CMPzC Bulge '44 Crossroads Operation - Axis HQ

[kohlenklau]

This completes the top of the inning so to speak.

Now it is the bottom half of turn 3 of 8 and to see the inner workings of the allied response, please go here: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=110963

My plan for turn 04:

I can only assault if the units are out of transport mode.

So, I will use some MP's (movement points) to get units ready for assaults.

Whatever assault I can carry-out in the top half of turn 04, I will notify my opponent of the hex location. Hex 11,10 Baraque de Fraiture!!!

I'd also like to push a unit up north of the victory hex to block any attempt at reinforcement and "isolate" the garrison thus reducing their supply state and making them terribly miss their mums and her delightful home-cooking.

[kohlenklau]

Is anybody reading this verdammt thread?

Czech this out!

@ IMolestCats: It was a roundabout!

[iMolestCats]

Well im following along, but then again to some im not really a person, some just consider me a monster. Not sure why...

Ha a roundabout! xD

[kohlenklau]

Over on the CMBN forum mods thread, M1 Garand presented his Johanna Hoeve Farm, northwest of Oosterbeek, Holland which was lifted/based from a Close Combat 2D map.

Well, well, well, looky what I have here...

[kohlenklau]

OK, it is not perfect but I can see they had to use a little artistic license to make it a bit juicier.

[kohlenklau]

Slowly getting there...

compared to the goal

[Kuderian]

Excited about a proper Winter map!

So you are using historical photos and a Close Combat map for reference?

And what about your contour lines?

[kohlenklau]

I searched but couldn't find a topo map, US Army map, etc.

Found a 12th Army Group situation map but it has no topo lines.

So, in google earth, which is awesome if you don't have it yet, you can do a "line measure" and then under edit "show elevation profile". It is based on 2013 Aerodata International Surveys. All the elevations are around 600m, so in the map editor I just use the last 2 numbers as relative difference. Use the "direct" tool. Then in street mode you can cruise the major roads and see the lay of the land.

[Kuderian]

I had a quick look in Goog le Ear th. Section lines are the polar opposite of contour lines (excuse the pun). So what do you do, draw a grid of section lines to get your topos?

[kohlenklau]

Yes.

I guess I think of it this way, if I had topographic maps with contour lines, then I'd use it as the special editor overlay and the final CM map would have little black boxes with white numbers sprinkled out along each of those vaguely seen contour lines. To use google earth, I lay down various grids and record the elevation data and then transcribe it to the CM map as little black boxes with white numbers sprinkled out. Either way, the CM engine elevation algorithm takes over and crunches the entered numbers to display the terrain.

[kohlenklau]

The map is complete and sent to my opponent for his review.

Weather: clear, cold, light snow.

[Kuderian]

I was just thinking Koh and I figured that historically clear skies are your biggest threat so shall I make a sacrifice to the rain Goddess? Strictly veggie though.

[kohlenklau]

Axis Turn 04 (of 8!)

1400, 23 December 1944.

The first thing we get to do when we start turn 04 is to see what the allies did for turn 03. We watch the replay of their half of the turn and it is somewhat ugly. Their artillery takes a special hatred to the 6th Company who suffer 55 casualties.

Additionally, direct fire from the enemy tank destroyers in Baraque de Fraiture destroys one of our Panzers in the 8th Company

Replay is over and now the paperboy arrives with the command report:

"..and the wurst (get it?) news is that this evening's schnapps ration has been used as tank petrol..."

Actually, 1 of my artillery units being unavailable is the bad news.

When in doubt, attack.

I prepare all available units for assault on Baraque de Fraiture. All units in transport mode, switch to regular mode.

I am able to attack from 2 directions with the following forces.

I will use the available Panzer Artillery (5 Hummels) for the CM assault.

[kohlenklau]

So, I have completed the Baraque de Fraiture 2km x 2km map. Later on I will upload it to the repository.

In my few days of research, I eventually discovered that the upper photo of the collage below was actually taken several years after the war (1947) during a post-war research assignment by a US CAPT J.C. Hatlem and that triangle shaped field had only been cleared AFTER the battle of Dec '44. Thus the Close Combat map is incorrect. I have put the trees in the un-cut mode for my map. This is confirmed also by a battle sketch in a US Army AAR.

Here is the sketch:

[kohlenklau]

My assaulting forces are set-up.

I also move up the Grenadier Rgt to consolidate the grasp on BdF and to be ready for any follow-on assault or defense in Turn 05.

[kohlenklau]

noob asked me to show the process where you create the CM forces that properly mirror what you have currently in your PzC OOB.

Each unit in CMPzC when in the PzC mode has I think 5 attributes we need to know to create the mirrored CM counter-part.

A. Headcount by % of full establishment

B. Morale

C. Fatigue

D. Disruption if any.

E. Supply status

noob's how to guide explains it in his words.

https://sites.google.com/site/cmpzch2hoperations/

Select the hex with your attacking units and the info is all listed on the unit counters.

Here are all the units assaulting:

Morale is in the upper right corner.

Fatigue is in the lower right corner.

So, most of my units are still High Motivation, only 2 were normal and looking at fatigue all were fit except 1 which was weakened fitness. I didn't have any disruption concerns.

So, using noob's manual, 2 of my units get limited for supply in the scenario editor.

For headcount, it is in the upper left.

For vehicles it is straight forward. If it says 2 vehicles, you just edit the tank company to get 2 of what is pictured. No support structure comes along with it that I know of.

For infantry units you can use a rounded-off value from the percentage strength. Plug that in the editor for the infantry company. It shaves you down overall.

[noob]

Morale is in the upper right corner. This corresponds to CM motivation.

A/B morale = High motivation

C/D morale = Normal motivation

E morale = Low motivation

F morale = Poor motivation

This is wrong, in our operation, CM motivation is a hard factor, and therefore constant throughout the game. Therefore, the PzC morale ratings are irrelevant to the status of the CM units.

I have just revised a section of the guide to reflect this, it reads as follows:

"In a units PzC info box there is a morale rating shown as a letter. I was going to link this to CM motivation, however I am not, as I believe that motivation can only be affected over the long term, i.e. months, years. Therefore, because most PzC operations take place over days not months, I regard CM motivation as being a factor that is unaffected in the short term, and therefore, I regard it as a constant. Determining a units motivation requires some research into the historical situation. For example, the Canadian units that fought at Caen were volunteers, therefore they would be classed as having a High motivation, whereas the 12th SS PzDiv were made up of Hitler Youth, and therefore would have Fanatic motivation. These motivation levels would not change in the course of 24 hours of fighting. However, because PzC morale changes as the unit sustains combat effects, the morale level cannot be linked to CM motivation."

[kohlenklau]

If anyone has questions on CMPzC, noob is available 24/7.

To clarify on rounding, as an example: 81,82,83 and 84 round DOWN to 80%. 85,86,87,88 and 89 round UP to 90%. Same with your 50's, 60', 70', and 90's.

Note also that for this operation, noob has set Experience and Leadership to "Typical". In his words:

"...Experience and Leadership are set to Typical to inject a touch of randomness into the game. However, once the PBEM game is started, the squads / sections / crews settings for Experience and Leadership need to be noted down, as they will remain at those levels for the duration of the operation."

[Seedorf81]

Boys, boys, boys, I'm in awe.

This is really nice. Two beautiful games merged into a very exciting one..

Years and years ago I had this fascinating "hexed" game on/at/regarding the (? Don't know the correct English word to use here. Please inform me what is the correct phrase) Vietnam war. Lost it, couldn't remember the name.

Seeing your very interesting thread made me realize that it must have been an (early?) version of this Panzer Campaign thingy. Makes me wonder how and where to obtain this game. (Saw on the internet that I can buy the game for $49,95, but that is quite a price for a pretty old game, isn't it? Certainly with Market Garden finally in sight.)

Am very interested in how the battle in CM will develop, though I have to confess that I think that it has to be a very easy victory for the Gerries. But I bet that is what the Germans believed in 1944, too.

[kohlenklau]

Oh my God! There IS someone (besides a cat molester) reading this thread!

Seedorf81, hmm, English, I am an American and it can be argued I might not command the English Language! I personally and thruthfully can say this: "Years ago, in High School, I played this war game that was based on the naval battle portion of the Falklands War. It used hexes and dice and little cardboard squares and all that stuff."

Or you could say "..this fascinating war game focused at squad level tactical combat in the jungles during the Vietnam War..." I don't know!

[Seedorf81]

Oh my God! There IS someone (besides a cat molester) reading this thread!

Seedorf81, hmm, English, I am an American and it can be argued I might not command the English Language! I personally and thruthfully can say this: "Years ago, in High School, I played this war game that was based on the naval battle portion of the Falklands War. It used hexes and dice and little cardboard squares and all that stuff."

Or you could say "..this fascinating war game focused at squad level tactical combat in the jungles during the Vietnam War..." I don't know!

Maybe everybody else is looking at Arnhem??

Or they do not understand what the Pzc/CM combo means. I have to confess that at first, despite having played this hexes-game, I didn't realize what you were doing. People who never played probably don't have a clue..

Language-wise: probably one of the most common mistakes in translating is trying to change words for words, so to speak. "If I replace the Dutch words with the correct English words, then it must be alright." Not realizing that the translation might end up in a grammatical mess. That was my mistake, I think. Thanks for your options.

And please continue with this thread, I'm very curious how the battle will develop.

[Baneman]

I'm here too.

But it could be argued that I'm no better than a cat molestor, since I regard dogs as rather useless animals.

They're good eating though, I hear

[kohlenklau]

snowification of the Bulge '44 horizons is in progress. Strangely green sky, haven't figured that out yet, but I will...

[Erwin]

Wow. Really impressive so far.

[kohlenklau]

Thanks Erwin.

I figure it will be a while til CM Bulge comes out so playing around with noob's CMPzC system using PzC Bulge '44 seemed a great idea. I should have some white helmets soon from MJKerner.