Am creating new balanced MP scenarios

[the_iron_duke]

I'm adding a bit of extra info to the names for the German air units:

Jagd. - Jagdflugzeug - fighter
Jabo. - Jagdbomber - fighter-bomber/pursuit bomber
Bomb. - Bomber - Bomber

And changing the British ones to:

Ftr. - fighter
Ftr.Bmbr. - fighter-bomber
Bmbr. - bomber

[the_iron_duke]

Here are possible titles for Soviet aircraft unit-names.

FIGHTER:

истребитель - istrebitel' - fighter
истр. - Istr.

DIVE-BOMBER (Pe-2):

пикирующий бомбардировщик - pikirujushhij bombardirovshhik - dive-bomber

GROUND-ATTACK (Il-2)

штурмовик - shturmovik

BOMBER (Il-4):

Бомбардировщик - Bombardirovshhik

The only one I've found an abbreviation for (longer than one letter) is the Istr. for fighter. So I suggest for the others:

Piki. - dive-bomber
Sht. or Shtm. - ground attack
Bomb. - bomber (strategic)

[the_iron_duke]

I've made some changes to The Bulldog and The Eagle I, boosting the British air advantage and giving the Germans greater ground strength.

Germans:

- lose a Bf 109 fighter
- He 177 strategic bomber downgraded to He 111
- lose a paratrooper
- gain a Panzerwerfer 42 rocket-launcher

British:

- lose a Lancaster Mk.III strategic bomber

[the_iron_duke]

Here are the armies for The Eagle and The Bear I, U.S.S.R. vs Germany, mid '44 scenario with their new unit titles:

SOVIET FORCES

[1.] 1st Mechanized Corps

1st Mechanized Brigade:

1. 1./1 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
1. 2./1 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
1. 3./1 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

4th Mechanized Brigade:

1. 1./4 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
1. 2./4 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
1. 3./4 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

7th Mechanized Brigade:

1. 1./7 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
1. 2./7 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
1. 3./7 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

10th Tank Brigade:

1. 1./10 Tan. - T-34-85 tank
1. 2./10 Tan. - T-34-85 tank

Divisional support:

1. 13 Razv. - BA-64 recon
1. 16 I.P.T. - SU-85 tank destroyer
1. 19 S.Art. - SU-122 assault gun/self-propelled artillery
1. 22 Zen. - 37mm M1939 (w/ Truck) towed anti-air
1. 25 Inzh. - Soviet Eng 43 engineers (w/ Truck)

[2.] 2nd Mechanized Corps

2nd Mechanized Brigade:

2. 1./2 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
2. 2./2 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
2. 3./2 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

5th Mechanized Brigade:

2. 1./5 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
2. 2./5 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
2. 3./5 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

8th Mechanized Brigade:

2. 1./8 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
2. 2./8 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
2. 3./8 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

11th Tank Brigade:

2. 1./11 Tan. - T-34-85 tank
2. 2./11 Tan. - T-34-85 tank

Divisional support:

2. 14 Razv. - BA-64 recon
2. 17 I.P.T. - SU-85 tank destroyer
2. 20 S.Art. - SU-122 assault gun/self-propelled artillery
2. 23 Zen. - 37mm M1939 (w/ Truck) towed anti-air
2. 26 Inzh. - Soviet Eng 43 engineers (w/ Truck)

[3.] 3rd Mechanized Corps

3rd Mechanized Brigade:

3. 1./3 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
3. 2./3 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
3. 3./3 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

6th Mechanized Brigade:

3. 1./6 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
3. 2./6 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
3. 3./6 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

9th Mechanized Brigade:

3. 1./9 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
3. 2./9 M.Str. - Regular 43 infantry (w/ Truck)
3. 3./9 Art. - 76.2mm M1942 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

12th Tank Brigade:

3. 1./12 Tan. - T-34-85 tank
3. 2./12 Tan. - T-34-85 tank

Divisional support:

3. 15 Razv. - BA-64 recon
3. 18 I.P.T. - SU-85 tank destroyer
3. 21 S.Art. - SU-122 assault gun/self-propelled artillery
3. 24 Zen. - 37mm M1939 (w/ Truck) towed anti-air
3. 27 Inzh. - Soviet Eng 43 engineers (w/ Truck)

[O.] Attached units [otdel'nyj/'Separate', 'independent']

Heavy tank regiment:

O. 28 T.Tan. - IS-2 heavy tank

Heavy assault gun regiment:

O. 29 T.S.Art. - ISU-152 heavy assault gun/self-propelled artillery

Guards Mortar rocket-artillery regiment:

O. 30 Gv.Min. - BM-13 Katyusha self-propelled rocket-launchers

Heavy artillery brigade:

O. 1./31 T.Art. - 152mm M1938 (w/ Truck) towed artillery
O. 2./31 T.Art. - 122mm M1938 (w/ Truck) towed artillery

Heavy anti-aircraft regiment:

O. 32 T.Zen. - 85mm M1939 (w/ Truck) towed anti-aircraft

Cavalry regiment:

O. 33 Kav. - Soviet Cavalry

Bridge-engineer unit:

O. 34 Mst.Inzh. - Soviet BridgEng (w/ Truck) bridge engineer

Paratroop regiment:

O. 35 V.D.V. - Soviet Para 43

[V.] Aircraft [Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily/'Soviet Air Force']

Fighters:

V. 1./36 Istr. - Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter
V. 2./36 Istr. - Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter
V. 3./36 Istr. - Yakovlev Yak-9D fighter
V. 4./36 Istr. - Yakovlev Yak-9D fighter

Tactical bombers:

V. 1./37 Shtm. - Il-2M3 Shturmovik ground-attack aircraft
V. 2./37 Shtm. - Il-2M3 Shturmovik ground-attack aircraft
V. 3./38 Piki. - Petlyakov Pe-2 dive-bomber

Strategic bombers:

V. 1./39 Bomb. - Ilyushin Il-4 strategic bomber
V. 2./39 Bomb. - Ilyushin Il-4 strategic bomber

GERMAN FORCES

[1.] 1st Panzer Division

1st Panzer Regiment:

1. I./Pz. 1 - Panther G tank
1. II./Pz. 1 - Panzer IVJ tank

4th Panzergrenadier Regiment:

1. I./Pz.Gr. 4 - Grenadier 43 (w/ SdKfz 251/1 half-track)
1. II./Pz.Gr. 4 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)

7th Panzergrenadier Regiment:

1. I./Pz.Gr. 7 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)
1. II./Pz.Gr. 7 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)

10th Panzer Artillery Regiment:

1. I./Pz.Art. 10 - Wespe self-propelled artillery
1. II./Pz.Art. 10 - 15 cm sFH 18 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed artillery
1. III./Pz.Art. 10 - 10.5 cm leFH 18 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed artillery

Divisional support:

1. Pz.Aufkl. 13 - SdKfz 234/1 8Rad recon
1. Pz.Jg. 16 - StuG IIIG tank destroyer
1. Flak. 19 - 3.7 cm FlaK 37 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed anti-air
1. Pz.Pi. 22 - Pioniere 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) engineers

[2.] 2nd Panzer Division

2nd Panzer Regiment:

2. I./Pz. 2 - Panther G tank
2. II./Pz. 2 - Panzer IVJ tank

5th Panzergrenadier Regiment:

2. I./Pz.Gr. 5 - Grenadier 43 (w/ SdKfz 251/1 half-track)
2. II./Pz.Gr. 5 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)

8th Panzergrenadier Regiment:

2. I./Pz.Gr. 8 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)
2. II./Pz.Gr. 8 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)

11th Panzer Artillery Regiment:

2. I./Pz.Art. 11 - Wespe self-propelled artillery
2. II./Pz.Art. 11 - 15 cm sFH 18 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed artillery
2. III./Pz.Art. 11 - 10.5 cm leFH 18 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed artillery

Divisional support:

2. Pz.Aufkl. 14 - SdKfz 234/1 8Rad recon
2. Pz.Jg. 17 - StuG IIIG tank destroyer
2. Flak. 20 - 3.7 cm FlaK 37 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed anti-air
2. Pz.Pi. 23 - Pioniere 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) engineers

[3.] 3rd Panzer Division

3rd Panzer Regiment:

3. I./Pz. 3 - Panther G tank
3. II./Pz. 3 - Panzer IVJ tank

6th Panzergrenadier Regiment:

3. I./Pz.Gr. 6 - Grenadier 43 (w/ SdKfz 251/1 half-track)
3. II./Pz.Gr. 6 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)

9th Panzergrenadier Regiment:

3. I./Pz.Gr. 9 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)
3. II./Pz.Gr. 9 - Wehrmacht Infantry 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck)

12th Panzer Artillery Regiment:

3. I./Pz.Art. 12 - Wespe self-propelled artillery
3. II./Pz.Art. 12 - 15 cm sFH 18 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed artillery
3. III./Pz.Art. 12 - 10.5 cm leFH 18 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed artillery

Divisional support:

3. Pz.Aufkl. 15 - SdKfz 234/1 8Rad recon
3. Pz.Jg. 18 - StuG IIIG tank destroyer
3. Flak. 21 - 3.7 cm FlaK 37 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) towed anti-air
3. Pz.Pi. 24 - Pioniere 43 (w/ Opel Blitz truck) engineers

[H.] Attached units [Heerestruppen/Unterstellt]:

Independent heavy tank battalion:

H. s.Pz. 25 - Tiger I heavy tank

Independent heavy tank destroyer battalion:

H. s.Pz.Jg. 26 - Jagdpanther heavy tank destroyer

Werfer battalion:

H. Werf. 27 - Panzerwerfer 42 rocket-launchers

Heavy artillery regiment:

H. I./s.Art. 28 - 21 cm Mrs 18 (w/ SdKfz 7 half-track) towed heavy artillery
H. II./s.Art. 28 - 21 cm Mrs 18 (w/ SdKfz 7 half-track) towed heavy artillery

Heavy anti-aircraft regiment:

H. I./s.Flak. 29 - 8.8 cm FlaK 36 (w/ SdKfz 7 half-track) towed heavy anti-air
H. II./s.Flak. 29 - 8.8 cm FlaK 36 (w/ SdKfz 7 half-track) towed heavy anti-air

Motorcycle battalion:

H. Krad. 30 - Kradschutzen motorcycle

Bridge-engineer unit:

H. Pi.Br. 31 - Bruckenpioniere (w/ Opel Blitz truck) bridge engineer

Paratroop battalion:

H. Fschm.Jg. 32 - Fallschirmjager 43 paratrooper

[L.] Aircraft [Luftwaffe]:

Fighters:

L. 1./JG 33 Jagd. - Focke-Wulf Fw 190A fighter
L. 2./JG 33 Jagd. - Messerchmitt Bf 109G fighter

Tactical bombers/fighter-bombers:

L. 1./ZG 34 Jabo. - Messerchmitt 410A fighter-bomber
L. 2./SG 35 Jabo. - Focke-Wulf Fw 190F fighter-bomber

Strategic bombers:

L. 1./KG 36 Bomb. - Junkers Ju 88A strategic bomber
L. 2./KG 36 Bomb. - Heinkel He He 111H2 strategic bomber

[the_iron_duke]

Here is the updated The Bulldog and The Eagle I scenario map with the armies' initial deployment:

[the_iron_duke]

I must say I'm having the most brilliant The Bulldog and The Eagle II game. It feels like a real authentic Second World War battle and it has left me lying awake at night planning my next tactical moves! My aim was to try and re-create something like the fantastic Field of Glory tactical multiplayer experience and my personal opinion is that I have at least equalled that.

Here is a run-down of my games so far...

The original The Eagle and The Bear I played one game of and won easily. I was dissatisfied with the map in that the general flow of the rivers was too much at (roughly) vertical/horizontal angles which meant they became too linear as natural barriers, so both sides ended up facing off across them.

Therefore, with the next scenario, The Bulldog and The Eagle I, I had a major river going through it, but at an oblique angle. So both players face the situation of having their left wings close to the river and their right wings far from the river, which immediately gives the player tactical decisions to make. The river is also more winding so it is less feasible to securely defend along it. I started this scenario twice but my opponents both gave up with barely a shot fired, although I have now started a game against a new opponent.

The Bulldog and The Eagle II, game unit as company scenario, is what I am enjoying at the moment. I like this scale a lot. It represents a kilometre as about three hexes so it's quite zoomed in. The downside is that it does stretch the game a bit unrealistically. At this scale, tanks would in reality be able to fire a distance of multiple hexes, rather than one hex, and artillery would be able to fire even further. Fuel would also last longer.

I have almost completed the all-new The Eagle and The Bear I, back to game unit as battalion scale, which I feel also promises to be a cracking game.

[the_iron_duke]

Here is the map for The Eagle and The Bear I, Germany vs USSR, mid '44, loosely set during the Belorussian Offensive (Germans start on the left edge, Soviets on the right).

[the_iron_duke]

I've also been working on another Britain v Germany, northern France, mid '44 scenario - The Bulldog and The Eagle III. It drops an armoured division from each corps and adds an infantry division. The British also get an independent armoured brigade of Churchill tanks, while the Germans get a Waffen-SS brigade. The British also get a single commando in a kangaroo transport which should be a fun unit!

The focus of the map is a large town with a river running through it at the centre of the map.

[the_iron_duke]

Here is the file for the scenario The Bulldog and The Eagle I [Beta v3]:

[Link removed due to version obsolescence]

[the_iron_duke]

I have been spending time looking at the Russian wikipedia and am making some alterations to my Soviet unit names.

1) I am changing the tank designation from A.B.T. to Tan. as the units were named as "tank" units rather than "armoured" units. I have seen a couple of Russian sources abbreviating "tank" to "Tan." (rather than "Tank." as might be expected). So a heavy tank unit would be T.Tan.

танковый - tankovyj
тан - tan.

2) Assault gun I am changing from S.A.U. to S.Art. as the units were name as "self-propelled artillery" units.

самоходно-артиллерийский - samohodno-artillerijskij

The Soviets, unlike the Germans, are much more into their acronyms than their abbreviations. So a tank regiment was shortened to тп (T.P.).

For space reasons I have tried in my naming of the units in the various armies to keep the unit titles simple and so have been leaving out the unit size information (battalion, regiment etc.) and so I'm going to be consistent and do the same with the Soviets. I am also favouring abbreviations rather than acronyms.

So a,

Separate Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
отдельный тяжёлый самоходно-артиллерийский полк
otdel'nyj tjazhjolyj samohodno-artillerijskij polk

would have the historical acronym:

отсап
OTSAP

However, in my system it would be named, for example:

O. 23 T.S.Art.

The separate/independent units come under the attached units category and so would in my naming system start with an O. for otdel'nyj (the equivalent of H. for Heerestruppen for the Germans).

T. is for tjazhjolyj (heavy)
S. is for samohodno (self-propelled)
Art. is the abbreviation for artillerijskij (artillery)

Any more thoughts or suggestions for the Soviet unit names? (...ThvN )

[ThvN]

Any more thoughts or suggestions for the Soviet unit names? (...ThvN )

Oof! You have already done so much research, it will be very hard to come up with even more than that. Are you looking for any troublesome names in particular? I might need a little break from some work which has been foisted upon me last friday and has to be done by monday, and a little searching might be a nice distraction tomorrow.

BTW, the Commando/Kangaroo combo looks fun indeed, and did you know that the tactical use of this vehicle was a Canadian invention? Just in case you can't come up with a name for it...

[the_iron_duke]

Are you looking for any troublesome names in particular?

Nothing in particular. You are good at spotting things that need to be corrected but I'm satisfied with the names as they are if you can't see any obvious deficiencies. Thanks for the offer, though.

BTW, the Commando/Kangaroo combo looks fun indeed

I'm not sure whether I'll use the Commando/Kangaroo combo in the end. The price for the transport is 200 points, double that of a Bren Carrier and I'm not sure the extra cost is worth it. The British Commando unit is not that good anyway, particularly compared to the upgraded '43 model infantry units.

The new The Eagle & The Bear I edges closer to completion...

[the_iron_duke]

I'm making a new scenario with a slightly different format. Same armies but with slightly smaller maps - 40 x 40 rather than 50 x 50 hexes.

This should make for a more compact and quicker-paced scenario, and probably more acceptable for the mass market!

First one will be a repeat of The Bulldog and The Eagle I armies - a Panzerkorps vs a British Armoured Corps, northern France 1944.

[the_iron_duke]

I've made a table summarising my The Bulldog and The Eagle, Great Britain vs Germany scenario series.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Title | Setting | Map size | Unit size | Army sizes | Main tactical formations
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

BE1: The Bulldog and The Eagle I | France, mid 1944 | Large (50 x 50) | Battalion | 57 vs 60 | Three Panzer Divisions versus three British Armoured Divisions
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BE2: The Bulldog and The Eagle II | France, mid 1944 | Large (50 x 50) | Company | 60 vs 66 | A single Panzer Division versus a single British Armoured Division
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BE3: The Bulldog and The Eagle III | France, mid 1944 | Large (50 x 50) | Battalion | TBC | Two Panzer and one German Inf. Div. vs two British Armoured and one British Inf. Div.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BE4: The Bulldog and The Eagle IV | France, mid 1944 | Medium (40 x 40) | Battalion | 57 vs 60 | Three Panzer Divisions versus three British Armoured Divisions
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[the_iron_duke]

I want to rename the units for my company-level The Bulldog and The Eagle II scenario and am wondering how to best accomplish this. I don't think I've seen any ways of shortening all the company/battalion/regiment or brigade designations into a single unit title.

I know that the British used letters and the Germans Arabic/Hindu numbers for company names.

I suppose it would make sense to put the company before the battalion number. Here are a couple of examples of how I'm thinking of naming the company-level units:

2. 4-II./Pz.Gr. 15

for "2nd Panzer Division: 4th company, 2nd battalion, 15th Panzergrenadier Regiment"

3. C-2./6 M.Inf.

for "3rd British Armoured Division: C company, 2nd battalion, 6th motorised infantry brigade"

Any thoughts?

[Uhu]

When I finished the GC's (till about 10 scenarios in 1945) I would like to skirmish with you.

[the_iron_duke]

When I finished the GC's (till about 10 scenarios in 1945) I would like to skirmish with you.

Cool, thanks for expressing an interest!

[the_iron_duke]

I'm thinking of adding two infantry divisions to each of the armies for The Bulldog and The Eagle I scenario to create a humungous mega-scenario.

Here are lists for British and German infantry division organisation for 1944, based on historical sources.

The British Infantry Division of 1944 is bigger than the 1944 German Infantry Division - paper strenth of 18,347 men compared with 12,105 men. (The 1939-43 German Infantry Division is bigger with 17,200 men, mainly because each infantry regiment has three infantry battalions rather than the two of 1944-45).

British Infantry Division '44

1st Infantry Brigade:

3 x 43 British Inf

2nd Infantry Brigade:

3 x 43 British Inf

3rd Infantry Brigade:

3 x 43 British Inf

Divisional support:

3 x QF 25 pounder (w/ Quad) towed artillery
1 x Humber AC recon
1 x 43 British HW (w/ Lorry) (Machine Gun Battalion)
1 x QF 17 pounder (w/ Matador) towed anti-tank
1 x 40 mm Bofors (w/ Lorry) towed anti-air
1 x Engineer 43 (w/ Lorry)

NOTES:

- the artillery are not technically a brigade
- each division would also typically get two medium/heavy artillery (regiment) units as an A.G.R.A. detachment
- the British have a Machine Gun Battalion as divisional support and I've given them a Lorry transport. I haven't managed to find out if they had transport historically but I've given them a lorry as I believe that all the infantry division units should be able to keep pace with the infantry, so at least 3 hex movement.

German Infantry Division '44

1st Infantry Regiment:

2 x Wehrmacht 43

2nd Infantry Regiment:

2 x Wehrmacht 43

3rd Infantry Regiment:

2 x Wehrmacht 43

Artillery Regiment:

3 x 10.5 cm leFH 18 (w/ Opel Blitz) towed artillery
1 x 15 cm sFH 18 (w/ Opel Blitz) towed artillery

Divisional support:

1 x SdKfz 232 8Rad
1 x 7.5 cm Pak 40 (w/ Opel Blitz) towed anti-tank
1 x Pioniere 43 (w/ Opel Blitz) engineers

NOTES:

- historical table of organisation uses "fusilier" bicyclists for recon. One could use a Kradschutzen motorcycle unit to represent this, but I've gone for a proper recon unit with recon's special movement ability.
- no organic anti-air (at battalion size, anyway).

[the_iron_duke]

Here are the likely armies for my super mega ultimate scenario called, er, The Bulldog and the Eagle V.

The British get two additional infantry divisions and an independent tank brigade. The Germans get three infantry divisions. The British have increased their advantage in the air but don't have air superiority.

Since the Germans have an extra infantry division, and therefore recon battalion, I have made the "fusilier" bicyclists as Kradschutzen rather than as SdKfz.

Stats:

[AXIS] Total units: 101 (cost=30641)[ALLIES] Total units: 102 (cost=30643)

[the_iron_duke]

British forces (three Armoured Divisions, two infantry divisions, attached units and aircraft):



And limbered up: