Plan XVII

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oldspec4
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by oldspec4 »

Great read...I'm starting another game from the French side (4 player) after a decisive CP win. Am following this closely.
balto
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by balto »

GREAT!!!
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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

Nov-Dec 1915

With Saarbourg under siege it was time for another risky infantry assault. The French had the advantage that unlike Metz, Saarbourg had been reduced. Two rounds of infantry assaults were enought to secure the city at the cost of one corps destroyed, a light cost for such an imortant objective.

Diplomacy
A British Diplomat is sent to Spain (again), he achieves a resounding sccess improving Spanish opinion of the Entente by 3 points.

Military
Going on the old adage, nothing ventured nothing gained, the French will continue to advance through Southern Germany. The GB offensive on Lille will continue as well. Acting on the intel received from the Mata Hair event several of the weaker German positions are being probed by French attacks. To sum up, there's a lot happening on the West Front this month, attacks along the front range from three Infantry corps right up to multiple Armies attacking a single city.

The German Navy clashes with the Royal Navy at Dogger Bank, two German squadrons are destroyed and an old German battleship is sunk in a brief clash.

French and German forces clash in Vosges as the French advance. The German defence consists of just a single infantry corps, but aided by the terrain they take a heavy toll of the French before they are defeated. Two French infantry corps are destroyed along with a cavalry corps before the area is safely under French control again.
French forces swiftly overwhelm another German infantry corps in their advance on Argonne.

The second attempt to retake Lille is a massive affair, two British Armies and one French are involved. Despite stern German resistance the superior Entente numbers prove too much and the German defence is defeated and flees the battlefield. 1 Entente infantry corps is destroyed whilst the Germans lose 5 Infantry/Cavalry corps with several others taking serious casualties.

British forces attack at Guise and defeat another German infantry corps.

A British attack at Ypres is an official success, despite the loss of 2 infantry corps.

French forces reach Thionville unopposed and lay siege to the city. French artillery bombards the fort and reduces the defences in preperation for an infantry assault.


INTERPHASE
France loses 2 NW from combat losses.
France fails to restore order.
France succeeds in appoint a new war leader.
France succeeds in gaining a war loan.
National Will of France is improved by 5 points (improve NW).
National Will of France is improved by 5 points as a failed mutiny is put down.
The Franch Grand Camapaign in St Mihel is declared a success (clearly!) and has boosted French NW by 10 points.
The major victory won in Lille has boosted French NW by +3, in addition recapturing the city has given +1NW.
The capture of Thionville has boosted French NW by 1 point.
The conquest of Colmar, Saarbourg, Thionville, Bitche, Kaiserslautern, Chalons sur Marne, Argonne has improved French NW by +7.
Parliament's mood affects French NW by -1.
Strikes and rebellions affect French NW by -3.


British Parliamentry mood is unsuccesfully improved, GB is now Pacifist.
GB loses 2 NW through combat losses.
GB has suceeded in improving wartime economy.
GB succeeds in her attempt to strengthn parliament.
GB has adopted the choice war loan.
The stability of GB has worsened and NW loses 1 point.
The British offensive on Lille has been succesful, only just though.
British NW is affected by Parliament's mood, -1 NW.
Strikes and rebellions cause a loss of 2 NW in Britain.

Entente naval forces sink 1 u-boat.
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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

France, Jan 1916

The recent Grand Offensive was far more succesful than I had hoped for. In addition to retaking St Mihel the French Army managed to rampage through the German lines and even reached the Rhine before German forces could be redeployed to meet the threat. The upshot of that is the French NW has rocketed to 38, although the government remains Pacifist.

The blue shaded area represents current French held areas, with the dotted red line showing areas taken since the start of the French offensive. The territory gains are going to be difficult to hold effectively, but the Germans now have a huge frontline to defend so I'm feeling confident for now at least. French forces now have to convert the rail tracks to Entente standards.

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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

British Sector, North France/Belgium

German forces have been pushed back to the Belgian border with France, British forces are slowly gathering strength with several infantry corps scheduled for arrival this year. Early planning for a grand offensive is already being considered. The obvious option would be to clear the Channel coast as far as the Dutch border leaving the front line along the Escaut river.

British NW is still not great at 27, but it's not terrible either. The government line is stronger in Britain than France, with the nation being firmly behind the war effort (war mongering). At sea the u-boat is, at least for now, defeated. There are currently no German u-boats at sea whilst the Entente has 21 escort units patrolling the oceans.

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anarchyintheuk
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by anarchyintheuk »

ORIGINAL: Dixie

Nov-Dec 1915

INTERPHASE
France loses 2 NW from combat losses.
France fails to restore order.
France succeeds in appoint a new war leader.
France succeeds in gaining a war loan.
National Will of France is improved by 5 points (improve NW).
National Will of France is improved by 5 points as a failed mutiny is put down.
The Franch Grand Camapaign in St Mihel is declared a success (clearly!) and has boosted French NW by 10 points.
The major victory won in Lille has boosted French NW by +3, in addition recapturing the city has given +1NW.
The capture of Thionville has boosted French NW by 1 point.
The conquest of Colmar, Saarbourg, Thionville, Bitche, Kaiserslautern, Chalons sur Marne, Argonne has improved French NW by +7.
Parliament's mood affects French NW by -1.
Strikes and rebellions affect French NW by -3.

That's what I love about this game. Even with all the success Parliament still isn't happy.
balto
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by balto »

Have the tanks seemed useful? And is anything going on with the Air Power worth mentioning?

Do you feel Air and Tanks are worth pursuing?

Other then the Trenches improvements, is Research playing a role in this scenario?

What difficulty level was this set at, Easy, Normal, Difficult?

This is an incredible AAR, thank you.
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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

ORIGINAL: balto

Have the tanks seemed useful? And is anything going on with the Air Power worth mentioning?

Do you feel Air and Tanks are worth pursuing?

Other then the Trenches improvements, is Research playing a role in this scenario?

What difficulty level was this set at, Easy, Normal, Difficult?

This is an incredible AAR, thank you.

The tanks are still at an experimental stage, I don't seem to be able to put them into the front line. I've only got 2 tank corps at the front right now, so I've not got major hopes pinned on their performance.
Aerial warfare is still in it's infancy, the French have got a better air arm than the Brit RFC at the moment with scout planes as well as bombers. The RFC should receive fighters later this year. There was the chance of an aerial battle over Lille, but as the Brit component was just a bomber squadron I stayed well clear.

Research has been a mixed bag, the French don't seem to be achieving anything, they're still researching Chlorine gas! Otherwise, the Entente has managed to research various techs. Trucks, machine guns, tanks and aerial cameras. Some have an obvious effect, some like trucks have a less obvious but equally important effect.

Difficulty settings etc:

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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

In reference to tanks and their usefulness, a top tip would be to research infiltration doctrine. Without that you can't use tanks, a fact I overlooked.
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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

Feb 1916

Events & Diplomacy
Diplomats again go to Spain and improve the Spanish opinion of the Entente, although I still need to garrison Toulouse (which I can't do yet).

I also played the Severe Blockade event which will make the Entente blockade worse for Germany over the next 6 turns. German NW has tumbled after the French offensive grabbed massive tracts of land and the blockade will hopefully compound this ahead of some summer offensives.

Military
There are no plans for large scale attacks in the near future, Fr V Army is commited to a limited attack on Rethel in order to try and wrest back control of the town after a year under German occupation. British forces are moving to new positions along the Belgian border ready to take advantage of any opportunities that arise.

The Battle of Rethel results in a French victory, although 2 of the corps commited are shaken by the bloody combat and the causalties suffered against a single German corps with artillery support.

German forces attack the French at Craonne, heavily outnumbered by the defenders the German I Saxon Corps is left a disorganised rabble fleeing back to their own lines.

Germany takes the undefended French region of Guise.
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oldspec4
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by oldspec4 »

ORIGINAL: Dixie

In reference to tanks and their usefulness, a top tip would be to research infiltration doctrine. Without that you can't use tanks, a fact I overlooked.

Thanks for the tip...I have tanks but can't use them in my 1916 Grand Offensive. I'm gettin' chewed up on the attack because I thought the infiltration doctrine applied to only storm troops.
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calvinus72
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by calvinus72 »

Yes, Infiltration is required for all "support units" such as Stosstruppen (Assault Troops for the Entente) and Tanks.

The only assault troop unit that does not require the Infiltration doctrine is the leader "Von Lettow" (yes, he's now handled like a special African support unit).
veji1
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by veji1 »

GReat AAR, I am waiting impatiently for it to continue !!
Adieu Ô Dieu odieux... signé Adam
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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

ORIGINAL: veji1

GReat AAR, I am waiting impatiently for it to continue !!

You'll have to hang on until Tuesday [:D]
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06 Maestro
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by 06 Maestro »

It looks like you really cracked the line. Supply can become a big issue in these circumstances-units could be "withdrawn" if isolated.

HQ's can be used as a supply relay-just how far I forgot, but it is useful.
Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.

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veji1
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by veji1 »

ORIGINAL: Dixie

You'll have to hang on until Tuesday [:D]

We are Wednesday !!!
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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

I would have had a turn done, but I had a crash [:(]
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calvinus72
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by calvinus72 »

ORIGINAL: Dixie

I would have had a turn done, but I had a crash [:(]

I hope you saved the game before committing moves.

If the crash is reproduced regularly, don't hesitate to send me the save by mail, of course! [;)]
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Dixie
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RE: Plan XVII

Post by Dixie »

There's an update coming tomorrow [:)]
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Tarsyk
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RE: Plan XVII

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