Late November 1914
It's attempt frustrated by the German Army, the Russian Army falls back to the town of Lodz. Pushed out from there, the Russians retreat to the east and dig in. Meanwhile, the last independent action led by the Austria commander Conrad von Hotzendorf (one of the main prewar hawks) begins and ends. He takes advantage of confusion in the Russian retreat to attack further south in the Carpathians. The Russians are kept out of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, but the Austrian Army is finally halted and has been utterly devastated. Loyal Austrians have been thrown away in the quest for glory and their places taken by men far less invested in the empire, such as recently conquered Slavs from the east. The Austrian Army will become increasingly an auxiliary of the German.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Sunday, November 16, 2014
2nd Warsaw and Diggin In
November 1914
The French command looks at the situation and decides the thing to do is to strengthen their positions along the Western front. The British, sensing blood, decide that the correct strategy is to dominate no-mans-land between the hastily dug trenches. Raids on axis trenches become their tactic in the west. At the same time, Canadian and India forces are arriving to reinforce the BEF.
After a long series of local battles, the German Army is consolidating its position around Ypres in Belgium, but is unable to dominate the British and French fighting tenaciously in its defense. At the climactic moment on November 11, a cobbled up force of British cooks and drivers manage to turn back an offensive by the elite German First Guards Regiment and send them scurrying for cover. Audacious!
In Poland, on November 11, the Russian command, flush with success in defending Warsaw, decides to press their advantage and go on the attack. Unfortunately for them, the German Ninth Army had similar ideas, struck hard, and forced a retreat on the Russians. The Russians realize their tenuous position and retreat to Lodz, where they are able to hold off the German advance. Thus, Russian plans for winter in Berlin are frustrated.
The French command looks at the situation and decides the thing to do is to strengthen their positions along the Western front. The British, sensing blood, decide that the correct strategy is to dominate no-mans-land between the hastily dug trenches. Raids on axis trenches become their tactic in the west. At the same time, Canadian and India forces are arriving to reinforce the BEF.
After a long series of local battles, the German Army is consolidating its position around Ypres in Belgium, but is unable to dominate the British and French fighting tenaciously in its defense. At the climactic moment on November 11, a cobbled up force of British cooks and drivers manage to turn back an offensive by the elite German First Guards Regiment and send them scurrying for cover. Audacious!
In Poland, on November 11, the Russian command, flush with success in defending Warsaw, decides to press their advantage and go on the attack. Unfortunately for them, the German Ninth Army had similar ideas, struck hard, and forced a retreat on the Russians. The Russians realize their tenuous position and retreat to Lodz, where they are able to hold off the German advance. Thus, Russian plans for winter in Berlin are frustrated.
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