Will I ever play as the Greeks?

[Evzone]

The French forces of CM and the Greek forces that fought on the Albanian Front share the same uniform. So how can I replace the French flags and stuff with Greek ones?

I'm not too concerned about insignia, weaponry, at least not for now. And I know how to change names in the editor. But if someone could explain how the flags can be changed I would be most grateful.

Evzone

[junk2drive]

Sequoia made a mod for the French with Greek flags etc.

Edit: Work in progress. I'll check with him tomorrow.

[ August 18, 2006, 11:23 PM: Message edited by: junk2drive ]

[Evzone]

Ah, thanks junk2drive.

[Hans]

Two Greek scenarios I know of at TSDII

SB Epirius covers the Initial Italian invasion.

SB 845th Arab BN 1944, anti-partisan operation by the German 845th Battalion which was manned by Arabs against a Communist Guerrilla group.

There may be others too

[Evzone]

Cheers Hans. I'm familiar with the scenarios you mention. I found them both very well made but I'm still without my Greek forces as it's still the French one deploys in the end.

However, I don't think I fully considered the implications of transforming the French to Greeks. Flags can be changed with not too much difficulty I imagine, and the differences in weaponry can be overlooked.

But you''ve still got french-speaking Greeks at the end of it all. So my question is, can voices be changed in CM?

Many Thanks

Evzone

[John Kettler]

Evzone,

Kingfish is hard at work on some more scenarios in Greece, as you'll see in his request for OOBs for 2 PD and 5 PD on the CMAK Forum. I dug up everything I could find by way of links and book referrals to help him, but I can only do so much, seeing as how I don't own many of the wonderful references. There must be some Greek accounts of the fighting there, but I neither read nor speak Greek.

To answer your other question, sound files are fully moddable, so far as I know, and exist as a series of .wav files. Am sure that if you ask, some kind soul will provide the numbers of the files you'll need to revoice.

Regards,

John Kettler

[ August 19, 2006, 07:12 PM: Message edited by: John Kettler ]

[Evzone]

Thank you John.

Sequoia kindly sent me his Greek mods and they look great.

As regards to sources, I wonder if I can be of any help. I am Greek, speak the language fluently and have translated in the past. I could locate more sources, perhaps original Greek ones, if there is interest or if they might be used.

I also have accounts from my father who was 9 at the time the Italians attacked and was living just a few km from the Greco-Albanian border in the town of Ioannina.

Thanks to all for your support and assistance.

Evzone

[junk2drive]

For the PC wargame WinSPWW2, Pyros Lambert has made a massive campaign around the ANZAC and Greek forces. Check with him for resources and maps.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/ubbthreads.php

or at the SZO forums in the Steel Panthers section under the name Achilles.

[Kingfish]

Originally posted by John Kettler:

Kingfish is hard at work on some more scenarios in Greece, as you'll see in his request for OOBs for 2 PD and 5 PD on the CMAK Forum.

Well, I wouldn't call it work

Sadly, it does not depict any Greek forces. I would love to do a scenario or two on the fighting for the Metaxas line, but a) lack any reference material and don't have actual Greek force to work with. Free French does not cut it for me.

[Sequoia]

Evzone, I am going to make a portrait Mod to go along with the Uniform Mod I sent you and post them both to CMMODS when complete. Perhaps that may inspire someone to make some new scenarios with the Greeks.

[Evzone]

Sequoia,

I have been wanting to create a Greek scenario for a while now. I think it's time I gave it a try. I will keep you posted on developments.

Kingfish,

I am going to look for sources. As aforementioned, I am fluent in Greek, I might be able to find local archives, records.

I will post my findings here.

Evzone

[Hans]

Best of luck Evzone. I'd certainly like to see that modded.

I collected a lot of bits and pieces for some scenarios covering the Greek Civil War.

A little snip from that forgotten time frame and war

"On December 25, (1947) the DSE (communist insurgents) moved south out of the Grammos strongpoint and attempted to seize the town of Konitsa.

Attacking with about 2,000 troops, the DSE battalions were supported by mortars, pack howitzers and at least one battery of 105 mm artillery. It became apparent that the DSE was trying to capture a capital for their new govern-

ment; initial assaults were repulsed by Konitsa's 900 defenders and the Greek Army commenced supporting and reinforcing operations. The battle seesawed for several

days, with the DSE unable to take the town but tenaciously holding the high ground around it. The Greek Army was now being advised by American officers, and brought superior artillery and air support to bear. The heavy fire began to take its toll on the guerrillas and on January 1, 1948, General Markos the DSE commander began to withdraw his troops.

[Evzone]

Hans, arguably the saddest chapter in modern Greek history, the civil war. There is still bad feeling and open wounds from back then.

There has also been great frustration expressed about the fact that instead of whipping the Germans on their way out of Greece, repaying them the hardship they brought upon the country, we turned against ourselves. Mother Hellas eating her own children.

Evzone

[Hans]

Hey there Evzone

Yes I read several histories of that time. (I use to work in Cyprus)do you know of a good English language book that covers the tactical aspects of that conflict? I could find lots of general items to include the "The Kapetanios" by Eude but no true military analysis.

[Evzone]

Hans, I will look around and get back to you. I'm interested in the subject too.

Evzone

[Evzone]

Look up the battle of Grammos-Vitsi on Phantis Wiki.

Sorry, I couldn't post the link

Evzone

[ August 23, 2006, 04:33 AM: Message edited by: Evzone ]

[Hans]

Thanks a lot, if you could email if you find anything as I will be off the net for a few weeks. (I'll be able to get emails however)

Wayne100@emirates.net.ae

It would be good to do a few of the civil war incidents, perhaps even the British vs ELAS

Thanks

[Evzone]

With the help and support of CM friends -whom I will not attempt to mention individually lest I leave someone out- I have been able to field a force that are, mostly, Greek!

I've asked around about creating wav.files for Greek voices, my understanding is that it's a difficult and extremely laborious venture, completed only once before (German to Spanish). Also that a Dutch chap was in the process of creating Dutch voices.

Incidently, Civilization IV has some very good Greek speaking voices that wouldn't sound out of place in CM. I am clueless as to the technical aspects of modding, what can or can't be done, etc, so don't know if they might be of any use.

Since receiving the Greek mod, I have been spending more time in the editor than on the battlefield. I have started a map project depicting a Greek fishing village that will be the objective a fictional amphibious assault. I'm not yet sure how playable it will be. If anyone has experiences of designing such scenarios (use of assault boats), I would appreciate your comments.

I quickly put together a Greek scenario yesterday and went as far as to hellenize every unit's name. As there appear to be a few scenarios being currently designed with Gr forces, I thought I'd include a list here of surnames, representative of the various regions of the country for scenario use:

Pappas

Gikas

Markopoulos

Kitsos

Georgiou

Maniadakis

Koronaios

Samiotakis

Flevaris

Oikonomou

Have a nice day,

Evzone

[Emar]

If you are looking for a Metaxas line scenario try "GP8 Fortress Istibei" at the scenario depot.

Depicts the bold assault by Gerbergsjaegers against the fortifications at mt. Istibei. Again, as with the other scenarios used here it uses French forces filling in for the Greek defenders (uses some other nationalities as well for cannon armed pillboxes and bunkers). Hopefully a Greek mod will be completed as scenarios in this campaign are very do-able with CMAK.

[Evzone]

Thank you Emar, I've made a note of the scenario.

There are some very, very good Greek portraits out there. I hope that they become widely available.

[junk2drive]

If you are interested in Grau AFVs for the Germans, I posted some notes at TPG in FAQ/Tools area under Research, How to Grau in CMAK. Most of it is for Sealion scenarios using late war units but I included this list for using CMBB mods in CMAK. This list is for CMAK early war:

List to Tom of units available in Crete for Greece.

Note if it does not say "same" assume you cannot use the BB mod as is.

20mm flak same as cmbb

88mm flak same except one new bmp in cmak

arty

75mm inf 1918 same

37mm pak38 same

75 how same

75 rcr same

pzji same

pziic same

pziif no one has done yet

pziiif same

pziiig same

pziiih same

pzivc same

pzivd same

pzive same

pzivf same

psw221 same

psw222 same

psw223 same

psw231 same

spw251-1 same

spw251-2 same

spw251-10 same

sdkf 7 same

sdkf 6-2 flak same

sdkf 10-4 flak same

kw same

truck same

At CMHQ

Mod Name: MB_GEM_Dunkelgrau_FlaKtrack_Pack.zip

Mod Size: 1.10mb

CMMOS Compatible: No

Game Version: CMBB/CMAK

Mod Description: Marco Bergman's and Gordon Molek's dunkelgrau FlaK halftracks for CMAK and CMBB

At cmmods

Patboy has done some grau that are CMBB CMAK compatable

[junk2drive]

The Brit troops will still be in short uniforms in early war battles.

[Sequoia]

I have finished my French to Greek Infantry Mod and will post it at CMMODS Monday August 28th (Can't do it right now-long story). Evzone you might want to download it again once posted as I have made a few improvements. Enjoy Greece. I hear it's lovely in the spring (except spring 1941).

[Evzone]

Sequoia, when you go to Greece, do go in the spring.

I will be downloading the mod tomorrow, look forward to seeing the improvements. The time and effort you put into this mod is much appreciated.

Expect an e-mail with my comments.

Cheers

Evzone

[Evzone]

Dear forum,

The question was "Will I ever play as the Greeks?" and to this question I can now answer a resounding Yes!

Thanks to the efforts of Sequoia the Greeks are now listed in CMMODS. Evge , Sequoia!

They are not complete in that they are still french speakers. I don't want to make any big statements but I am looking at ways to create voice files. As a greek speaker, not in Greece but with greek connections, it can be achieved. Also, they have french names. I'm told nothing can be done about this; they will come up with french names in QBs. However, names can be changed in the scenario editor.

Speaking of which, I've been spending a lot of time there working on a project or two. As a former inhabitant of Rhodes I have a particular interest and some local knowledge of the few skirmishes in the Dodecanese between the Allies (w. and w/o Italy) and the Axis. So, a Greek island scenario's on the cards.

Cheers!

Evzone