Strategic Command WWI Beta AAR

[The Land]

It'll be interesting to see what happens in Tripoli. Are the British getting any supply from the port? I'm guessing not, as you own the hex the port is actually on. Beirut would have been a more intelligent place for the AI to land I think

[Bevington]

I have really enjoyed following this thread and plan on purchasing the updated game. I already own almost all of the previous Strategic Command Series. Thanks so much for sharing the AAR. Does anyone know what time the game will be released tomorrow EST USA?
Regards, Bevington
(Grandson of Private Joseph Bevington, 11th Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment, who was wounded by gassing on one the last days of the German Kaiserschlacht Offensive, 5 April 1918)

[MarechalJoffre]

ORIGINAL: HvS

[center][font="Times New Roman"]I tried a closed defense line further in the west in previous tests, but lost both Trabzon and Erzurum.
And loosing these cities means you loose the Ottomans.[/font][/center]

This seems a bit harsh and ahistorical, given that the Ottomans historically lost both cities in 1916, eventually reclaiming only in 1918 after Russia's collapse. Yet it didn't take the Empire down.

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: MarechalJoffre


This seems a bit harsh and ahistorical, given that the Ottomans historically lost both cities in 1916, eventually reclaiming only in 1918 after Russia's collapse. Yet it didn't take the Empire down.

On their own their loss won't do this, e.g. in a PBEM game during beta I have captured them, but the Ottomans fight on, as it takes a combination of such losses to bring the Empire down.

But what it does is it brings them closer to a potential defeat, while their units will suffer a morale penalty once their NM is less than 90%.

[HvS]

[center][font="Times New Roman"]Dear The Land,

the port is occupied by the British, but blockaded by the adjacent Ottoman unit.
So it cannot deliver additional supply.
The only supply comes from Tripoli itself.. currently at 2.


Dear Bevington,

thanks for your interest.
Happy readers make happy writers.


Dear MarechalJoffre,

in one of my previous matches vs. the AI the Ottomans got overrun.. not just in East Anatolia.
The land link to Germany and AH was established to late, so the Ottomans did not receive any help.
So they were already doomed in 1916. They did not surrender, but they were no longer any help.. more a burden.

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[HvS]

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Turn 33

21.08.1915



I buy this corps back immediately.



This is a catastrophe... and my own fault.
I should have bought diplomacy chits earlier.
Due to this, I lost approx. 13% of my income, and I need to buy 5 diplo chits now.



The corps goes to East Prussia where it will support my attack on Kovno.



250 MPPs gone.. what a pity.
And another 65 MPPs per turn until I score a diplo hit.



I would love to reach the Somme.
Digging in behind river helps a lot.
But I need to operate the second Recon Bomber from Poland, or my units get ambushed.



I wonder how the AI will react.
At the moment, I can march to Kovno and take the city.



I expect a Russian drawback in Poland.
Going back behind the River bug seems to be a good idea.



The AI can kill any of my units.
I decide to place a fresh corps in the second line to fill gaps.



The longer it remains quiet, the better.



Unfortunately, Bulgarian war readiness does not move.
I need to get closer to Nish.
I should have bougth diplo chits as well... hindsight.



The British will bring in more forces in 1916.
Until then, I need to bring a HQ down there.
But where shall I take it from?



At the end of the turn, Germany researches Airships Level 1.
This is nice, they have Naval Spotting 3 right now.

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[HvS]

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Turn 34

28.08.1915



The AI is busy to establish a frontline.
My advance causes high losses and destabilizes the Entente positions.



This is an excellent move.
A frontal attack will not work, so the AI gains a lot of time.
But Grodno is exposed.. my next target.



I will try to reach the River Bug as soon as possible.
This will make my frontlines shorter and free units for other tasks.



This is getting more and more difficult.



I will get one fresh AH corps in Turn 35.
This will go to the Italian front.



The same situation here: I need to bring in units from other theaters.


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[shri]

HvS,
How do you take Brussels in turn 1? also how do you handle that massive traffic jam in Belgium? Some help will be appreciated. Thanks.

Secondly, how to take Belgrade which is behind a river without losing too many MPP?

Third, Galicia-
I keep losing Tarnopol and Oil Fields in the 2 attempts i made so far. I will play again once i learn how to defend these.

[HvS]

[center][font="Times New Roman"]Dear shri,

if there is a way to capture Brussel in Turn 1, I did not find it yet.
I just managed to destroy the defenders, but this was in the Beta version.
I haven't yet played the full version.

Taking Belgrad early in the war will cost you a lot of MPPs.. there is no way to avoid this.
You can wait until you get your Heavy Artillery, but I prefer the early version.

Also, loosing Tarnopol seems inevitable.
Sometimes I can keep the oil wells for a while, but this depends on the dice.
The only thing you can do there at the beginning is to entrench yourself and try to keep Lemberg.

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[HvS]

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Turn 35

04.09.1915



This will be a major problem in the long run.
No supply will let the frontline in Eastern Anatolia collapse.
I did already buy a fighter, but it be delivered in November.
It might be necessary to move the Ottoman HQ closer to Trabzon.



Greece will join the Entente next turn.
One more problem.



It will take a couple of units and many turns to destroy this partisan units.
This is worth the MPPs.



A new Ally will help.



Partisan units have minimum supply of 3 even if there is not environmental supply.
And the partisans might take Bardia next turn.



What a pity: I cannot occupy the free hex and move closer to Amiens.
Without recon, my unit would be ambushed and badly damaged.
And it would not be possible to entrench it, so occupying this hex would mean safe destruction.
This was usual in the "real" WWI, but I am not going to do this.



Taking Grodno is possible in Turn 37.
This will cut Bialystok off from the railway net, so the supply there will be lowered.
This makes it easy to take the town as well.
Then I will go for Kovno.



The Russians clearly lost the Battle of Poland.
I will try to push them back to the river until year's end.



I cannot stop the Russians here, but I can try to move back as slowly as possible.



The mines of Bor are captured by the XVII corps.
This is a catastrophe for the Serbians.
The mine did produce half of their MPPs.
So refreshing and buying back destroyed units will be very difficult from now on.



The Ottomans have received a fresh corps from the queue.
I moved a corps from the west to the east by sea transport and placed the new one in the west.
The unit has good values in morale and readiness, so it will help.



What shall I do with the two free corps?
Send one to Baghdad and the other one to the Greek front?



Still no MPPs from the Netherlands.

At the end of the turn, Germy researches Infantry Weapons 1, Trench Warfare 3 and Spying 1.
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[HvS]

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Turn 36

11.09.1915



The AI is still trying to repair the damage my attacks have caused.



The AI is very good in finding the weakest point of my defenses.
A cavalry corps takes more damage and causes less own losses.



One corps gone, another two heavily damaged.
I need my complete income per turn to buy back and refresh.



Erzurum is bombed again, and the supply is down to 4.
I need to react.
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[HvS]

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Dear Audience,

Turn 36 was the final turn of this AAR.
I need to install a new version to test possible upcoming patches, and this new will not be compatible.
This makes me a bit sad, because I am very excited what will happen in Galicia and in the other theaters.



The situation looks fine in west, in East Prussia and in Poland.
Galicia is critical, and it might occur that I need to send some German units to aid the AH troops.
Serbia is fine a well, but I need to push forward to bring Bulgaria in the war.
I should have used diplomacy earlier.
And with Greece in the war, the Ottomans will have even more problems... not just the Russian attack in the east.

And I will miss the upcoming battle with the Royal Navy.. very sad.



The French NM is at 67%, Serbia at 74% and Russia at 65%.
AH and the Ottomans do not look good as well.

I am excited how this would have ended.
But I hope it was good fun for you readers. [:)]

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[GibClaret80]

Looks great Russian Flag is wrong on the counters

[springel]

I enjoyed your AAR, @HvS

[John B.]

Thanks for the AAR, I really enjoyed it!

[shri]

Thanks HvS for the AAR and answering all those queries.
You seem to have done a bit better than Historical Germany though AH and Ottomans are nearly Historical levels.

[Cfant]

Thanks for the AAR, was fun to read!

[BillRunacre]

Thanks very much for doing the AAR, I found it fun and useful too! [:)]

[eightroomofelixir]

Thanks HvS for the AAR and the great strategy guide for Central Powers!
Looking forward to other AAR of the 1.0 of the game in the future.