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An Oriental Struggle - The Ottoman Empire in the Great War

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An Oriental Struggle
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Chapter XII. All Quiet on the Caucasian Front​



The summer of 1915 meant sacrifices and victories for the Central Powers. Germany advanced into the lightly defended Belgium, trying to make the French follow them, but instead of that the French pushed the Germans out of their territory. The Russians have suffered major defeats on both of their fronts. They had to pull back from East-Prussia and the western parts of Poland but managed to hold their positions in Austrian Galicia. The Ottomans were in a difficult situation after the Armenian revolt; Russia had occupied three of their provinces. But luckily, the Russians had forgotten Tabriz and Fevzi Pasha managed to occupy the Province with his cavalry army, then later keep it with the help of Liman von Sanders' four cavalry divisions. Field Marshan von der Goltz succesfully drove the Russians out of Erzurum and General Kress von Kressenstein is marching towards Van the very moment...

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Ottoman Infantry resting before the long march to Van​


After the research of Forward Logistics Organization was completed, Enver Pasha started working on Defence-in-Depht Doctrine, and after Reserve Infantry of 1912 was finished, the research of Cavalry of 1915 was commenced. The Ottoman dissent is still 8.00%, so for a while consumer goods shall be concentrated on. We started to build a land fortification in Suez, and if ran in full speed it is supposed to be finished in August next year. Also, the Ottoman army started to recruit reservists. In total we are forming 12 new Reserve Infantry divisions (one by one of course).

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Admiral Souchon, the German military advisor who brought SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau to Constantinople, is patrolling in the Black Sea. This is his third patrol mission since the beginning of the war and still no Russian activity has been spotted. Admiral Souchon's men are getting bored due to the lack of action and the constant drills. Even though it is good that we do not lose any of our ships, a naval victory could boost the war effort of the Ottoman populance.

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Ottoman seamen after a firing drill​


Ever since the beginning of the war, Greece had been pondering which side they should take, or just remaining neutral. King Constantine favoured the Central Powers, not only because his German wife but also because he believed in the superiority of the German Imperial Army. The Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, was on the Entente's side. He was afraid that the Anglo-French naval superiority in the Mediterranean would have same effects on Greece as it has on the Ottoman Empire; ill effects on the people. Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, wished that Greece would take action in the Dardanelles, as a part of attacking the heart of the Ottoman Empire. Venizelos saw this as an opportunity to slide Greece on the Entente's side. The King disagreed with the Prime Minister and had him put out of office.

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Nothing new from the Caucasian front, but from the Western front instead! By the 15th of October, the German Army had re-captured Reims.

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Van is Ottoman again! On the 16th of October General Kress von Kressenstein arrived in Van. Lt. General Mustafa Kemal is arriving soonish and our divisions from the south are being redeployed there, and should arrive on the 29th of October. Hopefully the Russians won't drive Kress von Kressenstein out of Van during that time, though...

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Ottoman Infantry posing behind a German-made Machinegun before moving into defensive positions

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Something terrible is happening. Our garrison in Kuweit City is under attack! Two British infantry divisions are trying to make landfall near Kuweit, we need to stop them before anything terrible can happen.. After nightfall, the British attacked with two more divisions. We urgently sent one division from Abadan to assist our troops at Kuweit. A fourth front would be disastrous for the Ottoman war effort. After a few days of bloody battles, the British were losing their will to fight. Even though reinforcements are on the way, looks like our 1895-infantry division had the situation under control for the whole time...

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On the 23rd of October, the German Army had occupied the last bits of Belgium in Europe.

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​

The Emir of Afganistan finally allowed the German agents, who started their long journey to Afganistan about a year ago, to see him. The Germans offered an alliance for the Emir. If they invaded India they could keep most of their newly acquired land and also German rifles would be sent to Afganistan during the winter. But the Emir wanted more. A caravan from New Delhi had been spotted in the outskirts of Kabul, carrying British gold to ensure the Emir's neutrality. He then told the Germans that he wanted more, more than the British paid him, in order to sign an alliance with the Germans. Outrageous.

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Central Powers; October 30, 1915
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Mr. Santiago > Well, it's been rather silent on my fronts but the Western Front is still moving so wait for the next update! ^^
 
The western Front looks nice, finally. Let's see if the German army can rush to Parish. Nothing new on Suez nor in the Eastern Front?
 
Well, Germany did capture Königsberg back among with a few Russian provinces. Austria managed to push Russia out of Galicia but then the Russians conquered the area again. Tsingtao was lost.. I'm not sure even when, some time after I told you how German AI picked up their garrison there and sailed to the Pacific. Nothing new at Suez I'm afraid...
 
That one Grman held province looks dangerously easy to take for th French, almost surrounded as it is. Hopefully the Germans will prevail.
 
Finally, it seems that the Germans are at last getting their act together. Also, im surprised little Serbia is still holding out so well.

Good update.
 
Have you considered mil controlling Bulgaria so you can use them to agressively knock Serbia out of the war? The freed up Austrian, Bulgarian and perhaps German troops could be very useful on other fronts (not to mention the benefit of connecting the Empire with its allies by land!)
 
Nikolai > You don't say... German AI is a bit reckless if you may.. Oh well, they're doing fine for the time being -)

Kaiser_Mobius >　It is extremely hard to defeat Serbia quickly. They get many new divisions by events quite suddenly and GDE is 130% so... It's almost always like that; first Austrian-Hungary loses a few provinces to them, then Bulgaria attacks from the south and they get owned :D

Hyo > If the Germans don't do it, which they most likely will do (not doing it), the balance will be changed when Russia gets knocked out of the war in early 1918 :--)

E:

Tommy4ever > To keep it more realistic, no I shall not control the Bulgarian Army. Soon enough they will, if not annex, but occupy northern Serbia so I'm OK ;)
 
An Oriental Struggle
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Chapter XIII. War Never Changes ​



It has been a year since the Ottoman Empire joined the Great War on Germany's side. The politicians on each side made promises of a quick victory; back home till Christmas. But the second Christmas of the war is approaching and no one is going home quite yet. The horrific failures of the Ottoman Army in the Caucasus during winter/spring of 1915 almost made the Ottoman war effort collapse. Fortunately, with the help of the German military advisors, the Russians were driven back, even though it meant of leaving Egypt. In the winter of 1915, Field Marshal von der Goltz was ordered to invade India using any means necessary but the project is on pause at the moment, for von der Goltz is in Erzurum, helping the Third Army. Afganistan seems not to ally with us, so attacking India through them also seems to have become impossible. There has also been rumours that the Sultan of Persia would not fancy us moving armies through their territory*.

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German troops preparing to attack



The Fronts;

Germany​

The Western Front is no doubt the most important field of battle of the war. It is also the one where the armies advance the least. It is more like a clash of the giants; western Entente versus Germany. The German offensives have not stopped since spring and they are trying to attack Longwy (Metz) once again.

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In the East, Germany has finally got her act together and has succesfully driven the Russian Bear out of East-Prussia. Now it's the time to push the Russians out of Poland!

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The last standing colony of Germany, East Africa, is defendless because von Lettow-Vorbeck lead his army up north and is trying to capture Mogadishu from the Italians. It is only a matter of time until the Entente forces outnumber von LettoW-Vorbeck's colonial forces.

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Austria-Hungary

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Austrian heavy artillery​


The Austro-Hungarian army has failed totally. Most of their divisions are now officially part of the German Imperial army (according to statistics they have 16 divisions out of the ~60 left and Germany has +135 inf divisions. I didn't realize it earlier - was quite a shock) The main Austro-Hungarian threat is Russia. With the help of the Germans, though, Austria-Hungary was able to kick the Russians out of Galicia.

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In the Balkans, Austria-Hungary has not managed to conquer Serbia despite the German help. Bulgarian army is attacking from the South, flanking the Serbian troops. Victory should be near.

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The Italian front has been extremely stable. No major attacks no major breakthroughs have been occured. It's even more silent than the Caucasian front.

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Senussi

And finally our poor little Rebel allies. The Italians coming from the West and the British coming from the East, they cannot hold forever.

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On the 8th of November, Russian forces occupied the Persian Caspian Sea coast line, giving them one more province to attack Tabriz from. Field Marshal Liman von Sanders must stay alert.

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In the middle of November, the victorious Senussi Armies had advanced into Egypt, giving something to worry about in London.

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Research / Industry​

Nothing has really changed but we finished the research of Cavalry of 1915 and now are working on 1911 Light Industry in order to boost our war economy a bit. Our coal and metal stockpiles are running low fast. We must urge Germany to conquer Serbia as soon as possible.

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Central Powers; November 29, 1915
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* An RP trick, since one can't attack their enemies through a neutral country with military access. (For some reason when I told about the plan to invade India, I forgot this fact totally. LOL)
 
Amazingly the Senussi are still alive... And yes, you need Serbia to be crushed at once.
 
Those Libyan rebels have quite a lot of divisions! I assume the are all extremely weak militias? Even then their persistence will tie up a decent amount of Entente troops. The Russians taking the Southern Caspian shore could give you a very good opportunity to send troops into Turkestan to cause trouble if things start to improve on the Caucasian front.
 
The Senussi have quite many 1890 infantry divisions, as well as garrisons. They're pretty hard to defeat to be honest..

Yes... I just need to wait that the Russians move some of their divisions out of the Caucasus before I can attack. I'm a bit scared that I might lose the lands I conquered if I attacked .. anywhere :p

Also, the Germans are advancing further into the Horn of Africa, perhaps they really are trying to come to Egypt? :D

E:

Sorry guys for not updating in a while. Seems that after spamming so many updates I got fed up with having such a fast pace :p But do not be afraid, I shall finish the AAR.
 
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An Oriental Struggle
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Chapter XIV. A Cunning Plan?​



After the successful offensives to re-take Erzurum and Van were over, silence fell to the Ottoman Empire. No more attacks against the Russians.. Only small brawls against the British.. What would be the future of the Empire? The Russians have gathered more men to the Caucasus. Trying to attack further could danger our current territorial gains. Sooner or later a risk must be taken. Either by us, or the Russians. The situation in Egypt has not changed. The British have not yet tried to recapture Suez but have driven the Senussi out of their lands.


Our former vassals of Hejaz offered a somewhat good deal to us. How do they produce so much metal anyway?

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Due to the winter attacks against the Russians could be devastating but Ismail Enver and the German Military Mission are certain that Russia can be kicked out of Trebizond. First, though, we need to move our troops and it will take some time. The Invasion of India is on hold and forgotten by most in the General Staff. The Russians are taking all our energy and India shall be dealt with later.

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Breaking the Deadlock?​

In order to achieve major breakthroughs against the Russians, the Ottoman General Staff has to come up with alternative plans. As seen before, mass charge attacks into the enemy lines are extremely leathal and it would only waste men. If only the enemy could be encircled somehow. Then Admiral Souchon realized; How about an amphibious assault? Of course it would be impossible to send troops directly behind the Russian troops in the Caucasus, but how about the Crimean Peninsula? It is virtually defenseless as Admiral Souchon has noticed every time his fleet sailed pass Sevastopol. There are two problems though. First, where to get the spare men from? and the bigger problem, How to get the men to their objective, for we have no transport vessels! Building a transport would last about 70 days and it would use 4.9 IC. We are already building a land fortifications in Suez and also recruiting Reserve Infantry (all in all it needs around 13 IC). If further building projects were to be taken, it would make it slower to upgrade our units, even though for only roughly seventy days. What should the Ottoman General Staff do?

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Or Invading India?​

A naval invasion could also be commenced against British India. We could then encircle the British troops at Babolsar and continue our long march to India. There is a risk of encountering the Royal Navy, even though it's likely that most of its battleships are located in Britain herself. And once we deploy our transport-flotilla, we might not be able to move it (for instance from Basrah to Constantinople) because there is no way we can protect it. Yet again difficult choices would have to be made. Some troops from the Caucasus would be needed to assist in the siege of Babolsar and so on. But clinging into status quo will not help the Ottoman Empire out of this situation, something hardcore must be done.

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The Ottoman Navy​

The Naval Forces that would assist the invasion of Crimea, are somewhat puny. No doubt, our most powerful ship is the former German SMS Goeben, now Yavuz Sultan Selim, also the flagship of Admiral Souchon. Despite the fact that the two ancient battleships are also German made, the Russians have more firepower in the Black Sea than their Ottoman rival. The lack of modern naval doctrines is the heel of Achilles of the Ottoman navy, and because land forces are considered more important, it is unlikely that the navy's strategy will be changed.

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It would not take that long to research important techs because we have the blueprints, but is it really worth it?


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The Great Ottoman Navy.. and her ancient ships


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SMS Goeben, built by the Blohm & Voss Yards and commissioned in 1912, the flagship of the Ottoman Navy


Nothing much has happened during December. The German offensives in the Western Front have stopped, Warsaw is still in Russian control. Let's hope that the coming year will bring the Central Powers great victories!

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From left to right: Bulgaria, A-H, Germany, Ottoman Empire​



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next; 1916!
 
Some bold amphibious plans from the OE there. If successful you really will strike a severe blow against the Entente.
 
Personally I think you should abandon any ideas of invading India. India is too vast and its capture I doubt will really affect the British war effort. Trying to hold India would require tons of troops to guard the beaches, which the British will definitely be putting alot of pressure on with amphibious assaults. Your army could be easily cut off and destroyed in an Indian campaign, with little to show for it.

Crimea could possibly work, but I don't have much confidence in your navy. As you said, even with the Goeben and the Breslau now in the Ottoman Fleet, the Russians still vastly outpower you in the Black Sea. An attempt to land there could mean the destruction of your navy, as im sure the Russian fleet would gladly come out of port to fight if forces to do so by Ottoman troops taking over Sevastopol. Then you must also factor in that the Russians could simply counter attack with their army in Crimea and you could lose that fight on the ground anyway, since we have already seen that the Russians have no problems with going toe to toe with your forces.

Therefore, I think you should go with a more cautious advance into the Caucasus, perhaps supported by amphibious attacks along the western Georgian coast or something. You already hold Tabriz, giving you easy access to the Baku oil fields as well. You could perhaps march all the way to Tsaritsyn and the Volga river from the south, especially if the Germans start getting their act together and force the Russian war effort to begin collapsing.

Last but not least, keep your eyes carefully watching the Arabs. Im sure the British are getting ready to set the Arab regions against you....

Good updates, looking forward to new developments.
 
I also agree: Crimea is too far away from the front. It might help Germany, but not the Ottoman empire.
 
Aye, at least if you had naval supremacy you could do some raids in Crimea, diverting some Russians from other fronts, but alas, that ain't possible
 
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