brue

A kao sto je istorija na ovoj zemlji pokazala, ljudi se relativno brzo privikavaju na klimu, tako da np :)

upao si u privatno prepucavanje i salu izmedju mene i Teacha :D ne, ne radi se o BR vec o WoW realmu :P

Btw, igra je vec ubachena i kao zvanicna igra za CPL turneju ove godine, pocevsi sa Italijom. Btw 2, uskoro ce izgleda biti open beta! :)

Ne :( Igrao sam davno pre keca, i mozda dvojku, pa preskochio sve sto je do sad izaslo iz serijala, osim Heritegea. Al me u medjuvremenu neko toliko smorio sa inache smornim WoWom da bih igrao bilo sta....

Juce pogledah Deja Vu. Ok je film.

Otkrivena planeta na kojoj bi moglo biti

U jednom delu trailera se vidi da opet imaju oni putevi za kretanje seljaka, tako da bi trebalo da izgledaju kao prve iz serijala. Naravno, ovo Teach ne moras igrati, izaci ce novi realm a? ;) :P pasivni wow zavisniche! ;)

Ah to da, mada, umeju ovi sa istoka da ponekad prijatno iznenade. Bar iz onih opcija koje sam na trenutak uhvatio u traileru, cini mi se da su odradili kao i u originalu. A i bitke simpaticno izgledaju. Nista, izgleda da ostaje samo da ukrstimo prste i nadamo se da si isuvise pesimistican. ;)

Hm, los u kom smislu? Pogledao sam trailer, tehnicki je sasvim ok, nista super-imba-ultra graficki, al ni neki shit :) Ustvari, ovo sam i startovao bas zbog nostalgicara, briga me dal ce se prodavati na "trulom" Zapadu ;) :P

Ove godine izlaze i Settlers VI: Rise Of An Empire izgleda da su se vratili korenima i zabatalili budalastinu iz Heritage of kings The publisher has set the bar high for its studio, promising "the best The Settlers game yet," "a perfect mix of favorite elements alongside new developments," and "the best graphics seen in a strategy game to date." Among the team attempting to back up those claims are developers with experience on The Settlers III, The Settlers IV: Heritage of Kings, and the Settlers II: The Next Generation.

kao sto i deo naslova kaze od igre: Legenda!!! oni stariji je se secaju, za mladje: preteca heroesa , iz koje je i nastao ceo serijal. Ukratko, o starijem naslovu: Slicno je bilo Herojima kecu, stim sto nije bilo frakcija u sukobu, vec ste zapocinjali u human zamku, kao kraljev bounty hunter. Dobijali su se kontrakti za ubijanje bestija po mapi itd...bila je onda za cistu 10ku! Ukratko o novom naslovu: # Classic real-time (adventure) meets turn-based (battles) gameplay # Rich fantasy setting, storyline with a lot of twists and an unexpected ending # Three types of characters to choose from � Warrior, Paladin and Mage. Each of them with unique characteristics and abilities # Huge game world with dozens locations and battlefields � both on the surface and in the dungeons # The game world isn't static - enemies don't just sit and wait for the hero to arrive, they pursue their own aims and try to get into the player's way Izdaje je Cenega games, i to ove godine: Kings Bounty ima da se pogleda i poprilicno dug gameplay trailer. ps. posle vec 17 god smrc smrc, budi nostalgiju :) p.s.s. kako vreme prokleto leti *(%^&

Ma HBO rula, i Rome i Deadwood su im za 10ke.

imaju na gametrailers.com filmovi iz same igre, pogotovo developers log iz 5 delova. Tu je bas poprilicno objasnjeno sta igra nudi. Tja, vecinu stvari su vec zavrsili, izgleda da peglaju kampanju sad pa zato izlazi tek u septembru. ps. sto se tice Red Alert price, ne slazem se. Ovo nije igra sa resursima i gradnjom i stekanjem milion trupa. Sudden Strike je bila prva dobra strategija koja je izbacila resurse i koncentrisala se na samu bitku i zauzimanje strateskih tacaka na mapi, i multy je bio odlican (mada ju je u Srbiji retko ko igrao na netu u multyplayeru).

Najavljuju je za septembar...sobzirom na kako se sta obecava, verovatno ce da sacekaju Bozic ;) nadam se da je u septembru

pogledao sam nocas jedno 15tak filmova. Izgleda ludilo (ne mislim samo na grafiku) :) samo da na kraju nesto ne zabrljaju...

Features: * Superpowered Warfare Unleash the arsenals of the great military superpowers in the gripping single-player story created by best-selling author and Cold War authority, Larry Bond. * MassTech Engine The latest version of Massive's proprietary engine allows for a full 360 range of camera control, allowing you to get right down into the midst of battle. * Demolish Everything Destroy every object in the game - crush cars, destroy buildings, burn forests! * Drop-in Multiplayer Join on-going games and immediately help your team take control of the map. * Fast-paced Teamplay Master four different battlefield roles; Air, Armor, Infantry and Support, in the ultimate online teamplay experience. * Super Weapons Unleash ground-shaking artillery barrages, napalm strikes, and awesome tactical nukes that turn the tide of battle. Professions Different from Ground Control, in World in Conflict you won't be able to take control of every profession. In fact, the player will have to decide for one of four professions (Air, Armor, Infantry or Support). Accordingly, the player will only be able to order units from his profession. You will be able to switch classes at any time. All your existing units on the battlefield will be destroyed immediately. In doing so every unit from a profession has its advantages and disadvantages over units from other professions - similar to the Rock-Paper-Scisors-principle. As soon as there are new info you will read about it here! In the following we try to explain which unit from which profession works best against the others: * Air Force: This class is the only one that is able to operate in the sky. It has light and heavy attack units, as well as transport helicopters. These flying units are not able to capture any enemy zones. * Armor: This class has access to all light, medium, and heavy tanks. It is also able to use scout vehicles and BTR's. * Infantry: This class is able to use sniper and anti-tank soldiers, in addition to normal soldiers. A medic is available in every group. The medic is able to heal allies and also command manned and unmanned transport vehicles. * Support: This class is able to create many different units. Among others, light and heavy artillery, repair vehicles, scouts, troop transporters, and anti-aircraft units. Only this class is able to use mobile bridge vehicles. Tactical Aids In World in Conflict are also a huge number of especially mighty super-weapons available to you beside the normal units. So-called Tatical Aids. Every weapon costs a certain number of Tactical Aid Credits. Every player gets this by destruction of hostile unities, with support from team colleagues and conquer from zones. If you take over a enemy zone, you'll get for example two Tactical Aid Credits. Each of these Tatical Aid's needs some time until it has arrived in the selected area. * Radar Scan (5 Credits) Scanning the selected area for enemies and makes it visible. * Paratroops (7 Credits) A group of parachuters will be airdropped. They are stronger than their normal infantry colleagues. * Artillery (7 Credits) In the selected purpose area an artillery impact comes down. Very efficiently against armoured vehicles. * Heavy Air-Strike (15 Credits) Carries out a heavy airforce impact against ground troops. Also destroys bigger formations. * Anti-Air-Strike (15 Credits) An A10 comes to the purpose area flown and destroys all aerial units in the vicinity. * Napalm carpet (15 Credits) A destructive napalm carpet is thrown down in the purpose area. Very effective against infantry. * Tatical nuke (50 Credits) A tactical atom bomb hits the purpose area and destroys everything in the vicinity. You can revalue every Tactical Aid, up to the tactical nuke. You begin always with the Tactical Aid step 1. If you've enough Tactical Aid Credits, you can develop the desired Tactical Aid on step 2. For example, the damage and effect radius thereby increases. Here you'll find answers to the most frequently asked questions: 1.) When will World in Conflict be released? World in Conflict is supposed to be released in the 2nd Quartal of 2007. 2.) Who are the guys behind World in Conflict? Massive Entertaiment (known for the award-winning strategy games Ground Control and Ground Control 2). 3.) Does the game already have a publisher? Yes, Vivendi Games. 4.) What genre should WiC be classified in? According to Massive Entertainment, World in Conflict will be a mix of real time strategy and first person shooter. The player commands his troops in real time and is able to control them directly. How this is supposed to be implemented in the game is not known yet. 5.) In what era is World in Conflict set in? World in Conflict is set in the Cold War, based on the question "What if the Cold War had never ended?". The game begins with the Sovjet-Union invading the United Stats of America. 6.) How will the player get new units if there is no basebuilding? Just like Ground Control/Ground Control 2 there will be no basebuilding as well as no resource gathering. Massive wants to offer fast-paced, instant action by skipping the tedious rersource gathering. In the multiplayer mode, every player gets a certain amount of credits with which he will be able to buy units. If these units are destroyed, the player will get his credits back. 7.) Will there be Victory Locations and Supportweapons just like in Ground Control 2? In the multiplayer mode each faction tries to conquer and control certain positions. Those victory locations work almost similar to Ground Control 2, but you have to occupy three locations nearby to conquer the whole victory location. By conquering such a position, the so-called "domination bar" rises. When one faction controls the whole map (which means that the domination bar is full) or the timer is expired, the faction wins that has the highter domination rating. By destroying enemy units and by supporting fellow players you will accquire "TA" - tactical aid credits. With these credits you'll be able to buy a tactic nuke, off-map artillery barrages, radar scans or daiys cutters. There will be approximately eight to nine tacitcal aids. 8.) Wouldn't the nuke be a showstopper? According to Massive Entertainment and some rumors about the game, the impact of the nuke is devastating but not an instant matchwinner. You'll have to apply it at the right time or your enemy will have the time to rearm again. 9.) How does the multiplayer work? Massive pushed the development of their very own multiplayer service, Massgate, even further. In WiC the new multiplayer service Massgate 2 will be available. There'll be features such as clan support, a whole new lobby, ranked matches, a spectator mode and the possibility to save replays. Furthermore, you'll be able to play 8vs8! 10.) Will there be a coop-mode? Yes, a cooperative singleplayer is planned, but there aren't any more information on this. 11.) How do I send my super-cool ideas to the development team? No Problem - in the official Board [MSV]Ghost and [MSV]Gagarin are active and forward important ideas to the game designers. 12.) Will the terrain be destructable? Yes, the whole map will be destroyable. You'll be able to destroy whole cities to lure infantry units out of it and you'll be able to burn trees down so that your tanks can drive through it. 13.) Which graphics engine does WiC use? It's a modified MassTech Engine which was used in Ground Control 2 as well. 14.) Are the system requirements known yet? The final requirements aren't known yet, but rumors say thet World in Conflict will be playable with a 2GHz computer using a Geforce4. 15.) Will there be a multiplayer mode? Yes. More about this in our Games Convention Interview. 16.) Will there be an open beta test? Yes, there'll be a closed one and an open one, but no exact date isn't known yet. 17.) How many playable factions will be in the game? USA and the Sovjet-Union are in for sure. There is a third, still unknown factions, but there are speculations of the third faction being the NATO. 18.) Will there be an SDK? Yes, a SDK will be there definity, an exact date isn't known yet.

Inache, na igri radi i Bond..Larry Bond ;) Larry's writing career started by collaborating with Tom Clancy on Red Storm Rising, a runaway New York Times bestseller that has been called one of the best-selling books of the 1980s. It depicted a hypothetical conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, drawing heavily on current analysis of what such a conflict would be like. It has been used as a text at the Naval War College and similar institutions. Since then, Larry's books have depicted military and political crises, emphasizing accuracy and fast-paced action. Red Phoenix, Vortex, and Cauldron were all New York Times bestsellers. Red Phoenix was set in South Korea and depicted an invasion of the south by a decaying North Korean government. Vortex told the story of a reactionary Afrikaner government trying to roll back the clock in South Africa. Cauldron showed a financial crisis in Europe that grew out of control, leading to a military confrontation between France and the United States. Larry's Harpoon gaming system was first published in 1980. Designed as a general-purpose air, surface, and submarine naval simulation, it combines playability with a wealth of information on modern naval weapons systems. Designed for the entry-level player, it has found acceptance in both the commercial market and the professional naval community. It is used at the Naval Academy, several ROTC installations, and on several surface ships as a training aid. Now in its fourth edition, Harpoon has won the H.G. Wells Award, a trade association honor, in both 1981 and 1987 as the best miniatures game of the year. It is the only game to win the award twice. The computer version of the game first appeared in 1989, and won the 1990 Wargame of the Year award from Computer Gaming World, an industry journal.

Zamolio bih admine da dotichnoj ispali od choveka dozvole pristup SAMO WoW forumu ;) :P odgovor od strane uprave: nemere, ispala realno ne igra wow i onda koji ce tamo? ;oP back to topic Nema posranih resursa :) Sudden Strike fora najzad World in Conflict, the upcoming action-oriented real-time strategy game from Swedish dev house Massive Entertainment, has been garnering plenty of attention for its fast-paced multiplayer design, but few details have been released so far about its single-player side. GameSpot AU caught up with lead designer Nicklas "Cece" Cederstrom at last month's GO3 Conference in Perth, Australia, to talk more about what solo campaigners can expect. GameSpot AU: Why has all the focus on World in Conflict been on the multiplayer side thus far? Nicklas Cederstrom: When the project started out, it started as a multiplayer game. We wanted to get that right first, so we focused on that and spent the first 16 months on getting the feeling that it's going to be a great multiplayer game. When we knew what we had was really good, we started focusing on single-player, and we've been working on that for over a year now. GS AU: So is it a multiplayer game first and foremost? NC: No, absolutely not. It's 50-50. It has a rock-solid and very interesting single-player campaign, but with the added depth of multiplayer. GS AU: Why did you decide to lighten the RTS elements in World in Conflict--such as having no resource gathering? NC: First of all, we wanted to make a great game that a lot of people will play. Massive has done two games before--Ground Control I and II--and they both got great reviews, and everyone that played it loved it. But it didn't reach the mass market. This time around we decided to focus on a setting that we knew would draw more people, a setting that we all fell in love with from Red Dawn, the old '80s movie. We decided to make a game that's easy to get into, and we focused on action--this is an action game. Personally, I don't even call it an RTS, because it's just pure action. GS AU: If it's not an RTS, what would you call it? NC: That's hard. Internally we sometimes call it RTT--real-time tactics. But basically I would just say it's a come-together-with-your-friends action game. We want it to be the Counter-Strike of RTS gaming. So in multiplayer, we have 20-minute matches, so that you know when you get into a match it'll be 20-minutes or shorter. You can play two or three games in your lunch break--if you do a traditional RTS, you can be in a match for up to four hours or 14 minutes. GS AU: Tell us more about the single-player storyline. NC: World in Conflict is played out in 1989, and the Cold War has gone hot. When we set out to make the game, we really wanted to have a plausible war scenario. So what we did was contact Larry Bond--who is the Tom Clancy cowriter--and he's a Cold War-era expert. We asked him to write for us a plausible invasion scenario for the Russians coming into the US. So he made up this great story, where the Soviet Union is on the brink of economic disaster--they go to the UN to try and blackmail them to give them unconditional aid. Of course, they refuse, and the Russians invade Europe. In doing so, they attack NATO and kill a lot of US soldiers, which draws the US into the war in Europe. The Russians then do a sneak attack on the western coast of the US, where they arrive on civilian ships like tankers, but they have military hardware with them. They invade Seattle, and it goes from there. When we came to the single-player, we decided we really wanted to have a great story. And great stories are told from the perspective of people, so we decided to have a strong line of characters that we follow throughout the war. You are not the supreme commander in our game--you are basically one of the guys in the trenches fighting for your life and your men. You are playing a character called Parker--he's anonymous, he never speaks, and you never really see him. The leader of the pack is Colonel Sawyer. He's an old school military man that's been in a lot of wars. With him is Bannon, a West Point graduate--he's basically come out from military school, he thinks he's the best. We compare him to Hudson in Aliens--because he's so cocky in the beginning, but by the end he's going "Oh my God, we're going to be screwed." It's going to be the character of Bannon that's really interesting to follow, as he goes through so many things in the war. And finally we have Webb--very straightforward, calm and cool. GS AU: How do these characters interact with each other? NC: We have different game mechanics to do that. First we have some in-game cinematics, and there are a couple on each map setting up scenarios and breaking up the middle of the game to tell you the story. We also have message boxes in missions for dialogue that's going on throughout the game. We also have two other game mechanics that will drive the story forward, but we're not talking about them right now. GS AU: In the World of Conflict multiplayer, players have to take different roles, which then affect how much support units will cost them. Will there be roles in the single-player game? NC: No, we made a decision early on to not have the roles in the single-player. So what we are doing are essentially faking roles in some maps. For example, if we have a helicopter map, we'll give you the air role, but it's not really that because we allow you some ground-based vehicles as well. The cost is independent of the multiplayer. GS AU: Will your single-player comrades' actions be scripted or dynamic? NC: It's different on different maps. We will full-script them and let them loose depending on which map you are on. On some maps we are testing to have them totally free, but it's always risky, because they can of course decide to complete an objective you haven't got to yet. It's dangerous, but we're trying it out. GS AU: One of the coolest things about the multiplayer demo was the ability to use a nuclear weapon. How will that fit into the single-player campaign? NC: We can't say how it will exactly play out yet, but there is a nuke in the single-player campaign. GS AU: How long will the single-player campaign go for? NC: Final length hasn't been decided yet because it's still a work in progress. But I'll guess it'll be between 15 and 25 hours, depending on how hardcore you are. It depends on how many side objectives you complete and how aggressive you are. As from now, we have 14 maps in single-player. GS AU: The single-player game only focuses on US. Was there any discussion about including the Russians? NC: We talked about it early on, but when push came to shove, we decided to focus on one campaign. For me and many of the guys at Massive, the key line from World in Conflict is that war is coming home. And home for many is the US, because we are all so familiar with their culture, and we have seen it all in movies. So having the Russians invading the US, that was the core of the game in my opinion. GS AU: Thanks for your time.

Samo cheknite, izlazi u toku godine, i izgleda da ce da bude...mmmm http://www.worldinconflict.com

ne, imam i ja svojih promasaja :) A uostalom, sto da postujem negde u stilu "ovo je sranje kktnxbb" ;)

Ma najveci problem je AI, maximalno sto rade za tezinu je (kao i u pomenutim igrama), aj za hard stavimo penaltyje igracu i bonus AIu, a za very hard, aj josh vishe... A sam Ai sux. To sto ti pricas qwerto, mozda i moze da se napravi u ovim igrama, sa modovima, nisam proveravao sta se nudi od opcija za modifikovanje. Mada, savrsenu strategiju nece izbaciti nikad :)

probao sam Srbiju sa novim patchom na very hard...lol Znachi, kupio vojsku da ih ima 10k, od 12 pokusaja bitke samo 1 dobio i to na jedvite jade. Jedina promena koju sam primetio za to kratko vreme je da sad i Austrija nudi alijansu. Inace, Turci pociste "saveznicke" trupe ko jaje s' groba :)

Izashao update 1.2 ...jeeee :) izmena i poboljsanja ima dosta, suvise da bi se ovde spamovalo

Veoma bitna stavka, sto se ne uci bas tako u nasim osnovnim/srednjim skolama itd je: Franc Ferdinand je bio ipak za neke, po danasnjim standardima i nazivima, demokratske promene u AU castvu. Zeleo je da promeni dvojnost u trojnost sto se tice AU vlasti, i da taj novi deo preda ostalim narodima, ukljucujuci Srbe, Hrvate itd. Pored toga, zeleo je da pretvori AU u federaciju od cak 16 celina. Sa druge strane, Gavrilo Princip i ostali iz njegove grupe, na kraju nisu imali podrsku Apisa za atentat, i radili su na svoju ruku. Oruzje nisu dobili iz Srbije, vec Crne Gore. Bili su zaslepljeni revolucionarnim proglasima i knjigama koji su tad bili popularni u celoj Evropi. Da li su tacno videli sta bi takav atentat mogao doneti, ne zna se za sigurno. Da li su bili heroji za Srbe? Definitivno ne. Tek kasnije, sa Srbijom u komunizmu, Gavrilo Princip a kasnije i Apis ( Crna Ruka je imala program: Republika pre svega) bivaju rehabilitovani i dobijaju na "znacaju" u Srbiji, sto je strasna greska. Sam Pasic nakon atentata kaze: "Austrijska i mađarska

Ok, posto se tek ukljucujem u topic, a videh da je Dule zurio sa uzrocima/povodom za rat, malo cu baciti podataka na tu temu. To sto se svako spremao za rat je vise stvar nepoverenja. nakon pomenutih sukoba sredinom 19tog veka, par bitnijih dogadjaja: 1882. U maju AU, Nemacka i Italija sklopile trojni pakt. 1883. AU i Rumunija potpisale tajni sporazum, poznat Nemackoj 1894. Francuska i Rusija potpisale odbradbeni savez 1898. nemacka pravi prvi Naval Law. Iste godine propadaju pregovori Nemacke i GB o zaustavljanju Rusije na Dalekom Istoku. 1889. propadaju razgovori o miru u Hagu 1900. nemacka izbacuje 2. Naval Law 1901. propadaju pregovori o alijansi izmedju GB i Nemacke 1902. GB i Japan potpisuju odbradbeni savez 1904. GB i Francuska najzad potpisuju 'Entente Cordiale' 1905. Schlieffen-ov plan 1906. Pocinje pomorska trka izmedju GB i Nemacke, kad su Britanci izbacili HMS Dreadnought. Na pocetku ww1 (racunajuci i battle-cruiserse): Nemacka 24, Gb 38. Iste godine prva Alzirska konferencija. 1907. Druga Haska Mirovna konferencija. Nemacka odbija bilo kakve pregovore o razoruzavanju. Produzava se Trojni pakt na period od jos 6 godina. Na drugoj strani, Rusija i GB potpisuju sporazum, sto sa Francuskom dovodi do Triple Entente. 1908. Aneksija Bosne i status quo sporazum izmedju AU i Rusije sto se tice Balkana. 1911. Agadir kriza (kad su Britanci mislili da ce Nemci da tu naprave svoju pomorsku bazu za Atlantik), srecom, Francuska i nemacka nalaze mirno resenje, mada se GB vec priopremila da pocne rat 1912. Heldan odlazi u Berlin da zaustavi vec pomenutu pomorsku trku izmedju GB i Nemacke. Nemacka odbija i izbacuje treci Naval Law. Pocinje 1. balkanski rat, kad i Rusija i Au mobilisu svoje trupe. Kriza je prosla kad Rusija povlaci podrsku Srbiji oko teritorijalnih zahteva. 1913. Nemacka uvodi specijalni porez koji bio udvostrucio njihovu vojnu snagu. Vojni rok u Francuskoj produzen sa 2 na 3 godine. Drugi balkanski rat. 1914. Atentat u Sarajevu itd itd, osim ovoga: 26tog jula Nemacka i Au odbijaju mirovnu konferenciju koju je ponudio Sir Edward Grey, da bi se razresile stvari izmedju AU i Srbije. Na strani AU i Nemacke, u samim vojnim i politiskim vrhovima: Leopold Anton Johann Sigismund Joseph Korsinus Ferdinand, Count Von Berchtold (1863-1942), Austro-Hungarian foreign minister at the outbreak of the First World War, was born on 18 April 1863 in Vienna. Berchtold was of wealthy means, owning tracts of land in Hungary and Moldavia; he was reputed to be one of Austria-Hungary's richest men. Berchtold joined the diplomatic corps in 1893, and although not credited with any great ability, nevertheless impressed with his courtly manners and aristocratic background. Promotion was consequently rapid. After spells in London and Paris, Berchtold was appointed ambassador to Russia in 1907, serving at St. Petersburg until his return to Vienna in 1912 whereupon he took up his appointment as Emperor Franz-Josef's foreign minister. During the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 Berchtold mooted with the idea of war with Serbia; having ruled this out he nonetheless accepted what amounted to a diplomatic defeat at the conclusion of the war. His position against Serbia hardened during this period. With the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914, Berchtold saw an opportunity to humiliate Serbia, favouring on 7 July an immediate invasion of Serbia without a prior declaration of war; he was ultimately over-ruled in this by Prime Minister Tisza, who argued strongly for retribution through diplomatic channels. Having persuaded the reluctant Emperor to agree to the presentation of an unacceptable ultimatum to Serbia (chiefly by arguing that Russia would not come to Serbia's aid), delivered on 23 July, effectively the first step towards war, Berchtold disregarded Serbia's largely complaisant reply, convincing Franz-Josef to declare war with Serbia on 28 July. With war underway Berchtold's performance was viewed at home as somewhat defeatist. Faced with Italian demands for control over certain southern Austrian territories, Berchtold recommended either a declaration of war with Italy (a course of action favoured by Army Chief of Staff Conrad and Prime Minister Tisza, despite Italy's status as a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary) or else agreement with the Italians' demands. Forced to resign on 13 January 1915, Berchtold was replaced as foreign minister by the more pugnacious Count Burian. Taking no further part in public life (although a prominent role at court), Count Leopold von Berchtold died on 21 November 1942 in Hung. General Count Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf (1852-1925) served as the Austrian Chief of Staff and Commander in Chief from 1906 until 1917. A highly energetic man and far-sighted in his approach to military reform, Conrad worked hard from 1906 to transform and modernise the Austrian army, championing such novelties as signals intelligence and aerial reconnaissance. Politically however Conrad was less astute. Supremely confident in the abilities of both himself and his armies, Conrad regularly proposed so-called 'preventative' or surprise wars directed against the supposed enemies of the Austro-Hungarian empire, usually Italy and Serbia; the realities of war and its consequences often escaped him, especially in the Balkans. In 1911 Conrad's demand for a war with Italy (during the Italo-Turkish War) resulted in his dismissal, although he was recalled in December the following year and was in readiness to again demand war against Serbia at the height of the July Crisis of 1914, this time prevailing with the support of Foreign Minister Count Leopold von Berchtold. Conrad himself had been a friend and associate of murdered Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Although widely regarded at the time as a notable strategist his reputation has not held up well over time. Austria-Hungary's mobilisation in July 1914 was ill-managed and the army far from in readiness on either the Serbian or Russian fronts. This was by no means a minor fault and was largely responsible for the army's initial string of woeful defeats at the hands of the Serbians. Having at first despatched his forces to the Balkans - banking upon slow Russian mobilisation - he was obliged to hastily redirect forces to Galicia once he realised the Russians were mobilising far quicker than expected; the result was logistical chaos with troops stranded somewhere in between. Similarly he underestimated Serbian determination and preparedness, again compounding military failures in 1914. Concerned mainly with the war against Italy, the Austrian defence against the initially tremendously successful Brusilov Offensive of June 1916 was pitifully weak; Brusilov very nearly succeeded in demolishing the Austrian army, and was responsible for 1.5 million Austrian casualties and prisoners (of which there were some 400,000). Although Conrad claimed credit for the Austro-German offensive of 1915, in reality the Austrians had largely subordinated the command structure to their German allies. Conrad's lack of success in commanding his armies on both fronts effectively brought down the Austro-Hungarian empire. With Karl I's accession as Emperor of Austria-Hungary on the death of Franz-Josef in November 1916, Conrad's grip on power began to slip. The new emperor favoured a negotiated peace with the Entente Powers, in which he was very much at odds with his Chief of Staff. Also keen to establish greater control over his armed forces, Karl I dismissed Conrad in March 1917, choosing to replace him with Arz von Straussenberg. Accepting instead command of the army in Italy, Conrad was deprived of this too following a succession of defeats, and was recalled to Vienna. He retired shortly afterwards, thereafter publishing his multi-volume memoirs (My Beginnings 1878-82 and My Service 1906-18) . Conrad von Hotzendorf died in Mergentheim in Germany on 25 August 1925 at the age of 72. Field Marshal Alexander von Krobatin (1849-1933) served as Austria-Hungary's Minister of War from 1912-17 and as an active (and moderately successful) field commander from 1917-18. Graduating from the Artillery Academy in 1869, Krobatin spent a further number of years studying the role of artillery in warfare and eventually taught as an instructor at the Technical Military Academy from 1877-82. Appointed to the War Ministry in 1896, Krobatin was promoted to Major-General in 1900 and as Minister of War from 1912. During the July Crisis of 1914 Krobatin's was a prominent voice - as an ally of Army Chief of Staff Conrad - calling for an immediate declaration of war against Serbia. Krobatin's ministry required him to take responsibility for harnessing the Austro-Hungarian economy to ensure increased and efficient production of arms and supply for the army. The reality was that Krobatin struggled ineffectually for the first two years of the war, although he succeeded in tripling the available level of artillery at divisional level. Conrad's dismissal as Chief of Staff in March 1917 left Krobatin politically exposed. Consequently - and following repeated calls by Krobatin - he was relieved of the War Ministry in April 1917 and handed command of Tenth Army. For his role in the spectacularly successful action at Caporetto in October that year - Tenth Army captured two Italian divisions - he was promoted to Field Marshal the following month, on 5 November. 1918 brought less impressive fortunes however: five months after his force played a secondary role during Archduke Josef's failed Piave Offensive - and only days after the Italian government turned down an offer of armistice from the Austro-Hungarians - Krobatin's Tenth and Eleventh Armies were demolished at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in November. Retiring at the close of the war, Krobatin died in 1933. Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg (1856-1921) served as Chancellor of Germany from 1909-17, a period which included much of World War One, and during which he fought to maintain social and political coherency as the increasingly vocal liberal elite clashed with reactionary forces typified by the German military machine and monarchist state. Bethmann-Hollweg was born in Howenfinow, Brandenburg on 29 November 1856. He studied law at Strasbourg, Leipzig and Berlin before entering the Prussian civil service. He was appointed in 1905 Prussian Minister of the Interior, followed two years later as state secretary in the Imperial Office of the Interior. He became German Chancellor, succeeding Prince Bernhard von Bulow, following the latter's resignation on 14 July 1909. Adopting a political outlook somewhat liberal for the time, Bethmann-Hollweg was nevertheless continually confronted by political extremes, left and right, and demonstrated an unfortunate predilection for swinging from one to the other in his ongoing efforts to govern by compromise. In particular he was viewed with great suspicion by ultra-reactionary forces within the military High Command. Time and again Bethmann-Hollweg found his carefully crafted political compromises rendered nought by the determined stubbornness of Germany's military machine. For example, having concluded what he believed to be a workable solution with the British in 1912 to reduce the escalation in naval armaments (following three years of painstaking negotiation), he found implacable opposition in the form of his naval minister, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. Tirpitz won out through the deciding support of the Kaiser, Wilhelm II. Nevertheless, prior to the outbreak of general war in August 1914 Bethmann-Hollweg did enjoy notable diplomatic success. Having suffered the diplomatic uncertainties of possible war with Britain and France in the wake of the Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911, Bethmann-Hollweg successfully liaised with the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, to prevent the expansion of the Balkan Wars into a broader conflict. This remained his greatest foreign affairs achievement. While working at home to increase the size of Germany's armed forces in preparation for a potential 'Great War' (the name had been decided long before hostilities actually began), Bethmann-Hollweg nevertheless strived to appease the nation's more liberal elements. The 1912 Reichstag elections had resulted in the return of 110 socialist deputies that needed henceforth to be taken into political consideration. He became convinced in the inevitability of a democratic monarchy based upon a Reichstag majority; a belief that merely served to further alienate support in the increasingly influential High Command, although Bethmann-Hollweg retained the crucial support of the Kaiser. Ironically Bethmann-Hollweg was never an enthusiast of parliamentary government, despite his reputation to the contrary - perhaps explaining in part the decidedly half-hearted nature of his electoral reforms. Although not personally keen on going to war in the summer of 1914, it was nevertheless Bethmann-Hollweg's action in handing Austria-Hungary the 'blank cheque' during the July Crisis (which effectively gave Austria-Hungary an open hand in determining how to punish Serbia for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, while promising German backing) that tipped the balance in favour of war. Yet Bethmann-Hollweg's part in bringing about war appears contradictory; despite his known reluctance for war there is evidence that he saw war as the only means of staving off wide scale civil unrest at home. War with France and Russia would undoubtedly prove popular; he could only hope for a brief, limited military engagement in order to restore stability at home. However once it became clear to him that the coming war was likely to take on a global scale he vainly attempted to reverse the military tide; entirely without success. He lacked the political authority to bring about any pause in the military machinery once the Schlieffen Plan was set in motion. Even the Kaiser, panicked at the last by the actual likelihood of war, found his High Command (led by Moltke) unwilling to stop what had they started. Bethmann-Hollweg's defence of the German invasion of neutral Belgium quickly gained notoriety. In response to British protests that she (Britain) was obliged to protect Belgium by treaty, he dismissed the document as "a scrap of paper". This statement was subsequently put to effective propaganda use by the British. With war underway Bethmann-Hollweg's influence markedly declined: the German General Staff took to effectively dictating policy, aided (sometimes reluctantly) by Wilhelm. This arrangement was greatly extended (and formalised) with the creation of the Third Supreme Command in August 1916, which created an effective military dictatorship led by Hindenburg and Ludendorff. Bethmann-Hollweg himself spoke out in favour of a negotiated settlement to the war, a policy regarded with contempt by the High Command. Ignoring such opposition he attempted to secure U.S. mediation in 1916. Well aware that U.S. entry into the war would practically ensure an Allied victory, he consistently against the German adoption of unrestricted submarine warfare (sponsored by Tirpitz), a policy that would assuredly draw the U.S. into the fray. Disregarding Bethmann-Hollweg's views Tirpitz got his way, backed by Wilhelm. A fresh policy of unrestricted submarine warfare was adopted in February 1917. Tirpitz was well aware of its likely consequence in drawing America into the war, but (incorrectly) gambled that Germany could knock Britain out of the war before U.S. aid could arrive. (Click here to read Bethmann-Hollweg's reaction to news that U.S. President Woodrow Wilson intended to address Congress on 2 April 1917 to seek authorisation for war with Germany.) Two months later, and responding to civil unrest, Bethmann-Hollweg promised electoral reforms on 7 April 1917. Although buying him time with left-wing activists in the Reichstag it proved the straw that finally broke the camel's back in terms of military and conservative support. During a series of debates on the peace resolution in the Reichstag in July 1917, Bethmann-Hollweg was obliged to tender his resignation when conservatives and socialists alike conspired against him (notably Kuno von Westarp and Max Bauer). He was replaced by Georg Michaelis on 13 July 1917. Retired from politics Bethmann-Hollweg wrote his memoirs following the war, published in two volumes as Reflections on the World War, from 1919-21. He died on New Year's Day, 1921, at the age of 64. Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941), Germany's last Kaiser, was born in Potsdam in 1859, the son of Frederick III and Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria. Wilhelm's upbringing was strict and authoritarian. He was educated first at the Kassel Gymnasium and then at the University of Bonn. Wilhelm became emperor of Germany in 1888 following the death of Frederick II. At the time of his accession Otto von Bismarck was still German Chancellor; however he was effectively dismissed from office by Wilhelm II two years later. The elderly Bismarck proved unable - or unwilling - to manipulate the new Kaiser as he had his predecessor. Wilhelm was an overtly militaristic man, and believed fervently in increasing the strength of Germany's armed forces. In particular he was keen to develop a German navy the equal of Britain's Royal Navy, encouraged by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz; the latter desire prompted the Liberal administration of the 1900's to finance rearmament of the Royal Navy. Wilhelm's policy towards Britain was by turns contradictory. Whilst supporting South Africa during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, he attempted a reconciliation shortly afterwards. He held a senior position within the British armed forces; and he confessed that he could not envisage a war with Britain. Yet he publicly criticised King Edward VII, whom he described as Satan. Even after war was declared in August 1914 he wrote that war would never have occurred had Queen Victoria, who died in 1901, still held the British throne. Wilhelm suffered a nervous breakdown in 1908, consequently playing a lesser role in the government of Germany for the following few years. Wilhelm was, however, no friend of democracy. Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary on 28 June 1914, Wilhelm and his Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, incited Austria-Hungary to exact revenge against Serbia. Events spiralled throughout July resulting in the First World War (click here to read Wilhelm's views of the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum). Wilhelm appeared not to foresee the consequences of an Austro-Hungarian attack on Serbia, pulling France, Russia and Britain into the war. Too late he attempted to scale back German involvement: he was firmly dissuaded by the German military. Dakle, ministar spoljnih poslova, jedan od najbogatijih u AU a zagovornik napada na Srbiju i pre atentata, generalstab u rukama coveka koji je takodje zagovarao rat i pre atentata i protiv Srbije i protiv Italije (samo u toku 1913 je zahtevao 25 puta napad na Srbiju), ministar rata bliski prijatelj prethodno pomenutog.... A na nemackoj strani, kancelar koji je stitio svoje politicke intrese u Nemackoj na racun izbijanja rata i Kajzer militaristicki nastrojen covek koji je doziveo nervni slom i toliko bio zaslepljen celom situacijom da nije smatrao da ce ultimatum dovesti do totalnog rata... I malo podataka o planovima svake drzave u slucaju izbijanja rata: France: Plan XVII The chief aim of Plan XVII, devised by Ferdinand Foch in the wake of the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian War, and taken up by French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre in 1913, was the recapture of the territory of Alsace and Lorraine. Entirely offensive in nature, Plan XVII made extensive use of the belief in the mystical