Apparently, the road to the Baltic seems to be quite open.
I wonder how (or if) Vienan is going to use the beating received by the Russian bear.
I wonder how (or if) Vienan is going to use the beating received by the Russian bear.
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If I may correct- those are French troops. Here's a good Austrian troops advancing pic for you to use though 
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Oh, thanks. You know there's not a lot of Austrian Soldier Pictures in WW1, makes it kind of time consuming at times.If I may correct- those are French troops. Here's a good Austrian troops advancing pic for you to use though
Well there is certainly not a lot of pictures of the Austrians advancing anyway!
Nice Pocket, always the hardest thing to accomplish I find as the AI generally will fight tooth and nail to stop it.
Nice Pocket, always the hardest thing to accomplish I find as the AI generally will fight tooth and nail to stop it.
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Chapter V: Leaves Start to Fall
"Ah, Finally the trigger to this whole damned conflict is getting what it deserved." Kaiser Franz Joseph I, Emperor of the Habsburg Realm
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September 17th - September 30th
German Soldiers apart of the six divisions sent southward to the Austro-Hungarian Russian Front enter the ruined streets of Przemysl, days after the initial liberation by mainly Hungarian Forces.
Serbian Civilians and Soldiers retreat into Serbian Macedonia near the Albanian Border, September 23rd, 1914. The Austro-Hungarian advance was swift and decisive, a growth spurt of glory.
That was just one of the many issues the Entente Powers were facing, another being the fall of Serbia with no other front to distract Germany or Austria-Hungary. There were options yes, but after seeing reports from the front, most nations were starting to think twice about joining the losing side. France mustered up the courage to ask Greece to join the Entente, they declined after Bulgaria defensively mobilized it's armed forces on the Hellenic Kingdom's Border. All around the Entente lost where it mattered, but won where it didn't. Citizens of both France and Britain too were getting war weary, so much to the fact the French launched an attack on German Trenches directly on the border. Needless to say it failed, and only resulted in more mutinies. Maybe Germany didn't need to kick open the front door into Paris to win the war, perhaps the French would do it themselves. However, isn't that an Italian thing?
German Soldiers escort the poor French Prisoners to German Prisoner-of-War Camps shortly after the battle was over. Despite being enemies, the French didn't even resist, so much to fact that some were allowed to carry their rifle (albeit with no ammo) with them as a badge of honor.
However, Austrian Reports taken from captured Russian Generals from Russian Poland and given to Heeresgruppe Schlesien, the contents in were troubling. Apparently, the Russians were amassing a large army force in Ukraine near the front, most of which were divisions who couldn't arrive at the front when the Weltkrieg started. Sarny and Rowne were both fortified, perhaps that is where the Russians will make their last stand. It also contained documents revealing that the army that was defending Riga had moved north, and a fake army of civilians were pretending to defend the city. The Russians also had vacated the whole of Latvia, instead taking positions with another army in Estonia until another could arrive at the Baltic Front. Immediately after the discovery of this information, the Prussian North Army invaded Russian Latvia (especially since Kaunas had surrendered). However, the German Divisions at the Lithuanian City of Vilnius were attacked by ten Russian Divisions. Despite the German Divisions being outnumbered and exhausted, they seem to be pulling through. In any case, September 1914 will be remembered as the month Germany proved to the whole world that is was possible to beat the Russian Bear. Today Riga, Tomorrow the Tsar's Palace!
Battlelines of the Eastern Front, October 1st, 1914.
German Soldiers quickly move throughout the Polish Interior, rounding up the remains of the Russian Sixth Army.
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End of Chapter V: Leaves Start to Fall
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Update: I just realized that there aren't a lot of slides for both October and November so don't be surprised if I combine the two months. December is when the chapters should get back to being bi-weekly (content, not when I make them). I was just so invested in playing that I forgot it was all for an AAR.
I'm a bit confused, did you bag the russian divisions west of Brest-Litovsk, or not? You started the attack in Congress Poland before you took Brest-Litovsk, and the last slide still shows that as an ongoing battle.
Gott Erhalte Deutschland!
Gott Erhalte Deutschland!
Yes I did, the divisions at Chelm thankfully fled westward instead of eastward.
Note: I've cancelled both my previous two AARs, I just think I could do better with the ideas I want to do. I actually kind of want to make a modern day AAR as Germany as a rising superpower.
The only battlefield that was still active to say the least was the Serbian Front, but that was a crumbling one not worth mentioning now. The first week of October came and went by, nothing was lost, nothing was gained. The second week the Kaiser of Germany remembered how the Turks of Istanbul had signed a secret alliance with Germany. Now, it had been two months since then, and yet there were no results. The Ottoman Empire had refused to join the war, and Germany was getting angry. There was no point in having an alliance when said alliance fails to manifest, and so Germany, desperate for an ally, gave the Turks some money in order to get them to finally join. The Ottomans joining the war would force Russia to tie down troops in the Caucuses to defend against any Turkish Advance, and it would force the British Colonial Divisions in Africa to defend the Suez Canal (lifeline of the British Empire), thus giving the surviving colonies of Deutsche-Kameroon and Deutsche-Südwest Afrika some breathing room. The Turks however refused, stating that they would join the war in time. You see, the Ottomans did not want to declare war per say, they wanted war to come to them. If an 'accident' happened in either the Black Sea or Mediterreanen concerning the Russian or British Empires, one or the other would most likely declare war. At that moment would the Ottoman Empire dine in hell with it's new comrades, but for time being, the Fatherland would have to wait.
Russian Soldiers secure defensive positions shortly before a German Attack near the outskirts of Grodno, Russian Belarus, October 7th, 1914.
Evidently by the events that occurred on October 16th, 1914, the German Reich would not have to wait long for Ottoman Entry into the Weltkrieg. On the afternoon of that day, the Ottoman Navy bombarded the British-Egyptian Coast under the guise of attacking pirates praying on the Turkish Merchant Fleet. The firebrand British didn't much care what excuse the Ottomans had to give, the warmongers in London had their own excuse for war with the Ottoman Empire and they wasted no time in declaring war. Now the Ottomans were apart of the Weltkrieg whether they liked it or not. Ottoman Armies in Iraq immediately invaded the British Protectorate of Kuwait and the occupied Persian Oil Fields. Ottoman Forces defeated the poorly trained Indian Soldiers and made quick process in defeating the British in Kuwait. That would not be the last place the Turks attacked that week, as the they Ottoman Armies in the Kurdish Region of the Empire invaded Russian Occupied Persia, but only to the border of Kars. With the Ottoman Empire now as an ally of Germany, German and Turkish Officials met in Istanbul to discuss one very important thing: The security of the Dardanelles. Constantinople was the only thing stopping the British-French Entente from getting some kind of aid to the Russians besides the now closed off ports in the Arctic and German Held Baltic Sea, not only that, but it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Taking Constantinople would more or less throw the Turks out of the war while at the same time allowing East and West to meet and destroy the Center. It was agreed upon that the coastal defenses would be repaired and upgraded. German Vice Admiral Guido von Usedom would take military command of the city's defense, and citizens of the Ottoman Empire would sleep better at night.
Ottoman Soldiers preparing to attack over a hill, somewhere in British-Kuwait, after war had been declared.
North of the new Middle-Eastern Front was the Serbian Front, and it looked like while one front opened, another would close as the Last Battle of the Serbian Campaign commenced: The Battle of Skopje. On the twenty-eighth of October, Austro-Hungarian Soldiers started the battle with an opening barrage and an infantry thrust into Macedonia. The Serbians were still recovering from the fatal blow that was dealt to them in Montenegro, but to have a Macedonian Separatist Group openly rebel and be outgunned even then was a sign from above that Serbia was finished. It had fought on hard, and now the country that started the Weltkrieg payed the price. After the smoke had cleared on the third of November, Serbia officially surrendered to Austria-Hungary, a huge victory for the Central Powers. Not only were thirty-two divisions ready for service elsewhere, either in the East or to be apart of the reserves protecting the Austro-Italian Border, but it achieved its primary goal for the war, ending the Serbian Menace. A great victory indeed.
Back again in the Middle East, the Ottomans were having more successes, driving the British into the Persian Gulf from Kuwait and actually advancing into the Sinai Peninsula. The Ottomans taking Kuwait and the Persian Oil Fields in the South now meant that the British couldn't advance up through the Empire by going into Iraq, at the same time it gave the Central Powers extra oil on top of being able to liberate Kuwait from British Rule. The Kaiser of Germany along with the Sultan of Turkey both were pleased by the victories the Ottoman Empire had been able to achieve in such a short space of time, and even back on the Eastern Front the Prussian North Army along with the Silesian Middle Army both had gained success. The two armies were able to finally secure all of Latvia and were on the gates of Minsk as foretold! To make matters even better, talks were beginning to take place in Sofia, Bulgaria. With the demise of the Serbs, the Bulgarians have seen who will be the victor's of this Weltkrieg, and will most definitely join by December. All at the same time, it seems the sunspots on Germany's Place in the Sun are finally starting to melt away. To Victory!
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End of Chapter VI: The Calm Before The Winter
Well, um, that's that I guess. December is basically when this war gets way better, as both the meat grinder battle happens and the year of 1914 ends, and the Year of Battles begins. I promise you, by March 1915, we'll finally have a western front to talk about, however it might be a little more south than one would think. Hopefully it doesn't go South mind you. Next chapters will be coming out soon hopefully, and I might be leaving on Wednesday so don't expect anything until next next week. If I'm lucky, things will continue as normal, but if not, you guys might actually have to wait two weeks. I know it sucks, but I have no idea what will be happening so I don't want to get any hopes up. That's all I have to say, good day and goodnight!
Chapter VI: The Calm Before The Winter
"It is expected that the War in the East will soon become even bloodier or less bloody. For my men I want the latter, but for the war, let the blood pour." -August von Mackensen, General of the Prussian North Army
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October 1st - November 30th, 1914
Turkish Officials announce to the world that the Ottoman Empire is now at war with the United Kingdom and her allies while joining the German Empire and the Central Powers.
After two whole months of violent warfare, things were finally beginning to calm down. From Riga to Romania the Eastern Front was as silent as it could be, with German and Austrian Troops mostly defending rather than attacking. In truth, this was the calming down period in preparation for the next Austro-German Offensive into the East, which was to take place sometime in Winter. The Russians also gained their first major victory against the Prussian North Army at Grodno, but that would soon be corrected in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the Western Front, if you could even call it that, didn't show any signs of lighting up nor did anyone expect it to. However, German Reconnaissance Plans had discovered large amounts of Entente Forces amassing near the French-Swiss-Italian Border. They were probably just on their way to Entente Africa to finish off the dying German Colonies, but an eye should be kept on them."It is expected that the War in the East will soon become even bloodier or less bloody. For my men I want the latter, but for the war, let the blood pour." -August von Mackensen, General of the Prussian North Army
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October 1st - November 30th, 1914
Turkish Officials announce to the world that the Ottoman Empire is now at war with the United Kingdom and her allies while joining the German Empire and the Central Powers.
The only battlefield that was still active to say the least was the Serbian Front, but that was a crumbling one not worth mentioning now. The first week of October came and went by, nothing was lost, nothing was gained. The second week the Kaiser of Germany remembered how the Turks of Istanbul had signed a secret alliance with Germany. Now, it had been two months since then, and yet there were no results. The Ottoman Empire had refused to join the war, and Germany was getting angry. There was no point in having an alliance when said alliance fails to manifest, and so Germany, desperate for an ally, gave the Turks some money in order to get them to finally join. The Ottomans joining the war would force Russia to tie down troops in the Caucuses to defend against any Turkish Advance, and it would force the British Colonial Divisions in Africa to defend the Suez Canal (lifeline of the British Empire), thus giving the surviving colonies of Deutsche-Kameroon and Deutsche-Südwest Afrika some breathing room. The Turks however refused, stating that they would join the war in time. You see, the Ottomans did not want to declare war per say, they wanted war to come to them. If an 'accident' happened in either the Black Sea or Mediterreanen concerning the Russian or British Empires, one or the other would most likely declare war. At that moment would the Ottoman Empire dine in hell with it's new comrades, but for time being, the Fatherland would have to wait.
Russian Soldiers secure defensive positions shortly before a German Attack near the outskirts of Grodno, Russian Belarus, October 7th, 1914.
Ottoman Soldiers preparing to attack over a hill, somewhere in British-Kuwait, after war had been declared.
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End of Chapter VI: The Calm Before The Winter
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Good luck! With Bulgaria joining and Serbia knocked out you (in theory) have a completley overland route you can transfer troops from East to West as necessary. Is there really any heavy use from oil in WW1 in this mod or not really?
@LoneStar Prussian
How are your Ottoman allies kicking this much ass? My Ottomans always seem to get bogged down either in the Sinai just before the canal or even worse, Iraq and get put on the defensive.
How are your Ottoman allies kicking this much ass? My Ottomans always seem to get bogged down either in the Sinai just before the canal or even worse, Iraq and get put on the defensive.
@LoneStar Prussian
How are your Ottoman allies kicking this much ass? My Ottomans always seem to get bogged down either in the Sinai just before the canal or even worse, Iraq and get put on the defensive.
How are your Ottoman allies kicking this much ass? My Ottomans always seem to get bogged down either in the Sinai just before the canal or even worse, Iraq and get put on the defensive.
That overland route from Berlin to Constantinople is really important so yeah, Asienkorps to the rescue! At least in the Sinai where the British AI puts all their forces that instead could be invading Germany right now. Also, there isn't a lot of use for oil right now, that's mainly a WW2 Problem (Panzers, Luftwaffe). It's still nice to have though.
I'm militarily controlling them (like @Colt556 said), and thank god they built a ton of divisions. Literally 21 are in the Sinai right now against the 10-15 British Divisions, with Bulgarian/German Reinforcements coming. Usually the AI just goes on the offensive without properly thinking through. For example, my last time I played as WW1 Germany, the Ottomans decided to attack the Russians and got their butts handed to them, but if you don't let that happen the Russians either won't care about that front or can't take advantage of the battered Ottoman Troops. Also the British AI likes to send all of its divisions to Egypt for some reason, rarely do they ever land in Europe.
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Yeah last time I played I rolled through the French and Russians and the sneaky Brits annexed the OE.
Chapter VII: The Single Worst Day in Prussian Military History
"I will never forget the first day of that horrific battle. I will never forgive myself for not falling with my comrades, both next to me and shooting at me. That day, the First Day of Sarny, is burned into my memory along with countless others." -Soldat Friedhelm Müller, Sole Survivor of the 871. "Danzig" Brigade
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December 3rd, 1914.
German Soldiers stuck dead in Russian Barbed Wire, Sarny, Ukraine 1914. The first day of the Battle of Sarny, combined with fierce amounts of defenders and the Russian Winter produced the single most bloodiest day in Prussian Military History, and for a cannonball like Germany, that was a devastating feat.
Down south in the Land of the Habsburgs, a German Soldier named Friedhelm was keeping watch for the hour on the Eastern Front. As apart of the Saxon South Army, he had seen little action so far, other than the Liberation of Tarnopol/Second Battle of Tarnopol. Well, that was compared to the Prussian North and Silesian Middle Armies, he couldn't imagine being bored to dead by the Western Front, imagine how the French Army was bearing! Alas, he was content with staying in his snow covered trench, however Friedhelm had heard rumors of another offensive into Russia - During Winter. The thought horrified him but it wasn't all that shocking, Falkenhayn, while no one would dare admit in public, sometimes was a blundering fool.
In the German Trench, many men were sitting down with nothing to do. Friedhelm pitted them, but soon was forced to join them when another soldier took over his position. Friedhelm went to his little makeshift bunk and put his rifle down. He was stiff because of the cold, that however would not stop him from taking out a picture from his pocket. It was of his family, friends, and girl back at home, all jumbled up into one picture for him to remember and fight for. In the picture, he was in a Prussian Uniform and was the center of the photo. To his left was his mother, father, uncle, and sister, on the right there was his older brother (who also was in a Prussian Uniform), younger brother (thankfully not in a Prussian Uniform), his aunt, and his girlfriend. This was the last time they'd all be together, for now anyway. Friedhelm longed for the day he could return home and build a life of his own, one without the tragedy of World War. Friedhelm put away the photo when he saw their commander, Leutnant Hänsel von Bayreuth, walk toward the center of the trench, obviously about to bark an order.
"Attention!" Hänsel called
"Leutnant Hänsel von Bayreuth!" The Soldiers responded
"Good. I have received orders directly from Field Marshal Erich von Falkenhayn himself! They read that we, along with the 2. Brigade and 235. Brigade are to attack Russian Positions ahead of us - Sarny. This is all culminating in a brilliant combined attack of most of the Saxon South Army, consisting of twenty four German Divisions, many more Austrian. Russian Forces are equal to that of our own, but we will not cower, and we will not be defeated. There is nothing to be afraid of, there are a total of 108,000 German and Austro-Hungarian Soldiers about to charge into Ukraine, and by punching a whole through Little Russia, all of Russia will fall to the German Empire! We do this not for lust or blind conquest, but for the safety of the Fatherland and the Kaiser! We are going over the top in three minutes! Those who are late will be charged with treason, now go!" Hänsel ordered before loading his pistol
Friedhelm's worst fear of fighting in the snow as if there weren't any was finally coming to pass, but something was different - in the worst way possible. He had a terrible tugging sensation in his body, disaster was around the corner, he could literally feel it. There was nothing he could do about it though, he took one last look at his family before putting it away for good and going over to his squad. Three minutes passed, and the German Army went over the top once more. What followed would be best described as landing feet first into Hell. Russian Guns opened fired, they were more than ready for this attack. No Man's Land provided little to know cover, the previous artillery barrage the night before only producing few craters to hide in. Friedhelm jumped into one of these covers just as he saw a Russian about to fire upon him. Seconds later, another body joined him, but Friedhelm sooned discovered it was a corpse. Friedhelm stuck his head out for a brief second and witnessed mass slaughter. The Germans were not winning this battle, one after one both Russian and German were being shot down to their deaths. That was when Friedhelm realized something - the Russians were counterattacking over their trenches! No Man's Land suddenly became Man's Land. Friedhelm gripped his rifle and fixed his bayonet twice, he got ready for anything. His preparation payed off as a Russian charged toward him, Friedhelm's training clicked in and he aimed down his sites, firing a bullet into the Russian's head. Friedhelm turned around and saw Hänsel retreating alone with a few other men, anger overtook him. Before he could do anything he was knocked onto the floor by a falling dead German Body, blasted onto him by a grenade. Friedhelm couldn't move, finding out that not one but three bodies were no on him. Friedhelm tried to break free but couldn't, until he noticed the photo of his family in front of him. It must of been knocked out during the battle, a blessing from a higher power no doubt. It gave Friedhelm the strength to get the dead bodies off of him, but by the time he was ready to fight again, it was already too late - for both sides. Despite him retreating Hänsel was dead on the floor, blood splattered all across his backside.
Death was all around him. To his right, not a single soldier from either side stood, the same was true with the left, and what was in front. For the first time in a long time, Friedhelm had not idea what to do. In the chaos of war, both his fellow German Soldiers managed to defeat the Russians, at the cost of their own lives. Friedhelm fell to his knees and cried, all his comrades were now gone, and worst of it all, he had to take a comrade's life today as well. Make no mistake, Friedhelm viewed the Russians as comrades too, sure they were the enemy, but they were feeling the same dread that he was. In the end, they all bleed red. Friedhelm was the only soul still from the battle still on the Earth, and he had to live with that.
Friedhelm learned later that his brigade's casualty rate, while devastating, wasn't the worst. Entire divisions were wiped clean of men, not destroyed but in need of imminent reinforcement. So many soldiers had died on the first day of the offensive alone, it became the Worst Day in Prussian Military History, and for Prussia that was saying something. Nearly 70,000 German Soldiers, not including Austrians, fell in battle. December Third was to be a day to be remembered for sure. Even worse, Friedhelm found out that a division of Swabian Volunteers into the Saxon South Army had actually been rendered useless because of the battle. 1000 South Germans of that division went over the top that day, ninety returned. The Division was made apart of the Order of the Black Eagle, the Highest Award of the German State, by request of Kaiser Wilhelm II and King Ludwig III. The highest ranking soldiers in the division were also granted the Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown. The German Army, and more importantly its Prussian Roots, would never be the same ever again. Before, the war was going well, now, war itself could not go well anymore.
Hier ruhen deutsche soldaten - Here rests German Soldiers
A German Military Cemetery consisiting of soldiers who died during the Battle of Sarny, the first Battle of the Year of Battles of which was to follow.
Rest in Peace, Germany's Heroes. You will always be missed. Your debt can never be repaid, but we will try to anyway, a token of our gratitude.
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End of Chapter VIII: The Worst Day in Prussian Military History
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Well, that made the real life Somme and Verdun look like pillow fights. At least it brings some realism to the war and makes for great storytelling. You can't win all of the battles, but you'll surely rebound from this loss and make Deutschland uber alles.
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Indeed.
Well, this battle is very much similar to Somme, at least the first day. The British in real life suffered 60,000 casualties the first day, the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army. And that was in 1916, imagine if something like that happened two years prior, before the steel helmets and better uniforms, on top of being covered in the Russian Snow. Yikes.Well, that made the real life Somme and Verdun look like pillow fights. At least it brings some realism to the war and makes for great storytelling. You can't win all of the battles, but you'll surely rebound from this loss and make Deutschland uber alles.