The Great War

[Dukasaur]

show: gigi b original draft for romania campaign

[ConfederateSS]

---Duck and Cover and other bombard maps for grenades....Female warriors,...Pelop. War...other Greek maps,Alex's empire...etc...AMAZON WARRIORS OF ANCIENT GREECE ...ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...

[Dukasaur]

Seventh Isonzo is live, and it is Freemie-friendly. So far the first one is almost full, but ALL 30 players in it are premiums. Come on freemies, we did this for you!

[iAmCaffeine]

This series has been fantastic if I'm honest, so hats off to Duk for organising it and also slightly smaller hats tipped to others who've gotten involved and helped out. I took a break from it at one point so unfortunately fell out of the running to be top dog but regardless it's been a great, enjoyable tournament and one that has seen success since its beginning. Good job.

[Dukasaur]

This series has been fantastic if I'm honest, so hats off to Duk for organising it and also slightly smaller hats tipped to others who've gotten involved and helped out. I took a break from it at one point so unfortunately fell out of the running to be top dog but regardless it's been a great, enjoyable tournament and one that has seen success since its beginning. Good job.

Thanks, Caffeine! I really appreciate that.

[Dukasaur]

Go for it, Joe!

Updated list....and as of yet, I've not started any new drafts....anyone else???

Bazentin Ridge, July 14th, 1916 - posted by both ConfederateSS and morleyjoe - Both started and taking sign ups.

Delville Wood, July 15th, 1916 -posted by ConfederateSS
Battle of Pozières, July 23rd, 1916 -posted by ConfederateSS
Romani, August 3rd, 1916 - draft started by ConfederateSS
Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, August 6th, 1916 -posted by ConfederateSS
Gorizia, August 6th, 1916 - posted by ConfederateSS
Battle of Guillemont, Sept 3rd - posted - morleyjoe
Seventh Battle of the Isonzo, Sept 14th - posted - morleyjoe - Starting August 31st

These are currently open for others to jump in (as will I):

Battle of Flers-Courcelette, Sept 15th, 1916
Eighth Isonzo, October 8th, 1916
Ninth Isonzo, November 1st, 1916
Maghdaba, December 14th, 1916
Second Kut, Dec. 15th, 1916
Opening 1917, the small but exciting Battle of Khadairi Bend, January 9th, 1917
Battle of Nahr-al-Kalek, February 26th, 1917
Fall of Baghdad, March 11th, 1917
Samarrah, March 13th, 1917
Fallujah, March 19th, 1917
Jebel Hamrin, March 25th, 1917
First Gaza, March 26th, 1917

[ConfederateSS]

---------Thank You Kindly for the map of DelvilleWood Duk! ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...

[Dukasaur]

Seventh Isonzo is live, and it is Freemie-friendly. So far the first one is almost full, but ALL 30 players in it are premiums. Come on freemies, we did this for you!

Ironically, there was a glitch that prevented freemies from joining. That has been fixed, so with a bit of luck more will join. Please pass the word to your freemie friends. Some of them may have already tried to join and be rebuffed.

---------Thank You Kindly for the map of DelvilleWood Duk! ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...

You're welcome! Well, thank Farawayman and wikipedia...


Delville Wood 14 July 1916 [Public domain], by Farawayman (Own work), from Wikimedia Commons

[Mad777]

I like seeing those image added to the Tournament page...looks more attractive and make the tournament having even more sense

[josko.ri]

Any chance at the end of the tournament some weeks might be repeated? I am late comer having 0 points at the moment.

[Dukasaur]

Any chance at the end of the tournament some weeks might be repeated? I am late comer having 0 points at the moment.

Yeah, I've thought we might do that with some of the shorter tourneys.

[morleyjoe]

Updated list - Battle of Flers-Courcelette and Eighth Isonzo is posted, thinking about what's next...

Bazentin Ridge, July 14th, 1916 - posted by both ConfederateSS and morleyjoe
Delville Wood, July 15th, 1916 -posted by ConfederateSS
Battle of Pozières, July 23rd, 1916 -posted by ConfederateSS
Romani, August 3rd, 1916 - posted by ConfederateSS
Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, August 6th, 1916 -posted by ConfederateSS
Gorizia, August 6th, 1916 - posted by ConfederateSS
Battle of Guillemont, Sept 3rd - posted - morleyjoe
Seventh Battle of the Isonzo, Sept 14th - posted - morleyjoe
Battle of Flers-Courcelette, Sept 15th, 1916 - posted by morleyjoe
Eighth Isonzo, October 8th, 1916 - posted by morleyjoe

These are currently open for drafts:

Ninth Isonzo, November 1st, 1916
Maghdaba, December 14th, 1916
Second Kut, Dec. 15th, 1916
Opening 1917, the small but exciting Battle of Khadairi Bend, January 9th, 1917
Battle of Nahr-al-Kalek, February 26th, 1917
Fall of Baghdad, March 11th, 1917
Samarrah, March 13th, 1917
Fallujah, March 19th, 1917
Jebel Hamrin, March 25th, 1917
First Gaza, March 26th, 1917

[Dukasaur]

I hope you have all enjoyed a resumption of the Great War after our long doldrums.

With so many people helping now, I hope to keep up the momentum.

This weekend we had the Great War box in promotional mode (where it stays open full time without clicking on it.) We did a brisk business and the tourneys we had up filled very quickly! Tonight it will go back to normal mode, where you will have to click on the box to open it. I know that will result in a bit of a slowdown again, but promotional mode is meant to be a short-term thing. It can't be run that way permanently. I hope our aficionados will continue to take the time to click on the box and to see what new tourneys are available, and also to visit this thread, participate in discussions on the upcoming tourneys, and perhaps even write some yourself.

With all the extra feedback I've gotten this weekend, I've discovered some great new ideas for upcoming Great War events. More announcements coming soon. Meanwhile, for me, this is it for this week. I've got a pretty busy schedule at my real-life job this week, so I won't be saying much more until next weekend. I just wanted to say I am gratified by all the people who have discovered, or re-discovered, the Great War this weekend, and we'll be seeing plenty more of each other in the year to come!

[TX AG 90]

I like seeing those image added to the Tournament page...looks more attractive and make the tournament having even more sense

I agree and I'm actually taking the time to read the write-ups and educate myself. Thanks EV1 for all the hard work.

[morleyjoe]

The Battle of Flers-Courcelette - 15-22 September 1916

The Battle of Flers-Courcelette was a large, long planned battle that ended up using two new tactical innovations - A creeping artillery barrage, and for the first time in history, tanks.

The creeping barrage, instead of trying to annihilate the enemy, was a slow raking forward of thousands of shells, advancing 100 yards at a time. It was not meant to destroy the trenches, but to drive the enemy into them. Then the infantry would closely follow the barrage, in order to get into No Man's Land before the enemy could emerge from the trenches and fire at them.

The infantry was also accompanied by the tanks, also known as Land Sharks. The battle was to include 49 tanks, but most never made it into battle for various different reasons. In the end, only 15 of the tanks made it into No Man's Land. At 28 tons, the Mark 1 tanks could only move forward at a half mile per hour, at the walking pace of the infantry.

With this new artillery barrage and tanks, a carefully prepared infantry attack of Canadians captured the ruined village of Courcelette on the 15th of September. Likewise, the XV corps, including the New Zealand Divisions, succeeded in their objective of capturing Flers.

The attack continued into the 16th of September, but heavy loses, poor progress and bad weather bogged the advance down. Rain fell over the next days, restricting activity on both sides. The Germans reinforced the trenches east of Courcelette with fresh troops, and further attacks on the 17th to the 19th also failed.



In a dawn raid on the 20th of September, two battalions were able to secure a hold in the Zollern Graben but were quickly counter-attacked by German troops using a smoke screen. After a long morning battle, the Germans were able to regain most of what they had lost. Eventually the allied troops managed to advance east of Courcelette, and capturing front-line German trench postions on the 22nd of September.

The use of tanks at Flers-Courcelette was considered controversial at the time, but did lead to advancements that brought breakthroughs in battles in the following year. In the end of the battle, while the Germans had been dealt a severe blow, the attacks fell far short of the desired goals.

Maps:
France, France 2.1 - The Battle Ground
Trench - The Creeping Barrage with Infantry
England, British Isles - The makers of the Land Shark
Canada, New Zealand - The capture of Flers and Courcelette
France 1789, Germany, plus previous maps - Germans make gains then falter

Game Play:
Round 1. The Battle Ground. 28 start, Random Draw, 6 games, 28 move on. Games: 2 point per game, 7 players, Terminator/Assassin, Flat rate/Esc, fog, chained forts. Maps - France, France 2.1

Round 2. The Creeping Barrage with Infantry. 28 start, Random Draw, 4 games, 24 move on. Games: 3 point per game, 7 players, Terminator/Assassin, Flat rate/Esc/Nuke, no fog, trench, adjacent forts. Maps - Trench

Round 3. The makers of the Land Shark. 24 start, Random Draw, 8 games, 14 move on. Games: 1 point per game, 2 players, Standard, Flat rate/Esc/No Spoils, fog/no fog, adjacent/chained/parachute forts. Maps - England, British Isles

Round 4. The capture of Flers and Courcelette. 14 start, Random Draw, 7 games, 7 move on. Games: 1 point per game, 7 players, Standard, Esc, no fog, chained forts. Maps - Canada, New Zealand

Round 5. Germans make gains then falter. 7 start, Score Resets, Random Draw, 9 games. Games: 1 point per game, 7 players, Standard, Flat rate/Esc/No Spoils, fog/no fog, chained/parachute forts. Maps - France 1789, Germany, France, France 2.1, England, British Isles, Canada, New Zealand, Trench

MJ

[gigi_b]

Glad to see that this event got, once more, up to speed with tourney and contributions!
So happy to see that my bit about Romania's campaign got into this momentum.
As I look at it, however, I guess it looks rather dull without some images attached (like other scenarios have). I did think about it, but as I was so long overdue, I just finished writing and sent it to Dukasaur. In my defence, a large chunk of the time was spent on documenting... (BTW, I absolutely envy Confederate...don't know how you manage to do that, but I've seen some really interesting stuff written ... and a lot of it. Nicely done!)

Anyway I guess some updates with images to give more insight on the actions presented in the text are needed. Also think about the actual tourney structure.
Won't commit to any strict timelines though......let's say a weak...

[Dukasaur]

Glad to see that this event got, once more, up to speed with tourney and contributions!
So happy to see that my bit about Romania's campaign got into this momentum.
As I look at it, however, I guess it looks rather dull without some images attached (like other scenarios have). I did think about it, but as I was so long overdue, I just finished writing and sent it to Dukasaur. In my defence, a large chunk of the time was spent on documenting... (BTW, I absolutely envy Confederate...don't know how you manage to do that, but I've seen some really interesting stuff written ... and a lot of it. Nicely done!)

Anyway I guess some updates with images to give more insight on the actions presented in the text are needed. Also think about the actual tourney structure.
Won't commit to any strict timelines though......let's say a weak...

I think originally we talked about breaking it up into two tournament, because it is just too big for one. Now that I see the whole thing, however, I'm thinking even two is not enough. Maybe we end up breaking it into a series of 5 or 6 tourneys. I'll have more thoughts next week.

[morleyjoe]

Eighth battle of the Isonzo, 9-12 October 1916



The eighth battle of the Isonzo was the second of three short-lived offensives launched on the Isonzo front in the autumn of 1916. The seventh battle, fought by the Italian Third Army had ended after four days without making any significant progress.

For the eighth battle the Italian Second and Third Armies were used. This gave the Italians 225 battalions, 26 dismounted cavalry squadrons, 1,305 guns and 883 mortars. They faced 107 Austrian battalions supported by 538 guns.

The Italian bombardment began on 9 October. On 10 October the Italian infantry attacked in heavy rain, and captured large parts of the Austrian front line, along with 5,034 POWs. Mt. Sober, east of Gorizia and Nova Vas on the Carso plateau were both captured.

The offensive had to be suspended on 11 October because of heavy fog. It was renewed for one day on 12 October, and the Italians were able to push the Austrians to the east of the River Vallano, but at the end of the day the offensive was cancelled. The Italians lost 24,000 men during the battle, most of them on 10 and 12 October, while capturing 8,200 POWs.

Source:
Above text is quoted from http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/ba ... onzo8.html


Game Play - all 2 player games

Round 1. Italian bombardment began Oct 9th. 16 start, Random Draw, 5 games, 16 move on. Games: 1
point per game, 2 players, Standard, Esc, no fog, chained forts. Maps - Italy, Unification Italy, Eastern Hemisphere, Dark Continent, Orient Express 1883

Round 2. The Italian infantry attacked in heavy rain Oct. 10th. 16 start, Random Draw, 5 games, 8 move on. Games: 1 point per game, 2 players, Standard, Flat rate, fog, parachute forts. Maps - Austro-Hungarian Empire, Balkan Peninsula, Europa, WWII Western Front, Rail Europe

Round 3. Mt. Sober and Nova Vas were both captured. 8 start, Seeded by Score, 7 games, 4 move on. Games: 1 point per game, 2 players, Standard, Nuke, no fog, unlimited forts. Maps - Italy, Unification Italy, Eastern Hemisphere, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Balkan Peninsula, Europa, King Of The Mountains

Round 4. Offensive suspended Oct. 11th because of heavy fog. 4 start, Seeded by Score, 9 games, 2 move on. Games: 1 point per game, 2 players, Standard, Esc, fog, adjacent forts. Maps - Dark Continent, Orient Express 1883, Rail Europe, Italy, Balkan Peninsula, Europa, WWII Western Front, Unification Italy, King Of The Mountains

Round 5. Italians pushed Austrians east of the River Vallano Oct. 12th. 2 start, 11 games. Games: 1 point per game, 2 players, Standard, Flat rate/Esc/Nuke, fog/no fog, adjacent/chained/parachute/unlimited forts. Maps - Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, Unification Italy, Balkan Peninsula, Eastern Hemisphere, Europa, King Of The Mountains, Orient Express 1883, WWII Western Front, Rail Europe, Dark Continent

MJ

[gigi_b]

Updated with pictures.
I guess it's worth it if you can insert the update into your message, Dukasaur. Not to have 2 copies of the same large post..

Just finished. Again some chapters have map suggestions and some don't.

=================
1. Premises. Breakthrough as a state and the German Ruler

At the end of the XIX-th century, The Kingdom of Romania was a very young state, whose late self determination was mostly due to its geographical, or geopolitical position at the crossroads of Empires and their struggle for dominance in the area. The two old principalities of Moldova and Vallachia formed a personal union in 1859 with the election of the same ruling Romanian prince - Alexandru Ioan Cuza, which failed to be recognized by the rest of the European powers of the time and remained under Ottoman and Russian control.
In order to secure international recognition, the romanian political establishment sought for a foreign prince from Europe's great ruling families and found Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, related to the Prussian dynastic family.
Karl quickly and diligently began carrying his duties as a ruler. He took the Romanian name of Carol and pledge himself and his dynastic family to Romania's religion, law and interests. Under his reign, Romania adopted its first Constitution, fought along side Russia in the Russian-Turkish war and gained independence from Ottoman rule, began structural modernization with rail-road infrastructure, city architecture and military structuring, his reign being shadowed by incomplete social reforms which kept the feudal-like status-quo and prompted several bloody peasant uprisings.
However he didn't forget his German origins and secretly signed an alliance Treaty with Germany and Austro-Hungaria in 1883, tying Romania to the Triple Alliance.

King Carol I	The Romanian Ateneu - The landmark cultural/concert building raised during Carol's reign (1888)

Maps:
- orient express, fog, trench, nuclear, X rounds -> romanian (hard) modernization (railway)
- unification germany, no fog, flat, chained - > german Prince of Hohnzollern-Sigmaringen
- WW1 ottoman Empire, escalating, fog, chained -> russian-ottoman war,
- American Civil War, no spoils, flog, chained -> social turmoil and conservative rule
- Three kingdoms of china, no spoils, fog, chained -> secret Treaty with the Triple Alliance

2. Romania's choices. Between kin and country.

Romania's elite and, in various measures, the political establishment, were greatly influenced by the French culture and politics of the age. Further more, in the wake of the earlier unification, the general national aspiration was towards also uniting with the other large Romanian provinces: Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina (all part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) and Bessarabia (under Russian control). This made that the general Romanian public at the start of the Great War was decisively set towards the Entente, even if that made the Bessarabia issue (as it was part of Russia which was a member of the Entente) unsolvable.
Carol's wish, sealed by the secret Treaty, of steering Romania towards the Triple Alliance at the beginning of the war in 1914, came into clash with the political establishment. The final argument was that the Treaty stipulated a Romanian intervention only in the case of aggression towards the signing nations. And, as Austro-Hungary started the war against Serbia, Romania was not bound by it so it declared its neutrality. This weighted heavily on the old king's health as his family ties with his cousin, the German Emperor Wilhelm II and Germany in general were great.
Carol died shortly after the neutrality vote, leaving the throne to his nephew, Prince Ferdinand who, although part of the same German family was more willing to listen to public opinion. Further more, his wife, Marie of Edinburgh, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of UK was pivotal in convincing her husband in joining Entente's side, and as it turns out played an important role of support throughout the Romanian Campaign and after the end of the war.

Map of Romanian provinces (still accurate, even if from different period)

• Wallachia(with Muntenia + Oltenia) in The South with red, Dobruja in brown and Moldova in (dark)blue make up The Kingdom of Romania pre WWI
• to the East, Bessarabia in light-blue was under Russian control
• Bukovina in light blue to the North, Transylvania and Banat (in green) were under AUstro-Hungarian Empire and the focus of the 1916 Romanian campaign

Marie of Edinburgh (at 18) and Prince Ferdinand of Romania (at 28) in 1893, the year of their marriage

Maps:
- Austro-Hungary -> the purpose of the war was getting Transilvania as part of the kingdom Kingdom
- Egypt: Valley Of The Kings -> "secret" relationships between kings/pharaos
- family feud ->
- Battle Of Actium -> just like Cleopatra, Marie convinced her husband to fight against his own nation/family


3. Romania joins Entente

After some political exploration of both sides, while using the neutrality status, Romania finally decided to get involved in the War. On 4/17th of August 1916 with the Treaty of Bucharest, Romania signed an alliance with the Entente Powers under some political and military agreements. Those involved granting the right to annex the sought for territories from Austro-Hungary: Transylvania, Crișana, Maramureș, Banat and Bukovina. The military agreement specified that the powers would supply military equipment, but also Russian support in Dobruja area to defend the Bulgarian front and the commitment to start two separate offensive in support of the new Romanian attack. While Romania was to attack Austro-Hungary from the south, Russia was to start a northern offensive (in the ongoing Brusilov Offensive) and France and Great Britain were to open an offensive in Greece (Thesalonik) to force Bulgaria out of the war and to secure the southern border of Romania from an attack there.
The need for supplies and relief offensives by Russia to the North and the allies in Greece was particularly important, as Romania was rather unprepared and poorly armed for the standards of 1916, thus "Romania facing a war on two fronts would be a liability, not an asset, to the Allies" (Wikipedia)
The Romanians from the provinces under Austro-Hungarian control entered the war in the Imperial army from the very beginning. But as Romania joined the conflict, many decided that "it was much better to risk their lives through desertion, rather than shoot their ethnical conationals"(Wikipedia).


Cartoon from a local newspaper depicting the support King Ferdinand (in the center) got after delivering the declaration of war. The top part depicts 2 young girls wearing romanian traditional outfits, Bessarabia and Transilvania, being molested by russian officer on the left and austrian and hungarian on the right. The bottom message is a play of words which would (roughly) read: "Not with the Tzar, but with the Country!/ Not with the German but with our Kind!"

Maps:
- Chinese Checkers -> for the multiple military maneuvers stated in the treaty that ought to have lead to the best outcome for Romania's joining the war
- Arms Race -> depicting the need for supplies
- Austro-Hungarian Empire -> again the provinces granted by the Treaty to go under Romanian control
- Salem's Switch -> executions by hanging for romanian deserters from the Autro-Hungarian army

4. The enthusiastic initiative against an under-strength opponent. First phase for the Battle of Transylvania

Romania entered the conflict as soon as the official declaration of war was delivered to Austo-Hungary on the 27th of August 1916.
What ensued for the next couple of months came to be called the Battle for Transylvania(27 Aug-25 Oct 1916). It began as an enthusiastic offensive across the Eastern and Southern Carpathians, with the Second Army as the main group and the First and Fourth on its flanks, with the general aim of controlling the Mureș river. The plan was that the natural border of the river would both become a good defensive position in case of a counter-offensive and will also contract the front line by roughly 500 km, turning the front line from an (inverse) "L" shape (which was very long, thus hard to operate on) into a roughly straight (diagonal) one.
The first half of the month was greatly successful and was met with joy by the local press and public. However what was failed to be mentioned was the fact that the defenders, caught unprepared with focuses on the western front, were comprised of just the first Austro-Hungarian Army, a week force by comparison that was easily pushed back.
During the first part of the offensive, until the 13th of September, the three armies managed to advance roughly 100 km into Transylvania and capture key areas and towns like, Brașov, Orșova or Miercura Ciuc and pushing the front up to the Olt and Mureș rivers.
In the first two weeks of the campaign the Romanian troops met week resistance based on the unable and surprised autro-hungarian 1st army. It was initially formed of 30 batallions of infantry and landstrum (a militia-like group, made up of recruits), with 8 cavalry squadrons and 8 artillery batteries: a meager force. However during the 2 first weeks of the offensive, the Central Powers were able to bring from other fronts up to 11 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions matching the number of the Romanian force.


Geographical map of Romania with the outline of the front line at the height of the push at the end of August 1916. The locations are in german; Kronstadt=Brașov, Hermanstadt(just on the line)=Sibiu. You can also see the Mureș river which would have been the desired goal of the advance.

Maps:
- mountain areas -> ?
- river valley -> ?

5. The reality of war: the disaster at the Battle of Turtucaia/Tutrakan

Between the 1st and 6th of September 1916 took place the Battle of Turtucaia in the southern Romanian front. It came to be the most bitter Romanian military defeat in history. At the end of the 6 days of fighting, from about 39 000 Romanian troops present during the action, 28 500 were taken prisoners, about 7000 were dead or wounded and only around 3500 were able to escape. On the Central Powers side, the Bulgarians suffered most of the casualties; from an estimate of 9000 killed, wounded or missing, only around 40 were German.

Turtucaia represented a fortified stronghold on the right bank of the Danube which was gained along with the 2 Bulgarian provinces after the Second Balkan War of 1913. Dubbed as "the Romanian Verdun" it had the same characteristics as a fortified redoubt of the time. With the centre around the village of Turtucaia it had 2 concentrical lines of defence anchored by the natural barrier of the Danube. The first one at roughly 3-4 km away from Turtucaia was made up of trenches and ditches with firing nests, with much of the structure unfinished or deteriorated. To the front, the primary line of defence was at around 8-10 km radius from Turtucaia and had 15 centres of resistance which were bunker-like shelters that could hold up to 70 men, with a raise of 60 cm above the ground and reinforced rooftops. They were connected with a web of trenches with barbed wire and machine gun positions.
Much of the artillery was concentrated around Turtucaia with some mounted on the river monitors that were to support the defence. Unfortunately much of these were obsolete based on modern standards with low firing speed and functioning only from fixed positions.
"For command purposes the entire area of the fortress was divided into three sectors: I (west), II (south) and III (east), also named after local villages - Staro Selo, Daidur, and Antimovo. Each of them had its own commander"[16] of different groups of the 17th infantry division, of the Romanian 3rd army.

The opposing force was the bulgarian-turkish-german army assembled under field marshal Mackensen with the purpose of striking a rapid blow to the Russian-Romanian force around Danube and Black Sea coast, in order to to give the in-process build-up of forces on the Carpathian front under Falkenhein sufficient time to prepare for a counter-offensive. The initial plan of Mackensen was a parallel assault on both Turtucaia and Silistra along the front line, but it was opposed by the Bulgarian Gral Stefan Toshev who presented a plan that focused on Turtucaia. As this relied on better intelligence of the front, the Bulgarian Gral's plan was approved by Mackensen with minor modifications.

The operation began on September the 1st with the Bulgarian-German troops passing the border and pushing back the guard patrols. The next 3 days, following the plan, the Central Power's troops maneuver to encircle the Turtucaia stronghold, at first attacking on the entire front and then moving its left and right flank up towards the Danube with reinforcements on the right in order to suppress an eventual relief operations from the Silistra direction. In fact on the 3rd of September the head of the 3rd Romanian army and the front sends orders to 2 Russian divisions at Silistra to support the defence, but the order is received late and not executed. On the 4th the Bulgarian-German army attacks the western sector I as a decoy to allow the main build-up of troops in Sector II which was were the main offence was planned. The commandment at Turtucaia starts to receive seom reinforcements from the other side of the Danube. On the 5th the main push is ordered against the southern centres of resistance of the main defence line with attacks against posts 4 up to 9. These are all successful and the Romanian troops withdraw to the secondary positions, In sector III in the east, even though the enemy conquers only the 11'th centre of resistance, there is a general retreat towards the secondary defences. On the 6th of September, the Romanians try 2 counter-attacks. One in sector I with the aim to recover centres 2-4 and the forest in the area and another one in Sector III, supported by the river monitors and some of the troops arrived from Silistra. Both of them fail, with the one in Sector III briefly managing to secure a connection for some of the troops to retreat. The command of the stronghold fleas the area before the enemy arrives in Turtucaia and the colonel left in command offers unconditional surrender soon after.
After the battle, gen Toshev remarked that "even women could have held the attack for 4-5 days" at Turtucaia, marking the swift and hard blow inflicted by him and his men to the Romanian army. It was indeed a grave defeat for the Romanian side, a result not only because of poor equipment and local defence outline, but mostly due to inapt command of the field officers that failed to finish defence preparations and failed to follow battle orders in some cases. The use of reserves was badly managed; they were committed to battle without a build-up that would make their action sustainable, but as they arrived. Big army groups retreated without exchanging fire with the enemy or entering skirmishes. The commander of the initial 17th division that was the main group of defence, actually fled the field before the battle was done, leaving behind his troops and to an inferior officer the task of surrendering.
"The scale of the defeat forced Romania to detach several divisions from its armies in Transylvania, greatly reducing the impetus of the advance there. On 7 September that advance was restricted by the Romanian high command, and on 15 September it was halted altogether, even before the armies had linked up on a defensible front. Major changes were made in the command structure of the forces operating against the Bulgarian Third Army. Command of the Romanian Third Army was taken over by General Averescu, and the Russo-Romanian forces in Dobrudja were reorganized as the Army of Dobrudja under General Zayonchkovski."[16]


Schematic depiction of the state of the fort and troop manuevers during the engagement.
The general location of the operations can be seen on the map from the previous section. Both Turtucaia (Turtukai) and Silistra (Silistria) are just below the Danube.

Maps:
- Siege -> Turtucaia
- stronghold fort -> Ziggurat
- swift and decisive victory -> Conquer 500



6. Start of Central Powers counter-offensive. Second phase of the Battle for Transylvania

After halting the advance with the reinforced 1st Austro-Hungarian army and the newly formed German 9th army under former German Chief of Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, the Central Powers prepared for a counter-offensive. By the 18th of September the Romanian troop superiority was matched and the offence halted. This was also due to troop maneuvers of the Romanian army intended at filling the gap left in the South with the defeat and loss of Turtucaia.
At first the plan was for a double push, with the northern 1st Austro-Hungarian army in the direction of Trotuș-Oituz with the goal of reaching Siret valley to disable Russian reinforcement of the area. The second counter-offensive, held by the German 9th army with the objective of cutting through the most accessible defence line of the Southern Carpatians with the goal of reaching the capital, Bucharest.
Isolated the groups of the 3 Romanian armies which entered Transylvania seemed as the best plan for the counter-offensive. Falkenhein decided to focus on one them and try to disable it. The best suited for this tactic was the group on the valley of river Olt which was located around the town of Sibiu and was the most isolated one with a large mountain area that blocked connection with the western Jiu group.
Falkenhein suspended the fights with the Jiu group which had already been pushed back to the original position of the border. He ordered all the filed commanders to suspend operations, dig for defence and send all available army groups towards a build-up in the Sibiu area.



Maps:
-


7. Second phase of the Battle for Transylvania: Battle of Sibiu, Battle of Olt and Mureș

The Battle of Sibiu, which happened between the 26th and 28th of September 1916, was part of the Romanian operation to conquer Transylvania. From the Romanian perspective, the purpose would have been to stop the offensive of the Central Powers following the stop of the Romanian advancement and the build-up of troops, consolidating a defensive line on the Carpathian Mountains and thus enabling the forces to regain the initiative and regain the offensive.
On the other side Falkenhein and the Commandment of the Central Powers' forces saw it as a strategic breaking point for the planned counter-offensive. Its objective was opening the Carpathian Mountains while engaging each army group at the time with focusing superior strenght and also opening a way towards the Romanian capital of Bucharest. This led to the presence of 4 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions put at the disposal for the offensive, including mountain specific equippement - more importantly -artillery. The Romanian forces had 2 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry brigade, with no mountain artillery nor experience for mountain fighting.
The opening maneuver was entrusted to the seasoned Alpine Core, a battled experience elite group which had already seen fighting on the Italian front. Its orders was to envelop the Romanian forces and after a 4 day action, it successfully passed the Cibinului mountains.
The encircled Romanian Olt group fought to keep positions and then tried for a southern retreat. The help from the northern 2nd army couldn't help the defeat. This relief action was mounted too late and let to the confrontations from the Battle of Olt and Mureș (being the 2 rivers that were part of the front line). Between the 28th of September and 4th of October fighting took place in the area enabling the relief for the retreating Olt group and also trying to push against the flank of the German offensive.
The retreat was made with haste with the enemy keeping pressure at the back. This lead to often bayonet engagements in order to secure a line of withdrawal.
As with the Battle of Turtucaia, this first engagement of the Romanian army, this time on its western front of operation, would bare the mark of lack of preparation and grave incompetence from the leaders in charge, which put troops from the very start into a desperate tactical situation.


Alpine Corps on march over the Carpathians

German artillery battery. High quality military equipment and experienced artillery men were key factors for German success on the Romanian front.

Maps:
-

8. The maneuver at Flămânda. Second phase of the Battle for Transylvania: Battle of Brașov

In the aftermath of the Turtucaia defeat the Romanian High Command saw that it needed to react to the surprise and rapid push from the South coming from group Mackensen. Seeing the danger of encirclement, it was decided to reinforce the 3rd Romanian Army, led by Gral Alexandru Averescu, and to also commit the remaining Dobruja army from the south for an operation of encirclement of the German-Bulgarian army.
The maneuver would mean that the main army group would try to cross the Danube at Flămânda and try to cut the Mackensen army from behind, while a secondary attack would try to pin the front around Cobadin and Kurtbunar.
The offensive started on the 29th of September with the advancement on a 80km wide front with superior Romanian forces against Mackensen's left flank. On the 1st of October 2 Romanian divisions crossed the Danube at Flămânda and created a bridgehead with an actual pontoon bridge being built. On the 2nd and 3rd October the offensive was counter-attacked by the Austro-Hungarian Danube flotilla, as it tried to halt the crossing and even destroy the bridge, but this was mostly repelled by the Romanian coastal artillery in place.
However, due to the deteriorating situation in the Transylvaniana front, on the 4th of October, Gral Averescu decided to halt the offensive and to retreat all the troops on the Northern bank of the Danube.
The actual situation in Transylvania was mostly deteriorating after the defeat and following retreat from the Battle of Olt-Mureș and the beginning of the German offensive in the Carpathians.
After disabling the Olt group, Falkenhein concentrated the efforts against the 2nd Romanian army on its left flank which was operating in the outskirts of Sibiu. Between the 4th and 7th of October the German 9th army constantly pushed against the Romanian 2nd making use of superior and more experienced artillery and organization. On the 7th of October the advance reached the outskirts of Brasov where the Romanian army decided to make a stand in what came to be the Battle of Brasov.
The first day, the 7th of October, saw heavy fighting around the outskirts of Brasov in the towns of Codlea and Râșnov where the German-Autro-Hungarian troops managed to make some progress, but the assaults against Brașov failed. Further North around the heights of Hătman and Sâmpietru a succession of attacks and counter-attacks led to build-up of troops on both sides. On the second day, the battle extended to the western and southern fronts around the city of Brașov, where the Germans managed to occupy Zărnești, forcing a Romanian retreat. On the northern sector the Romanian troops managed to repel the attacks which would have led to encirclement, but the counter-attacks failed as well due to well executed german artillery barrages.
The large number of victims and the destruction of much of the Romanian artillery led to the general retreat of the 2nd army further South. The battle of Brașov was lost.
After 40 days the offensive campaign of the Romanian Army in Transylvania ended with a general retreat with the purpuse of stabilizing the front on the initial border between Romania and Austro-Hungary.


Pontoon bridge over the Danube

Scene of battle in Brașov on the 8th of October 1916

Maps:
- river battle -> ?
- artillery precision -> >


9. Fighting for survival: Battle of Bucharest

At the end of November 1916 the Romanian Army was in a disordered and confused defensive, being simultaneously pushed from the North, West and South by the german, austro-hungarian, bulgarian and turkish armies. Between the 30th of November and the 6th of December Romania tried a final offensive which would later be consider useless, at most serving as a delay to be used by the population and Government to retreat to Moldova.
Theoretically the offensive would have been possible, but in reality the Romanian Army was clearly outnumbered, with inferior military technology and low morale after the series of defeats suffered. Moreover the current front was pushed beyond the strategically important positions: Carpathians to the North, the valley of the Olt river to the West and the Danube to the South. The current positions in the Southern Romanian Plain were far more difficult to attack or defend.
The Romanian 1st Army operating in the South and South-West tried an offensive operation against the junction of the Falkenhein and Mackensen groups, but it was easily pushed back. On the 1st of December the Mackensen group counter-attacked on the entire southern front line pushing back the Romanian troops. The defence was even more hindered by contradictory orders and, most of all, culminating with the capture of documents containing orders for the general operation of the Romanian Army with detailed strategy and troop positions.
This meant that starting from the 2nd of December, the Central Powers troops were able to hit accordingly and managed to destabilize the Romanian troops.
On the 5th of December the Romanian High Commandment ordered the retreat to the East with the destruction of transportation facilities, railway, bridges as well as oil production facilities. The withdrawal was greatly hampered by the state of the roads and weather conditions and was made hastily and sometimes in panic with leaving equipment and supplies behind. Some orders of retreat were received too late; the 4th division received the retreat order after 21 hours which led to its complete encirclement and capture of more than 11 000 men with all equipment.
On the 6th of December Bucharest was occupied by field marshal Mackensen's troops.
Following the fighting the 1st Army was almost shattered and the 2nd lost two division, the result of the battle being disastrous. With the great loss of both men and military equipment, the Eastern Front fell entirely to Russian effort who had to secure their southern flank by relocating troops from other areas.
For some 2 thirds of the Romanian Kingdom began the foreign occupation, while for the retreating troops and refugees in Moldova it meant misery by overcrowding, disease and loss of hope.

Postcad with Mackensen and Falkenhein, "The Conquerors of Romania" after the fall of Bucharest	Oil field set on fire

Maps:
-

10. Heroes for a Cause.


At the start of Romania's campaign, Constantin Mușat was mobilized as a soldier in the 2nd Regiment of border guards around the Predeal area. He was thus one of the first soldiers to begin the Transylvanian campaign of 1916. In late December 1916, during a counter-attack he was wounded in his left forearm which had to be amputated. Even though he had suffered debilitating wounds, he refused to be discharged. For his attitude he was granted the rank of corporal and was cited for his bravery in the daily order by King Ferdinand on the 17th of February 1917. Between April and july of 1917 he retrained with his unit, specializing at throwing hand grenades with his able right hand. Him and his unit were committed to the engagements in the Second Battle of Oituz in august 1917, where, during the fights around Cașin on the 13th he lost his life. For his courage and sacrifice he was posthumously awarded the rank of sergeant.

In late November 1916 the entire Romanian forces were in full retreat, trying to withstand the pressure from both the eastern offensive of group Falkeinhein and the southern one from group Mackensen. The 18th division of the Romanian 4th army was trying to secure the retreat along the Zimnicea-Bucharest line, facing the Kosch group of 4 divisions. On the 27th of November an Alpenkorps battalion successfully makes a pincer move by capturing the Prunaru village and thus cutting the retreat line and threathening the complete encirclement of the romanian division. Sensing the imminent danger, the division commander, Gral Refendaru, orders 4 successive attacks against the strengthened positions of Prunaru on the 27th and 28th. They all fail with large number of casualties. As a desperate last resort he is forced to order the 2nd Cavalry regiment a charge against the enemy positions. The 300 men from the Regiment, under the command of colonel Gheorghe Naumescu, are divided into 3 squadrons and take positions 3 km away from the village, shielded by a hill and foggy conditions. The first 2 squadrons, under cpt Marin Vasilescu and lieutenant Ion Dănescu, are ordered to charge as lancers at the enemy positions around the village, while the 3rd, under lieutenant Alexandru Budac is to continue towards the village. The outskirts positions around the village are breached by the surprise and rapid attack, but the attack on the village itself turns into a slaughter.
The defence of the village of the german Alpenkor is made up of tens of machine-gun nests which decimates the charging cavalry. The 3rd squadron is joined by the remainder of the other two and fierce fighting ensues with men using the dead body of horses as shields and ending up at bayonnet assaults. However the powerful assault meets its goals as german batallion retreats, thus lifting the encirclement of the romanian division.
The 2nd cavalry regiment lost 216 men, but its heroic assault allowed the division to hold the line of retreat and participate in the defence of Bucharest.


Ecaterina Teodoroiu was born in a modest family near Târgu Jiu. After Romania entered the war, she initially worked as a nurse, while her brother joined the army. "Working as a nurse, on October 14 Ecaterina joined the civilians and the reserve soldiers fighting to repulse the attack of a Bavarian company of the 9th German Army at the bridge over the Jiu River, in front of Târgu-Jiu. Impressed by her bravery, the Royal Family invited Ecaterina to Bucharest on October 23"[14] of 1916. On November the 1st her last of the 4 brothers was killed during a fight, which made Ecaterina to apply as a volunteer soldier in the same 18th Infantry Regiment as her brother. She is sent to the front rather reluctantly, but she soon proves her military skills by avoiding the capture of her company and, later, escaping after being captured by shooting her guard with a concealed revolver. In the first part of November 1916 she is severely wounded in both legs, evacuated and hospitalized.
In January 1917, after being released from hospital she requests to join the 43/59th infantry Regiment as a nurse. For her bravery she "is awarded the 'Military Virtue Medal', 1st Class, made honorary Second Lieutenant by King Ferdinand and given the command of a 25-man platoon in the 43/59 Infantry Regiment"[14]. The regiment is assigned to the reserve of the Romanian 1st army and on the very last day of the Battle of Mărășești, on the 3rd of September, while leading a counter-attack on the Secuiului Hill, she is killed by machine-gun fire.
She is remembered for her commitment and bravery and for being the first female officer in the Romanian Army who sacrificed her life at barely 23 years of age.


Lieutenant Grigore Ignat entered the war at the command of a machine-gun company of 200 people from the 51st infantry Regiment. He was part of the Cobadin battle in Dobruja and later in the 1916 campaign he participated in the fights and retreat from Oltenia where he showed courage and gained the rank of captain. He would get his renown and be remembered for ultimate bravery during the battle of Mărășești in 1917. The 19th of August saw the peak of the engagements. One of those, near the Răzoare forest, was Hill 100, a strategically important position both as high ground and as being the shield for a great russian-romanian artillery position which delivered powerful blows. The 1st machine-gun company under cpt. Grigore Ignat was ordered to keep the position on the hill and wait for reinforcement. It stubbornly kept its ground being almost entirely destroyed. Its commander was posthumously raised to the rank of major and awarded the Mihai Viteazul Order 3rd class.


On the 12th of August the Autro-Hungarian army had made significant gains in the Oituz area and was threatening to break to the rear of the russo-romanian armies. Reserve forces had to be committed, some had to do forced marches in order to arrive at the scene. The Mountain Battalion of the 15th Regiment, commanded by maj. Virgil Bădulescu, made a 160 km march and, after just a 20-minute pause, was ordered to attack unshielded by artillery. It managed to broke through the defence of the Austro-Hungarian 70th Division and infiltrated behind enemy lines. It captured 417 prisoners and 4 machine-guns, while suffering minimal casualties: 2 dead and 19 wounded. It was a decisive action that lead to the capturing of the Cireșoaia Peak and great loss for the opponent. "For this action, the commander and seven of the battalion's officers received the Mihai Viteazul Order 3rd class, approximately a third of the 25 awarded for the actions during the battle of Oituz."


Maps:

- infiltrating and attack from the rear: WWII Gazala
- cavalry charge: Austerlitz, Waterloo
- holding the hill: Rorke's Drift
- grenade throwing: ?
- female warriors: ?

[ConfederateSS]

---------------The Battle of Gorizia/ Tournament...---------------------
---------1/10............................24 Player Tournament---------

-----------Wayward Day's Diary:August 6th,1916
--------------The Battle of Gorizia was fought between the Aus/Hun Empire and The Kingdom of Italy,in The First World War. The Italians had been trying to take Gorizia from the start of the war. When they took the city it was huge moral boost for Italy. But it held no strategic value, and was a useless victory. Because the Aus/Hun Army really didn't care, it didn't ruin their defensive line. It did help Italy to declare war on Germany. But in reality it was a very costly victory. One which you suffer so much to achieve, you feel like you lost. A PYRRHIC VICTORY if you will. As others in the war, fought a defensive war. Italy from the start was fighting a war of conquest. It took them 2 years and a huge loss of life. To Take one enemy city, one victory. Like all others battles on the Isonzo, there were many missing soldiers, victims of the superior Aus/Hun artillery.


Round 1:(Magyarorszag-Italy joined WWI as a war of Conquest)
24 players start and 24 move on.Map:Magyarorszag,1-vs-1 player games,7 on Magyarorsza: Standard,Auto,Sequential,(Escalating,Nuclear),Chained,Fog,30 rounds.

Round 2:(Austro-Hungarian Empire,Unification Italy-2 empires fight for Gorizia)
24 players start and 20 move on.Maps:Austro-Hungarian Empire,Unification Italy,4-6 player games,2 on Austro-Hungarian Empire,2 on Unification Italy:Terminator,Auto,Sequential,(Flat Rate,Nuclear),(Chained,Adjacent),Fog,Trench,30 rounds.

Round 3:(Napoleonic Europe,Rail Europe-Cadorna born/led in Old Europe style,moved troops around via rail)
20 players start and 18 move on.Maps:Napoleonic Europe,Rail Europe,4-5 player games, 2 on Napoleonic Europe,2 on Rail Europe:Terminator,Auto,Sequential,Escalating,Chained,Fog,30 rounds.

Round 4:(13 Colonies-PYRRHIC VICTORY,Gorizia for Cadorna is like Bunker Hill for The British in the Amer.Rev.War)
18 players start and 18 move on.Map:13 Colonies,1-vs-1 player games,7 on 13 Colonies:Standard,Auto,Sequential,(Flat,Nuclear),Chained,Fog,Trench, 30 rounds.

Round 5:(Africa,Ethiopia-Badoglio made Vice Roy of Italian East Africa)
18 players start and 16 move on.Maps:Africa,Ethiopia,3-6 player games,2 on Africa,2 on Ethiopia: Terminator,Auto,Sequential,(Escalating,Flat Rate),Chained,Fog,30 rounds.

Round 6:(King of the Mountains-Badoglio takes the mountains outside Gorizia)
16 players start and 8 move on.Map:King of the Mountains,4-4 player games,7 on King on the Mountains:Assassin,Auto,Sequential,(Flat Rate,Nuclear),(Chained,Adjacent),Fog,Trench,30 rounds.

Round 7:(Balkan Peninsula-Gen.Boroevic was born in Croatia)
8 players start and 8 move on.Map:Balkan Peninsula,1-vs-1 player games,7 on Balkan Peninsula: Standard,Auto,Sequential,Escalating,Chained,Fog,30 rounds.

Round 8:(Italy,Germany,-Italy declares war on Germany)
8 players start and 4 move on.Maps:Italy,Germany,2-4 player games,2 on Italy,2 on Germany:Assassin,Auto,Sequential,Escalating,Chained,Fog,30 rounds.

Round 9:(Yugoslavia,Trench Warfare-Boroevic stops the Italian advance)
4 players start and 2 move on.Maps:Yugoslavia,Trench Warfare,1-4 player game,2 on Yugoslavia,2 on Trench Warfare:Terminator,Auto,Sequential,(Flat Rate,Nuclear),(Chained,Adjacent),Fog,Trench,30 rounds.

Round 10:(Imperium Romanum-Enrico Toti,hero born in Rome,one legged cyclist,won the Italian medal of Honor)
2 start,Map:Imperium Romanum,1-vs-1,9 games on Imperium Romanum:Standard,Manual,Sequential,(Escalating,Flat rate,Nuclear),Chained,Fog,Trench,30 rounds.

[ConfederateSS]

------The Battle of Gorizia/ Story Line...-----------
--------August 6th,1916---------

---------------As I Wayward Day open my eyes today. I find myself back at the Isonzo river. In the heart of Gen. Luigi Cadorna's base camp. Once again I get to try out my Italian language skills. Also I get to wear one of these KOOL Italian World War I uniforms,"sweet". I head towards the battleroom. As I enter , I over hear the Italian High Command talking off the record. For you see as other nations make plans to fight a defensive war in WWI. The Italians are fighting in the context of a war of conquest. As the top 3 Generals,Luigi Cadorna, Luigi Capello, Prince Emanuele Filiberto go over their battle plans. To achieve the number one objective of their Isonzo battles, since the start. Capture and hold the Aus/Hun city of Gorizia. Cadorna being the top General for Italy. Capello would later in life try an assassinate Benito Mussolini in 1925. As for Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta. His father was made King of Spain in 1870, for 3 years Filiberto was Prince of Asturias. Until his father abdicated his throne, as they both returned to Italy. During The First World War he would never lose a battle. Earning him the nickname "Undefeated Duke", in his Honor ,the Duke of Aosta Bridge in Rome,and one in Jesolo were built.
------Hanging around in the back drinking a bottle of wine, in Italian General Pietro Badoglio, he despises all of the other 3 Generals. I know of Badoglio , from my college courses on the wars of Italy. He had fought in both World Wars, made Vice Roy of Italian East Africa. Fought in Turkey,Libya and both Italian/Ethiopian wars. He waves at me to come to his table. "Major you look tired , Come, sit down and drink with me.",he said. "Why, I be honored sir,Thank You.",I replied in a gracious voice. We talk for at least an hour. The General tells stories of his victories over the years in Africa. I show in my face, awe and amazement in his stories. To make the General happy. Even though I already knew. He goes on in secret about his dislike for Cadorna, for his waste of Italians, in his continued use of frontal attacks. Against a well armed enemy. He goes on ,Capello's a clown, and Filiberto is a General just because he is Royalty. I wink at him as I finish my last glass of wine. "I didn't hear a thing.",I say. As I get up to join the 3 top Generals at the battle map.
------Cadorna moves little trains and wooden armies, as he shows he has moved troops from Trentino back to the Isonzo river. He then moves cannons and troops on the battle map. To show his plan of attack,of the weakened Aus/Hun line at Gorizia. The offensive is going to be concentrated in 2 zones. The hilly area west of the Isonzo river near Gorizia,will be the 1st zone. The 2nd zone of the western most edge of the Karst Plateau near the village of Doberdo.
------"Yes!",shouts Capellonn waving his hands as he speaks. He goes on to tell his plan to take Doberdo. "The strategic area of the village of Doberdo at the western most edge of the Karst Plateau. It controlled the main road linking the port city of Treiste to the town of Gorizia. I will split my army in half, moving the little armies on the map as he spoke. With one half attacking straight at the Aus/Hun positions guarding the plateau, lead by Arch Duke Eugen of the Aus/Hun Empire. The other half to attack from the rear near the Aus/Hun heavy guns. As they are to link back up.",he stated smiling confidently. It reminds me of General LEE'S plan of Pickett's charge in the American Civil War. Pickett was to charge straight up at the Union forces. Jeb Stuart cavalry was to come around from behind the Union lines, near their artillery. Lucky Gen. Custer disobeyed orders earlier in the day. He shouldn't have been anywhere near the area. But he was. Stopped Stuart from getting behind the Union Army. The rest is History. Custer's luck would run out later on a different battlefield. We will see what happens to Capello's plan.
------The 3 top Generals all smile as Filiberto says,"look we have 22 divisions to fight the 9 that Aus/Huns have to stop us." As they continue to laugh. I fell a tap on my shoulder from behind. "Come with me Major, you can watch as I take the Mountains of Sabotino, Podgora and San Michele, from the enemy. They over look the battlefield of Gorizia.",says Badoglio. "Sure, I'd love to General.",I said smiling. "We head out in 3 hours.",Badoglio said as he walk away.
------As I walk down a mud road back to my tent to prepare. I pass a man on a bike."Hey there.",I say. He replies ,"I am civilian volunteer Enrico Toti, of the 3rd Bersaglieri Bicycle Battalion." "You ride a bike with one-leg?",I asked. He goes on to say,"Yes, I lost my leg when I was 24, working on the railroads. In 1911 I took up bike riding. I've ridden my bike to Paris,Belgium,Netherlands,Denmark, up to Findland and Lapland. Then I went to Russia, Poland and back to Italy. I was riding in Egypt just before the war broke out. From Alexandria to the border of the Sudan. English authorities stopped me, because the said it was to dangerous. They sent me to Cairo. I came home to Italy. When war broke out. I tried to join, but the army wouldn't let me, because of my one leg. So I just road up to the front lines on my own. I have been helping out as a civilian volunteer. How many times at night were our projectors used only to illuminate the enemies that came out to help the wounded and bury the dead, we could have destroyed them, yet a sense of pity urged us to help them." "That is awesome, I love bike riding also.",I said,as I shook his hand. He road on to the end of camp, he soon vanished in the morning fog.
------As our troops pulled out to take the 3 mountains near Gorizia. They sing,"OH,GORIZIA,YOU'RE CURSED!",just about all the way there. It is an anti-war song. It's funny to hear an army sing such a song,before they go into battle. It is a song to curse a symbol more than a city. Rejecting a value system that supports the monarchy and the ongoing conflict. It's unknown author could not have summed up the war better. Than to curse one of the poorest objectives. The waste of human life with 4 major offensives and 1 minor assault, and now a 6th one. The way Gen. Badoglio feels about Gen. Cadorna , I see how he allows his men to sing it. We reach our place to start our attack. Then the sky erupts in fire. as shells rain down on to the 3 mountains. Our troops wait for the shelling to stop. An hour later we charge the mountains of Sabotino, Podgora and San Michele. As we reach the mountains. We see little resistance in our path. We are able to take the mountains very easily. The Aus/Huns defending them, either were destroyed in the bombardment or fled the area. As we take up positions on the mountains we can see the rest of the battle for Gorizia taking place. Some of the wounded are being brought in from the near by village of Monfalone.
------One of the wounded talks to the General. Badoglio waves me over. The wounded man tells of a one legged bicyclist in his battalion. The 3rd Bersagliers. He says,"Enrico Toti saved many of our lives in the fight. He was fatally wounded in an Heroic act of courage. As he fell, he hurled his crutch at the enemy. Before he hit the ground,he shouted,"I Do NOT DIE!",he saved hundreds of us." I told the man, I had met Toti earlier this morning. Badoglio spoke,"I will make sure he is awarded Italy's highest award for Valor, THE GOLD MEDAL OF MILITARY VALOR. He will be one of the few civilians to have this honor bestowed on them." Both the wounded man and I say,"That will be well deserved General as we smile.".
-----I headed to the top of Mt. Sabotino. As Italian artillery now stationed on top of the 3 mountains, now fire shells into Gorizia. I make my way to a point clear of artillery. With my field glasses I look down on the ongoing battle for Gorizia. I can see the fight for the village of Doberdo. As Gen. Capello's 2 pronged attack is underway. With Aus/Hun artillery shelling the Italian infantry. As 4 divisions of Italian infantry close in, and launch a straight on frontal assault on the Aus/Hun trenches outside the village. I view the Fierce fighting ,as I watch many soldiers and officers being gunned down,by heavy machine gun fire. But the Aus/Hun army of Arch Duke Eugen has no golden boy Custer to come to the rescue. The other half of Capello's army was getting around the lines and attacking the Aus/Hun army from the rear. Allowing the 1st half of the Italian army infantry to penetrate the Aus/Hun lines. Talking the village of Doberdo. With no reinforcements coming, due to the Aus/Hun war effort in Trentino and in Bukovina where they were attempting to stop Brusilov offensive. The Aus/Hun High Command, was betting on their army taking advantage of their good defensive positioning of their trenches, and their superior fire power.
------With no help on the way. Aus/Hun forces at Doberdo can be seen retreating to the Aus/Hun Line east of Gorizia. As I could see them hand-to-hand fighting the whole way as they made their escape. Gen. LEE would be proud of Gen. Capello for Capello's plan worked. If not for Custer,LEE's plan of the same nature, would have won him the battle of Gettysburg. "Who Knows?,Pickett's men reached the Union Lines,but were stopped,the Union forces didn't have to worry about anyone coming in from behind.
------Troops from the Italian army could be seen clearing the west bank of the middle part of the Isonzo river. They were able to cross over the river to form a bridgehead on the other side. Soon after the Italian cavalry entered the city of Gorizia unopposed. The Aus/Hun Army under orders from Gen. Boroevic had abandoned the city. To move his forces to a second trench line, miles to the east. Now Aus/Hun reiforcements were coming in from the Eastern Front. Boroevic was plugging up the holes in his defensive system.
------As the Italians gained same more success in was forced out of their line between Monfalone and Doberdo. They were unable to form a new line until they were past Vallone. Once the new line was formed the Italian advance was halted.
------Cadorna used his success at Gorizia,to press on. Cadorna launched a general assault all along the Isonzo Front. This time Ge, Boroevic's new dug in Aus/Hun forces were ready. For 4 days Cadorna had Italian forces, under equipped, and no match for Aus/Hun fire power. Continue to make frontal assaults. As Boroevic had his new defense set up, as he retreated to Slovene territory. Cadorna would sacrifice 1,000's of soldiers in futile attempts to advanced towards Ljubljana and Trieste. As Gen. Bagoglio and I watched in horror from atop of Mt.Sabotino. Eventually Cadorna called off the forward offensive. He was content with establishing a bridgehead on the other side of the Isonzo river, and capture of the city of Gorizia. Which has always been an Italian objective from the start of the war. Soon after Italy used the success at Gorizia to give meaning for Italy being in the war. Also Italy declared war on Germany ,finally.
------As Gen. Badoglio would sit down and talk. We both agreed , this was a useless and limited conquest, for Italy and Cadorna. We would head back to the Italian H.Q..
------Reports came in showing the the cost of the battle. The Italian Army advanced 3/4 miles, along a 15 mile front. They suffered 51,232 casualties, with 12,128 missing. The Aus/Hus Army lost 49,035 ,with 20,000 being captured as prisoners of war.
------This was Cadorna's only victory in the war. If you can call it a victory. With such losses that make it seem like you lost. Not to mention that it did not weaken the defense line of the over all Aus/Hun defense system. The battle had no strategic value. It was a PYRRHIC VICTORY. It reminds me of Bunker Hill of the American Revolutionary War. The Americans held Bunker Hill until they ran out of ammo. Inflicting high casualties on the British Army. Then just abandoning the Hill to the British.
------As I leave headquarters, I see a soldier riding by on a bike. I think of ENRICO TOTI. Also ,so many more,who died because the Isonzo terrain ,was completely unsuited for offensive warfare, mountainous and broken ,with no room to maneuver. As I sit down to rest and look up at the stars in the night sky. My satchel starts to glow. Lighting up the are around me. I soon fall asleep...Of I go,but where???

[Dukasaur]

Pozieres launched yesterday. Today I coded Sixth Isonzo and I'll schedule it to launch on the 16th. Tomorrow I hope to move the next three tourneys that are written into the Current/Upcoming list and start coding some of those.

[Kid Moe]

Is there a list of maps anywhere that I can look at to accumulate some tokens, or if anybody has another way to accumulate them I am all ears

[Dukasaur]

Is there a list of maps anywhere that I can look at to accumulate some tokens, or if anybody has another way to accumulate them I am all ears

Yes, current list of token-dropping maps is here:
Subject: The Great War

Tokens


World 2.1
Classic Cities: London
Germany
World War I Gallipoli
Battle for Iraq!
Italy
Rail Europe
Poison Rome
Land and Sea
4 Star Meats



Like stars, the probability of dropping a token is proportional to the size of the game. Win a 12-player game on one of those maps, a token is almost certain. 1v1 games don't drop much.

[Kid Moe]

Thank You!!