NationStates Jolt Archive

Feldmarschalls Mackensen, Schlieffen and Hindenburg recieved their orders from the General Staff office. The preparations to attack France and the Low Countries with an immense thrust and Denmark with a much smaller one were to be brought to completion immediately. It was absolutely imperative that the Germans achieve decisive superiority in the Western Front along with their Italian allies.

Mackensen and Hindenburg, being judged by Manstein to be the more militarily talented marshals were to lead the main assault, while Schlieffen was to oversee the smaller operations in Alsace-Lorraine and Denmark. These three men would command three million German soldiers. The northern and southern main thrusts would be accomplished by two Army Groups of about 1 million men each, while the Alsace-Lorraine operation would be done with about 400,000 men and Denmark would be quickly seized with 100,000 men. About 500,000 men would be used as reserves for the main attack.

If done correctly, it was hoped that France and the Low Countries could be finished off in less than two months, allowing Germany a huge advantage at the peace negotiations. All that the Field Marshal needed was the order to begin and the German war machine would start its inexorable drive to Paris.

The German Marshals recieved the official notice that France had declared war on Russia. Immediately, they held a conference. They had been told to wait, but also to strike before the French war machine was fully ready. It was one of the army commanders, Lieutenant General Erich Ludendorff who expressed most powerfully the feelings of the marshals. The plans for the attack had been largely determined already and it was now a matter of setting things into motion.

They decided to send an elaborately coded message to Manstain, encouraging him to declare war but to wait until German troops were poised to cross over into Danish, Dutch, Belgian and French territory. There would be no hesistation and no advance warning given. The deadly blow would fall onto the French spine relentlessly.

This is basically what the attack will look like: (Very Primitive Home-Made!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/Kaiser_Kris/InvasionofFranceandOtherPlaces.jpg

the naval balance in the Atlantic

North Sea
RN -- 26 BB1, 12 CA, 10 CP1, 12 Desrons, 1 subron plus Jellicoe
RBHN -- 2 BB1, 4 CA, 2 Desron
Germans -- Admiral Graf Spee, 12 BB1, 4 BB2, 1 CA (improved), 12 CA, 16 CP1, 3 Torpron, 1 Subron

available immediate RN reserves
1 Dreadnought, 1 Battlecruiser, 10 CA

Available for blockade of Germany
RN 10 CP1, 18 CP2, 5 Patrons
RBHN 2 BB2, 4 CA, 10 CP1, 4 CP2
USN 4 CL, 8 CP2

additional US, RBHN ships at home stations

doesn't get any better for the Germans from this point on as right now they have a +1 gunnery advantage that goes away in a year (except against the Americans)

OOC> Poor Germans, lol. But thanks. I'm mostly waiting for Halibris to come here (maybe I should telegram him with the link) so I can unleash the dogs of war, so to speak.

The Dominion of British Hannover has offered the use of the cosmopolitan city of Montreal as the site for the Allied conference. Montreal, a city of about one million in the Quebec Province, is a vibrant cultural centre exceeded only by New York on the North American continent and rivalling many European cities.

President Roosevelt agrees with the choice of Montreal and also states that he will attend in person.

The Emperor of Japan agrees to Montreal and will atand himself.

along the German / Belgian border, Russian observers arrive to watch the vaunted power of the German Army at work.

in the far north, in the Arctic, Russian spies and scouts began carefully and covertly looking at the defenses of northern Norway. It was way down on the priority list, but if the war went well seizing this area was on the Russian agenda.

President Émile Loubet will be pleased to attend the Montreal Conference in person.

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"The Germans will never attack Belgium." declared Joffre. "That would bring the British into war. The Germans could not afford that. And so we cannot afford placing divisions along Belgium, and wasting valuable manpower."

"I disagree, Monsieur General." said Minister Berteaux. "The Germans feel the Treaty of London is nothing but a scrap of paper, and think the British hold it in the same regard. Even if they do hold to their promise, I don't think the Germans will care. I think they are willing to fight the British."

Joffre looked to the other Generals there for support. "Well, Monsieur Minister, if that is truly the case, it is all the more urgent that we strike at the Germans first. Ferdinand?"

Ferdinand Foch awoke from his reverie. "Hm? Oh, you mean...plan XVII?"

"Yes."

"Well..." Foch gave a general outline of his offensive plan that would push the French army into Germany through the Alscaise-Lorraine. "I am still working on it, of course."

OOC: I'll post my border defense this evening, I have to go.

OOC> Yay! Btw, the encoded message will probably take a day or two for experts to crack. And I'll make a seperate thread for Montreal.

Encoded Telegraph Sent To Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Copenhagen:

'A state of war exists between the German Empire and all states that have recieved this message. Invasion of your nations will immediately follow thereafter.'

August 14th, 1906:

The largest instrument of armed violence in human history goes to war. The northern First Army Group, commanded by Field Marshal Mackensen, will focus its efforts on the Netherlands before swinging into to deal with Belgium and France. The southern Second Army Group, commanded by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg will cut through Luxembourg and southern Belgium before joining with the First Army Group for a concerted assault on France.

Note to the German Goverment delivered to the German Ambassador personally by the Secretary of State John Hay after summoning him to the White House.

"The German declaration of war against France, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands is viewed by the United States as a despicable act and in light of the heinous nature of armed invasion of nations that were not in any way involved in the present conflict and the sheer greed of the act, the United States hereby feels that there is no choice but to announce that a declaration of a state of war between our two nations can be expected as soon as it clears the Congress of the United States."

later that day, Roosevelt gives a speech and the US declares war on Germany by an overwhelming majority.

OOC> It's worse, the telegraph was encrypted. It's not super-tight, so it would probably take the French a day or two to figure out what it was and then another day or two before it reached the other Allied nations. Manstein is a total bastard. However, if he doesn't attain smashing success, he might find himself in some political trouble. Btw, New Shiron, I'm about ready to do the big naval battle we've talked about in the telegrams.

confidential report, Presidents Eyes Only, excerpts
General Leonard Wood, Chief of Staff of the Army

"The Germans have a dangerous advantage. Based on estimates, they can deploy nearly 106 divisions against the 7 Belgian, 6 Dutch, and 50 French divisions. Assuming the British act quickly, another 5 British divisions can reach the front within a couple of weeks. If British Hannover and the Confederacy act quickly, they can get another 6 divisions each to France by the middle of October.

This still gives the Germans a dangerous edge in numbers. Therefore, the Army recommends that a 6 division sized army be sent to France as well to arrive at the end of October. This force should be under US command, but under the general direction of the French (as we are defending their territory).

Even this may not be enough, as it will give the Allied effort only 73 divisions against roughly 100 German divisions. It is assumed that losses and the need to occupy ground will siphon off at least 6 German divisions and that the Belgians and Dutch will have been destroyed by that point.

ooc
based on actual Allied mobilization August 1914, with German numbers upgraded by the addition of the Austrian and Czech Armies (which no longer exist).

IC
In addition to this front, the Italian French border will also likely be a battleground. Here the French have approx 10 divisions, plus numerous fortresses while the Italians have nearly 30 divisions available. However, the extremely rugged terrain will focus all of this into a very narrow front, and it is considered extremely unlikely that the Italians will break through unless the French collapse from the German effort.

ooc, based on Italian vs Austrian fighting in 1915 -16 in similar terrain, as well as World War 2 results and the Italians own estimates, there is no way the Italians are going to break through and a serious effort is going to be a bloody shambles. However, it will keep the French from sending those divisions elsewhere.

Secret Telegraph From Chief of the General Staff Manstein To The Italian Staff:

'The rough terrain makes a breakthrough against the French Alps a difficult proposition, however, it will also tie down French manpower. The breakthrough on the Alps is most likely to happen when the main French army is wiped out near the frontiers.'

Day 1:

The immense host prepared to make their assault on the Low Countries while a somewhat smaller force remained in Alsace-Lorraine to reinforce the heavily fortified region from attack. An even smaller force pushed into Denmark. By the end of the first day, Luxembourg had been seized and a Danish force had been more brushed aside than defeated in the normal sense. It was expected that the Danish would be conquered by the end of the next day and almost the entire force would be be brought back into the main offensive.

In the meantime, the German High Seas Fleet prepared to put out to sea to engage in the mother of all sea battles, against the British Grand Fleet itself. Von Spee had realized that Germany's naval chances were as good as they would ever be in the North Sea and the belligerant Tirpitz was easy enough to convince. Only the patrol ships and submarines, mostly useless on open water, would remain at home.

The fate of a great empire would be decided in the next few months and possibly in the next day. Mackensen, Hindenburg, Schlieffen and Von Spee all had a vague sense that their actions had huge historical consequences. As they marched west, villagers miles away in their targets would swear that they heard Our Lord Is A Mighty Fortress and Deutschland Uber Alles as if they were once voice.

The voice of cold steel, as relentlessly grey as the German field uniforms. The most feared military power of the last generation was about to be unleashed on Europe.

London:

Sir Douglas Haig was not a happy man. It was quite clear that the Germans were launching an offense of unprecedented size against France. Furthermore, he had heard that the Germans were about to launch their battle fleet against the Grand Fleet. He hoped to hell that Jellicoe knew what he was doing, because if the Grand Fleet failed, it would make supporting France a very difficult proposition. And France would need all the support it could get.

New Hannover:

Wilfred Laurier looked up at General Arthur Currie.

'So, it is time, is it? How many troops can we send?'

'Six divisions, sir, maybe seven in a few months.' Currie replied. 'And if you give me the money I need and some political support, I could get another fifteen ready in six months.'

'And if we implemented conscripton?"

'Forty or fifty, sir, almost a million men. But that would take a year or so to build up, of course.'

Laurier thought about it. 'Well, if the French manage to turn back the Germans, we might need them. If the Germans win, I think we both know that would be a moot point.'

The armies were being marshaled.

The tricolor dominated the streets of Paris, La Marseilles the air. The people of France were confident their regular army, full of the Gallic spirit, would stop the German onslaught in its tracks and secure peace for Europe. The sons of France marched off to war.
--------

"We now have ten divisions on the Italian border, firmly fortified in the Alps. Without German support, or a breakdown on our part, the Italians should not be able to breach our borders. The two colonial divisions have been ordered along Libya and northeastern Tunisia, against Italian incursions. Our remaining 25 divisions are en route to our northern borders; 13 are scheduled to be placed along Germany, the other 12, on the Belgian side." The Junior General Staffer finished his report and sat down.

"So," asked Joffre, "I take Plan XVII has been brushed aside? We are to sit and await the German arrival?"

"General," responded War Minister Berteaux. "We feel it is too risky. Our forces are almost certainly outnumbered on the German lines, perhaps two-to-one." Berteaux rubbed his forehead. The last weeks had been the most trying in his life. "It would not be wise to pursue the Plan at this moment..."

"Perhaps with more men." piped up a Lieutenant General from Provence. "Perhaps...conscription?"

Predictably, a range of 'Hmph!'s and other indignant responses met this suggestion.

"If we cannot trust reserves, how can we trust soldiers with no training?" asked a corpulent Major General.

"Who says we cannot reserves?" said Berteaux. "I mean, of course, I would never want to call up conscripts. But, the truth of the matter is, if we except to put up a defense against the Germans that won't fall apart, we do need more men."

"Up to the age of 45, France has two and-a-half million men available for conscription." said the Junior Staffer.

"I suggest we call to service every man up to age thirty-five, and if it should come to it, Good Lord above forbid, up to age forty-five." announced Berteaux. After considerable discussion, the General Staff agreed to the conscription.
--------

OOC: New Shiron, considering the earlier year, I've come up with some numbers for the French army. If you don't mind, I'm going to TG them to you to see if they add up.

42 hours after the invasion, Denmark formally surrendered to Germany. The takeover was so rapid that the Danish fleet did not have time to scuttle its ships and it was captured in its totality by the Germans and would be quickly replaced with German crews and used in the North Sea battle if possible. Control over Denmark gave Germany a source of food, as the Danes produced more than they needed as well as even more control over the entrances to the Baltic.

Only a minimal occupation force of one division would be needed to hold Denmark. The rest would be diverted back into the main Schlieffen thrust, ie, the other four divisions involved into the attack. It was expected they would find more resistance there. The Netherlands would be easy prey, but Belgium was more fortified and the French had a large army of their own.

Danish Fleet:
3 Armoured Cruisers
2 CP1
3 CP2
2 Torpron

the Danish ships won't be ready for action in time for the big naval battle.....

Battle of Jutland
September 13
(late start as it takes a few weeks to get all of the ships, crews and commanders ready to go, and to find the enemy, and to rush to completion some ships)

Basic German plan
Main fleet does battle with the British fleet so that a force of cruisers can break out into the Atlantic to attack Allied shipping (remember, Uboats can’t do that yet).

Basic British plan
Destroy the enemy like at Trafalgar

Phase 1
Germans sortie, commanded by Admiral Von Spee with 16 BB1, 3 BB2, 12 CA (armored cruisers), 8 CP1, 4 Torpron, 1 Desron plus 1 Russian Desron, 1 Russian Torpron as the main fleet. Behind that fleet is the Blucher (a kind of BC), 1 CL, 8 CP1 commanded by Admiral Hipper aboard the Blucher. (109 ships total). Supporting them is a squadron of submarines and mines have been laid near Scapa Flow.

The British are alerted of the German sortie by the patrolling protected cruisers of the blockade force, and sortie with 27 BB1 (including 1 from British Hannover), 12 CA, 12 CP1, and 12 Desrons, plus the Dreadnought (leading the armored cruisers because of speed)(111 ships). In command is Admiral Fisher himself, determined to see battle, and Admiral Jellicoe is on the Dreadnought (leading the cruisers).

Phase 2
The 2 battle fleets sight each other 125 miles north northwest of Jutland and immediately the battleships open fire. Nearly all of the German battleships and most of the British battleships suffer hits, and the German BB2 Weisssenburg and Worth sink, and the BB1 Brandenburg and BB2 Kurfust Friedrich Wilhem drop out of the battle, as does the British BB1s Swiftsure, Hibernia, Africa, New Zealand, King Edward VIII, and Russell are also forced out of the battle.

Fisher and Von Spee then order the cruisers, destroyers and torpedo boats to attack while the heavies continue to trade long range fire.

Phase 3
The Germans are stunned when they spot the Dreadnought in the mist, and she leads the British armored cruisers as they exchange blows with their German opposite numbers as both armored cruiser forces deal with each other to prevent the other side from supporting the lighter ships. Once again it is proven that armored cruisers are eggshells armed with hammers, and the Germans lose 2 CA sunk, 4 CA knocked out of action and 5 more damaged, while the British lose 1 CA sunk, 8 CA knocked out of action, and 3 more damaged.

As this is going on, the torpedo boats, destroyers and protected cruisers fight a vicious close range torpedo and gunfire duel. All 50 Russian and German torpedo boats are sunk, as are 5 brand new German heavier torpedo boats (pseudo destroyers), and along with them are 4 German protected cruisers sunk, 4 more protected cruisers damaged and all 5 Russian destroyers are damaged. The heavier British ships fare better, with 10 Destroyers sunk, 15 more damaged, along with 6 protected cruisers damaged.

In the meantime, the battleships continue to shoot, and it is the German ships that have a bigger advantage. The British BB1s Nelson, Agamemnon, Britania, Triumph, Albemarle, Duncan, and Prince of Wales either blow up or sink, while the Exmouth, Queen, and Venerable drop out of the battle (leaving the British with only 6 relatively undamaged BB1s, and 4 others somewhat damaged).

The Germans suffer heavily too, as the Hessen, Deutchland, Schlesin, and Schlieswig-Holstein go down or explode, and the Wettelsbach, Wettin, Meklenburg, Elsass, Preussen are forced to drop out of the fight, and every other battleship is left damaged as well.

But the British are out of position and Hipper’s cruisers manage to avoid the battle and break out into the Atlantic.

Phase 4
The heavily battered German fleet retreats toward their base as their commander, Admiral Von Spee has been killed when the Deutchland rolled over and sank. The British are in no shape to pursue though, as Admiral Fisher died along with the entire crew of the Lord Nelson when that battleship exploded. Both fleets retire back to base, and just outside of Scapa Flow, a German Uboat spots the British Hannover BB1 Quebec and fires a full spread of torpedoes into her. The Quebec rolls over and sinks a few miles short of the base.

The Germans also suffer losses on the way home. A British submarine spots the limping Brandenburg and torpedoes and sinks her, while a minefield laid by another pair of British subs sinks the only remaining undamaged German armored cruiser.

Situation post battle
The entire German fleet is out of action, with all ships damaged or heavily damaged, and have lost 8 battleships, 3 armored cruisers, 4 protected cruisers, 5 destroyers and 40 torpedo boats. (roughly 160,000 tons of shipping and nearly 10,000 casualties plus the gifted Admiral Von Spee) (but gain the Admiral Hipper leader as a replacement).

However, the Germans managed to get 1 battle cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 8 protected cruisers into the shipping lanes past the blockade.

The British have 5 battleships, 6 protected cruisers, and 35 destroyers ready for action immediately after the battle to maintain control of the North Sea. In addition, the Dreadnought has proven itself and it, along with a every cruiser (except the Home fleet cruisers) available is sent off in pursuit of the German cruisers that broke out. The British have lost 9 battleships, 1 armored cruiser, and 10 destroyers (120,000 tons of shipping and 9,000 dead plus Admiral Jackie Fisher, an admiral with almost mythic stature in the British navy). However Jellicoe is still alive and the British still have the edge at sea in the North Sea.

both sides of course claim victory (with some justification)

and torpedo boats are proven to be hopelessly inferior to destroyers

the German High Seas fleet won't be ready for action again until January.

open learning of the German breakout, the Americans send 4 light cruisers to sea to hunt the Germans, and immediately order all merchant shipping to assemble in ports in order to form convoys.

The American 4 CL are joined by the French with 10 CA and 2 CP1, British Hannover with 8 CA and 10 CP1 (remaining British Hannover and French ships are on convoy duty or coastal patrol) and the brand new British Battle Cruiser Invincible, the Dreadnought, 10 CA and 4 CP1.

Nevertheless, the Germans are going to catch a lot of merchant ships unescorted before they are run down as ships at sea hadn't been organized into convoys yet, and a lot of shipping is in the Atlantic at the moment, including troops convoys from the CSA, USA, and British Hannover (which are generally heavily escorted).

September 18
Colonel Tasker Bliss, US Army, watched as harried French staff officers hurried back and forth in headquarters at Chalons. Verdun had fallen yesterday, another serious defeat for the French who were being hard pressed from Nancy to the English Channel. Losses, from what he had learned from Joffres staff, were running nearly 300,000 men killed, wounded, missing or captured.

And that wasn't the worst news.

All of Belgium and the Netherslands had fallen during the last few weeks, as of course had Luxembourg. The British were only now slowly moving up, and the French were getting desperate for reserves.

The Germans were on the frontier or across from Nancy to just outside of Dunkirk now, and the battered remnants of the Belgian Army, a mere 50,000 survivors of a 120,000 man force were being withdrawn all the way to Paris to reconsistute, a measure of the Allied desperation.

The good news is that the British managed to hold onto control of the North Sea a few days ago, and except for a few commerce raiders, the Allies controlled the Atlantic.

Good news for the troop ships full of soldiers from British Hannover, the CSA and his own countryman that were reportedly moving to major ports all along the North American east coast and along the Gulf of Mexico. In another week or two the troops ships would start steaming for France.

Would they arrive in time?

ooc
In other words, the North Americans, between steaming times, loading and unloading, and shifting to the front, aren't go to reach the front until mid November.

The Germans and the Allies are also using up ammunition at a staggering rate, far higher than planned. Everybody will run out of artillery ammunition (at least sufficient stocks to attack) by the mid November as well, so the Germans have to win by then or they have to wait until next summer to produce enough to consider a major offensive. Allies are in the same boat.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Brigadier General Andre Suvarov, watched with interest at the German headquarters in Aachen.

The Germans had crushed the Dutch after 3 weeks of bitter fighting. The Dutch had fought a lot harder than expected, but the Germans had been prepared even when the Dutch opened up the dikes. Assault boats and barges (equipped with machine guns and light artillery) had crushed the enemy strong points one by one and opened the way.

Information from agents learned that the Dutch had managed to evacuate 40,000 troops, the Royal Family and most of their navy, but the Netherlands was now under firm German control.

Belgium had been a lot tougher than expected, and even now, a small corner at Yrpes was still under Allied control.

But all across the front from Nancy to Ostend the Germans were advancing. Verdun, Nancy, and Sedan had all fallen, the most important of the French border fortresses, and the Germans were moving steadily forward.

But even the vaunted Germans were finding surprises. Their casualties were nearly 400,000 so far (including the Netherlands), and the troops were getting tired. Ammunition stocks were being used at a staggering rate, which boded ill for the Germans loaning his country (which was seriously undersupplied) with artillery ammunition for Thrace.

And although the Germans were advancing steadily, the French and Belgiums were still fighting for every scrap of ground, and the first British patrols had been engaged near Lille.

But there was other good news. Although the German fleet had suffered very heavy losses (according to his sources), they had managed to open the way for cruisers to make it into the North Atlantic. With any luck, this would disrupt enemy troop convoys from North America long enough for victory to be secured.

In eastern North America, the nations of the Confederacy, the United States and British Hannover suddenly realized that the plans for moving vast numbers of troops to the ports and then loading them onto ships were also disrupting the economy. Coal trains were now sitting on sidings everywhere, and this was making it impossible to move the dozens of transport ships and freighters sitting in ports.

Eventually this is all cleared up after a couple of weeks, but it delays things considerably.

Meanwhile, at sea, the 10 German cruisers, operating in pairs or alone, sink 35 Allied merchant ships (120,000 tons of shipping) and only 1 of the German protected cruisers, the Berlin, is caught by the CSS Florida (a CP2) much to the Florida's regret as she is blasted apart by the bigger German ship. But she gets a few hits on the German ship before going down and sends a wireless message reporting her, and a week later the German ship is caught a couple of hundred miles east of Bermuda by a pair of British Hannover Armored cruisers and sunk (although 1 of the British Hannover cruisers is damaged in return).

This forces another delay on the arrival of North American reinforcements as convoys have to be organized not only for troop ships but also for merchant ships (which is why the North Americans won't reach France in time to make a difference in the climatic German offensive).

Field Headquarters, Aachen:

The marshals were getting into an ugly argument. Mackensen, the most thoughtful and least mindlessly bellligerent of the individuals in command was increasingly worried that the Germans would not achieve total victory by the end of the campaign season. Despite possessing a vast and well-prepared industrial infrastructure, the ammunition was beginning to run a bit low. In addition, manpower was becoming increasingly a problem.

Schlieffen had taken ill, although he did not stop his bitter arguments, especially with Mackensen. Hindenburg had considered the possibility that the original Schlieffen thrust would not succeed, but advocated, with his attack dog Ludendorff that the attacks go on relentlessly. Mackensen just hoped that victory would come soon, because he detested signing the letters for dead officers. Casualties had reached 400,000 in the offensive, draining the manpower of the thrust dangerously.

His main ally among the field generals was Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who was turning out to have a knack for military leadership. It was largely due to his ingenuity that the Dutch offensive went as well as it did, even when the damned Dutch released the dikes. However, other German officers had performed well.

Mackensen did not attribute any failure that would occur to the officers or to the men, or even the enemy for that matter. It was simply that the Schlieffen Plan was too ambitious to fully succeed. Victory was still possible, though. Hindenburg was screaming about having more cannons brought up. Mackensen allowed one of his staff officers to tell him that he could not spare any guns from his Army Group, he was too busy writing a letter to Manstein, asking for more men and ammunition.

If the Schlieffen Plan failed, the French, if they were not totally exhausted would counterattack. Mackensen wanted the establishment of defensive lines in the rear in case of that, somewhat back from the current front but still well within French soil.

on a small field not far from Dunkirk, a new era in warfare dawned as Wilbur Wright took off in his small aircraft to look over German positions. The flight only lasted an hour, but the young American officer, 2nd Lieutenant Hap Arnold, was able to take a number of photographs of the advancing Germans.

OOC> Do you think I'll be able to bring out the Zeppelins as the Germans?

The British arrived in the middle of a chaotic situation. Five divisions had arrived in the midst of the thick of the situation, charged with the holding of Lille. The main commander, Sir Douglas Haig was not currently there, and General Harold Connors was currently in command of the British Expeditionary Force. An old-school general of the attack school, he was convinced that a demonstration of British resistance would quickly convince the Germans to stop advancing or even turn tail.

As soon as his force was prepared, he told the French commander that he intended to launch a small counterattack in order to blunt the German advance. Connors thought that the best way to blunt the Germans was by good solid British pluck. Not waiting for the French view of the issue, he decided to launch the attack, which actually involved nearly all of his troops against the Germans. He wanted a taste of glory before Haig and more BEF troops arrived and it was gone.

Five British divisions were to make the counterattack on four slightly battleworn German divisions, commanded by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm III. However, these divisions were battle-hardened veterans who had successfully thwarted the Dutch and had engaged in several front-line battles. Previously, three of the four divisions were in the standing military and had experience in the invasion and dissolution of Tellacar.

However, the British divisions were fresh and outnumbered the Germans. Friedrich decided to make a limited retreat, however, if he timed it right, he would be able to outpace the British and fall back on an upcoming division of fresh troops just as they became tired from pursuit. He would fall into the rest of the line and would get artillery support from other units as well.

His plan was to make a fighting retreat, fall back on fresh troops and counterattack. The greater experience of his troops, as well as his own capable leadership would make up for the relative British advantage in numbers on his segment of the front. Hopefully the British commander would continue to move forward.

Brigadier Suvarov watched on a muddy field a few miles from Reims as German infantry moved up to the attack. Heavy German guns thundered in the distance and he watched through his field glasses as shells began impacting on a village in front of the German advance.

The chatter of machine guns could be heard in the background and he watched as field gray clad figures began to fall.

The French were fighting hard, and he could see that the Germans weren't going to win easily this day.

OOC> I figure the zeppelins would start carrying bombs if the Germans get any evidence that armed airships have tactical/terror value. Or alternatively, as soon as some appropriate ones are made.

The British troops had acted exactly as the Prince had hoped and he had been even more fortunate in his reinforcement than he could have hoped, recieving three fresh divisions for his sole command, allowing him to deliver a thoroughly effective counterattack against the increasingly tired and woefully inexperienced British divisions. Casualties were heavy on both sides, but the British recieved far worse and were forced to pull back.

By the time that the German troops had stopped advancing, they were already in possession of Lille, one of the most important French industrial cities. However, the rest of the German lines were suffering considerably, although they were advancing. Casualties were up to around half a million and it was not known how much longer they could be sustained at such a rate.

Meanwhile:

The Americans would soon find out that they were not alone in the air, as three German zeppelins began taking reconaissance photographs high in the air at various critical points in the front. In addition to taking these photographs, they were armed with heavy machine guns and strafed Allied positions. Casualties would not be heavy, but there would be a certain shock value to being attacked from the air, a completely new phenomenon.

In the city of Reims, shells were beginning to reach the edge of the city for the first time and the sound of battle was clearly audible just to the north.

Colonel Bliss looked through field glasses as he stood in belfry of the biggest steeple in town and looked to the north.

The Germans were breaking through again, and this city was doomed.

With him was Colonel James Longstreet II, CSA, a fellow attache and new friend.

"Looks like the Boche are winning again Tasker." Longstreet drawled. "Could be the Frenchies are going to need a lot more help than they are letting on."

"Yes James, looks like our boys had better hurry." Bliss replied.

far to the north, in the sector around Dunkird, Lieutenant Hap Arnold was making his first flight in a combat zone. The Wright brothers had let him take up one of the Flyers to get a look at one of the Boche Zeppelins.

He wondered how he could shoot it down.

Maybe with better engines, and a machine gun ... with explosive bullets maybe? Too bad the Flyer wasn't strong enough to carry such yet, or for that matter, able to fly high enough to reach a Zeppelin yet in anycase.

Probably a good thing the Flyer was faster though, just in case they thought the same thing about him.

The miserable failure of the first British engagement of the war had put a severe pall on the British Expeditionary Force. However, Haig was no less convinced that offensive action was required. The problem was that the momentum was clearly with the Hun and that it would be best to wait until the barbarian hordes were exhausted. The problem was that his own troops would be just as exhausted as the Germans.

His second-in-command, Napier, was convinced that the best thing to do was to simply wage a fighting retreat until the Huns exhausted themselves than to hunker down and wait until fresh troops came crom across the Channel and the Ocean. The Hannoverans apparently had a rather large force in the making, and the Americans would doubtlessly have one ready to go as well.

There would be six Hannoveran divisions arriving between mid-October and early December. Apparently there was some trouble arranging the transportation. And he knew that a large American army would not be ready for some time. So it was a few British divisions and the French to hold back the Hun.

The German advance had been doing well enough, despite mounting casualties and intense pressure, but there was not a lot of time left in order to successfully accomplish their goals. Everyone from the marshals like Mackensen and Hindenburg (as Schlieffen was seriously, perhaps fatally ill) down to the unit sargeants and privates knew that the next month was absolutely critical. They had to keep the pressure up unrelentingly.

Perhaps the seemingly superhuman efforts of this day would secure victory, which would allow Germany to enjoy the spoils in peace. These spoils might include the rest of Lorraine, Luxembourg, perhaps an annexation of Denmark or Belgium. Who knew?

Behind the fronts, in the occupied Low Countries, the occupation was proceeding. The economies of the nations were totally reoriented towards serving the German war machine. This involved systematically dismantling many Dutch, Danish or Belgian factories and moving them into Germany. Other than the basic needs of life, all of the country's agricultural and industrial output would be used to feed the German war machine.

Attempts to form collaborationist military units had been largely unsuccessful, however, the Germans did manage to scrape up a small unit of mostly-German Belgians for propaganda purposes. It was hoped that they could perhaps form one division for each major occupied nation.

October 19
Colonels Bliss and Longstreet looked on as the French and British commanders gave orders for a desperate counteroffensive near Reims. The city was a critical communications center (not to mention culturally significant) and just north was the French 3rd Army which was facing serious threats on both flanks.

Oct 21
Bliss and Longstreet watched through field glasses atop their perch in the steeple as every gun along the front opened fire on the Germans. The shelling went on for over an hour, and an immense cloud of dust could be seen on the German side.

Soon after, they watched as French poilus, in horizon blue, charged forward.

It was a desperate affair.

OOC> As I recall, the German trenches were somewhat better built than the Allied ones as a rule. Is this true?

The dust had settled on the greatest series of battles in human history. And the Germans had failed to win. Exhausted and wounded men began to hunker down in makeshift trenches. A few miles to the rear, far, far more extensive trench systems were being constructed. Mackensen had managed to convince Hindenburg and their master, Manstein that even an offensive policy was best conducted from a position of defensive strength.

Field Marshal Schlieffen had died when he had heard the news of his plan's failure, a broken man. Both Mackensen and Hindenburg realized that another marshal would be needed. Mackensen backed the Crown Prince, who had performed exceedingly well at Lille and Hindenburg preferred Ludendorff, his ultra-aggressive protogee. Their tactical and strategic abilities being broadly equal, Mackensen believed the Prince would be better as he was easier to work with and enormously popular amongst the troops.

As glad as he was to have such a gifted subordinate, he knew that if Friedrich was the Kaiser, they would not be in this war in the first place. Although his father, Friedrich II often gave the impression of being belligerant, he was perfectly content with his position on the continent and was more interested in overseas expansion. Without a single war with a European power, he had acquired a huge colonial empire. Almost bloodlessly, he absorbed the fifteen millions of Osterlich into the Reich.

Winter was about to settle on front, but the German army had no time at all to rest. The 120 divisions on the frontline were to be brought up to full strength and the strength of the German army on the frontlines was to ideally be brought up to perhaps 150 divisions. As many guns as could possibly be found were to be brought up.

Kiel:

The German fleet was undergoing extensive repairs and simultaneously, two new shipyards were being built, one at Kiel and one at Hamburg. Meanwhile, Tirpitz had expressed his plan to build a naval fleet on land, which was a fancy way of saying that the production of a destroyer squadron and two light cruisers per year was to be moved away from the shipyards, where they would take up space and into inland factories.

The fleet was badly depleted but had not been defeated and it was hoped that perhaps it could do just as well if not better in another fight with the British. Only time would tell if such a battle would ever occur again.

Leipzig:

Plans were being laid out for at least a dozen more Zeppelins to be produced each year that the war went on. These zeppelins would be somewhat superior to current ones and would carry heavy machine guns and bombloads to engage in terror attacks on enemy lines. However, more ambitious voices were being heard. Perhaps a zeppelin fleet could, in a year or two, if the war went on for that long, launch attacks on Britain itself?

The Germans had also noticed the American flyers. A single prototype German flyer was undergoing development and the project was accelerated somewhat. It was especially hoped that they could create an airplane which mounted machine guns, but it was unknown if there would be time before the war was over.

Overall:

It had been a major disappointment, but the fact was that the Germans had advanced far into enemy territory and taken large and important areas of land. Perhaps with luck, they could land a knockout blow next year.

November 30
Brigadier Suvarov sat in his motor car as it made its way back from the frontline near the Somme River.

The Germans had come so very close, but in the end, not close enough. The French had managed to save Paris, and Reims, and the heart of France. The BEF had survived, and even the Belgians had survived.

"So much for Geman superiority" he mumbled in Russian with a wry grin, "guess they aren't going to be so smugly superior now that they have tasted defeat too."

He wondered how many heads would roll in the German General Staff. Over 750,000 German casualties, and although the Germans had conquered Belgium, Luxemborg, Denmark and the Netherlands, they had failed to conquer France.

It was promising to be a long war, as already the Germans and Allies were digging in all across the vast front from the English Channel to the border of Switzerland. He knew similiar entrenchments were being constructed along the Franco-Italian border.

A long war indeed.

November 30
General JJ Pershing, commander of the US V Corps, strode purposefully down the gangway of the transport Great Northern now docked at the port of Lorient. Aboard were 12,000 other American soldiers, the service and support troops for the corps. Other transports were unloading the 1st and 26th Infantry Divisions, and the transports carrying the 17th Cavalry Regiment and 42nd Infantry Division would be arriving within the week.

The Yanks were coming.

OOC> As I recall, the German trenches were somewhat better built than the Allied ones as a rule. Is this true? .

ooc yes, but not during the initial invasion... only when they went over on the defensive.

I figure the Germans can get a fleet of Zeppelins up pretty soon (about 1 a month I would think at first, then up to 4 a month).

The French and British can build rigid airships, but badly. The US will go with Blimps (safer). The Western Allies will probably keep pushing aircaft, but they are even more in the infant stage than Zeppelins, so no great air battles for at least a couple of years I would think. Aircraft are still relegated to the novelty stage for now (need better engines for one thing).

No Fokkers for Germany though, Mr. Fokker was a Dutchman and certainly would have fled to England like he did in real life after the Armistice.

at Scapa Flow and Kiel, the British and Germans prepared for a next round.

Warships from British Hannover arrived to reinforce the Home Fleet, and as ships were repaired after Jutland they returned to the fleet as well. New ships were hurried through their trials and joined the fleet as fast as possible as well.

Across the water, the Germans also hurriedly repaired their fleet.

by January the Germans would have 9 BB1, 2 CL, 4 CP1, 2 Desron, 1 Torpron and 3 Subrons..

however the British and British Hannover and Americans would have 8 Dreadnoughts (Dreadnought, Superb, Bellerophen, Temeraire, Queen Victoria, plus RBHN Wilfred Laurier, and US Michigan and Minnesota) plus 17 BB1, 12 CP1, 10 Desron, from the RN, plus 2 BB1, 2 Desron from the RBHN and 1 US Desron and 1 RN Subron... a force to large to even consider engaging.

But merely by existing the Germans are fixing the British Navy in place and all the while the Germans are building, as are the Americans, British and British Hannover.

Another powerful fleet was guarding the Channel, with the Dutch Navy with 4 BB2, 2 CP1, 1 Desron, and 1 Torpron, plus 2 RBHN Desron and 6 RN Desron and powerful minefields.

The Germans were thoroughly locked in for now.

OOC> Could zeppelins be armed with torpedoes? If so, would they have any potential utility in a supporting role in a sea battle? And how much in the way of bombs can these things carry?

IC:
With Schlieffen dead, effective command at the front was shared, or more appropriately, jostled over by Mackensen and Hindenburg. However, they both knew that there would be no offensives until the spring. In the meantime, the Germans were digging in, quite extensively, refilling their weakened divisions with fresh troops, bringing up guns and ammunition, as many as German factories could produce.

In addition, the total strength on the Western Front was to be brought up to nearly 180 divisions. A much smaller army would be earmarked for operations in the East, against Turkey and possibly in an invasion of Romania in order to give the Russians access through their territory.

Mackensen was in as good a mood as could be expected. The Crown Prince had been promoted and would recieve his field marshal's baton by January over Hindenburg's attack dog. The Crown Prince was a national hero and not without reason, he had fought brilliantly in the Netherlands and at Lille. Ludendorff also had considerably tactical and strategic value but Mackensen could not stand him. He was too aggressive for his tastes and a man who seemed to enjoy war.

War was not to be enjoyed, especially when victory had not been quickly forthcoming.

ooc
my guess would be off hand that no, zeppelins can't safely launch torpedoes close enough to be effective (too vulnerable to quick firing guns, and torpedoes can't be dropped much higher than a couple hundred feet at most back then)

bomb loads vary, up to about 2 tons by 1916 though... accuracy against a moving target (like a ship underway) would be nil... but against ships anchored they might get a few hits.

Zeppelins do give the Germans an important advantage in scouting in clear weather, and clear weather is common in the Med, not so in the North Sea.

IC
The US runs into some gearing up problems, and this delays army expansion for a while.... for now the Army will have to stick to number of divisions it has at the start. Another issue is building up the service and supply forces in France, so the initial 12 division AEF, plus the fact the US will have to probably support the CSA has well, will prevent a massive buildup.

The US is raising divisions in Central America though, and the first couple are ready for service and on their way to Hawaii.

The six-division Royal Hannoveran Expeditionary Force had arrived mostly just after the main fighting was finished. They quickly realized that the war was not going to be a glorious adventure but a long, hard and brutal conflict. They knew, however, that eventually, at least thirty more divisions of British Hannover troops would be coming in to aid the war effort.

Their commander, General Arthur Currie would not be arriving until mid-spring, due to the necessity of him to remain home to finish the organizational plans for the new army. Among the other tasks needed was a review of the military, weeding out those officers who were inefficient and replacing them with better men, sometimes from the NCO pool, others shuffled from less important positions.

It was going to take awhile, but British Hannover would arrive en force in France.

In western France, US Army engineers, railroad troops and quartermaster troops were busy. Holding camps were being constructed, railroad sidings built, and vast warehouses either contracted or put up with lumber from America all through Brittany and futher south. The French ports of Lorient, Brest and Bordeaux were to be the main ports of entry for what would become a vast army of troops from both the US and CSA, with additional room being made for British Hannover as well.

Only then would the support structure be in place for the divisions due to arrive in the spring. For now the initial 6 divisions of the I and III Corps of the US 1st Army were moving to the front (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th Infantry divisions). More divisions were on the way, 6 National Guard divisions (26th Yankee Division, 28th Pennsyvlania Division, 29th Maryland Division, 33rd Illinios Division, 34th Minnesota and 42nd New York Divisions)

More divisions were being raised from the excess troops from these 12 divisions, plus others at home, from draftees and volunteers. But they were deficient in artillery and all of the other tools of war and would not be ready until war production caught up with demand...which would be months from.

Lieutenant General Leonard Wood, newly appointed commander of the American Expeditionary Force, met with his subordinate commanders at Lorient.

"Dunston, Pershing, Goettges, its good to see you all. I have a message from the President for all of us. But before we get to that, let me make sure we all understand our mission. We are to maintain an independent American Army that is working in coordination with the other allies, and under no circumstances are we to allow our men to serve under the direct command of the other Allies. The Johny Rebs haven't fought a war since 1865, the French lost the last one they fought with Germany, and the President has misgivings about the overall leadership of the British Empire.

Dunston, Pershing, you two gentlemen will command the sharp end for now, and I plan to upgrade both of your commands to army size when we get the troops. Goettges, you did a hell of a job in Panama building that canal, and the President has absolute faith that you are the man to ensure our logistics remain sound here in France.

General Bliss (who was now wearing a star to replace his colonels eagle), you are appointed my representative on the War Council, once we get one started, and make damn sure you convince the Frenchies, and the Rebs and the Brits to get one formed. I think General Currie will be all for it though, so that is an ally for that."

The BEF was being reinforced quite extensively, so that it could serve a major role in the fighting to come. General Haig was busy preparing his troops for the major offensives that he envisioned. He figured that the initial German attack represented the limits of the German war machine's capacity. Haig honestly thought that its spine had nearly been broken when the offensive petered out.

'General French ... I don't care. The men will be ready for spring offensives. The Huns can't be allowed a moment's rest. It's bad enough that we let winter stop us.'

General French, anaggressive general with little conception of the modern sense of war, agreed heartily. British leadership indeed left something to be desired on the Western Front. Of course, the magnitude of it would not be made clear until next year.

the Western Front had become one long seige line. From the mouth of the Somme River all the way to Amiens, the British and British Hannoverians were dug in along the south bank of the Somme River. On the other side were the Germans. The soft chalky soil made for ideal conditions to dig in, and in spite of the desires of the Generals, both sides dug in deep. The wide river made for an ideal no mans land as well, but crossing it was going to be difficult.

Just after the Somme turned north, the British Hannover front met the American front. Here the land was just as chalky, and the American generals, remembering their studies at West Point about the fruitless losses of the Civil War, dug in just as deep as the Germans. Their line then became the Johnny Reb line, but the Rebs declined to dig in as deep, convinced that it would hurt the morale of their aggressive fighters. Attrition over the winter soon cured them of that attitude though.

Beyond that was the French front, which stretched all the way to the Swiss border. The French front had most of the more rugged terrain and was more heavily forested. At least at first, until shelling stripped the immediate area of the battle zone of trees.

Behind the front, the Generals and support troops found more comfortable lodging (instead of a muddy trench in the winter rains and cold), and it was here that troops were rotated out of the line on a monthly basis.

Far to the south, in the Italian and French border, the mountains and hills saw both sides firmly dug in rocky and rugged terrain. Neither side was going anywhere and the Italians now had some extra troops to use somewhere else when it became clear that short of 10 to 1 superiority (100 divisions to 10) there was no way they would ever break through the mountains into the French Riveria, no matter how much blood they spilled.

In spite of the inactive nature of the front in both places, attrition continued. Patrols were mounted, and shelling continued sporadically, and men grew sick. Every nation suffered the loss of 2% of their combat forces each day (ooc historical rate used here), and in spite of men returning from the hospitals, a steady need remained for replacements.

OOC> Sometime soon, another Messenger talk would be a good idea. Half an hour there does as much good as a page on this in terms of hammering stuff out ... especially since the RP is increasingly the two of us, lol. A couple of technical details. Firstly, how far are the Germans from Paris? And furthermore, who's right, the Mackensen/Crown Prince duo or Hindenburg?

IC:

The German marshals, Crown Prince Friedrich, Mackensen and Hindenburg were divided again as to what strategy they were going to follow in the second year of the conflict. All of them agreed that an offensive was going to be necessary in order to gain any real hope of victory, because they all knew the long term odds were against them. In the short term, they would likely be able to maintain a moderate edge in numbers thanks to possessing a more militarized society and the slowness of mobilization in Britain, the US and British Hannover.

Hindenburg was calling for a more aggressive approach to the war. Mackensen and the Crown Prince, however, wanted to wait until the Allies had made a spring offensive. The Crown Prince in particular, felt that it was essential that the Allies recieve a stiff repulse before a counterattack. Weathering an Allied offensive largely intact would raise morale and he felt that his army would have a major edge in negotiating the Somme as many troops had experience with flooded conditions in the Netherlands.

The Crown Prince had entertained some ideas which he needed to hash out, that he wished to test in a battlefield condition. He wondered if it would be at all viable to use artillery and infantry charges in conjunction .... to use artillery as a cover for advancing troops. If it worked, the shellfire would creep along the ground. Unlike Mackensen, who was a purist in terms of maintining cliques, he had decided to keep up an open dialogue with Ludendorff.

His opinion of Erich as an individual human being and as a tactician were totally different. He thought Ludendorff was a despicable little militarist with bizarre theories about society and Germans. As a tactician, however, he had major talent. And his incipient theories regarding infantry tactics were of considerable interest to the Prince.

ooc
yep, although I have to download MSN messenger again

*bump*