noob

Correct, all assaults have to be performed after "all" PzC moves and fires are performed. In this case, there is only one assault this turn.

The problem with using the AAR screen casualty read out is that it lumps all foot unit casualties into one number. Therefore, to find the amount of losses tha just the infantry companies have sustained, you have to subtract any casualties from units other than the infantry companies. Therefore, you are then forced to use the review screen to find this number, which defeats the point of just using the AAR screen numbers. Also, what happens if you have three companies of 100 men each, all from the same battalion, and all starting the CM battle with three different fitness levels i.e. Fit, Weakened and Unfit. If the Unfit company sustains 50 casualties, the Weakened one 40, and the Fit one sustains no casualties. By your method, the 90 casualties would be shared between the three companies, thus taking 30 men from the Fit company that sustained no casualties, thus reducing the most effective company by 30%. This discourages players from keeping units back in reserve, as they if they are going to take losses, they might as well get into the fighting. IMO, to just use the AAR screen read out on its own to apply casualties without using the review game screen is impossible. So, if one has to use the review screen, why not use it count the combat worthy men (green or yellow) left in a company, and then subtract that number from the PzC company. That way, PzC company losses reflect the action its CM company was involved in. Then, once a company loses over 50% of its men, it can either be removed from the operation, or disbanded, and added to depleted companies. I'm not sure how many men could be saved using buddy aid, but would it be enough to warrant the added calculations one has to do. The way I do it, after the CM battle, you just access the review screen, and then just count the men that are green or yellow. These will be the ones that can fight next time. Having to work out the percentage of returning WIA, and then having to decide who gets them, is just added work for no real reward, if all it does is give your company 2 to 5 more men. In fact, one could argue that buddy aid is more dangerous, as it forces a unit to hang around in an area that is in the firing line. If it loses more men trying to save men, then it's just not worth it. Personally, I would only use it to retrieve weapons or ammo, and only if I could be confident I wasn't going to lose more men in the process. As I said before, I don't think casualties should be linked to morale.

Ok......

@Fizou - When deciding how to transfer data from the CM battlefield to the PzC OOB, I opted for simplicity. So the role of the CM battle in CMPzC, is to either force the defender to exit the CM map, and thus have to exit the PzC hex, which is then regarded as being occupied by the attacker during next PzC turn, or reduce the PzC units headcount, making it more vulnerable in the PzC phases. Therefore, players only have to count bodies at the end of a CM battle, and then apply the modified head counts of the CM squads / sections / crews to the relevant PzC units. Also, as I am using CM motivation as a hard factor, PzC morale is irrelevant, other than to affect the combat of the PzC unit during the PzC turn. To use CM as a way of modifying PzC morale, as you are doing, you can use the method of penalising premature exiting with a PzC morale drop, and a proportional PzC morale increase for the attacker, and have casualty penalties as well. However, if I was going to use CM as a PzC unit modifier, I would use the squads / sections / crews CM morale levels at the end of their participation in the CM battle, either as a result of a ceasefire, an exit, or the turns run out. However, as CM foot units are in squads and sections, and PzC units are in companies and platoons, the new PzC morale levels of the CM companies would have to be determined by averaging out the morale conditions of individual squads / sections. That way you wouldn't have to use casualties to determine morale, which I think is problematic for reasons I have stated before, and the morale of the PzC units will more accurately reflect the morale of their CM unit equivalents after the previous CM battle. I intend to add the second method to the guide, as an alternative to the first, if complexity isn't an issue with users.

In PzC, morale is not linked to casualties, it's linked to fatigue. Once the units fatigue level goes beyond a certain level, morale drops by one level. Units displayed as losing men during PzC fire rounds, also have their fatigue increased, although that information does not appear in the hit text. So fatigue determines morale, not casualties. Then we get back to my original point, if the mission was successful, the 20% losses sustained should have no effect on morale. It's the success of the mission that should determine morale, if used as a soft factor. Thanks, I'm actually more looking forward to the end of the battle, that's where the admin fun starts, but i doubt if the map will be contested, so it shouldn't be too complex I don't want to hijack this thread, so if you wish further discussions about rules in public, we could start a new thread, or could just do it privately by email, it's your call.

This never made sense to me. Just because a unit loses men, doesn't mean their morale will go down. For example, if the unit that went from 44 to 31 men lost these men while successfully defending a position, their morale would increase IMO. Morale, if used as a soft factor, should be determined by how well, or badly, the unit, or side, thought it performed it's task, or, if the unit used exit zones too early. Nice AAR by the way.

@Kensal - Now the first CM battle of this operation is about to begin, I would like to give you a quick briefing. You will be attacking a force of no more than 100 men, with an unknown amount of AT guns. You will have 4 Companies of Infantry, 11 Stuarts, and 6 x 81mm off map mortar support, all will be available from the start of the game.I want the enemy force on this map to be captured, and consequently removed from the PzC map. Therefore you need to stop them using their exit zone. The Axis exit zone runs along the southern map edge. The Axis forces are forbidden to use their exit zone for 30 turns. Good luck.

Let battle commence. I sent the modified Buron map to the Axis CO, he added the Axis units and fortifications, saved, and returned. The pictures below show the battle parameters, the Allied OOB, and the battle map, complete with Allied deployment zones, exit zones and units. Now, all that is left it to create the PBEM file, set the Allied password, then post it to the Axis CO. He will set the Axis password, then send the file back to me. I will pass the file on to Kensal, who will fight the battle, and create an AAR in this thread.

I have modified the following page: https://sites.google.com/site/cmpzch2hoperations/panzer-campaigns/pzc-demo-scenario

I have modified the following page: https://sites.google.com/site/cmpzch2hoperations/panzer-campaigns/pzc-fortifications

Thanks for the compliment costard, not far off a CM battle now, then the work will get nicer

If you place three companies from the same battalion on the same hex, and then select Combine / Breakdown from the game UI menu bar, they will combine into one unit with the +++ sign next to the unit name to denote there are three companies combined into one. Select Combine / Breakdown again, and they will split into three separate companies.

Now I have to decide which of the units that are eligible to assault, will fight a CM battle. All the units with their movement point values displayed in green are eligible to assault. Therefore, I can assault E9 with all the foot units occupying E7. I can also assault E9 with the Stuart Company at F8. I have decided to assault with all the eligible units available, apart from the SDGH recce unit at E7. This unit has only 39 men, and will not add anything to the CM battle, but they are invaluable at the operational level, as they ride Bren Carriers, and can therefore move further on the PzC map than any other infantry unit on the Allied side. I could also add to the assault the 24 Priests of the 12th Canadian Field Regiment, and the 6 x 81mm mortars of the SDGH mortar unit. I will use the mortars, but,as the enemy units are not that strong, I will save the artillery for any defensive CM battles my forces may have to fight after the Axis PzC turn. The picture below shows the assaulting units, and their target. To set up the CM battle for Buron, the 2000 x 2000m master map of Buron is cropped as shown below. After adding the Allied and Axis set up and exit zones, and setting the parameters for weather, turns, time etc, the CM map is saved, and posted to my opponent via a dropbox folder. He will add his forces, and place any fortifications available. H e will then save the file, and post it back to me. I will add my forces and save it. The file will then be to a team member to fight as a CM PBEM game.

Below are pictures showing the stack locations, and stack OOB's of the Allied forces after their PzC turn.

Below is a map showing the Allied forces final positions. There are some units with enough movement points to perform direct fire, however, some need those points to be eligible to assault. Also, as there are no threatening units within close range of any Allied forces, any non assaulting units can refrain from firing. Not firing will save their movement points, thus allowing them to be eligible for automatic defensive fire during the Axis PzC turn.

One more move I have to make, that I nearly forgot, is to move the British 17th Field Company (Engineers) to hex H4. I intend to move it into the village at hex H6 next turn, then I can use them to dig fortifications there.

My final task for this PzC turn is to move the British troops. I move the KOSB battalion's foot units forward to the village at hex H6. This is to protect the flank of the Canadian forces, and to threaten the enemy position at hex I11. I then move the KOSB AT Guns to hex H6. Unfortunately I do not have enough movement points to unlimber them this turn. You can see the "T" next to their movement point value, this means that the unit is in Travel mode. I move three companies from the RUR battalion one hex forward to hex I5. I move the RUR mortars one hex, to hex H4. Finally, I unlimber the RUR AT guns to support D Company at hex I3.

You only get trenches I'm afraid. Count how many squads and shrek / gun sections you have on that map i sent you, then multiply that number by four. That's how many trench strips you can have. Also, as you are the CO, it's your job to place the them. So place them inside the set up zone ready for combat, then save, date, and post it in our private dropbox.

If your talking about the guide, I do see what you mean about the layout, but at the moment, I'm more concerned with getting the operation up and running, and the rules perfected and tested. But, when I get the time, I will change how it reads.

To protect the flank of A and B squadrons, I move the NNHS battalion forward to hex G7. I move the mortars belonging to the NNHS battalion to hex F6. This brings them into range of Buron (E9). I also move a battery of 6 pdr AT guns to hex F6. This will allow me to move them into Buron if the assault is successful. I then move the Cameron Highlanders (HMG) to hex E5 to protect the Allied right flank. In addition to this, I unlimber the SDGH's 6 pdr AT guns, to add more protection to my right flank. Finally, as far as the Canadian forces movement is concerned, I move the 16th Field Comany (Eng) to hex F6 to wait in reserve.

The presence of enemy armour in the area has made me decide to move two squadrons of Shermans to hex F8. They take fire from the two newly spotted stacks, resulting in an increase of fatigue to A squadron. The colour of the movement values of A and B squadron show they do not have enough movement points to assault this turn, therefore they cannot participate in the assault on hex E9. However, the Stuarts have green movement values, therefore, they can, and will, participate in the assault on hex E9. I will leave C squadron in the hex it occupies, they will act as a reserve.

Yes. I have a page prepared for continuation CM battles. I will write it up as soon as possible. But, in a nutshell, the CM battlefield of a particular hex has to be recreated as accurately as possible for damage if that hex is used in another CM battle. Also, if the defender feels that their forces can still fight after a CM battle, they can remain in the hex and fight a continuation of the battle at the end of their PzC turn. Any of their sides forces moved onto the hex during the PzC turn will arrive on the CM map as reinforcements at times determined by the attacking side. In the case of a continuation battle, the participating CM units will need to be placed correctly, and modified to reflect their final condition in after previous CM battle. The review screen function accessed via the result screen will prove invaluable for this. To contest

The two new enemy stacks are considerably more formidable than the forces at Buron. The stack at hex I11 is a battalion of PzGrd's plus heavy weapon support, while hex F14 contains between 2 to 18 Pz IV's. Like the stack at E9, the I11 stack occupies an entrenched hex. In PzC there are different levels of trench protection. This simulates the depth and complexity of the trenches. How the different levels of PzC trenches are translated to CM is explained here: https://sites.google.com/site/cmpzch2hoperations/panzer-campaigns/pzc-fortifications The level of trench protection is displayed as a modifier in the hex info box.

Now I will move some armour to hex F8, to see if i can support the assault on hex E9. I decide to move the recce element of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, consisting of a company of eleven Stuart V's. The Stuarts receive small arms, AT gun, and tank fire. The fire increases the Stuarts fatigue level, however, it also reveals two more enemy occupied hexes.

Now I have finished firing the mortars, it's now time to move an infantry company to occupy the hex containing the Recce unit. It receives small arms fire from hex E9 that has no effect. If one looks at A company's movement points, they are displayed in green, this means that they have enough movement points to assault hex E9. Therefore, I will now move the rest of the battalion forward to join A company. They receive small arms and AT gun fire, resulting in the loss of one man from D company. Because all the Allied units that occupy hex E7 have green movement point values, they are all eligible to assault hex E9 at the end of the PzC turn, and thus generate a CM battle.