Category: MTV AAR No. 4 (Page 1 of 5)

I think I would have been better in 1914 to bypass Lille and continue my offensive towards the coast with the thought to cut Lille off from the rest of France. It would have still captured Lille with a lot less casualties for me. Those divisions I lost in capturing Lille never did get replaced. The equipment points are just too dear for everything else to spend the large amounts needed to replace divisional cadres.

This does point out the fact that losing a cadre is close to losing the use of that division for the rest of the war. The Germans need all of the equipment points from CR #1 (mobilizing the 0 movement artillery) for their upgrades and the field artillery units that are just placed into the replacement pool. Although the field artillery units are not very useful with entrenchments, they do have to be sent to the East front so they have to be paid for sooner or later. In addition, almost all of the equipment points produced during production cycles in 1915 are used in reorganizing the German army. The reorganization is really very necessary since it increases the number of divisions available to the Central Powers by about 50%.

If I had been able to keep the divisions whose cadres were eliminated in 1914 and the Lille battles in 1915, I would have had a better reserve to have sent down to Italy or used in an offensive against the French during 1915. This was really impressed on me when I was trying to put something together during 1915. The 1916 offensive also pointed out that Germany could have good effect against the French in 1915. My next game will see me be very careful with cadres.

The key to the game was the opening of the war in 1914. The destruction of the French 5^th Army was the destruction of French morale. None of those units were ever replaced and the losses of divisional cadres meant that the Entente used their equipment points from CR #1 went to replace the divisional cadres rather than building their artillery units. Without artillery units, an offensive against entrenchments is just not going to work well.

The key to attacking entrenchments is artillery. Use the artillery in massive amounts of small bombardments (preferably on the 9 column at least) and the defenders will lose enough defense strength to make it worthwhile. This means that you have to have decent weather as the bad weather modifiers make bombardments harder.

The key to defending entrenchments is to have some good reserves. Don’t place everyone in the front line. Keep a strong mobile reserve, complete with artillery. Artillery just does not last long in the defensive line. They do not cadre and are usually easily destroyed. The only time to place artillery in the front line is to use them offensively. Although they can be used in defensive bombardments, they are best for this purpose if they are in the flanking corps, not the target hex.

Air is very useful – particularly for the tactical recon missions. Use more than a single air unit for recon if at all possible. This game saw several cases where three air units on tactical recon in 1916 (success on a 4+) still did not give the DRM. You really get to depend on that +1 DRM.

Our next game (probably starting in September) will see us switch commands. I hope to be able to come up with a good Entente plan that will see the French survive 1914 with a good National Will.

Just shy of two years of war in Western Europe before the French surrender. The following are the end totals:

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 156 Morale Points for a National Will of 3. They have lost a total of 410 British, 15 Indian, and 83 Canadian Manpower points. This is a grand total of 508 Manpower points.
France has 0 Morale Points for a National Will of 0. They have lost a total of 107 African, 143 Colonial, 13 Foreign, and 1190 Metropolitan Manpower points. This is a grand total of 1453 Manpower points.
Italy has 63 Morale Points for a National Will of 2. They have lost a total of 320 Manpower points.
Entente Equipment points lost are 1305.
Total Manpower points lost are 2384.

Central Powers Status

Germany has 484.5 Morale Points for a National Will of 3. They have lost a total of 190 Bavarian, 1070 German, 114 Saxon, and 73 Wurttemburg Manpower points. This is a grand total of 1333 Manpower points.
Austria/Hungary has 163.5 Morale Points for a National Will of 2. They have lost a total of 78 Manpower points.
Central Powers Equipment points lost are 850.
Total Manpower points lost are 1411.

It is obvious from the numbers above that the Central Powers won the war mostly through attrition. The drastic changes from February, 1916 to the end of July, 1916 show the effects of the prolonged German offensive which started in January, 1916 and kept up until the French surrendered. The final counts show that the Central Powers had a 50% edge in casualties over the Entente.

One of the French factory at Lyons is damaged and cannot produce this cycle. The Entente do manage to produce 18 resource and 12 equipment points, one more each than the historical production. The French call up their Training & Replacement Garrison. They will not be in the game long enough for the loss of replacement points to matter.

The French deploy forward, maxing out as many of their corps as possible, using the Training & Replacement Garrison units. The British put together another group of units capable of offensive actions in the Soissons area and rebuild their Lens offensive units for continued action. The Italians begin to strengthen their defenses of both Verona and Milano.

The bombardment on Lens completely misses – six rolls of 1s and 2s! The attack goes on anyway and a bloody exchange results. The attack towards Soissons is on the Mobile CRT as the Germans have not bothered improving the captured fieldworks. This rare occurrence (the first in at least 18 months) on this front sees the British hit with a Cavalry charge! The charge actually succeeds for a final of 4.8:1 with a DRM of -1. Unfortunately, Tom then rolls a 1(0) for a modified 0 on the 4:1 column – and the British retreat! The German defenders jump forward and capture Compiegne and only one hex separates the German front line from Paris.

The Zeppelins mass over Lyons and get a terror bombardment hit on the city. The German 3rd Army reacts and presses the advantage given to it by the British. The German 5th Army reacts and does a fast build up against the French 12th Corps. The German 5th Army attacks the British 8th Corps across the Marne and gets a DL result. The German GR Corps advances over the Marne River.

The Entente lost 36 British, 14 Canadian Manpower, and 16 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 16 German, 2 Wurttemburg Manpower, and 52 Equipment points.

Tom: As you can tell, the French cause is hopeless. Since it is, things are really breaking out all over. A successful cavalry charge in 1916! Of course, I would have preferred to have the ‘6’ I rolled for its success switched for the ‘1’ I rolled for the combat. I would have had to cadre a cavalry division, but the combat result would have been a DR instead of the AR. To add insult to the injury, the German 5th Army reacts with the German’s area reserve corps just sitting there waiting for something and able to help push back the British 8th Corps to cross the Marne River. It almost seems like 1918, only the game date is only 1916. I do not expect the French to last the turn. They will most likely surrender during my next initial phase. The only thing now is to cause those pesky Germans some casualties and morale point losses for the final tally.

The Central Powers produce 22 Resource and 20 Equipment points, one more of each than was historical. The Zeppelins do their job raiding Lyons and score another terror bombardment hit. The Germans mass for another set of attacks against the French. The Austrians mass for another crack at Verona, hoping to capture the city before the French surrender and end the war.

The Austrians attack across the Adda River near Lake Como and capture the mountain hex from the Italians. The joint Austrian-German attack on Verona starts with a bombardment. The attack ends in a BX result. The Germans now attack the French 15th Corps just south of Epernay. The bombardment is partially successful and the French retreat from a DL result. The next attack is against the French 16th Corps on the other side of Epernay. The actual bombardment and attack are called off as the air battle is resolved with the French losing a fighter unit and their morale hits zero.

The British fail to react and the turn now ends.

The Central Powers lost 12 Austrian, 10 German, 8 Bavarian Manpower, and 17 Equipment points. The Entente lost 20 Italian, 16 French African, 10 French Colonial, 4 French Metropolitan, and 26 Equipment points. The French will surrender in the next Initial Phase as their morale has hit zero for the second time.

Carl: In a little short of two years of combat and the great European War is over with the Central Powers victorious. There are not too many things I can say here that I will not cover in my final notes, so see those for further details. In the meantime – – – – I WON !!!!!

The Italians pull back the divisions they pulled from the front lines. They concentrate these divisions to bolster the defenses around Verona and in front of Milano. The French consolidate their defense and pull back behind the Marne River. The French also disband the rest of their rifle brigades for the manpower points. The British build up to continue the offensive against Lens.

The British open up on Lens with a bombardment after the recon missions were returned to base by German fighters and anti-aircraft fire. The bombardment goes through at a disadvantage (-1 DRM from the fort) and disrupts two divisions and a cadre. The Germans fire a defensive bombardment, this time at the two flanking corps from the two flanking German corps. This bombardment succeeds in disrupting the artillery and support units in both corps and a division. The attack is now a 3.0:1 with no modifiers. A 1 is rolled – an AX! The result cadres 12 British and 3 Canadian divisions. The Germans cadre 4 German and 1 Wurttemburg divisions. A clear German victory.

The Zeppelins terror bomb London yet again. A lack of resource points with the proper HQs keep the Austrians from reacting. A lack of reaction from the German HQs save the French for at least one player turn longer.

The Entente lost 54 British, 20 Canadian Manpower, and 34 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 24 German, 6 Wurttemburg Manpower, and 10 Equipment points.

Tom: This turn is a disaster. The fall of Reims during the Central Powers turn and now the damaging of the British army is almost too much. The French are below 20 morale points and the game could end this turn anyway. I hope to hold out until next turn, a production cycle, and activate the French training garrison. What does the effect on French Manpower points matter now? My only hope is that the German losses will be enough to slow Carl down for a while. Things are pretty bleak.

The Germans build new Zeppelin bases in Gent (KLM) and Lille. This will enable them to reach London on a single leg. A Zeppelin is aborted by anti-aircraft fire over London. The Austrians continue to reinforce their drives on Milano and Verona. The Germans follow the retreating French and prepare to cross the Marne River at Epernay.

The Germans attack the French 17th Corps at Epernay. The bombardment is extremely deadly and the French 17th Corps is pounded into oblivion. The French refuse to reinforce the hex with reserves (what reserves?) and the Germans capture Epernay. The French 9th Corps is attacked from Toul and a DX results. A joint Austrian and German assault on Verona begins with a bombardment with fixed results. The following assault ends in a DX result.

The Entente fail to react.

The Central Powers lost 5 Austrian Manpower and 16 Equipment points. The Entente lost 17 French Metropolitan, 12 Italian, 5 French African Manpower, and 35 Equipment points. French morale stands at 7.5 points.

Carl: The French are doing a forward defense. This is what has really cost them in bombardments. I have almost the entire German artillery located around Epernay, a total of over 45 artillery regiments that were able to reach that hex and bombard. I do not know if I would do this type of artillery concentration again, but the only counter to it is to keep a few divisions in the front lines and keep a massive amount of reserves that can enter the hex to hold the line. If I had spread the artillery out along the line, I could be attacking in more places. At the moment, however, I do not have the manpower or equipment points to maintain any type of offensive and I am also running low on resource points. The British offensive is halted, at least I hope so. I do not have the reserves to continue losing the manpower up there and maintain the pressure on the French. The French should only last another turn or two at most. Tom will probably call up the training garrison (nothing to lose at this time) and hope to hold me up some how. The British may do another attack on Lens, but if they do not capture the hex I should be okay. We both need the upcoming production cycle for the manpower, equipment, and resource points.

The British 5th Army takes over the defense of another hex from the French. The French are beginning to fray, but they do manage to defend every hex with at least 25 defense. Two of the hexes have only a single division and some support troops. The Reims area is well defended with six full strength divisions in each hex. The Italians pull back behind the Adda river in front of Milano. They also reinforce the Verona area and are forced to pull the 1st Corps back from Trient.

The British attack at Lens again. This time, the Germans fire a defensive bombardment. The British bombardment disrupts five German divisions while the German bombardment disrupts five British artillery units. The attack continues home and gets a DX result.

The Austrians fail to react. The German 3rd Army reacts and hits the French 35th Corps with a 4:1 +5 attack which yields a DL result and another hex near Reims falls.

The Entente lost 14 French Metropolitan, 11 British Manpower, and 6 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 12 German, 5 Saxon, and 22 Equipment points.

Tom: The British have been able to continue their offensive. With the current lack of Central Powers manpower and equipment points, it is beginning to force Carl to look at the situation and react to it. The defensive bombardment was pretty heavy, fortunately they were all 1H results that I could place on my artillery – since they were already halved it did not really matter. The artillery from the Germans were from an adjacent corps, not the target corps. The retreat of the French 35th Corps was a surprise. The five divisions in the hex should have been able to hold off any of his attacks, but Carl was able to get that +5 DRM and blew the corps back with only light losses for the Germans. Hopefully, the attacks on Lens and the withdrawals to the East Front (to counter the Russian Brusilov offensive) will make him slow his attacks against the French.

The Austrians advance towards Milano and Verona. The Germans reinforce their defenses at Lens and their offensive against Reims.

The German 4th Army attacks from Toul against the French 9th Corps and achieves a bloody repulse. Another heavy bombardment on Reims followed by an attack which results in a 9:1 +3 DRM and a DD resulting in the fall of Reims! As Reims has been surrounded with enemy ZOCs, only the two chssr divisional cadres manage to retreat. This is a heavy blow to the French. A combined Austrian and German attack captures another hex adjacent to Verona. An attack by the German Alps Corps advances another hex and Verona is now surrounded by enemy ZOCs.

The Italians react by stripping a division from each of their front line corps and sending them back as a reserve for the endangered areas around Verona and Milano. The French 7th Army near Belfort also strips out a division from each of its corps to send to the Reims area for bolstering the French defenses there. The British sit and watch.

The Central Powers lost 6 Bavarian Manpower and 32 Equipment points. The Entente lost 44 French Metropolitan, 8 Italian Manpower, and 58 Equipment points. The French morale stands at 19.5 morale points left.

Carl: As you can see from the above losses, both the French and the Germans lost some divisional cadres. The Germans lost them around the Toul area in their attack while the French lost them all over the place. It is coming ever so closer to a French surrender, only 19.5 points and victory is mine! I am in a hurry because Tom and I will play the game again (probably starting next September) with the sides switched, so speed is of the essence at this point. The Italian campaign is going well, but it has taken a back seat to the real decision approaching against the French.

The Italians fall back towards Milano and attempt to build a defensive line. The British take over two more hexes in front of Paris to defend with their 5th Reserve Army. The French spend a long time reorganizing their forces to plug their holes.

The British attack at Lens. They use poison gas for the first time and fail to do more damage to the Germans than their selves. The losses drop the British NW down to 3 and they lose their NW advantage.

The Germans refuse to attack with their reacting armies. The usual London Zeppelin raid is stopped by great die rolling as the anti-aircraft fire (of 5 points) return three of the four Zeppelins.

The Entente lost 20 British, 14 Canadian Manpower, and 16 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 24 German, 6 Wurttemburg, 5 Saxon Manpower, and 12 Equipment points.

Tom: The bright side was the Zeppelin raid. Great anti-aircraft fire! Unfortunately, the British have lost their NW edge. It was expected, but I do not think I have gotten the desired effect, i.e. stopping or delaying the German offensive against the battered French army. I have tightened up the defense as much as possible. The only thing that I may be able to do more is to evoke CR #2 and call up the training garrison. I hesitate to do so as that would effectively eliminate any further manpower points during the next two production cycles, but if it looks like France will not be able to survive until then it really wouldn’t matter.

The Austrians follow the retreating Italians towards Milano. They have almost completely captured the Alps while the Italians are defending in the Italian plains with fieldworks. The Germans maneuver to continue putting pressure on the French. Zeppelin raids hit the French factory at Lyons and do another terror hit on London. A large air battle over Reims sees the French have air superiority and destroy a German LVG C2.

The Austrians attack an Italian emergency corps and destroys it. The advancing Austrian Corps is now on the Italian plain and is only three hexes from Milano. The Germans attack out of the Alps near Trient and force the Italians back into Verona. The French 9th Corps is attacked near Toul and manages to make the Germans pay (a BX result). The French 15th Corps is attacked near Reims. The Germans lead off with a bombardment which disrupts the entire corps but the French again hold with a BX result. The attack on Reims starts with the bombardment missing the first eight die rolls (+1 DRM) on the 9 column of the bombardment chart (66% chance to hit) and is then stopped as a bad chance. The attack goes on at a 5:1 +1 and achieves a DX result.

The Italian 4th Army reacts and sends all of its reserves to plug the hole near Verona. The French 10th Army sends up two reserve divisions to help the defenses around Reims.

The Central Powers lost 43 German, 6 Bavarian Manpower, and 29 Equipment points. The Entente lost 41 French Metropolitan, 10 French African, 6 Italian Manpower, and 27 Equipment points. The French morale now stands at 51.5 points remaining.

Carl: I started the offensive on the Jan II 16 turn. It has lasted 9 turns but it is about over. I cannot continue to replace the losses. I will have to conduct bombardments and hope for effective ones before hitting with an attack. The good news to all of this is that the British are in the same boat. Without the manpower and equipment point reserves, divisions stay cadred, and you cannot replace the divisional cadres very easily in this game. A division that is destroyed tends to stay destroyed. My offensive lasted 9 turns and cost the French over 100 morale points. There are only 51.5 French morale points standing between me and victory. I will have to play it smart to continue chopping down those morale points and still stay an effective force. The Italian front has seen me break into the Italian plains towards Milano and near Verona. I am surprised at how well the offensive towards Milano has gone. I think that Tom’s preoccupation with France’s troubles have helped.

The French factory at Lyons is still functioning and the Entente match their historical production of 17 resource and 11 equipment points. The British are able to shift some of their forces south and relieve some French troops defending the way to Paris. The French are in desperate straits. They are unable to rebuild the cadres defending near Reims (they are not in fortifications) and have used all of their manpower already. The French disband more rifle brigades for the manpower points. The Italians shift around their forces trying to enable the rebuilding of their cadres and stop the Austrian – German offensives.

The British again launch an attack at Lens. The tactical recon missions fail as they are chased away by the German fighters and only a single bombardment is successful. It is only the concern for the French situation that causes the attack to be launched. But the attack succeeds in causing more German casualties than British.

For yet another turn, no Central Powers reaction.

The Entente lost 11 British Manpower and 4 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 18 German Manpower and 6 Equipment points.

Tom: The French are in really bad shape. It is possible that the game will be over by the end of this summer. I am hoping that the British can maintain their offensive because it is a drain on the German resources. It does not seem to be helping the French any, but Carl smells blood and victory by pressing the attack home time after time.

The Central Powers produce 22 Resource and 20 Equipment points. This tops the historical production of 21 Resource and 19 Equipment points. The Germans reorganize to continue their offensives against Paris and Reims. The Austrians reinforce their drive through the Alps towards Milano.

The Austrians manage to advance a hex in the Alps and threaten the supply line of the Italian 3rd Army that was slowing them down. The French 8th Corps is attacked from Toul and manages to hold their ground with heavy losses on both sides. The French 16th Corps near Reims breaks and routs from the enemy contact. The French 15th Corps also routs and allows the Germans to threaten to cut off Reims. The French 20th Corps, holding the flanks of Reims, is destroyed without survivors or German losses. This is a severe blow to French morale.

The Italian 3rd Army reacts and begins to retreat from the Austrian offensive. The French react and begin to prepare to entrench behind the Marne river. The British do not react.

The Central Powers lost 6 German, 5 Bavarian, 5 Saxon, 2 Austrian Manpower, and 7 Equipment points. The Entente lost 66 French Metropolitan, 3 French Foriegn, 2 Italian Manpower, and 43 Equipment points. The French morale is now at 64.5 points.

Carl: In the last two turns, the French have lost over a third of their morale points. If I can continue this pace, the French will surrender in two more months. Reims is threatened with my troops covering three of its adjacent hexes. This could be a serious problem for the French as the fall of Reims would be a loss of 10 morale points in itself. I have been able to absorb the British offensive while maintaining a two or three army offensive myself. It is costly in manpower and resource points but I am beginning to get the hang of offensive trench warfare. It is not easy, but I have had the advantage of good timing and a French army that is on the verge of defeat.

The French recover from their collapse and are now back up to 100 morale points. The French start construction of a second line of entrenchments along their entire defensive line. The Italians are forced to pull the cadres from last turn’s attack on their lines back for rebuilding while rushing reserves to hold the line. They are also sending more fortress troops to hold the road through the Alps north of Trent. The British reinforce their offensive.

The British attack at Lens. The bombardment is lack luster (only two cadres disrupted with seven attacks on the 9 column) and the attack ends in a BX result. The British are now down to 208 morale points – only 9 from going down to a National Will of 3 and losing the advantage over the Germans.

None of the Central Powers armies are able to react and all of the Zeppellins become lost. Pretty quiet on the front.

The Entente lost 33 British, 7 Canadian Manpower, and 12 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 13 German, 6 Wurttemburg, 5 Saxon Manpower, and 19 Equipment points.

Tom: Well, I dodged the bullet on the French collapse. The quick recovery should help. The French will surrender at the end of their 100 morale points, but it should be interesting to see if Carl can keep up the pressure over the rest of this game year. Only 6 months to survive. The British are attacking, but it is not going anywhere fast. I don’t think Carl will swing from attacking the French now, it is the game if he manages to destroy them.

The Austrians continue to extend their drive through the Alps towards Milan. The Germans build up to continue their offensive on the French around the Reims area and towards Paris.

The attack on the French 35th Corps is preceeded by a devastating bombardment which is mostly luck (all but one roll of 4 or higher) and the entire corps is disrupted. The attack goes home and shatters the French corps which retreats with no losses to the Germans. The offensive continues towards Paris with a small bombardment followed by a quick assault and the hex beyond Soissons falls to the Germans – only three hexes to Paris! Another attack on the French 20th Corps near Reims results in the French successfully holding off an overwhelming amount of Germans. The Austrians help the Germans attack the Italians near Trient and forces the Italians back out of the Alps. The Austrian drive towards Milano is stalled until the Austrians can reinforce their army.

The Entente were not successful in reacting to the new Central Powers offensives.

The Central Powers lost 13 Austrian, 10 German Manpower, and 10 Equipment points. The Entente lost 47 French Metropolitan, 11 Italian, 7 French Colonial, 5 French African Manpower, and 43 Equipment points. The French now sit at 84.5 morale points.

Carl: While the French recovering from collapse seems like a lost opportunity to blow out of the trench warfare, at least they are still losing morale and the surrender of the French is now measured strictly by their morale points. The next time they are reduced to 0, they surrender. The longevity of the German offensive towards Paris has surprised me. It is fortunate that the next turn is a production turn because I am about out of manpower and resource points for the Central Powers in the French front. I have been using the Austrians to absorb the losses on the Italian front. The French are in a bad way because I am beginning to increase my offensive to include the capture of Reims. I now have two hexes adjacent to the city and am close to capturing another one. The French cannot allow me to capture the city, the loss of 10 morale points would be extremely deadly to their morale at this point. The good news is that the British are about out of their manpower to keep their offensive against Lens going. I think it will continue for as long as the game lasts since it is about the only thing that the British can hope to do to relieve the pressure on the French.

The weather has cleared up with mud in the Alps. The French have used up all of their replacements – both manpower and equipment – but are unable to recover from last turn’s losses. The French 1st Colonial Corps withdraws. The rest of the French line is reinforced as much as possible while engineering troops take positions to start entrenching another line behind the existing one.

The British launch their offensive against Lens. The Germans repulse the attack with heavy losses on both sides.

Zepplins hit the factory at Lyons and do another morale hit on London, aborting the sole British fighter unit. The German 4th Army hits the French 8th Corps for mutual exchange. The German 3rd Army hits the French 35th Corps for another three divisions cadred. Although the Germans have lost troops too, the French are now down to only 11.5 morale points.

The Entente lost 34 British, 27 French Metropolitan, 7 Canadian Manpower, and 31 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 30 German, 22 Bavarian, 6 Wurttemburg, 5 Saxon Manpower, and 34 Equipment points.

Tom: The French are going to hit NW of 0 soon, there is nothing I can do about it. I only hope that they bounce back from it soon. The British have started their offensive and it is going okay, I will know if it has helped if Carl is forced to reinforce the area. With the clear weather, Carl’s artillery is going to be a big pain. He will be able to play the odds and just go for massive low number bombardments and probably overwhelm the defenders. It should prove interesting – but extremely painful!

The clear weather signals a start of a great Austrian offensive. The troops are moved up to attack the Italians in several spots along their line. The Germans move more troops up to continue their multi-pronged attacks against the French.

The Germans and Austrians combine in an attack on the Italian 2nd Corps in an attempt to clear the secondary rail line from Trent into Italy. The HX gives the Central Powers the hex with little loss. Another attack to the west (along the road into Northern Italy) yields another Austrian victory and advance. A German attack south from Toul is stopped at great loss by the French 8th Corps. Another attack on the French 35th Corps starts with a bombardment that only disrupts a single unit. The attack gained little ground but cost the French some more morale points. The grand attack on the French 37th Corps started with a devastating bombardment that left four of the six divisions cadred (one of the cadres was left without a disruption) and destroyed three smaller units. The attack then hit home and a single French cadre survives to retreat out of the hex. The French have lost all of their morale now.

The Entente high command is in shock and none of their armies manage to react.

The Central Powers lost 12 German, 8 Austrian, 7 Saxon Manpower, and 41 Equipment points. The Entente lost 44 French Metropolitan, 16 Italian, 4 French Colonial Manpower, and 81 Equipment points.

Carl: I got the French! Now to see what will happen with France in collapse (at least until they recover in a friendly initial phase – probably next turn with my luck). I probably should have refrained from the last attack and waited for the reaction combat phase so that I would get at least one of my turns with the French in collapse before they had a chance to recover. In the meantime, I do not know what Tom will do. The British really cannot afford to spread out too much while the Italians are finally being attacked and pushed out of the Alps. The capture of the mountain hex with the rail line gives me the ability to supply a push to the Adriatic Sea. I do not know if I can do it, but with the French down at the moment, I can afford to expend the time and supplies to try and find out. Things are definitely looking good for me at this time.

The British begin to move their forces towards the German 7th Corps at Lens. The French reinforce between Reims and La Fere heavily to slow down the German offensive. The Italians rearrange some of their forces to be prepared against the Austrians.

The German 6th Army reacts and attacks south from Epinal. The rest of the front is silent.

The Entente lost 10 French Metropolitan Manpower and 2 Equipment points. The Central Powers lost 11 German Manpower and 3 Equipment points.

Tom: I think the French have reinforced the endangered area sufficiently to make Carl hesitate about attacking without his artillery. This is the second time that the German army directing the offensive has reacted but not attacked. The British will be able to launch an offensive with the good weather. Until then they will just have to concentrate their forces and hope that the Germans do not reinforce too heavily. I really need Carl to respond to this threat and weaken his attacks on the French.

The Central Powers maneuver against the Italians in Italy. The French front sees additional shifting about of units also. The German defensive line is going down to only two divisions per hex against the French everywhere but a few locations to be attacked. The main offensive army has switched directions and is attacking the British at La Fere.

The attack out of Epinal is bloodily repulsed, but the three French divisions are still cadred. The French 1st Colonial Corps is mangled but manages to hold on to their hex. The attack on the British at La Fere surprises both sides as the British are attacked on 12:1 odds (reduced to the maximum 9:1) and are destroyed! The Germans march in and capture the rail intersection at La Fere and will be able to supply their forward troops on the road to Paris.

The British 1st and 3rd Armies react and send reserves to bolster the retreating 2nd Army and move the rest of the artillery up in preparation for the attack on Lens.

The Central Powers lost 35 German, 9 Wurttemburg, 7 Saxon, 6 Bavarian Manpower and 23 Equipment points. The Entente lost 40 French Metropolitan, 19 British, 5 French Colonial Manpower, and 34 Equipment points.

Carl: The French are down to 17.5 morale points now and it looks like I should be able to get them to 0 within the next few turns. The British are about to launch an attack near Lens (it is kind of obvious) but I have been able to reinforce my defenses there. The victory at La Fere was very surprising. I did not figure on having those kind of odds against the British, but he pulled a division out of the hex to reinforce his future attack and he paid big time for it. The capture of the hex and cadreing four British divisions was a good feeling. It also secured the rail lines I need to continue supplying my push on Paris.