Slitherine

bru888 wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 4:48 pm [...] "Reduce them to rubble" is in contrast to the kid glove treatment for "Capture Notre-Dame de la Garde." Description: "There is no wish to repeat the mistake of the destroyed Monte Cassino Abbey. The political repercussions of that debacle continue to this day. Therefore, the Germans must be cleared from this basilica without using aerial, sea, or land bombardment. Use only infantry and tanks to assault this powerful hilltop position." Similar treatment to Krak des Chevaliers in Operation Exporter.

Excellent!

Oh, and by the way, don't forget that at the time the port of Toulon was also a base for German submarines (Marseille could also receive some, but less)... the Germans have only modest naval means at this stage in this sector... but it is very likely that 2 or 3 submarines, at some point, will complicate a little the task of our naval support troops (and perhaps even create a small surprise effect)...

ColonelY wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 5:23 pm Oh, and by the way, don't forget that at the time the port of Toulon was also a base for German submarines (Marseille could also receive some, but less)... the Germans have only modest naval means at this stage in this sector... but it is very likely that 2 or 3 submarines, at some point, will complicate a little the task of our naval support troops (and perhaps even create a small surprise effect)...

Yet another good idea ...

Damn, it's annoying: depending on the sources, there were also a few French paratroopers with the Americans and Canadians (but simply much less than expected if the senior officers had not argued)... it's a pain! Too bad, anyway the sector of the village of Le Muy (near the various DZs) is out of our scenario!

(The main objective of these special missions: to secure the wings for the landing...)

What may be worth mentioning, too, if not already done, of course: "Off the Var coast, the largest fleet ever assembled in the Mediterranean approaches the German defenses." Source: https://www.defense.gouv.fr/terre/actu- ... e-provence; there's also a splendid photo there with French armor from the 1st Armored Division, just in case... (This picture is "zoomable" by clicking on it; otherwise, you have another copy of the same picture here: https://www.google.ch/imgres?imgurl=htt ... egUIARCmAQ )

General de Larminat was General de Lattre de Tassigny's assistant for Operation Dragoon!

In short, this man was one of the architects of the liberation, too. He participated in the organization of the first African troops, as well as in the organization of the Leclerc column. He also participated in the defense of Bir Hakeim. He was also in Tunisia and Italy...


Larminat during the 2nd world war? Translation of a passage ( https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgard_de_Larminat - as usual more complete than the English equivalent on Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgard_de_Larminat ):
"In March 1940, he was promoted to colonel, while he was chief of staff to the general commanding the troops of the Levant. In May 1940, he was appointed chief of staff to the general commanding the Middle East theater of operations.

In June, refusing defeat, he issued orders to create a volunteer force to join the British, which led to his arrest and imprisonment in Damascus. He quickly escaped and joined the Free French Forces (FFL) in Palestine.

In August 1940, he organized from Leopoldville the rallying of the Middle Congo to Free France. He was appointed Governor General of French Equatorial Africa (AEF), then member of the Council for the Defense of the Empire, High Commissioner for Free French Africa from November 12, 1940, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in July 1941. The Vichy regime sentenced him to death in absentia.

On February 18, 1941, he published the Position of the Free French with regard to national problems.

He organized African battalions of the FFL forming the 1st Free French Division and the Leclerc Column.

In December 1941, he was appointed deputy to General Catroux, commander-in-chief of the Levant, and took command of the 1st and 2nd FFL brigades during the Libyan campaign, where he organized the defense of Bir Hakeim. In July 1942, he suffered a serious car accident on the road from Cairo to Alexandria, Egypt.

Promoted to the rank of major general in September 1942, he took command of the 1st DFL in January 1943 and went to Tunisia. In June 1943, he became chief of general staff of the FFL.

He joined General Juin's French expeditionary corps, where he commanded a pursuit corps composed of the 1st DFL and the 3rd DIA in June 1944. There, his tactical acumen and decisiveness during the fighting against the Germans in the Viterbo region earned him a new citation in June 1944. In August 1944, he took part in the Provence landings at the head of the 2nd army corps, within the B army, the future 1st army.

In October 1944, he was appointed head of the French Forces of the West on the Atlantic front and was in charge of reducing the German resistance in the Atlantic pockets, notably Lorient, La Rochelle, Rochefort and Royan-Pointe de Grave. He is credited with being one of the main people responsible for the destruction of Royan in January 19454. Subsequent research shows that responsibility for this damaging act of war was shared with his hierarchy as well as with General Ralph Royce under General Eisenhower, future President of the United States5.

During the winter of 1944-1945, he reorganized the FFI into five infantry divisions. Thus, in April 1945, he took all the German positions in the Gironde and liberated the port of Bordeaux. After the surrender of Germany, he took possession of La Rochelle, Saint-Nazaire and Lorient, from 8 to 10 May 1945."

There you'll find a picture of both generals: http://museedelaresistanceenligne.org/m ... upes-franA
Caption (translated): Photo of the staff of the French troops participating in the Dragoon operation, on the deck of the liner S. S. Batory heading for the coast of Provence, 16 August 1944. In the center is General de Lattre de Tassigny, commander of the B army, accompanied on his right by his deputy General de Larminat, and on his right by General Carpentier, commander of the 2nd DIM (Moroccan infantry division).

Another (short) bio sketch planned?

ColonelY wrote: ↑Wed May 05, 2021 2:28 pm The French advance on the planned schedule is of such magnitude that it will have repercussions on the entire campaign.

With the liberation of Toulon and Marseille, the Allies had a huge base in the Mediterranean that doubled that of Normandy and contributed to the supply of all the troops engaged in the European theater. For eight months, the two southern ports (Toulon and Marseille, that is) ensured the transit of 14 divisions and the unloading of an average of 18,000 tons of supplies per day.

If you're looking for a picture related to this (for a campaign event after this scenario or something), there is this candidate: https://www.laprovence.com/article/actu ... ideos.html
Landing of troops and equipment in the port of Marseille itself - which of course could only be done like this once the area was secured.

ColonelY wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 8:06 pm [...]
What may be worth mentioning, too, if not already done, of course: "Off the Var coast, the largest fleet ever assembled in the Mediterranean approaches the German defenses." Source: https://www.defense.gouv.fr/terre/actu- ... e-provence; there's also a splendid photo there with French armor from the 1st Armored Division, just in case... (This picture is "zoomable" by clicking on it; otherwise, you have another copy of the same picture here: https://www.google.ch/imgres?imgurl=htt ... egUIARCmAQ )

If I'm not mistaken, I read "Béarn" on this tank...
You know, this name comes certainly from the regions Bearn, Gascogne... famous for the "Les Trois Mousquetaires", among others...

I've then made a little research and I was astonished enough by what I've read that I've found it would be good to be mentionned here... ready for some nice story?


A chapter translated from here: https://www.chars-francais.net/2015/ind ... frique-jmo
The Béarn was from the 5e Régiment de Chasseurs d'Afrique, more precisely a light tank mainly used as recon for this regiment... anyway, let's dive into it, shall we?

Note: it's just an "anecdote", so if someone wants to gain time not reading this, that's perfectly fine by me.

"1st Squadron

How the crew of the "Bretagne" (light tank) reconnoitered La Valette

On August 22, 1944, at 8:00 p.m., Lieutenant Rouland, commanding a light tank platoon of the 5th Chasseurs d'Afrique, received the order to reconnoiter the axis La Valette - La Farlède on which the battle group to which he belonged was to operate. The final objective was Toulon, 7.5 kilometers from La Valette.

Abundantly fortified, well equipped with anti-tank guns of all calibers, concrete shelters, this sector, in which several roads were mined, was still defended by the coastal batteries of Toulon, which the enemy had turned inwards.

A squadron of medium tanks preceded by another platoon of light tanks, had succeeded on August 21, 1944 by a daring maneuver to break through to La Valette, the first gate of Toulon. Locked since then in the heart of the city, whose exits had been blocked after their passage, the tanks constituted a powerful island of resistance, but also strongly handicapped by the ammunition which was running out, and by the terrain itself, the streets of a small town being by definition the opposite of a manoeuvring field.

Such was the information that Lieutenant Rouland was able to give to his tank commanders at the time of departure. Such was the atmosphere in which he was going to work. The scenery, in keeping with the rest, was essentially constituted on the right and left of its axis, which extended for ten kilometers by lines of fortified heights, cut off by vineyards, all terrain impassable to tanks, which were thus condemned to stay on the road.

Nevertheless, thanks to the fire support of three medium tanks, the five tanks of the patrol were able to reach, after some effort, the last ridge dominating the exits of its objective. A good observatory 1,000 meters from the first houses allowed for the necessary overview, but it was hardly possible to put down. Each attempt by the platoon leader immediately triggered heavy machine-gun fire from Germans hidden in the vineyards and so well camouflaged by the foliage that it was only at a guess that our gunners could answer them from their turrets.

To obtain the information sought, a first incursion into the village was necessary. Lieutenant Rouland decided to attempt it and on his own tank, the "Béarn", supported by the "Bretagne", he went forward up to five or six hundred meters from the little town, in which nothing seemed to move, but where every window seemed to see. The officer and his deputy were able to detect the presence of two 88 mm anti-tank guns, whose servants, carefully camouflaged no doubt, gave no sign of life. A few meters from the "Béarn", the carcass of the "Aquitaine", one of the tanks that had tried the day before to force the passage, testified however to the excellence of the shooting of those who were so cautious for the moment.

Their observation finished, the two vehicles returned in haste to the last ridge and each one duly informed, a violent descent on the village was decided. It was to be preceded on the one hand, by the destruction of the guns spotted by an adjusted fire, of the three medium tanks which had just arrived, and on the other hand, by a nourished and systematic fire of these same tanks, on all the edges being in the field of their 75.

In a few minutes, about fifty explosives fell on all the suspicious points and the first two light tanks of the patrol, "Bretagne" in the lead, raced towards their objective following the instructions received.

This was undoubtedly the opportunity so patiently awaited by the German defense. As soon as the tanks were engaged, from the houses and bushes, which seemed to be asleep the previous minute, a heavy fire from heavy machine guns and light cannons was coming. At the same time, a large-caliber German battery framed the road with precision, isolating the "Bretagne" from the rest of the patrol.

The radio however was going to play its role, and while one could see the turret of the " Bretagne " spitting in all directions, the voice of the tank commander located, very calmly in all this noise, the precise objectives that his presence revealed. In a few seconds, the reconnaissance commander had the information that would allow the infantry and artillery to play their role. At the end of these precious moments, Lieutenant Rouland could see from his tank the "Bretagne" making a fantastic turn and tumbling to the right of the road, while one of its tracks was shattered.

The radio had fallen silent, but the patrol had accomplished the first part of its mission. All the tanks, except the "Bretagne", gathered back behind the ridge, would wait for the infantry to begin the second phase of their work.

On August 23, 1944, La Valette having been definitively conquered, the crews of the Peloton Rouland, could only notice the wounds of the "Bretagne", riddled with impacts, a broken undercarriage, it was lying completely overturned in the ditch of the road at the very place where it had been seen to disappear.

Inside, amidst the inextricable mess of shells and torn-off lockers, there was no way to determine the fate of the missing or trapped crew members, whom the Captain was about to add to his already long list of dead and wounded. However, the unbelievable news went around the Squadron at the bivouac, like wildfire, that Chief Raymond and the guys from the "Bretagne" had returned from the mountain with 150 prisoners.

The tank overturned, the occupants found themselves in complete darkness, and all of them, from Raymond, the leader, to Nanta, the pilot, Deperne, the gunner, and Ausina, the pilot's assistant, thought, as they later admitted, that their last hour had come. The sand from the protective bags filled the pilots' mouths. Burning oil flowed out of a broken transfer case, and those in the turret, trapped between the breech of the gun, half-stunned by the shells ejected from their cells, were unable to move.

It was Ausina who was the first to come to his senses. Groping for an electric lamp, he had managed to straighten up a little when his skull hit the lock of the escape hatch on the bottom of the tank. It only took a second to grab the lock and open it. The trap door was stuck, and Ausina, using her head and feet, managed to jump out of it, leaving a bit of her leather behind, and slipped through the manhole to find herself outside in the midst of an attentive circle of Germans armed with machine guns. Getting Nanta out, badly burned by the oil splashes, was a matter of a second.

Meanwhile Raymond and his gunner had also been able to recover, in the glow of the now open manhole, their situation appeared to them in all its hopelessness. Deperne, upside down, had the fingers of one hand stuck in his turret door. Because he could not get out of the way, he could not make room for the Chief who was curled up next to him. Both very calmly considered all possible solutions. It was Deperne who first thought he had found a solution and said, "Take your knife, Chief, and cut off my fingers. This was said in such a simple way that Raymond, a tank commander who had been cited twice for wartime actions and who, since the Tunisian campaign, had been attached to his gunner by the bonds of a solid affection, almost experienced his first failure, the one caused by a deep emotion. However energetic in front of his refusal, Deperne had searched in his pockets, had found his knife and having opened it coldly began the task that his teammate refused to do. The only comments he made afterwards to the doctor who was treating his serious cuts were to regret having such a bad knife that when he reached the bone, the blade could not bite.

Ausina outside had first fainted. For a very short time, gathering his strength and still under the eye of the impassive Germans, who were careful not to move as the bombardment was intense. He had taken the crowbar attached to the "Brittany", and resolutely attacked the twisted iron that blocked the Chief in his turret.

In spite of numerous physical failures, he finally managed to free the turret and Raymond emerged from the chaos to find himself surrounded by enemies. With gestures, he made them understand the situation of the last member of the crew. A jack was needed to free him. The gesture of this German NCO, who, without losing his surveillance, ordered one of his men to go and get the tool he needed, should be underlined here in all impartiality. These Germans were the servants of a 77 gun, and three of them had been killed by the fire of the "Bretagne".
When Deperne felt the tank lift, he was convinced that this meant the traditional mine was being laid, by which the road would be cleared of the tank's carcass.

He had put his head between his knees, and was resigned to die when a last hope, a last desire to live again made him call his Chief. Raymond heard this last call, where for the first time an intense despair could be heard: "Chief, don't leave me! And the answer came, soothing, magnificent in its simplicity: "You don't have to yell, I'm here.

The conclusion is provided by Deperne himself, it is as terse as everything else "It still made me happy," he says, when he tells the end of the story.

The artillery fire had subsided. Surrounded by a dozen Germans, including several wounded, the men of "Brittany" were led into underground caves overlooking La Valette. Nearly 150 Germans were there, many of them wounded, all of whom seemed to have made a great effort. Chief Raymond and his men spent 36 hours in this shelter. On the morning of August 24, a German officer came to him and briefly explained the general situation. The victorious French were coming from all sides. In order to avoid a massacre, Raymond and his men had to ensure the surrender of the entire underground garrison. An hour later, the first skirmishers were called out by a French NCO who delivered his 150 guards from the previous day without a fight."


It was still worth the detour, right?

And all this from a verification based on a nice little picture... ( )

I will have something (short) in the scenario about Larminat, the commander of II Corps.

Many of the links to French-speaking sites that you provide show something like this which needs to be resolved before entering. I hesitate to click on either option without knowing what it involved, even if it's just accepting cookies:


Béarn the aircraft carrier is mentioned in the scenario. Béarn the tank will not, and, although that is an interesting story about Bretagne the tank, it will not be in there, either. The story is too long and it's below the horizon; that is, unless it was a famous incident known the world over, a story about what happened to a particular tank and its crew is below the scope of what I am trying to relate.

Sure, I turned La Combattante into a scenario but that was a well-known ship with several backstories. Somehow, that worked for OOB but Bretagne the tank would not and a pop-up message about it would be a non-sequitur, thrown in because I wanted to show off my knowledge.

Remember, there are folks out there that think I am talking too much as it is. As a matter of fact, if I had to weigh opinions in a poll, I would say more people have told me that than those who have said they love the background that I am providing.

As a further matter of fact, with the exception of yourself, I seem to have outlived my audience. There is very little activity in these forums to begin with and for the past several weeks, hardly anybody is participating or commenting on this campaign except you. We do have a fair amount of lurkers, it seems, based on how many times images are viewed. But none of these people have anything to say?

Furthermore, nobody in authority is answering technical questions and we seem to be in one of those periodic lulls when there really isn't anybody minding the store. The driving force behind this game started packing his bags four years ago, and left three years ago, and since then there has been no real development of this game; just new DLC and new units. The community could be doing these things just as well.

There's only so much that official DLC for a non-developing game can do after a while. People get bored with such a stagnant game and move on. Most of them will not come back no matter how many DLC "kriegs" are thrown at them because it gets to be repetitive old hash. Remedy? Start talking about other wars and other time periods. That would get attention but I don't think there's anybody home anymore who is capable of such development.

I have always had it in the back of my mind that OOB may dry up and disappear sometime soon. I just don't get upset over it anymore. It is what it is.

So the clock is ticking. But don't worry. I most assuredly WILL FINISH this project even if I have to e-mail you the final product.

bru888 wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 12:29 am [...] Many of the links to French-speaking sites that you provide show something like this which needs to be resolved before entering. I hesitate to click on either option without knowing what it involved, even if it's just accepting cookies: [...]

No need to worry too much. It's all about the cookies. It bothers me too , but at least it leaves some choice (it's not the same everywhere; whether they respect that choice or not is another question... )!

There, we can see two "buttons":
"Accepter & Fermer" => Basically, it's saying yes to all their cookies, before removing that pop-up and accessing the web page content.
"En savoir plus ->" => There, it is to access (in general) to a list of the different types of cookies and to the possibility to accept only some of them instead of all of them... but it takes time, everything is in French (well, if the site is in basic French, that is)...

Let me suggest you another alternative (the one I try to always use):
In the top right of this web pop-up, you can click on the "Continuer sans accepter ->" (written in smaller characters )
Then, it means that you choose to "Continue without accepting" or "Go on without accepting" (their coockies, that is)... Click there, the pop-up disappears and then you can access to all the content of the corresponding webpage. (Again, they could maybe not entirely respect your choice about it, but there is nothing one can do about this... They could as well simply not offer us any choice instead.)

Anyway, you won't get directly a virus or something out of it: I know, because I've just done (so somehow checked) it myself previously, as I don't suggest a link without having first at least opened it once.


Another possibility would be to do a search for each interesting image to see it appear in the images provided by Google, for example... but it would be very long, with no guarantee of success... and I would have had to open the link to access the content anyway... Or I could save them all separately, upload the folder, but I don't know if any of these pictures will be useful/used afterwards anyway.

I agree about the two Béarn - great for the aircraft carrier!

It is true that there is yet not much activity directly on these forums. But maybe a lot of people are just waiting for new campaigns to be developed to play them quietly in their corner? Maybe they are somehow trustful, thinking it's good enough already, so there's not much left to change or add?

bru888 wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 12:29 am [...] nobody in authority is answering technical questions it's a shame! and we seem to be in one of those periodic lulls when there really isn't anybody minding the store. The driving force behind this game started packing his bags four years ago, and left three years ago, and since then there has been no real development of this game; just new DLC and new units.Again, it's a shame! The community could be doing these things just as well. Indeed.

[...] Remedy? Start talking about other wars and other time periods. That would get attention but I don't think there's anybody home anymore who is capable of such development. Then they could already recruit new guys, then train them if necessary... if they offer good working conditions, this should not be too problematic. But, hey, let's stay focused on this campaign. [...]

bru888 wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 12:29 am [...] So the clock is ticking. But don't worry. I most assuredly WILL FINISH this project even if I have to e-mail you the final product.

Awesome, thanks a lot.

As for me, you can count on my help until the end!

If the wind should ever change like this , just keep me informed , please, and I will provide you with an email address so that you can reach me directly.

We will succeed!

I was looking for evidences of the participation of French elements of the 1re DB together with the 3 experienced US Inf Div for their landing... and I've found several of them, including even precisions:

For example, this (French) book talks about the different phases: isolation (of the future assault zone), assault and finally exploitation.
https://books.google.ch/books?id=GbNN3Q ... C1&f=false

What is interesting, for us here, is that it confirms that the Combat Command 1 (CC1) of the Free French 1re DB participated in the assault phase with the 3 American infantry divisions!

Here we've an OoB of this French armored division (1 page, pdf), thus we kow which units have directly helped the Americans... https://www.google.ch/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... MgavIXLxWW


Obviously, this has to be mentioned somewhere: armored elements of the Free French have directly helped the US Inf Divs to land, as they have even landed/assaulted together!

Now, I don't know what you plan in terms of deloyement, but one could perhaps depict it like this:
When the time comes, deploy all troops of the 1re DB EXCEPT those from this CC1... the units from the CC1 may be spawn few turns later along the road in the SE together with an event (after all, the US are supposed to cover our right flank in this scenario, these guys helped them to succeed in their landing and thus, if they are now to join us, it may very likely be by the road, isn't it?)... where to spawn them? Well, the village/town of Cogolin is a perfect candidate, right on the edge of the map (looking at your Template), exactly on this road, not much in the interiors of the lands... which means, by the way, that this location, Cogolin, may be added as well on this map! (Otherwise, anyway, the map feels a little empty there right now.)

BUT now there is something that we have to know: (well, or you may very well keep the surprise until this scenario can be tested, but there is something to think about anyway)
Our land units (except the commandos of course), will they appear for this battle already on land or not? Do we still have to consider a Free French landing in our sector or to expect the Frenchies to have landed "safely" (except mostly the guys from the CC1 of the 1re DB) on already conquered beaches to then (and then only) push further... Or, perhaps even spawn most of our units in the SE, on land, at the exception of one Free French infantry division still about to make a real landing on the beaches present on this map, thus attacking them by sea and by land to quiclky secure them.

Anyway, whatever you choose there, the participation of the Free French troops of the CC1 (1re DB) has to be mentionned (even briefly) with (or within) a cool event...

'Looking for complementary info about Toulon & Marseille:
*******
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Toulon_(1944) :

"Toulon was not a good target for an amphibious assault, it was well defended from a seaborne assault, so it would have to be taken from the land. The land approaches were also defended. A 700m high hill provided excellent artillery and observation positions. Ridges nearby were protected by French pillboxes. In 1941–2, as a token of goodwill to the Germans, the Government of Vichy France strengthened the defences. These defences were strengthened further by the Germans who took equipment off the scuttled French fleet ships, installing two 340mm turrets and 75 medium-sized guns along the coast.

On 13 August as part of Operation Nutmeg, the 17th Bombardment Group attacked Toulon Harbour twice, with Martin B-26 Marauder aircraft, experiencing heavy anti aircraft fire.

[...] Patch gave the order to General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny to take the cities of Toulon and Marseille, which were to be attacked simultaneously with de Larminat in charge of attacking Toulon. [...] The German troops around Toulon were the 242nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) who set up a defensive line east of Toulon. Under Hitler's orders, they were to defend Toulon to the last man and, if defeat was inevitable, destroy the harbour.

[...] On 16 August the 17th Bombardment Group returned with the object of destroying the heavy guns. This was not a task appreciated by the crews, who had experienced the very heavy flak already. There would be a total of 28 raids against the submarine pens and artillery batteries, in which eight B-26 were lost and 125 damaged.

[...] Given the success of the Allied invasion, de Lattre decided to move ahead with the liberation of Toulon rather than wait for the second wave of Allied landings and started the move on 18 August with the troops that were available. Sixteen thousand fighters went into battle with thirty tanks and a few artillery batteries.

[...] To the east, German troops used old French tanks in their defence.

[...] A victory parade was held on the 27th to the sound of German artillery guns still firing on the attackers, including the 340mm guns. Attempts by the Germans to flee by sea on August 27 were met by American ships. One vessel escaped, another was captured, and the remaining four were sunk.

[...] After the war General Charles de Gaulle was to claim that the battle for France was also the battle of Frenchmen for France, it was he who ensured that de Lattre and Leclerc had been in defining moments in the Liberation of France, it was they who had driven into Marseilles, Paris and Toulon." => Well, this claim isn't necessarily the most impartial, but not that much wrong either.
*******
Once Toulon's port has been recaptured: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:V ... e_1944.jpg (Caption: "The Toulon Naval Dockyard, France photographed from the Coaling Station circa late 1944, showing wreckage left from the scuttling of the French fleet on 27 November 1942, plus subsequent bombing damage. The destroyers sunk just off shore are (from left to right): Tartu, Cassard and L'Indomptable (all sunk upright), Vautour (nearly fully submerged) and Aigle (capsized and blown in two). In the right center distance is the partially dismantled old battleship Condorcet. A number of heavy guns, many damaged, are in the left center foreground, with a large bomb crater adjacent to them. Several other bomb craters are in the right foreground.")

There are definitely opportunities to recall the awesome Operation Lila Denied scenario, whose tracks will still be visible at that time...
*******
More scuttling? Well, for the background, definitely yes...

During the landing in Provence, the occupying forces blew up the port facilities: more than 200 ships were sunk and the famous ferry bridge of Marseille, or "Marseille Transporter Bridge", was destroyed. (From this French website: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataille_de_Toulon_(1944) )

"Marseille Transporter Bridge"? Picture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pont ... eur-01.jpg or https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... uselang=fr
Already more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marseille ... ter_Bridge
And much more here (in French), just in case: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_tran ... _Marseille => some translated paragraphs from this link:

"[...] This bridge system has the advantage of not disrupting maritime traffic. It consists of moving a gondola suspended from the metal frame of the bridge from one bank to the other.

[...] The Marseille ferry was of the "counterweight and joint" type. It was built in nineteen months to connect the Port and Rive Neuve quays. It was inaugurated on December 15, 1905.

The ferry is composed of two pylons, each 86.60 meters high and weighing 240 tons. At 52 meters above the sea, the 239 meters long deck connects the two pylons. A 120 m² and 20 tons gondola shuttles between the two shores in 1 minute 30.

[...] The bridge deck is accessible to pedestrians via staircases located inside each pylon, as well as an elevator installed in the north pylon in 1907. The deck provides access to another staircase leading to an observation platform, 74 meters high.

On the north side of the deck was a fish buffet-restaurant where bouillabaisse and lobsters were on the menu. In the 1930s, it was only used as a decoration, due to a lack of means to maintain it.

[...]On August 22, 1944, the German army blew up the bridge to block the harbor during the battle of Marseille, but only the north pylon fell into the water.

[...] In the minds of the people of Marseille at the time, the transporter bridge was the Eiffel Tower of Marseille. Others considered it to be a mess, and some painters failed to depict this "pile of junk" in a painting of the Old Port.

But it remains in the collective memory and its rebirth is regularly evoked. In the year 2000, a reconstruction with two huge cranes placed at the entrance of the Old Port gave rise to memorable festivities.[...]"

ColonelY wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 7:48 am As for me, you can count on my help until the end!

Thanks, Colonel. That means a lot.

ColonelY wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 8:19 am Obviously, this has to be mentioned somewhere: armored elements of the Free French have directly helped the US Inf Divs to land, as they have even landed/assaulted together!

Now, I don't know what you plan in terms of deloyement, but one could perhaps depict it like this:
When the time comes, deploy all troops of the 1re DB EXCEPT those from this CC1... the units from the CC1 may be spawn few turns later along the road in the SE together with an event (after all, the US are supposed to cover our right flank in this scenario, these guys helped them to succeed in their landing and thus, if they are now to join us, it may very likely be by the road, isn't it?)... where to spawn them? Well, the village/town of Cogolin is a perfect candidate, right on the edge of the map (looking at your Template), exactly on this road, not much in the interiors of the lands... which means, by the way, that this location, Cogolin, may be added as well on this map! (Otherwise, anyway, the map feels a little empty there right now.)

BUT now there is something that we have to know: (well, or you may very well keep the surprise until this scenario can be tested, but there is something to think about anyway)
Our land units (except the commandos of course), will they appear for this battle already on land or not? Do we still have to consider a Free French landing in our sector or to expect the Frenchies to have landed "safely" (except mostly the guys from the CC1 of the 1re DB) on already conquered beaches to then (and then only) push further... Or, perhaps even spawn most of our units in the SE, on land, at the exception of one Free French infantry division still about to make a real landing on the beaches present on this map, thus attacking them by sea and by land to quiclky secure them.

Anyway, whatever you choose there, the participation of the Free French troops of the CC1 (1re DB) has to be mentionned (even briefly) with (or within) a cool event...

Adopted.

These OOBs that you have provided are quite helpful, thanks. I was inspired to return to Argentan to clarify that the units in that one are from the "2e DB" as shown here:


Most of the names are distinctive enough that it does not matter whether a particular unit was the "12e" battalion or regiment. It's the flavor and immersion that count, not absolute accuracy, when faced with the limited space provided for unit names.

This is important because I will probably use this same lineup for the 2e DB in Liberation of Paris, Strasbourg, and Operation Nordwind.

ColonelY wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 8:19 am Our land units (except the commandos of course), will they appear for this battle already on land or not? Do we still have to consider a Free French landing in our sector or to expect the Frenchies to have landed "safely" (except mostly the guys from the CC1 of the 1re DB) on already conquered beaches to then (and then only) push further... Or, perhaps even spawn most of our units in the SE, on land, at the exception of one Free French infantry division still about to make a real landing on the beaches present on this map, thus attacking them by sea and by land to quiclky secure them.

Anyway, whatever you choose there, the participation of the Free French troops of the CC1 (1re DB) has to be mentionned (even briefly) with (or within) a cool event...

It's been a while since I allowed deployment at scenario start, so I thought I would do so here. Most of the II Corps will be deployed on land, in the east, having traveled overland from their disembarkation points on the Côte d'Azur (not on the map). The CC1 of the 1re DB will appear later (Turn 3 feels right) near Cogolin with a popup message (using the image above) as you suggested.

By the way, "weather" (pun) it is factual or not, the scenario begins with rain and fog grounding all air units. The sun comes out coincidentally with the commandos finishing their work on the Îles d'Hyères which also releases the naval bombardment fleet. Reason: I don't want the player interfering with the commando mission by using airplanes.

bru888 wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 4:07 pm These OOBs that you have provided are quite helpful, thanks. You're welcome. I was inspired to return to Argentan to clarify that the units in that one are from the "2e DB" as shown here: [...] Most of the names are distinctive enough that it does not matter whether a particular unit was the "12e" battalion or regiment. It's the flavor and immersion that count, not absolute accuracy, when faced with the limited space provided for unit names. Completely agree. It's perfect... well, just a little detail: "Nord Africain" would look much better with this small addition here "Nord-Africain", with the " - " between these two words.
EDIT: Well, and a final one: "Régiment Cuirassiers" would be better as "Régiment de Cuirassiers" (and we have enough room for it)... and now, that's it!

This is important because I will probably use this same lineup for the 2e DB in Liberation of Paris, Strasbourg, and Operation Nordwind. On overall, I would say "of course yes". And that will be a gain of time as well. We'll just see in due time if there is any need to make any changes to this (2e DB's) OoB... but in principle I don't think so.

Like this, it may indeed be more clear for the player:
-> 1re DB in the South-East, coming through Provence; 2e DB in the North-West, coming through Normandy.
-> Mostly the same units per DB throughout the different scenarios...