George MC

Hi Hetzer38 Many thanks for your comments about Dubno. I've not long finished playing it in two PBEMs and it is very full on. Glad to hear it is the same for yourself! Re your questions about the 16th panzer Division markings. I'm afraid I don't know anymore about the markings than what you have found. I also added my own 16th Pz div insignia to MikeyD's mods just as you have done. 'Fraid I don't know if any of the units used other emblems - maybe someone on the forum here will be able to add more. Be keen to hear how things progree for you. The KVs are a real thorn in the German players side - just as they were in reality but there are several ways to take em down Best of luck! Cheers fur noo George Mc

Hi Renaud Thanks for that - most kind. That is the advantage of having two of you working as a team. Charlie does the bulk of the research whilst I do the CMBB bit, and often we swap jobs or mix and match! Either way it is a team effort. It kaes anything from a couple of months to six months to pull together all the bits including playtesting. As we said the bio piece on Strachwitz and the other info we have is the most complete accuarte account of his combat activites to date. Hope you find the time cos they are not all that large - Kalach you can play through in an evening Cheers fur noo George

Check out the Strachwitz series - "Strachwitz at Dubno" or the Blowtorch series "Peiper's Chariots of fire". Both are fun and pretty challenging for either side. They are big though so as long as your PC can handle the turns... Cheers fur noo George

Check out the Strachwitz series - "Strachwitz at Dubno" or the Blowtorch series "Peiper's Chariots of fire". Both are fun and pretty challenging for either side. They are big though so as long as your PC can handle the turns... Cheers fur noo George

Oops my aplogies - I missed this post. many thanks for your comments. I've slightly re-jigged the scenario with some more small tweaks in the pipeline. Glad you enjoyed it. I think it is pretty close to being done as it appears to frustrate both sides in equal measure. Just as as the original action did Cheers fur noo George

Cheers for that DAF - reply posted. Many thanks for the detailed feedback - it's much appreciated. Cheers fur noo George Mc

The Panzer Count's Ostfront A Combat Mission Scenario Series A CMBB combat history of the career of the legendary German tank commander Hyazinth Graf (Count) Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz from 1941 to 1945. Researched and created for CMBB by Charlie Meconis and George McEwan. Blowtorchscenarios.com proudly introduces our second CMBB series, “The Panzer Count's Ostfront,” following our series on Jochen Peiper's Kharkov 1942-43 campaign. As always our aim is to present interesting scenarios with as much historical accuracy as possible. “The Panzer Count”, of course, is the legendary German tank commander Hyazinth Graf (Count) Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz, who survived the war as a Generalleutnant of the Reserve and holder of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Germany's highest award. We have chosen to focus on another German commander for the same reasons we focused on Peiper: the availability of information, not any political or national agenda. As with our Peiper series, we are devoting great effort to presenting the Soviet side with as much authenticity and detail as possible. With the exception of a brief period with the Panzer Lehr Division after D- Day, Graf Strachwitz spent the entire war from June 22, 1941 to the end on the Ostfront, from the outskirts of Rostov in the south in 1941 to the Narva front in Estonia in the north in 1944. Rising from a panzer battalion commander at the outset of Operation Barbarossa to the commander of a division-sized unit named after him in 1944, he played a cutting edge role in many of the most famous tank engagements of the war—Dubno, Kharkov (twice), Kalach, Stalingrad, Kursk and the desperate pocket battles of the last years of the war. In this series we will try to present a cross-section of his Ostfront battles from 1941 to 1945. We have chosen those battles which, in our opinion, best characterize his military genius while offering interesting and reasonably balanced challenges. Many thanks to all those involved in playtesting over at The Proving Grounds - Ken Federoff, Steve "Mad Russian" Overton, Rockinharry, Der Alte Fritz, JasonC, Sports Guy, Nick Legh, Rollin, Zmoney, Kingfish, BannonDC, Von Schwendemann, Fredrock1957, Joachim, jmjohnson36, toleran76 and Junk2Drive. The first three scenarios have undergone playtesting and you can grab them HERE

The Panzer Count's Ostfront A Combat Mission Scenario Series A CMBB combat history of the career of the legendary German tank commander Hyazinth Graf (Count) Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz from 1941 to 1945. Researched and created for CMBB by Charlie Meconis and George McEwan. Blowtorchscenarios.com proudly introduces our second CMBB series, “The Panzer Count's Ostfront,” following our series on Jochen Peiper's Kharkov 1942-43 campaign. As always our aim is to present interesting scenarios with as much historical accuracy as possible. “The Panzer Count”, of course, is the legendary German tank commander Hyazinth Graf (Count) Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz, who survived the war as a Generalleutnant of the Reserve and holder of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Germany's highest award. We have chosen to focus on another German commander for the same reasons we focused on Peiper: the availability of information, not any political or national agenda. As with our Peiper series, we are devoting great effort to presenting the Soviet side with as much authenticity and detail as possible. With the exception of a brief period with the Panzer Lehr Division after D- Day, Graf Strachwitz spent the entire war from June 22, 1941 to the end on the Ostfront, from the outskirts of Rostov in the south in 1941 to the Narva front in Estonia in the north in 1944. Rising from a panzer battalion commander at the outset of Operation Barbarossa to the commander of a division-sized unit named after him in 1944, he played a cutting edge role in many of the most famous tank engagements of the war—Dubno, Kharkov (twice), Kalach, Stalingrad, Kursk and the desperate pocket battles of the last years of the war. In this series we will try to present a cross-section of his Ostfront battles from 1941 to 1945. We have chosen those battles which, in our opinion, best characterize his military genius while offering interesting and reasonably balanced challenges. Many thanks to all those involved in playtesting over at The Proving Grounds - Ken Federoff, Steve "Mad Russian" Overton, Rockinharry, Der Alte Fritz, JasonC, Sports Guy, Nick Legh, Rollin, Zmoney, Kingfish, BannonDC, Von Schwendemann, Fredrock1957, Joachim, jmjohnson36, toleran76 and Junk2Drive. The first three scenarios have undergone playtesting and you can grab them HERE

Would it be unrealistic (I have no idea how the proving grounds work, or how much time you have on your hands, or if you're inclined, or...) to ask for two versions of the scenario? One with the AI-setup, one with a 'human' setup? </font>

Hi Jason Posted a reply to your playtest comments. I'm away for the next few weeks, so will be unable to post any follow up replies till I get back in early January. :cool: Cheers fur noo george

Hi Jason Many thanks for the comments. I'm busy with Charlie putting together some replies. Very detailed review. Several comments though - the scenario as you make the point is NOT deisnged to be played as Soviets versu German AI, as I am sure you were well aware. The AI in this case cannot handle the main terrain feature, as you also discovered (guess you knew that would happen though eh?). The set-up for the Soviets is not how a human player would set-up but I had to tweak the set-ups to get the AI to defend in a way that made some sort of sens, which IMO is does. Howvere for a human playing it yes you would want to re-jig the set-up. As to taking 6 hours - hmmm I doubt it, but then given your style of playing and your preference for smaller actions and micromanaging the battle then yes it might well. Me? I can re-jig that set-up in an hour. As I said I'll get around to a more detailed response (your Soviet OOB comments highlight some issues I do need to address). Oh whilst I mind you posted the AAR in the review section do you mind if I copy your comments into the discussion section so I can post a reply? Cheers fur noo George Mc

The beta version of our latest CMBB Operation scenario “Strachwitz at Kursk”, Number 4 in “The Panzer Count’s Ostfront” series is now available for testing over at The Proving Grounds. On the 9th July 1943, Panzergruppe Strachwitz spearheads the attack on the Soviet fortified village of Novossolevka during Operation Citadel. Historical Background The last great German strategic offensive in the East, "Operation Citadel", is in its fifth brutal day. The grand German plan to conduct a classic pincers assault to cut off the "bulge" of Soviet forces around the southern Russian city of Kursk has already largely failed in the north in the face of the unprecedented strength and depth of the three-tiered Soviet defences. In the South, the greatest German concentration of armor in the war has fared better in its effort to cut through to Kursk, but at a high cost. On the right flank, the II SS Panzer Korps has penetrated some 40 kilometers into Soviet defences. On the left flank the 48th Panzer Korps, with Panzer Grenadier division Großdeutschland at the tip of the spear, has broken through most of Soviet General Vatutin's defences and is poised to plunge ahead toward Oboyan on the road to Kursk. For the "Panzer Count", Oberst Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz, the battle has already been marked by bitter controversy and personal tragedy. At the peak of his prowess as a holder of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, and in command of the veteran and fully re-fitted Panzerregiment Grossdeutschland, Strachwitz had prepared for the battle fully aware of the terrible challenge in front of him, but confident that under his dynamic leadership the panzertruppen would prevail. However, larger forces had conspired to thwart him at the outset. Hitler's almost magical belief in the superiority of German technology had caused him to delay the Kursk offensive until an array of brand new armored fighting vehicles could reach the front. However, the Soviet defences were so dense and deep even the audacious Strachwitz could not utilize his cavalry instincts to create a rapid breakthrough. To stop the blitzkrieg the Red Army had fielded new units: anti-tank Regiments, each equipped with 24 76mm AT guns in 6 batteries. The Soviets had calculated that each gun would destroy 2 or 3 German medium tanks before being knocked out-an attrition rate the Panzers could not withstand in the long run. Among the heavy German casualties had been Strachwitz's brother-in-law, Oberstleutnant Graf Saurma, commander of the Regiment's II Abteilung, killed in combat. That only strengthened the Panzer Count's resolve. But now, on the morning of July 9, with the fall of the heavily fortified town of Verkhopeny'e, the road to Oboyan and beyond to Kursk appeared to be open at last. Before him lay a broad valley with a small village named Novosolevka at the far end, terrain seemingly made to order for another classic cavalry Strachwitz thrust. Was the breakthrough finally at hand? Or had the desperate Vatutin managed to plug the gap with reinforcements during the night? Designers Notes Has had playtesting as Axis Vs AI, but given the force make-up should also work out H2H. The zip file contains a historical background PDF and Strachwitz bio. Feedback regarding how the scenario plays out would be most welcome J About the Panzers Count’s Ostfront Blowtorchscenarios.com proudly introduces our second CMBB series, ”The Panzer Counts Ostfront” following our series on Jochen Peiper’s Kharkov 1942-43 campaign. As always our aim is to present interesting scenarios with as much historical accuracy as possible. “The Panzer Count”, of course, is the legendary German tank commander Hyazinth Graf (Count) Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz, who survived the war as a Generalleutnant of the Reserve and holder of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Germany’s highest award. We have chosen to focus on another German commander for the same reasons we focused on Peiper: the availability of information, not any political or national agenda. As with our Peiper series, we are devoting great effort to presenting the Soviet side with as much authenticity and detail as possible. In this series we will try to present a cross-section of his Ostfront battles from 1941 to 1945. We have chosen those battles which, in our opinion, best characterize his military genius while offering interesting and reasonably balanced challenges. You can get it HERE

The beta version of our latest CMBB Operation scenario “Strachwitz at Kursk”, Number 4 in “The Panzer Count’s Ostfront” series is now available for testing over at The Proving Grounds. On the 9th July 1943, Panzergruppe Strachwitz spearheads the attack on the Soviet fortified village of Novossolevka during Operation Citadel. Historical Background The last great German strategic offensive in the East, "Operation Citadel", is in its fifth brutal day. The grand German plan to conduct a classic pincers assault to cut off the "bulge" of Soviet forces around the southern Russian city of Kursk has already largely failed in the north in the face of the unprecedented strength and depth of the three-tiered Soviet defences. In the South, the greatest German concentration of armor in the war has fared better in its effort to cut through to Kursk, but at a high cost. On the right flank, the II SS Panzer Korps has penetrated some 40 kilometers into Soviet defences. On the left flank the 48th Panzer Korps, with Panzer Grenadier division Großdeutschland at the tip of the spear, has broken through most of Soviet General Vatutin's defences and is poised to plunge ahead toward Oboyan on the road to Kursk. For the "Panzer Count", Oberst Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz, the battle has already been marked by bitter controversy and personal tragedy. At the peak of his prowess as a holder of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, and in command of the veteran and fully re-fitted Panzerregiment Grossdeutschland, Strachwitz had prepared for the battle fully aware of the terrible challenge in front of him, but confident that under his dynamic leadership the panzertruppen would prevail. However, larger forces had conspired to thwart him at the outset. Hitler's almost magical belief in the superiority of German technology had caused him to delay the Kursk offensive until an array of brand new armored fighting vehicles could reach the front. However, the Soviet defences were so dense and deep even the audacious Strachwitz could not utilize his cavalry instincts to create a rapid breakthrough. To stop the blitzkrieg the Red Army had fielded new units: anti-tank Regiments, each equipped with 24 76mm AT guns in 6 batteries. The Soviets had calculated that each gun would destroy 2 or 3 German medium tanks before being knocked out-an attrition rate the Panzers could not withstand in the long run. Among the heavy German casualties had been Strachwitz's brother-in-law, Oberstleutnant Graf Saurma, commander of the Regiment's II Abteilung, killed in combat. That only strengthened the Panzer Count's resolve. But now, on the morning of July 9, with the fall of the heavily fortified town of Verkhopeny'e, the road to Oboyan and beyond to Kursk appeared to be open at last. Before him lay a broad valley with a small village named Novosolevka at the far end, terrain seemingly made to order for another classic cavalry Strachwitz thrust. Was the breakthrough finally at hand? Or had the desperate Vatutin managed to plug the gap with reinforcements during the night? Designers Notes Has had playtesting as Axis Vs AI, but given the force make-up should also work out H2H. The zip file contains a historical background PDF and Strachwitz bio. Feedback regarding how the scenario plays out would be most welcome J About the Panzers Count’s Ostfront Blowtorchscenarios.com proudly introduces our second CMBB series, ”The Panzer Counts Ostfront” following our series on Jochen Peiper’s Kharkov 1942-43 campaign. As always our aim is to present interesting scenarios with as much historical accuracy as possible. “The Panzer Count”, of course, is the legendary German tank commander Hyazinth Graf (Count) Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz, who survived the war as a Generalleutnant of the Reserve and holder of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Germany’s highest award. We have chosen to focus on another German commander for the same reasons we focused on Peiper: the availability of information, not any political or national agenda. As with our Peiper series, we are devoting great effort to presenting the Soviet side with as much authenticity and detail as possible. In this series we will try to present a cross-section of his Ostfront battles from 1941 to 1945. We have chosen those battles which, in our opinion, best characterize his military genius while offering interesting and reasonably balanced challenges. You can get it HERE

Left some comments for you over at TPG Cheers fur noo George

Hi Bigduke Yeah sorry my bad... The source is Jentz Panzertruppen Vol 2. Re runners no clear steer on that. My own opinion based on stuff I've read would be pretty good % to start then very quickly reducing as combat is involved. I mind reading somewhere that keeping 40 - 50% going during combat operations was good, off course at this stage in the war that could be even less with spares etc being in short supply, pulling back and leaving non runners etc. Someone else might have a better idea based on fact rather a surmise. Jentz has figures for runners (though not sure whether units were in combat at that time)for the 15th March: Begleit Div 20 Stug; 7 PzIV; 12 PzIV/70; 2 Flakpanzer; 10 Panthers 8th Pz Div 11 PzIV; 6 PzIV/70; 9 Panthers 17th Pz Div 10 PzIV; 18 PzIV/70; 3 Flakpanzer Muencheberg 4 Stug; 3 PzIV; 1 PzIV/70; 10 Panthers; 8 Tigers (no idea whether Mk I or II). Note: It was not formed till 5th March. Cheers fur noo George Mc

Formation of Late war panzer units. Panzer Brigade 103 On the 24th January 1945 Stab Panzer Brigade 103 was assigned command over a panzerkampfgruppe consisting of a panzer regiment stab with the: II/Panzer Regiment 9, I (Panther) Abteilung Panzer Regt 29, and the I (Panther) Abteilung Panzer Regt 39. II/Panzer Regt 9 was ordered on the 20th January 1945 to be employed outwith it’s parent division. It was originally to be outfitted with two companies each with 13 Pz IV/70 and three Pz IV radio command tanks. This next bit I’m not so clear about but it looks like they received 14 PzIV/70(V) (on the 22 Jan 1945) and 14 PzIV (on the 19th Jan 1945). Orders were cut on the 21 January 1945 to prepare the I Abteilung Panzer Regt 29 for combat with one company of 14 Jagdpanthers and one company of 14 PzIV/70 (A). It looks like they received their vehicles on the 22 – 24th January 1945. I Abteilung Panzer Regt 39 was ordered to be ready for action by 22 January 1945 and it’s OOB was three Panthers for the Abteilung stab and 14 Panthers in each of three companies for a total of 45 Panthers. It received 46 Panthers between 16 – 22 January 1945. Panzer Brigade 103 was sent to Heeresgruppe Mitte in Mid January 1945. By 3rd February it had knocked out 45 enemy tanks, and destroyed or captured 65 AT guns. They had lost 35 Panthers as total write-offs, with an additional 15 Panthers surrounded in Steinau. It was disbanded on 5th March 1945. Fuehrer – Begleit Division Formed 18 January 1945 by expanding the Fuehrer – Begleit Brigade. 25 January 1945 the Stab Panzer Regiment 102 was raised with the II/Panzer Regiment “Grossdeutschland” reassigned as the II/Panzer Regiment 102 On the 16 Feb 1945 orders were issued to form Panzer Regiment 102 with the I Abteilung consisting of two panther companies and two Panzer IV companies each with 14 panzers. Panzer Jaeger Abteilung 673 was assigned to the panzer regiment in place of a second panzer Abteilung. From what I can make out it actually ended up with 15 Panzer IVs; 23 PzIV/70 (A) and 30 Panthers. On the 2 March 1945 the II Abteilung/Panzer Regiment “Grossdeutschland” was renamed II Abteilung/Fuehrer Panzer Regiment 1. Fuehrer – Grenadier Division Was formed from an expanded Fuehrer – Grenadier Brigade. It ended up with 26 Panthers, 10 PzIV/70(V) and two FlakpanzerIV (37). It looks like it received another 10 panzers on the 1 Feb. The whole lot was organised into four companies and an HQ platoon. 8th Panzer Division Sorry couldn’t find any info about this unit for this period. 17th Panzer Division Looks like this was formed into a kampfgruppe around the 7 – 9 Feb 1945 and was based around II/Panzer Regiment 39. It had 16 Panzer IVs, 28PzIV/70(V) organised into three companies. Hope this is off use Bigduke. Cheers fur noo George Mc

Several Soviet books available as mentioned above and I'd add: "Tank Rider" by Evgeni Bessonov about his experiences as a tank rider. "T34 In Action" by Artem Drabkin and Oleg Sheremet first hand accounts of being a Soviet tanker. Both books are IMHO superb and give the Soviet human side of the Eastern Front. Cheers fur noo George Mc

nae bother Cheers fur noo George Mc

This is linked to a discussion at the CMC forum about LOS and map size. In response Bigduke6 provided these photos to outline that not all steppe is flat and limitless LOS - but hey go check out the discussion yersel The photos from Bigduke6 are now up on my website. You can see em HERE All the images available for download below were taken by Bigduke6 from the BFC forum. It's fine for some one to download or copy them for private use, but commercial use is not okay unless you have sought written permission from Bigduke6. "General: Pictures taken with a NikonD70 in early October 2006, using a 28-85mm Nikkor lens. Automatic light and focus settings were used exclusively. Pictures were taken between 1600 and 1900 local time, roughly. None of the images has been retouched. Most shots were at taken at maximum wide angle, and so distances appear farther in the pictures than in real life. All the shots were taken through a fairly dirty window of an Ukraine National Railroad train car. First class, I'd hate to see the windows on 3rd class. Also bear in mind the rail is on a berm averaging 2 meters above the level of the ground. The horizontal lines in many of the shots are high-power wires running parallel to the railroad. The train's average speed was about 80 - 90 kmph. Bigduke6" Cheers fur noo George Mc

Ahh! Light bulb goes on, then slaps hand to head and goes Doh! Cheers fur noo George

The photos from Bigduke6 are now up on my website. You can see em HERE All the images available for download below were taken by Bigduke6 from the BFC forum. It's fine for some one to download or copy them for private use, but commercial use is not okay unless you have sought written permission from Bigduke6. "General: Pictures taken with a NikonD70 in early October 2006, using a 28-85mm Nikkor lens. Automatic light and focus settings were used exclusively. Pictures were taken between 1600 and 1900 local time, roughly. None of the images has been retouched. Most shots were at taken at maximum wide angle, and so distances appear farther in the pictures than in real life. All the shots were taken through a fairly dirty window of an Ukraine National Railroad train car. First class, I'd hate to see the windows on 3rd class. Also bear in mind the rail is on a berm averaging 2 meters above the level of the ground. The horizontal lines in many of the shots are high-power wires running parallel to the railroad. The train's average speed was about 80 - 90 kmph. Bigduke6" Cheers fur noo George Mc [ October 23, 2006, 03:45 PM: Message edited by: George Mc ]

Hi All Just got the Ukraine photos from Bigduke6. I'm in the process of re-sizing and uploading em onto my website. Give me a couple of days and they should be ready for viewing. I'll post an announcement here and at the CMBB forum. Cheers fur noo George Mc

Hi BT Good on you! Yeah I'd like to see what is going on - email address should be in my sig. Cheers fur noo George

I've my own site with scenarios and such like which is at www.blowtorchscenarios.com This also hosts JasonC's excellent Soviet Training scenarios. Also if you fancy playtesting stuff check out The Proving Grounds Happy Battling! Cheers fur noo George Mc

Nae bother - hear from you then Cheers fur noo George Mc