Operation Weserübung - work in progress

[Erik2]

This custom scenario will cover the German naval and airborne invasions of Norway and Denmark and the British/French/Polish attempt to send expeditions to help the Norwegians. Historically the Danes surrendered after a couple of hours’ fight, this time they will not give up that easily.
The map scale is 5km/hex, scenario length about 60 1-day turns and the units are battalion size (with a few companies and smaller units).
Naval vessels are grouped in task forces except submarines which are single-ship units.
Air units are mostly groups/Geschwader except a few squadrons of British Fleet Air Arm.

There are a number of new equipment, obviously for the Norwegians and Danes, but also for the Germans, British and French.
I have available aircraft and ship side-view pictures for all new equipment, but since I am graphically incompetent it would be nice if any of you graphic wizards would step forward and offer some help. Or just posting a step-by-step guide using a free paint program would help as well.
I will post a few screenshots as I finish the various parts of the scenario.

Erik

[Erik2]

Scapa Flow, the main naval base for the British Home Fleet.
The screenshot shows the coastal batteries along with the air defence and two garrison brigades along with various French and British task groups and convoys.

[Erik2]

This screenshot shows all British fighter, bomber and coastal air-groups (except the Fleet Air Arm) along with a few naval task groups.
BTW, aircraft carriers (ie Furious) are not modeled in the game AFAIK, presently they are just chrome.
The British and French expeditionary forces including a Polish brigade are waitng on shore. They will arrive as reinforcdements on a later turn.

[HerzKaraya]

Looking forward to it! Great job

[Erik2]

This a screenshot of the outer Oslofjord. The German Gruppe I slipped between these outer coastal forts on their way to the capital.
Location names in black are coastal or land forts.
Location names in yellow are Norwegian or Danish mobilization centers, these are important for the Germans to capture early to halt the mobilization of new enemy units.
Location names in red are initial invasion sites, here the Norwegian main naval base Horten.
Note the overal strategic map in the bottom right of the screenshot.

[Erik2]

This screenshot shows the Norwegian capital Oslo inside the fjord.
The German plan to capture the King and the government was put to a stop as the three old 28cm Krupp guns (and a torpedo battery) sank the German heavy cruiser Blücher in the narrow straits at the coastal fort Oscarsborg. This part of the German seaborne invasion was so delayed that Fallschirmjägers and follow-up infantry landing at the airfield Fornebu west of the capital beat the Kriegsmarine in capturing the capital.

[marcpennington]

I'm really looking forward to this one---- it's a campaign that I think is particularly well suited to some of the card based mechanics that DB has, as opposed to many other more traditional systems. So I'll be ready to play my Vidkun Quisling card...

[Erik2]

ORIGINAL: map66

I'm really looking forward to this one---- it's a campaign that I think is particularly well suited to some of the card based mechanics that DB has, as opposed to many other more traditional systems. So I'll be ready to play my Vidkun Quisling card...

I have the Norwegian colonel Konrad Sundlo in charge of the garrison at Narvik.
He was a Quisling follower so maybe a card to persuade him to give up Narvik without a fight (as happened historically).

[marcpennington]

Or perhaps just a generalized card (or cards) for Quisling to compromise the Norwegian defenses to be played on the city of choice---- I think his betrayal was key in the quick capture of Oslo as well, but might be an interesting mechanic to have him play havoc at some unpredictable place.

[Erik2]

Invasion site Kristiansand in southern Norway with the coastal batteries and some naval assets.
Found a nice airfield picture and managed to actually display it.
All airfields (except German and mainland British) will have a limited aircraft capacity.
But I need to resolve a current incompatibility with large German Geschwader units and low capacity on most Norwegian fields.

[Erik2]

Invasion site Bergen on the western coast of Norway.
This port was surrounded by many coastal batteries.
Note the merchant ship convoy HN25 outside Bergen and the lone German U-boat U9 lurking outside the defence perimeter.

[Erik2]

Invasion site Trondheim in central Norway, the entrance of the fjord is on the left between Hysnes and Brettingen coastal batteries.
The important prize for the Germans were Værnes airfield on the right.
Air units on this field could control both southern and much of northern Norway.
Hegra fort (with just a couple houndred men) is famous (in Norway anyway) for being the last unit to surrender in southern Norway.

[Erik2]

Invasion site Narvik in northern Norway.
The airfield and coastal batteries on the left will be part of a variant (if possible).
The 10 German destroyers carrying the 139.Gebirgsjägers torpedoed the two old Norwegian coastal battleships in Narvik port, sinking them in a few minutes.
Colonel Sundlo (a Quisling-follower) in charge at Narvik is notorious for surrendering Narvik after the short naval battle.
Later all 10 German destroyers were sunk or beached in two battles inside the fjord.
Note the armored train on the right. This was for protecting the iron ore trains, but the armored train only had one single 75mm gun...

[gabeeg]

Erik,

Just checking in to see how progress was going on this scenario...I am really looking forward to it.

[Uxbridge]

Me too!

[Erik2]

I only recently discovered that you cannot create proper seaborne (and airborne?) invasions in this game, you have to fake it by using cards like in Sea Lion.
Unlike Case Blue, there are no provisions for seatransports.
So for now, I have put Weserübung on hold for now.

See
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3255986

[Uxbridge]

Oh, that's sad. Couldn't you just let the scenario start on the 10th instead, with the German troops that landed on the 9th already in place and with proper facilities to be supplied normally? Regrettably, that will lose us the interesting first day, but the campaign in itself can be played.

[Vic]

see posting in v1.51 thread.

[ernieschwitz]

Thats a good idea Uxbridge

[lion_of_judah]

looking forward too this one as well