Free France Campaign

[ColonelY]

03Kufra:

Indeed, this scenario is much more better now. And these British bombers add a little something which definitely helps us (on the mid to long run) for taking this fort.
Major Victory achieved (level 3, as usual for me) on the 33th turn (out of 42)... BUT 'should have taken few more turns thanks to the Italian Lancia (see comments below).

So, time for some feedback, shall we?

-> During briefing and deployment, do we really need to see (two visible hexes in the N) where our bombers will be spawned later?

-> Once a Sahariana unit has been captured, I suggest adding a short event while targetting the hex where this new unit does spawn...

-> I agree with Mascarenhas about the Italian Lancia AA unit. I spotted it SE of Al-Jawf and (too) easily destroyed it... and in the incoming event, it's said that this unit is "just outside the fort gates". So, I've taken a look in the triggers and here is what I suggest:
1. Put this unit AI (the 9th) to simple "static defense" from the start (like this it shouldn't move as it won't "seek" any longer)
2. Then just change this AI status back to "seek & destroy" with Aggressivity 75 (so, as it is now!) once the event is triggered and our British bombers are spawned.
That should do the trick!

-> Finally, perhaps a last suggestion in order to include as well Leclerc's cult expression within the briefing... What about something like:
Last part of the briefing (a little shorter than the previous parts, for now at least):
"Mon général, le colonel seeks your approval for his plan of action, despite the failure of his British partners. You have certainly already heard his cult expression 'Ne dites pas que c’est impossible' (Don't say it's impossible). How shall I respond?|. . .|Très bien merci. Your message to Leclerc is 'Continuez, et que Dieu soit avec vous' (Carry on, and God be with you)."
I think it fits in pretty well here.


And, well, I think that's all for these first three scenarios. Definitely, it's awesome so far! Excellent job, congrats!

[bru888]

Well, for me, the combination of a new design and GK Mod gave an entire different flavor to Kufra. I had a lot of fun playing it. Only one unexpected problem was the aggressive stance of that heavy AA unit. So daring it was that, when I approached Al-Jawf it hurried into battle against my infantry, much before the Blenheim ever appeared, only to be prematurely crushed. I'd suggest you fine tune that poor one. For the rest it was very good, as usual. All in all, I only needed a bit more time to accomplish: 45.

Congratulations,

Masca, many thanks. That AA unit was a late throw-in and I should have realized that it would lower its cannon and charge the infantry. What I will do instead is spawn it when the bombers arrive and try to train it to concentrate on the aircraft. Also, I will bump the turns up to 48 which seems to be the going rate with this campaign so far, given the map sizes.

(Keren is going to be another good-sized map, 60 by 60 hexes, despite my attempts to make it smaller. Combining Kub Kub in the north with Asmara in the south, and Keren in the west with Massawa in the east, made for a big area to cover. Any less than 60 hexes to a side did not allow sufficient hex granularity to adequately portray the battle near Keren - ColonelY was probably right that Keren and Massawa should have been two scenarios but there is a lot of time and territory to cover in this campaign - and so 48 turns will be right for Keren as well.)

Colonel, I will respond to your Kufra review soon.

[bru888]

Colonel, I will respond to your Kufra review soon.

Part 1:

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Before

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After

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Part 2, about the Lancia 90/53, to follow.

[ColonelY]

Nice!

[bru888]

Colonel, I will respond to your Kufra review soon.

Part 2, about the Lancia 90/53, to follow.

As I say from time to time, sometimes less is more.

I wanted the Lancia 90/53 to counterbalance the introduction of the Blenheim bombers. I couldn't see letting them pound away at the fort without opposition.

So I introduced the Lancia 90/53 but I wanted it outside the fort so that the player could get a crack at it. I thought (ridiculously) that it would stay outside the fort and that was true at first; as you guys pointed out, on Seek & Destroy, it goes after the infantry! On Defend Hex or Local Defense, it dashes (smartly) inside the fort. On Static Defense, it does nothing.

Thus, back to the basics. For one thing, the Lancia 90/53 is a very powerful AA gun. Once inside the fort, and away from the player's infantry units, it decimates the bombers. Yet, there should be some AA presence so that the bombers don't have a field day, unharmed.

Therefore, the resolution:
1) Removed the Lancia 90/53. It was exciting (perhaps in a future scenario?) but it was mucking up the works.
2) Removed the "Sir, we have a problem" popup message about the Lancia 90/53.
3) Placed two 20mm Breda AA guns (much weaker units vs. bombers) inside the fort, where they belong. After all, why would the Italians leave their AA support outside the fort?

This actually is working really well. I ran a test and observed; these AA guns do damage but not excessively and, after all, the bombers have only a short hop to their exit hexes and replenishment:

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It was interesting to watch the AI use the one empty hex inside the fort to shuffle units around, trying to get the AA guns closer to the action. It reminded me of a sliding puzzle:

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The updated three-scenario preview has been uploaded:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MnVcfF ... sp=sharing

[ColonelY]

Do we know when the 4th scenario will begin and finish (in term of dates)?


Already a little research on cool historical events which could (in principle) be added in the 04Keren scenario:

(First source: http://www.france-libre.net/mars-1941/ )

1. 9th March (1941):
U.S. Congress passes the Lend-Lease Act: "From a moral standpoint, this decision means that America has taken an open stand. ... From a material point of view, America's unlimited support gives our allies and the Free French the certainty of a growing and implacable superiority of means" (quote of General de Gaulle on BBC, 12th March).

2. 16th March:
Mission "Savannah" (or "Savanna") first operation of French paratroopers in occupied France, in Elven (Morbihan).
(I do like paratroopers! )
More sources about this mission (because for the text of this historical event, it may depend "a tiny little bit" on what is chosen to be emphazised ): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Savanna ; http://museedelaresistanceenligne.org/m ... n-Savannah (an excellent link - but in French) and http://www.france-libre.net/mission-savannah/

[ColonelY]

All the same, sacred irreducible Gauls!

Think a little about it: armistice in 22nd June 1940, followed by the occupation of France... but already in mid-March 1941, the "first" Free French paratroopers took action on the occupied soil of their beloved country. (They were not many on this very first operation, but still... )

[bru888]

All the same, sacred irreducible Gauls!

Think a little about it: armistice in 22nd June 1940, followed by the occupation of France... but already in mid-March 1941, the "first" Free French paratroopers took action on the occupied soil of their beloved country. (They were not many on this very first operation, but still... )

Their spirit is what attracted me to this story. Think of it; everyone in high authority who joined de Gaulle risked his life in two ways: The possibility of dying in warfare against the Axis, of course, and by being condemned in absentia by his own former government. It reminds me of the patriots in the American War of Independence in this regard.

It's a remarkable story that I intend to finish (to the Liberation of Paris, that is), no matter how long it takes.

As to your specific question, I hope to be finished with Keren today. It's another big one (got to watch out for this tendency, but shoehorning Kub Kub, Keren, Asmara, and Massawa into one scenario made it unavoidable); much research has been done as to the composition of the armies involved; and the map is downright gorgeous if I may say so myself.

[bru888]

Regarding Operation Savannah, it is too small an operation to do it justice. By that I mean, to portray only five paratroopers in a scenario would hardly work and therefore the tendency would be there to artificially expand the number of units involved. That would be insulting to the bravery of those men even though their operation ended as opéra bouffe ("they discovered the [targeted] pilots no longer commuted between Vannes and Meucon by bus, but had taken to travelling on an ad hoc basis by cars. Hence the grand ambush and assassination had to be aborted.") I will mention this raid at some point, however.

[ColonelY]

Regarding Operation Savannah [...] I will mention this raid at some point, however.

That's the point, precisely.

An historical event (in the 05Keren scenario probably) may be a nice way to mention it...

[ColonelY]

[...] I hope to be finished with Keren today. [...]

Cool, I'm looking forward to play/test it!

[...] much research has been done as to the composition of the armies involved; and the map is downright gorgeous if I may say so myself.

There, you titillates curiosity. This scenario does look very promising!

[bru888]

[...] I hope to be finished with Keren today. [...]

Cool, I'm looking forward to play/test it!

[...] much research has been done as to the composition of the armies involved; and the map is downright gorgeous if I may say so myself.

There, you titillates curiosity. This scenario does look very promising!

If I can get it to play well, it should be a knockout considering how much detail I have put into it. One of the great things about doing this is the chance to take a trip to a remote area and delve into its history, ancient and modern. Not too much history, though! Just enough to pique your interest, hopefully.

[ColonelY]

Wow, the suspense is increasing...

[Igor1941]

Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque ...
A very interesting and at the same time scary episode ...
In an incident that took place 8 May 1945 at Karlstein near Bad Reichenhall in Bavaria, he was presented with a defiant group of captured Frenchmen of the SS Charlemagne Division. He asked them why they wore a German uniform, to which one of them replied by asking why Leclerc wore an American one. Leclerc told his men to get rid of them. That was taken as a death sentence. The group of French Waffen-SS men was summarily executed by the RMT without any form of military tribunal procedure, and their bodies left where they fell until an American burial team collected them three days later.

[ColonelY]

There is really a lot that can be said about general Leclerc, one hell of a character, indeed. He played a major role as an artisan of the liberation of France...

[ColonelY]

Hello everyone!

Wow, the suspense is increasing...

And, after some good break , I have to say that the interest and the suspense are still very high.

[...] I hope to be finished with Keren today. [...]

Cool, I'm looking forward to play/test it!

[...] much research has been done as to the composition of the armies involved; and the map is downright gorgeous if I may say so myself.

There, you titillates curiosity. This scenario does look very promising!

If I can get it to play well, it should be a knockout considering how much detail I have put into it. One of the great things about doing this is the chance to take a trip to a remote area and delve into its history, ancient and modern. Not too much history, though! Just enough to pique your interest, hopefully.

So, the 4th scenario was almost ready...

Well, now that a good break has been taken, I do hope that there is hope for a relaunch of the project on the horizon.
Even at a slower pace... yes, as advancing slowly isn't really a problem as long as one's advancing forward (if I may write so ).

... bru, I solemnly promise to you here that I won't ask you about going farther than the (scenario of the) Liberation of Paris itself.


(You know what? Today, it's my birthday... And it's true!)

[Mascarenhas]

Happy birthday, mate! And I also am eager to test any new development of this beautiful campaign.

[ColonelY]

Thank you... doubly so!

[bru888]

I am resuming work on this project. Thank you both for your interest.

[Erik2]

Welcome back, Bru.