Kingfish Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 July 1944 Following the fall of Arezzo the British XIII Corp began its advance on Florence by advancing down both banks of the Arno river on a 3 division front. However, the rugged terrain of the Chianti mountains and fierce resistance from the German LXXVI Pz Corp made it a slow, costly affair. By the middle of the month the advance ground to a halt. At about this time the French expeditionary Corp, which was advancing on the left flank of XIII Corp, began to withdraw to prepare for the upcoming invasion of southern France. Their depature shifted the inter-army boundary westward, extending XIII Corp frontage by 15 miles. This presented the Corp with an excellent opportunity to outflank the main German defenses arrayed along the Arno by attacking from the southwest, where units of the 6th South African Division reported the enemy's resistance to be much lighter. To ensure success in this new drive Lt. General Sir Sidney Kirkman, commander of XIII Corp, brought up two additional divisions, the 8th Indian and 2nd New Zealand, from his reserves. Together with the South Africans these three divisions would now make XIII Corp's main effort in the advance on Florence. On July 23rd the new attacks kicked off. On the western flank the 8th Indian division attacked in a northwesterly direction towards Empoli and Montelupo, while to the east the 6th South Africans advanced up route 222. In the center the 2nd New Zealand division would drive straight up route 2 and into Florence. This would take them into the wine country of Tuscany, a region of rolling hills and long, broad ridgelines covered with extensive vineyards, olive groves and wheatfields. It is also here that the New Zealanders would encounter the magnificent Villas of Tuscany. On the German side the I Fallschirmjager Korp held the line west of the Chianti mountains with 3 divisions. Starting from west to east they were the veteran 29th panzergrenadier division opposite the 8th Indian, the 4th Fallschirmjager on both sides of Route 2, and the 356th infantry facing off against the South Africans. These units were backed up by the Tigers of schwere Panzer abtielung 508. Here are a few screenshots of the map: This is looking south from the village of Bonazza, with the Villa Bonazza 850 south and the Il Belvedere farm another 800 meters further on. From here you can also see the Borro di Terrabigia, a small stream which runs along the western edge of the ridge. Here we are looking east from the Villa Bonazza across the valley to the adjacent ridge, where the Villa Strada is located about 1800 meters away. The hamlets of Fatt. a le Lame and C.S. Antonio sit atop a smaller ridge which is between the two larger ridges. The Borro de Virginia is a small tributary of the larger Borro Bonazza. This is looking north towards the Villa Strada. The paved road leading to the NE eventually intersects with Route 2, the main highway leading to Florence. This view is from the Villa Strada looking towards the southwest. The village of Poggetto sits on the banks of the Borro Bonazza. The olive grove in the foreground is historically where the new Zealanders destroyed their first Tiger, but son't worry, I didn't include any Tigers in this scenario Finally, here is a view of the wooden bridge at Rozzi. As you can see the Borro Bonazza is easily fordable in many places, even for vehicles. However, this bridge is the only one in the immediate area, and thus the only place where vehicles can cross without risk of bogging. 55 turns / slightly less than 10,000 points total. Now, here's the problem. I don't have any briefings done for it (yet), but am working on it. If you would like to playtest this one sans briefings e-mail me. My address is in my profile. Special thanks to Richard Simovitch for his help with the 1:25000 scale Topos, JonS for research and Erik Springelkamp for hosting the screenshots. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoat Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 It's still a great map. And I see that Poggetto no longer has three g's. Advice for any playtesters: If playing as Allies vs AI, leave the Germans in scenario default. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 That's a beautiful map! Realism at it's best 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigduke6 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Mama Mia Kingfish, that's a gorgeous map! All it lacks is Sophia Loren in one of those revealing peasant dresses, even CMAK has its limits I guess. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Combat travelogues by Kingfish! Che buono! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David I Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Kingfish, Be sure to post when you get this beauty finished! I'll want it for sure. DavidI 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Excellent work Kingfishe! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenAsJade Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Who's grass mod is that? (Sorry! ) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WineCape Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 Exellentissimo! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 Ok, its up and ready for testing. You can pick it up at that bastion of beta battles - The Proving Grounds 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 WOO HOO, just snapped it up! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoat Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I see you tweaked the forces a little bit. And the map is still awesome. As soon as I get time, I'm giving this another go. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Looks very interesting indeed. Amazing what people lately can do with making maps. They keep looking better and better. Italy always has been my favorite holiday country 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbar Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 That map is outstanding, oh and a pretty good scenario as well,, thanks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropey Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Hi I visited this area last year while tracking down the Kiwi's first Tiger for 'After the Battle' (See Vol 129, The Fall of Florence). A lovely map and if you are interested in photos of the area, let me know. The Tiger in question made its way from the bottom right of the last screenshot (near Rozzi) into the valley and back up to very near the safety of Villa Strada. There it was disabled by fire from Shermans of the 18th Regt. and later destroyed by its own crew. What a shame it isn't in the scenario! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l.cassidy Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 WHOA!!! I cannot but join the chorus of praise about this map! Awesome!!! I'm going to d.load the scenario ASAP. Thanks, Kingfish! Regards, Cassidy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish Posted December 30, 2005 Author Share Posted December 30, 2005 Ropey, I am interested in any photos you have of this area. Please e-mail them to me at the address listed in my profile. BTW, here is a pic of the Tiger of Villa Strada taken by the Kiwis the day after the battle, when they discovered it abandoned in the olive grove. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Can I ask why only 55+ turns? It looks like it'd take 40 turns to walk that map unopposed. Beautiful looking map mind. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish Posted December 30, 2005 Author Share Posted December 30, 2005 The scenario is still in the testing phase, so the 55+ turns is not set in stone. That said, in my own playtest it took the 10 turns to get to Romita and another 15 to be in position to assault the Villa Strada (after a visit from uncle arty), while over on the adjacent ridge the Villa Bonnazza was attacked and cleared by T-40, although with heavy losses to both sides. I should add that I played in hotseat mode, and kept the Germans at default, so the first real contact (apart from some long range tank and gun duels and the occasional sharpshooter fire) didn't happen until the Kiwis had advanced well into the map. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigduke6 Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 Put Sophia Loren in Villa Bonazza, and I bet that would get your Kiwis to step out. If there are only nasty Germans with sauerkraut breath to encounter, who's going to rush? For additional speed put a dozen cases of Vino Puro in the Villa...ok, who remembers that scenario? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Kingfish, I played this with Bigduke6. We were constanly feeling like we were as close to real life as CM can get, due to the size of the map the units involved and the game being with CM limitations (no fog etc). I'd like to review this but can't find it at TPG. Do you have a direct link? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCW Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Bella, bella, bella, "Pravisimo"...Nice map! I've never got the hang of it... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 Originally posted by Other Means: Kingfish, I played this with Bigduke6. We were constanly feeling like we were as close to real life as CM can get, due to the size of the map the units involved and the game being with CM limitations (no fog etc). I'd like to review this but can't find it at TPG. Do you have a direct link? Thank you. Glad both of you enjoyed it. I've transferred it over to the Scenario Depot II. Feel free to add a review there. Any and all feedback welcomed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Definitely Gripping! Highly recommended and Very realistic... Good Work! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patboy Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Yeah, I already played this scenario one month ago, very interesting and lovely map! Thanks Kingfish ! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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