The Obsessive Grognard

The snows returned, hindering German plans. WESTERN FRONT Central Powers turn The Germans were 1 RP away from replacing every single loss from March. They restored 6 Infantry corps, sending the two strongest to the West. Unfortunately the snow reduced the mobility of those units making them unable to get to the frontlines at Verdun (4MP reduced to 2, 1MP to entrain, 1MP to detrain, cannot use rail movement in enemy ZOC so can't rail to the needed hex). Instead the high command decided to activate two cavalry corps in Belgium from garrison duty and move them to the front to participate in the attack, replacing them with the infantry corps. The attack was a success, with the two French corps defending Verdun eliminated, while the Germans lost the two Cavalry Corps in exchange. Allied turn The French, again felt obligated to respond. They reformed three infantry corps, and were able to pull three more corps plus an artillery unit out of the line as the British moved...

Spring rains came early in the West, but the rivers filled with more than water; they filled with blood. Bloody February. That's how they'll remember it. WESTERN FRONT The German High Command issued its orders: attack Verdun and do not stop! They attacked from three sides with siege artillery smashing the fortresses; within 2 weeks the entire complex had been captured, with heavy losses on both sides. The French marshaled their reserves and counterattacked; one of the highlights of the French attack was a nighttime raid by Chasseurs Alpins on a siege artillery unit, where they managed to destroy several guns. The German High Command will not admit this publicly, but they are very pleased. The battle has cost the French an astonishing 6 Infantry Corps! It is expected that the French will need months to recover from this battle, but the Germans will be rushing more troops to the region to see if they can cause more casualties. The picture for the French doe...

(Because of a lack of movement, I did not provide a wide view image this turn) On Christmas Eve, snow fell all over Europe. The soldiers started singing Christmas carols, and unofficial truces were declared all over the Western front, and in sporadic places on the Eastern Front as well (the continued Russian use of the older Julian calendar made for a lack of synchronicity in the two sides' celebrations). Soldiers mingled, exc hanged rations, moonshine, and Christmas traditions. Local commanders looked the other way, and as the snow continued to fall for weeks, well into the new year, the fighting slowed down. (Snow in both weather zones). Once again, the lines indicate the front line; blue for the French sector, red for the British WESTERN FRONT No major fighting on the Western Front this turn; as all the combatants spent their time strengthening the lines and preparing for future massive offensives. The included image shows the front line between the two entrenched ...

The end of the year has come, and with it the realization of of so many broken promises. "It's just a punitive expedition, to get the Serbs to stop supporting terrorism." "We just need to pass through your country for a little while to deal with the French, we're not here to stay." "It's just a continental war, we don't need to get involved." "Elan will see us through, they have no weapons to counter our spirit." "We will restore lost lands and redeem our national honor." "We will finally be accorded the respect we deserve." "We'll be home before the leaves fall." December saw the advent of snow in the East, and continuation of mud in the West. Three of the battles from November continued this turn, along with one new one. The entrenchment markers make it difficult to see which nationality the stacks are, so I've drawn a line between the Allies and Central Powers marking the fr...

BU SAVAŞ! It's War! Turkey joins the Central Powers, and, um, ho-hum so far (with the Middle East and Caucasus abstracted in the game to off-map boxes, there's just not much going on here). Technically, the British can deploy any forces in the Middle East Box anywhere in on-map Turkey, allowing for, say, a Gallipoli campaign. But so far it doesn't look very appealing. Overall, this is a much less violent turn than October, with only 3 battles resulting in the loss of a total of 5 Infantry Corps and an Artillery Corps. WESTERN FRONT There is no 'Miracle of the Marne'; the French are not strong enough to throw the Germans back from Paris, but maybe there is a lesser 'Miracle of the Somme', as the Germans assaulted the three French territorial corps defending Amiens with eight corps and two artillery units. French losses were heavy (2 corps eliminated vs 1 German corps lost) but the line held. The Territorials were then shifted South to bolste...

This was a bloody turn! The Germans lost 6 Inf and 2 Art XXX, the Austrians 1 Cav and 3 Inf XXX. The Allies lost the remainder of the Belgian Army (2 Inf XX and the Cav XX), and 2 French Inf XXX in the West. In the East the Russians lost 3 Inf XXX, a Cav XXX and Art XXX, while the Serbs lost 4 Inf XX, the Cav XX, and an Art XX. A lot of difficult decisions, and some interesting rules conundrums. THE WESTERN FRONT The September Allied turn saw the BEF safely evacuated from Ghent to Calais. In October, with the rains beginning (Mud) the Germans finally eliminated the last of Belgian resistance, completing their conquest of the country according to game rules. They also pushed their lines up to the French, and then took a very risky 2.8:1 attack on a pair of French corps in hex 2554. They scored a HX blasting a hole in the French lines 2 hexes ENE of Paris! The Allies were forced to respond to this and another hole in the southern part of the massive German sa...