The Sharp End Gaming

Soldiers of the 28th Maori Bn prepare to go into action at Cassino, Italy. Just before midnight on Feb 17th, 1943 the 28th Maori Bn of the 2nd New Zealand Division crept along an elevated railway embankment into the center of Cassino town to seize the Train Station.  Behind them engineers scrambled to bridge the flooded Rapido river before first light.  If all went according to plan the 28th would seize their objectives and hold on until armor reinforcements arrived later the next day. The plan failed...Can you change history? My Platoons level version of this attack is available for download.  For the first time I've included Favor Axis and Favor Allies reinforcement options in addition to the Standard reinforcement schedule for both sides. To download this scenario please click here:  http://bit.ly/thestation1943 Scenario Note:  This scenario covers the Maori attack and the 24 hour period they tried to hold the Train Station for.  By 6pm th...

The Station - I finally figured out a way to simulate the 28th Maori Bn's famous attack on the Cassino Train Station.  Once I removed the German force from the Allies Round House objective, I was able to place the starting jump off point for the Maori's closer to the objective.  This means that they get inside the objective radius before dawn and the historical German counterattack.  To make fighting in Cassino a little more interesting, I am going to add a German/Allies objective on the eastern edge of Cassino. Release upcoming this weekend!!!

I am almost done with this Command Ops Platoon level (tactical) scenario simulating the 28th Maori Bn's night attack against the Train Station at Monte Cassino.  This has been particularly challenging for me as I have tried to reconcile the historical narrative with the game engine. The really tricky part has been simulating a deployed German force that was asleep at the wheel while the Maoris conducted a stealthy march past flooded fields using an elevated railway embankment.  The embankment is exposed in many locations and somehow the German forces weren't aware of their approach (the combination of the flooded terrain and a heavy overnight bombing campaign probably worked into the Maoris favor by reducing the German awareness). There is also a tactical objective between the jump off point for the Maoris and the Train Station objective called "the Round House."  This was a real objective that the Maori's were charged with eliminating.  The AI attacks this ob...

I was unable to work  on the Station for much of last week. I will tackle it this evening and move it closer to release.  The NZ OOB, the map, the objectives, weather, SEPs are all set.  I just need to fiddle with the German formations.

A very early run through of my first Western Front Platoons level scenario. That's the 28th Maori battalion of New Zealand's 2nd Division assaulting the Train Station in Cassino, Italy on Feb 17th, 1944. Some additional screenshots from a second playthrough last evening: A company for the 28th Maori starts out moving along an elevated railway embankment above the flooded plain. Fighting for the Round House objective.   4th Plt, B Company managed to get into the ruins of Cassino but could not hold the Train Station objective. Final review screen. It was a marginal defeat for the Maoris.  German forces lost over 100 casualties while the Maoris lost 55.

This is the Lonsdale Force. It is a Platoons level scenario that I never released simulating 1st Bde, 1st Airborne's stalled drive along the Lion Route in Arnhem. That is the recon element of SS KG Spindler engaging them. Thanks to some encouragement in the forums I have started converting the maps and scenarios I have made to version .279 (the latest official update).  This is a screenshot of the Lonsdale Force a Platoons level scenario I set aside back in May.  I am focused on the desert scenarios right now but when I return to platoons level scenarios this will be next I think. For more on the Lonsdale Force click here .

The Lonsdale Force. The first Command Ops scenario I tried to create was about The Lonsdale Force at the Battle of Arnhem.  I ended up abandoning it for my Lion Route scenario because the scale was too small and I was worried about a stalemate. Well I've come full circle and I am now finishing up development on The Lonsdale Force with the CO Platoons units I've been using recently and another small 3 sq km map. Screenshot above. The battle will take place over a two day period and focus on the KG Spindler's attempt to cut Frost off from 1st Para Bde in Oosterbeek.  The Allies player will be placed in command of the Lonsdale Force (4 shattered battalions held together by Maj. Dickie Lonsdale) as they tackle plenty of tanks and crack SS troops.

German SS flank a Tiger I tank during Operation Barbarossa. Scenario Background: The German army is retreating across Estonia to the strong point of Narva and it's medieval fortifications. At Komarovka, 10kms east of Narva. 4 Coy II Bn of the 47 SS Gren Regt is conducting a reconnaissance in strength with a platoon of Tiger I tanks.  The battalion commander Major Alfons Rebane is leading the probe when they run into the forward elements of a mixed force of Soviet rifle infantry and armor from the 2nd Shock Army... To download this scenario please click here. Author's Note: This does not play like your typical Command Ops scenario.  The map is small (just 3 sq km). To me it resembles an Advanced Squad Leader scenario.  Doug at Cry Havoc and Tim at Ranger X3X played it yesterday and had the best luck after they started micro-managing each individual unit.  I strongly recommend playing it that way.   

Background:  Sep 10, 1944 06:30 hrs SE of Riga The Soviet advance SE of Riga to cutoff the retreating German 18th Army at the Daugeva River is bogging down due to difficult terrain and heavy rain. Ahead of them, the Germans are digging in. North of the Daugeva the 18th army is pulling out of their bridgehead and retreating back through Riga with two Soviet armies on their heels.  The Luftwaffe is fighting a losing battle in the skies as Soviet fighters and bombers swarm overhead. Tens of thousands of Latvian refugees crowd the roads into Riga with the 18th army as they flee the Soviets. At night the German defenders along the Kekava river defense line can see that the City is on fire and the air if filled with the crescendo of the Soviet bombing campaign over 30km away. German commander: Hold the line.  You are in command of one reinforced battalion. Soviet Commander:  Seizing the series of bridges at Kekava will open up Riga to the 64th Rifle divi...

German infantry dig in along the higher ground on the west bank of the Dnieper river in Ukraine 1943. September 24 1943 04:00 hrs Semi-historical* After weeks of resistance on the eastern bank of the Dnieper river, Hitler has grudgingly allowed the withdrawal of the German Army Group South back across the Dnieper river to the series of fortifications along the western bank called the "Eastern Wall." Under orders from Stalin, the Soviet forces have continued their advance and launch a massive  assault staged on a 300-kilometer front almost simultaneously by four Soviet Fronts. All available means of transport were to be used to bring the attackers to the opposite shore, including small fishing boats and improvised rafts. On September 24th in the town of Dniprodzerhynsk a bridgehead is established and immediately comes under fierce counterattack by German forces. Soviet commander:  Establish the bridgehead and hold against the expected counterattack. German comm...

I've been playing a mix of platoon level combat for CO and Combat Mission Red Thunder.  One of the things I like about Red Thunder is the reconnaissance aspect of the game (something I am learning to do). Nowadays I always cover my advance with scout teams broken off from my squads.  This has kept my casualties down and opened up the battlefield to me. I want to see how this will work in CO at the Platoon level (specific recon units exist at the Coy level and every unit has a recon value).  So I've created German Scout sections in the editor.  My plan is to attach these 6 man teams to each Coy. In a typical scenario that I build this would add 4-6 extra counters to the battlefield and hopefully open up the map with the additional speed (+1KPH at normal and max values) and higher recon value these units have (I've given them 100% recon value instead of standard 80% for recon troops). I will also adjust their values in the scenario maker giving them greater tenacity,...