United Kingdom WW1 AAR

[therealpete]

Hello,

This is a AAR for my United Kingdom campaign playing on the WW1 mod for TFH

There won't be any cheesy narrations or dialogue in this AAR, just straight strategy & report.

I started my game in 1910 to give myself a few years of planning and preperation. Fast forwarding to 1911, let's take a look at my plans for the western front and my other theaters.

Land Doctrines

Europe, the Western Front

The 1st Army Group under the command of Field Marshal Birdwood (great name) with 230,000 troops will position against the border of Belgium.
The AG has a mix of cavalry, infantry, guards and some artillery elements. This force will be reinforced before the start of the war and will continue so until either the front has stabilized or more troops are needed for a
push into Germany. While the 1st AG remains there, I will also be positioning fast/mobile cavalry units behind the French lines, these units will be used to reinforce or plug up gaps in the French line until they can be reinforced,
my goal is to have several divisions for this role. In addition to this, I am also preparing for landings to take place in the Netherlands and also Emden. These landings will be smaller groups and they'll be used as a relief tool for
the front, Emden is a major convoy hub so taking this province should have somewhat of an impact (I hope).

Africa

I didn't think a screenshot was completely necessary for showing my deployment in the southern parts of Africa, but essentially my plans are to eliminate the Germany colonies that dot the African coast lines with colonial
cavalry & militia with the possibility of marine landings if the colonial forces can't take care of it. Currently in western Africa, they're numbered at about 10,000 troops with the HQ command based out of Port Harcourt, local
command in charge is Lt. General Spens. In the East, Lt. General Wilcocks and 10,000 militia of the King's African Rifles sit at the border to attack southwards into a few Germany provinces that are lightly guarded. Lastly, in
the North, the El Iskandariya HQ sits between borders of the Ottoman Empire. This area will have to be immediately reinforced with a substantial force, a force big enough to go toe to toe with the Ottomans. Currently aside
from a small Garrison this area has no army presence.

India & the Far East

Again, not really needing a screenshot, everyone knows where India & Hong Kong is. Mainly India will have colonial militia & cavalry spread throughout it's borders & major cities, a garrison will be placed at Hong Kong. I'm not entirely sure what
to do on this front, I don't see any real threat from the central powers in this theater.

Sea Doctrines

United Kingdom during this time had the largest navy in the world, sheer size and technological advances left them unparalleled to the central powers. My naval arm is divided into area of operations, also known as AO. The AO's cover a
concentrated part of the globe where they'll be required to perform. Take a look at the various fleets and their respective AO:

London & Scappa Flow Naval Stations, North Atlantic

The main fleets of this AO cover the entire Atlantic, but are focused on patrols through the North & Baltic Seas. Convoy raiding conducted by a small fleet of 14 coastal submarines pick off German convoys coming through the Danish straights
and Emden.

Main Fleets

Grand Fleet - Admiral Jellicoe, Stationed at Portsmouth

3 Pre-Dreadnaughts
33 Armored Cruisers
24 Protected Cruisers

This fleet is to remain at port until Germany's main fleet has been spotted and is engaged.

1st Fleet - Vice Admiral Bridgeman, Stationed at Scapa Flow

13 Pre-Dreadnaughts
3 Armored Cruisers

The 1st fleet is currently being adjusted to have a better ship composition, ships to screen the 3 AC's & 13 PD's from the production line will be assigned to this fleet as they are completed. When this fleet is ready for action, it'll be in port
until needed elsewhere in the theater.

2nd Fleet - Vice Admiral May, Stationed at Plymouth

20 Pre-Dreadnaughts
10 Protected Cruisers

This fleet is to be used for bombardment operations as required along the English Channel & Baltic/North Seas.

3rd Fleet - Admiral Hood, Stationed at Hull

12 Pre-Dreadnaughts
6 Destroyers
10 Protected Cruisers

Admiral Hood's main objective until otherwise notified will be to hunt and destroy the prime fleet of Germany. It's AO is strictly North & Baltic Seas.

4th Fleet - Admiral Beresford, Stationed at Bristol

3 Battlecruisers
7 Dreadnaughts
3 Armored Cruisers
10 Light Cruisers
10 Destroyers
5 Protected Cruisers

Admiral Beresford has been given the a wide arsenal of ships for his command to be used in conjunction with the 3rd fleet. Speed, operational distance, firepower. This fleet will remain at sea until the German main fleet has been destroyed.
(Or unless repairs need to be done).

Submarine Assets

On a lower priority, 14 coastal submarines make up the sub fleet and are based out of the Russian port city of Palanga. Due to their short operational ranges, an agreement was reached within the Entente to allow English or Russian
ships to station at respective ports if required to allow for a more diverse operation. The sub fleet will be divided into squadrons or 'packs' and will hunt Germany convoys in the Baltic sea.

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Moving onto the other theaters AO:

Malta, El Iskandariya Stations. Mediterranean, Adriatic, Aegean Seaboard.

Only one fleet will be active in this theater until the fleets of the main theater have been completed.

1st MedSea Fleet - Rear Admiral BACON, Stationed at Malta

6 Pre-dreadnaughts
7 Armored Cruisers
3 Destroyers
3 Protected Cruisers

This fleet's AO is strictly the Adriatic sea to hunt the Austrian-Hungarian fleet. Admiral Bacon (only chose Bacon because everyone likes Bacon) will remain at sea until this objective has been fulfilled.

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African, India, Far East Stations

These fleets are to support immediately adjacent land operations in coordination with the ground troops. They're also responsible for convoy & transport escorts as well as deep ranged sorties. These fleets also contain older classed ships.

African Squadron - Commander Evan Thomas, Stationed at Port Harcourt

6 Armored Cruisers
4 Protected Cruisers

Commander Evan Thomas primary AO is the Gulf of Guinea to assist the colonial army eliminate the pockets of German held territory near Accra. His fleet may also be required for convoy/transport duties as needed.

India Station - Commander Heath, Stationed at Bombay

1 Protected Cruiser
2 Transport

This small division is only to move troops around the coasts of India and surrounding territories within this theater. It will be assigned additional warships on an as needed basis from the African squadron.

Far East Station - Commander Carden, Stationed at Hong Kong

4 Armored Cruisers
1 Destroyer

Commander Carden's squadron will provide assistance to the New Zealanders & Australian troops as well as search for German raiders in the Eastern seas.

==================================================

Technology

Primary Research:

Infantry
Artillery (Both Normal & Heavy)
Cavalry
Land Doctrines

Secondary Research:

Theories; Mechanical/Naval/Infantry/Artillery/Aeronautic
Industrial production & efficiency
Supply production

Prototype / Long term research
Poison Gas
Dreadnaught, Battlecruiser, Light cruisers
Armored Car
Military Aircraft
Marines
Seaplane Tender

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This conclude my first update of this AAR. I will update it in 1914 when the war starts. Thanks for reading!

 

[TehDarkMiner]

I'll follow this. WWI is always interesting.

 

[therealpete]

I'll follow this. WWI is always interesting.

Hey thanks man, I appreciate that.

 

[Carthage]

I think I'll join in, it's good to see a WW1 AAR every now and then.

 

[sebas379]

I'll follow as well, always good to see some WW1 action.

 

[therealpete]

Western Front, August 1914

Taking several weeks at the start of the war to replenish my 1st army group near Belgium, supplies & new troops have arrived and are now pressing into Belgium to reinforce the strategic province of Liege and Namur, where
there are several fortresses to bolster defenses. While the 1st AG gets into position my cavalry troops move swiftly to fill in a small pocket in the french line that has already been pushed back by German infantry in
Belfort (next to Switzerland).

Meanwhile in the African theater,

Assault into Lomé

The 1st African Army under the command of General Paget, 34,000 troops have began to assault the German colony province of Lomé while nearby French colonial militia & infantry provide vanguard assistance. General Paget's
mixed army comprising of cavalry from the common wealth also has some militia & regularly trained infantry at his disposal.

1st African Army, General Paget - 34,000

West African Frontier Force, Lt General Spans - 26,000
Gold Coast & West African Militia
The Nigerian Regiment (Militia)
1st Australian Division (Infantry)
1st Canadian Division (Infantry)

3rd Corps - Lt. General Gorringe 7,300 (Cavalry)
1st Indian Mounted Division
1st Australian Mounted Division
1st Anzac Mounted Division
9th Cavalry Division

As the 1st African Army enters Lome, the Cape Squadron remains on the coast to provide coastal bombardment support with the Drake Class Armored Cruisers. Two, 9.2 inch main guns for these cruisers with an effective
range of 18km to strike Germany coastal positions. Details of this engagement to follow in a later update.



Opening Naval Engagements

On the evening of August 25th, my 2nd fleet & a Russian cruiser squadron intercepted a small German fleet transiting through the English channel, the action was swift and lasted only several hours but it was an fantastic
opening victory. For the next 24 hours a series of bigger engagements took place along the channel & coastline of Belgium/Netherlands/Germany. Jellicoe's Grand fleet was mustered to sea to assist and gave a swift blow
to the German navy on August 26th.

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After Jellicoe's engagement, Admiral hood chased down the remaining German fleet and delivered another swift victory taking no losses of his own.

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The third engagement that took place on the 28th of August was with Admiral Beresford 4th fleet, this crucial battle took place outside the port of Emden and realized another victory.

Admiral Beresford continued to patrol the waters near Emden for several weeks after this battle with only a handful of smaller battles taking place, all was met with victory.

=======================================================

 

[sebas379]

Now that is what I call a comprehensive naval victory! That should teach the Hun not to mess with the Royal Navy!

 

[therealpete]

Western Front, November 1914

This front remains unchanged, the French & Belgium armies have reinforced their respective positions near the fortresses of Belgium. There hasn't been any German offenses that have taken place since the opening weeks of the war.
Currently where a lot of the action is taking place is the French push into Italy, much to my surprise Italy joined the Central Powers in late July - several weeks before the war starts.

This is actually a very big offensive, the French 2nd & 4th armies attack aggressively forcing the CP to readjust their fronts to allocate more troops to stop the French attack. This is seeing a great impact on the Eastern front where Russia
is currently fighting it's campaign against the Germans & Austria/Hungary.



To the African Theater;

General Paget's 1st African Army has nearly claimed it's victory over the German colonies, there are only a handful of provinces remaining under little military control. The South African forces have the Boer rebellion contained in the South,
so my plans are after finishing in West Africa to assist the South Africans in the south, then reinforce the colonial militia in the west to eliminate the last pocket of German colonies on this continent.

And further north, the French have made considerable gains against the Ottoman empire pushing eastward. They haven't met resistance yet, but it is helping to consolidate French territory and allowing our supplies to flow easier into Africa.
The French operation is being supported by Admiral Bacon's Mediterranean fleet, while Vice Admiral Bridgeman's 1st Fleet provides vanguard protection.

I decided to combine the African, Far East, and the transport flotilla into a temporary African fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Beaumont which is to be stationed out of the Joint Naval Base of Cape Town, South Africa.

African Fleet, Vice Admiral Beaumont - Stationed at Cape Town
1 Dreadnaught
1 Battlecruiser
8 Armored Cruisers
1 Light Cruiser
5 Protected Cruisers
16 Transport

In addition to this, Commander Carden's Mombasa Squadron still remains in the AO to provide screening or reconnaissance for the African Fleet. Once my operations are complete in this theater these fleets plus the 1st African Army will
be reassigned to assist the French in northern Africa.

Research & Production

Hampered with manpower shortages my productions have been very limited however I was able to start producing some new fighter & bomber wings along with several new warships including a seaplane tender that will be assigned to Jellicoe's
fleet. I continue to give IC to the major nations within the Entente through lend-lease. I'm planning on using my new air wings for the French offensive into Italy while keeping a interceptor squadron stationed in France to provide
reconnaissance for my army group. Aeronautic research continues to be priority as it will eventually be my hay-maker strategy for winning on the western front for the long term.

 

[Zorro]

Interesting, I'll be following.

Looks like the Italians might get knocked out of the war early!

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Hm, I would recommend knocking a few more points into that officer ratio. Good so far, though

 

[gunstickuncle]

Hm, I would recommend knocking a few more points into that officer ratio. Good so far, though

I think he is, but UK has a massive officer recruitment nerf pre war. It's basically -50% and if you also have peace laws, you have another -40%. However the British army is so small that you can raise it quickly without too much pain once you are at war.

 

[TehDarkMiner]

I think he is, but UK has a massive officer recruitment nerf pre war. It's basically -50% and if you also have peace laws, you have another -40%. However the British army is so small that you can raise it quickly without too much pain once you are at war.

Oh, I see. Well ignore my comment then.

 

[therealpete]

Not enough proper British gentlemen

 

[DarthShizNit]

The Ottomans still held Libya? Glory to the Sublime Porte!!!

As the self-proclaimed king of WW1 AAR's I approve of your valiant efforts (imperialist British scum!)

I take it the Japanese were able to take the German Far East colonies? Tsingtao can actually put up a challenge sometimes.

And make sure to recruit those Commonwealth forces!