Carrying on with our mod playtest: it's early August 1919. If we get further on we'll think about putting up a proper AAR but I am posting here with an eye towards the mod designer noticing that his work is still being played out and appreciated. And perhaps reappearing at some point to be interrogated about specific WAD issues.
First off, this is a monster of a mod compared to the vanilla game, especially for the Red player. Simply too many differences to list out right now. The historical research is obsessive and
much appreciated. So a few more reports from the Reds played by myself:
Dec I/18: A brutal winter sets in and the Germans have vacated Ukraine. What will appear in their stead remains to be seen.
Elsewhere the front is mostly frozen in and relatively inactive, other than the GEA forces (Green Environmental Anarchists) raising hell all over the map.
Trotsky and Tukhachevsky were glad to see the back of Stalin at Tsaritsyn as Lenin called him back to Moscow... good riddance! (and I note in passing that unlike the vanilla RUS there is no Stalin commander unit in the mod).
Dec II/18: Some major micro-management as the fronts expand across the Ukraine and Reds marshal their forces from the hinterlands to contain this. Other roving groups of "green-killers" are trying to contain the green contagion which is all over the map at this point, almost more of a problem than the Whites themselves. WW I is over but the war in Russia continues.
And rumours of black Anarchists in the south.
Jan I/19: A new year of war and the brutal winter continues as battles swirl in the south around Ukraine. Wrangle and Tukhachevsky, the two most talented officers in the war, face off at Tsaritsyn and the first round goes to the latter as he scores a significant victory over the Whites. Red forces in the north rush to block a new White threat from Estonia. Red workers in factories work full-tilt and gain an initial incentive for over-producing their daily quota: an additional 200gr of bread. Whack-a-mole vs the Greens continues.
Jan II/19: Kharkov is taken by the Reds and an uneasy truce exists with the Makhnovists. It's a nice effect that keeps me from moving south from Kharkov for now as the black Anarchists are so strong a stab in the back could prove fatal. But Kiev is next on the list and no anarchists there, just the ever troublesome Ukrainians. Elsewhere more of the same as the brutal winter continues.
Feb I/19: More of the same with pesky greens who take multiple assaults to get rid of. Trotsky wants to spread the Revolution to Europe. For now it's time to get the workers in their factories increasing production of guns and ammunition to the Red armies on all points of the compass--a "revolution under siege" indeed.
“We were always for revolutionary war. The bayonet is an essential necessity for introducing communism.”
- Karl RadekMar II/19: The rivers are thawing from south to north and the Reds are slowly reducing the Green Environmental Anarchist strongholds. Things are afoot in the Donbas and Ukraine (what else is new?). The new detailed leader characteristics are rather mind-boggling. Tachankas can now be built everywhere. The Reds now get Army training HQs to whip the workers into shape. The maxim machinegun units are also a nice touch.
May I/19: The Reds lost over 100,000 men last turn in 4 major battles and lost -14 NM. The most surprising was at Tsaritsyn where Tukhachevsky was up against Wrangle (7-5-7 cdr vs 5-6-5) and got one of the worst AGEOD battle results I have seen, taking 61k in losses while inflicting a mere 9k. A general rated better than Wrangle at this point in the war, and fighting on his own turf in a major city. Even more surprising was one of the Red's better generals in Kiev (Frunz 4-5-3) vs one of the worst generals in the game (Ukrainian Gen. Petliura 1-0-0) and taking 30k losses while inflicting 10k. My East White opponent Àlvar reminded me that my relatively low NMorale was likely the culprit. Since then I have been pushing propaganda morale increases every turn I can afford it.
Other battles brought the losses up over 100k men for one turn and the larger problem for me now is that the main armies have been gutted and as yet I am unable to build the usual worker bdes available in the vanilla game, over a year into the war. Is this WAD? This limits me to trained up workers in the cities. Eek.
Jun II/19: Nothing too momentous this turn as the chaos continues all over the map with numerous small battles between "ants."
A new foe appears in the NW as the Germans pile on and attack as well.
July I/19: Tukhachevsky breaks out of the trap at Tsaritsyn and utterly guts the White armies capturing wads of supplies, air, and transmission units. That's one dire threat dealt with, only 4 to go! Voronezh holds on against the Cossacks. The East Whites take the important industrial town of Izhevsk and are advancing across the Volga further south. Not surprising since I had to strip these fronts with everything I had to really crush the main threat at Tsaritsyn from Wrangle and the Whites. The first Red cavalry brigades can be built. Ceaseless Red propaganda keeps the masses in line.
July II/19: A tumultuous turn as the Whites around Tsaritsyn take a further pounding. Further north the East Whites take Saratov but Frunze's Red Army rails in and drives White general Molchanov back across the Volga. White diehards continue to hold the city center. Further north Simbirsk has fallen to the Whites but Syzran continues to hold.
But the Anarchists are now at war with the Reds and, even worse, the Poles have entered the war and are about to attack in the west.
Aug I/19: The Poles are held off at Minsk thanks to the timely arrival of the famous Russian general from WW I--Brusilov. Red Guard units, as opposed to worker units, can now be built and a horde of them have been called up to face the new threats. Perhaps new brigades can finally be formed with these??--we shall see. Elsewhere fairly quiet although the East Whites take Syzran, while the Reds under Frunze recapture Saratov on the Volga. I've handled the south well but I am building up in the north to counter an obvious advance of the Eastern Whites from Perm. I can give territory to some extent everywhere, but preventing the East and west Whites from linking has to be key in this.
Aug II/19: Momentous battles on all points of the compass for the Reds.
East Whites smash Red defenses at Aralsk but further south the main Red Army in Asia takes Bukhara and Emir Alim Khan I believe is captured, his forces wiped out. Here's a pic of the colourful chap:
- Alim Khan.jpg (23.83 KiB) Viewed 61075 times
Further north Tukhachevsky defeats the Whites at Syzran but does not manage to recapture the key city on the Volga. Various battles on the western frontiers. The NW Whites are rebuffed west of St. Petersburg, and Brusilov hangs on to Minsk. Red partisans swarm all over Ukraine basically destroying the rail net ahead of the advancing Poles.
