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Lets start off with Sonder Verband Ost. A battalion sized unit that has a little bit of everything but not a whole lot of

anything. This is designed to add a lot of platoons that a player would not normally get as core units.

This is not a historical unit. Think of it as a Kampfgruppe that was thrown together by what ever could be beg, borrowed,

or stolen, or modified in workshops, but mostly stolen, all over Europe.

First thing to do is find an unused armored battalion number. I will use B01100900.

To start off we now have fresh new battalion number and a HQ. Lets add a AA platoon commanded directly by the Battalion. I

choose a 4 strength Sdkfz 7/1 platoon that was heisted Obersturmann Johan Langenscheidt and a few of his buddies from a

nearby Luftwaffe unit that had held a drinking contest a few weeks before Operation Red Beard got under way.

Now we are going to give the Battalion a little bit of artillery. Just for poops and giggles on a boring day early in the

Battalions formation. Rottenfürher Hans Plumpsklo was wandering around and came accross a empty Artillery repair yard.

There he found several prime moves and an assortment of tubes. He immiediately called his commanding officer Sturmbahnfürer

Karl "Der Große Dieb" Hartmann.

Karl quickly poured over his roster of men and figured he could come up with enough guys to crew four tubes. He sent them

over and they "acquired" 4 150mm Howitzers and and 4 delapidated Opel Blitz trucks to tow them back to the Lager with.

"Heilige Scheiße!" Exclaimed the Maintainence Chief Eric von dem Vowärts und Rückwärts when he saw the trucks. These things

won't last another fifty kilometrs without some serious repairs. What to do, what to do? Parts for these types of trucks

are in very short supply. Not in the least worried Erich borrowed the C.O.'s bucket mobile, loaded it with all sorts of

goodies including ten cases of the worlds best vodka that happened to "fall off" a passing Generals flashy staff car, and

went in search of the needed parts.

He searched and searched and serched some more. He visited depots hither and yon, sometimes going forward and sometimes

going backwards. No amount of bribery could get him those parts for the Blitzs.

A epiphany. Heading home he passed a collection of junk left behind by who knows. Among the junk were several tankette

hulks of unknown origin. What if we replaced those back tandems with these tracks and suspensions from these old tankettes

that no one cares about?

The C.O. agreed and the tankettes were collected and brought back to the Lager. Night and day for six nights and six days

Eric and his crew overhauled the trucks, turning them into very serviceable Halftracks. Eric still has a problem

understanding his new nickname. During his lifetime he has been compared to many different animals, snake and weasel come

to mind, and everyone knows he's not Catholic so "Vati Maultier" makes no sense to him. He just does not get it.

Karl sat in his Befehlswagen and looked things over. Now we have a name and number, some AA, and a bit of fire supposrt all

our own. i also got a bunch of odds and sods whos only ability it seems is to dig holes looking for buried treasure and

makes things that go splodey. Sometimes before they intended to. Gehrhardt "Sieben Finger" Tollpatsch comes to mind as the

first documented person to suffer from "premature detonation syndrome".

"Hey I know" Lets makes these jokers some kind of Enginners! No not the Train type enginners but Combat enginners. They can

lay mines and dig trenches and that kind of stuff."

Bummer now we have to call someone with a stripe on their pants and see if we can have another number. A Company this time.

Yeah I know. Not much of a Company but look at those brand spanking new Brigde layers that got "lost" on the way back to

the Reich!

Just got a call from SS General Kinchmeier. Kinchmeier? Sounds vaugely American for some reason. He says he has gotten our

tanks, halftracks, and some Armored cars for us. Looks like twenty six Pz IIIH's and 12 Pz IVD's. I'll keep two of the

IIIH's for my Command Platoon. Wait! We have enough left over armor plate from those junk tankettes to weld them on the

IvD's. Never hurts to be better protected. Lets get these Companies formed.

Now that we know that a lot of numbers are available lets customize a bit. I'll introduce to my Company Commanders. For

Panzer kompanie Nummer I we have Hauptsturmfürher Rot Grün. His dorky nephew is also in that company but we will not hold

it against him. Rot is a handy fella to have around even if he is from a place where sunlight has to be trucked in.

For Panzer Kompanie nummer II we have Ed Schwarzkreuzotter. Whew! Thats a long winded last name. The guy is a bit snobbish

in the English way but he does claim to be veteren of the Erste Welt Krieg, so we'll give him a try.

For Pazer Kompanie nummer III we have one Flacheroben? That can't be right! Wait while I check this obvious frauds

Zahlbüch. Nope thats what it says. Flacheroben Scheide. He acts like a tough guy and does have a bit of extra weight to

throw around. We'll see what eating borscht for days on end does to his "tude"


Rats. Completely forgot about my Recon boys. Let me tell you. If you thought those lightnings were junk, please don't even

look at the Armored cars. They must have been pulled out of a scrap yard. Time to get the salvage crew together. What was

was supposed to be a Company of 231's turned out to be a platoon of 3, count em 3 working vehicles that will run. As long

as no one looks at them side ways. Not one single 222 that was sent could be fixed. Luckily the halftracks were in a lot

better shape. Most were brand spanking new! Go ahead and scroll down and look at what we were able to put together if you

care. Oh and let me introduce you to the Commander of the Recon Company.

Hauptsturmführer Wilhelm "Kanoneball" von Cormick. Can't tell much about the man except that he seems to be the victim of a

lot of practicle jokes that, to his credit, he takes with good grace.

We have everything now except our Infantry componet. I have enogh men to make a pretty good sized Company plus plenty of

supporting weapons that we ah "liberated" from their previous owners. The Grenadiers are commanded by a HaStFüh "Z" I have

been ordered not to say anything about this man. Rumors have gotten around that "Z" barely avoided a life prison term. For

what, we have no clue.




41 06 45 05 B0110900 7 SS Sonderverband Ost
41 06 45 05 P01316 SS Sonderverband Ost HQ
41 06 45 05 P01657 Befehls Zug
41 06 45 05 P01059 Fliegerabwehr Zug
41 06 45 05 P01098 Panzerjäger Abschnitt
41 06 45 05 P01121 Artillerie Batterie
41 06 45 05 P01943 Artillerie Transport
41 06 45 05 C0100900 SS SvO Pionier Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100904 SS SvO Aufklärungs Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100901 I. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100902 II. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100903 III. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100904 SS SvO Aufklärungs Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100905 SS SvO Panzergrenadier Kompanie.


41 06 45 05 C0100900 7 SS Pionier Kompanie.
41 06 45 05 P01954 Brückeleger Zug
41 06 45 05 P01273 Bau Zug
41 06 45 05 P01272 I. Abschnitt Meinen Zug
41 06 45 05 P01272 II. Abschnitt Meinen Zug
41 06 45 05 P01838 Kübelwagen
41 06 45 05 P01839 Kübelwagen
41 06 45 05 P01839 Kübelwagen

41 06 45 05 C0100901 7 SS SvO Panzer Kompanie. (12 PzIII H)
41 06 45 05 P01436 HaStFüh Rot Grün
41 06 45 05 P01657 Befehls Zug
41 06 45 05 P01010 I. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01010 II. Zug

41 06 45 05 C0100902 7 SS SvO Panzer Kompanie. (12 PzIII H)
41 06 45 05 P01436 HaStFüh Ed Schwarzkreuzotter
41 06 45 05 P01657 Befehls Zug
41 06 45 05 P01010 I. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01010 II. Zug


41 06 45 05 C0100903 7 SS SvO Panzer Kompanie. (12 PzIV E)
41 06 45 05 P01436 HaStFüh Flacheroben Scheide
41 06 45 05 P01015 I. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01015 II. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01015 III. Zug

41 06 45 05 C0100904 7 SS SvO Aufklärungs Kompanie
41 06 45 05 P01436 HaStFüh Wilhelm von Cormick
41 06 45 05 P01043 I. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01035 II. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01952 III Zug
41 06 45 05 P01950 IV. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01220 V. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01224 VI. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01072 Motorrad
41 06 45 05 P01632 Motorrad


41 06 45 05 7 C0100905 7 SS SvO Panzergrenadier Kompanie.
41 06 45 05 P01436 HaStFüh "Z"
41 06 45 05 P01902 HQ Zug
41 06 45 05 P01792 I. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01792 II. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01792 III. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01214 IV. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01110 I/V. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01104 II/V. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01131 III/V. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01621 SPW 251/1
41 06 45 05 P01621 SPW 251/1
41 06 45 05 P01621 SPW 251/1
41 06 45 05 P01620 SPW 251/1
41 06 45 05 P01621 SPW 251/1
41 06 45 05 P01622 SPW 251/1
41 06 45 05 P01621 SPW 251/1

41 06 45 05 7 C0100906 7 SS SvO Artillerie Batterie
41 06 45 05 P01121 Artillerie Batterie
41 06 45 05 P01943 Artillerie Transport
.

Lets do a quick review of our available forces.

We have 38 Panzers, A couple of Panzer Jägers, 3 Spähwagens, and about a dozen armed halftracks, and about two Companies of

Infantry. Plus odds and sods of AA, AT, and Infantry Guns. Not a whole lot considering that a full strength Panzer

Battalion during this time period will have 70 to 80 panzers.

One thing stands out. Knowing the bozo that writes down all our movement orders, more than likely he will have my Artillery

sitting one place and the haulers sitting somewhere else. Better make them a company of their own to cut down on the

paperwork.

Lets review our revised organization.

41 06 45 05 B0110900 7 SS Sonderverband Ost
41 06 45 05 P01316 SS Sonderverband Ost HQ
41 06 45 05 P01657 Befehls Zug
41 06 45 05 P01059 Fliegerabwehr Zug
41 06 45 05 P01098 Panzerjäger Abschnitt
41 06 45 05 C0100906 SS SvO Artillerie Batterie
41 06 45 05 C0100900 SS SvO Pionier Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100904 SS SvO Aufklärungs Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100901 I. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100902 II. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100903 III. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100905 SS SvO Panzergrenadier Kompanie.

Now lets go find us a patron. Being the red headed, lost in the woods, so ugly people wont look at ya when you are under

500 meters away, stepchild of the German Armed forces we need a patron of sorts.

Bribery works. Vodka, Cigars, and a date with a White Russian woman named Maaria got the commander of the XXXIX Panzer

Korps to take us under his wing.

Lets get the ball rolling and get all this paperwork done. Open your Camapign01.OOB and find K0150208

Add these two lines just under the 29 Mot Inf Division. Don't worry about that + sign thingy. That info is released on a

"need to know" basis only. At this point I was told I didn't need to know. (Insert frowny face here)

41 06 45 05 + B0110900 SS Sonderverband Ost
42 10 45 05 B0110901 I. Abteilungen Kampfgruppe Ost

Va-la! Now when you select the XXXIX Panzer Korps (MCS) You too can command Sonderverband Ost.

Next up we need to make sure that OKH even knows that we exist. A messenger is dispacted to Berlin on a hourse named

"Speedy" to give the redtripes all this new paperwork.

Add this to the bottom of your B01.OOB

41 06 45 05 B0110900 7 SS Sonderverband Ost
41 06 45 05 P01316 SS Sonderverband Ost HQ
41 06 45 05 P01658 Befehls Zug
41 06 45 05 P01059 Fliegerabwehr Zug
41 06 45 05 P01098 Panzerjäger Abschnitt
41 06 45 05 C0100906 SS SvO Artillerie Batterie
41 06 45 05 C0100900 SS SvO Pionier Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100904 SS SvO Aufklärungs Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100901 I. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100902 II. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100903 III. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100905 SS SvO Panzergrenadier Kompanie.

Now go back up a bit and copy all those new flashy Companies we created and paste them into your Company01.OOB also in your

C01.OOB add this line.

41 06 45 05 C0100500 6 Shell Company.

This is an empty company. It has no sub platoons but will come in useful later.

This story will be continued.

Now its time to do some training against a simulated force and see where my problems are at. Always problems and problems and some more problems. Did I mention that there might be problems?

StrBnFh Karl Hartmann

That was painful. Ten days of practice against a simulated force of guys who dance sitting down show that we need some extra punch and not the Hawaiian kind you dumbkopf! The kind that explodes on contact. Nope, not even going there, keep it to yourself.

With what we have available I doubt we could last two weeks in sustained operations without replacements. A lot of replacements. Men and vehicles. I predict fifty percent losses within that two week time frame. Time to call General Kinchmeier.

boop beep boop boop beep.........dooo dooooo doooot..."We're sorry the number you have dialed has been disconnct....click

"Pay your damn bill Kinchmeier!!!!

Long story short. General Kinchmeier was replaced by one General Der Pilstube A.T. Halbkett. Ein Prosit bitte!! Vielen Dank!! Was machts du später Fräulein... Oh wait thats a story for another day.

Now long story short. For a truckload of hooch General Halbkett sent us six Sturmgeschützes that "fell off" the back of a train. Bringing them back some of the boys stopped by Honest Helmut's Used car lot and picked up a few things that caught their fancy.

Paper work again.

We now have a STG III Battery and even though it one single unit we want a Commander for it so PAPERWORK!!!!!!!! About that guy. We call him the "Singing Captain because he couldn't carry a tune in a Kübel.....wagen!! Badabing!

Lets make these changes.

The Battalion now looks like this.

41 06 45 05 B0110900 7 SS Sonderverband Ost
41 06 45 05 P01316 SS Sonderverband Ost HQ
41 06 45 05 P01658 Befehls Zug
41 06 45 05 P01059 Fliegerabwehr Zug
41 06 45 05 P01098 Panzerjäger Abschnitt
41 06 45 05 C0100907 SS SvO Sturmgeschütz Batterie
41 06 45 05 C0100906 SS SvO Artillerie Batterie
41 06 45 05 C0100900 SS SvO Pionier Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100904 SS SvO Aufklärungs Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100901 I. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100902 II. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100903 III. Panzer Kompanie
41 06 45 05 C0100905 SS SvO Panzergrenadier Kompanie

Now we need to add the STG Batterie to the Company01.OOB

41 06 45 05 C0100907 7 SS SvO Sturmgeschütz Batterie
41 06 45 05 P01407 HaStFüh Johan JJH Schmidt
41 06 45 05 P01021

And lets update the Recon Company. We added some AA cars, say thanks Helmut. "Thanks Helmut!!!"

41 06 45 05 C0100904 7 SS SvO Aufklärungs Kompanie
41 06 45 05 P01407 HaStFüh Wilhelm von Cormick
41 06 45 05 P01988 Flak Zug
41 06 45 05 P01035 I. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01035 II. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01952 III Zug
41 06 45 05 P01950 IV. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01220 V. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01224 VI. Zug
41 06 45 05 P01072 Motorrad
41 06 45 05 P01632 Motorrad

Time for some more Kriegspielen. Komme Kleidt!

LOL!! Nice write-up my man!![:D]

Thank you!

The story is far from complete. As I regain some lost knowledge the Battalion will morph, as time goes by, into a Brigade. Maybe even a Division if that is its fate.

First off I have to figure out this no encryption stuff. I can't get it to work.

Keep on keeping on. That is my motto

Tim

The no-encryption stuff should only been needed if you are editing the platon or weapon files. With the rest of the OOB files, there isnt a need to encrypt them so they will work fine regularily.

Jason Petho

I want to add some units. I know that the platoon OOB needs to be edited and the weapons.PDT needs to be edited. The artwork needs to be copied and a new number assigned both the .BMP and .BIT files.


My big question is will no encryption work for DCG's?

One last Question. the proper syntax ef.exe -X ?

Is that right?

ORIGINAL: Tidavis

My big question is will no encryption work for DCG's?

Since DCGs (and LCGs) operate by way of the game frontend, and since NoEncryption is only available by launching EXEs individually and directly from outside the frontend -- the answer to your question is, unfortunately: no, NoEncryption will not work for DCGs.

However, Jason has a standing offer to encrypt custom OOBs etc. on a per-user basis. Just ask.

One last Question. the proper syntax ef.exe -X ?

Is that right?

Yes, that is correct.

The easiest way to launch EXEs with the -X NoEncryption option is to create special shortcuts with the -X option appended (in the Properties > Target field).

For more on NoEncryption, see Crossroads' Developer Diary #3 - Adding new units with -X NoEncryption option.

Thanks berto

I didn't have a space after the .exe. Thats why it would not work. However there is no point to using it knowing that it won't work for DCG's. Ratten [:(]

Wenn Sie nicht mit Intelligenz beeindrucken kann, verblüffen sie mit wansinn

Motto des Sonderverband.

OK Guess I'll get to work on what I want then send my request.

ORIGINAL: Tidavis

However there is no point to using it knowing that it won't work for DCG's.

No, you misunderstand.

After you have settled on your changes, and after Jason has turned around the encrypted data files for you, you can indeed use them in your custom-made DCGs.

The frontend, and therefore DCGs, only work with encrypted file versions. Which Jason will be happy to provide for you, when you are ready.

You are correct. I am a bit confused.

What new files do I need to provide? To my understanding I need to provide a weapons.PDT and a platoon.OOB. Do I need to provide anything else? Do I need to provide a whole revised file or just the additions I want? Those two files can be edited with notepad so I do not see the need for using the scenario editor in unencrypted mode. Maybe I am missing something?

Thanks for you help and patience!

Tim

You only need to provide the platoon and weapon files. FYI, there are major revisions being done, or rather are done to EF right now, so beware when an official patch comes out next with the files I worked on for the 2D upgrade, your new units are liable to be overwritten. If you like, I could send you the platoon file for Germany in the xls state, so you may see what numbers are yet to be used? Email me at impalass (at) ptd (dot) net, and I'll get you fixed up.

Thanks!

Mail sent

Tim

I didn't receive this mail yet. Did you send it to the hotmail address?

Jason Petho

Tim, what does "wansinn" mean? BS? [:)]

RR

Sorry Jason, I think it was directed at me, email sent as in request for the Excel list of available platoon numbers for the German, French and Polish!!

Sie sind teillich korrect. Wannsinn is wie einer Bayerischer bedeutet "nonsense", auf anderes Worten daß ist! [:D]

I think I have all my quackers in a row. I have my revisions for SvO done and will send Jason the files shortly.

Question. What file do I need to edit to get my new units into the unit hand book? My mind is drawing a big fat blank on this one.

Thanks all,

Tim

That would be the unittext.txt for the description part, and P[unit id].bmp in Pictures subfolder for platoon picture.

Look at my Developer Diary #3 for a detailed description how to do it all.

Edit: Here: tm.asp?m=3611260

Ok Pictures and unit text are done, now just waiting on Oberkommando des Matrix to finalize paperwork. Meanwhile I have some leave time. Time to go back home to Stuttgart.

Honey Hornburg and the Steppers are back in town! Let me tell you, that blonde girl, I know I have seen her somewhere before. Maybe my friend Willi knows?

Liebe Grüß!

Karl

Maybe Google, under Ultra La Morte!!!?? Owoooh!!

Was ist "Ultra la Morte" Verstehe Französisch aber die anderen, zum mir, macht nichts.

Good news and bad news. The Good news is Honey still puts on one heck of a show great looking girls with legs up to... you get the picture.

The bad news comes in two parts. Orders from OKM just came through. Time to go back to the Lager and get some practice in. Will have some captured French Panzers waiting there. More importantly, that blonde I like is Willi's secretary. She just moonlights as a dancer.

Ratten und doppel Ratten. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride.

Add these two lines to the Sonderverband.

41 06 41 12 + C0100908 SS SvO Beuten Panzer Kompanie(f)
42 01 45 05 C0100909 SS SvO Beuten Panzer Kompanie(r)

Diese Geschichte weiter gehen.