The Race to the Sea 1914

nemo

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For good or bad, I've uploaded the first public version of my scenario, The Race to the Sea 1914 in the downloads section. It should be up shortly too over at Rugged Defense.
So far, solo and PBEM playtests haven't unearthed any major bug - but you never know.
I'll continue developing this scenario in TOAW III, hopefully adding a decent Elmer opponent, more variability in the reinforcement schedule and testing the maximum rounds per battle feature.

You'll find hereafter the scenario briefing (five pages, sorry for the lenghty post) - there's an additional PDF design notes document (with navigational bookmarks) in the archive.

Feedback is welcome, be it public or private.

I hope you'll enjoy the thing!

Cheers,
Marc

THE RACE TO THE SEA
Version 1.2
June 2006
***
For TOAW Century of Warfare version 1.04
***
Author : Marc Martinez
(nemo at the SZO forums - toaw [at ] free [dot] fr)
***
Date: September 21st to October 15th, 1914
Location: Northern France and Belgium
Map scale: 2,5 km per hex
Time scale: 1 day turns
Unit scale: regiment / battalion
Formation scale: division / corps
Length: 25 turns
First side: deutsches Reich
Second side: Entente
***
La course à la mer
Wettlauf zum Meer
The Race to the Sea
***
UNIT COLOURS

French units
Active: white on olive green
Reserve: khaki on olive green
Territorial: grey on olive green
Colonial: red on olive green
Marine: light blue on olive green

Belgian units
Field army: white on dark green
Fortress units: blue on dark green

British units
Regular and TF: white on tan
Navy: blue on tan

German units
Active: white on grey
Garde: black on grey
Reserve: blue on grey
Landwehr: dark red on grey
Marine: light blue on grey
***
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
After Joffre's successful counter-attack at the Marne, the French and German armies are essentially stalemated from the Swiss border to the Aisne River. Both Falkenhayn and Joffre try to outflank each other's northern wings in a manoeuvre that will eventually see both opponents reach the Northern Sea. This last segment of movement warfare before the German spring offensives of 1918 will remain in history as 'The race to the sea', an improper denomination if there ever was as 'the sea was the term, not the objective' (Foch).
***
HOUSE RULES

They are intentionally kept to a minimum, with only one deemed compulsory and two optional, to be agreed beforehand by the players.

:: Compulsory house rule ::

1 - Bridge blowing is *strictly* forbidden, except in named locations and where the ][ sign is placed on the map.

:: Optional house rules ::

1 -Players should not watch the replay at the beginning of their PBEM turn. Given the very low theatre recon levels in the scenario, that tedious task is rather useless anyway. This should help simulate the lack of accurate information commanders had at the time as to enemy dispositions.

2 - Players should turn the hex possession visibility off, to help recreate the difficulty of locating the enemy in a still fluid battlefield. This should incite the players to effectively guard key rear or flank positions and use their cavalry assets to screen the bulk of their forces when on the move.

***

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

:: Variable triggers ::

The event variable (EV) starts at 0
If Calais (17,20) falls the EV goes up by 20 points
If Dunkerque (34,17) falls, the EV goes up by 20 points
If Boulogne (8,30) falls, the EV goes up by 20 points
If Abbeville (15,57) falls, the EV goes up by 10 points
If Arras (45,50) falls, the EV goes up by 10 points
If Amiens (29,67) falls, the EV goes up by 10 points
If Antwerp (98,11) is taken, the EV goes up by 5 points
If Lille is taken, the EV goes up by 5 points

If the EV reaches 30 points, there is a one-turn check with a 30% chance the B.E.F will be withdrawn from the front and regrouped further south to cover the lower Seine around Rouen.

If the EV reaches 50 points, there is a one-turn check with a 50% chance the B.E.F. will be withdrawn from the front and regrouped further south to cover the lower Seine around Rouen.

If the EV reaches 70 points, there is a one-turn check with a 75% chance the B.E.F. will be withdrawn from the front on the next turn and regrouped further south to cover the lower Seine around Rouen.

:: Location triggers ::
If Veurne (43,16) is taken, there is a one-turn check with a 20% chance that the Belgian army will cease to fight and be withdrawn entirely.
If Antwerpen still holds past the historical date for the fall of the city (turn 19 - october 9th), the Entente receives 5 VPs for each turn it can hold on to the city.

:: Destruction of headquarters and units ::
If King Albert Headquarters is destroyed, there is a 20% chance during three turns that the Belgian army will cease to fight and be withdrawn entirely.

If Foch Headquarters is destroyed, the Entente side suffers a 90% shock for three turns before his successor can hold the reins and restore the situation.

The destruction of every Belgian field brigade is worth 5 VPs, any other unit is worth 2 VPs (to make sure the Entente player has the incentive to save the Belgian army and put it out of harms way). Fortress and fixed garrisons are excluded from this mechanism.

:: Refugees effects ::
If Lille (56,34) is approached by German troops nearer than 8 hexes, refugees will affect a four-hex zone around the city for 2 turns.
Antwerp (98,11) suffers from refugees effect in a two-hex zone around the city when the Germans begin to attack the outer ring of fortifications. The effect lasts for 5 turns or as soon as the Germans occupy Antwerpen itself.

:: Supply-related events ::

German side:
When Antwerp falls, Germans get a temporary boost in supply: +2 for four turns
When Lille falls, Germans get a temporary boost in supply: +2 for four turns
If Amiens falls, Germans get a temporary boost in supply: +2 for two turns
If Arras falls, Germans get a temporary boost in supply: +2 for two turns
If Calais falls, Germans get a temporary boost in supply : +2 for four turns
If Dunkerque falls, Germans get a temporary boost in supply: +2 for two turns
If Boulogne falls, Germans get a temporary boost in supply: +2 for two turns
If Bruxelles (97,26) is captured by the Entente, the Germans will suffer from a decrease in supply: -5

Note that these are one-time boosts or decreases: successive loss and capture of these cities by the German side has no supply-related effect whatsoever.

Entente side :
If Lille (56,34) falls, the Entente side suffers from a decrease in supply: -2
If Arras (45,50) falls, the Entente side suffers from a decrease in supply: -2
If Amiens (29,67) falls, the Entente side suffers from a decrease in supply: -2
If Dunkerque (34,17) falls, the Entente side suffers from a decrease in supply: -2
If Calais (17,20) falls, the Entente suffers from a decrease in supply: -3
If Boulogne (8,30) falls, the Entente suffers from a decrease in supply: -2

Note that if any of these cities is retaken by the Entente, supply is restored to its prior level after a three turn delay.
***
OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST

:: Topographic and naming conventions ::
Locations above 20,000 inhabitants are noted in capital letters, those below that threshold in lower case (see the MAP section of the accompanying design notes document for further explanations).
River names are given within brackets.

:: On map forces ::
The German player should be aware that the whole of I. Bayrische A.K. is located at Charleroi (100,46) at the beginning of the game.

:: Reconstitution ::
No unit reconstitutes
***
THANKS

I'd like to thank Jean-Luc Betin, Sam Mudd and Piero Falotti for the time they spent playtesting this scenario, for their tips and advices and also for sharing their design experience.

Viele Danke also to Stefan Göhring for his help with the German names and OOB.
***
VERSION HISTORY

1.2 (june 2006)
- first public version
- changed first player to have the Germans begin
- lowered readiness and supply levels for Belgian units to better simulate their exhaustion and prevent them from too easily taking it on Beseler's III Res. A.K.
- lowered readiness, supply levels and TO&E numbers (between 50% and 60% of nominal levels) for the opposing 13e C.A. and IX. Res. A.K. at the southern end of the battlefield, to prevent players from using them for a full-fledged offensive there. These two corps had been in battle for several days at the start of the scenario and were severely depleted by the time this scenario begins
- applied the same changes to the French 3e D.C. and the German 7. K.D., 2. K.D., 9. K.D. and H.K.K. 2
- placed a railway link between 34,83 and 33,83 to circumvent the exclusion zone covering the French reinforcement area
- put the fortress infantry regiments of V.S. Antwerp in garrison mode or have them limited to a 1 point movement allowance (to prevent them from assuming offensive operations)
- set the railway destruction percentage for both sides at 10% to avoid wandering cavalry squadrons destroying railways like there's no tomorrow
- modified the bridge blowing house rule to have the players be able to blow bridges only in named or accordingly signaled locations
- placed '][' signs at places along rivers where bridges can be blown outside of named locations
- updated the railway network to reflect the actual military maps (from 1914 French military maps)
- increased the number of hexes of 'cropland' at the expense of those of 'open' terrain to better simulate the terrain
- corrected some misspellings both in the scenario briefing and in the 'Design notes' document
- placed a three-space name at 98,11 (event 118 pointed to this unnamed hex, preventing a correct dump of the scenario). Thanks to Sam Mudd for pointing this out
- placed a three-space name at 98,11 (event 118 pointed to this unnamed hex, preventing a correct dump of the scenario). Again pointed out by Sam Mudd
- updated the German force to use umlaute on German names instead of enlaced vocals. Thanks to Stefan Göhring for the heads up
- placed a 'Thanks' section to mention the help received from Jean-Luc, Piero, Sam and Stefan.
- updated the scenario briefing to reflect changes to the scenario
- updated the 'Design notes' PDF document

1.1 (march 2006)
- second playtest version
- added a 'Design notes' PDF document
- set up a *basic* P.O for both sides so that the scenario can be played PBEM or against any of the computer opponents
- corrected the force replacements rates for some equipment items
- substituted rifle squads (early) with light rifle squads
- corrected the divisional headquarters icon (previously showing as higher headquarters)
- placed the Entente southern reinforcements entry points under an exclusion zone to prevent their being overrun

1.0 (november 2005)
- First playtest version
 

jlbetin

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nemo said:
For good or bad, I've uploaded the first public version of my scenario, The Race to the Sea 1914 in the downloads section. It should be up shortly too over at Rugged Defense.
So far, solo and PBEM playtests haven't unearthed any major bug - but you never know.
I'll continue developing this scenario in TOAW III, hopefully adding a decent Elmer opponent, more variability in the reinforcement schedule and testing the maximum rounds per battle feature.

You'll find hereafter the scenario briefing (five pages, sorry for the lenghty post) - there's an additional PDF design notes document (with navigational bookmarks) in the archive.

Feedback is welcome, be it public or private.

I hope you'll enjoy the thing!

Cheers,
Marc
That's a scenario review, nice shoot Marc:broccoli: :redapple: :clap: :clap: :thumup:

Der WanderPleased
 

Sol Invictus

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I will certainly give it a shot once my game arrives. I'm looking for all of the WWI scenarios that I can find.
 

Legun

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Ho, ho, ho - my old dream is realized! I was thinkig about such scenario in my FB standard. You can be sure that you get my comments.
 

nemo

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piero1971 said:
is it changed since my sounding defeat?
We've played the 1.1 during the playtest. I've made many changes, the major one being that the German side starts first now. It should play out giving more historical results now - I hope so at least.
 

nemo

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Sol Invictus said:
I will certainly give it a shot once my game arrives. I'm looking for all of the WWI scenarios that I can find.
In its current state, it's not yet optimized for TOAW III, though you should have no problem playing it.
 

nemo

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Legun said:
Ho, ho, ho - my old dream is realized! I was thinkig about such scenario in my FB standard. You can be sure that you get my comments.
He he, beware, it might be a nightmare instead ;)
Looking forward to what you think of it.
 

nemo

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jlbetin said:
That's a scenario review, nice shoot Marc:broccoli: :redapple: :clap: :clap: :thumup:

Der WanderPleased
Thanks Jean-Luc. Next stop should be TOAW III with a full-French version - Ralph has really done a good job with the localization / customization tools.
 

Ben Turner

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Took a quick look at this. Seems like a really well put-together scenario, and something a bit different from the norm. Good work.
 

nemo

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Thanks Ben. If you ever have the opportunity to take a closer look at it, do not hesitate in sending my way any kind of observations and remarks, by all means.
 

Wolfe Tone

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OK anybody fancy a game?

Would prefer to play the Germans but don't mind too much.

2/3 turns per week would suit me. Only ask that we play it through - not interested in a half finished game (had too many of those in PBEM!).
 

Legun

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Oh, next scenario for ant-lovers, not ant-haters :(. I would like a verison for ant-haters, too:
- cavalry divisions as brigades - no HQs, no MG detachement, no horse artillery (no unit with strength lower than 3)
- reserve artillery and engineers included to HQs
- corps HQs changed into supply units (there is no reason to use them as a second level of structure, now)

be contiued...
 

nemo

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Legun said:
Oh, next scenario for ant-lovers, not ant-haters :(. I would like a verison for ant-haters, too:
- cavalry divisions as brigades - no HQs, no MG detachement, no horse artillery (no unit with strength lower than 3)
That'll be addressed in the next version - I'm re-doing the cavalry divisions to avoid this. As it stands now, it makes almost compulsory for players to have a continuous front line - as was the case historically.


- reserve artillery and engineers included to HQs
Some engineers (at the company level) are already merged in the HQs. Those left out are battalion-level units (Belgian divisional engineers, corps-level engineer troops for the others). Why merge the artillery in the HQs?
- corps HQs changed into supply units (there is no reason to use them as a second level of structure, now)
I'll have to test that - if only for the look of it.

be contiued...
By all means, keep it coming, thanks!
 

nemo

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Legun said:
- cavalry divisions as brigades - no HQs, no MG detachement, no horse artillery (no unit with strength lower than 3)
To be exact, I intend to merge the cavalry regiments (generally 6 per division) into three brigades and perhaps include the MG detachment of the German KDs into their HQs. So far, I intend to keep HQs and divisional artillery as well.

Every scenario needs a little bit of chrome doesn't it? ;)
 

Legun

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nemo said:
Some engineers (at the company level) are already merged in the HQs. Those left out are battalion-level units (Belgian divisional engineers, corps-level engineer troops for the others).
Sure - I'm trying to change every scenario just the way I do my own.:rolleyes: Seriously - I've noticed, that players tend to use separate engineer battalions as additional infantry units. 1914 standards were different, I'm affraid.

nemo said:
Why merge the artillery in the HQs?
- to penalize concentration of artillery units of different divisions on selected sections to support other divisions,
- to limit number of strenghtless HQs, perfect for recon actions, delaying actions, etc.

PS
I'm back at July 4th - Croatian beaches are calling :cool:
 

Ben Turner

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nemo said:
Some engineers (at the company level) are already merged in the HQs. Those left out are battalion-level units (Belgian divisional engineers, corps-level engineer troops for the others). Why merge the artillery in the HQs?
I'd be inclined to put artillery in the HQs and keep the engineers separate. HQs and artillery generally want to be in the same place, whilst engineers want to be elsewhere.
 
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