Knights of the Sky

Historically, Von Hindenburg made good use of the information provided to him by his reconnaissance planes, while the Russian generals largely ignored them.

In the game, Fighter units provide a line of sight (LOS) of 3 hexes, while all other land units can only see 1 hex into the Fog of War. In order to detect a build-up of enemy forces behind the front-lines, the presence and maintenance of air units is vital.

The ability to cripple or destroy enemy air units gives you the advantage, allowing undetected mustering of forces set to attack the enemy at his weakest point. This makes Fighter research very hard to ignore, in an attempt to beat quantity (of allied Fighters) with quality.

Another air unit available to the Germans at the start of the war is the Zeppelin.

The Germans used these large airships for the first bombing raids against major enemy cities ever in history. While of little strategic effect, the effect on British morale was significant: for the first time in history, the English Channel was not able to stop enemy attacks on British soil.

Zeppelins are useful strategic bombers in the first years of the war, but as Fighters become more effective they eventually become obsolete.

Just like in Commander - Europe at War, air attacks can be intercepted by nearby enemy fighters. The quantity and quality of the defending fighters will determine the damage taken by the original target and the attacking air unit.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

The German U-boats received eternal glory in the Second World War, but the weapons originated and were perfected during the First. Initially considered to be "mere toys" by many military thinkers, this folly believe had perished - along with almost 200 allies ships - by the end of the war.

A large part of the resources acquired by Great Britain are obtained by Convoy ships. These units spawn automatically on the map, sailing from the map edges - near American or African coastlines - to ports on the British home islands. The Germans can search for and attack this endless stream of resources with their Submarines. The Allies can attempt to counter this by providing escorts, but the additional warships required will also demand a significant amount of resources that could have been spent elsewhere.

However, there is a catch. For each time the Germans attack a Convoy unit, the chance of the USA entering the war increases. While the player cannot see the exact effect, he will receive a message when the US demands the "Unrestricted Submarine Warfare" to stop. If the player ignores these diplomatic threats once too often, war is on.

Germans Submarines are a double edged sword.
The more efficient they are at stopping Convoys from reaching the UK, the bigger the chance of the USA entering the war.

Unselecting a moved unit no longer removes its ability to attack during that turn. You can now move a unit, select and move some other unit(s) and then reselect the first unit to attack any valid target.

Conclusion

For the German and Austrian factions, the war is a race against time. Manpower and resources will run out eventually, while Allied reserves are seemingly endless. Therefore, aggression is required to achieve a quick resolution of the conflict. The Russians must be attacked relentlessly until Revolution knocks them out of the war. Submarines can bleed the UK dry, but if the Western allies cannot be defeated in time, the US declaration of war will come. And when it does, the German forces have one last shot at breaking the stalemate in the West. Can the Kaiserschlacht bring an end to The War to End All Wars, or does it merely set the board for yet another?

That's all for this preview. Next month we will take a closer look at the French and Belgian factions, and focus on the events and tactics at the Western Front.