Solo Empires & Alliances - A New Campaign AAR (Sep 1914 Turn)

End of the Central Powers September 1914 turn


 Well, I've finally gotten a Vassal setup going, using it to solo Compass Game's Empires & Alliances. This is at the end of the Central Powers Sep 1914 turn. This is the first post of the series; you will have to gather how the August 1 and August 2 turns went from the current situations.


Balkan Front

The Balkan Front has seen some initial success by Austria-Hungary with a quick capture of Belgrade, but the Serbs are not an easy nut to crack. After some general slow but steady advancement the Austrian commander decided rather than a grinding push down the line to send 3 corps in on a single Serbian division. The Serbs were pushed back and 2 Austrian corps broke through the line, meaning the Serbs will probably have to make a general withdrawal to a mountain line centered on Nis.



Eastern Front

The Eastern Front has been more challenging. The Germans received a lot of Russian pressure, with the 1st Army pushing in from the East while the 2nd Army swung West around the Mansurian lakes and took Tannenberg and threatened Thorn. The Germans were forced to rail in about 6 corps but succeeded in eliminating the Russians threatening Thorn and putting the entire 2nd Army out of supply. But the Galician sector is much more worrisome for the Central Powers, with Russian units just about able to go toe-to-toe with the Austrians, and more of them, the situation has become untenable. The Russian 8th Army successfully rolled around the southern defenses and threatened to cut off the entirety of the Austrian forces in the area, forcing the Austrians to abandon Lemberg and consider a general withdrawal to the mountains.

Western Front

Meanwhile, on the Western Front the situation is un desastre!. The French launched a woeful 2:1 attack on the German Second and Third Armies east of Reims, and found themselves slaughtered in the rout. Now one Reserve and one Territorial Corps are all that stand in a 4-hex wide hole protecting Paris. Meanwhile the BEF is cutoff, and Belgium is unlikely to last more than another month.

Thoughts and Notes for the Turn

For the Allies September turn there will be two desperate concerns: 1 - extract the BEF, which can be done by railing the 3rd Corps to Dunkirk while the rest of the BEF slogs to Ypres; and 2 - protect Paris, which will see the French place an reinforcement and replacement corps in the city proper, while railing every available unit to positions east of the city. Will it work? In the East the Russians will try to move reserve troops in position to extract the 2nd Army, while in Galicia they will look to take Lemberg and inflict as much damage on the Austro-Hungarians as possible before they escape into the mountains.
Looking ahead for the Central Powers, the question will be how far can they push the frontlines towards Paris, and how long can they delay sending more units to help Austria?


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