Free France Campaign

[Erik2]

I bought my first French ( ) Kindle book:
Atlas de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. La France au combat : de la drôle de guerre à la Libération (Atlas/Mémoires)

5 secs to download to my iPad; grabbed perfect iPad screenshots and transfered to my game PC.
There are now a 'Erik's maps' folder with about 40 maps in the BrucErik dropbox.
Well worth the $16.40

Bruce: Will Eric work for you

[bru888]

Bruce: Will Eric work for you

Kindly call me "Bruke" until I have escaped the clutches of "The Finnish Maiden."

[Erik2]

OK
We should rename the kompany BrukEric KSD Studio.

[bru888]

Bumping this thread because it's the next item of business for me; specifically, Gabon.

[Mascarenhas]

Hurrah!

[ColonelY]

Splendid!

[bru888]

Alright, Colonel. Here we go, finally.

[rafdobrowolski]

Yay!

[bru888]

I tell you, I am getting excited (again) about this campaign.

In addition to the scenarios that Erik has already put together, I am looking at some of the other suggestions that have been made, such as the Battle of Authion. I can imagine all sorts of stuff in conjunction with that episode.

Quality takes time. Work has finally begun - thanks for your patience while we wrapped up the Finland and New Britain campaigns - and Erik has some good preliminary work on 11 scenarios so far:

Dakar40
Syria41
Madagascar1
Madagascar2
Tunis42
Corsica43
Falaise44
Dragoon44
Tholy44
Strasbourg44
Colmar45

We agreed that I would tackle Gabon independently, and I am also going to take on Authion, I believe. So it will be a while before Free France is finished.

By the way, did you know there were two historical Sieges of La Rochelle? The first Siege of La Rochelle occurred in 1627-1628 during a struggle between French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle. That one would require a mod, I believe, which is beyond the purview of BrucErik Studio. We will stick to the Allied siege of La Rochelle, if it makes the grade.

The scenario list is not set in stone, of course; it may grow or diminish as we move along. Whatever happens, I think we are going to have a great campaign in the end.

[ColonelY]

WONDERFUL, things are starting to fall into place!

Oh yes, quality takes time. But since it's better to have quality anyway, one can also be patient on occasion.


As you precise that the scenario list is not "set in stone" and thus that it may change, well, without much surprise, I do hope it will grow...

For example, it would be a shame to miss the famous Bir Hakeim in Libya and El Alamein in Egypt.

And in the early scenarios, there can be as well Eritrea and Fezzan...

But one thing at a time!


Yeah, I'm convinced as well that this will end up in an awesome campaign!

[bru888]

The ladies of Lotta Svärd were included in Continuation War 1941, so by all means, Les Rochambelles will be appearing in Free France! Same idea; two popup messages between scenarios describing who they were and what they did.

Thank goodness for Google Translate because Les Rochambelles appears only in the French version of Wikipedia:

Rochambelle is the name given to the ambulance drivers of the Rochambeau unit, which was part of the 2nd Armored Division (2nd DB) of General Philippe Leclerc during the Second World War. This nickname is a tribute to the Count de Rochambeau, Marshal of France, companion of La Fayette.

In 1940, Florence Conrad, an American Francophile who lived in France and had already participated in social and health actions during the First World War and then at the start of the Second World War on the Maginot line, returned to New York, collected funds there, and buys nineteen new ambulances, Dodge WC54s. She recruits fourteen French women living in New York, including Suzanne Torrès (future wife of Jacques Massu), who will be her lieutenant, and creates a health unit which takes the name of Rochambeau unit.

The group arrived in Morocco in Rabat in September 1943, settled on board a barge on the Bouregreg. 25 new young women, most of them French, are getting involved, including Rosette Peschaud. Other Rochambelles will also engage in England or France. Some of them will continue their engagement up to Indochina. In total, around sixty women were Rochambelles.

The Rochambelles are integrated into the 2nd Armored Division (1st medical company of the 13th medical battalion). They reach England by convoy on the liner Capetown Castle between May 20 and May 31, 1944, land in Normandy at Utah Beach on the night of August 4 to 5, 1944, participate in the Normandy campaign, in the Liberation of Paris August 25, 1944 and carry out the campaigns of Lorraine and Alsace. They go as far as Germany, some of which go as far as Berchtesgaden, where the Berghof, Hitler's summer residence, and the Kehlsteinhaus (the Eagle's Nest) are located.

Now the trick is to get the story into two (no more than two) blocks of 350-characters or less! Always a challenge, but I will make it work.

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[bru888]

As you precise that the scenario list is not "set in stone" and thus that it may change, well, without much surprise, I do hope it will grow...

For example, it would be a shame to miss the famous Bir Hakeim in Libya and El Alamein in Egypt.

And in the early scenarios, there can be as well Eritrea and Fezzan...

One thought I have in mind is that these battles may be included in place of others where Free French troops were present but did not play a significant part in the proceedings. That is the rule of thumb: Not bit parts, but significant roles played by the forces of Free France. We'll see how it plays out.

[ColonelY]

[...] Not bit parts, but significant roles played by the forces of Free France. [...]

Significant role? Sure but precisely, for instance, Bir Hakeim stays an excellent example, for it is said that this battle has probably changed the course of the war!

[bru888]

[...] Not bit parts, but significant roles played by the forces of Free France. [...]

Significant role? Sure but precisely, for instance, Bir Hakeim stays an excellent example, for it is said that this battle has probably changed the course of the war!

And the size of the battle is not the issue; for example, I'd rather see a Battle of Authion or Bir Hakeim in the campaign rather than a small Free French component in the Battle of Normandy. I don't intend, and hopefully Erik agrees, to rehash the Normandy campaign just to show Free France's participation in it. That's how I feel right now, and it could change, of course, depending on how the situation strikes me. So I would tend to agree with you at this point but as I said, let's see. Keep tuned into this thread as we go along.

[rafdobrowolski]

As you precise that the scenario list is not "set in stone" and thus that it may change, well, without much surprise, I do hope it will grow...

For example, it would be a shame to miss the famous Bir Hakeim in Libya and El Alamein in Egypt.

And in the early scenarios, there can be as well Eritrea and Fezzan...

One thought I have in mind is that these battles may be included in place of others where Free French troops were present but did not play a significant part in the proceedings. That is the rule of thumb: Not bit parts, but significant roles played by the forces of Free France. We'll see how it plays out.

I second Colonel, but I get the need for artistic freedom and some need for structure and limits. So stoked to hear this is moving forward.

[ColonelY]

[...] let's see. Keep tuned into this thread as we go along.

Okay, I will. And thanks in advance

[bru888]

I second Colonel, but I get the need for artistic freedom and some need for structure and limits. So stoked to hear this is moving forward.

[...] let's see. Keep tuned into this thread as we go along.

Okay, I will. And thanks in advance

And thanks to you guys for your interest. Please keep the comments and suggestions coming but know that I am going back over this thread to pick up all the stuff mentioned previously. Nothing will be missed or ignored.

[bru888]

"Next slide. And here, gentlemen, is your Free France campaign map."

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[From somewhere in the back of the audience - it is dark and my eyes are not what they used to be, thanks to OOB, so I cannot see who it is - comes a rather loud bellow: "What the . . . That's not a map! What are you trying to hand us, Professor? You charlatan! You mountebank! I want my money back!"]

[The words come to my lips, "Sergeant at arms, seize that man!" but I suppress them at the last moment. I need all of these people for the input that they provide, positive and negative, so instead I explain as follows.]

"Yes, I know it's not a map and I salute the gentleman's perspicacity in being the first to detect this fact, not to mention his understated way of communicating the knowledge to his fellow participants. [Tittering from the audience.] Now if he will allow me to explain, I will do so. Next slide.

"This is as close as I could come to a proper campaign map:

bkank-african-map-7462.jpg (62.5 KiB) Viewed 2054 times

"Yet it is unsuitable. You may blame it on Madagascar. Next slide.

"The breadth of this campaign is outstanding; by my reckoning, the distance from Falaise to Madagascar spans a distance of approximately 8,700 kilometers or 5,400 miles:

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"Only a map that shows much of Europe, and all of Africa due to the geographic location of Madagascar, will do the job. Finding a map of just Europe and Africa was no easy task; the map that I showed in the previous slide was the only one that I could find.

"The problem is, such a map will tend to be in portrait orientation, rather than the landscape format that the game prefers for a campaign map. Unedited, the game distorts this map so that Europe is shrunken and Africa, particularly southern Africa, is gargantuan. Madagascar itself appears to rival Europe in size.

"There is the workaround of expanding the horizontal borders of the map so that it approaches the ideal of 1967 x 1500 pixels for campaign maps. Several aesthetic and practical limitations result: The map itself is shrunken, there are ugly white or black bands on either side, and Asia is now truncated and floating midair. It looked so horrific that I hurriedly discarded the abomination without preparing a slide of it; my apologies.

"Ask yourselves, what is the purpose of the campaign map? It is viewed so briefly, yet it does serve one purpose, that of orienting the player as to where on the globe the ensuing action occurs. Well, what about campaign popup messages? Could they not contain miniature maps that will largely do the same thing? For that matter, will not most of our clientele have an inkling where Madagascar is, even from just having seen the movie and its three or four miserable sequels? [More tittering.]

"So, gentlemen, I beg your indulgence. What more striking way to begin this campaign than the stunning depiction of the flag of Free France? In simplicity there can be beauty, so there will be only the location ring and none of the usual foofaraw and folderol of guns, bullets, briefcases, and tea cups around the edges. The effect is truly breath-taking, in my humble opinion."

[There is silence for a few seconds. Then, again from the back of the audience, comes a slow rhythmic clapping. Others slowly join in. I cannot tell whether it is sarcastic or genuine.]

[Erik2]

Approved!

Erik Klapton

[bru888]

Erik Klapton

Aha! So that was you in the back of the audience! ( )