Welcome to the Strategic Command World War I AAR. I will be playing as the Central Powers. My opponent Dan, will take charge of the Entente forces. We are both beta testers of the game, which is nearing it's release date. So far, it's coming along pretty nicely and I have to say, that I'm enjoying it immensely. I hope that you will enjoy our AAR too!
Central Powers strategy.
I'm convinced that during the actual war, the Central Powers did pretty well and it would be very difficult for me to top their achievements in the game. The Central Powers ( Germany in fact ), managed to knock out Russia, withheld the offensives of materially superior France and Great Britain on the Western Front, bleed them white in the process and in the Spring of 1918, staged the most successful series of offensives of the war. Of course they also become exhausted by that time. The Western allies could count on the influx of the fresh American blood, while the expected gains of Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, in reality become just another burden for Germany and Austro Hungary. The subsequent reinvigoration of the Entente's armies and speed with which the Second Reich collapsed, were maybe inevitable, but also surprising to a degree. The World War I dynamics and the balance of power, were very different form the World War II. Which makes the Great War an utterly fascinating study subject. I think that one of best ways to learn about a particular conflict is to wargame it, so let us begin!
I don't think, that it would be possible to knock out France quickly and the so called Schliffen Plan, is pretty unfeasible in my opinion. Due to that, most of the German units from the initial deployment phase will go to the East.
The Germans don't have any HQ there, so Von Bulow will go to the East Prussia. The two infantry and one cavalry corps will also reinforce Eastern Front. The Russian steam roller is very dangerous and the margin for error in that theater is pretty slight. Surprisingly, the only unit that I'm going to deploy in the West, is the second cavalry corps. Even though there's less space for the maneuver in the West, I will need that unit for scouting and breakthrough exploitation. As to the artillery unit, which is a very valuable asset, before moving it somewhere, I'll need to reinforce it first.
Despite the fact, that most of the aforementioned forces won't be deployed to the West, I'm going to go on the offensive there. I'm expecting to conquer some territory, before going on the strategic defensive. I'm going to invade Belgium. Lengthening of the front, will at least a the beginning, be very dangerous to the numerically inferior French. Germany also needs the Belgian economic resources. The violation of Belgian neutrality will immediately bring British Empire to war against Central Powers. But the British entry would occur sooner or later anyway.
What is causing me most headache at this moment, is the position of Austro-Hungary. They need to attack Serbia, but the Serbs are a tough bunch. At the same time, the Russian forces attacking in Galicia and Poland, are going to have a numerical superiority over the armies of Dual Monarchy facing them there. Will the Habsburg troops require German assistance from the outset? A lot of course is going to depend on my opponent. This is the first time I play against Dan, so I completely don't know what his command style is. Is he aggressive or deliberate? Is he methodical or unpredictable? Well, the time will show. There will be some aggressive, offensive Central Powers action during the opening rounds. But I'm acutely aware, that the real face of this war will be attrition. That will require a careful planning on my part. I'll need to husband the resources and invest rationally in the technological development. But all of that is ahead of me, in some not so distan future. For now, let's invade France, Belgium and Serbia. Für Gott, Kaiser, und Vaterland!
