will begin to repair the factories and resource centers I have captured as soon as I can.

A new production turn and the weather turns to MUD! It doesn’t get any better than this! The Belgians start to rebuild their two divisions lost in Antwerpen. The British start to rebuild their last destroyed division. The French just have too many destroyed units to rebuild, but they try. The Belgian Army prepares to defend another hex north of Lille. The British Army prepares to defend another hex south of Lille. This will free up two French corps to strengthen the French defense around Lille and southern portions of their line.

Another series of attacks are planned to force the German forces on the Marne back to the main Central Powers line. Once again the 2^nd Hv Cav Corps is cut off and isolated with the only loss being 5 French Metropolitan Manpower Points from a failed cavalry charge.

The Central Powers gets a good reaction with the 1^st Army setting itself up to attack Lille better and then the Bes Army around Antwerpen reacts and supplies the 1^st Army with a full strength corps. The 1^st Army launches a quick assault on Lille and fails, but the defense is almost lost in an AX result. The Central power losses total 61 German Manpower, 15 Saxon Manpower, and 1 Equipment Point lost. The Entente lost 14 French Metropolitan Manpower, 14 French African Manpower, 4 French Colonial Manpower, and 10 Equipment Points.

Tom: Just when I thought it was safe! The reaction attack on Lille caught me by complete surprise. I noticed the shift of the siege artillery to the area during the CP last movement turn, but figured I had until December before he could shift enough troops over. He managed to scrape together 3.4:1 odds with a -1 DRM and then rolled a 1/5 (1 on the six sided die and a 5 on the ten sided) to give a die roll result of 0 on the 3:1 Positional CRT, an AX. Unfortunately, this means he lost half of his normal attack strength and I had to lose half of his losses. This left only a single division and two cadres, something that may not be able to hold during his turn. If he gets lucky, Lille may fall in his turn and I will be hard pressed to get it back. Even if I do, I will lose the factory and the railroad penalty will come into effect. I need some luck on my side now.

The Central Powers reinforce around Lille, ready for the big push. They also concentrate north and south of the Verdun area. The newly produced resource points (9 of them) are very important because the Central Powers only had 2 resource points left before the production phase.

The Central Powers assault Lille once more. The odds are 9:1 with a +1 DRM after throwing four engineer regiments, air recon, and the leadership of Falkenburg into the battle. This results in a DL, leaving the French in control of Lille. Another attack by the 3^rd Army to relieve the 4^th Hv Cav Corps (formerly the 1^st) is successful. This time, the cav corps ‘advances’ towards friendly lines. The 3^rd Army also stages an attack on the ‘corner’ of the French line between Verdun and Reims forcing the French to give up a hex only fortified by fieldworks. An attack by the 5^th Army south of Verdun attempting to circle behind the fortifications and cut them off successfully routs the French defenders and threatens to surround the French 4^th Army defending the Verdun area.

The total losses for the Central Powers are 15 German Manpower and 8 Equipment losses. The Entente lost 26 French Metropolitan Manpower and 9 Equipment points.

The BEF and the French 5^th Army react to reinforce Lille and allow the French to turn over another front hex to the BEF to protect in the north for additional troops to be freed for the defense of Lille. Unfortunately, the French armies around the breakthrough south of Verdun are paralyzed and unable to react properly. Fortunately, the German forces that have broken through are not able to exploit their success.

Carl: I had a 50% shot at taking Lille and was unsuccessful. That hurts but the threat is there and the Entente will have to scrape together some more troops to build the area back up again while I still have my main force together and threatening the city. It is a must defend situation for the French and perhaps I can bleed him there. The success near Verdun was a total surprise to me. I have almost pocketed the French 4^th Army around Verdun. He is in the position of having to counter attack me in order to save Verdun. Of course, he could withdraw, but France is down to only 243 Morale Points and I do not think he could afford the morale loss. The German morale is 810 the British is at 406.5. They are both at National Will level of 5, but barely. Overall, I am pleased with my current position and the possibilities. My thrust towards the Marne between Reims and Paris has been pushed back, but it has taken its toll on the French. I will not be able to capture two major city hexes by the end of February, 1915, but we did agree on a campaign game. With the current level of French morale, I hope to be able to force a morale check on the French in late 1915 or early 1916. This would indicate a Central Powers victory in mid to late 1916, or perhaps 1917.