Category: MTV AAR No. 4 (Page 2 of 5)

The weather has turned to mud. The Italian factory was able to produce properly despite the hit it took from the Zepplin attack. Final production was 17 resource and 13 equipment points – 2 equipment points above the historical!

The French reinforce their reserves behind the German offensive. The Italians reinforce a few of their more exposed defensive positions. The British have moved a reserve corps to the left of their line in case the French need them to take over an additional hex of the line.

The Zepplins return to London and get through but the barrage balloons succeed in keeping the city safe. The Austrian 11th Army reacts and reinforces the front line near Villach preparing for an attack on the Italians. No other Central Powers army is able to react.

Tom: The weather is starting to clear a bit and this could be dangerous for me in France. Fortunately, he has not been able to react with his offensive army for the past two turns so some of the pressure is off. We shall have to wait and see just what he does now and if the French troops can hold on.

The Entente celebrate as the Austrian factory in Triest is damaged and cannot produce this cycle. The total production ends with 22 resource and 19 equipment points – one resource point over historical!

The Zepplins return to London and are not thwarted by the barrage balloons this time as they do another morale hit. It is a slow process, but the British are beginning to be bothered by the raids. The Austrians and Germans maneuver their troops to attack weak points in the Entente line.

The Germans continue their offensive with a quick assault (no bombardment) and capture Soissons from the French. The thrust is now only four hexes from Paris. Another attack hits the French 1st Colonial Corps and does a bloody exchange there. Yet another attack from Epinal causes even more carnage.

The Entente are not able to react to the multiple attacks along the French line.

The Central Powers lost 34 Bavarian, 11 German Manpower, and 15 Equipment points. The Germans have also slipped to a National Will level of 3 – the British are now alone with a National Will of 4. The Entente lost 29 French Metropolitan, 10 French Colonial Manpower, and 40 Equipment points. The French are down to only 30.5 morale points.

Carl: I have stepped up my attacks. I knew that the German National Will was going to drop this turn (it was 602.5 after the variable losses) so I made a much broader amount of attacks and really hurt the French. They were only able to use reserves in the attack on Soissons since the other two attacks were in bad terrain where they did not have the ability to move into the hex. This has worn down their front line in sevaral places and another breakthrough may occur. My offensive is still able to continue and another hex is captured from the French. I think Tom is going to have to do something with the British now. I expect a quick offensive against my lines there to relieve the pressure on the French. We shall see if it is able to do anything. I did not bombard this turn because of the bad weather. The modifiers are just too steep and I am better off doing a quick assault.

As the new year has started, we decided to issue a joint status report to compare to the Feb I 16 Historical Setup. This is where we are now:

Entente Status

Belgium has 17.5 Morale Points for a National Will of 1. They have lost a total of 103 Manpower points.
Britain has 234 Morale Points for a National Will of 4. They have lost a total of 192 British, 15 Indian, and 21 Canadian Manpower points. This is a grand total of 228 Manpower points.
France has 63.5 Morale Points for a National Will of 1. They have lost a total of 57 African, 87 Colonial, 10 Foreign, and 772 Metropolitan Manpower points. This is a grand total of 962 Manpower points.
Italy has 90.5 Morale Points for a National Will of 2. They have lost a total of 245 Manpower points.
Entente Equipment points lost are 732.
Total Manpower points lost are 1502.

Central Powers Status

Germany has 624 Morale Points for a National Will of 4. They have lost a total of 103 Bavarian, 744 German, 80 Saxon, and 38 Wurttemburg Manpower points. This is a grand total of 965 Manpower points.
Austria/Hungary has 197.5 Morale Points for a National Will of 2. They have lost a total of 37 Manpower points.
Central Powers Equipment points lost are 490.
Total Manpower points lost are 1002.

Historical Results

According to the Entente Initial Forces, Feb I 16:
Belgium has 46 Morale Points for a National Will of 1 and has successfully passed its first forced surrender roll.
Britain has 198 Morale Points for a National Will of 3.
France has 240 Morale Points for a National Will of 3.
Italy has 108 for a National Will of 3.

According to the Central Powers Initial Forces, Feb I 16:
Germany has 585 Morale Points for a National Will of 3.
Austria/Hungary has 186 Morale Points for a National Will of 2.

The difference is much more evident than the year previous. The French morale is much lower while the British and German is higher. Italy has had a bad war so far, they have lost almost seven times the losses of Austria/Hungary. This was helped some by the declaration of war and attacks by Germany. Overall, Entente losses are now 50% greater than the Central Powers.

The weather turns bad as snow hits the entire map. The Entente work hard at preparing their defenses. The French and British reinforce the areas between their armies to defend against the Central Powers offensive. French troops build up their reserves and another line of entrenchments is prepared. The Italians hit the Austrian factory at Triest again.

The Zepplins put two more terror bombing hits on Birmingham – the British player realizes that he will never have a fighter unit outside of London in this game. Army Group C successfully reacts and a ground assault is launched against the French 37 Corps. The artillery (since it is all in divisional form) is not able to participate and the French succeed in reinforcing with two chssr divisions. The air battle is won by the Central Powers, but none of the four tactical Recon missions succeed. The attack goes through for a BX. The French lose 8 morale points while the Germans lose 5.5 morale.

The French exploit two more chssr divisions into the hex.

Total losses were 18 French Metropolitan, 7 French African, 5 French Colonial Manpower and 26 Equipment Points. The Central Powers lost 42 German Manpower and 10 Equipment Points.

Tom: Once again, those ***** German divisions can absorb his losses with losing the morale. This will be scary, particularly when he gets to try out Arthur’s newest ruling on bombardment disruptions (where you can place a second disruption on a unit and destroy/cadre/remnant it). With all of that nasty artillery he has it will probably be very deadly.

The Central Powers are able to rebuild their cadres from the battle while the French are only able to rebuild three of their six divisions. Zepplins hit Birmingham for another terror bombardment. The air battle over the French 37 Corps results in the elimination of a Fok E1 and a Nie 11! Offensive bombardment disrupts three divisions and a cadre while also eliminating two cadres. The effectiveness was truly helped by great die rolls by Carl. Defensive bombardments are now fired by the defending troops to either side of the French 37 Corps. The defensive bombardment disrupts a MG X. The attack now hits and results in a 9:1 with no DRMs. The DD result hits the French hard and the German 17 Corps takes the hex! French morale is now at 46.5 and sinking fast.

The French army is frozen by fear (no reaction rolls made for any French army HQs!) but the British react and build up a reserve corps to send in aid.

The Central Powers have lost nothing while the Entente has lost 15 French Colonial, 7 French African, 5 French Metropolitan Manpower and 22 Equipment Points.

Carl: One hex down, another 5 hexes to Paris! Only 46.5 morale points for the French to lose. A few more turns like this one (where France has lost 17 morale points) and the French will be at NW 0 for the first time. I will have to make hay and hit the French hard while they are at 0 in order to get them to surrender. I will be giving the NW edge to Britain soon because the Germans are close to going down to NW of 3. I have probably ignored the British too much during the game but the French have really been worn down.

Winter and snow hit the entire maps. The British have four divisions and an artillery unit in each of their eight front line corps. The French have managed to build a front line of three divisions per corps and some artillery spread out along the front. The Italians have three or four divisions in most of their front line.

Tom: Another quiet turn before the fury of a Central Powers offensive. I truly expect him to attack the French line at some point. I know he is massing reserves behind the lines in several points, almost all of his artillery is out of the front line and I know he has pulled back some of his rifle divisions too. I can do nothing but build up my front line and hope that I am ready when it comes.

The Central Powers have created a reserve army (Str/C) based around three corps (3, 10, and 13 Wur). Six artillery divisions, all of the available assault engineers, and the majority of the heavier rifle divisions are part of it. It is massed in the Metz area and will be able to deploy quickly anywhere on the French front by rail. The idea is that two of the corps replace two defending corps which consolidate their three divisions with the corps adjacent to them. These two adjacent corps are then reinforced by the third reserve corps which becomes the single reserve corps for the offensive. With sufficient manpower and equipment points in the replacement pool, this should be able to sustain an attack on the Entente for several turns.

The Central Powers defensive line in France is three divisions per corps. In Austria, the defensive line varies depending on the terrain it is defending. The Germans have not yet pulled out, but there is the possibility of some shifts because of supply restrictions.

Carl: A quiet turn with one or more to come. It is time for rebuilding and formulating new plans. I think my new attack will come in the Jan II 16 or Feb I 16 turn. This gives me a few turns of attacking before the Entente (and myself) get a production cycle to build up more replacements. I am still not sure where I will attack, although it will probably be against the French.

Frost in the Alps and Winter in the rest of the maps. The British get four more New Army divisions, enough to replace the loss of the Indian divisions and the 28th Rifle division that are beginning to be pulled out of the line and sent elsewhere. The French do some minor realignment of their defenses while the Italians sit pretty still. The Italians use their Ca 2 and successfully hit the Austrian factory at Triest again. A massive (!) air raid is staged by the French, using Cau G4s and a Cau G3 in an attempt to bomb the German factory at Antwerpen. One Cau G4 is aborted by a patrol mission while the CAP mission by the Fok E1 over Antwerpen is unsuccessful. AA fire aborts the second Cau G4 and the mission becomes a scrub as the Cau G3 has only a single bomb point, not good enough to matter. (Actually all three bomb points would not have mattered since they would have been halved due to the winter weather!)

Tom: A slight mistake with the French air mission – nothing serious though, I have the ARPs to rebuild them. I think the next few turns will go fast as I have nothing planned and Carl seems to be in a build up phase. I will have to watch out in January, 1916 but that will give me a few months to build up some reserves of my own. The French mutiny will release a division or two from Paris in January, so that will help also.

The Central Powers pull back extra units into their reserve. The Zepplins terrorize London for the tenth hit! It is otherwise a very quiet turn.

The Italians just miss hitting the Austrian factory again.

Carl: A quiet turn and probably at least a few more in the near future. The air battle was fun – our first other than AA – even if it turned out to be unnecessary. I am building up my reserves, some of my best rifle and artillery divisions. I am not sure where they will be committed, but it sure seems to worry Tom!

There is now mud everywhere. The normal rifle divisions are no longer able to move up to the defensive line as reserves, so only the light divisions will now be held in reserve by the Entente. The other divisions and artillery are moved into the front lines to support the defense.

The Zepplins succeed for their eighth terror hit on London.

Tom: A quiet turn. The coming of bad weather is good for its negative DRMs to the Central Powers, but bad because of the problems in moving up reserves. The Central Powers appear to have a shortage in resource points at the moment and that will probably save me from any attacks this turn.

The Zepplins hit London yet again (that makes nine!). In exchange, the Italians use their Ca 2 bomber and succeed in hitting the Austrian Factory at Triest. The Central Powers do their reorganization for the winter.

Carl: A lack of extra resource points have stopped any thoughts of offensive actions. I have spent another resource point for a fort against those pesky British. There is no real pressing need to attack the Italians at the moment. Just a quiet turn for both sides.

Mud has started in the Alps. The French manage to recover from instability. The Entente pulls units back and begins to configure the defensive line for bad weather by pulling their light divisions into reserve, sending other units to the front line for more defensive factors. The rest of the French garrison artillery is mobilized and the Italians disband a large majority of their field artillery.

The Zepplins hit London again for their seventh terror bombing – the British will never see any of their fighters if this keeps up!

Tom: The past turn has been very rough for the Entente. The bright side is that the French have recovered from instability and things should start to settle down as winter approaches. The British are in good shape but they are limited by their three Army HQs in the line that they can take over. They are about stretched as far as they can go at the moment.

The Central Powers reorganizes their lines for better defense. The German 4th Army attacks the French 1 Colonial Corps by Toul and achieves a BX result. Another attack on Epinal by the German 6th Army results in the routing of the French defenders and Epinal falls. The German Alps Corps attacks the Italians and manages a BX result despite extreme mismanagement of the attack.

The Central Powers lost 32 German, 8 Bavarian Manpower and 36 Equipment Points. The Entente lost 20 Italian, 16 French Metropolitan, 10 French Colonial Manpower and 26 Equipment Points.

Carl: Another French fortress falls, bringing the French down to 75 morale points left. I could possibly cause a French collapse by the spring of 1916. The two fortresses that are left for me to attack easily are Belfort and Reims. Both will be difficult to attack and win, but the French cannot afford to lose them. The British are too strong and will probably have the NW advantage before too long. I think I have gotten as much as I can in Italy, it is time to stop my attacks down there for now. It is only a manpower and resource point drain without very many benefits. I succeeded in forcing the Italians back from Trent and Triest and back across the Isonzo. I am happy with the current situation there.

The British and French move up to their attack positions. The Italians entrench some more units. The French bombard the Germans near Reims and disrupts the three defending divisions. The Germans rush up three reserve divisions to bolster the defense. Foch comes through for the French and they end up with a BX result – another victory for the proud French army! (Only in their minds – the French lost 10 morale points while the Germans lost 6. A few more “victories” like this and the French will surrender!) The British assault the Germans at Lens, a precious coal site for the Germans. The resulting DX is a victory for the British and the Entente player breathes a sigh of relief.

The Bavarian 6^th Army reacts with an assault on Toul. Even though it is across the river and canal for two of the attacking corps, the French end up suffering a DD result. Toul falls to the German assault and the French have been reduced to a NW of 1! The French fail their check and are shaken (along with the French Mutiny). This combat has also seen the first air unit aborted by enemy action, a Drachen Observation balloon unit was aborted by anti-aircraft fire while attempting to perform the tactical recon mission. The German Alps Corps attacks the Italian entrenched line and gets a BX result. The losses reduces the Italian NW to 2. The Austrians now attack the Italians, recapturing Gorz and pushing another Italian Corps back over the Isonzo.

Entente losses were 58 French Metropolitan, 16 Italian, 7 Canadian, 5 British, 4 French Colonial Manpower and 51 Equipment Points. The Central Powers lost 58 German, 6 Wurttemburg, 5 Saxon Manpower and 21 Equipment Points.

Tom: I have been taking a chance with the French each turn and now it has cost me. The fall of Toul to an assault that quickly was a shocker. (During the reaction combat phase too!) Although there was some luck involved, the timing is deadly. With the French failing to make their instability check, they are now halved in attack until they recover during a future friendly initial phase. This lets the Germans concentrate on their other enemies and they could pull troops from their reserves against the French and use them against the British or Italians. This could be the turn that wins the game for the Central Powers.

The Germans replace their losses while funneling more troops to their possible breakthrough in Toul. The Germans on the Italian front are pulled back to receive replacements. Another Zeppelin raid on London scores another terror hit – that makes six now. The attempt to open a breakthrough near Toul fails with the Bavarians having two divisions cadred (AP result). An assault on Epinal is stopped with light losses on both sides (DX result). The Italian’s last corps over the Isonzo is forced back by an Austrian attack.

The French 3^rd Army is able to react and reinforce the French Corps defending the Toul breakthrough. The British 3^rd Army reacts and continues its assault on Lens. The British suffer heavy casualties without much progress.

The Central Powers lost 18 Bavarian, 12 German, 8 Austrian, 6 Wurttemburg, 5 Saxon Manpower and 18 Equipment Points. The Entente lost 40 British, 12 Italian, 10 Indian, 8 French Metropolitan, 6 Canadian Manpower and 42 Equipment Points.

Carl: The failed British attack in the Reaction Combat Phase definitely salvaged my portion of the turn for me. My Reaction Combat Phase during the Entente turn made this the most successful turn since almost a game year ago for me. The fall of Lille is probably the only thing that was more important for my war effort. The French are shaken in game turns and Tom is shaken in his own morale. I could not take advantage of the fall of Toul and the attack on Epinal definitely shook Tom. I almost had as good of a chance against that fortress that I had against Toul. I think both of us have been surprised by the effectiveness of attacking entrenched troops. We may not take the hex, but the attrition and morale loss has frequently been in favor of the attacker. I am beginning to get troops back from the Eastern front. This may make a large difference, I do not know yet. The Austrians have started sending troops to the Balkans for a large push against Serbia, so I think allowing the Italian front to settle down for the Winter is a good idea. The French are enticing, especially since the failed British attack has severely limited their ability to support the French. I will probably continue to attack in the Toul-Epinal area for a while and see if it pays off.

The war enters its second year. The Italians do a massive mobilization of their artillery and there will be a large amount of Entente equipment points available next turn. The British continue to consolidate their new defensive line while the French continue to move their new reserves south. The Italians manage to entrench their two corps holding the Germans back from the plains. It will now be trench warfare in the south too.

The Central Powers fail to react with anyone.

Tom: I hope to build up my artillery forces for both the French and Italians with the large store of equipment points. I will also be disbanding the French field artillery and the 1-3-5 infantry brigades to get more equipment and manpower points for the French. That is something I have noticed in the game, the Entente actually has more equipment points available because of mobilizing all of the garrison artillery than the Central Powers do. Carl seems to spend all of his equipment points on reorganizations rather than rebuilding lost units. An interesting development.

The Central Powers shift an artillery division to the Italian front along with two more divisions. The French front sees the maneuvering of engineering brigades and resource points into position to build some forts at strategic places along the line. The Austrians and Germans prepare to attack the Italians at the weaker spots of the defensive line.

The attack by the German Alps Corps against the Italian 3^rd Corps entrenched in the Italian plain demonstrates the benefits of entrenchments to the Italians. The Austrians, however, force the Italian 1^st Hv Cavalry Corps to retreat from the source of the Isonzo river and threatens to surround the Italian 11^th Corps near Villach.

The Entente is unable to react.

The losses are 25 German Manpower Points versus 11 Italian Manpower Points.

Carl: The Austrian success will force the Italians to retreat further, perhaps even to pull back behind the Isonzo River. The German attack was unfortunate, but it still bloodies the Italians. I am not sure if the Artillery Division will be very helpful, although the opportunity to bombard the Italians with a +1 DRM could prove to be very interesting. I will begin to build forts along the French front in some of the more vital hexes (such as Nancy, near Reims, and in the British sector). This may dissuade Tom from further attacks, although he really does have to gain some sort of offensive punch to keep me occupied there. I can understand why the Central Powers spent most of 1915 involved in the Eastern Front – unfortunately I do not have the benefits of being able to do things there to keep the game interesting. Trench warfare with a stalemate makes for a boring game. It is sometimes difficult to put plans together for an offensive. I shall have to work on putting one on, probably against a French fortress – probably an early Verdun. The resource points needed for such an offensive are very hard to come by. Equipment points are even more scarce for the Central Powers.

he British transfer four more divisions to the French Front. The British 3^rd Army is created and the British have extended their defensive front from the Channel to La Fere. The French transfer the relieved troops back to the Arras area for now. The Italians are forced to pull back from their attempt to cut the supply line to Trent and have dug fieldworks on the plains of Italy to aid in their defense against the German Alps Corps.

The Central Powers are not able to react in any meaningful way.

Tom: I have decided to hold off with a British offensive for the moment. They just do not have the necessary manpower reserves to truly do well. The French have exhausted their reserves and could use the four full corps that defended between the British and the channel. This will make a more cohesive front for the British and the French. Hopefully, the new Italian position will be able to hold the German offensive back until the entrenchments are done – although if Carl really wants to throw everyone down to Italy, the Italians may not last long. At least the French are getting a breather from the constant attacks. This is a nice thing and a major worry off of my mind.

The Zepplins attack London successfully once more! This is the third morale hit for the Zepplin fleet and the British would have to transfer a fighter to the English Garrison – if they had any! The main front in France is stable but the Central Powers advance in Italy continues with the Austrians taking the ground vacated by the Italian pullback near Trent. Now it comes down to whether the Germans will be able to continue their advance into the plains of Italy.

There are no attacks and the Entente does some minor troops shifting during the reaction phase.

Carl: A very interesting turn although no combat took place. The British have extended their lines so I do not expect an offensive from them very soon. They have no reserve divisions and very few manpower points. The new French reserve from the northern corps will be able to bolster the French forces in quite a few areas. This may put hold on any of my plans for attacking the French and wearing them down. The true focus is now developing into the Italian campaign. I have another two divisions in place (for a total of five) with some good mountain support troops that the Italians will be hard pressed to defeat. I can afford to lose a hex or two with these troops without endangering the Austrians. If I can drive down to the Adriatic, the Italians will have to withdraw from across the Isonzo River or lose the major portion of their army.