World War One, 1914 - 1918

By André Geraque Kiffer

World War I broke out on July 28, 1914 with the declaration of war of the Austro-Hungarian Empire against Serbia and concluded on November 11, 1918 with the signing of an armistice by Germany, eventually resulting in more than 10 million killed in combat. One aspect of the nature of the war that lacked greater awareness from all contenders was that it tended to be a high-tech war. This is explained by the evolution of War Science throughout the nineteenth century, the result of various inventions or reinventions of weapon systems and / or support systems, and the increase in mass production capacity in the Industrial Revolution. However, it has historically been witnessed that the Art of War did not evolve sufficiently in the same period, as a result the major American and European wars employed virtually the same Napoleonic operational strategies and tactics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clube de Autores
• Release date: Feb 2, 2024

Book preview

ANDRÉ  GERAQUE  KIFFER

World  War  One,  1914  -  1918. A  Historical  Simulation  of  the

Central  Powers

Author’s  Edition

Resende

2019

---  Kiffer,  André  Geraque.

World  War  One,  1914  -  1918.  A  Historical  Simulation  of the  Central  Powers.  André  Geraque  Kiffer.

Author’s  Edition,  Resende,  2019.

Bibliography:  401  p.  39  im.  21  cm..

1.  History.  2.  Art  of  War.  3.  War  Science.  4.  Wargames.  I. Author.  II.  Title.

ISBN  978-85-9136-872-3

2

3

My  story  will  be  less  certain  than  history;  but  whoever  wants to  relive  the  past  to  study  the  similarities  and  analogies between  human  conflicts  in  the  present  is  enough  for  me  to find  it  useful.  This  War  History  of  mine  is  a  definite achievement  and  not  an  ostentatious  work  for  a  current audience.

(André  Geraque  Kiffer)

4 PROLOGUE

I  was  inspired  to  build  this  work  by  reading  Arnold Toynbee's  book,  A  Study  of  History,  and  Trevor  N. Dupuy's  Future  Wars.  Between  2005  and  2007  I acquired  a  collection  of  board  wargames  in  New York,  and  reading  the  book  Wargame  Design published  by  Strategy  &  Tactics  Magazine consolidated  a  Matrix  for  A  Study  of  Military History.  Thus,  from  2008,  I  was  able  to  begin  an analysis  of  the  wars,  campaigns,  and  battles  of history  of  a  particular  time  and  /  or  civilization described  in  the  Smithsonian  Institute's  Atlas  of Military  History.  So  far  I  have  published  the  following series:  I.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  First  Empire Wars  in  2010;  VIII.  World  War  I  Historical Simulation  in  2011;  II.  Historical  Simulation  of  the Wars  in  Classical  Greece  in  2012;  III.  Historical Simulation  of  the  Roman  Wars  in  2016;  and  IV. Historical  Simulation  of  Wars  in  the  Medieval  Era  in 2018.  In  2014,  to  continue  my  work  A  Study  of Military  History  ,  I  read  the  book"  Japanese  and

Chinese  Chess  -  The  Science  and  Art  of  War  "and

5 added  a  new  book  The  Study  of  Wars  and  Chess Games  to  my  planned  study,  associating  the foundations  of  chess  games  with  the  principles  of Art  and  Science  of  War.  In  each  book  of  the  work  a selected  war,  campaign,  or  battle  is  studied  at  any of  the  applicable  decision  levels,  namely  the Political,  Strategic,  Operational,  Tactical,  and Technical.  Based  on  a  summary  of  the  historical  fact I  seek  to  highlight  the  decisive  fact  (s)  causing  the negative  result  (s)  before  playing  the  simulation through  a  board  wargame  -  the  actions  on  the  other side  of  the  hill  (from  the  enemy)  are  studied through  a  parallel  electronic  war  game.  In  the simulation  all  the  possibilities  of  the  purpose  of  the study  are  completed  when  the  past  of  history  is analyzed  on  the  basis  of  present  theory  and projected  into  the  future  or  revived  as  a  what  if schematic  case.  When  we  play  we  will  follow  the maxim  "WIN  ALWAYS  BUT  WITH  THE  LOWEST

POSSIBLE  COST".

6 Keywords:  History.  Art  of  War.  War  science.  War

games.

7 SUMMARY

CHAPTER  1  –  A  HISTORY  OF  THE

WARGAMES…………………………………………..8 CHAPTER  2  –  A  STUDY  OF  THE  MILITARY HISTORY  OF  THE  WORLD  WAR  ONE…...……...13 CHAPTER  3  –  WORLD  WAR  ONE,  1914  –  18..…17 CHAPTER  4  –  STRATEGIC  ANALYSIS  OF  THE CENTRAL  POWERS…..........................................66 CHAPTER  5  –  STRATEGIC  SIMULATION…...….99

REFERENCES...…..............................................396

8 CHAPTER  1

A  HISTORY  OF  THE  WARGAMES

Chess,  Go,  Wargames  and  many  other boardgames  are,  for  example,  battle  reenactments that  allow  not  only  the  learning  of  tactical  and strategic  principles  used  in  the  art  of  war,  but  also  a great  intellectual  enrichment.

Strategy  games,  with  pieces,  miniatures, markers,  etc.,  known  as  Wargames  ,  have  their historical  origins  linked  to  the  game  Chaturanga  (VI BC)  -  predecessor  of  chess  (VII  AD)  -  which emerged  in  India,  where  its  pieces  represented elephants,  maharajas,  and  chariots  which,  on reaching  the  west,  were  transformed  into  kings,

bishops,  pawns,  and  castle  towers,  among  other

9 ancient  games,  had  pieces  to  represent  units  that clashed  on  a  battlefield.

It  is  believed  that  already  in  ancient  Egypt  there were  war  simulation  games,  some  of  them  probably based  on  similar  principles  to  those  of  other  secular strategy  games  such  as  Chess  and  Go.

The  history  of  modern  wargames  is  closely linked  to  political  and  military  activities,  as  concerns about  wars  -  real  or  imagined  -  have  always  been the  responsibility  of  military  rulers  and  chiefs.

The  first  known  reference  to  battle  simulation games  dates  from  1789,  when  a  nobleman  named Helwing,  subject  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  invented a  game  very  similar  to  modern  wargames.  This simulated  combat  was  developed  on  a  board  of 1,666  colored  wooden  squares  representing  the various  types  of  terrain  that  constituted  the battlefield.  Players  wore  pieces  representing  the military  units  involved  in  the  conflict,  which  moved with  each  move,  advancing  or  receding  a  certain number  of  squares.  This  game  featured  a  basically

carved  wooden  structure  and  metal  details  besides

10 color  to  differentiate  its  functions.  and characteristics.

In  1795  George  Vinturinus,  a  scholar  of  military strategy  from  the  Danish  Duchy  of  Schelswing,  near the  German  border,  developed  a  more  complete version  of  the  game  created  by  Helwing  using  a map  of  an  area  in  the  border  region  between France,  Belgium  and  Germany.  The  military  soon discovered  a  practical  utility  for  this  game  that  had hitherto  served  only  as  entertainment.

In  1824,  a  Prussian  army  officer,  von  Resswitz, published  a  much  more  sophisticated  wargame intended  for  training  officers  in  military  strategy studies,  the  Kriegspiel  introduced  important  features such  as  using  dice  to  determine  random  elements  in battle.  In  addition  to  very  detailed  rules  such  as  line of  sight,  range,  troop  morale  and  vitality,  this  game included  the  use  of  maps  and  probability  tables.

After  the  Franco-Prussian  War  (1870),  the English  built  their  version  using  it  to  train  the  army  in military  tactics.  Later  the  game  aroused  much

interest  and  gained  a  large  number  of  fans  serving

11 as  a  starting  point  for  the  creation  of  a  wargames club  and  the  publication  of  the  first  magazine devoted  to  this  type  of  game.  From  this  point  on  the units  were  already  represented  by  pieces  with  coats of  arms  and  symbols,  boats  and  tanks  already  stood out  with  their  own  shape.

Already  in  the  United  States,  Jack  Scruby,  a  30- year-old  Californian  creates  a  miniature  production technique  that  would  cheapen  the  cost  of  producing the  parts,  was  the  RTV,  rubber  molds,  but  he  didn't stop  there,  he  is  also  responsible  in  1955.  By creating  one  of  the  largest  (if  not  the  largest)  vehicle of  information  and  dissemination  of  wargames  in  the world  for  decades,  he  created  Wargames  Digest which  has  had  a  long  active  journey.

However  in  1952  a  boy  residing  in  Catonsville, Maryland  creates  the  world's  first  commercial boardwargame,  the  name  of  this  game  was  Tactics and  the  boy  was  none  other  than  Charles  S. Roberts,  the  father  of  boardgames.  Two  years  later (1954)  of  success,  Roberts  would  devise  a  model  of

rules  and  a  set  of  tables  that  would  be  used  by  all

12 board  games  thereafter,  were  the  famous  combat results  table.  In  1961  he  publishes  Gettysburg, considered  the  first  wargame  based  on  historical battles.

It  was  in  the  United  States  that  wargames gained  new  features  and  underwent  a  remarkable process  of  refinement,  reproducing  in  minute  detail the  actual  conditions  of  the  great  battles  of  ancient and  modern  history.  Thanks  to  this,  they  soon gained  a  large  number  of  fans  not  only  among  the military,  but  also  among  the  general  public,  part  of this  success  is  due  to  the  realism  of  the  miniatures, who  not  only  had  a  practical  role  in  the  game  but also  had  a  strong  visual  appeal  on  the  board,  better

reproducing  battlefield  variables.

13 CHAPTER  2

A  STUDY  OF  THE  MILITARY  HISTORY  OF

THE  WORLD  WAR  ONE

It  is  understood  that  it  was  an  integrated historical  epoch  in  which  the  countries  concerned began  a  dispute  at  the  height  of  the  Industrial Revolution  across  the  world,  in  space  (Asia, Europe,  Africa,  adjacent  oceans  and  seas)  and  time (1904-1918),  for  an  economic  hegemony.

This  period  also  marked  a  major  change  in military  history,  as  until  then,  since  the  Battle  of Kadesh  in  1275  BC,  the  Art  of  War  has  been summarized  and  exponed  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte in  the  land  and  Nelson  in  the  sea,  and  the  Science of  War  had  its  maximum  development  in  the discovery  of  gunpowder  applied  in  the  dimensions

width,  length  and  height  of  combat.  With  the

14 emergence  of  the  airplane,  the  explorer  of  the  time dimension,  and  the  increase  of  the  submarine, everything  had  to  be  rethought.

The  restoration  of  the  Japanese  Emperor  in 1868,  after  centuries  of  rule  by  the  Tokugawa shogunate,  was  followed  by  reforms  aimed  at building  a  heavily  centralized  administration.  These changes,  and  particularly  the  abolition  of  the Samurai  arms  monopoly  and  the  establishment  of  a European-style  army,  led  to  a  series  of  rebellions even  among  those  who  had  supported  the  shedding of  the  shogunate  but  were  rejected.

Once  a  unified  country,  the  first  strategic objective  of  the  new  conscript  army  was  to  secure economic  access  to  the  mineral  wealth  of  Korea and  Manchuria.  Japan  first  defeated  China  and  then Russia,  the  most  impressive  victory  for  the opponent's  apparent  power  in  Western  eyes.  The transformation  of  a  closed  feudal  society  into  a world  industrial  power  was  complete.

In  1905,  Russia's  defeat  in  the  war  against

Japan  for  the  possession  of  Manchuria  unleashes  a

15 revolutionary  movement  that  weakens  Tsar  Nicholas II's  regime.  Russian  participation  in  World  War  I, with  heavy  human  and  material  losses,  helps  to  end Tsarism:  in  March  1917  (February  by  the  Julian calendar),  Nicholas  II  is  overthrown.  The  February Revolution  is  led  by  the  moderate  (Menshevik)  wing of  the  Russian  Social  Democratic  Workers  Party (POSDR)  and  replaces  the  monarchy  with  a parliamentary  republic.

The  causes  of  World  War  I  were  widely debated,  but  it  may  suffice  to  say  that  if  European states  were  divided  into  a  hostile  alliance  system and  an  arms  race,  a  war  would  inevitably  ensue. The  scale  of  the  conflict  was  large  from  the  start  -  in the  first  week  Germany  alone  mobilized  about  3.5 million  men.  Soldiers  were  quickly  transported  to border  areas  and  launched  into  attack.

The  unprecedented  firepower  of  artillery, submachine  gun,  repeating  rifle  produced  an  initial number  of  astonishing  casualties  on  these  armies  of human  masses,  even  before  the  trench  stalemate  in

late  1914.  This  forced  high,  for  lack  of  a  An

16 operational  strategy  and  a  tactic  that  made  proper use  of  new  technological  developments  has enabled  modern  industrialized  nations  to demonstrate  the  great  killing  capabilities  offered  by the  mass  production  of  artillery  shells  and  other ammunition  in  general.

The  war  soon  spread,  the  Ottoman  Empire joined  with  Germany,  and  Italy  with  Great  Britain and  France.  Further  on,  the  indiscriminate  German submarine  war  prompted  the  United  States  to  enter the  war,  contributing,  along  with  the  campaigns  in the  Africa  and  Asian  colonies  and  the  new  weapons, especially  the  irplane,  to  characterize  the  war  as

total.

17 CHAPTER  3

WORLD  WAR  ONE,  1914  –  1918,

World  War  I  broke  out  on  July  28,  1914  with  the declaration  of  war  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire against  Serbia  and  concluded  on  November  11, 1918  with  the  signing  of  an  armistice  by  Germany, eventually  resulting  in  more  than  10  million  killed  in combat.

We  will  begin  our  study  by  characterizing  the main  geographical  spaces  involved  in  the  war.

Europe  occupies  an  area  of  just  over  10  million km²,  corresponding  to  a  large  (5,600  km  west-east) and  cut  out  of  the  Eurasian  peninsula,  schematically triangular.  It  extends  to  the  east,  where  it  contacts Asia,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  purely conventional  boundaries:  the  Ural  mountains,  the

Ural  river  and  the  Caspian  Sea.  In  addition,  it  is

18 surrounded  by  waters:  to  the  north,  those  of  the Arctic  Glacial  Ocean;  to  the  west,  those  of  the Atlantic  Ocean;  to  the  south,  those  of  the Mediterranean,  Marmara  and  Black  Seas,  as  well as  the  Caucasus  chain.

On  its  outskirts  are  numerous  islands,  some nearby,  some  distant,  among  which  stand  out  for their  extension:  Iceland  and  the  British  archipelago in  the  Atlantic;  the  Balearics,  Corsica,  Sardinia, Sicily  and  Crete  in  the  Mediterranean.  In  addition  to extensive  peninsulas:  Scandinavian,  Iberian,  Italic, Balkan.

The  European  relief  comprises  three  large geomorphological  units:  (1)  northwest  and  north,  old mountain  massifs  of  modest  altitude  and  partly submerged  by  the  waters  of  the  North  Sea,  where they  form  a  vast  underwater  platform,  on  which  the British  archipelago  is  based;  (2)  in  the  center,  a succession  of  plains,  which  open  wide  in  the eastern  portion;  (3)  to  the  south  and  in  part  of  the central  area,  tertiary  wrinkles,  which  correspond  to

the  highest  mountains.

19 Two  important  areas  of  water  dispersion  stand

out  in  continental  Europe:  (1)  the  Alps  and  other tertiary  massifs,  from  which  flow  rivers  into  the Baltic,  Northern,  Mediterranean,  Tyrrhenian,  Aegean and  Black  Seas;  (2)  the  Central  Russian  plateau, which  rises  on  the  Russian  plain,  where  are  the headwaters  of  rivers  that  flow  into  the  Baltic,  Black, Azov  and  Caspian  Seas.  To  them  belong  the  most extensive  watercourses.  In  a  very  secondary position  appear  the  ancient  massifs  and  the  Ural mountains.

However,  it  is  not  the  extension  that  makes European  rivers  important,  but  the  role  they  play  for the  circulation  of  wealth  and  human  contacts.  That is  why  none  of  the  Rhine's  importance  is  the  vital artery  of  central-western  Europe.  So  too  the  Elbe, Loire,  the  Danube  and  the  Tagus,  and  many  others, less  than  1,000  km  long,  such  as  the  Seine,  the Thames,  the  Scald,  the  Maas,  the  Rhone,  the  Dust, the  Garonne  and  the  Ebro

The  age-old  occupation  of  the  land,  its  intense

use,  together  with  the  high  demographic  densities,

20 stripped  more  than  half  of  the  European  territory  of its  original  vegetation.

It  is  the  temperate  climate  that  dominates  to  a large  extent  in  Europe,  although  under  three modalities:  (a)  oceanic  in  most  of  the  British  Isles and  the  Atlantic  facade  of  the  bay  of  Biscay;  (b) transitional,  in  the  Spanish  plateau  and  in  the extensive  strip  extending  from  the  interior  of  France to  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea;  (c)  continental,  on the  plain  of  Poland  and  west  of  the  Russian  plain.

The  cold  climate  characterizes  the  highest mountain  massifs,  Alps,  Carpathians,  Caucasus, Scandinavian  Alps,  as  well  as  neighboring  lands  of the  Arctic  Circle  such  as  Iceland,  northern Scandinavia  and  Russia,  where  the  Arctic  type dominates;  and  also  the  ocean-like  Norwegian maritime  region,  and  much  of  Sweden,  Finland  and Russia,  with  the  continental  type.

The  subtropical  Mediterranean  climate dominates  the  entire  southern  facade,  from  the

Atlantic  (Portugal,  southwest  Spain)  to  the  entire

21 Mediterranean  basin,  notable  for  the  mildness  of Winters.

Although  generally  less  than  2,000  mm  per year,  rainfall  is  not  scarce  enough  to  create  deserts, making  Europe  an  exception  among  other  parts  of the  world.

Populated  since  time  immemorial,  with  the highest  average  population  density  and  the  highest levels  of  civilization,  Europe  has  the  most  densely populated  areas  of  the  Rhine  and  Scheldt,  the  Po  in Italy,  the  Ruhr  region  in  Germany,  and  England.  And as  areas  of  lower  density  Iceland,  Norway,  Sweden, Finland  and  northern  Russia.

Europe  has  been  engaged  in  intense  and considerable  economic  activity  for  centuries.  It  is  the mineral  riches  that  ensure  the  European  industrial power.

The  north-western  region  consists  mainly  of  the United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  central-northern France,  Belgium,  the  Netherlands,  Denmark  and Germany.  It  contains  the  largest  industrial  and

commercial  centers,  which  are  the  true  bases  of  its

22 economic  life,  and  agriculture  plays  a  less  important role  because  it  is  not  enough  to  meet  the  needs  of consumption.  The  surplus  of  its  industrial  production is  exported,  importing  raw  materials  and  food products.

The  southern  and  eastern  region  corresponds to  the  peninsulas  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  south- central  France,  central  and  eastern  Europe,  which have  the  basis  of  their  economy  in  agriculture.

It  was  Europe  that  was  the  cradle  of  the  first railways,  born  in  Great  Britain  between  1825  and 1830.  The  largest  extensions  are  in  France, Germany,  Italy,  and  Russia.  For  a  long  time,  these transport  routes  have  been  supplemented  by waterways,  properly  prepared  to  handle  intense boat  traffic,  such  as  the  Rhine,  Escalda,  Danube, Elba  and  Volga  rivers.

Europe  has  long  been  using  sea  lanes,  both  for communications  between  different  countries  and  for indispensable  contacts  with  continents.  Europe  has some  of  the  busiest  and  best-equipped  ports,  such

as  London,  Hamburg,  Amsterdam  and  Antwerp.

23 The  Middle  East  comprises  lands  of  southwest

Asia  and  northeast  Africa,  from  the  eastern Mediterranean  to  the  eastern  ends  of  Persia, covering  some  700,000  km².

The  Middle  East  contains  in  its  northern  part important  mountainous  regions,  resulting  from bends,  which  line  from  northwest  to  southeast,  from Turkey  (Taurus  chain)  to  Persia  (Zagros  chain), reaching  over  4,000  m.  In  the  western  portion  rise plateaus,  with  internal  drainage,  consisting  of ancient,  fractured  terrain,  where  stands  the  large tectonic  fossa  where  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Dead Sea,  extension  of  the  African  fossa,  and  plateaus  of 1,000  m  average  altitude.  In  the  south-central portion  opens  the  vast  sedimentary  plain  of  the Tigris  and  Euphrates  rivers  in  Mesopotamia, followed  by  new  plateaus  to  the  east  on  the  Persian stretch.

In  the  Middle  East,  the  typical  vegetation  of deserts  and  steppes  predominates.

The  desert  climate  is  one  of  the  physical

features  that  ensure  the  regional  unity  of  the  Middle

24 East,  although  areas  with  1,000  mm  of  annual rainfall  appear  on  the  periphery  (eastern Mediterranean  and  northern  edges  of  the  mountain massifs).

Although  the  Middle  East  offers  numerous contrasts  created  by  nature  and  man,  its  unity  is notably  the  result  of  the  historical  evolution  of Muslim  culture.

Africa  occupies  an  area  of  just  over  30  million km²,  and  from  cape  Branco,  located  in  northern Tunisia,  to  cape  Agulhas,  in  the  southernmost  tip  of South  Africa,  lies  the  largest  extension  of  the continent,  8,000  km.  From  east  to  west  is  narrower, with  7,400  km.  Africa  is  bathed  in  the  north  by  the Mediterranean  Sea,  which  separates  it  from  Europe; in  the  east  by  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Indian  Ocean;  to the  south  by  the  junction  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and the  Atlantic;  and  in  the  west  by  the  Atlantic.  The territory  of  the  continent  is  massive,  coast  not  very cut,  almost  always  high,  which  makes  it  difficult  to access  the  interior,  being  rare  the  natural  ports.  It

joins  Asia  in  the  northeast  through  the  Sinai

25 peninsula,  cut  by  the  Suez  Canal,  and  its  closest point  in  Europe  is  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.

The  lands  of  Africa  probably  belonged  to  an ancient  continent  that  encompassed  lands  of  India, Madagascar,  Africa  and  part  of  the  territory  of