WAW 1939-1945 PO Version 62221 Allied Human vs Axis Bot

[thomasharvey]

T246 5/14/44 The Allies have landed in Mindanao. The fleet was withdrawn due to continued air strikes causing damage to the ships. They will need all their power to make a run to Okinawa.

[thomasharvey]

T247 5/27/44 Here is a view of Axis inventory of replacements. Note the infantry squads circled. Normally it is 400 per turn. It went up to nearly 500 at one point and then is now reduced to almost 300. That represents the strategic bombing and the occupation of many German factories. It also includes Japan's production which is not damaged yet. The current reduction is at nearly 25% reduction.

Early in the war the Axis runs a surplus but then at the end they are in deficit. Overall it should be roughly historical as long as the allies focus on destruction of Axis factories. Supply is also reduced when oil centers are taken. If the Allies do not attack Axis industry aggressively the Axis will have extra equipment which will make a big difference.

When the B29 aircraft enter the Japanese production can be reduced. Of course if Japan itself is invaded then more factories can be occupied. (Good luck with that...)

[thomasharvey]

T247 May 21, 1944 Note the Ferdinand panzer units defending Berlin. How many Panzer and Panzer Grenadier divisions can you count around and in Berlin? The black and white units are SS and the black and green units are SS that fought only on the eastern front.

[thomasharvey]

T247 May 21, 1944 Nearly all units have plenty of Panzerfaust and/or Panzerschreck weapons.

[thomasharvey]

T247 5/21/44 Here is a view of the US fleet moving north. The naval air search spotted the Yamato Group. It will now be sunk with a massive strike from the fleet. I do not want the Yamato Group to sail into my ships.

[thomasharvey]

T247 5/21/44 Yamato group attack results by 600 naval bombers.

[thomasharvey]

T247 5/21/44 Here is the display showing the air groups. No CAP was put up by the Axis Bot. That will change soon. The Yamato group was standing guard duty at that location. I had considered sending a small force into that area to try and capture an island base on the cheap but felt the Japanese air power would sink it. So I sent in the fleet for CAP. I did not think or know the Yamato group was hiding there in ambush...

[rhinobones]

I’m curious about unit sizes deployed and believe a design change is warranted. As is, combat units range in size from corps to company with company units holding 25 km fronts against divisions.

Have you considered eliminating company units and making battalions the smallest (non-divisible) maneuver units?

Regards

[thomasharvey]

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

I’m curious about unit sizes deployed and believe a design change is warranted. As is, combat units range in size from corps to company with company units holding 25 km fronts against divisions.

Have you considered eliminating company units and making battalions the smallest (non-divisible) maneuver units?

Regards

Thank you for your interest.

It has been my observation that small units frequently get overrun when trying to hold up larger units. That includes an encirclement when the defender runs them over making a retreat due to combat. If that does not happen then an empty hex would have held up the larger unit anyway due to lack of available movement. I have noticed exceptions of course. One situation that happens once in a while, a small unit will hold a hex when surrounded and attacked by forces 10 or 100 times larger yet it holds anyway. To remedy that one must leave a hex for the smaller unit to retreat due to combat and then it can be overrun after combat. That is some type of game engine bug I guess. Fortunately it is rare.

I do not believe a design change is needed.

[rhinobones]

It has been my observation that small units frequently get overrun when trying to hold up larger units. That includes an encirclement when the defender runs them over making a retreat due to combat. If that does not happen then an empty hex would have held up the larger unit anyway due to lack of available movement. I have noticed exceptions of course. One situation that happens once in a while, a small unit will hold a hex when surrounded and attacked by forces 10 or 100 times larger yet it holds anyway. To remedy that one must leave a hex for the smaller unit to retreat due to combat and then it can be overrun after combat. That is some type of game engine bug I guess. Fortunately it is rare.

There are quite a few battalions in the OOB so I understand your reluctance to do the tedious work required and make them all non-divisible. However, the reasoning to keep company units on the same battlefield as corps and divisions doesn’t work for me. It sounds like a work-around, much like that professed by Apple Boy. In the end I feel that the scenario would be much improved by elimination of the ant units. That said, it is still a magnificent scenario and I applaud all of the effort involved.

Regards

[Curtis Lemay]

PTO would seem to require very small units. Just as the ETO would seem to require very large units. So...if you're doing both at the same time...

[rhinobones]

ORIGINAL: Curtis Lemay

PTO would seem to require very small units. Just as the ETO would seem to require very large units. So...if you're doing both at the same time...

Why?

[thomasharvey]

The scenario is an attempt at making all of WW2 from 1939 to 1945. It is basically on the divisional scale including the Pacific. There are some smaller units included as well for accuracy. The scenario is an attempt to see if TOAW can do it all in one scenario since naval rules are now included. It is a test of the TOAW game engine and I think it performs quite well.

As for the fragmented smaller units I had never considered that. The map is 20km per hex and not 25km. With the large map the small units seem useful but maybe limiting the size to no smaller than a battalion could improve playability. That alone would be a reason to do it. Another version may be worth doing with the size limitation for accuracy and playability.

Thanks for the complement on the scenario and the effort involved. Making a PO version took a long time to make it competitive against a human opponent.

[thomasharvey]

T250 6/11/44 Here is a view of the Berlin area from the Axis view. The Allies and Soviets are closing in.

[thomasharvey]

T250 6/11/44 The Japanese forces on Mindanao are now out of supply and will be mopped up soon.

[thomasharvey]

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

It has been my observation that small units frequently get overrun when trying to hold up larger units. That includes an encirclement when the defender runs them over making a retreat due to combat. If that does not happen then an empty hex would have held up the larger unit anyway due to lack of available movement. I have noticed exceptions of course. One situation that happens once in a while, a small unit will hold a hex when surrounded and attacked by forces 10 or 100 times larger yet it holds anyway. To remedy that one must leave a hex for the smaller unit to retreat due to combat and then it can be overrun after combat. That is some type of game engine bug I guess. Fortunately it is rare.

There are quite a few battalions in the OOB so I understand your reluctance to do the tedious work required and make them all non-divisible. However, the reasoning to keep company units on the same battlefield as corps and divisions doesn’t work for me. It sounds like a work-around, much like that professed by Apple Boy. In the end I feel that the scenario would be much improved by elimination of the ant units. That said, it is still a magnificent scenario and I applaud all of the effort involved.

Regards

What would be the method to make the battalions non-divisible? I understand and have used filling a formation with 32 units so none divide. Also dividing one in the formation will also prevent the others from dividing but have not tried that one.

Do you know of another method? Thanks for your info on this subject.

[rhinobones]

The process is straight forward; however, it does take some patience to work through the OOB.

1. In the editor, change all battalion designations to section. This change can also be made using 76mm’s editor which might make the job easier.

2. In the custom graphics folder add the two modified Counter Numbers files. Note that the section graphic has been changed to the battalion graphic. If you don’t have these files, I can post them here.

Regards and Good Luck

[thomasharvey]

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

The process is straight forward; however, it does take some patience to work through the OOB.

1. In the editor, change all battalion designations to section. This change can also be made using 76mm’s editor which might make the job easier.

2. In the custom graphics folder add the two modified Counter Numbers files. Note that the section graphic has been changed to the battalion graphic. If you don’t have these files, I can post them here.

Regards and Good Luck

Thanks for the info. I am going to give it a try.

[thomasharvey]

ORIGINAL: thomasharvey

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

The process is straight forward; however, it does take some patience to work through the OOB.

1. In the editor, change all battalion designations to section. This change can also be made using 76mm’s editor which might make the job easier.

2. In the custom graphics folder add the two modified Counter Numbers files. Note that the section graphic has been changed to the battalion graphic. If you don’t have these files, I can post them here.

Regards and Good Luck

Thanks for the info. I am going to give it a try.

I guess I don't have the two modified counter number files or do not know where to find them. I would appreciate if you could post them. This looks interesting to make this change. Thanks.

[rhinobones]

Counter Number files attached.

Good to hear that you are taking this suggestion seriously. Any questions, problems, please feel free to contact me. Note that the attached files are intended for making battalions indivisible. The same can be done for other unit levels.

Regards