Part 10: Turn 19, Turn 20
Turn 19: March 4th, 1915
Spring is hereUnits will finally recover two efficiency per turn and no longer have to pay one per move and one per attack.
Production
Battleship fleet creeping up but with 20-40 production per turn our focus is on repairing and upgrading rather than new units.
Research
Interesting development here. By April, Austrian infantry will have increased offense with grenades and Germany will be able to deploy poison gas. Once France is pacified German artillery will be shipped east to renew the offensive.
Diplomacy
Management
Our economies are still at over 90% efficiency so we still don't have to worry about deterioration.
Eastern Front
With the Spring rejuvinating the men, we have to really start planning things out. 4th Eastern pulls back to recover and a Russian Corps is annihilated.
These three armies and two corps with 4th Eastern in Reserve will be Army Group North. Their objective is to take the fortress at Kovno and then advance on an axis of Riga, Pskov and Novgorod right up to Petrograd while taking any easy cities if they present themselves.
Working on Warsaw. The Russians will surely move an army in and then that vulnerable corps will allow for a pocket. The plan here is to attach two Austrian armies to the 3 German forces with two corps as Army Group Center. Their objective will be to secure Warsaw and then advance through Ukraine and Belarus before wheeling towards Moscow.
The remaining 3 Austrian armies and 2 corps will be Army Group South. Their main objective is the Crimea and Tsaritsyn.
This three pronged attack will hit 3 of Russia's major victory points and destroy their will to fight.
Serbian Front
6th Army and the Temeschburg Reserve destroy some Serbian Reserves and open up a hole in their lines.
2nd nearly wipes out a very depleted Serbian force. The other three armies rest after winter mountain fighting took it out of them. In the meantime the artillery is moved and upgraded. If Skopje falls Serbia is locked out of making new units.
Ottoman Front
Our new state of the art Ottoman machine guns will come in handy executing the intelligence officers who predicted an easy victory here in the Caucasus. Though being partially out of supply is preventing Russia from recovering morale, they have plenty of bullets and we lose two divisions for their one. Hopefully our next crop of scouts will be a little more honest.
Speaking of new technology, we use this turn to trap another army, split off a reserve corps, and then repair and upgrade our men. With +4 defense and fresh infantry the pockets should hold and we should have a free ride into Egypt if we can shatter that British Expedition that will undoubtedly hide in the fortress at Ismailia.
Western Front
Both fortresses are at a breaking point in morale. Another round of attacks should convince these men that no concrete can save them.
Brest is unguarded and will fall next turn. Nantes has a tired army but our forces need a bit more spring refreshment before we can go on the offensive.
To the east, we shell Orleans and have 4th and 8th Armies attack the Haig's forces and wipe out two corps from it. After another two weeks of thaw we should be ready to destroy them and surround Orleans.
The French airbase at Lyon fights to the death but can't last two weeks against crack German forces. With this city, the route to Marseille is just about open. That said, this group is our weakest with only one full army and some very reduced Line Corps.
Allied Response
The Russian capital fleet engages our convoy in port and manages to destroy it! Shore batteries inflict some losses and this might be a chance to launch a counter-attack now that they are out in the open.
The battered cavalry are given a spring shower of lead and forced to retreat. This will pull them off the line and prevent any daring encirclements.
The upside is that Haig's forces flee shortly after this attack.
A French corps moves in near the depleted cavalry but are too weak to launch an attack themselves.
The French full army here, the last one that we can see in fact, attacks a Line Corps. This whole front should be winding down although I'm sure Haig will hide in Marseille and dig in while they can.
The Serbians launch one ineffectual attack and barely kill off a single regiment. With some more morale this should be done in another couple of weeks.
Russia places more men into Warsaw and continues to pull back across the line. Once that corps holding the supply lines is killed, Warsaw will be easy pickings.
Turn 20: March 18, 1915
Eastern Front
This fucker cost us 30 production. Just for reference, a full capital fleet costs 80.
Russia not only lost 80 productions worth being assholes, but they just lost 10 morale. I can't stress how big this can be for a Russian player. Russia has 5 victory points with two being right near the Urals. This is the difference between taking the 3 points I've outlined in my plan and having to push to the Urals or east past the Caucasus. A lot depends on manpower and how many minor cities they lose but this is fucking huge.
Hope it was worth it, Nicholas.
It won't be easy rooting out dug in reserves, but it looks like they don't have the numbers to oppose AGN. 5th Eastern doesn't attack the fortress at Kovno and won't until the supporting Russians are chased off or destroyed. Unless we have overwhelming force, attrition is the only way to dig men out of concrete and steel.
The Serbian Volunteer Army from AGS helps AGC and Warsaw is surrounded and the nearby armored car is pounded. Once the men feel the pinch from lack of supply our rested and repaired AGC will storm it from all sides.
The rest of AGS moves up and finds Russians prepared behind rivers. It seems the Austrians will need help from Army Group Center to break their segment of the line.
Serbian Front
Can't stop the Central Powers Train. The upgraded artillery provides the boost we need and our armies, now with actual warm weather efficiency, easily take it from the corps there. We also shove around a bunch of Serbians who have their integrity levels close to 0. Not only are production capabilities done for Serbia, but with the loss of both VPs, Serbian units will fall to half supply with cities and 0 without. This will sap their last two armies and hand the Balkans to Austria on a silver platter.
Ottoman Front
Guess Russia won't let us having anything for free.
The cut off British army, being at 0 supply is completely destroyed while another army is cut off. Unless they break through to Aqaba, they will be at 0 supply and follow in the footsteps of the rest of the expedition. Aqaba is holding on off the backs of our peasants but we will soon relieve our people of their unwanted guests.
Western Front
See the difference Spring makes? Orleans falls and the French Army at Lyon is down a division against our army there.
Nantes is still safe from us while we recover from the winter offensive.
A British army and French corps are whittled down.
Brest falls, those men will be diverted to support the attack on Nantes.
We still have the luxury of using backups to wear down forts due to lack of supply. Anything that adds production and secures our rear.
Allied Response
Russia strikes back and destroys our corps. This is all they can manage and our pocket around Warsaw holds. AGC is weakened but still in the best position to continue pushing forward.
AGS loses two regiments in return for a division.
What lies in the fog of war. Britain launches an artillery strike and an army with two corps supporting pushes back one of our groups with heavy losses. This opens up supplies to them and will force us to pull back and refit. Britain is spending big bucks to try and hold this front.
Near Nantes we are attacked and the city is reinforced via rail. The men from Brest need to get there quickly but they are still very low on morale.
The allies repair and upgrade where they can. They are going to hang on as long as they can to delay any decisive invasion over the channel.
Minor Serbian retreats.
Fucking assholes. A British submarine group attacks our escort fleet? Why the British would reveal themselves in our home waters and attack our ships most suitable for anti-submarine warfare is beyond me. With the destruction of the British submarine group, that will leave two escorts and a capital fleet to face off against two capital fleets, one escort fleet, and our submarines. It will all come down to home water, leadership, and who overextends.
Next time, we continue the spring offensive and start diverting the bulk of Austrian troops to more useful fronts.