Łowicz – 1914 [Mission]

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Author: BerenOneHand

Last revision: 7 Jan at 23:02 UTC

File size: 2.05 MB

On Steam Workshop

Description:

"Dear Auguste,

I do not have long to write to you, my Love. Our regiment has been ordered to advance on the Polish village of Łowicz. We’ll show the wasserkopfs, just like we did three days ago when our men crossed the Vistula. The thought of coming back to you is all that brings me warmth…" – some poor Kraut, 1914.

On the morning of November 14th, Mackensen’s Ninth Armee advanced like a sweeping river over the confused patchwork of Russian defenses. The Russian XXIII & II Corps suffer heavily after being caught completely unaware by the German attackers. In the Russian rearguard are the Fifth Siberian, who have been ordered in to fill the gaps. Right behind the German Ninth Armee is the Austrian First Armee, eagerly waiting to hold the positions of the advancing Germans.

{UPDATE: READDED KANONE PROPS!!! Minor edits*pictures use Project Realism BETA 2.0 – The best one there is no better!*}

{Objective}
Either hold the surroundings and center of Łowicz as the staggered Russians, or storm forward as the German Ninth Armee into the meatgrinder. Both sides will pay dearly for every inch of ground…

In this portrayal of actions during the Battle of Łódź – The 1. K.U.K make an attack on the Russian flank with the goal of filling the German Ninth’s Gaps. The Siberian V Corps makes up for the slack of the panicked Russian infantry and rushes into the thickest parts of the action.

{Loadouts & Equipment}
Similar to my previous WW1 mission, Rifles are dominant; Russian: 1891 Mosin, 1895 Winchester, Type 38 Arisaka, & Berdan II., German: Gewehr 88, 98, & 98AZ., Austrian: Steyr M95, Mannlicher–Schönauer, Werndl, & M.91 Russisches Repetier-Gewehr*. (mostly they were captured in 1915, but here the Russians were usually captured in large numbers so I argue that many Mosins could have been captured easily within late 1914 aswell)

Officers are armed either with sidearm, or rifle/sidearm.

Small amounts of machine guns & field guns are used; Russians:M1910 122mm Howitzers & Maxims., Germans/Austrians:Player only Madsen LMG (K.U.K spawn), Feldkanone 96, Schwarzlose HMG (Locational).

The goal of this mission is to be historic, but more importantly: to be FUN! I have designed defensive positions based on my educated guess + witness testimony/historic imagery. Much of the combat of 1914 was adjacent to earlier actions of the Franco-Prussian war and the American Civil War – thusly I have also taken influence from these conflicts. I have taken historical liberties in order to allow variety in gameplay, and also to tell a story. Though the units that are depicted here may have not fought side-by-side, they were in direct support of each other and were dealt their fates during the actions around Łowicz.

{Those curious for the real history; the Austrian 1. Armee played little role in the advance and acted more in a sense to hold the line, the Russian XXIII & II Corps were hit very harshly and may have been in full panic by the very first moment the action began. Even with Ninth Armee’s all out assault on the left, the Russians would inevitably reverse the encirclement through harsh fighting. Casualties were at astronomical rates – in total: the three Russian armies experienced 100,000-316,000 casualties*, while the three Germanic/Austrian armies experienced 160,000 total casualties. *Russian casualties are so high because of the large groups of prisoners taken during the entirety of the battle, in one case around 9,000 were captured because they were asleep in their bunks during the morning of a German advance…}

Please be patient with me as the process to make these missions takes an ungodly amount of time. If you read this, go look at someaustrianguy’s and Nutella the Hun’s WW1 missions! I would not be typing these words without the diligent modding work and mission design of talented individuals. These missions would not be feasible without the dedication of ivanfreitas777’s weapon mod that fills the hands of our doomed fodder! Extreme thanks to all who continue to play my missions after these few months!

{Map by Princeofpanzers}
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3455463964

{My favorite WW1 missions}
Cambrai – 1917, by Nutella the Hun (Grenade-lovers paradise!)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3179608503
Kaiserschlacht – 1918, by Nutella the Hun (Late-War masterpiece)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3317502322
Taking Monte Grappa, by some äustrian guy (Italian Olympic marksmanship competition)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3464297840
Gallipoli landing, by DUBDUBBUB (The first WW1 mission I fell in love with!)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3231592782
WW1 – Battle of Gallipoli, by L00tGoblin (Do not watch that crappy Gallipoli movie, just play this)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3298180611
WW1 – Storm of Steel – Amiens, by jaybee (An oldy, but a real goody that captures dark&spontaneous combat)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3270598317
Ardennes: La Morte de Reutlinger, by BerenOneHand (in memory of Jean Reutlinger 1891-1914)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3455158753
[Bonus]
Third Battle of Winchester, 1864, by Nutella the Hun (Same map as ‘Reutlinger’!)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3468847731