Scenario Design AAR - Demjansk Pocket 42

[bcgames]

To demonstrate the essence of how to make a unit list, we are going to create six units of the Axis chain-of-command for the Demjansk Pocket scenario. We will start at the O.K.H. and work our way down through the chain-of-command to the units that fight the battles--the combat and support units:

O.K.H. --> Army Group North --> 16th Army --> X Corps --> 30th Infantry Division --> I/818th Artillery Battalion (Motorized)

The first four are headquarters (HQ) units, the 30th Infantry division is a combat unit, and the I/818th Artillery battalion is a support unit.

Before we create any of these units, review section 4.7.5. How to Create a Unit. Now go to the Units tab in the editor. We will create the O.K.H. HQ in slot #1 so click on that slot in the PICK UNIT menu at the right side of the screen.

Click on Unit: 1 and enter ‘O.K.H.’ in the pop-up window.



As this HQ unit is the High Command for the Axis, leave HHQ: 0 as is and click on the HQ Type: 0 and enter ‘1’. You now see a label added for this unit: Leader: 0. Click on this label and pick the leader you wish to command this HQ from the pop-up menu. If the historical leader you are looking for is missing, then you will need to create them using the Leader tab.

Now click on the TOE(OB): 0. From the pop-up menu, scroll down to slot #565, HQ Army Group, and select it. Click on Nation: None and select slot #0001, Germany. Click on Player: None and enter ‘1’ for Axis. The upper portion of our screen should now look like this:

[bcgames]

The O.K.H. HQ unit will be active at the beginning of the game so set the delay to ‘0’. Click on Delay: 998 and enter ‘0’ in the pop-up window. Setting the delay to 250 or higher means the unit will not appear in the game.



To place the O.K.H. HQ unit on the map, click on Loc: 0,0. This will take you to the game map.



Click on the hex where you wish to place the unit. In the case of the O.K.H. HQ, place the unit in hex 72,31 (indicated by the mouse cursor in the image below).



Once you’ve clicked on the start hex for the unit, you will be taken back to the Units tab. Check to see that 72,31 has been entered into Loc:



Now create Army Group North in the same way we created O.K.H. Create it in slot #0003 as – von Kuchler, Georg/OB 565 and place this HQ on the map at 72,30. The difference with Army Group North is this; it is a subordinate unit of O.K.H. To make it so, click on the HHQ: 0 for Army Group North. This will present the PICK HQ UNIT menu. Select O.K.H. from the list by clicking on the name.

Go ahead and create the remaining four units in our chain-of-command example. The HHQ for each of these units is the preceding unit so go ahead and make those assignments as well. Use the following Leaders, OB numbers, and hex locations:

Slot #0005: 16th Army – Busch, Ernst/OB 564; hex 74,30
Slot #0007: X Corps – Hansen, Christian/OB 563; hex 82,30
Slot #0009: 30th Infantry Division – OB 24; hex 85,30
Slot #0010: I/818th Artillery Battalion (motorized) – OB 162; hex 0,0



The I/818th Artillery Battalion is not placed on the map because it is a battalion and a support unit. In our example, we attached this artillery unit to the 30th Infantry Division. We could have attached it to O.K.H., 16th Army, or X Corps but an attachment to the 16th Army or X Corps would make more sense and be historically accurate. Assignment to one of these two HQs would make the I/818th available for support of more units. As it is (attached to the 30th Div), the I/818th will only support the 30th Infantry Division. You decide where to place support units based on what makes sense for history and/or for your scenario.

[bcgames]

We now have six units represented on the map but they don’t have any combat power or supplies assigned. Let’s do that by using the Commander’s Report (CR). This is the quickest way to do a lot of units—if fact you can do 100% of a player side’s units using this method.

Go to the map and press the ‘C’ key. Once the CR has appeared, click on the EDITOR FUNCTIONS label in the upper right corner of the screen.



The Editor Functions menu will appear. Click on Build Exp: 0 and enter a value between 70 and 80 in the pop-up window

NOTE: 70-80 is the stock scenario range of values for German infantry in 1942.

After you click on the check mark or hit the Enter key, the Build Size% window will appear. To reflect casualties suffered from the previous Summer and Winter campaigns, let’s use a Build Size of 70% and a Build Ready of 65%, and a build variation of 10%. This should yield a set of Axis units that have a ready size that ranges between from 55% (65% minus 10%) and 70% strength (65% plus 10% = 75%, but the Build Size is limited to 70%).



NOTE: Remember, these percentages are multipliers of a ground element’s full strength as defined within a given TOE(OB); these percentages are not multipliers of each other. For example, the TOE(OB) for the 30th Infantry Division (OB 24) shows that at full strength, this division has 333 rifle squads available. If the Build Size% equals 70% then the maximum build size for the 30th Infantry Division is 233 rifle squads (333 * .7). If the Build Ready% equals 65% then there are 217 rifle squads that are ready (333 * .65 rounded up), and 16 rifle squads that are damaged (217 + 17 = 233).

Once you have entered in all the data, click on the REBUILD UNITS label to apply these settings to all of the selected units on the CR.



You can see in the image below that with one click we applied our Build numbers (including the variation%) to all six of our Axis units.



This is just a small sampling of units but you can see the power of using the CR to quickly and efficiently populate units with combat power. Using the CR filters will allow you target specific populations of units for different strengths and experience levels.

[bcgames]

Now let’s try the CR to supply our units. Again, click on the EDITOR FUNCTIONS label. When the Editor Functions panel appears, click on anyone of the supply categories. The Enter New Level of Supply % pop-up menu will appear. Enter ‘100’ in the box and hit Enter. Input ‘100’ in the next three pop-up windows that appear.



Now select the RESUPPLY UNITS label. This will automatically apply your Supply, Ammo, Fuel, and Vehicle settings to every selected unit on the CR.



Let’s take a look at the 30th Infantry Division to see how these supply percentages were applied:



Remember, make it a habit to build your units first and then supply them.

[bcgames]

It’s time to add some air forces. As we did with ground forces, we’ll take just a sampling to show how the air forces work. Here’s our air force chain-of-command; in descending order from High Command HQ down to Air Group:

Units Tab
O.K.H. (already created)
Army Group North (already created)
Slot #0012: Luftflotte I – Keller, Alfred/OB 568; hex 72,30
Slot #0014: I Fliegerkorps – Forster, Helmuth/OB 567; hex 74,30
Slot #0016: 2nd LW Air Base – OB 566; hex 80,30

Air Groups Tab
Slot #0030: I./JG 54 (Bf 109F-2 Gruppe) (already created)
As you can see, five of our units are created on the Units tab list and only one on the Air Groups tab list. In other words, all of these units are ground units except the air group. If we enter the three new Luftwaffe units (with builds and supplies), our Units list should look like this:



Remember that these are all Luftwaffe units; this means they have a Special setting.



O.K., let’s assign I./JG 54—our single air group—to the 2nd LW Air Base. Select the Air Groups tab and scroll down to slot #0030. Click on either the slot number or the air group name to select the air group. To assign the air group to an air base click on the Air Base: label.



This will take you to the Units tab. Scroll down to find the appropriate air base (2nd LW Air Base in our case) and click on it. The I./JG 54 should now be attached to the 2nd LW Air Base and be listed under the ATTACHED UNITS list of that air base unit.



And that's how you get airpower into the game...

[bcgames]

Unit Breakdowns.

Let’s now take a look at how to use units that are broken down into their component parts. If we have a unit broken down at the very start of the scenario we want to have the capability to build it back-up. Here’s how to do it.
In our example, we are going to build the 290th Infantry Division for the German Player, and place it on the map, break it down into regiments and then place those regiments in separate hexes.



We will build the 290th by copying 30th Infantry Division and pasting it into an empty slot under the X Corps. Click on the Unit: name and change it to the 290th.



Click on Loc: to take us to the map so we can place the 290th Infantry Division.



Once the division is placed on the map, go back to the map, select the 290th and then press the ‘B’ key to breakdown the 290th into three regiments. You can now place these units anywhere on the map in the usual way.

Select the Units tab and take a look at what has happened to our units list. Slot #0008 has had its name changed from “290th Infantry Division” to “1/290th Infantry Division”. Also two other units have been added to the list at slot #0011 and #0013. Notice that the editor automatically assigns unit breakdowns to the first open slot after the original division slot. If you know in advance that you are going to break a unit down, you could insert two empty slots immediately after that unit’s slot. This way all the component regiments will be kept together on the unit list versus being spread out to the first available slots on the list.



We can check to see if a division or corps can rebuild by clicking on the ATTACHED UNITS label. This will show a list of either the sub-units or the parent unit depending on which sub-element breakdown you selected.



In the example below, we have selected the first regiment which is also the parent unit for all the regiments of the 290th Infantry Division.

[bcgames]

Set MP/SMP for the Unit.

Normally you would use the Commander’s Report to assign starting movement points (MP) and strategic movement points (SMP) to large groups of units. However, you can set the MP/SMP for a unit by clicking on the numbers on the unit icon. Two pop-up windows will appear; one for MP and one for SMP. Enter the desired data and hit the enter key or click on the check mark.

[bcgames]

Work in progress...Axis land and air units are in:

[bcgames]

Soviet OB Translations

The following link is a great resource but is hard to use because there is no explanation for the abbreviations used (at least as far as I could find).

http://victory.mil.ru/war/oob/

Demjansk is the first time I've had to use a Russian version of these files and it is a time consuming effort. To simplify your use of these documents, here's my attempt to translate/interpret the abbreviations with the assistance of Google translation tool. I've highlighted several that require a better interpretation. If you have a better solution please let me know.

Infantry, Airborne Troops and Cavalry

гв – гвардейский (ая) = Guards
ск – стрелковый корпус = Rifle Corps
гсд – горнострелковая дивизия = Mountain Division
мсд – мотострелковая дивизия = Motorized Rifle Division
сд – стрелковая дивизия = Infantry Division
сд НКВД – стрелковая дивизия Народного комиссариата внутренних дел = NKVD Division
сд НО – стрелковая дивизия народного ополчения = Militia Infantry Division
гсбр – горнострелковая бригада = Mountain Brigade
сбр – стрелковая бригада = Rifle Brigade
огсп – отдельный горнострелковый полк = Separate Mountain Rifle Regiment
омсп – отдельный мотострелковый полк = Separate Motorized Rifle Regiment
осп – отдельный стрелковый полк = Seperate Infantry Regiment
ид – истребительная дивизия = Fighter(?) Division
оибр – отдельная истребительная бригада = Separate Fighter(?) Brigade
оип – отдельный истребительный полк = Independent Fighter(?) Regiment
лыжбр – лыжная бригада = Ski Team(?)
олыжп – отдельный лыжный полк = Separate Ski Regiment
олыжб – отдельный лыжный батальон = Separate Ski Battalion
УР – укрепленный район = Fortified Area
опаб – отдельный пулеметно-артиллерийский батальон = Separate Machine-gun and Artillery Battalion
опулб – отдельный пулеметный батальон = Separate Machine-gun Battalion
оптб – отдельный противотанковый батальон = Separate Antitank Battalion
осб – отдельный стрелковый батальон = Separate Infantry Battalion
вдк – воздушнодесантный корпус = Airborne Corps
вдбр – воздушнодесантная бригада = Airborne Brigade
овдп – отдельный воздушнодесантный полк = Separate Airborne Regiment
кк – кавалерийский корпус = Cavalry Corps
кд – кавалерийская дивизия = Cavalry Division
окп – отдельный кавалерийский полк = Separate Cavalry Regiment

More to follow...

[bcgames]

RVGK Artillery, Army and Corps Artillery

ад – артиллерийская дивизия = Artillery Division
абр ПТО – артиллерийская бригада противотанковой обороны = Defense Artillery Brigade Anti(?)
ап – артиллерийский полк = Artillery Regiment
аап – армейский артиллерийский полк = Army Artillery Regiment
гап – гаубичный артиллерийский полк = Howitzer Artillery Regiment
гап б/м – гаубичный артиллерийский полк большой мощности = Large Howitzer Artillery Regiment Power(?)
кап – корпусной артиллерийский полк = Corps Artillery Regiment
пап – пушечный артиллерийский полк = Gun Artillery Regiment
ап ПТО – артиллерийский полк противотанковой обороны = Artillery Regiment Antitank Defense
иптап – истребительно-противотанковый артиллерийский полк = Fighter Antitank Artillery Regiment
лап – легкий артиллерийский полк = Light Artillery Regiment
оадн – отдельный артиллерийский дивизион = Separate Battalion
оадн о/м – отдельный артиллерийский дивизион особой мощности = Separate Battalion of Special Power(?)
оптдн – отдельный противотанковый дивизион = Separate Antitank Battalion
отпадн – отдельный тяжелый пушечный артиллерийский дивизион = Separate Heavy Artillery Gun Division
минбр – минометная бригада = Mortar Team(?)
минп – минометный полк = Mortar Regiment
оминб – отдельный минометный батальон = Separate Mortar Battalion
оминдн – отдельный минометный дивизион = Separate Mortar Battalion
гв. мп – гвардейский минометный полк реактивной артиллерии = Guards Mortar Regiment Reactive Artillery(?)
гв. тмп – гвардейский тяжелый минометный полк реактивной артиллерии = Guards Heavy Mortar Regiment Reactive Artillery(?)
огв. мп – отдельный гвардейский минометный полк реактивной артиллерии = Separate Guards Mortar Regiment Reactive Artillery

(?)
огв. мдн - отдельный гвардейский минометный дивизион реактивной артиллерии = Separate Guards Mortar Division Rocket

Artillery
огв. тмдн – отдельный гвардейский тяжелый минометный дивизион = Separate Guards Heavy mortar rocket artillery battalion
огв. мбатр – отдельная гвардейская минометная батарея = Separate Guards Mortar Battery
зенад – зенитная артиллерийская дивизия = Anti-aircraft Artillery Division
зенап – зенитный артиллерийский полк = Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
озадн – отдельный зенитный артиллерийский дивизион = Separate Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion

Armored and Mechanized Troops

тк – танковый корпус = Tank Corps
мк – механизированный корпус = Mechanized Corps
тд – танковая дивизия = Tank Division
тбр – танковая бригада = Tank Brigade
отп – отдельный танковый полк = Independent Tank Regiment
отб – отдельный танковый батальон = Independent Tank Battalion
отр – отдельная танковая рота = Separate Tank Company
мбр – механизированная бригада = Mechanized Brigade
мсбр – мотострелковая бригада = Motorized Infantry Brigade
мцп – мотоциклетный полк = Motorcycle Regiment
омцб – отдельный мотоциклетный батальон = Separate Motorcycle Battalion
оаэсб – отдельный аэросанный батальон = Aerosanny Separate Battalion
оабрб – отдельный автобронетанковый батальон = Tank-Automotive Separate Battalion(?)
одн брп – отдельный дивизион бронепоездов = Separate Division of Armored Trains
обрп – отдельный бронепоезд = Separate Armored Train

[bcgames]

Air Force

ак – авиационный корпус = Air Corps
бак – бомбардировочный авиационный корпус = Tank(?) - Bomber Air Corps
иак – истребительный авиационный корпус = Fighter Aviation Corps
сак – смешанный авиационный корпус = Mixed Air Corps
шак – штурмовой авиационный корпус = Assault Aviation Corps
ад – авиационная дивизия = Air Division
ад ДД – авиационная дивизия дальнего действия = Air Division Long-Range
бад – бомбардировочная авиационная дивизия = Bomber Air Division
дбад – дальнебомбардировочная авиационная дивизия = Long-range Aviation Division
нбад – ночная бомбардировочная авиационная дивизия = Night Bomber Air Division
иад – истребительная авиационная дивизия = Fighter Division
сад – смешанная авиационная дивизия = Composite Air Division
шад – штурмовая авиационная дивизия = Assault Air Division
сабр – смешанная авиационная бригада = Mixed Aviation Brigade
ап – авиационный полк = Aviation Regiment
бап – бомбардировочный авиационный полк = Bomber Aviation Regiment
ббап – ближнебомбардировочный авиационный полк = blizhnebombardirovochny(?) Aviation Regiment
дбап – дальнебомбардировочный авиационный полк = Long-Range Aviation Regiment
иап – истребительный авиационный полк = Fighter Aviation Regiment
лбап – легкий бомбардировочный авиационный полк = Bomber Aviation Regiment
рап – разведывательный авиационный полк = Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment
сап – смешанный авиационный полк = Mixed Aviation Regiment
сбап – скоростной бомбардировочный авиационный полк = High-Speed Bomber Aviation Regiment
трап – транспортный авиационный полк = Transport Aviation Regiment
санап – санитарный авиационный полк = Sanitary(?) Aviation Regiment
шап – штурмовой авиационный полк = Attack Aviation Regiment
каэ – корректировочная авиационная эскадрилья = Adjustment Air Squadron
раэ – разведывательная авиационная эскадрилья = Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron
иаэ – истребительная авиационная эскадрилья = Fighter Squadron
лбаэ – легкая бомбардировочная авиационная эскадрилья = Light Bomber Aviation Squadron
тбаэ – тяжелая бомбардировочная авиационная эскадрилья = Heavy Bomber Aviation Squadron

Air Defense Forces

корп. ПВО – корпус противовоздушной обороны = Defense Corps
див. ПВО – дивизия противовоздушной обороны = Air Defense Division
иак ПВО – истребительный авиационный корпус противовоздушной = Fighter Aviation Corps Air Defense
иад ПВО – истребительная авиационная дивизия противовоздушной = Fighter Division Air Defense
иап ПВО – истребительный авиационный полк противовоздушной = Fighter Aviation Regiment Air Defense
корп. р-н ПВО – корпусной район противовоздушной обороны = Area Defense Corps
див. р-н ПВО – дивизионный район противовоздушной обороны = Major Area Defense
бр. ПВО – бригада противовоздушной обороны = Defense Team
бр. р-н ПВО – бригадный район противовоздушной обороны = Area Defense Brigade
зенап – зенитный артиллерийский полк = Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
озадн – отдельный зенитный артиллерийский дивизион = Separate Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion
зенпулп – зенитный пулеметный полк = Anti-aircraft Machine-gun Regiment
прожп – прожекторный полк = Searchlight Regiment

Engineers

ибр с/н – инженерная бригада спецназначения = Specialty Engineering Team
иминбр – инженерно-минная бригада = Mine Engineering Team
исбр – инженерно-саперная бригада = Field Engineer Brigade
сбр – саперная бригада = Sapper Brigade
пмбр – понтонно-мостовая бригада = Pontoon Bridge Brigade
ип – инженерный полк = Engineer Regiment
пмп – понтонно-мостовой полк = Pontoon Bridge Regiment
тпмп – тяжелый понтонно-мостовой полк = Heavy Pontoon Bridge Regiment
оиб – отдельный инженерный батальон = Separate Engineer Battalion
оминпб – отдельный минноподрывной батальон = Subversive(?) Mine Battalion
оминсб – отдельный минно-саперный батальон = Separate Mine Battalion
осб – отдельный саперный батальон = Separate Battalion
пмб – понтонно-мостовой батальон = Pontoon Bridge Battalion

That's it...

[bcgames]

Soviet ground and air forces are in:



Next: Victory Objectives

[bcgames]

Setting Victory Cities

You can have up to 20 victory cities in a scenario--up to 10 per side. You can use some, none, or all of the Victory City slots. Each sides city slot are numbered 0 thru 9.

For the Demjansk Pocket 1942 scenario I've decided to use only five cities (Demyansk, Staraya Russa, Dno, Pskov and Kholm) and use the same cities for both sides. Let's set the victory cities and the victory points for the Soviet Player.

Press shift-V to bring up the SET VICTORY CITIES screen. We are going to assign the cities/victory points to the following number key slots:

0 = Demyansk 0/200
1 = Staraya Russa 0/20
2 = Dno 0/20
3 = Pskov 0/50
4 = Kholm 0/15

NOTE: The number to the left of the slash is the number of VPs the Soviet player will receive at the end of his turn for controlling the victory city hex. The number to the right of the slash is the number of VPs the Soviet Player will receive at the end of the scenario for controlling the victory city hex.

Let's start with Demyansk. Press the '0' number key to get to the Soviet 0 slot. Now click on the Demyansk city hex. A pop-up window will appear. Input the VPs per turn; in our case enter '0'. Another pop-up window will appear; enter '200'. We've now created our first victory city.



Repeat the process described above for the rest of the Soviet cities. To do the Axis, press the 'W' key to switch to the Axis screen (gray) and repeat the victory city assignment process.

REMEMBER, for the 'W' key to work properly--i.e. switch sides--units must be visible. If they aren't, go to the Map Information tab and toggle map units on.

When complete, the VICTORY POINTS screen should look something like this (press the 'V' key to bring up this screen):



To delete a victory city, click on the city name on the VICTORY POINTS screen. A pop-up box will appear to confirm that you wish to delete the victory city. If you select YES, the city and victory points for that city will be erased from the list.

[Commanderski]

Question on setting the weather..If you were setting up a Winter scenario and set the weather for snow and wanted to have a blizzard come in for a turn part way through, how would you do that or can you?

[bcgames]

ORIGINAL: Commanderski

Question on setting the weather..If you were setting up a Winter scenario and set the weather for snow and wanted to have a blizzard come in for a turn part way through, how would you do that or can you?

Unfortunately, you can't do that. All aspects of the weather are hardcoded...with the exception of the initial weather and ice states for a scenario.