Darknes: The Darkest Hour

[Symphony D.]

OOC: Hey, hey. Central Powers isn't evil. We're all land-grubbing imperialists here, no need to point fingers.

 

[alex994]

You know, I have a life outside of this. My plans were given like right before the update was due >_>. I have IB and stuff, I can't be expected to whip up orders in a jiff when I have band practice!

You're only in pre-ib

But did thomander get your plans? I mean, you're supposed to send the plans to thomander, not darkening the mod.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

The point is that history has vilified them. Now we can see a future where the names of Wilhelm III and Franz Jozef are those of heroic wartime leaders...

Or maybe not. I don't want to get ahead of myself here.

 

[Kentharu]

yea... IB who ever invented that should be stabed in the eye

and none of my history teachers vilified them. They were the guys that lost... doesn't everyone know ww1 was the most pointless war every

stupid treaties

 

[ThomAnder]

Psh, forget quitting, i'm back here (after update) if only to forestall the allied powers' defeat

 

[~Darkening~]

Well thats good.

Gah- this is becoming excuse hour for me and I hate it. I orginially had today off from work, but one of the girls working (a good friend of mine) got into a accident and I had to fill in for her. She's okay, and another guy is already slated to fill in for her tomorrow- cementing my first day off in a while. The update is about 65% done, with only the eastern front and a few tidbits here and there left to do. No matter what the update will be here tomorrow (or today as it seems to be 12:36). Once again, sorry.

 

[das]

people always want the evil to win, its much more fun

You forget that the Entente could be considered just as evil; and if we C-in-Cs all try really hard, we would completely outevil the evil Germans. That would be evil, no?

The road to victory is paved with bad intentions!

 

[Lord_Iggy]

The road to victory is paved with bad intentions!

S i g g e d !

 

[The Farow]

Hey the Central Powers were not nessecarily evil or even as imperialistic as the Allied Powers.

I agree with Kenthrau, WW1 was one the most pointless wars fought and it only led to more destruction down the road....

 

[das]

No, no it wasn't a pointless war at all. The Treaty of Versailles was mismanaged badly due to Wilson, but even he couldn't make it completely pointless.

 

[Insane_Panda]

The cause of the war might be a bit a tad ridiculous (but even then, not especially, as tensions were growing in the Balkans anyways) but the war itself was not. The imperial powers were heading down the road towards war, and even if Mr. Ferdinand hadn't gotten shot, the war was bound to erupt sooner rather than later.

World War One was the culimination of all of the tension from the previous decades, and once it was over, it marked a clear end to the previous order of things, whilst WWII forged a new world order.

 

[alex994]

So pretty much in essence, we're fighting for countries that's pretty much doomed to die eventually

 

[das]

All countries are doomed to die, so lets make the death of THEIR countries as painful as possible (and ourselves try to die at the latest possible moment, and hopefully in a noisy manner).

 

[LittleBoots]

so lets make the death of THEIR countries as painful as possible (and ourselves try to die at the latest possible moment, and hopefully in a noisy manner).

Cheers to that!

 

[Dachs]

a few tidbits here and there left to do.

Like my little front? I spent some time thinking that little trick up, you know. Marlborough couldn't have done it better.

 

[~Darkening~]

Update 1​

August 7th – August 28th ​

General Happenings
Luxembourg Surrenders-August 8th

The war is apparently on. In the first move on this giant chessboard, General Erich Ludendorff ordered his forces due west. On August 7th the II Corps, 9 divisions strong, quickly made good use the German railroads (and the privileges exerted to Germany from the Luxembourgian railroads). Marie Adélaide, the grand duchess of Luxembourg, had known that her 400 man army would be no match for the Germans and so, on August 8th, she signed a surrender. Luxembourg was taken without a shot and the Germans marched on.

Invasion of Belgium- August 9th

One day after the invasion of Luxembourg, the Germans were on the move again. Composing of the I, II, III, and IV German Corps, the Belgian defenders were quickly overrun. Arlon managed to hold out for a week and a half before collapsing, the Germans to strong to stave off. The only thing that somewhat held the Germans back was the Belgian resistance- while retreating the Belgians actively destroyed bridges, railroads, and roads- all hampering the German advancement.

Realizing that any army put against the Germans would result in utter annihilation, the Belgians put up only minimum resistance to the Germans. So they abandoned the region, leaving behind large quantities of supplies in the hands of the public. To the Germans’ surprise, ambushes began as soon as they moved into the region, taking dozens of casualties. In the end, the Germans were forced to watch every move they made for the deadly ambushes.

While the battle for Belgium has just begun, things are very grim for the Belgians. Outnumbered and outgunned, the only hope is an active policy from their larger neighbors. The next month looks to be a bloody one in Belgium.

Lack of French and Activity- August 8th- August 28th

In the complete opposite of Germany, France lulls in the early weeks of the war and primarly continues to fortify along the German border.

British Campaigns August 8th – August 28th

The early weeks of the war see the United Kingdom fighting a defensive, rather than an offensive, war. British superiority over the waters is never in doubt and they use their position to contain the German fleet. Minor naval skirmishers are fought, but nothing is really achieved.

It is in the Mediterranean that the British truly go to work. Intercepting the Ottoman fleet off the coast of Lebanon, the British manage to smash the Ottoman fleet while suffering very minimum casualties. While going on the offense in the sea, they were forced to defend on land. The Ottomans easily drove the British out of the Sinai, forcing the British to fortify their side of the Suez. A few ships from the Pacific were pulled in to defend the Suez.

Invasion of Serbia-Montenegro and the Battle of Belgrade- August 8th (-August 28th )

The war in the east also begins with a bang, with the Austrians briefly shelling the sending the XIII Korps against the Danube and securing a bridgehead. The Austrians, naturally, had figured the Serbians would gather around and attempt to protect their capital. So while the Serbians fought with the XIII Korps, the VIII army circled around, using the Serbian distraction, and crossed with much less resistance. A well gambled move, some would say- the VIII army circled behind the defending Serbians and the entrapment was secure- Belgrade was under siege.

But the Austrians didn’t factor in one crucial element- the terrain. Serbian C-i-C Radomir Putnikhad realized the entrapment hours after it as enacted and ordered his forces to immediately fall to protect the city of Belgrade- having them dig into the hills around the capital. Nevertheless, the official government fled the city in the early hours- avoiding Austrian ensnarement by mere hours. Now Belgrade is cut off from the rest of Serbia and is quickly reaching the last of its reserves. The city’s future looks bleak as the Austrians continue to grow in numbers around the city.

Apart from the “Belgrade” campaign, both combatants initiate their own strikes. The Montenegrins, under the command of General Yankovich, strike northwards with speed that astonish the Austrians and quickly advances into the Sla. Striking north from Podgorica and into Hungary. The troops were unopposed until the Austrians finally managed to send an army south, with the 6th Armee reaching Plana on August 17th. There the Austrians received another shock as the Montenegrin army had swelled in size from the large number of volunteers from the Slavic territories.

A pitched battle was waged in Plana, climaxing with a strong Montenegrin defense being overrun by the endless Austrians. Nevertheless, the battle of Plana should serve as a grim reminder to the Austrians of nationalistic pride. The Montenegrin drive was halted after Plana and, suffering from a lack of men, forced to go on the defensive.

Finally, on August 25th, the Bulgarians finally managed to move and quietly seized control of the Danube River. In other news, Romania orders mobilization.

Unrest in Spain- August 13th

In comical fashion, Commander-in-Chief Álvaro Aureliano appealed for the King to mobilize the country and to fortify the borders. King Francisco Villareal, fearing provoking the French if he was to fortify the Pyrenees, refused to do such. So the C-i-C, while stroking his miraculous mustache, decided to by step the king and ordered the mobilization himself. This naturally infuriated the king, but with loyalist to Aureliano surrounding Madrid, Villareal had no choice to go along with his top general.The result is a tense feeling within Spain between the King’s followers and those loyal to Aureliano.


War in the East

Russia, among all of its allies, is in the worst position. It is constantly flanked by its enemies, with Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman empire all wanting a piece of the giant empire. Boxed in, the empire must either smash its way out or it will slowly suffocate.

German Advance- August 8th- August 28th

The war in the east starts with the German drive from Poland. 12 divisions immediately stroke east, overrunning the troops defending Lodz. There a bloody battle raged as the Russians dug into every block of the city and attempt to rally the Poles against an “unknown devil.” However, the Russians counted one on thing- that the Germans would attempt to siege Lodz, rather than just assault it. The Germans choose for the later and the city fell much quicker than previously thought.

Success and success fell into the German hands, with the Germans slowly moving (the Russians had a habit of burning bridges, roads, and railroads to thwart the advancing Germans) to the Vistula River. There, to the Germans’ distaste, the Russians had finally gathered. With the prospect of crossing the Vistula being a bloody one, the Germans halt to savor their early victories.


To the north, deception runs amok. Originally the German plan was for the Northern Armies to strike south against the Vistula and assist in the southern armies attacking Warsaw. But things didn’t go the way the Germans thought- rather than the Russians digging and attempting to hold off against them, the Russians attacked them. Realizing it couldn’t assist the Southern armies; the 7 divisions turned back north and marched on the attackers- only to find leveled bridges and the railroads up winded. Thus a number of small battles were fought, with the Germans pushing the Russians back out of Prussia but not advancing any farther.

On the other hand the Russians shell Varna with little interference.

The Southern Front
In the south, A Russian advance on Krakow was repelled (through a very bloody battle) by the Austrians and Germans. Other than that, the war in the south is a complete lull as both the Austrians and the Russians pull back and fortify their borders.

Bulgaria joins the fray on August 25th, quickly moving into position among the unguarded south.

Ottoman Advances- August 17th

The Ottomans, under Khalil Pasha, managed to advance without any competition until they reached the Russian lines- stopped only by a lack of men.



Random Things

Russian and British propaganda result in an increase of men joining the army.

Serbian dedication to Belgrade results in large numbers of its citizens rising up to defend it.

 

[~Darkening~]

Gah. Map is on another disk- i'll get it in a little bit. But anyways, sorry about the lack of quality as I had to this fast. God seems to hate me these days.

 

[Symphony D.]

Insert rumblings for map after two hours here.

 

[~Darkening~]

*insert fact that the upload isn't working*

 

[Symphony D.]

Hrm. Try ImageShack and use