Solo Empires & Alliances, February 1915 Turn

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 does indeed look grim; the Germans only lost 4 corps (one of them LandWehr) and a siege artillery unit; the German RPs will be able to cover the losses in about 1.5 turns. Fortunately for the French, the British reinforcements continue to trickle in, and they will soon be able to take over the Beauvais sector of the front, freeing up 3 French corps.


EASTERN FRONT

Despite the continued snow there was a lot of action in the East. The Germans launched an ill-fated attack on the Russians still occupying Prussia, and at the Battle of Darkehmen the Germans were surprised to find the Russians ready for them, and their attack was repulsed with heavy casualties (2 German corps lost to 1 Russian corps). But in Poland the Germans found much more success, attacking the Russian salient centered around Makow Mazowiecki. The Germans were very successful in their attack, destroying 2 Russian corps and an artillery unit for the cost of 1 corps. They have now tightened the lines around Warsaw. It's not clear to the Russians how tenable their hold on Warsaw is. Their response is interesting, however. They have moved forces into Prussia, and with the German losses there they are building up a 3:1 advantage in infantry, with a possible further movement of troops from the south they have the potential to make a serious push on Konigsberg. They've also moved some reinforcements to the Austrian sector, where Germans plugged the hole in the Carpathian line, while Austro-Hungarian forces reinforced the rail line defenses the Germans had been forced to vacate. The Russians keep pouring troops into the region, but the Austrians, with German help, may just be able to keep them from making further gains.


BALKAN FRONT

Across the empire the bells rang, and throngs made the pilgrimage to Artstetten Castle where Emperor Franz Josef honored the commander of the Serbian campaign, with tears in his eyes, announcing that the death of his son had been avenged. The Austrian 3rd and 16th corps launched a hasty attack on Skoplje, and while casualties were heavy (3rd corps lost), the Serbian defenders had not set up their defenses and were defeated in a week of fighting. With this, the remaining Serbian forces surrendered. In Montenegro the first division made it to the capital ahead of the Austrian 9th corps to start organizing the defenses, while the second division continues retreating to the city.


THOUGHTS/NOTES
Much blood has been shed this turn: The French lost a total of 6 Infantry Corps and an artillery unit. The Russians lost 3 Infantry corps and an artillery unit. The Russian losses should be able to be replaced in about a turn, but the French will need about 3 turns to replace their losses. The Serbs lost 4 divisions, 2 in combat and 2 through surrender.

On the Central Powers side the Austrians only lost a single infantry corps, while the Germans lost 5 corps and and a siege artillery unit. These are heavy losses, but can be recovered much more quickly than the French can recover theirs.

That's an astonishing 17 corps plus 3 artillery units!

Looking forward, here are the decisions to be made:

• In the Balkans, the Austrians can attack the Montenegrin capital Cetinje now at 2:1 odds. That's a bit risky, but next turn the Montenegrins will have twice the defenders there. With the conquest of Serbia, the Austrians can send plenty more troops there, but it would likely take a good three months to get them there, and there is a lot of pressure to get the 4 surplus corps and an artillery unit in Serbia shifted to face the Russians as quickly as possible.
• In the West, the French are eager to get the British to extend their lines by one hex, freeing up the three infantry and 1 artillery corps there. But the British may want to wait a month. There are currently 21 French defense factors there, but only 17 British factors available to replace them, one of those units is fragile, and the Germans may be tempted to attack there and permanently weaken the unit. The British will be able to raise another corps in March, making the sector as strong as it was before. Is it worth the wait?
• The Germans feel like they have had a massive success at Verdun, despite the current hole in their lines. They can easily fill that with replacement troops, and they can now attack the hex at higher odds than they did last turn.
• In the East the Russians have a real opportunity to shift units from the Poland sector to East Prussia and gain some local superiority over the Germans. Will they be able to pull it off, or will the Germans be able to follow up on their victory in Poland and keep the Russians off-balance?