Part 3: Turn 3 Part 2, Turn 4, Turn 5

August 6th 1914 (part 2)

After much deliberation we have decided to continue with the push against Paris.



Our soldiers know whats up, this will be over before winter hits.



In the east we deploy our two armies to the border and prepare our airbase for transportation to the western front.



We also deploy our Ruhr and Strassburg reserves to hold the line in Russia to divert all new armies to the west.



Our line corps are going to hold here while we strike north through Belgium.



The assault begins. As mighty as their forts are our guns are mightier. We shell Liege. Casualties are light but it breaks up their cohesion and drops their efficiency to 8. We then assault then with 4 Armies and capture the city.





Two armies assault the Belgian capital. They are dropped to corps strength and our cavalry deploys north to reinforce as needed or to break to the coast and cut supply lines if needed.



We completely block off the Baltic from British excursions. Should the Russians field a fleet we can dash east and defend our iron ore convoys.



New armies on the way. Soon we will be able to reinforce our Schlieffen thrust.

Allied Response



We are running low on medals for how valiant our Sarajevo group has been!



Two French Armies from the Alsace-Lorraine group shift north and attack our far right flank.

Note here. I didn't add the arrows, they show those so the player can keep up with the moves. Red arrows are attacks, blue arrows are moves, yellow are follow-up moves after successful attacks



Belgium moves its army out of the capital and brings down an armored car unit and then reinforces the army. They should still fall shortly.

Turn 4. August 13, 1914





Britain is on the way. It will take them a few turns yet to be ready for battle though.





We reinforce and continue to hold in the south on the Western Front.



We deploy our new 4th Army and strike across the line with two armies against a Serbian Corps and almost break it. With more pressure we should break open their lines and force them to respond. We also shift an army over and reinforce it. Our main offensive is still on hold until we mass our guns but we need to take opportunity attacks where we can.



6th Army strikes west and takes Brussels. This note shows us that because they lost their capital, they can no longer produce units. Even if units survive, losing a capital gives a huge morale drop to a country.



Belgian Army is destroyed and the Armored Car is chased off. They now have one Fortress Corps and a demoralized Armored Car Group.



Striking out towards Paris. Operationally, we will have to adapt as they deploy new units but we are getting closer to Paris with each passing week.



More units on the way.



Airbase is on the way. Hopefully it will be deployed next turn then ready a week after that.

Allied Response



Two armies strike at our Flank again and come very close to breaking it. These brave men will be reinforced and have to hold for the good of the offensive.



The French, seeing us edging towards Paris are forced to start shifting their reserve units. These hastily thrown together men have no chance of stopping us, even with the abundance of rivers in France.



Sarajevo is struck again and the battered corps is reinforced. This isn't bad though because Serbia's manpower is far below what we can field. Even if we must grind them down through attrition, they cannot possibly hold out.

Turn 5, August 20th, 1914

News







The Bear rises! Russia is now ready for combat but they don't field a large army yet. They have the largest manpower pool in the game and a good amount of production but it will take them some time to bring it all to bear (heh). That said, we are holding fast on defense to focus on the west.

Another note, France, having no Rail Capacity for now, gets to move one unit via Rail for this turn to simulate them scrambling under the German assault. In MP it can be decisive but I don't see it being an issue here.



We deploy our first general, von Hotzendorf, and force the weakened Serbian Corps back. Second Army is bloodied by all the fighting though. That said, despite trenches and mountains there are holes appearing in their lines.



Reinforcing our flank is going to be a drain on our manpower and industry but the south is holding, damnit! Time to strike out in the North.



With a might artillery barrage we pay back one of the Alsace-Lorraine Armies back in spades for picking on our flank reserve. This moves us near the fortress town of Verdun. This hole will surely force the French to respond and hopefully divert attention away from Paris. Shame that this took two armies and we can't take the city this week.



Our cavalry attempts to finish off the Belgian AC units while simultaneously cutting off Antwerp.



We continue to push forward, hitting some reserves as we can. We move our airbase into Brussels. It will hold ground in a pinch, but will also provide a few hexes of recon and be able to hit units for efficiency as we continue to march forward.



Two new armies and reserves commissioned. We need to add some depth to the Western Front and prepare for Russia's mobilization as we can.

Allied Response



Disaster! 2nd Army is destroyed by two Serbian Armies including their Royal Belgrade force. The upside of this is that they shift a reserve to guard the city. We have a gaping hole in the lines but we may be able to take Belgrade before they can shift the Royal Belgraders back in.



The French shift to hold Verdun while striking at the weak link between our main force and our southern strongholds. They move two reserves to block Paris but these inferior units cannot take a full German army.



The first signs of the British but they don't have room to land. Not only that but hopefully the process of transporting the men will leave them less ready for combat.



It seems our ass was hanging out a bit here. Russia deploys an army with cavalry, armored train, and reserve support to shatter one of our garrisons and take Lemberg.





Fearing a non-existent counterattack the Russians move forces up in the north.



Some cruisers and destroyers move in to supply Antwerp. Ships will supply cut off units a few hexes inland but they will drop to half supply if they move too far away and no supply if they continue to move away from the ships.

Not full decisions but we may want to decide if we reinforce against Serbia and wait for the cannons or if we throw what we have at Belgrade hoping the reserve can sneak across the river to hit them without the penalty. We aren't going towards Paris as quickly as I would like, but blitzing too fast and leaving units in Antwerp and the like without a blocking force can let them recapture points and keep deploying units. We lost our first army of the campaign due to greed but bloodletting in the south will always hurt Serbia more than it can handle. Russia is being an asshole as well. My practice campaign before the LP went better than this, but this is honestly why I enjoy this game so much. Each game, even against the AI can present new challenges.