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- Jun 5, 2021
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My CM Cold War Cup tournament is in the final rounds, and should wrap up in early 2023. With that in mind, I've decided to up my level of difficulty with something more complex. I've I have been working for some time on a new tourney/campaign, borrowing on great ideas from @Rico, @Nathangun, @SlySniper, @Concord, and others. I am posting about this, in order to gauge interest prior to sinking any more time into it.
This Combat Mission: Red Thunder campaign will attempt to simulate one of the final German counterattacks of the war – the multiple attempts to relieve the encircled garrison of Budapest in January 1945. This counterattack was code-named Operation Konrad, which became known as Konrad I, II, and III, based on the various avenues of attack tried over a 4-week period. Although some of these attacks made significant progress against the Soviets, ultimately they all fell short of reaching Budapest. As a result the Budapest garrison surrendered on February 13, 1945, after an ill-fated breakout attempt.
This is a TEAM campaign of company-level battles for 12 players, divided into German and Soviet teams. The 6 players on the German side and 6 players on the Soviet side will win or lose the campaign together. Similar to the mechanics of Rico's "Siege of Bastogne" or "Fall of the Reich" campaigns, a team of German commanders will take on the roles of battlefield commanders on one of five Tracks of advance toward Budapest, but also in Budapest itself. Additionally, one player per side must take on the role of Army Group or Front commander, and allocate Reserve Units to different Tracks during the campaign, in consultation with other players.
There are really two, parallel campaigns: One in which 5 German commanders are attempting to advance against 5 Soviet commanders to reach Budapest before the end of Turn 7, and one in which a separate Soviet commander is trying to force an early surrender of the opposing German garrison in Budapest. The Budapest garrison must hold out long enough for the approaching German forces to reach them, or break out in favorable conditions.
Although concessions have been made for gameplay, the units involved, campaign maps, terrain, weather, and certain specific battle maps have been chosen based on the historical situation. Therefore, some battles may not be balanced. However, even impossible battles can positively influence the campaign as a whole.
The campaign will last 7 rounds, with each round representing a week of real-time from Jan 1, 1945 (start of Operation Konrad I), through week of Feb 11, 1945 (Budapest surrender). Can the German players do better than their historical counterparts and relieve Budapest? Or will the Soviets still stymie the advance and perhaps crush the Budapest garrison earlier?
Each track has a "core" German and a Soviet unit assigned, and as they lose battles or suffer >50% casualties, they will take strength losses and may be eliminated. Each unit has one or two "strength points", and these get marked off as they are lost.
Both sides have reserves that can be deployed to either fill these gaps, or augment the forces already on the tracks. Many of the reserves feature better equipment than the Core units (e.g. Germans getting Panthers instead of PzIVs or Soviets getting IS-2s instead of T-34/85s), but they must be used wisely.
In the below example, the second and third German tracks (from the top)have won 2 victories and are poised to advance to the 3rd square, while the other 3 tracks have suffered losses with fewer advances. The Soviets have deployed the 7th Mech Corps and the 1st Guards Mech Corps as reserves on the two tracks of concern. The counters communicate the types of units that may be purchased/faced, and there are simple tables for purchasing QB forces to guide the player.
In the below unit counter example:
The 23rd Rifle Corps has 2 Battalion/Strength Points of Rifle Infantry, and can use Soviet Rifle 43 or 44 Bn as the core formations in a Quick Battle.
The German 711 Infantry Division has one Motorized Rifle unit that can also field attached Jagdpanzers or StuGs, while the second unit is "only" non-motorized infantry.
The 1st Guards Mech Corps has one unit consisting of Shermans and Motorized Infantry, and a second unit consisting of armored/motorized infantry that can also field ISU-152s or SU-100s.
The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" has one unit consisting of Panthers and armored infantry, and a second unit consisting of armored infantry that can also field Jagdpanzers or StuGs.
Commanders can choose which of the units will be used in a Quick Battle, until one is eliminated (red X).
At the same time, a single German commander will also be attempting to hold out in Budapest against Soviet assaults until they can be relieved. There are 6 potential battlegrounds, of which the Soviets need to capture 4 to force a breakout or surrender. In the below example, the Soviets have captured 2 of the Budapest zones, and a new Quick Battle will be fought on Csepel Island between a German straggler force, and a Soviet rifle infantry force augmented by OT-34s.
These maps and counters are still in development - a lot can be improved here.
Each of the 7 rounds is a set of Quick Battles, with maps and OOB dictated by the terrain and the units involved. While the German players will be "locked" into their tracks or Budapest, the Soviet players will rotate through opponents. One player will function as the Commander for the side, and has the final decision on where reserves get deployed, and when reserves get pulled out of the line for potential later use. Private threads will be used to coordinate the actions for each side. Players win and lose AS A TEAM.
For the most part, maps for the tracks to Budapest will be selected from stock CMRT maps. However, the Budapest maps will all be custom, and feature locations like:
Eagle Hill (Sashegy):
The Train Station:
Margaret (Margit) Island
I'm working to wrap up some maps for the other Budapest locations - the industrial zone of Csepel Island, a wooded cemetery (Farkasreti), and the hilly urban terrain of Rose Hill (Rozsadomb). I'm aiming for a good variety of terrain within Budapest.
Rules have been drafted for QB purchasing and execution, simultaneous (blind) map orders, opponent randomization, use of reserves, and victory conditions. These things can easily sink under the weight of complexity, so I'm trying to keep it simple and clear for myself and the players.
Bottom line, this will require a Few (10-12) Good (dedicated) Men to make work, with two volunteers to be the Commanders for each side. ETA is late January or February 2023.
At the moment, just give a like or a response if you have interest. That will let me know whether to bother with the remaining task of map creation and selection.
This Combat Mission: Red Thunder campaign will attempt to simulate one of the final German counterattacks of the war – the multiple attempts to relieve the encircled garrison of Budapest in January 1945. This counterattack was code-named Operation Konrad, which became known as Konrad I, II, and III, based on the various avenues of attack tried over a 4-week period. Although some of these attacks made significant progress against the Soviets, ultimately they all fell short of reaching Budapest. As a result the Budapest garrison surrendered on February 13, 1945, after an ill-fated breakout attempt.
This is a TEAM campaign of company-level battles for 12 players, divided into German and Soviet teams. The 6 players on the German side and 6 players on the Soviet side will win or lose the campaign together. Similar to the mechanics of Rico's "Siege of Bastogne" or "Fall of the Reich" campaigns, a team of German commanders will take on the roles of battlefield commanders on one of five Tracks of advance toward Budapest, but also in Budapest itself. Additionally, one player per side must take on the role of Army Group or Front commander, and allocate Reserve Units to different Tracks during the campaign, in consultation with other players.
There are really two, parallel campaigns: One in which 5 German commanders are attempting to advance against 5 Soviet commanders to reach Budapest before the end of Turn 7, and one in which a separate Soviet commander is trying to force an early surrender of the opposing German garrison in Budapest. The Budapest garrison must hold out long enough for the approaching German forces to reach them, or break out in favorable conditions.
Although concessions have been made for gameplay, the units involved, campaign maps, terrain, weather, and certain specific battle maps have been chosen based on the historical situation. Therefore, some battles may not be balanced. However, even impossible battles can positively influence the campaign as a whole.
The campaign will last 7 rounds, with each round representing a week of real-time from Jan 1, 1945 (start of Operation Konrad I), through week of Feb 11, 1945 (Budapest surrender). Can the German players do better than their historical counterparts and relieve Budapest? Or will the Soviets still stymie the advance and perhaps crush the Budapest garrison earlier?
Each track has a "core" German and a Soviet unit assigned, and as they lose battles or suffer >50% casualties, they will take strength losses and may be eliminated. Each unit has one or two "strength points", and these get marked off as they are lost.
Both sides have reserves that can be deployed to either fill these gaps, or augment the forces already on the tracks. Many of the reserves feature better equipment than the Core units (e.g. Germans getting Panthers instead of PzIVs or Soviets getting IS-2s instead of T-34/85s), but they must be used wisely.
In the below example, the second and third German tracks (from the top)have won 2 victories and are poised to advance to the 3rd square, while the other 3 tracks have suffered losses with fewer advances. The Soviets have deployed the 7th Mech Corps and the 1st Guards Mech Corps as reserves on the two tracks of concern. The counters communicate the types of units that may be purchased/faced, and there are simple tables for purchasing QB forces to guide the player.
In the below unit counter example:
The 23rd Rifle Corps has 2 Battalion/Strength Points of Rifle Infantry, and can use Soviet Rifle 43 or 44 Bn as the core formations in a Quick Battle.
The German 711 Infantry Division has one Motorized Rifle unit that can also field attached Jagdpanzers or StuGs, while the second unit is "only" non-motorized infantry.
The 1st Guards Mech Corps has one unit consisting of Shermans and Motorized Infantry, and a second unit consisting of armored/motorized infantry that can also field ISU-152s or SU-100s.
The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" has one unit consisting of Panthers and armored infantry, and a second unit consisting of armored infantry that can also field Jagdpanzers or StuGs.
Commanders can choose which of the units will be used in a Quick Battle, until one is eliminated (red X).
At the same time, a single German commander will also be attempting to hold out in Budapest against Soviet assaults until they can be relieved. There are 6 potential battlegrounds, of which the Soviets need to capture 4 to force a breakout or surrender. In the below example, the Soviets have captured 2 of the Budapest zones, and a new Quick Battle will be fought on Csepel Island between a German straggler force, and a Soviet rifle infantry force augmented by OT-34s.
These maps and counters are still in development - a lot can be improved here.
Each of the 7 rounds is a set of Quick Battles, with maps and OOB dictated by the terrain and the units involved. While the German players will be "locked" into their tracks or Budapest, the Soviet players will rotate through opponents. One player will function as the Commander for the side, and has the final decision on where reserves get deployed, and when reserves get pulled out of the line for potential later use. Private threads will be used to coordinate the actions for each side. Players win and lose AS A TEAM.
For the most part, maps for the tracks to Budapest will be selected from stock CMRT maps. However, the Budapest maps will all be custom, and feature locations like:
Eagle Hill (Sashegy):
The Train Station:
Margaret (Margit) Island
I'm working to wrap up some maps for the other Budapest locations - the industrial zone of Csepel Island, a wooded cemetery (Farkasreti), and the hilly urban terrain of Rose Hill (Rozsadomb). I'm aiming for a good variety of terrain within Budapest.
Rules have been drafted for QB purchasing and execution, simultaneous (blind) map orders, opponent randomization, use of reserves, and victory conditions. These things can easily sink under the weight of complexity, so I'm trying to keep it simple and clear for myself and the players.
Bottom line, this will require a Few (10-12) Good (dedicated) Men to make work, with two volunteers to be the Commanders for each side. ETA is late January or February 2023.
At the moment, just give a like or a response if you have interest. That will let me know whether to bother with the remaining task of map creation and selection.
