Ostend Archives - Hot Blood & Cold Steel

Team Control Gloss

Well this was where I stopped following the team very closely and handed over to Paul, one of the map umpires, for about 45 minutes. The reason for this was that I was a combined Team Control and High Command Control, and there was a set of private peace talks sponsored by the US President Wilson in the US Embassy in Switzerland.

Present for the UK was the Foreign Minister, with a remit to ensure that Belgium was reinstated as per the status quo ante bellum. The other delegates were the German CINC, the Austrian Foreign Minister, a representative of the Czar, the Belgian Foreign Minister, the French Foreign Minister, and the US Secretary of State. (other minor powers were probably represented there also by the game designer, but those mentioned were all player roles).

The military situation at this point was that the Germans were losing in the East, having used most of their military effort in the West. East Prussia had been captured by the Russians. Despite this the Germans were very bullish about their progress and believed that they could hold what they’d taken in the West while re-capturing East Prussia if the war was to continue. Reason wasn’t a key feature of these talks, and in the end Russia and France decided not to pursue them further and walked out. This was after a number of reasonable compromises had been tabled by the British, the Americans and the Belgians. The Austrians were also keen on an immediate armistice and said so at the time.

The conclusion was that the war continued, and the Italians declared war on the allied side when the news of the behaviour of the Germans was made public by the press.

While the talks were going on the BEF used the opportunity of a stablised line to absorb a dozen replacement Territorial Force battalions and managed to rotate its Corps out of the ine to rest them too. Â In addition the Belgians negotiated a deal to re-equip their shattered forces on the French Channel coast with British equipment so that they could share lines of supply with the BEF. The Royal Navy also arranged to deliver these supplied and maintain contact with the Belgians in Ostend and Zeebrugge.

Turn Eight Â – Â Iron Dice Â – Â Turn Ten

The last full week in September 1914.

BEF Report to the War Office 30th September 2014

While taking the new positions, the BEF was attacked by the Germans, Arras was lost but the German casualties were high.

British right flank doesn’t have contact with the French. On the political point, the Belgiums requested to the Royal navy to move their toops by sea to Ostend. However, this would bring the BEF in a difficult position again, due to the fact that this would create a gap between BEF’s left flank and the sea.

BEF ‘s base is at Rouen, BEF HQ at Neufchatel en Bray, BEF Railhead at Grandvillers.

We have a gap between Doullens and the North Sea due to the Belgians reluctancy to fill this gap. We request the British Goverment to put some political pressure on the Belgians.

Confusion all around, BEF’s left flank isn’t at Hesdin, but at St. Omer Â Indian cav. reconnaissance is making probes towards Dunkirk. Situation is very confusing because BEF command still thought that the BEF was situated from Hesdin to Arras but actually it was from St. Omer to Arras. (With now a Cav. unit probe at Dunkirk. The Belgians (still there!) are helping the Cav. between Calais and St. Omer. Belgiums will probably request supply from the Britsh. French 6th has contact with the BEF’s right flank.

Team Control Gloss

The Indians arrived at ABBEVILLE (having landed a week earlier at MARSEILLES and then moving by rail all the way across France). Despite efforts to rectify the situation the BEF still have two hanging flanks. On the plus side they have a very good logistics supply and munitions are arriving faster than they are using them. Also the first Territorial Force battalions have started to arrive which is allowing them to replace the losses in the regular Corps from the attack on the Scheldt.

At this stage it looked very much like the German Second Army was going to punch through the hole and push towards PARIS while the German 1st Army screened the BEF from intervening. There seemed a realistic prospect that the British would get back on their ship and leave France. The War Cabinet refused the request to move the logistics base from ROUEN to BOLOUGNE on the ground that it was in danger of being over-run. Similarly the BEF moved both its HQ and railhead to be off the route between the Germans and PARIS.

Turn Five Â – Â Iron Dice Â – Â Turn Seven