WIP: New companion op-layer game for RT

[Broadsword56]

Benpark's excellent master maps for RT's Soviet Campaign look like this when laid out on Google Earth in their real locations:

Now, for those who like operational-tactical play, there's a hex-and-counter computer game designed to fit exactly with these master maps: Panzer Command Bagration:

Panzer Command Bagration is a Cyberboard gamebox + custom scenario for the classic boardgame, Panzer Command (Victory Games, 1984). Designed by Eric Lee Smith, Panzer Command is still one of the few solid Eastern Front games at grand tactical scale (company/battery counters, 500m per hex). It was the basis for Multi Man Publishing's current Grand Tactical Series, too.

One of the drags about op-tac campaigns in the past was having to make CM maps every time we wanted to fight a tactical setup from the boardgame. Either that, or play with fictional maps borrowed from somewhere else. But here, you've already got RT maps for virtually all the 25-km or so of the Orsha northern attack corridor. So all it takes is cutting out whatever segment you want from a master map to set up a HTH scenario.

A few caveats:

You'd have to own a copy of Panzer Command for its rules and charts. Copies are widely available on the used market for $20-$30 these days. Well worth having.

You'd also need to DL a copy of the GTS series rules from the Multi Man Publishing support page. I brought a few of the GTS rules into PCB, like column formation, barrage markers, rearguards, roadblocks and my favorite -- random events. These really improve the game -- but they might prove to be too much of a learning curve if you don't have some familiarity with the GTS system already.

The scenario and gamebox come zipped with my own PDF scenario rulebook, which might seem long at 20 pp, but was carefully written to be as clear and thorough as possible (with illustrated examples).

It's free to anyone who PMs me and asks nicely.

One plus of having PCB in Cyberboard is that it's totally moddable. So if anyone wants to try improving any aspect of it, open the Gamebox and have at it, then save a new scenario and share it with the rest of us. [Just be advised that any changes to my Gamebox will break any scenarios or games that were based on it, like my existing scenario.]

Post here to ask me any questions about it.

I'm going to post about PCB on other wargaming forums in hopes that it will attract more conventional grog wargamers to come over here to BFC and give RT a try. (When CM gets mentioned in those places, the replies usually suggest gamers still think we're talking about CMx1 and they don't know about CMBN or CMFI or RT. Or they mention a general distaste for computer games and don't realize that CM is nothing like the rest of the genre.)

For those who want to do op-tac campaigns with RT but want something more automated, I'd also recommend Minsk '44 in the John Tiller series. It covers a very wide scope of Bagration and you could use Noob's well-developed rulesets with it.

[mjkerner]

bS56, you know I want a copy! Pretty please? Your hard work Op-Tac for the various CMx2 games is very much appreciated, even though I haven't been able to participate in the past. Hopefully with this iteration.

Did I say pretty please? I meant pretty please with sugar on top!

Cheers!

mjk

[benpark]

That's great!

I never saw the Cyberboard map when I made the master maps, but it couldn't be a better fit. It will be very interesting to see what you come up with. The Soviet campaign uses some of the areas of the maps, but there's still a lot of space to fight over.

[Broadsword56]

That's great!

I never saw the Cyberboard map when I made the master maps, but it couldn't be a better fit. It will be very interesting to see what you come up with. The Soviet campaign uses some of the areas of the maps, but there's still a lot of space to fight over.

Lol -- you didn't see them because yours came first and I made sure my hexmap used the same basic area.

[Broadsword56]

bS56, you know I want a copy! Pretty please? Your hard work Op-Tac for the various CMx2 games is very much appreciated, even though I haven't been able to participate in the past. Hopefully with this iteration.

Did I say pretty please? I meant pretty please with sugar on top!

Cheers!

mjk

Check your e-mail, mj

[kipanderson]

Broadsword56, hi,

You are wonder of the much hoped for Operational Layer crowd... .

Superb... Operational layers add a huge amount of context and therefore fun... .

Congratulations... !!

All the best,

Kip.

[mjkerner]

Wow, BS56, your so easy!

Thanks a million!

[benpark]

Lol -- you didn't see them because yours came first and I made sure my hexmap used the same basic area.

Ha! The smart way to do it!

[Fizou]

Nice BS56 .

[Broadsword56]

I've updated the Orsha scenario rules to v 1.03

PM me if you want a copy.

(Mostly just adds little things here and there that were discovered as errors & omissions during play, some clarifications, updated errata, etc.)

[Broadsword56]

I've got a Version 2 gamebox and scenario now, and v2 rules, containing a number of upgrades and fixes.

Previous saved games won't work with it, however. So it's only good if you want to start a game from scratch.

[JM Stuff]

Very good thanks to share your idee and your work

waiting for more...

...with sugar and a milk cloud!

[Tactical Wargamer]

Looks amazing!!! Thanks for all your hard work. Wondering is there other Master maps that would work well with CMRT/Cyberboard or Vassal for any of the CMx2 franchise.

[Tactical Wargamer]

Curious is this the location one would find the file? Loaded up

panzer command but didn't get the same map? any ideas guys?

http://www.limeyyankgames.co.uk/lyg/cyberboard?items_per_page=All&=Apply

[Broadsword56]

Curious is this the location one would find the file? Loaded up

panzer command but didn't get the same map? any ideas guys?

http://www.limeyyankgames.co.uk/lyg/cyberboard?items_per_page=All&=Apply

You don't need the original Panzer Command Cyberboard gamebox.

Just load my Cyberboard gamebox and scenario.

What you need to go with it is the Panzer Command boardgame, for its rules and charts.

Used copies frequently appear online for approx $25-$35 US.

[Broadsword56]

Since I've sent this Bagration gamebox and scenario to three people today, I'm thinking some of you who aren't already familiar with the Panzer Command rules system might find this new tutorial video useful:

http://boardgamegeek.com/video/48150/where-eagles-dare/where-eagles-daregrand-tactical-series-gameplay-cr

The video is for Where Eagles Dare in the MMP Grand Tactical System, but that system is based on Panzer Command and plays in a very similar fashion. So, once the Grand Tactical System makes sense to you, Panzer Command becomes much easier to grasp and you can discover the joys of Where Eagles Dare and The Devil's Cauldron, both excellent games to use as op layers for CM2 Market Garden.

[Tactical Wargamer]

You don't need the original Panzer Command Cyberboard gamebox.

Just load my Cyberboard gamebox and scenario.

What you need to go with it is the Panzer Command boardgame, for its rules and charts.

Used copies frequently appear online for approx $25-$35 US.

Just ordered!

[Tactical Wargamer]

Since I've sent this Bagration gamebox and scenario to three people today, I'm thinking some of you who aren't already familiar with the Panzer Command rules system might find this new tutorial video useful:

http://boardgamegeek.com/video/48150/where-eagles-dare/where-eagles-daregrand-tactical-series-gameplay-cr

The video is for Where Eagles Dare in the MMP Grand Tactical System, but that system is based on Panzer Command and plays in a very similar fashion. So, once the Grand Tactical System makes sense to you, Panzer Command becomes much easier to grasp and you can discover the joys of Where Eagles Dare and The Devil's Cauldron, both excellent games to use as op layers for CM2 Market Garden.

Sweet!

Which one Broadsword would you recommend to start with? Oh and how much of board wargame is covered by the respective master maps?

[Broadsword56]

@RCMP: Since you just bought a copy of Panzer Command, that's a great place to start. Learn that game first and you'll be on solid footing for the GTS games.

Among those, I suspect the most popular will ultimately be the newest in the series, still in prepub, called The Greatest Day. It covers D-Day and the first week of the Normandy campaign, in the British sector. It should be a perfect companion to CMBN Commonwealth. I think the Pegasus Bridge scenario alone would make an outstanding CMBN op-tac campaign. Also, Adam Starkweather has designed a simplified Assault Combat routine for TDC that should address a lot of the concerns about time and complexity that players expressed about the earlier games.

But among the three published GTS games, I'd recommend Where Eagles Dare. It's the Hell's Highway portion of Market-Garden, from the Belgian frontier up to just south of Nijmegen. The reason is that the system underwent a lot of refinements since The Devil's Cauldron. But TDC is excellent too and just the ticket if you want to play with those brave paras in Osterbeek and Arnhem, or see what you can do with the 82nd Abn in Nijmegen and Goesbeek Heights. Plus, TDC has all those badass 9th and 10 SS Pz Div units too.

Re: master map coverage -- I haven't really laid WED and TDC hexmaps out over the CMBN Market Garden master maps to see exactly how much of those campaigns is already mapped in CM. From what I've seen, I think you'd find a lot more of the master maps fall into the Arnhem and Osterbeek and Nijmegen sectors, which are all within the Devil's Cauldron boardgame. But even there, if you were really playing the boardgame as an op layer for CMBN-MG you'd still probably find yourself needing to make a lot of maps from scratch to stage battles at various points in the game.

Which is precisely why I made Panzer Command Bagration -- the master maps came first (thanks to benpark, who did them for the RT Soviet campaign), so I made a hex-and-counter map that matches them exactly (or as exactly as I could). So there are very few areas in my game that don't already have the same area mapped in RT. Staging battles is simply a matter of figuring out the Red Thunder OOBs and defining the relevant master map area, then cutting the master map down to the needed size. That still takes time, mind you, but a lot less time.

So far in my first op-tac campaign using my game with RT, I've reached 1100 hrs on 23 June (Day 1 of 3), and it's going pretty much along historical lines:

- A bloodbath for both sides that favors the Soviets because they can afford the losses and the Germans can't.

- Slow, grinding combat by the lead Soviet division that has almost but not quite penetrated the German first fortified trenchline near the Peat Cuttings at "C" on the screenshot (but there are two more fortified lines to go before a breakout can truly be achieved).

- Clear weather at the start that let the Soviet tac air inflict lots of damage and suppression to the German fixed positions, but a Random Event just changed it to overcast (which ends air support for the rest of the day unless another random event changes it again).

I also had one cool thing happen at the boardgame level -- an "Ambush" random event that let the Soviets knock out a small dug-in German AT platoon (at "D" on the screenshot) that had been holding off the better part of a Soviet regiment all morning. (In my imagination it meant a small Soviet team had infiltrated in through the woods and hit the Germans from behind with a suprise assault.)

German artillery in the vicinity of "G" is starting to hit the lead Soviet units at "C" and slow them down.

At "E" some frontline Germans are already cut off. (no LOC due to enemy units or fire zones). If they stay icut off for 24 consecutive hours, they're removed and the Soviets earn VPs. (in my game rules the Soviets get VPs for German steps removed due to cutoff but not for German units KIA, because the campaign objective is rapid penetration to isolate Orsha and encircle as many Germans as possible.)

The 27th Guards Rifle Regiment has, under cover of a barrage, made a successful ferried crossing with the help of a sapper company, right under the nose of a fortified German position at "F" on the screenshot. Advancing in that sector would be difficult though, due to all the marsh terrain behind the German front line.

The Soviets on the exposed German right flank could also cross the river these, but attempts to do it using "ad hoc ferry" rules (simulating the Soviets use of improvised rafts and local civilian boats when engineer boats weren't handy) have failed so far.

The 1st Guards Rifle Division has arrived, but the trails and river crossings at the Soviet bridgehead are so packed with units that it's difficult to thread fresh infantry and armor through all the congestion to reach the tip of the spear. The lead division will need to either advance to make room, or die to make room, in order for the follow-on forces to truly join the fight.

On tactical level, I've only fought one RT battle from this campaign so far -- a bloodbath of a frontal assault at 0900 on a key German fortified strongpoint on the north shoulder of the Soviet penetration, location "A" on the screenshot. Sburke and I called a halt to the RT battle when, in about 60 minutes, the Soviets had wiped themselves out and the last few occupying Germans -- on the verge of collapse -- were saved by the timely arrival of a reinforcing Stug company and Shrek platoon.

But this armor is the only serviceable armor left in the German 256th ID in this sector. So while my opponent might have run wild with it in a standalone RT game, he elected to pull it back so it could fight another day. The position became a smoking, cratered, corpse-littered no-man's-land until 1100 when the Soviets, thanks to better initiative, infiltrated some AT rifle platoons into the position to occupy it. But they're a small force, vulnerable and still in column, and the German armor is still just adjacent to the SW. So there could be another fight if the Germans can activate before the Soviets can occupy the position in strength.

We also found that frontal assault battles on entrenched/fortified positions aren't as much fun, from a game enjoyment standpoint, as they might seem. We played it in RT more as an experiment to see how sunken and ditchlocked trench positions and realistic force densities would work out in RT. If you've seen those "over the top!" scenes in WWI movies, you can imagine how it went. One thing that made it dull was that the sunken trenches, while adding more realistic protection and defilade for the Germans, also hid them from spotting. So we fought nearly the entire battle with very few of our infantry ever even spotting each other directly.

As in real life, the terrain will tend to funnel any Soviet advance along the single-track RR line toward Asintorf -- where the ground is firm and drained enough to give armor a path through the marshes. This area is also a German divisional boundary between the 256th Infantry Division and 78th Sturm Division

My hope is that eventually the Soviet breakout will happen and there will be a swirling mobile meeting engagement between the penetration force and the arriving German 14th Infantry Division. Could make for some great RT setups. But it all depends on how soon or how late the decisive breakthrough happens, and how numerous and fresh the leading Soviet units are when they meet the counterattack.

[Broadsword56]

Situation at the end of Turn 4 (now 1300hrs) on Day 1 (23 June, 1944):

Notes on the latest action:

A: Under cover of a barrage, a perfectly executed ferry crossing by the Soviet 27th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment/11th Guards Rifle Division. The Soviets sent one company to fix a German company in its fortified position, while the rest of the regiment crosses further north to outflank it on the left. The German company frantically tried to make contact with three supporting artillery batteries to the rear, but failed each time (the barrage having cut the phone wires, I imagine).

B: A lone German shrek platoon, decimated and under constant fire and artillery barrage in the woods, continues to frustrate Soviet attempts to force a breach and clear the main road in the center. The shrek platoon's valor was particularly noteworthy because its armor support (a depleted StuG company) withdrew about 500m to the SE. A fresh Soviet SMG company managed to suppress the Germans but became suppressed itself by the German minefield. Some supporting SU-76s are suppressed by the mines now, too.

C: Two companies of 1/195 Sturm Regiment/78th Sturm Division, remain cut off in their fortified positions. Their resistance channels the enemy attack and makes the attackers' job even harder in this close terrain.

D: Using sapper ferry boats and ad hoc rafts, fresh Soviet forces arrive on the S bank of the stream and start to turn the right flank of the first German fortified line.

Summary: The eggshell of the thin German defense shows new cracks, but continues to hold for now. The new threats on the German flanks aren't as dire as they might seem, because of the marshy terrain in those areas. But they give the Germans more problems to think about and spend resources reacting to. Much depends on the weather: It has turned overcast, preventing Soviet airstrikes that could otherwise help clear some of these stubborn bottlenecks. The Soviets have also used up their allotment of two army/corps/divisional artillery Fire Plans for the day. So the attacking Soviet units will have only their regimental heavy mortars and howitzers available. As a result, the grinding battle of attrition is likely to continue through the afternoon.

[Broadsword56]

By Turn 5 (1300-1500 hrs) the first Soviet breach in the German line appears.

A lone company of the 33rd Guards Rifle Regiment opens the way.

It's immediately suppressed by German artillery.

An immediate German counterattack is expected at any moment.

Just behind the lead Guards company, a sapper company blows a roadblock and opens the forest trail for reinforcements. Then the sappers star moving up to rescue the infantry.

But the Germans move swiftly to seize this fleeting opportunity for a counterattack to isolate the lead Soviet units and pinch them off before the massive force of armor and infantry behind them arrives...

This is the setup for the HTH battle, "Out on a Limb."

The Germans will be following these orders:

Date: 23 June, 1944

Time: 1410 hrs

Weather: Overcast, wind W, gentle

ENEMY:

Advanced elements of 11 and 1 Guards motorized rifle divisions, altogether in approximately regimental strength. Some armor (several SU-76 vehicles) is among the force. The lead unit, a company of 33 Guards Rifle Regiment, occupies a 500m breach in our fortified line at OBJ WOTAN. It is under bombardment and appears weakened and suppressed. It was isolated until, within the past hour, an enemy sapper company blew a path through a roadblock near OBJ FRICKA and is attempting to reinforce OBJ WOTAN.

OVERVIEW:

Approximately 1 km E and SE of OBJ WOTAN, the enemy has outflanked our first defensive line and is infliltrating through the peat bogs (offmap) toward our right rear. If OBJ WOTAN remains in enemy hands, their central and flanking attack forces will link up, widening the salient and cutting off a force of the 195 Sturm Regiment that is still defending its fortifications 1 Km NE of OBJ WOTAN. We have a fleeting opportunity to quickly pinch off the tip of the Soviet spearhead before follow-on forces and armor arrive, and while the overcast skies keep Soviet aircraft grounded.

MISSION:

Immediate counterattack on OBJ WOTAN to seize it by 1500 hrs. Consolidate on the objective and defend in place if sufficient time remains.

ORDERS TO SUBORDINATE ELEMENTS:

Offmap artillery -- Maintain continuous bombardment on OBJ WOTAN and OBJ FRICKA.

1/PzJgr 256 (StuG company attached to the 195th) – Withdraw to OBJ DONNER and defend in place.

2/1/481 Grenadier Regiment, 256th Infantry Division – Advance on AXIS STAR and deploy vicinity on POINT 4507 with LOS to OBJ FRICKA. Base of fire on OBJ FRICKA to pin and isolate any forces there from reinforcing OBJ WOTAN.

KG Grunling – comprises 3/1/195 Sturm Regiment, Sturmpioneer Company 195 (flamethrower equipped), and 1/PzJgr Battalion 78 (Nashorns). Assemble at POINT 4408, then attack on AXIS KORMORAN to assault and occupy OBJ WOTAN. If time remains, consolidate on the objective as follows: 3/1/195 defends in place and links up with adjacent forces. 1/PzJgr Bn 78 and Sturmpioneers withdraw to mobile reserve at OBJ DONNER.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Rally point for KG Grunling: OBJ DONNER.

3/1/195 Sturm is dismounted and en route to the assembly point along the S leg of the single-track railway line. Sturmpioneer company is mounted and en route to the assembly point via the N leg of the railway. 1/PzJgr Battalion 78 is offmap and about 5 minutes behind them, so they should arrive as reinforcements soon.

The companies of 195 Sturm Regiment occupying fortified positions in the SE corner of the map are under orders to defend in place. However, their commander’s resolve is questionable and it’s possible those units may attempt to withdraw before they are cut off. If so, you might see the elements of the 4th (Heavy) company appear at some point on the forest trail where it meets the S mapedge.

VICTORY CONDITIONS:

VP points pool is 1,000 for both sides. For the German side, all of the VPs are for territory (8 different objectives of increasing point value, indicated on the RT map ingame). For the Soviet side, 700 VPs are for territory and 300 are for destroying certain German units (more points for armor, less for pioneers, and even less for grenadiers).

HOUSE RULES:

1. At deployment, German player must place an opening artillery barrage on OBJ WOTAN and maintain it under barrage as long as possible.

2. At deployment, one German unit is suppressed. The Pak 75 battery (2/AT Bn/195 Sturm Regiment ) begins suppressed. It must be set to HIDE and have a 10m cover arc for the first 2 minutes of the battle.

3. Soviet indirect artillery may only target TRPs, and the TRPs must be left in their preset locations on the map.

4. At deployment, Soviet artillery must be set to bombard the TRPs near the three “SOVIET OPENING BARRAGE” landmarks. The Soviet player must maintain these three barrages as long as possible in the battle. Any other artillery that isn’t hitting those designated areas may be used on other TRPs anytime, at the player’s choice.

5. At deployment, two Soviet units are suppressed. They are: 1/2/33rd Guards Rifle Regiment, and 1/1/33rd Guards Rifle Regiment. They must be set to HIDE and have a 10m cover arc for the first 2 minutes of the battle.

[mjkerner]

Hi Broadsword, got your email, but l

I've been mistakenly locked out of the account. Should be fixed shortly. I'm interested if you don't have an opponent yet.

[Broadsword56]

@mjkerner: Thank you, but kipanderson has risen to the challenge and the battle is now under way.

I'll post here with updates when interesting things happen, or maybe a summary AAR and some screenies. Also, if this HTH scenario proves to be a keeper, I'll release it for general use. Someone might even want to code some AI on it. It's being fought on a section of Master Map 1 from the RT Soviet Campaign. And there are no buildings in this particular area, so the building bug is not a factor either. All I really had to do to set this battle up was cut down the master map and make the OOB. Then I customized the map with cratering and war damage in the areas where shelling and combat have happened in my boardgame campaign thus far.

I'll be curious to see how all those Nashorns perform when combined with sturm grenadiers and flamethrower-equipped sturmpioneers. The Soviets do have a few SU-76s lurking about to make it interesting. And the Germans have to guard against excessive friendly armor casualties because those will put unit VPs on the board for the Soviets. The battle time of 50 minutes should be plenty long enough for KG Grunling to sweep in for a hasty counterattack. But they need to go for the jugular and consolidate quickly, because the Soviets will be trying to push considerable follow-on forces up the forest roads.

This attack wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the change in weather (clear -->overcast) due to a random event chit draw in the op layer, which silenced the Red air force for the time being. Otherwise, a dozen or more Nashorns and motorized pioneers moving in daylight along the single-track RR would have been sitting ducks.

[Broadsword56]

An aerial of the map showing the terrain and German objectives:

You can see there's some good clear and dry ground along the attack axis that the German armor can use to support the attack.

A closeup of the VLs (The Soviets have pretty much the same ones, only theirs are worth fewer points each because they also gain enemy unit destruction points):

[tdogg]

I love the idea of you releasing the battle to the repository. I would love to play this with some AI, almost as good as being part of the campaign, next best thing for those that are can't take part due to RL constricting available time. Playing a battle generated by your operational campaign layer is a great concept.