hi, I thought I had the basic perspective - but the current game brutally shows me the opposite
Normally I try to be offensive in Galicia, Lemberg, Stanislaw, Premyzel and if possible Krakow. Poland, border Prussia rather defensive.
So far it has worked quite well, but now the enemy has sent what feels like 70% of all German forces to the East and I bled to death there.
In between, I then chose a change of strategy, falling further and further behind in order to delay. I think that was the worst idea because it only made him rampage through my ranks even faster
Serbia also fell in record time, but I always have problems here and I don't really know how to behave. Bulgaria joined very quickly and then it was in record time
The questions I really can't answer:
- go into the counter-offensive with France no matter what? the forecast attacks are really really bad
- prefer to send troops to Serbia as soon as possible? I find it unsexy, takes time and costs
- so far I have always decided to attack Belgium. But: usually not until the spring of 1915, in order to be quick because of the good weather. Belgium usually falls in two rounds. Own losses minimal. Does it make more sense to attack Belgium earlier and take longer to do so?
- Does it make sense to vacate Belgrade directly in Serbia when you see that the opponent is focusing on this? Just to shorten the front and dig in in the mountains and behind the river? I did it in the game now, but I think that was the mistake, or one of many
- so far I have used the English fleet almost completely to occupy the blockade fields, if possible all of them - effectively looks different
I really need a consultant here and hope for input - many thanks in advance
Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
Re: Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
Ah the good old Russia first 
A few things that might help:
Do under absolutely no circumstances attack Galicia! Russia will be under heavy attack soon and needs every last man to defend.
If Germans show up on the Balkans, just run for the mountains. Use the detachments as rearguards to delay the enemy. If they catch your corps on the plains, it's over.
With the French an offensive is 100% pointless until the better cannons. Attacking Belgium won't help a bit either: it lengthens the frontline by only 3 quite defensible hexes and the Entente takes a massive hit for it.
BUT
in the WW1 game everyone can fight everywhere. This "no cooperation thing" from the WW2 versions does not exist here. So you can for example simply send the Brits over to Russia.
A few things that might help:
Do under absolutely no circumstances attack Galicia! Russia will be under heavy attack soon and needs every last man to defend.
If Germans show up on the Balkans, just run for the mountains. Use the detachments as rearguards to delay the enemy. If they catch your corps on the plains, it's over.
With the French an offensive is 100% pointless until the better cannons. Attacking Belgium won't help a bit either: it lengthens the frontline by only 3 quite defensible hexes and the Entente takes a massive hit for it.
BUT
in the WW1 game everyone can fight everywhere. This "no cooperation thing" from the WW2 versions does not exist here. So you can for example simply send the Brits over to Russia.
Re: Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
"Do under absolutely no circumstances attack Galicia! Russia will be under heavy attack soon and needs every last man to defend."
check, I made this mistake (once again).
"If Germans show up on the Balkans, just run for the mountains. Use the detachments as rearguards to delay the enemy. If they catch your corps on the plains, it's over."
check, I completely screwed that up too
"With the French an offensive is 100% pointless until the better cannons. Attacking Belgium won't help a bit either: it lengthens the frontline by only 3 quite defensible hexes and the Entente takes a massive hit for it."
hmm, but I win a few MPPs per round for that - or what do you mean by "hit"? Diplomacy?
"BUT
in the WW1 game everyone can fight everywhere. This "no cooperation thing" from the WW2 versions does not exist here. So you can for example simply send the Brits over to Russia."
That's a really good tip, I hadn't thought about it that much
do you then send units to Murmans and from there by train?
Or showdown in the Baltic Sea?
thank's for the Tipps
check, I made this mistake (once again).
"If Germans show up on the Balkans, just run for the mountains. Use the detachments as rearguards to delay the enemy. If they catch your corps on the plains, it's over."
check, I completely screwed that up too
"With the French an offensive is 100% pointless until the better cannons. Attacking Belgium won't help a bit either: it lengthens the frontline by only 3 quite defensible hexes and the Entente takes a massive hit for it."
hmm, but I win a few MPPs per round for that - or what do you mean by "hit"? Diplomacy?
"BUT
in the WW1 game everyone can fight everywhere. This "no cooperation thing" from the WW2 versions does not exist here. So you can for example simply send the Brits over to Russia."
That's a really good tip, I hadn't thought about it that much
do you then send units to Murmans and from there by train?
Or showdown in the Baltic Sea?
thank's for the Tipps
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Platoonist
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Re: Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
Bavre is probably referring to National Morale. NM will take a big hit for the Western Entente members if they declare war on Belgium. Britain will lose in the neighborhood of 8,000 NM and France 3,000 NM. Britain will actually shift diplomatically towards the Central Powers if it hasn't joined the Entente yet. This, along with the inevitable battlefield losses has a lingering negative effect on the morale of Allied combat units. You mentioned that the attack forecasts for a French counter-offensive didn't look good. Mediocre unit morale due to lowered NM for the western Allies could be part of the problem.
Re: Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
I didn't even consider the NM at the moment, just the urge to have to exert pressure somewhere. Haven't registered now whether and how much the Belgium campaign had an impact. I carried it out in the spring of 1915, so England had already joined.Platoonist wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2023 2:32 pmBavre is probably referring to National Morale. NM will take a big hit for the Western Entente members if they declare war on Belgium. Britain will lose in the neighborhood of 8,000 NM and France 3,000 NM. Britain will actually shift diplomatically towards the Central Powers if it hasn't joined the Entente yet. This, along with the inevitable battlefield losses has a lingering negative effect on the morale of Allied combat units. You mentioned that the attack forecasts for a French counter-offensive didn't look good. Mediocre unit morale due to lowered NM for the western Allies could be part of the problem.
The bad forecasts for the French were just right from the start, so I saw no point in trying anything and stayed more passive.
I probably really should have sent something to Serbia or really to Russia.
Re: Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
About Belgium:
Yes, exactly what platoonist said. Also in this version of the game NM isn't just about the debuffs. Big countries are usually not outright conquered here, but taken out via NM loss. You can kind of think of NM as your hitpoints here.
You also mentioned that the blockade seemed to do very little NM wise. My guess it that the effect was mostly compensated by the german NM drain from conquered stuff in Russia.
Sending units to Russia:
Fastest way is to use the harbor near the border with Norway. Sending a Brit from the isles to the eastern front is actually only marginally slower than sending it to the western one.
Sending stuff to Serbia:
Highly depends on how they are holding. The principal problem is that once the last Serbian capital falls, the Entente has no more primary supply anywhere on the Balkans.
Attacking with France:
Without remote deentrenchment this is in my experience highly counterproductive. Not only will the french just plain loose more stuff, worse all those fights will pump a steady stream of XP into the german HQ and that's gonna bite you in the rear end big time later on.
Btw (and if I may ask), whom are you fighting?
Yes, exactly what platoonist said. Also in this version of the game NM isn't just about the debuffs. Big countries are usually not outright conquered here, but taken out via NM loss. You can kind of think of NM as your hitpoints here.
You also mentioned that the blockade seemed to do very little NM wise. My guess it that the effect was mostly compensated by the german NM drain from conquered stuff in Russia.
Sending units to Russia:
Fastest way is to use the harbor near the border with Norway. Sending a Brit from the isles to the eastern front is actually only marginally slower than sending it to the western one.
Sending stuff to Serbia:
Highly depends on how they are holding. The principal problem is that once the last Serbian capital falls, the Entente has no more primary supply anywhere on the Balkans.
Attacking with France:
Without remote deentrenchment this is in my experience highly counterproductive. Not only will the french just plain loose more stuff, worse all those fights will pump a steady stream of XP into the german HQ and that's gonna bite you in the rear end big time later on.
Btw (and if I may ask), whom are you fighting?
Re: Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
with Belgium and the NM unfortunately everything sounds very plausible. But with that, the last ray of hope is really lost, Belgium, France, Germany is currently the only area where I was able to take one or more units from the Germans.
I'll remember units to Russia as a good antidote.
Unfortunately, I lost Serbia far too quickly, and the Austrians are already putting enormous pressure on Italy.
yes France, as I said, I also behaved passively, meanwhile the artillery can de-entrench.
my opponent is "Zollhund", I clearly won the first round. He had tried it via Belgium.
In the game it felt like a hot dream on all fronts for me.^^
Now it's the other way around, karma is really a bitch
I'll remember units to Russia as a good antidote.
Unfortunately, I lost Serbia far too quickly, and the Austrians are already putting enormous pressure on Italy.
yes France, as I said, I also behaved passively, meanwhile the artillery can de-entrench.
my opponent is "Zollhund", I clearly won the first round. He had tried it via Belgium.
In the game it felt like a hot dream on all fronts for me.^^
Now it's the other way around, karma is really a bitch
Re: Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
Hi - in all of my recent multi-player games, if the Germans go east in 1914, the Entente immediately sends units to Serbia. With France not under pressure, they can afford to send corps there quickly: you can use naval cruise to send a unit in one move from Marseille to Cetinje, provided the AH navy is bottled up in port. Or, you can start sending British corps towards Serbia even before the UK enters the war, so they can land as soon as the UK enters the game. With Entente reinforcements, the Serbs can hold out for a very long time, even after the Bulgarians have opened a second front, if the Entente has sent enough corps to support the Serbs, plus at least one HQ (preferably two). The key choke-point is Nish: as long as the Entente holds that, the CP can not establish a rail connection to the Ottomans and they slowly decline due to lack of convoy resources and reinforcements from Germany or AH. If the CP can't capture Nish before the end of 1915, the Ottomans are probably doomed.
Even after losing Nish, it can be a significant thorn in the side of CP to have an Entente beachhead in the Balkans supplied from Uskub. If Serbia can survive until late August 1915, then the Entente will be able to bring Greece into the war on their side through a DE. Although Athens will not provide the same supply as Uskub (since it is not a Major Capital), the rest of Greece is a great base for Entente to use for reinforcements and it takes a lot of effort and time for the CP to capture it - given the mountains and the narrow approaches to Athens -for very little reward. The result is usually a residual Entente presence in Greece even after Serbia has fallen. This reflects the front they maintained in real life around Salonika against the Bulgarians right through the end of the war.
What is great about the WW1 game is it is a series of strategic trade-offs: if Germany goes West, Russia gets very threatening. If Germany goes East, France has a free hand to meddle in the Balkans and the UK can send reinforcements to Russia. And with either of these basic openings, the CP also has to take out Serbia at some point, otherwise its Ottoman ally is in an untenable position.
The most important variable in the game over the long haul is National Morale: its immediate effects on combat are marginal, but it is National Morale that will eventually cause some Majors to withdraw from the war (Russia or the Ottomans) or to eventually surrender (France, Italy, AH or Germany).
Have fun!
Even after losing Nish, it can be a significant thorn in the side of CP to have an Entente beachhead in the Balkans supplied from Uskub. If Serbia can survive until late August 1915, then the Entente will be able to bring Greece into the war on their side through a DE. Although Athens will not provide the same supply as Uskub (since it is not a Major Capital), the rest of Greece is a great base for Entente to use for reinforcements and it takes a lot of effort and time for the CP to capture it - given the mountains and the narrow approaches to Athens -for very little reward. The result is usually a residual Entente presence in Greece even after Serbia has fallen. This reflects the front they maintained in real life around Salonika against the Bulgarians right through the end of the war.
What is great about the WW1 game is it is a series of strategic trade-offs: if Germany goes West, Russia gets very threatening. If Germany goes East, France has a free hand to meddle in the Balkans and the UK can send reinforcements to Russia. And with either of these basic openings, the CP also has to take out Serbia at some point, otherwise its Ottoman ally is in an untenable position.
The most important variable in the game over the long haul is National Morale: its immediate effects on combat are marginal, but it is National Morale that will eventually cause some Majors to withdraw from the war (Russia or the Ottomans) or to eventually surrender (France, Italy, AH or Germany).
Have fun!
Re: Entente strategy when CP attack Serbia and Russia in a concentrated manner
Thanks for the input, that's exactly the type of strategy advice I need!mdsmall wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2023 11:08 am Hi - in all of my recent multi-player games, if the Germans go east in 1914, the Entente immediately sends units to Serbia. With France not under pressure, they can afford to send corps there quickly: you can use naval cruise to send a unit in one move from Marseille to Cetinje, provided the AH navy is bottled up in port. Or, you can start sending British corps towards Serbia even before the UK enters the war, so they can land as soon as the UK enters the game. With Entente reinforcements, the Serbs can hold out for a very long time, even after the Bulgarians have opened a second front, if the Entente has sent enough corps to support the Serbs, plus at least one HQ (preferably two). The key choke-point is Nish: as long as the Entente holds that, the CP can not establish a rail connection to the Ottomans and they slowly decline due to lack of convoy resources and reinforcements from Germany or AH. If the CP can't capture Nish before the end of 1915, the Ottomans are probably doomed.
Even after losing Nish, it can be a significant thorn in the side of CP to have an Entente beachhead in the Balkans supplied from Uskub. If Serbia can survive until late August 1915, then the Entente will be able to bring Greece into the war on their side through a DE. Although Athens will not provide the same supply as Uskub (since it is not a Major Capital), the rest of Greece is a great base for Entente to use for reinforcements and it takes a lot of effort and time for the CP to capture it - given the mountains and the narrow approaches to Athens -for very little reward. The result is usually a residual Entente presence in Greece even after Serbia has fallen. This reflects the front they maintained in real life around Salonika against the Bulgarians right through the end of the war.
What is great about the WW1 game is it is a series of strategic trade-offs: if Germany goes West, Russia gets very threatening. If Germany goes East, France has a free hand to meddle in the Balkans and the UK can send reinforcements to Russia. And with either of these basic openings, the CP also has to take out Serbia at some point, otherwise its Ottoman ally is in an untenable position.
The most important variable in the game over the long haul is National Morale: its immediate effects on combat are marginal, but it is National Morale that will eventually cause some Majors to withdraw from the war (Russia or the Ottomans) or to eventually surrender (France, Italy, AH or Germany).
Have fun!