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New Mission - Chervone


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As stated in @kohlenklau's Christmas 2022 Scenario Thread ....

My offering is set during the current Ukraine conflict.  The scenario is fictional but set in a real place and was certainly an action that could have been fought had Russian forces made a serious attempt to push south to Barvinkove in May this year.  The scenario is centred on Chervone on a 4.8km x 3.6km map:

Topo Overlay

1003969058_ChervoneTopoSpecialEditorOverlay.jpg.b939947a4df9f9b7f569e9bc09637337.jpg

Google Earth Overlay

747023896_ChevroneGESpecialEditorOverlay.thumb.jpg.d34ff9554ae7779976255bdc5104b831.jpg

The Combat Mission Editor View

1817682868_ChervoneEditorView.thumb.jpg.1bcb1b236c07cf90631e2e3668161079.jpg

The Combat Mission 3D Map Preview View

1022455427_Chervone3DOverhead.thumb.jpg.f38c149fa7aa21254ca43d89e3a92e75.jpg

More details to follow ...

 

 

 

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So here are the draft orders - this is a Blue vs Red AI mission only:

Situation
It is 1100hrs on 07 May 2022, two Russian brigades (5 Separate Guards Tank Brigade and 37 Guards Motor Rifle Brigade) have recently arrived in occupied territory to the north of Barvinkove.  Russia remains committed to pushing south from the general direction of Izium with the intent of securing Sloviansk.  Weather conditions are generally favourable to friendly operations with a slightly overcast sky, cool temperatures, a gentle west to east wind and damp ground conditions.

Mission
81 Reconnaissance Company Team is to delay 37 Guards Motor Rifle Brigade’s advance on Barvinkove in the vicinity of Chervone no later than 1200hrs 07 May 2022 in order to allow for the completion of defensive positions.
Tasks – refer to the operational graphic.

Friendly Forces
81 Reconnaissance Company Team is commanded by 81 Reconnaissance Company HQ and centred on a single platoon from the company which has been allocated 3 x Stugna ATGM teams.  Also attached to the team are three unarmed UAV detachments and a single armed Bayraktar UAV detachment.  Offensive support available comprises an organic off map 82mm mortar platoon, all of these assets are immediately available.  The 1st Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion/81 Brigade Artillery Group (18 x 2S1 122mm howitzers) is currently setting up and will be available from 1105hrs.  Four Target Reference Points to assist in cueing your fires have already been registered.

Enemy Forces
An assessed motor rifle battalion tactical group preceded by elements of 37 Guards Motor Rifle Brigade’s reconnaissance company was identified heading south from Velyka Komyshuvakha towards Chervone earlier this morning.  Multiple source reporting from loyal citizens and UAV coverage tracking the enemy column south confirms a motor rifle heavy tactical group equipped with T-72 and BMP-2.  Lead elements of this column have just entered the area of operations in the following order of march:  3 x BMP-2 and 2 x BRM-1K (assessed as brigade reconnaissance elements) and, approximately five minutes away, a column led by 3 x T-72 followed by 8 x BMP-2 and, after that, three other elements at approximately five-minute intervals.  Total enemy strength is approximately 50-60 vehicles, mostly BMP-2.  The enemy is expected to repeat the mistakes seen since the start of the invasion by remaining road bound and attempting to secure Chervone by a simple brute force frontal attack.

Plan
The choice is yours commander but your plan should treat the intelligence information as reliable and plan to make best use of your UAVs, indirect fire and long-range anti-armour assets in order to minimise close range engagements which will put you at severe disadvantage.  Getting your setup right in terms of acquiring anti-tank weapons, organising your dismounts and deploying them is important.  Of greater importance will be placing your four Target Reference Points as well as ensuring your surveillance assets have comprehensive coverage of the main road into Chervone in order to give you the best chance of success.  Although the mission length is one hour, you can cease fire as soon as your last unit has exited the map anywhere along the exit zone along the southeast, south and southwest areas indicated.  Note that any of your units remaining on the map at mission end will accrue points to the enemy.

Notes
LINE ZUBKOV (Named after Lieutenant Ivan Zubkov who was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine on 09 June 2015 for calling artillery on himself during the battle for Donetsk Airport) is an exit zone for enemy forces which means that enemy forces should be prevented from exiting the map in order for you to gain maximum points in relation to your Destroy objectives shown on the operational map graphic under “Tasks”.

Here are the associated graphics:

Strategic Map

254567874_StratMap.jpg.ed4674330c5d89332a0b4bc7ba8550f5.jpg

Operational Map

824309925_OpMap.jpg.b05942714b5ef247a05a680152a31b87.jpg

Tactical Map

1851918145_TacMap.jpg.6d0fc57f9105671176644f0b19109bf5.jpg

 

Edited by Combatintman
Corrected schoolboy error of double posting the Strat Map
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Getting there .... here are the designer notes:

Overview

The genesis of this mission was the various discussions about what a dispersed light infantry force augmented with good ISR able to cue indirect fire assets was capable of.  As such, some might contend that this is not a scenario at all but more a test of the concept fielded by the Ukrainian military.

With that in mind, this, “mission/scenario” may not be to everyone’s taste but I’m pretty sure ISR types, targeteers and “dropshorts” (gunners) will love it.  For those of you not in any of those categories, there is still something in the mission for you.  Potential takeaways being:  learning how to plan ISR and cue fires against a fairly predictable enemy which of course, at that stage of the conflict, the Russians were at the tactical level; seeing how important so-called “soft factors” (training and morale) are in warfare; and, I hope to get a sense of how the war was fought during that particular phase of the conflict.

Map

Chervone is a real place, and I chose it because when I started making this mission in May, there seemed every chance that a Russian BTG would venture south along the road which runs through Chervone as part of an attempt to drive south to Barvinkove as part of the wider operation to take Sloviansk.  I also wanted a large map to give the player plenty of space to work in with a mix of terrain types.  Chervone, although it never ended up being contested, fitted the bill.

Units

According to a few sources, the units named in the scenario were in the area at this time and could plausibly have fought over this piece of ground in May 2022, but I make no claims for accuracy in this regard.  37 Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, according to one source was T-72 and BMP-2 equipped so the major equipment types for the Russians are more or less correct.  Due to the limitations of picks in the editor, I have had to use US UAVs and their controllers for the Ukrainian side and the overall Ukrainian force structure was designed more or around testing the agile light infantry supported by ISR and indirect fire assets concept than any attempt to model an actual TO&E.  As we saw so much of the Stugna ATGM in a lot of early footage, I opted to include these rather than the better-known US Javelin.  The advantage of this of course is that it avoids another slightly untidy US substitution.  The named units; therefore, are simply to give a narrative and backdrop to the scenario.

Dedication and Thanks

I cannot finish without mentioning “that thread” on the Battlefront Forum.  Some have been critical of the time devoted to it but without it, this mission would not have been possible.  While it is true that some of the discussions have gone down rabbit holes, it is a treasure trove of resources and links for scenario makers and special thanks go to our friends from the conflict zone for their invaluable insights, unearthing content in both Russian and Ukrainian, and helping outsiders like me make sense of it.  As a dedication and a reminder that war is a visceral endeavour that affects real people, I dedicate this mission to my friend and erstwhile colleague Alex, who I will not name in full for obvious reasons.  He left Kabul on 25 February to return home and ensure that his wife and young child got to safety before joining a Ukrainian Territorial Force unit.  Very much a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire and I am pleased to say that his family are safe in a third country.  He is currently a JTAC and as of a fortnight ago was supporting offensive operations in the Kharkiv area.  This one is for you mate and I very much hope to be working with you again in the near future.  Otherwise, as with all of my stuff, I hope you find the fruits of my labour enjoyable.  Regards Combatintman.

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On 10/18/2022 at 11:54 AM, Combatintman said:

More than getting there ... it is up:

CMBS – Chervone (thefewgoodmen.com)

 

I downloaded the file and shifted the btt file into my CMBS scenarios folder - but can't see the scenario file to open. I'm using 2.13 game engine 4, so not sure why I'm not seeing this. I see the file in the editor but again when i open it I just get a blank map.

I'm wondering if you used elements unique to the battlepack in this? As I see battlepack scenarios are greyed out.

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10 hours ago, George MC said:

I downloaded the file and shifted the btt file into my CMBS scenarios folder - but can't see the scenario file to open. I'm using 2.13 game engine 4, so not sure why I'm not seeing this. I see the file in the editor but again when i open it I just get a blank map.

I'm wondering if you used elements unique to the battlepack in this? As I see battlepack scenarios are greyed out.

I have the battlepack but I thought that the battlepack was just battles which is why I didn't specify it as a requirement.  I'll check mate and amend accordingly - thanks for the heads-up.

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I love how you stuck to the satellite image as best as possible. IMO it makes the difference visually. 

I don't mind jagged roads, but I do mind roads that are totally off angle. I try to find a happy medium, but always try to stick within touching distance of the overlay's road. 

This looks excellent and I'll get to it soon

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6 minutes ago, Artkin said:

I love how you stuck to the satellite image as best as possible. IMO it makes the difference visually. 

I don't mind jagged roads, but I do mind roads that are totally off angle. I try to find a happy medium, but always try to stick within touching distance of the overlay's road. 

This looks excellent and I'll get to it soon

I'm not a fan either but it is always a balance between keeping to the topography and avoiding zig zags.  This one was pretty easy as the main road is pretty much north to south and the roads coming off it aren't too crazy.

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21 hours ago, George MC said:

I downloaded the file and shifted the btt file into my CMBS scenarios folder - but can't see the scenario file to open. I'm using 2.13 game engine 4, so not sure why I'm not seeing this. I see the file in the editor but again when i open it I just get a blank map.

I'm wondering if you used elements unique to the battlepack in this? As I see battlepack scenarios are greyed out.

My version is 2.16 so you need to patch - deffo nothing to do with the battlepack.

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1 minute ago, Combatintman said:

I'm not a fan either but it is always a balance between keeping to the topography and avoiding zig zags.  This one was pretty easy as the main road is pretty much north to south and the roads coming off it aren't too crazy.

I can see in the city you have some of the zagging. When I was actively working on my version of Donestk Airport map (Based around Snake_eye's terminal and airfield) I had to deal with zags on every road. Not much on that map is straight.

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1 hour ago, Artkin said:

I can see in the city you have some of the zagging. When I was actively working on my version of Donestk Airport map (Based around Snake_eye's terminal and airfield) I had to deal with zags on every road. Not much on that map is straight.

Village mate and not much of one at that - I've lived in two that are four times the size of Chervone ... I know to a lot of map makers four structures = a village, 8 = a town and 12 = a city but not this callsign.  One of my particular scenario bugbears and why in the main all of my maps are based on real places as this avoids such schoolboy errors.

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12 minutes ago, Combatintman said:

Village mate and not much of one at that - I've lived in two that are four times the size of Chervone ... I know to a lot of map makers four structures = a village, 8 = a town and 12 = a city but not this callsign.  One of my particular scenario bugbears and why in the main all of my maps are based on real places as this avoids such schoolboy errors.

I'm in - map is impressive - weel done sir! :)

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27 minutes ago, Combatintman said:

I even used a stack of flavour objects mate 'cos I know you love 'em ...

I saw that - I'm well impressed :)

Really works at this level. I'm dodging about amongst your village. Interesting tactical challenge - though some of the close combat scenes are grim and reflect footage from the war.

All kudos to you mate.

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