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Poach

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Sep 17, 2008
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Hello everyone,

I have, of late, being heavily involved in repairing the World War One mod, and at last we've reached the point of being able to play it as a multiplayer game. To my knowledge, no other WW1 AAR has been done for HoI3, let alone a Multiplayer one.

CHAPTER LIST

United Kingdom Chapters
Session One: The British Empire (this post)
Session Two: The Gears of War
Session Three: So it begins... < War starts on this one.
Session Four: Britain at War
Session Five: Crusaders
Session Six: The Big Push < War ends in this session.

Russian Empire Chapters
Session One: Imperial Russia
Session Two: Trepidation and Preperation
Session Three: Bayonets and Horses < War starts on this one.
Session Four: Bloodied Bear
Session Five: Collapse and Retreat
Session Six: Blood for Time < War ends in this session.

France Chapters
No report for Session One.
Session Two: Examiner La République
Session Three: Les Opérations Ordinaires < War starts on this one.
Session Four: Allez! Allez! Marchez, les grenouilles!
Session Five: All or Nothing
Session Six: The Rainbow Offensive < War ends in this session.

German Empire Chapters
No report for Session One.
Session Two: A Place in the Sun
Session Three: Clash of Giants < War starts on this one.
Session Four: Swiss Cheese

Kingdom of Spain Chapters
No report for Sessions One or Two.
Session Three: The Anglo-French Spanish Campaign < War starts on this one.


Player List (Player list is in TWC usernames, with Paradox usernames, where different, in brackets next to their TWC name)

Triple Entente

UK - Poach
French Republic - Lord Romanus III (Posting as Lord Romanus II on Paradox forums)
Russian Empire - I WUB PUGS
Italy - Sebastianus Somerus

Central Powers

German Empire - Abbews (Posting as Abbs on Paradox forums)
Austria-Hungary - 10greenbottles
Ottoman Empire - a tw player (Posting as ADEE1 on Paradox forums)

Unaligned Powers

ForteS - Spain (not a regular player, leaves early and sometimes misses sessions)

House Rules

Declaring and Entering Wars

- No wars can be declared before the Great War has started. Wars such as Italy claiming Libya and the Balkans wars should start and finish by event. Italian and Ottoman Empire players are required to finish these wars as they historically happened: The Ottoman Empire must lost the Italo-Turkish and First Balkan Wars, and win the Second Balkan War with historical wargoals.

- The Ottoman Empire is at liberty to invade Balkans nations when it joins the Great War: you must lose and win the wars historically because the event chain depends on it, but once the war starts you're under no obligations.

- The various forces of the Triple Entente and Central Powers should join the Great War by event when they historically did. Players may not influence or attack the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Japan or the USA early. Players on those factions should not declare war to join early: they should wait for their join event.

- The United States of America cannot join the war prior to 1 April 1917. The Central Powers must not influence, coup, or use espionage to prevent this. The save will be edited to force the US into the war if they are refusing to join at the appointed time.

Land Forces War Rules

- The United Kingdom may not move troops into France before the start of the Great War.

- You may not disband surrounded or out of supply units. You must either attempt to save them or watch them die.

- Building units as Reserves is banned: all built units must be built as full strength divisions.

- Players may not build Land Forts until the Great War has started.

[Note for Paradox readers: The mod is heavily event-driven, and as such stringent pre-war rules are needed for the Ottoman Empire's wars to ensure the Great War event chain doesn't get broken. It's something we may fix in future. The additional USA rule is because the USA has no join event, so we've set a hard date for them.]

* * *

Session One: The British Empire

The British Empire was powerful: it stretched from the Americas to China, the long way. Huge swathes of Africa, the subcontinent of India, Malaya, and the various Dominions all swear loyalty to the Monarch of the United Kingdom.

Times were changing, however. Europe was falling into armed camps. The French and Russians were allied against Germany. The German and Austro-Hungarian Empires were friendly. The Ottoman Empire was slowly dying. Rising powers in Italy and Japan looked to upset the old balance of power. The United States remained dormant, but their industrial power was ever increasing. The British Empire had a raft of potential allies and enemies.

Her closest friend turned out, ironically, to be the old enemy: France. Germany was amassing a fleet to challenge the Royal Navy, and was seeking an Empire of its own: a "place in the sun". While the Royal Navy was confident it could control the seas for years to come, Germany was racing to upset that. The Triple Entente was looking more and more like a wartime alliance in the making.

In 1910, the British Empire surveyed its assets, to ascertain its strengths and weaknesses.

The Royal Navy

StartFleet.jpg

The Royal Fleet Review, 1910

The mighty Royal Navy remained the ruler of the seas - just. The Navy's 18 mighty Battleships were challenged by 17 German ones. The Navy had the advantage in Battlecruisers and in a very large number of smaller vessels. The troubling concern is that Britain's large fleet was primarily built to maintain the Empire, not fight large battles against enemy Battleship fleets.


The Navy was reformed around the following new taskforces:

The Home Fleet

- 3 Battle Squadrons (I, II and III) formed from the powerful Battleships of the Fleet. 6 Battleships formed a Squadron, escorted by Destroyer groups.

- 1 Battlecruiser Squadron (II) to provide the Home Fleet with a fast reaction force that packed a punch. A Battlecruiser Squadron was formed of 5 Battlecruisers and 5 modern Light Cruisers.

- 1 Heavy Cruiser Group (VII) to provide a smaller task force to do miscellaneous tasks. To be based in the Channel, its primary purpose will be to throw itself into the Channel to prevent enemy forces passing through it until the Battle Squadrons, based along the length of Britain's North Sea Coast, could intervene.

The Mediterranean Fleet

- 1 Battlecruiser Squadron (I) to patrol those waters. The nearby potential powers in the region were Italy with 4 old Battleships, and Turkey with only 1 Battlecruiser. As such I Battlecruiser Squadron was easily the most powerful fleet operating in the Eastern Med. The Austro-Hungarian Fleet could threaten the region, and with 4 Battleships could likely defeat I BC Squadron: with Britain's Battleships needed in the Home Fleet, it would fall to the French Navy and their 4 Battleships to back up British power at sea in this theatre if the Austro-Hungarian Navy became hostile.

- 2 Heavy Cruiser Groups (I and II) to support the Battlecruiser Squadron. Their role was envisaged to be engaging weaker enemy fleets and providing scouting for the Battlecruiser force.

The Rest of the Empire

With no major enemies envisaged elsewhere, the other 5 Heavy Cruiser Groups were deployed around the Empire to protect India and Africa: any German, Belgian or Dutch fleets operating in the region could likely be dealt with by Heavy Cruisers: the Admiralty felt it extremely unlikely that the Kaiserlich Marine would deploy their Battleships in far-flung, unimportant colonies.

Naval Expansion

The Royal Navy had to expand. Germany was uncomfortably close in power, and the Mediterranean Sea was undermanned. Over the coming years the Royal Navy would expand to ensure it maintained a comfortable lead on any would-be opponents. This was Britain's paramount objective, for without control of the sea, the Empire would surely be lost.

The British Army

StartUKArmy.jpg

Home Forces, 1910

The British Army at home numbered some 146,000 men, with many Divisions understrength due to being reserve formations. This was organised under the overall command of the First Army, which was ordered to prepare the troops for anything up to Army-level operations. It had been a long time since the Empire deployed such a large force: the Army was used to operations at battalion and brigade level fighting lightly-armed colonial foes, serious training would be necessary to ensure it was ready to face an increasingly likely European War.

StartIndiaArmy.jpg

British Indian Army 1910

The British Indian Army was reformed along the same lines as the regular British Army: into battle-ready Corps and ordered into large scale training. No direct threat to India was evident: China was unstable, Japan was a friend to the Empire, the Ottoman Empire lacked the Navy to conduct an invasion of India, and the Persians lacked the Army to do the same.

Research was ordered into the possibility of mobilising the Indian Army for limited overseas service: the 12 Divisions would make a powerful force if deployed to any African frontiers or to the British Middle East.

Protecting the Empire

The British Empire had global possessions, and thus global defence needs. Fronts existed worldwide, with varying needs and importance.

EgyptStart.jpg

Egypt, 1910

British Egypt was surrounded by Ottoman possessions: Libya to the East (coveted by Italy) and the Levant to the West. British supremacy at sea should ensure the Libyan front would not receive substantial troop increases in wartime, but the Western Front needed to be looked at. Guarded by only 2 Divisions, a determined Ottoman campaign could easily overwhelm the small British garrison.

Only two roads existed for such an advance: along both coasts. Any Ottoman advance would have to follow the Red or Mediterranean Sea, as infrastructure in the depths of the desert was nonexistant. This provided a bottleneck opportunity for British forces, meaning a smaller garrison could be considered for defensive purposes.

This area was designed as "In need of additional troops" by the War Planners.

AfricaStart.jpg

Africa, 1910

The Continent of Africa: a patchwork of European Colonies, many of them German. British forces here were almost nonexistant: 2 regular Infantry brigades were supported by 4 Militia brigades in Abyssinia , and the rest of the Empire in Africa was controlled primarily through local police and adminstration, with no military forces present.

This could not be left as such. German Colonies would have to be shut down rapidly to prevent their use as Coaling Stations for German sea raiders, or as bases for attacks on British African possessions.

The Union of South Africa had an army of some 5 Infantry Divsions, covering the southern German colonies. Those in West Africa would need small forces to quickly take the undefended (currently) German ports.

The designation for West Africa was set at "Would benefit from additional troops", as these ports were regarded as secondary objectives: the Royal Navy could spare ships to these areas, who could combat German raiders in the area, if the Army could not spare the men to take the ports off them.

ChinaStart.jpg

British China, 1910

The Port of Weihai held little strategic value to the British, whilst the port of Qingdao held minor material importance to the Germans. Depriving of them of it would help the war effort in a miniscule way. "Would benefit from additional troops" was the given designation.

Finally, to be considered, was the Home Isles. Not under any direct threat themselves, the fields of France were considered the likely battlefield here, and they were guarded by the mighty French Army. British contributions here would be not insubstantial, but it was envisaged Britain's main role would be to combat the Germans at sea and the Turks in the Middle East, rather than slug it out with the far larger Imperial German Army in France. Still, anywhere up to a few Armies may be needed by France here. "In need of additional troops" was settled upon by the War Planners.

The Army Committee for War Planning made their submission to Parliament in late 1910: the British Army is too small. Far too small. War is brewing, a war like no other, and the Empire needs troops to fight it. A massive expansion must be undertaken, to ensure Britain can man fronts from France to Egypt to China to Africa, fighting determined foes whose military might will be on par with or exceeding British power. Armies must fight and win in Egypt and in France. Taskforces must be mobile worldwide to capture key colonial objectives. Reserves must be ready to relieve or reinforce these forces.

* * *

Hey everyone, this is my first real HoI3 AAR, and I hope its unique enough to catch your interests. Most of our players have a reasonable amount of experience, and everyone is playing countries they wanted rather than ones they were forced into.

Pugs, Romanus and I have talked at length of various plans and ideas for the war, most of which I can't share in case any Central Powers players read this! :p

We play every sunday and I hope to try and get updates up ASAP after the sessions while they're fresh in my mind.
 
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Session One: Imperial Russia
Russia1913map.jpg


The lands of the Tsar stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic and Black Seas. Hundreds of languages and a dozen religions are spoken and practiced by the near 200 million people that call Nicholas II, Tsar of all the Russias and father to his people.

The Empire is in a time of transition. The trans-Siberian Railway is nearing completion and will then be the longest single rail line in the world. Rail traffic will move unimpeded from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. The Zemstvo reforms begun under Alexander II are being expanded upon by the Tsar and Russian agriculture and industry are moving towards parity with the West.

In 1905 the people of Russia were dealt a heavy blow with the loss of nearly the entire Russian Navy and the subsequent defeat at the hands of a rising enemy in the Far East. The Tsar sees clouds gathering in Europe. Clouds in the Balkans. Clouds in the North Sea. The Italians have an empire on their minds. The Japanese are held for now, but what if war breaks out in Europe? The Austrians are building new Dreadnoughts and the Ottomans have them on order in Britain. We have an Army, a large and powerful one with the finest artillery and cavalry in the world but the West may strangle us.

France is our closest friend and Britain has soothed our sore spots from the Russo-Japanese War but old friends such as Germany have become new enemies and traditional enemies such as the Ottomans and Austrians view us as a backwards afterthought of a power.

Still, the Tsar eyes the Bosporus and perhaps even Persia can be claimed. Russia demands redemption, Russia demands action!

The Imperial Russian Navy:
index.png

Not one single ship in the fleet is capable of fighting on equal terms with our enemies. Not one! To remedy this the Tsar has authorized 5 Billion Rubles for fleet modernization. The Navy requires new cruisers and torpedo boats to match our ambitious capital ship designs. The first four proper battleships to be ordered are the Gangut Class with the Imperatritsa Mariya Class to follow.

Gangut_class_diagrams_Brasseys_1912.jpg

Russia does not seek parity with our enemies. We seek superiority through firepower.

The Imperial Russian Army:
Flag_of_Russiasvg.png

The Empire is large and that size brings remoteness. The Army must be able to simultaneously defeat enemies on 2 fronts while being able to hold an enemy on the third. These are the goals demanded by the Tsar. To achieve this the army will augment more artillery into the infantry and expand the cavalry to cover far flung flanks and if need be, fight stalling actions against lesser opponents in Central Asia or the Far East.

To accomplish this goal of expansion and consolidation. The Tsar has appointed his cousin, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich as the Army Chief of Staff. Road and rail networks will need to be upgraded. Armament factories will need to be expanded. Armies will need to be reorganized. Borders will need to be invested.

128704501821849169_liMFcQ50_b.jpg

Grand Duke Nicholas​

***
This will be my first AAR for HOI3. Exact production and force composition/distribution will never be revealed. Actions at the front will be viewed in the narrowest way possible. The size of the updates will be dictated by the actions taken in game.

All future updates will be amendments to this post.
 
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How does the IC of other nations compare to Britains? I'd imagine Germany would have a slightly higher IC but not the resources of Britain, while America has the best of both worlds?
 
Hi, I'm the German player.

I would've posted my report today but sadly I was afk quite a lot during last nights session. German industries worked wonders in my absence though. I will try to get the German perspective going after the next session. Deutschland über alles.
 
How does the IC of other nations compare to Britains? I'd imagine Germany would have a slightly higher IC but not the resources of Britain, while America has the best of both worlds?

The UK starts with ~180 IC, but releasing South Africa and reorganising some Ministers brought me to the 167 you see there. Germany sits around 180-200 depending on Ministers (ministers are beefed up in the mod and have more effect on your nation). France is around 140, Russia and Austria-Hungary around 120, Ottoman Empire and Italy around 80 (I think Japan sits around here too).

Resource wise the UK has plenty of everything, Germany should have the same overall issues that it has in WW2: a lack of home-grown rares and oil. It has some colonies, some of which produce rares, so the shortage isn't as serious as vanilla (in fact I think its a slim surplus at the moment, on civilian economy).
 
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WWI Aar? Just what I needed.

Lucky warmongering to all of you!

Subscribed
 
Hey all, ATWP (a tw player) from the TWC forums here!

I'll be commenting on any players' questions regarding my prosperous Ottoman Empire (don't believe the propaganda you hear from the scheming British!) if you have them, and may be commenting on any things that are raised in the actual AAR which relate to the middle east :)
 
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Does this mod model the troubles in Ireland in this period?

IMHO, Britain only joined WWI as a way of deflecting an extremely damaging civil war in Ireland.
 
Looks impressive...

I´ll put my tracer here! :)
 
Oh wow. Good on you. And doing it via a multiplayer setting, interesting. Will leave up a lot of questions about strategy though since you can't explain anything until after the fact. But at least we don't have to worry about stupid AI problems. =)
 
Does this mod model the troubles in Ireland in this period?

IMHO, Britain only joined WWI as a way of deflecting an extremely damaging civil war in Ireland.

No, there are no troubles events in Ireland. Once this AAR finishes and balancing is fixed as a result, the next major challenge will be finding a way to model the Russian Revolution, which does not currently exist either.

When I picked up the mod to fix it my main concern was techs, OOBs and events: stuff to balance the actual gameplay. The Russian Revolution doesn't exist and I haven't tried to add it because it will be a massive task and I need to learn to write events better before trying it.
 
HA! There won't be a Russian Revolution if I beat Germany and the Austrians in 1914! Also I will be willing to help mod this, I haven't any experience with it but I'm willing to put in some time for Russia. Russia has incorrect commanders (better than most countries though, UK has WWII commanders!), politicians (Stolypin isn't even in game!), the navy is abominable and I'm sure infrastructure could be better.

I would like to see traditional fortified cities/areas like Verdun put in. At present every province is locked at a maximum of level 3 forts and we are only able to keep players from building them via house rules.

Most I've done is graphics and sound for HOI2 a LONG time ago.

I will be amending my original post to give an idea of what Russia is or isn't doing, more about flavor for now.

Poach if you have a guide or something (areas of improvement you want and what files those are) you could whip up, I could get to work on Russia. Obviously it won't be used any time soon since we should keep the same version all the way through to the end. Lord knows what terrible things would happen if ported a save into a newer version.