The Darkest hour of the Russian Empire

[Falconette]

@Avindian: If Germany loses the war Austria-Hungary takes the rule.
@Dachspmg: Strange things with redeployment. I'd like to use it, but I CAN'T! I've already learned Logistics 1914 (which allows Strategic Redeployment), but I simply don't have this option! About IC - what's wrong with it?
@Deus Eversor: Sounds good, but I need glory!
@SovietAmerika: Yeah, it would be so sweet
@Timmie0307: Plans? Oh yes, I have some! But I'll tell about it later - at the moment the war isn't finished.
@KotoR45: Funny question, I don't actually know!
@Kaiser_Mobius: Well, in 1914-1916 Austria-Hungary was the main loser of CP, why not to be competent in 1917, when the roles had switched?

Everybody, thanks for comments, next update will be posted tomorrow

[Dachspmg]

@Dachspmg: Strange things with redeployment. I'd like to use it, but I CAN'T! I've already learned Logistics 1914 (which allows Strategic Redeployment), but I simply don't have this option! About IC - what's wrong with it?

Weird. I haven't played a Russia 1914 game, but I have played an A-H one, and they redeploy just fine.

Your IC, in most pictures, is not being fully utilized. You usually have about 40 IC of slack that you're not using, which, it seems to me, would be extremely valuable for suppressing dissent.

[DoomBunny]

You need to have researched Mobilisation.

[Falconette]

The Darkest hour of the Russian Empire

Chapter Four: 1917
Part XXV: The twilight of Germany

Kak nyne
Sbiraetsya
Veschiy Oleg
Otmstit nerazumnym khazaram

Ih sela
I nivy
Za buinyi nabeg
Obrek on mechom i pozharom


Remember how
Was preparing
Oleg the Wise
To revenge the Khazars

Their villages
And fields
For their raids
Were under fire and sword


On 30 of April Russian troops entered Breslau. Silesia was in Russian hands!

Soldiers of Moscow Military District in Breslau


General Rediger, who won the battle of Breslau

Waldenburg, German last strong point in Western Poland, was going to fall too, 31 divisions of general Berkhman knew what to do with the Germans.

Central Powers lose the battle of Waldenburg

Losing of Breslau caused panic in Germany - Kaiser was becoming more and more unpopular amongst his citizens. By the way, Austrian cunning counter-attack, that gave them Przemysl, failed, and they left the town after only a week of control. These moves of Austrian army were well-prepared, but hopeless - Russian army in Galizia was simply bigger than their.

Breslau is lost, Przemysl too

When Waldenburg was captured, Russian army gained an opportunity to save Romania. Austrians had extremely powerful army in Northern Romania - 40 divisions. Actually, it was all their military might. And the Russians had a difficult task to:
a) Save 2 Romanian divisions from death in Bacau pocket
b) Defeat outnumbering Austrian forces
c) Secure and liberate Romanian territory

With only 12 divisions (they were taken from Przemysl, and the Austrians managed to capture it, but for only a week) it wasn't easy to do. Romanian front didn't have HQ, and that worsened the situation.

Romanian front: 7th, 9th and 21st Army Corps attack Suceava


"Russian Cossacks in Romania" by V. Belovsky, 1917

On the other front, in Prussia, everything was ready for the offensive. 42 divisions - a fantastic mass of soldiers, guns, armored cars and airplanes - were ready to strike. Brusilov decided to start the operation immediately when all corps got equipment and ammunition. On 5 of May it began...The main offensive's point was to take Frankfurt-on-Oder and besiege Berlin, but Brusilov also ordered to take Meseritz to prevent the Russian army from encirclement. The plan was good and now it was the right moment to try it...

"Operation Eagle", Russian offensive in May of 1917


Russian 1917 poster about "the last step to Berlin"

Two days later the French captured Bielefield, one more German city. Kaiser lost initiative, his armies were falling back day by day...

Frontlines in May of 1917 - Germany is close to full-scale collapse, Austria keeps fighting, Romania improved the situation a bit with Russian support

Russian assaults were tragically successful, Central Powers were shocked and didn't know where to defend - their frontlines were torn everywhere from the gates of Berlin to Northern Romania. Defeats were nearly inevitable at Frankfurt-on-Oder, Krakow, Meseritz, Nowy Sasz, Suveava and Waldenburg.

Russian current battles

Five days later general Atabekov, commander of 10th Army Corps got a message from the intelligence, that Carpathian mountains weren't defended - all Austrian soldiers were redeployed to Romania. He tried to use that chance.

Chust was stormed brutally 4 times - and now it's without any garrison!

Another action against Austria-Hungary was at Krakow - this ancient Polish city was defended by only one Turkish division, led by Mustafa Kemal-pasha.

Markov's 11th Corps in the battle of Krakow


Russian artillery near Krakow

In Romanian front general Savvich defeated Austro-Hungarian army near Iasi. Austrian pocket had a chance to become a Russian pocket!

May, 17. Interesting situation in Romania

On the same day Waldenburg was taken by general Berkhman. Southern Poland was under Russian occupation, German losses were terrible.

Victorious operation in Southern Poland

In the West the allies made a decisive step - Essen and Stuttgart were captured, German army was in agony, it ran out of supplies, soldiers started rebelling against their commanders. German Grosses Generalstab finally understood that they would never be able to make one more wonder like "Operation Heinrich" in 1916, when they pushed their enemies from German borders and Austrian territory. General tried to force Kaiser to sign a peace treaty, but the German Emperor didn't listen - he decided to fight till the last soldier...

Panic retreat in Western Germany

Italians also used the situation in a right way - with so many Austrian troops fighting in Romania Italian front was defended by militia and Ottoman expeditionary forces. The Italians and French retook Udino from their enemies.

The control is regained

On 20 of May the battle of Meseritz was won - Guard Corps of general von Val triumphantly entered the surrendered city.

The occupation of Meseritz

The battle for Frankfurt was close to end, too. The Germans had 19 divisions to fight, but the Russian army had 42. The victory was very, very close!

They will be defeated soon!

The war continues
Waiting for your comments
Next update: December, 3

[hoi2geek]

Very soon, the Central Powers will surrender. I'm guessing you would go to war against the rest of the Entente.

[Falconette]

@hoi2geek: Just why? Well, I don't know to continue this AAR after the enemies' capitulation or not (a question to readers - should I?), but my primary task would be to return Southern Sakhalin and Kuriles from Japan - by diplomacy or force I can't find a reason for the Tsar to start another global war when he has to stabilize his own war-torn empire

[History_Buff]

I say you annex Prussian and Austrian Poland and possibly East Prussia. Then, you should write an event chain, if possible and practical, that either has you develop a rivalry with the other Entente powers if Germany is utterly crushed and unable to constitute a real threat or, conversely, have Germany rearm, similiar to what really happened, but possibly with the Kaiser still in power. This is because IIRC, one of the key factors that caused the revolution that toppled the Kaiser is that the Americans demanded the Germans democratize in order to have peace. This led the German people to believe that as long as the Kaiser remained in power, they would not be able to make peace. I myself cannot see the Autocratic Russians making or allowing such a demand.

[Sharky1510]

World conquest!

[Ivir Baggins]

In addition to taking Galicia, Posen and East Prussia, Russia should make Austria accept Serbian and Romanian demands.

[DoomBunny]

My thoughts on peace:

Germany is a impudent scoundrel of a nation, and very dangerous. Russia should liberate the peoples of Poland and West and East Prussia so that they may be protected from their clearly insane government.
Germany should be made to disarm, and turn their fleet over to Russia and then scrapped or put into service.
Germany should be made to pay damages to Russia covering all war and repair costs.
Germany should be made to accept full guilt for this war, clearly it is their fault.

Austria Hungary should be allowed to remain, but their Polish lands, Slovakia and the Carpathians should be annexed to Russia, for the protection of the people living in these areas.
Austria Hungary should be made to grant all Serb and Romanian demands.
Their navy should be turned over to Russia and then scrapped or put into service.
Austria Hungary should also accept full guilt, and pay reperations.

The Ottomans should be forced to grant Russia control of Constantinople and their european possessions, they should also cede territory on the Causcus border.
The Holy Land should be liberated and placed under the protection of the Russian Tsar.
The Ottomans must pay reperations.
Their navy too should be disposed off.

Above all, it is important that Russia be rightly rewarded for its near single handed victory over the Central Powers, and that the Central Powers be rendered incapable of any form of aggression in the future.

/end "Central Powers must die!" mode.

As for the future, I would like to see you continue and retake Russian lands in asia, perhaps even carve some territory out of China, Afghanistan or Persia. The UK wouldnt like this however, so perhaps you could end up with a UK, Japan, Portugal and China V Russia, France, Romania, Yugoslavia war?

[Falconette]

Wow, really interesting proposals for capitulation texts, thanks everybody By the way, AFAIK capitulation events are scripted ingame, so I wouldn't be able to make all these demands Anyway, they are very logical and I'll try to manually claim some of them.

P.S. I think that all these proposals mean that you'd like to read my AAR even after 1918?

[Soulstrider]

@DoomBunny: Very good proposals, surely such harsh terms will make the central powers incapable of ever rising again, truly nothing bad will ever come from them, right?


@Falconette: I wouldn't mid that at all

[SovietAmerika]

I agree with the peace event. Show them bastards Hell!

Also, it'd be interesting to see a Bolshevik Revolution win in Germany. The irony would be so delicious.

[DoomBunny]

Well, I guess you can always manually edit the events or save game so that you can create terms that you like.

Either way, Id love to see a post WW1 Tsarist Russia.

[Avindian]

I will join my voice to those who want to see things continue; I love alternate history, and the idea of Russia winning and not becoming the USSR is one of my favorites, maybe even become a democracy! Ambivalent towards a war with the Entente, but regardless, I say onward and upward!

[Deus Eversor]

grey - our, present borders
red - former borders 1914
blue - new borders 1918
pink - borders of grandduchies
*notice that: more silesia and prussia to polish g.duchy, more eustrian slovenia to croatia, more of bulgaria to serbia and romania, also notice blue dots who mark teritory that would be given to greece if it had the guts to join... Konstantinople for Russia, galipoli for uk.

i propose such partitioning, new borders + puppetization/personal union if possible, Everyone gets what they want, should be happy, yet situation in germany could poses a staging point for a new conflict among former allies (hihihi cold war interbellum) The Tzar and Kaizer of Slavs and Germans, will want to reunite germany, just liek he did with slavs?
Austria under italy will be porbably too weak to oppose diplomatic pressure from Russia and abolish italian king in favor of Tzar-Kaiser. Bayern, obviously more traditional and monarchic than France will hate the republic and after austria had fallen, will follow. So if those two follow, Westafallen will have no other choice but do the same.
Former allies should be trully pissed off by this and new imperial war is ready to go

besides its obvious that personally united countries of russia, will at some point be annexed into motherland (f*CK YEAH!)

[Falconette]

@Deus Eversor: Bah, just great! Absolutely awesome work I'm so sorry that I can't create something like that because of ingame events, but I promise to make the situation maximally interesting. Thanks for your proposals very much, let's see what I can do when the war is finished!

[Deus Eversor]

THX!

I also would propose a fitting standard for annexations,
countries wil level of kingdom or higher will become grand duchies (except konigsreich of preussen whose konig is Tzar and Kaiserreich of Germania as its Kaiser is obviously the Tzar)
countries below the level of kingdom will become duchies - thus not mentionable on international maps
republics... hmh, open to suggestions, it would probably be simply a puppet with a higher annexation time, but i would call it a grand duchy

[Midge]

I thought I'd let you know that I feel you have done marvelously and that currently this AAR is by far my favorite.

I couldn't help but notice that some of the above users have gone a bit far with their peace proposals (esp concerned with Balkanising Germany and the Ottomon Empire), as far as I'm concerned the weakest of the Central Powers seems to have been Germany with Austria and the OE actually fighting off the other allies and you pretty well and I hope this will be borne in mind when the time for a epilogue comes.

However, once again I think this is a marvelous AAR and I commend you on it. Well done. Its a jolly good piece of work.

[KotoR45]

Simply Amazing! Although i'd like too see how post war events will play out....