steelwarrior77
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Sat Dec 13, 2014 10:11 pm

ajarnlance wrote:Some really good ideas. I had the same thought that the higher entrenchment levels should be limited to the front line regions (ie bordering enemy regions) only.. otherwise a player could build entrenchments three or four regions deep and breakthroughs (which did happen IRL on a limited scale) would be impossible. I like the idea of artillery removing entrenchment levels.. this would also signal where an enemy was planning an offensive as IRL most offensives were preceded by massive art. bombardments thereby letting the enemy know the intended target area. Of course later in the war the Germans had the Bruckmuller barrages and their storm troops. Technology and new tactics can then shift some advantage back to the attacker so that by late war breakthroughs are more likely. Did you know that the French troops actually went on strike in 1917?? Amazingly the Germans didn't get wind of it or they could have just walked through the French lines at one point.


Yeah - like that it would feel like a real war ;-) Yes there were several occasions when one side was not willing to fight anymore - during Christmas they even played football with each other - after that soldiers were rotated - so that they did not have enough time to befriend with their enemies...

steelwarrior77
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Sat Dec 13, 2014 10:12 pm

Ouch ;-( these artillery monsters are really bad...

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ajarnlance
General of the Army
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Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:40 pm

late May 1915... western front

Mon Dec 15, 2014 7:31 pm

The most intense action continues to be on the western front in late May. The good news is that my second breakout attempt from Thionville is a success and I withdraw two armies to Saar. In support of this breakout I launch a major assault across the Mosel river into Saar from Trier.. just in case the Entente try to block my escape route. This offensive runs right into Joffre as the French launch an offensive of their own and retake Trier.. continuing on to take Bonn and Aachen (which I had left lightly guarded in my rear). The situation is very fluid here at present with the initiative alternating between the Germans and the French. It is very difficult to create a solid defensive line.

The reasons for this have already been commented on... suffice it to say again that the game fails to represent the type of warfare on the western front IRL where the power was with the defence. Instead the offensive capabilities of armies at this time are over estimated and the result is a kind of to and fro boxing match with the front line shifting anywhere from 50 to 100 miles each turn. One aspect of this power lying with the attacker is in the ratings of the generals. All of the generals on each side tend to have much higher offensive than defensive ratings. While I know that the tactical training at the time stressed offensive over defensive warfare the fact is that the technology of the industrial age placed the power firmly in the hands of the defenders in most cases. Major breakthroughs in 1915 IRL gained at most 2 to 5 miles of ground... not the 50 to 100 miles we are seeing in the game. What should be happening is military control shifting within one region from say 10% to 30%... which if maintained over several turns would result in a shift of one region. Instead, in the game I was able to advance two regions last turn by blowing a hole through the French armies... the following turn the French have advanced two regions by pushing back three of my armies about 75 miles. Sorry, but it just didn't happen this way. Feels like ageod rushed this game out in time for the 100th anniversary of WW1 without thoroughly testing the western front game play. While it may be exciting to see these dramatic shifts being played out... Trench warfare it is NOT...

The French retake Trier... I can't really understand why I am pushed back two entire regions (about 75 miles) here... the numbers are about equal on each side.. my troops are more fatigued from last turn's advance but their entrenchments appear not to make much difference... neither does the fact that they are defending...

[ATTACH]32650[/ATTACH]

The natural step that you would expect to see after this defeat is for my three armies to fall back on my entrenchments in Bonn ... the region and city directly behind Trier. However, instead they bypass Bonn and fall all the way back to Koeln.. I have the growing feeling of not being in control of my armies at all. Once you press that continue button the AI takes things into its own hands. My armies ordered to attack Saar instead end up almost 100 miles away at Koeln... BIG MAC is ordered to Trier but he doesn't appear to participate in that battle... instead he crosses the Mosel river and ends up in Saar... the western front is entirely too mobile and unpredictable... if it was a WW2 game I could understand but these moves are being made by tired men marching on foot over difficult terrain... the French easily roll over my small force in Bonn.. apparently the AI didn't feel this city was worth defending..

[ATTACH]32651[/ATTACH]

So this is how the front has shifted dramatically again. Increasingly this AAR feels like I am writing a fiction novel that bears very little resemblance to the First World War... yellow arrows show the direction of my retreats... the three main French attacks are marked in red..

[ATTACH]32652[/ATTACH]

Wide shot showing the entire WF. Of course next turn it could look very different.. don't ask me where the front is ... it changes like the British weather...

[ATTACH]32653[/ATTACH]
Attachments
LM WF WIDE.png
LM WF1.png
B BONN D10.png
B TRIER D4.png
"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

Check out my 'To End All Wars' AAR: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?38262-The-Kaiser-report-the-CP-side-of-the-war-against-Jinx-and-PJL

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ajarnlance
General of the Army
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late May Italy..

Mon Dec 15, 2014 7:40 pm

Not much movement here... the Italians continue to siege two cities. They appear to have moved out of position on their left flank and their army in Trento is quite small. perhaps they are shifting balance for an attack on their right against Gorizia. I could pin their army sieging Bozen with a strong feint attack while marching south to evict the Italian army from Trento next turn... my main goal here is still a holding action although I don't want to lose Trento as it is a strategic objective city in the game.

[ATTACH]32654[/ATTACH]

In the middle east the British army has taken control of Arabia.. Lawrence would have been proud. They have assembled a large force in Aden which I am attempting to block by gathering a large force of my own at Maan. More worrying is British ability to use their naval power and attack up and down the exposed coastline of the Ottoman Empire.

[ATTACH]32655[/ATTACH]

Further north I send out cavalry patrols to check on the strength of the Russian armies descending from Armenia. We seem to be equally matched.. and my goal is to hold here for now.

[ATTACH]32657[/ATTACH]

In Africa I have to stop Von Lettow's march north because he was taking so many cohesion and attrition hits. I'm glad I recalled him as the Brits have appeared off the coast...

[ATTACH]32656[/ATTACH]
Attachments
LM ARM.png
LM AFRICA.png
LM SIN.png
LM ITALY.png
"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)



Check out my 'To End All Wars' AAR: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?38262-The-Kaiser-report-the-CP-side-of-the-war-against-Jinx-and-PJL

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ajarnlance
General of the Army
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late May eastern front..

Mon Dec 15, 2014 7:58 pm

The construction of five ammunition factories.. all of them close to my front lines on the eastern front is now complete. I will see if this relieves my ammo crisis. I am so tired of micromanaging ammo trains. In the north my position is looking more secure since moving Von Kluck up here. I will probably need one more Corps to cover Kowno. The Russians appear to be licking their wounds after serious losses here last turn.

[ATTACH]32658[/ATTACH]

Further south Von Linsingen catches up with the leaderless rabble of a Russian army wandering around the Polish countryside. This is probably my best Corps commander with a sizeable force and I am frustrated again as all I am able to do is inflict 4,000 casualties. The Russians have been abandoned by their commanders... are almost completely out of supplies (only 17% were supplied in our battle) and yet they escape with minor losses... beyond ridiculous at this point... passive posture should not be the same as 'bullet proof'...

[ATTACH]32660[/ATTACH]

I take Lutsk by siege and lay siege to Rowno and Dubno. I continue to push east as the Russians fall back before my advance.. they appear to be running out of ground. Most of Poland is now in my hands.

[ATTACH]32659[/ATTACH]

I launch an attack on the Russian army at Kaminets and they fall back. This sector is also looking secure. I will be able to free up one or two armies to send to Serbia as I switch over to the offensive in the Balkans next turn...

[ATTACH]32661[/ATTACH]
Attachments
LM EF3.png
B WEG D8.png
LM EF2.jpg
LM EF1.png
"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)



Check out my 'To End All Wars' AAR: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?38262-The-Kaiser-report-the-CP-side-of-the-war-against-Jinx-and-PJL

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ajarnlance
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Welcome Bulgaria...

Mon Dec 15, 2014 8:10 pm

And the reason that I can now launch an offensive in the Balkans is because Bulgaria has now joined the CP.

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Bulgaria sits in a very useful strategic location to further my objectives... and Romania look like remaining neutral for some time... Greece will be joining the Entente soon..

[ATTACH]32663[/ATTACH]

As a result of the arrival of new Bulgarian armies on their eastern border the Serbs have already had to shift two armies east... leaving them weakened for an attack by Austria in the west... the conquest of Poland is almost complete which will allow me to reinforce my Austrian armies here with new divisions from the eastern front...

[ATTACH]32664[/ATTACH]
Attachments
LM BF1.jpg
Bulgaria in 1915.jpg
250px-Bulgarien_mit_uns.jpg
"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)



Check out my 'To End All Wars' AAR: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?38262-The-Kaiser-report-the-CP-side-of-the-war-against-Jinx-and-PJL

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ajarnlance
General of the Army
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The Tsar takes command...

Mon Dec 15, 2014 8:15 pm

My openly stated objective with the Moltke plan has been to try to knock Russia out of the war early. In addition to having conquered most of Poland in just eight months I was also able to bring Russian morale below the critical 75 threshold. This has triggered the Tsar takes command event..

[ATTACH]32665[/ATTACH]

While giving the Russians a temporary morale boost (they sit at 77 currently) once I can drive the Russian morale back below 75 again they will suffer an increase in rebel activity on the home front. This can lead to Russia eventually leaving the war .. as IRL. This is a very encouraging development and demonstrates that my overall strategy is working... it also means that I must keep the pressure on the Russians and inflict more morale destroying losses on them... here is a summary of how the war is going on the objectives screen.. Trento in Northern Italy (currently under siege by the Entente) is a major objective. I must do more to relieve this siege soon...

[ATTACH]32666[/ATTACH]
Attachments
LM objectives.png
TSAR TAKES COMMAND.png
"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)



Check out my 'To End All Wars' AAR: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?38262-The-Kaiser-report-the-CP-side-of-the-war-against-Jinx-and-PJL

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BBBD316
Lieutenant
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Thu Dec 18, 2014 4:30 am

I was going to ask if that was the Tsar sitting in charge of Minsk.

steelwarrior77
Colonel
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Thu Dec 18, 2014 2:44 pm

I hope the Tsar rebellion will work - have UK now 20 turns on 100% rebel alignement and they are still in the war - like that you would be in trouble with the US entering the war early - so lets hope it works out for you ;-)

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ajarnlance
General of the Army
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Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:40 pm

Goodbye...

Mon Dec 22, 2014 9:28 pm

Obviously I think everyone has realised by now that the game has finished. I wasn't able to keep up with the 20-25 hours a week that were required both to play and write this AAR... and I know that the strain was telling on the other players too. We did it for a month and it was fun but in the end real life commitments take precedence over a game. I would like to thank Jinx and PJL for being great partners in the game. Thanks to everyone for tuning in.
"I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than the dissolution of the Union... and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation." Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)



Check out my 'To End All Wars' AAR: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?38262-The-Kaiser-report-the-CP-side-of-the-war-against-Jinx-and-PJL

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FlumenSV
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Posts: 39
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Location: Fiume

Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:13 pm

ajarnlance wrote:Obviously I think everyone has realised by now that the game has finished. I wasn't able to keep up with the 20-25 hours a week that were required both to play and write this AAR... and I know that the strain was telling on the other players too. We did it for a month and it was fun but in the end real life commitments take precedence over a game. I would like to thank Jinx and PJL for being great partners in the game. Thanks to everyone for tuning in.


It was a really great AAR, hope there will be more in the weeks to come

:thumbsup:
Indeficienter

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RangerBooBoo
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Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2007 7:10 am

Tue Dec 23, 2014 12:03 am

Sorry to hear that it has come to an end as this was a great AAR and convinced me to buy the game. Thanks for all the work you put into it!

steelwarrior77
Colonel
Posts: 388
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:44 am

Sun Dec 28, 2014 1:05 am

Awesome job - take your rest and then maybe come back with more later ;-D

Gferreq
Corporal
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 9:08 pm

Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:20 pm

WOW, GREAT AAR!, Im currently playing a pbem game and using this strategy....
But this AAR cannot finish this way, come back later, after the break :)

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Sir Garnet
Posts: 935
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:23 pm

Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:49 am

Altaris wrote:This may not be a bug, MC is gained per day spent in a region after the enemy is driven out. It takes 5 days for a force to land from the adjacent coastal region, so if the BEF is taking something close to 10 days to reach the adjacent region, then 5 to land.

What day did the Battle of Cattarro take place? Was it on Day 15 by any chance? Also, if the Austrians lost but weren't forced to retreat, they will remain in the coastal region and MC won't start transferring. This is part the reason naval landings are so tricky in AGEOD games.


Does this mean the manual language is in error, or is this an artifact of naval landings?

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