Fizou

Thanks for having a go at the Italians Vein. They look stunning, as all your uniform mods!

That explains it, I was a bit baffled when I got Pz IV pictures etc playing as US (not KO:ed). Your FSB mod is outstanding umlaut, it was in no way a critique on it. Just got curious to how the whole thing works.

I was under the impression that the force screens was shown based on the side you played in a battle? Issent this true? Ive been seing axis screens playing as allies on several occasions in CMFI.

Thats correct TH. Im using MapMod for PzC (Aris HD terrain for CMFI). http://mapmod.hist-sdc.com/

The units are picked in the editor so that headcount and other data is matched to PzC. They are also named according to the PzC units. The defender must place all his forces on the map at the start of the battle, as long as they are placed on the hex that is assaulted in PzC (neighboring units may come on as reinforcements if the defender wishes but the delay for this is dictated by the PzC units speed and the time it takes to travel 1 km, as well as a uncertainty modifier to reflect the actual time it takes for them to react to the attack). The attacker on the other hand can chose when his units are to arrive on map. All at once or in intervals. The defender gets a big setup zone covering most of the map. In this case its been shrunken by the fact that allied forces are moving in from several directions. The Stuart tanks have a very small setup zone restricted to the road as they are arriving to the battle in column/travel formation (a unit in PzC must be in travel formation to assault over bridges, but we dont restrict the setup zone in bridge assault battles).

Setting up the battle The map: PzC weather conditions, time of day and hex information is used as basic information to lay the ground for the map that is to be used for the battle. This map was made 25% bigger and had some alternations to its elevation before we settled on it (In this case the axis player suggested the map and some alterations. I did the alterations in the editor and sent it back for approval. Once both of us are satisfied we move forward). It was picked among the QB maps and I recognized it from the first mission in the US campaign in FI. Allied units involved: These units will take on a units of Italian armored cars. We know they belong to the XII Corps and that there are between 1-9 (X being 1-9,XX 10-99 etc) of the AB-41 model. To translate the PzC values to CM values I use the sheets below (values that are not mentioned are set to typical, for example experience). The CM parent formation used is dictated by the unit in PzC, in this case paratroopers and Stuart tanks. In most cases its easy to pick this out. In other cases a discussion is in place. I think its good to settle on things like this before the operation begins. The units represented on map needs to belong to the CM parent formation. Every pixeltruppen on map is counted towards the PzC headcount (truck drivers etc). For tanks/armored cars its only the number of vehicles that are relevant: The major difference between the allied units in this battle when it comes to ingoing data is the fact that the paratroopers have high motivation while the tankers only have normal motivation.

Beautiful, thanks so much Vein!

Allied offensive fire & assault phase: I had only one artillery asset available at this time, my destroyer USS Buck. I elected to target the German reinforcements that are headed towards the big victory locations in and around Ribera. I will try to attack them with my Rangers and inflict some real damage with the naval fire. Other artillery assets are either on the move to get into range or are setting up to be ready to fire in coming turns. Allied assaults: Units outlined by yellow are off map assets. Assault A: My tanks have finally caught up with these armored cars that have been harassing my forces from a distance. Being able to destroy them before they can fall back and help defend the bridge over Maggazola river and the VL there would be very welcome. Assault B: The axis forfeit so this battle will not be fought in CM. Assault C: The axis forfeit so this battle will not be fought in CM. Assault D: I hope my Rangers, who probably are outnumbered, can direct some naval gun fire to put some hurt on these Germans before they can move further inland to stop me from taking and holding the VLs around Ribera. Next I will show you what happened/will happen in these too CM battles.

This is a ongoing AAR that will show the current campaign Im playing with my CM buddies, utilizing Panzer Campaigns (PzC) as a operational layer and CMFI to handle tactical action (Im no Bill Hardenberger so dont expect something great). The AAR will show one PzC turn and the CM action that takes place during that turn. I will explain how we transfer information from PzC to CM and vice versa. Im putting this together after a request from sburke. This whole idea was brought to my attention by noob and he is putting down a lot of work to package this whole concept for the CM community. He will later showcase a full campaign as an AAR on these boards. This is kind of a sneak preview. The beauty for me is that its pretty simple and with the many PzC games one can use them with the CMx2 games to cover almost any operation. Some basic mechanics of PzC and the rules (greater detail will be presented later): The turn is representing 2 hours of “real” time in game. Depending on what PzC rules are used it will be represented by several sequences (they way we are playing in this campaign) but it can also be done so all sequences are done in one single stage. The turn in our case is made up by: 1. Player 1 movement phase 2. Player 2 defensive fire phase 3. Player 1 offensive fire & Assault phase 4. Player 2 movement phase 5. Player 1 defensive fire phase 6. Player 2 offensive fire & Assault phase Movement phase: During this phase units are moved on the operational map (made up of 1x1 km hexes). What’s relevant for the use of CM: Units moved to a hex bordering a hex occupied by an enemy unit can be assaulted in the assault phase (hence leading to CM action). It’s also of importance to have your units in the right movement formation, which is handled during this phase. For example, attacking over a bridge requires your unit to be in travel formation. Defensive fire phase: During this phase units are able to put defensive fire on the enemy. The relevance for CM: In the next turn the enemy will be able to issue assaults, the fire delivered in this phase can render an enemy unit “disrupted” which will make it unable to assault (until it recovers). The defensive fire will also dictate what off map artillery assets that can be used when/if the enemy assaults you in the next phase. For example, if I fire a 105 mm battery of 4 guns on a enemy occupied hex and the enemy assaults me from that hex during his assault phase, I will get off map support from that battery. Will you target a juicy column in travel formation or is it more important to get those guns as support in an imminent CM battle? Offensive fire & Assault phase: You guessed it; your units can put offensive fire on the enemy and assault them. A unit may not move, fire and assault in the same turn so one has to decide if it wants to move and fire/assault (or fire and assault if it did not move in that turn). The offensive fire will, in the same way as the defensive fire, dictate what off map assets will be available to the attacker in a CM battle (the given battery must be fired on the hex that later is assaulted). For a CM assault to take place it must be possible to assault in PzC (unit must be in the correct formation, and it can’t have already moved and fired in that turn). The assaults will not be played out in PzC, instead the player issuing the assaults lets the defending player know where he wants to assault. The defender will then decide what battles he will agree to fight in CM. The ones he doesn’t want to bring to the CM battlefield he will lose directly, and those units will be removed from the game (counted as KIA/WIA/MIA/POW). The battles that are to be fought in CM now need maps. We usually check the existing quick battle maps / scenario maps and expand/change them in the editor to fit our needs (to fit with the hex/hexes that are fought over in PzC). This process includes a dialogue between the two players where agreements are made over what maps to use and how to edit them etc. After this exit zone objectives are added and the units from PzC involved in the battles are put in using the editor. The PzC units data is converted to CM data (including fitness, motivation, headcount, supply etc). To stop very one sided battles to be fought in CM the following rules are applied: Any unit that exits the CM map before 20 minutes have passed will be counted as KIA/WIA/MIA. Any unit that exits the CM map before 30 minutes have passed but after 20 minutes have passed suffers a penalty to its PzC Morale = CM motivation. Units exiting after 30 minutes are not penalized. This way it’s possible to conduct a fighting withdrawal and have something to fight for when greatly outnumbered. Now, some background on our campaign scenario: NW of Agrigento, 2000 hours, July 19th 1943: After an initial attempt, mainly on the US side, to drive the invaders into the sea, the Axis powers decided to withdraw toward Messina and give up all efforts to contain the Allied beachheads. This scenario examines what might have happened had the Italians put up more of a fight, and if the US had to pay for the ground it captured as the GIs drove up the coast. This scenario features a small "end-run" by US Rangers, and the arrival by air of the tough 509th Parachute Battalion, veterans of the North African campaign, who were resting but available for a quick mission. [size small – 11 turns] Designer Note: This is a hypothetical scenario for the purpose of illustrating the basic game rules as well as the new Strategy | Operations feature. Start of operation (Green Units are US, Yellow are Italian and Grey are German). This AAR takes place during 08:00 and 10:00 on the 20 july, 1943. The scenario has been going for 12 hours in game (PzC). The current situation is located below. Current situation: Allied paratroopers and rangers have been dropped/inserted. First up, allied movement: White arrows show movement paths and the letters indicate what units have been moved. Highlighted flags show what units have been moved, greyed out flags are unit that have been joined. My goal is to mop up as I move northwest to secure the crossings over Maggazola River. I’m trying to maneuver my paratroopers into locations where they can support the capture of bridges over Maggazola from other directions than the main force moving up from the southeast. I also try to hit and destroy/disable enemy artillery positions and HQs. To the west I’m using my Rangers to slow down and disrupt the German reinforcements moving towards Ribera and the big victory points. Axis defensive fire: My movements are answered by fire from the axis forces. I’m saving myself some trouble by only showing the actions that caused casualties and/or will effect coming CM action. As can be seen the 3rd Infantry Bn suffered 3 casualties as they move in on a Italian unit from the 207th Costal Division. More important is the fact that my Rangers suffer 15 casualties as their positions are hit by German reinforcements that has arrived during the morning hours. The Grille SPGs and an Italian 75 mm battery fire will be allocated to a CM battle if I assault with these units during the assault phase. If I assault the hex containing the Grille SPGs with these units, the Grille will only be portrayed on map while the 75 mm battery still will be available to the axis as off map support.

Aris, I understand your decision to reduce the amount of versions/alternatives because of time and space. When you do a numbered turret for example, would it be possible for you to also ad the clean version? If im not wrong that wouldent add very much extra work for you(?) but would give us too alternatives so the games give some more randomeness? It still takes up a lot of space so I understand if you opt not to.

Keep doing what you’re doing PT. You are a great designer and have given me so many hours of fun in CM! Don’t let a few naggers discourage you, the majority is well behind you and appreciate your excellent work.

winkelried, amaizing work!! I will love to try this out and also to use your maps for other projects. Thanks for your efforts!

Bil being Bil I wouldent be surprised if he manages to keep the rest of the Tigers ok. But Im gonna go with 2 more KO, those fire flys are deadly! And thanks for doing this Bil, your AARs are always a good read!

I notice there are a lot of sounds for the same weapon etc. Is one supposed to pick one of these or will the game cycle through them at random?

Yes, lots of great sounds

Thanks mirekm61, I will check it out later

Great news Vein, very much looking forward to this beauty!!

sburke, I'll make an AAR of one PzC turn (represents 2 hours in game time) and the CM action that takes place during that turn, explain how we translate PzC to CM and vice versa. It'll be a good teaser for noobs grand finale. One thing i love with the PzC CM relationship is that there are so many PzC games that can be used with the different theatres in CMx2. So far we have Sicily 43, Salerno 43, Normandy 44 and soon Market Garden 44 (then Bulge, Ostfront etc). Broadswords #24 post in this thread is just spot on for me. I love to bring more meaning to my CMx2 pbem battles

mjkerner & sburke, Im sure noob will fill in himself as he is still working on the CM & PzC combination. We had a couple restarts of the campaign that was shown on the boards and finally decided to put it on hold as noob wanted to work out a few problems before continuing. Me and a few others took what noob started and put in to practice in CMFI with PzC Sicily 43. It works great. The rules are keept to a minimum and there is no need for an umpire. To avoid battles that would only last a few turns we are doing the following. 1. Player on the PzC assault turn declares as many assaults as he can and chooses to. 2. The defending player accepts the assaults he wants to fight in CM. The ones that the defender dosent want to fight in CM are automatic victories for the assaulting player. 3. All CM battles have exit zones, units exited before 20 minutes have elapsed are counted as casualties. Units exited before 30 minutes has passed but after 20 minutes has passed suffer a morale penalty. Units exited after 30 minutes are treated as normal.

Looks great Aris. To bad the Elefant textures caused problems. Just added your new tiger and it looks great in game. I picked the early turrets you made before to get some extra decals as well Thanks for spicing up the game even more!

LukeFF, classic!!

With your super computer iMC? Not sure I dare to even open it in that case.

Stunning Vein! Loved you v1 infantey mods and these look even better.

Amazing as always.. looking forward to the Elefant

Wonder if we will see the Tiger II with henschel turret in MG?