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Trin, you've stated the current losses on each side but how close are they to actually crossing 50%?Grey Hunter posted:So, it looks like the French might be forgetting that units inside towns count as hard cover and can't be spotted from a long distance. they seem to thin they can waltz through the German center, when in fact, its still pretty well defended..... Can't wait for them to limber up their artillery and march past Baguette, only for a bunch of Boche to jump out and yell *boo* 
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Feb 24, 2017 13:40
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| # ? May 3, 2024 13:37 |
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Precise figures: the French started with 210 companies and have added 13 for 223 total. The Germans started with 195 and have added 34 for 229 total. The French have lost 117 and have 106 remaining. The Germans have lost 128 and have 101 remaining. General Lyautey will call the battle if the French get down to 55 companies remaining (that figure will increase when the BEF arrives in two turns and increases the French total). General Kuno will call the battle if the Germans get down to 57 companies remaining; again, that number increases if they take more reinforcements.
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Feb 24, 2017 14:11
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How many reinforcements have each of the sides even left? What limit is there?
Nuramor fucked around with this message at 17:23 on Feb 24, 2017 |
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Feb 24, 2017 17:20
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Will taking reinforcements now have a downside later?
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Feb 24, 2017 17:32
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Looks like the French are in good spirits. They are cautiously optimistic about the situation (perhaps not cautious enough), but seem to be counting on the B.E.F. to be the last nail in the coffin. Trin, they're gonna be so mad... (also you should ABSOLUTELY send my dad's special message to the Germans) Meanwhile the Germans are freaking the gently caress out. 
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Feb 24, 2017 22:06
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twig1919 posted:Will taking reinforcements now have a downside later?
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Feb 24, 2017 22:19
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ViggyNash posted:Looks like the French are in good spirits. They are cautiously optimistic about the situation (perhaps not cautious enough), but seem to be counting on the B.E.F. to be the last nail in the coffin. Trin, they're gonna be so mad... (also you should ABSOLUTELY send my dad's special message to the Germans) I am fully expecting some primo pointy-hatted salt when the BEF appears out of that wood and the Germans start trying to convince themselves that they're hopelessly doomed all over again. I also find it deeply interesting how Tevery was talking so boldly about a wholescale redeployment into the west a few days ago, and yet they've still got a division's worth of men east of St Croissant that doesn't look likely to move any time soon. Mon Pere seems now to be pushing for something similar, but the men he wants to move are both weakened and literally on the wrong side of the map, if they do move at all, which judging by the German experience, they very well might not as pessimism leaks down through the ranks. If the French 97th takes one more casualty on Dejeuner Ridge, it checks; if the German 78th takes four more (and they've got four suppressed companies going into this turn) it checks - and they're the ones with the heavy artillery. What happens if both of them evaporate? Do both sides go "woah gently caress okay we gotta back up here" and grind to an undignified halt, fearing phantom enemies that might be out there somewhere? Nuramor posted:How many reinforcements have each of the sides even left? What limit is there? A cromulent question. Each side has one brigade left to call on, but neither, if called for, will arrive until just before nightfall. If it looks like one side's on the verge of winning I might grant them one more on top of that to encourage them to push for it, but they're definitely not getting more (since they'd have had a full division's worth of reinforcements at that point). And no, there's no carry-over "well, you used 4 brigades in this battle, so now you only get 2" between battles; that's just not how things worked and interferes with my ability to design entertaining situations. Speaking of which! I just got done with the map for 1914 Part 2: for anyone in here now who's interested in playing on that map, I'm planning on a 10-to-14-day gap between the end of this battle and the start of the next one, and all I'm going to say is "the concept will be very different". If we continue at current speed we should be done with it next week or possibly the week after, so be ready for signups to open again after a couple of days for both sides to come back in here and chew the fat and learn lessons.
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Feb 25, 2017 01:53
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Amazing times ahead 
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Feb 25, 2017 01:58
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For the next rounds of combat (1914,1915, et al) are you planning on using the same map? Or will each new round be in a new location? Either way, this LP has been a great read as an outsider, I'm looking forward to seeing how it keeps playing out.
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Feb 25, 2017 07:10
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Four critically important turns are now in the books. It's 5pm; there are six turns of daylight remaining. French/British Germans Read them in that order, and then come back here and note the spoilered observation that the Germans have achieved their corner objective, and critically, the French have not spotted any companies going into Quatreprouts. A German win of some sort is now all but guaranteed, unless something very odd happens during the night. Greatbacon posted:For the next rounds of combat (1914,1915, et al) are you planning on using the same map? Or will each new round be in a new location? We will be returning to previously-used maps at some point; there will be some carry-over between years depending on what happens.
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Feb 26, 2017 00:55
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Those were some nail-biting rolls for both sides. The smartest thing for the Allies would be to wait until nightfall to attack La Oeuf and Q under cover of darkness...otherwise that artillery is going to take a heavy toll before they can get with range to engage.
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Feb 26, 2017 01:11
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Terrifying Effigies posted:Those were some nail-biting rolls for both sides. But they don't realize that the Germans are in Q, and actually Crazycryodude has figured out that they don't know.
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Feb 26, 2017 01:52
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Well, regardless of what they know and don't know, General Mon Pere has just made a...courageous decision. Through information passed to me privately, I happen to know that he is intending to lead this cavalry brigade personally. Saddle up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzRmp-O496Y 
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Feb 26, 2017 02:25
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This is fantastic. Crazycryodude is either a genius or the most blatant cheat in the world.
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Feb 26, 2017 02:50
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I've done enough with Cryo to lean heavily on the side of the former - at the very least he'd be a much less blatant cheat. These next few hours are going to be quite interesting indeed.
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Feb 26, 2017 04:51
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Been a fun 1914 so far! Interesting to see just what happens in the next few turns!
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Feb 26, 2017 07:01
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seems like the BEF will stumble upon those germans in Q and get rid of them given current orders, but maybe i'm wrong. i wonder if the french will ever try to have those reinforcements digging in in the NW sprint into F, and if it'll actually happen? i love how this game apparently changes rules as the war develops and i can't wait to see how the essential 'you can't change your orders without awesome lines of communication' set of rules really starts to bite as we get into the western front proper and people start seeing their heroic efforts clearing no man's land wasted because nobody else can offer support. or that would seem to me like the intended effect, anyway also is there any way this game/lp methodology could simulate the horrors of the italian front? it's probably the field of action most like the western front (aside from gallipoli maybesorta) but like 5000 feet up in the mountains and with even worse generals, is the vague impression i've gotten
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Feb 26, 2017 08:46
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oystertoadfish posted:seems like the BEF will stumble upon those germans in Q and get rid of them given current orders, but maybe i'm wrong. i wonder if the french will ever try to have those reinforcements digging in in the NW sprint into F, and if it'll actually happen? If there's one thing I've learnt from the Battlefield 1 LP, it's that everyone has worse generals.
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Feb 26, 2017 09:32
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oystertoadfish posted:seems like the BEF will stumble upon those germans in Q and get rid of them given current orders, but maybe i'm wrong. That's my thinking too. They've got troops moving to try to take Q, and they have units making a beeline for their own objective, so I don't think it'll be as simple a German win as Trin says.
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Feb 26, 2017 09:35
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Cryo is extremely on point, absolutely the MVP of this game whether the Germans win or lose. The actual German offensive in the west is rather small and partially suppressed. But if the rest of the guys on Dejeuner pull back and follow Cryo's men to Q and they start trying to get their north-eastern brigades on the move west to distract the entrenched French in the center of the map, they have a drat good chance at winning this. oystertoadfish posted:seems like the BEF will stumble upon those germans in Q and get rid of them given current orders, but maybe i'm wrong. i wonder if the french will ever try to have those reinforcements digging in in the NW sprint into F, and if it'll actually happen? I have no idea why they haven't done so, but they already entrenched. Either way, if the Germans capitalize on this, I think they have the advantage given that their clock will start earlier.
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Feb 26, 2017 09:36
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The Germans are going to be rushing as many men as they can over into the town even as it's under attack. Between that and the ambush by the time the Entente units get there and the fact the Germans will likely throw all their arty on them, it turns into a meatgrinder given that the Germans will be able to put reinforcemetns into it even as it's under attack plus having thier other units in the region supporting it. And given the fact there's only limited amounts of daylight left, there's a very small zone where the Entente can realize the town is occupied, get a more organized attack together, etc. While ti's certainly possible (or they could get some very nice dice rolls) they reall have no time to come up wtih an actual plan of attack, shift assets, or possibly give any orders to the region before nightfall. THey'll be going in to an ambush without significant support while at the very least the Germans have some time to throw more things into the area to hold it or slow down the Entente, which makes the cutoff a lot faster. While it's decidedly possible they can retake it, all they have is the assets they have on hand going in that don't know the town is held, no real opportunity to alter orders before nightfall. And at nightfall the Germans can move in more troops to there and a night attack is going to be super messy and heavily favoring the defender, plus them able to get more reinforcements in. So while t's entirely possible the Entente can retake the town, their victory is going to be based off luck rather than any sort of ability to react to things, which doesn't sound favorable (possible yes, favorable no).
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Feb 26, 2017 10:19
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The thing to do for the French is absolutely to wait until nightfall, get everyone together, and then the BEF and two or three other French brigades launch a combined, pre-planned, simultaneous offensive against wherever. The best I see them doing, though, is retaking a lot of territory and killing a lot of enemies, and so cancelling out the Germans' having taken their objectives and the French having failed to take theirs, for a stalemate. I could be wrong, night operations (for which I just posted the rules) are going to be very, very interesting indeed. On the subject of Cryo, I did briefly get worried after he went on a run in Roll20 where he basically predicted everything, and then I just waited ten minutes and all his team-mates thoroughly pooh-poohed him, so it didn't end up mattering. Dude either needs to take a corps command or namechange next time he plays. oystertoadfish posted:also is there any way this game/lp methodology could simulate the horrors of the italian front? it's probably the field of action most like the western front (aside from gallipoli maybesorta) but like 5000 feet up in the mountains and with even worse generals, is the vague impression i've gotten There are rules for Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces, but I'm currently not planning anything on the Italian Front because the defining feature of an Italian Front battle is that you attack uphill at a 45-degree angle and lose and don't advance anywhere. Much like Gallipoli (and I may yet do something based off the Suvla Bay landings), it's all but impossible to accurately simulate how difficult it was to do anything at all without making the game not fun. (You attempt to advance. Your men fall into six separate deres that their maps did not tell them were there. You advance at 1" per turn. You die. The survivors now all have dysentery.) Eastern Front, Salonika, Mesopotamia; maybe, if we all get bored with the trenches and need a bit of open warfare again to keep things fresh, but the trouble with Gallipoli and the Italian Front is that they were too static and sclerotic and favourable to the defender, while the Western Front was capable of moving a mile or few at a time with the application of sufficient force and hard-headedness.
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Feb 26, 2017 11:07
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If you want, could try eastern front for a turnaround - Russians vs Austria-Hungarians with a few German units thrown in as the elites and only real troops of any decent quality. Also on the subject of the Alps, you forgot to mention the risk of wolves. Which were a thing. (On the Eastern front apparently over the winter in 1916 in some sectors the Germans and Russiasn would have truces so they could go after them) https://owlcation.com/humanities/WW1-Russian-Wolves-Business-As-Usual-and-War-Horses wedgekree fucked around with this message at 11:29 on Feb 26, 2017 |
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Feb 26, 2017 11:26
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Veloxyll posted:If there's one thing I've learnt from the Battlefield 1 LP, it's that everyone has worse generals. No one was worse than Cadorna. No one.
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Feb 26, 2017 14:10
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Trin Tragula posted:There are rules for Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces, but I'm currently not planning anything on the Italian Front because the defining feature of an Italian Front battle is that you attack uphill at a 45-degree angle and lose and don't advance anywhere. Much like Gallipoli (and I may yet do something based off the Suvla Bay landings), it's all but impossible to accurately simulate how difficult it was to do anything at all without making the game not fun. (You attempt to advance. Your men fall into six separate deres that their maps did not tell them were there. You advance at 1" per turn. You die. The survivors now all have dysentery.) that's cool that the game has other fronts built into it but i do think you're right to keep a focus on the western front, for continuity, good for the lp to have us play in a familiar and evocative sandbox. for example, we can see the french roleplaying transition from elan to cafard although for maximum problematicity would be a scenario where we're von lettow-vorbeck leading a right wing paramilitary group in street fights in weimar germany i guess?? noooo, maximum problematicity would be a flashback to good ol v l-v helping enact one of the most complete and brutal genocides in history about a decade prior in namibia. no need for that edit: yeah it's really best to stay on the western front and just focus on the comforting horrors of industrial war oystertoadfish fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Feb 26, 2017 |
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Feb 26, 2017 18:20
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Trin Tragula posted:(You attempt to advance. Your men fall into six separate deres that their maps did not tell them were there. You advance at 1" per turn. You die. The survivors now all have dysentery.) First Isonzo game: rapid Italian advance stops in its tracks upon encountering Austrian barbed wire because Italian troops are not outfitted with wire cutters (this actually happened)
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Feb 26, 2017 18:30
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Loel (lucky 99th) (GM): my main thing is I hope we're entertaining the observer thread cuz man no one is posting there my dad (Corps Commander) (GM): Same Also the French want you to know you're "in for a treat relatively soon".
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Feb 26, 2017 23:33
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The thing with people who choose to observe is that they're likely to be the same people who choose to not post. I'm loving this, every batch of turns changes the situation. It's now very much Germany's battle to lose, but they could still lose it.
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Feb 27, 2017 01:25
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I'm one of those people who don't post much but is following both sides quite closely. And yes, I am extremely entertained.
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Feb 27, 2017 01:52
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genola posted:I'm one of those people who don't post much but is following both sides quite closely. same, i like this LP a lot but don't have anything to really add of my own
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Feb 27, 2017 02:06
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i honestly feel like the french were a little harshly punished for that heavy artillery cock-up it doesn't seem as though they're actually going to get much use out of those guns at all at this point
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Feb 27, 2017 04:37
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V. Illych L. posted:i honestly feel like the french were a little harshly punished for that heavy artillery cock-up It increase the number of casualties they can take before making moral checks. But otherwise I agree. Those 75s and 155s are basically a +1 morale at this point.
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Feb 27, 2017 04:42
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Splode posted:The thing with people who choose to observe is that they're likely to be the same people who choose to not post. Not posting in the faction threads is a good idea - when I started doing these things, people were always doing it and giving away key info.
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Feb 27, 2017 08:49
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Flesnolk posted:Loel (lucky 99th) (GM): my main thing is I hope we're entertaining the observer thread I was tempted to post in response to this post in the faction thread I started with "Oh yes, we are entertained "And was almost tempted to follow up with, "Just wait till you see what Trin has in store for you now." Which would be spoilery. It's super easy to do!
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Feb 27, 2017 09:28
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V. Illych L. posted:i honestly feel like the french were a little harshly punished for that heavy artillery cock-up They're now a lot closer to Quatreprouts, where they might actually be useful (as the only Entente guns on the map which can fire into a town), than they would be otherwise; they're also now part of a veteran brigade instead of a regular one and are less likely to rout.
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Feb 27, 2017 11:57
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We're certainly transitioning to a different from of battle - both sides are looking for small tactical victories over grand sweeping plans. Of course, the Germans have their objective and just need to hold it now, while the French need to retake the hill. The Germans certainly did better than expected, but now there is a veteran British brigade bearing down on their postion. Nighttime will be important, both sides may hold and dig in, which will signal the end of the battle, as once dawn comes, they will be looking at lines of entrenchments across the map. If they continue to fight in key sectors then its going to get bloody.
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Feb 27, 2017 12:29
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Welp, it looks like the French have no clue the Germans are in Quatreprouts and they're not bothering to check it. I am quite looking forward to the impending ketchup spill on breakfast ridge.
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Feb 27, 2017 18:10
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Hey Trin, how long do the Germans have to hold Quatreprouts for?
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Feb 27, 2017 18:34
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If I understood it correctly it now depends on whether the information of them being in Quatreprouts makes it to HQ who then will send a massive amount of soldiers to the battlefield, effectively ending the battle. When they should have been chased out by then, their superiors will be very ticked off however (which probably translates into a massive hit on victory points or whatever, I'm guessing?). So ideally they will hold it until the timer runs out and reinforcements arrive.Trin posted:When you occupy Quatreprouts and get a message back to Corps Command, a timer will begin. When the timer runs out, reinforcements will arrive in enough strength to end the battle. They will be irritated should it turn out that Quatreprouts has not, in fact, been renamed Vierfurze when they arrive. genola posted:Welp, it looks like the French have no clue the Germans are in Quatreprouts and they're not bothering to check it. I'm absolutely terrible at reading game situations like these, so I have to ask: if the BEF advances on Quatreprouts, will the German troops hidden there even be able to hold out against their numeric superiority or will it be "only" a chaotic bloodbath for everybody involved until the remaining British and French plant their flags on the smouldering ruins of the village?
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Feb 27, 2017 18:42
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My reading is that the BEF is on a hiding to nothing if it tries to advance alone and without the cover of darkness. I guess we're about to find out whether that's so!
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Feb 27, 2017 18:50
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