They say Schlieffen plan can't work? - I beg to difAAR! (mod 1914)

[Winner]

Good job in Italy. If France won't surrender when all of Cosmopolitan France is occupied you should write an event that make some surrender (puppet) while others contimue the fight from the colonies.

Surrender events are pretty well-made in the version of the mod I am playing. Though they are a bit deterministic (and a bit incompatible with panda's AI).

Italy performing better than expected... Isn't it lovely when they are not in your side, but against you?

My thoughts exactly

Well, unfortunately he has Austria on his side this time, and they're just like the Italians, can't do anything by themselves, always need the Germans to hold their hand.

They are not that bad. They defend well when they don't face overwhelming odds, unlike AI Germany which usually forgets to defend in the East and has Berlin occupied by winter 1914

Actually, when you look at it from in-game perspective, the Austrians are quite clever. They know attacking is very costly in terms of lives, so they stay on the defensive and leave the bloody business to the Germans.

Bloody free-riders

Did the Italians really have only 1 division in Milan to defend against your offensive? They must have thought they had a reputation to live up to. Well the idiots are now getting everything they deserve and hopefully you're in a position to finally defeat France.

Yeah, a major screw-up on the AI part. Usually they're MUCH better at defending Northern Italy. In one of my previous games I got really frustrated when at least 4 consecutive offensives ended in bloody defeats. I was so fed up that I had to take military control of Austria-Hungary and use it as cannon fodder until I was finally able to advance. And even then the Italians just retreated behind the river and the stalemate returned. The key is to advance quickly to Bologna and Ferrara to achieve an encirclement.

In this game, I think the AI make a pretty good decision sending most of its troops to France. It certainly prevented me from finishing France off in 1915. Unfortunately, the AI left too few division on the Austrian front, but since the Austrians weren't attacking and their forces weren't very strong, it worked well. The AI couldn't have anticipated my taking advantage of that. It was a bit gamey from me, but what the hell, I want to win o

Wow an Austrian success (with German support...)

This is good news.... for Bulgaria

Bulgaria really chose the right moment - major battles are over so it can't lose much now. Another free-riders.

Who knew the key to Austrian success was the release of Czechoslovakia?

Also, hooray for Bulgaria!

I took military control of Czechoslovakia and deployed their 2 army corps to the Eastern front. Their AI just left them idle in Prague, which was not very helpful.

You conquered some 100.000 square kilometres and made a bazillion Entente POWs. When will they give up?

Soon, hopefully. German people are getting very tired of this war...

So will CzechoSlovakia be re-absorbed into the Empire and Hungary (including Croatia-Slavonia) be released afterwards?

I don't think there is an event for that. Also it's borders look kinda strange. Actually I had no idea A-H had an event that would release CZE, it came as a (welcome ) surprise.

 

[Winner]

Chapter 7: Fields of Grey
Part 1​

Throughout late 1916 and 1917, the Germany Navy adopted a new strategy. Since the British maintained overwhelming 3:1 superiority over Germany in battleships, direct confrontation with the Home Fleet would have been suicidal. Instead, the Germans began targeting smaller ships and started utilizing large submarine fleets in the North Sea. Soon the British losses began to mount. The admiralty believes that without enough screening ships, the British won't dare send their battleships into open battles with the Hochseeflotte. Thus, by sinking screening ships, Britain's numerical advantage in battleships can effectively be neutralized.

On the 9th of May, Germany begins its final offensive against France - Operation Michael. The French, now abandoned by their Italian allies, are unable to cope with superior enemy numbers and the German stormtroopers. When their lines are broken, they lack the reserves to fill the gaps and the Germans advance rapidly, taking great numbers of prisoners along the way.

A month into the offensive, the French morale collapses. French soldiers have only known defeat and misery of trench warfare in the past 3 years. They are tired and they want peace. Entire divisions surrender en masse to the Germans and the rest are unable to re-establish defensive lines. German troops now march south to the Mediterranean coast.

Finally the French government recognizes the futility of further resistence. On 17th of July, it unconditionally surrenders to the German Empire and its allies. The Kaiser orders to ring bells all over Germany to celebrate this monumental victory.

Armistice between Germany and France is signed the next day. France renounces all ties to the Entente, hands over large amount of military supplies and equipment and orders the remaining Entente personnel to leave France immediately. Germany retains control over northern France for the duration of the war. Final terms of the peace treaty will be negotiated after the war against remaining Entente countries ends. Belgium's king Albert now sees no prospect for his country's liberation and so he too asks for armistice.
Britain, Italy and Russia denounce the two ex-allies and vow to continue fighting until the Central Powers are defeated. The Kaiser nearly laughs himself to death when the word gets to him.

.

 

[Zhuge Liang]

Great job defeating France, now they've surrendered the Entente shouldn't be able to pose any real threat to you.

 

[c0d5579]

Britain, who've lost something like sixty divisions in internment camps, Russia, who're now fighting in Ruthenia, and Italy, who are... Italy... against the Central Powers, even without the Turk? You know, if you REALLY want to go off the rails, I can see Wilhelm II, erratic as he could be, deciding that his new ally Bulgaria is really the resurrected Byzantium.

And finally - may the U-Flotte have many more "defeats" that result in the sinking of two armored cruisers and a light cruiser in exchange for moderate damage!

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

I wonder what is Lawrence (T.E., not D.H.-1-) doing in Arabia.

-1- Silliest pun ever...

 

[soulking]

The 1000 year Kaiserriech is born!

 

[Pwn*Star]

Very nice AAR I will be following, even though it seems victory will be a walk in the park from now on.

 

[Winner]

Part 2​

In August the Italians trapped in the Turin pocket finally surrender after all resemblance of military order among them has collapsed and tens of thousands have already deserted and fled to Switzerland. The surrender prompts the Italian government to ask Germany for terms of cease-fire. General Cadorna and his hawkish followers react to this by overthrowing the civilian government and establishing military dictatorship in the country. Draconian measures are to be used in order to stem the wave of defeatism - anybody suspected of defeatism is to be summarily executed.

Although these measures superficially restore order in the remnants of the Italian military, in reality the Italian soldiers now fear their own officers more than the Germans. They're only waiting for an opportunity to surrender. Germans and Austrians give it to them in September when their new offensive in Italy gets under way.

In just a month, the armies of Central Powers have Cadorna and a few divisions of hardliners surrounded in Rome. Although they put up some resistance at first, the hopelessness of their cause quickly destroys their will to fight. Cadorna is ousted in a counter coup and executed for high treason just before the German forces triumphantly enter the city.

The new government of Italy then surrenders to Germany (in order to avoid Austria's harsh terms). Seeing the country is not a threat to the Central Powers by any stretch of imagination and knowing that occupying it would stretch Germany's resources too much, Germany leaves Italy under its civilian administration for the time being. Final peace terms will be delivered after the war's end.

The defeat of Italy ends the Great War in Western Europe; however Germany now faces a strategic dilemma of grave importance...

 

[unmerged(191057)]

Establish MittelAfrika!

 

[hoi2geek]

Why not establish an independent Brittany and Normandy, and after Spain and Britain are destroyed, you can carve out:

-Ireland
-England
-Scotland
-Wales
-Isle of Man
-Cornwall
-Galicia
-Asturias
-Leon
-Catalonia
-Basque Country
-Andalucia
-Aragon
-Spain(rump state)

 

[Pwn*Star]

Wait... why Spain??

 

[SovietAmerika]

Why was Italy left untouched?

 

[hoi2geek]

Wait... why Spain??

Because that's the way to Gibraltar!

 

[unmerged(189717)]

All their bases are belong to us!

 

[Timmie0307]

Italy should not get Venice anymore give it to Austria. What about other theatres of war? Did you lose Pacific islands and the like?

What is your idea of post war Europe..?

Tim

 

[Winner]

Establish MittelAfrika!

Everything is eerily moving towards Kaiserreich...

Why not establish an independent Brittany and Normandy, and after Spain and Britain are destroyed, you can carve out:

-Ireland
-England
-Scotland
-Wales
-Isle of Man
-Cornwall
-Galicia
-Asturias
-Leon
-Catalonia
-Basque Country
-Andalucia
-Aragon
-Spain(rump state)

I don't think you can release any of these nations (except Ireland) in this mod. As I said, the surrender events are a bit deterministic, but they fit perfectly into the WW1 era.

Why was Italy left untouched?

In 1914, when a nation is defeated, the game forces you into what is best described as "armistice". When the war ends, special events are triggered that simulate the peace treaties.

It's similar to OTL - Germany signed armistice in late 1918 and the Versailles treaty in 1919, months after the war ended.

Italy should not get Venice anymore give it to Austria. What about other theatres of war? Did you lose Pacific islands and the like?

What is your idea of post war Europe..?

Tim

My idea? I'll pretty much accept what the game gives me when the time comes (hopefully soon, I am going on holiday in a few days so I need to finish this AAR until then). I am sure Germany will offer generous terms to the shameful aggressors who dragged the Vaterland into this war and who imposed a genocidal blockade that made millions of its inhabitants starve

 

[c0d5579]

Septemberprogramm!

 

[Zhuge Liang]

I'm sure Austria can start having a bigger say in determining the armistice terms just as soon as it starts contributing to the war effort.

 

[unmerged(87183)]

Great progress on ALL fronts! I am impressed by the amount of encirclements you have achieved.

Also, do something about Czechoslovakia, give them their normal borders, right now they look retarded.

Will Russia be the next country put to flight?

 

[Xesan]

Go for Britain! Let us see some Sea Lion action!