Session Three: Bayonets and Horses
In Russia: Prewar Problems
The Two Year Plan fell apart in the Spring of 1914. Every single Russian sector fell short of goals and the Army nearly ran out of supply. The Gangut Class of Battleships had to be put on hold as workers from the shipyards weren't paid. The new Army Groups that were to be thrown onto the front lines did not come out on time. This is due to the Okhrana discovering that the Germans had pushed ahead in arms and equipment for the infantry. The Russian research was diverted immediately to 1916 technology and this was reached for Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery. The previously up-to-date Imperial Forces were now in desperate need of a refit and this took all of the IC from the supplies sector and the build sector. The Army was able to meet this refit before the war began but the Army went to war under-manned and the Baltic Coast is now being guarded by loaned British ships.
The supply stockpile was gone by the start of the war so an overbuilding in that sector continues to take IC away from the build sector.
The Army will not be prepared to meet the Ottomans should they cross the border in force. Only a corps of Mountain troops and a corps of Infantry hold that border and their orders are to withdraw and use the mountains as best as possible. This front suffers the most as the build queue is set up to bolster the defenses there while providing substantial reserves to the Prussian and Polish fronts. Events on the Polish and Carpathian fronts have dictated that the Caucasus front be kicked even further down the allocation chain. The Romanian Front will have to be reinvested as troops have been shifted from there to cover the Polish salient so minimal troops will be stationed in the Mountains until Romania can be covered adequately.
Romania and the Caucasus will be covered before the end of 1914 along with reserves being deployed to Poland and the Baltik, but for the start of the war, Russia suffered more than any other country and this is almost entirely due to a complete lack of IC to compete with German modernization.
Below is the breakdown of Russian industry. Notice that officers were neglected in favor of quicker training and an IC boost before the war began. All units are in the queue to take advantage of the training bonus, but the loss of the 10% IC boost at the start of 1914 nearly crippled production.
Also the Tsar was able to change to more favorable ministers in 1914. The organization bonuses provided by key Ministers proved incredibly important to the Army in September.
The Imperial Russian Navy:
The Navy was completely disengaged from the fighting early on. The Black Sea Fleet left Sevastopol as soon as the countries began to drift to war. Admiral Makarov took up position outside of the range of Ottoman coastal batteries and has effectively sealed off the Black Sea for the time being.
The big story for the Navy is the timetable for modernization. It is now highly doubtful that the Navy will be able to capture any glory for itself in the war. The greatly enlarged French fleet and overwhelming British fleet will most likely be responsible for any actions. As a result of this realization, the eight new battleships in the queue have been pushed down to the bottom. What had originally been the pride of the country is now more likely to be sold for scrap at the end of the war if the German and Austrian navies are beaten.
The Imperial Russian Army:
Unlike the other belligerents, the Russian Army was unable to mobilize before the war began. Also, the most reserve-unit-heavy armies were placed in the Polish Salient. This would prove to be a disaster. Regular units were placed along the Carpathian, Romanian and Prussian Fronts.
Plan Vorotyntsev called for First and Second Armies (reserve) to hold in Poland until mobilization was complete while Third and Fourth armies ran through East Prussia. The goal being to draw German reserves into a fight for the old Prussian Capital. First and Second armies were positioned well behind the Polish frontier to hide their positions. Once substantial German reserves were detected in East Prussia, First and Second armies would then step-off and aim to cut the Germans off in one large pocket. Fresh reserves would then be deployed to crush the pocket.
Fifth Army (reserve) would attempt to take Krakow from the Austrians and then hold the line. Sixth and Tenth would thrust south and meet up Seventh and Eighth over the Carpathians. Ninth Army would take Lwow and hold the line. Once the two large pincers linked up, Fifth Army would be fully mobilized and would protect the flank against the Germans. Ninth Army would mop up pockets of Austrian resistance.
The goal of the plan was to force Austria out of the war by Christmas.
The overlay of Plan Vorotyntsev is done so on a post-session strategic map. As you can see, substantial Polish territory has been ceded without the loss of any cities, although the cities are now the front line. The push against Krakow was defeated by a heavy German flank attack against the weak Fifth Army. Austrian reserves responded quickly to this threat and the entire Fifth Army was driven back into Poland.
The push for Lwow was initially successful, but the Austrians knew this was coming and the city was well defended.
The two large pincer movements never really occurred.
The real strategic failure of the plan came because in reality there is not a Ninth or Tenth Army and Third Army was stripped of two Corps to provide for additional defense of the Baltik Coast. Ninth Army's push on Lwow was actually done by Seventh.
Of course this all goes without talking about the German Elephant in the room. The majority of Polish territory was given freely without a fight. First and Second armies were never intended to fight until perhaps even October, but they were confronted with a German steamroller. German advances into Belgium were checked so easily by the French that it is clear that the Central Powers have settled on a "Russia First" strategy. They are smart to do so, but they needed to destroy the 3 Reserve Polish Armies before the Army could be ready.
Russian Industrial and Strategic failure was only matched by tactical incompetence. An initial flurry of battles all along the borders has dwindled down to a handful of engagements. The Austrians do not have the men to try and break the Russian lines but the Austrians can dig in and make it impossible to cross the frontier. Germany cannot deploy too many troops to Poland and East Prussia because France has barely had to fight and the Entente are looking for ways to get Britain into the war.
Russian tactical incompetence can be summed up like this:
Due to the size and nature of the engagements, whole corps were thrown at the enemy at once. Effective division rotation was non-existent and offensives suffered from this. Russian forces suffered stacking penalties in nearly every engagement and it was still a draw. The only front that settled and could be focused on was the Prussian Front where an undermanned Third Army made substantial gains and is within spitting distance of the Old Prussian Seat.
It should be noted that due to what appeared to be gross Austrian incompetence against Serbia at the start of the war, Stavka decided that Austria could be beaten with massed attacks and the Austrians would collapse when faced with such a large number of enemy troops.
The Fronts:
Carpathians:
The Austrians have not attempted to break through the lines (screenshot after the war with AI Austria, hence the movement) and could create a near impenetrable barrier if they are allowed to dig in. The line must be broken somehow or Austria will not be defeated anytime soon.
The Caucasus:
Not much has changed here other than Russian troops digging in and awaiting what could be an Ottoman onslaught. It is fine, there are many mountains between the border and anything important and time is on our side as is space. The Entente will welcome an Ottoman thrust here with a flight first mentality.
Northern Finland:
The Swedes are still neutral...
The Far East:
Japan is now an ally.
Poland:
The pocket looks fragile but it is not. The armies are not trapped here and there are mobile reserves moving to fill in the pocket to add depth of defense. The armies in the pocket are all at 5 days worth of digging or more (some are at a max of 10 already) and all benefit from river bonuses on one flank or the other.
Prussia:
The greatest battle of the war so far has been in Tilsit (where 6th Cavalry Corps is). The Germans sold their lives dearly for the riverbanks but they were not successful in keeping the Third and Fourth Armies at bay. The city exchanged hands a few times but substantial Russian Reserves have poured into the province. Fresh Reserves will enable Third Army to have it's two corps back and add even more weight to the push.
A photo of a bedroom in one of the many broken homes in Tilsit:
Overall Picture:
The fronts are incredibly static already and they will only get worse. Poland was scary for a bit as I really felt I was going to lose it, but I beat off several attacks and now my troops are digging in and reserves will make it nearly impenetrable. The Austrian front is so long and the border has a natural defense, I don't really know if I can break through the line there if the Austrians can dig in. Poland will be the decider, but I am confident that sufficient reserves and digging will keep the salient intact.
***
The next update will most likely see the pressure taken off of Russia. The Entente has reorganized itself to deal with this new reality. The "Russia First" strategy never occurred to us.