Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge - Tutorial Scenario - The Plan

Finally … the bloody plan.


I like to start my plans from the desired end state (the troops deployment, stance and actions at the end of the scenario).

By the end of the scenario I want to (A, B and C refer to the next screenshot):

A) Have seized St. Vith with a brigade sized formation and have these troops oriented towards the southwest from where we are expecting an enemy armor attack

B) Have other brigade sized formation ready to attack in order to counter the enemy armor threat from the west.
C) Have a brigade sized formation attacking or harassing the Breitfeld crossroads objective from both sides of the railroad in order to relieve pressure on both the troops at St. Vith and the troops attacking west

D) Have a screen line in place on our right flank

I intentionally don’t list the Breitfeld crossroads objective as taken in this desired end state. A closer look at the terrain nearby this objective reveals a mobility bottleneck shaped by a river and forests. Definitively not tank friendly terrain. Although I know I have all the assets to brush almost any opposition aside, I just don’t want to bog down precious assets or loose precious time in this hell hole. In my desired end state, any enemy troops lingering at Breitfeld crossroads will be almost surrounded.

The Breitfeld Crossroads Objective. Not the best tank terrain.

In order to achieve this desired end state, I need to secure the Steinebruck bridge and Lommerweiler so troops can move north, northeast and northwest. Remember that at the scenario start, movement towards our flanks is restricted by an impassable river and the only way out is through the bridge right in front of my troops.

At this point I will not plan beyond the first day of operations. There is a lot of tactical reconnaissance to be made yet.

My plan is to secure the Steinebruck bridge and Lommerweiller during day 1. As soon as crossing the bridge is possible I will move reconnaissance troops to our left flank.

Cheers,

Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge - Tutorial Scenario - Planning - Time

Time is the always forgotten dimension of warfare. In Battles from the Bulge it deserves a level of attention that likely matches the one real operation planners pay to it. Not only time flows seamless in this game (no turns) but also the orders you give to your units will take some time to be executed (orders delay).

The terrain objectives of this scenario are timed: we need to take them at a certain time to get the most victory points. I usually don't take these timings like I'm running a train line that needs to be at a certain station by certain time. Yet, I keep an attentive watch at those timings. Pun intended.

The next screenshot shows the terrain objectives and the times where they become active.

The other timed events are reinforcements. As you may remember from my previous post, we will get reinforced with a brigade at day 2 and another brigade at day 3.

 Now, onto the plan ... for goodness sake!

Cheers,

Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge - Tutorial Scenario - Planning - Own Troops

During planning, it is very important to have a clear picture of your own troops composition. In a game like BftB, in which the command structure has very little left to abstraction, it is of upmost importance.

The order of battle tab allows you to browse and locate each formation under your command.

The 35th Tank Battalion. When the HQ unit of the battalion is selected in the map, the command structure is shown as a series of lines (green lines connecting to subordinates, blue lines connecting to units up in the command structure).

 This is the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion.

This is the 1st Battalion, from the 318th Infantry Regiment. These are foot troops with limited mobility but with great ability to infiltrate behind enemy lines.

Indirect fire support ... don't forget the important role of artillery in the battlefield. We have two battalions of self-propelled artillery (around 28 guns each). I have clicked on the unit icon to see a picture of the actual vehicle.

Last but not least, reinforcements. This information is available from the reinforcements tab ("Reinf"). We will be reinforced on day 2 by one armored brigade and on day 3 by another armored brigade.

Cheers,

Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge - Tutorial Scenario - Planning - Terrain

During terrain analysis, the planner should consider observation and fields of fire, cover and concealment, obstacles, key terrain and avenues of approach. Fear not, we will not go into a full blown terrain analysis but rather make just a few considerations.

For this scenario, and besides the paramount objective St. Vith, I want to make sure that I can observe and block the enemy reinforcements from the west. To achieve that, I will need clear route to our left flank. The right flank is no less important. I wonder if the routes southeast of St. Vith are controlled by the enemy.

Although the maps in the game are as informative and seamless as real ones, I sometimes miss-read them (i.e. fail to perceive a natural obstacle). Thank goodness we have a tool available in the game that allows to evaluate the movement between two points of choice.

The "path" tool (yellow box) will calculate a route between two points of your choice. In this case, I asked for a calculation of the shortest  path for motorized units moving from our line of departure to objective St. Vith (green line).

A similar path calculation. Movement to our left flank will be only possible after controlling the bridge to our north.

Movement towards our right flank, only after we control the bridge to our north.

In conclusion, we can't bypass the enemy in front of us and we will need to take out those enemy units  before going for any other objective.

Coming next, our own troops.

Cheers,

Hearts of Iron Semper Fi - Strategic Warfare in a Few Clicks - Part 2

This a continuation of yesterday's entry.

Orders of battle of armies of superpowers during WWII can be difficult to grasp. Hearts of Iron 3 Semper Fi has a great OOB browser (see screenshot below). It is also possible to reorganize forces according to your preferences.

In the next screenshot, I clicked on the HQ unit command the West Theatre (OKH) and I changed its stance to "blitzing" for land forces, to "offensive" for air units, and "defensive" for naval units (I don't want to mess with the Royal Navy). These stances will guide all actions of the land, air and naval units under the command of OKH.


 
 
 
The next step was to give OKH three objectives: Amsterdam, Bruxelles and Paris. In theory that is all I would have to do and let OKH take care of the whole theatre of operations.


 
 
 
By the first week of August 1940 (3 months into the operation), Amsterdam and Bruxelles have fallen. Paris is still out of reach.
 

 
 
Later in August, we are closing into Paris, but the Allies are putting a good fight for the city.

September begins, and Paris still is in the Allies hands. Note the encirclement threatening the Allied units in the East.

Please keep in mind that the AI is running the war and all the other things, including trade. In the next screenshot, we get the regretable news that El Salvador doesn't to trade with us anymore. Whatever, the German soldier was never too fond of their pupusas anyway. :)
 

 
 
In the next entry, Paris falls!
 
Cheers,

Hearts of Iron Semper Fi - Strategic Warfare in a Few Clicks? - Part 1

Past June 6th was D-Day for the new "Semper Fi" add-on to Hearts of Iron 3 (HoI3). And boy, at every release/add-on/patch this series never fails to set discussion forums ablaze.

Due to their complexity and incredible amount of features, reviewing a Hearts of Iron game is like reviewing the internet. I have zero experience with strategy games so I'm ill-positioned to review this one. I'm looking forward to see what the pros have to say about the Semper Fi add-on.

I must be getting old, because I no longer judge games for what they can't do but rather for what they do best. I'm also focusing more and more in the big picture rather than on data worshiping. For games like HoI, I will not be complaining if the AI Allies don't launch an airborne operation even when the conditions scream for doing so. Neither I will pull my hair in horror if the Bf108 is listed as a fighter aircraft rather than as a staff taxi. Old doesn't mean wiser, though. :)

When I launched HoI3-Semper Fi, my question was: to which extent one can wage a war without too much micromanagement?

I chose an scenario called "Attack on the West", playing as the Germans and gave the AI control of (yikes!) everything (diplomacy, production, research, trade, etc). I don't mean to play the game in such way in the future, this is just a test drive.

The ability to create and modify Theaters of war is a new feature in Semper-Fi. Theatres of war are assigned to HQ units of enough hierarchy to manage such a big affair.

Please click the image for a better view. The East (blue area) and West (pink area) Theatres. Note how the command structure of the units in the East Theatre is depicted as blue and green lines. More on command structure later.

These Theatres of war have a great influence on what the friendly AI does if you choose to automate them. These AI actions cover the frontiers and the interior lines of the Theatres. After a quick glance on the deployment of forces in the West Theatre, I decided to "push the units west" by shrinking the West Theatre quite a tad. Even when I will not interfere by manually moving a single unit, I want all the war machine near the front.

A slimer West Theatre. Much better now. It's time to invade France.

Cheers,

Real and Simulated Wars to Become a Weekend Gig

At least during the summer.

You will never know how much I enjoy writing this blog. Alas, since last week real life has kept my enthusiasm at bay. Nothing catastrophic, just a new job I started in June 1st. I was lucky to nail a very good one this time, but it will involve a lot of travel during the summer. I can't use the corporate laptop I'm travelling with for gaming and at this time I can't afford one for my personal use.

In summary, I'm not gone and I don't foresee dropping this blog. There will be delays posting.

To the people who kindly sent me books for review, my apologies for the delay.

Cheers,