TOE TWEAKS - '41-'45 GC mod

[TAIL_GUNNER]

Since we German players cannot produce our own units, I thought I'd craft a string of mods for the standard 41-45 Campaign that will offer a little more diversity and make better use of the vehicles that are produced.

Part I. The StuG Battalions/Brigades.

In this mod there are now seven distinct TOE upgrade paths for the Stugs throughout the war. The 1941 paths are the same as stock (21 StuG per). On 2/1943 they will upgrade to 31 StuG per battalion. Just a month later, the StuH42 will start to be implemented (22 StuG, 9 StuH per battalion).
The 2/1944 upgrade is simply a unit name change from Battalion to Brigade...no change to the TOE.

Things finally start to get interesting in the 6/1944 upgrades:

44a: no changes..just your standard 31 vehicle unit.
44h: 31 vehicles plus a Begleit Battery added.
44i: 45 vehicles (33 StuG, 12 StuH).
44j: 31 vehicles with Begleit, plus a platoon of seven Pz IIL.
44k: 45 vehicles, plus a Begleit Battery.
44l: 31 vehicles with Begleit, plus two platoons of Pz IIL.
44m: 31 vehicles (19 StuG and 12 StuH).
44n: a special battalion just for the HG Fallschirm Stug Brigade containing 45 StuG III.

Note: I could find no comparable Ground Element to match the Begleit-Grenadier Squad, so I created a custom one.

Also changed many arrival and withdrawal dates - many minor, a few major, added two StuG brigades to the late war that had withdrawn earlier, and added independent batteries where applicable (mostly in AGN at the beginning of Barbarossa).

Lastly, in the winter/spring of 1943, there were a number of new StuG Battalions formed, but later disbanded in order to rebuild those lost at Stalingrad. To reflect the fact that a Stalingrad-type disaster may not happen in your game, I've included three of these (915,916,918) that will arrive at various dates in the spring of '43 as empty shells. If you are short on StuGs, simply disband them.

Any questions or comments - please ask. The next topic will focus on the (missing) Sturmpanzer IV Battalions.
Enjoy![8D]
Now includes Part I. and II.

Place the file in:
C:\Matrix Games\Gary Grigsby's War in the East\Dat\scen\

[bcgames]

A welcome idea. I for one would like to see it mature to fruition.

[TAIL_GUNNER]

Part II. Sturmpanzer IV

For some reason, this unit is produced in the stock game, but never gets used. I think part of the reason is the fact that the majority of them were sent to units serving in areas other than the east front. The entire 1944 production minus 10 units were sent to the units in the west!

So to abstractly solve this, I've split the unit into an (early) and (late) model. Both are nearly identical except the late model has a front facing BMG whereas the early model does not. A single factory in Vienna will produce the early model in 1943 for three months, which should equal ~12 vehicles created. A similar size 1 factory in Magdeburg will produce the late model for six months which should equate to ~26 vehicles produced.

Units added:
216th Sturmpanzer Battalion - arrives turn 103 with 45 (early) vehicles. Withdraws at the end of 1943. Used at Kursk as the III. Battalion of the 656th Heavy Panzerjäger Regiment. (I will someday model this regiment as a combat unit if I can figure out a way to create a usable Goliath.)
218th Sturmpanzer Company zbV - arrives turn 164 with only 10 (late) vehicles. Used to quell the Warsaw Uprising, and was meant to form the cadre for the 218th Sturmpanzer Battalion. Was never able to withdraw from the front and eventually destroyed.
219th Sturmpanzer Battalion - arrives turn 173 but with only ten (late) vehicles.
218th Sturmpanzer Battalion - arrives turn 185 but fully depleted. Due to lack of Sturmpanzer IV, this unit was issued StuG III instead.

Some additional errata pertaining to Part I included:

-fixed one upgrade error regarding the 667th Stug Brigade only.
- added the Stug IIIe and Stug IIIf/8 to production. The IIIe has the same main gun as the IIIb, but comes equipped with a MG and higher main gun ammo storage. The IIIf/8 is identical stat-wise to the IIIg. It was only included for completeness.
- reorganized all Stug TOEs and units into a more uniform and organized structure. Went through all reinforcements and placed the currently produced Stug into each.
-the 177th Stug Battalion now withdraws on turn 142, and the 189th Stug Battalion on turn 153. These two units were historically melded into the 3rd and 4th Cavalry Brigades respectively. As the Cavalry Brigades arrive with a full complement of Stugs, these changes will eliminate overlaps.
-the two Stug Battalions that receive a platoon of PzIIL in June,1944 will lose these in a TOE upgrade occurring in November,1944.

Updated download in the first post...enjoy![8D]

Next update....TIGERS!

[Denniss]

The fourth series Sturmpanzer IV was built by Deutsche Eisenwerke Duisburg, not by Krupp-Grusonwerk in Magdburg.
StuG III E MG - I assume that's an AA MG ? What's your source for additional ammo in later short-gun StuGs ?

Adding the StuG III F/8 should also require some build limit changes - a tad higher for the G and a lot lower for the F/8. In my mod I use 8 for the F (starts 4/42), 9 for the F/8 (starts 6/42) and 18 for the G (starts 12/42). My F/8 starts early to simulate up-armored and -upgunned F on the earlier chassis (L/48 gun and 3 cm bolted-/welded-on additional armor).

[TAIL_GUNNER]

ORIGINAL: Denniss

The fourth series Sturmpanzer IV was built by Deutsche Eisenwerke Duisburg, not by Krupp-Grusonwerk in Magdburg.

I can find no location for Duisburg in the game...so I kept it at the stock location.

StuG III E MG - I assume that's an AA MG ? What's your source for additional ammo in later short-gun StuGs ?

This link mentions "Stug III Ausf E was the first of the series to be provided with 7.92mm MG34, which was carried inside the superstructure for local defense."

Wikipedia says: "One MG 34 and 7 drum-type magazines were carried in the right rear side of the fighting compartment to protect the vehicle from enemy infantry."
I made it a swivel mount MG-34 AAMG in this mod...can you suggest a better alternative?

This link mentions "The main change was the installation of an armoured pannier on the right hand side of the superstructure and an increase in the size of the pannier on the left. The extra space was used to carry the radio sets needed when the StuG III was used as a command vehicle. The extra space also allowed another eight rounds of ammunition to be carried." (other sources say only six extra rounds.)

Adding the StuG III F/8 should also require some build limit changes - a tad higher for the G and a lot lower for the F/8. In my mod I use 8 for the F (starts 4/42), 9 for the F/8 (starts 6/42) and 18 for the G (starts 12/42). My F/8 starts early to simulate up-armored and -upgunned F on the earlier chassis (L/48 gun and 3 cm bolted-/welded-on additional armor).

I'll have a look and crunch some numbers...thanks for the heads up.

Question for you...I just realized all the new Sturmpanzer reinforcements I added I have forgotten to set a Higher HQ (to OKH). Will this affect them in any way?

Thanks for the comments,
ChadG

[TAIL_GUNNER]

quick fix...new file in first post.

forgot to link the new Sturmpanzer units to a HHQ, also forgot to set them to "motorised".

Sorry about that..

[Denniss]

Lots of german locations are missing in WitE, I hope the missing population was added to other locations.
Duisburg is a little West of Essen so why not use it as substitute?
With the AAMG I'd use the setup from the other StuGs.

[Naughteous Maximus]

Where exactly do we place this file?

[TAIL_GUNNER]

ORIGINAL: Naughteous Maximus

Where exactly do we place this file?

Place it in:
C:\Matrix Games\Gary Grigsby's War in the East\Dat\scen\

I'll update the first post with this.

[Schmart]

It's great to see little tweaks and updates like this, but why not bring it to the developers attention so that it can be officially added to the game? If it's historical based (TOEs or unit arrivals/withdrawls) then it would be best served to have it in the stock data, rather than in individual mods.

I don't mean to single you out or criticize your work tail_gunner, it's just that there's a few corrective mods like this around, and I think it would be nice to add them into the official game to get wider use/application, rather than having to install a separate mod.