Game of the Week, Nov 25 to Dec 1
Hi everyone,
It’s time for Game of the Week!
This week’s Game of the Week is First World War Campaigns – Serbia ‘14.
The First World War started on July 28th, 1914, 110 years ago. The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand resulted in Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, beginning World War I. Between August 2nd to 7th, 1914, Germany invades Luxembourg and Belgium. France invades Alsace, and British forces arrive in France. The Germans had hoped to knock the Western Allies out of the war quickly and then turn their attention to the East and the conflict with Russia. These four campaigns in Serbia are the focus of First World War Campaigns – Serbia ‘14.
First World War Campaigns – Serbia ‘14 is the new 4.05.1 version, released in October, and our product description encapsulates this campaign well:
In the summer of 1914, the world was shocked as Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated in the streets of Sarajevo. In response, an enraged Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on the tiny nation of Serbia, which caused a complex web of alliances across Europe to be triggered. With Russia entering the conflict, the Austro-Hungarians drew up hasty plans for an invasion intent on knocking "little Serbia" out of the war quickly so they would be able to transfer forces to counter the Russian advance on the Eastern Front. However, the first invasion of Serbia would fail miserably, followed by a second invasion that ground to a halt, and then a third invasion that, with victory seemingly within grasp, would also end in a humiliating defeat for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Those three defeats would pave the way for a German intervention which would finally see the total conquest of Serbia a year later. The little-known Serbian campaigns would serve as inspiration to the allies as Serbia defied all odds and stood against the might of the Central Powers.
There are 28 Scenarios, 4 Campaigns and 4 Grand Campaigns included. Below is a list of the major engagements included many with multiple scenarios:
- Mount Cer
- Syrmia Offensive
- Macva Peninsula
- Mount Jagodnja
- Serbian offensive in Bosnia
- Mackov Kamen
- Drina Stalemate
- Romanja Planina
- Valjevo
- Kolubara (the full battle, as well as separate A-H and Serb offensive phase scenario)
- 1st Beograd
- 2nd Beograd (1915)
- Pozarevac (1915)
- Timok (1915)
- Bulgarian invasion of Macedonia (1915)
- Krivolak (1915)
- Kragujevac (1915)
- Kosturino (1915)
Campaign scenarios consist of:
- The 1st Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia (102 turns)
- The 2nd Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, which includes a simultaneous Serbian invasion of Syrmia (131 turns)
- The 3rd Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia (319 turns)
- The massive 4th Austro-Hungarian and German invasion of Serbia (389 turns), which includes forces from Austro-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian forces against Serbian, Montenegrin, Russian, British and French forces
- A bonus small campaign/large battle scenario covering the ill fated Serbian invasion of Bosnia to "liberate" Sarajevo, which occurred between 2nd and 3rd Austro-Hungarian invasions of Serbia (278 turns)
- Four Grand Campaign scenarios designed to be played along with Grand Campaigns scenarios for France '14 and East Prussia '14, which are intended to establish context and allow the player to influence the outcome of the war across many different scenarios (102 to 389 turns)
The Serbia master map (210,496 hexes) covers Austro-Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro, Romania, and Greece. A map of Bosnia is also included.
First World War Campaigns – Serbia ‘14 includes the aforementioned playable scenarios and campaigns, as well as a Getting Started scenario to introduce new players to the game system. The included scenarios are a good mix of small (division), medium (corps) and large (army) engagements.
Of the five included Order of Battles, the largest includes 2,400 units from the German, Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian, Serbian, Russian, British, French and Montenegrin forces that participated in the campaign.
We included a lot of historical documentation and notes with this title, you can review each by clicking on the links below.
ORDER OF BATTLE-Serbia '14 (1st Invasion)
ORDER OF BATTLE-Serbia '14 (2nd Invasion)
ORDER OF BATTLE-Serbia '14 (3rd Invasion)
ORDER OF BATTLE-Serbia '14 (Bosnia)
ORDER OF BATTLE-Serbia '15 (4th Invasion)
There has been a range of books covering the battles in Serbia. Following are some representative books for anyone that would like some more background on the campaign. You can click on the book images below to be taken to the Publisher or Amazon, if applicable. A few of these books were mentioned in our Game of the Week – France ’14 post, but most are new additions.
Informational
Serbia and the Balkan Front, 1914: The Outbreak of the Great War by Jame Lyon. The first history of the Great War to address in-depth the crucial events of 1914 as they played out on the Balkan Front. James Lyon demonstrates how blame for the war’s outbreak can be placed squarely on Austria-Hungary’s expansionist plans and internal political tensions, Serbian nationalism, South Slav aspirations, the unresolved Eastern Question, and a political assassination sponsored by renegade elements within Serbia’s security services. In doing so, he portrays the background and events of the Sarajevo Assassination and the subsequent military campaigns and diplomacy on the Balkan Front during 1914. The book details the first battle of the First World War, the first Allied victory and the massive military humiliations Austria-Hungary suffered at the hands of tiny Serbia, while discussing the oversized strategic role Serbia played for the Allies during 1914.
Serbia's Great War: 1914-1918 (Central European Studies) by Andrej Mitrovic. Mitrovic's volume fills the gap in Balkan history by presenting an in-depth look at Serbia and its role in WWI. The Serbian experience was in fact of major significance in this war. In the interlocking development of the wartime continent, Serbia's plight is part of a European jigsaw. Also, the First World War was crucial as a stage in the construction of Serbian national mythology in the twentieth century.
The Resurrection and Collapse of Empire in Habsburg Serbia, 1914–1918: Volume 1 (Cambridge Military Histories) by Jonathan E. Gumz. This book examines the Habsburg Army’s occupation of Serbia from 1914 through 1918. This occupation ran along a distinctly European-centered trajectory radically different from other great power colonial projects or occupations during the 20th century. Unlike these projects and occupations, the Habsburg Army sought to denationalize and depoliticize Serbia, to gradually reduce the occupation’s violence, and to fully integrate the country into the Empire. These aims stemmed from 19th-century conservative and monarchical convictions that compelled the Army to operate under broad legal and civilizational constraints. Gumz’s research provides a counterpoint to interpretations of the First World War that emphasize the centrality of racially inflected, Darwinist worldviews in the war.
The Serbian Army in the Great War, 1914-1918 by Dusan Babac, offers readers a very thorough analysis of the Serbian Army of the period, including its organization, participation in military operations, weapons, equipment, uniforms, and system of orders and medals. This book is a synthesis of all available literature and periodicals, appearing for the first time in the English language.
Austria-Hungary's Last War, 1914-1918 Vol 1 (1914): Outbreak of War to the Outcome of the Battle of Limanowa-Lapanow by The Austrian Federal Ministry of the Army and War Archive. In August 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in response to the assassination of their heir to the throne, declared war against Serbia. Their army was multi-national and multi-lingual. Backed by Germany and opposed by an alliance between Russia, France, and Great Britain, the conflict would plunge the entire world into five years of brutal warfare.
Started just after the Great War ended and completed only one year before the start of the Second World War, this is a comprehensive history of the final conflict of an empire that only half a century prior had been among the most powerful in Europe.
Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War 1914. Max Hastings needs no introduction on his history prose.
1914: The Year the World Ended by Paul Ham. Another great general history to understand the genesis of the first world war.
If you have never listened to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, then you are in for a treat. Dan has a range of his podcasts up on Spotify, but the series that details World War I can be bought directly from his website here:
With over 24 hours across 6 episodes, this is a thought provoking and unique presentation.
Now for video content:
SmartWargames has reviewed Serbia ’14 here:
War History has a fantastic historical video that covers the various campaigns by both sides.
Following are some in-game screen shots of what to expect. Each image can be clicked for a full-sized view.
As mentioned, the build we are making available today is a the 4.05.1 version that was released in October. A range of new features were included, and you can read the Changelog here. All new purchases will be this latest version.
If you don’t already own this title, what are you waiting for? You can buy it directly from the dedicated product page.
We hope you enjoy this week’s Game of the Week. We thought it was important to showcase this title during the 110th anniversary year of the start of the first truly world war. Like all WDS titles, there is a lot of game play included at a very attractive price.
Very surprised to see Smartwargamer isn’t around anymore. He and Mack are great for showcasing WDS titles. Only last weekend I was watching a video he did a few months ago about Spring Awakening ’45. Very strange.
Bought this as soon as it became available on Monday! This now completes my WWI campaigns trilogy.
I’ve recently finished reading Clark’s “The Sleepwalkers”, which I thought was excellent. He goes into great detail, providing excellent context for Serbian territorial desires and how it will eventually butt up against Austro-Hungarian realpolitik, or the lack thereof. My main take away from the book is that there is more than enough credit/blame to go around for the start of the war. Ultimately attempting to define an antecedent is not nearly as important as understanding the context in which the various stake holders found themselves in.
All that to say, I enjoyed the book and I can’t wait ti dive into the game!
Steve Naidamast – Thank You for good history comment. Thanks WDS for First World War products, and design notes.
I own all the FWWC series and all are fascinating games. I’m currently playing the Mount Cer scenario (in Serbia ’14) as the CP and am enjoying it. I find the fragile armies very challenging to play, and have found out how dangerous it is to try to cover a gap with units too far from their HQ. The game presents dilemmas and the players have much to do and problem solve with never enough assets. I hope the next FWWC game is coming soon!
Since the “Game of The Week” is representative of WWI, I have to chime in since this has been an area of study of mine for over 20 years.
I would agree with all of the book recommendations here with one exception, the Max Hastings book, “Catastrophe”. Why?
A while back I saw Max Hastings along with Margaret McMillan in a debate with two other professors, which took place in Britain and was an attempt to answer the question as to who actually started this conflict.
I was very interested in what Max Hastings had to say. However, I was very disappointed with his arguments, which McMillan supported. McMillan was even odder in this respect as I had already read her excellent treatise, “Paris 1919”, which described the after effects of the treaties that were signed at Versailles. She took a very interesting position in this book where she described the initial start to WWII as a reaction to the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires into individual states while at the same time crucifying Germany in the bargain.
Margaret McMillan’s arguments in her book were very persuasive and interesting in that it provided an alternative viewpoint to the nonsense that once again everything was Adolf Hitler’s fault.
Getting back to this debate, both Hastings and McMillan took positions with arguments that had begun to be debunked as early as 1927 by Sydney Fey, and American historian who studied these events that led up the The Great War.
Sydney Fey took the position that all belligerents were equally responsible for the start of WWI. And he was able to do this research because shortly after WWI closed, much of the primary source documentation was released for research into the events that led up to the conflict.
As additional researchers did such work, the two most noted historians at the time who took the position that it was all Germany’s and Austria’s faults were also eventually discredited, Italian historian Albertini and German historian Fischer (Sorry. but I do not remember their first names.).
In 2013, Christopher Clarke, a British historian wrote what appears to have been admired as a definitive study on the causes that started WWI, wrote in his “The Sleepwalkers”, an in depth analysis that demonstrates that this conflict was begun early on by the Serbian radicals (of which much of Serbia was at the time), who did not want to see Archduke Ferdinand ascend to the throne of Austria-Hungary as they knew that the Serbs living in Austro-Hungary provinces would not be open to radicalization in that their loyalties should be devoted to a “Greater Serbia” (where have we heard that recently). Hence his assassination.
And Franz Ferdinand would have made a great emperor as he planed to turn Austro-Hungary into a confederation of autonomous states under the auspices of the Hapsburg Monarchy. What was not to like and the Serbian radicals were quite aware of this.
Britain and France also helped with such events, with France still pining away over the loss of Alsace and Lorraine in 1870/1871 (talk about grudges), while Britain was already planning for a confrontation with Germany as early as around 1910 with secret military discussions with the French General Staff at the time.
In 1912/1913, the two Balkan Wars broke out, with the Balkan provinces ganging up with Bulgaria against, I believe Romania or the Ottoman provinces in the region. I will have to refresh my memory on this. After this, Serbia turned on Bulgaria and initiated the Second Balkan War, which was over in a few months as Bulgaria had been militarily exhausted as a result of the first conflict. This then demonstrated the degenerate perceptions of the Serbian government and its place in Eastern Europe.
In the end, Germany and Austria were bystanders to the great power politics of Britain, France, and Russia, much of which was not directed against Germany in particular, but merely endeavors to satisfy their own territorial interests. These endeavors would eventually destroy the de-facto acceptance of the successful 1887 diplomatic workings of Europe to maintain the peace.
And at the same time Serbian radicals were causing all sorts of problems with the former Ottoman provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which Austria had been garrisoning for years with Ottoman approval and also held an earlier agreement with he Ottomans that at some point they would annex the provinces at their discression.
The annexation in around 1907 or so only served to spur on Serbian radicals towards raiding the provinces and endeavoring to destabilize the region under the Hapsburgs. All of this led to the previously mentioned assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
And the rest is history…
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