Grenadier Ridge

[John Kettler]

Bumping this one in case Kingfish has gotten sidetracked. This was a pretty lively thread for a time.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Kingfish]

Still working on the first - Romala - but haven't forgotten about the second.

BTW, the reason for my asking about the Sherman's range comes from this excerpt:

From Monte San Michele, the tanks of the Pretoria Regiment were able to fire to down into the valley of the Middle Arno, forcing the German to abandon their positions on the Ricasoli ridge and enabling the neighboring 4th Division to push on.

Still trying to find a map that shows both locations.

[John Kettler]

Kingfish (and Michael Dorosh),

This first link looks like it'll be valuable for all sorts of projects.

http://www.regiments.org/wars/20ww2/italy.htm

This video of Show #74, although shot on a hazy day, nicely depicts the incredible view from Monte San Michele, which is where the Allied tanks were firing from.

It should give you a real sense of the ground and visuals thereto.

http://tuscany.podtravels.tv/2006/03/22/show-74-monte-san-michele/

This confirms that Monte San Michele is the highest point in the entire Chianti region and that the ruin on the mountain top was a ruin before the war arrived in the region.

http://www.sienaonline.com/chianti_hills_siena.html

While not a topo map, the one in the upper right here should help you get oriented, as well as showing how dominating Monte San Michele was.

http://www.welcometuscany.it/tuscany/chianti/index.htm

Tuscany maps, selectable by zones

http://www.knowital.com/sitewide/maps/html/mapmenumn1.html

The interactive map here will let you roam the region or zero in on a tiny piece at high magnification. Does a decent job of showing topography and forestation. Monte San Michele is in the upper right corner of the map, which is fully scrollable.

http://www.itwg.com/area9140

Here's another along the same lines.

http://www.concierge.com/destination/tuscany/map?id=google

This illustrates the overall operational situation

in the drive to the Arno. Has one level of zoom, too. Has topo data but no forestation info.

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/romar/map4.JPG

This guy may very well have precisely the map you need. He has an impressive collection and seems willing to help people.

http://members.aol.com/ItalyMap/ArmyMaps.htm

OOB for 6th SA AD a bit later, but perhaps still useful?

http://www.milhist.net/ordbat/6saarmddiv.html

A much more coeval OOB for the same unit.

http://homepages.force9.net/rothwell/6SAdiv.htm

A brief history of the unit in Italy.

http://samilitaryhistory.org/4/d04octne.html

Parts 3 and 4 here appear to be useful

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/user/52/u1566552.shtml

Hope this helps the war effort.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Kingfish]

The video is bitchin'!

I am guessing that the view with the pine tree in the foreground is looking east towards the Arno river valley.

BTW, with regards to La Romola, does anyone know which subunit from the 4th FJ defended the town during late July? Map is done, forces deployed, and overall and allied briefings finished. Just need some groggy details to add to the axis briefings.

[ May 21, 2006, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: Kingfish ]

[John Kettler]

Kingfish,

Glad to be of service! Suspect I'd be a lot more useful, though, if I actually knew the region well enough to orient myself. I kept getting lost and confusing the direction in which the action was taking place. Were the tank gun ranges I gave enough to reach the target area you named?

Regards,

John Kettler

[kawaiku]

Here is something I found on the 4th FJ.This is the best I could find on them: http://www.feldgrau.com/4FJD.htm

BTW I wouldn't mind checkin out that Romolo Map when you are done. Is it an operation or a battle?

[Kingfish]

Well then, check it out:

This is the view from the Southwest. Map is 1600 x 1120, which is the smallest of my Tuscany maps.

The view from the Northeast

A closeup of the town from the Southwest

And one from the Northeast

These shots were taken in daylight, clear weather, but the scenario parameters is night & fog.

[ May 22, 2006, 03:57 AM: Message edited by: Kingfish ]

[kawaiku]

Very Nice. How long have you been working on this one? It looks great. How many are you planning on doing of the Tuscany Maps?

[JonS]

Ahem. Why do the flags show the UK attacking Germany?

[Kingfish]

Originally posted by kawaiku:

Very Nice. How long have you been working on this one? It looks great. How many are you planning on doing of the Tuscany Maps?

Thank you. About 2 weeks, but really only a couple of hours of actual time in front of the computer.

I plan on doing at least 2 more - Grenadier ridge and Ricasoli ridge. I have 3 already completed and released.

Originally posted by JonS:

Ahem. Why do the flags show the UK attacking Germany?

Must be a default setting. The screens were taken on a copy of the actual map, but with forces removed and time set to midday. The actual scenario does show the Kiwi flag in the interface.

[Holien]

Great Map.

Looking forward to playing this one.

H

[Kingfish]

'La Romola' is up and ready for playtesting. You can snag it from The Proving Grounds

[JonS]

some typos in your breifing, corrected (IMHO) below:

By the end of July XIII Corps' advance had ground to a halt in front of the 'Paula' line, the second of two defensive positions the Germans had established south of Florence. Lt. General Sir Sidney Kirkman, GOC of XIII Corps, decided to renew the drive on the city by launching a two-division attack up both sides of Route 2, with the 2nd New Zealand Division and the 6th South African Armoured Division on the left and right respectively.

The New Zealanders would start the offensive with a series of night attacks on three key positions within the 'Paula' line, then to advance to the high ground beyond. Once established they would then guard the left flank and provide fire support to the South Africans as they attacked north along Routes 2 & 222.

The first attacks would be launched at 10pm on July 30th by the New Zealand 5th Brigade, and would call for the capture of the village of Faltignano and the high ground north of Sant' Andrea. Three hours later it would be the turn of the New Zealand 4th Armoured Brigade. Their objective - the town of La Romola.

BTW, did you get that stuff on Halpenny Force?

[Kingfish]

Oh yeah, and much appreicated. I have "Amy" and "Smith" force on one end (with the remainder coming in as reinforcements), and the better part of KG Wunsche on the other (again with beaucoup reinforcements). 20,000+ Canadian vs 12,000+ German. Needs a few landmarks and of course the briefings, but otherwise she is ready to go.

Of course, no one is actually going to play it...

[ropey]

Jeff Plowman may have the German subunits pegged. It was his article in ATB.

I have some photos of the village and neighbourhood if you're interested. (We discussed San Michele you may recall.)

E-mail me if yo uwant anything. Ropey at xtra.co.nz

[Kingfish]

I want it all

E-mail sent

[Kingfish]

OK, it's up and ready for testing at the Proving Grounds.

Large map / 8500 points / 55 turns variable. British 5th Grenadier Guards, reinforced with tanks of the Pretoria Regiment and artillery support from 6th S. African Armored Div and 1st A.G.R.A. It is designed for solo play against the Axis A.I., no German briefing is provided. Stick to scenario default, adjust the computer's experience bonus per your level of play.

This is the view from the belltower of the Abbey atop Mont Domini. A kilometer and a half away is Grenadier ridge, with a secondary peak off to the right.

As you can see the terrain in between consists of gently rolling hills, vineyards and wheatfields. It would be a pleasant afternoon stroll if not for the storm of fire the Germans would hurl at you the moment you crest the first hill, but hey, life sucks.

The opposite view. Grenadier Ridge is slight lower than the summit of Mont Domini.

The view from atop the secondary peak. The terrain to the left gently slopes downhill but is heavily wooded, making it unsuitable for vehicles.

A final long-range view from the west. Mont Domini, which you can just make out at upper right, is at 892 meters the highest point within the Greve River valley. From the summit there is only one road that takes you down to the valley floor, which eventually leads to route 222 and on to Florence. That road is the one in the center of the pic. To the left you can see the commanding heights of Grenadier Ridge. Any advance coming down that road will be in the crosshairs of the Germans on that ridge.

[kawaiku]

Left a quick comment at the TPG. I had enough time for 3 turns, it take a bit but it'll get done at some point.