A GAME OF “ LA GRANDE GUERRE “
                             Game expounded by Lodovico Badali

This is the report, like a war report, of the campaign scenario of  “ La Grande Guerre “ played by two intrepid players with great participation and great expense of energy. 
The whole game will be told impersonally and with the greatest impartiality. 

Preliminaries
Alea iacta est! The ultimatum to Serbia, already arrived at Belgrade, triggers the reactions of the main European chancelleries. From long time, the Europe was living in an electric atmosphere, in the expectation that the purulent cancer of the European rivalries should explode. Nothing could make to predict the catastrophe, which the ultimatum would have made. 
In succession, Russia mobilizes and declares war on Austria-Hungary, then Germany on Russia and France on Germany and Austria-Hungary. England remains out of the war even if pro Allied and its diplomatic level disappoints the Allied player due to his starting misfortune.

The war plans are chosen: France decides an attack in Alsace-Lorena, an attack not immediate but made after some preparations, Russia a plan of aid to Serbia that plans a great attack in Galicia to take the forces of the Double Monarchy away from their main object. Austria-Hungary, with much shrewdness, chooses the “ Free Plan “ that allows it to have immediately one more army and to draw up freely its whole land army on the map. In conclusion, Germany chooses the “ Plan von Moltke “ that plans the transfer of three armies from the western front to the eastern one ( the first, the second and the third armies ) to attack at once and in strength the Tsarist troops along the boundary of the Eastern Prussia. The great movement of troops from west to east does not go unnoticed to the secret services of the Allied, however the Allied player does not change the initial war plans of Russia and France, as the rules allow.

Arrives the moment to verify the impact of the outbreak of the hostilities on the other European countries: everyone of them changes its political lines sometimes in favour of the Allied, sometimes in favour of the Central Powers, but no one of them enters in to the war. The most wanted are England and Italy. The first, which answers for the independence of Belgium, because of Germany have been careful from to attack little and defenceless peaceful countries, is a spectator. This is a bold stroke for the Allied that cannot use the legendary BEF and cannot have the support of the Ruler of the seas: a great relief for the Central Powers, which can still have the free trade. The German plan aimed to hold out the vast English Empire as long as possible, without deceiving to be able to do it forever. Italy has a little oscillation pro-Allied that practically does not help much and it is a presage of a diplomatic struggle not less fierce than that is on the point of beginning on the battlefields. Now starts to begin a game of uncertain result and full of uncertainties where both players will have moments of excited trust followed by abysses of despair. A sense of “ to make “ the history is in the air on the game-field as if the players go back in the time to write again the History. They look at the map and the counters, which offer a spectacular, view, with the awareness that they represent real men, real sorrows and real wounds, which the time would never to delete from the memory.

Strategies
For the Allied player the whole game will be to know how to exploit at the best the potentialities of every country in the alliance, every country will have to agree with the others like a great orchestra. He must have the consciousness that none country alone can stand comparison with the German Reich and that to conduct a war on two fronts, without great possibilities of links, is a difficult enterprise. At the same time, it is difficult to govern countries like France or England, which being owners of the two greatest colonial empires must always have to reckon with the possibility of heavy internal troubles. The game of the Allied must be wide-ranging; the land forces must interact with the naval and not every aspect of the military situation can be underestimated. Then a difficult task, made even heavier by the initial neutrality of England.
The Central Powers have an easier running since their fleets and their colonies have no a strategic importance and they are a luxury, which is given up. However, after a surely exciting start, the constant strain of the war on two fronts makes its effects; this is the reason because the Central Powers, without holding the decisive victory, start to have more and more problems, passing the time.

1914
The start of the game is over the rosiest previsions and the non-belligerence of the England is surely a great success and, at the same time, it is the proof that to be a little less German and a little more diplomatic is not bad.
The first fights along the boundaries start. On west all is silence, France applies itself to program well its attacks in Alsace-Lorena and Germany has no interest to have losses on a front that is, for the moment, secondary; on the east, on the contrary, the guns thunder from the Baltic Sea to the Serbian Mountains. On one side the Austrians, engaged against the tough Serbians and against an hostile territory, have heavy losses for insignificant advances and the six Russian armies, deployed in Galicia, batter those Austrian, which are compelled to retreat even if the only booty of the Russians are clear hexes. However, the German comrades make every Russian effort vain, their four dreadful armies, among which there is the First one, the main army, with the Austrian super-heavy artillery battery and under the command of the Field-Marshal von Kluck, sweep away the two Russian armies, unable to oppose a plausible resistance. The German troops, like a river in flood, are widespread from the Eastern Prussia conquering and destroying one after the other all the pathetic fortresses erected by the Russians along the boundary. The front line is fearfully shaky and the Russian losses are enormous for a so great empire. Only the logistic problems, due to the great cost of the conversion of the Russian narrow-gauge railways, do not allow advancing as far as the boundary between Latvia and Estonia. The armies of the Tsar are compelled to retreat along the whole front line not to be surrounded and they must to renounce, in September, all the progresses made in Galicia in August. For Austria, there is the opportunity to retake, without firing a shot, all the eastern Galicia and some hexes in Ukraine. Now, they can concentrate in Serbia, where it is already clear that the struggle will not end within the ’14. On the western front, the so expected French attack ended in a massacre, the German troops, favoured by the rough terrain of the region and by the mighty fortress of Metz, have easily  rejected every attempt of breakthrough. It is clear to everybody that every solution on the French front, unless to invade the Belgium, will be so bloody to become often a Pyrrhic victory. The other European countries remain calm, with oscillations that bring the Italy forward near to the Allied and the Ottoman Empire near to the Central Powers. The England slowly goes to the war as Germany has expected and the little Belgium looks with terror at the mighty armies, which face each other near its boundaries. Perhaps, it fears more the France, which, after England have entered in to the war, could invade it, without heavy diplomatic consequences, to threaten the German plain leaved much undefended. Germany plays the surprise event Mata Hari who, unfortunately, is at once revealed and executed due to the secret event “ Double Spy “ played by the Allied. 

In October, the military operations undergo an unavoidable braking. On one side due to the start of the bad season, which arrives particularly early on the eastern front, on the other side due to the gradual passage to the trench warfare that brings a little security to the Allied hardly exhausted, above all on the east, by the mighty German armies. On the west, all is silent: France, without the help of England, prefers to abandon every mere wish of conquest and for Germany, the most important thing is to destroy the Russian Empire as soon as possible before to march on Paris. On the east, the struggle does not stop, on the Russian front the German armies go on with their advances and the Great Duke Nicole, from the GHQ, prefers to retreat inside the territory of the Empire. The real strength of the Russia is to allow itself to loose even eight hexes of map, from Baltic Sea to Black Sea, from the boundary with Germany and Austria-Hungary, without, in reality, loosing only one hex of Russian national territory. It leaves in the enemy hands only its Polish possessions, the Baltic States and the Ukraine suffering moderate losses of national will and of economic resources. The terrible climate of those zones, the shortage of railroads brakes inevitably the German and the Austrian armies, which exploit the general Russian retreat, waiting that the lines of supplies, allow advancing again. This tactic, without great losses, allows Russia, heavy weakened by the battles of August and September, to avoid the destruction of other corpses, which should be sacrificed without any hope to stop the German sea. Only in Serbia there are hard struggles, the two Austrian armies, paying a very high price, succeed to advance, but the Serbian land army, although defeated, will not give in until the end: for the Habsburg Empire this will be the only real war of conquest and blood. 

The end of the ’14 gets near and the military situation does not change from the preceding turns. The only one shake is created by the diplomacy: the Ottoman Empire enters the war with the Central Powers and Italy, in consequence, goes so near to the Allied party that many people thinks it will join the Allied side at the beginning of the ’15. At this point, it is clear that the principal front is the eastern one and that, passed the winter, or the Allied will devise something on the western front or there will be no way out for the Tsarist armies, which cannot retreat without an end. It is interesting to notice how the war is beginning to be very different from how one could image it. The Allied, short of arguments to use for their propaganda against the German “ cruelty “, must take note that, in those situations, it is impossible to defeat the Germany; if they cannot stop the Imperial armies with the benefits of the defence, it is clear that is a nonsense every hope of great offensives. However, the Central Powers, although closing the year with a striking series of military and diplomatic victories ( it is sufficient to take off England from the war during the whole ’14 ), start to understand that to capitalize these successes in political victories will be a hard work. The interphase of winter ’14 is spent to improve the war production and to strengthen to the maximum the land armies to the detriment of new air army and to the navy. In this way, starts a course that will be clearer during the course of the game and that will cause armies at the top of their power, but poor of technological innovation and of the air support.

Winter 1915
In January ’15, England finally acts and goes to the war. The legendary BEF, at this point disbanded, have created the First and the Second army, the Royal Navy proudly takes the control of the seas and the continental blockade is in effect; for the moment, it is limited to the commercial traffic of the Central Powers, but it raises the spectre of starvation. The indignation and the anger spread among the German people, to starve women and children is an action only worthy of the English, but the revenge will not wait!; the shipyards start to construct a great number of u-boots and when the moment will finally arrive, England will not have sufficient eyes to weep its losses. Now the danger most immediate is the eventual entry into the war of Italy, fascinated by the deceitful sirens of the Allied. With Austria hardly engaged in Serbia and with the difficult along the whole Russian front due to the terrible winter, the opening of a third front against the already weak Double Monarchy would have heavy effects on the management of the war, compelling the German to give aid to the allied. There is a great ardour in the chancelleries of the great powers, it is clear to be at a crucial point of the game and Italy, with its considerable land army and its powerful navy, can make the difference. The fate wants that the Central Powers could name first Italy and the fate continues to be benevolent. D’Annunzio pleads their cause and the embassies go well ( the diplomatic level of Italy goes from -2 to +4, at the level of -5 Italy enters the war with the Allied ), for the moment the danger is avoided and it is possible to heave a sigh of relief. 
During the hard winter of the ’15, the military actions are scarce and the German armies on the Russian front are employed to convert the Russian railways as fast as possible. These actions are necessary to be ready for the great offensive that the GHQ has decided shall start in May ’15 having Brest-Litovsk as objective; this is the latest Polish major city in Russian hands. In the extra-European seas, the German raiders make things very hard for the Royal navy that does not succeed to intercept them: in the isolated German colonies, the common life goes on normally, without the smallest sign of an attack from the English and even now, the question about a so much inaction remains. It is impossible to say that the military situation goes well for the French and the Russian. The first, although having a well equipped land army, know that every attack in Alsace-Lorena would cost a lot, perhaps too much. The invasion of the Bulge would be a good alternative but to jeopardize a little the relations with Italy and, above all, with the United States, which could be a precious allied if the war would be of long duration. In the uncertainty, France opts for a great offensive, in June, having like objective the town of Morhange, exactly the hex south of Metz, with the aid of the English. The Great-Duke Nicholas, in full concord with the French, decides to start at the same time his great offensive against the Austrian, which the Allied hope will be still engaged on the Serbian front. In the meantime, the technological researches advance, even if slowly: the air army is the most outdated; in both the two fields, there is the possibility to conduct only air-observations, without the possibility of air-to-air combats.

Summer 1915
Finished the winter, the turn of May starts with the entry into the war of Greece ( with its little land army ) with the Allied and the entry into the war of Bulgaria with the Central Powers; this is good news. The Bulgarian land army, with its weight and its value, is immediately used to aid the Austrian against the Serbia. The raiders make their dirty duty tricking the fleets of Her Majesty, but this one seams to be a turn of absolute calm on the French front and on the Russian one with the exception of the usual minor battles, which continue to weaken the army of the Tsar. However, unforeseen and violent, starts the German great offensive towards Brest-Litovsk taking advantage of one anticipated month of good weather. The first and the eighth army trigger a fire’s heal on the Russian trenches using the new tactic of the massive bombardment and having great reserves of ammunitions. The impact is devastating, the Russian defences crumble even before the assault and when the German troops start the hand-to-hand fighting, the Tsarist GHQ sends all the available reinforcements. However, it is too late, every attempt of resistance is swept away and only the Imperial Guard stands, but the heroic courage of the defenders of the Romanov cannot do much against the violence of the attack. The losses are enormous, in a turn Russia burns all the available reinforcements and the great part of the ammunitions; in the heroic attempt to defend the ground of the Empire an HQ of an army is taken prisoner. The way to Brest-Litovsk is open and even if the offensive has not yet achieved its objective, it is clear that nothing will can stop it: the euphoria invades the German GHQ and the disconcertment mixed with gloomy omens overwhelms the Allied High Commands. No one expected an offensive so early on the Russian front, which inevitably upsets all the plans and does a question: how much the immense Russian land army is of value?, and how long the country, backward and governed by a regime already out of the history, will can and will want to sustain a cost so elevated? 

While the chancelleries debate, the hot summer of the ’15 arrives with a striking series of military and political trouble. On the diplomatic front, Italy is always the focus of great pressures that go to nothing because of the nation remains strictly neutral: on the contrary, Rumania acts and enters into the war with the Allied. It becomes an irritating wedge behind the back of the Austrian armies on the Russian front and the Bulgarian army is hurriedly recalled from the Serbia to confront the Rumanian one before that it makes troubles behind the lines of the Double-Monarchy. In the North Sea, happens a fortuitous engage between the English Scouting Fleet and the German Erleuchtung Flotte, which, before the arrive of the Home Fleet, breaks the contact after a short but intense battle in which the just blasting Queen Elisabeth is damaged and a German AC is sunk. The England have at least had a little revenge after the heavy losses inflicted by the u-boots and takes every fancy of sea supremacy from the Germany. 

Other good news come from the Middle-East where the sixth English army, under the command of the general Townsend, is remounting the path of Tigris and of Euphrates pointing firm to Baghdad and the fifth army starts to move from the Egypt to the Palestine. In front of them, there are three rickety Turkish armies, true mirror of an empire at the end. In Berlin, it starts to be asked if it was a good matter to want at all costs that Turkey entered in the war, but now it is too late end the most catastrophic previsions already make to fear that the Ottoman Empire will not stand a long without a substantial German aid. The bad and the good news alternate on both fronts and for both the alliances. After a heroic resistance, the Serbian land army, besieged in Belgrade, surrenders with its great commander Putnik, who is the first high commander to be taken prisoner. The Austrian land army, not surely covered with glory, after a year of hard battles, finally conquers the little country that has defended its honour beyond every duty. The army under the command of Boroevitch, the conqueror of Belgrade, is hurriedly moved to the Italian front, even if the situation is calm, but it is known, with the flirts of Italy, you can never be too prudent.

In Russia, the tragedy of its land army ruins itself that, unable to stop the advance of the German armies, must abandon Brest-Litovsk and now the whole Poland can be made an independent kingdom, obviously under the strict German control. Unexpected, but welcome, arrives to the Allied the notice that Germany, satisfied with its victorious great offensive, prefers to stop it and in this manner Germany discards the possibility to penetrate deeply into the Russian territory and to destroy what remains of the Russian land army. This decision is due to the inexperience of the trench warfare and it foments bitter disputes in the GHQ. In the Middle-East sector the English advance goes on slowly but inexorable and, like consequence, there is the revolt of the Arab that, badly armed and even worst equipped, can, on the other hand, give some troubles to Turkish lines of communication. The fate wants that the English proverbial haughtiness does not allow them to understand the potentialities of those ragged persons and that the secret event “ Lawrence “ is jealously kept by the Austrian.

Now the moment arrives for the French offensive on the western front, with the aid of the English: offensive that starts already limping, without the Russian one on the east; because of the German victorious great offensive, the Russian must stop their one. The hex objective is south of Metz and the French troops after a good bombardment, which is in part frustrated by the German strong trenches ( the Central Powers have already trenches of the second level, the maximum is the third, while the Allied are still at level zero ), starts a titanic struggle to conquer the first border of German territory. The military operations are under the command of the general Sarrail and all the best troops, with at the head the Foreign Legion, are employed. The English prefer to wait and to attack violently the hex of Metz in case of German defeat, so that to obtain the maximum disruptive effect on the German lines, exploiting their weakness after the French attack. The battle goes on for ten rounds and every French assault is repulsed with heavy losses: the French, not discouraged by the first failures, continue their great offensive in the subsequent turn, hoping in the first signals of collapse of the Germans and in the aid of the English, which, however, does not arrive. The English troops remain in place even if their equipment of artillery is good, the ammunitions do not lack and the attack value of the English corps is very good. Perhaps the fear of heavy losses, not easy to replace for a country in which there is still the enlistment, or the attention against the Turkish pushes the English GHQ to a vain waiting, which will be heavy paid in the future. In the meantime, the power of the French attack decreases and after another turn of vain attempts, the French stop their great offensive.

It is the time to make the calculations for both the opponents. On one side, the French have the confirmation that through the Alsace-Lorena it is unthinkable to obtain even the most little success ( as if it has already happened in the summer of the ’14 ). On the other side the Germans learn that if in defensive position the front line on the French sector is impenetrable, the situation should be more different in offensive operations. The number of losses is horrible for both: the German land army has lost in two turns more than it has lost in all the turns of winter and summer ’15 on the Russian front. At this point, in Berlin it is clear that a war of attrition, made by the Allied on both fronts, will be with no way out for Germany and if Italy should go to the war with the Allied, the same thing should happen for the Austrian too, but with effects even worse. In this end of summer, after a year of war, the Central Powers, even if victorious on every front and deeply penetrated in the Russian territory, start to suffer the first effects from a war on two fronts, which is for Austria, due to a lot of fortune, only a war on one front. For those reasons, the GHQ of Germany and Austria start to feel the necessity to win in short time, in one year, at least one year and half, after it will be probably too late. The Allied have their troubles too, first, how to aid the Russian allied the land army of which is crumbling in face of the German troops already at the gate of Riga and with the clear intention to point to San Petersburg. Moreover, the absence of Italy and the already ended Serbian campaign allow the Habsburg Empire to concentrate all of its forces against the Russian to support the German attacks. Without Italy, the Allied could prevail very difficultly and the Italian land army, valid and finally not underestimated, gives an indispensable aid to the Allied. Closed the short parenthesis, we can retake our narration. 

In this year of game we have never written about the USA, like they do not exist, in reality they have passed from their initial isolationism to a clear support for the Allied with aids that are, for the moment, confined to economics aids and military supplies. However, their importance becomes more and more clear. And once at war, even if their land army is not particularly numerous ( only twenty one corps in front of, for example, sixty six of France ) the United States, with their powerful corps in attack and in defence, their great navy, their enormous psychological support and their very great resources have a significant impact on the Central Powers. From the ’17, when the human resources will be scarcer and the exhaustion due to the war will be an important factor, the United Stated should be the decisive country.

Autumn 1915
The autumn turns take place of the summer turns and in the interphase, which divides them, Germany decides the submarine warfare without restrictions, the only possible answer to the continental block imposed by the England, block that is still without heavy effects but that becomes, day after day, heavier strangling the commerce of the Central Powers. On the other side, the u-boots make their duty and England starts to understand that the new submarine warfare not only causes heavy losses, but also it is very difficult to fight effectively and only one of the German u-boots is sunk. All the countries at war increase their war production, the land armies of all the countries are better equipped, and the artillery support and the stocks of ammunitions are in the first place in the efforts of every contending. 

In September restarts the diplomatic struggle; as if it is easy to image, Italy is in the centre of intrigues of every kind. This time, the Allied prevail and the diplomatic level of the Italy is now -2: in reality nothing changes, everything is delayed to the next call, in January ’16. However, for Austria there is the awareness that in that date if the whole fortune will be not with it, the south front will be open with disastrous consequences for the Imperial-Royal land army. An overall view is necessary for the technological research of both camps. The Central Powers finally discover the chlorine gas and a little late the mustard gas, their trenches reaches the maximum level ( three on the western front, one and two levels lower on the Russian and on the other sectors of the eastern front respectively ). The research in the air warfare languishes, at the end of ’15 it is still impossible to product a decent fighter; and even the famous Stosstruppen are only in project; on the contrary, the technology “ u-boot “ gives more effectiveness to the submarine warfare and in this moment it is considered the decisive warfare to destroy the English economy. The Allied have not yet decent trenches and this thing will be decisive for the outcome of the war, on the contrary, the gas research is good and there are great improvements in the air warfare, for the reconnaissance and for the speed of the airplanes, but also for the Allied the real effectiveness of the fighters is ridiculous. In general, there is a backwardness of both camps because the strengthening and the enlargement of the land armies absorb all the war efforts, more than by their technological improvement.

At the end of the ’15, the German raiders make their last actions and they, hunted by the powerful English fleets, prefer to refuge in the ports of Cameroon and of the Eastern German Africa, their sacrifice being vain. Fortunately, the English inaction does not endanger the German colonies even if the entry into the war of Japan, with the Allied, means the end of the German presence in Asia. One after another surrender the little and undefended colonies of Qin-Tao and of the Bismarck Archipelago, a symbolic victory for the Allied, which will must win the real war in Europe. In addition, just in the Old Continent the end of the ’15 reserves some very important facts, which now we will see in details. 

Under the pressure of the skilful Bulgarian land army and of the fifth Austrian army, the Rumanian land army is compelled to leave entirely the home ground and Rumania is the second minor power that surrenders to the Central Powers. With wise decision, the Allied prefer to save the Rumanian land army in the Russian territory where it takes position to defend the city of Odessa and of some near hexes, in this way the Russian land army can shorten the front to be more effective against the next Austrian-German attacks, which promise to be violent. In the north, the Kaiser’s troops conquer Riga and foresee the possibility to conquer San Petersburg in the ’16. In the south, two Austrian armies, coordinated by the very good Conrad von Hoetzendorff, commander of the K.u.K., with the support of a powerful siege battery ( the same lent to the Germans in the ’14 ) break through the Russian front toward Kiew and inflict heavy losses to the Russians. The error, made by the Germans not to have wanted to continue the great offensive, restricts the activity on the Russian front to only two minor battles, which are sufficient, however, to destroy two Russian armies and the numerous corpses arrived like reinforcements: all this with respect of light losses for the Central Powers. At this point, the Tsarist Empire is running out of men and it is unable to replace the losses. The national will crushes; there is the first strike in San Petersburg and the Russian land army mutinies en masse. The charisma of the Great Duke Nicola counts nothing; he is removed and replaced by the brilliant Broussilov, until now distinguished more for his defence capacities than for those in attack, except during the first fortunate attacks against the Austrians in Galicia in the summer ’14. The mutiny has like consequence the defection of a lot of corps ( about a third of the force ) and the offensive inability for three turns. The discouragement and the disconcertment reign sovereign among the Allied that see the Russian land army to disintegrate after a little more than a year of war. Naturally, the attacks of the Central Powers against the Russians continue until the end of the ’15 without to give respite to the already exhausted Tsarist armies. The front is broken through in several points so that Broussilov is forced to retreat again the whole front line, but now there is not space to retreat a lot, like in the ’14. The first German army is at only five hexes from San Petersburg and the Bulgarian land army, with fearless bravery, conquers with reiterated and ferocious assaults the fortress of Odessa making vain every defence made by the Rumanian land army. Every end of turn is a torture for the Russia. It sees to crash down its national will in the unstable zone and only the heroic resistance of the Russian people and the total devotion to the cause and to the royal family prevent that revolts break out or even worse the Revolution with the following dissolution of the Russian Empire. 

On the Middle-East sector of the front the English, bold and arrogant as usual, advance either into Sinai either towards Baghdad where the sixty army, under the command of the general Townsend, thinks, although being at low ranks ( it has only three corpses and no one artillery battery ), to be able to face up to two Turkish armies. They pay dearly for their insolence. The army of Townsend is surrounded and destroyed, the whole HQ is taken prisoner and the general Townsend becomes respected guest of the Sultan. He is the first general of a major power to be captured and he will be the only one too: the English land army will never can get off this shame. However, what more disconcerts the observers is the total absence of every activity on the French front and if it is understandable, that is not German interest to attack the French before to have defeated the Russian it is impossible to understand the total inactivity of the French and of the two British armies. The men are not short. The units are of value. The artillery support and the reserves of ammunitions are very good. However the Allied look at the collapse of the Russian Empire without to give it an aid. Surely, a constant and strong pressure on the western front should compel Germany to loosen the grip on the east allowing the Russians to reorganize the ranks and to have a pause in a so difficult moment. We could not say the real motivation of such behaviour, perhaps there is a psychological collapse of the Allied as a whole, which prepares them to the defeat with pessimistic resignation. We, on the other hand, think that the initial German supremacy forces to wait and to clench the teeth until the middle of the ’16, even until the start of the ’17. Then due to the attrition of a war on two fronts, the enter in to the war of the USA, the deep weakness of the Ottoman Empire the Allied could take their first satisfactions and  start to plan a war of attrition, which surely favours them.

Winter 1916
Arrived at the interphase of the winter ’15, the Central Power try to make a separate peace with Russia that however declines the offer and decides to remain stoically at war. Every country at war squeezes more and more its economy for the war effort and the land armies become more and greater with the exception of the English and of the Russian. England pays a very expensive cost to the submarine warfare without restrictions that causes so many losses that the economy of the British Empire is crippled and Russia, even having the double of men, could not replace the losses inflicted by the hard German attacks and by the recent revolt of the land army.  All the HQs examine the plans for the great offensives of the ’16. The Allied decide to retake, with little modifications, the plan of the ’15; in the west a French great offensive, objective Metz, with the aid of the English. In the east, Russia, being passed the recent shock due to the land army’s revolt, decides to sacrifice itself again and to start at the same time with the western Allied a great offensive in the Austrian sector of the front. For the ’16, the date of the start of the attacks is anticipated to the turn of May, when, even on the Russian front, it is very probably that the weather should be good. The Allied count a lot on the entry into the war of Italy in January ’16, which, in this way, could start a great offensive against the Austrians, while the Germans are engaged on the French front, to allow the Russians to break through the Austrian lines in Ukraine so that to compel the Germans to aid their allied. Nothing is decided for the Middle-East: after the defeat in Iraq, the English must still to lick their wounds, more moral than material, but perhaps even for this reason they burn more. On the other side the German GHQ have in store a lethal surprise. The German government gives its support and the Kaiser seals the preparation of the decisive battles with some important advises. It is decided a double great offensive. On the western front, the initial objective is the hex east of Verdun; the final one is Verdun itself, with the major battle two minor battles to disintegrate the French defences from Switzerland to Belgium. On the eastern front the great offensive, made as usual by the Germans, has like objective San Petersburg and at the same time the Austrian, with the minor battles, have like objective to conquer Kiew and to break the Russian army into two parts with the south one inevitably doomed to the surrounding and to the surrender. In addition, Turkey, emboldened by the recent success on the English, proposes to give an important support to the victory with a decisive attack against the army at the command of Youdenitch that defends the important city of Kars, set rout to penetrate into the Caucasian possessions of the Russian Empire. The boldness and the determination of the German commands is such that to face even the rigors of the terrible Russian winter, and the month established for the start of all the great offensives is January so that to take the Allied unprepared. New years are called up and the Central Powers decide to use every their resource: now the advantage is all for them, more the time goes on, with the uncertainty of Italy and the increased American hostility, more the possibilities of victory go away. For those reasons, Germany decides to risk everything, even if this should mean the material and human collapse of the German Empire. 

The diplomatic phase of the first turn of the ’16 is waited with particular anxiety by both the sides: the Austrians have reinforced the boundary with the eighth army and now three imperial armies prepare to face up to imminent declaration of war of Italy and its predictable offensive in the Gorizia’s sector. The fate decides that it is the Allied “ to call “ the Italy, both sides have the same number of embassy points, the appeal to D’Annunzio is all at the vantage of the Allied. However, the bad fate is present, the Poet does not answer to “ the cry of pain “ and he does not fire the Italian parliament with his oratory, which on the contrary is for the Central Power. The Italy remains immobile in its neutrality and the Allied, with the death in their soul, are sure to have failed the last possibility to open the Italian front. In Vienna, the relief is enormous and it is possible to watch at the future with hope. The worse for the Allied, however, is still to come and when the military phase starts the Central Powers reveal their plans; a shudder of fear goes along the back of the French and the Russians and the unavoidability of the final result envelops like heavy shadow the Allied high commands. There is not even the time to understand the situation that the powerful German armies, a short time ago brought to the fullness of the corpses, which Germany can deploy, furnished by all the available artillery batteries ( among which two siege batteries ) and by an endless reserve of ammunitions launch their devastating attacks. It is started on the eastern front where after a bombardment of unheard violence the Russians are unable, still using all the available reserves and the better corpses, to stop the enemy: numerous hexes are conquered and now the German troops are at only two hexes from San Petersburg. In the south, the Austrian armies break through the front in two points causing heavy losses and in addition, the Turkish, after furious and bloody fights, defeat the army of Youdenitch, with only one corps reduced, and enter in triumph in Kars, the doors of the whole Caucasian area are open. The Russian commands are unable to react and the sinister shadow of Rasputin makes its entry in the Imperial Court. The national will crushes down, the umpteenth strike breaks up, but this time the morale of the army stands even if in only one turn the Russian Empire have had over sixty losses, the equivalent of over thirty corpses! Because of the deep wedge of the German troops in the northern sector, towards the Capital, and the Austrian penetration in the south, Brousislov must again retreat the front line. Now the front line, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, takes a line that in the north is two hexes in the west from San Petersburg, then it makes a hump of about three hexes towards west, it continues for about five hexes towards south and then it goes back for about two hexes towards east. In this way, it creates a salient of difficult defence, but which requires a great number of copses to defend it, in the middle of the Pripiat swamps; then the front line goes down toward the Black Sea with some humps, one hex in front of Kiew and one behind Odessa. The Turkish army under the command of Enver Pacha prepares itself to the conquest of Tiflis and now, with the army of Youdenitch reduced to the only HQ, all the ways are open to penetrate in the hart of Russia and to threaten the Russian zones behind the line.

On the French front two powerful armies under the command of the Kronprinz, after a heavy bombardment, assaults the French trenches, the struggle is very violent, the losses are enormous for both, the battle continues until the limit of the ten rounds at the end of which the French, even if exhausted, still keep their positions. The two minor battles are more lucky and the French, who are not still able to absorb the losses, must surrender the first two hexes of the French territory, one near the boundary with Belgium, the other one north of the fortress of Epinal. The German GHQ, even if impressed by the high number of losses and by a consumption of ammunitions that even the German powerful war industry cannot sustain, decides to continue the great offensive, counting that in the next turn, that one of March-April, France will pay for the enormous losses suffered in the first turn of the ‘16.

The German plans are clear and the Allied ones have been completely upset badly by the two German offensives, unexpected during the winter and for their violence. The subsequent turn of the ’16 sees the unstoppable German march towards San Petersburg, which now has the Germans at the gates, the easy Austrian victories and the bold advance of the Turkish who now point to the region of the Azerbaijan. As a result, of the continuous military defeats, the Russian land army revolts a second time and Broussilov is replaced by the general Alexeiev. From some turns, the are new governs in an attempt to save the situation; but the Russian land army is reduced at one third of its force, unable to defend effectively. Despite the situation, the immense Empire does not surrender and it continues to support the Tsar, with great annoyance of the Germans who would like to settle in short time the argument Eastern Front to deal then the decisive blow to France. 

On the French front, the Germans continue their attacks and finally the great offensive succeeds, Verdun is within reach and the decision to continue the great offensive, the objective of which is now the powerful fortress of Verdun, seems obvious, although the losses are enormous and the ammunitions’ consumption is staggering. The Allied are compelled by the victorious German offensive to abort their one on the French front and every ambition of “ revance “ must be abandoned. With fatalistic resignation by the Allied, the turn of May starts, the Allied know well that the good faith, which have protected Russia until now, cannot be forever and they hope that the motor of the German war machine, pushed flat out, burn out sooner or later.

Summer 1916
Because of the Italian obstinate neutrality, the diplomatic phase is played upon minor powers in order that they should  be pro-Allied or pro-Central Powers and they should give some commercial advantages: while the technologies evolve always very slowly, Germany develops the tactics of combat that allow it to use the gases ( for the moment the chlorine gas only ). Finally, the weather is dry on all the fronts and the invincible armies of the Kaiser can show all their strength. On the Russian front, for the first time the gas is employed, in massive manner, during the bombardment and during the battle to conquer San Petersburg; the Russian armies are completely annihilated by the new weapon already during the bombardment  and the battle is a little work for the Germans. At the head of his victorious troops the field marshal von Block enters in the capital of the Tsars and the trembling crowd bows in front of his horse to beg for mercy. By explicit order of the Kaiser, the city and its population are treated with the greatest respect and the German make everything possible to reduce the weight of the military occupation. In the rest of the world, the conquest of San Petersburg is seen like the knell for the Tsarist Empire and the execration for the massive employment of the gas in a battle around a city makes even the less warmonger hearts throb. The United States will probably enter into the war before the end of the ’16. This fact worries little Berlin, which is sure that Russia should be at its end and that within the autumn the France will surrender too. In spite of the amazing success, the German GHQ decides to continue the great offensive with a new objective: Moscow. The Austrian, with their two minor battles, crumble the south front and now they surround the city of Kiew; the Turkish advance, without resistance by the Russians, into the heart of the trans-Caucasian possessions of the Russian Empire.

Now it is the turn of the French, after a tremendous bombardment and the use of the gas a hard battle for Verdun starts. The French troops hold out with great tenacity in front of the German attacks, the losses are disastrous for both, but at the end, the fortress of Verdun surrenders and a breach is opened in the French defensive line. The German success is crowned by the conquest of two other hexes of French territory, in one of which, there is the fortress of Epinal that is demolished by the Teutonic siege batteries. The Allied are incapable to create whatever offensive opportunity and with the aid of the English, the French try to rearrange the front line. The great offensive on the French front continued for three turns with the minor battles have been so bloody that the French land army is seriously weakened, but also in Berlin, the numbers are red with great attention. The western front have caused, in the first three turns of the ’16, more losses than the Russian and the French fronts together from the august ’14 to December ’15: Behind these things, the consumption of artillery grenades has been so high to reduce to zero the reserves of ammunitions of the German land army. These things suggests not to continue the great offensive on the French front and for the moment to occupy the positions obtained to allow Germany to recover in human and in material terms.

The war facts have some great consequences on the national will. Russia collapses, another strike begins, the third revolt of the land army, a violent insurrection in Moscow, but against every prevision the Nation is not ruined by a revolution and it does not capitulate, in spite of the German certainties. It is impossible not to note that its army, now under the command of Kornilov, is reduced at less than one quarter of its forces and the HQs, placed on the map, are more useful to cover empty hexes than to command corpses at this point dissolved to nothing. The French land army revolts too, the revolt weakens a lot its war effectiveness and France loses every attack capacity until the autumn, the old Joffre is replaced by Nivelle. The interphase of Spring-Summer ’16 does not see great things, the only important facts are that the English economy is reduced to zero by the u-boots and that England is unable to have sufficient economics resources even to produce the ammunitions necessary for its artillery. 

With the turn of June ’16, there is again a great expectation on the Italian decisions. The Central Powers make their choice first and to forestall the Allied they call the Great Absent; but this time the Poet does not give his opinion and so Italy remains strictly neutral. In this way, there is not any possibility that Italy enters the war with the Allied and Austria-Hungary is sure not to have any danger on its western flank. 
During the three summer turns of the ’16, the things are the same that in the past turns. On the Russian front the armies of the Tsar break up more due to the continue revolts than due to the losses in the battles. Despite a disastrous situation, the loss of the whole Finland, of the Ukraine, of part of Siberia and the already certain conquest of Moscow and despite the fact that the Russian land army is minor than the Bulgarian one, the national will, even if constantly in the unstable zone, hold up. There is not any revolutionary fancy and the capitulation is not considered. The German plans are for a total conquest of the Russian Empire, the only way to compel Russia to capitulate without a test.

On the French front the situation is more calm and the fifth army, the conquer of Verdun, under the order of the Kronprinz, retreats one hex towards the German line, in a position less exposed to a possible English attempt to surround it. You never know. 

At the end of the summer, even if Russia still stands and the entry into the war of the Americans is near, the Allied Powers know that in four-five turns, the Russian Empire will be in German hands and then all the power of the German war machine will be available to attack France. The Americans should not change the situation, at the best drop it, the Allied decide to capitulate after two years of hard battles and of moments of great emotion.

Conclusions
At the end of this report, we would like to notice some things that have been very important in the game.

The first, and we think the most important, is that the Allied Powers, one by one, cannot hope to defeat Germany. They must work in team and they must be working well together, even if the lack of a land connection between the western Allied and Russia compels this last one to count only on its forces. The Allied can win, but there are two main conditions. The first is that the Russian Empire holds until the entry into the war of the Americans. The second is that Austria-Hungary and Turkey, the two weak allied of Germany, are put under strain by Italy. If Italy enters into the war during the first turns of the ’15, it forces the Austrian Empire to fight on two fronts, or three fronts, if we count Serbia too. This fact restricts the offensive capacity against the Russians and forces the Germans to aid their allied, which have not a powerful land army. Without Italy, the Allied lose a great part of their war power and the USA, which enters into the war late, cannot give substantial aids until the end of the ’16 or the start of the ’17.

Another thing to notice is the importance and, at the same time, the difficult, to conduct the total naval supremacy. The Allied can make what they want in all the seas around the world and they can become very dangerous if they land troops behind the enemy’s line, provided the landings are made by adequate forces and with clear plans in a global strategy. For the Central Powers it is important to notice that everything depends on Germany, the others play only a second lead, this fact makes the conduct of the Central Powers easier because the whole conduct depends on the land power.

If a player decides to be in command of the Allied, he must know that the first two years of the war are in favour of the Central Powers. The victory depends, in particular, way, on to get over, psychologically, those moments, so frequent until the ’17, in which nothing and none seems to be able to stop the German crowd and on to aspect the opportunity to counterattack, in other words, the victory can be achieved on the long time. If a player decides to be in command of the Central Powers, it is necessary that he plays at his best from the first turn, knowing well that a war on two fronts can only conduct to the defeat, on the long time. Another very important aspect is the technologies, above all the trenches, even those innovations that seem, on the moment, useless become important, sooner or later. 

Here, we want to make another consideration: the military victory values nothing if it does not mean a political victory, and the skilful of the players depends on the capacity to hoard at the best even the littlest success and to make vain even the greatest victory of the adversary.
This simulation makes the players free to make their choices from the first turns and it is impossible to accuse the bad luck for own defeats or the bad historical plans which one must execute. In “ La Grande Guerre “ the victory is really the consequence of the ability of a player.