RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (Full Version)

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FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/6/2021 4:01:37 PM)

Interlude 5: A border post, South-Western France

The snow had come early this year, muffling the sound of the horse-drawn carts and lorries that regularly crossed between France and Spain along the roads between the Pyrenees and the Atlantic. The French customs officer shivered and stamped his feet trying to get warm before his next stint manning their little crossing near the French Basque village of Aldapa on the road between the French city of Bayonne and Spanish Bilbao. Once again he thanked his lucky stars that family connections had ensured him this safe, quiet spot far from the fighting in Northern France against the German invaders.

All of a sudden, in spite of the muffling effect of the snow, the synchronised tramping of boots could be heard approaching his position. The french offical hastily put on his cap and, to his amazement, saw a long column of soldiers marching across the border from Spain. "WAHT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?!? DON'T YOU KNOW THIS IS FRANCE!?!" he shouted at the officer who appeared to be leading them. The Spaniard grinned, tipped his hat, and responded in perfect French: "Yes, or at least it is France for the time being - Sergeant, take this man prisoner!"

And so began Spain's part in the Great War.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/B82607C008264B41A521D54B0C766766.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/6/2021 4:04:03 PM)

(as an explanation: Germany is obviously collapsing and so to keep the game interesting I've brought Spain into the war on the side of the Central Powers. From experience the AI will not do much fighting here but the Spanish MPP output adds a big amount to Germany that should bring the game back to a more even keel. Also, by declaring war on Spain France will suffer a morale hit and US war entry is significantly delayed)



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/6/2021 6:07:19 PM)

December 1916 - May 1917, Finnish Front - After a long series of assaults on the port of Kemi, the Swedish defenders are starting to get worn down. I cannot completely encircle the port, however, as the Swedish corps at Haparanda attacks any force that wanders into the low-supply area between Kemi and Haparanda. Out in the Baltic the Russian navy successfully ambushes and sinks a Swedish pre-dreadnought, a German dreadnought, and a carrier. In revenge the Germans and Swedes sink the pre-dreadnought Piotr Veliky and an armoured cruiser.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/27471E39A6FB4D44A6F374EB28CCEA20.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/6/2021 6:11:45 PM)

December 1916 - May 1917 - East Prussian Front - It has been a successful winter for Russian forces, who exploited the seizure of the fortress of Graudenz to encircle Danzig. The town of Kutno that was lost in 1914 is also encircled and sure to fall, and the valuable industrial city of Lodz is also back in Russian hands having been lost in 1914. A German counterattack may be in the waiting though.



[image]local://upfiles/43674/56F6A2B330DB43EEB54B6605495C788D.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/6/2021 6:18:30 PM)

December 1916 - May 1917, Carpathian and Balkan Fronts - Relatively little movement on this front though it is a troublesome sector exactly because forces are stretched so thinly here. I am hoping to at long last advance on Kosice and group sufficient forces to knock Bulgaria out of the war.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/B7C9C9AF7AF94A7689CFE7F36C77687C.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/6/2021 6:21:01 PM)

December 1916 - May 1917, Caucasus Front - Trabzon has fallen (as has Damascus and Baghdad and Medina and...). Ottoman morale is already at 4%. Surely the Turks must surrender soon?

[image]local://upfiles/43674/9C7E6D2C10CA4B41A1EC55650185454B.jpg[/image]



ArtDen -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/7/2021 7:53:33 AM)

Hi. Great AAR!
Can you describe main priorities and strategy for investing in Russian techs, especially in 1914-1915 period?



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/7/2021 5:50:37 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: ArtDen

Hi. Great AAR!
Can you describe main priorities and strategy for investing in Russian techs, especially in 1914-1915 period?



Infantry, trenches, artillery are very important. An extra chit on industry if you can get it. Probably if you're playing multi-player then you should just refund everything else.

Russian industry can become really, really powerful if you can just hang on to your starting cities and research a couple of levels of industry and at that point the game can start to feel a bit like a walk-over.



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/8/2021 6:27:58 PM)

2 June 1917, Prussian Front - No longer am I fighting in Eastern Prussia, as with Danzig and Kutno back in my hands I have now crossed in to Western Prussia and Brandenburg. The Germans now show every sign of a rout. If this continues I may be in Berlin before the end of the year.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/81700C7FF71249748D7E3484A48CE368.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/8/2021 6:32:14 PM)

2 June 1917, Carpathian Front - Two Austro-German infantry corps destroyed as well as a German cavalry corps, and my forces have now driven to the gates of Kosice and are outflanking the German position at Ostrava. Here also there are signs of a break-through.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/A1D7C0A7402F41EA8925CC6F5269245B.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/8/2021 6:43:38 PM)

2 June 1917, General Situation - And now a review of broader European scene:

- in Northern Finland the port of Kemi remains in Swedish hands, the Brigade holding the town reinforced just enough to survive this turns attacks. The Russian Baltic fleet has withdrawn to port to upgrade and repair.

- In France Verdun and Lille are the only French cities still in German hands, and Verdun seems likely to be recaptured soon.

- On the Spanish front Bayonne remains in Spanish hands whilst Huesca and Lerida have been seized by a Franco-Belgian force. Contrary to what I had expected Spain has actually drawn a lot of Entente troops away from the German front. Spanish ships also staged a raid on the English channel disrupting the flow of British forces to the continent.

- In Italy Padua has fallen to the Austro-Germans and Verona and Venice are threatened. This is the one front on which the Teutonic powers are scoring successes, in large part because the British and French reinforcements they might normally have received have been drawn away to fight the Spanish.

- Bulgaria has been cut in half by a Russian cavalry raid and will come under sustained assault once the forces necessary to this are available.

- Turkey has surrendered. My substantial Russian mountain infantry forces in the sector are to be re-deployed to the Carpathians.

- In Persia Tehran is surrounded but my forces lack the supplies and artillery needed for a successful assault.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/0302AA29DBEC47D0847F425E0CE2914A.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/12/2021 4:05:37 PM)

11 August 1917, Finnish Front - Kemi is once again in Russian hands and its Swedish garrison headed for POW camps beyond the Urals. In the Baltic sea Russian submarines once again sally forth and heavily damages a German dreadnought. Next stop - Stockholm!

[image]local://upfiles/43674/27E41CB0F127433C8725995D5FFBC23C.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/12/2021 4:09:54 PM)

11 August 1917, Prussian Front - My forces advanced as far as Glogau before a German counter-attack pushes my troops back. No major cities captured except for Neusttetin in the past two turns but the trend is obviously in favour of the Russians.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/B1091476B3604C53AD93BC87C0239DFC.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/12/2021 4:17:17 PM)

11 August 1917, Carpathian Front - In this area finally the Russians, their forces boosted by reinforcements arriving from the Caucasus, are now making progress. The mines at Jakobeny have fallen to the the Romanians, and the Austro-Hungarians at Debrezin are now surrounded. The road to Budapest is open!

[image]local://upfiles/43674/8DD1B4BAD4024B8EAD9E5F5FB9771808.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 3:52:12 PM)

August - December 1917, Swedish front - The Russian army under Kornilov has outflanked the Swedish position at Haparanda on the Swedish-Finnish border, encircling two Swedish infantry corps that will be destroyed on the next turn. Meanwhile Russian naval infantry have landed at Sundsvall on Sweden's Baltic coast cutting the railway line and preventing the Swedes from forming a line anywhere short of Gavle: the road to Stockholm is open!

[image]local://upfiles/43674/E7CE59991AFC413088F3BF614F19A96E.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 3:57:14 PM)

August-December 1917, Prussian Front - The German defenders at Kolberg were encircled by a rapid advance and destroyed, the fortress of Bromberg seized after an intense artillery bombardment followed by an assault. The Russian guns now pound the old Hansa port of Stettin, whilst the fortress city of Posen is now the next in line for being seized by the Russians. Berlin is itself now threatened.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/5E34EA603AD842799D7FB8A86B9F9B2E.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 4:11:58 PM)

August-December 1917, Hungarian front - Following their breakthrough, the Russians have advanced to the gates of Budapest. Meanwhile the Austro-Hungarian positions in both Transylvania and the Carpathians/Tatras is collapsing. In Bulgaria the fortress of Plevna has fallen.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/DB1314F2034F455486116B0F193DE70D.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 4:22:07 PM)

December 1917-May 1918, Prussian front - Russian forces storm across the Oder and capture Stettin, Posen too has fallen. The fortress of Breslau is now threatened. With the collapse of the German position in the west and the Anglo-French invasion of Germany there, the collapse of Spain, the fall of Bulgaria, the practically-unopposed advance in Sweden, the fall of Persia, the entry of Portugal into the war on the Entente side, and the Italian recovery, a capitulation of the Central Powers is likely to happen at any minute.

Bizarrely, however, Switzerland has entered the war on the side of the Central Powers on this turn.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/FC5EAFBE6CEF4E089AB88695F4163DB1.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 4:25:31 PM)

December 1917-May 1918, Hungarian front - the Russians have crossed the Danube north and south of Budapest, partially encircling the city. Artillery is coming up to pound the city into dust. The pockets of Austro-Hungarian forces in the Carpathians and Transylvania have been destroyed.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/EA952B006B0D4ED786C2E6D58A3CB99D.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 4:35:10 PM)

Interlude 6: Unter Den Linden, Berlin
The shells screamed out of a clear sky and burst along the road amongst the column of troops who were marching along it, flinging bodies hither-and-thither. The truth that the censors had been trying to keep from the populace of the city could no longer be denied - the Russians had arrived at the gates of Berlin and had the city centre within range of their guns!

In a bunker below the city, the Kaiser looked at the map. "So, Field Marshal, there are no more reserves?"

Field Marshal Hindenburg straightened his jacket, looked the Emperor of all the Germans in the eye and said simply "No your Majesty, they were used up in that last counter-attack near Frankfurt-am-Rhine".

Kaiser Wilhelm sighed "I suppose it is now time to talk to my cousin Nicky..."

[image]local://upfiles/43674/89E7E974F896409798844356A7EA3DA4.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 4:47:14 PM)

13 July, 1918, German Front - This is the final situation on the main remaining front of the war at the German capitulation. In the west the Entente powers have penetrated as far as Frankfurt-am-Rhine, captured Metz, Aachen, and Essen, and surrounded Coblenz, Cologne and Dusseldorf. In the east Austria-Hungary has disintegrated after the fall of Budapest, the Russians have taken Breslau (soon to be renamed Wroclaw as it is absorbed into an enlarged Kingdom of Poland), encircled Glogau, have stormed the Seelow Heights and now have Berlin within range of their guns. The German capitulation in this case is no more than a recognition of reality - they are beaten. To compound the overwhelming woes of the Germans, the Americans declared war this turn as well, just in time to have a seat at the victor's table.

The will be no Dolchstosslegende this time. That Germany was beaten in the open field is obvious and undeniable to all and cannot be blamed on some nebulous betrayal.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/E7A78B05EF5A4CF2B6F53D2925D1520A.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 4:50:56 PM)

13 July, 1918, General situation - More generally the defeat in Spain is also very far advanced, and in Sweden a scant pair of infantry brigades remain the only units that could possibly manoeuvre to block the Russian advance.

At sea the Germans have been basically decimated, with what little remains of their fleet skulking in Swedish and German ports.

[image]local://upfiles/43674/AAAAE018EE2C4F0781F09D4BD2D9B916.jpg[/image]



FOARP -> RE: For the TsAAR! - A veteran Russia-only AAR (6/19/2021 5:01:18 PM)

Munich, 1919

The funny looking corporal with the Austrian accent held forth again from his soap-box, holding the rapt attention of his listening audience of demobbed soldiers and unemployed workers: "Germans! The high command and the Jewish traitors in Berlin sold you and Germany out! We were not beaten on the battlefield but instead betrayed!".

Hans Meyer, recently demobilised from the German army of the East had heard about all he could stand. "Listen, you idiot, I don't like it any more than anyone else but they beat us! Can't you see that? We gave it all we had!"

The corporal turned to him and shouted. "No! It was the Jews I tell you! And cowards like you!"

Meyer wasn't going to be called a coward by any man. He made a round-house swing that caught the funny-looking corporal right on the nose, knocking him clean off his soap-box into the mud of the gutter. The crowd that had a assembled to hear the corporal roared in laughter. His spell was broken. The corporal would never amount to anything.



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