Units have been assigned their 1st day Operations. On the morning of December 30, 1944, the 87th Infantry Division will launch attacks along the length of the front. The initial objectives are the villages of Vesqueville, Moircy and Remagne. The 345th and 346th Infantry Regiments will take part in the operation with the 347th Regiment acting as Division Reserve. At this time the main supporting elements of the division are not in position to support the attack to include the Division Artillery, 312th Combat Engineers and 761st Tank Battalion.

The map below shows the situation as of 2300 hours, December 29, 1944. This overlay shows the 87th Division in their preliminary positions. As mentioned, much of the Division’s supporting units are “enroute” on the roads leading into the Assembly Area and are not expected to be available until sometime late in the day on the 30th.

Blue Arrows indicate the individual BTN attack routes for the morning of December 30, 1944.

• 1/346 – Clear the area from Vesqueville to the West.
• 2/346 – Clear the Bois de Freux and cut the Vesqueville-Moircy highway.
• 3/346 – Pass through Vesqueville and the Bois de Vesquevill, sweeping to the NorthWest in an effort to cut off Vesqueville from St. Hubert.

• 1/345 – Assault and capture Moircy.
• 2/345 – Support 11 Armored Division (coming up from Rondu/Nimbermont) in the Assault and capture of Remagne.
• 3/345 – Sweep through the 11th Armored Division positions at Rondu and Nimbermont to encircle Remagne from the East.

This is the initial “plan”, however, once the campaign starts, things will most likely change and players will get updated intel based on their specific situation.

87th ID GSASL Website

OK, I have decided to join the ranks of those running a GSASL game. That’s Group Solitaire Advanced Squad Leader for those that might not know. This one will be based on actions of the US 87th Infantry Division in the St. Hubert/Tillet area from December 29, 1944 through January 14, 1945. Players will fill the roles of individual Company Commanders and depending on the number of participants that sign up, I will also include Battalion and Regimental commands.

Company Commanders will command a standard US Rifle Infantry Company. At full strength this would include the following;

Leader x3; 6-6-6 x9; 3-4-6 x3; 1-2-6 x6; HMG; MMG x2; M2 60mm MTR x3; BAZ x3

Players will take command of units at less then full TO&E as they have been pulled from operations in the Saar and sent 90 miles to the North to assist with stopping the German Ardennes Offensive and opening a route to the 101st encircled at Bastogne.

87th ID GSASL Website

So I was toying around with the idea of using Combat Mission:Shock Force as the basic game engine. Having rounded up some players and putting the scenario together the game finally kicked off. Although only having completed the 1st turn the experience seems to be pretty fun. One disadvantage I have found already though is the large # of screenshots that will be needed to help “tell the story” for the players and interested observers.

In this shot, 2nd Platoon (BMP-1’s) moves to the left around a patch of woods to flank the objective form the northwest.

Here, we have HQ and 1st Platoon moving up to the south of the main objective. Having reached the designated check point, they will be dimounting their scouts and pushing them into the woods with the vehicles providing overwatch.

From the battlefront Website;

Monday, 24 August 2009

The v1.20 patches for COMBAT MISSION SHOCK FORCE as well as CMSF MARINES are finally out now! The list of changes, additions, new features and bux fixes is impressively long as usual, below just a few snapshots of what’s awaiting you in the latest free upgrade to the series:

• “Pop Smoke” can now be aimed using the Face Command or current unit facing.
• Floating icons for friendly units now briefly blink after sustaining a casualty.
• Spotters for indirect support weapons  are now able to target areas slightly outside of direct LOS under certain circumstances, such as when firing indirectly over a tall wall or just behind the crest of a hill.
• Muzzle flame, smoke, dust, and other effects directly attached to enemy unit behavior are no longer shown unless the unit is already spotted by at least one friendly soldier.
• Campaign players now have an option to switch between RealTime and WeGo Modes in between battles.
• Scenario game time limit has been increased to 4 hours

Here is the link to the battlefront website: v1.20 CMSF and MARINES patches out now!

Hopefully this patch fixes some of the issues players mentioned as having encountered and it has led me to re-install the game and take a second look. There is also a British Forces Module out but at this point I do not have it.  Depending on how my newest play with the game goes i may pick up the British Module.

Information on the British Forces can be found here: CM:SF – British Forces

For those of you following along, all of the tactical maps for the campaign have been created and Marek has graciously put together this “overview” map of the campaign area. There are 7 master maps that will be cut, cropped and adjusted to fit the scenarios. You will likely see sections of these bigger maps used in several scenarios by the time all is said and done.

The overview map is below;

So far 6 of the scenarios have been completed.

Again, special thanks to Marek Tucan for his excellent maps.

For those who are looking forward to this new campaign I am including the briefing for SLII-SCEN-004 (Campaign Scenario 5);

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Withdrawal

United States vs Warsaw Pact

Location: Chalsoviche, Czechoslovakia
Date: August 4, 1986
Turns: 35
Scenario Size: Medium

DATE/TIME
041330ZAUG86

TERRAIN AND WEATHER
Terrain is very open with rolling hills. Weather is clear and warm. It is midday and visibility is about 3000 meters.

___OPERATIONS ORDER

1.__SITUATION:
The Warsaw Pact offensive in Czechoslovakia has severely battered the NATO forces defending the front. In many places the front has collapsed and Pact forces are driving deep into NATO rear areas. 2nd Battalion has not fared much better and you have been ordered to withdraw your company to better defensive positions. A small blocking force has been dispatched to the area near Chalsoviche. You are to withdraw to the South, through this blocking force and take up new defensive positions so that you can cover the rest of the Battalion’s withdrawal towards the West German border. You need to move quickly as your company is being pursued by the better part of a Czech Motorized Rifle Regiment. At this time, all fixed wing aircraft are involved in achieving air superiority and will not be in a position to provide ground support. 2nd Brigade Headquarters has allocated some artillery assets to cover your withdrawal.

__a. Enemy Forces:
S2 estimates that you will be facing elements of the Main Body (MB) of at least 1 MRR of the Czechoslovakian 19th CVA Motorized Rifle Division. These forces can be expected to chase your forces as they withdraw to the South in the hopes of cutting off your retreat. Expected units will include T-72’s, OT-64 mounted infantry as well as light recon, anti-aircraft vehicles and engineers. As always, you can expect significant amounts of enemy artillery to be used in your sector.

__b. Friendly Forces:
Team Delta, 2nd Bn, 68th AR Rgt, 8th ID

__c. Attachments/Detachments:
3rd Plt, B Company, 2nd Bn, 68th AR Rgt, 8th ID
A & B Battery, 4th Bn, 29th FA Rgt, 8th ID
German Reconnaissance Platoon

2.__MISSION:
Withdraw through the screening line and deploy your forces into defensive positions to the South of and in the village of Chalsoviche. Destroy all enemy forces attempting to penetrate through your sector.

3.__EXECUTION:
Team Delta will move at maximum speed to the South of Chalsoviche while the blocking force provides covering fire. No Air support is available although there should be Artillery support from the Brigade’s 4th Bn, 29th Field Artillery Regiment.

4.__SERVICE SUPPORT:
Refuel and rearming will be conducted once the mission is declared complete.**

5.__COMMAND AND SIGNAL:
Captain Jeffries is overall CIC of the operation. Radio silence should be observed at all times.**

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
There is the better part of a Czechoslovakian MRR about 10-15 minutes behind your forces.You need to your forces to the South very fast BUT be on the lookout for enemy scouts and DRT teams in ambush positions attempting to slow you down. Please note, if you move too slow you may find the enemy occupying your new defensive positions as you begin to arrive.
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For those who may be military terminology challenged I am hoping to include a PDF formatted Campaign Handbook that will include some map screenshots, OOB charts, a glossary and some other goodies.

Any comments or questions are welcome.

Also feel free to let me know if you find any spelling or grammar errors.

For who are interested I am setting up a section of my gallery on this blog for images related to this project. This will include some screenshots of the excellent maps by Marek Tucan as well as some taken during playtesting.

You will be able to see them here: Silver Lions II Gallery.

I have had to put this on hold due to some “balance” issues that need to be worked out. I am also working on designing an HASL type map tailored specifically to the campaign.

Ok, for those interested, here is a preview of what I am considering for the Silver Lions II User Campaign. It sort of follows the story/theme of the original Silver Lions Campaign and picks up when the war starts back up one year later.

It is expected to take some time to build this especially as I am considering the development of a Mexican Drug War II User Campaign.

I also welcome any suggestions/recommendations on what “path” the story should follow.
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Silver Lions II

Date: August 1986
Game/Version: WinSPMBT 4.0
Fixed Core Force Campaign

Average Turns:_TBD
Nation: United States Army
Command Size: Company/Team

Number of Scenarios:_TBD

INTRODUCTION:

In the summer of 1985 World War III finally erupted between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. After 3 months of heavy fighting and the seesawing back and forth of the front lines a cease fire was finally negotiated. For the most part, the orginal borders were restored with the exception of a couple of significant NATO penetrations into Western Czechoslovakia. During the somewhat peaceful winter of 1985/86, both sides rearmed and redeployed their forces for the expected resumption of hostilities. It was at this time the US 8th Infantry Division (Pathfinders) was deployed into defensive positions in the vicinity of Cachrov, Czechoslovakia. In August 1986, fighting was renewed when Warsaw Pact forces launched extensive offensive operations all along the front.

For this campaign, you are the commander of the US Army’s D Company (Team Delta), 2nd Battalion (Silver Lions), 68th Armor Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. This unit is a standard US company sized armor heavy task force. Your unit is deployed in the area of Cachrov and the men await your orders.
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Special thanks to Marek Tucan for his maps. I will be using these excellent maps for the area where the campaign takes place.

Now Available!

This new, small campaign for WinSPMBT is now done and available. Here is the main briefing;

Betraying the Bear

Date: October 1985
Game/Version: WinSPMBT 4.0
Fixed Core Force Campaign

Average Turns: 6-20
Player: Poland
Command Size: Company (-)

Number of Scenarios: 6

INTRODUCTION:
As expected by many the Cold War finally goes hot in 1985. Warsaw Pact forces assault NATO defenses along the length of Central Europe. In an attempt to flank the NATO forces in West Germany and gain access to the North Sea, Pact forces led by Polish Naval Infantry and Soviet Airborne forces invade Denmark.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
For this campaign you are Col. Banasiak of the Polish 1st Recon Company/7th PPR Naval Infantry Brigade. Your company will lead the assault on NATO’s northern flank. Just before dawn on October 3, 1985 you and your men will land and probe the Danish defenses. Once the beachhead has been established your company will lead the rest of the Brigade inland.

It can be downloaded from either the GameSquad or Shrapnel Games Websites.