Keith

Interestingly I have read that the 250/9 was the prefered scout vehicle for the Germans on the Eastern Front because of the (lack of) road net. The 250 series can manuever cross country much better than the armored cars.

I am glad you enjoyed my scenario "Maple Leaf Down" Greenman. If you could do me a big favor and write a brief review on the Scenario Depot Website I would greatly appreciate it. http://www.dragonlair.net/combatmission/ I just finished a PBEM of "Maple Leaf Down" as the Canadian player against Michael Dorosh and achieved a major victory. A lot depends on how the Canadian player deploys and uses his AT teams. Another factor is using the ample Canadian artillery to pin down the German infantry. This requires some anticipation of likely avenues of attack due to the long time between the request and the impact. [ 11-14-2001: Message edited by: Keith ] [ 11-14-2001: Message edited by: Keith ]</p>

Check out my scenario "Maple Leaf Down" featured on the Micheal's Canuck website as well as the Scenario Depot. The scenario features the fighting around the town of Woensdrecht.

Regarding David Glantz, it is important to distingush between the types of books he as published. Some books Glantz has published, such as the popular Kursk book or "Zhukov's Greatest Defeat", contain detailed interpretation of events with first class research data from Soviet AND German sources. Other books, such as 'Kharkov 42' or 'Bellorussa 44', are raw translated publications of Russian General Staff studies. These books are informative but are very dry and contain a limited amount of interpretation of events. I also happen to have some signed private publications of Glantz that were put togeather by the author in a spiral binding (Smolensk 41 and Moscow 41). You can obtain these from http://209.204.189.49/cgi-bin/foxweb.exe/articles/home Glantz also recently published in 2001 a book on the siege of Leningrad. I find Alan Clarke's books very much stilted torwards the German perspective with little cross correlation from Russian sources. Fully three quarters of his book is dedicated to the inital period of the war 1941-1942, with only a quarter dedicated to the defeats of the Germans from 43-45. This is because Clark relied almost exclusively on revisionist German histories where the Russians are depicted as always outnumbering the Germans with faceless hordes of men incapable of tactical or operation finesse and where Hitler was the cause of all defeats. The fact is from 43-45 the Russians simply out generaled the Germans.

Bump

I have posted a new scenario at the Scenario Depot titled 'Maple Leaf Down' that has been tested for PBEM as well for play against the AI. Here is the scenario briefing: In October 1944, opening the port of Antwerp, already occupied by Allied troops, became absolutely necessary since the main supply lines ran back all the way to Normandy. Antwerp was fifty miles from the sea, connected to it by means of the broad Scheldt River. North of the river lay the German controlled South Beveland peninsula and the fortified island of Walcheren. As long as the Germans held the sea approaches and controlled the long winding Scheldt River, Allied shipping to Antwerp would be impossible. The First Canadian Army, under the command of Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, was ordered to clear the Scheldt River. The fighting was bitter, the flooded terrain was difficult, and the Germans, securely dug in, were prepared to offer a desperate defense of the area. The main objective of the Canadian 2nd Division was to sever the South Beveland Peninsula at a strategic point controlled by the small farming town of Woensdrecht. Through this point a railway line and road were used to transport troops and supplies for the German defenders of South Beveland and Walcheren Island. The heavy German artillery was entrenched behind the village of Woensdrecht,on the only high, dry land in South Beveland. The Germans also committed the veteran 6th Parachute Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel von der Heydte, to protect the vital location with orders to defend to the last. On Friday, October 13th, a day known as "Black Friday", the Canadian Black Watch was ordered to make a daylight frontal assault against the railway embankment and the town of Woensdrecht. The battalion was slaughtered, losing 183 men to intense machine gun and mortar fire. On the evening of October 15th, the Canadians tried again, this time with lieutenant colonel Whitaker commanding the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI), . The Rileys launched a night attack against the town of Woensdrecht following a massive 168-gun artillery barrage. Surprisingly, when the RHLI entered Woensdrecht they met no resistance. Von der Heydte had anticipated the assault and had quickly evacuated his paratroopers from the town. At first light on October 16th von der Heydte's paratroopers launched a fierce counter attack supported by tanks that struck the disorganized Rileys and quickly overran the lead RHLI company on Woensdrecht hill, threatening the entire battalion position. Now the undefeatable German force descended on the town proper. http://www.dragonlair.net/combatmission/

Another very annoying thing is to have a map with roads continuously lined with dense woods, bocage, or buildings with vehicles stuck on the roads, incapable of maneuver. Mega annoying and makes for a very unintersting game.

Getting back to the original subject, I am currently reading a book titled "With our Backs to Berlin" by Tessier. The book is full of first hand accounts of German war veterans during the last months of the war. One interesting fact is that during this period of the war there was such a severe shortage of brass that the Germans were making bullets with steel casings. The problem was that in order to protect the bullets from rust the Germans coated the bullets with laquer, which subsequently caused belts of ammunition to jam in the machine guns after the first burst due to the heat melting the laquer. The weapons would jam so bad that the troops would have to use their entrenching tools to clear the jam. Apparently the MG crews tried to have links of brass ammo available for emergencies. It would be interesting to model this by increasing the percent chance for an MG to jam during this period of the war, although it would obviously put the German player at a disadvantage.

I see your problem. On the one hand you can place the objective well behind the hill crest and the AI will defend in place on the reverse slope. On the other hand, if you place the objective on the hill crest or on the forward slope the AI will abondon its positions and try to take the objective. My suggestion is that you place the flag well behind the hill crest and have reinforcements arrive which will attack and most likely push through the objective hex. You need to time the reinforcements such as they arrive when the objective is in danger of being captured by the opposing side.

I prefer to play historical battles. As a designer, I make exclusively historical battles including "Debut Of the Jadgtiger", "Indian Fighting", "The Bloody Causeway", and "Dunkirk Again". Part of my pleasure in making a scenario is doing the research and delving into the details of what really happened. Balancing a scenario based on an unbalaced historical fight is possible through different means including restrictive game lengths, exit objectives, victory flag placement and values, and outright giving the defender a point bonus at the start of the scenario. But what is most important is to convey the feel of the battle. It is impossible to get detail on the position of each man, each weapon, etc. Except for instances on the Russian front where the Russians were able to concentrate forces for 10:1 local numerical superiority (1944 on), I find many battles were not complete walk overs.

Check out my historical scenario "Indian Fighting", which you can download from the Scenario Depot. It features the desperate fight for crossroads on D-Day where a reinforced platoon of airborne infantry ambushed a column of German infantry.

By principle I absolutely refuse to play any scenario where the author reviews his own work. If the scenario author feels he needs to plug his scenario then do so on this forum. Reviewing your own stuff is lame.

Actually, the truth about why Malta was not invaded was due to a decision by Rommel, not Hitler. In 1942 when Rommel took Tobruk and the Afrika Corps was advancing torward the Egyptian border Kesserling gave Rommel two options: 1) Try to provide CAS for the Afrika Corps advance 2) Keep Malta suppressed and invade Malta Rommel demanded option #1 over the protestations of Kesserling, who was Rommel's superior officer. As a result, when Rommel reach Alamein his supply situation was in shambles because. They were still shipping to Tunis and driving the supplies to the front in Egypt. Of course over half the gas was consumed getting the trucks to the front, not to mention Britsh interdicition efforts which decimated the supply forces. Without a doubt the Germans did not have a firm grasp on supply plannings. It killed them in Afrika, Barbarossa, and the Bulge. It does not matter how brilliant a tactician you are if your troops have no gas or bullets. And THAT is why the Allies won the war.

What this article illuminates is the extreme difficulty of attacking with armor in the hedgrows. This applied to both sides. The attacker is channeled, the engagement ranges are very short, and the defender is well camoflauged. At the time of the Lehr attack Das Reich was desperately trying to get to the front to do a coordinated attack. But fortunately for the Americans Das Reich arrived too late and launced equally futile, piecemeal attacks. The attacks of these two divisions was the best Rommel could manage in his attempt to drive to the invasion beaches. Subsequently all of his armor was commited to holding static defensive positions because there was insufficient infantry to hold the line.

Derfel, if the AI determines that the enemy is too close too the victory flags it may try to counter attack. Try placing the flags deeper behind your line with some additional units protecting the flags..

Regarding the question about units leaving their prepared positions, this absolutely has to do with victory flag placement. If the AI detects that a flag is not well protected it will attempt to reposition its troops to remedy the situation. Be sure to place flags behind your main line of resistance with several units nearby to secure the flag. Try experimenting with different flag placements and you will be suprised at what the AI will do. It really is a black art.

If the scenario is designed properly you can most certainly model the requirement that a certain area must be taken in order to win. It is just a question of placing the proper value objective flags at the right spots, while keeping an eye on the number of troops involved and expected casualtes incured. I believe the current system is very flexible and works fine as is.

I just want to put a plug in for Keith Miller's web site (different Keith) as a excellent resource for CM scenarios with reviews. Keep adding the great reviews people. Good work Keith! Here is the web site link: http://www.dragonlair.net/combatmission/

This the official Medal of Honor citation for captain Burt: "BURT, JAMES M. Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company B, 66th Armored Regiment, 2d Armored Division. Place and date: Near Wurselen, Germany, 13 October 1944. Entered service at: Lee, Mass. Birth: Hinsdale, Mass. G.O. No.: 95, 30 October 1945. Citation: Capt. James M. Burt was in command of Company B, 66th Armored Regiment on the western outskirts of Wurselen, Germany, on 13 October 1944, when his organization participated in a coordinated infantry-tank attack destined to isolate the large German garrison which was tenaciously defending the city of Aachen. In the first day's action, when infantrymen ran into murderous small-arms and mortar fire, Capt. Burt dismounted from his tank about 200 yards to the rear and moved forward on foot beyond the infantry positions, where, as the enemy concentrated a tremendous volume of fire upon him, he calmly motioned his tanks into good firing positions. As our attack gained momentum, he climbed aboard his tank and directed the action from the rear deck, exposed to hostile volleys which finally wounded him painfully in the face and neck. He maintained his dangerous post despite pointblank self-propelled gunfire until friendly artillery knocked out these enemy weapons, and then proceeded to the advanced infantry scouts' positions to deploy his tanks for the defense of the gains which had been made. The next day, when the enemy counterattacked, he left cover and went 75 yards through heavy fire to assist the infantry battalion commander who was seriously wounded. For the next 8 days, through rainy, miserable weather and under constant, heavy shelling, Capt. Burt held the combined forces together, dominating and controlling the critical situation through the sheer force of his heroic example. To direct artillery fire, on 15 October, he took his tank 300 yards into the enemy lines, where he dismounted and remained for 1 hour giving accurate data to friendly gunners. Twice more that day he went into enemy territory under deadly fire on reconnaissance. In succeeding days he never faltered in his determination to defeat the strong German forces opposing him. Twice the tank in which he was riding was knocked out by enemy action, and each time he climbed aboard another vehicle and continued the fight. He took great risks to rescue wounded comrades and inflicted prodigious destruction on enemy personnel and materiel even though suffering from the wounds he received in the battle's opening phase. Capt. Burt's intrepidity and disregard of personal safety were so complete that his own men and the infantry who attached themselves to him were inspired to overcome the wretched and extremely hazardous conditions which accompanied one of the most bitter local actions of the war. The victory achieved closed the Aachen gap." I would be happy to test your scenario once you have tested it yourself against the AI a few times. Mail the scenario to kschur@erols.com. -Keith Schur

First of all, the division involved was not the 26th Infantry Division. It was the 1st Division, 26th Infantry Regiment. Second of all here is some online reading you can do to learn about the battle, recently published by a colonel of the 26th Infantry Regiment: http://cpof.ida.org/MOUT-Aachen-1944.pdf The context of the paper is from the perspective of lessons learned to be applied to modern urban combat. Third of all, here is a list of publications, all under $20, which deal with battles of the 26th "Blue Spaders". You are interested in the "Aachen" title and the "Stolberg" title. http://www.bluespader.org/bsbooks.html The internet is a wonderous tool.

Grab the scenario "Dunkirk Again?" from the Combat Missions web site: http://www.combat-missions.net/ The scenario depicts the 82nd Airborne Rhine crossing at the town of Hitdorf.

Company or battalion HQs do not have any inherit command bonuses greater than platoon HQs. As mentioned above, company and battalion HQs are useful as backup platoon leaders and as spotters for on map artillery and for commanding support weapons (MGs). Some other useful uses of these HQs are for acting as an extra HQ if you wish to split up platoon(s). They are also good for rallying broken troops that have fled to the rear. Several times the presence of a company HQ has saved me from defeat.

Worst German commanders in acending order: Hausser (Kiss my a** Manstein! I am committing my SS Panzer Corps to city fight) Kluge (Gee I think the Kursk offensive is a dandy idea) Paulus (Operational reserve? What operational reserve?) Sepp Dietrich (thug/chauffer to SS Army commander in three easy steps) Himmler (chinless psychotic dweeb whimpering in his command train) Hitler (psychotic corporal)

It is absolutely pointless to have BTS expand energy making a Sturm Tiger model. The tank could only fire around every 10 minutes or so. Boring and a waste of purchase points. The Brumbar on the other hand...

Just as an interesting aside, the 6th Panzer Division was equipped mostly with obsolete 35(t) tanks during Barbarossa. The problem was the Germany army vastly expanded the number of Panzer divisions prior to the invasion, so there was a shortage of tanks. The most common way to take out heavy Russian tanks in 1941 was to use artillery or 88s in a direct fire role or try to demobilize the tanks. Fortunately for the Germans the Russians did not use the KVs and T34s effectively in mass early in the war.