World War One Simulation
Period 3
United States 3 1913
The industrialization of Europe has led to competitive conflicts to arise. Who is better than who? To think that Europe has been at peace for nearly 100 years, and is now prospering! Of course, no peace lasts. The world has been growing in everything: population, economy, tension, etc. Some country’s egos have been getting too big for their country (i.e. Britain and France), and have spread. The countries of Europe want what everyone else has, and don’t seem to agree.
This is a war waiting to happen. Tempers have been going through the roof. People being intimidated by other countries. Europe’s conflicts resembles a bomb: the pieces of C4 and wiring are being added, and we are one step away from bloodshed and calamity.
Period 3
United States 3 1914
The period of peace in Europe was too good to be true. The Archduke of Austria-Hungary was shot and killed on June 28th, 1914. A Serbian nationalist decided that he could spark a war between the countries of Europe by firing a shot at a politician and his wife. Due to the fact that we trade with Europe quite a bit, the United States is worried that this conflict will leak over into our government and people.
There have been rumors that the United States is already a target in this war. Germany and the Central Powers are the ones that we have heard are aiming for our country. As we are hoping to stay away from a war, and Europe has it’s own issues, we want to stay in the background. That is, unless we are attacked. This is our home, and you protect your home. The problem with this rumor? Austria-Hungary has proposed a secret alliance for us to back them at the end of the war when their military is stretched thin.
We have been warned by many different countries that Austria-Hungary a slippery country, and that they are not to be trusted. They think that we are, in fact, considering an alliance with Austria-Hungary. What they don’t know is that our aim is to let everyone else wear themselves out to the minimum. When the Central Powers’ numbers are down, we would come into France and back the French and British armies. Through that, we should be able to overpower the Central Powers.
The problem with that is that it is wishful thinking. If we were to turn down Austria-Hungary’s alliance, we could be setting ourselves up for war. We have mobilized which was required. With the Central Powers and Allies (Great Britain asked for one as well) asking for an alliance between them and the U.S., we are one bad move away from joining this war. If so, we would be very conservative with our forces. For a few countries that are at war, we could be the final deciding factor for whether they hold our or fail.
Then again, we have been offered alliances by Russia and Britain within the first steps of the war. If the U.S. were to join now, then we would be going against the objective of staying out and neutral until 1917. We cannot risk our forces this early in the war, but they are within our sights in the future. The problem with this is whether we turn them away or not. If we turn them away now, we could dig ourselves a hole. They won’t forget that we turned them down. Pretty words may be enough to turn them away, but that mask would only last so long. They won’t declare war on us, assuming that they would think better of it.
If we were to accept, we could possibly stress our military so early on that we couldn’t get back on our feet later on. Joining now would mean that other countries rely on us or use us as a crutch (depending on the size of the country’s military). Due to the fact that no one can be trusted at this point or any point farther, I think that pretty words and self defense is what is keeping us out of this war.
If we accept no alliances, then hopefully we can soon approach France, Britain, or Russia about an alliance. 1914 is too early to hop in the war train, but they will eventually need our help. This strategy is not a new one, and I’m sure that the Central Powers are in the same mindset: wait until everyone is too tired to continue.
The United States has come up with the final strategy for 1914-15: Turn down alliances in 1914, but create secret alliances with France and Great Britain in 1915. This allows for us to negotiate our terms of an alliance, while helping them defend themselves. This helps us achieve two of our objectives: remain neutral until 1917, and work secretly with the Allies. Come in strong, and through France.
Another strategy that come into the U.S.’s sights today is sparking a fire between Germany and Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was acting extremely reckless today, and Germany was getting angry realizing that they would have to use more troops to gain land back. How does this lead to a new strategy? Austria-Hungary offered an alliance, but has yet to ask whether we have made a decision. When he asks, the United States explains that unless Germany can make amends with the Austria-Hungarian Empire, we cannot join without Germany backing us. This would cause Austria-Hungary to blame Germany’s outburst for our loss of interest in an alliance. Germany would fire back that it was their reckless behavior that made Germany lose their cool, causing a back-and-forth between 2/3 of the Central Powers. Whether it will work or not depends on how Germany cools down, and how Austria-Hungary plays the rest of the war.
Period 3
United States 3 1915
Since we cannot join the war until 1917, we decided not to have any kind of alliance in 1915 or 1916. The thought of people dragging us into the war makes us a bit uneasy, and would defeat our objective. Our best bet is to be subtle, but show no opinion. The second part of that bet is making alliances with France and Great Britain in late 1916, early 1917. After 1916, the U.S. has a feeling that they will be worn down and in dire need of help.
On the other hand, Germany’s bold move against France just took 3,000 out of their military. While it’s easier for Germany to throw soldiers at the war, that is a pretty big chunk of the military gone in one day. A certain source has let me know their official ranking for their military, and it’s two points higher than the United States. The United States has smaller numbers, but we are just as capable of going behind backs and working with the others to help them strategize.
The United States has been talking with a few of the Allies this year, due to the fact that Germany is becoming bold. They all have things to even out the playing field, they just need to play their cards right. Germany took out the part of Russia’s navy positioned in the Baltic Sea, leaving zone R2 unprotected and vulnerable. That zone went overlooked for a few moments while the U.S. refreshed the browser, but a double take had us sending a subtle message to Russia letting them to defend themselves. While small, the U.S. believes that it will help in the long run.
If Russia was to use all that they had left in 1916, then that could leave a door for the United States to come in and work with everyone to sweep Germany. The only way that this will work is if Russia leaves the war entirely in 1917, like they did in the real World War I, due to the civil war in their country. When they leave, the United States comes in. We will be coming in on the side of the Allies. We will essentially have to fill he hole that Russia left. If Russia were to leave that small crack for the U.S. to come in, then Germany would be trapped back.
The only problem with that strategy is that part of France (F1) has already been taken over. France can no longer mobilize troops. If Germany were to take over the rest of France, then we would have a problem getting into Europe. Without anyone to back us up right there in Europe, we could already be in a bad position in Europe. Great Britain would be a secondary sort, but that would leave parts of Europe completely open to an attack from the Central Powers. A little bird told me the rankings of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, so I can use those against them somehow, too.
Period 3
United States 3 1916
The United States has been coming under more pressure from France due to the fact that France is stuck. They cannot move, mobilize, or conduct war because they are trapped. They’re becoming desperate, and need help. We cannot help them until 1917. They’re a lost cause as of right now.
Russia is holding back, waiting to see whether civil war will affect them. There is an upside and a downside, and it’s 50/50. The upside is that civil war possibly will not break out in Russia, which means that they are free to help us when 1917 rolls around. They can help us to close in on Germany (who is our biggest opponent) by coming in from the East. The downside is that possibly civil unrest does happen, and the three thousand troops will have gone to waste. It’s not Russia’s fault, and we all should have strategized to figure out a better alternative.
These past few days have been rather… slow. It’s almost as if the countries are waiting for something big to happen, like something to turn the tides of the war in their favor. The other classes all seem to have clear winners, but period three is still stuck at a stalemate. There are people with brilliant minds on both sides, and they have been butting heads. There hasn’t been any backstabbing, not yet anyways. There is no drama. It’s a bit concerning to say the least.
Finally, the United States enters the war tomorrow. We hope to enter through France, but that seems like a terrible strategy at this point. Germany has complete control of F1, with 1888 troops ranking at a 9 or 10. If the United States were to enter with a small number of troops into F3, then Germany could easily wipe us off the map, and then take F3. G2 is unoccupied, so they wouldn’t have any back up. Still, their ranking and numbers are higher than what the U.S. can handle, even with the help of Britain and what is left of France. Essentially, entering through France is not as good as an idea as it seemed.
With the U.S. entering tomorrow, we have begun working with other countries to find the best way to halt Germany’s reign. The U.S. has already been helping other countries strategize, and this is no different. We aren’t even in the war, and Germany is angering us. The way that they treat their allies is more cruel and overpowering than what the U.S. can take. Over the past fews days, the U.S. is only growing more and more agitated. Over the whole war, Germany has made every single country in Europe hate them more than we do. By working together, we can overthrow the Germans and finish this once and for all (hopefully)
Period 3
United States 3 1917
Russia will not be cast into civil war, and the Allies are more than thankful for that. There is still a day after this, so anything can happen really. They may not have the ranking, but they have the numbers that are needed to take out a few of the Central Powers’ troops. Many people have been relying on Russia, including the United States, to clear a path for them to work on taking out a few of the soldiers.
A few big things that happened were that Germany attacked Greece, Austria-Hungary attacked Italy, and Germany attacked Great Britain. Germany attacking Greece didn’t do too much, but it blocked one more route into Europe. It also allowed Germany a clear shot to Northern Africa, where France and Italy have territories. It wasn’t as big a deal as most people thought that it would be, but it still took Allied land.
When Austria-Hungary attacked Italy, it also was an expected victory for the Central Powers. Italy had around 1400 troops to fight, but Austria-Hungary and Germany had I believe about 2000 added together. The victory took out all of Italy’s forces, as in there was no more Italian troops left in Europe. There were ten troops in Northern Africa. For the Central powers, they lost about 550 each, so it was a valiant effort.
Finally, Germany attacked Great Britain. A bold move, and they hope to take out one of the big forces in World War One. Unfortunately, they were not able to get help in Europe. The United States of America came across the seas with about 700 troops, and helped to push Great Britain to victory. This did not allow us to enter through France, but that wasn’t necessarily a terrible thing.
France’s capital zone, F1, has been under Germany’s rule for the past few days. Germany has 1888 troops stationed in F1, making it nearly impossible to take. One of the main objectives of the United States was for them to enter the war through France, but it did not work out like that. At this point, it would be a horrible strategy. Germany could easily crush anything that the United States put in France, and the U.S. wouldn’t have had anyone to come back us up. We would have been alone against the Germans. We would have lost about a thousand troops in one move. So, entering through France was a pretty bad idea.
Period 3
United States 3 1918
Since this is the final day of the simulation, everybody on both sides is throwing troops into the meat grinder. The United States, Russia, Germany, etc. The United States is going to use as many as we can ship across the Atlantic. Not the best plan, but it’s the last day and we have 3,000+ troops available to us. We have a pretty okay ranking, so taking on a few German troops would take out a lot of them, too.
Right off the bat, Romania and Serbia are taken by the Central Powers. That wasn’t really a big deal, but that closed off the route between Russia and Western Europe. The only way for them to come and aid us was for them to travel by sea, or take over the rest of the Ottoman Empire. With the United States on the Western Coast, France and Britain were covered.
While it may have been too late to mobilize, One of the United States goals from 1917 to 1918 was to take back all of France. There were two attempts, both very different from each other. The first attempt used France, United States, and Great Britain as the deciding factor. We would ferry all of the United States troops over to F1 using every navy available. Russia did the math, and we were set up to sin. This was not as successful as planned: only so many troops were able to ferry over to Europe. In the end of the first battle, Germany had about 600-700 troops left in F1.
Since this was the final day of battle, the United States decided that there wasn’t much to lose at that point. This battle used as much the Allies navies available to get United States troops to F1 again. This time, Germany couldn’t back themselves up. It was a small victory, but useful.
Finally, the Ottoman Empire finally stepped up and did something. They sent a large number of troops into R3, hoping to take it over. Obviously, it was successful; Russia fell, and they took R3. This wasn’t unexpected, since they have a moderate ranking, and Russia had a 1.
