CC X Announcement

Stalingrad – German Campaign by Jorge Gabitto for Compromise Efile.

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CC X Announcement

Post by CC Team » 2019-03-11 17:13, Monday

JP's Panzers
is proud to announce...
Campaign Challenge #10

Jorge Gabitto's
Stalingrad - German Campaign
using Jorge's custom equipment file.

What an exciting Challenge Campaign this one will be, my friends!
I know you've been waiting a looooong time for this. It seems like I've been promising CC#10 for years now! LOL -- I kept saying "It's just around the corner."
(You kept laughing... and who could blame you?!? hee hee!)
That's why we've nicknamed this Challenge Campaign...

CC #10 -- THE LONGEST CORNER heh heh!

I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this one! I hope you find it has been worth the wait! :naughty

CC #10 PRESTIGE LEVELS

Here are the prestige levels we will be using. Feel free to choose any of them to play this campaign. If you want to play at a level not listed, simply click in the Prestige Modifier box when starting the campaign, use your keyboard's backspace key to erase the number, and type in the number you want. You can type in anything from zero to 300.

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PRESTIGE LEVELS FOR CHALLENGE CAMPAIGN #10
Field Marshal's Challenge = 50% or lower
General's Challenge = 75%
Officer's Challenge = 100%
NCO's Challenge = 150%
Troopies Challenge = 151 and above

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Please include your prestige level both in your reply to the STATUS thread, and also at the beginning of the thread in which you will be listing your After Action Reports.

CC #10 REQUIREMENTS

If you want to be included on our Scroll of Honor for this Challenge Campaign,
~ You must use version 1.1 of Jorge's Stalingrad Campaign. This is the latest version and it was posted on Steve's Campaign Page June 24, 2002. If you have an earlier version, please download and use this newer version since Jorge made some special changes to the campaign especially for us!
~ You must use Jorge's custom equipment file as included in his latest campaign download. Again, Jorge has made some special adjustments specifically in anticipation of us using this campaign and e-file for CC#10.
~ You must play the campaign to completion
~ You must play BOTH the hypothetical path (first) and the historical path (second).
~ You must maintain a reply in the Official STATUS thread (at the top of this forum).
~ Your reply to the STATUS thread must include the prestige level at which you are playing.
~ Players playing at our two most prestigious levels (the Field Marshall Level and General Level) must not reload a turn or to a point somewhere in the middle of a scenario (except when switching to the historical path after completion of the hypothetical path). If a reload is deemed necessary it MUST be to the BEGINNING of some previous scenario (or restart the campaign from the beginning if you would prefer).

**Players playing at one of the lower three levels are allowed to reload as often as they wish and whenever their honor and conscience permits. :D

**You need not restart the campaign after completing the hypothetical path. It is perfectly fine to simply reload the Choice 1 Scenario and play the historical path from there.

** You only need one reply to the STATUS thread. Simply edit that reply each time you wish to update your status. If you cannot locate the "Edit" link below your name in the STATUS thread, try logging out and logging back into Ez-Boards. You should then be able to edit your own reply in that thread.

** Your reply to the STATUS thread should NOT include After Action Reports. Rather, it should simply state your name, prestige level, and what level of victory/loss you achieved for each scenario.

** You CAN start your own thread for logging After Action Reports (AARs) if you want. This can list any details you feel like sharing as you play the campaign. This is NOT required! But it IS one of the most fun aspects of our Challenge Campaigns, so we do encourage it.

** You CAN be listed on the Scroll of Honor more than once per campaign (once for each prestige level you complete), but not more than once at the same prestige level per campaign.

** You are allowed to inflict artificial constraints upon yourself such as core army composition, number or type of reloads allowed (at the lower three levels only), etc. Simply state your own custom rules at the beginning of your Status thread and any After Action Report thread you start. You will have to enforce those rules upon yourself. We will only enforce the universal rules listed above. As for anything else, you're on your own. :)

DESIGNER'S NOTES

Jorge has kindly provided us with some designer notes on this campaign. I hope you will read them before you start the campaign. He has gone to quite a lot of trouble to write them, and they should be quite valuable in gaining some insight into the purpose and tone of this campaign. Here's what Jorge has to say about his Stalingrad campaign...

Stalingrad The Campaign Designer General Notes

This campaign is the first of a series of historical or more correctly semi-historical campaigns I have designed for PG2. This is a new kind of campaigns quite different from the classical SSI campaigns and most custom-made found around.

The idea is to reproduce more or less accurately the real conditions of the operations. Therefore, these campaigns involve realistic order of battles, terrain, dates, etc. Our game is not well suited for this kind of campaigns, but acceptable results can be obtained by following the rules shown below,

1). The core army has to be small.
2). The prestige allotment is small.
3). The prestige is tightly controlled scenario after scenario.
4). The number of units should be bounded, sometimes using limited deployment.

The previous rules are motivated by the need to control tightly the growth of the player’s army. Some people may not like this kind of campaigns, but if you want to play/design them you should followed them.

This campaign particularly tries to depict the titanic series of engagements that defined the battle for the city of Stalingrad. In the campaign information notes you will find a good historical description including a close reference to the actual scenarios to be played. These notes involve mostly playing strategies and tips. Later on I will write detailed instructions scenario after scenario.

The campaign is tough, but doable. You have to be prepared to fight every scenario from beginning to end. Every scenario has been designed to last the number of turns indicated by the TV. A few brilliant victories are definitely possible, but they are rare indeed. The AI strength is also well distributed both, in time and space. Do not expect easy breaks as you have in some campaigns. Even after breaking the enemy line the AI is in condition of putting a good resistance. The AI consistently will get reinforcements too. Always maintain the order in your troops. Do not get disorganized thinking things are over. Use the hard units up front followed by AT and arty units, whenever possible, protected by AD units and/or planes. You should use your recon units to determine the AI positions. You will face some of the most elaborate defenses you will ever find in a campaign. You will also face some of the strongest attacks you will ever face. The AI units have been placed in such a way that they will give you quite a fight. Observation posts are used for the AI in practically every scenario. The AI cannot see your whole position, but it can take a good look at the important parts of it. Beware you will never be sure if it can see you or not.

In attacking strongly entrenched enemies you can follow a standard procedure. Recon the enemy position looking for weak points and especially the position of the guns. Target the weak links with your own artillery and follow up with your tanks and AT units attacking through the hole. If the enemy position is too strong for this tactic you should target the enemy guns first, one by one until you can remove them and attack with the infantry. In city scenarios it is good to get into the city as soon as possible, once your infantry units are inside all the terrain advantages also apply to them. It is advisable to move them under cover of artillery though. The worst danger for an infantry unit in favorable terrain is another infantry unit. Never forget it. Do not put armored units inside city, mountain or forest hexes without good artillery support either. All these effects are amplified due to the E-file used. The infantry is about 25% stronger than the corresponding SSI unit. The four main stats of all main powers’ infantry units have higher values. Therefore, your infantry can inflict and take more damage than you might expect. The presence of AT arty guns is another important difference when compared to other E-files. These guns will always fire in support as a normal gun, but they have very HA values. Check the odds carefully before attacking a position. They should be destroyed first by other artillery and infantry attacks.

A very important issue to be decided before playing a scenario is the general strategy to be adopted. In this campaign you have two main kinds of scenarios, normal attacking scenarios and defensive scenarios. In the former you have to define a strategy based on what has been discussed before. Terrain is the main consideration here. The victory hexes are on city terrain mostly or not, mountain, etc. If there are far-away V.H.’s you should also consider using paratroopers to get at least one. In the case of far-away V.H.’s behind a river you should consider crossing the river behind enemy lines with a strong group and directly attacking from behind the far away VH. Look carefully for crossing points in the map.

In the defensive scenarios you are going to be hit harder than you can imagine. Normally the best strategy is to retreat to some area where, due to terrain (river, mountain, etc.), you can set a good line of defense. Wear down the enemy there and then counterattack to recover the lost V.H.’s and to take the AI ones. In several scenarios you will even be under artillery fire in your initial positions, therefore, resistance is doubtful there. You are provided with ample auxiliary units; take good care of them also -- you will need them. You will never have enough force to simply overpower the A.I. You will have to use strategy to achieve victory. Time and time again I am surprised when playing these scenarios. I think that I should win easily due to my strong army, but then I get surprised by an A.I. counterattack. If this happens to me you can figure out what can happen to the unsuspecting.

I really like this campaign and I had a lot of fun designed it. I hope you have as much fun playing it. I would also appreciate your comments/suggestions.

Campaign Path

The campaign is divided mainly into two parts. A what-if path and a historical one, the what-if starts with the fourth scenario, a choice scenario that allows the player to decide where he wants to go. In this new version the choice also depends upon your results on the third scenario. A TV will take you directly to the historic path, by-passing the choice scenario.

The what-if path comprises an early assault on Stalingrad, attacks on Novorossirsk on the Black sea coast and Astrakhan plus an offensive towards the Caucasus oilfields. It is a total of 11 scenarios.

The historic line involves an attempt to cross the Don River, an assault on the Soviet troops between the Don and Volga Rivers and finally the assault on the city and its sequel, the fight inside the city itself. Of course, you branch into the Soviet counter offensive and its ramifications, including a what-if scenario for an alternative German response.

I strongly recommend you save the choice scenario and play both lines, the what-if and the historic lines.

NOTE from JP's Panzers:
We will be playing BOTH paths of this campaign. You should play the "what-if" branch FIRST. Then, when you are done with that, you can either start over or you can pick up the campaign at the "choice scenario" that you saved the first time. We will play the historical path AFTER we have completed the "what-if" path. To be counted for the Scroll of Honor, you must play both paths through to completion and you must play the "hypothetical path" first and the "historical path" after that.

This means, in practical terms, that you MUST take either a BV or a Vic at DONBAS the first time through AND a BV or Victory at CHOICE 1 after DONBAS to take the "What-if" path first. As long as you are not playing at the Field Marshal's or General's Levels, you can reload until you get at least a Victory at DONBAS the first time through.
It is adviseable, if you don't want to replay the first three scenarios the second time through, that you save BEFORE actually taking the BV or Vic at "DONBAS" ~or~ the "CHOICE 1" scenario. Then, when you have finished the hypothetical path, you can reload the saved "DONBAS" or "CHOICE 1" scenario, intentionally take a TacVic, and continue on through the historical path.
Otherwise, you should restart the campaign once you are completed with the hypothetical path and the play the historical path through to completion. That is going to be our challenge in CC10.



...some more from Jorge...

What this Campaign is:

This campaign tries to be as historical as possible; therefore, strict control of the player army is needed. You will handle a small core and will receive little prestige. Deployment is also controlled. . You will never have more than two extra deployment hexes. I know some people may not like it, but if you want to keep things resembling historical circumstances you need to do this. Otherwise, in 3-4 scenarios people will have a couple of extra Panzer divisions equipped with Tiger tanks. The auxiliary units are very important because they contribute to the balance of power and at the same time provide some sorely needed capabilities.

My new efile that features stronger infantry and higher prices for heavy weapons is particularly suitable for this campaign. There are several city-fighting scenarios where the stronger infantry is actually superior to tanks. The AI plays particularly aggressive with the infantry in cities, counterattacking often and punishing mistakes, increasing the interest of the game. Higher prices for heavy weapons, lower than other efiles though, guarantee that players will not upset the balance by buying too many heavy weapons.

This campaign depicts scenarios in several kinds of terrains and conditions, open field, mountains, cities, etc. You also have big battles with many units on each side and smaller more strategic scenarios.

What this Campaign is NOT:

This campaign depicts heavy and continuous action. You start fighting from the first term and it will not be over until is over. I sincerely regret if you do not like this kind of scenarios, but everybody is entitled to his own taste.

This campaign is not an endorsement of any political idea or of war. War is one of the most regrettable human activities. Before discovering Panzerg2 I was a master level chess player. I see the game as a more "colorful" chess.

Yours,

Jorge Gabitto

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Download package for OpenGen:

EFILE_CC10.zip

Original post updated by lvjtn
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Parabellum, Urica, Wonderdoctor, lvjtn

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