Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-39133133-20200423205640/@comment-35614398-20200424094123

UK Sep-Dec 1914

''"The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." ''- Sir Edward Grey

- To a cheering House of Commons, Prime Minister Asquith announces war with Germany. There is a rush of men enlisting in the army. A few people oppose the war, amongst them Lord Kitchener, head of the Armed Forces, but these are small compared to overwhelming support for the conflict.

- A bloodbath at the Belgian town of Mons sparks off the German assault, and September through October see the Allies scramble to halt the German advance. Eventually the Germans are halted at  a defensive line running along the River Marne, 'saving Paris' as newspapers put it. The British leading general, ironically named general French, says that British losses have been heavy, but the Germans equally so. An estimated 500,000 have died.

- By November, a muddy stalemate sets in, with trenches dug and defences consolidated. The Allies have built a line of trenches stretching from the North Sea to Switzerland, after fighting several key engagements at Ypres and Flanders.

- A truce at Christmas between the two sides takes place. Very nice. Back to war.

- The first plane-on-plane combat takes place, between the German Luftwaffe and Allied fighter-craft. The RAF bombs German zeppelin fields in the hopes of neutralising the bombing threat.

- Campaigns across Africa kick off, making sure this will be a World War. In Togo, the British military wipe out the police force of the small colony and occupy it. German South-West Africa sees more determined resistance from the Kraut garrison, but after a decisive battle in the Mushroom Valley in October, resistance falls there too. Preparations now for an offensive into German Tanzania are made.

- The Australians occupy German New Guinea, after short fighting around the Port Moresby area.

- The Royal Navy fights several engagements in the North Sea, losing several ships but taking down numerous German vessels. The end-goal is to enact a total blockade of Germany.

- Anti-German riots in London and other major cities. General ignorance however leads to several embarrasing incidents of Welshmen being lynched.

- The Siege of Tobruk ends after the Ottoman garrison finally surrenders. The British execute the top leaders and imprison the rest. Resistance in Libya now ends.

- The Battle of Thessaloniki ends in a British victory. However, the withdrawal of troops to fight on the Western Front threatens to jepardise campaigns in Greece, as the British leaders in Greece try to explain. Ottoman counter-attacks threaten to cave in Greek lines in northern Macedonia.

Oh man I've been waiting for a large-scale war.