[MERRY CHRISTMAS!] New Scenario: "Operation Christiane"

[RFalvo69]

Merry Christmas to all! This is my gift to the community...

...And... What's better for Christmas Night to fight during Christmas Night?

To install the scenario, download the .zip file, unzip it and put the folder "Operation Christiane" in your .../Flashpoint Campaign Cold War/Modules/FCCW/Scenarios

It is a XXL scenario, "Veteran" level, meant to be played from NATO side only.

To play the scenario as intended, select "NATO Commander", "Grognard" Difficulty.

BE SURE TO SELECT "RED BP 1". The WP has only one battleplan, which will be executed with brutal efficiency.

I tried my best to re-create the OOBs of the formations I used. Of course, three different sites will give you three different kinds of naming, structure and ordinance (the main source usually being "Trust me, bro'"). I used my judgement when needed.

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions re: OOB changes, better info about the equipment and, most importantly, the scenario balance. In this version I achieved a marginal victory on my second attempt. The scenario is meant to be hard but not frustrating. As usual, THINK and you will not make some obvious mistakes (so to open the door to the not obvious ones...) I'll gladly do a 1.1 version with your suggestions, if needed.

One last thing: there is an Easter Egg hidden in the scenario names. One victory level added to who gets it first.

Operation Christiane
D+1 | 25 December 1988, 00:10hrs - 12:10hrs | West Germany vs Soviet Union @ Buchholz

D+1, just after midnight. The balloon went up on December 24th, 1988. NATO is facing a general attack by the Warsaw Pact; due to West German political indecisiveness and key personnel missing during the holidays, the Soviets achieved operational surprise. In the NORTHAG sector, the line of defence of the 1st Netherlands Corps between Lüneburg and Uelzen has been overrun. The hastily deployed 41st Armoured Brigade and the 1st Division 'December 7th' have been destroyed. The rest of the I NL Corps (the 3rd and 4th Netherlands Divisions) is still 24 hours away.

The Second Tank Army has paid for this success with the total loss of the 94th Guards Motorised Rifle Division. However, the 21st Motorised Rifle Division, fresh from the rear, managed to cross the Elbe intact and is now advancing westwards. The Russians are close to creating an opening for the 2nd Tank Army to reach the Weser and move north towards Denmark.

The 3rd Panzer Division, the most effective defence force in the area, has only partially mobilised. According to pre-war plans, however, the 7th Panzergrenadier Brigade (minus one Panzergrenadier battalion) is moving south from Hamburg to close the gap in the NATO front line before the Warsaw Pact (WP) can cut off the entire Schleswig-Holstein region.

Thanks to the Bundeswehr's ability to quickly create 'ad hoc' formations, the 84th Panzer Battalion (from the 8th Panzer Brigade), which was deployed southwest of Lüneburg, has been attached to the 7th Panzer Grenadier Brigade. This new formation has been named 'Kampfgruppe Natja'. During peacetime, NATO trained for this exact contingency both in the field and through war games. Now, the plan — called 'Operation Christiane — Contingency F.' — will be tested in real war.

The 21st MRD has already overrun Buchholz in der Nordheide at full strength with a narrow frontage. Territorial engineers managed to hastily build some obstacles and improved positions between Hollenstedt and Tostedt. Don't expect a real fortified line. NATO has two key advantages: night-time, and the speed and agility of the Bundeswehr. It is reasonable to assume that the Soviets are aiming for a clear breakthrough. Kampfgruppe Natja's mission is straightforward: stop the Soviets and re-establish the front line in the Buchholz area. The 7th Panzer Brigade is closing the gap from the north, while the 84th Panzer Battalion is striking from the south. Soviet artillery is already raining shells on our positions. It will be a long Christmas night...

Operation Christiane.zip

(724.03 KiB) Downloaded 38 times

[CapnDarwin]

Thanks for posting and a Merry Christmas!

[WABAC]

This site is excellent for OOB's: https://www.relikte.com/literatur.htm IIRC, the author got a lot of help from the folks at tanknet, many/most of whom were veterans of the era.

[RFalvo69]

This site is excellent for OOB's: https://www.relikte.com/literatur.htm IIRC, the author got a lot of help from the folks at tanknet, many/most of whom were veterans of the era.

I know the site, but thanks anyway!

My German is very bad, but my daughter managed to translate the second book into "English" [1] using her professional version of DeepL. It is not perfect but manageable.

Of course I have other primary sources for the Bundeswehr's OOB that differ from the one detailed here, but not by much. And I always assume that, in the real war, no OBB would have been "perfect"—with maybe some units missing and others added at the last minute.

[1] "English", here, being a very relative term...

[JohnOs]

Unable to start the scenario.

error.jpg (37.98 KiB) Viewed 149 times

[RFalvo69]

Unable to start the scenario.

error.jpg

This is strange: I tested the scenario on two different computers, just to be sure, and I never had this error.

Actually, I'm using a bit of vacation time to tweak the scenario and I still can open and run it with no problems.

Are you sure that you put the folder in the correct directory? (If so, maybe some sort of bug in the engine?

[JohnOs]

I wanted to try your scenario, but I got this error, and I'm a contributor for OTS and a Beta tester, and our beta testing program runs more extensive checks than the Steam version. They’re aware of it and will come back here to post what they find.

From what I see, your 21st MRD HQ has an issue with its Move Deliberate Orders.

[RFalvo69]

I wanted to try your scenario, but I got this error, and I'm a contributor for OTS and a Beta tester, and our beta testing program runs more extensive checks than the Steam version. They’re aware of it and will come back here to post what they find.

From what I see, your 21st MRD HQ has an issue with its Move Deliberate Orders.

When do you get this error? When trying to open the scenario or when the clock reaches 5:43:45?

[JohnOs]

Trying to start the scenario, then selecting ok brings you right back to the main screen.

[JohnOs]

Just got confirmation that it crashed when Cap'n Darwin tried to start it. It is the .exe he states.

[RFalvo69]

Just got confirmation that it crashed when Cap'n Darwin tried to start it. It is the .exe he states.

The ".exe"? I didn't touch the .exe. I built the scenario and ran it on Steam, version 3.0.1.10236s. I never encountered any problem.

Anyway, I installed Steam on my wife's Windows 11 PC and then I did a fresh install of FCCW on it (no previous installs on my wife's computer before). Then I downloaded the scenario from the link I posted, unzipped it, put it in the .../modules/FCCW/scenarios/ folder, ran it, and it started without problems.

BTW, the scenario folder contains only three files. No trace of a uUnits.pas file (the "Custom" folder is empty.

Christiane_Files.jpg (176.42 KiB) Viewed 98 times

I don't know what to say. From my side, I only have to place the folder in the /Scenarios directory, and it just starts.

Going to bed now as it is late here in Italy. If you find the root of the problem let me know. I'll check it tomorrow.

[A side note: it would be gloomy for the scenario to have been downloaded about 30 times and no one ever ran it ]

[CapnDarwin]

This is not an issue on your end, RFavlo69. We are running updated EXEs on the Dev/Tester side, and the latest checks are causing an issue. We will review and make sure this is corrected before the update goes out.

[RFalvo69]

Fine, then

There is, actually, an error that sometimes I encounter. It happens when I modify a scenario and then run it. The solution is to always save each part of the scenario - forces included - and not to simply do a single save at the end.

So, when I meet the following error, I learned to reopen the scenario in the editor and click on every "Save" button I see, including those in the "Battleplan" label. When I reopen it everything works.

I guess that, if you don't do that, the program looks for something that had not been saved correctly after I modified that part, and crashes.

Anyway, here is the error:

EDIT: I should mention that this is the only crash I have experienced in FCCW, and it only occurs when I edit a scenario. I have played for over 200 hours on Steam and the program has never crashed before. Although I have some doubts about certain aspects of the underlying models (I'll do a separate post), this is one of the most stable games I have ever played.

[SgtZdog]

When you get an error like that, you should see an exception window come up which has an option to save the log. Please do that next time you get it and upload that file here (or email it to us). And if you do have an error, my general recommendation is to close the game and re-open.

[RFalvo69]

When you get an error like that, you should see an exception window come up which has an option to save the log. Please do that next time you get it and upload that file here (or email it to us). And if you do have an error, my general recommendation is to close the game and re-open.

I don't get any log, only the error window. When I click, the game returns to the main menu.

As I said, this usually happens when I work on a scenario. And, tipically, after I made some changes. Let's say that I would feel better if some reinforcements arrived earlier and with a different plan. I open the scenario, make the change, save it, and that error appears. So I reopen it, save the new Battleplan, resave the scenario and the error goes away.

Mine is only a feeling, but I think that you have to make sure that you have to individually swave all the changes you make (OOBs, plans...) and not only a general save of the scenario after you modify it.