More sneaky peaking!

[Golf33]

I wanted to post this one because I think it's cool [8D]. This is a near-perfect fire trap which the British have just walked into. During the night their counterattack on the Corinth Canal Bridge made good progress, and you know what they say about an attack that is going well!

[note: the equipment lists on this image were added by me so you could see what I'm talking about below, in the game these lists only appear in the sidebar when a unit is selected, not on the map.]

It's not all going my way though. As you can see, they have plenty of weight behind the assault, certainly enough to deny the objective (selected and showing the yellow radius ring). South of the Canal there are some dramas developing as well: 2nd Company FJ MG Bn 7 has been routed and has lost all its heavy machine guns and its recoilless rifle; while 1st Platoon 13th Company Fallschirmjägerregiment 2 has also suffered, losing both its recoilless rifles and now down to a pair of light machine guns and some harsh language! This has been due to a mix of infantry attacks at close range and the enemy artillery, which is a potent force throughout the campaign.

The next few hours will be critical! The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler is on the way to relieve my troops, but between now and then it will be a tough struggle.

Regards
33

[Golf33]

This shot, from a couple of hours later, shows what I mean when I say the battle is far from over:


Notes:
1. This shot shows a handy interface feature - you can toggle the icons to a smaller size to make the map easier to read.
2. The green outline on the objective marker in the middle of Korinthos shows I control that objective and will get the points for it - for now at least!

While I am holding out reasonably well against the main enemy thrust along the Canal, the northern wall of the fire-trap is starting to suffer as the Australians have outflanked me through the woods and are starting to cause problems. At the same time, a substantial concentration of enemy forces is trying to move through Korinthos to the south, and I don't have anything there to stop them. About all I can hope for at this stage is that I can inflict enough damage to allow the Leibstandarte an easy time of retaking the bridge, since I doubt I can hold against the coming attack.

Regards
33

[Golf33]

The two companies of Fallschirmjäger in Korinthos have done well, disrupting a major enemy force on its way to the bridge. Identified are elements of three New Zealand battalions (green counters with white text). However, there is a price to be paid, and by morning both FJ companies and their supporting AT gun platoon have been forced to surrender.


Notes:
1. The map is darker than in previous screenshots as a reminder to the player that night has fallen, reducing visibility.
2. In the top right of each counter is a symbol that indicates the deployment status of the unit - undeployed, taking cover, deployed, dug-in, entrenched, or fortified.
3. 19th NZ Inf Bn has an unusual way of naming the companies after the area in which they were raised. Identified here is the Wellington company.
4. Another handy way of uncluttering the display is to filter the intel reports, removing out-of-date sightings of enemy units. Sightings that have been filtered out are indicated by the square black outlines.

[Golf33]

Back at the bridge it's getting rough, as predicted. The defences have been enough to disrupt the enemy attack but this cuts both ways as enemy units start to infiltrate through the gaps. Gradually the neat battle picture is dissolving into chaos!

Overall the news is not good, with a number of units routing. When the messages appear at the top of the screen, you can press a key to select the unit that generated the report and centre the map on it; you can also scroll through previous messages and select their senders, too.

[Golf33]

As dawn breaks, the bridge defences are still holding out and inflicting heavy losses, despite the punishment they have taken.


Note:
I've moved the data panel showing the destroyed enemy unit so you can see it in this shot. Like the equipment list, it only appears in the game in the sidebar, when a unit or dead-unit icon is selected.

Regards
33

[Golf33]

Finally! The last few hours, as predicted, have been really tough. Fortunately help is at hand - the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, led by the reinforced Recon Bn, has arrived along the coast road from the north.


Note:
1. The reinforcements tab appears on the sidebar during the game. You can select a unit from the list and the game will display the arrival location for that unit.
2. The number in the top right of each counter is combat power, an overall measure of the unit's current effectiveness. The colour shows the unit status (ok, retreating, routing) and the scale is exponential, so two units worth one each are roughly equivalent to one unit worth two.

Using the LSSAH to its full potential will be critical in this scenario. Any mistake will result in a draw, or worse yet, an outright loss - with the bridge defences this weak there is a chance the Australians and New Zealanders will get there before the LSSAH.

Regards
33

[Golf33]

Here we have the Recon Bn LSSAH clearing the western flank of the bridge defences. The shot on the left shows the orders given to the Bn HQ: simply attack and an objective. The shot on the right shows how the Bn HQ formulates a plan, selecting an reserve location for its mortars ("1"), an FUP for the assault ("2"), and an appropriate route to the FUP.

[Golf33]

Once at the FUP, the battalion shakes out into assault formation and moves on the objective. Speaking of mistakes, it appears that this attack is one: the threat to this flank doesn't appear to be as serious as I at first thought, and it's a bad time to allow a force this size to go relatively unused.

This shot also gives a decent view of the bridge, with the demolished railway bridge beside it.

[Golf33]

/more to follow tomorrow...

Regards
33

[JudgeDredd]

can't wait. Very intriguing!

[Txema]

2. The number in the top right of each counter is combat power, an overall measure of the unit's current effectiveness. The colour shows the unit status (ok, retreating, routing) and the scale is exponential, so two units worth one each are roughly equivalent to one unit worth two.

Sorry, can you explain this better? If two units worth one each are roughly equivalent to one unit worth two then the scale would be linear.... Are three units worth one each roughly equivalent to one unit worth three (linear scale) or the correspondence is different?

Thanks for your help !!!


Txema

[Golf33]

Sorry, I didn't explain that very well at all.

An increase of 1 in combat power is equivalent to a doubling of power, so 5 is twice as powerful as 4, 4 is twice as powerful as 3, and so on both up and down the scale. The permissible range is 0 to 9 and in most cases the average infantry company will be a 1. So while one unit of combat power 2 is equivalent to two units of combat power 1, a unit of combat power 3 is equivalent to four units of combat power 1.

Remember, though, that it is a very rough approximation - obviously one unit may have a lot of combat power in anti-personnel firepower, while another may be strong in anti-armour or bombardment. An artillery battalion may have a combat power of 7 due to the number and power of its guns, but because it is not a line unit, and lacks infantry and armour, it will not prevail in a close engagement against an infantry regiment attack, even though the raw combat power figures might suggest otherwise. This is due to the reduced effectiveness of an artillery unit in direct-fire combat, the shock effect of close attack by infantry against a support unit, and so on. Likewise, a couple of anti-tank gun platoons with very low combat power (due to their small strength and low total firepower) may be easily able to completely destroy a tank company with very high combat power (due to the armour and high overall firepower). The simulation is very detailed and complex, information like combat power and firepower values provide some general indications of effectiveness to the player but it isn't really possible to 'play the numbers' like you might in a more traditional wargame; instead, focus on applying sensible real-world combined-arms tactics to achieve success [:)].

Regards
33

[Arjuna]

Great advice Steve.[:)]

[Rooster]

ORIGINAL: Golf33

...Australians have outflanked me through the woods and are starting to cause problems

Always causing problems, those Australians. [:'(]

This is a great walk-through. Thanks! [:)]

[Txema]

Steve,

Thank you very much for your excellent explanation. I understand it properly now.


Txema

[pahom]

This looks great! Uploaad it now and I'll purchase it as a beta. [:)]

The ability to reduce the size of icons is a wonderful addition.
It was one of the few frustrations I had with the interface. I am glad to see that is resolved.

Thanks so much for a great game, and great support,

Pahom

[wodin]

Who thinks it would be a good idea to have two combat power numbers. One for Anti personnel and one for anti tank?

It would help those who havent a great knowledge on the individual units and want ot know what is powerfull against what quickly.

[Golf33]

ORIGINAL: wodin

Who thinks it would be a good idea to have two combat power numbers. One for Anti personnel and one for anti tank?

It would help those who havent a great knowledge on the individual units and want ot know what is powerfull against what quickly.

To get an idea of this, you can check the APers and AArm firepower values of the units - these are shown in the sidebar, and you can select a group of unit (even a group of enemy intel reports) to get the total figures.

Regards
33

[wodin]

True, but It would be nice to be able to see from a quick look at the counters.

As your companies are taking casualties and you have a two, three or four attcks going on at the same time then the counter info is so important. A quick look at the AA and AP ratings would show whether that company of your, who has been holding on to the route through the forest against a mass of tanks, has had his anti tank capability wiped out and needs to be reinforced pronto.

I understand its in the side bar and the number on the counter is abstract but it would be a quick visual clue, so you can then access the units info more in depth.

[Bil H]

The ability to reduce the size of icons is a wonderful addition.
It was one of the few frustrations I had with the interface. I am glad to see that is resolved.

This is in HTTR also, try using the ~ key to change the icon scale.

Bil