Europa 1947 v5.8 for TOAW IV

[VHauser]

Brief Update.

I just got released from the hospital from a combination of pneumonia/heart trouble.

I am on home care and still very weak. I promise to continue work on E47 as soon as I can, maybe by the end of the month.

I wish you all well.

--V

[btd64]

ORIGINAL: VHauser

Brief Update.

I just got released from the hospital from a combination of pneumonia/heart trouble.

I am on home care and still very weak. I promise to continue work on E47 as soon as I can, maybe by the end of the month.

I wish you all well.

--V

No rush. Get well first....GP

[RyanCrierie]

ORIGINAL: VHauser

Soviet AK-47 assault rifles go into mass production during 1946 (in E47 terms). Production is between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 annually, with factories in occupied Manchuria contributing substantially. Guards/Shock formations are given priority initially.

Since the AK-47 is the best assault rifle in the world, I'm debating whether the Western Allies be given licensed production rights (mainly as a means of repaying Lend-Lease). At this point, I'm leaning in favor of granting the Western Allies production rights. Still undecided though.

US has the T20 Rifle, Brits have their EM-2.

[VHauser]

Finally, I'm back and ready to work again!

I have a lot of catching up on E47 to do, but here is a question for you guys while I'm catching up:
In no particular order, what are the Top-10 Commonwealth divisions of WW2 (not counting special forces and airborne units)?
Here are some that I would include:
2nd New Zealand
7th Armoured
Guards Armoured
11th Armoured
7th Australian
51st Highland

Canadian?
South African/Rhodesian?
Indian?
[While not Commonwealth, you can include a Polish division if you wish]
Help.

[btd64]

ORIGINAL: VHauser

Finally, I'm back and ready to work again!

I have a lot of catching up on E47 to do, but here is a question for you guys while I'm catching up:
In no particular order, what are the Top-10 Commonwealth divisions of WW2 (not counting special forces and airborne units)?
Here are some that I would include:
2nd New Zealand
7th Armoured
Guards Armoured
11th Armoured
[at least one Australian division]
51st Highland

Canadian?
South African/Rhodesian?
Indian?
[While not Commonwealth, you can include a Polish division if you wish]
Help.

3rd Canadian Armored
7th and 8th Aussie inf. Take your pick....GP

[aspqrz02]

Definitely the 7th Division, 2nd AIF.

Phil

[VHauser]

Okay, adding the 7th Australian to the list.

[VHauser]

Well, I've re-read this thread and looked over the OOB. Looks like I've done a lot of work on the Soviets, a little on the Western Allies, and a little on the Axis.

The map looks fine. Events are a mess. Objectives and orders for the Axis (P.O.) are a mess. Reinforcement schedules are a mess.

So, one step at a time. I'll continue with what I was doing a few months ago--finish the Soviet OOB.

[VHauser]

Here are some notes I'm planning to include in the Scenario Briefing. If you have something you want to see included, let me know.

Notes:
Allied HQ RR Repair assests represent the ability to mobilize/conscript local populations plus a notional intrinsic ability. To use this ability, the HQ must remain stationary for at least one entire turn to obtain the percentage chance shown on the unit summary to repair the railroad each turn it remains stationary.

Many Allied units are considered to be rare/irreplaceable (especially special forces). If they get destroyed they might never come back.

House Rules (players are strongly urged to follow these rules):
Allied partisans may not leave their nation/region of origin (Exception1: Tito's Yugoslavians may not move/advance more than 12 hexes from Sarajevo; Exception2: Kurdish Raiders may not move/advance more than 10 hexes from Mosul).

Allied airborne operations may not be conducted more than 10 hexes from either: 1) the nearest friendly non-broken rail line that is connected directly to a supply source; or 2) a supply source of 50 or higher itself (e.g. Malta).

Allied Jewish units may not leave Palestine although they may make limited attacks across the border.

Allied Muslim units may not enter Palestine nor may they participate in attacks with Jewish units.

Allied units in "red" status may not attack and, if they move at all, they must move towards the nearest friendly non-broken rail hex that is connected directly to a supply source.

[VHauser]

Kronstadt and Holland.

Kronstadt is a case for hexside rivers. Oh well. In E47, Kronstadt is almost impossible to represent, which is probably why the original E47 map has ignored it altogether and just shows a deep-water hex where Kronstadt is supposed to be. However, I'm willing to try. Perhaps a flooded marsh containing a super river and an anchorage, with the entire hex surrounded by a major escarpment. Suggestions?

As for Holland, does anybody know which hexes the Germans flooded? Further, I'm guessing that the Germans could (would?) have flooded many hexes in Denmark and Coastal Germany itself. This is problematic because the Allies would not contemplate landings into potentially flooded areas. One possibility is that those potentially flooded hexes could simply have shallow water placed adjacent to them, but that creates its own kind of problems. Suggestions?

[VHauser]

Soviet OOB.
I've finished the first pass at the Soviet OOB. I doubt I'll be adding or subtracting any Soviet units in subsequent passes, but I do need to modify a variety of equipment strengths and TO/Es. I'll revisit the Soviets after I finish the first passes on all the other nations' OOBs.

Basic Soviet OOB Summary:
12 Fronts
7 Tank Armies
3 Shock Armies
14 Guards Armies
36 Regular Armies
8 Misc./Foreign Armies
Stavka Reserves
A variety of misc. support/independent units/formations.

Note on artillery.
Many artillery units have the ability to fire 2 hexes, but not very effectively. For example, an artillery unit might have an attack strength of 25 and a range of 2 hexes, but only a fraction of that 25 can reach out to 2 hexes. So, if a player wants to use all 25 attack strength, he will have to attack from an adjacent hex. This is deliberate and means that players will have to put their artillery in harm's way if they want to use full attack strength. Firing at 2 hexes will be safe, but usually not be very effective.

[VHauser]

I'm starting work on the USA/Free French (and those nations equipped by the USA) OOB. I plan to be finished with the first pass by the end of the month.

As an aside, after months and months the doctors have finally identified and addressed my health issues. They now know what is causing my heart and lung problems. They have managed to stabilize my health. My health still isn't very good (about a 4 or 5 on a scale of 10), but the encouraging news is that it is stable. They tell me that my blood and urine numbers are improving. My protein levels (which is one of the big causes of my problems) are improving. The fluid around my heart (which caused my congestive heart failure) is diminishing. Etc. There are no guarantees, but the indications are encouraging that I'm going to be able to stay out of the hospital for at least the near future. Yay!

I have more energy today than I've had in a long time. You have no idea how happy I am to be working on E47 again.

[VHauser]

Decima MAS.
From some of the accounts I've read, the Decima MAS was the most effective special forces unit of WW2 (today's US Navy SEALS studied the operations of the Decima MAS extensively). The problem is that I have no idea how to represent this unit in TOAW4. It is not a TOAW4 commando unit since it didn't perform airborne/mountain operations. It is not a TOAW4 amphibious or marine unit since it didn't conduct amphibious/marine landings. Indeed, it appears to not have conducted ground operations at all. Suggestions?

[VHauser]

Decima MAS, pt. 2.
Okay, I created a new naval equipment called Decima MAS. So, the Decima MAS will be a special naval unit. Turns out that the Decima MAS fought all throughout the Mediterranean and even the Black Sea. The commandos/frogmen would be delivered to the target area by submarine. Also, after Italy surrendered some of the Decima MAS fought on as anti-partisan ground troops for the RSI. There is no need to represent this because that contribution was small. So, if/when Italy surrenders the Decima MAS will simply be withdrawn.

[VHauser]

Allied Airborne Units.
Most of the time I've separated Allied tanks out of Allied units into tank-only units. I've done this for two main reasons: 1) to minimize hundreds (thousands?) of unit withdrawals/reorganizations; and 2) due to the TOAW4 limitation of 24 equipments per TO/E. So far, I've been pleased with the results of this decision. However, I recognize the need to make the occasional exception and Allied airborne units qualify. Therefore, Allied parachute infantry and glider units (and airborne HQs) have heavy equipment (including tanks) built into their TO/Es, which allows them to fight as elite ground-combat units. But since airborne replacement rates are low, Allied players who choose to use their airborne units this way will suffer the consequences. Airborne parachute (not parachute infantry) units do not have heavy equipment in their TO/Es.

[VHauser]

My OOB Methodology.
Months ago I created some baseline/benchmark units for all nations for use as a starting point. I knew that they would change over time, but I wanted to get a basic sense of how they would look. Next, I chose the Soviets as the guinea pig for building an OOB. The idea was not to get the unit TO/Es and strengths right, but instead to mainly just identify/create/build all the Soviet units. I've done that. I won't finish the Soviet TO/Es and unit strengths until I've built the basic OOBs for all the other nations.
So...
Step 1. Create initial baseline units.
Step 2. Build basic OOBs for each nation.
Step 3. Finish TO/Es and unit strengths for each nation.
Step 4. Double check each equipment type.
Step 5. Double check all units.

There are lots of revisions and changes that happen throughout this process. For example, I originally intended Allied airborne units to have no heavy equipment. But within the last week or so I changed my thinking and had to make revisions. Another example is that in the beginning I wanted to create combined-arms units. But due to a variety of factors, I realized that including tanks in most units was very problematic, so I had to change my thinking and made revisions. Today, I'm revisiting my concepts regarding fortifications and how they are going to be represented in the game. I've gone back and forth on this and still don't have a solution that makes me happy. I'm hoping that by the time I complete Step 2 above, I'll have a satisfactory solution for this.

Anyway, this is generally how I go about working on each step in E47--start, stop, revise, repeat.

[VHauser]

Schedule for October.
I should be finished with the basic USA/French OOB this weekend. I have a lot of doctor appointments and lab tests in October. Nothing emergency, but since I'm a military veteran (ex-B52 combat crew) the V.A. sends me to a variety of medical specialists to deal with my medical issues and they all want lab tests. So, October is going to be very busy/tiring for me. Normally I could finish the basic UK OOB in 2-3 weeks, but it will probably take me all month to get it done.

[MikeC317]

Good luck with all that. I look forward to seeing and playing this scenario

[VHauser]

USA/French OOB Summary (first pass complete).

3 Army Groups
10 Armies (including an army-sized USMC contingent)
24 Corps
A variety of misc. units (mainly units from different nationalities)

I plan to start work on the UK OOB either Wednesday or Thursday this week.

[VHauser]

I've started on the UK OOB. I'll try to get as much done as I can this weekend because next week will be very busy for me medically.