The door has been battered, now it's time to kick it in, to the Rhine and then force Germany to sign a humiliating defeat
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And a kicking the door will get, update coming soon- i wanna finish this project and move onto my next asap 
Chapter XI: The catastrophic winter of 1918-19
A pair of unknown Germans lie frozen dead somewhere near Riga.
September 1918
Throughout the remaining days of August and into September the German army periodically continued local offensive attempts to dislodge the French and allied forces from the area around Verdun, but they were always repulsed. As the autumn set in and the weather turned cold, the Germans were forced to give up their attempts and settle down for another long winter in the trenches. The French Army stood battered but alive, glad to finally have given the Germans several serious maulings in the last few major battles of the war, and once more preparing for 'one final push!' much called for by civilians and politicians alike.
Once more Alsace-Lorraine was to be a major target in the offensive, as it was a region held highly and firmly in the sights of France as a symbolic reference both to the need to reverse the humiliations of the war of 1871 and of France's need to be 'whole again'. First however, the French staff under FM Gallieni thought it would be both easier and more strategically sound to attack further north, to recapture the Argonne region and push out from there. Considering the disasters that had met them in Alsace earlier in the war, many people thought it was a sound move to outflank the Germans in the region whilst at the same time threatening the industrial heartland of Germany itself. The attack was set for early October, despite the cold, because of the relative exhausted state of the German army and the time, and the inevitable surprise that could be afforded of a winter assault.
This attack would co-inside with one by Joffre in the east, aimed straight and directly at threatening Berlin and affecting another, massive, encirclement of German troops in Poland. The plan was risky, but if it succeeded the bulk of German veteran troops would be trapped far away from both Berlin and the Rhineland, and those troops left to the defence of Germany would be forced to split between these two vital regions. Though the war would still be far from over with German forces trapped inside Poland, it was expected to foreshorten the war by at least a year.
Entente troops catch some rest before the attacks begin, 1st October 1918
October 1918
On the 2nd of October the two-pronged assault began on Germany, from east and west. From the start the Operation was a resounding success for the French Army- an exhausted Germany put up a fierce but disorganised resistance but it was not enough. Major breakthroughs were attained in the early days of the attacks as large sections of German forces surrendered to the onslaught or pulled back in an outright route. The offensives lead to a major collapse on both Eastern and Western Front, with the notable exception of those German forces trapped in Poland. By the 15th of October all occupied parts of Belgium had been liberated by French forces, which then pressed immediately on into Luxembourg and the Rhineland. These attacks met even further success and the Western Front entered a period of flux and instability unknown so far in what had been a static war for over four years. The Western Front only stabilised on new positions during the closing days of January 1919.
As a result of this astounding success, a new twin-pronged assault was ordered upon Alsace-Lorraine in a second major attempt to reclaim the provinces. These attacks were however hastily planned and insufficiently prepared for and ended a diabolical failure. Unlike previous attacks, the assault force was made up of a mongrel mix of British, Japanese, American, Belgian, Italian and French troops (including the 2nd rate French People's Reservists) under nominal command of the French staff. The other allied commanders had other ideas though, of glory for their nation and themselves.
Many of the Entente felt that so far France had dominated the show, effectively running the war at the helm, and certainly the list of evidence to support this war strong. In Russia it seemed that only French intervention had reversed previous and inevitable future defeats, whilst on the Western Front expeditionary forces were only a small part in the great defence-works of France. Under French direction and with French aid seemingly 'lesser' allies had afforded much greater glory in the war than the 'industrial powerhouses' (Britain, Japan and America), and the fact that these successes were won under ultimate French direction and with French aid only served to further agitate and upset the Industrial trio of the Entente, who felt somewhat sidelined by this turn of events. To them the 2nd attempt to capture Alsace-Lorraine was their chance to shine, and show that they too were crucial in this war.
To fully understand this mindset we must consider that by far the weakest power of the Entente at the outbreak of war, Serbia and Montenegro had successfully and stalwartly fought the war from the beginning in spite of despite early estimates that capitulation against overwhelming Austrian forces would be forced upon before 1915 had a chance to dawn. To foreign eyes far less affected by the war the tiny country seemed literally bathing in the glory of war, and many felt that it put their own nations lack of blazing glory to shame. Many too feared that they would be sidelined in the peace talks with Germany because their impact on the war had so far been 'negligible'. Whilst this was far from the case, the Expeditionary Forces were fighting with distinction in France, Belgium and Austria, the popular mindset in these countries was that new national heroes were needed, especially
considering that in former Austria-Hungary the Italians had been allowed to demonstrate their own martial capabilities and play a major part in the downfall of Austria and that Romania too had it's fair share and glory and war heroes (particularly with regards to Bulgaria). Finally, with Franco-Italian intervention being the direct cause of the Ottoman collapse it seemed to Britain, America and Japan that they had been 'cheated' of any major role in the war, and that they were somehow slighted by a 'lack of glory' and prestige.
It was in this light that the assault turned out to be by far the worst performed by the Entente in the entire war, once again serving only to add to the ever-growing butcher's bill. Ill-planned, ill-advised and hasty attacks were conducted across the lines by commanders inexperienced in the modern offensive. Japanese and American losses were especially severe, simply thrown as they were into a meat grinder reminiscent of the attacks in 1914 and in complete disregard to the previous four-year's worth of experience. Lacking effective co-ordination and support, the French attacks too were a disaster. On numerous occasions allied artillery barrages arrived too early or too late, leading to massive casualties as the Germans had a field day picking off the unsupported advancing troops. The attack was by far the most costly of the entire war, eclipsing the disasters that preceded it colossally. An estimated 158,000 men died in these attacks.
American soldiers bury their dead after another costly and pointless attack in the name of 'glory'
The final battles of the disastrous winter were fought in January and February of 1919, which witnessed yet more devastating casualties for the Entente and Germany alike. In their last desperate offensive of the war, the Germans launched a successful counter-attack at Kiel. Thousands died to defend Kiel against the onslaught, but eventually German troops recaptured the port. However, they were unable to succeed in their plans to conquer all Denmark thanks mainly to the stalwart efforts of Field Marshal Pétain, in a brave action that earned him his own heroism in France.
The other battles involved the forming of two linked phenomena of the late war period- the 'pockets' that developed in Poland, Nuremberg and Alsace-Lorraine. Large concentrations of German troops were trapped in both southern Germany and Poland, fighting with the tenacity and determination necessary to hold on, whilst lacking the offensive capabilities to breakout into the German heartland and as such these concentrations were eventually completely enveloped and cut off. However, the forces in these pockets were seasoned veterans lead by die-hard nationalists, and had concentration of force and firepower enough to continue the fight until supplies simply ran dry- and stockpiles were large. Large numbers of French soldiers lost their lives in attempts to smash these pockets prematurely in the winter of 1918-19.
Overall, Entente casualties from October 1918 to February 1919 amounted to just less than half a million, a breakdown of notable battles in the winter of 1918-19 follows;
Second Alsace-Lorraine Offensive- 158,000
Retaking Belgium- 31,000
Defending Kiel- 38,000
Encircling Poland- 21,000
Breaking out into Mannerheim- 7,000
Attempts to 'break' the Polish Pocket- 76,000
Destruction of 'Nuremberg' and 'Alsace-Lorraine' Pockets- 80,000
Coupled with the devastating effects of the influenza epidemic, the winter of 1918-19 was without a doubt the most severe and catastrophic period of depopulation the world has ever seen. By the end of the war overall French casualties amounted to approximately 5.5 million (1.3 dead), just under half of which were sustained in the major engagements described above and the earlier major offensives in 1914.
French dead after the 2nd offensive in Alsace-Lorraine, scenes like this were commonplace throughout the war
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That are large losses, but I think they hurt the Germans more than they hurt the Entente. I guess you are going to win the war by the summer. Nice work
Chapter XII: The Phyrric Victory
February-May 1919
With the winter thaws approaching and the most costly winter of all time coming to a close the Entente took stock of the situation. Germany, clearly, was on her last legs. The majority of her veteran forces were trapped and unable to break free in two huge pockets in the east and west, leaving relatively poor troops defending the hinterlands of the country. Clearly, one final push was needed, and with growing unrest on the home front in the face of the huge casualties sustained it needed to be done very quickly but with as few losses as possible. The target of this attack was glaringly obvious for both its' symbolic and strategic importance- Berlin. To take Berlin would be greatly raise the spirits of the battered and bloody Entente and further demoralise the German people, hammering home the point that the war was all but won. The offensive was set in motion in early February, with French forces attacking from concentrations in the south, east and northeast. With three groups converging on Berlin the fighting was bloody, but the poor quality of the German troops betrayed them. A desperate last stand was staged in streets during the final week of the battle but supplies were simply too short, and Berlin fell on the 27th. On the 1st of March and faced with a hopeless situation the German government finally signed armistice with the Entente- France stood victorious!
The final surrender, 29th May 1919.
With the final remnants of the German army defeated peace talks could begin culminating in the infamous Treaty of Versailles, which Germany signed on the 9th of January 1920. Also in early 1920 the League of Nations was formed in an effort to mediate between the Great Powers and prevent the catastrophe of the Great War from ever happening again. However, although victory had been achieved, peace was still far from the world.
The Post-War Era
Shortly after this final victory Russia collapsed into her long awaited brutal civil war, in which Lenin lead the Bolshevik party into ultimate victory over the White armies and formed the USSR. In the midst of this turmoil Poland seized formerly Russian Polish provinces, Romania occupied Bessarabia and Turkey reclaimed Russian Anatolia. Finland declared independence and defeated a Red presence there based in Helsinki and Georgia was also able to split with the old Empire, although it was later occupied and annexed into the USSR under the direction of Josef Stalin.
Further east in China there still raged on a continuous war between petty Warlords, and Japan looked on with increasingly hungry eyes. The USA too looked to further expand her influence into the Far Eastern marketplace, the British had lost much of their export market in the region and now the lucrative contracts seemed open to all- tensions between the Great Powers in this region were, and still are, expected to flare in this region.
The USA herself had managed to secure foreign markets due to British concentration on the war-effort, and looked set to enter a golden age of economic growth, which was certainly borne out in the post-war boom, but the road afterwards is both uncertain and shaky, especially after the stock market crashes.
In Britain an era had truly come to a close, although the Empire was larger than ever before the more important comfortable economic assurances of the Victorian age are well and truly gone forever, and a period of decline looms ahead.
In Germany too an era had ended, and a new one ushered in, Democracy was installed into Germany but it was weak and fragmentary. There was great unrest and dissatisfaction with the 'Versailles Diktat' and a general feeling that the Army had been stabbed in the back by civilian politicians, the soldiers of 'the Pockets' were heroised and held up as an example of the Germanic peoples, at the moment wrongfully crushed and utterly humiliated. Few expected the democratic government to last.
In the newly formed region of eastern Europe there lay a glimmer of hope for a better future, and despite violent uprisings by Communists and Anarchists in the new born Republics a period of stability looked set to emerge from the chaos of the war. Serbia's pre-war dream of a pan-Slavic union, Yugoslavia, had been achieved against all odds, to the annoyance of Italy, and things seemed hopeful.
Italy however, was a country deeply dissatisfied by the outcome of the war, after playing a major part in the downfall of Austria her only gains were in the annexation of ethnically Italian regions of Tyrol and the port of Podgorica on the Dalmatian coast. This dissatisfaction was felt deeply by the population, who had lost many sons in the war for seemingly little gain, and trouble was brewing.
In Turkey and the Middle East trouble was also brewing, the peoples of the newly acquired colonies of the French and British were by no means happy to have exchanged one group of oppressors for another and in Anatolia pressure grew for the region to be united under Turkish rule and for the colonial influences to be driven out.
In France the mood was uncertain in the face of victory at such a cost. Unrest was growing in a population deeply and increasingly disillusioned with the 'liberal' ideals of the 19th century, the earlier Whiggish claims of 'progression' were seemingly destroyed and hollow, and Nietzsche’s more morbid and nihilistic views suddenly seemed a lot more appropriate. Alsace-Lorraine was finally restored to France and the vaunted Revanche had finally been achieved, but had it been worth the cost?
Only time will tell the answer to that question, for now the fate of Europe still seems in the balance...
To be continued....
What a great AAR, and pretty fast as well. That is the aspect I like the most, it is easy to read and good solid updates.
and to see it will be continued.... marvellous
and to see it will be continued.... marvellous
It might requite me learning how to mod... :wacko: I can do simple stuff I think...
I've been lurking around for a while now, but decided to chime in and congratulate you on your victory over Germany!
Great end to the AAR. Really good work and you end up victorious in the end that is very cool. Congratulations with a successful campaign
I've also been lurking, and I want to congrat you for this excellent AAR. Taken to conclusion without unecessary delays, written in a very nice and easily readable style, and punctuated by beautifull images. Superb, even more for a first time AAR! Are you planning on starting a new one anytime soon mr?
Thankyou all for your kind words
Lurking in the depths of AARland are several other AARs of mine that got aborted so it's not technically a first-time effort, this effort was just reduced in scope to a manageable level In the future I have several plans, firstly to continue this AAR into the future, however looking at the scope of the mod I'd have to create with a point of divergence being 1920 having looked into things this plan seems a little over ambitious, and the 'to be continued' might simply lead into another series of updates in similar style detailing an alt-history. Otherwise I have two plans for an AAR, a slightly more involved one (a little similar to this) or the re-ignition of 'This Was Their Finest Hour'. At the moment I'm leaning towards starting a new AAR project, probably based on the 'All the Russias' mod by Sarmatia
Nuclear Winter said:
Lurking in the depths of AARland are several other AARs of mine that got aborted so it's not technically a first-time effort, this effort was just reduced in scope to a manageable level
In the future I have several plans, firstly to continue this AAR into the future, however looking at the scope of the mod I'd have to create with a point of divergence being 1920 having looked into things this plan seems a little over ambitious, and the 'to be continued' might simply lead into another series of updates in similar style detailing an alt-history. Otherwise I have two plans for an AAR, a slightly more involved one (a little similar to this) or the re-ignition of 'This Was Their Finest Hour'. At the moment I'm leaning towards starting a new AAR project, probably based on the 'All the Russias' mod by Sarmatia
You could of course add some storyline to cover that period. Will be greatly interesting to see how such a thing would work out. And Modding could be very limited or just some in-game modding with cheats or sth.Evans said:In the future I have several plans, firstly to continue this AAR into the future, however looking at the scope of the mod I'd have to create with a point of divergence being 1920 having looked into things this plan seems a little over ambitious, and the 'to be continued' might simply lead into another series of updates in similar style detailing an alt-history. Otherwise I have two plans for an AAR, a slightly more involved one (a little similar to this) or the re-ignition of 'This Was Their Finest Hour'. At the moment I'm leaning towards starting a new AAR project, probably based on the 'All the Russias' mod by Sarmatia
I was thinking that maybe I could try adding events to direct the flow, my initial idea was to continue the game in HoI2.
Turns out my save files aren't post-war and I can't face the winter of 1918-19 again I'll tie this up with an epilogue or two...
Turns out my save files aren't post-war and I can't face the winter of 1918-19 again
I'll tie this up with an epilogue or two...
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Well, it all depends on how radical an impact in the world of 1936 do you think that your slower yet uncontestable french victory would have. If it isn't something too extreme it might be easily solveable by small edittings in the save game file and by loading and cheating methods. Events might also work. But heh, don't give up the idea, I think it's a great one!
Epilogue I: The Post-War Era
The Post War Aftermath
After the Treaty of Versailles had been signed in early January 1920 the French Army carried out it's obligations and withdrew from Germany to Alsace-Lorraine. With the war finally over and the economy beginning to recover one might have thought that the popular mood would be jubilant, as indeed it was across Britain and the USA. France, Russia and Italy however were deeply troubled nations in the immediate aftermath of the war. France and Russia had borne the brunt of the five years war and Italy had gained comparatively little given their sacrifices and successful involvement.
It was in this context that disaster once more struck Europe.
The Italian Civil War
In 1920-21 Italy experienced a phenomenon known as the Biennio Rosso, or 'Two Red Years', as worker's councils were set up across the country, workers forcibly took control of their factories and where this wasn't possible began long strikes. The troubles were especially focused around Turin where clashes with the police were not an uncommon occurrence. In this light the leader of the fascist movement in Italy, Benito Mussolini, played on fears of a communist/socialist revolution in Italy and organised an insurrection of paramilitary groups known as the Blackshirts in an attempt to seize control of the government and on the 28th of October 1922 Mussolini lead the infamous 'March on Rome'. With bands of fascist paramilitaries gathering around the capital the Prime Minister Luigi Facta (resigned but still in office) ordered a that there be declared a state of siege on the city of Rome and that Army units should activate immediately with a view of defending the city. King Victor Emmanuel III held ultimate responsibility for the enactment of these orders and he wavered for half the day, he had no desire to start a bloody civil war in his own country, and potentially lose his throne, but equally to give into the fascists would be to betray the Italian people. In the end he came down on the side of the Republic, stating that if the fascists were to take control an even bloodier communist counter-revolution would be inevitable.
The Italian Army was activated and ordered to move to disperse the Blackshirts and regain control of government buildings in the cities that the Blackshirts had captured. Violence erupted in many cities between the Army and the Blackshirts, with particularly ferocious fighting occurring in Venice and Milan where fascist sympathisers rioted in reaction to the military intervention. In socialist strongholds like Turin sympathisers of the left actively aided the army in their fights, and 'militias' formed with a view to rounding up known fascists in a kind of mob justice retaliation against the coup. Violence flared across the country between groups of left and right, riots started in many cities as skirmishes between rivals became pitched battles in the streets.
Seeing the chaos many communist leaders in Italy declared that the time of revolution was nigh. The response from the workers was overwhelming. Fuelled by hatred and bitter at their situation the communists launched the very counter-coup Victor Emmanuel had tried to prevent, with armed militias organised by the Partito Comunista Italiano (Italian Communist Party, PCI) seizing control of the very government buildings they had helped 'liberate' from the fascists only hours before. By the 30th of October the streets were red with blood and it started to become clearer what the sides in this battle were. On the one hand, the fascist-capitalist-religious coalition lead by Mussolini and on the other a rag-tag grouping of Anarchist, Socialist, Communist and Parliamentarian. Both sides were hugely fragmented and 'factionised', and many regular army units had deserted to side with these various factions giving them all a portion of power within their side. The Italian civil war had begun.
A group of PCI Militia pose for a photo in the communist stronghold of Turin
The October Revolution
In Russia the situation was many, many times as volatile as it had been in Italy and the country had already deposed of it's monarch in the first revolution in 1917. The presence of French soldiers on hand to intervene on behalf of the Provisional government had been invaluable in securing the early life of the young Republic of Russia, but by 1922 those soldiers were gone. The Bolshevik Party under Vladimir Illych Lenin had been planning an uprising and coup in Russia for several years, but had been waiting until the right time to strike- with a communist revolution beginning in Italy that time was nigh.
Lead by Leon Trotsky the revolt in Petrograd was mostly bloodless, with the Red Guards taking over major government facilities with little opposition before finally launching an assault on the Winter Palace and demanding that the Provisional Government under Alexander Kerensky stand down. Power was declared handed over the to Soviet councils of Russia and across the country Bolshevik supporters attempted to seize control. Much like in Italy the situation rapidly deteriorated into civil war, with reactionary forces lining up against revolutionary for a final showdown. Although the 'White' Armies controlled a greater part of the country and were on paper more powerful than the Bolsheviks, the 'Reds' were situated in the heartland of European Russia, where much of the industry and populated were located, as well as the important strategic railway system.
A later painting of a Red Army soldier in the Winter Palace
The European Communist Revolutions
In reaction to the sudden explosion of two powder kegs in southern and Eastern Europe revolution swept a continent bitter and discontented by the legacy of Liberal Democracy. In Spain anarcho-syndicalists lead uprisings against landowners, big business and the Catholic Church, forcibly seizing control of farms and collectivising them. In response the Army was mobilised to put down the revolt and much like in Italy the battle lines were drawn up between two loose coalitions with broadly similar interests. The northeast around Barcelona formed a largely Anarchist bloc giving firm support to the huge CNT and FAI Trade Unions, who organised worker's militias along the lines of the PCI groups across the Mediterranean. Madrid was dominated by Communist groups, whilst the centre and eastern coast held mainly republican sympathies and the northeast and south were strongholds of the 'Nationalist' forces, firmly controlled by right-wing groups. The loss of life and liberty was immense as members of opposing groups and individuals with conflicting views were hunted down and lynched, shot or incarcerated for their beliefs.
In Eastern Europe communist and anarchist partisan groups sprang into life overnight, seizing poorly guarded government stockpiles of weaponry and taking command of the locality. Across Hungary, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and Yugoslavia bands of armed militia issued demands as varied as they were numerous and guerrilla insurrections plagued the countryside. There were no clear-cut boundaries or lines to draw on a map in this conflict as groups based on ethnicity, religion and political ideology all struggled for control of their particular region. The war was brutal, far surpassing the scale of mass killings seen when the French and Italian armies had blasted their way across the countryside- this was kin against kin, a bitter war intrinsically linked with personal conflicts and massacres of entire villages were not uncommon.
Britain, Portugal, Austria, the Lowlands and the Scandinavian countries were anomalies in Europe at this time in that they did not experience any serious kind of left or right wing uprising or insurrection. This is probably a result of their open and democratic governments and the fact that living and working conditions were improving in the light of the post-war boom. Simply, there was not so much for the average worker or bourgeois to complain about in these societies. France and Germany however were not so lucky. In France many socialists followed the example of their contemporaries in other countries and tried to start a coup in the country. Despite the general feelings of nihilism and despair prevalent in the country the response against the uprisings was overwhelming. It was clear that the radical groups had little support across the country and were only successful in small areas scattered across France. Several army units mutinied when ordered to disperse and round up the uprisings, refusing to fire on their countrymen but most of the army obeyed their orders in the interests of preserving the Republic. Battles and skirmishes between bands of left-wing idealists continued for several months but the scale of fighting was nowhere near that of other nations.
In Germany the situation quickly devolved into one of violence and bloodshed between the KPD and the far-right Freicorps (paramilitary groups) battles raged across the cities for several weeks, but unlike most other countries (and like France) things did not escalate into a full-blown civil war. Under the direction of the Conservative ruling elite the Reichswehr was used to disperse communist and left wing agitators and a balance of power was created between the pitifully small Army and Right-Wing Paramilitary groups in the interest of maintaining order. Facing problems of their own France could only stand idly by as Germany renounced the Democracy that had been imposed on them by the Entente and declared the Empire reborn. Mass repression by the Freicorps followed as Communists and militant Socialists were rounded up and put in jail for treason.
Freicorps took control of Germany in the turmoil of 1922
As France was preoccupied putting down various insurrections and trying to prevent the civil wars in her neighbours 'spilling over' the only nations that could muster any serious and effective complaint to this turn of events were Britain and the USA, and as such they ordered a re-mobilisation of their army units, in case of revolution as much as to send abroad. Within weeks Expeditionary Forces much like those deployed to Russia were sent to Germany, securing Kiel and other vital ports in an effort to once more stifle incoming food imports to Germany.
The situation had gone from inconceivably bad in the Great War to inconceivably worse in the aftermath.