Nearing completion: Operation Neva

[Telumar]

Too many Steves and Stefans around here.. [:'(]

[sPzAbt653]

' The webpage cannot be found '

[ogar]

ORIGINAL: Telumar

[&o][&o][&o]
Impressive. Thanks for your efforts and work. Feels like a game of its own.

Just opened the file, began to read the doc. (Did i inspire you with the Anzio doc?[;)])

One thing though: German MGs seem overrated to me. MGs generally seem to be overrated. But then, you must have tested it and i didn't yet even move a unit nor fire a shot.

I like what you've done with the equipment. +1

@Steve sPzAbt653: PBEM? (my other opponents will curse me.. but hey, if they saw this..)

Consider yourself cursed from the FR side as well, then.

[sPzAbt653]

Zip received, thank you very much !

Nice big map, lots of units, excellent !

Did you make your own equipment file ?? Looks nice !

[LLv34_Snefens]

Yes, I made the .eqp-file from scratch just for this. Took some work, but it was nice to be able to make the required equipment directly, instead of trying to find a adequate substitution.

[sPzAbt653]

Yes, a huge amount of work. [&o]

And thanks for fixing the entry for the SdKfz 135/1 !

Is the .eqp file specific to the scenario regarding location and time, or did you include stuff from other time periods? It looks like maybe the West Front wasn't included. Certainly not complaining, just wanted to clarify.

[LLv34_Snefens]

I only added things I needed for this period and location. It's not an attempt to do a universal 44-era or even east front .eqp file 

[samba_liten]

I have to say i am impressed. The .eqp looks great. The map is beautiful. The deployment ... i don't have words to describe it. Well done!

[samba_liten]

Why do the air units use both types of symbols? I.e. both the little airplane silhouette and the NATO symbol.

[LLv34_Snefens]

Because I haven't got around to redrawing them. I plan on having the icons show the siluette of the plane in the unit.
Making it possible to tell which unit is a 109 and which is a 190 i.e.

In normal zoom they will maybe look almost identical, but eventually I would like to add huge counters as an option, where more details can be added.

[BigDuke66]

Can anyone send it to me? Would like to take a look at it.

[samba_liten]

I've been hotseating this thing, to get a feel for it. I have a question about the release of additional Soviet armies.

The briefing states that if the Germans withdraw, the free unit can advance into a vacated hex, thereby releasing the rest of the army. The hex to be advanced into must be the hex in front of the free unit, or can it be any hex along the front of the army concerned?

Also, do the armies become mobile automatically at some point, or, if the Germans do not withdraw, is using the theater option the only way to activate them?

[BigDuke66]

I hope this can be useful:
https://rapidshare.com/files/2725827527 ... y_1944.jpg

But you should check if those units where really in the area that the scenario covers, I tried some of the Nahaufklärungs units and the seem to be in Germany at the time the scenario starts.

I just scanned thruh the air units in game and I miss an airfield around Pechory(56,106) on which the II/SG3 was stationed from 1.3.44 to 29.4.44.

[LLv34_Snefens]

ORIGINAL: polarenper
The briefing states that if the Germans withdraw, the free unit can advance into a vacated hex, thereby releasing the rest of the army. The hex to be advanced into must be the hex in front of the free unit, or can it be any hex along the front of the army concerned?

It can be any hex along the army's front and it can be any unit that enters it; even from another army.

ORIGINAL: polarenper
Also, do the armies become mobile automatically at some point, or, if the Germans do not withdraw, is using the theater option the only way to activate them?

If neither the Germans or Soviets do anything to activate, their formations can in theory be in garrison state for the duration of the game.
Both players need to consider a number of factors. If the German player choose not to activate any of his army corps, he risk having the soviet offensives on the flanks cut them off. If he pays to activate a corps he can do a full withdrawal, but the Soviet player saves the VP of activating the opposing army himself. The Germans can instead move just part of the units away to help on the flanks, but not leaving any open hexes. This way the Soviets will still have to pay to activate.
However even with no hex having been abandoned, the Soviet can, by moving units from elsewhere, or just with the local penal battalions, start an offensive with in the army's sector, have the army activate at no VP cost once a hex is captured.

It's sort of a game of chicken.

[LLv34_Snefens]

Thanks BigDuke. I've deliberately omitted all the light night bomber units as well as the most of the recon units, but I see some things in that document that not correspond to the sources I've used. The 4./JG54 for instance. I'll look into it,

The airfield at Pechory could be this one? http://maps.google.dk/?ll=57.716344,27. ... 14&vpsrc=6

I have maps of the area from the time-period, but neither this or any other near are on it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. Anyway I'll get it added.

[BigDuke66]

Yes 4./JG 54 looks strange, my sources says that it was attached to III/JG 54 from 2.43 to 6.44 and that group was stationed in the West, I try to find out more.
Not sure how useful those Nachtschlachtgruppen were but with over 100 planes I bet the made at least some difference.

[LLv34_Snefens]

Then I would need to add the hordes of U-2's in the Soviet night bomber regiments as well. Only anecdotal evidence, but their greatest power seemed to have been mostly psychological.

[BigDuke66]

Well on night turns they can "wake" the troops up, on interdiction they wouldn't make much damaged but maybe lowering readiness with their attacks.

And I found something about the 4./JG54:
***
"III.JG 54's withdrawal from Russia was the result of a decision by Adolf Galland, the General der Jagdflieger, to exchange one complete western based Jagdgeschwader with another from the eastern front.
The two units selected were JGs 26 and 54.
...
But either Galland thought better of it - or more cautions minds prevailed upon him so to do - for the scheme was abandoned after just one Gruppe, plus one additional Staffel, from each Jagdgeschwader had made the move."
***
The 4./JG 54 operated under III./JG 26 in the west so it looks like you can leave them out as I can't find any evidence that they moved back to the east, only thing I found was that parts where used to form the new IV./JG 54 in July 1943 and it was used in August 1944 to form the new 15./JG 54 as the JG 54 moved to a 4 Staffel per Gruppe structure.
BTW how about splitting the Gruppen into Staffeln? That should give the German player more flexibility where to place how many planes.


Now to the ground units, the correct name of the "2. SS-Gr.Brigade" is "2. Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade".

What's interesting is that on 7th January the order to form the "19. Lettische SS-Freiwilligen-Division" out of that brigade was given, but instead of forming another regiment the two regiments of the brigade used there 3rd battalion to form a new regiment.
Not sure if you can/should make something out of it as it seems to be a more or less "cosmetic" thing.

[ogar]

Snefens,

Is there a PM air shock applied in this scenario ? Or did the 128,000 Yak9's really affect that dozen or so JU-87s ? (I'm hotseating at present, and tried an air strike on some rifle rgts. stuck on the ice. My handling of the Soviets in the south is not as break-through as yours.)

I'm enjoying this scenario, altho it is a bit LARGE

Thanks for developing it.

[LLv34_Snefens]

BigDuke. The transition from Brigade to the 19. SS-Div is already implemented. It's described somewhere in the briefing. As for the name it's just too long with all that freiwillige stuff. [;)] If 100% correct, the other SS-Divisions should also have that pre-fix.

Ogar. No, There is not used any shock effects at all in the scenario, neither in air or ground. The Germans have a slightly higher night combat proficiency though 38% vs. 33% of the Soviets.