Campaign Scenario Setup Help - France

[SaS TrooP]

OK, here is a different thread from valo's one.
Valo, it seems to be working, thanks for sending me those files.

Now, to TS4EVER:
I have chosen to go with French infantry battalion, starting May 1940. I would love to have about, hmmm, 30 battles or so. First through dramatic France, then retreat to Africa, then Italy and France again, ending on liberation of Paris.
I will develop my realistic battalion rather freely, I will try to turn it into combat group.

What I ask you for is to consider my unit as a part of something bigger (regiment/brigade). I can provide you some sources of French equipment and organization of that time so you know what kind of forces may be sometimes attached as extra units. I also ask for realism when deploying my enemies. This comes to that era equipment and structural organizations (more the less, of course).

I take it you choose battles best and you know whats good for particular part of the campaign.

PS: I am up to do such thing for someone else, I guess TS4EVER cannot handle entire forums for that :P

[Ts4EVER]

You don't have to post the campaign file here, it is enough for oyu to post exactly what forces you have for now.

Here is how it works: You have a campaign on your computer, I make scenario files that you then add to this campaign to continue. You always need to save your game a turn before it ends, so you can then load up this savegame once you edited your campaign with the new scenario.
One technique we can do is having battles take place on the same map. So let's say your first game is supposed to take place in the morning and the battle continues in the evening. In that case you can send me your savegame and I can use this to make another scenario on the same map, which now has the battle damage from before etc. You shouldn't buy reinforcements then of course.

[SaS TrooP]

I am fine with multiple battles on one map.
Here I lost my current deployment save with exact forces I have. I hope that should help. Sorry I dont get it so well, custom campaign was always a bit weird to me :P

Uploaded the save.

[Ts4EVER]

Sorry it took so long, had little time. Anyway, add this to your campaign after the scenario where you picked your core force. Remember to make a savegame one turn before the end and put it on here, so I can make the next scenario on the same map. Note that you will play several battles on the same map, so conserve your forces!

The Germans broke through in the Ardennes and now the situation is chaotic. Your unit is tasked with securing an important bridge and creating a defensive perimeter around it. If the situation deteriorates further, we might have to blow it up, but until then, hold it. German recon elements are already in the area, but the enemy is not yet there in strength, so use this opportunity to establish a good defensive position. Some armored cars are operating on the eastern side of the river and will be able to screen your forces, but they have to be pulled back over the bridge by the end of the battle!

[Ts4EVER]

And the file.

[SaS TrooP]

Seems to be working, I will start playing now. I will report every few turns.
Its gonna be extremely hard to quickly cross that bridge and establish some beachhead with footmobile force only.

[Ts4EVER]

Yes. Note that you don't necessarily have to "win", as in capture all objectives. Instead, establish a perimeter that you are comfortable defending and beat the German recon forces. The big attack will come in the next scenario, where your deployment zone and objectives will depend on your positions in this one.

[SaS TrooP]

And so I did.
Panhards did amazing job and literally crushed German recon far from the city, giving my troops possibility to setup defence perimeter. I have suffered only 9 casualties, probably killing about ~200 Germans.
So far, 1 & 2 Cie crossed the bridge, 1 Cie covering south and 2 Cie covering north with monastery hill. 3 Cie crossed 2 platoons only, while 2 remaining in reserve for this scenario. Their general task is to cover that small forest and approach road.
I would be glad if I had a possibility to adjust some setup (especially relocate some AT guns). But overally I am happy with my current deployment and first success :)
Here goes the save, I am eager to see what goes next.

PS: I am requesting some artillery from my Regiment, it may come in handy if German attack will be strong. Also, I insist Panhards remain under my command, unless Division states otherwise.

PSS: My amazing AA defences managed to shoot down Storch recon plane with 3% chance ;P

[Ts4EVER]

OK, next one. You can only deploy your units on the western bank or within the perimeter I marked on the map.

Defend your perimeter against attack of what appears to be a German mechanised or tank division. Expect heavy artillery and air attack.
Sadly, the Panhard vehicles have withdrawn, but division is sending over some tanks. These had mechanical trouble, so it might take a while. As more elements of our division arrive, our artillery will be set up, coming online as the battle progresses.
As always, try to preserve your force.

[SaS TrooP]

OK, done this one too.
It was quite tough. At worst point I had to retreat about 500m into my lines and German tanks took that monastery. My armour support came just in time to fend them off. In the end I counterattacked and recaptured that forest and northern approaches. Only area I failed to get on time was that orchard near the railway.
German battalion seems to dislike that day, with most forces routed. For those 500pts I requested engineering company (which did not take part in combat), additional 75mm battery and 4 more AT guns.
My casualties are considerable though. I lost half of my MG capacity, AAMGs also failed to shoot down even a single Stuka, however they managed to damage few. I also lost ammo wagon and mule transports, reducing my mobility. Infantry itself did it with acceptable casualties. German artillery complicated my life. A lot.
My crew abandoned some vehicles, but these seems to be intact.

I request to keep engineers (in case I have to retreat and blow the bridge), tanks if possible, I need a battery on standby. I would be more than glad to have increased AT capacity, because my AT guns are just not enough. I could use tanks or more AT guns, but preferably tanks.
What is the situation on my flanks? I REALLY do not want to be cut my German pincer movement, so in case it is necessary I will have to evacuate to the side.

[Ts4EVER]

About the support points: Please don't use them unless I explicitly say so. These are set on your end (in the campaign structure) so I have no influence on them. I will instead provide you with auxiliary forces, which allows me more control over how the battle goes. Note how you didn't even use the engineers: this shows that the scenario is balanced with your core force + the additional forces by me in mind.

The Germans are regrouping after receiving that bloody nose. We also captured one of their tanks, although it is heavily damaged and probably won't survive a road march. Sadly, there are grave news from other parts of the front. Our other regiment apparently has lost control of the bridge to our south. Stragglers keep streaming north, informing us of casualties. We don't know if the bridge has been blown up or if the Germans captured it.
In light of these developments, these are your orders:
1: Withdraw your units and any stragglers over the bridge. Don't let this retreat turn into a rout! Form rear guards to keep the Germans at bay!
2: Blow up the bridge. A platoon of engineers is setting up charges as we speak. Ingame two "demolition charges" (ammo cannisters) will spawn. Blow these up to destroy the bridge once you retreated your units.
3: Set up defenses on the west bank.

[Ts4EVER]

and the files.

[SaS TrooP]

OK, **** has hit the fan on that one.
My retreat was going well unless they broke through central area and I needed to haste my retreat badly.
But it was going nice since the very end, when I was TOTALLY surprised with German armoured cars on the other side! I needed to rush them with my infantry and I succeeded with killing SOME, but at the end of scenario they were still inflicting losses.
The battalion however was evacuated in about 90% of entire fighting force and suffered moderate losses. As of last turn, the bridge is ready to be blown. Problem is I dont know how to do that with my own ammo dumps (in other scenarios IEDs or enemy dumps are used for it). I used Z-fire on the quite extensively, sadly without success. But for this reason I request to consider the bridge blown.
I failed to create a defensive perimeter on time, but attacking German force also suffered losses. Lets see what is your opinion of such outcome?

[Ts4EVER]

While we were able to heavily damage the bridge, the Germans had already crossed the river at different points. Our orders now are to fight our way towards the British lines in the north.
After a night march we now made contact with weak German positions. Use the limited visibility of the morning to push through them before the enemy air support shows up. The ultimate objectives are the victory hexes in the north west corner of the map, but you probably won't reach those in one go. Instead use the first stage to secure covered approach routes and jump off points for the subsequent operations.

Due to the stragglers that reached your position, you may repair damage for 100 repair points.

[SaS TrooP]

Got this one.
I decided to push north and then west. I opted (with success I guess) that forest would provide protection if stuff gets too heavy. I suffered noticeable losses 90% due to artillery, so I focused on taking it out. In total, I finished 10 8cm mortars, probably rendering enemy artillery unusable again.
At first I wanted to stop by the forest, but I see main route is unprotected. FOr this reason I order like 20mins break (thats nearly nothing, troops will use it for reorganization only, but I have marching battalion so they should handle long trips like that with smile). I am rearranging mules and crews to form a convoy again. Luckily my attached armour finished the battle untouched, they were busy with cleaning some Germans on my back. I hope I am quick enough so they wont call heavy guns in (I take it they need proper spotting and comm link). Worse with Stukas, but I can do better with them than mortars.
I have placed one of my units near 2 German wagons. I intent to capture them and use in my voyage.
Other than that: will it be possible to spend some repair points on rearranging the crews? For AT guns, MGs and transport. A lot of people should be capable of helping with these without explicit training experience.

[Ts4EVER]

If I tell you that you can spend repair points, you can use them on anything: infantry, artillery, even tanks for all I care.

Just so we are clear: Just because an area looks empty in the end screen does not mean it will be empty in the next scenario. I only place enemy units in areas I know you can comfortably reach in the alotted time. I do this for 3 reasons:
1: Easier for me to manage.
2: More flexibility to develop the scenario.
3: Otherwise you could see all enemy positions for the next scenario without proper recon.

So expect that village to be held!

We have managed to penetrate far through the weak German lines and reached a reasonably safe position in a forest. The enemy seems somewhat confused, but this state of affairs will not last long. We can already hear the sounds of aircraft approaching. Now it's time for quick an decisive action!
Clear the road to the north east and keep the road open for more units of your division still retreating north. It appears the British are preparing a delaying action before the city of Dunkirk in the north. We need to reach their lines.
The enemy appear to be mostly infantry units, with some armored cars and tanks.

[SaS TrooP]

Deployment zone seems to be shifted way to the right and I cannot deploy in this forest. I dont really think it should be like that?
PS: I apologize for not understanding some aspects you are throwing at me. I am much more into SPMBT really and I am generally not used to foot retreats, wagons and mules usage etc. Also stuff gets a lot quicker in there. I would appreciate if you even use capslock to underline particularly important aspects that I should achieve.

[Ts4EVER]

oh sorry the file I sent you was bugged, as I forgot to set the right deploy zone... I hope you still have the old savegame, if not, I can send it to you.

[SaS TrooP]

That new one worked.
Allright, it was tough and very resemblant to infamous Purple Heart Line. I am reporting to my superior (if there is any at this point and chaos) that my battalion is barely combat capable. But it managed to capture that bloody road and hold it against German counterattack (destroyed 5 Pz38s and my tank at the very end of the scenario engaged 2 armoured cars near the flags. I also have a screening force in the village to the north, but over there enemy tanks would probably make it though towards the road... that is covered with 3 ATGs on entire length and with 3 more tanks coming). I am happy to say divisional forces did not suffer a single casualty, so I hope there was some good point in this sacrifice.
I am also however reporting that - given I can use forces that were also in retreat - I should be capable of securing that village to the north, if command wishes so.
In fact, great most of my casualties were taken from 3 MGs. I personally find single MGs overpowered, since at some point my recon team was located 200 metres from their firing position (and was not pinned) and it still failed to discover them after 6 salvos. Needless to say 200 men and overseeing scouts/MGs/Tanks/Artillery observer (!) failed as well.
I damn hope I am getting close to friendly forces, one more battle like that and I may be in serious peril.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok next one.

Opening that road allowed your division to escape and join the British to the north. The British have concluded that our present position is untenable, so they are withdrawing towards the port of Dunkirk for evacuation. We will join them on their journey to England and will hopefully be able to land in France again soon to continue fighting.
To make the evactuation possible, we need time, however. To that end we established a hasty line of defense together with our Allies. Your unit holds the southernmost flank of this new position, at the point of contact with the British.
- You can spend 100 repair points to replace losses in your core force
- Deploy your units north of the big forest. The British are low on manpower, so they requested that one of your companies is held in reserve, to react if one sector is about to be overrun
- Hold the line against any German attack

[SaS TrooP]

OK, defence goes way better for me than retreats :P
Nothing to say here, I replenished most of 1 Cie and used 2 & 3 Cie combined in the centre. British shove off Germans quite easily and I could shift their armoured vehicles when Germans came in my sector. It was quite stressful at some point and they were close to break, but after all situation got back in my control. As of ending turn, most remaining Germans are pinned and engaged from several directions.

Let me know when you are planning to end France '40 sector. Before we proceed to actual Africa, Free French forces first tried to establish themselves in west african colonies. I would be glad to have battle of Dakar and Invasion of Gabon first, best 2 battles each. When time comes I may explain you how - in my opinion - it should look like.

[Ts4EVER]

This will probably be the last France battle before the evacuation. That being said, it would be nice if you could send me some material or ideas for the next battles, since I know very little about them.

While the first German assault has been held up, our position grows weaker, as the British gradually withdraw to Dunkirk. For one thing, they already moved their gun batteries to the rear. Ours are still in position, but low on ammunition, since the British use different calibres. On top of that, it seems like the Germans are preparing for a new push. Their horrible wailing planes are back as well.
- Defend your position
- If the German assault proves overwhelming, withdraw your forces

[SaS TrooP]

OK, so about these 2 engagements:
Battle of Dakar occurred in September 1940 and was mainly naval engagement. In short, Franco-british navy conducted show of power near the shores of Dakar, Senegal. Its purpose was to persuade French West Africa to join the struggle for De Gaulle. But Vichy authorities were not amused and sent in their own naval batteries, aircraft and nearby task force (with battleship in it). The battle went extremely unfavourably for the Allies and humiliated them, after entire task force (including aircraft carrier and battleship) were damaged and out of war for several months.
As of land engagements, there was just one: FF forces tried to conduct a beach landing near Dakar in order to advance on foot, but it failed under heavy fog and generally bad weather conditions. If FF forces set ashore is unclear to me. They could not even land or eventually land and leave before making a contact.
So in this case - if you want to handle this one - we could assume landing has occurred and then it was revoked, after light combat. I would have to be very careful with casualties, but Vichy forces should not be powerful.

The other battle, Gabon, is much more important from our point of view.
In Gabon it went fair better. That was November 1940. French forces blocked weak Vichy navy in the vicinity of Port Gabon and landed its forces there. Main area of the fighting was airport at Libreville (I call it airport, but historians use "aerodome" what probably indicates its small size). There were heavy fighting for it for 2 days, but with british light aircraft help French managed to capture it. Then, after brief combat Libreville was captured and this turned French Equatorial Africa and Chad into de Gaulle's men.

Later, French forces will be reorganized in Eritrea into 1st Brigade of the Orient and will take part in battle of Keren against Italy. This - I believe - should be depicted quite carefully as fighting there was extremely bloody. And then Operation Exporter, an invasion of Vichy Syrian and Lebanon, that finally provided de Gaulle with resources and manpower to create first Free French Division.
Rest of the story will follow up.

[SaS TrooP]

OK, got this one ready.
It was quiute tough, German attack seemed to be well planned and I disposed less units (my 1 & 2 Cie were downed to about 30% fighting strenght). For this reason I had to evacuate my sector and by the end scenario british are ready to do as well. But I made a good stand against them and caused them numerous casualties while limiting those of my own (but I sadly lost few very experienced men). British did rather easy for most part except very end, when Germans started to push them away.
Finally, German tanks conducted very dangerous flanking maneuver on me, but I was able to shift some AT weapons to that sector and prepare nice ambush. German tanks at this farm deep on my flank are mostly damaged and 2 AT guns are overseeing them by the end of the scenario.

[Ts4EVER]

OK, so we will be doing Libreville next. I guess you will have to reequip your units with British weapons?

[SaS TrooP]

I am actually not that sure. At this point French forces may still relay on their own weaponry. So it is up to your call.
I hope I can though finally resupply myself. At this point de Gaulle could only afford weak forces (thats why he rushed for Gabon). But I believe it should be enough to make a strong battalion or two for this operation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gabon

Here goes the link for this one.

[Ts4EVER]

Off to africa then. You can use as many repair points as you like to get your army up to snuff.

Deploy your forces north of the indicated line. Our objective for today is the Libreville airport. It is held by strong Vichy forces. Luckily, British air support is on its way.

[SaS TrooP]

All right, I must say... it did not go that well, given the task...
As of turn 28, I have captured just 1 objective cluster and nearly got to the second one. I hope I understood my deployment positions correctly, but it took me a while to make that rush. I was breaking through Vichy's positions one by one, but I just did not have enough time. Also, 1 Cie got pretty badly beaten on the way, but otherwise my battalion is well combat capable.
Question is what now? I was in combat for about an hour and still did not capture that bloody airfield...

[Ts4EVER]

Ok, next one.

We managed to gain a foothold near the airfield, but Vichy resistance is fiercer than expected. We will try another assault, this time under the cover of darkness.

[SaS TrooP]

Got his one, ****ing finally.
It took me 14 turns to finish my manoeuvres. Vichy forces got completely destroyed with about 30 men surviving and entire airstrip is taken. Their stupid counterattack allowed me to finish the job quicker, but I somehow understand them. I launched flanking maneuver though the south and I was ready to cut the airstrip. Then they rushed.
Their defence was however extremely powerful. I did not expect that just 2 Coys will provide such hard fight. My casualties are enormous as for this kind of difficulty level. My battalion will soon need replenishment quite soon.
Historically that airstrip was key defence point, so from now on it SHOULD do rather easy.
So, what now?

[Ts4EVER]

Next you can repair your forces again, as we will jump to Eritrea, April 1941.

Our target is the Italian port city of Massawa. Our Indian allies will attack from the north, while we will deploy our forces in the south. The city is ringed by Italian defenses, which we will have to breach in the first phase of operations. Once we have a foothold, we will advance further.

[SaS TrooP]

This one may take me little longer since I have lesser time for now.
Remember - at later stages of Abyssinia - to make Mount Keren (this battle could generally use a depiction in battle mode. Maybe I will do it in some time).
And one more mention that I forgot previously: please be careful when setting starting sides. Many casualties I suffered in last battle died because routed units run straight into enemy rather than back to the marshes.
I am switching into British equipment for now, finally motorizing my support forces and attaching recon squadron that will make a bulk of latter armoured force.

PS: IMPORTANT! My deployment area is to the left. Its quite short. Should it be like that?

[Ts4EVER]

Yes the deployment zone are normal.

[SaS TrooP]

Allright, got this done.
Generally casualties are acceptable (though could be lower). Most were produced on mines, Italian fire was mostly inaccurate and was silenced quickly with my MGs and artillery. I was pushing hard to gain momentum and in fact to capture entire flag area in one battle. For this I was not prepared for strong Italian counterattack that stalled my advance and now my troops are in need of reorganization. But afterwards fight can be continued and fate of the defenders is sealed.
Let me send a messenger if they want to surrender, maybe I could capture some interesting stuff. If not: they have no chance. Indian resistance was weaker and their formations massacred defenders easily. The airstrip's control is still disputed, but there is no chance Italians will hold on open ground.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok, carrying on.

After their defenses were breached, the Italians lost heart and surrendered. Columns of POWs marched past our lines into captivity.
Next we are shipped to Syria, in order to wrestle control of that colony from collaborationist forces. Vichy Legionaires and Colonial troops defend the line in front of our position. Their defense is centered around an old Ottoman desert fort in a commanding position.
- Deploy your forces south of the indicated line
- Break through the Vichy lines

[SaS TrooP]

Allright, made my refit. A tank company is attached to my core force, thus completion of battalion-sized combat group is mid way. Rest of the infantry will remain footmobile, I intent do equip them with halftracks no sooner than Tunisia.

[Ts4EVER]

What kind of tanks did you use?

[SaS TrooP]

I have implemented Cruiser IIs so far. In some time I will upgrade my ACs to gun equipped.

Meanwhile, I made my foothold. I reached nearly the area I wanted (that small gully). Instead I reached crossroads hundred meters away. I used different tactics this time, let infantry capture small village first and tanks and recon came second hand, to exploit the breakthrough. Spam of AT guns sadly stopped this advance, but most of Legionnaire were routed on the way. It is also good to have fire superiority with tanks and see these poor ACs and tanks going over my guunz ;c
Nice refreshment after bloody 1940.
My casualties also seem OK, surprisingly no trucks were destroyed.
I take it in next scenario I should advance on towards the fortress and I will try to expand my area of attack. I would love to wait till darkness for attack, unless HQ expects otherwise. It it goes for assault itself, first I need to push closer. If I have to capture that fortress, I will need my men ready and reorganized.

[Ts4EVER]

I think you send me the old savegame from the previous scenario by mistake.

[SaS TrooP]

Try it now...

[Ts4EVER]

That one is from the end of the Massawa Scenario, not the Syria one.

[SaS TrooP]

**** me, Try it now, made a fail twice.

[Ts4EVER]

third time is the charme.

The decision was made to try and take the fortress in a night attack. This means we will have the cover of darkness, but no access to our artillery support.

[SaS TrooP]

Damn, HQ misunderstood me... I wanted to postpone attack on the fortress itself to night hours. Gonna be tough to get that ridge, but I will do my best.

[Ts4EVER]

So... no time at the moment?

[SaS TrooP]

November pretty much sucks for me, started apprenticeship at court. Progress will be very slow.

[SaS TrooP]

OK, got it done.
It was a tough fight, but I managed to get to proper positions for final assault. In fact, I penetrated one segment of defensive walls. My casualties are going extremely high though. Also, I did not expect such a strong assault from the back (I hoped Vichy forces retreated to the fortress) and I had to mobilize my rear security forces and drive most tanks backwards. The battle ended with success but it cost me dearly.

For the final assault, I ask for maximum heavy calibre artillery. I want to assault as soon as my men are rested, rearmed and ready.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok, good to have you back.

Our night assault carried us right to the outer walls of the old turkish fort. Collaborationist forces still hold the old castle in strength however and we can hear them preparing the inner sanctuary for a last stand.
We requested heavy artillery, but all our British Allies could spare were two batteries of 25 Pds, which will arrive shortly. It appears the English ran into trouble themselves, so don't expect too much help. Luckily, some of their planes are circling overhead.

[SaS TrooP]

I am not that much back. Probably battle you send me now will again take me much much longer than usual. Around early December things should stabilize.

This assault was pretty easy due to enemy being bogged in the very small and predictable area. Even though my mortars failed several times and caused numerous casualties due to friendly fire incidents, I was able to capture the key fort building before 25pdrs arrived. Then my tanks outflanked the fortress and pushed forward, towards enemy artillery park, killing a couple of tanks in the process.
It cost me 45 casualties and a tank blown on mines, traitor's losses went way over 200.

The question is: what now?

[Ts4EVER]

I think we will stay in Syria a little bit.

While we launched our night assault on the fort, the British had their own operation in a nearby sector. The battle was a mess and apparently one of their companies got lost, crossed into our sector and is now trapped behind enemy lines. The Vichy French are already massing armored cars and tanks to take out their position.
We will launch an attack to save our Allies. Speed is of the utmost importance! Use your tanks and trucks to make a fast assault force.

[SaS TrooP]

Any repair points? Please specify in the briefing if I can use them or not.

[Ts4EVER]

It is the next day, so no significant upgrades or replacement. You can fix immobilised or bailed vehicles though.

[SaS TrooP]

OK, it is finished.
This time I was effective... to the point. As sugested, I assembled ad hoc motorized QRF unit. I absolutely did not expect to encounter another Legionaire company (or more), but it happened. Yet, with good usage of firepower, I managed to break though them rather quickly and secured both villages with low losses on my side. In the meantime, British help off the Vichy rather well, stuff got complicated when tanks came. I was still pushing and making a good use of my field guns, suppresing Vichies to the limits. In the end, I reached the Brits just in time to take out about company of R-35 and to decimate attackers from the back. I also placed my tanks close to enemy trucks with intention to capture them and use if needed.
Sadly, I lost 3 tanks in the very end of this scenario. I engaged field guns in order to disable them for the future, but crews managed to load AP rounds and knowcked out 3 Crusaders. It must be noted that. adjutant Frenault managed to organize from suppresion of 99 to "ready" status and assaulted a fiend gun with his pistol, killing all the crew after brief fight.
In the end, I stand firm and ready, but my casualties are mounting high. To make things worse, I am nearly out of armoured vehicles.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok. Any idea about what to do after Syria? Bir Hacheim?

[SaS TrooP]

This division was disbanded in August 1941 for reorganization and several brigades were made out of it. Those brigades fought at Bir Hakeim and El Alamein, yes, but we could make a scenario or two of skirmish engagements not seen in normal books, on a smaller scale. Then we could proceed to Bir Hakeim, which should be one of the most important battles in this campaign.
And then probably another non-historical break and El Alamein. After that brigades went back to 1st FF Division status and fought together long and heavy fight in Tunisia.
So, pretty much thats the plan. Then we could touch Italy if dates will be historical. And then you will have to make a choice if we stay in Italy and then go Southern France with Op. Dragoon or if I join Leclerc forces in Normandy.

[Ts4EVER]

Dunno about making skirmishes, imo we should keep it rather historical with this campaign.

[SaS TrooP]

Allright then, I am waiting for next assignment.

[Ts4EVER]

So it has come to this... the big battle of our time. :D

After a period of rest and refitting our brigade, minus the rest of the division, is back in the line. We are tasked with defending a brigade box in the Gazala line, based on an old fort called Bir Hakeim. If you thought Syria was an arid wasteland, wait until you see this...

The Afrika Korps has started another offensive. Details are scarce so far, but units of the Italian Ariete tank division are closing in on our fortress. It might not be the Maginot line, but we will make them pay with blood for every trench. Don't get too cocky though: These are not the timid colonial Italians of East Africa, but battle hardened and well equipped tank troops.

- Deploy your unit behind the minefields
- I know you got some fortification points, but DO NOT USE THEM. believe me, you have enough
- Hold your positions

[SaS TrooP]

This is gonna be funny.
I held off first assault with ease, taking very few casualties amongst my men. I wonder what enemy will throw next.
However, this looks increasingly dramatic. I call for the British to deliver me any sort of additional ammo supply (trucks at best, but I will do with everything). Also, I have recently added a platoon of Genie into my ranks. Now, a job for them: there are about 6 Italian M14/41 tanks abandoned on a mine field. I want them to check these tanks and make them running if its possible. If it is not, I want them to disassemble as much MGs from these tanks as possible and make them usable for infantry in order to increase my defensive power.
Finally, I want to have all Italian trucks possible running, these may be useful in reserve roles.
And then I am resting my men for next assault.

[Ts4EVER]

And so it goes on.

After a day of battle, we settle down for an uneasy night. Surviving Italians have taken up positions between the burning wrecks and mine clearing details are probing our positions for weaknesses.

- Deploy your forces as before
- Form some aggressive patrols (platoon sized units) in order to regain control of the gaps in the minefields
- Note that some of the immobilized tanks might still be active

[SaS TrooP]

It is done.
I succeeded in securing both gaps again, but I took heavy losses in the process of fighting. Yet, the Italians succeeded in making a single gap to the very top. I though have engineers nearby, maybe they will be able to reinstall the minefield, at least partially?
I am still calling in for additional ammunition supplies before Germans will come in.

[Ts4EVER]

And on we go.

Sadly, we have no more reserves. Ammunition supply is scarce in general, since the overall situation is more than fluid. While we are holding our position steadfastly, the Germans and British are engaged in a whirling tank battle to our north. It is too early to tell who will end up the victor, but it seems Rommel might have overstretched this time.

The Italians are still desperately trying to break through. Over night they cleared another gap in our minefields: Let's see what they do with this opportunity. Command has sent some ammo trucks from the central depot, they should arrive shortly. Just make sure they don't get destroyed. The Royal Air force is very active today, so we might get some air support as well. Bad news about the fuel: We are starting to run out, so for now, it is rationed.

- Deploy your forces as before
- Due to the fuel rationing, you may not move your tanks
- Hold your positions

[Ts4EVER]

Still no time?

[SaS TrooP]

Turn 22 out of 33, do not worry :P
Christmas and all that stuff happened. You seem to be enjoying that a lot, dont you?

[Ts4EVER]

Of course. :D But don't worry about it, just thought I'd ask.

[SaS TrooP]

Gotta issue recently, may slow me down. My new graphic card doesnt like my monitor (and probable cable), SP games look unbearable. I will report back when I will solve this issue.

[SaS TrooP]

Game still looks awful, but I was capable to finish the battle. Finally made a decisive will. Italians took first trench line for a brief moment, but counterattack fought them off, not with heavy losses on my side though.
I actually wonder if those CCNN Engineers are not bugged or something, because their kill rate is several times higher than those of Bersaglieris. They wiped me a squad (full squad) in one single turn, entrenched, firing back...

I did not move my tanks throughout entire battle.
Again, requesting more ammo if possible. Also, assuming night will be rather OK, I want to do my best to collect weapons and ammo. I have killed about 3 MG sections close to my trenches, maybe this will give me some good.

[Ts4EVER]

Dunno about the Italian unit, I did not change anything about them IIRC. I did not use them this time to be safe.

About ammo: aren't your units automatically resupplied between turns?

We are getting contradictory messages from higher command. They tell us the battle is won, that Rommel is caught in a pocket, only to change their mind an hour later... Now we are supposed to prepare for a general retreat.

But before we can do that, there is a last assault to beat back. Yesterday the Italians broke through our minefields. While we were able to throw them out of our trenches, they control the outer defenses in the north now, making it impossible to close these gaps properly. Command is also concerned about us just getting bypassed, but it appears they want to try one last time. The first howitzer rounds are already landing between the foxholes. Whatever the day may bring, our defense here at Bir Hacheim will be the stuff of legends in the future.

- Deploy your units as before
- Hold your positions
- All fuel will be needed for the retreat, so don't move your tanks

[SaS TrooP]

Allright, finished this fight. It was tough. I expected Germans to move in historically from the south, thus 3 Cie was tasked holding this sector with 2 out of 4 47mm guns since beginning.
But somehow, they Nazis managed to push through. Position was overrun, 3 Cie took heavy but yet acceptable losses. Infantry covering German tanks was decimated and many tanks knocked out. At the end of scenario 3 German tanks are still pushing and are close to death zone (they will stand no chance) and 3 remain in southern defence sector. Around them I have about 100 men ready to finish them in close quarters, but I run out of time.
North was repulsed with relatively low casualties.
Many good veterans died this fight. This includes AT gun crew with 97EXP and tank crew with 98/95 EXP/MOR. I am not pleased with efficiency of my AT measures, PzIIIJ seems to be effectively protected even from 47mm!
Question is who - according to you - controls southern sector. I say 3 tanks would probably withdraw seeing infantry crawling around them. But its up to you with it.

[Ts4EVER]

I'd say considering the amount of infantry still left in the southern trenches they haven't secured it and you can savely withdraw. Question is: What do we do next? El Alamein I guess? Thing is, desert battles imo get old pretty fast, especially if you got an infantry heavy force like you do.

[SaS TrooP]

Thing is... I am not particularly sure if I want to withdraw from this position. Plus as far as I remember, frenchies had to break out from nearly enclosed siege and they did it with help of some Indian unit attacking Germans from the other direction.

So - unless you enjoy to do otherwise - I would make a battle or two out of Bir Hakeim, and then proceed to El Alamein. I can do Africa for a while. Your deployment makes it always interesting.

My tempo may slow down a little bit, as it was now. Running SPMBT tournament steals quite a time. Join if you like, NATO position is open :P

[Ts4EVER]

No thanks, I'm not interested in modern warfare at all I'm afraid.

The evacuation order has come and we are preparing to retreat to the south and link up with British forces. Bitter, but we did give them one hell of a fight.
We will break out at night, after our engineers have cleared a gap through the minefield. Then we will have to move fast, before the Germans get wise to what is happening. They ave established a siege perimeter around the fort, including minefields and wire.

- Deploy your forces within the perimeter
- Reach the evac zone with as many forces as possible

[SaS TrooP]

OK, I would be generally back to it. I will do my best with the last save I have and will give you further action shortly.

[Ts4EVER]

Cool. Before we continue with El Alamein it would be good to get an idea of how many forces you have.

[SaS TrooP]

You mean percentage strength of entire battalion?

[Ts4EVER]

Generally what kind of forces you have and what kind of tanks, I need a refresher on that.

[SaS TrooP]

OK, I have finish that battle once again.
This time my HQ survived.

As I reminder, I currently have French infantry battalion with British gear, reinforced with tank company (Crusader) and sort of recon squadron with armoured cars and motorcycles.
I am currently trying to break out of Bir Hakeim. Losses in my battalion probably exceed 50%, I have lots of wounded squads transported by any trucks I can muster, including captured ones. Due to cheaty AI artillery (please don't use it in such scenarios!) I have lost lot of hardware this battle, including AA and AT guns.
Generally, my situation looks really really bad, but I keep pushing. I have to, there is no other choice.

[Ts4EVER]

What do you mean by "cheaty artillery"? BTW, I think the patching might have desynchronised us, I see some vehicles called "Humber III" that have a placeholder icon instead of proper graphics and french weapons. Any idea?

[SaS TrooP]

Patch desynchronised indeed. I will upgrade those vehicles later, so it should be OK.

About artillery: AI has "magic eye" when comes to artillery. They will target your units even if they do not technically "see" them. When any sort of arty is available to the AI, it is damn hard - and just annoying/unjust - to use any motorized, non armoured unit. I have lost those guns at the very back of my formation even though these could not be seen by the Germans. AI simply magically sees trucks standing there and targets those. You loose ****load of good stuff, what is obviously not happening in eg. PBEM.
You can test it for yourself. If enemy artillery is not busy with the direct frontline, they will target positions where your units are magically deployed. That way you can loose follow-on fores that did not enter combat etc.

[scorpio_rocks]

The Developers have been at great pains to point out that this is just flatly NOT the case! There is no "magic artillery". The AI plots based on a slew of stuff which piques its interest: roads, movement, dust clouds, VPs, artillery smoke, etc and occasionally a bit of random guesswork -JUST LIKE A HUMAN WOULD!

If you have stuff being targeted that you are convinced hasnt been seen then perhaps it is reasonably close to a VP, artillery fire, etc or was seen by a scout you havent detected - or you were REALLY unlucky...

Worth reading the FAQ = "WHY HAS THE GAME BEEN PROGRAMMED WITH ALL KNOWING "BORG" AI ARTILLERY" and the release notes.

I certainly dont find that "...They will target your units even if they do not technically "see" them. When any sort of arty is available to the AI..." and whilst I haven't much PBEM experience I would say AI no better than a human opponent.

There is also a reason Napoleon called artilery the "empress of the battlefield" and believed "God is on the side with the best artillery".

[SaS TrooP]

Nah, just mentioning my experiences. I got under fire at positions that should be out of any particular interest. Normally it is bearable... unless you are truck/wagon based...

[Ts4EVER]

Note that the ai has a sniper close to the perimeter which can spot your units in the minefield gaps.

[Ts4EVER]

Anyway next one.


We have broken through the picket line and the outer perimeter and are advancing at a decent speed. From gun flashes we have a decent idea of where German strong points are located, so we might just be able to weave through. We are racing against time however: As the sun is slowly rising, we slowly but surely become sitting ducks, as the protective cover of darkness is lifted.

- Deploy your main force in the designated area
- Deploy the two tanks you scouted forward with in their area
- Reach the evacuation zone
- If you don't reach the evacuation zone in this round, the next battle will be at full visibility and the Germans will receive air support and reinforcements

[SaS TrooP]

German position was overrun completely at turn 22. So I had lightly 14 turns to evacuate the wounded, though I have lost or bogged down quite lot of transport (but this epic Bedford is fine, it can take lots of those remnants).
I failed to destroy entire artillery, just half of it. I did not want to risk unnecessary losses in my already battered battalion.

Way stands open. Entire passage is secured by at least weak formations providing some warning if necessary.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok cool. This concludes what I think is probably the first highlight of the campaign: The battle of Bir Hakeim. I think it went well.
Luckily I had already prepared the next scenario before the long hiatus, so I can post it immediately.
First of all: You can refresh and upgrade your force completely, cause we are making another time jump to October 1942, to the battle of El Alamein.
This scenario will be a bit more experimental and I hope it works well. You need to follow the instructions quite carefully for it to work! Also a little reminder that what you can see at the end of a scenario does not necessarily reflect what will be there next time (otherwise you could get spoiled). This is especially important in this one for reasons you will see.

After our ragtag group of survivors reached allied lines, we retreated. For weeks we moved east, into Egypt. There we were refreshed by reinforcements from England, consisting of French refugees and former Vichy soldiers from Syria. In the beginning of October we went into the line again at a place called El Alamein.

Here the Germans had been stopped in the summer, the battle ending in a stalemate. The trench warfare, characterised by nightly patrols and artillery duels, will soon end, as we prepare for a major offensive to push Rommel out of Africa once and for all.

It is 2 days before the big push and we think it is time for a bit of daring... patrols have identified a weak point in the line, where the Italian paratroopers facing us are not as diligent and well deployed as usual. A surprise attack at night might just break through and allow us to reach some juicy objectives directly behind the Italian lines...

- Deploy your forces in your trenches
- With the exception of your raiding force (more on that later), none of your infantry may move more than 2 hexes during the battle
- Fuel and artillery ammunition is being set aside for the offensive, so you may not use your artillery or vehicles
- Create a raiding force from your core force, consisting off:
- an infantry platoon
- an engineer squad
- heavy support weapons (up to 1 MG, mortar, antitank team)
- non motorized scouts and snipers from your recon unit
- Deploy this force in the indicated area
- Use this force to infiltrate behind Italian lines and hit any or all of the following objectives:
- an only lightly guarded command post
- a German bunker housing a liason officer
- a fuel dump that has not yet been distributed behind the lines
- After you have achieved what you set out to do, retreat the surviving units back to their starting positions
- If you feel that resistance is too strong, retreat
- You will not be able to recoup losses before the big offensive

If you fail to destroy any objective, the next battle will proceed normally. However, each objective you manage to destroy will give you a bonus in the next scenario.
- If you destroy the command post, you will capture papers and Italian officers: The position of all Italian strong points, minefields, artillery position and reserve positions will be marked on the map
- If you destroy the German liason officer, the Italians will not be supported by German planes or tank reinforcements
- If you destroy the fuel dump, all Italian vehicles will be immobilized

As you can see, quite complicated, but I hope it will work... if you have any questions, post them before starting.

[SaS TrooP]

Damn, I also hope it works. I was never good in objective based combat in Steel Panthers. There is even a big mission like that in SPWW2, forgot the exact location, but you play as Greece vs. Italy in 1940.
This is surely one of the most disastrous battles I have ever led xD

Just one question out of technicallity, also a note for future scenarios: Remember I do not use Z-fire against the AI. At all. I hope you include that part in scenario creation. All would be way too easy with Z-fire ability. And secondly, what is your approach to snipers? If possible, I recommend to rather avoid them on best training. I always considered snipers definitely overpowered. I also have only one in my core force and I will not increase the amount.

[SaS TrooP]

Anyway, here is the scenario completed:
- Italian Command Post has been eliminated and prisoners actually taken
- Ammo dump has been eliminated, AT guns has been destroyed as objective of opportunity
- Liason officer has not been accomplished

I have decided to play it slightly differently. I used my Genie section to carve path through the minefield. I have lost one man in the process.
Taking out the HQ was rather easy, I did not take any casualties on this one, especially I attacked from behind.
Second group, in the meantime, went for the fuel dump. This was quite tricky here, Italians were stubborn and I could not eliminate the guards. I suffered quite few casualties there. Finally though Genie destroyed the dump and infantry penetrated about 200 metres deep, when I called off the attack. The reason was 100 metres distanse was aparently not safe from the fuel dump. Secondaries went directly at me (not the Italians), instantly killing about 10 men. Due to casualties and one more loss on the minefield towards the liason officer, I decided to retreat. I used remaining time to increase the gap width from 50 to 150 metres. Should Italians not discover that gap and area of penetration, they may have issues rebuilding it.
Turn 45 depics general retreat towards my lines. Those two infantry squads are left on Italian side accidentally (I forgot about them and then just stood, so please consider them evacuated). I have left 3 men from recon team to overwatch the gap. In case Italians have it, gap is in range of my mortars and MG fire. I do not want Gustadori to rebuild it. Scouts pass the contact to the Battalion HQ and Vickers MGs are unleashed if needed.

Raid ended up with 20 of my mean being casualties. 50 Italians were taken out in the process.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok, then on to the main show:

In the upcoming assault, which is itself only a distraction from an even bigger offensive in the north, we will be supported by the British 7th Armoured Division, as well as lots of British heavy artillery.
We have send back the plans of the Italian offensives to the British, so their artillery will be able to precisely plan the big opening barrage. The Italians are out of fuel, so their tanks and trucks are immobilized and they will not be able to bring up their armored reservers. They ca call on German Panzers and Stukas though.
- Deploy your force in your trenches
- Plan the opening barrage
- Advance as far as possible

[Ts4EVER]

About z-fire: I don't do that myself tbh.
About snipers: I don't usually use them in bulk unless I wanna do some kind of harassing delay kind of scenario.

[SaS TrooP]

Allright, there we go.
At turn 33 enemy command post is about to be overrun. Same goes to artillery (no chance for it to extract itself on time). Most of Italian parachute battalion is anihilated, with just one strongpoint up there I decided to omit. German reinforcements have been pretty much taken out. IU have huge amount of tanks left working and I captured a lot of trucks. Enemy AT weapons are down.

Even though I still do not control whole area, I would declare it a win. Should the game be set to 40 turns... and I have the whole map.

My casualties are high. Just to let you know: about ~75% or more of my infantry losses were caused by 2-3 snipers. Yes, snipers killed me more than 100 men. Which is precisely why I call usage of snipers retarded. No need to mention I dispatched strong forces to look for them with very little effect. I stopped taking casualties only when they run out of ammo.
My combat abilities are now limited. If there were no snipers I would barely feel the losses.

[Ts4EVER]

Sorry about that, but note that these snipers are an integral part of the Italian Parachute Company and you actually won the scenario in one go. Anyway, I'd say we jump in time again, to Tunisia. As far as I can ascertain the Brigade was enlarged to division status in this time, so you can refresh and upgrade you forces. I think the re-equipment with American stuff happened later though (before the move to Italy).

Things are looking up. After the defeat at El Alamein, the axis forces are retreating to Tunisia. Even better: We won't have to fight against other Frenchmen anymore. The Americans landed in North Africa and caused the Vichy forces there to switch sides. In response the Germans occupied the rest of France, but let them: We will get it back soon enough!

It is now May 1943 and we are send back into line for possible the last time in North Africa. As we press the Germans and Italians back to their pathetic bridgehead, they mount delaying actions, using the rugged terrain to their advantage.
In our sector they concentrated their forces on three hills, fortifying them. They are set up in a way that the three positions can cover each other, making it hard to properly assault them. German forces are mostly infantry, supported by Antitank guns and the occasional Panzer. There is also a Flak 88 battery in the area that we should take out as soon as possible. We are supported by British heavy artillery.

- Deploy your forces
- Clear Objectives Toulouse, Amiens and Poitiers in whatever way you deem best
- Locate and destroy all 88mm guns. If you don't get them today, the Germans will move them to a different location overnight.

[SaS TrooP]

I do not think this may be important, but did you set the month to May or January? This may have an impact on available equipment, but I am getting extremely badly trained replacements.

But yes, FFF switched to US gear pretty much after Tunisia, though in late November 1942 first units began pulling out to the rear for new equipment training.

[SaS TrooP]

Ah, one more thing: my battalion is now effectively motorized. I will try to make it mechanized later on, probably early 1944.

[Ts4EVER]

Oh I think I made a mistake with the date... I wanted to set it to January 1943 so I had access to German tanks without Schürzen and forgot to set it back...

[Ts4EVER]

OK this should fix it, sorry.

[SaS TrooP]

Allright. Here we go.

I have directed my entire force to attack objective Poiters. I wanted to make sure I have firepower advantage to avoid unnecessary casualties. It went really easy with low casualties on my side.
Bulk of less mobile AT weapons covered my flank. I sent some weaker recon to probe objective Touluse. Note I destroyed there a PaK40 cannon. It is important for continuation of that battle.

Enemy counterattack went too late. I managed to destroy one tank and immobilize the other (however its position is somewhat problematic). I decided to ignore Flak88 for now. I did not have enough time to reorganize and move on in 25 turns.

Let us head to the next objective. This day will be long.

[Ts4EVER]

You sent me the wrong files, the zip file includes a save for Bir Hacheim in Slot 66 and only the .cmt file for slot 65.

[SaS TrooP]

And this one?

[Ts4EVER]

Yeah that one is fine.

We managed to push the Germans from the first hill, however, they managed to pull back their 88s to a new, unknown position.
We will continue the push. We are now supported by our own divisional arti as well as some American planes.

- Deploy your units above the indicated line
- Capture Objectives Amiens and Toulouse
- Destroy the Flak Battery (otherwise the Germans will pull it back again and you will face it in the next scenario)

[Ts4EVER]

Any news on this? Or do you have no time at the moment?

[SaS TrooP]

I got this setup and ready. Finished playing Wilfir's scenario recently and some PBEM games. I will be on it shortly.

[SaS TrooP]

Allright, there we go.

I actually took pretty serious casualties here (130 casualties). Maybe it is because I used smaller force, sending 2 Cie into the reserve and to cover the flank of objective captured previous engagement. And I did hesitate to use tanks, as German deployment was very efficient.

Nevertheless, I have captured second German position and prepared myself for serious envelopment of the enemy. Weaker screening forces claimed control over the road, they now wait for the rest of the troops to reorganize and assault Obj Toulose from the back. 2 German tanks maneuvering around were nicely beaten back.

Also, fighting patrol approached Flak 88's position and disabled two guns. As of the end of t he scenario, third one is in direct danger.
Those Warhawks proved useful.

[Ts4EVER]

That save file appears to be from the end of the second to last scenario (where you just captured the first hill).

[Ts4EVER]

Nevermind, my mistake.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok, done.

Once the Germans on the third hill noticed that their position had become untenable, they retreated, leaving behind their emplaced anti tank guns and mortars. They also seem to have managed to tow away one of their 88mm guns.

The Axis forces are desperately trying to establish a new defensive line. The retreating Germans and Italian holding forces have prepared a position in the village of Takrouna to slow our advance. Intelligence reports suggest that they are also moving up an elite paratrooper brigade.

Chasing the Germans took until the evening. We need to overcome their holding forces and establish a good position in the village before darkness falls, in order to deny them these positions for the battle tomorrow.

- Deploy your forces
- Make contact with the Italian and German screening forces
- Secure good jumping off positions for tomorrow's attack

Note that this is the same day, so you can't reinforce your units yet.

[SaS TrooP]

Allright. Battles like that happen. Sometimes.

This was shortly speaking a disaster. Italian & German defence proved too strong, add to this my very limited skill in commanding motorized formations in this game and there we go.

I still have some reserves, but I need to be immediately put into reserve. I will not do anything with what is left of my force.

[SaS TrooP]

Here is the correct save.

[Ts4EVER]

Don't worry about it too much, a good story also needs a setback.

After limping back from the bloody nose we received at Takrouna we settled into static positions for now. Before what will probably be our last battle here in Africa we will need to refill our depleted ranks.
Sadly, the supply situation is mixed: On the one hand we can incorporate Vichy colonial troops, which means we can completely replace all infantry losses. The tank situation is different however. Apparently we will be re-equipped with US American vehicles and weapons before our return to Europe, but for now we need to wear out our old British tanks and trucks. We can not buy new vehicles for this battle.

Other than that, we are supported by our divisional artillery and American planes for the upcoming offensive. Sadly, the delay meant that the Germans, most of them crack paratroopers, had time to lay mines, string wire, dig trenches and construct bunkers. The going will be tough, for this is their last stand on this continent. They may have repulsed us once, but this time we are better prepared...

- Deploy your forces
- Take the village of Takrouna and the hills overlooking it

[Ts4EVER]

Any news here?

[SaS TrooP]

Christmas happened, and now I am in middle of exams. I will start again in February at earliest.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok cool, see you then!

[SaS TrooP]

Guess who is back...

I have captured the village of Takrouna and secured myself good starting positions for assault on the hill itself. All running units have been eliminated and 3 enemy tanks knocked out in the process.
I took noticeable losses in the process. Once again, German defences proved to be extremely well placed and defenders fought with unparalelled fury in order to stop me.
Lot of French perished on those grounds recently.

Let's get it done. I need arty refilled. I need more arty. I would be glad to have recon aircraft. Maybe some strike aircraft, but those proved ineffective. Level bombers? My dream...

And I would like to send negotiator first on the hill. Maybe Germans will agree to end this without bloodshed.

[Ts4EVER]

Welcome back!

We have pushed the enemy out of Takrouna. Now it is time to end it. While we had no time to refill our ranks, we have received additional artillery to help us take the hills.

- Deploy your forces
- Take the hills

[SaS TrooP]

OK, I am back, hopefully for longer this time -.-'

I have completed the scenario. I managed to capture Hill 342 and kill enemy A0 unit. Maybe that will convince them to surrender? German Fallschirmjeagers put a very heroic defence here. My losses are very high and entire battalion is - in my opinion - not combat capable.

But if enemy will not surrender, then I will need artillery as I had... and I would like to stage an attack at night, so that enemy positions cannot support each other.

[DRG]

Just curious .............which scenario is this for ??

Don

[Ts4EVER]

Just curious .............which scenario is this for ??

Don

It's a bit like a dynamic campaign. He plays and I make scenarios depending on the outcome.

Anyway, welcome back!

Isolated on their last hill, the Germans decided to surrender. This would be our last battle on African ground, but far from our last battle in Europe.
Next stop, Italy. But first we were re-equipped with shiny new American equipment: Sherman tanks, Springfield and Garand rifles, new uniforms... we are a completely new outfit!

16th May 1944

For the past few months the allied armies have been held up at the Cassino position, part of the Gustav Line. But now the Polish flag flies on the ancient monastery and the allies are once again on the move. The objective: Rome.

Our task is to break through a secondary part of the Gustav Line, the so called Pontecorvo Line. We will do this by reaching three consecutive phase lines code named "Sparrow", "Cardinal" and "Sparrow". We have ample fire support.

- Deploy your forces
- Reach all three phase lines

[SaS TrooP]

All right, I have managed to push through the first line. Casualties are low as for now, however I am worried what lies beyond. I found artillery sufficient for this battle... but I hope HQ will assign some more as good defensive positions (towns) are before us.

[Ts4EVER]

Cool!

We have advanced to the first phase line yesterday. According to our intelligence services, the Germans are trying to delay us, while their pioneers are frantically working on the Pontecorvo Line. Most pillboxes are already in place and while we were fighting our way through the German defenses yesterday, they started digging trenches and stringing wires. Soon they will start sowing mines as well.
In your staff two factions have formed. The older, more experienced officers want to stick to the original plan: Take the phase lines methodically one by one. However, some young hotheads suggest that a deft stroke, maybe bypassing the nearby village, could reach the defense line before it is finished. Your call.

- Deploy your forces in the indicated area
- Set an objective for yourself and try to achieve it

[SaS TrooP]

Allright.
Plan was as follows: 1 & 2 Cie with Sherman platoon support and some heavier weapons were to make a push through the south. Let's assume I listened to younger officers and decided to bypass main defence sector. In the meantime, 3rd Cie with most of armour support was to fix enemy in the town so enemy could not provide reinforcements. They got however lots of tanks and deadly 12 MMGs at their help... in case they succeeded.
And they did.
Southern sector was holding up very well and it took me a while to crack those PzIVs and Stugs. But when Germans broke I decided to rush for it. I crossed the stream and managed to raid very close to the trenches.
Surprisingly, to the north, defence in the down was broken within several turns. German line defence did not stand 5 minutes under that fire, especially I had MMGs already deployed on a ridge I captured before. Some of my tanks got hit randomly, but besides my casualties are still acceptable... though heavy in general. Not only I secured the bridge, but I started to dismantle some fences.
It seems combined variant of your proposed plan actually worked.

And now, here's what I want to do:
I want to use the momentum. Not sure what hrs is in game, but my perfect plan: I am regrouping till midnight comes. My observateours are guiding artillery to suppress the Germans and halt their work over the main line. If I am to attack at night, I need no heavier artillery so it can empty itself till daylight. But if I got some bombardment before, that would make me glad.

In fact, if I get SERIOUS (at least squadron) of bombers or ground attack aircraft - if HQ can provide me that - I would attack within an hour of this scenario. I just need to bring in stragglers and help my tanks in crossing the stream. But what genies are for?

I would definitely go for any of those two options, with the first being better. I got a nice foothold and I want to use it. I want to get rid of the Nazis before they can regroup and bring in reinforcements. There is probably only weaker engineer group working their *** off in the trenches. That should be an easy crack for me.

Whatever happens, I want to motivate my men. Rule is simple: if they break through, everything what lies beyond that hill belongs to them.
I hope you catch the reference? ;)

Besides, as always, I am requesting as many support as I can. Any support will do.

[Ts4EVER]

Very nice work.

Thanks to our aggressive advance, we managed to infiltrate several units across the river and close to the German defensive line. They will not be able to sow any mines.
Our plan is a night attack. Due to the bad visibility, using heavy artillery is too dangerous, however, we will be able to get our engineers close to the German bunkers.

- Deploy your forces
- Reach the last phase line

[SaS TrooP]

That was easy work. I decided to weight the attack to the north, using more friendly approach there (village shielded me from the rest of the line). Mortar support was sufficient. Tanks cleared what infantry could not.
Overally, I lost only 67 men to nearly 300 Germans. German forces are fleeing in disarray.

I believe whatever lies beyond now belongs to my troops. But - if possible - I would like to rest and refit my troops.

Let me know what are you planning right now. Just telling: I want to turn my force into mechanized unit by the time I land (or fight a little) in France. Also. Your decision is to make if I should going French Armoured Division in Normandy or 2 other French Divisee Blindee landing in southern France.

[Ts4EVER]

I always thought you were the 1st DLF?

[SaS TrooP]

Emm, I made no exact plans on this. It was supposed to be generic battalion facing key French battles of that era, as if we completely stuck to history we would have our hands tied a little bit. All French battalions' paths can be exactly re-enacted and these were not in one place as we do in this campaign. Which was easy until now as most of French forces were fighting in relatively one place. I was sticking more or less to 1st DFL for most of the time... and now you should decide where to send me.
You plan this campaign for me. It is yours to decide ;)

[ERISS]

If you want a mechanized unit then you should land North:
if you go from South you will have to go through more mountainous land (such as the old 'Massif Central', not high but very large and still mountainous), so you better need motorized (for swifter strategic move, not combat) infantry with more artillery than tanks, than the mechanised 2ème Division Blindée of Leclerc, which landed in Normandy (2nd French Armored Division, 1 August) where the land is far more flat, but maybe more treacherous with bocage, why you do need much infantry if you don't want to lose many tanks...

[Ts4EVER]

I think we will roughly keep with the 1st DLF, so we will stay in Italy for a little bit, then land in Southern France, then Vosges Mountains, Operation Nordwind, Colmar Pocket.

I will post a new scenario on the weekend, because I need to make a new map and don't have as much free time now than I used to. See you then!

[Ts4EVER]

Okay, as promised, the next scenario. We will stay in Italy for a short while before going over to the motherland.

After breaking through the Pontecorvo Line we chased the Germans north and participated in the capture of Rome, the eternal city. Only one day later came even bigger news: Allied forces have landed in France! Maybe we will see our homes again soon.

After Rome we continued our advance north against German delaying actions. We have now reached the plains of Tuscany. Our next objective is the town of Sienna. Elements of a German Panuer Division have set up a makeshift defensive position in a village in our path.

-Deploy your forces
-Destroy or bypass the enemy and reach the other edge of the map on the road

[SaS TrooP]

OK, here we go.
Enemy force failed to ambush me effectively (though one or two trucks were lost). Panzergrenadiere lost a lot of men in that town and PzIVs failed to push in time and got caught in nasty urban combat Then I conducted pincer movement and cleared my way towards next objective.

Casualties are noticeable, but acceptable given enemy losses.

[Ts4EVER]

Cool. BTW when did you last refresh your forces?

[SaS TrooP]

Emmm, actually before this one. I assumed some time has passed (about a month?), so refit should take place.
Do not tell me I was supposed to do it without it -.-'
Otherwise we misunderstood each other. Well, as an argument... one company stayed out of the battle.

[Ts4EVER]

Yeah nevermind, I didn't think of it either, still a bit rusty after the hiatus. Will post the next one during the weekend.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok, I'm back.

We had just reached the town of Sienna when we got the good news: We will ship out to France! Finally we will see the homeland again.
The battle of France has raged in Normandy for a few months now, but we will instead land in Southern France. Our first objective: The fortified port of Toulon.

On the way there we have to clear the town of Hyeres. It is defended by an Armenian unit in German service. Their defense is centered on the Golf Hotel.

- Deploy your forces
- Capture the Golf Hotel, Hyeres and the road through the hills north

[SaS TrooP]

Should I reinforce myself in this scenario?

[Ts4EVER]

Yes, since you got reinforced for the landing.

[SaS TrooP]

I finally got to it. Working on couple of scenarios and it is not going well, I seem to suck doing scenarios with AI units moving top-down rather than left-right :P

Anyway, it went surprisingly well, mostly because I had a lot of luck while crossing the bridge. I deployed my entire artillery as smoke screen and rushed 1 Cie through the bridge supported by few light vehicles. When they made their way to the hotel, if was fortified and occupied as intel predicted. Again, 2 batteries of 105mm and some 81mm love pinned and scared the defenders and my infantry moved in with Greyhound support.
In the meantime, Ostermann's engineers deployed hastly and cleared the road for additional Sherman tanks and entire 3 Cie that moved in towards the town to clear it. 2 Cie did not take part in the battle, they remained as reserves.
Road was cleared rather fine but I had about 5 men as casualties from the mines. 3 Cie deployed and rushed through the town. Enemy defences were surprisngly stronger than I predicted, but close support of about 6 Shermans were enough. I had a lot of luck with bloody Russian guns, only one sherman was damaged and other one miraculously saved!
One tank was lost though - sad to admit - to Russian field howitzer. This last unit was undiscovered and struck the side of the tank what caused ammunition to explode. Only one crew member made it out in one piece.

I sent some patrols towards the hill nearby, but defences are too strong. One Greyhound was immobilized dangerously close to the trenches, but with White AC I managed to fend off infantry trying to get it.

My idea for a plan: rearm, wait till evening (unless my regiment's CO wants me to go quicker), deploy commandos and fresh 2 Cie... and push the hill. In fact I want to rely mostly on commandos for this job, quick raid should do it.

[Ts4EVER]

As evening falls, the enemy is still in possession of the mountain pass. We are preparing a surprise raid to take it.

- Deploy your troops south of the indicated line
- Take the pass

Welcome back!

[SaS TrooP]

Hmm, seems like deployment line is stuck at the river. Can you fix it?

[Ts4EVER]

This should fix it.

[SaS TrooP]

This raid quickly turned into actual assault, but enemy numbers were low and I managed to take them out with relatively little casualties, though dedicated recon met some nasty bunkers on the way.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok. I have been waiting to use this map... :)

After losing the city of Bordeaux, the Germans seem to be in a headlong retreat towards their own country. We will not let them escape! We have identified one of their escape routes and have been tasked with cutting it.

Due to the rough terrain in this area, FFI forces are operating in strength. They are supported by Jedburgh teams from SOE, so we have radio contact. We could use them to our advantage.

- Deploy your main force in the indicated area
- Deploy your FFI allies in the indicated areas (you can choose which one)
- Clear the road and destroy and retreating German force.

[SaS TrooP]

Forgot to ask: can I fix my force? Or there was too little time for it?

[Ts4EVER]

Too little time.

[SaS TrooP]

That was... tough.

Last thing I expected was well planned blocking position, I was more ready to chase. 1 Cie got into serious trouble straight in the beginning and I had to send 2 Cie through the north-western approach to the village. Street fighting itself went well and I managed to block German maneuver and also eliminate German column, but this cost me a lot of my tanks and vehicles. My casualties are relatively high, 4 tanks down and entire mechanized recon decimated.

At least FFi and Brits managed to do surprisingly well. I deployed them near the road to the north, in case any of German units would slip through. Again, I did not expect 2 Panthers and AA battery over there. FFI approached unnoticed at first and brilliantly eliminated the AA. Aircraft killed one Panther and damaged the other, that was later eliminated by close infantry assault. Not only I secured that approach, but also sent in patrols on the other side of the stream and - with air support - destroyed most of 7,5mm battery there. I also discovered 6 mortar tubes nearby and took them out.

In the end however losses were high and German straglers are still hanging in the area. One part of the road is still not secured, but I generally got most of it and took my objective.

[Ts4EVER]

And next one. Nearing the end now.

After the capture of Lyon we were placed in reserve and received reinforcements and new equipment.
When we went into the line again, November had come and the first snow had fallen the night before. We are to advance into the Mulhouse Gap towards the German border. There are three villages in our sector that we must clear. American artillery and air support is on standby. The enemy is a German infantry division, probably with negligible armored support.

- Deploy your forces
- Capture whatever objective you want

[SaS TrooP]

I am getting back to it. Keep in mind I just upgraded my transport to M3 halftracks, so I am now technically speaking a mechanized battalion. Tanks and AT guns also got somewhat upgraded, but nothing really special here.

PS: It was good to be back to FH2 yesterday after a 2 years break. I believe we saw each other a couple of times ;)

[Ts4EVER]

Small world, eh?

[SaS TrooP]

Not that small if we like the same ;)

You do a superb mod. I play it since very first Battlefield I yet happen to have on my disc! I only wish Fall Weiss was there once again... but I am happy for community Mont Ormel. I will release scenario about it for SPWW2 in some time. I can eventually provide polish voices if needed ;)


Now, the Frenchmen.
Main effort was focused on objective Seine in form of entire mechanized company (1 Cie), supported with recon platoon and two tank platoons. Also, entire heavy artillery was put on that village. The fight was careful and Germans were overrun with relatively little casualties on my side.

I also sent 3 Cie on foot with some mediocre fire support to Objective Rhone. Due to attack happening on two axes of advance I also managed to capture that position with acceptable casualties while depraved of numerological superiority. Yet, by the time Rhone was engaged fight on Seine was coming to an end, so I managed to shift entire heavy artillery and that gave me some serious edge.

I also tried to advance further to the south, but another German position stopped me. I need to regroup myself and seek better way to approach final position.

[Ts4EVER]

And on we go.

After our advance yesterday, the Germans are still regrouping. We should press our advantage and capture the last objective. Be wary of counter attacks though.

- Deploy your forces in the indicated area
- Capture the final objectives

[SaS TrooP]

Took me a while to handle this.

Both positions taken, StuG counterattack beaten off with light losses. I made a mistake though and deployed too close. Given the superiority of mine it did not change much.

[Ts4EVER]

This seems to be missing the .cmt file.

[DRG]

Just create your own

[Ts4EVER]

How?

[Mobhack]

Open explorer at the save game folder. Select an existing CMT file, right click and select copy. Then right click on explorer pane and select paste. You'll get a "SpsvNNN - copy.cmt " - click on it and edit the file name deleting the " - copy" and change NNN to the slot you want to use, like 003 if you are wanting it in slot 3.

It's basic Windows 101...

If windows is too much for you, then open the game and start a random battle, doesn't matter which. Save that to the slot you want to use (and if you want a special file name, use that) when you get the opportunity to save. Exit the battle generator and game and copy your dat file over the dat file of that scratch save you made to the slot you wanted.

But the original sender should have zipped up both files, in the first place.

[DRG]

Go to your save games folder ( if this is a save game not a PBEM ) and find the number of the DAT file that was sent then create a CMT using the same number so you have SpSv065.dat.....click on any other CMT in that file and SAVE AS SpSv065.cmt then open it with note pad and change the text to Frenchmen

[Ts4EVER]

Ah ok, so that file is basically generic? I guess it only determines where the scenario / save game shows up in the menu?

[Mobhack]

Basically that, and the name if you gave it one. dont edit a cmt file directly though unless you know exactly what you are doing as if you exceed the name length it'll blow up most likely.

If you want a specific name then its best to generate a throw-away game in the generator and save it with the file make you desire, then extract the dat file to the save game folder to overwrite the scratch game.

Better yet - in the future, make sure the PBEM sender always sends both files in a single zip or rar since the pair is a set.

[SaS TrooP]

CMT is needed only for save name, not what it contents.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok, then we don't need it in the future. I will get working on the next scenario, hopefully I can post it during the weekend. We are nearing the end of the war now, so the next one will probably be about Strasbourg.

[Ts4EVER]

Can't believe we made it to 1945... felt almost real time :D


January 6th 1945

After clearing the Mulhouse Gap, we went into divisional reserve for reinforcement and refit near Strasbourg. Last month the Germans launched a significant offensive in the American sector in Belgium: It seems they are now coming for Strasbourg. The Americans want us to give up this city, but we will defend this piece of French soil to the death!

The German 198. Infanterie-Division is attacking out of the Colmar Pocket towards Strasbourg in the north, with the 106th Panzer Brigade in support. They have smashed through our lines and pushed one of our regiments back into Obenheim with heavy losses. You can expect assault rifle armed infantry, Panzergrenadiers in apc, as well as Panther tanks and self propelled guns. The Germans have some limited air support as well. Our heavy arty is not yet online.

- Deploy your troops near Krafft
- Move south (west on the map)and try to reach your beleaguered force in Obenheim
- If you find that reaching your allies is impossible or too risky, establish a defensive line near Gerstheim and stop the German advance there

[MarkSheppard]

Ever thought about compiling all this into a campaign for us others when you're done?

[DRG]

..I was thinking the same thing... this has been quite the project for you two

[Ts4EVER]

I have thought about it, but part of the appeal is the interactive aspect of it, which would be lost. Not to mention that none of the scenarios have proper win conditions and some have special limitations that are impossible to actually implement.

[SaS TrooP]

Yup, i was thinking the same thing for a while. I cannot see any effective way for it.

Its 1945... I wonder if you happened to find such dedicated player in the past to finish the campaign with ;)
I am still in awe for all that project. And I still wonder how long does it take you to design one map - there were at least like ~15 designed for this campaign, most of which being considerably big. I am saying this as a guy, who generally dislikes map design. When releasing a scenario, I focus much more on the ORBAT and detailing the background for particular engagements rather than maps.

Of course, if you will like to start a similar campaign after this one is finished - I am still thinking of options - we may experiment a bit. For instance, since I cannot reinforce my troops for longer periods, we may not cut battles to pieces and instead make several huge ones. But this causes a number of troubles, like AI pushing often relentlessly or AI artillery sniping problem.

And just to mention - I am not sure how it will work with my map making, but I may try making some other guy happy with taking designing role of similar project ;)
I am afraid though that I may be less stable than Ts4Ever.

[DRG]

well, perhaps the map set can be compiled and I can include them with the next upgrade?

[SaS TrooP]

Yup, I have just checked for the record of last message. Ts4EVER is right. We are playing this campaign since September 2013. This gives ~4 years of story.

Pure magic.

Well... let's bring those boys to the end of their journey! Once again going with Forgotten Hope soundtracks (or Blitzkrieg ones), I have deployed my entire tank force, recon force and 1 mech company in order to help besieged Frenchmen.
Sadly, push of the Germans was way too powerful to hold for that long. Probably if it was not winter I could make it on time, but since snow is slowing all movement down by half...
Still, I need to note the merit of last defenders. They managed to cover Bazooka teams for long enough so Bazookas eliminated Jagdpanzer and a Panther tank.

My recon was close to the town, going on full throttle, but Greyhounds literally evaporated, when suddenly a company of Panthers emerged. Under these circumstances I decided to stay in Gerstheim. I also hoped that deploying in ambush will do as Panthers clearly pushed without infantry support.

And I planned a good ambush. With 2 Wolverines. And 3 inch AT gun. And platoon of Shermans that recently got updated (1 Sherman per platoon now has 76mm gun).

Aaaand this could have been legendary, but my luck screwed everything up as usual. German tanks were hit - overally - about 24 times, mostly with tungsten munitions. JUST OVER HALF of the shots were failed non-penetrating ones. Another 3 failed to penetrate since they got bad angle (including rare ability of hitting a tank at 1 degree <or 89, depending how you count> at the front while it stands clearly to the side). It gave it Abrams level of protection at this bloody angle xD

Finally I succeeded only because Germans decided to push. I have lost 1 Wolverine to Panther fire and 1 Sherman eliminated while scoring 5 Panthers down. Still, this could have been bloodless on my side.

My troops are setting up at Gersheim. I am ready and eager to rape that German brigade. Let them come. I will make Kingdom come for them.

[Ts4EVER]

I think packing the maps all up would be possible.

And yeah, it has been quite a ride...

We ambushed a column of German vehicles near the town entrance of Gersheim and sent them back with a bloody nose this morning. They left behind one Panther, maybe immobilized.
It appears that the Germans are preparing another assault. Luckily that means we had time to shuffle some troops around, although not enough time to dig in properly.

- Deploy your troops
- Defend Gersheim and Krafft

[DRG]

Are the maps all the same size or do they vary ? I can set them up all together and ( maybe---possibly ) if someone else might be inspired to build a campaign for them they would all be available......as stated by SAS....not everyone likes building maps....one reason we made the map generator and the advanced cut and paste editor..... so these might be of help to someone else

[SaS TrooP]

OK, here is what happened:

I decided to deploy 1 & 2 Cie in Gersheim for a powerful stand. They got in fact all AT assets and great most of tank company both in and around the town.

And they held out well, though Raks hit very hard in the beginning, killing about 20 men alone (!) from that one fire mission.

Germans advanced with reinforced armour company of various vehicles and with force of at least 2 companies, one of which being gepanzert. But that was not enough. Tanks were drawn close and engaged from 76mm of all kinds. 8x M2 MGs were ready to welcome infantry that was mercilessly cut in the open. Sniper wasted all the ammo taking out targets and - after a long break - my FO was directly on front, seeing combat entire.

The push was powerful, but stopped just outside the town. All Panthers went down and a couple of other vehicles with relatively low casualties on my side. There are 3 painful losses: second Wolverine is down, as well as 1 76mm AT gun and 1 57mm AT gun. All those diminish my AT capabilities badly. But I believe Germans will rethink what they do next.

My orders: immediately fix that immobilized tank in the southern part of the town (I want to fix it - it got slightly damaged from aerial fire) and I am calling in divisional HQ for some additional trucks as enemy artillery is causing me casualties among those. Would be nice to get some new cheap 2 1/2 tons should I eventually make a step back (what I do not plan at the moment).

I want my mean to clean stragglers and remount previous positions with an option to slightly extend defences (put deployment line about 200 metres further from the town if possible).

[Ts4EVER]

The maps have different formats. We actually had a big variety of mapstyles: Western European rural areas, both in summer and snow, mediterranean rough terrain, desert, muddy fields, even jungle at one point... only thing that was missing really was a major urban operation.


As darkness fell over the battlefield, it became clear that the German attack had failed. During the night we intend to do some raiding, in order to deny the no-mans land to the enemy, giving us some breathing space, and to investigate two broken down Panthers that were left behind.

- Deploy your troops
- Designate one platoon of infantry or scouts as a raiding force
- Only the raiding force may move
- Secure the two Panthers

[SaS TrooP]

I decided to deploy Cne. Corneauds' platoon (1/1 Cie) for that patrol job. This is one of the most experienced units of mine, with Corneaud having mighty 102 experience and 95 morale (1940 veteran) with other squads not going under 90 exp.

But I expected some trouble, so I decided to attack one section of my recon platoon (2x eclaireurs who were in reserve) and my battalion sniper. That was a good move, as Germans apparently did the same with scouts and MGs.

Panthers seemed to be abandoned. I ran into German reinforced platoon patrol and eliminated it with 7 casualties on my side and 28 on the German one. At the end of patrol, I help the plain.

That was a good job in there.

[Ts4EVER]

Ok, next.

We inspected the Panthers and concluded that one was too damaged to salvage. We towed the other one away and restored it to running condition, although its ammo has been partly expended.

The Germans have retreated back to Obenheim and according to our scouts they put up wire obstacles and dug foxholes to defend it. We attack tomorrow, so no time to reinforce. Artillery and planes will be available.

- Deploy your troops
- Recapture the ruins of Obenheim

[SaS TrooP]

This... did not go as planned. In fact, the defence of Obenheim is waaay over****ed.

I deployed heavily supported mechanized companmy with all the tanks and ample artillery support, only to get half of the town with massive casualties.

Not sure what to do now. I want to regroup and take the rest should Germans not retreat. In fact, I was so mad this is the very first time I was killking everyone to the last, including tank and gun crews fleeing.

I will take no prisoners in Obenheim, not after loosing nearly entire company in sick snow attack on fortified position in just 24 turns...
Luckily I am drunk and in rather good mood today so I will refrain from yersterday's details.

[Ts4EVER]

Well, don't drink and command... ;)

Despite heavy casualties we managed to push the Germans out of their defenses in Obenheim and force them to retreat. Their New Year's eve offensive has failed, Strasbourg is secure.

However, they still hold a strong bridgehead across the Rhine, the Colmar Pocket. We are on of the divisions tasked with reducing it, after a short period of refit.

23rd January 1945

Near Ilhäusern

Today we start the offensive towards the Rhine. The front is held by infantry of the 708. Volksgrenadier Division, with heavy tank destroyers from schw. Pz.Jägerabteilung 654 in support.

- Deploy your troops
- Get whatever objectives you can

[SaS TrooP]

Just outta curiosity. How long does it take for you to make such as this?

[DRG]

I'm curious how many others are playing these as well..........

[SaS TrooP]

@Ts4Ever - actually I meant map :P How long does it take you to make one.

@DRG - even so, they do not have continuity...

[Ts4EVER]

Not sure, maybe a couple of hours? Compared to FH2 no time at all...

[DRG]

The map generator speeds the process considerably once you get a "feel" for what it does on the size map you want.....and the advanced editor lets you cut and paste from one map to another which saves a huge amount of time

[SaS TrooP]

Actually DRG, any good tutorials or suggestions on using random generator? Also, Ts4Ever, do you use it as well? Because I do paint all my maps, eventually I will sometimes copy paste... but never really used random generator and then edited anything. Well, generated maps ofthen look just ugly :v

[Ts4EVER]

No, I make the maps by hand.

[DRG]

Actually DRG, any good tutorials or suggestions on using random generator? Also, Ts4Ever, do you use it as well? Because I do paint all my maps, eventually I will sometimes copy paste... but never really used random generator and then edited anything. Well, generated maps ofthen look just ugly :v

I'm surprised. I thought most maps were now mods from the random generator. I've had a few early experimentations that looked odd......never "ugly" so I'm a BIT baffled by that statement

Just so I understand we are referring to the same thing.. Are you referring to THIS
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=15054&stc=1&d=1512672190

or just a map that pops up when you generate a battle ?

[SaS TrooP]

I refer to "this" within your screenshot. I sometimes use it for PBEM when game generates strange maps.

As of ugly, do not take it to yourself :P
There is clear difference of what was generated, and what was "painted". Jus to give an example: those lines of trees, general shape of forests, how villages are made (always on 1 road), hills are dotted with roads the specific way. I believe I would have to repaint everything really. Which maps you refer to as partly generated? I for sure painted all for WW3 series, all for Husky series, all for singular scenarios.

Out of other things, I say map making takes much more time for me than for Ts4Ever, what makes me wonder what tecniques he has.

[DRG]

If you don't like the way it places villages ( I generally use a 2 or 3 urbanization setting for maps ...higher than that does indeed get into "ugly"..we've never had the time to work on the city generation code) then make it with urbanization set to 0 then put in your own road grid and towns. You can use the other controls to get you basically what you want but.... OF COURSE ..that only works with non historical maps

in MBT map 360 was generated then touched up. I have had others tell me they do the same

[SaS TrooP]

Aaaand map 360 does not look particularly amazing. Compared to similar in landscape, let's say, 241.

[Ts4EVER]

The maps generated by the tool do not look like real places and are way too "busy" for my taste.

[DRG]

I guess it comes down to a matter of taste and how you set the generator up.

The generator takes it's cue from the two opponents and the size of the map and what it produces is different depending on if you have it set to 40x40 for example or 120x120 and every number imputed can have a different effect depending on the two opponents AND the map size and therefore requires experimentation to find the proper balance.

ALSO.....the month and season have a major effect and also the combination and values entered interact, grass and fields values, for example, adjusting those up and down changes their effect on the map and every month changes things a bit

[DRG]

Aaaand map 360 does not look particularly amazing. Compared to similar in landscape, let's say, 241.

Personally, I like them both

[DRG]

The maps generated by the tool do not look like real places and are way too "busy" for my taste.

Then use lower numbers and it won't be so "busy"

[Imp]

Never mentioned as messing with probably means adjusting bat locs but trees could do with a slight tweak in random generator.
Diffrence between the numbers is quite large, be nice if it increased in smaller steps on what it populates though we can edit as required.

[SaS TrooP]

I honestly do not like my life recently with all that **** to do :v

Nevertheless, I played this one. I spent half of the time chasing ghosts as I advanced first village on foot only to find it was abandoned. Then mines killed some troops and then there was a contact with Volksgrenadiere. I was rather disorganized, but after a prolonged fight, in which 3rd Coy took considerable losses, I got the position.

It is time to rest and regroup. Advance will be continued.

Also, important thing: I spent a lot of time hunting those bloody Nashorns. I took out 4 of them and also additional PaK and some artillery units. I will need that advantage for the next stages, so please try not to forget about it.

[Ts4EVER]

Happy New Year! :D

After storming the German positions in the tree line we rested for an hour and prepared our next step. The midday sun has melted off the rest of the snow.

- Deploy your troops in the indicated area
- Capture whatever objective you can

I decided to have a little mapping fun and got rid of the snow. :)

[SaS TrooP]

Perfect. Perfect for mechanized charge I plan to conduct. That was the reason to silence AT weapons. Gonna report how it went.

[SaS TrooP]

Aaaaaand its done.
I am rather satisfied with casualties, though could have been better. The charge was a success even though one single Nashorn caused deaths of many veterans...

Both town feel after short combat, I was pretty much done by turn 15. Used rest of the time to indiscriminately rape artillery park with my aircraft.

Unfortunately, my total casualties from both battles combined are rather high. Pretty well as for 2 VG companies...

[Ts4EVER]

Well can you believe it? We finished the campaign... after all these years. All that is left is the epilogue.

March 5th 1945
The war is nearing its end, now it's about the spoils. After clearing the Colmar pocket we are moved to the Italian frontier for our last battle. We are to support our mountain troops around Authion.
The objective: Italian border fortifications in the mountains near Authion. Occupying this territory will allow us to claim Tende and Brigue for annexation during the peace conferences that are soon to come.
This part of the line is held by the Italian Monte Rosa Division and German mountaineers.

- Deploy your troops
- Seize the two forts and the village

[SaS TrooP]

Proceeding there this week. Just one request: if it is the last one, please think of something epic for an ending :)

And if you of course do not mind, we may soon start another one ;)

[Ts4EVER]

TBH the true "Finale", as in, the big final battle, was Operation Nordwind. This is an epilogue.

[SaS TrooP]

I was opting for sort of epic defensive battle, where I would deploy my entire force at once, for that one final time, and that battle would put a test to all my poor men suffered for last 5 years.

[Ts4EVER]

Didn't you already do that during Operation Nordwind?

[SaS TrooP]

So... this is how it ends, right?

My troops advanced on the very southern flank of the defences. Chasseours Alpins supported with two platoons of tanks and my entire battalion level reconneissance advanced for the village.

They took with quickly (first 10 turns) and with little losses. Gebirgsjeager did not put up much effective fight and my 105s were pinning them constantly. I was damn lucky tho with Italian 90mm AT guns on the flank. They only managed to immobilize one vehicle and damage the other before they were silenced.

To the south, two companies of my core force deployed and assaulted in pincer movement. Alpini were holding really tight, but again, mortar support and my numerological superiority did the job. I was not using any vehicles on "white" terrain as I considered it impassable. My tanks were supporting from very long ranges and also saved my *** with smoke shots several times. Southern sector fell with considerable casualties on my side. It was around turn 26 when I decided that I will try to assault the final, central position in this scenario.

I was out of 105mm ammunition shortly after, and so most of my mortars were empty. With the last rounds Alpins managed to break through the first ring of Italian defence. Also my recon did very good job, but was decimated in the process. My reserve company deployed from central position to open third line of advance - I was waiting with the deployment too long though, if I deployed liek 5 turns earlier everything would go much quicker. Southern sector shifted and dashed under sniper and MG fire to the main fort. Both companies took about ~30-40% casualties, but managed to fix the southern ring and overcome it with numbers and superior training (few of my units are under 90 experience). Central advance also engaged the remnants of both circes what allowed to advance quicker. Soon, my last mortar deployed and it managed to suppress the final Italian sector (on the flags). With its help, both my core force and Alpins advanced simultainiously.

On turn 40, out of 44 - only after 14 turn relentless assault I would never think I make in time - Lieutnant Du Pontet of Third platoon, third Company, supported with Lieutnant Le Claire of Chasseurs Alpins, hoisted the flag on Authion massif... ending my unit's participation in the war, if I understood you correctly.

Am I right? Is is really over? After all those years?

Save and screenshots attached.

[Ts4EVER]

Yes, the war is really over. Quite a ride.

[scorpio_rocks]

Congrats Gentlemen (and those gallant Frenchmen)! I have really enjoyed reading the action from this "Campaign"! Thanks for allowing us a peek!

[Ts4EVER]

Thanks, hope you enjoyed the show.
Oh and btw from your description it sounds like the scenario was a worthy finale after all. ;)

[SaS TrooP]

Hell it was! The entire campaign was brilliant... and after some short break I am willing to do another one, if you are willing as well ;)

Here is the shortcut for those who did not follow.

I started playing with Ts4EVER in September 2014. It all started with typical French 1940 Infantry battalion recreated from actual TOE. It consisted of:

HQ + security and observing elements
3x Infantry Companies, each with 4 platoons and 60mm mortars
1x Weapons Company with 6x MG, 4 mortar tubes, 2 AT guns, battalion sniper and organic transport for heavy weapons


The warpath of my unit was full of blood, sweat and tears.

It all started back in May 1940 when French forces collapsed rapidly under German operational plans. My battalion was in Belgium back then and with heavy losses I was forced to fight my way through the Dunkirk area and conduct evacuation.

I was with General de Gaulle's Free French from the very beggining. My troops fought against French Vichy traitors in equatorial French Africa and later in Syria; I bashed my way through last line of Italian defences at Mount Keren in occupied Ethiopia.
That was during my time my original battalion started to resemble more of a independent task force element. Additional AT weapons were assigned for desert warfare and recon half-company with some fast moving vehicles gave me additional eyes.

Then, as a part of French Demi-Brigade, it was my battalion's task to hold the strategic fort of Bir Hakeim. It was 1942 and the Axis advance in Africa was in full swing. It was also that time I totally switched to British equipment, abandoning my old French rifles.

Bir Hakeim was held for several days, after my lines diminished during numerous day and night assault of fierce Italian combat engineers - Gustadori - and then elite mechanized formations of Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika. Only after Allied retreat in Gazala gorge was completed we attepmted successfully, but with massive losses, to break out of encirclement. Our new tank company, that became integral part of our force, also helped with that - but the fuel was so low!

It was the darkest hour for the Free French was effort. Yet, after crushing the Vichy in Syria, we were back just for El Alamein battle we helped to forge by our delaying action at Bir Hakeim.

With the heavy tanks we descended upon the brave Italian Folgore - the elite parachute unit - and made sure that their bravery was not enough. That way we also helped to turn the tide in Africa.

Shortly later we participated in the battle of Mareth Line that separated British 8th Army from the Americans in Algeria and Tunisia. It is there where my task force suffered the only defeat. German paratroopers held fast on those mountains and many good men died trying to get those. We were finally pulled out of the front line for some rest and refitt...

It was that time when American aid arrived for now massively growing French army, since Vichy was no more. The British Enfield rifes were exchanged for American Springfield from their surplus. Old Crusaders became Shermans and American motor pool supplied us enough to motorized my entire force. Also ,before that happened, the security platoon was retrained first as motorcycle fast reaction unit and then made footmobile as heavy commando element for special purposes.

We joined the First Free French Division in Sicily, 1943. Then we fought in southern Italy, marking way for the huge Cassino battle as well as a number of other engagements in which we battered Italians and Germans heavily. We did not yield even once, knowing that advantage is now on our side. Still, a number of good men died in countless ambushes and Shermans lighted in sparkes as they were hit by concealed PaK fire.

After the Italian campaign my core force became effectively mechanized infantry, but in light variation - I still held those 4 platoons per company, but did not dispose heavy support platoons like typical US Armoured Infantry.

We landed in the southern France during Operation Dragoon in July 1944. This operation allowed to engage additional forces in France - our homeland - and deeply outflank the Germans suffering losses in bloody battle of Normandy and northern France. While our allies quickly went to Marsilie and Nice to besiege and capture them we continued to chase the retreating Germans throughout the France and Vosges mountains in southern Lorraine. It is also where the winter and last German counteroffensive caught us. But my men - now heavily experienced (with few units being under 90 exp and morale) - pushed the Germans back again and again.

From liberators, we were then conquerors. We moved to Germany during late January-early February 1945 and faced mighty Nashorns and Jagtigers, as well as old men and teenagers from Volksgrenadiere formations - they wee now defenders of the Reich, with their older brothers and sons rotting somewhere in Vosges, Bir Hakeim and Italian hillocks...
Good men died from ambushes and heavy AT fire covering every open approach from one village to the other. When we reached those villages, there was nothing left of them - our 105 and 155mm guns pounded them mercilessly, turning once proud German houses into piles of rubble.

When our Allies took over, we were sent to complete our last, final task. The Authion massif was to be taken if Allies hoped to end the war quickly. If broken, our forces could more through that area and outflank entire Axis defences in northern Italy and Austria.

And, in the April of 1945, we did so. Lieutnant's Du Pontet men hoisted the flag over burning Italian fort once built to shelter them against us. It clearly did not work.

The sun was rising over the Alps. Lieutnant-Colonel Mollines, a commander of the battlegroup - or me, to exact - jumped into Bren Carrier we held regardless of American equipment. Corporal Beroyer was my driver for the war entire. We approached as close to the glacier as we could and made some room for stretcher bearers. The men recognized me - I was with them for 5 long years. They were tired and their eyes were wild. But there was still fire. Fire that told them to break to Dunkirk, to shoot fellow French in Brazzaville, to march in cold, desert nights of Libya and hold even when dark-feathered Bersagieri threw grenades at them.

The France was ours again. The war will soon end with Allies choking the German aggressor. The spring was in full bloom, mountain flowers popped out from the alpine snow. But the snow was in the Alps... since always. It would not vanish as would not our enemies. Beaten to the knees, they will stand. Or the new ones will come.

Some things do not change.

Lieutnant Durand looked at me with a question written on his face. This man did not pull the trigger. He was my radioman for the last 5 years. We shared all the rooms and all the tents. And he aws the artillery observer. Every kill scored by our mortars and heavier batteries were his job. Yet, he did not have to pull the trigger. He just needed to watch.

"What now?", his face was clearly asking.
I shuddered.
"We will save as many wounded as we can. And then... we will disperse them home. Or at least those who are willing. The enemy never sleeps. There may be a job to do. But my men, they did an awful overtime, didn't they?"
Durand nodded his head.
"Who is the enemy now?"
The question of the future made me wonder. I lighted a ciggarette.
"I heard there was an incident in the east. Our guys were buthered by the Japanese. But Japanese are retreating now. The Bits converge on Rangoon. In the empty of the occupant, the communist proclaim their administration."
Durand was silent for a while.
"Sir. Will this war end all wars? Or it is enough we have been, so to speak, anally violated by this proverb back in 1918?"
I smilled ironically. Durand was bloody open as ussual.
"Well. You may be right. I wonder who would follow me to Vietnam. I really wonder..."

The snow of the Alps was right as ussual. This war saved us for today, but It would not save us for tomorrow.

[SaS TrooP]

Meanwhile, I believe we have time, but... what's next?

Are you up for similar campaign Ts4Ever? And if so... what unit? I was thinking of Axis minors, such as Romanian or Hungarian motorized battalions. Or standard Italian one perhaps, but it will be very similar to the French.

Eventually, Ulf dropped the Royal Tank Regiment campaign shortly after the start. I could lovely try this one again with your hands on deck. Or, perhaps, Soviet tank battalion could also be interesting - yet, both variants are rather common.

What would you, as well as spectators, if there are any, suggest?

[SaS TrooP]

So Ts4Ever, up for thinking of a new one or you do not want to lead another one such as this?

[Ts4EVER]

I don't have as much time as I used to. Generally speaking I would still be interested, but in that case we should change the formula a bit, to keep it fresh. Also, maybe do a shorter campaign, possibly focused on a single battle or offensive.