New PBEM adaptation of TGW-Div 1.6: Playtesting!

[Cyc]

West of Riga - 3 light Artillery caused 1 HP damage on each Armee Division road destroyers. In the Black Sea, a Pre-Dreadnought shells the city of Sinope ans hits a Turkish Infantry unit for 2 HPs.
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Observations planes spot a wounded Moltke Army (10/19) healing in Cologne, and a wounded Hindenburg Army (15/19) heaing in Frankfurt. French Artillery shell the remaining stack, newly relocated to the Neutral border, and cause 10 HPs of damage.

In light of reviewing the above reports, the Foch Army pulled a suprise move and attacked the German stack! Hitting an A Inf. Unit first, Foch was hard pressed for a hopeful sign of victory. Now for the sad news.... although Foch red-lined the A Inf. Div, the Army perished. A disgrace to France, they will go down in the history books as too weak to advance on the German Armies and too incompetant to take on a German A Inf. Unit.

Adieu, Foch, you are already c'est maintenant un lantain souvenir....

Calais was offered to the British as a temporary port for incoming and recouperating troops. It is assumed, that once Britain gains a foothold in the Continent, this city will be returned.

 

[Tigranes]

Britain, Week 36, 1914

Kitchner's Army gets new volunteers! Reninforcement arrive in such a great numbers that Empire feels a shortage of Transports. With a kind donation of Calais troops from London can arrive to Western Front in one turn! King George V donates British Ivory from Egypt to the French North Africa in hopes to help French colonies with happiness and a sign of thank you for Calais.

BEF reports shelling of 2 German divisions in Belgium trying to pillage Rubber vital for the Infantry production in Belgium. NO hits scored.

Same goes for the Grand Fleet. Bombardement of minefleet near Danish-Norwaty Narrows scores no hits.

Lawrence of Arabia reports spotting Kemal's Elite Corps in Gaza. Russians could do much damage in Western Armenia while we keep Ottomans busy in the Middle East. British Naval Attache in Sevastopol asks Russian Black Sea commanders how much gold do they need to rush Gangut type battleships? Russia can easily eastablish naval superiority in Black Sea, after some time, of course.

Italy, Week 37, 1914

Healed Italian fleet leaves Toronto. After the decimation of Austrian Fleet Italians feel in total command of Adriatic. 2 old and odd French battleships are joining Italian forces here. "Where is the rest of the French Fleet ",-- asks victorious Italian Admiral. Why the main French Forces left fortified in their starting position? Both Austrian and Ottoman coast could use some French naval bombardement!

Next turn Italy will finally discover Light Artillery tech. It is impossible to do anything without even being building artillery. Perhaps Italy should have this tech from the very begining...

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

gps Cyc

Week 37, 1914

Ottoman Empire

After several weeks of not doing much finally the Turkish armed forces contribute to the war effort. A Turkish rifleman spots a British Cavalry getting too close to Tabuk. The Turk quickly defeats this force. Kemal meanwhile sitting in Gaza grows impatient. He talks to his men.

Kemal: "Men, are you going to just sit there? Hurry! The British jackals are invading our lands. Do something!"

Kemal takes his army and marches into the desert and defeats another British Cavalry unit in the Sinai. Kemal himself leads the assault brandishing his sword which gleams in the sunlight as he urges his men on. After the short fight he goes back to Gaza to rest the men.

The Turkish Navy shells the road to Alexandria.

Austria-Hungary

Not much action to report other than an Austrian ship sailing in the southern Adriatic runs into an unknown vessel and sinks it. It is uncertain what was destroyed the the captain of the Austrian warship decides he does not want to find out and retires.

Germany

Western Front:

Liege falls! After a preliminary bombardment the troops move in. German Zeppelin destroys the Church of Nancy while artillery shells the French trenches. Infantry and army attacks defeat 6 French Rifle As, 1xFrench Rifle T, and 1xFrench Rifle R. No losses sustained.

All of Germany mourns the loss of Falkenhayn at the hands of the British. There are also ceremonies held in Berlin to honor the fallen Foch. He was a worthy opponent struck down in the prime of his career.

German Navy shells British DD Flotilla north of Hamburg minefields.

 

[Cyc]

Pre-Dreadnought shells Sinope again, causing 1 HP damage on Turk Inf.

German A Inf and Kavallerie cross border at Kaunas. Artillery in the city shells them,causing 3 HPs damage to the A Inf. An Armored Car zooms out of the city to finish of the A Inf before returning. A Russian A Inf unit dies attacking the Kavallerie Unit before the Army of the Grand Duke Nicolas arrives. The Army loses 1/3 of it's men (8/12) taking out the German Horsemen.
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The French accept the city of Asyut, a city at the Base of the Sahara Desert. The arrid location enjoys the local Ivory trade, but even though a standing Right of Passage with both Italy and the English exists, the Mediterrainian coastal French cities do not.

Nancy Artillery once again causes 10HPs damage to the German stack. The newly arrived Nivelle Army begins to dig in at the Verdun Forest.

More of the French Fleet leaves Marsielles.

gps to Tigranes.

 

[Tigranes]

Britain Week 37, 1914

Is it really possible? Goeben (renamed Yavuz after becoming Turkish Navy's flagship) back in Mediterranean?! This news galvanized Admiralty in London and entire Entente. First lord of Admiralty Winston Churchill forgot about his usual siesta, something he never did since his years in Cuba as a war reporter. "All the Entente ships in region now have 1 goal. Sink Goeben by all means",-- said First lord in his telegram to the allied nations,--" If only French fleet had had left home waters at the beginning of War they could intercept the most powerful Central ship in Mediterranean and Black Sea. No, seriously, what's a rational beyond such an inaction?",-- asked puzzled lord.

Daring attack by Kemal, which did not lose a single hit point prompted fierce British retaliation. Royal Marines killed 2 Turkish divisions in Tabuk, a port on Red Sea.
2 Active divisions landed on the road connecting Tabuk with Gaza, while Egyptian Army approached to Gaza in full strength. Army in Iraq supported action by their offensive as well. Ottomans will face hard choices next turn!

New Corps replaced fallen French Corps during this week. BEF still recuperating in Calais and risks no major action. 17/18 Plumer Corps kill 4th Bavarian Active division, which cut Belgians from rubber and so from Infantry production. Antwerp is likley to be the next target as all the available German Corps spotted in Belgium.

In Atlantic British CL spotted blockade runner German transport, but lacked just 1 MP to sink it. Could Germans hide well enough next turn?

Grand Fleet continued minesweeping operations near Norway-Denmark narrows. This time we scored some hits and redlined the regular mine. Admiral Jelicoe is very reluctant to scarifies any capital ship trying to kill that formidable minefield.

Old King Edward type battleship arrived to London with Survivors from German BC activities. 1K gold and 1 K VP were claimed.

Italy Week 38, 1914
Gen. Cordona attacked lonely German Cavalry in Isonzo Valley. Barbed wire stopped Germans from advancing 2 mp in hopes to kill Elite British Cavalry squadron visiting Isonzo front. Cordona redlines but one of his divisions gains Veteran promotion.

Destroyer cashed Survivors from Otranto Straight battle in Rome contributing another 1K points to the Allied cause .

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

gps Cyc

Week 38, 1914

Ottoman Empire

No fighting this week as Turkey reorganizes her defenses in preparation for the coming fighting.

Austria-Hungary

This week the Austrian Navy sinks an unknown vessel near Fiume. No damage suffered by attacking Austrian ship.

Germany

German artillery bombards French Army led by Nivelle before Ludendorff launches his attack. After a fierce battle which raged for most of the week Ludendorff is victorious though gravely injured down to 3HP. Nivelle is defeated. Seeing his victorious commander in battle inspires a German Rifle R to attack a French Rifle A in the same stack. The German loses his life. No further attacks against the French, British, or Neutral forces on the Western front. German artillery however bombards the road and rail links to Liege.

In the North Sea a German BC attacks and sinks a British DD Flotilla. There were no survivors.

No other action to report.

 

[Cyc]

Pre-Dreadnought shells Sinope again, causing 1 HP damage on Turk Inf.
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Nancy Arties shell the familiar stack causing 5 HPs damage.

 

[Cyc]

Oops! gps to Tigranes.

 

[Tigranes]

Britain
Wireless Communications researched! London starts on Inteligence Agency. Soon we are going to plant spies all over the places!

Room 40 Wonder is not available yet We have no Elite Naval units mainly because timid High Seas Fleet stays under protection of hated minefields. British experimenting with various traps for fast moving ships, lets see if it will work

We lost the trace of German Transport in Atlantic! Searched to the North and to the East -- no blocade runners, just Neutral Transports. Need to send some ships near German Trade in case new blocade runners leave the "Neutral" port with valuable cargo. The Nature of PBEM game prevents from seeing ships passing by your ships, one can only see final position. Bad for hunters!

BEF gets stronger every week. 3 more divisions and armored car arrive to Mons (the hill near Belgian Capital). Strassburg trenches detected to be empty. Also hill with Iron near Nansy is empty.

Tabuk found deserted. British and ANZAC troops take and fortify in the city. No more Oil and Minerals from Arabia desert for Turks!

Egypt Army deploys Baloon and shells Gaza. No hits, sadly, only road gets destroyed.

In Iraq British forces continue their offensive.

In Mediterranian British fleet looks for Turkish BC. No sign of it!

Italy

Victorious Italian Fleet enjoyes uncontested waters of Adriatic Foined by 2 old french battleships. Ragusa shelled and we manage to destroy obervation plane. Surving pilots fall into the Sea and picked up by a Destroyer with valuble information about Austrian Aviation practices. Destroyer will be sent either to Rome or to Venice to cash the Survivors!

Isonzo front was quite this turn.

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

gps Cyc

Week 39, 1914

Ottoman Empire

No action taken.

Austria-Hungary

Austrian ship sinks unknown vessel outside Fiume. Survivors were rescued and safely escorted away from the battlefield.

Germany

German Zeppelins attack Nancy destroying the Marketplace and the Library. No other action to report.

 

[Cyc]

For Rusia, mainly administrative changes and moves. We did however --> Pre-Dreadnought shells Sinope again, causing 1 HP damage on Turk Inf.
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In Southern France, merriment can be seen as a thousand French sailors kiss their sweethearts good-bye this week, and the farewell party is still roaring. The remaining French Fleet in Marsielles sets sail for the Southern Mediterrainean Sea.

In Nancy, the French are a bit sad, as all the Germans had retreted again, and there was naught to shell, but railroads and surface roads. So that's what they did.

Observation Planes tipped their wings to the Brits hanging out in Belgium.
gps to Tigranes.

 

[Tigranes]

Britain

Hanging out ? General Haig swallowed the remark. "We are the once who do all the counter attacks",-- he told to his staff.-- Charge Liege!!!

3 British Corps went in bayonet attack against German Active Divs (stats 11/15). Elite German Div was yellow already from beating French boys, we believe. They no longer exist! Plummer Corp kill another A Div from 8th German army -- the one that was deployed from the start against the Russians. Last British Corp under hard-to-spell general almost die but manage to kill a regular A division from German 1st Army, I believe.

Similar heroism in Mesopotamia leads to the complete disaster . Inspired by victories on th Western Front British boldly charge Basra against all odds. 3 British A Divs die one after another just yellowlining Ottoman defenders. I loose my cool and send Indian Div (attack 7) against City garrison (defense 10). Not a single point is scored and fine Indian soldiers are butchered only to promote Ottoman unit to Veteran status!

After this losses we greatly fear for Kuwait City. Luckily impassable Marshes prevent Turks from immediate attack. Rushing troops like mad and pressing hard on Gaza to prevent any reinforcement from Palestine to Iraq.

Runaway German transport spotted near the coast of Ireland and again we just short of move points to sink him!

High Seas Fleet spotted on the Westernmost minefield ready for some mischief. Grand Fleet is redeployed accordingly.

No trace of Yavuz in Eastern Mediterranean. Seaplane tender Ark Royal joins to the search efforts using Observation plane. We are certain that no Turkish ships exist around Malta.

On the Home Front British Workers finally built a Colony on the Strategic Minerals in the Northern Scotland. Mines, Coastal Fortresses and future heavy artillery cannot be imagines without NO3-, Cr, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Sn, Pt, Pd -- use your Chemistry book for the further insight

Italy

Oh no! Huge German stack crossed Isonzo valley. If I only knew this from German reports (*cough*) my British moves would be different. We shell advancing troops scoring 2 lousy hits.

Our Fleet shelling is much more rewarding. Last Austrian Battleship the lucky Price Eugine red lined in Fiume. I believe I can sink a ship in the port even without lethal bombard ability, but right now Austrian destroyer, also parked in Fiume, took hits and saved Austrian flagship.

Neutrals disbanded minefields next to the Isonzo shores which I placed to prevent unhistorical fleet involvements in Isonzo battles. AI is always pain in the neck! In the final version I will replace Neutral minefields with German -- it is unlikely Germany will get any ship near Venice.

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

Sent my turn to Cyc but it is really really late here. Won't post my battle report till sometime in the morning.

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

Week 40, 1914:


Ottoman Empire

Nothing to report. Forces are still being rearranged to meet the various threats we're facing. Turkey really can't do much offensively on land. At sea is a different matter. Our fleet continues to evade the Entente search!

Autria-Hungary:

Belgrade has fallen! For security reasons, and because the human players could not see it anyway, the joint German Austrian offensive against Belgrade was not announced last week. This week, thanks to Germany's assistance, Belgrade fell to the Austrian Army and Rifle units attacking it.

In the Adriatic the Leonardo da Vinci was bombarded by the last Austrian Battleship. An armored CA also shelled the Italian ship. When an Austrian submarine attempted to finish her off, the Austrian went to the bottom! Survivors picked up by the Regia Marina.

Germany:

Germany launches a limited counterattack in the Liege sector against the British. Moltke, Ludendorff, and a new Army called Kampfe Gruppe von Moff, get together with Haig and Plummer for tea time! Unfortunately, Haig and Plummer did not leave the party alive. German armies redlined and sent home to rest. We could not have had this party if it were not for our welcoming committee, i.e. artillery. Also lost were 2 British Counterbattery Guns and 1xBritish Rifle A. German losses were a single Counterbattery Gun.

Nancy and Calais were bombed by Zeppelins. Nancy's peactime agriculture was destroyed and Calais Bomb Shelter was destroyed.

German ships shell the British Predreadnought outside of Amsterdam and then a German BC finished off the British ship.

German forces rotate out on the Isonzo front. The wounded were evacuated to field hospitals while fresh troops were brought up to take their place.

No other action to report.

 

[Cyc]

A Russian Light Cruiser tried shelling one of the Turkish Railways heading into Constantinople but missed.

The Germans send an Infantry unit accompanied by Machine Gunners across the border towards Warsaw. They may just be there to pillage the mine on the border.
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Moved 2 French Pre-Dreadnoughts closer to Tieste, and they spot the Austrian and Heavy German attack forces NE of Venice.

Shelled and pillaged roads across the German border at Nancy. Took out the road in the Forest and the one in the Cow Pasture.

Observation Planes spot a shipment of German War Materials directly SE of Frankfurt.

gps to Tigranes

 

[Tigranes]

Britain

A week of mourning was issued in the entire British Empire. General Haig is dead together with the cream of the British Army. Part of the problem was that in the original design the tile Haig was killed on did not contain trenches, just a barbed wire, which looks very similar to trenches. It is fixed in final version.

After much shelling Elite German A in a stack near liege get yellowlined and British A Div presses his lack against evil Germans. No lack -- German boys just plain too tough. BEF is currently in disarray without a clear leadership. London was busy with Intelligence agency instead of Corps, but King George V believe that this will be just a temporary setback.

British forces continue to liberate Arabia. Umm Lajj was captured during this turn. British losses were 2 Infantry divisions killed by veteran Sipahi, I could not believe my eyes, when attack 11 Div died against defense 3 Sipahi!

Humiliated Mesopotamian Army set to retreat.

Workers finally hooked an Iron for Scapa Flow, which allows to upgrade 2 Coastal Submarines to the regular Submarines. Germans still lack oil and won't be able to upgrade yet, we believe.

British CL finally catches blockade runner German transport, sunk it and got promoted to Veteran. We badly need Elite Naval unit though...

1500 gold was sent to assist hard pressed Italians.

Italy

Shelling Isonzo intruders, then Cordona Corp attacks German A Div. We almost lost our Corp, but at the last minute Cordona manages to withdraw. What a relief!

Ottoman mine cleared near Crete.

Ragusa shelled, 1 Austrian DD badly mauled.

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

gps Cyc

Week 41, 1914

Ottoman Empire:

Turkish mine sinks Russian CL outside of Constantinople.

Austria-Hungary:

Austrian Mine shells French Pre-Dreadnought outside of Trieste doing 1HP of damage.

Germany:

German Mine outside of Trieste shells French Pre-Dreadnought doing 1HP of damage.

German Zeppelins bomb Nancy and Calais. Nancy's courthouse is destroyed but British AA gun shoots down Zeppelin!

1xGerman Cavalry and 2xGerman Rifle R attempt a probing attack outside of Lodz. They run into a Russian stack of Rifle A's and R's who promptly shoot down the Germans. No Russian losses.

German offensive action takes place outside of Liege. After a fearsome artillery bombardment followed up with counter battery fire the German troops "go over the top". The men run at top speed to the sound of the whistles. British troops open fire on the advancing Germans. Suddenly everything goes chaotic as smoke, shells, bullets, and dead bodies fill the battlefield. At the end of the battle the losses are as follow :

German - 3xRifle A, 2xRifle R
British - 3xLight Artillery, 7xRifle R, 1xIndian Brigade, 2xTrench Artillery, 3?xArmored Cars, and 1xCombat Engineer.

The only survivor of the British stack is a redlined cavalry unit who heads for the hills. We can't catch him but the German commanders are satisfied with the results of this offensive.


In the North Sea near Denmark a German unknown vessel sinks an enemy unknown vessel. Survivors are executed as they would surely fall into enemy hands next turn. Off the coast of the Netherlands a neutral transport ship gets blasted by a German Destroyer flotilla who also picks up survivors.

 

[Tigranes]

German Zeppelins bomb Nancy and Calais. Nancy's courthouse is destroyed but British AA gun shoots down Zeppelin!

Oh, I was waiting long for this report!

 

[Tigranes]

Survivors are executed as they would surely fall into enemy hands next turn.

While designing Survivor unit I was hoping to see some "fun" actions like this. I am glad my idea works, the only thing that bothers me -- one gets Survivors way too often. But I have no idea how to nerf "enslave" attribute. Feels like 50% of attacks leed to Srvivors or captured workers. On the ground I have moderated POW generation by enabling only 2 units to create prisoners -- Active Divisions and Corps. But right now any ship winning the battle can generate survivors. Do you guys feel that this needs to be limited to Battleships and submarines?

On the other hand, only during the Tannenberg Germans captured 90, 000 RUssians. During Brusilov offensive Russians captured 100, 000 Austrians. So maybe every ground unit should be able to "enslave" POWs?

We need to find a balance here, so feel free to report anything that bugs you as far as game mechanics conserned. Graphics and Pedia is another story, and outside of my scope for right now...

 

[Cyc]

In the Black Sea - Moved Destroyers back away from Constantinople. One of them may have run into a sub and took some damage.

Fortified positions with some new volunteers.
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The French mourn the losses taken by their allies, the British ground troops in Belgium. Artillery in Nancy shell the barbed wire trenches and roads across the border, leveling them to oblivion. Resistance helps fortify the line. We await the onslaught.

gps to Tigranes.