Prussia in Peril - East Prussia '14 Central Powers AAR - major victory turn 114

[ComradeP]

James and I temporarily halted our Japan '46 game to test a Japan '45 update. After that, we discussed that we could use a change of scenery and terrain conditions. Decent weather and being able to move more than 1 hex at a time, preferably.

We were debating whether to play another FWWC game last year, but settled on Japan.  This time, our choice was the Clash of Empires campaign for EP '14.

The campaign scenario covers the initial invasion of East Prussia by the Russian 1st Army and 2nd Army, with some 10th Army troops arriving near the end. German forces consist of 8. Armee, reinforced by forces coming in from the Western Front and various mixed Landwehr/fortress formations.

Elxaime picked the Entente side, I'll be playing as the Central Powers.

Weather conditions will remain Normal throughout the scenario with 0% chance of Storms, so I won't mention weather conditions aside from occasional references to visibility.

It took me a while to make time to actually write this AAR, though I took notes and screenshots since the beginning. The turn rate is rapid due to the limited number of units involved, we started playing mid April.

At the time of writing, we're at turn 84. Though I'm writing this with the benefit of hindsight, I'll specify my strategic considerations at various points. Events more or less unfolded as I expected thus far. The terrain makes strategic surprises difficult to pull off, with one exception.

Most significant hindsight information: nearly the entire Russian 2nd Army has been pocketed since turn 69, something which I thought had a small chance of happening until later on.

[ComradeP]

The opposing forces, unit types:

This being FWWC, unit types are highly "standardized" though the presence of 2nd and 3rd rate forces creates some variety.

(Screenshots taken from the 1st Masurian Lakes battle starting situation, as not all unit types have arrived on the map in our game yet).

I'll only show units with different stats, not all unit types. 




The Germans eventually receive two Guards formations from the Western Front, one regular and one reserve. The difference being that the 3. Garde Division is all A, whilst the Garde Reserve Division has B Guard unit and C quality Reserve infantry units. Note the higher Assault rating and the lower Defense rating, like Russian/French infantry.

Some German divisions have an attached Jaeger battalion. This was a design decision, the alternative was attaching them to Corps. Some Jaeger battalions come with bicycle and MG companies, but not all of them. Reserve Jaeger battalions have the same stats. The best thing about the Jaeger battalions is their Speed of 5 and that most of them are B quality.

Regular infantry and Ersatz units have the same stats. The Germans have the best all-round infantry of any side in FWWC.

Reserve infantry battalions have slightly worse Assault ratings but are otherwise identical to regular units. There are some differences between regular and Reserve formations on the divisional level, but I'll discuss those later.

The majority of the Landwehr units have +1 quality level as a design decision to represent a home ground advantage. Their SA rating of 1 makes them less effective at the frontline, but they're good at delaying actions and attacks against Russian cavalry.

Aside from good all-round infantry, the main German ace is their indirect artillery. In this case, the limited number of regular divisions in East Prussia makes the advantage less pronounced but it's still there. Most of the artillery in Festung Koenigsberg is mobile, which helps.

Engineers come in two main flavours: pure bridging engineers and combat/bridge engineers. As you can see when you check their stats, bridge columns have no business being at the frontline.

The German army only made half-hearted attempts to reorganize its cavalry formations to deal with modern firepower, resulting in "traditional" cavalry units with different stats for each type of cavalry. Most divisional cavalry consists of dragoon squadrons. Cavalry Assault ratings are quadrupled when they assault whilst mounted. Massed Kürassier charges hit like a ton of bricks when used at the right time. It's worth noting that only Uhlan units can use recon spotting.

[ComradeP]

The Russian army is much "simpler" in terms of unit types involved than the German army. Only two-three types of infantry and cavalry.



As far as I know, my opponent didn't pick the "Tragedy! Send in the Guard!" strategy choice, so I won't show the Russian Guards stats.

Russian infantry units have a higher Assault rating and a lower Defense rating compared the German units. The in-game effect is modest.

Historically, Russian Reserve units were of a poor quality, due to the Reserves being neglected in terms of training and equipment. The in-game Reserve units are not that bad. They're similar to poor quality Austro-Hungarian units, which are D-E quality but are properly equipped. They're D quality, but still have an SA value of 2.  An SA value of 1 would've made them little more than an armed mob, admittedly.

The Russians and Germans both have 2 MG's per battalion, but the Russians have 4 battalions in each regiment instead of 3 for the Germans so their MG units have 8 MG's (1 MG=15 Men). Due to poor training, Russian MG and field artillery units are D (regular division) or E (reserve) quality.

The Russians have numerous cavalry types, like the Germans, but only 2 types with different stats due to modernization of the cavalry. Cossacks are mostly fast D (cavalry division)-E (Corps assets) quality units. There are C quality Guard Cossack units as well. All the cavalry in non-Guards cavalry divisions is D quality.

The Russians have 3 indirect fire artillery types, but only a small number of units in total. Corps usually have 12 122mm Howitzers. On Army level, there are a few  107-122mm units. 1st Army also receives a siege artillery train with vintage guns from the 1870's. They are not actually flagged as siege artillery due to how old the guns are.

[ComradeP]

The Russian objective is simple in theory, but complicated in practice: put enough pressure on German forces in East Prussia to make defending East Prussia impossible.

It is difficult to manoeuvre 1st and 2nd Army in a way that make them mutually supporting of each-others advance. The combined effect of the Fix/release schedule of 1st Army until the 1st of September 1914 and the terrain in central East Prussia is that an advance in any other direction than northwest by 2nd Army is unlikely to be able to meet up with 1st Army.

The German objective is complicated in theory, but simple in practice: parry the blows of both Russian armies, slowing or stalling their advance, until one or both armies can be defeated (with or without the reinforcements from the Western Front).

Actually defeating a Russian army is still a difficult task, but the excellent interior lines and the terrain suitable for defensive operations make slowing or stalling the Russian advance with the initial forces relatively easy. The Fix/release schedule of 1st Army also makes it highly unlikely that it will be able to make its historical advance unless the Germans pull back every regular or reserve division to face 2nd Army.

The Russian army is a true steamroller, relying on mass rather than mobility or flexibility to achieve its goals. Russian divisions are enormous, with 16 battalions. This makes it easy to rotate fresh battalions to or from frontline hexes, but means the number of divisions is low compared to the number of battalions in the field.

German infantry brigade HQ's have a command radius of 3 hexes, German divisions have a command radius of 6 hexes. Russian brigades have a command radius of 1 hex, the division a command radius of 3 hexes.

In more detail: Russian infantry brigade HQ's have a command range of only 1 hex, so the Russians are likely to move in “hex” formation centered on the brigade HQ in the middle. Including a 1 hex ZOC on either side of the 3 hex wide brigade deployment, a Russian division can hold/control just 8 hexes along the Y-axis and 10 hexes along the X-axis when deployed in a line. A German division can hold/control 16 hexes along the Y-axis and 18 hexes along the X-axis (assuming the brigade HQ is not at the frontline).

Starting situation northern/1st Army sector.

The game starts 06:00 20th of August 1914, with the stage set for the historical battle of Gumbinnen.

Quality is D for Russian cavalry divisions and C for other units unless noted otherwise.

There are no Dawn or Dusk turns, as per the usual FWWC standard. 6 daylight turns, 2 night turns.

North to south.



During the opening skirmishes, the Russian I Cavalry Corps exhausted itself. It accomplished little aside from capturing some Landsturm guns. They'll be Fixed until the 23rd of August at the earliest. It consists of 2 C quality and 2 D quality cavalry divisions. Russian cavalry divisions have 4 battalions in 2 brigades. The battalions can be broken down into 6 companies (4x6). Some companies are placed behind 1st Army with a T release trigger (unit is spotted results in the release of the entire division), to counter German opening moves where 1st Army is pushed back before the cavalry is released.

The northernmost part of the German line is held by the mighty 2nd mixed Landwehr Brigade. They're still catching their breath from being hit by the opening Russian cavalry assault and start Fixed with light losses and light to medium Fatigue. They'll be released at daylight on the 21st.

1. Kavallerie Division is screening the area between the Landwehr and I Armeekorps. It has 6 cavalry battalions in 3 brigades, which can be broken down into 4 companies (6x4). As such, both Russian and German cavalry divisions have 24 cavalry component units, but the organizational structure is different.

Most (German) frontline units have taken light losses in the previous days or moving up to their starting positions. For balance reasons, many units start Disrupted.

At the actual frontline, the German 2. Infanterie Division with 12 infantry battalions is facing half of the poorly positioned Russian 28th Infantry Division with 16 battalions.



1. Infanterie Division with 12 infantry battalions is facing the other half of the 28th Infantry Division and half of the 29th Infantry Division with 16 battalions.

East of Gumbinnen, the Hauptreserve Koenigsberg (the field formation of the Koenigsberg garrison and nearby units) with 5 Ersatz and 6 Landwehr battalions faces a brigade of the 29th Infantry Division and the entire 25th Infantry Division with 16 battalions. The Ersatz brigade has a command radius of 1 hex, which makes it tricky to use. Landwehr brigade HQ's have a command radius of 2 hexes.

XVII Armeekorps: 35. Infanterie Division with 12 infantry battalions is facing the 27th Infantry Division with 16 battalions, some of which are only a bit above company strength after the battle of Stallupoenen. 35. ID starts with mostly Medium Fatigue.

36th Infanterie Division with 12 infantry battalions faces part of the 27th Infantry Division and the 40th Infantry Division with 16 battalions.

Preparing to move to the sound of the guns in T-mode is 36. Reserve Division of I Reservekorps with 12 fresh Reserve battalions. It starts Fixed until turn 2.

120 kilometres to the rear in Koenigsberg and surrounding fortifications are 12 Ersatz battalions and Landwehr Brigade 1 with 3 Landwehr battalions. The Festung Koenigsberg HQ is Fixed for the duration, but most of the units in the city can move. Due to being Detached, they won't last long on the frontline, but they can still be useful.



1. Reserve Division with 12 Reserve battalions is Fixed until turn 2 as well. 30th Infantry Division with 16 battalions might crash into it on the first Entente turn, so dropping out of T-mode is prudent.

The Russian 5th Rifle Brigade with 8 infantry battalions and an impressive 4 MG companies (8 battalions from 4 regiments) is Fixed until daylight on the 21st.

3. Reserve Division is moving north after breaking up camp in Feste Boyen. It will be redirected south.

The Russian 1st Cavalry Division with 4 cavalry battalions is Fixed until 14:00.



Guarding the central area of the map are various fortifications bordered by the Masurian lakes. After 3. Reserve Division left, the remaining forces in Feste Boyen consist of a number of Fixed MG units and 3 Ersatz battalions and 1 Landwehr battalion attached to the fortress HQ (which is Fixed for the duration) and gemischte Landwehr Brigade 6 with 6 Landwehr battalions. The brigade is Fixed until daylight on the 22nd.



The Russian II Army Corps with 43rd and 26th Infantry Divisions, both with 16 battalions, is moving north to support 1st Army.

[ComradeP]

Southern/2nd Army sector:



The Russian 4th Cavalry Division with 4 cavalry battalions forms the right flank of 2nd Army.

I informed my opponent about the 4 Redoubts in the area. The one at Niedersee makes an advance by 4th Cavalry Division to that area (on the bottom left edge of the previous screenshot showing II Army Corps) pointless as cavalry units have no means to deal with hard targets due to a HA value of 0.



VI Army Corps is advancing through the border fortress of Lomza. In the lead is 16th Infantry Division with 16 battalions, 4 of which start Fixed in fortress Osowiec (about 50 kilometres to the north-east) until the 23rd. Behind them is 4th Infantry Division which starts and stays understrength with 12 battalions. In front of 16h ID is a battalion from 4th Cavalry Division.



XIII Army Corps with 36th Infantry Divisions with 16 battalions on the right and 1st Infantry Division with 16 battalions on the left is advancing through wooded marshes in the center of the 2nd Army sector.

XV Army Corps is advancing along good roads north of Przasnysz with 6th Infantry Division, 16 battalions, on the right and 8th Infantry Division, 16 battalions, on the left.

Samsonov and his 2nd Army HQ starts in Ostroleka.



On 2nd Army's left wing, I Army Corps with 22nd Infantry Division, 16 battalions, in the lead and 24th Infantry Division, 16 battalions in the rear is moving towards Mlawa.

The tail end of 2nd Army consists of 2nd Infantry Division, 16 battalions, of XXIII Corps. The 3rd Guard Division was part of this corps, but remained in the rear in the Bialystok-Grodno area. It can arrive later as a strategy option, if 2nd Army commander Samsonov "historically" commits suicide.



There's a substantial cavalry screen in front of the left wing of 2nd Army with 15th Cavalry Division, 4 battalions, on the left and 6th Cavalry Division, 4 battalions on the right. One battalion of the latter is in front of 36th ID in the XIII Corps area.



"Holding" a 80 kilometre long line at the border obstacles is Hauptreserve Graudenz with an Ersatz and Landwehr Brigade: Stellvertretender Infanterie Brigade 69 with 6 Ersatz battalions and gemischte Landwehr Brigade 70 with 5 Landwehr battalions. First order of business will be moving the entire formation to the area between Soldau and Neidenburg.



The only regular German divisions belong to XX Armeekorps. 41. Infanterie Division is positioned behind the Omulew river with 12 infantry battalions. 37. Infanterie Division with 12 infantry battalions is holding a line of obstacles around Ortelsburg.

[ComradeP]

For the 20th and 21st of August , I'll only post a 06:00 screenshot as turns are mostly about movement. After that, I'll post screenshots for 06:00 and 12:00 of each day.

Strategic movement: in the opening days, rail transport will be allocated to move 3. Reserve Division and 1. Kavallerie Division south, as well as to move some units of Hauptreserve Graudenz east. After that, 1. ID and 2. ID will be moved south.

Priority will be given to HQ's and infantry battalions. The divisional artillery, divisional cavalry and MG units will move along the primary roads until trains become available.

It costs cavalry units only 3 MP's to move a hex along a primary road, and the artillery units use cavalry movement. I was pleasantly surprised by the terrain they could cover.

Starting on the 22nd of August, 1st Army will be Fixed with variable release chances until September 1st. The cavalry divisions have a release chance per division and for the entire corps. The rest of 1st Army is either entirely Fixed or entirely released by the checks each turn. Each division does have a T release trigger to avoid abusing the Fixed state of 1st Army.

The scenario uses Electronic Warfare/wireless intercept rules. There's a 90% chance Russian HQ's of Corps level and above are identified each turn.

-

Turn 9 06:00 21st of August



After some consideration, I didn't attack at Gumbinnen. The Fatigued/Disrupted state of the frontline formations combined with a very small chance of inflicting permanent losses on the Russians makes delaying the backhand blow against 2nd Army not worth it. 

In previous versions, the German replacement rate was excellent whilst reductions in Russian supply levels made it difficult for them to replace losses. Currently, the replacement rate is fractional for the Germans resulting in between 3 and 5 replacements per turn. That means prolonged contact will quickly burn out battalions to an extent that can't be corrected during the scenario.

My gun losses came from switching units to T-mode on turn 1.

Gumbinnen is in Russian hands. A lengthy colum of 1. ID, 35. ID and 36. ID is crossing the Angerapp. 2. ID is moving to Insterburg where it will board trains to the south.

There was no pressure from 1st Army, as it also needs a bit of rest at the start.



The most important long-term strategic decision is how many and which formations you want to move south. I decided to keep I Reservekorps in the north, because the Russians start right next to it and close to the Angerapp and because I want to maintain a credible presence in the north.

36. Reserve Division will hold the area north-east of Angerburg for as long as possible. 1. Reserve Division will screen the Darkehmen area.



Until Landwehr units from Feste Boyen arrive, one brigade from 3. Reserve Division will hold Nikolaiken. The other brigade moves into the forest between Kolonia and Niedersee to make sure the Russian 4th Cavalry Division can't flank the troops further west/south.



I want to buy as much time as possible, so I can relocate forces and face the Russians where it suits me. XX Armeekorps will be deployed in forward positions to force the Russians out of T-mode as soon as possible.

A brigade of 37. ID will hold the Friedrichshof area until relieved by 3. Reserve Division.



The rest of 37. ID moves to Willenberg.

41. ID splits in two as well. One brigade moves to the bridge at Janovo, the other brigade to Neidenburg. This allows Hauptreserve Graudenz to move south-west.



I was quite worried about Hauptreserve Graudenz being encircled by Russian cavalry, which is why I was keen to move all units of the formation into the same area as soon as possible and to prioritize moving 1. Kavallerie Division south by rail.

[ComradeP]

Turn 17 06:00 22nd of August 1914

1st Army is Fixed.



Hauptreserve Koenigsberg is holding a line at the Angerapp for the moment.

Gemischte Landwehr Brigade 2 is moving west. A cavalry squadron from Koenigsberg is moving into the area as well.



A rearguard from 36. ID keeps the Russians honest.

The Russians crossed the Angerapp in front of 1. Reserve Division, but my opponent correctly decided that staying there would be suicidal due to the rest of 1st Army being Fixed.

Using every available north-south road, all the non-Reserve units continue to move south.



The layout of the road and rail network was one of the reasons why I moved 36. Reserve Division to the area east of Angerburg.

It simplifies road movement for the formations moving south, and there's a convenient more or less parallel rail line at Angerburg which allowed me to switch units to Rail mode in a more efficient way: every unit that wouldn't switch to rail mode next turn could stay on the primary road.

At this point I wasn't sure where I'd end up sending XVII Armeekorps. The destination ended up being Ortelsburg.



The reservists at Nikolaiken are digging in. It might look like an overcommitment, but sending a brigade there was necessary in my opinion to counter any risk of cavalry units moving across the river there and to buy time if the Russian II Army Corps went there.

In the historical battle for Tannenberg, the Russians advanced quite far into East Prussia before being defeated. I picked a forward defense instead.



A fairly solid line is in place at Friedrichshof, with reservists holding the area on the other side of the Szkwa. The Russian cavalry units in the area are Cossack units from the screen in front of VI Army Corps. The corps HQ is at the bottom right.

As I had hoped, the Russians deployed in front of 37. ID. That allows me to limit their advance to 2-3 hexes each turn.

The units from 41. ID at Janovo are involved in a bloody brawl with the Russian 8th Infantry Division, but succeeded in delaying the Russians. Two Russian battalions walked straight into an infantry/MG stack and became Broken in 1 turn. Most 2nd Army formations start with 90 Fatigue, so a few costly hits result in Max Fatigue unless they rest at night.



The first Russian infantry units arrive at the pre-war border. Russian cavalry is probing the line.

The first units of 1. Kavallerie Division are moving towards Heinrichsdorf. At this point, my plan was to strike the Russian 15th Cavalry Division in the flank.

You can see more trains arriving in Neidenburg, carrying the lead elements of 2. ID.

[ComradeP]

Turn 20 12:00 22st of August 1914



1st Army is still Fixed, as it has no release chance on the 22nd.

Gemischte Landwehr Brigade 2 will form up at Mehlauten and dig in at the edge of the forest.

Hauptreserve Koenigsberg will fight a delaying action for most of the game.



1. Reserve Division is resting on the plateau west of Darkehmen.

The rearguard of 37. ID is moving south.



I wasn't sure where I wanted Gemischte Landwehr Brigade 6 to go at this point, and if the Russians would try to assault Feste Boyen. It's occupying bunkers at Lötzen for the movement. As mentioned earlier, it will move to Nikolaiken soon.

The great redeployment through Angerburg is nearly complete.



Not much happening here, not a Russian in sight.



A subtle, but eventual crucial Russian move: VI Army Corps moves west. It leaves nothing but a weak Cossack screen behind.

At this point, I thought the corps would be used for an advance on both sides of the Omulew to outflank my defenses in Willenberg. That's why the cavalry of 37. ID is pushing forward into the marsh, to spot the road VI Army Corps is taking.



Concerning the deployment of I Armeekorps, I considered two options: north of Neidenburg to stop a dangerous Russian push when it developed or further west to strike forces advance north from Neidenburg in the flank.

[ComradeP]

Turn 25 06:00 23rd of August 1914



The men of Hauptreserve Koenigsberg are still waiting for the Russians.

1st Army has a release chance of 15% (23rd of August)/20% starting on the 08:00 of each day. In other words, it will never be released on the first daylight turn.



1. Reserve Division changed its deployment to a brigade in front, and heavy weapons to the rear. I wasn't sure where the Russian focal point for the crossing of the Angerapp would be, so choose a more flexible deployment closer to a primary road the Russians couldn't block.



After all that marching, the men probably won't like me, but the column is now approaching Rastenburg.



Still no Russians.



The positioning I chose for one brigade of 37. ID created a small risk of encirclement, but the situation could thankfully be rectified. Moving and assaulting in the woods is impossible, but the timing of the withdrawal of the adjacent units of 41. ID and 37. ID didn't entirely match.



As the Russian advance was not as rapid as expected, a new plan began to take shape. I Armeekorps will be moving west. At this point, I still didn't expect to achieve more than the destruction of 15th Cavalry Division with 1. Kavallerie Division. I Armeekorps would be buying the time to make that happen as I expected 6th Cavalry Division to be east of Soldau.

The placement of 6th Cavalry Division was important because without it, and with 15th Cavalry Division taking a beating, there would be no Russian mobile forces in the area to block any advance.

The curious concentration of cavalry is to keep 1. Kavallerie Division out of Russian LOS. It needed to be close enough to respond to Russian cavalry charges, but ideally wouldn't be released until a moment of my choosing instead of in case of a local emergency.

Russian air recon at Neidenburg and Usdau missed the build-up in those areas by 2-3 hexes (though what it would've spotted would depend on rolls, but enormous stacks are difficult to hide).

[ComradeP]

Turn 28 12:00 23rd of August 1914



The calm before the storm. To the west, you can see units from Festung Koenigsberg preparing defensive positions. Again, I picked a forward position instead of hiding behind a river. This would allow me to move units from the Western Front or the 2nd Army sector (after it had been halted) into a bridgehead, instead of having to cross a river.



Another quiet sector.



The column has reached Rastenburg, the rearguard of 36. ID is in Angerburg.



Peace and quiet.



It's clear at this point that the Russians are concentrating west of the Omulew river. The forces pushing north against 41. ID and 37. ID are moving into a funnel, bordered by 1 hex lakes and the Omulew. It's not difficult to hold that area.



At this point, an opportunity clearly presented itself: 6th Cavalry Division was not adjacent to 15th Cavalry Division, with 2nd Infantry Division in between. If all the forces I had in the area would be Hauptreserve Graudenz, that would be a good move as the cavalry could turn my flank. In this case, it would make what will soon happen very problematic for the Russians.

A brigade of 1. Kavallerie Division is detached to assist the single battalion north of Lautenburg. I didn't want to play Catch the Cossack with some forces advancing into the rear whilst I was dealing with 15th Cavalry Division.

The rest of the division uses woods to screen its presence, patiently waiting for the Russians to move closer as Hauptreserve Graudenz slowly withdraws.

I Armeekorps is converging on Usdau, taking care to stay out of Russian LOS.