AlCosta: Here you go
Saruman 23: Indeed it was, old friend, though we need to fight on a harder difficulty next time.
wkndwrrr: Sounds serious, I better add an update.
picardathon I have not played as the Germans, though I considered it for this AAR. Interesting analysis on the Americans, I shall try not to depend on them too much
Update time, my apologies for such a short tale after such a long time away:
Inevitable Conflict? The British Fight the Great War
November - December 1914
Inevitably, it seemed, the conflict that was to be over by Christmas was not to be. Very quickly the British Parliament realised - particularly after the loss of Reims - that this war may last longer than expected.
Despite such misgivings, it was never publicly shown. The glorious offensives of the Entende continued to be announced. The Great Battle of Reims - continuing throughout the winter months - declared triumphantly that the German garrison was on the brink of defeat, that the Russians were defeating the Germans and Austrians in the east, and that the Middle East was collapsing under brilliant offensives
The truth was that High Command was slowly realising that this war was dissolving into stalemate. True, Operation: Scythe had been a success, but there was no way they could order a continuation of the offensive - with the objective to capture Jerusalem - for at least several months.
The Russians were still mobilising, and at all times the city of Lodz was under threat. German forces poured in from the north, and though they dared not attack the city directly, it was enough to worry Czar Nicholas II to cancel any possible Russian offensives.
And in France, the situation was becoming a bloodbath. A German strike towards Paris was averted by brave French soldiers, but Reims was fast becoming a horrific crisis for the Entende, and beginning in November it became clear that a major offensive would have to be launched. As such, Operation: Fable was launched. The BEF was to launch an assault in the north, while the French attacked the southern flank. It was expected to be a quick victory, it was anything but.
The Battle of Reims
The British forces quickly discovered how difficult it was to assault an enemy in a trench, even with artillery and overwhelming numbers. True, heavy casualties were inflicted on the Germans, but by the end of December - when the war was to have been won - the British had been forced back, the French had failed to achieve anything, and Reims was still under German control.
The city was still under seige, of course, the Entende would still fight on. But as so many thousands of soldiers were cut down by German fire, it became very, very clear that this was to be a war like no other before it