Free France Campaign

[ColonelY]

And good content, immersive and historical, within this very first briefing! It looks good.

[bru888]

And good content, immersive and historical, within this very first briefing! It looks good.

You are going to find, Colonel, that much of what you contributed will have made it into this campaign, one way or the other. Not everything, and not word for word. You must trust in your friendly campaign designers to use their judgment in terms of space and time restrictions. But yes, you have steered us in good directions. I'll give you an example in my next post.

[ColonelY]

Wonderful!

And indeed I do trust you, my friends.

[bru888]

I'll give you an example in my next post.

Between the Dakar and Gabon scenarios:

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[bru888]

Details of that "Flight Delay" episode, which the Colonel mentioned in one of his posts, came from this book which I found on Google Books. Having thumbed through the contents, I've just purchased it from Rakuten Kobo. So much to read and do and so little time!

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[bru888]

For Gabon, I am following your Dakar lead in using regular forest instead of jungle. These are big maps and jungle slows things down. But the worst aspect of jungle is the efficiency penalty for moving through it. Not a problem when jungle is here and there but when it is most of the land area, it really gets to be a drag.

There are three choices in that case:

1) Make open terrain corridors for all roads, which looks too neat and cultivated for this time and place.

2) Use units that have the guerrilla trait (impervious to terrain). The only strong unit that does not irritate with its "US Marines" or "Soviet Naval Infantry" label in this West African context is Gurkha (sorry, but commandos like SBS are too weak). But all factions' units running around as Gurkhas? I prefer seeing the proper labels of "French Infantry" and "Colonial Infantry" this time (even if the latter is borrowed from British India ).

3) Use forest instead of jungle. If not mixed with jungle, lots of forest can suggest jungle and may not even be noticed by the player. If he does, it's easy to forgive and forget about.

I have used 1) and 2) on occasion - the dreaded dense forest of Finland comes to mind - but I think for Africa, 3) will do nicely this time.

[Erik2]

You could use forest wherever there's a track/road and jungle/dense forest (most) elsewhere.
This is what I did for my Malaya/Burma scenarios.
Makes for som variable terrain look as well.

[bru888]

True; that is a version of 1) above, I suppose. But that leads to linear fighting; i.e., along roads because regular infantry wandering into adjacent jungle harms their efficiency and I want the combat to spread out a bit. I was under the assumption that this is why you went with all forest, no jungle, in your Dakar map.

[Erik2]

No, I may have interpreted the original map wrong...

[bru888]

Hmmm. I prefer the "genius" interpretation, even if it was innate and inadvertent.

[bru888]

A (gentle) poke in the eye to the wiseguys who would jump onto the captured bulldozer and proceed to build an airstrip with it! I shall not name you for you know who you are. ( )

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[ColonelY]

Excellent!

[bru888]

I just purchased this when I realized how skimpy the Wikipedia article is on this topic. I will read it in the background while I am working on other scenarios so that by the time I get to Operation Jedburgh, I will be up to speed.

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cover.jpg


"Operation Jedburgh was a clandestine operation during World War II, in which personnel of the British Special Operations Executive, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, the Free French Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action ("Central Bureau of Intelligence and Operations") and the Dutch and Belgian Armies were dropped by parachute into occupied France, the Netherlands and Belgium to conduct sabotage and guerrilla warfare, and to lead the local resistance forces in actions against the Germans."

By the way, this book was okay at best. To me, at least.

The author says in his preface, "I have chosen, in writing the story of these former Jedburghs, to re-create their experiences in narrative rather than academic fashion. I have written much more about the excitement, the fear, and the moral dilemmas faced by these men than the headquarters documents that swirled around them . . ." Which works, initially. The trouble is, he chooses to do this with too many of the men involved, sketching them quickly, then flitting back and forth among them to the confusion of the reader. I got tired of searching for names and "Who was this, again?"

I ended up skimming much of the final third of the book. Now, these loosely knitted vignettes may appeal to some people, and the author does a good job of describing the basics of Operation Jedburgh. I guess he needed to fill out the volume to book length. Others may think more highly of this book; I didn't enjoy it very much.

No matter; I got what I needed from it.

[bru888]

Here's the thing about large maps . . .

Here's something else that is interesting. (If not, yawn and scroll.)

Recall the problems that we had in Finland with sluggish AI aircraft. It was pointed out that the distance, in hexes, from airfield to target was a factor. The AI wouldn't bother taking off if it could barely reach the target, or not at all, with half of its fuel (the other half being needed for the return trip).

Well, with the Dakar map, I did not want to move the airfields closer, for cosmetic and game play reasons. Yet, I found the AI was not engaging its air force until the action got much closer to Dakar. The reason was distance, again in hexes. The bombers at this airfield, for example, move at 9 hexes per turn. With fuel 10, that means their maximum range is 45 hexes (5 turns heading out x 9 hexes each). The green arcs show this maximum range on the map:

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This map is 100 hexes wide. If it were only 60 hexes wide, the entire area would still be shown but flying from point A to point B would require less hexes. Thus, the maximum range of AI planes would extend across more of the map.

As with other large map aspects, I worked around this. In this case, I used my handy "drop tank" effect (patent pending):

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Just tested; works well. 6 or 7 turns to reach the Allied fleet x 2 to allow for round trip = 12 or 14 turns. This leaves 6 to 8 turns over the target.

[GabeKnight]

As with other large map aspects, I worked around this. In this case, I used my handy "drop tank" effect (patent pending):
Just tested; works well. 6 or 7 turns to reach the Allied fleet x 2 to allow for round trip = 12 or 14 turns. This leaves 6 to 8 turns over the target.

Do you know if the "fuel" setting resets after the planes have landed or does it override the units.csv setting for the whole length of the scenario?

[bru888]

As with other large map aspects, I worked around this. In this case, I used my handy "drop tank" effect (patent pending):
Just tested; works well. 6 or 7 turns to reach the Allied fleet x 2 to allow for round trip = 12 or 14 turns. This leaves 6 to 8 turns over the target.

Do you know if the "fuel" setting resets after the planes have landed or does it override the units.csv setting for the whole length of the scenario?

Great minds think alike! And, sometimes feeble minds like mine do so as well. I was pondering the same thing. I will try to test; if the planes make a second bombing run later in the scenario, then we know that the setting persists. Else, they could not reach the target in the second instance.

[bru888]

I will try to test; if the planes make a second bombing run later in the scenario, then we know that the setting persists. Else, they could not reach the target in the second instance.

I ran a couple of tests. The first was with this trigger:

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TEST 1
Fighters over target turn 5
Bombers over target turn 7
Bombers depart turn 14
Fighters depart turn 15 and 16
No reappearance in the rest of the scenario (48 turns total)

That indicates the fuel boost in this arrangement works for only one sortie.

The second test was with this trigger:

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TEST 2
Fighters over target turn 5
Bombers over target turn 7
And they never leave! That is, until reduced to strength 1 (the targets were gunboats with AA capability)

Every turn, the planes are being "refueled" in midair. This is not optimal, obviously.

I could work out an arrangement in which a second fuel boost would be scheduled for after the planes return to base, which would be difficult to determine as to timing. Instead, I will leave it as a single fuel boost to start the scenario since the action is going to move from east to west anyway, toward Dakar over the course of the scenario.

[GabeKnight]

Every turn, the planes are being "refueled" in midair. This is not optimal, obviously.

I could work out an arrangement in which a second fuel boost would be scheduled for after the planes return to base, which would be difficult to determine as to timing. Instead, I will leave it as a single fuel boost to start the scenario since the action is going to move from east to west anyway, toward Dakar over the course of the scenario.

Thanks for the info/test.

Yeah, you'd need some check unit near hex triggers; or you could undeploy and re-spawn them. Maybe just use "simple" logic and give them the boost once more at turn 20-21 start. But true, given the unpredictability of battle, who knows what strange results that could produce.

And BTW, everybody would use the Construction Group units to build airstrips. Everybody...!

[ColonelY]

For all intents and purposes, here are a few more or less famous quotes from Charles de Gaulle (together with a translation)... perhaps some of them could appear here and there in the campaign?


La guerre, c'est comme la chasse, sauf qu'à la guerre les lapins tirent.
War is like hunting, except in war the rabbits shoot.

La fin de l’espoir est le commencement de la mort.
The end of hope is the beginning of death.

J'aime bien ceux qui me résistent ; l'ennui, c'est que je ne peux les supporter.
I like those who resist me; the trouble is, I can't stand them.

Face aux grands périls, le salut n'est que dans la grandeur.
In the face of great perils, salvation is only in greatness.

Si l’intelligence ne suffit point à l’action, il va de soi qu’elle y prend part.
If intelligence is not sufficient for action, it goes without saying that it takes part in it.

La diplomatie est l’art de faire durer indéfiniment les carreaux fêlés !
Diplomacy is the art of making cracked tiles last forever!

Les gaulois n’ont pas changé. Leurs chefs détestent obéir. Mais ils adorent discuter.
The Gauls have not changed. Their leaders hate to obey. But they love to argue.

J’ai entendu vos points de vue. Ils ne rencontrent pas les miens. La décision est prise à l’unanimité.
I've heard your views. They don't meet mine. The decision is unanimous.

En général, les gens intelligents ne sont pas courageux et les gens courageux ne sont pas intelligents.
In general, intelligent people are not brave and courageous people are not intelligent.

Les diplomates ne sont utiles que par beau temps. Dès qu’il pleut, ils se noient dans chaque goutte.
Diplomats are only useful in good weather. As soon as it rains, they drown in every drop.

L'ambition individuelle est une passion enfantine.
Individual ambition is a childish passion.

Etre inerte, c'est être battu.
To be inert is to be beaten.

Les grandes choses se font par la valeur des hommes bien plus que par des textes.
Great things are done by the value of men more than by texts.

Les hommes peuvent avoir des amis, pas les hommes d'Etat.
Men can have friends, not statesmen.

Le talent est un titre de responsabilité.
Talent is a title of responsibility.

[bru888]

And BTW, everybody would use the Construction Group units to build airstrips. Everybody...!

For all intents and purposes, here are a few more or less famous quotes from Charles de Gaulle (together with a translation)... perhaps some of them could appear here and there in the campaign?


La guerre, c'est comme la chasse, sauf qu'à la guerre les lapins tirent.
War is like hunting, except in war the rabbits shoot.

La fin de l’espoir est le commencement de la mort.
The end of hope is the beginning of death.

J'aime bien ceux qui me résistent ; l'ennui, c'est que je ne peux les supporter.
I like those who resist me; the trouble is, I can't stand them.

Face aux grands périls, le salut n'est que dans la grandeur.
In the face of great perils, salvation is only in greatness.

Si l’intelligence ne suffit point à l’action, il va de soi qu’elle y prend part.
If intelligence is not sufficient for action, it goes without saying that it takes part in it.

La diplomatie est l’art de faire durer indéfiniment les carreaux fêlés !
Diplomacy is the art of making cracked tiles last forever!

Les gaulois n’ont pas changé. Leurs chefs détestent obéir. Mais ils adorent discuter.
The Gauls have not changed. Their leaders hate to obey. But they love to argue.

J’ai entendu vos points de vue. Ils ne rencontrent pas les miens. La décision est prise à l’unanimité.
I've heard your views. They don't meet mine. The decision is unanimous.

En général, les gens intelligents ne sont pas courageux et les gens courageux ne sont pas intelligents.
In general, intelligent people are not brave and courageous people are not intelligent.

Les diplomates ne sont utiles que par beau temps. Dès qu’il pleut, ils se noient dans chaque goutte.
Diplomats are only useful in good weather. As soon as it rains, they drown in every drop.

L'ambition individuelle est une passion enfantine.
Individual ambition is a childish passion.

Etre inerte, c'est être battu.
To be inert is to be beaten.

Les grandes choses se font par la valeur des hommes bien plus que par des textes.
Great things are done by the value of men more than by texts.

Les hommes peuvent avoir des amis, pas les hommes d'Etat.
Men can have friends, not statesmen.

Le talent est un titre de responsabilité.
Talent is a title of responsibility.

Excellent. I will use these where appropriate. Any more?