Mark Gallear
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Posts posted by Mark Gallear
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I thought I would have my little say on British equipment introduction dates and usage and then run away!
Not seen CMAK so don’t know what Battlefront have done exactly. But from what I have heard above not sure I'm a happy camper. I suppose I should just play German then it wouldn't bother me! 
Not so much that the British Army like AP rounds and the Soviets like HE but the direction they have come from in the inter-war years. The Britain Army is fitting its tanks with anti-tank guns – small calibre weapons capable of piercing the armour of all contemporary tanks but pretty useless for throwing HE at infantry (Even if I believed it had a HE round.) Whilst the Soviets fitted their later tanks (T-34/KV) with large calibre field guns these are good at throwing HE about but have relatively dismal AP proprieties for the guns relative calibre.
(Not so much doctrine but for war time economic reasons no HE round was made and issued for the British Army. The prospect of fitting the Little John and prolonging the 2pdrs life was taken early on - so there was little reason to spend time producing 2pdr HE rounds that could not be fired. The British Army wanted in 1940 to produce the 6pdr but the delay compared to producing 2pdrs was deemed too great as the enemy really were banging on the gates.)
2 pdr in very short supply after Dunkirk so Bofors 40mm AA gun used in this role in first campaign against the Italians. (It is called the 2pdr not sure if this was done to mislead the enemy or just because all AT guns were called 2pdrs.) Different marks of 2pdr made – (Got a book out - IX, X and XA. From September 1942 APCBC Armour Piercing capped, ballistic capped introduced AP 2,800 fps giving 57mm at 500 yards and at 30 degrees against 2,600 fps and 57.5mmm for APCBC - as I said much better!) later ones have Little John adaptor that prevent use of HE.
Armoured Cars such as the Daimler are used through war and early versions are still in use at the end of war, together with newer vehicles fitted with Little John - particularly on Italian Front, which is seen as a backwater. (This explains the proportion quoted above.) (Indeed the Daimler with the 2pdr soldiers on into the post-war and cold war era. Janes has full details on it but strangely no HE rounds are mentioned.)
(I keep pointing to theatre made 2pdr HE rounds to explain rare and unusual reports of usage in Pacific, etc. These would be primitive flechete rounds – like giant shotgun cartridge with a very close range and no guarantee of reliability. I doubt there is any point in modelling these in CMAK. Although seen reports of this done in Desert War for 6pdr. Flamming Knives again has a point the New Zealand round was an attempt to make a proper HE round - from the first eye witness report I read it wasn't very successful.)
6pdr OQF first used in May 1942 (found a date of December 1941 for the first 300 6pdrs delivered - presumably to British Army in England which is a bit different from Libya) – only a few guns are sent to be battle tested and are rare at this time, regular supplies do not come until later. 6pdr HE round is introduced in around October 1942. Again, lots of different marks for both tank and AT gun versions. (Same book - these marks apparently matter - MKIII (Intended for airborne use) has muzzle velocity of 2,800 and penetration of 81mm at 500yds at 30 degrees whilst the Mark V can manage 2,965 fps and 83mm penetration.) 6pdr is made in America as 57mm gun and I am not sure if these guns and ammo were supplied back to the British Army as Lend lease 6pdr – this is only clouding the issue. APDS round first issued in June 1944 for D-Day (Apparently it was developed early in 1944) – not sure when it was supplied for Italian campaign but if so after this date. (37mm APDS round used in Stuart also introduced in June 1944 not sure if it was used in Italian campaign or by US Army.)
17pdr first used in March 1943 (Forty The British Army Handbook has in service date of August 1942 for first 100 guns mounted on the 25pdr carriage - known as 17pdr MK2!) APCR (Doh! Flaming knives is right it is APDS with tungsten steel.
) introduced in late July 1944 after D-Day – again not sure when or even if the round is sent to Italy. HE round is first issued in late September 1944 in France – again not sure if or when it was issued for Italian campaign.There are number of vehicles that only saw action on the Italian Front: -
Valentine XI with 75pdr (Doh! again I meant 75mm - the standard Sherman gun - Sergei got me and I didn't even notice
.) from October 1943 used as HQ vehicle or tracked artillery observation/control vehicle. It is not used to fill out the tank troops. Few are made and it is a rare vehicle - doubt any were given to the Soviet Union.Sherman IIA with 76mm gun used from around Sept 1944 – takes the place of Sherman Firefly in some tank units. (Troop of 2 standard Shermans with 75mm gun and 1 with 17pdr or 76mm gun. This tank is usually not the troop HQ)
Sherman I B CS with 105mm gun used from around October 1944 in pairs as part of Squadron HQ for close support.
I forgot the Churchill 75 NA! Although I'm sure CMAK has all its details right.
I really am looking forward to 2pdr HE blast figures and the sources! Never seen the results of the test rounds produced or figures for the Pacific rounds.
[ December 04, 2003, 05:06 AM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
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I have come against reports of the Little John been removed from 2pdr AC guns so they could fire HE. I have always been very doubtful of their veracity, as they all seem to quote the one account. I am fairly certain that no 2pdr HE was made in the UK apart from some experimental rounds very early in the war, as the decision to make and fit the Little John was taken fairly early on in the war. (Bare in mind that the British Army was on a budget before WW2 came along and the inventors of the tank could barely afford the budget to have one made that would run any distance before it would breakdown!
)The fact that the Little John was not finally made and fitted until late in the war when the 2pdr was long obsolete as a main tank armament points to the massive war time shortages and constraints. Tooling up to produce 2pdr HE round was just not a big enough priority compared to Spitfires, etc. 6pdr HE and later 17 pdr HE rounds with a decent blast were all manufactured much later than the introduction of the gun. (I suspect some 6pdr HE rounds were converted from AP rounds. If so, then large numbers cannot have been made and their reliability must also have been suspect.)
There may have been some battlefield made 2pdr HE rounds made in the Desert/Italy and Western European campaign - which the reference may reflect. There was certainly considerable relief by British tankers in the desert war when 6pdr HE rounds were finally issued even though American guns with HE were then available. The Germans had a distinct advantage prior to this. I don't believe the Russians were sent any.
I suspect the same situation is true of ANZAC forces fighting in the Pacific war - I came across references to 2pdr HE references in use and for homemade production by New Zealand tankers. Australia may have had factory made 2pdr HE rounds for jungle use late in the war although I cannot prove this. I know that a special beehive round was made for the American 37mmm gun in Lees and Grants for use by British tankers in the jungle war. This was probably made in India.
[ December 02, 2003, 04:56 PM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
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I find myself in total historical agreement with Mike with the low member number does this mean that there are no 2pdr HE rounds in CMAK?
Can I ask if the diffrences in pentration between the diffrent marks of 2pdr with and without the Little John been modeled? (The 2pdr performance in CMBB seemed to me to be the one with the Little John.)
[ December 02, 2003, 04:29 PM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
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Has any body figured out the differences yet? Last time, not just the WG thing but extra protection on the CD so you could not back it up - it does get worn from a years use! This also meant that CDV could not get all the bmp files on the CD and some were early versions compared to the US release. OK this was corrected by Battlefronts patch.
Is it really the exact same thing as the Battlefront issue apart from the box art?
Not ordered from Battlefront yet and I would like to rush down to Game and just buy a copy of the shelf but after last time ... :eek:
:confused:[ December 02, 2003, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
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Sorry I just cann't resist. What is the evidence for 2pdr HE rounds in British use from about 43 apart from their existence in CMBB for Russian use.
I would have thought that adaptor thingy m jig for better penetration would have made the production of 2pdr HE rounds fairly pointless? :confused:
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Mike as you are member no 361, I would not be in the least bit surprised if you put the pink stripe there on the orginal bmp!
For those that don't know the pink is invisible in the game and is used to keep the flag size in proportion. I assume the powers that be picked this colour as it does not appear very ofen on WW2 vehicles or uniforms or even in grass or skies even. See Mod School for hints on keeping your pink invisible.
I suppose its true that not many flags were flown over objectives in real life. I suppose we could use blue and red start lines and blue and red victory flags - I mean orange we wouldn't want to be too obvious would we
Tooz has pointed out to me that only the German Navy used in the War Flag to any extent and we should be using the National Flag - maybe Andrew or JuJu will do one for us. (In fact JuJu's flag on Mod Corner can be used in CMAK as well with some very minor modifications to the very little flag.)
What's all about is German law which makes it illegal to promote Nazism not to use Nazi symbols in an historical context such as history books or historical computer simulations. (Battlefront want to sell to Germany for some strange reason!) Don't think we get many Neo-Nazis on the forum and I don't suppose the powers that be would let them post for very long if we did! You have to go to Switzerland or maybe Austria to meet any of them these days!
[ December 02, 2003, 08:55 AM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
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The site is up for customers at present. Geocities can cut the page if it feels I having to many visitors about a usual months worth for this mod in around two days!
The Mod is based on the one in the demo and is slightly diffrent from the CMBB flag - slightly darker creases!
Lindan were you trying to keep my site up the top of the forum list!
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Done a Nazi War Flag for the CMAK Demo.
Get it at the bottom of Mod Corner.
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I think Joachim has explained why it is happening. As the Germans advance past parts of russians formations safe across the river they are pushed back into an empty area - not always in cover.
I had it set to advance but have changed it to assault and am hoping this will reduce this program and make the game more like the real situation with Ruussian pockets being left behind by the armour to be mopped up by the following infantry.
Thanks Joachim and Sergi
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I had a look at the previous post series does not really explain why the AI is putting infantry out in the open when there is loads of cover.
Its an Attack game, Defenders are not dug in, its happening on games 2 onwards as I have setup the Russians in game 1! Although not tried a free setup.
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I am designing an operation and am finding that the AI places the defenders out in the open in subsequent games. I have gone for a defensive game but don’t have foxholes as it is early in the War and the Russians belief is that attack is the best form of defence.
I am a bit worried that I have a complicated set-up in the first game with the Germans in one corner and the Russians in three different coloured sectors could be confusing the AI in later games. I also bought Russian troops before I put down these sectors and they appeared on the map in a long line close to the Germans rather than at the other side of the map.
Can anybody who really understands the CMBB Operation system tell me if I am doing something wrong or are the defending infantry out in the open a feature?
:confused:
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I have revised my Romanian Michael’s Cross Hidden Unit Icon. It is of the type painted on tanks for air identification. Get it from Mod Corner.
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GJK - I remmber the site - I got some of the first mods from it, (which were not done by me) they still appear on it. It gave me the inspiration to do the site and plugged a small hole until the mod database came along. Pity it didn't last - I didn't think you could do it from geocities at all! I think the secret was to pick an area and just cover that. Although CMMod database is just amazing and is going from strength to strength.
I have emailed Schoerner to explain his program - it does work! The spelling changes are for the German language version.
As for the mods for the mod manager - they just have some extra number on them which you could remove by hand - a lot of work.
The site with the winter CMMODS - has the orginal mod manager - I know that somepeople have found it hard to figure out to use. (I managed it but will let the creator explain it - post on the forum directed at help for it.) There is a new mod manager on the mod database - you may want to try that as well - I havn't so far. Bear in mind these managers can mess up what you have installed already - well for CMBO anyway they can get at your CMBB CDROM directly - thanks for the small mercy!
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Hi,
Great site, I have the German censored version and have downloaded the politically incorrect one. Some questions though.
I downloaded the Flag Mod but it gave me several flag options to choose with the bmp number and a letter at the end like 401a 401b, etc... The one I use the last is the one that is going to stay?
Ok with this one - extract the files to a temp folder - I created one in he CM folder. Then pick the flag versions you like - then edited the file name (change file name) so that it goes from 401a - 401 etc. Then copy them to your BMP folder. (This is easier then editing them in your BMP folder.)
I tried to download the written anti-censor for german and it says I should download it to the .exe file..where is that? I have put it on the main CMBB folder and it lets me start the game through it but nothing really changes..what am I doing wrong?
Ok you want to put it in the folder which CMBB is in - I put in C:\cm2 for ease of finding email turns to send to people - but the default is something diffrent. I think you just click on it to get it going.
I would like also to change the winter color for vehicles but the only thing I find is diferent color schemes for individual vehicles. is there a place that would change all of them at once? or most of them? Its a bit tiresome to go one by one all the soviet and german vehicles.
Their is a total winter mod for vehicles for cm mod manager on the combatmission HQ site (www.combatmission.com) - their are know a number of mod managers out - not everbody likes the orginal - you can edit the numbers by hand and put them in the bmp folder - I did it for CMBO!
Get your infantry uniforms from Andrew Fox and others on the Mod Database.
Uniforms..where can I change those? any link?
www.cmmods.com - Andrew Fox is the man - link on my site.
Ok - all the newby questions should be fairly well sorted then
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Everyone is as God has made him, and oftentimes a great deal worse.
Miguel de Cervantes
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My web site is now a year old, and has had over 3,900 visitors
. Not bad considering I only recently joined the web rings. Before that, you had to follow my link from my posts on this forum! Geocities seem to like your custom because I don’t get complaints of bandwidth outrages anymore. I am fairly proud of the site, as I have taught myself Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Flash and DHTML :cool: .I started it to show-case my mods and to do something about the dumbing down of the historical icons in CMBB. There is also a short introduction to making CM mods. So, if you need a German flag with a swastika, a decent historical icon bar or hidden unit icons, which are the right-way round, now would be a good time to visit and grab them.
I have made a lot of friends during the year including a Hollywood actor and a couple of Squad Leader designers – the resulting scenarios and operations are on the page
. I hope to make a few more yet as well!(I recently used my Romanian Saint Michaels Cross hidden unit in a game, and I promise to bring it up to scratch, now that I have had a few formal lessons in Photoshop!
)Many thanks to all my kind visitors - not had any rude email messages - apart from the spam :eek: !
[ October 27, 2003, 06:25 PM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
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I believe your right about the GD - the new uniform is mentioned been issued in Sajers Forgotten Soldier - late in 1944, when they returned back to their base. They seem to have worn the quilted Russian Uniform universally before then - he mentions keeping the German helmet as a last vestige of them actually been German Soldiers as they fled back to Germany!
I have a book on the Normandy battles which has photos of the M1944 uniform in it - I will have to find it - it was obviously German as it is badly translated into English (Complete with German wartime propaganda!)- the problem is that the pictures could come from some other battle (True of all photos in books) - but they look like young SS troopers all of about 15-17, wonder which unit that could be. But the book is so eccentric that I don't think so, never seen the pictures else where. I read somewhere that until very recently around 80% of the pictures of German uniforms you see all come from one propaganda film shot during the battle of the bulge!
I have seen the M1944 been worn in other books as well (different picture) and such things as PZIV been labelled as Tigers/Panthers in books by senior Historians!
[ October 12, 2003, 07:05 PM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
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Hero of the Soviet Union is now available on my site - Mod Corner and should be available tomorrow at the Scenario Depot.
Title: Hero Of The Soviet Union
Scenario Type: Axis Attack
Date: October 1941
Battle Length: 38 Turns Variable.
Historical: Historical
Ground Condition: Damp
Temperature: Frozen
Weather: Overcast
Scenario Design: Mark Gallear mgallear@hotmail.com
Play Testing: Brian Martuzas, Carl Nogueria (Both Ex-Advanced Squad Leader designers and testers)and Schoerner. Their suggestions made it a better scenario.
In the autumn of 1941 Lieutenant Dimitry Lavrinenko commanded a T-34 Platoon in Colonel Katukov’s 4th Tank Brigade. The Brigade was formed in September but never achieved its paper strength of 93. The initial strength varies in the sources of between around 50–60 tanks of which 14–22 were new T-34 Model 41/42 supplied by the nearby Stalingrad Tractor Works, the main producer of this tank.
In October 1941 around Orel and Mtsensk, 4 Tk Bde clashed with the Panzers of General Guderian’s Panzer Group II during the German Operation Taifun, the race to capture Moscow before winter set in. In September, the Germans had broken through the Orel area, but the route to Mtsenk proved more difficult as tank casualties mounted and thick mud slowed the advance. In just four days Lavrinenko and his crew destroyed 16 enemy tanks. But as the temperature fell, the mud froze allowing the German advance to restart.
On 6th October, 4 Tnk Bde near the village of Pervy Voin to the south of Mcensk met 100 tanks and APCs of the 24th Panzer corps. According to the account in Tank Aces, the Russians set a clever ambush with the Infantry placed as decoys in trenches and dummy fighting positions, to draw preparatory enemy artillery fire and air strikes from Stukas. As the enemy advanced these men were to be withdrawn to the real line of defence. The Russian tanks were placed in defensive ambush positions, with other tanks held centrally in reserve, ready to cover key approaches. Each ambush tank had a number of predetermined ambush positions using reverse slopes and trees and could move between them undetected and was meant to open fire at point blank range of between 200-300m.
However other battle accounts suggest that this ambush was nowhere near as cleverly done. At first Russian 45mm AT-guns opened fire at the attacking German tanks but they were suppressed by massed fire. The Germans assaulted the positions of a motorized rifle battalion and surrounded the mortar company. The tanks waiting in ambush were forced to prematurely break cover to save the infantry. Lieutenant Kukarin was ordered to charge the Germans and from 600-800m his tank destroyed three fascist tanks. Only when his tank was penetrated in the side and some of the crew wounded did he order it to reverse. According to one source the tank remained in action and turret Gunner Sergeant I.T.Ljubushkin was given the award of Hero of the Soviet Union after he destroyed another 13 enemy tanks.
Lavrinko’s Platoon of four T-34s was supported by three heavier KV-1 tanks under a Sgt. K. Antonov. Lavrinenko's four T-34’s attacked the column of fascist vehicles crossing the valley. With long distance fire, Lavrinenko's group destroyed between 11-15 enemy tanks and 2 anti-tank guns, which were squashed under the tracks of the 46-ton KV.
The battle raged until midday, by which time the Germans had lost 43 tanks, 16 guns and 6 Trucks against 4 Tnk Bde loss of just 6 tanks of which 4 were repaired to fight again. The German advance was slowed to 30km in eight days. What ever the veracity of these Russian claims, Heinz Guderian in Panzer General admits that the 4th Panzer Division went through some bad hours on October 6th and that “this was the first occasion on which the vast superiority of the Russian T34 to our tanks became plainly apparent. The Division suffered grievous casualties and the rapid advance on Tula had to be abandoned for the moment. (It snowed that night and continued for the next two days.)
On 11 November 4 Tnk Bde was the first unit to gain the “Guards” title and became the 1st Guards Tank brigade. Lavrinenko took part in a total of 28 tank battles destroying a total of 52 enemy tanks out of 133 enemy tanks destroyed by the entire Brigade between October and December 1941. Lavrinenko was killed in November on the approaches to Moscow near the village of Goruna, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. (Both the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal are awarded.) Lavrienko already had three T-34s knocked out under him when he was killed. (Interestingly the battlefield Ru site claims that it is astonishing that
Lavrinenko was not rewarded.)
Sources
George Forty “Tank Aces From Blitzkreig To the Gulf War” (1997) (The Lavrinenko material appears to be based on a war time pamphlet series (comic) eulogizing such heroes.)
General Heinz Guderian “Panzer Leader” 1952
Tankove Museum web site -
http://www.sweb.cz/Tankove_Muzeum/museum/t34.html
Battlefield RU web site
http://www.battlefield.ru/t34_76_3.html
As Mod Corner is almost a year old - I thought I would plug the birthday boy!
I started to show off my mods and as I was a bit annoyed shall we say about the WG. If you still have WG problems or want a hidden unit icon the right way round or a political incorrect historical victory flag - mod Corner is just for you!I have only recently plugged the site through the Webring, never through search engines, so I have only had just over 3,6000 visitors (Ok, the forum probably gets around that per day!). In that time I have taught myself Dreamweaver, JavaScript, Flash, DHTML and Photoshop (Ok, I went on courses for the last two), so I am fairly proud of myself. :cool:
Geocities seems to like the visitors and has increased my bandwidth - don't get complaints of bandwidth outrages stopping the site anymore - so somebody thinks you are the right sort to have around! :eek:
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Title: Return To Borisov
Operation Type: Soviet Assault
Date: June 1944
Operation Length: 7 Battles, Night Falls on 4th Battle.
Battle Length: 20 Turns Variable.
Scenario Design: Mark Gallear and Brian Martuzas
Briefings Editing: Mark Gallear and Brian Martuzas.
Playtesting: Mark Gallear, Brian Martuzas, Carl Nogueria (Both Ex-Advanced Squad Leader designers and testers)and James Morton.
On June 22, 1944, exactly three years to the day that the Germans launched Barbarossa, the Invasion of Russia, the Russians launched their massive summer offensive, codenamed "Bagration". This operation was designed to hurl the Germans out of Byelorussia forever. Despite inflicting heavy losses on the Russian attackers during their drive towards Orsha and Bobruisk, the German defences collapsed under the sheer weight of Russian men and metal. Soviet forces threatened to encircle Vitebsk on June 23/24 and by the time permission was given to try a breakout it was too late for the two Infantry and Luftwaffe Divisions defending the city. Only a few ravaged battalion sized units made it through the Russian lines on the night of June 26 into a countryside dominated by Partisans.
By June 25, the 11th Guards Army had finally overcome the tactical defences of the 78th Sturm Division and began moving on Orsha. General Von Tippelskirch in the face of unrealistic orders deceived Hitler and the OKH that he was holding firm and slipped his forces back to more defensible positions across the Dnepr. Even so the last train filled with German wounded was blasted apart by T-34s, and the city fell on the night of June 26.
Reinforcements from the Ukraine in the form of the 5th Panzer Division began arriving in Minsk on June 26. Its force of Panthers, PkKpfw IVs and subordinate units such as SPZAbt 505 Heavy Tank Battalion, equipped with Tiger I tanks, made it a formidable German formation. It was tasked with blocking the heavy Soviet concentration of Armour coming down the Moscow-Minsk highway and allow the remnants of 4th Army to retreat over the Berezina River.
On June 28 at Krupki, M4A2 tanks of 3rd Guards Tank Corps clashed with the Tigers of sPzAbt. 505. The Russian tankers captured Krupki Railway Station after a night of heavy fighting and losses. North of the highway, reconnaissance companies of the Soviet 29th Tank Corps trying to cross the Berezina at Studenka were rebuffed by the Reconnaissance Battalion (AA5).
On June 29 the five Rifle Divisions of 11th Guards Army caught up with the lead tank forces and clashed with 5th Panzer Division’s 31st Panzer Grenadier Regiment at Kostrista and 11th Infantry Regiment, which was providing a rearguard to the approaches to Borisov. The 31st Panzer grenadier Regiment had managed to withdraw to Borisov, eluding the defensive positions set up astride the Moscow-Minsk highway by the Soviet 26th Rifle Division in order to prevent German stragglers escaping westwards.
On June 30 the Soviet 1st and 31st Guards Rifle divisions crossed the Skha River but were prevented from crossing the Berezina east of Zembin by continued defensive resistance from AA5. The 29th Tank Corps forced a river crossing north of the 5th Panzer positions. The commander of the 35th Guards Tank Brigade provided a crossing for 3rd Guards Tank Brigade when he ordered three of tanks to be driven into the river to form an improvised bridge. South of Borisov, two rifle divisions of the 11th Guards Army forced crossings of the Berezina River against patchy resistance from five SS Police regiments. The Luftwaffe launched a series of attacks on the captured bridges using FW-190 fighter-bombers but with little result.
The 5th Guards Rifle Division enveloped Borisov, while the 3rd Guards Tank Corps tried to break into the city directly across the main Berzina Bridge. Lt. Pavel Rak led a column of tanks from 3rd Guards Tank Brigade across the main bridge, but as they crossed German Engineers blew it up. Only Rak’s tank and another made it across with a few infantry men finding themselves trapped they fought a desperate battle for survival as soviet units entered the city from other directions. All afternoon Borisov was engulfed in Street fighting but by evening the surviving German forces retreated. The last major obstacle in front of Minsk had been overcome.
A column of Russian tanks from 3rd Guards Tank Brigade led by Lieutenant Pavel Rak tried to rush one bridge, only to have German Engineers blow it up during the crossing. Lieutenant Rak's tank along with one other, and a few riding infantrymen, successfully made it to the other side, finding themselves trapped, and desperately trying to survive by fending off repeated determined attacks. Throughout the afternoon Borisov was engulfed in fierce street fighting as more and more Soviet troops entered into the city from all sides, joining the fray. By nightfall the few surviving German forces managed to withdraw from the now devastated city
By July 1, Minsk was defended by only 1,8000 poorly organised troops, while a further 15,0000 unarmed stragglers, 8,000 wounded and 12,000 rear echelon staff from Army Group Centre headquarters attempted to flee the city by train. Demolition of key installations began and on July 2nd Hitler finally agreed to permit evacuation to begin. The bulk of 5th Panzer Division fought a series of costly battles on July 1 and 2 against 5th Guards Tank Army to keep them away from the rail lines being used for evacuation. The Soviet 2nd Tank Corps reached the southern outskirts of Minsk in the early hours of July 3 and entered the city cutting off large pockets of German troops to the east, who continued their attempts to break out. By July 9, the largest concentrations of German forces had been captured or destroyed. The 5th Panzer Division, which had started the battle with 125 tanks, was by July 8 down to just 18, with the loss of all of its Tigers.
- Players Notes –
This is a continuation of my previously released operation "The Road To Minsk". This action follows the Soviet 1st and 31st Guard Divisions as they attack towards the Berezina River crossings at Borisov.
The initial version of this operation was designed for an Allied Human player against the German AI, but it has been balanced and is suitable for a long two-player campaign. In single player it may be easier as the Germans as the AI is not good in attack. The German player has the unusual dilemma of deciding when to hold his ground and when to withdraw. If he tries to go toe-to-toe against the Russians he may find himself surrounded and isolated for the next scenario. If the German yields ground too early, then he finds his back to the wall, with only a small portion of the map to defend. When playing against the German AI, stick to the Scenario Default since the AI will not place his Germans in good defensible positions. The German player begins the operation with some stragglers set up on roads trying to reach their defence line.
The map was created from a Russian military topographical map by Larry Winslow, a long time player of the Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) game system. Originally designed for inclusion in an ASL module, this project was abandoned, only to resurface here as an operation for CMBB. I have been assisted in these efforts by Brian Martuzas and Carl Nogueira, both noted ASL scenario designers and playtesters. Special thanks also go to Scott McLaughlin and Pat Flory, from The Citadel Game Store for their previous playtesting and storage of the map. Carl gets a special thank you for mailing me this huge map to my address in the United Kingdom.
I have used the 3D map from Stephen Zaloga's "Operation Bagration" book by Osprey Publishing, to set these maps in context and to fill in the missing portions of the map required for the Russian start position.Brian wished to portray the increased mobility exhibited by the Soviet Army in the second half of 1944. Augmented with copious amounts of Lend Lease vehicles--Sherman and Valentine tanks, halftracks, Scout Cars and Ford Trucks, the Russians had shown that they had learn well from their enemy the art of blitzkrieg. In addition, this operation saw the inclusion of over 100 SU76(i) assault guns, used in large numbers for the first time. Conversely, the German Army was reeling from the weight of the Russian offensive. The German defenders here were comprised of Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, SS Police units which added (often at the point of a pistol) stragglers from various shattered units pouring to the rear.
I have added Russian paratroopers in their distinctive camouflage smocks to represent tank hunting teams, snipers, and "Razvedchiki" scouts.
"The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer impressed me with his first-person account of the savage, desperate fighting between both sides. This book has influenced my design for the German forces. Here, even elite formations--such as The Grossdeutschland PanzerGrenadier Division by 1944 was reduced to strictly using any motorized transport to move the wounded. His unit were generally only supported by a few armed halftracks and his memory of Tiger tanks was with awe at their power and rarity. He describes being constantly ill from the poor conditions but even in this condition withdrawal from battle was not an option. He also describes the change in the Soviet forces as they became increasingly mechanised and the shock when the Luftwaffe could no longer protect them and they were constantly harried by the Red Air Force.
"The Soviet Blitzkrieg" by Walter Dunn, as well as Zaloga's "Operation Bagration" were used as reference.
Mark Gallear
You can get from my website and I will be sending it to the Scenario Depot for distribution there
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IN CMBBB my wooden bridges and to a certain extent stone bridges stick up above the level of road whilist playing a turn. But in map creation view in the Scenario designer this does not happen - they look level!
Swapped my souped up Juju wooden bridge mod for orginal - made no diffrence.
I have not noticed this effect in CMBO.
I have an old Dell 400mhz PII with 16mb Nvidia Riva TNT card and driver - cannot use latest drivers!
Any ideas why this happening and can I do anything about it.
Its bugging me slightly - my tanks look as if they will miss the bridge and take a drink!
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I am doing an operation that includes stragglers along a road that the AI or a human player will be controlling in defence mode. Everything will be fine for human players but for the AI they just stand there instead of moving up to cover and there own lines.
I have tried setting them to panic but this does nothing - with or without they don’t even shoot back when an open topped AC finds them but just stand there and be slaughtered.
I suppose rout would be the best option or a script to make hem move up the road but that doesn’t exist in CMBB.
Anybody got any ideas on how I can solve this one? I will credit the author in the design notes who comes up with a working solution!
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I contacted Mapping Missions creator - Leland J. Tankersley
He informed me that you can grab it from: http://www.cmmc2.org/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=814
Not tried it yet - but will let you know what I think!
[ June 21, 2003, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
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I know that this has been asked before but what is the best way to create a map that can be used in both scenarios and operations and used for players setup their own points games.
I understood that somebody was coming out with a program to do this.
Be nice if I cut the maps down to size and change orientation for diffrent games.
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Glad you are all enjoying it!
As with every thing about Wittmann the accounts differ a lot and some disagree that he got his first Iron Cross for this action.
I suspect Wittmann battery were still in Stug As -unless they were field upgraded to B standard before Barborassa.
I found no information on what the Russian tanks were - it is July 1941 and T-34s were rare and only a few were noted in action this month. I went for the BT-7s merely because they were the best feasible Russian tanks I could realistically give them! They cannot penetrate the front of the Stug. My thoughts are that 18 T-34s would have made a mess of 6 Stugs or at least caused some damage.
Wittmann latter operated alone in the Stug in support of German infantry - which became fairly standard practise. One author on Wittmann points out that most of his kills were against tankettes - the crappy things with only a MG (in the vehicle listings), which would not have been considered a tank on the Western Front. I have noticed that some authors added in the Bren Carriers into the tank casualties at Villers Bocage – I caught one doubling the figure – I didn’t buy that book!
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Title: Wittmann's Cross of Iron
Type: Encounter/Semi-Historical
Date: July, 1941
Turns: 26
Designer: Mark Gallear
Play Testers: Brian Martuzas and Carl Nogueira - both ex-Squad
Leader designers. (Chris Martino also did some early testing).
Michael Wittmann was the most successful and famous tank
commander of World War II.
In February of 1940, Wittmann was transferred to the newly formed
SS-Sturm-Batterie (assault gun battery - Sturmartillerie),
equipped with Sturmgeschutz Ausf assault guns, of LSSAH, part of
the Leibstandarte Division. In late 1940, Michael Wittmann
started his true panzer combat career in the Balkans (Yugoslavia
and Greece). While in Greece, Wittmann took command of a platoon
of Sturmgeschutz III Ausf As and fought there until mid 1941.
On June 11th of 1941, Wittmann with the LSSAH was transferred to
the east, in preparations for the upcoming operation
"Barbarossa", which started on June 22nd but Leibstandarte was
not committed until July.
Wittmann's battery faced an attack by 18 Russian tanks on his
first day in action on the Russian front. He knocked out six of
the eight enemy tanks that faced him in succession and the rest
fled the field in disarray. On 12 July 1941, Wittmann was
decorated with the Iron Cross, Second Class for his exploits.
Designers Notes:
I had considerable difficulty getting the balance right –
Wittmann's feat in CMBB terms is hardly impressive. The game is
only semi-historical is I had no information on the terrain or
the type of Russian tanks faced in this engagement.
You can get at my Mod Corner site - will be at Scenario depot soon.
Please note I have a new page on my site wih thoughts on CMBB tactics by a Rugged Defence ladder champ at On Tactics. .
[ June 12, 2003, 04:01 AM: Message edited by: Mark Gallear ]
:confused:
No HE shells
in Combat Mission: Afrika Korps
Posted
I'm still running away but Flamming Knives is right Churchill 75 NA introduced not becuase of the lack of 6pdr HE but because it doesn't give you much whiz bang for your money.