Great Dane

I would certainly agree that much TED went into the develoment of Biltong's Campaign Rules. It fills an important need in an otherwise outstanding game. However, in attempting to follow the process religiously, I became somewhat confused, perplexed, baffled, and befuddled. To prevent my gaming experience from duplicating my work experience, I decided to slim down... and this time I'm keeping it off! So I decided to run with 20% of the rules for 80% of the fun. I am managing a kampfgruppe through their 2nd year in Russia. I track their experience using some rules that were orginially derived from Biltong's Campaign System. I also add additional leadership qualifiers based on experience. I have also significantly simplified (read eliminated) the auxiliary force determination process. With pre-made maps and the unit import feature, it has been working great! Most of my kampfgruppe are veterans now with a smattering of crack and regulars.

SuperSulo, I've also had great success in importing troops into pre-made maps for my campaign. Not only have I been editing experience levels, but have also been modifying leaders' abilities to be consistent through each battle. Just noticed the ammo bug recently.

Spook, thanks for the reply. I would suggest, however that in most cases the higher leader isn't there in the thick of battle to necessarily pre-empt the platoon leader's orders... rather they know that the presence of a respected combat leader can have an inspiring effect on the troops. In A Bridge Too Far (yes, some more serious historical reseach) the BN commander of the 3rd/504th PIR, Julian Cook (played by Robert Redford) leads a daring river crossing of the Waal. Why? Because he could show his men how to row a boat better?... or because by his encouragement and sharing in the danger of his soldiers, he could inspire them to achieve a great feat. He didn't insist that his platoon leaders sit out the assualt on the river bank... his leadership qualities were an additional benefit(over and above platoon leadership) to those men rowing plywood and canvas boats into enemy fire.

Long time lurker, first time poster. Shouldn't a unit gain the benefit of ALL leaders in that unit's chain of command that are within the command radius (at least up to +2)?. Currently having a company commander forward provides no additional value for units already within their platoon leader's command radius. In reality, don't effective combat leaders weigh the value that their presence will have on the frontline with their ability to direct the entire action from a remoter (and safer) location? Watching an episode of Band of Brothers, during the attack into Carentan, I saw a company commander help get a platoon of paratroopers out of a ditch and advance into enemy fire. His efforts were IN ADDITION to the platoon leader's hard work. Directing MG/mortar fire and rounding up stragglers is great, but players should see real benefit in deploying the CO/BN commander at the forefront of the assualt or at a critical defensive strongpoint. At the risk of a post that is way too long, I will suggest that one of the attributes of Squad Leader that made it a memorable game, was the impact of individual leaders. It personalized the game and demonstrated the real value of capable combat leadership. A 4-6-7 squad with a LMG at the end of the street, went from a minor nuisance to a major roadblock with the addition of a 9-2 leader. Does CMBB's command and leadership modeling allow for the same kind of impact for leaders? BTS: please fix or do somefink.