Making a historical scenario for JTCS

Article written by Huib Versloot [Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:32 pm]
Article by Huib Versloot in .pdf format.

The file is available here http://www.theblitz.org/media/MAKING_AN_HISTORICAL_SCENARIO_FOR_JTCS.pdf

How to balance a CS scenario

Article written by Huib Versloot [Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:30 pm]
Article by Huib Versloot in .pdf format.

The file is available here http://www.theblitz.org/media/CS_scn_balancing_guide.pdf

Readiness in TOAW

Article written by Currahee [Thu Oct 06, 2011 12:59 am]
We’ve all noticed that readiness recovery can occur at markedly different rates, in different scenarios.  What’s going on here?    First, if you haven’t already done so, stop now (or just skim this article), and go read my article on Supply in TOAW.  It’ll really help you understand how to manage readiness, and how supply and readiness interact with proficiency, reorganization, etc. Now, back to readiness: Basically, in a 6-hr turn scenario, units... Read More

How to set up a PBEM scenario.

Article written by Foul. [Frid Sep 24, 2010 11:26 pm]
This is a step by step guide on how to set up a PBEM game in any of the HPS series of games, in this example I have used Sicily '43. First player sets up the scenario 1) Open the title you wish to play and the game will default to this dialogue box...Select New-> Play-By-Email-> The scenario you wish to play -> OK2) Click on which Side you wish to play -> tick the Fog-Of-War box and then click Rules...3) This opens the Optional rules dialogue box, if you are new to these games (or... Read More

Hints on assaults in FWWC

Article written by Foul. [Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:54 pm]
One of the ways in which F14 differs from PzC titles is in the way you handle assaults, in PzC the procedure is pretty standard throughout the titles i.e. disrupt the defenders and then assault, here is the section of Ed's notes that handles that issue and just i case you have not read to page 147 of the notes (shame on you ) here is what he says on the subject....When to assaultThe most important thing to know in First World War Campaigns, is when to press home an assault and when not to assaul... Read More

First World War Campaigns vs. Panzer Campaigns

Article written by Foul. [Frid May 28, 2010 5:56 pm]  One comment
With the release of France ’14 the first title in the First World War Campaigns (FWWC) series, I thought as one of the testers of this title, it would be a good idea to write an article to help players familiarize themselves on the main differences between FWWC and Panzer Campaigns (PzC). I cannot stress enough that this article is just a brief overview of the major changes between the two series and players should fully read the rules and especially the comprehensive notes provided by the... Read More

Panzer Campaigns- So, you want to be a Logistics Officer eh!

Article written by Glenn Saunders [Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:43 pm]
Panzer Campaigns- So, you want to be a Logistics Officer eh! by Glenn SaundersPosted from Glenns site http://members.shaw.ca/gcsaunders/welcome.html with his kind permission.Have you even designed a scenario, or tried to design one? You can find maps showing detailed unit positions, you can read reference about the quality of the troops to set levels such as morale\quality of one side vs. the other, but nowhere in your research will you see something that says: "The Axis had 75% supply in t... Read More

Panzer Campaigns- The evolution in the Supply model.

Article written by Glenn Saunders [Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:30 pm]  3 comments
Explicit Supply and the Evolution of Panzer Campaigns Supply Model by Glenn SaundersArticle posted from Glenns site http://members.shaw.ca/gcsaunders/welcome.html with his kind permission.The purpose of this article is to outline the evolution in the Panzer Campaigns Supply model and to discuss how the rules have evolved from the basic supply rules into Virtual supply and on to Explicit Supply!I wasn't involved when John Tiller and Greg "Sturmer" Smith made the initial game of the series, S... Read More

Panzer Campaign - Scenario Design 101 "Let's Build a Simple Scenario"

Article written by von Schwarze [Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:38 pm]
By Dave "Blackie" Blackburn(Article posted from Glenns site http://members.shaw.ca/gcsaunders/welcome.html with his kind permission.) IntroductionThere seem to be very few people out there who are using the excellent editors provided with the Panzer Campaign Series games. Also, in the Panzer Campaigns Manual, there is an outstanding guide on how to build scenarios by no less than the boss himself, John Tiller! Add to that the huge maps and extremely accurate OOBs contained... Read More

Panzer Campaigns: An overview of how best to play the Allied side in France 40.

Article written by Dog Soldier [Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:26 pm]
This short article was originally a post on the OpS forum, but was such a good analysis on how to play the Allied side i decided to place it here.Foul.As the Allies in F40 a French military term comes to mind....sang froid!Your mission, should you chose to perform it, is to throw the invasion off balance and buy time. Japanese saying... Do not be an oak. Bend like the willow and snap back now and then.Belgian playThe Belgians had a strategy of trying to hold Liege, Namur, and Antwerp. I think th... Read More

TOAW-Behind the Scenarios: Victory Points

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:30 pm]
Victory points are one of the most important features of a scenario. Most of all since they determine the victory level. I have had lots of problems trying to decide how to distribute the victory points on the map. In the beginning I used to test play each scenario and then edit the scenarios after that victory level. I always tried to edit them so that my final position would give a draw. In order to be more precise and to be able of using the victory values more effective I have begun to inves... Read More

TOAW-Behind the Scenarios: Designers guide to designing scenarios

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:29 pm]
Behind The ScenariosThis is the order I do things when I create a scenario. It is not the best or the correct way but it works for me and in some aspects it prevents some mistakes that I did in my first scenarios. BACKGROUNDBefore beginning to create a scenario it is a good idea to look up as much information as possible about the battle. Even if you are "inventing" a theoretical battle it could be a good idea to find out things about the specific front or area. Basically there are four areas t... Read More

TOAW-Behind the Scenario: Creating balanced scenarios

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:28 pm]
When you have created a scenario how do you go by to balance it? First of all try to trim the PO so he acts rather decent. If you haven't done this you need to playtest in a human vs human mode which is more time-consuming and you need more playtesters. Then make sure all units that should be included are included. Then try to get as many as possible to playtest the scenario. In the beginning of playtesting the designer should try to fix as much as possible by himself. But eventually the designe... Read More

Campaign Series-How to make accurate CS maps using Google Earth

Article written by Huib Versloot [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:27 pm]  2 comments
I wrote a new article on CS mapping. It's an extension of my previous article that is already on the Blitz. This article describes how to use Google Earth to your advantage when making CS maps.Click here to view the PDF file(2.7mb) Right click and choose "save target as.." to download for viewing later. By Huib Versloot ... Read More

Campaign Series-CS SCENARIO DESIGN, A SHORT GUIDELINE

Article written by Huib Versloot [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:27 pm]
This article is a short guideline for those who would like to design custom scenarios. I based the article on my own experience as a designer. The set of guidelines is basically the “best practice” of the scenarios I designed over the past few years. The technical know how and issues of scenario making are not described in this article; you may find them in the manual.First Step: Finding The Battle.Before you can design anything, you will need to know what kind of a battle you would ... Read More

History Article-Winter Tempest in Stalingrad

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:11 pm]
Stalingrad--Stalin's City--the industrial center on the Volga River, attracted German and Soviet divisions in the latter part of 1942 like a magnet draws metal shavings. During the heady days of that summer, the men of General der Panzertruppe Friedrich von Paulus' vaunted Sixth Army had sensed nothing but victory in the air. As summer dwindled into fall, however, their air of confidence was replaced by a growing sense of uncertainty and futility.Grim hand-to-hand fighting had erupted in Staling... Read More

History Article-The Smolensk Campaign: A Historical Synopsis

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:09 pm]
On the morning of July 7th 1941, Colonel General Heinz Guderian had an important decision to make. Should he continue his advance and cross the Dnepr to capture his primary objective (Smolensk), or stop and await the arrival of the infantry armies. As Colonel General Hoth's 3rd Panzergroup was already moving toward Vitebsk, he decided to strike the Russian defense line while it was weak and risk the exposed open flanks of his Panzergroup.The Dnepr River flows west through Smolensk to Orsha, then... Read More

History Article-The intercepted communications of an American in Cairo provided a secret ear for the Desert Fox.

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:08 pm]
During the 1941-1942 tug of war for North Africa, the British benefited from radio-intercept-derived Ultra information. Despite that Allied advantage, however, for six months and 11 days the Germans enjoyed an even speedier, more across-the-board intelligence source. It was what Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the legendary Desert Fox, called die gute Quelle (the good source). It also was known as "the little fellows" or "the little fellers," a play on the name of its unwitting provider, Brevet Colo... Read More

History Article-The German Art of Maneuver

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:07 pm]
February 1943, the Germans with their Romanian and Italian allies are reeling. The Sixth Army has been lost along with the majority of the Italian Eighth Army and the Romanian Third Army. What to do? Hitler called on von Manstein, the commander of the newly created Army Group Don, and Hausser with the II SS Panzer Korp, to keep the Eastern Front from collapsing.Von Manstein, master mind of the campaign against France, was ready to strike back. The First and Fourth Panzer Armies brought the Russi... Read More

History Article-The Breskens Pocket

Article written by Cheese-eating Surrender Monkey [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:07 pm]
As the winter of 1944 drew nearer, the largest port supplying the allied armies in Northwest Europe was Dieppe. Dieppe had been cleared, in a fitting irony, by the Canadian Army. Comrades, some visiting the town for the second time in the war, repaid the Germans for the humiliation inflicted on them during that August day in 1942 when the first seaborne invasion of its kind was attempted with a virtually all-Canadian force. With only 7,000 tons a day at full capacity coming through Dieppe, thoug... Read More

History Article-The 10th Panzer's Blitz Across France

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:05 pm]
Prior to Operation Barbarossa, Major General Ferdinand Schaal had already proved that his 10th Panzer Division was a fast moving, hard hitting weapon. During the invasion of France, the 10th served as part of the southern thrust under the XIX Corps, which was led by one of Germany's most audacious commanders, Lieutenant General Heinz Guderian.When the code word "Danzig" reached Schaal on the morning of May 10, 1940, the division exploded forward, advancing 45 miles on the first day. The 10th was... Read More

History Article-Red Army Assault at Seelow Heights

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:03 pm]
By 1945 the Eastern Front was on Germany's back porch. Soviet forces entered East Prussia in January of that year, throwing Adolf Hitler into a tirade. When German General Heinz Guderian, inspector of armored troops, requested that Hitler authorize the withdrawal of the 300,000-man force from the Kurland region, Hitler refused, condemning those soldiers to death. They would disappear in the marshland and the fog of war.Another pivotal point on the Eastern Front at this time was the German defens... Read More

History Article-Patton in the Ardennes

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:59 pm]
On the night of December the Sixteenth 1944, General Allen, chief of staff of the Twelfth army group, called for a meeting. He needed the tenth armored attached to Seventh corps to repulse a rather strong German attack up north. This was the first notice that Patton would have of the German assault, which would later be called the bulge. Patton was loath to give up one of his divisions, but acquiesced after recognizing the necessity of the request.The location of the German attack was uncertain;... Read More

History Article-Operation Saar: A Lost Opportunity

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:59 pm]
World War II in Europe was a week old when the French army edged across the frontier into Germany. On September 7, 1939, the German generals' great fear of a two-front war seemed to have been realized. It was inconceivable that the Germans could effectively counter the mighty French army with the Wehrmacht wholly engaged in Poland.While German Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers peeled off into steep dives over Polish targets, French General Maurice Gamelin directed his Third, Fourth and Fifth armies to be... Read More

History Article-Operation Barbarosa

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:57 pm]
THE PLANWhen the German high command was planning Operation Barbarossa they had to look out for one major natural obstacle in Russia, the Pripet marshes. Because of the Pripet marshes, which were located in the center of the border, they elected to have two major spearheads north of the marshes and one major spearhead to the south. Those spearheads were designated Army Group North (AGN), Army Group Centre (AGC) and Army Group South (AGS). AGN and AGC were the groups to go north of the marshes. S... Read More

Personal Article-My Experiences during REFORGER.

Article written by CptCav [Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:56 pm]  2 comments
While with the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, I participated in two REFORGER excercises (1982 and 1983). REFORGER stands for Redeployment of Forces to Germany. At that time, certain Army units were designated as immediate reinforcements to Germany in case of a war. These units included the 2nd Armored Division, 1st Infantry Division, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment and, I believe, the 4th Infantry Division. These units, in addition to their normal set of equipment, had a second set of equipment stored... Read More

History Article-Kursk Reconsidered: Germany's Lost Victory?

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:56 pm]  2 comments
Following their disastrous defeat at Stalingrad during the winter of 1942-43, the German armed forces launched a climactic offensive in the East known as Operation Citadel on July 4,1943. The climax of Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk, involved as many as 6,000 tanks, 4,000 aircraft and 2 million fighting men and is remembered as the greatest tank battle in history. The high-water mark of the battle was the massive armor engagement at Prochorovka (also spelled Prokhorovka), which began on ... Read More

History Article-Kharkov 43

Article written by Club Shadow Player [Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:55 pm]
It started February 19th, 1943. What is the fascination with Kharkov anyway? Well, lets look at Kharkov in the BIG SCHEME. The Germans just let the 6th Army walk off into captivity, the biggest defeat of German arms so far in the war. After Kharkov, the next biggest battle, (chronologically) in the East is Kursk, a major German defeat and some say the end of German initiative on the Eastern Front.What is it, Kharkov? It’s the bridge between German greatness in the field of arms and the dec... Read More

Personal Article-Impressions of Fulda Gap

Article written by D-ploy [Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:54 pm]
He had a clear line of sight to the familiar, and at the same time strange, vehicle. Afterwards he wondered why it had taken him so long to recognize the Russian tank. He was a trooper from 3rd Squadron/11 Armored Cavalry and he was observing the "Fuldatal" near Bad Hersfeld. The river "Fulda" gave the green valley its name, but with russian T-64 tanks and BMP-2 APCs flowing through the countryside, the image was far from peaceful. So this is it, he thought, the Russians have crossed the border ... Read More

History Article-If the combat performance of the Allied armies in Normandy was so bad, why did they win?

Article written by Bluecoat [Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:52 pm]
If the combat performance of the Allied armies in Normandy was so bad, why did they win?On D+90, Allied forces had reached the Seine river, conforming remarkably to initial pre D-Day plans for the timing of this stage of the allied advance. The German army in Normandy had been trapped and routed, retaining only 10 relatively intact divisions out of 50 committed , whilst Armoured Fighting Vehicle losses were up to 80% in some Divisions. Essentially, the Allied forces had defeated the German army ... Read More