A triple backstab?

[Lynxyonok]

Oh, is there no better way to describe what just had happened.

France chose to attack Germany in force. Yes, we're talking the full EAW campaign. Free strategy choices for each side, maximum traffic penalty, maximum general variability, highest AI skill, yet balanced aggressiveness. No easy supply, but a medium delay - let's bring in as much cannon fodder as we can, shall we?

Funny, I'd almost misspelled that as "shell we", or have I?

Except Germany chose to attack Russia in full force.

Except Russia chose to attack Austria-Hungary in full force.

Except Austria-Hungary chose to attack Serbia in full force.

Let the Hunger games begin.

Oh, please ignore that the only loser from the get-go is Germany: 30% rebel content, 90 Central Power morale to start.

After all, the roads to St. Petersburg and Moscow are wide open! Onto we go!

Preferably, before the famous Russian winter. Yeah. No to that.

Attachment: Serbs brace for impact. Every Eastern coin is sent to their benefit.

1.png (2.01 MiB) Viewed 15173 times

[Lynxyonok]

Attachment: Serbs hold off 4 assaults of Austrian-Hungarian forces: they manage to cling onto Belgrade.

91.png (1.16 MiB) Viewed 15161 times

[Lynxyonok]

Attachment: On the other hand, German troops walk freely onto Russian soil towards the Baltics.

1.png (1.78 MiB) Viewed 15158 times

[Lynxyonok]

More heavy fighting for Belgrade: many units are at half-strength and below. The city is now surrounded; clear weather is not making things easy for the defenders.

On the other hand, there's stalemate in the West. 180K French troops lost, and not an inch of German soil gained.

1.png (2.13 MiB) Viewed 15144 times

[Lynxyonok]

Russian 9th Army is still frozen in Warsaw for another month, an eternal thorn in my campaigns. Central Powers are approaching hastily - I would have to hold the city, there's mud right behind the defenders, and there isn't really anywhere to run.

2.png (2.2 MiB) Viewed 15143 times

[Lynxyonok]

In a "Now or never" moment, the full brunt of Russian army descends on Lemberg. Within a turn or two I will have to start shipping weaker regiments back, avoiding massive starvation. But for now, I need to be able to survive the first Austrian counterattack.

3.png (2.12 MiB) Viewed 15137 times

[Lynxyonok]

With neutral Belgium, it's fascinating to observe how Western Entente is going to proceed. Great Britain has finally joined the fray, but what now? Both factions are actively trying to gain control over the Netherlands and Belgium, and Turkey is firmly on the path to join the war.

1.png (1.09 MiB) Viewed 15130 times

[Lynxyonok]

Without Belgium in the war, Western front is only a few provinces wide, and fighting has picked up there. Over a million soldiers have already been lost in the West since the war.

1.png (2.14 MiB) Viewed 15108 times

[Lynxyonok]

Russians were able to deflect a couple of German attacks on Warsaw, but now the question is whether to hold on to the city or fall back. There is a looming possibility of being encircled, and there are no immediate reserves in the region.

2.png (2.22 MiB) Viewed 15106 times

[Lynxyonok]

Predictably, Ottoman Empire joins the war, and Russian troops are rushed to Kars to meet them. Fortunately, preparations had been underway: 6 new mountain infantry divisions are going to attempt to tip the early campaign balance. When snow passes, of course.

1.png (1.76 MiB) Viewed 15096 times

[Lynxyonok]

When Germans are slowed by stronger-than-expected defense of Kowno and Wilna garrisons, Russians are able to concentrate several strong corps in Minsk. These are still not the strongest troops, no medium artillery, little support, but they should be able to hold the lines. In the meantime, every essential cheap unit is built in the background as state funds are issued one after the other: militia, field artillery, medics, engineers. Next turn, all resources are going to be saved in preparation for 1915 aviation builds.

2.png (2.07 MiB) Viewed 15095 times

[Lynxyonok]

Austrian forces carefully cross Middle Sava outside of town to avoid river-crossing combat penalties and then assault Serbian capital in waves. The first attack is repelled, but defenders are tired; by the end of this, half of Main Serbian army is annihilated, while the other half is sent to the woods with no source of supply. Short of occasional militia regiments and Montenegrin corps, this may just be the end of Serbian campaign.

1.png (1.2 MiB) Viewed 15094 times

3.png (2.09 MiB) Viewed 15094 times

[Lynxyonok]

Central Powers approach the border of Kars; Russian troops are mobilized into two stronger corps protecting the city with a lighter one saddling over the mountain to the west. Including troops still on the rain, a 2:1 superiority is projected within a month, assuming there are no hidden Ottoman reserves nearby.

1.png (1.93 MiB) Viewed 15077 times

[Lynxyonok]

Central Powers attempt to deblockade Lemberg, but promptly retreat. Russian forces are heavily fortified, including 3 super-heavy ART units (conscripted from all over the country) with one more on the way. A major battle is expected soon.
A recon into Przemysl is a fail, however, one that's about to cost me a corps.

2.png (2.04 MiB) Viewed 15076 times

[Lynxyonok]

A rare opportunity: A Central Powers convoy is spotted middling off of Lithuania coast, and Russian Navy successfully intercepts. A few German regiments down the drain in exchange of three hits onto Russian ships.

1.png (1.92 MiB) Viewed 15048 times

[Lynxyonok]

Lemberg finally falls - no benefits, no bonus points for the victory so late, but now Russians face an opportunity: shall they move west, to Przesmyl, to the south-west, ultimately to Budapest, or to south-east, to relieve Russian forces stuck at Czernowitz since the beginning of campaign, locked by equally-strong AH forces?

2.png (2.08 MiB) Viewed 15047 times

[Lynxyonok]

Turkish forces are preparing a major two-pronged offensive; I thought I had 2:1 superiority, but it looks like parity is more likely. And that's despite heavy MTN unit building and sending all Siberian / Far East / Central Asian corps to this theatre.
Also, this might be the first time for gas to be used.

1.png (1.85 MiB) Viewed 15033 times

[Lynxyonok]

All three factions are pretty much neck-to-neck when it comes to technology. Russians purchased 2 Infantry upgrades, but nothing else for now.
When it comes to diplomacy, it's fascinating to see a perfectly neutral Belgium, 50/50 loyalty to either side, 2 ambassadors locked in a battle over the region. Greece will likely join Entente next turn, and Bulgaria is aligning with Central Powers in a couple of months.

3.png (1.39 MiB) Viewed 15032 times

[Lynxyonok]

Things are potentially turning sour for Germany as French troops manage to break through the defenses. Or British. Fog of War.

2.png (2.17 MiB) Viewed 15030 times

[Pocus]

It's not clear to me if you play against your own self?

[Lynxyonok]

It's not clear to me if you play against your own self?

My bad: Veteran AI for both Central Powers and Western Entente.

[Lynxyonok]

1.png (779.63 KiB) Viewed 14982 times

2.png (564.64 KiB) Viewed 14982 times

[Lynxyonok]

Turkish forces attack across the entire frontline, winning some battles, losing some, 4 battles in total; Russian troops hold the lines for now.

1.png (2.02 MiB) Viewed 14981 times

2.png (2.03 MiB) Viewed 14981 times

[Lynxyonok]

And they do not go in my favor at all. Perhaps, it's time to build those fighters after all. Especially since my fighter technology finally made it to level 2.

4.png (211.1 KiB) Viewed 14979 times

[Lynxyonok]

Serb troops aren't doing good at all. Every single major corps has been dislodged; supplies are running low. It's likely that the country won't last past the late spring - early summer. On a positive note, I can use these generals on Russian Caucasian front afterwards.

1.png (2.15 MiB) Viewed 14947 times

[Lynxyonok]

In a surprising development, 3 Russian corps manage to sneak by, or at least be close to, in Austria. A couple of major Central Powers units are tied up further north towards Lemberg and a couple more further east in Czernowitz. The real question is, are they moving in too early? Italy is only 59% aligned to the Entente.

4.png (2.06 MiB) Viewed 14944 times

[Lynxyonok]

1.png (1.02 MiB) Viewed 14942 times

[Pocus]

Oh so Russian, ok, got it. The AI seems surprisingly apt

[Lynxyonok]

Serb armies are still fighting, but they are inevitably falling further and further south. Bulgarian troops are actively chasing them down, and Greeks cannot help - they are retreating themselves.

1.png (2.09 MiB) Viewed 14862 times

[Lynxyonok]

Heavy fighting across all the fronts - the heaviest one though is in Turkey. A Russian corps sneaking along the seashore gets routed back to Batum; main Ottoman army is down to perhaps 20% of its pre-war numbers near Kars.

2.png (1.96 MiB) Viewed 14861 times

3.png (1.17 MiB) Viewed 14861 times