"Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

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sPzAbt653
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by sPzAbt653 »

Messing with the OOB messes up many events in the editor...

Truly. Every change pretty much requires flipping thru all events to do a check. You could add 'debug' news strings to those events that key on units. For example, in the screen shot, event 360 could have a news string that reads '1/2-cav. debug'. That news won't show up in the scenario, but will help when scrolling thru and checking for things that have moved/changed. Also, there is a tick in the ini file that allows those debugged strings to appear, which is sometimes good for playtesting and verifying the firing order of events.

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sPzAbt653
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by sPzAbt653 »

Marders - Took a look at the Marder info on Auchtung Panzer.

Marders - all were armed with 75mm PAK40's or Russian 76mm PAK51's. TOAW Marder I's have numbers similar to the 50mm PAK, so I don't know what they represent because the site doesn't mention any 50mm's.

Production of Marder I = 240 from July 1942 and into 1943. Marder II = 852 from December 1941 to March 1944, service started in April 1942. Marder III = 1,756
from November 1942 to May 1944. Many were still in service in 1945. Total of 2,848 from 4-42 to 3-44 = 24 months = 118.6 per month, 29.6 per week, 14.8 per half week.

Some went to Africa and some were always on the west front. So, maybe the Marder I's should be taken out and the Marder II/III's should be zero'd at start and the production started in 4-42. Schutzen regiments maybe should get some too.

This picture is of the Marder III at Aberdeen's Ordnance Museum.

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briantopp
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by briantopp »

This might be all I do on this until next weekend or so (crazy week coming up). So here is another build of this thing. In this version:

- The initial assigned equipment of the panzer units has been thinned out.

- The OOBs have been tinkered with along the lines discussed above.

- I've rejigged the Axis initial set-up and reinforcement schedule to conform to most of bigduke66's suggestions (in a few cases I think the map dictates a slightly different set-up than he proposes. A couple of teaks to the composition of two of the corps are going to wait until I can imagine re-editing all the events once again).

- Combat is completely frozen during mud turns through a "ceasefire" event. I was resisting this solution to modelling mud turns because it seems to me the basic problem was movement, not combat. But I tested it today and it does seem to work fairly well as a way to impose the historically-necessary pauses during the fall and spring.

- Some marders are assigned

- I tinkered with the VP penalties for calling in emergency reserves -- the penalties aren't applied after the date of historical arrival in the theatre.

- Adjusted various PO orders.

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BigDuke66
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by BigDuke66 »

Regarding the Marder I I think some got 50mm because of not having enough 75mm Pak, but the AT value is 5 and not 6 like the 50mm AT has so it still doesn't male much sense.
Or could there be another explanation, the 88mm Flak as also just 12 compared to the 88mm AT who has 19 as AT value.
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by BigDuke66 »

As we speak of Anti-tank I think we should look at the Pak too.
If the numbers here in the lower tables are correct(and I think so as they are from Sheets of Albert Speer and also appear in "Germany and the Second World War Vol. 5/1"):
http://sturmvogel.orbat.com/GermWeapProd.html#monthly
we end up with 1854 5cm Pak at best, OK pre August 39 production is missing but I think that can be neglected. In the scenario we have already over 2700 at the start.

The numbers in the upper tables are doubtful as Fritz Hahn doesn't back up his numbers and some indeed look "fantastic", I'll try to track down something for the 7,5cm Pak, but AFAIK the 40 version didn't arrive before February 42 and the 97/38 version not before summer 42.

Altogether this would significantly lower the AT power of the German forces in the 41 offensive and against the Russian winter offensive so maybe there is no need to pimp the Russians up in that timeframe, at best I can imagine a TO that starts the winter offensive and adds a small bonus of maybe up to 5% to the Russian side.
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by sPzAbt653 »

I wasn't too much concerned with the actual production numbers as every source will be different. I think we are more concerned with what was available and when. So, sorry for the repeat, but I'll re-say what was said in an earlier post because I think that is what will give Brian the basis for a decision:

What do you think about the Infantry Divisions starting the scenario with 27/27 37's, 6/15 50's, 0/12 75's ?

The 37mm production can stop at the beginning of 42, and the 75's can start at that time, while the 50's can stay thru out.

A further distinction between the stop gap 75mm PAK 97/38 and the very good 75mm PAK 40 could be made by giving Inf Div's 0/12 of each at start, with the 97/38 production running from 1-42 to 6-42, and the PAK 40 from 6-42 to the end. Maybe?


Any change like this plus a change to the Marders would lessen the early AT capability of the Axis, but what else do we do, claim that superior German tactics qualifies them for extra equipment? [:D]
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by briantopp »

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

I wasn't too much concerned with the actual production numbers as every source will be different. I think we are more concerned with what was available and when. So, sorry for the repeat, but I'll re-say what was said in an earlier post because I think that is what will give Brian the basis for a decision:

What do you think about the Infantry Divisions starting the scenario with 27/27 37's, 6/15 50's, 0/12 75's ?

The 37mm production can stop at the beginning of 42, and the 75's can start at that time, while the 50's can stay thru out.

A further distinction between the stop gap 75mm PAK 97/38 and the very good 75mm PAK 40 could be made by giving Inf Div's 0/12 of each at start, with the 97/38 production running from 1-42 to 6-42, and the PAK 40 from 6-42 to the end. Maybe?


Any change like this plus a change to the Marders would lessen the early AT capability of the Axis, but what else do we do, claim that superior German tactics qualifies them for extra equipment? [:D]

Hmm: 2700 in 1941 deployed, against 1800 produced, sounds like an over-deployment!

So your solution is for all the German divisions in lieu of their current AT assets? What about the schutzen and the motorised AT units?




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BigDuke66
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by BigDuke66 »

The 15th PzD may not be a good example as they were in Africa since Mai 1941.
But again I wonder why the Pak 3,7cm is still there when the 5cm Pak was so long in production, why are they not phased out to divisions that are in France, Benelux or Norway.

@sPzAbt653
It really isn't so important how many there are at least not if the numbers are close enough together but one must not forget that Production numbers should also have an impact on the layout of the units.
But I agree totally that equipment should be available on the historical date, especially when it's a great improvement other the one it replaces.
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by sPzAbt653 »

So your solution is for all the German divisions in lieu of their current AT assets?


Yes, those numbers were only for the infantry divisions.

I'll take a look at the pages that Mr. Panama posted, and here are some highlights:

1) There is an oob for the German 9th Army and 3rd Panzer Group for October 2nd, 1941. Most infantry divisions are listed as having a 'Mot. Anti-Tank Batt.' of (36) 37mmPAK's. Some do not have this unit so they must only have had their organic regimental AT guns. Panzer Divisions and Mot. Inf. Div's are also listed as having the 'Mot. Anti-Tank Batt.' of (36) 37mmPAK's. None list the 50mm PAK.

2) There is a table for the 336th Infantry Division on June 1, 1942. Each Inf. Reg. had its own PanzerJager Company. The three had a total of (8) 75mm PAK, (9) 50mm PAK, and (11) 37mm PAK. The Div. also had the 336th PzJg Batt. with (4) 75mm PAK, (12) 50mm PAK.

3) A table of weekly strengths for the 15th Pz Div from Nov 11, 1941 to Feb 21, 1942. Average weekly numbers were (12) 37mm PAK and (26) 50mm PAK.

4) A table of weekly strengths for the 15th Pz Div from Feb 21, 1942 to May 21, 1942. Average weekly numbers were (13.5) 37mm PAK and (34.3) 50mm PAK. 15th Pz was in Afrika, but we can assume Pz Div's in Russia might have had similar numbers?

5) The last page is a table for the 15th Pz Div on Feb 2, 1942. That repeats the above numbers so no need to list that again.

Thanks Panama ! [&o]
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by Panama »

You're welcome. Was pointing out how the guns were distributed over the different fronts. I ran out of time so couldn't look for West Front. Also, Mr. Nafziger deserves many many thanks for making his hard work available to all.

He's the man.
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by sPzAbt653 »



So, looking at all this info, part of post #166 can be modified to :

Infantry Divisions starting the scenario with 27/36 37's (27 or some other number to reflect losses to date), 0/27 50's, 0/12 75's ?

The production stuff and possible 97/38's and PAK 40 stuff can stay the same.

For the Pz and Mot Div's, if we can use the 15th Pz as an example, it appears that the 50's were outnumbering the 37's by Nov 1941. In the scenario these units are broken down into reg/batt's, so do we give some AT's to both the Pz Batt's and Schutzen Reg's? Overall, 12/18 37's, 24/36 50's, 0/12 75's ?

75mm PAK40

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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by sPzAbt653 »

What about the ... motorised AT units?


There were a number of independant Mot AT units, but rather than have several 1-1 ant units to deal with, I'd rather assume that in the scenario these units are distributed across the front. This can also make up for some of the units not having separate units attached at the divisional level, as was the case with most but not all of the infantry div's. Just my 2 cents.
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by BigDuke66 »

Don't forget that each infantry division usually fits to a specific wave.
Check out the waves here:
http://www.orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/011 ... g_army.htm
On 22.6.1941 an infantry division of the 1st wave had 66 37mm & 6 50mm Pak.

Motorized infantry Division:
http://www.orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/011 ... ot-03.html
On 22.6.1941 a motorized infantry division had 51 37mm & 9 50mm Pak.

Of course those setups are "like they should be", when comparing these to Nafziger you see that over the course of the war the real load out sometimes differed a lot from what should be in.

Anyhow maybe the different layouts of the different waves should be modeled too.
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by briantopp »

ORIGINAL: BigDuke66

Don't forget that each infantry division usually fits to a specific wave.
Check out the waves here:
http://www.orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/011 ... g_army.htm
On 22.6.1941 an infantry division of the 1st wave had 66 37mm & 6 50mm Pak.

Motorized infantry Division:
http://www.orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/011 ... ot-03.html
On 22.6.1941 a motorized infantry division had 51 37mm & 9 50mm Pak.

Of course those setups are "like they should be", when comparing these to Nafziger you see that over the course of the war the real load out sometimes differed a lot from what should be in.

Anyhow maybe the different layouts of the different waves should be modeled too.

I was thinking exactly that -- I did something similar in "Operation Barbarossa" with some help from a collaborator who translated the "waves" into TOAW terms. I'm going to have a look at how we did that and perhaps post here as one start point each wave was fairly different from what I recall
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by briantopp »

bigduke66: here is some info on "Ost" units, btw:

http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/942GOBC.pdf
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by briantopp »

So this is a first-wave infantry division (all the other waves are there too). Does anyone with a deep understanding of this notation know how to convert this to TOAW terms? i.e. how many infantry etc. in the toaw editor using the equipment editor?

http://niehorster.orbat.com/011_germany ... welle.html

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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by Panama »

Ah, so I'm not alone when I look at these. It gives me a headache. [&:]
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by samba_liten »

The below might be somewhat helpful, while i dig up some more sources.
The Infantry Divisions as Organized for War
(Example: 9th Infantry Division as of April 15,1940)
Division Staff with:
Motorcycle courier platoon
Map office or printing platoon (2 IMG)
Battle Troops:
3 Infantry regiments, each with:
Regimental staff
Intelligence platoon
Mounted platoon
Engineer platoon
Regimental band
Infantry gun company (horsedrawn) with:
- 6 light 75mm and 2 heavy
- 150mm infantry guns.
Panzerjäger company (motorized) with:
- 1 2 36mm antitank guns, 4 light machine guns
- 3 infantry battalions, each with:
- Battalion staff and intelligence platoon
- 3 rifle companies, each with 12 light machine guns,
- 3 light grenade launchers, 3 A.T. rifles
- 1 machine-gun company with 12 heavy MG, 6 heavy grenade launchers.
1 Light Infantry Column.
All the units in the regiment, except staff vehicles and antitank companies,
were horse drawn.
1 Reconnaissance Unit with:
Staff and intelligence platoon (motorized) with 9 light machine guns
Cycle squadron with:
9 light MG, 2 heavy MG, 3 light grenade launchers.
Heavy squadron (motorized) with:
- 2 light 75mm infantry guns, 3 37mm antitank guns, 3 light armored
scout cars (Panzerspähwagen)
1 Panzerjäger Unit (motorized) with:
- Staff and intelligence platoon
3 Panzerjäger companies, each with:
- 1 2 37mm antitank guns, 6 light machine guns.
1 Artillery Regiment with:
- Staff and intelligence platoon
3 light units, each with:
- Staff, intelligence platoon and survey platoon
- 3 batteries, each with 4 light 105mm light field howitzers and 2 light
machine guns
-1 artillery column
1 Heavy Battalion with:
- Staff, Intelligence Staff and Surveying & Mapping Unit
- 3 Batterys, each with 4 Heavy Field Howitzers
- 2 Light Machine Guns
-1 Artillery Cannon
All the units in the regiment, except staff vehicles, were horsedrawn;
later the heavy unit was also motorized.
1 Engineer (Pionier) Battalion with:
- Staff and battalion band
- 3 engineer companies (2 horsedrawn, 1 motorized), each with 9 IMG,
3 A. T. rifles, 3 flamethrowers
-1 bridge column B (motorized)
-1 light engineer column (motorized)
1 Intelligence Unit with:
-Staff
- 1 telephone company (partly motorized)
-1 radio company (motorized)
- 1 light intelligence company (motorized)
14 THE GERMAN INFANTRY HANDBOOK 1939-1945
Back-Line Services:
Administrative Services with
1 victualling unit
1 bakery company
1 slaughtering platoon
(all units motorized)
Supply Services with
6 supply columns (3 horsedrawn, 3 motorized)
1 fuel column
1 repair-shop company
1 supply company
(all units motorized)
Medical Services with
2 medical companies
(1 horsedrawn, 1 motorized)
1 field hospital (motorized)
2 ambulance platoons (motorized)
Veterinary Services with
1 veterinary company (horsedrawn)
Military Police Services with
1 field police platoon (motorized)
Mail Services with
1 field post office (motorized)
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RE: "Battle for Moscow 1941-1943"

Post by samba_liten »

Some more. Not as detailed as one would wish perhaps, but a start.
War Structure of Infantry Division 43
Division staff with map unit including printing troop (motorized), traffic
control platoon (motorized) and music corps.
3 Grenadier Regiments, each with:
1 staff company with intelligence platoon, engineer platoon, mounted
or bicycle platoon (6 light machine guns in all).
1 staff company with staff, 3 grenadier companies each (each with 16
light machine guns, 2 81mm medium grenade launchers) and 1 heavy
company (12 heavy machine guns, 6 81mm medium grenade launchers
or 75mm light infantry guns).
1 infantry gun company (12 81mm medium grenade launchers, 4
120mm heavy grenade launchers or 150mm heavy antitank guns).
1 antitank company (1 platoon with close-combat weapons, 1 platoon
with 50mm medium antitank guns, 1 platoon with 75mm heavy antitank
guns motorized).
1 fusilier battalion (instead of reconnaissance unit) with staff, structured
like a grenadier battalion, but with one company equipped with
bicycles and therefore capable of being used for reconnaissance.
1 Panzerjäger unit with staff, 1st company (6 37mm light antitank
guns, 6 50mm medium antitank guns), 2nd company (12 75mm heavy
antitank guns motorized), 3rd company (12 20mm light anti-aircraft guns
on self-propelled mantelets).
1 Artillery Regiment with:
Staff and staff battery
2 light units (each with staff, staff battery and 3 batteries, each with 4
105mm light howitzers, horsedrawn).
1 heavy unit (staff, staff battery and 3 batteries, each with 4 150mm
heavy howitzers motorized) (sometimes also 1 unit with 2 batteries of
88mm anti-aircraft guns, motorized for ground combat).
1 engineer battalion with staff, 1 horsedrawn company, 1 company
with bicycles, battle gear echelon.
1 intelligence unit with staff, 1 telephone company, partly motorized,
1 radio company, motorized, 1 light intelligence column.
1 division combat school.
Medical Services with:
1 medical company, horsedrawn
1 medical company, motorized
1 ambulance company
Administrative Services with:
1 administrative company, motorized, including commissariat
1 bakery company, motorized
1 butcher company, motorized
1 veterinary company, horsedrawn
1 field post office, motorized
Supply Services with:
Staff division supply leader (Dinafü)
2 wagon columns, horsedrawn, with total potential load of 90 tons
1 truck company with potential load of 30 tons
1 supply company, partly motorized
1 motor park troop company with 2 repair-shop platoons and 1 armorer
platoon
Noteworthy differences between this new structure and the old type are:
The 3rd battalion of every regiment was disbanded, likewise the regimental
band and the light infantry columns, the supply trains were
strongly reduced. The reconnaissance unit was turned into a fusilier battalion,
corresponding to a grenadier battalion, the Panzerjäger unit was
armed with fewer antitank guns. The artillery regiment lost its third light
unit and horsedrawn column, and the engineer battalion was also
strongly reduced. The field replacement battalion was also cut. In the
medical services, the field hospital had been largely eliminated since 1942
and transferred to the army medical units. But field hospitals could be
requested in cases of special need. In addition, the supply services were
reduced.
At first glance, the reductions in supply trains and services do not
appear very great. But the decisive feature was that a large number of
these soldiers could now be replaced by volunteers who were now an
144 THE GERMAN INFANTRY HANDBOOK 1939-1945
organized part of the army (see also section "The Volunteers") and added
to the combat troops.
These new-type divisions were supposed to have, as of December 1,
1943, a total strength of 13,656 men, of whom 9652 men (71.6%) belonged
to the combat groups, 2245 men (16.4%) to the supply trains and 1759
men (12%) to the back-line services. In the supply and back-line services,
several hundred volunteers (the number was not officially set, but left up
to the division) often worked.
The armaments were: 2128 pistols, 7980 rifles, 103 rifles with telescopic
sights, 302 grenade-launching rifles (Schiessbecher), 681 machine
pistols, 128 light and heavy machine guns, 72 81mm medium grenade
launchers, 21 120mm heavy grenade launchers, 12 75mm light infantry
guns, 6 150mm heavy infantry guns, 6 37mm light antitank guns, 24
50mm medium antitank guns, 18 75mm heavy antitank guns, 12 20mm
light anti-aircraft guns, 24 105mm light howitzers, 12 150mm heavy howitzers.
Later there were also 600 assault rifles, 108 Panzerschreck and a
great number of Panzerfaust antitank weapons.
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