To End All Wars AAR - Western Entente against the AI of Central Powers!

[H Gilmer3]

You people who are guests who are reading, you need to go on ahead and register and introduce yourselves. We are a very welcoming community and if anyone acts like a jerk, the rest usually jump right in and correct that person's manners!

[H Gilmer3]

Ok,

The big one happened. And I was wrong to worry about the follow on forces getting there to late. There was some delay in engagement and all troops that were coming got there. It was a major battle. The Battle of Muenster....About 3 generals were praised, but De Langle De Cary was blamed for a defeat.

[ATTACH]30756[/ATTACH]

As you can see... it was a stalemate. It was a very big battle and I was nervous to see that the CP/Germany had 300K committed to the battle. I am fortunate to get a stalemate.

Battle of Marburg. This was just an artillery formation that I was hoping to capture. I did capture it and I put it in General Lord's formation.

[ATTACH]30757[/ATTACH]

Here is Salonika. I realized that I want to build some depots so I may venture some, but I don't want to get too far before I get some supply units down here.

[ATTACH]30758[/ATTACH]

And here is the WF North.....As you can see I want to do a pincer movement on Kassel and then on to Berlin, if possible. First, I have to deal with the formations around Muenster and degrade their ability to threaten my gains and my formations.

[ATTACH]30759[/ATTACH]

Other thoughts....

NM

WE 93
EE 68
CP 42

The CP morale bounced back 1.

Last turn I played the 6 generals cards on England, France, and Italy. I really need more generals i think for all the units I am producing. Oh. We had one of our British Dreadnoughts finish up. I am sending the Grand Fleet to pick it up.

In Egypt, nothing happened. The Turks just withdrew. I am in complete control of the Gaza area and I will be able to move North soon, I think.

And the USA is now at 95% aligned to the WE. It will not be long now. I predict that in 2 turns they will be at 100% and then the next turn they will be an ally. Then some REAL fun will start!!

[H Gilmer3]

Late September 1916 Results
======================

Battle of Muenster

Didn't go as I had hoped or planned. I'm abandoning that for now and am going to pull Foch south a few regions and by pass Muenster while leaving an opposi9ng force there so that they can take advantage of any movement by the German formation there.

[ATTACH]30762[/ATTACH]

Battle of Gaza - Gains me a point, but since I lose one to war weariness. I'm treading water again. And the CP lost one and gained one so they are treading as well.

[ATTACH]30763[/ATTACH]

Battle of Beersheba by the same units that took action in Gaza.

[ATTACH]30764[/ATTACH]

Beersheba did not net me any NM points, but it eliminated some units. So, that is a nice conclusion.

Battle of Trieste - no real gains or losses in this area.

[ATTACH]30765[/ATTACH]

Salonika. I think I'll try and take Edirne. It has a depot. But I'll probably still need to build one between Salonika and Edirne. Doesn't seem like much resistance all the way to Constantinople. That would be a huge blow to the Central Powers.

[ATTACH]30766[/ATTACH]

My ubiquitous "other notes"

USA is at 100%. Next turn the USA enters the war. Not much else. NM pretty static. More units moving to the Italian Front. More units moving to the West Front from France and England. The Far East and Southern portion of Africa are quiet.

I am able to fund artillery, tanks, and chemical this turn. Maybe that will push my 90% tanks to level 3. That would be nice as well.

[H Gilmer3]

1 battle. The sneaky Turks took Gaza while I was out and about. But, we marched right back in and destroyed a few more elements. No NM gains for that, though.

[ATTACH]30768[/ATTACH]

Tomas Masaryk. This will lower CP NM by 5 points. I think. I am playing it, of course.

[ATTACH]30769[/ATTACH]

And now the big news. The USA has joined the WE. This has boosted my morale to 101!!! And I get a lot of troops. I bought about 10 USA infantry and 2 USA marines. And Black Jack Pershing will lead them. I also immediately ordered 6 USA generals.

[ATTACH]30770[/ATTACH]

Other notes:

I'm taking another British corps to the Salonika region. There are 3 militia units there in Edirne and around. I think they are Bulgarian. They are dark green.

Tanks have leveled to level 3.

And here is the WF - North

I am moving Foch down to attack 1 cavalry by itself. I don't really care if it gets away or not. I want control of that region to widen my corridor that has supply. That region is still controlled by the CP.

I'm moving up units all over the Northen Western Front. Kassel is in the red box and you can see how threatened it will be when Foch moves down.

[ATTACH]30771[/ATTACH]

Oh, and the U.S.A. joining also bumped up my alignment in diplomacy to 70% and the rebels down to 30%. That is about an 8% swing in the good direction. France and England went back to 70%.

[H Gilmer3]

I have to say that is an excellent portrait of General Pershing.

[H Gilmer3]

Late October 1916 results
===================

The battle NW of Kassel - small engagement due to the small size of the opposing forces....

[ATTACH]30776[/ATTACH]

Battle of Canale di Otranto. This was a naval battle. The JTF goes back to war! They eliminate a small contingent of ships in the Adriatic. I expect more from them this next turn.

[ATTACH]30777[/ATTACH]

The Tomas Masaryk card is played.

[ATTACH]30778[/ATTACH]

And this has driven the NM of the CP down even further. Note how for the first time the WE by itself has more forces than the CP. If the EE collapses at any point, we will be able to carry on to victory.

[ATTACH]30779[/ATTACH]

And Wilson is re-elected. I am unsure what difference it makes at this point, since the USA is already in as an ally of the WE. But, I suppose it cannot hurt since Wilson was more for war than his challenger.

[ATTACH]30780[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Salonika - It really seems like the CP does not have the resources to protect everywhere so they seem to keep moving units around as I threaten in different areas. I am not attacking to Edirne this turn because the weather is "mud" or conditions are and it will be 30 days before I could move 1 turn. I don't fancy getting there with very low cohesion.

[ATTACH]30781[/ATTACH]

Italy - One of my larger formations sieging Gorizia is active and the walls are completely breached. So, we're going to assault, here right now.

[ATTACH]30782[/ATTACH]

And the planning and movement is ongoing on the West Front to isolate Kassel.

[ATTACH]30783[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

TEAW AAR forum now open for business!!!

[H Gilmer3]

Very big turn.

Let's get right to it.....

Battle of the Adriatic Sea. The JTF caught and pretty much destroyed the Austrian Fleet. Look at those Ships of the Line - destroyed!! YES!

[ATTACH]30795[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]30796[/ATTACH]

Battle of Gorizia - This was an assault and we utterly destroyed them.

[ATTACH]30797[/ATTACH]

Battle of Muenster, This was a battle where they had left a small force in Muenster and I thought, let's go ahead and move up, well, the Germans decided to support the battle, but we still got the victory.

[ATTACH]30798[/ATTACH]

Captures from Assaults....

[ATTACH]30799[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Early Nov 1916 Results continued.....


Actually, this is the planning for late November 1916....

Italian Front. I will move one of the Italian forces in Gorizia South to Trieste and I will move one to Laibach which is another strategic city.

[ATTACH]30800[/ATTACH]

West Front - North. Hermann Von Strantz will be attacked in Geissen. I am attacking from two regions. I hope we get another of those delayed engagements so that they are all in the region when the attack happens.

[ATTACH]30801[/ATTACH]

And the Objectives Screen. I am at 102 NM and the CP is at 33 NM. They are getting close to collapsing. And I really should be getting some kind of bonus in my battles or at least they should be getting a malus due to low NM. I never really saw that explained in great detail in the manual but it was mentioned. And it has been in all of the Ageod games built on the Athena engine.

[ATTACH]30802[/ATTACH]

And don't I feel a little foolish. I could have brought the Indian Army down to Kuwait a long time ago. Just a 2 day journey.

[ATTACH]30803[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Late November 1916 Results


Battle of Flitsch. This is just North of Trieste in the Italian Theater. It wasn't a strategic fort, but it was a fort, lightly defended.

[ATTACH]30804[/ATTACH]

Battle of Geissen which is just South/Southwest of Kassel. This has pretty much paved the way to get to Kassel. As you can see, it looks like Kassel is now lightly defended, so I plan to immediately attack with Foch.

[ATTACH]30805[/ATTACH]

The Battle of Laibach. I apologize, I'm jumping back and forth here. Thi is the Italian Front and is a strategic City. We captured it.

[ATTACH]30806[/ATTACH]

Battle of Erevan. This is on the Eastern Front and is a Russian strategic city lost. We got a message saying they lost it.....

[ATTACH]30807[/ATTACH]

This is the Salonika region. I'm trying to mate up some artillery with the formations to give them a little punch.

[ATTACH]30808[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Here is the West Front - Kassel looks lightly defended so I'm attacking immediately....

[ATTACH]30809[/ATTACH]

And here is the Italian Front showing some moves. I'm planning on pushing NE to go toward Wien. Who knows? I'm also moving up to siege Innsbruck , if possible. I have shuffled some formations around. 1. To make sure the GHQ and Armies are supporting each other on the east side, and to make sure my formations are logical for defense. It makes no sense to oppose a force of 300 with a force of 500. That's a waste of at least 200 power. The 300 power opposing force is not going to attack an entrenched 300 power force.

[ATTACH]30810[/ATTACH]

And call me crazy or call me ambitious. General JC Smuts is now ready to move to Dar Es Salaam again. Let's see if we can take it this time.

[ATTACH]30811[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Early Dec 1916 - Results

Battle of Mannheim. Not sure why I am not getting better recon. I have still been winning air battles constantly. I didn't realize they were stronger there than they seemed to be.

[ATTACH]30812[/ATTACH]

Battle of Kassel. Did not have good recon for this , either. This is a good lesson not to attack across a river even with 2 to 1 odds. You will lose a lot of those battles. Make it much better odds, find a better way around, or get pontoons/marines for better fording.

[ATTACH]30813[/ATTACH]

Battle of Gaza. The Turks stuck their nose down into Gaza and they got a bloody nose for their efforts.

[ATTACH]30814[/ATTACH]

Battle of Dar Es Salaam. We got a foothold. I hope it works this time. We out number them 3 to 1.

[ATTACH]30815[/ATTACH]

Small Battle of Punta della Penna - a naval battle.

[ATTACH]30816[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Oskar Von Hutier card is played. This is a CP card and gives them a boost towards Storm Troopers.

[ATTACH]30817[/ATTACH]

And finally. I'm sick of not getting the guy that is always angered because he was passed over. He's still in the pool.

So, I'm promoting Pierre Joseph Dubois.

[ATTACH]30818[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Other notes at the beginning of Late Dec 1916.....

I am at 100 NM. CP is at 33 NM.

A lot of U.S.A. forces were ready this turn and I'm going to do something a little off with them. I'm going to take them and put them in the Salonika Theater so they can run up and hopefully take the Turks out of the fight, then Bulgaria, then Austria, hopefully.

A lot of French units came online. I am railing to the West Front a force with the power of 900+ and that is actually a lot more since it is a force that has 22 or so CPs but there are 75+ cps needed. I'll split them up when they get to right behind the front, I just wanted it to be easier to move them.

[H Gilmer3]

Planning for Late December 1916

Let me just say..... I know that using the U.S.A. forces in the underbelly of the CP is very ahistorical, but since I had already started the war with ahistorical warplans, I don't see using the U.S.A. in this fashion as that bad of a deal. Maybe I'll run an AAR using all historical moves.

Here are the WF North and the Italian Front respectively. I've circled two problem areas. They weren't there or weren't consolidated like that previously, but they may be something I have to do something about eventually.

[ATTACH]30825[/ATTACH]

Italian Front

[ATTACH]30826[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Battle of the South Atlantic....

This could have been a disaster but instead it turned into a fantastic victory. I have a lot of USA troops on these ships, but the power of this fleet saved the day. I am transporting troops to Europe and while in the Atlantic, the USA fleet was jumped by 11 battleships of the German Navy. the USA fleet sunk every single one of them. 4 NM gained. The Kronprinz, the Markgraf, the Grosser Kuerferst, the Koenig - all dreadnoughts. Posen, Rheinland Westfalen, Nassau, K. Wilhelm de Grosse, K. Karl de Grosse, and the K. Barbarossa.

[ATTACH]30827[/ATTACH]

Dar Es Salaam. I am now 4 to 1 odds in power in this region.

[ATTACH]30828[/ATTACH]

The Battle of Gaza. Not sure how I keep getting more casualties, but they don't seem able to dislodge us at any imminent threat.

[ATTACH]30829[/ATTACH]

Objectives screen.

I am at 103 NM. CP is at 31 NM.

[ATTACH]30830[/ATTACH]

Other notes:

It's 1917 and the deathgrip is upon us. This year will see either the utter defeat of the CP, in my opinion, or the complete collapse of all plans I have.

I will be funding infantry research this turn.

Time for work. I'll probably show some planned moves for Jan 1917 before I do anything else, next time I am able to.

[H Gilmer3]

Here is the planning for Early Jan 1917
============================

West Front. I'm going to attack Frankfurt. I think the balance of forces is definitely in my favor for this one. All the units are activated, so it will be full forces on full forces.

[ATTACH]30848[/ATTACH]

The Italian Front. All's Quiet. I'm hunkering down to get a full breach on Trieste and for the bad weather to pass.

[ATTACH]30851[/ATTACH]

[Lynxyonok]

What is your rebel alignment in major countries? If I had to guess you may be facing 40%+ opposition in some.

[H Gilmer3]

Ok, Early January 1917 Results
=======================

A little bit of note, sure.....

Battle of Frankfurt. We pretty much had our way with them. Frankfurt is under siege now, just waiting for breaches to assault.

[ATTACH]30871[/ATTACH]

And since I just spoke of Frankfurt, let's take a look at the West Front in that area....A little bit of the "Hit 'em where they ain't" logic. You Europeans might not be familiar with that term, but probably have something similar to the meaning. It's something an American Baseball player named Wee Willie Keeler. The full quote is "Keep your eyes clear, and hit 'em where they ain't." All it really means is that if you attack the opposing force where they aren't, it's impossible, or at least a lot harder to defend.

[ATTACH]30872[/ATTACH]

Battle of Gaza, I get 1 NM from that. The Turks keep sticking their nose into Gaza and I keep punching it when I see it.

[ATTACH]30873[/ATTACH]

Battle of Woergl. Minor battle except I capture a city and an ammo stack or something.

[ATTACH]30874[/ATTACH]

Battle of Kushadasi Bay....A battle between another american fleet and a Turkish fleet. The Turks took it on the chin. And we won some NM. This is another troop transport.

[ATTACH]30875[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Early January 1917 Results - Continued....

Battle of Baia di Pescara.

[ATTACH]30876[/ATTACH]

And last but not really least.... Battle of Ost Afrika. We're gaining on them. We lose more troops but we can afford it. Attrition is wearing them down and I hope it means we eventually capture this settlement.

[ATTACH]30877[/ATTACH]

And then - the Objectives screen. My NM is 105. The CP NM is 28. They are in dire straights. And they seem to be falling back along the Western Front.

My American troops for some reason stopped in Crete!?? What are they doing there???? I hope it isn't something like, "USA forces are not allowed in the Salonika Theater". That would be pretty annoying considering it would have wasted 3-4 turns.

I fund airplane research this turn. None of the neutral countries seem to be in a warlike mood and keep moving back to neutrality.

I bought a lot of bridging units and a lot of pioneer units and a few engineer units. And oh, by the way, more tank units were available at some point that no one told me. All of them now have been put into the production queue.

[H Gilmer3]

Planning for Late January 1917....

West Front South. I am going to attack into Darmstadt from Mainz. It seems logical and they don't "seem" to have troops there. Sorry, the screenshot leaves a little to be desired.

[ATTACH]30878[/ATTACH]

West Front North. I've already posted this, but I thought I would explain it more and add some arrows of movement to see what I am doing. Ok, in black, 3 or 4 units from that large, oversized formation are now reformed and moving East - Well SE then NE. In RED circle, Foch is resting and recuperating from the loss a couple of turns ago. GREEN circle is General Lord sieging Frankfurt, and then I am showing Castelnau moving down SW to join the siege of Frankfurt.

And the purple circle shows the attack I mentioned previously from Mainz into Darmstadt. Further North, I am moving forward in the Muenster area because the CP formations there seem to be moving back.

[ATTACH]30879[/ATTACH]

Italian Front....Black circles are assaulting Innsbruck. Blue circle - a formation moving up to help assault Sachsenberg. Yellow circles are the Trieste battle area. I am moving up supply and Generals and I am hoping to get an activation so I can assault Trieste soon. Orange is the Laibach area. I am trying to think if I want to take the Laibach formation East and attack Samobor. Would I be too exposed? I don't know.

[ATTACH]30880[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Well, the CP NM seems to keep staying up enough to survive......

Anyway.....

Battle of Innsbruck. Yes, we took it.

[ATTACH]30882[/ATTACH]

Battle of Ost Afrika. We finally have the disposition I'm comfortable with to put everyone on the offensive. Let's see what we get. I'm very impressed with the German commander, and if we beat them, I'm definitely willing to share a drink with him. Cheers, indeed.

[ATTACH]30883[/ATTACH]

Battle of Sachsenburg. Definitely not considered too minor. I believe we got an NM point for this assault and taking of the city.

[ATTACH]30887[/ATTACH]

Battle of Sambobor. Remember how I said I wasn't sure if I wanted to attack Sambobor? Well, I did and I won. Now I'm sieging a 600 power force inside of Sambobor.

[ATTACH]30888[/ATTACH]

Battle of Trieste. This City is about to be taken. I'm assaulting this next turn.

[ATTACH]30889[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Late January 1917 - Planning for Early February......
======================================

Assaulting Frankfurt. Getting that out of the way will free up enough formations and troops to finally move to Kassel. The 4 formations I was moving up, keep moving. Only one was activated, so he moved farther.

[ATTACH]30890[/ATTACH]

Salonika. I have not shown you Salonika for a few turns, so here it goes. The U.S.A. troops are set to land at Kavala. Edirne is sieged. Constantinople is sitting there at the Bosphorus, tantalizing. The Turks took it in the 1400s and we plan on taking it back! Although, we probably won't do anything but give it back after the war. Greece should have sided with us. They might have been able to get Constantinople back at the peace table!

[ATTACH]30893[/ATTACH]

And then there was Egypt. We are attacking Jerusalem. The Turks seem to be pulling back. Maybe they realize how much trouble Constantinople is in.

[ATTACH]30895[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Forgot India/Kuwait....

We're assaulting Basrah and we're building several units in India. I expect to take Basrah. I forgot the troops here and have let them sit a couple of turns. They can cause some real trouble in the next few turns.

[ATTACH]30896[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

My apologies. Some of you probably knew, but I was going by what his card said and did not pay attention to the Army Tab. General Lord is not General Lord. He is General Kitchener. Lord Kitchener, I imagine. I bet our friends in Great Britain were getting a nice chuckle out of that one!! General Lord, indeed and General Kitchener was a very famous General for the Empire as well, making it much, much worse for me.

[ATTACH]30899[/ATTACH]

And of course, in battle screens it says it right there. Lord Herbert Kitchener. Please read the screen, Hgilmer!!!

[H Gilmer3]

Well, then, General Kitchener!!!!! Captured Frankfurt for me.

[ATTACH]30900[/ATTACH]

Next Up. We capture Trieste..... Lots of NM. Lots of praise. Lots of Italian women singing and dancing!!

[ATTACH]30901[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]30902[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]30903[/ATTACH]

Battle of Jerusalem. I guess I could blame this debacle on my generals, but we all know that a true leader will blame himself. I am unsure how I so badly mismanaged this so that 3 of my formations never even got to the battle and this one formation was left to deal with a 100K+ Turkish army waiting for it.

[ATTACH]30904[/ATTACH]

[H Gilmer3]

Early February 1917. Continued. Oops, having a lightning storm. Be back later.

[ATTACH]30905[/ATTACH]

[Lynxyonok]

About the battle of Jerusalem... Your losses were pretty much same as CP despite them having 5 x the troops?

[H Gilmer3]

About the battle of Jerusalem... Your losses were pretty much same as CP despite them having 5 x the troops?

I lost a little more. But yeah, you would think it would have been a slaughter. My general was on defensive and retreated after 1 round. The losses were actually 2900 for me and 1650 for him. closer to 2 to 1 losses, if you count the horses. I'm not sure if that is just horses or mounted troops. I have always assumed they were mounted troops. He lost no mounted troops.