-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Ja ja, we demand more updates! 
Oh, when and how on earth did we hit 9 pages on this thread!?
Oh, when and how on earth did we hit 9 pages on this thread!?
The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!!!
While the Western Allies had stalled at the borderlands into Germany, the Russians had not. After less then a year of full combat the Eastern front had collapsed for the Germans who had previously anticipated glorious victory, indeed the Kaiser had already planned victory parades in Warsaw and even for cities in Russia proper. These plans were smashed however when the Russian army proved unexpectedly resilient. The tide would turn for them at Tannenburg where German military strength in Prussia was banished.
Several months later the Russians had managed to arrive at the Oder River itself. Ahead of them lay what remained of the German army on the eastern front. It was a sad and motley collection of soldiers; many lacked the basic provisions needed for an army. Much of their vital supplies had been lost in the rush to cross the Oder as the Russians advanced as fast as they could. Further to the east however was a single remaining pocket of Germans, over one hundred thousand of them in a defensive ring around Danzig.
The situation on the eastern front by May 4th, 1915
These series of events had horrified many in Germany, most of all, the Kaiser. Were the Russians to cross the Oder in force they would be within striking distance of Berlin itself. Newspapers within the city bemoaned the fate which was sure to befall the city should the Russians enter it. How would such a cruel fate fare with the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag or the Berliner Dom? The thought would bring bile to the back of any Germans throat. Indeed instead of resigning themselves to any such fate the citizens of Berlin would rally under the cry of one popular news article calling the citizens of the city to arms.
"It is on the Oder which our fate lies, so it is there where we - the citizens of Berlin - must travel. And here we shall make our stand to rival the accomplishments of any Germans before or to come. Germany demands it!"
The Kaiser and the common man now had a common goal, as neither of them wished to see Berlin fall to the invader. By the end of the first week of May thousands of citizens old and young had left the capitol via hundreds of taxis. While many of them would not be accepted to fight they served a second purpose - entrenchments. So far little trench warfare had been seen by any side in Europe and only scattered reports had come back from the fighting in Mexico. Trenches were to be dug from the coast all the way to the Austrian border far too the south of Berlin. Redoubts and machinegun posts were to become common sites where farmers had recently planted their crops.
In the Danzig pocket the same was to occur. Still supplied occasionally via the sea the city and its substantial garrison still had ample stocks of food, ammunition and other necessities. Several times a day vessels loaded with grain, rifle ammunition or artillery shells were to come into the harbor as the population cheered them on. The Russians with a negligible presence on the Baltic could do little to stop this, and for as long as supply by sea was available the city was not going to relent. The local Russian commanders knew of this fact and that the city was well defended.
The citizens of Danzig were to be supplied throughout the Russian siege by sea based reinforcements and supply
Kaiser Wilhelm was to call these efforts "paramount" to the defense of the greater Germany, stating that while a defeat to Britain or France would result in humiliation, a defeat at the hands of Russia would end Germany forever. The citizens, already rallied by the press were to pay even more heed to these calls for help and several highly motivated brigades of young men were formed the defense of the city. Better trained units of police officers were to do the same and it seemed like thousands marched to the pleas for help to stem the Russian tide.
Last edited:
Yikes! That post sure woke me up. Should I fear for Germany or root for the Russians? Hmm. Nice post sir!
That post sure woke me up. Should I fear for Germany or root for the Russians? Hmm. Nice post sir!
On The Banks Of The Oder
The taxi had left Berlin earlier in the day, on the way out the citizens had waved to the departing men heading to the Oder River. Those yellow taxis made a motley collection, but within them lay the hopes of a city - the hopes of a nation. Many of the men who sat within the cars gazed up at the monuments they passed, especially the Brandenburg Gate which to the men symbolized everything they were to fight for. The Russians were on the doorstep and everything, including the gate would be destroyed if they were allowed to cross the river.
With the hopes of a nation behind them, a fleet of taxis were to delivery troops to the Oder River
Among these recruited idealistic and nationalistic youths was a man named Adolf Hitler. He had moved into Germany from his native Austria in 1913 only to see the continent erupt around him in tragedy and war. Being a devout patriot for his new nation he at once tried to sign up for the military, he had high hopes to defend the Fatherland against the French. His hopes were smashed however when the physiatrist examining him stated in his report that he was "incompetent to command people" and that he was "dangerously psychotic". With little to do now in Munich he would move to Berlin as the second year of war began in hopes of having his art noticed at any of the institutions that still were open in the capitol.
This effort too was in vain, contemplating suicide his salvation from that fate would come from an unexpected place - the newspaper. The headlines stated that the Russians had reached the Oder and were within striking distance of the city, the Kaiser was additionally calling for any and all volunteers. Grabbing his hat and jacket Hitler was to run from his impoverished building into the streets to join the mass of young men eager to answer the call of the Kaiser.
His search eventually brought him to the nearest taxi. Word had gotten out that the cities fleet of taxis was being used to ferry new recruits to the Oder. This was Adolf's first stop and he along with several hundred other men were pushed into the waiting vehicles. They would set off from the city and arrive at the Oder a day later.
Adolf Hitler pictured her shortly before he would head to the Oder River to fight the Russians.
Getting out of the vehicle he could already hear the sounds of Russian artillery fire from across the river. The taxis had picked the local aid station to drop their load of recruits off before they returned to the capitol. All in front of the young man were the bodies of the dead and dying. Several doctors and nurses wandered among them, mostly giving out shots of morphine, little did Hitler know but this was one of the areas where the Germans send the most critical of patients too. They had no chance of recovery - all the doctors were there for was to administer morphine and ease the passing.
Many of the young men seeing this were to utter prayers and several were unable to compose themselves as the dying men moaned. A nearby officer was quick to interpose himself giving directions to the group to make themselves available for the entrenchment efforts. Additionally he said any man who wished to fight was to come with him. Hitler and many of the men were to follow him.
Walking along the ridge above the river he could see the trenches below, the men looked like ants from the distance they were at. On the horizon everyone could see the flashes as artillery began another round of bombardment. Occasionally as the winds changed directions Hitler was sure he could hear the screams of the men below, as they were not his own he shrugged them off.
Soon he was added to the list of arriving recruits and given the standard issue uniform and rifle. As this was going on however a cry came up from the nearest officer warning the men to get down. Artillery it seemed had spotted the recruitment point far above the river and had begun to shell the position. Around him shells landed and the screams were now much closer, the closest cover was several yards away and a young officer was screaming at him to get over there. Setting off as fast as he could he was swept off his feet as another round hit. As his vision dimmed and the taste of blood entered his mouth the last image he saw was the young officer above him dragging him to cove - from his neck dangled the Star of David.
Mettermrck said:Yikes!
Can you be woken up more? Or did the last post just do that.
Nice inclusion of der Adolf in the story. I wonder if having his butt saved by a Jew will have a positive impact.... I have a sinking suspicion that it won't, but I can hope, right?
I also liked the taxi ferry of recruits... I wonder why it reminded me of a certain story about Paris?
I also liked the taxi ferry of recruits... I wonder why it reminded me of a certain story about Paris?
Yeah strangely similar isn't it... Herr Adolf did in fact have jewish friends before he became an anti-semite... Quite a few people seem to portray him as this hellish demon child, but I prefer to think that he was corrupted and slowly got caught up in his dementia.
Nice updates by the way
Nice updates by the way
I'll try and get something out tonight, no promises, elsewise maybe something tommorow.
The Kaiser Line
With the Russians near the Oder itself and with thousands of Germans of every age rushing to the front the stage was set for the largest battle seen so far in the war. Many of these German reinforcements served one purpose and one purpose only - to dig and provide entrenchments for the defenders. It was so that within the month of May a massive system of trench works, barbed wire and minefields were constructed. The general plan should the Russians attempt a crossing in force was to channel their infantry via minefields into pre-planned corridors where a maximum amount of force could be brought to bear.
The Kaiser Line was to present the last real hope of stopping the Russian advance
Supporting these corridors was to be several hundred kilometers worth of trench lines manned by several infantry Corps under the overall command of General Erich Ludendorff. The total amount of troops would amount to far over one million defending the river from any Russian onslaught but while this was an immense number he still doubted whether the shaky forces with low morale could hold in case of a protracted Russian assault. For him the arrival of the taxi fleet was a minor miracle, many of the soldier's regained confidence after seeing hundreds of young men joining them. Indeed for the first time since the epic defeat at Tannenburg, Ludendorff saw many of his men singing many of the famous Prussian battle hymns. To him it seemed like the Oder River was defended by a wall of resolute Germans who would make any attacker pay a vast price in blood for every inch of German soil.
This assessment was enforced when seeing what a truly monumental trench system the Germans had managed to carve out of the countryside directly near the river. Most heavily concentrated in front of Berlin and becoming less sophisticated the farther south one went, it was the most complete set of trench systems ever seen in modern warfare. The main trench lines in front of Berlin consisted of over half a dozen separate trenches fulfilling multiple purposes - supply, reinforcement, medical, command, communication and other specialized trenches had been made to better facilitate the defensive works. To protect against Russian artillery many of these trenches were outfitted with large wooden bunkers and in rare occasions they already had concrete bunkers tunneling down several meters. Duckboards had been laid down throughout the entire system stripping many of the nearby forests for the needed wood, additionally in several areas pumps had been placed within the system to keep out much of the water which plagued the riverside trenches.
Communications had been vastly improved upon when compared to the Western Front. Telephone wires had been placed in many places in a logical way. Many of these wires had been additional buried several feet below ground to give some measure of protection against shelling, though a protracted artillery barrage would most likely severe the lines. Secondary lines had also been placed, though they were mainly above ground and highly vulnerable to any enemy fire. Inside the trench system a small series of dedicated communication trenches had been developed allowing for messengers to run from command bunker to command bunker in the fastest possible way and with a measure of protection against fire. Rounding out this communication "revolution" was the addition of many wireless radios sets too many of the higher headquarters units so that they would not be totally dependant on unpredictable lines. Though they were relatively new in age and cost the government a small fortune the effect they would undoubtedly have would far outweigh the costs.
Germans man one of the front most trenches in the Kaiser Line system
Historically one of the most misunderstood nature of these trench lines were the medical trenches. Early on in the battle around the Oder River and its defense a vast system of these trenches had to be maintained to handle the significant influx of casualties. Those that were mortally wounded were given morphine and sent to the "Moaning Trenches", the troops called them this because of the constant moaning that emanated from them and everyone dreaded seeing their friends being taken into those trenches. The other trenches where regular casualties went were to an observer a horrid place; blood often outweighed water in the boggy entrenchments. Screams and the moaning of the injured often forced men to wear earplugs to stop them from going insane. The few trained doctors and medics available would move from patient to patient occasionally performing basic surgery or applying pressure to a fresh wound. Many of these doctors would burn out within a week of beginning their work after seeing such destruction upon many men that they had grown up with.
One such case was to occur right after the first load of taxi soldiers had arrived. Those new recruits had been led to another area to pick up fresh uniforms and weapons but as they began that procedure a large Russian artillery strike was made upon the area. Arriving on the scene medics was to find a ghastly scene; men had been thrown about by the explosions like rag dolls and many were missing limbs or other features. Alone near a single rock outcropping were two men. The Star of David was visible on the one who was uninjured; in his arms however lay a dead man - his legs gone below the knee. It was Adolf Hitler. The medic had known him before the war and while he knew that Hitler had aspired to be an artist it shocked him that he never would fulfill that dream or make something of his life. Truly the horrors of war had already begun to wreak havoc on Germany.
Strange how one evokes a feeling of sadness that Adolf the failed artist died. Now the question is, what on earth are the Ruskies going to do to get into Berlin now?
Good post...Germany's really against the wall. Interesting way you minimize Hitler's death to its proper perspective amidst the heavy casualties on the Oder.
Alone In A Hole
The rumble of artillery had stopped for awhile and the battlefield had gone back to its eerie silence. The local Mexican landscape was by now, weeks into the Spring Offensive a landscape that very much resembled the moon. Impact craters from the high velocity shells on both sides had created a vast area where movement became slow and unsteady. Inside on of these holes was Private Wade Johnston. His company had attempted to attack the Mexican lines the day before but it had been halted with heavily casualties. Many of the men who hadn't fallen dead or injured had made it back to friendly territory but Wade hadn't.
He and his best friend Jeremiah had taken shelter inside a large crater and a quick glance out revealed that any chance of escape was gone. The Mexicans had a clear line of sight on any escape attempt. The only chance they had was to stay in the hole and wait for help...if it ever came. That was yesterday, they had no food now and the knots in their stomachs were becoming pronounced. Discussion over the morning revolved around when their fellow soldiers would return to save them but as noon approached the talk began to become more pessimistic.
"Do you think they?re gonna come for us Wade?" There was a hint of fear in the voice of Jeremiah, the reflection in his eyes only reinforced the hunch.
"Yeah they'll come for us, I mean they got to know we're missing by now and if they don't the next attack should come tonight and then we can get out of here" Wade only half believed that himself but he knew that giving ground to pessimism would lead nowhere.
"But you've seen men be abandoned before, remember those bodies we found last week in the shell hole? No wounds on they at all and one of them had wrote a farewell letter to his mother. He thanked god he?d at least get an open casket. I don?t want to be one of those Wade, I can't stand the thought of dying out here starving to death. And we can't move or anything! Its just NOT FAIR!"
The outburst only served to alert the Mexicans and a short burst from their machine gun was unleashed followed by the sound of several men laughing. Wade knew a little bit of Mexican having spent his first few years growing up in southern Texas, and he could hear several vulgar taunts coming from the Mexicans as well.
Jeremiah had a point though, they had found that man - dead in a shell hole. But that couldn't happen to him though could it? His fellow soldiers would come back for him right, they'd promised before the Offensive had begun. Jack, Dryden and several of the other men had all said they'd be there for the rest of their squad mates. Where were they now when help was needed most? Irregardless he needed to calm his friend down.
"I know its not fair, but we've got to keep our heads cool. We aren't gonna die anytime soon from starvation, and that gives us plenty of time to wait for the next push by our guys. Just don't worry we won't end up like that other guy." His friend only looked at him and slowly nodded. No more was needed and they spent the afternoon quietly trying to clean their rifles in the mud that had clogged the weapons during the night before.
Sleep overcame the both of them as soon as the sun set, the anxiety of the situation had caught up with them and the response was to apparently get some rest. Wades dreams were restless. One moment he'd see the battle again in vivid detail, the screams of wounded men and the shouts of the officers to move forward. The next moment thought he was with his mother, she was still young in the dream and they were playing in their yard - lost in the innocence of an age now long gone.
Alas the sleep would not last forever and the first rays of sunlight crept over the edge of their hole he awoke. Jeremiah was already up and was staring at him.
"I could hear you moaning in your sleep Wade. What were you dreaming about?" Asked Jeremiah.
"My parents. I was playing with my mother while my dad looked on." He could see the sun rising into the sky and above him drifted a few birds lazily, it was a beautiful scene played out against the hell struck landscape he and Jeremiah were caught in. He could only wish that they would leave this place unscathed.
"They didn't come last night Wade, you said they'd come but they didn't. They must think we are dead and they aren't going to come back." The fear that Wade had detected the day before was back but now it wasn't masked at all. His friend really thought they were going to die out here, starving while everyone else already thought they were dead.
"We can't give in to pessimism; you heard what General March said before the Offensive. Our forces aren't going to give up until we break though the Mexican lines, no matter the cost. Our men will be back, its just a matter of time." Hopefully Jeremiah would calm down, the machine gun burst the day before had only rattled his nerves more. If they were stuck in here for another day he didn't think Jeremiah could take it.
Once again that ended the conversation and with rifles already clean they had little to do. After lunch however they began to talk again, this time not about their situation but about more personal things. It seemed that Jeremiahs father used to be in the army and that he looked up to his father. When war broke out Jeremiah along with Wade had joined the forces quickly. Partly it was because of patriotism, but more so to make his father proud of him. They exchanged these kinds of personal details throughout the night until both of them drifted off to sleep again.
His dreams were more troubled this time, instead of the happy scenes with his family he was to relive the moment when he told his mother that he'd joined the forces to fight in Mexico. She'd cried then, outspokenly worried that he'd never come home. His father was mute on the subject but Wade knew his father respected his decision. As Wade awoke he found himself to be in a cold sweat and could hear heavy breathing where Jeremiah lay.
"The water, Wade there is water up to my knees!"
Bolting upright Wade saw that the cold sweat was in fact the hole now being slowly filled with water. This wasn't good, not only had they seen men die of starvation but drowning in these godforsaken holes as well. The fact that Jeremiah was afraid of drowning only made this new fact worse.
"We're gonna die Wade, I don't want to die. I'm only twenty! But we're gonna drown or starve here all because fucking Wilson decided we needed war because some Mexican dictator took the wrong tone. Its not fucking FAIR! And why do we have to die for this. I'm not going to die here." Wade saw that his friend was hysterical, he was about to calm him down but instead Jeremiah stood up and clawed his way over the top of the hole.
"No! Don't go up there Jeremiah!" His pleas only elicited a burst of rifle fire and the scream of his best friend. He was gone and now Wade was alone.
A few more days would pass and the hunger became too much for him. Wade could feel his body eating itself to find sustenance, and yet no one came. Resigning himself to his fate he grabbed the notepad he carried with him as well as his pen and began to write his farewell letter.
Dear Mother
Mother, by now I am resigned to my fate. I've been lying here in this hole for what seems like a month now and even Jeremiah has left me. The hunger has been clawing at me for days and I don't think I will last much longer. Every night I dream of you and the happier times we had together. I regret not saying good-bye to you when I left, for it seems I will not be home soon. Regretfully I also never said thank you for what you've done for me. Though I will die young, I will go out with a smile upon my face as I remember you.
Love Your Son, Wade Johnston
Finishing his letter Wade looked for one last time at the sky. Above him drifted a long eagle, one in the middle of the desert for no reason. Wade smiled - it was beautiful.
That is a nice post...I've thought about personalizing writing like that, to dramatize the history you're describing. It really helps humanize it and bring it to life. Nicely done.
Last edited:
Nice gritty realism to your trench war. Kinda sucks you in and then gives you a sucker punch that takes your breath away. Most impressive!
Oh, I enjoyed your way of making Adolf's death as significant as all the other deaths on the Kaiser Line. Bravo!
Oh, I enjoyed your way of making Adolf's death as significant as all the other deaths on the Kaiser Line. Bravo!
What do you guys want next? I was thinking about wrapping up the Sping Offensive or just detailing some of the wider global implications of the Great War so far.
CSL_GG said:
Write something from a perspective of a Russian soldier. About his forced marches towards Oder, about what he thinks about storming a 7 level fort across the river
I wouldn't go there without 100 to 1 advantage...I'd realy like to see how Russia proceeds in that situation. :wacko: When I played as Russia (many times) I've NEVER seen Germans go beyond Sedan or French beyond Luxembourg till my forces reached Rhine
P.S. OMG! I've just lost 23 divisions to Ottomans in a single combat! HOW did they do it
Brusilov is gonna answer a few questions An opinion of a Mexican soldier would also be interesting.
BTW, what's happening on the Austro-Hungarian front? I'd expect A-H to fold faster than Germany.
Last edited:
Sory abot no update. I went dinking with a few feinds. I'm pon;y 18 and in universit so yhrse things happen and oh god it was VUND!
*Draunks and I!
*Draunks and I!