How will you win the war to end all wars?

[John Sedgwick]

Will you join the cult of the offensive? How will you exploit your breakthroughs, and achieve operational and strategic victory?

I think I might focus on the Eastern Entente, take a page out of Brusilov's book: launch wide front probing attacks to find the weak spot then throw your large reserves of manpower at the problem and pray. Try to keep the movement of reserves, artillery and supplies a secret. That's about all I can come up with, really.

[H Gilmer3]

I'm going to lose... like always. Heh heh.

[Florent]

Eastern Entente as well No Colonial thing or too much navies. First the Tutorial to see the difference with AJE.

My Strategy is to have 1st Russian Army moving by rail to join 2nd Army to cut East Prussia at Thorn and be concentrated and entrenched when Hindenburg will be there.

The main front is historical Galicia where the russians have a superiotity in Front Generals and Armies Generals working together in a perfect manner + superiority in numbers 4 Russians armies against 3 AH initially + 2/3 more armies coming/created( 9th) mid or end august.

For Turkey, i will entrenched and wait for the Turks as done historically. The Turks were mauled in winter 1915 if i remember.

I will wait for an Western allied offensive in the Dardanelles/Gallipoli and help them sending an expeditionnary force. This Gallipoli expedition was made to open a supply route to Russia and send them Artillery ammunition and other things like Rifles etc... thus i hope that this strategy/Possiblity will be done in the game so that Russia received plenty of Artillery ammunition Supply and have a possibility to create better equiped division.

The serbs will entrenched in good position and resist until ammunition is low, they had good Generals and know how to fight and had like the russians the superiority in Artillery and perhaps MG. The Austrians had mostly BRONZE modern guns with inferior range and their doctrine of fire was outdated or stupid.

[PJJ]

I think I'll give the Russians a try at first and see if I can change history. In real life, the rather confused and incompetent Russian high command didn't push the Austrians strongly enough in 1914-1915, being drawn into East Prussia for various reasons, like the need to support the French by putting pressure on Germany. But Austria-Hungary was always the weakest link in Germany's team. Their army was weak and poorly equipped (yes, they really did have BRONZE guns!) and most of their generals were more or less incompetent. I'm going to see if I can push my Russian armies deep into Hungary and destroy the Dual Monarchy, and then punch Germany into their soft underbelly.

However, I have a feeling this is probably going to be easier said than done! For the most part, the Imperial Russian army was not exactly brilliant either... I'm just hoping they suck less than the Austrians.

[Tamas]

Eastern Entente as well No Colonial thing or too much navies. First the Tutorial to see the difference with AJE.

My Strategy is to have 1st Russian Army moving by rail to join 2nd Army to cut East Prussia at Thorn and be concentrated and entrenched when Hindenburg will be there.

The main front is historical Galicia where the russians have a superiotity in Front Generals and Armies Generals working together in a perfect manner + superiority in numbers 4 Russians armies against 3 AH initially + 2/3 more armies coming/created( 9th) mid or end august.

For Turkey, i will entrenched and wait for the Turks as done historically. The Turks were mauled in winter 1915 if i remember.

I will wait for an Western allied offensive in the Dardanelles/Gallipoli and help them sending an expeditionnary force. This Gallipoli expedition was made to open a supply route to Russia and send them Artillery ammunition and other things like Rifles etc... thus i hope that this strategy/Possiblity will be done in the game so that Russia received plenty of Artillery ammunition Supply and have a possibility to create better equiped division.

The serbs will entrenched in good position and resist until ammunition is low, they had good Generals and know how to fight and had like the russians the superiority in Artillery and perhaps MG. The Austrians had mostly BRONZE modern guns with inferior range and their doctrine of fire was outdated or stupid.

Indeed the Russians should not be too active with their navy and they don't participate in the colonial wars, so that makes it easier, although they certainly have their own challenges to face.

BTW, you mentioned the tutorial: the Tutorial scenario itself is aimed at people who are completely new to the AGEOD series of games. The unique features of To End All Wars are explained during the opening turns of the campaign games. (or when they become available, like research in 1915).

[Kensai]

I am almost certain it will be very difficult to win by late 1914, thus I expect a long war of attrition. However, as Central Powers, I plan to make sure I have the technological and diplomatic edge to make a breakthrough by 1916. I hope to break the blockade as well, as this is the major downfall of the Central Powers by late game.

[Bodhis]

My first game with the Central Powers will be quiet historical. I think that Schliefen-Plan is nonsence, but I want a more or less historical game to learn it an get the right immersion.
Second game I will probably use the Moltke-Plan (depending on my experiences in game 1): Defeat Russia early on and then see what can be done in the west. Probably some meat-grinding. Meanwhile, A-H will use more manpower to defeat Serbia quickly and then help the Reich in the east.

Unfortunatly I still have much work to do. Not sure if I can play that early. Hoped for a later release

[Taciturn Scot]

I will most likely play my first game as France/England and hopefully, later Italy. I figure that will be the easiest to manage for a new player. Then I'll play as the Central powers and finally as Russia. I suspect that Russia will be the hardest of the three sides to win as.

The unique features of To End All Wars are explained during the opening turns of the campaign games. (or when they become available, like research in 1915).

It sounds like there will be further campaigns coming later, 1915, 1916, etc, then, like Bloody Roads South for ACW2? This game just looks better and better.

[Owl]

According to the manual that is linked in that one video referenced in the other thread, there will be other scenarios coming for the different years as well as regionally limited scenarios. So quite a bit of content to look forward to.

[Bodhis]

Even without further content the replayability seems to be rather high. Three playable sides, alone for CP you got 2x4 different plans. As we already know, each game against AI (or PBEM) is different. For me in the end it all comes down on how good the AI is and how well the whole system plays out.

[TrenchFoot]

My strategy? ON TO PARIS!

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[John Sedgwick]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

What are your thoughts on the historical war plans? I always felt the Schlieffen Plan as originally formulated ("Keep the right flank strong!") was a risk worth taking in a two-front war, but even if everything went right, I imagine the logistics would've unraveled before Paris. Certainly the modified plan that was actually used seems hopelessly optimistic in retrospect, but I doubt if a larger force and the violation of Dutch neutrality would've made things any better.

Like PJJ, As the Eastern Entente I'd be inclined to focus on Austria-Hungary as the weak link in the Central Powers, but East Prussia is a tempting target if Germany focuses on the west as it did historically.

[HidekiTojo]

I can tell you right now if you play as CP, TAKE ANTWERP RIGHT AWAY!

WE AI has a fetish for landing troops in Antwerp and attacking you from the rear. Even though it often weakens their defense of Paris

[Shri]

It is quite difficult to take Paris in 1914, but what you can do and what the Germans actually did is advance deep enough to take some key cities and important rail heads, also results in lot of casualties for the WE.
In the EAST, the German armies are more than a handful for the Russians
Key to winning in the east- be defensive and use HOFFMAN decision at the 'opportune' moment, you can literally destroy 1 or even both Russian armies totally.
But Austria remains a cause for concern and of-course the 'colonial war' is bound to be lost.

[FroBodine]

Could someone please give a quick explanation of what the colonial war war, for someone not well versed in World War 1? I googled Colonial War WW1, but did not find much specifically talking about the colonial war.

Thank you very much in advance!

[Tamas]

Could someone please give a quick explanation of what the colonial war war, for someone not well versed in World War 1? I googled Colonial War WW1, but did not find much specifically talking about the colonial war.

Thank you very much in advance!

To give a quick and oversimplified answer: the German colonial holdings in Africa and the Far East were relatively quickly taken over by the Entente, and their Japanese allies, except for German East Africa, where a brilliant German commander fought a defensive guerilla warfare against a numerically far superior Entente force, holding them down until the end of the war.

This is by default what you should expect in the game: Entente victory in the colonial war is pretty much a certainty if they assign enough force to it, but that is the main point for it for the Germans: the Entente forces which are fighting in Africa. are not fighting in Europe. And if the Entente thus decides to leave the German colonies alone, they can serve as bases for the naval raiders of Germany, causing damage to Entente shipping and morale.

[FroBodine]

Excellent summary, Tamas! Thank you very much.

[Swotoro]

And my experience in playing CP was quite historical... that East African force held out quite well. Still, your attention is going to be mostly on Europe (as expected). Lots to do there, indeed!

[Respenus]

My recommendation after trying different scenarios and playing till the end of 1914, is to be on the defensive with Germany and go historical with Austria (although you have to be prepared to fight on the Italian front in early to mid 1915). The three German armies in the east are enough to push the Russians back, while the west is strong enough to defend against France and even try and incursion or two into France proper. In my opinion the Moltke plan, while fascinating, is even more difficult to pull off than the Schlieffen plan because of the enormous distances between St. Petersburg and East Prussia. One more piece of general advice: DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE RUSSIANS! They are the bane of any CP campaign, which is why so many wish to push East first.

[Altaris]

I think I'll give the Russians a try at first and see if I can change history. In real life, the rather confused and incompetent Russian high command didn't push the Austrians strongly enough in 1914-1915, being drawn into East Prussia for various reasons, like the need to support the French by putting pressure on Germany. But Austria-Hungary was always the weakest link in Germany's team. Their army was weak and poorly equipped (yes, they really did have BRONZE guns!) and most of their generals were more or less incompetent. I'm going to see if I can push my Russian armies deep into Hungary and destroy the Dual Monarchy, and then punch Germany into their soft underbelly.

However, I have a feeling this is probably going to be easier said than done! For the most part, the Imperial Russian army was not exactly brilliant either... I'm just hoping they suck less than the Austrians.

IMO, this is the best way to win as the Eastern Entente. You're right it's tough, particularly cracking through the Carpathians, but if you can get a solid foothold into Hungary proper, you can whittle down the Austro-Hungarians.

Good luck!

[Altaris]

My recommendation after trying different scenarios and playing till the end of 1914, is to be on the defensive with Germany and go historical with Austria (although you have to be prepared to fight on the Italian front in early to mid 1915). The three German armies in the east are enough to push the Russians back, while the west is strong enough to defend against France and even try and incursion or two into France proper. In my opinion the Moltke plan, while fascinating, is even more difficult to pull off than the Schlieffen plan because of the enormous distances between St. Petersburg and East Prussia. One more piece of general advice: DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE RUSSIANS! They are the bane of any CP campaign, which is why so many wish to push East first.

Russians in EAW start off decent enough, and the infantry is always fairly decent. IMO, this is historical, the Russians fought fairly well, but suffered from poor officers (modeled in game by poor leaders), ammunition problems (somewhat modeled by lack of munitions), and lack of heavy industry to produce lots of heavy/medium artillery and shells. Money is also a problem for the Russians. The end result is the Russians can stand up fairly well to the Central Powers, but they have trouble with maintaining against heavily sustained losses and building up artillery (artillery being the real key to breaking enemy lines in EAW).

[Respenus]

The end result is the Russians can stand up fairly well to the Central Powers, but they have trouble with maintaining against heavily sustained losses and building up artillery (artillery being the real key to breaking enemy lines in EAW).

Don't worry, I'm not complaining about the Russians being too strong. As concerns what you said, this is exactly what just happened in my game. I managed to encircle and trap several Russian armies in Poland (they chose the Polska plan) and after a couple of months of fighting, have whittled them down to a manageable force. So yes, Russians are strong, the CP players should be aware of that when they plan their moves, but with a few smart choices, you can cause enough damage so that you'll have an opening.