An Australian Long Campaign?

[KG Erwin]

Now THERE's a thought. Pick the Brits, and select only Australian units. Does that sound sound sporting, mates? I have some Aussie friends, so I should maybe give it a whirl.

[FlashfyreSP]

Give it a go, mate. I'm running one now with a British HQ and an all-Indian force, except for the armour (which is British, or course).

[robot]

In my long campaign battles I have selected a force consisting of 2 companys of Anzac and one company of Indian troops. They too have British armor like yours. The first battle I have with them begin in december of 1941. I am looking forward to fighting with this force against the Japanese. I have heard from my father that they are a very tough bunch of men and go hell bent for leather all the time in a battle. He fought along side a bunch of aussies in Lbyia during the II war.

[Alby]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

Now THERE's a thought. Pick the Brits, and select only ANZAC units. Does that sound sound sporting, mates? I have some Aussie friends, so I should maybe give it a whirl.

I thought you already started one??
[&:]

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: Alby

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

Now THERE's a thought. Pick the Brits, and select only ANZAC units. Does that sound sound sporting, mates? I have some Aussie friends, so I should maybe give it a whirl.

I thought you already started one??
[&:]

Yes, Alby. I wrote this thread BEFORE I started the DAR.

[Alby]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

ORIGINAL: Alby

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

Now THERE's a thought. Pick the Brits, and select only ANZAC units. Does that sound sound sporting, mates? I have some Aussie friends, so I should maybe give it a whirl.

I thought you already started one??
[&:]

Yes, Alby. I wrote this thread BEFORE I started the DAR.

DOH!!!!!
[:o]

[KG Erwin]

Honestly, I doubt if I'll get very far with the campaign, but it's a good example of the flexibility of the long campaign structure. The British template is a good one, and I suppose the German template would be fine for any of the Axis "minors".

[Riun T]

Hopefully further than the 1/5 marines EH !,,,and start showing us some of the map after battle shots buddy, I wanna see where the AI leaves their stuff at the end of battle,it sort of lets me get a hypathetical guess at to what might have happened if the battle continued to the actual end or beyond.

[KG Erwin]

\

ORIGINAL: Riun T

Hopefully further than the 1/5 marines EH !,,,and start showing us some of the map after battle shots buddy, I wanna see where the AI leaves their stuff at the end of battle,it sort of lets me get a hypathetical guess at to what might have happened if the battle continued to the actual end or beyond.

You're right, man. We don't show the AFTER results of our battles. The enemy is frequently still there, in force, but with no central leadership. So, the game should continue. The mop-up is what is missing.

However, in game terms, all you're doing is adding experience points to your units by rounding up the enemy survivors. The possibility of a massacre rears its ugly head. Wouldn't be fair to allow this, now would it? It game terms, it would be murder, not combat. I, for one, will not condone atrocities. This possibility DOES exist in the game.

Let me take this to a different plane: can you be both a warrior and a humanitarian? Absolutely. That's a central value to ALL American soldiers/Marines/sailors.

[azraelck]

Perhaps if the game engine allowed for more surrenders, but quite frankly I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen an enemy force surrender. Invariably, it's been minor nations in 8.x or late-war Germans. Japanese of course rarely surrendered; most would have rather committed  suicide than surrender themselves to the enemy. Many did.

Ususally, once I've reached the rear VHs, I don't advance anymore. I secure and strengthen my positions there; as those are the most distant objectives I was given for that assault/advance. Once those positions are established; I allow the enemy to either withdrawl, or make counter attacks. In a Defense, My forces remain rooted like trees; until I decide that it would be beneficial to reposition them for better effect or for safety's sake. Often I'm able to stop the enemy cold in their initial thrust, and the AI won't try to regroup and make a second thrust. My job isn't the utter death and destruction of the enemy forces; but to achieve whatever objectives set before me; be it the taking of a town; or holding the line. How I do it, isn't of importance, as long as I get it done.

[KG Erwin]

To broaden my background on ANZAC operations/TOEs, I'm gonna do some research on them.

Here's a great source to start with: "British and Dominion Forces 1939-41"

http://www.orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/017 ... n/__uk.htm

[FlashfyreSP]

Here's another:
http://www.regiments.org/

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: FlashfyreSP

Here's another:
http://www.regiments.org/

Thanks, Flashfyre. I'll add that one to my favorites list.

Note: part of the above page is of particular interest to me. It is a listing of battalions and which theaters/battles they participated in. http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-con ... onours.htm

So, in playing out a historical long campaign, I could choose which battalion I wanted to represent, and switch theaters within a reasonably historical timeline.

It appears that I could start as early as 1940 (North Africa), and switch in 1942 to the Pacific. I'm not sure how I'm gonna approach this, yet.

For this purpose, I may temporarily adopt a distinctive signature . I kinda like this battle flag, which is of the 28th Battalion, and prominently features the Southern Cross.

[KG Erwin]

The ANZAC Infantry Battalion, December 1940:

The thing that struck me about the basic infantry battalion is that it contained FOUR rifle companies. (4 Co HQ, 12 Plt HQ, 36 Rifle Sqd)

The other thing was the complete lack of medium MGs. WTF?

However, the support weapon attachments are these:

6 3-in Mortars
6 2-pdr ATGs (optional)
4 AAMGs
1 Pioneer Platoon
1 Carrier Platoon (optional)

To me, that seems like a crazy setup. The Aussies were preparing to refight WWI, but in truth, that's how they started out in North Africa.

Tank attachments, if any, were provided by the British forces.

[FlashfyreSP]

Gunny
British force structures were based on the 'box' format, with 4 companies per battalion. The MGs were clustered in Machinegun Companies, which were regimental assets for the most part, at least in the early years of the war. These companies, and even their constituent platoons, would be parceled out to the rifle companies as needed, with the battalion or regimental commander determining where they were to go. Later, around 1943, these MG companies were disbanded and the MGs were incorporated into the Support Companies, including the mortars, ATGs, and AA guns.

The British and Commonwealth armies also operated under a program called "LOB", or "Left Out of Battle". This program was a direct result of the British experience in WWI, with its heavy losses in men. Basically, in each company a number of men were designated "LOB" and were sent to the rear, where they operated as a 'cadre' for that company, battalion, or regiment in the event their parent formation suffered casualties or was wiped out. These 'cadres' would then become cores of the new units.

[KG Erwin]

Thanks for that info, Flashfyre. From my limited research, it's become apparent that the British & Commonwealth forces offer many possibilities, but trying to narrow down specific equipment allocations for a given unit at a specific time is very difficult to pin down.

Even the Australian designations for their battalions was unique. To distinguish between the WWI units and their WWII equivalents, they append the designation 2/#. So, the re-established 1st Battalion in 1939 was called the "Second First". I wanted to recreate the 2/2, but it just sounds odd to refer to them as the "Second Second".

The "box" formation concept is also difficult to get my brain around. I am so used to the US "triangular" formation layouts, it requires a different mindset.

Nevertheless, the Brits/Commonwealth forces offer their own fascination for TOE students, and I commend you for your in-depth study , which is reflected in the Enhanced OOBs. I DO have a couple of minor quibbles, on which I will e-mail you privately.

[pbhawkin1]

KG,
Having served with the 2/40 (captured in Ambon Indonesia early in the fight to save Australia) and the 2/12 (both Tasmanian regiments), I think you will enjoy the variation to your favourite Gyrenes versus the Japs for Aussies versus the Japs!

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: pbhawkins

KG,
Having served with the 2/40 (captured in Ambon Indonesia early in the fight to save Australia) and the 2/12 (both Tasmanian regiments), I think you will enjoy the variation to your favourite Gyrenes versus the Japs for Aussies versus the Japs!

Thanks, Peter. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna work on a special customized ANZAC OOB, with ONLY Australian units. Maybe I'll call it "The Digger Mod".

[vahauser]

An ANZAC Long Campaign

I have chosen a 3,000-point core for an ANZAC Long Campaign. I will be changing my British HQ to an ANZAC unit within the first several battles (as soon as I have enough build points to do so). Further, I will only use ANZAC core units throughout the campaign. I reserve the right to use other nationalities as support units if they can be “historically” justified (per date and theater and location, etc.).

I chose a British Flag instead of an American Flag as my Nation HQ because choosing an American Flag means that you get American artillery response times. I chose the British Flag because British artillery response times are weaker than American.
Campaign Start Date = Sept 1940 (I chose this date because this was the earliest I could reasonably justify getting small ANZAC battlegroup into the war).

I am using Alby’s Enhanced PBEM/Long Campaign Mod.

SELF-IMPOSED LIMITS AND HANDICAPS
A. I am not allowed to use mines, barbed wire, or dragon’s teeth at any time in this campaign. The computer AI may freely do so.
B. Only the scattered mortar units that begin organic to my formations are allowed as on-map artillery throughout the campaign. I am allowed to upgrade these mortar units during the campaign to other mortars (including CS-mortars). No other on-map artillery is allowed (including support units). I am not allowed to buy any air strikes. I am allowed to buy off-map artillery with support points.
C. I am not allowed to use any airdrops.
D. I am not allowed to use any infiltration special operations.
E. During Delay Missions, I must withdraw all my units following Turn 21 of the mission. Note that due to Command/Control ON, my formations might have problems executing the withdrawal, but withdraw they must as soon as possible after Turn 21.

CORE COMPOSITION (3000 points)
1x LRDG Patrol
2x Inf Recon Troops
2x Type II(s) Tank Squadrons
3x Infantry Companies
1x Engineer Company
5x Forward Observer Groups (1 group per LRDG patrol vehicle)
2x 20mm AA Platoons
2x Morris Medium Truck Sections

PREFERENCES/SETTINGS: per the screenshot below.
I am using the FlashFyre Long Campaign Template with only two exceptions noted below.
Exceptions: I did NOT choose Reduced Squads and I did NOT choose Reduced Ammo because I am 100% convinced that these settings ALWAYS hurt the computer AI more than they hurt the human.

[Alby]

you gonna carry on a DAR up the dar section?
Might as well join the rest of us...[:)]
you never did say thanks for changing "historic ratings" button...
[;)]

[:D]