Locarnus Addon 2026-01, for Battlefield Europe, OC, AK, SC and Grand Campaign East

[bondjamesbond]

Throwing foil from an Avro Lancaster aircraft over Hamburg during Operation Gomorrah. This was how the RAF created
interference for German locators. 25 July 1943.

I did not know about them dropping foil to make detection more difficult!
UK was really ahead in the recon, camo and military intelligence aspects.

Love all those pictures and information.

I still have a lot of tricks up my sleeve. Studying military history is, let's say, my hobby in my spare time. Well, how to incorporate different information and implement it in this game is your undisputed forte.

[goose_2]

Here are some thoughts over which units I am bringing to Vilna and future thoughts on each of these units:

Recon bringing both into Vilna, and my goal for both of them to try and get them to at least 1000 kills, not sure if I can get them to 5 stars in 45, but not sure as I see them as difficult to utilize in effective ways to rack up exp or major kills. They are what they are and 4 stars and hope for 3 heroes is the focus.
.Panzer II 5cm 44 r9 ............... i1a2 ... Blast ................... 888 ... 415
.SdKfz 234/2 Puma ................ s1s1 ... DanielS ................ 928 ... 411

Tanks
.Tiger II B r9s8 .................. m1a2 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 1004 ... 501
Rauno is out until the 10 str unit comes out and will be utilized here and there to dominate battlefields, but need to use sparingly as once he gets 3rd hero he is all trained up.
.Jagdpanther .................... a2d2 ... Kapl .................... 1083 ... 356
Kapl is limited to 4 stars and 3rd hero unless the JagdTiger becomes a game changer for him. bringing to Vilna
.Panther BeWg ................... s1a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 1239 ... 473
Michal has an opportunity to get to 5 stars and 3 heroes which will mean he is fully trained. bringing to Vilna
.Panther A ....................... d1d3 ... Festival ................ 1042 ... 407 ... ==> Panther G ?
Festival is back benched until I either feel I need him or I get Michal where I want him.
.Tiger I 44 ........................ d2a3 ... Temis .................. 1185 ... 439
Temis is finally going to be exercised in Vilna to get him some kills and some exp, may be able to get him to 5 stars and 3 heroes in 45.
.Tiger P++ s8 .................... m1d2 ... ElBaron ................ 1173 ... 424
El Baron will be stuck at 4 stars but exercise will get him to 3 heroes: not bringing to Vilna
.Elefant s8 ....................... m1d2 ... Gooseboy ............. 1490 ... 388
Gooseboy will be fully trained in my mind once he gets 4 stars and 3 heroes. bringing to Vilna
.StuG III 44+ ..................... i1m1 ... DoktorG ............... 1120 ... 398
DoktorG will work to get him fully trained to 5 stars and 3 heroes: bringing to Vilna
.JagdPz IV/48 .................... m1a2 ... Pierre .................. 834 ... 428
Pierre will shine more as the upgraded JagdPz and hope to get him above 1000 kills before 45: bringing to Vilna
.Nashorn 44 ....................... a1i1 ... ForestLaw ............ 1280 ... 461
ForestLaw will rest for now so I can use Reoguru in the Nashorn spot and may change Forestlaw to some kind of arty to get him to that attainable 5th star of exp.
.KV-85(r) .......................... d2d2 ... Paramecium .......... 1438 ... 358
Paramecium will be fully trained at 4 stars of exp and 3 heroes: bringing to Vilna

Any thoughts about these are always appreciated. I will try and provide more thoughts later.

[Locarnus]

[...]
.Jagdpanther .................... a2d2 ... Kapl .................... 1083 ... 356
Kapl is limited to 4 stars and 3rd hero unless the JagdTiger becomes a game changer for him. bringing to Vilna
.Panther BeWg ................... s1a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 1239 ... 473
Michal has an opportunity to get to 5 stars and 3 heroes which will mean he is fully trained. bringing to Vilna

Those two Panther chassis units both could use dedicated experience training, with the Sturmpanther providing the in-family option to do so (at the end of GC 44 East).
Jagdtiger is in the Tiger II family, its availability is a bit unfortunate for GC 44 East scenarios dates. I would still like to see one in action, though only if your double Rommel prestige permits. Maybe something for the final scenarios of 45, since the low rof is also not great for training.
Yep, I agree with recons and leaving Tiger II behind until the full strength version is available at the end of GC 44 East.

ForestLaw will rest for now so I can use Reoguru in the Nashorn spot and may change Forestlaw to some kind of arty to get him to that attainable 5th star of exp.
.KV-85(r) .......................... d2d2 ... Paramecium .......... 1438 ... 358
Paramecium will be fully trained at 4 stars of exp and 3 heroes: bringing to Vilna

Any thoughts about these are always appreciated. I will try and provide more thoughts later.

Imho leaving trained units in reserve but using those unit types to train others is necessary now. A Wurfrahmen would also be nice again, Dneos has been in reserve for so long and no one else using that very potent, mobile artillery for training.

Paramecium is imho a big question mark. Do you want to keep him as a KV-85 until the end?
358 experience is still quite a way from 4 stars.

[Locarnus]

One surrender in each theatre nets us about 250 prestige. Five units counterattacked this turn. It seems like four of them were unfrozen from the Kiev pocket.

Surrender prestige is a real boost for this playthrough, nicely done.
A little sad that the BT-2 near Leningrad was more of a gift than a nuisance. At least the Kiev breakout units were hopefully a bit surprising and annoying for this very rapid advance.

The way to Murmansk now has some protection (iirc I added the village of Kem to represent that rail line) and Arkhangelsk is also buffed. Historically the Germans had trouble with the far North and the Finns were reluctant to commit while Leningrad and Moscow held out.

Turn 7
The French resistance spotted our mining boat…
[...]
No updates on the Finnish situation for awhile because it has been slow. The 14 strength artillery with 4 range really hampers advancement. Our two cruisers have finally made it and will at least help taking the first (B) location.

Will you go for a channel dash in the Winter or keep the German surface units in the West?
Perhaps even going after Torch or a bit more help for the Norway trade protection later on?

Leningrad arty was buffed to simulate that the siege was at least militarily costly for both sides. With the one sided, unimaginable civilian suffering practically being a joint decision from Berlin and Moscow...

I will destroy the eastern fort and leave the western fort for strat bomber and ship training
[...]
Balance comments: Consider minesweeper ships perhaps? They can cost say 500 prestige and have only 2 strength points. Thus, when they clear a minefield they’ll be left with 1 strength and have to repair for 125 prestige (or whatever you deem is reasonable). Currently, bottom mines are too punitive with no real countermeasure.

Ah, yep, training is much more important due to Field Marshal difficulty, the bunker is a nice option.

If I remember correctly, McGuba mainly considered those mines to be a workaround for historical restrictions, which can not really be simulated with the Panzer Corps game engine.
Like the Italian fleet having so little fuel that they were unable to support the Tobruk siege. Taking even more fuel away from the Italian ships would render them useless around Italy itself.
Thus the mines around Tobruk are mainly there for the at this stage unsolveable fuel reasons, and less so as actual sea mines which could be solved by minesweepers.

[goose_2]

[...]
.Jagdpanther .................... a2d2 ... Kapl .................... 1083 ... 356
Kapl is limited to 4 stars and 3rd hero unless the JagdTiger becomes a game changer for him. bringing to Vilna
.Panther BeWg ................... s1a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 1239 ... 473
Michal has an opportunity to get to 5 stars and 3 heroes which will mean he is fully trained. bringing to Vilna

Those two Panther chassis units both could use dedicated experience training, with the Sturmpanther providing the in-family option to do so (at the end of GC 44 East).
Jagdtiger is in the Tiger II family, its availability is a bit unfortunate for GC 44 East scenarios dates. I would still like to see one in action, though only if your double Rommel prestige permits. Maybe something for the final scenarios of 45, since the low rof is also not great for training.
Yep, I agree with recons and leaving Tiger II behind until the full strength version is available at the end of GC 44 East.

ForestLaw will rest for now so I can use Reoguru in the Nashorn spot and may change Forestlaw to some kind of arty to get him to that attainable 5th star of exp.
.KV-85(r) .......................... d2d2 ... Paramecium .......... 1438 ... 358
Paramecium will be fully trained at 4 stars of exp and 3 heroes: bringing to Vilna

Any thoughts about these are always appreciated. I will try and provide more thoughts later.

Imho leaving trained units in reserve but using those unit types to train others is necessary now. A Wurfrahmen would also be nice again, Dneos has been in reserve for so long and no one else using that very potent, mobile artillery for training.

Paramecium is imho a big question mark. Do you want to keep him as a KV-85 until the end?
358 experience is still quite a way from 4 stars.

I tried looking up the Sturmpanther, it did not show anything tangible off google, am I missing something or what is the source of this vehicle, will it be in line with Brumbarr, as it seems linked there?

You are right about Paramecium, his heroes only align with tank or at class, so not seeing many other options for him other than KV-85 consistent and persistent use should get him to 4 stars and 3 heroes as a KV, maybe a limited in house upgrade to an IS-2 may expand things for him.

[Locarnus]

I tried looking up the Sturmpanther, it did not show anything tangible off google, am I missing something or what is the source of this vehicle, will it be in line with Brumbarr, as it seems linked there?

You are right about Paramecium, his heroes only align with tank or at class, so not seeing many other options for him other than KV-85 consistent and persistent use should get him to 4 stars and 3 heroes as a KV, maybe a limited in house upgrade to an IS-2 may expand things for him.

Afaik in 1944 they thought about putting a short 15cm gun on the Panther chassis, just like they had done with practically every other chassis up to this point (except for the Tiger, where they wanted an even bigger gun).

They were unsure whether it should be a casemate design as on the Panzer III and IV chassis or it would evolve once more to a turreted design. I implemented the turreted design using the graphics from guille1434. Imho it was the most promising, basically the normal Panther with a short 15cm instead of the long 75cm, simplifying production.
Was not produced historically, since Germany just needed direct fire against enemy tanks much more than indirect fire support from their expensive Panther hulls.


Captured IS-2 would certainly be nice to see. Though I'm hesitant to stray that far, adding another top tier unit for the late war German roster. Imho low production or prototypes at least show something different, while IS-2 are already on the battlefield, just on the other side.

[goose_2]

Here are some more thoughts on some more units:

Towed Arty (All planning on going to Vilna.)
.10.5 GebH .......... Kettenkrad . i1a2 ... Pullig ............... 1015 ... 351
using as arty to get to 4 stars and then planning on switching back, maybe I should consider training to 5 stars but do not think there is enough time. Thoughts?
.10.5 leG 43 ....................... m1d2 ... Artemis .............. 879 ... 401 ... Changing to Jaeger for Vilna to try and start racking up big time kills. (My thoughts on Inantry have changed watching the tremendous killing power of my Grenadiere.
.7.62 FK 288(r) r11 . Sd250/1+ .. d2d2 ... RichardMartin ..... 1014 ... 405
Richard is getting trained to 5 stars and then either changing to 43 Grenadiere or Regular Inf 44.
.15 sFH range3 r8 ..... Sd7 .......... r1 ... Raduku ............... 662 ... 460
Raduku is my big? What to do? He needs kills big time but only has a chance to get there with AA, maybe>
.21 Mrs 18 r5 ........... Sd8 ......... m1 ... Kei .................... 972 ... 441
Kei has been my reliable arty this whole game and this will not change as we reach the home stretch. He will get +3 Attack hero, or else and I will keep exercising him to try and get him that 5th star and 3rd Hero.

Mobile Arty (Bringing all not marked as not going to Vilna, everyone else will go.)
.SU-122(r) ......................... a3a3 ... 7Bowls ................ 1240 ... 380
7Bowls is finally getting close to 4 stars, not sure if I should keep going as SU-122 or try something else at 4 stars, I kind of like using him as the 122, but I have to know, will the 100 be available? Please!?!
.StuH 44+ .......................... m1a2 ... NightPhoenix ........ 1165 ... 402 not going to Vilna
.Hummel 44 r8 ....................... s1 ... Soren ................... 774 ... 351
Soren will change at 4 stars and not 100% sure which way he will go once he gets there.
.Grille r8 ............................. m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ....... 865 ... 404
PanzerVorwarts will become the Pz3 Flamm in Warsaw Uprising, and then after that who knows?
.Wespe ............................ m1d2 ... Goose .................. 1037 ... 407 not going to Vilna
.Brummbär 44 r8 ................... m1 ... Reoguru ................. 711 ... 410
Reoguru is going to be a BA Nashorn all decked out.
.StuG IV+ .............................. r1 ... RayCaster .............. 716 ... 482
RayCaster will be Mobilwagon for quick fast destruction around the Vilna air space, looking forward to see how he shines in new role.
.PzSfl IVb ........................... s1a2 ... Rimski ................. 1230 ... 388
Rimski will change to the 3 vision Pz3J once at 4 stars.
.Semovente 105/25 ................. d2 ... RightSide .............. 854 ... 474
Rightside will become the biggest Italian tank as soon as we get to 5 stars and will work to get him to 3 heroes to finish his training for Berlin.
.Panzerwerfer 42 r12 ............... a3 ... Singer .................. 909 ... 426
Singer and Dneos will both be brought into Vilna and get their kill count above 1000 to prepare for their role in Warsaw.
.Wurfrahmen 43 r8 ................ r1r1 ... Dneos .................. 933 ... 457

[Locarnus]

Here are some more thoughts on some more units:

Towed Arty (All planning on going to Vilna.)
.10.5 GebH .......... Kettenkrad . i1a2 ... Pullig ............... 1015 ... 351
using as arty to get to 4 stars and then planning on switching back, maybe I should consider training to 5 stars but do not think there is enough time. Thoughts?
.10.5 leG 43 ....................... m1d2 ... Artemis .............. 879 ... 401 ... Changing to Jaeger for Vilna to try and start racking up big time kills. (My thoughts on Inantry have changed watching the tremendous killing power of my Grenadiere.
.7.62 FK 288(r) r11 . Sd250/1+ .. d2d2 ... RichardMartin ..... 1014 ... 405
Richard is getting trained to 5 stars and then either changing to 43 Grenadiere or Regular Inf 44.
.21 Mrs 18 r5 ........... Sd8 ......... m1 ... Kei .................... 972 ... 441
Kei has been my reliable arty this whole game and this will not change as we reach the home stretch. He will get +3 Attack hero, or else and I will keep exercising him to try and get him that 5th star and 3rd Hero.

I agree, Pullig should get to 4 stars asap and Richard Martin can continue training since he already has 2 heroes and the r11 of the FK 288 should be used for experience farming as much as possible. Can even use the transport Sd 250 for a bit of kill gathering in between, pretty versatile unit.
Artemis needs kills and you need infantry for the next two scenarios. Jaeger is a good choice for that.
Kei is pretty much set I guess, big arty gave him even faster kills than experience it seems. Perhaps the 17cm leans a bit more towards experience, while the 21cm leans more towards kills?

.15 sFH range3 r8 ..... Sd7 .......... r1 ... Raduku ............... 662 ... 460
Raduku is my big? What to do? He needs kills big time but only has a chance to get there with AA, maybe>
.StuG IV+ .............................. r1 ... RayCaster .............. 716 ... 482
RayCaster will be Mobilwagon for quick fast destruction around the Vilna air space, looking forward to see how he shines in new role.
.Hummel 44 r8 ....................... s1 ... Soren ................... 774 ... 351
Soren will change at 4 stars and not 100% sure which way he will go once he gets there.
.PzSfl IVb ........................... s1a2 ... Rimski ................. 1230 ... 388
Rimski will change to the 3 vision Pz3J once at 4 stars.

RayCaster and Raduku both have range heroes and need kills.
Though Raduku needs to use the Hummel to get out of his upgrade family, while RayCaster has many directly available options without in-between steps.
Perhaps Soren could switch to PzSfl IVb for faster training and to free up the Hummel.
While Rimski could switch to Wespe to complete his training to 4 stars and then take over the recon Panzer II from Blast.
Which would free up Blast to use his ini hero for something else, while the spotting hero from Rimski would work well for the recon.

Those changes would be beneficial for Blast, Rimski, Soren and Raduku. No hurry for Raduku to get to Hummel, but Soren would benefit a lot from the higher rof of the PzSfl IVb. And the Wespe is equally good for training for Rimski anyway, whilst Goose takes a break from using it.

.SU-122(r) ......................... a3a3 ... 7Bowls ................ 1240 ... 380
7Bowls is finally getting close to 4 stars, not sure if I should keep going as SU-122 or try something else at 4 stars, I kind of like using him as the 122, but I have to know, will the 100 be available? Please!?!

Yep, SU-100 is available from the first scenario of GC 45 East. Stats are all around lower than the Jagdpanther, but it is also not as big, so it retains the camo trait.