SerbiAAR: a veteran Serbia-only AAR

[FOARP]

25 August 1917, Serbian Front - Further withdrawals. Only in the west where the Bosnian mountains anchor the line is the Serbian defence holding firm. After all those sacrifices, is this really how it's going to end? French morale now at 7%.

[FOARP]

8 September 1917, Serbian Front - The front, now largely held by British and Greek units, now runs through Uzice and Kragujevac. The position in the Bosnian mountains is now also crumbling. French morale is at 5%, US war entry is at 72%.

[FOARP]

22 September 1917, Serbian front - A tentative counterattack stalls in the CP front line, leaving a vulnerable salient that is bound to be smashed in the next turn, French morale is at 5%, US entry is at 82%.

[FOARP]

20 October 1917, Serbian Front - The line appears to be stabilising, allowing the Serbian army to start rebuilding behind the British and Greek units holding the line. The USA has entered the war, but French morale is at 4% now. Perhaps US entry will bolster French morale? But there is no sign of this yet. If it doesn't then the war will be over in a matter of a few turns.

[FOARP]

17 November 1917, Serbian Front - The peoples of the Entente countries (except for Serbia for some reason) are celebrating US entry into the war. French morale has now risen to 10%, which is still dangerously low, but my hope is that the fall of Metz which now seems likely will raise spirits even more.

On the Serbian Front is seems the balance is tipping more towards the Entente, though the situation is still desperate. A counterattack towards Belgrade made up a bit of ground but the CP counterattack may well re-take some of that ground.

[FOARP]

15 December 1917, Serbian Front - I am beginning to see just the slightest glimmer of hope. French morale is steady at 10%. My forces have ground forward on a couple of hexes south of Belgrade. Metz has fallen on the Western Front which should boost French morale a bit. If a few more German cities fall, and if the Americans can support, maybe this war can be won?

[FOARP]

26 January 1918 - I said at the start of 1917 that I didn't think the war could last another year - but it seems I was more than a little mistaken! The capture of Metz has raised French morale to 12% - which is still desperately low but, given that the Entente armies are now pushing towards Strasbourg and Mulhouse, indicates that France may yet survive. In Italy Bolonga has been retaken (again) but the Italians (with plentiful British and French support) look likely to keep it this time.

On my own little front, the gains back towards Belgrade have been held, and the forces on my front appear to be thinning a bit. Are the Germans and Austrians having trouble making good their losses amid the hunger of this winter?

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Truly epic!

[FOARP]

ORIGINAL: OldCrowBalthazor

Truly epic!

Yeah, totally can't believe how close this one has been. I really thought the fight was over when the Russians gave in and French morale dipped so low - but had the Russians lasted a few more turns then British/Greek reinforcements after the victory over the Ottomans might have pushed back the CP? And had the fall of Constantinople been delayed a few more turns then the CP might have broken the Serbian front beyond all repair? And had US entry into the war been delayed just a turn or two the French would have surrendered?

Just so many point where it might have turned out differently. And its easy to see how each could have happened. Had I simply moved one of the units investing Adrianople in September 1916 toward Constantinople I could have blocked the two infantry corps that crossed the straits from building the line that ended up slowing me down for 2-3 turns. Constantinople would have fallen earlier and the defeat of the Ottomans would have boosted Russian morale, delaying their surrender, allowing British/Greek units to join an offensive in Serbia etc. etc..

Even with the Teutonic Powers on the back foot, though, France might still surrender in ~5-6 turns (i.e., mid-summer) if more German cities don't fall. Strasbourg and Mulhouse are in reach during that time, though, and each should raise French morale by ~2% or so. Hopefully a few German ships can get sunk with the French putting in the last blow as well.

(Full disclosure: I've been intervening in the AI's running of the naval war and Western Front since late 1916, though AI control is still switched on so suicide attacks/unit shuffling etc. still happen. Had I not done so, this war would have been over long ago)

[FOARP]

23 March 1918, Serbian Front - The Entente advance continues, with Serbian units re-entering the front line in strength, having recuperated after the collapse of late 1917. Valjevo is in sight, the war can still be won!

French morale is steady at 12%, German morale is now a 41%, Austro-Hungarian at 46%.

[FOARP]

20 April 1918, Serbian Front - Not much movement on the front but some consolidation of the position. CP counterattacks seem to be ineffective - is their low morale hurting them at last?

French morale is 10%, German 41%, Austro-Hungarian 47%

[FOARP]

18 May 1918, Serbian front - Having moved back towards Valjevo and Belgrade the forces of the Entente seems to have got stuck in the low supply area directly in front of the two cities. Luck (and a plentiful supply of shells) brought about the destruction of a Austro-Hungarian tank corps south of Temeschburg but it is hard to see how the line will become unstuck unless CP forces are drawn away from this position.

French morale has risen back to 11% on the news of the arrival of American troops, and may rise further as Strasbourg fell to the Entente this turn. German morale is at 38%, and expected to fall this turn for the same reason.

The line in Italy seems jammed in front of Bolonga, with the CP forces standing on a semi-circular line holding North-East Italy. The Austro-Hungarians seem to be holding up better with their morale still at 47%.

[FOARP]

15 June 1918, Serbian Front - The Austro-Hungarians unwisely left Belgrade held by a weak detachment. The Entente command capitalised on this error and smashed the defending detachment with a hurricane bombardment and infantry assault by British troops. The Serb 2nd Army Corps advanced into the city and dug in - they are sure to meet a ferocious counter-attack as the Austro-Hungarians are positioned around the city for exactly such a manoeuvre.

French morale has now risen to 17% and will rise further as Mulhouse has also fallen. German morale is at 30% and falling. It now seems unlikely that the Entente will lose the war - but can they win it given the massive naval loses and shattering collapse in morale that they suffered with France's early defeats?

[FOARP]

6 July 1918, Serbian front - The Serb tenure in Belgrade proved a short one - shockingly accurate Austro-Hungarian artillery fire practically decimated the 2nd Army Corps and a KuK infantry assault finished the job. However, Kaiser Karl's men had little time left to dig in before the next assault which in turn destroyed their defence in Belgrade. The only Entente unit that could occupy the city was a small Serb detachment that is likely to prove a sacrificial offering to the gods of war!

In Bosnia the KuK forces unwisely left an HQ exposed, so a Serb and a Montengrin corps have advanced into the gap to destroy the unwisely exposed HQ. That's a few hundred MPP the CP will not see again in a hurry!

French morale stay at 17%, German morale has now fallen to 28%, and with the Entente forces at the gates of Mainnheim, Mainz, Coblenz, and Cologne, this is only like to get worse for the Central Powers.

[The Land]

have I seen TWO AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN TANK CORPS? Is the AI any good at handling them? In my "Led by Donkeys" AAR I found that well-used tanks were basically able to one-shot intact Corps....

[FOARP]

ORIGINAL: The Land

have I seen TWO AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN TANK CORPS? Is the AI any good at handling them? In my "Led by Donkeys" AAR I found that well-used tanks were basically able to one-shot intact Corps....

The CP have lost 2-3 tank corps thus far so make of that what you will. They definitely can knock 6-7 points off an infantry corps for 1-2 losses in the right circumstances. They seem especially vulnerable to artillery though- the A-H tank corps destroyed on the Serbian front was largely destroyed by shelling, and there’s a good chance that this one will be wiped out in a similar way.

A general comment about the AI is it’s pretty good (or at least better than it was) at withdrawing the artillery from the front line on a front where it has enough infantry. Yeah, there’s a bit of shuffling and it garrisons pretty far behind the line, but it’s not bad.

[OldCrowBalthazor]

What a high wire act for both sides in this long war. The French sound like they were basically on their knees, even while pushing east into Germany. In this case, the American entry came in the nick of time for the Entente. Serbia yet, may not be extinguished.

Btw...I've also found that tanks are vulnerable to artillery, which on a dense and well defended front, are hard to avoid.

Can't wait to see the final months of this conflict. Europe needs a rest anyway. [:)]

[FOARP]

ORIGINAL: OldCrowBalthazor

What a high wire act for both sides in this long war. The French sound like they were basically on their knees, even while pushing east into Germany. In this case, the American entry came in the nick of time for the Entente. Serbia yet, may not be extinguished.

Btw...I've also found that tanks are vulnerable to artillery, which on a dense and well defended front, are hard to avoid.

Can't wait to see the final months of this conflict. Europe needs a rest anyway. [:)]

Basically by mid-1916 the French had been forced back to the line of the Seine-Belfort, one more city and they wouldn't have made it. Not only did US entry come on the nick of time, but had the fall of the Ottomans been delayed even a turn or two, France probably would have surrendered as well.

Yeah, this one has gone on some time!

[FOARP]

20 July 1918, Serbian Front - The Austro-Hungarian tank corps swatted the defending Serb detachment away like a fly and re-occupied Belgrade - but not for long as a British artillery bombardment followed up by an advance by British, Greek, and Serb units then re-took the city and established a foot-hold north of the Danube. Reconaissance has unveiled strong KuK forces in the area so we should be ready to withstand a strong counterattack.

In Bosnia Emperor Karl's men took their revenge by forcing the Entente corps that destroyed their HQ back with heavy losses. However, the German mountain corps which had advanced near Sarajevo is now surrounded by the Entente on three sides and should hopefully be obliterated next turn.

(PS - many thanks to VPaulus and an unnamed mod for raising the limit on uploaded pictures to 5000kb meaning I can now post large, high-quality screenshots)

[FOARP]

20 July 1918, Western Front - Now also you can see the state of affairs on Germany's western Frontier - and it is grim indeed for the Huns! Cologne has now been added to the list of German cities that have fallen to the Entente advance, and Mannheim is threatened. This said, unless more cities fall, the Germans might yet hold out for some time and eke out a victory if French morale declines due to losses.