I bet on Austria. Narwhal did very, very well until now. But if someone is "totally smashed", that's never Austria and her allies.
Anyway: I'm waiting for the next update!
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I bet on Austria. Narwhal did very, very well until now. But if someone is "totally smashed", that's never Austria and her allies.
Anyway: I'm waiting for the next update!
Hope you're busy for good (positive) reasons! Regardless of the reason, we'll happily wait for more.
Anyway: I'm waiting for the next update!
Agreed, update expected.
December 1759 to Late February 1760 – A long winter
The 1759 / 1760 winter is a specially harsh one, and there is almost no move overall.
There are some riots in Ireland, which are, after potatoes, the second most important production of that island :
I decide to fortify Berlin by December :
And new English troops are available from January onward… but cannot arrive due to Bremen not being mine.
.
The winter recedes in late February, so it is time to make a point on the situation.
Overall, while 1758 was a poor year, and while I was convinced in winter 1758 / 1759 that I would lose, I recovered quite spectacularly after the destruction of the Austrian army in Saxony, which gave me enough NM and enough time to challenge the French.
If you recover the objective I set on 1758, here is what I achieved, or failed to achieved :
Quite good, eh ? The only main objective I failed at was keeping the Swedes at bay, and even then it was of no great consequences. I more or less have the territory I had at the beginning of the game, with the exception of the Rhineland.
In 1760, though, Baris now has a decent NM again (83 vs my 120 – a significant gap, but not crushing), and while his army a suffered several serious beat-down, I believe he still has more or less parity, and maybe more, than me. I estimate his force to be 20K in Sweden, 60K in France where he regrouped during Winter, and 50K in Austria, for 130 K total soldiers (not including Russians). Here is a pic of the forces I can see in Minden. That’s 5 columns.
To those 130K soldiers, I can oppose these forces :
If you don’t count the forces in Königsberg, that’s 140 K soldiers for me. Better led, and better trained, the odds favor me.
As you can see, there is no one to be committed against Austria. My plan actually sacrifices Saxony in order to be 140K vs 80K and so destroy both the Swedish and the French army. I will march on Wien in 1761, if the plans works as it should.
My scouts have seen that Baris has been accumulating his forces in Minden during all the winter, actually moving troops between the Frankfurt front and the French front. I don’t want to attack this force of 60 K troops (provided I made no mistakes scouting them – he might have as much as 80 K) head-on with Keith’s army : Austria will be slightly more numerous (10 K more minimum), protected by the river and by his leaders defensive abilities.
Moreover, I cannot reinforce Keith with the troops in Berlin, lest the Swedes fall on my capital. That’s why I want to get rid of the Swedes. If possible in one or two decisive battles, for as long as I won’t bring the troops near Berlin to Keith I cannot attack, and cannot hope to recover Bremen.
That’s the first part of my plan :
I will leave only one column in Berlin, in order to entice Baris to attack me with a 2 : 1 ratio. Bevern will retreat at once. Once the Swedes are sieging Berlin (which I reinforced), I will close the trap behind them, with Brunk, Bevern, Ferdinand and if needed the whole army of Keith cutting both the supply route and the retreat. I will then just let the Swedes starve. If they take Berlin, I’ll siege it back with Keith column, even though it means sacrificing Hannover to Von Daun. Sorry Hannover, that’s the price to pay for being a junior partner in a war.
But that’s not all.
I don’t want to only destroy the Swedes. I also want to destroy the French until the end of the game, and even the army of Keith may not be enough. That’s where Frederick himself plays a role. The most dangerous role.
The following picture is from Early march as I retook it after a mistake with paint, but it is just as good :
I will attack the Rhineland cities with the columns of Frederick and Von Schwerin, after going through the forests of Hessen. Once I will have arrived, Baris will be faced with a dilemma :
- try to break Frederick sieges, but this means letting me cross and take Minden and then Bremen – and Frederick can easily go back to Hessen,
- Stay in Minden, and letting me cut all his supplies from France, so that if he ever lose Minden (to Keith), his French will have nowhere to go
- Split his forces, and let Keith’s army defeat and crush both his forces separately. That would be my favorite.
The nice part about this plan is that it works even if I fail to destroy the Swedish army. Both plans are very independent.
Now, there are 3 main issues with this plan :
- As you can see from the Excel, the forces are not yet in place, as you can see. Frederick is still in Saxony even though he should be in Kassel. More worryingly , Ferdinand is still in the small city of Bautzen, between Saxony and Silesia.
- If the Swedes are tougher than expected, I will have to make a choice between committing Keith to destroy the Swedes (that may be occupying Berlin !), or having Keith threaten / destroy the French
- Saxony is wide, wide open. Baris can do a lightning attack through it.
Oh, and finally, a picture of Königsberg. Same situation as ever.
The 1759 / 1760 winter is a specially harsh one, and there is almost no move overall.
There are some riots in Ireland, which are, after potatoes, the second most important production of that island :
I decide to fortify Berlin by December :
And new English troops are available from January onward… but cannot arrive due to Bremen not being mine.
The winter recedes in late February, so it is time to make a point on the situation.
Overall, while 1758 was a poor year, and while I was convinced in winter 1758 / 1759 that I would lose, I recovered quite spectacularly after the destruction of the Austrian army in Saxony, which gave me enough NM and enough time to challenge the French.
If you recover the objective I set on 1758, here is what I achieved, or failed to achieved :
Quite good, eh ? The only main objective I failed at was keeping the Swedes at bay, and even then it was of no great consequences. I more or less have the territory I had at the beginning of the game, with the exception of the Rhineland.
In 1760, though, Baris now has a decent NM again (83 vs my 120 – a significant gap, but not crushing), and while his army a suffered several serious beat-down, I believe he still has more or less parity, and maybe more, than me. I estimate his force to be 20K in Sweden, 60K in France where he regrouped during Winter, and 50K in Austria, for 130 K total soldiers (not including Russians). Here is a pic of the forces I can see in Minden. That’s 5 columns.
To those 130K soldiers, I can oppose these forces :
If you don’t count the forces in Königsberg, that’s 140 K soldiers for me. Better led, and better trained, the odds favor me.
As you can see, there is no one to be committed against Austria. My plan actually sacrifices Saxony in order to be 140K vs 80K and so destroy both the Swedish and the French army. I will march on Wien in 1761, if the plans works as it should.
My scouts have seen that Baris has been accumulating his forces in Minden during all the winter, actually moving troops between the Frankfurt front and the French front. I don’t want to attack this force of 60 K troops (provided I made no mistakes scouting them – he might have as much as 80 K) head-on with Keith’s army : Austria will be slightly more numerous (10 K more minimum), protected by the river and by his leaders defensive abilities.
Moreover, I cannot reinforce Keith with the troops in Berlin, lest the Swedes fall on my capital. That’s why I want to get rid of the Swedes. If possible in one or two decisive battles, for as long as I won’t bring the troops near Berlin to Keith I cannot attack, and cannot hope to recover Bremen.
That’s the first part of my plan :
I will leave only one column in Berlin, in order to entice Baris to attack me with a 2 : 1 ratio. Bevern will retreat at once. Once the Swedes are sieging Berlin (which I reinforced), I will close the trap behind them, with Brunk, Bevern, Ferdinand and if needed the whole army of Keith cutting both the supply route and the retreat. I will then just let the Swedes starve. If they take Berlin, I’ll siege it back with Keith column, even though it means sacrificing Hannover to Von Daun. Sorry Hannover, that’s the price to pay for being a junior partner in a war.
But that’s not all.
I don’t want to only destroy the Swedes. I also want to destroy the French until the end of the game, and even the army of Keith may not be enough. That’s where Frederick himself plays a role. The most dangerous role.
The following picture is from Early march as I retook it after a mistake with paint, but it is just as good :
I will attack the Rhineland cities with the columns of Frederick and Von Schwerin, after going through the forests of Hessen. Once I will have arrived, Baris will be faced with a dilemma :
- try to break Frederick sieges, but this means letting me cross and take Minden and then Bremen – and Frederick can easily go back to Hessen,
- Stay in Minden, and letting me cut all his supplies from France, so that if he ever lose Minden (to Keith), his French will have nowhere to go
- Split his forces, and let Keith’s army defeat and crush both his forces separately. That would be my favorite.
The nice part about this plan is that it works even if I fail to destroy the Swedish army. Both plans are very independent.
Now, there are 3 main issues with this plan :
- As you can see from the Excel, the forces are not yet in place, as you can see. Frederick is still in Saxony even though he should be in Kassel. More worryingly , Ferdinand is still in the small city of Bautzen, between Saxony and Silesia.
- If the Swedes are tougher than expected, I will have to make a choice between committing Keith to destroy the Swedes (that may be occupying Berlin !), or having Keith threaten / destroy the French
- Saxony is wide, wide open. Baris can do a lightning attack through it.
Oh, and finally, a picture of Königsberg. Same situation as ever.
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Somehow I get the feeling that Baris will do something totally unexpected to your plan with Fredrick...
great update ... this still remains hard to call, if Baris is passive I suspect you'll get away with your plan, but I presume he's concentrated at Minden for a reason?
Oh, I will let him attack all he wants if he goes for Hannover, provided I can kill the Swedes. I ll skirmish a little on the other side of the river, since the bonus is decisive.
Oh boy, what a nice, large-scaled masterplan. Show the "bitches on the thrones of Europa" (that's the original Frederick, not me) who is the master.
Detailed and impressive plans but Baris has thrown a few spanners in the work thus far, I think there is a good chance of him doing so once again. Nonetheless the next few turns are promising to be very interesting.
Was a bit occupied lately, but I should carry on a slow-but-regular rythm from now on
March 1760 – Armies getting ready for battle
Not much happens in March 1760, as the armies are out of their winter slumber.
In Early March, the Swedes are, just like on my plan, getting closer. I don’t expect them to attack immediately due to the snow around Berlin, but to get closer next turn :
Meanwhile, I am moving my armies to their position : Ferdinand north to Berlin, Frederick West to Kassel :
Finally, in Hannover, I am moving my troops preemptively, in order to stop the Austrians from crossing the river, if they tried.
Late march does not see much more action, but the Swedes did exactly what I expected :
I expect them to attack Berlin NOW ! If he did not want, he would not have gotten so close, and I believe the only column Baris can see is Bevern’s. That’s why it is time to spring my trap, hoping the Swedes are not waiting for the French or “hanging” there to force me to keep some troops at home.
As you can see, Von Brunck will occupy Templin while Bevern will occupy Neuruppin. I don’t want to occupy the retreat through Zechelin right now, lest I meet the Swedes, engage them and push them back to the North.
Meanwhile, I am bringing reinforcement to make sure the annihilation is complete :
Ferdinand is still on the move - he should reach the suburbs at the end of the turn :
Keith and his armies are coming as well, just to be sure.
I am also bringing Keith because I want him to destroy the Swedes the good old 5 against 1 way if they don’t fall in my trap.
Finally, Frederick is getting closer to Kassel… The region is frozen anyway…
That's a decisive turn. If I destroy the Swedes, I will be able to launch the second part of my Grand Plan with confidence to destroy the French forever.
March 1760 – Armies getting ready for battle
Not much happens in March 1760, as the armies are out of their winter slumber.
In Early March, the Swedes are, just like on my plan, getting closer. I don’t expect them to attack immediately due to the snow around Berlin, but to get closer next turn :
Meanwhile, I am moving my armies to their position : Ferdinand north to Berlin, Frederick West to Kassel :
Finally, in Hannover, I am moving my troops preemptively, in order to stop the Austrians from crossing the river, if they tried.
Late march does not see much more action, but the Swedes did exactly what I expected :
I expect them to attack Berlin NOW ! If he did not want, he would not have gotten so close, and I believe the only column Baris can see is Bevern’s. That’s why it is time to spring my trap, hoping the Swedes are not waiting for the French or “hanging” there to force me to keep some troops at home.
As you can see, Von Brunck will occupy Templin while Bevern will occupy Neuruppin. I don’t want to occupy the retreat through Zechelin right now, lest I meet the Swedes, engage them and push them back to the North.
Meanwhile, I am bringing reinforcement to make sure the annihilation is complete :
Ferdinand is still on the move - he should reach the suburbs at the end of the turn :
Keith and his armies are coming as well, just to be sure.
I am also bringing Keith because I want him to destroy the Swedes the good old 5 against 1 way if they don’t fall in my trap.
Finally, Frederick is getting closer to Kassel… The region is frozen anyway…
That's a decisive turn. If I destroy the Swedes, I will be able to launch the second part of my Grand Plan with confidence to destroy the French forever.
this just gets better ... you really are trying to gain the most out of your manpower and mobility advantages and no Swedes seems to be the key to sweeping the French back to the Rhine
Part LXXIV - Early April 1760 – Entrapped !
Oh boy !
The plan worked exactly like on the paper. The Swedes are trapped ! Baris sent me a message “Opps, Trap is set I should have scouted better.”
Now, I just have to close the trap :
As you can see, the moves are quite complex.
I was very worried the Swedes would be activated and would be able to rush back to their camp. There would be too way – through the East, but von Brunck would cut the way, and through the West, where Keith and his troops might arrive to late to intercept. For this reason, I took two decisions :
- Ferdinand would attack the Swedes in Berlin with a PROBE attack – he would lose (due to the crossing) but would force the Swedes to battle, making them lose time and cohesion. This way, Keith and his troops might block the way out before the Swedes arrive.
- Bevern, whom was NOT activated and thus not necessarily good enough to stop a Swedish retreat, would siege the Swedish fortified depot. So even if the Swedes escaped, they would have no depot to supply them, and no quick road to their bases, so I was confident Keith would catch them and beat them.
If both Keith and von Brunck can reach their positions while the Swedes are still in Berlin, the Swedes are doomed.
As for the other fronts…
I expect the French to attack Hannover while I am not here. They would not dare last turn, as Keith moves surprised them :
Finally, I am starting to cross the forest toward Paderborn.
Oh boy !
The plan worked exactly like on the paper. The Swedes are trapped ! Baris sent me a message “Opps, Trap is set
I should have scouted better.”Now, I just have to close the trap :
As you can see, the moves are quite complex.
I was very worried the Swedes would be activated and would be able to rush back to their camp. There would be too way – through the East, but von Brunck would cut the way, and through the West, where Keith and his troops might arrive to late to intercept. For this reason, I took two decisions :
- Ferdinand would attack the Swedes in Berlin with a PROBE attack – he would lose (due to the crossing) but would force the Swedes to battle, making them lose time and cohesion. This way, Keith and his troops might block the way out before the Swedes arrive.
- Bevern, whom was NOT activated and thus not necessarily good enough to stop a Swedish retreat, would siege the Swedish fortified depot. So even if the Swedes escaped, they would have no depot to supply them, and no quick road to their bases, so I was confident Keith would catch them and beat them.
If both Keith and von Brunck can reach their positions while the Swedes are still in Berlin, the Swedes are doomed.
As for the other fronts…
I expect the French to attack Hannover while I am not here. They would not dare last turn, as Keith moves surprised them :
Finally, I am starting to cross the forest toward Paderborn.
I'm really impressed at your planning ... I'm still having immense problems at actually co-ordinating anything other than a head long charge
But then you play with the Austrians with the "no move if no activation" rule - so of course planning is tough
Very good execution of your trap, poor Baris seems to be ever suffering. With the Swedes out of the way that should leave you scope to make him suffer even more!
Great update and great AAR. Recently bought the game and an AAR like this is perfect to get started. Having played BoA, BoA2 and AACW im not new to AGEOD games. However, what makes these games so fantastic is that each game has its own strategies to achieve victory. In BoA, you have to learn how to handle the wilderness and the troublesome logisitic situation. In AACW, whether playing as the Union or the CSA and due to the huge bonuses that the defending side recieves, the best way to defeat the enemy is to occupy key positions and force the enemy to attack you. If I would apply my winning strategies from the other games I would be utterly destroyed in RoP.
So thank you Narwhal for this excellent AAR. Im already looking forward to the next update. Now to see whether your Königsberg strategy will work against Athena!!
So thank you Narwhal for this excellent AAR. Im already looking forward to the next update. Now to see whether your Königsberg strategy will work against Athena!!
Thank you Teodor.
I made that AAR because I thought the game was not as popular as it deserved, and hoped to attrack the attention of new players to it. I don't know if I succeeded, but then I noticed that the AAR was also a good complement to a very insufficient manual, so I am quite happy some people "learnt" a few tricks, or more, reading the AAR. That's why, like all AARer, I LOVE comments
morningSIDEr : Yes. Baris has a chance as right now I have circa 50 or 60K soldiers committed to destroy the 20K Swedes... Once they finish, he will get steamrolled, though.
Part LXXV - Late April 1760 – Destroying the Swedes.
Much to my surprise, the Swedes were DEFEATED by my probing attack :
This might be due to 3 factors :
- First, I had ordered my troops IN Berlin to sortie as Braunschweig was attacking, thus taking the Swedes from two directions
- Second, the Swedish command was horrible
- Lastly, most Swedes have the Northerner trait, giving them mali when they are not in the far North – for instance in Berlin.
In any case, the Swedes retreated away from Berlin, so now not only are they still trapped, but Berlin is safe :
As you can see, my moves to make sure to trap the Swedes is complex yet again.
I am afraid the Swedes might try to flee by following the Oder, so Von Brunck is sent to intercept by blocking the region North of the Swedes. But Von Brunck is NOT activated, and thus slow, for this reason, as a guarantee, I send Ferdinand to Templin, North of Von Brunck destination, to make sure no escape is possible.
This opens both Bernau, where Von Brunck currently is, and Berlin. I don’t think the Swedes will try this way, but I want to be sure : Bevern will block the way out from Bernau (so I postpone the siege of the depot) while Cumberland will shadow Berlin.
Swedish troops weakness makes me believe Keith and Von Zastrow are not needed. I send them to liberate Bremen and the other Northern city. Why not wait to crush the Austrians, as the plan was ? Well, the reason is that the Austrians did not wait for me :
Baris moved his French to the South, probably heading for Kassel. This is a small surprise, but it is not too bad. I have to cancel my attack from Kassel, because even though Frederick’s column is probably worth two given its size and the skill of Freddie, the ratio is still around 2:1. I order Frederick and von Schwerin to retreat to Kassel : in defensive position in the forest I should stop them. Keith and Von Zastrow will liberate the Rhineland while Baris tries to attack Kassel – still good for me.
Here is a Grand View of the situation. No sign of the Austrians (or Russians) yet. This is gonna change.
I made that AAR because I thought the game was not as popular as it deserved, and hoped to attrack the attention of new players to it. I don't know if I succeeded, but then I noticed that the AAR was also a good complement to a very insufficient manual, so I am quite happy some people "learnt" a few tricks, or more, reading the AAR. That's why, like all AARer, I LOVE comments
morningSIDEr : Yes. Baris has a chance as right now I have circa 50 or 60K soldiers committed to destroy the 20K Swedes... Once they finish, he will get steamrolled, though.
Part LXXV - Late April 1760 – Destroying the Swedes.
Much to my surprise, the Swedes were DEFEATED by my probing attack :
This might be due to 3 factors :
- First, I had ordered my troops IN Berlin to sortie as Braunschweig was attacking, thus taking the Swedes from two directions
- Second, the Swedish command was horrible
- Lastly, most Swedes have the Northerner trait, giving them mali when they are not in the far North – for instance in Berlin.
In any case, the Swedes retreated away from Berlin, so now not only are they still trapped, but Berlin is safe :
As you can see, my moves to make sure to trap the Swedes is complex yet again.
I am afraid the Swedes might try to flee by following the Oder, so Von Brunck is sent to intercept by blocking the region North of the Swedes. But Von Brunck is NOT activated, and thus slow, for this reason, as a guarantee, I send Ferdinand to Templin, North of Von Brunck destination, to make sure no escape is possible.
This opens both Bernau, where Von Brunck currently is, and Berlin. I don’t think the Swedes will try this way, but I want to be sure : Bevern will block the way out from Bernau (so I postpone the siege of the depot) while Cumberland will shadow Berlin.
Swedish troops weakness makes me believe Keith and Von Zastrow are not needed. I send them to liberate Bremen and the other Northern city. Why not wait to crush the Austrians, as the plan was ? Well, the reason is that the Austrians did not wait for me :
Baris moved his French to the South, probably heading for Kassel. This is a small surprise, but it is not too bad. I have to cancel my attack from Kassel, because even though Frederick’s column is probably worth two given its size and the skill of Freddie, the ratio is still around 2:1. I order Frederick and von Schwerin to retreat to Kassel : in defensive position in the forest I should stop them. Keith and Von Zastrow will liberate the Rhineland while Baris tries to attack Kassel – still good for me.
Here is a Grand View of the situation. No sign of the Austrians (or Russians) yet. This is gonna change.
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Ah, you are writing again! Some very nice (and quite complicated) moves you're putting up.
You continue to be very bold, shifting troops around and always looking to inflict major defeats. The difference with loki100's style (I know, forced on him due to the quality of the Austrians and his masochistic choice of the 'No move if not activated' rule) is striking.
Good luck eliminating the Swedes. Taking loki's AAR as an example, having the free hand their elimination gives you, definitely gives you a great advantage.
You continue to be very bold, shifting troops around and always looking to inflict major defeats. The difference with loki100's style (I know, forced on him due to the quality of the Austrians and his masochistic choice of the 'No move if not activated' rule) is striking.
Good luck eliminating the Swedes. Taking loki's AAR as an example, having the free hand their elimination gives you, definitely gives you a great advantage.
Great updates. I hope you succeed to eliminate the swedes. It's a pity that now, that this seems doable, the Russians seem to approach and will force you still to keep an eye to the north.