God, save the Tsar - EAW Eastern Entente AAR

[Lynxyonok]

I have to ask this but is there the Armenian genocide happening in this game. It seems Yerevan has fallen to the Turks and if it did I think there will be blod in the streets?!

Yes, the event fired when Ottomans joined the war... Events always seem to fire, there is no variation.

P.S. The genocide took place on Ottoman soil, so it can happen even when Russians control Erevan.

[Lynxyonok]

I have found your AAR only now and by chance.
Really, AARs should be in the AAR section!

Why does the AAR forum not work?
How can it be that someone program 'To End All Wars' but isn't able to activate a forum section?

Ah, it's all good. At least we have a forum

[Lynxyonok]

We've asked them to open it. I'm not sure why there is an issue. It's been asked several times on the forums. I guess who ever is in charge is busy?

By making a patch, hopefully

[Yushal]

I have found your AAR only now and by chance.
Really, AARs should be in the AAR section!

Why does the AAR forum not work?
How can it be that someone program 'To End All Wars' but isn't able to activate a forum section?

Perhaps so that flaws exposed by pre-patch aars are lost? No idea, really, but that's all I can think of for a reason.

Enjoying the read. Planning to do my own here.

[Lynxyonok]

Perhaps so that flaws exposed by pre-patch aars are lost? No idea, really, but that's all I can think of for a reason.

Enjoying the read. Planning to do my own here.

Or the forum admin is on vacation

[Lynxyonok]

When Rumania entered the war, I was facing numerous Bulgarian troops in the south, as well as 2 large Austrian armies that just marched from Belgrade to the east. So I defended those areas. And CP AI immediately rampaged my countryside. Ouch!

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[Lynxyonok]

As mentioned in another thread, I shall dissect battle plan usage into a lot of detail, starting next turn. I just need to clear out the queue of battles already fought.

Elsewhere, Lemberg finally falls after a nearly yearlong siege. Kolo is a town west of Warsaw, and it has been changing hands since Christmas.

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[Lynxyonok]

This is the first CP army that has been ground down into oblivion through non-stop battle, and the second CP army to be destroyed after winter capitulation of the one in Czernowitz.

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The stack does still look impressive after the massacre, but it's a paper tiger.

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[Lynxyonok]

It's a tough month in Armenia for my troops. Of 4 corps ordered to attack, 2 do not move, and 2 others fight the entire Turkish army separately, each one failing their battle plan check. To make matters even worse, Turks counterattack, cutting off my men from Batum. Ouch!

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[Lynxyonok]

Turks have spread so far in Armenia and Georgia that I am having to zoom out to capture the impact.

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[Lynxyonok]

Battle background: Lublin has a CP corps besieged by Russian army. Austrians moved a monster stack (2254) nearby, and I quickly reinforced, but most of those men are still at Ivangorod, a river away. Judging from attack values they will not participate.

My command value is very low - every army commander took a major penalty to their abilities this turn for no reason I can understand. But I do not want to do the [color="#FF0000"]balanced deployment[/color], I get too many of those already in this game and in my PBEMs. I really shouldn't attack, so [color="#FF0000"]strong center[/color] is not an option either. I play defensive.

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In a first for me, my battle plan does not fail or succeed - it is countered. A cavalry corps tries to stop flanking Austrians, and is annihilated.

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[Lynxyonok]

CP forces have suddenly pulled away from my Serb survivors - quite a surprise, as just a month ago there were Austrian, Bulgarian, even Turkish troops all over, and that means a chance for them to regain some of the lost territory.

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[Lynxyonok]

Battle background: Two Russian armies were reorganized in Warsaw, one getting all the strong units while the other one was left to recover. The stronger army was moved west, where it was attacked by a German army. No reinforcements are expected on my side, while Germans do have another 2 stacks nearby, which means their attack values may increase.

Again, I do not go for the balanced deployment, but I do not wish to risk an infantry attack either. Artillery battle it is then, even if forest will impact that.

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While I lose the battle, it could have gone much worse, as CP managed to bring together quarter of a million troops.

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[Lynxyonok]

CP forces are really starting to mass in Poland, pushing my armies out of Kolo/Piotrkow and reclaiming control of Lublin. As you can see, I am simply holding on here. Lemberg is reclaimed by Austrians as well, resulting in Brusilov's army being redeployed back.

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[Lynxyonok]

Russian Black Sea fleet sails to its first sortie, bombardment of Bulgarian forces at Varna. That does not go well, as CP forces fire back with deadly accuracy. A unit is lost.

Elsewhere, there are multiple air battles. My troops are actually starting to hit targets, although they are not nearly as good as they should be. Last 2 weeks' totals: lost 29, shot down 11 CP planes.

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[Lynxyonok]

Background: two Russian armies attempt to retake Lemberg. Strong resistance was expected, so seeing just a small force of 288 is a surprise. Still, I am going for an all-out assault, even if more enemy troops join in.

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[Yushal]

Well done! A bit sad that we really have no idea what battle plans do. The game doesn't tell you anything, really, or I don't know how to read it if it does.

[Lynxyonok]

Background: five Russian corps converge on a lone German stack. The enemy plan is visible, and it makes me wonder what is going on, as usually AI always retreats if overwhelmed. The problem was that only the first Russian corps showed at the battlefield when the Battle Planner was activated; the other four snuck in time to fight, but not to be seen in advance.

Of course, I did not know that until the battle outcome, so I decided to go for strong flanks myself as well.

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Here's a puzzle: even though the plan I chose should have worked perfectly against "envelop flank", it was actually countered. I won through application of brutal force.

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[Lynxyonok]

Well done! A bit sad that we really have no idea what battle plans do. The game doesn't tell you anything, really, or I don't know how to read it if it does.

True, but at least you get to guess how will your actions be impacted by enemy ones. Or so I thought. The "green" background should have allowed me an easy victory. Yet I was countered.

[Lynxyonok]

Well done! A bit sad that we really have no idea what battle plans do. The game doesn't tell you anything, really, or I don't know how to read it if it does.

True, but at least you get to guess how will your actions be impacted by enemy ones. Or so I thought. The "green" background should have allowed me an easy victory. Yet I was countered.

[Lynxyonok]

Ah, Lemberg again. I wonder if AI is hard-coded to protect it, as more men have died here than in Belgrade.

There are 2 Austrian armies, so I prefer a more conservative artillery battle plan as opposed to charges as I can't see how tired are my troops from the first battle.

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Ok, this is not funny. This entire summer in every single battle the Russian battle plan fails or is countered.

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[Yushal]

Heheh, in my russian game Lemberg has been a butcher's block as well. Can't take Przesmyl without having Lemberg, can't take Krakau without przesmyl, so yeah Lemberg is key. And yeah, Russians lose!

[Lynxyonok]

Heheh, in my russian game Lemberg has been a butcher's block as well. Can't take Przesmyl without having Lemberg, can't take Krakau without przesmyl, so yeah Lemberg is key. And yeah, Russians lose!

I find that not having siege artillery is a real pain. Unless one is willing to lay siege for several months at a time.

[Lynxyonok]

Russian Baltic fleet makes a daring raid into the Baltic shipping box. Despite the battle report stating 8 sunk German merchants, the actual outcome was 16 captured German merchants. Of course, most of them are in a very rough shape.

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[Lynxyonok]

So, a war has been going on for a year. 4.5 million people have been killed. That's almost half of the entire WW1 numbers. Of course, having "no delay" increases it significantly.

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[Lynxyonok]

Still the same scenario, 2 Russian armies versus 2 Austrian ones. I am in a desperate need of better army commanders, and I go for an assault. Note how my leader is activated, and in addition to infantry assault battle plans I also had static deployment available.

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Luckily for me the battle does not last to the second round, which helps me avoid the other Austrian army.

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[Lynxyonok]

Prussia and Ruthenia are the only areas where I am making headway against CP. Of course, a river, impending fall/winter, and a good defensive lineup by Germany are not conducive to any further advances.

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[Lynxyonok]

Two Serb corps attack a single Turkish one, it is a pretty straightforward assault. Oh how I would love to establish a corridor to Rumania so I can take these amazing Serb leaders and put them in charge of Russian armies!

After all, this is what Serbs have for their 3-star lineup:

7-2-7
3-3-0
3-2-4

This is Russian one:

5-3-4 (ineligible to form a 48CP stack)
0-6-3
0-2-0
0-2-1
5-1-3 (ineligible to form a 48CP stack)
2-6-2
2-5-2
3-4-1

This is Rumanian one:

2-5-1
6-5-1

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[Lynxyonok]

This one is a surprise - there were no CP forces there. I gamble that there is another Rumanian army nearby, and I guess wrong.

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[Lynxyonok]

Things are starting to heat up in the west, a change from a rather passive 1914.

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