The Sharp End Gaming

The  best Command Ops 2 scenario I ever played  was called “ Burning Metal .” It was designed by  Tim at Ranger X3X  and pitted the 1st SS Panzer Division against the US 2nd Armored Division. It was a straight-up fight in the Dutch countryside. Going into it I knew casualties were going to be high and the challenge was clear. It was also a fictional scenario that didn’t get weighed down by the historical straitjacket that wargame designers wear. “Unrein’s Fight” is my homage to “Burning Metal.” It pits the 14th Panzer Division v. 2 Soviet Corps (a tank and rifle corps). The Soviet player is on the attack and the German player is on defense. The historical context for Unrein’s Fight is this: Fictional scenario Jan 25, 1944: 2 days, 10 hours, 43 minutes, 197 units Background: On January 6, 1944 the Korsun salient was already an ongoing concern for German commanders.  Soviet offensives around Kiev and Kirovograd threatened to cutoff two German corps and...

Confession time, I have really struggled to finish the 3 Korsun scenarios I have been working on. You know that already because I have been blogging about them for over two years and only released “ Lang’s Challenge .” The truth is, I’ve been way more interested recently in the complexity and combined arms operations of the Pacific theater and the invasion of Italy. But with everything slowing down, I have been replaying this scenario and making a few tweaks to prepare it for release. “ Konev Attacks ,” the second scenario for my Korsun project, is finally available for download. It is larger than “ Lang’s Challenge ” at 625 units and over 450 square kilometers. I almost scrapped releasing it though, because the third scenario “ Konev’s Breakthrough ” includes this part of the battle and is much larger in scale. In my opinion, this scenario is the most interesting as the Axis player. The Allied side is a steamroller that uses brute force and to punch a massive hole through a very...

Lately, I have been very interested in the fighting around Aachen and the Westwall campaign. Fortunately, Command Ops 2 has an entire module titled appropriately enough “Westwall” covering this period of the war along the German frontier. As the US VII corps advanced towards Germany in September of 1944, the Stolberg corridor was the likeliest approach from the southeast of Aachen towards the Westwall through a gap in the line of mountains and heavily forested terrain there. German intelligence knew this but had little in the way of reserves to reinforce the line ahead of the American advance. A small kampfgruppe from the 9th Panzer Division was formed along with the remnants of a Panzer brigade. The 12th Volksgrenadier division would be the follow-on force and their staggered arrival is represented accurately in the scenario reinforcement schedule. Given the defensive challenges facing the Germans, I have decided to play that side. This AAR contains the orders I issued as the G...

Cold weather and massive Russian attacks that encircle units are things to worry about in “The Korsun Project” data pack. How weather impacts rest You might not know this, but the weather in Command Ops is a gameplay factor beyond visibility, air availability, and movement; cold weather can impact a unit’s ability to recover from fatigue.   So, on the Eastern Front, where cold weather is likely, and prolonged periods of fighting are the name of the game, resting your fatigued units over longer scenarios is critical.   What’s more, resting them in the rear, urban areas is a must.   From the manual: “Whenever units are stationary and either resting, defending or waiting, their fatigue will reduce. Resting troops recover fastest. In cold weather, your troops will recover faster in urban terrain.” Admittedly, in shorter scenarios, fatigue is less of an issue.  But in longer scenarios, where time is measured in days; accumulating fatigue impacts alm...

Revisiting the Battles for Normandy using Bie’s excellent ‘XXX Corps’ Right Pincer” I learned something interesting about Command Ops 2 recently, that I never really appreciated despite logging 400+ hours on the STEAM version of my game (admittedly a lot of that time is devoted to designing scenarios).  Playing scenarios over many in-game days at regular speed builds a nervous tension that can be palpable and hard to replicate in any other digital wargame that I have played (CMANO, Flashpoint do a good job of this too). For one thing, slower play causes you to absorb the game rather than react to it. You can see units’ fatigue rise as the fighting progresses, you watch units suffer casualties, fall low on supply or not move fast enough for your liking.  That slower cycle also gives you time to evaluate what is happening and plan accordingly, which is really the strength of this game in my opinion.  Command Ops 2 also has an effective night and day dynamic, with ...

Leading 3rd Panzer Division on the first day This is the first scenario of The Korsun Pocket Project.  I was brought into this project years ago by Miquel Ramirez, BG in the old Matrix Forums, to help assist with the development of scenarios for CO2.  BG was one of the lead developers of the game at that time but has since parted ways with Panther Games. The original project never got off the ground and BG’s Korsun work was essentially forgotten.  With Miquel’s permission, I have kept things alive and very slowly built upon his original map, his original establishment file and created three scenarios for CO2 fans to play. This first scenario is titled “Lang’s Challenge.”  It portrays (I hope!) the tactical challenges Oberst Lang, 3rd Panzer Division commander on Jan 25, 1944, must have faced as he grappled with the Russian onslaught and an incredibly challenging battlefield that morning. To play this scenario you will need to download a new map, a new...

XI Corps sector map (north):  Total map size is 40km x 68km XI Corps sector map (south) To download this map and the smaller divisional maps from this sector.  Visit my Steam Workshop here .

This is the 389 ID section of the map.  The Russian attack achieved a breakthrough here. This is the northeast corner of the map, SS Wiking and the 57ID held this ground against the Russian attack. This is the southeast corner of the map.  3rd Panzer, the 106 ID and 320 ID held the highway line here against attack and tried to keep a connection with the 389ID to the north. A zoomed out view of the southern half of the battlefield.  This map is 68km by 68km. I still have a ton of stuff to update on this map, but I am progressing.

3rd GE Pz Div stretches to cover the line. A view of the 389 GE Inf Div positions.  It is easy to see how the Russians punched a hole through the line there. I am continuing to work on the Korsun scenarios for Command Ops 2. Below, I am playing as the Germans. The visibility for the beginning of the scenario is 500 meters which means much of the Russian force is obscured by lightly falling snow. The red units are based on the starting intel display. The weather swings wildly from snow to rain during the scenario and causes the frozen ground to turn to mud by the end of the third day. You are looking at the historical positions of 389 GE Inf Div. It is easy to see how the Soviets punched a hole in the line there.

"The Smela sector" January 25  Semi-historical scenario (It is semi-historical because it puts more emphasis on this sector of the Soviet offensive, than was historically given.  Troop placements are historical). 2 Days 8 hours and 1 minute 1400 Hrs Jan 22 1944 XI Corps General Bulletin: Aerial reconaissance has revealed forward elements of the Soviet 52nd Army are moving into offensive positions in the forests north and northwest of Smela. Soviet probes are expected from Bereznik to Smela to Raygorod over the next 48 hours.  Major rver crossings must be secured in anticipation of a likely Soviet advance.  Foward elements of the 57th Inf Div are ordered to occupy the city center of Smela and hold the main train station. Soviet offensive elements are also moving into position opposite 389th Inf Div front to the south.  Road traffic observed by aerial reconaissance indicates a massive attack within this sector is imminent.  Soviet sappers have...

"Smela Sector" is a what-if scenario detailing the Soviet attack on the left shoulder of the German XI Korps. This is for Command Ops 2. It is an Eastern Front scenario with a new Eastern Front establishment file researched and created by Bletchley Geek from the CO forums. The "Smela Sector" scenario details the fighting north of the historical Soviet offensive against the GE 389th Inf Div which led to the encirclement of the German 8th army.   A zoomed out shot of the northern half of the battlefield.   2 Soviet Corps comprised of 3 Rifle divisions, 1 Guards Rifle division and 1 Guards Airborne division will attack the Germans. Planning windows are open as the Soviets kick off their holding attack. My sincere hope is to make this available by Christmas.  Please stay tuned.

Below are some highlights of the first day of battle.  I am very pleased with my progress overall.  I've managed to advance in some places 15km ahead of my starting positions despite difficult wooded and hilly terrain. In anticipation of day 2, I have reserves stationed behind my front line units ready to exploit breakthroughs and a German parachute division arriving in the morning. American resistance in the south has been far greater than I anticipated.  Here I am reorganizing my units behind the anti-tank fortifications. I've assumed greater control of the units as my progress slowed.  Here, I have been held back by a roadblock at Bucholz station and the terrain in the battlefield's center.  I've ordered 3 90 minute bombardments against these targets over the first 12 hours of the battle and now I am hitting them with 2 reinforced regiments. Around midday I sent a company of Panther tanks that had broken around the American roadblocks at the ...

I am going to kick-off a multi-part series of blogs over the next few weeks about three of my favorite games:  Command Ops , Panzer Battles and Peninsular War . The next few blogs I post will be about Command Ops and specifically the game I bought awhile ago via Steam, but never played " Knock on All Doors ."   Below is Part I of my AAR. A listing of the various KOAD scenarios.  This is the full list of scenarios included within this game.  The OOB's are large and the duration of the battles is shorter than your average CO1 game.  Count me all in! The "Knock on all doors" module for Command Ops 2 simulates in it's own words: There are four sets of three scenarios. The first is the historical O-Tag or Day 1 set that commence on 16 December. The second or “Decision” set allows the player the opportunity to explore the famous “what ifs” faced by the German commanders on the second day of the battle 17 December. The third or “Knock” set work...

Fourteen reinforced Soviet rifle battalions have begun probing German positions 24 hours before the main battle will begin.  German forces are lightly spread across a 19 km front.  A Kampfgruppe from SS Wiking and a regiment from the 57th Infantry division are sent to stop the bleeding.  The estab file for this scenario was created by Bletchley Geek and the map was too (though I am adding in features to the map and adding additional units to the estab file for the OOB).  I am not sure who created this Soviet Union map graphics pack but it is tremendous for a winter battle like Korsun.  It just looks cold! This is still a long way off, but it is something I will make available when it is done.  In between now and then, I just have a Panzer Battles scenario I need to finish. Zoomed out view of the battlefield. Only battalion level units or higher are showing.