The Kaiser keeps his promise: War is over by christmas 1914!

[smokediver]

Hey Guys,
i managed to get a major victory by late december 1914 against the AI by taking Paris! See the screenshot. I did a hard rush through southern Belgium and the Ardennes. The french created two super stacks (around 2400 combat power each) and attacked Metz. They were repelled each time, but with heavy losses on both sides. I play without detection bonus. The russians crossed the border to Germany on several locations, but did not manage to take any important german city. Against the Austrians they were more sucessful by taking Lemberg. On the other hand the Austrians managed to take Belgrade with only one Army (under Potiorek).

In this game i noticed some things:
1. Heligoland fortress runs out of supply rather quickly.
2. The AI very slowly reacts to attacks in northern France when using the Moltke plan. Instead it goes on the offensive in Alsace in full force
3. The AI makes no real effort to defend Paris, even if german troops occupy St. Quentin and Compiegne.
4. The british do not send ships in the blockade box nor keep merchants in the atlantic shipping box.
5. The AI keeps sending single supply and munitions cart into enemy territory.
6. Ships are very fast and can go everywhere on the globe. I saw big battleships stack in the south atlantic and pacific.
7. The EE sends small serbian units into hungary instead of defending serbia itself. My austrian mountain troops gained lots of experience by smashing them.

Some questions arose, too:
1. Do subs need supplies in order to sink merchants?
2. Can regular troops be used in colonies or do they suffer there like in PON?
3. What effect or benefit have the german merchants in the baltic sea shipping box?
4. What is the benefit of persuading small nations to join your faction (e.g. Norway for the CP)? Do they provide resources or VP?
5. Can the central powers aquire money and war supplies through the shipping boxes?
6. What ist the difference between merchant ships and transports?

[Bismarck1940]

I achieved the same rather easily, using hard settings (and Kensai's advice re: detection).

Both sides of the AI in the West need work. The CP side more than the Allied side, in my view.

[Revan]

i've noticed too that WE AI is not very interested in defending Paris and in any case, unable to repeat Fench IRL manoeuver which led to the Battle of the Marne.

Also, the BEF, in my games, seems more interested to spend time in Belgium, behind my lines rather than trying to stop/delay Kluck and Bülow..

[H Gilmer3]

The Kaiser seems to be a good dude keeping his promises and such.

[HerrDan]

The Kaiser seems to be a good dude keeping his promises and such.

I'm the Kaiser and you should know I'm a very good man and I keep my promisses as well...

(I know I'm crazy haha :mdr

[Altaris]

Congrats! It's tough to pull the 1914 plan off, but it's doable. Glad to see a few folks managing it!

[Shri]

Great Going. 1914 win is really great going.
BTW- what level was the AI.

Plan is doable if you throw- "caution to the wind and rush headlong into Paris not bothering about Flanks, Blitzkreig style"
Against AI, ok; but a cunning player will trap your armies somewhere deep into French territory by cutting railway lines and supply lines. and then forcing battles.

[Kensai]

Your mileage may vary. In tests I have seen the French amassing a lot of forces in Paris and making an assault quite difficult without a combination of parameters (special decisions: using gas for the first time, special super heavy shelling).

[Kensai]

My own take against the AI. Kept my promise as well.

I have to say, though, it was totally risky business. It could happen against the WE AI as Athena follows the historical path of banging her head against Metz (Battle of the Frontiers). Against a human WE player such fast movement could spell disaster: become surrounded and annihilated, although supplies are enough to entrench for a couple of months.



I could have assaulted a turn earlier but wanted to rest my troops (all passive except one Corps which had enough cohesion anyway). Did not use super heavy railway artillery and any special decision (gas, bombardment). All bets are off, can anyone do it even earlier?

PS. This is the West Front only scenario, obviously.

[Bismarck1940]

Early Nov is impressive. Best I've done is late Nov.

[Kensai]

I believe the earliest possible could be Late October. Before that it is almost impossible to arrive and be in condition to fight (unless you play with Generals always activated or have been quite lucky in your movements and activation dice rolls). The recipe for fast movement is the following: both 'forced march' and 'avoid fighting while moving' buttons ON. If you are lucky enough NOT to encounter huge Entente troop concentrations in your path you can be in Paris by Late September. A couple of stacks arrived the next fortnight (some where inactive thus arrived by Early October), still almost all of them where tired and low in cohesion, they have had to give a fight to get ground and start the siege in Paris as well. I decided to keep some in passive to rest and attack the next one, Late October. Thus the results in Early November.