Imaginary Maps

Continuing my new little series on a more grounded approach towards a more favourable outcome of WW1 for the Central Powers, here’s the next entry focusing on the Gorlice Tarnow offensive of 1915.

The first entry focused on a more comprehensive German victory in the second battle of Ypres in April 1915. By collapsing the salient there. Moving on from there the Central Powers are able to exploit a dithering Italy to form a larger group for the historical Gorlice Tarnow offensive. The first battle of that offensive that goes differently is the Battle of Jaslo, where Austro-Hungarian forces smash through the Russian defenses in the southern sector.

Moving on from Jaslo and the primary breakthrough between Gorlice and Tarnow, the Russian Third Army is now in full retreat and trying to regroup. Mackensen's Eleventh Army, Boroevic's Third Austro-Hungarian Army and elements of the reserve under Böhm-Ermoli move towards Rzeszow. Mackensen moves some of his most experienced troops (First and Second Guards) to the southern end of his part of the front to help Boroevic's troops regain composure after Jaslo. These fresh troops cross the Wisok east of Jaslo and threaten to encircle the remaining Russians in that sector when they cut the railway connection near Wisniowa from the north. The Russian 7th and 9th Corps begin a chaotic retreat. On the road towards Rzeszow two Russian divisions are shattered. The rest meet up with the retreating 5th and 12th Corps in the city. At this point Böhm-Ermoli's fresh reserves form a second pincer to the north taking Glogow and then crossing the Wislok to cut the railway and road connection east at Lancut.

The Battle of Rzeszow has more or less destroyed the Russian Third Army as a coherent fighting force for the foreseeable future. This forces the 8th Army to move further north and spread thinner in order to cover the gap in the front. In comparison with the historical Gorlice Tarnow Offensive the results are different but not drastically so. The Russian army is in a situation where it has to evacuate Poland and most of Galicia. Historically it was able to retreat mostly in good order and present multiple new defensive lines. In this scenario the retreat is more chaotic and larger formations are surrounded and taken prisoner. The 8th Army will also have to face more of the German attacks in the next weeks, making it harder for Russia to form a coherent offensive force for 1916 around that army.

I hope this scenario is still mostly grounded and realistically achievable given the outcome of Jaslo just a few days earlier. From what I could find out it mirrors what the OHL and AOK had planned to do but couldn't due to sending forces (including Gen. Boroevic, one of the few bright spots of Austrian command) to the Isonzo to combat Italy.

Continuing my little series on a more grounded approach towards a more favourable outcome of WW1 for the Central Powers, here’s the next entry focusing on the Gorlice Tarnow offensive of 1915. The first entry focused on a more comprehensive German victory in the second battle of Ypres in April 1915. By collapsing the salient there, the Germans can free up one or two more divisions for operations in the east. Additionally, and more importantly this event makes Italy think twice before entering the war on the side of the Entente. Italy delays its entry and remains on the proverbial fence for a little while longer.

Continued Italian neutrality allows Austria-Hungary to keep an additional 10-12 divisions focused on Russia and Serbia for the moment. Crucially the large calibre Skoda artillery pieces starting to roll out of the factory can remain at and continue go to the eastern front instead of the Isonzo for now. This allows Austria-Hungary to have a more active role in the historical Gorlice Tarnow Offensive.

Historically Mackensen's Eleventh Army punched through Russian lines between Gorlice and Tarnow starting on 2 May 1915. This map depicts the (fictional) southern extension of that punch, carried out by Boroevic's Third (Austro-Hungarian) Army. Just a day after Mackensen's main push the Austrian artillery starts attacking the Russian positions south of Nowy Zmigród. After losing Stary Zmigród the Russians retreat towards Debowiec. At the same time the Austrian 10th Corps pushes up against the Wisloka river. After intense hand-to-hand fighting the Austrians manage to take the hills north of Jaslo while their artillery superiority allows them to advance towards the Jasiolka river from the south.

At this point the Russian command structure begins to falter and a shattered retreat by parts of the 24th Corps and the bulk of the 7th Corps leads to the bulk of the retreating 24th Corps caught within the city. What's left of the Russian forces tries to regroup east of the Jasiolka river with a new position headquartered at Krosno (off-map). This engagement would see Russian losses of around 15,000, of which around 8,000-10,000 POWs, and the capture of about 40 artillery pieces. Meanwhile Austrian losses would be around 3,000, mostly dead and wounded. (Both sides have understrength divisions after the intense winter fighting here.) General Leontiy Vladimirovich Irmanov, commanding the 24th Corps, is encircled along with the bulk of his 48thth and 63rd divisions.

Historically Jaslo didn't see much action and was taken by the Austrians after the Russians retreated in mostly good order after losing the Gorlice-Tarnow-Line. This ahistorical outcome, achieved with more Austrian forces and artillery available to support the offensive widens the gap in the Russian line. It also deprives Russia of forces that historically acted as a rearguard for later retreats. Lastly the southern road towards Rzeszow is now wide open, allowing Boroevic's Third Army to move north in a pincer movement with Mackensen's Eleventh Army, threatening to repeat the Battle of Jaslo in Rzeszow on a larger scale.

I hope this scenario is still mostly grounded and realistically achievable given the outcome of Ypres just a few weeks earlier. From what I could find out it mirrors what Austria had planned to do but couldn't due to sending forces (including Gen. Boroevic) to the Isonzo to combat Italy.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/getting-lost-in-fictional-maps-narnia-middle-earth-westeros-twin-peaks-oz-zelda/

https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2022/08/mapping-the-land-of-utopia/

This map explores a different outcome of the historical Second Battle of Ypres in 1915. A common trope in alternate history is asking if/how Germany could have won the First World War. The answer usually boils down to either a different kind of war won within the first few weeks/months, a different runup to the war in which the various nations diverge from their historical positions or some hand waving or even asb approaches during the war as we know it.

This fictional outcome of the Second Battle of Ypres has Germany partially follow the advice of Fritz Haber, the inventor of modern gas warfare and nobel prize winner, by allocating two additional divisions as reserves to the offensive and finally by planning the gas attack as a breakthrough instrument rather than a trench clearer. The Germans get lucky with the wether and have favourable winds in the morning of 22 April instead of the afternoon.

These factors combine to allow them to overrun the Frenth 87th territorial division and 45 colonial division (as they did historically) but als move along the Gheluvelt road from the east and finally, taking serious losses, also capture the St. Julien road by the evening of 22 April. This completely cuts of the 1st Canadian division and severely restricts the 28th British division. Entente leadership suffers from miscommunication and logistical problems (like they did historically). Despite attempts at an orderly retreat along the Frenzenberg road the 1sth Canadian and the bulk of the the 28th British division are cut off on 23 April. This marks the largest encirclement on the Western Front after trench warfare was established there.

While in no way strategically significant, the Entente still loses two entire divisions and a further two are badly mauled. With reinforcements the front stabilises along the Ypres canal. The Germans, while victorious, still lack the reinforcements to force a breakthrough and settle for their tactical victory with the capture of the Ypres salient fully achieved.

I wanted to explore a somewhat plausible scenario in which the First World War happens just like it did historically but small differences compound in order to develop in a different direction. I believe that the Second Battle of Ypres is a good point to start with:

• Ypres was the first large scale use of gas warfare, the effectiveness of which was underestimated by the Germans. Dulled by the experience of trench warfare they historically advanced in a shallow manner and had too few men in reserve to properly exploit the broken front. They were also unlucky that nightfall prevented further advances towards the St. Julien road.

• Italy was still on the fence. While it was clearly moving toward the Entente an upset to that alliance could perhaps postpone that decision. A more comprehensive German victory would be seen by contemporaries as the Central Powers finding a way to overcome trench warfare and regain the initiative - even if that wasn't the intention of the German Empire. Italy historically joined the war in May 1915, forcing Austria-Hungary to divert over 200k additional troops to that front.

• A straighter front along the Ypres Canal would allow the Germans to send an addition 1-2 divisions east for their summer offensive against Russia. Likewise a dithering Italy would allow Austria-Hungary to commit more forces to the Russian and Serbian fronts, perhaps achieving greater success there with German guidance in the process.

Great thank you to the Warfare History Network. I used both their insightful article on this battle as well as their map of the historical battle as starting off points, although I had to map a slightly larger area of operations due to the larger extent of this battle compared with the historical one.

Author @jjpamsterdam@feddit.org

Communist Rep. of Turkey (with a autonomous zone for the Laz)

Kurdish Socialist Republic

Iranian Socialist Union

United Arab Socialist Republics (with an autonomous region for the druse)

Republic of Cyprus (Fully closed off to the world, they say it’s cus “they are the last bastion of neoliberal euro-‘socialist’ hellanic democracy” or whatever)

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/450477/pentguard-city-map-pack?src=hottest_filtered