ATTN Campaign players info

[Von Earlmann]

Generals
I am writing this to try and address the complaints and suggestions I am receiving.I am on a muscle relaxant which makes my thot process a bit slow so,I will try and take my time and explain things as best as possible.
First of all let me make things as clear as possible about the next two things.One,I am the gamemaster and must remain neutral concerning any help or information I give to each side. Two, I will fulfill your REQUESTS AND ORDERS EXACTLY AS YOU GIVE THEM ,NO MORE NO LESS.
CIC
I have heard the complaint that the CIC does not have much to do.The CIC is exactly that;the supreme commander of all forces.All the troops are his.He only attaches and or assigns them to subordinate commanders.He can add or subtract them at anytime between scenario breaks.He can even take units from within a corps or division and assign them somewhere else.He does not need your permission nor blessing.If you feel the need for more units you must get them from the CIC.I WILL NOT MAKE NOR ALLOW ANY TRANSFERS EITHER WAY WITHOUT WRITTEN ORDERS FROM THE CIC.I have been a bit remiss in this in the past but, it will be enforced from now on.I will add that transferred forces should be put into some sort of command with an hq.
The CIC is responsible for assigning supply(including smoke) when it becomes available.I will usually give the CIC a few days to do this but there has never been a deadline.FROM NOW ON THERE WILL BE A 24 HOUR MAXIMUM TO MAKE THESE ALLOTMENTS OTHERWISE THE NEXT SCENARIO WILL BE WRITTEN WITHOUT THEM AND THE COMMANDERS WILL JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT AS BEST THEY CAN.If you need smoke and or supply take it up with the CIC.The CIC is dealing with three seperate AOs and the only info he gets will be what you send him,I will send him nothing as far as intel etc.It is also his responsibility to monitor the turn rates for each sector.When the next scenario is due for a sector it will be written wether or not the other two are on the same turn.FOW rears it's ugly head.I am only writing this part as all the sides in all the campaigns seem to be missing the point.The CIC is allowed to transfer troops between sectors.To do this your forces must control at least one side of the sector,thats the simple part.The other limitation is they must be transferred at the company level(game engine dictates this).They will go with no problem.Unfortunately the part the commanders are missing is if they go without being attached to an HQ they will be out of supply forever.They must have at least one PARENT HQ to trace supply to or they are doomed to ineffectiveness.CIC or area commander(s) can see to this procedure but, again unless I am specifically requested to make such an attachment it will not be done.Remember the OOB can be changed by me as needed.These are just a few of the things for CICs to perform along with working with all the commanders and thier egos......welcome to the real war.

SUPPLY
Supply will function normally within the written scenarios as they are played.Each side will be given supply points to start the campaign.After that supply will only arrive at the end of each day.The supply received at this time will be all there is for that day.Supply may divided up among each of the three sectors as the CIC deems.Supply may also be held in reserve.Supply and smoke may also be transferred from one sector to another between scenario breaks.The most important thing about supply is(the same as smoke) IF YOU USE IT YOU WILL LOSE IT.Fighting 24/7 is a noble concept and yes it is allowed but any type of fighting uses supply.I will entertain no more complaints from commanders who ignore thier supply levels until they are gone.Put another way "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part".Generals,keep track of your supply levels from scenario to scenario.Might also be wise to plan your operations based in them.

REPLAYS
Reason for no replays is twofold.First your are Army,Corps,and Division comanders.These are about 20 minute turns after 20 minutes your info would be nil(unless your HQ was hit or you were dead) so whatever I tell you is more than you would have in real life.Secondly trust me watching a bazillion mortar sections etc along with all the other arty is right up ther with watching paint dry.If you want to see where it is falling look for the craters.

THINGS THAT HAVE SURPRISED ME
These will be in no particular order.
I suspect no one is checking the enemy casualty list very closely.Seems like you might get some kind of idea which units you are fighting by comparing enemy losses to the OOB.

SPOTTERS:Not one player has asked me about having forward observers............I think thay were fairly common for both sides during the war but, I've been wrong before.

Kampgruppen and Task forces:not one player has asked me about forming any kind of these...everyone seems content to try and have all the units suppply from thier own HQ(or in some cases no hq)...........of course historically the Axis and Allies may have been wrong in doing this......it is possible :-)

And now the biggies:Not one player has asked(Larry Reese the exception) about small night patrols as was done historically.Larry was also the only one to give specific orders that any captured enemy tanks should be rendered unuasable.Finally, not one player has asked me about infiltrating minefields at night.I do beleive both sides had sappers that did that.Seems to me a better way of doing it rather than getting shot to pieces trying to move in normally but, to each his own.


I will say again Generals "You are only limited by your own imaginations" If you don't ask me I can't really volunteer any info.I may not be a good gamer;I may also not be a good game master but, by damn I'm as fair to both sides as humanly possible

Now you can take this message anyway you want but a word to the wise is usually sufficient.Just killing the enemy is not going to be sufficient in most campaigns.........you might not lose........but you more than likely won't win either...which means I get to smoke the cigars and drink the whiskey :-)

Please do not be offended by this post........I really am trying to make this more realistic and enjoyable.

So far I am enjoying the Autumn Mist campaign very much.It has been on my mind for the last 3 years and until now I could not figure out how to run such a large campaign.My heartfelt gratitude to those of you that have tried my various attempts that have lead to this format.Sometimes trial and error hurts but, it works.........trust me it works..............thanks again everyone.

I will be running the Autumn Mist campaign again soon and encourage any of you true gamers to consider giving it "a go" as it were.

Ed, thanks for the space and the soapbox.

Earl