Free France Campaign

[ColonelY]

[...] but now that you mention it, yes, I will take steps along these lines in Dakar to damage the railway.

Fine!

[...] But for this, I am going to revert back to my policy of not answering stuff twice. I already answered this. Don't take it personally.

Well, it was just that "Chindits" hadn't been addressed as candidates, so it was "new" (as idea too), that these guys would have made good candidates for it...

But, it's all good, no worries.

[bru888]

In my ire over "British Babe," I overlooked this but now that you mention it, yes, I will take steps along these lines in Dakar to damage the railway.

There. That should put "paid" to any more nonsense about riding the train to Dakar as if it were a commuter rail line. However, as you pointed out, it was fortunate that both locations held rail bridges only (else I may have wanted to re-route the railroad a bit) in that I do want the player to be able to use the roads with their wheeled vehicles in order to speed up the journey from Rufisque to Dakar.

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[uzbek2012]

In my ire over "British Babe," I overlooked this but now that you mention it, yes, I will take steps along these lines in Dakar to damage the railway.

There. That should put "paid" to any more nonsense about riding the train to Dakar as if it were a commuter rail line. However, as you pointed out, it was fortunate that both locations held rail bridges only (else I may have wanted to re-route the railroad a bit) in that I do want the player to be able to use the roads with their wheeled vehicles in order to speed up the journey from Rufisque to Dakar.


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Dear friend, do you have a very thick forest ? After all this is Africa even if it is western )))
https://griphon.livejournal.com/375961.html
https://pikabu.ru/story/klassyi_avtomob ... ka_4648285

[ColonelY]

About Operation Diadem:

(Elements based on translated passages of https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataille_de_Monte_Cassino )

1. A nice and historical description: "Kesselring will define the situation of the battle around the mountain by holding a cup of Asti wine in the presence of his officers: "The Anglo-Americans and their French allies occupy the bottom of this glass. And we are sitting on the edge!"
This metaphor may either appear somewhere like this directly or be used again as if explained by someone else (than Kesselring).

2. "It took the Allies four operations before they managed to seize Mount Cassin and its monastery, to clear the Liri valley, the only way to take Rome. The height on which the monastery is located (516 meters) is the key to the German defensive system. It overlooked the town of Cassino (also called "Cassin" in French), as well as the state road 6 Via Casiliana, and dominated the valleys of the Rapido to the southeast and the Liri to the southwest. For three months, General von Senger und Etterlin reinforced its defenses. The first elite parachute division of the Fallschirmjäger, supported by infantry battalions and the XIV Panzer-Korps, were responsible for its defense."
Well, we knew already that this height was THE key to the German defensive system as well as there has been several battles (Operation Diadem being the fourth and last in this sector)... But we may sill consider these three elements:
A) As it was an ELITE (German) parachute division, we can represent it starting with some good XP bonus.
B) As there was already three battles there around... some hex may be decorated by scorch marks and even by some additional wrecks above these marks here and there.
C) Opening the road here was crucial as it's said it was "the only way to take Rome"... this has to be mentioned somewhere.

3. "While accepting this plan, the British and Americans nevertheless doubted that the French could succeed in carrying out the overrun maneuver that would finally open the gates of Rome. The date and objectives of this offensive remained unknown to the Germans, as evidenced by the fact that they sent their reserves to Anzio, where they expected the Allies to attempt a breakthrough. Another unknown worried Kesselring: "where and how the CEF with its mountain-trained divisions and strong Moroccan fighters would be engaged. " "
=> So this battle plan gives an important potential role to the French troops... Important aspect (together with another nice quote from Kesselring - won by some spying intel, perhaps?, before the battle takes place ): before this Operation, the Allies forces have managed to take their new positions while avoiding giving too many information about deployement to the Germans!

[ColonelY]

[...] Dear friend, do you have a very thick forest ? After all this is Africa even if it is western ))) [...]

Well, if you look at the very last picture from the Dakar scenario on this thread (so behind the new "Bridges blown" event), there are already a lot of hexes covered by forests on this map. (So even if not explicitely "dense", they may give the correct feeling. )


We've already talked a little about forests in this thread. Here are the main points, if I remember correctly, that came out of it:

viewtopic.php?f=374&t=97262&p=864862&hi ... st#p864862

viewtopic.php?f=374&t=97262&p=866087&hi ... st#p866087 (here it may actually be just one post upwards)

Nice photo that you've found, by the way!
(Senegal, Rufisque, view from the train station)

[bru888]

[...] Dear friend, do you have a very thick forest ? After all this is Africa even if it is western ))) [...]

Well, if you look at the very last picture from the Dakar scenario on this thread (so behind the new "Bridges blown" event), there are already a lot of hexes covered by forests on this map. (So even if not explicitely "dense", they may give the correct feeling. )


We've already talked a little about forests in this thread. Here are the main points, if I remember correctly, that came out of it:

viewtopic.php?f=374&t=97262&p=864862&hi ... st#p864862

viewtopic.php?f=374&t=97262&p=866087&hi ... st#p866087 (here it may actually be just one post upwards)

Nice photo that you've found, by the way!
(Senegal, Rufisque, view from the train station)

Besides the movement restriction posed by dense forest — I did not like working with it in Winter War — did you ever look closely at it? The designers made dense forest look like evergreen conifer trees which are more prevalent in northern climates:

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The regular forest looks more appropriate for western Africa:

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I have been avoiding dense forest; it does not appear in Operations Vesuvius or Diadem (maybe it should in Diadem — I'll take a look) but I guess I will need to sprinkle it in as the campaign moves further north. But it will be used sparingly and in out-of-the-way locations unless it is needed to funnel traffic down certain paths.

[bru888]

I have been avoiding dense forest; it does not appear in Operations Vesuvius or Diadem (maybe it should in Diadem — I'll take a look) ...

Yes, it should, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_of_Italy: "coniferous vegetation (larches, pines, firs): it is an evergreen vegetation typical of the Alps and of a few high Apennines areas."

Sprinkle, sprinkle. Up in the mountains, away from most of the action.

[bru888]

Yeah, baby. Way to tuck those icky firs where they won't be aggravating!

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[ColonelY]

Awesome!

[...]

(Nice, by the way, that you intend to use again the cruiser_lost campaign variable during the naval scenario about "La Combattante". )

It seems that this campaign variable may be useful in Operation Dragoon as well. Indeed, I see several ships called "HMS something" in its Order of Battle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation ... _of_battle ).

And don't forget that there were Free French pilots that are "hidden" in some of these units.
(There, at first glance at this OoB, some Australians again could be involved, as well as some South Africans pilots...)

And this was part of the "big" operation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Dove with this picture https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... uselang=fr

[ColonelY]

[...] 1ère Division Française Libre/1ère Division Motorisée d'Infanterie (1st Motorised Infantry Division) [...]

About the OoB of this unit, you'll have the info in Wiki that should be already enough complete. Just in case, you've another list here (if you wish to double-check or something): http://www.francaislibres.net/pages/page.php?id=288

And there we've info about some pretty cool units that may appear... Well, of course we have the "1er Régiment d'Artillerie" but we could have as well the "1er Bataillon du Génie" (Engineers - but, of course, the French don't have any Engineer in OoB Perhaps the Dutch model under the Free French flag will do the trick? Anyway...)

"Peloton d'aviation légère d'observation" -> Some recon plane under the Free French flag! Name too long, fine. Perhaps called "Aviation légère d'observation"? If still too long, then remove the "légère" (= light). (A "peloton" is a really small unit, in terms of amount of men, but it's still an unit...)

"1er Régiment de Fusiliers Marins" -> This one here is tagged as "recon"... an infantry unit as recon, a marine one... well, well: one unit of "Marine Scouts" called "1er Régiment de Fusiliers Marins"? Or a real classical, regular Infantry unit (non-colonial) wearing the same name - if we don't emphasize its recon aspect for this battle...

A Free French AA unit called "Groupe Antillais de DCA" or (if too long) "Groupe Antillais"... the Antilles, the Antillean islands...
*******

[...] Way to tuck those icky firs where they won't be aggravating! [...]

Another complementary way to use them (without them being aggravatig either, that is) could be to have only one or two single dense forest hex very close to the road, just here and there... as it's a nice spot to hide enemy unit (not everytime though, or it would be "phoned", too obvious) while giving to it a slight defensive bonus. And then we don't have to move in there, thus we don't have to suffer the mobility and/or disorganization penalty.

[bru888]

I like the way this starts, with Admiral Portier ranting about how many German lines of defence there are, with the Hitler and Gustav Lines clearly outlined in the background. Note how they meet in the area of Cassino, which is why "Take Monte Cassino" is the first primary objective: "This includes the town of Cassino, Monte Cassino, and all hexes in a three-hex radius from Cassino. This is the hinge of the Gustav and Hitler Lines and it is the key to the Liri Valley, the main road to Rome."

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[bru888]

Plus I found a couple of suitable maps that I adapted for the purpose of orientating the player. With all this, and the scenario description, he should have no trouble understanding what Operation Diadem was all about.

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[bru888]

"It took the Allies four operations before they managed to seize Mount Cassin and its monastery, to clear the Liri valley, the only way to take Rome. The height on which the monastery is located (516 meters) is the key to the German defensive system. It overlooked the town of Cassino (also called "Cassin" in French), as well as the state road 6 Via Casiliana, and dominated the valleys of the Rapido to the southeast and the Liri to the southwest. For three months, General von Senger und Etterlin reinforced its defenses. The first elite parachute division of the Fallschirmjäger, supported by infantry battalions and the XIV Panzer-Korps, were responsible for its defense."
Well, we knew already that this height was THE key to the German defensive system as well as there has been several battles (Operation Diadem being the fourth and last in this sector)... But we may sill consider these three elements:
A) As it was an ELITE (German) parachute division, we can represent it starting with some good XP bonus.
. . .

It's going to be tough to take Cassino, just as in real life. I don't want to hear any whining and I don't want to hear about how you "threw in the towel" after 10 turns!

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What I do want is for you to think like an army commander. What would you do if you were given air superiority and sufficient artillery? That's right, just like in real life: You would pound the heck out of Cassino until it was ripe for the picking. On the other hand, those players who can't wait for action and who throw their infantry across the Rapido River in Turn 1 will suffer the consequences and end up reaching for the towel to throw instead.

[ColonelY]

All this is looking really good!

[...]
A) As it was an ELITE (German) parachute division, we can represent it starting with some good XP bonus.
. . .

It's going to be tough to take Cassino, just as in real life. I don't want to hear any whining and I don't want to hear about how you "threw in the towel" after 10 turns!

[...]

No whining nor towel throwing, understood!
(Not gonna happen anyway! )

Two early comments:
- It's the parachute division that is tagged as ELITE, so it's German paratroopers that must have more XP than other German troops nearby ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Parac ... _(Germany) )
For example, the 15. Panzergrenadier-Division was formed/reconstituted in May/June 1943 in Sicily from the remains of the 15. Panzer-Division destroyed at the battle of Enfidaville in Tunisia. Thus this one also should have a good amount of XP, not as much than these elite paratroopers...
- No entrenchement for the rockets-launcher unit? (The armored units nearby are on a road and could definitely have moved recently, so it's fine... But the point is that this artillery unit may be weak to our own artillery shots like this... or perhaps it's on purpose as bait for our bombers?)

[ColonelY]

The Wiki Order of Battle is sometimes not very precise. For example here about the order of battle of the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division. So, you can already find more info here (with historical and immersive names): http://www.avalanchepress.com/operation_diadem.php
*******
Then, I'm looking for evidences of the presence of Tiger tanks not very far away (we know Germans were outnumbered at that time, but this doesn't mean that they didn't have some really strong warmeans with them!)... it's proved that some were counter-attacking at Anzio, some other have been captured near Florence, etc. So there was definitely some German Tiger tanks nearby. But near the Mt Cassino or its between the Hitler Line and the Gustave Line?
I've found this so far, from a boardgame ( https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/10435/op ... es-cassino ):

(Which, by the way - and this may not be anecdotal, this scenario focuses only on the Cassino sector itself, during this 4th Battle. So no American nor French there... only British, Indian and Polish.)

"German:
Panzergrenadier regiment
Two fairly heavily armed infantry Bns
Infantry regiment
Two infantry Bns
Fallschirmjäger regiment
Three infantry Bns, one machinegun Bn, elite unit
Gebirgsjäger regiment
Two infantry Bns, lightly armed but elite mountain infantry
Assault gun Bn (Semoventes)
Anti-tank Bn (Nashorns!)

The Germans have much more company/battery level support units than the Allied, including tanks (also a company of Tigers!), TDs, engineers, armoured recce troops, artillery, the works. In the campaign system, the use of the support units is little bit more difficult for the defender. But the support units are both numerous and very powerful, giving the Germans an ace in the hole."

Now, it's good for two points:
1. Yes, it supports the point that German paratroopers and gebirgsjäger were the main (and perhaps only) elite unit in terms of XP...
2. Yes, it seems to confirm that there was a small amount of Tiger tanks in this battle...

[ColonelY]

Expression about the Italy at that time, and one reason perhaps to launch an invasion there: "A soft underbelly?" That may have been before the Germans put series of defensive lines...

(British Prime Minister Winston Churchill even termed that nation ‘the soft underbelly of Europe’.)

A little something to make appear in the briefing as well?


By the way, here are several good pictures about the Italian campaign and Mt Cassino as well: https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/italian-campaign

[ColonelY]

I've read a little more from https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/10435/op ... es-cassino :

"[...] While the Luftwaffe forces and the Gebirgsjäger braced themselves to defend the Massif, in the Cassino town the II/115 Panzergrenadier Regiment prepared to make a relief attack to take some pressure of the Massif. They were supported by the ace in a hole, the imposing PzKwVI company! The Tigers were not numerous, but they sure did some terrible effect on the Allied morale and command. The aim of the attack was to capture as much as possible of the lost portion of Cassino, and to take Castle Hill. Not to mention to cause as much havoc as possible.

[...] In Cassino, the Allied were not defending the town opting to stay on the mountain slopes. The panzergrenadiers took most of the town and Castle Hill but they were soon under attack of the RAF, losing one third of their infantry. One platoon was lost while trying to get a LOS to the 17 prd section, the only real threath to the Tigers. The accurate rifle and machine gun fire of the British battalions stopped the German advance, and in short time the attacking Panzergrenadier battalion lost almost half of its infantry – and the Tigers were still warming up their engines! (limited attack) [...]"

So, perhaps a counter-attack from "few" Tiger tanks (about a company - to be represented by a single unit of the model PzKw. VI E Tiger, the best looking one with its flag I think )... And the Brits actually should have had one unit (a single "short" one too, a section) able to counter these Tiger: some dreaded "QF 17 Pounder" AT unit!

One could imagine a counter-attack by one single unit of Tiger once we've taken some ground OR rather (it already too overcrowded there) perhaps simply at mid-distance between the two German lines, this unit of Tiger staying hidden in some forest (but not a dense one! ), ready to jump out and ambush/punch hard the first units coming nearby... (Like this, more fighting that "only" at the defensive lines, perhaps... together with some nasty surprise for the player! )


Why not, anyway, if we have THE answer to it, some powerful AT unit... kept nearby or not, that's the player's problem and the potential consequences for him too!
Erik and Gabe would agree with the importance of accompanying infantry troops with a few AT units... the player must learn his lessons!

[ColonelY]

Now, if this Tiger has to ambush somewhere rather than directly defend one or another of the lines as such, one could even imagine a random deployment at the beginning of the scenario between 2 or 3 strategic places along the road, in wooded areas where it can hide...

[ColonelY]

In fact, the fact that only one Tiger tank company is mentioned here should not bother us too much, because it started out like this:"However, some divisions received Tigers: the SS Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, Das Reich and Totenkopf divisions each had a Tiger Kompanie in 1943; they were used as a basis for the formation of the schwere SS Panzer-Abteilungen (101, 102 and 103) in 1944. On the Heer side, for example, the Großdeutschland Division also had a Tiger Kompanie in 1943 and the Panzer Lehr had a few tanks during its engagement in Normandy. A total of thirteen battalions and five companies were equipped with them." (Translated from https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerkam ... n_pratique I don't think we've exactly the equivalent in English, at least at first glance - but anyway, here it is!)

[bru888]

1. It was not you that I had in mind when I talked about whining and towel throwing.

2. The First Parachute Division defending Cassino all have 8 XP with a base of 6 XP for everybody else.

3. That link to another OOB at Avalanche Press is handy. Yes, I have found discrepancies in such matters on Wikipedia but, when all else fails, I go with what it has (or make stuff up). This OOB will help me sort matters out.

4. But also, I am not going too crazy in identifying specific battalions in this one. Therefore, for example, there are two units labeled "155th Reg / 90th PzG Div." That's enough immersion.

5. So far, I have PzKw IV and V (Panther) tanks but I like that idea of a roving strike force of a few Tiger tanks "between the Hitler Line and the Gustave Line."

6. Briefing 4/5 to include ‘the soft underbelly of Europe’:

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