Posts made by Clyde85

@DarthShizNit:

I fail to see how that changes that they were a special unit of soldiers trained specifically to storm trenches and equipped in a way to help them do that……and they were total bad asses.

I’m also pretty sure the Russians had shock troops as well. During the Brusilov offensive, specially trained and equipped shock troops to spearhead the attacks…… now what that has to do with African strategies is a bit beyond me.

When were talking about African strats though which side are we planning for, the allies or the Central powers? For the Allies it’s really just a matter of time. German forces will eventually run out as Germany has no way of sending reinforcement and there are more allied units in Africa the German. As the Germans I think they key is to concentrate your troops somewhere, ideally the Belgium Congo, and try to break through to the Turks, linking up in Egypt or the Sudan. I had some great success in my last game and really made the allies work for control of Africa. I nearly took out all the allied forces within Africa, attack their formations before they had a chance to concentrate their troops. It didn’t last though, after a bad attack (or strong defense from the allied point of view) in British east Africa against a joint UK-Italian force, the Germans were spent, and while I did manage to get to Egypt, my battered army was just 1 infantry, down from the 4 infantry and 1 arty I had bedeviled the allies with earlier. I had to high tail it out of Egypt next turn to avoid being wiped out by the Brits, and my one infantry didn’t do much good after that.

In the end it’s all about concentrating you force and attacking your enemy before he can concentrate his. Also, I strongly suggest against trying to hold territories, but rather to keep your forces constantly on the move, make the allies chase you down, as long as your forces are keeping you in control of at least 4IPC worth of Africa, they are doing their job.

@Imperious:

Warning: Excellent post above!

But seriously, France did have a chance to join Germany if a number of events went differently….about 1 billion events.

But nevertheless their is still a chance and as long as that exists we must explore it for the good of the game.

This is just sad, even for you IL. As much as you may not like it, When war loomed large in 1914 Italy was part of the Central Alliance, and when war finally broke out, Luigi Cadorna was preparing and mobilizing the Italian army to fight France. While I agree with Italy being an Allied power for game purposes, I concede that from a purely historical perspective, Italy could have been swayed one way or the other.

In all honesty Italy wen to the highest bidder, which happened to be Great Britain and while it is difficult to think of a country that could have offered Italy more, that doesn’t mean Germany couldn’t have. (again this is from a historical perspective, not a gaming one).

So I’ve recently reconnected with my Trekkie side and haven been enjoying re-watching the old movies and catching up on all The Next Generation episodes I never saw. So I wanted to ask and see how was everyone’s favorite?

Mine, surprisingly enough, is Captain Sulu, from Star Trek VI the undiscovered country. I always loved how he raced his ship into the fray to help the Enterprise in the final battle.

@Flashman:

I said INVADE Serbia. Historically Austria bombarded Belgrade, but did not invade at this time. Since no means of bombarding is available, Larry insists that they must send troops over the border.

Starting on August 6th General Potiorek led the 6th army from Visegrad across the upper Drina river towards Uzic, followed by the 5th army attacking from the lower Drina  down the River Jadar towards Valjevo. In all 290,000 soldiers which moved and attacked places that were within the Kingdom of Serbia. If that’s not an invasion I don’t know what else you would call it!  :-D

@xxstefanx:

Why are so many players here so obsessed with Munich? You realize it’s WWI we are talking here, right? :wink:
If new rules allowed Germany a second production option it ought to be Ruhr! Krupp was located there.
In fact, Germany could even be allowed to build more units there than in Berlin!
Munich, ridiculous!

Yes, I am well aware of the history, but sometimes history has to take a back seat to functionality of game play.

Here is the problem I keep running into as Germany, by turn 4 my armies have battered their way into France, but then I run out of Troops at the front. It’s not that I don’t have them, but their slow march towards the front hinders progress. Troops moved from Berlin will take 3 turns to reach Belgium and 4 turns to get into France proper and given that Germany is fighting under the sword of Damocles that is the US entry into the war this seems like a needless and unfair disadvantage.

If we are to attempt to redress this issue then it needs to be done in a way that will help Germany but not be so over powered as to make the game un-winnable (and therefore un-fun) for the allies. Allowing the Germans unlimited production in the Ruhr creates an insurmountable problem for the allies as troops produced here can be in Belgium in one turn and France proper in two. Germany would be able to steamroll France before America could get into the game.

Allowing a limited production in Munich allows Germany to keep a steady flow of troops into France in a more timely manor and truly bog things down. Munich will also still allow for a slight delay in these troops arrival to front that the Ruhr would not afford and still allow the allies time to attempt to counter them.

I more then understand the historical imperative of allowing the Germans to produce troops in the Ruhr but I believe that it will unbalance the game to an unplayable degree. Understand that I am a huge fan of the history this game is representing (I was the guy willing to decry the game for historical inaccuracies when I first heard about it) and 90% of the time would be part of the “must be historically accurate” chorus, but this time I believe it must take a back seat to functionality.

@Flashman:

The very fact that Austria didn’t invade Serbia as an opening move shows what a stupid attack it is.

Which war are you referring to? Because I’m pretty sure that the first of Austria’s Mobilization orders came on July 25th against Serbia only, which was the same day they declared war on Serbia. I’m also pretty sure that on August 6th that the 5th and 6th Austrian armies started their offensive against Serbia and it wasn’t until the 23rd of that month that offensive operations began against Russia.

While I’ll grant the rule isn’t great from an objective stand point, but from a historical one it makes perfect sense.

I think to speed up German troop movements, and rather then try to introduce a new set of rules for rail movement (because if Germany is allowed to do it then all nations must be allowed to do it and that could make things even worse), treat the Munich territory as a second capitol with deployment limited to 4 units (as it is worth 4IPC) or treat it like a minor neutral and allow it to mobilize double it’s IPC value, so 8 units or something simple like that.

I’m inclined to think (and willing to test out first) allowing Munich to mobilize 4 units a turn as this small infusion of troops each turn would be enough to hold up any allied advance and allow Germany greater hitting power when the bigger troop concentrations from Berlin finally get into play. I hesitate making it 8 units as I feel that would be over powering and render Berlin kinda redundant.

If it’s Smyrna, then wouldn’t it just go back to being an uncontested Turkish territory?

So we’ve gotten to the end of round 3, and rather then give you guys a blow by blow (partly because part one of turn 2 was fought last night, and partly because I’ve had a drink or two to celebrate my memory is a bit fuzzy) I’ll just give a run down of where each power stands economically and militarily.

Austria
By the end of turn 3 Austria is in ascendancy. Her Empire stretches from the Ukraine to Venice, with and economy of $36. Her armies are well stocked and plentiful, with 12 inf and 7 arty and 1 fighter in the Ukraine, 11 inf in Galicia, 7 inf, 5 arty and 1 fighter in Venice, 4 inf and 1 arty in Trieste, 5 inf and 2 arty in Budapest, and the road open to Albania open thanks to an Italian blunder into Greece. 7 infantry and 2 fighters sit in Vienna waiting to march west to finish business with the Italians. The fleet sits in docks and twiddles its thumbs.

Russia
The Czar finds himself in a bit of a quandary. His armies are still quite large, but seem to lack offensive hitting power. The Imperial air force is still strong, but there is little artillery to support. 6 inf and 8 arty gave up fighting for Poland after very nearly taking it back from Germany. The Powerful Austrian offensive made this decision more than anything Germany has done. Once again Sevastopol has been abandoned without a fight to invading Turkish forces, albeit this time from Romania rather then Mesopotamia. 15 infantry, 1 arty and two fighters defend Moscow from the Austrians, with 5 inf in Tatarstan as reinforcement. Livonia was also abandoned and was occupied by and single German scout inf unit. All said with $19 in the bank things look bleak for the future of the Empire.

Germany
The kaisers armies stand on the verge of victory on all fronts! After having smashed French forces from Belgium to Lorraine, the road to Burgundy lies open! 7 inf, 6 arty and a fighter sit in Lorraine, while 8 inf and 7 arty sit in Belgium. However, the Anglo-French forces have massed in Picardy, with 16 French infantry and 11 British inf and it is unclear if Germany has the forces to dislodge them. The high seas fleet has been rebuilt but has little hope to challenging the Allied armada in the north sea. 4 dreadnought (2 French, 1 English, and 1 Russian) and 3 cruisers (2 English and 1 French) sit opposing Germany. On the OStfront, Germany barely survived a round 2 assault by the Russians in Poland, which left Germany with 1 inf, 1 arty and 1 fighter. Now things have be stabilized with 7 inf, 5 arty and 2 fighters in Poland by the end of turn 3. That and the Russian retreat bode well for Germany next turn. In Africa Germ,an forces continue to run amok, cutting clear across the the continent. A bloody battle in GEA has left 1 inf and 1 arty as all that remains of the force that took Rhodesia last turn (3 inf and 1 arty). But the Allied forces in the region are left on a near equal footing. Germany has $47 in the bank and will be looking to reinforce the western front in force over the next few turns.

France
France has not had a happy war. After nearly pushing Germany out of Lorraine on turn two, a devastating counterattack rapidly reversed Frances fortunes. All of Frances modern military equipment was eaten up during the battles of the frontiers, and was left with nothing but infantry by the end of turn two. Playing defensively France has sent 2 inf to stiffen Italian resistance in Piedmont. Massive forces from Burgundy and troops of the Paris garrison have been sent to hold the German advance in Picardy while artillery and fighters are massed to counter attack. How long this will take and how long France can hold the Germans is anyone’s guess.

UK
Until recently the affairs of the French in Europe have taken a back seat to trying to bring the Ottoman Empire down. Massive infantry, artillery and fighter reinforcements have flowed out of India with the express intent of toppling the Sultan in Constantinople. 5 inf and 2 arty sit on the Turks doorstep in Jordan. Aided by the Arab revolt, 3 inf, 1 arty and 2 fighters have massed in Arabia. 5 inf, 4 arty and 2 fighters have just claimed Persia for the British Empire, while 7 inf and 3 arty wait to reinforce from India. In an attempt to bolster the flaggering French 11 inf have been landed in Picardy, Britain has $32 in the bank with a transport fleet in place to flood troops in to France now.

Ottoman Empire
Besides a few battles for control of Sevastopol, Turkey has had a largely defensive war. By the end of turn 3 Turkish forces have resolutely secured control of Sevastopol with 8 inf and 2 arty. In fact, all along the Turkish borders the picture is the same. 8 inf and 2 arty defend Smyrna while 8 inf and 2 arty defend Syrian Desert, and 8 inf and 2 arty face off against invading British forces from Persia. The Ottoman Empire also finds itself in control of Greece after a rather ill advised and bloody Italian invasion of the country. The Ottoman Empire has $21 in the bank and may be looking to finally counter the British for regional supremacy.

Italy
To call Italy’s war a disaster would be about right! After the disastrous counter attack I1 that left 2 inf and 1 arty clinging to Venice, not much has improved. Italy was pushed out of Venice all together on A2, but off set the loss by occupying Albania. This helped for a turn and panicked the Austrians who realized their soft under belly was exposed, and raced to get troops back in the region. While initial plans were to bring the Albanian forces back to Italy, instead an invasion of Greece was launched, with all but 1 inf. The invasion was a disaster for Italy with the entire force being wiped out by the defending Greek forces under Turkish command. Italy has massed a force of 13 inf and 4 inf in Tuscany, but Austrian air supremacy keeps them from trying to reclaim their lost Venice territory. Italy has $14 in the bank once again, but as Russian fortunes slump in the east, the Austrian tide seems to be rising in the west.

USA
America has been biding her time and building. She now has 12 inf and 8 arty in America waiting to get into the fight. America also has a fleet of 1 Dreadnought, 1 cruiser, and 4 transports to help her get into the fight fast when next turn comes. USA still has $20 in the bank and is looking to get “over there” next turn.

And that is where we stand as our 4th turn looms large for tomorrow. I will keep you all updated as events develop.

@Flashman:

You can use the French fleet to bring over Canadian units, maybe American as well once Canada is empty.

One tip: make sure America loads up some fighters; I fell into the routine of infantry and artillery mixes from previous games, and my Americans are now taking on an invasion of Austrian held Italy with no air support.

The two French transports from the Med are currently traversing the waters of the sub-Saharan coast of Africa, and not the Atlantic. Also America has no fighters as of yet.

@Texas:

Why didn’t Russia activate Romania?  3 IPCs basically left on the table.

Why no transports for the US?

Good questions. I believe the obvious pending German invasion of Poland and the large stack of 18 inf and 5 arty of the Austrian army in Galicia made the Russian player nervous and he chose to build up for a counter attack or to defend against the Germanic onslaught.

As to the US not buying transports, I believe the thinking build a large army first, then build a transport fleet, and amphip assault on US turn 5 or 6. We’ll see how it goes

Picked mine up today on a whim from a local retailer (small comic book shop about 1 town over), have already played through my first round, so NAHNAHNAHNAHNAHNAHNAH!  :-P lol  :-D

So I found a copy of the game today at a local retailer and have played to the end of G2 with my roommate. While  my roommate is not the most adept at board games, he’s quite good and computer RTS’s and always gives his all no matter what (so try not to hold his moves against him too much  :-)  ).

To Begin; A1
Purchase: 6 infantry, 2 artillery.
Moves: 12 inf 2 arty Budapest to Serbia, 6 inf 2 arty Tyrolia and 6 inf 2 arty Trieste to Venice.
6 inf 1 arty Vienna to Trieste and 6 inf 1 arty to Galiacia, 6 inf 2 arty Bohemia to Galiacia.
Combat result: Serbia captured with 10 inf and 2 arty remaining, Venice contested with 8 inf and 4 arty remaining. Galicia held with 18 inf and 5 arty.
Austria nets a $2 gain and ends her turn with 6 inf and 2 arty in Vienna and $28 in the bank

R1
Purchase: 3 inf 1 arty and 2 fighters
Moves: 1 inf Finland to Karelia, 1 inf Karelia to Livonia, 6 inf and 2 arty Moscow to Belarus, 3 inf and 1 arty Tatarstan to Ukraine, 3 inf and 2 arty Sevastopol to Ukraine, 1 inf Kazakhstan to Tatarstan.
Combat: None
Reslut: Ukraine has 12 inf and 5 arty, Belarus has 15 inf and 6 arty, Poland still has 6 inf and 2 arty. Moscow mobilizes 3 inf 1 arty and 2 fighters.  
Russia ends its turn with $25 still in the bank

G1
Purchase: 2 inf 4 arty 2 fighters
Moves: 7 inf and 3 arty Ruhr and 7 inf and 3 arty Alsace to Belgium. 6 inf and 3 arty Prussia and 6 inf and 3 arty Silesia and 1 fighter Berlin to Poland. 11 inf and 3 arty Munich to Alsace. 3 inf and 4 arty Kiel and 6 inf Hanover to Ruhr. 6 inf and 1 arty Berlin to Prussia and 7 inf and 2 arty from Berlin to Kiel.  1 inf Togoland to Nigeria. 1 inf Kamerun and 1 inf GEA to Congo. 1 inf and 1 arty SWA to Angola. 2 sub SZ 7 to SZ 2. 1 Dreadnought and 2 cruisers SZ 10 and 2 Subs SZ 5 to SZ 9.
Combat: Belgium taken with 12 Inf and 6 arty left. Poland Taken with 9 inf and 4 arty left. SZ 10 1 damaged Dreadnought (3 ships lost to mines) no casualties inflicted on the British in SZ 9. SZ 2 1 sub remaining.
Germany ends with $43 in the bank and 2 inf 4 arty and 2 fighters in Berlin.

F1
Purchase: 8 inf
Moves: 6 inf and 2 arty Picardy and 6 inf and 2 arty Lorraine to Belgium. 1 fighter Paris to Belgium. 1 inf Brest and 1 inf Bordeaux transported to Belgium with Dreadnought. 6 inf and 2 arty Burgundy to Lorraine. 6 inf and 2 arty Paris to Burgundy. 1 inf Tunisia and 1 inf Algeria transported to Marseilles. 1 Dreadnought and 1 cruiser SZ 16 to SZ 2. 1 inf FWA to Gold Coast. 1 inf Morocco to FWA.
Combat. Belgium contested with 2 inf, 4 arty and 1 fighter French remaining, with 4 inf and 6 arty German remaining. SZ 2 had 1 damaged Dreadnought and 1 cruiser remaining.
France ends with $24 in the bank and 8 inf Mobilized in Paris

UK1
Purchase: 5 fighters!
Moves: 1 inf Scotland and 1 inf Yorkshire to Picardy. 1 inf BEA to GEA. 1 inf and 1 arty South Africa to SWA. 6 inf and 2 arty India to Persia. 6 inf and 2 arty Egypt to Trans-Jordan.
Combat: Trans-Jordan taken with 5 inf and 2 arty remaining. Persia contested with 4 inf and 2 arty English remaining and 1 inf and arty Turkish remaining.
UK ends with $31 in the bank and 5 fighters mobilized in India (the error was later corrected and 1 fighter was turned into and infantry).

OE1
Purchase: 4 inf and 1 arty
Moves: 3 inf and 1 arty Constantinople to Bulgaria and 3 inf and 1 arty Constan to Smyrna. 3 inf and 1 arty Ankara to Syrian Desert and 3 inf Ankara to Mesopotamia. 2 inf and 1 arty Mesopotamia to Sevastopol. 2 cruisers SZ 20 to SZ 19.
Combat: None
Ottoman Empire ends with $21 in the bank and 4 inf and 1 arty Mobilized in Constan.

I1
Purchase: 3 inf and 1 arty
Moves: 6 inf and 2 arty Piedmont and 1 inf Tuscany to Venice. 6 inf and 2 arty Rome and 1 inf Naples to Tuscany. 1 inf and 1 arty Libya to Tuscany. 1 inf Somalia to BEA.
Combat: 2 inf and 1 arty Italian remaining in contested Venice against 4 inf and 4 arty Austrian.
Italy ends with $13 in the bank and 3 inf and 1 arty mobilized in Rome

US1
Purchase: 6 inf
Moves: None
Combat: None
USA ends with $22 in the bank and 6 inf mobilized in USA

SO by the end of Round 1 we have some very mixed results and an interesting situation on the entire map. Will post the moves of Round 2 once we’ve completed them.

Was anyone able to make sense out the tangled mess of words regarding movement restrictions?

My roommate and I think it works something that all land units and fighters must either be mobilized with, moved with, end movement with, or any other movement with, at least one infantry unit in the territory. Is that correct? We really weren’t able to tell but feel like that was the jist of it.

Also, dose this mean that you have to leave atleast one infantry in each territory, like risk style or not? And can a player pull units out of a contested territory or do they have to leave atleast one infantry behind?

@Auztria:

If you can’t see the reinforcements for Italy, or an attack on Albania, I advise you to go back to the first page and actually take a look at my strategy write-up for Austria.

It dosn’t matter, if your plan does not involve an attack on Italy one, then it will not work

@Auztria:

Yes, and on A2 you invade and Venice becomes that moonscape. But Venice should be the furthest object of permanent Italian conquests, at least until Russia is dealt with.

The problem I see with this is that on A1, Italy will have 6 infantry and 2 artillery in Venice, but on I1 a player with any sense will move to reinforce this position, so that by A2, Austria will be facing an Italian force with at least 13 infantry and 4 artillery, a force bigger then the combined force in Tyrolia and Trieste. A reinforcement column of 7 infantry and 2 artillery in Tuscany will be able to counter any moves into Venice by then end of I1. Also consider that Italy can land an infantry and artillery from Libya to Albania on I1, boost their economy to 16 by the end of their first turn, and have a small but potent defense force sitting on Austria’s flank. This force will require immediate attention, it cannot be ignored for long. By then end of I1 they will have an additional 3 infantry and 1 artillery in Rome and 17IPC’s to spend on I2, meaning they could very rapidly overrun Austria’s defensive.

I have not seen you mention what, if any, reinforcements are being sent to the Italian front by Austrians on A1 to be able to overcome this on A2, if anything it seems your implying that all of Austria’s attention should be on Russia. The 12 infantry and 4 artillery spread between the two territories of Trieste and Tyrolia are not enough to invade Venice on A2 without reinforcement on A1, and they are not enough to withstand and Italian offensive on I2 without reinforcement.

@Auztria:

Larry’s failure in Romania was because he attacked Venice.

I don’t follow, the forces arrayed against Venice are either two or three spaces from Romania and wouldn’t be able to help attack it on A1 or be in place to help defend anything the Russians could attack on R1, so how dose this hurt Austria? If anything getting the jump on Italy and weakening their already frail economy and their army on A1 is to Austria’s and Germany’s benefit. In most of my test scenarios Italy is left in one defending infantry and Austria with nearly 10 infantry and all 4 artillery. Italy’s only response is to send the 6 infantry and 2 artillery from Piedmont and the one additional infantry from Tuscany to try an stall the Austrians, but this force will take more damage then it will be able to deal to the defending Austrians. Italy will be put in a desperate trying to hold on while Austria can reinforce itself at it’s leisure.

@Auztria:

I agree Austria-Hungary doesn’t have the resources to contest three fronts, which is why it’s vital to strike first and strike hard in the Balkans

But Austria dose not have the resources to hit Serbia and Romania, while having a force capable of defending Galicia for the Russian as well. Austria is strong, but needs to be handled well on it’s first few turns or disaster will ensue and attacking Romania is one of the way to do that, did you read what happened in Mr. Harris’s walk through when he did just what you’re proposing? By the end of R1 Romania wasn’t even contested anymore, Austria’s forces in the region had be greatly weakened and the Russians not only had the initiative but were in a position to threaten Austria from Serbia, Budapest and Galicia.

Also consider that the rules require Austria to attack Serbia on A1, this limits what moves Austria can make, were this not the case an attack on Romania would be advisable but given the restriction the rules place on them it isn’t

@Auztria:

Attacking Venice AH1 will only thrust insufficient forces into Italy before reinforcements arrive. Only an idiot Italian would launch an offensive into Tyrolia or Trieste I1; far better to amass the assault forces for a crippling blow on AH2.

The necessary forces for an overpowering attack are already in position to attack Italy on A1, why not seize the initiative here? Italy is the weakest of the Allied powers and attacking on A1 will place them on the back foot right from the get go. With an economy of 14IPC reduced to 12 by Austria’s attack Italy will be scrambling to hold on. Also, by attacking Venice, you give Austria the advantage of creating interior lines and concentrating forces, better to have a contested Venice then having to spread you defensive forces between two territories, while Italy builds up to strike one or the other and their will.

@BJCard:

If Austria takes Romania and then Russia hits Romania… whats to stop Germany from taking Poland hard and now Russians are out of position with respect to Germany.

The problem with this is that Austria cannot invade Romania with enough forces to take it and hold off the Russian counteroffensive. In most cases the territory will be contested and when R1 comes around the Russians will take it back with ease. Why waste the ground units on a territory that you can’t hold to the end of R1? Better I think to hold off until you and the Turks can counterattack in strength AFTER the Germans have invaded Poland and put the Russians on the defensive.

Also, if the Russians are anticipating a German offensive into Poland, they may be reluctant to send more than a few units into Romania which mean that an Austro-Turkish offensive into Romania would be all the better.

I think Austria will be the key player for the Central powers in determining the game, so she must be handled well. I think we can all agree that Mr. Harris’s opening move for Austria was disastrous to say the least and I can’t shake the feeling that the moves he makes and reports to us has the scent of the auteur about them.

I think the best opening move for Austria, regardless of your overall strategy, would be as follows.

1. All in Trieste and Tyrollia to Venice.
2. All in Budapest to Serbia
3. All in Bohemia to Galicia
4. Viennese forces split, with half going to Budapest and the other half going to Trieste (to hedge bets more or less).
Initial purchase 6 infantry and two Artillery