A Manual Regarding

the management of a
Country and Military
During the time
period of
The Great War
 Chapter one:
Diplomacy
And
Faction overview
 Germany

Germany is an empire with a proud Military tradition,

stemming from Frederick the Great Himself. After the
unification of Germany in 1871, Germany has become a
military and economic superpower under the leadership
of Otto von Bismarck. But when Wilhelm II rose to power
he forced Bismarck into retirement and destroyed the
carefully maintained balance of power, shunning the
British and Russians while making amends with their
former arch-enemy, Austria. Now war has erupted again
in Europe and this war promises to be different from
anything Europe has ever seen, despite the Kaiser’s
assurances that it will be over by Christmas. Can you
guide this proud country to victory and dominance over
Europe? Or will you follow in the Kaiser’s footsteps,
fail to secure victory, and cause the Empire of Germany
to be destroyed and replaced by the weak and indecisive
Weimar social democrats?
 The United
Kingdom

An empire on which the sun never sets, this is the

United Kingdom. Formed in 1707, this brilliantly
crafted and maintained empire is once again involved in
a war on the continent; this time allied with France
and Russia against Germany and Austria. Victory could
mean greater glory and longevity of the empire, but
defeat could mean the destruction of an empire over 200
years old. The brave men of the UK stand ready to help
their allies defeat the Bosch and “save the world…
again.” Can you “save the world” or will the empire
crumble, and Germany replace the once proud United
Kingdom.
 France

Still sore after the humiliation suffered at the hands

of Germany during the Franco-Prussian war, France is
ready to take back Alsace and regain its former glory.
With their Zouaves outdated it’s time for the French to
adapt and use the new technology to beat their age old
adversaries, the Germans. France is under assault, it
will take a great leader to maintain the alliance with
Britain; and an even greater commander to repel the
German assault and take the fight to Berlin itself. Can
you rise to the challenge? Can you succeed against the
Germans where Napoleon III failed? Take up arms and
fight for liberty, equality, and fraternity.
 Austria-Hungary

An old empire with a new name, the Austro-Hungarian

Empire’s heir to the throne, arch-duke Ferdinand, was
assassinated and the resulting conflict with Serbia
sparked the Great War. Austria’s troops are very low in
quality, but there are many of them. Their troops are
multi-ethnic; the orders of the day must be made in 15
different languages. The empire is ancient and ready to
collapse, it will take a strong leader to lead Austria
out of the impending doom, and make the Hapsburgs the
most prominent family in Europe once more. Do you have
what it takes?
 Russia

An Empire in decline with all democratic elements

meaningless and communist rabble rousers inciting
rebellion: This is Russia. Russia’s army is massive,
but poorly trained and equipped. Its economy is
backwards, and only recently did the serfs receive
emancipation. While Russia’s army is greatly in need of
reform, and its economy lagging far behind the rest of
Europe; it is possible, under the guidance of a great
tsar, to transform Russia into the greatest power in
the world. Can you save Russia and make Ivan a feared
name once more? Or will the Communists gain power and
destroy the Tsardom?
Chapter two:
Infantry
 Although some might regard infantry as little more than cannon-
fodder, they should form the massive bulk of your army. Without a force of
infantrymen, your army is essentially limbless: infantrymen are used to
attack enemy positions, and defend your own lines. Without a force of
infantrymen, you will, quite simply, not win the war.

Conscripts
A brave and glorious general might call these soldiers 'useless'. The wise
general will say 'recruit these'. Conscripts might be given only basic
training before being rushed away to the frontlines (and will therefore
never be as accurate, brave or enduring as professional forces), but they
are very cheap, both to recruit and maintain. In the long run, a nation
that relies partly or entirely on conscription is likely to simply swamp a
nation relying solely on professional armies, however, if not managed
properly nations that rely solely on conscripts will find itself wanting
when it comes to fighting more well trained armies.

Rifle Infantry
The rifle infantrymen are professional soldiers, given long-term training
and advanced education in warfare. They are skilled marksmen, hardy
warriors in close-combat and, above all, comparatively reliant under fire
and form the backbone of modern armies. Their skills come at an expense,
however: it takes longer time to recruit a regiment of Rifle Infantry than
a regiment of Conscripts, and at a much higher cost to boot!

Snipers
Although few, snipers are confident marksmen given a special, scoped
rifle. They are especially useful at targeting and destroying enemy
artillery crews, or killing overconfident generals. In a bigger fight,
however, it is wise to keep them far away from the front.

Flamethrowers
Flamethrowers are weapons designed to launch a liquid, highly flammable
fuel at enemy strong-points. Consuming their targets in a fire that would
make the Devil himself jealous, flamethrowers are highly demoralizing
weapons that can wreak havoc among your enemy's lines when used properly,
however, their limited range requires a smart general to use them
properly.

SMG (Submachine gun) Infantry

While SMG Infantrymen are unlikely to hit anything at maximum range, they
can unleash a deadly hail of fire on enemies in close-range. This has made
them exceptionally useful at either storming an enemy line, or holding a
position against charging infantry.

Patriots
Revolutionary Russia can field a special unit of patriots, known as the
patriotic levy. These die-hard patriots can be quickly raised and are
useful at swarming an enemy line, as the boast 1,000 men per unit.
Chapter Three:
Artillery
 In The Great War, artillery is likely to be your most decisive weapon. A
single battery can lay down a withering and continuous fire, destroying
everything within the target area - be it buildings, infantry, cavalry or
even other artillery batteries. As such, it is important to build and
maintain a great number of artillery pieces on all fronts, but also to
have a massive force of infantry large enough to defend them.

Field Artillery:
Your standard, all-round artillery battery. Should you need a heavy and
persisting barrage somewhere, these are your units of choice. A commander
would be wise to base his artillery department on these heavy guns.

Experimental Howitzer:
the Experimental Howitzers form an interesting part of your artillery
force: they can launch deadly canisters of gas at the enemy, poisoning and
crippling his troops in their advance. Gas is especially effective against
stationary units, such as enemy artillery batteries.

Mortars:
Mortar batteries fire shells in high trajectories, effectively rendering
your opponent's cover irrelevant. Do note, however, that this comes at a
cost: mortar shells are less effective than other shells, and have shorter
range.

Machineguns:
A machinegun position is your most effective medium- to close-range
defense. Able to lay down a long-lasting, but inaccurate, suppressive fire
on enemy infantry, machineguns will gradually grind down any infantry
attack. Machineguns should form the strongholds in your defensive line,
while offensive armies will do better without them: being heavy weapons,
they are, just like other artillery equipment, practically immobile on the
Great War battlefield.

Machine Guns in Action

Chapter Four:
Cavalry
While an ancient form of fighting, cavalry are still used as shock troops.
These units are no match for modern rifles and machine guns. They are
consistently ripped to shreds before even making it to the opposing forces
line. That is not to say that cavalry doesn’t have a use, it is a fast
moving and dangerous weapon on any battlefield and a smart general will
keep a few units in his army. These units are good at exploiting a breach
in an enemy line, but best at flanking the enemy and raiding their
artillery. Cavalry has been on the decline since the Crimean war and will
be completely phased out soon, while showing your enemy steel can be
useful it will soon be over shadowed by a new type of cavalry emerging on
the field, the tank.

These slow moving machines are deadly and can sustain much more damage
than a horse. These tanks are in their infancy and, while they can be
useful, can also be unreliable. Unlike cavalry, tanks can be used to
attack straight at you enemy, it is more of an armored machine gun holder,
and will do much in the line of supporting your infantry.*

*Not yet Implemented

Chapter Five:
The Navy
 Some countries are completely dependent on trade overseas - an
obvious weakness that other nations will try to exploit. To
prevent your nation from falling into starvation due to
blockades, or to isolate another nation from the rest of the
world, it is strongly suggested that you build a strong and
committed navy.

Heavy Ships:
Dreadnought Battleship
The dreadnought battleship is the newest innovation in naval warfare:
rather than having many different types of guns aboard, this vessel relies
on a few very heavy artillery pieces. This, combined with a strong hull
and comparatively high speed, has made the dreadnought battleship the
factor that defines which nations are superpowers, and which nations are
not. They are, however, extremely expensive - both to construct and
maintain - and throwing your country into an ambitious naval building
programmed can prove to be a both costly, and time-consuming, venture.

Pre-Dreadnought Battleship
Before the British invented the dreadnought; most nations had heavily-
armored, slow ships that boasted a wide assortment of guns of different
calibers. The problem with these ships today, however, is that the
splashes from the smaller guns will obscure the splashes from the bigger
guns, thus greatly limiting the abilities of the observers aboard a pre-
dreadnought battleship to correct their aim. Thus, the accuracy of a pre-
dreadnought battleship is much less than that of a modern, dreadnought
battleship.

Battle cruiser
A battle cruiser is, quite simply, a 'fast battleship'. Sacrificing armor
for speed, these ships can still inflict the same 'punch' as a
dreadnought, but not survive for quite as long in a heavy engagement.
Battle cruisers are therefore excellent at raiding enemy merchant shipping
and convoys, but should not be ordered to participate in large-scale
engagements unless supported by heavier ships.
 Light Ships and
Transports
Light Cruiser
The light cruiser is an intermediate-class vessel, with low- to medium-
caliber guns and some minor armor plating to protect the ship from
incoming shells. Light cruisers are intended for raids on enemy trade
routes: although not superior to the dreadnoughts and battle cruisers, a
light cruiser can operate very well on its own against enemy cargo ships,
but will generally need the support of other cruisers to defeat heavily
defended convoys. With a long campaign movement range, high speed and a
comparatively low price tag, the light cruiser is exceptionally suitable
for hit-and-run missions and patrolling distant waters.

Destroyer
The destroyer might have a thin and fragile hull, and low-caliber guns,
but its high speed and powerful torpedo armament make it anything but a
weak weapon in naval warfare. Destroyers are cheap, built fast, and can,
if grouped together in sufficient numbers, take on any opponent in close-
range combat. These ships are excellent convoy escorts, coastal patrollers
and raiders, but will do better if kept away from large-scale engagements.

Transport
Transports are military vessels built for a single task: to carry troops
overseas. These vessels are very cheap - both to construct and maintain -
while at the same time also having a long campaign movement range and very
high speed. Transports should avoid engagements entirely, however -
although having some armor plating for protection, these ships are
completely unarmed. If you need to bring in troops quickly to a far-off
theater, or ferry forces across minor seas and canals - while at the same
time in need of a naval force presence elsewhere - a transport is your
ship of choice.

Cargo Ship
A cargo ship is a civilian vessel assigned specifically to carry precious
goods and war materials overseas. They are both cheap and easy to build -
and do have some light guns aboard - but should, due to their fragility
and importance to any trading nation, always have an escorting vessel
(such as a destroyer) or two nearby.
 This field Manual was made possible by Pvtgunny and Aanker, with special
thanks to LuckyLewis for his amazing screenshots. We ask you to rep the mod
team and if you have any more questions go to
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=1608

We thank you for taking your time to read this field manual. - The Great War
Team