Paradox Multiplayer PBEM - Western Entente thread

[Merlin]

Early June, 1915

Not much going outside Palestine. A few air battles on the West Front.

Late June, 1915

I've decided to keep my air force grounded. I haven't been able to spot them, but TLG has one or two more fighter squadrons than I can see, and I have no reason to keep losing planes this early in the war. A-L finally dries up, and I'm going to try using my local superiority in two attacks:

It's essentially a double envelopment of Strassburg, and both should happen the same day (day 7, or 10 if inactive forces in both attacks). You can't MTSG to two separate regions at the same time, so I should win both.

Jarkko has the Italian army on the move:

That's not the half of it either. It looks like the entire country just decided to up and walk all over the map.

The Austrian Fleet comes out to play again. Hopefully it doesn't turn chicken again, because I want to crush it:

A big NM loss for the CP would help us immensely right now.

[Merlin]

Late June, 1915

Teep's major victory at Tsingtao:

This netted us 528 WSU!

My offensive in A-L finally goes according to plan. TLG's nominal force in Saarbourg retreats without fighting and the Colmar attack succeeds:


Early July, 1915

We can fire Salonika, but I don't. Nobody's in position and I need to find out what ringhloth's timetable is. It also gives me a convenient shot at putting down the Suessi rebellion as I stage to Tripoli. I'm taking advantage of Teep's success to strip a fort on the Italian border. We need heavy guns for gas.

One more turn of reorg and redeployment in A-L and we'll hit Strassburg with nearly a million men in what promises to be the largest yet battle of the war:

[Merlin]

Early July, 1915

No battles for me.

Late July, 1915

TLG has reinforced Strassburg, but nobody expects the entire French Army:

If TLG had reinforced his northern regions, I wouldn't have played this, but I'm attacking with every single French army and corps except one, or they're set to MTSG. I'll rail them back next turn, hopefully to repulse a poorly planned counter-attack.

I fire Salonika and sweeten the bait with a torpedo boat squadron just off the coast. Next turn the main French/Italian fleet escorts the reinforcing corps into Salonika, hopefully with a naval victory:

[Merlin]

Late July, 1915

TLG launches his attack early, and the West Front degenerates into a bloody mess.

The reversals:



The gains:




Early August, 1915

Everything goes to replacements and a set of MA for ringhloth. Too impatient to wait for the Salonika force to finish its task, I strip my shipping box fleet of its transports and send them to Africa. I want to take down the two remaining colonies and have my guys in Morocco by December.

The changes on the West Front look far worse that they really are:

TLG shot his bolt and is poorly positioned. Freiburg was held by cavalry, so I don't care if they have to retreat beyond the Rhine. I also got another aggressive 3 star out of that little fight. Metz can hold for a turn or two, even with the single division inside. What I do have is a single axis of attack for 700,000+ Frenchmen which ends in Thionville and a river in front of the defending half of my line. I may be able to reach the Luxembourg border in seven turns, and if I can't it's no great loss. Metz is certainly attainable.

[Merlin]

Early August, 1915

Strassburg goes well, and we retake Morhange:




Late August, 1915

Salonika:

I'm still hoping the Austrians will come play, and keeping the fleet there provides a bit of extra security for ringhloth's incoming forces.

West Front:

Thionville is wide open and I'm going to try to grab it with four corps.

More replacements, one more artillery piece, and I unlock a few more generals. That should pretty much cover my HA purchases, so now I just need a ton of LA and a few MA.

[Merlin]

Late August, 1915

Here's the results from ringhloth's landing:



And Sudwest Afrika:


And Thionville:


Early September, 1915

Things are far less worse than they appear, I buy tons of British replacements and an MA battery. TLG has moved his 4,000+ CP stack, which is a bit worrying, so I push forward into Saar and Bitche:


Africa:

I'd have shipped the entire force in one turn, but apparently my transports are bugged and have no capacity. I'm reporting this after I type this.

Italy:


Salonika:

[Merlin]

Early September, 1915

I pretty much win everywhere but Saar.

Saar:

Strumitza:

Strassburg:

SudWest Afrika:


Late September, 1915

TLG has pulled back and reshuffled his defenses. I continue to advance:


We're about done on replacements, so hopefully we can get back to buying stuff. We're really short on fighters and we'll have access to tanks soon.

[Švejk]

You better hurry and get control of a province across the Rhine, else you will be stuck in the Rhineland for the foreseeable future.

[Merlin]

The West Front is at parity right now, so I'll settle for interior lines behind rivers and a shortened front. Having to replace British losses and needing expensive toys over the winter, I don't expect to be able to purchase enough infantry to change the dynamic. I have to wait for Drakken and his Americans, which fortunately, with US alignment being something like 54% WE, won't be too long.

That said, if I get the opportunity to take Trier, I will.

[Merlin]

Late September, 1915

Not much going on for me. A few battles in Africa.

Early October, 1915

We get JC Fuller, so we'll have the jump on tanks if we can ever afford them. Hopefully I can now reduce SudWest Afrika, and I had to steal my Portuguese transport back from Jarkko as mine keep losing their capacity, and these piecemeal invasions won't work on better defended Mombasa. Really irritating, that.

The West Front is stable again. Final tally for the year is, WE: 7 regions and CP 1 region. I'll take that unsupported:

[Merlin]

Early October, 1915

The west front is quiet, so is Salonika, but Africa sees the capture of SudWest Afrika:

I'm stealing one of ringhloth's transports to allow myself to bring the whole force to Mombassa at once. I don't think he'll miss a single transport, and if he does, I can send amended orders.

Late October, 1915

I shift west on the West Front and order an assault on Saarburg:


Replacements have almost caught up to need, so I'm looking forward to buying tanks and fighters for the three majors.

[Pocus]

Are the Centrals progressing against Russia at least?

[PJL]

Are the Centrals progressing against Russia at least?

Not really. This is the latest situation in the east (directly taken from the Paradox thread):

Just kidding of course.

Bah, nobody wanted to see my CW2 screenies, and now everybody wants TEAW screenies. Fine, you bloodsucking peanuts, screenies you shall have!

Starting in the South.

[spoiler]

Serbia is still holding very well. Total CP 1,600+, plus the Montenegrin Corps within Bulgaria (which is dangerously far away from supporting units). I'd estimate the Austrian formations tied down to keep Serbia in check to be atleast of equal size.[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

Romania recently got hit by a large offensive, still ongoing. There's 2k CP worth of Austrians, another 2k CP worth of Germans, and I suspect that another 1-2k CP Bulgarian/Turkish force will join the fun soon. I have about 1,200 CP at the moment, which should grow to about 1,600 within a turn. Or would, if I wouldn't get hit by the Germans again, which I'm fairly sure I will. The situation isn't exactly ideal, but I still have room to withdraw, possible Russian reinforcements on the way, and fall/winter coming. Romania isn't quite done yet.[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

In Galicia the recent departure of large Austrian forces (towards Romania, no doubt) has enabled the Russians to regain the initiative. I'm not entirely sure what Anazagar is aiming for, but I'm sure he knows what he's doing. I would say Russia clearly outnumbers Austria here. Can't give precise CP estimates, I'm afraid.

Not shown in this picture: About 1,200 CP worth of Russian corps sitting a little bit to the east, in the Ukraine. Those could make a big difference if they were railed to Romania.[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

Continuing from Galicia, just to the North(west) we see Poland. Where the fall of Warsaw seemed inevitable just a couple of turns ago, the German withdrawal of large forces (again, likely the ones fighting in Romania now) allowed Russia to retain it. I can't help but feel that the Central Powers wasted opportunities here. A knockout blow against Romania is all nice and sweet, but they should have completed their Polish and Galician objectives before attempting one. As it stands, if they fail to knock Romania out, they will have basically wasted the entire year 1915.[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

Not much has happend around Minsk from what I can tell. There were battles, mostly fought over the German supply lines. TLG had been standing at the gates of Minsk in spring already, with overwhelming forces. He really wasted opportunities here; while I can understand his reluctance to launch a full frontal attack (although it would have likely succeeded), a campaign of maneuver could have forced the Russians to abandon Minsk. Right now I believe the Germans are outnumbered in this theatre, even if only slightly.[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

I wasn't entirely fair to TLG in the previous spoiler, I suppose; he did conduct a campaign of maneuver, but not one aimed at Minsk. Actually, I'm not entirely sure what it was aimed at. While Riga could be a valuable city to hold, all he did was split up his forces and achieved to take neither Minsk nor Riga. Currently he seems to be busy occupying territory behind his lines, likely to ensure a safe flow of supplies. He seems to have learned from his early adventures towards Minsk in the winter of 1914/15, and as such might simply have realised that the cities are unattainable for now. Instead he wants to prepare for a proper 1916 campaign, or so I'd guess. Forces are roughly equal, though while Germany has the quality advantage, Riga lies behind a river and will be hard to take with an attack.[/spoiler]

Finally, an overview over the frontlines.

North:
[spoiler][/spoiler]

South:
[spoiler][/spoiler]


That's how you counter blackmail, reis.

[Merlin]

Are the Centrals progressing against Russia at least?

Every nation active in the game is represented by a person, so if the CP can't make headway against Russia, that entirely their own fault.

We're going by this basic model:

Each side has an order of play, where the faction leader is last but buys all new units, makes all faction decisions, and purchases replacements, per the request of the faction members. So if we take the WE, Teep gets the turn first, followed by Jarkko, followed by ringhloth, and then me. They pass on their purchase requests, along with anything else, and I buy the units, manage the replacements, and play the decisions. I also handle the diplomacy for the EE, so I sometimes get input from them, though what benefits us generally benefits them.

Whether you intended to do so, you've created a most marvelous multiplayer game.

[Merlin]

Late October, 1915

We take Saarbourg:


Early November, 1915

We get a breach in Thionville and prepare to take the town:


Here's Africa, with my forces on their way to Mombasa:


Here's Salonika:


I buy replacements and slowly shift west on the Western Front. If we get a quick break in the weather, I'll make a try for Trier. I buy a ton more British replacements and finally get my fleet back in the blockade box. I also shift a diplo from Norway, now that it isn't drifting toward the CP, and put it in the Netherlands, to keep them from drifting toward the CP.

[Merlin]

Early November, 1915

I take Thionville, and the landing in Mombasa goes as planned:

The extreme losses come with a contested landing, which I expected. They'll even out later.

Late November, 1915

Nothing special, just a few clean-up movements in the Salonika bridgehead and I promote Foch, finally. I also buy a fighter squadron for ringhloth. Myself and Jarkko are next on that list.

[Merlin]

Late November - Early December, 1915

It's been all about Mombasa, and after early heavy casualties, has nearly ended:

Hopefully someone will be active for a final push.

Late December, 1915

In addition to the squadron I built for myself and the two Italian MA batteries from last turn, I add an Italian fighter squadron and another MA battery this turn.

Here's the West front:

Things are about to get really boring for a bit.

In positive news, ringhloth gets the blockade to level 3, giving a 25% chance to increase rebel alignment in Germany by 1% per turn. I'm trying to keep up.

[Merlin]

Early January, 1916.

Nothing at all worth reporting.

Late January, 1916.

I fire the Arabian Revolt and get my African contingent underway for Morocco. A few replacements, a fighter squadron for all three of us, and the last mountain division for Teep rounds out the turn.