Slitherine

UPDATE 13 JUL 15 - added links to both the SP and MP versions of the standalone scenario "Cracking the Line"
UPDATE 08 JUL 15 - added link to MP campaign

I've placed a campaign in Dropbox of five scenarios drawn from "Tigers in the Mud", Otto Carius' memoirs as a Tiger platoon leader on the Russian Front.
I originally designed them all as multi-player scenarios, but I've only put the solo versions up for download so far because I haven't been able to play test them in multi-player (technical problems, not lack of a playtest partner).

UPDATE: I fixed several problems with the "Cracking the Line" scenario and separated it out as a standalone, in both SP and MP versions, which you can find here:
SP: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3p2ev4cvj0oen ... 1.lst?dl=1
MP: https://www.dropbox.com/s/v36wqb05a2fl1 ... 1.LST?dl=1

You can find the SP campaign file here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x413y8aevib4j ... 1.LST?dl=1

They work out quite well in solo mode even though my absence of scripting skills makes it a "stock" AI affair...

You can find the MP campaign here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z3onj9700xxb5 ... 1.LST?dl=1

The SP version is pretty thoroughly play tested, but not so much the MP version, so please give me some feedback. The MP versions of the scenarios have been tweaked up a notch compared to the SP versions; the base scenarios and forces are the same as the SP versions, but there are some significant changes to make the Russian side more interesting for a human player, and to balance out those Russians changes for the German player.

The campaign is called Tigers in the Mud

Scenario 1: Cracking the Line (Now posted as a standalone scenario in both SP and MP versions)
The campaign starts off with a massive Soviet meat-grinder assault on a city near Lake Ladoga. This scenario is a "composite" of the fighting in the Third Battle of Lake Ladoga, mid- to late-1943, as the Soviets were trying to open a corridor to Leningrad through the SS Panzerkorps lines, but is based mostly on Carius' description of the Tiger Battalion acting as the fire brigade all cross the front, and going into battle straight off their railroad cars. This one is a slugfest, and as the Soviets you will be on the receiving end of the Tiger...

In the four remaining scenarios you will be the Germans, dishing out the 88 instead of sucking it up.

Scenario 2: Newel Pipeline, November 1943
A much smaller scenario, recreating a discrete engagement in which Carius earned his ace status, singlehandedly knocking out nine T-34s. I took a few small liberties with history to make the scenario balanced, since historically Carius was able to wax several Russians before they figured out that his tank wasn't really dead, and the rest of them got whacked as they tried to escape. You may end up using only half the board and a quarter of the German units, but if you let the Russians get past the Tiger (or, God Forbid! you lose the Tiger) you'll be done for... Play it smart, maneuver, don't let your Tiger get flanked and surrounded.

Scenario 3: Lembitu Lunge, March 1944
Another scenario recreating a historical engagement, this time the one for which Carius was awarded the Knight's Cross. Carius' understrength Tiger platoon stops what is essentially a Soviet regimental-sized armored deliberate attack on an extremely narrow front to cut the supply line to Narva. The Soviets employed massive artillery fires; the German infantry regiment defending the sector had decided not to dig in... Unfortunately, my scripting skills are nil, and since I can't get the Soviet AI to employ artillery, you get a free pass on the massive barrage. But don't worry, you'll have your hands full even without having to worry about 152mm rainfall... I you can't keep the Soviets bottled up they will break out onto the plain and rampage into all your scattered and lightly defended Victory Points.

Scenario 4: 'The Farmhouse', March 1944
This is the continuation of operations the following day, after Carius stopped the Soviet attack depicted in scenario 3. Three Tigers and a handful of infantry have to retake the two strongpoints captured by the Soviets. A very small scenario, but played on the same large board - you still have to worry about the Soviets breaking out and cutting the supply line...

Scenario 5: 'The Nose', July 1944
A very large scenario, recreating the assault by the Germans to retake a key forward position captured by the Soviets. The first attempt was a dismal failure, but in the second attempt all the proper planning and coordination was effected, and Carius led the assault with his Tiger platoon, supported by strong infantry and lots of artillery. This is a complex scenario and (if I do say so myself) quite a good tactical exercise. Remember - sometimes smoke is more important than HE... And success comes through coordinated fires. Be dynamic. You should have just enough time to take all of the Victory Points using proper tactics - don't rush, but once you pull the trigger you better keep the assault moving. You have to make some significant force composition decisions in this scenario; choose wisely!

Please let me know what you think of the scenarios - all comments and critiques are welcome. I wish I knew how to script things like starting units in suppressed mode and having artillery support for the AI...but the scenarios play pretty well in SP without that "chrome" anyway. I hope you enjoy them!

CB

nice! thank you,

cbssecman, these are good.

Newel MP is too easy for the Soviets. Either the German reinforcements could come sooner or ...
Farmhouse SP is extremely easy for the Germans

Keep up the good work

Thanks thanks thanks a thousand thanks for the SPs!

Overall these are great fun, especially The Nose. The Lunge, I think, was the most challenging one. I had to go back to an earlier save to salvage a win, and had to come up with a new tactical plan, as my first approach was disastrous. I love when that happens! You can get into trouble fast on that one if you are not duly respectful of the opponent's capabilities indeed.

I should say though the others could be toughened up a bit, maybe less turns to force some risk-taking, perhaps. Still great fun, I also liked how The Nose developed into several unconnected mini-battles, then merged again for the endgame. Very nice storyline on that one.

A lovely campaign, looking forward to your next epic!

Thanks hacker and apple1 for the feedback. I will tweak the scenarios and re-upload them.

Liking the nose map a lot the other maps there's quite a few bugs with LOS

Glenghiscan: What exactly do you mean about bugs with the LOS? Thanks for the feedback.

Forget which map now as I've that many games going on just remember soviet half track firing 2 squares into a forested are ? Enjoying the maps a lot though as I said I like big maps with lots of turns as it allows for a more methodical stratagy instead of I made rush ! Keep up the good work

Ah, okay. I don't do anything to the maps that isn't strictly out of the in-game editor, but I do sometimes add a good bit of non-LOS-blocking bushes and individual trees for camouflage, so my guess is that's probably what you ran into in the scenario.
Thanks very much!
CB

Have played The Nose MP twice. It is great. One of my favorites. Both times the Germans won without extreme effort. I'd like to play the Soviet side, but try as we might, I and my partner could never get me to come up as anything other than German no matter which of us posted the challenge; strange. Will try some more.
Have played Farmhouse MP once. The Soviets got cleaned out very quickly and then we just sat around for 5 turns waiting for reinforcements. They didnt come, so we quit. Seemed oddly unbalanced to the two of us.

bhacker wrote:Have played The Nose MP twice. It is great. One of my favorites. Both times the Germans won without extreme effort. I'd like to play the Soviet side, but try as we might, I and my partner could never get me to come up as anything other than German no matter which of us posted the challenge; strange. Will try some more.
Have played Farmhouse MP once. The Soviets got cleaned out very quickly and then we just sat around for 5 turns waiting for reinforcements. They didnt come, so we quit. Seemed oddly unbalanced to the two of us.

Seen this also...Have you tried creating the challenge with you as German? Although these scenarios are great, it may have something to do with how the sides are set in the files, you choose Soviet player but it makes you German player. Give that a try and see what happens.

I'm playing The Nose now in MP. there are a few text string bugs when the scenario launches.

Any chance for an iPad version of the Otto Carius SP campaign?

The link above for the SP version works with iPad, that is what I have ...

Thanks. Awsome campaign!

Have played the nose half a dozen times now. Regardless of opponent, the Germans always win. To make it more balanced, how about eliminating the giant indirect fire guns or cutting back to one? Or get rid of or reduce the German mortars. Perhaps simply allowing the Russians to deploy, rather than having fixed positions. I really like this scenario; a minor tweak would make it outstanding. Great work!

Thank you so much for making these scenarios available to the community.

Very fun. Thanks!

Thank you! Your maps are really interesting and based on historical battles, and not very difficult to play. I like it very much!

Is the link for the solo campaign still valid? BA2 doesn't recognize it.

Thanks.