-
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.
They're not out yet. As historically the provisional government will attempt to fight on for a few months.
Grand Offensive(s) Part 2
British bombers flying to bomb Bulgarian positions, Palestine, June 1917.
British bombers flying to bomb Bulgarian positions, Palestine, June 1917.
Even as the Ottomans found victory in the Caucuses, on the other end of the Empire a new threat appeared. The Ottoman Army had emptied the Palestine/Egypt theater of forces for the Grand Armenian Offensive, after all, with the Japanese and Germans in control of the sea, what point was there in garrisoning the area? The local Muslim population was more than pleased to have the Ottoman Empire ruling again. But when Gibraltar fell to British marines, the Ottoman Army knew that they would have to redeploy forces. As such, the Bulgarians were sent back south while the Hapsburgs and Ottomans pushed through Armenia.
It proved a prudent decision, for in April, the British Army landed two corps of troops at the Suez canal - nearly the entire British Army at this point in time - and after securing Alexandria as a port, advanced up the Sinai Peninsula, with marines, infantry and two tank brigades. The British hoped to use their armored advantage and high quality marines to establish a front in Palestine. However, as the lead Marine division advanced, it suddenly found itself under murderous assault from Bulgarian troops at El Arish. The Bulgarians had marched all the way down from the Caucuses in remarkable time, without the British knowing it, and were able to catch one of the British divisions completely off-guard. The Division was practically annihilated, losing over a thousand men within an hour, and was quickly forced to retreat as the Bulgarian gave chase.
British casualties from a battle in the Sinai, April, 1917.
Under cover of the USN, the British retake the Suez Canal.
The Bulgarians surprise and slaughter a British marine division at El Arish, May, 1917.
The British moved up their tanks, but rather than balk at the sight of these new metal monstrosities bristling with guns, the Bulgarians and the 2nd Ottoman division simply charged, blowing up the first parties of tanks with bundles of hand grenades. The British were heavily bruised, but moved in more troops, reorganized and pushed through to blunt the Bulgarian counterattack and push once more into El Arish. The news of the British victory, and their apparent occupation of the Sinai, encouraged several Arab client states of the Ottoman Empire to rise up in rebellion, lead and encouraged by the very same T.E. Lawrence that had escaped the slaughter in Egypt earlier that year. The Kingdom's of Yemen, Hedgaz, and Asir rose up in rebellion, while the Emirate of Jabal stayed loyal to the empire and declared war on it's neighbors.
The British rally and win at Misfaq by the skin of their teeth.
The British victory was enough to convince the Arab states to join together under the commander of British adventurer T.E. Lawrence, a veteran of the Egyptian campaign, and rise up in revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
The Sinai finally devolved into the bloody mess that Ottoman commanders had expected it to in 1914. Again and again the British attempted to push up through the Sinai, under cover of the heaviest bombing campaign yet launched by any power, as dozens of British fighter and bomber squadrons filled the air. Again and again the Bulgarians and Ottoman troops would push the British back across the desert and retaking El Arish, inflicting heavy casualties in the process. But the Bulgarian and Ottoman commanders felt uneasy about extending their lines, as the battles would often leave their own troops disorganized. As such, the Central Powers contended themselves with battling over Misfaq, which quickly turned into the Cambria of the desert, with numerous separate battles launched that destroyed what little infrastructure the territory had, making movement even harder. The British would push up, the Central Powers would attack. The British would retreat, and the Central Powers would wait their next try.
British troops manning a machine gun in the Sinai, May, 1917.
An Ottoman brigade commander with his Bulgarian counterpart, El Arish, May, 1917.
The sands were soaked with blood, as the British proved unable to break through. An attempt to cross the southern part of the Sinai and outflank the Central Powers failed when an assault on the port city of Aqabah failed. During this time, the Hapsburgs had secretly sent another heavily armed corps to Palestine, with the troops freed up from other fronts. These Austrians had plenty of experience fighting tanks, and had special rifles that could take out the tanks at a distance. The Ottoman commanders intended to use these troops to smash the British once and for all. The Bulgarians retreated out of El Arish and the British followed, perhaps sensing victory. Instead they were faced with a brutal attack the moment they entered the province, as the Hapsburgs with their anti-tank rifles and super heavy 360mm artillery unleashed upon the British. The British troops fought hard, but in the bloodiest battle in the Sinai the British finally broke as their tanks were left to burn in the desert sand. The Central Powers advanced, believing that they could push the British out of the Middle East altogether. However, the British tore up the small rail lines as they retreated, and the Austrians wore themselves out of organization attempting to follow, and both sides retired to Romania and Gaza respectively.
The failed British attack at Aqabah.
Hapsburg troops in tropical uniforms and pith helmets advancing to Gaza, June, 1917.
The bloodiest battle of the war in Palestine proved to be tactically inconclusive, though the British were now severely outclassed.
The British were quickly able to resupply their troops using massive convoys streaming through the Mediterranean, while the Central Powers were forced to rely on an incomplete rail network to resupply their troops. As such, the British were able to rest and refit much faster than the Ottomans, and in mid June started pushing up the Sinai again. The Central Powers ceded what ground they must, and established a heavy defensive line around Jerusalem, the holy city, in Palestine. The British advanced, but once again a lone Marine division advanced unsupported and suffered massive casualties, while the British tank forces were driven back from Tel Aviv by a swift attack by the Hapsburg troops. After these brief battles, the line in Palestine settled for the time being.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, the German's dealt America a humiliating blow. The High Seas Fleet cruised up the Potomac river, blowing apart the antiquated U.S. coastal defenses, and landed an entire division of German Imperial Marines in Washington D.C. itself. Though the raid was simply to steal the massive stockpile of resources the U.S. had acquired in the region - and steal them they did, leaving the U.S. high and dry when it came to materials to run an economy - the Germans quickly took the opportunity for some propaganda purposes, and promptly set fire to the US Capitol building, tore down the Washington Monument, and burned the White House. After making off with US the stockpile and leaving the Capitol in Ruins, the Germans then went south to Land in Houston, the single largest rare production center in the U.S., and thus deny the U.S. economy the ability to rebuild a stockpile of vital rare resources.
Basically the same thing.
Thought the U.S. was briefly able to occupy Mexico City, they were pushed out as the Germans and Mexican troops cut them off and advanced into Texas. On the west coast, the IJN materialized and landed hordes of Japanese troops in San Francisco. Seattle and Vancouver, Canada followed next. The handful of National Guard units on the west coast were no match, and they were quickly annihilated as the Japanese pushed west, taking Salt Lake City and more as they drove east. The Americans soon abandoned everything west of the Mississippi in a desperate attempt to buy themselves time.
American soldiers seeking shelter in trenches, somewhere in Texas.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the French utilized their control of the seas to launch a massive invasion of Venice and Trieste, sending in a massive force of some 20 divisions in an attempt to cut off the Hapsburg forces in Italy and possibly even reach Vienna. No documentation of this brutal campaign exists, but it is know that it caused no small amount of panic amongst the Central Powers, before Hapsburg tank divisions arrived to smash the Entente beachhead and force them back into the sea.
But the most important side effect of this was that the French had severely overestimated their numerical advantage on the Western Front. The Germans, upon realizing that 20 French divisions had been taken out of the equation, launched a massive offensive using troops freed up from the swiftly crumbling Eastern Front. In the most successful offensive on the western front to date, the Germans absolutely shattered the French troops, who now lacked reserves to cycle troops in and out of battle. From Verdun to Dunkirk, the French line collapsed under German assault. The Germans were able to break though at Lyon and encircle all of the Entente troops in Belgium. Though this mostly consisted of depleted Belgian troops and some French, it nevertheless freed up dozens of German divisions as the line was shortened and numerous Entente divisions annihilated.
The French had claimed that the fortress city of Verdun would never fall. When the Germans finally attacked, it fell in less than a week. The surrounding regions quickly followed.
The devastating German offensive in May and June of 1917 altered the face of the war. The French realized they had made a terrible mistake assuming they had enough troops to enact a decisive blow in Italy, and their positions in France suffered, as the French were pushed back all across the front.
The new Western Front, June 28, 1917.
Three years to the day after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand set all of Europe ablaze, the war drags on. Millions are dead, empires are crumbling. How many more millions must die and what empires will be left standing when it's all said and done...if it ever is.
We've been saying that for three years now, and here we are. I fully expect this to go into 1918.
Last edited:
Paris is not far away. If the CP navies can stop the French from retreating from Venice / Trieste, that would help, too.
May be the British troops in Egypt / Palestine will be redeployed to France. Another army to bolster the frontlines would help the Entente a great deal.
That attack on Washington was a bit gamey, wasn't it. The USA has next to no troops worth mentioning in 1917.
May be the British troops in Egypt / Palestine will be redeployed to France. Another army to bolster the frontlines would help the Entente a great deal.
That attack on Washington was a bit gamey, wasn't it. The USA has next to no troops worth mentioning in 1917.
None of the CP navies save the Ottoman have access to the Med, the Entente controls Gibraltar and the Suez. As for Paris, it's a fortified city surrounded by rivers. If I recall correctly it's only ever been taken once by storm in any of our games.
The British are free to stay and die in Palestine, I'm happy to actually have a campaign there, makes it more exciting. The British army is literally down to a handful of divisions, they're not gonna be decisive anywhere expect my theater I think.
And no it wasn't. Not our fault the US Navy ran away leaving the capitol virtually undefended. It would have been gamey for us to not take advantage of such an opportunity.
The British are free to stay and die in Palestine, I'm happy to actually have a campaign there, makes it more exciting. The British army is literally down to a handful of divisions, they're not gonna be decisive anywhere expect my theater I think.
And no it wasn't. Not our fault the US Navy ran away leaving the capitol virtually undefended. It would have been gamey for us to not take advantage of such an opportunity.
They have basically done only what British did in 102 years before that - in 1815. In this reality White House burned twice.
I think the France made a mistake with that landing around Venice as that was pretty obvious move to expect. I guess allied chance to win is grim as this was their last session, where they have had chance to balance things out. They sshould instead try to weaken bit by bit some minor CP member like Ottomans along with Bulgarians and/or Japan. But I guess that would be pretty hard with no British troops to reckon with.
The landing at Venice certainly caused no small amount of panic among the Germans and Hapsburg players, but in the end it suffered from what any naval landing in WW1 would have, the inability to really exploit anything quickly before enemy troops railed in to just turn it into another stalemate. And without a British army around, it was almost entirely a French operation (the British provides plenty of planes though), which left them severely weak on the Western Front.
The Entente already tried a knockout blow against the Ottomans and Bulgaria when they called in Greece and Romania. They're welcome to try something again
The Entente already tried a knockout blow against the Ottomans and Bulgaria when they called in Greece and Romania. They're welcome to try something again
That offensive in France looks like a serious one. If you can break through on the (German) right flank you might execute the Schlieffen plan after all
Are the Ottomans in a position to push the British out of Egypt now?
The US Navy simply had no units in the area? Yea that is a bit bad indeed.
Are the Ottomans in a position to push the British out of Egypt now?
The US Navy simply had no units in the area? Yea that is a bit bad indeed.
I'm sure my German allies are drolling at the possibility of keeping the right flank strong lol. As for Palestine, supply's are being a bitch, but I'm ever confident that victory shall be mine! And those Arabs are going to regret their decision. Time to bring kebab to Mecca!!!
Also Sebas you're the fan of the week, go glorify in your own light!
Also Sebas you're the fan of the week, go glorify in your own light!
The Entente should have seen it coming though, as soon as our fleet crossed the Atlantic a session ago they could have sent a British/French division in DC. That would have been enough to hold it at least a little while.
Thinking about the invasion again, I think invading somewhere like Sicily, Sardinia or perhaps even Greece would have been a better idea. Med is their lake now and they can there do whatever they please at the moment. While the first two options would be just a minor annoyance, well played invasion of Greece together with Russian push in Romania would give European CPs some real headache. Running into fortified Alps just backfired back upon France, though I understand the temptation of pretty much restoring Italian front as it historically was on top of having a good portion of CP units annihilated near the Swiss border.
The idea of robbing the stockpiles of one country by occupying their capital for a few moments is just... *meh*