End of 1914: Military Results/Future Plans
"Could you imagine what would have happened if we listened to Schlieffen?" -Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann-Hollweg, Chancellor of Germany
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1914 - Bekämpfen
It has already been so long since the beginning of the Weltkrieg, and now it has grown even further than imagined. German Armies occupy Warsaw, Riga, Vilnius, and are on the gates of Kiev, Minsk, and Tallinn. The German Empire's Colonial Reign has been utterly smashed into pieces by the British and Japanese Empires, carving out the Reich's rightful land, while at the same time, they are unable to attack directly into the Kaiserreich. Already, millions of men have died, and thousands more wounded and or fighting on the frontlines. This war could have been avoided if the Great Powers of Europa weren't looking for an excuse to send young boys to die for the old. One spark in the Balkans has now lead to the biggest war in all of the World's History. Nothing has ever compared to this War to End All Wars, and hopefully, nothing will ever come close to this carnage again. However, we must review our gains and mistakes in the year of 1914. As we enter the new year of 1915, it will be an uphill struggle, but if the German Empire and her Iron Allies stay true to the cause of victory, then there is nothing that can defeat the German Fatherland.
Casualties
Entente Losses: 1,051,340 ---------- Central Powers' Losses: 612,518
The first point that shall be discussed will be the amount of casualties both sides of the Weltkrieg have had thus far and how it may affect the rest of the war. As you can see, the Entente has have had their butts handed to them, compared to the Kaiser's Losses. Already, one million men have died for the Entente Cause of destroying Germany, and it hasn't gone so well for those fortunate to survive has it? To be fair, 90% of all Entente Casualties have been attributed to the expandable Russians. Say what you will about the Land of Frogs and Marshes, but at least they have the tenacity to go on even with these types of losses. Soon, Russia itself will exceed the casualties of all Entente Deaths in 1914, including their own. That is, if the current trend of the Eastern Front is going as it is. Mind you, this doesn't include Sarny Casualties as that battle is still in progress, therefore, the numbers could be even higher.
Either way, it's become apparent that Russia can't keep on taking these losses if it expects to come out of the war alive. The Motherland might soon be populated by mothers if every son of Russia is killed, not by already superior Austro-German Arms, but by the stupidity of the country's leaders and their failure in war. Keeping this in mind, the Russians should be out of the war by the end of 1915, the earliest being the summer, the latest in the late fall. Either way, the Russian Empire is finished, doubly so if Sarny is won. The rest of the Entente on the other hand? Well, they have not been bled white like the Russians have, nor have they suffered any colossal loss of land. France still holds all their territory, and have a large surplus of fighting men, reinforced by their colonies and the British Military.
Taking them down will not happen if Russia takes Germany down with it in terms of casualties, the Western Front may be the most important, but that does not diminish the value of the East. The only thing keeping the Entente in the West at bay are the Ottomans in Egypt and Alsace-Lorraine. If the French bypass Alsace-Lorraine, the best way through the Swiss Confederation, would transform the war on a bad scale. Built up resources in the West would have to be spent on keeping the small mountain country alive and kicking, while also holding off what seems to be an Italian Entry into the Weltkrieg on the Entente's side. All in all, on paper the Central Powers are doing better than the Entente, but in reality, the opposite might be true.
If there was one crucial nation in Europa that we've been ignoring for some time, it would be that of the treacherous Kingdom of Italy. Despite having the best relations with Kingdom of Italy and both Germany and Italy wanting peace with each other, the same could not be said for Germany's Southern Brother: Austria-Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is the most multicultural nation in all Europe, and one of those cultures are the Northern Italians under Austrian Rule. While most are probably content with this, the Kingdom of Italy isn't. Italy will join the side who can promise them more, and all Germany can promise the Italians are some French Colonies in Africa and the land they themselves sold to France in order to win back Venice from the Austrians. The Entente on the other hand would give the Italian Menace whatever it wanted, from colonies to it's full irredenta. This could not be allowed to happen, the Kaiser didn't care if Italy had good relations with the German Empire, if Italia was to wage war with Austria with the backing of the Entente, then so be it. Berlin would fight alongside Vienna no matter what, for they of the same blood and the same cause. Maybe if Austria had given up some land to Italy, or if the Italians weren't so stubborn, then there would perhaps be another front for France to fight, but instead, there will be another for the Austro-Hungarians.
The Kingdom will get what's coming for them if they do follow up on the Entente's lies. What will probably seal the deal is the fact that the Ottoman Empire has aligned with the Kaiserreich, and the Ottomans are sworn enemies of the Italians, only just recently getting out of war with the Italians. In fact, that was the whole reason the Turks decided to side with Germany. The effects of this were seen in 1914, when Ottoman backed Libyan Rebels took control of most of the Italian Colony. There isn't much left to discuss, Italy will be the Reich's Enemy in the future, let us hope the fighting won't scare the two nations forever, and that one day, friendship could be restored. After all, Italy was the only country in Europe to know the pain of disunification for so long, it is only natural that the two would would day be allies once more. Unfortunately, that day is not today.
The Entente Is Expanding
Earlier in the year of 1914, the British Empire fully demonstrated the power their web of connections by forcing the Japanese Empire into the war on the side of the Entente in early September. While not as shocking as it could have been, the fact that the far flung Japanese were pushed into the conflict only meant that the Entente could influence other nations to do the same, but closer and farther. The most obvious candidates for Entente Expansion are the Italians, but that shouldn't rule out the Greeks or Belgians, nor the very susceptible United States of America, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the Luxembourgians. Italy joining the Entente is not much of an if question but a when, explaining their side of the story has already happened anyway. Greece and Belgium are way different beasts all together however.
Greece was ruled by two people with conflicting differences, the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. The Royalist Greeks supported neutrality or even an alliance with Germany, to protect Greek Borders from Bulgarian Expansion, but more importantly, Entente Occupation. You see, ever since the war started, Greece has had three chances to become an enemy of Germany, but it never did. The first time was when it was honor-bound by alliance with Serbia to help them, but no Greek wanted to help a nation who held Macedonia hostage. The second time was when France opened negotiations with the Greeks in order to gain a 'base' to funnel Anglo-French Troops into the Balkan Slaughter, just as Serbia was crumbling. The Greeks once again said no, and the final time was when Bulgaria joined the Central Powers. The Greeks could have easily entered the war on the Entente side in order to fulfill some test of Balkan Superiority, but that never happened. Why? Because Greece was lead by King Constantine I, and he was married to the Second Kaiser's Daughter, Sophie of Prussia. As such, he had no interest in declaring war on the nation who Greece was now tied royally with, but that Parliamentarians disagreed. They were nothing but Entente Lapdogs, having fantasies of Greece with Byzantine Borders. No matter what, the Royalists must stay in charge, otherwise Greece would become an Entente Puppet. If that happened, well, the Balkan Front would light up again, and that's something no one wanted.
Then there was Belgium. Belgium, unlike the Hellenic Kingdom, was no friend of the Kaiser's Germany. Belgium basically was another French Province, just under the protection of the British. In fact, it was refreshing seeing a firebrand nation like Belgium who'd love to spout many insults toward Germany be shut up at the face of German Arms. The only thing that would bring them into war would be a direct German Invasion, but the Kaiser has suspended all plans for an invasion of Belgium for the time being. Russia First, France for Dessert. There was also Portugal, but the Portuguese wouldn't be so much of a threat even if they joined. With all their manpower, they wouldn't even make a difference, the Swiss would make more of an impact than Lisbon would ever. The only reason Portugal would join would be because of the historical English Alliance, it'd be an old time's sake thing.
Luxembourg wouldn't dare do anything, like Belgium, but it's because they literally have no army. Luxembourg could fall to a single German Division, why that nation isn't apart of Germany, France, or Belgium is appalling. Any who, with those four out of the way, that left to nations that had a complicated relationship with both sides: The United States of America, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The USA would be a tough powerhouse of a nation to fight, and it would be virtually unstoppable if it actually made use of it's industry for Total War, thing is, no one in America wanted war, especially with it's large German Population. Americans might not like to admit it, but a significant portion of their country are from the Fatherland, and they have no desire to war with Germany. Add this to the fact that America and Isolation go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly, the USA has no chance of entering the war. At least without gaining high dissent in the process. Finally, there was the Netherlands. While not particularly fond of the British Empire, France, or Belgium, it should be noted that the Netherlands has more to gain than lose if it allied with the Entente, should the need ever come. The Netherlands is also a target of the Schlieffen Plan, while it may be cut out in the future, all options are still on the table, and if Amsterdam refuses to cooperate with Germany, there will be a reckoning. The British Arachnid has created a large web, catching countries like Spiders do Flies, and it won't be long before it eats it's prey.
Truly a battle to be remembered, the Battle of Sarny was far from over. Started on the Third of December, 1914, the Battle of Sarny was the pinnacle of the German Winter Offensive in 1914, going on into 1915, it remains unclear how the battle will turn out. The Battle so far has probably produced more dead men than any battle in previous history, 70,000 German Soldiers being slaughted by Russian Machine Gunfire on the first day of fighting alone. It was the worst day in Prussian Military History, could you imagine the carnage? Or how about the thousands of German Mothers and Wives being told that their Son or Husband has been murdered in the field of duty. It was a terrible battle, that was for sure. The battle was also reshaping the minds of the German General Staff, on how the war would be won, and how Prussian Military System was flawing.
While probably the best in Europe, Germany's Military had now proven that it could be slaughtered en mass. How could this of happened? Because of bad leadership. If the officer was not doing his job correctly, then neither would the soldier. Thus, Erich von Falkenhayn, 'mastermind' behind the Battle of Sarny, was sacked by the Kaiser himself, replaced with Erich von Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg once again. The real victors of the Eastern Front were these two men, they prevented the Russians from taking East Prussia at the Battle of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes, and then the encirclement of an entire Russian Army in Russian Poland. With these two once again back at the helm, the Battle of Sarny would now have a higher chance of success. Artillery left doing nothing on the Western Front was shipped to the Eastern Front, specifically to Sarny, where German Big Guns utterly pounded Russian Positions. Coupled with Austrian Advances all along Sarny and Ukraine once again, the Battle of Sarny hopefully would now end in the Kaiserreich's Victory, that however remained to be seen. The key to winning the Eastern Front was in the German Army's hands, they just needed to learn how to use it on a rotting Russian House. It won't be long before the Winter Palace dawns the Kaiser's Banner!
1915 - Jahr der Schlacten
And so, with all this knowledge in mind, we move into the year of 1915. The Year of Battles is upon us, and German Armies both in the West and the East will see through until absolute victory! The Entente Lapdogs are on the ropes in Russia, they are on the verge of full on civil war! The German Empire's main objective of the next year will be destroying the Russian Empire and forcing the Land of Marshes and Frogs into isolationist suffering. The Russians are not to be allowed to regain their strength, and so once German Armies dine in Moscow, there shall be a punishment far worse than anything seen before. The second goal will be protecting the Western Front against the French-British Entente. They will most definitely strike Switzerland once the Snow melts away the Spring comes back. When that time comes, the Italians too will probably attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire in its rear, and when both of these attacks happen, the German Eagle in all of it's glory will swoop down to save its brothers. Germany is not fighting this war because it is under threat of persecution and or because of losing's sake, but because the Entente has one goal: The Annihilation of the German State. Long has Germany been disunified and puppeted by other European Powers, long has the Nation of Poets and Intellectuals succumbed to foreign thievery, now, the Fatherland will see justice inflicted upon all Europe for the crimes it has committed. Germany Over All! 1915 shall be the year the Entente crumbles, and above the corpses, Germany will still stand.
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Finally, 1914 is done and over with Honestly, were it not for 1917, 1914 would have probably been the most boring year of the war. Anyway, I'm going to start playing Darkest Hour again on this scenario, it'll be really fun playing, hopefully it won't be as equally annoying. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this synopsis, and goodbye!
