ropey

Jeff Plowman may have the German subunits pegged. It was his article in ATB. I have some photos of the village and neighbourhood if you're interested. (We discussed San Michele you may recall.) E-mail me if yo uwant anything. Ropey at xtra.co.nz

Hi If anyone has read this history of the 760th Tk Battalion I wondered if it had any info on the unit's actions at Cassino? Cheers

Hi I don't suppose you have anything on the 760th Tank Bn that fought with the Kiwis at Monte Cassino? Particularly their recce unit is of interest.

Hi I visited this area last year while tracking down the Kiwi's first Tiger for 'After the Battle' (See Vol 129, The Fall of Florence). A lovely map and if you are interested in photos of the area, let me know. The Tiger in question made its way from the bottom right of the last screenshot (near Rozzi) into the valley and back up to very near the safety of Villa Strada. There it was disabled by fire from Shermans of the 18th Regt. and later destroyed by its own crew. What a shame it isn't in the scenario!

Flammpanzer IIIs were definately in Italy. 3-5 attacked Kiwi positions at Orsogna on 16th Dec '43. Two were KO'd by tanks of the 18th Regt.

Hi I'm looking for someone who has access to the photo collections in the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz who might be willing to do a little searching for me. I'm even willing to pay a little! Any offers? Cheers Perry Rowe New Zealand

Rune and JonS Having been to Sangro/Orsogna battlefields last year, and currently writing the battlefield guide I would be interested to hear your plans. I have around a hundred photos of the area that may help you...

I have some questions that may have had some bearing on the decision. 1, Could the Sardinian/Corsican ports support a substantial commitment? (Naples was a substantial port - one of the largest in Europe I believe, and Taranto was also large.) 2, What capacity was possible for airfields on the islands? (The large Foggia complex was one of the Allies' key objectives.) 3, Are there any suitable landing areas north of Rome? Remember, the coast starts to get very mountainous up there so there may not have been many options. I love this what-if. There was a S&T game series that started with the Sicilian invasion but went on to include most of Italy. (War in the Med?) The range of air support was given as the the single biggest (military) deciding factor for attacking Sicily, followed by the ease of supplying forces through ports, but I never got to test other options. I suspect that the air factor was over-rated when you look at the ineffectiveness of the Luftwaffe overall, but the real planners weren't to know this at the time. I think that the political effect of the loss of Sardinia (& Corsica) would have hurried Mussolini's deposition as much as Sicily, but the actual surrender was tied to an invasion of the mainland so the Allies would still have been required to make a landing. I don't believe a coup-de-main at Rome would have been sustainable without a concurrent amphibious landing, and that held all the risks of the landings at Salerno which, it will be remembered, was relieved by troops driving through from the south. Oh for a game that would play out these options!

Could we see a screenshot of these?

Hi I've uploaded both scenarios and a map to The Proving Grounds. Railway Station http://www.the-proving-grounds.com/scenario_details_link.html?sku=596 Cavendish Road http://www.the-proving-grounds.com/scenario_details_link.html?sku=597 Cassino map only http://www.the-proving-grounds.com/map_details_link.html?sku=77 All of these would benefit greatly from TomCHQ's rocky terrain mod when it arrives, and a sangar mod if JuJu can work one.

Hi I have my second Cassino scenario ready to playtest, this time on the Maori attack on the Railway Station. (First scen was set in the mountains above Cassino.) Again a to-scale map and accurate OOB. Any takers? Email me please and I'll send it through. Incidentally, another scenario (by an author whose name escapes me) is available that games the German counter-attack that followed this battle so they may make a nice two-pack.

Here's some screenies: www.ImageShack.us" /></a>

There was some talk earlier about how to game Cassino. I have an accurate, scale map of Cassino ready for development into a series of scenarios or an operation if anyone is interested in a collaboration. One problem is that it is huge, so it might have to be cut into chunks...

If you can convert them from CM:BO format you are welcome to use mine - I have one of the Railway Station area and one of the town - both to scale - but have been unable to convert them to CM:AK as I no longer have CM:BO. E-mail me if you are interested.

BTW Juju, a few years back (yes years) a poster showed some screenshots of a rocky terrain mod that looked fantastic. It doesn't seem to have been released, but may give you some inspiration. Do a search on "Rocky Terrain" and check them out.

There wasn't a lot of foliage to start with but most of it was cut away to create fire zones or destroyed by shelling/bombing. I will add some more scattered trees to my map, but not too many. There should also be bomb craters toward the monastery but I can't see how to add them. The area is now a preserved area - it is fenced and the gate is locked. The foliage is nearly entirely post-war.

Hi Could someone please convert two CM:BO maps to CM:AK for me? I no longer have CM:BO and it appears I can't do the conversion without it. For the record, one is a huge map of Cassino, the other a battle map of the Cassino Railway Station.

And some more... HQ of 4th Para Regt. German fortifications under Pt 569. Looking South. Monastery is on top left. In front of Massa Albaneta. Massa Albaneta from Pt 593. Panorama from Massa Albaneta toward Pt 575. Another panorama looking from Pt 593 over Massa Albaneta toward Pt 575. Pt 569 from Pt 593. I invite you to compare shots with game map. Remember that none of this foliage was there during the war. [ October 29, 2004, 07:05 PM: Message edited by: ropey ]

By the way, here are some shots of the area in 2004. I was more than a little concerned about our guide handling this baby. Looking back the way the Allies advanced A Polish Sherman, often mistakenly described as Kiwi, disabled at the top of the Gorge. Looking up the route of advance toward the Gorge. Allied start point. Toward Caira. (Off north of game map) Allied start point. The engineers' work is still in remarkably good condition after 60 years. Route of advance for most of the Indian attacks and some later Polish attacks.

Hi Let's see if this works... All images from Colle Abate or Monte Trocchio. (Near Cassino) [ October 29, 2004, 06:06 PM: Message edited by: ropey ]

Sorry, I should have explained. In Italy (and Greece and the desert) it was often impossible to dig foxholes or trenches because the ground was too hard. Rocks were stacked up instead to form defensive positions. I was wondering whether anyone had modded the sandbags to make (large) sangars. For that matter could the foxholes also be modded to look rocky? If someone would like to host them I have several pics of sangars of various sizes, from personal to support weapon pits.

Sorry Blah Blah Blah, but it's German defence - as (almost) all of Cassino.

Hi I know there have been some rock mods for Italian terrain, but has anyone attempted a mod of the sandbags to create sangars? (I could provide photos for anyone who is thinking of doing either mod.)

Hi I've had some feedback and tweaked the scenario a little - more tweaks to come after playtests have finished. Anyone else want to give it a go?

Hi I've developed a scenario based on the Cavendish Rd attack on the 19th March. (This attack was a armoured assault up behind the Monastery.) It has had one playtest, but some more would be nice. Any takers? Please email me directly and I'll send it through. (Rowep@xtra.co.nz) PS. The same map can be used for the Polish attacks if anyone is interested in helping me develop it.