Panzer Battles 2 - The Official Teaser Thread

[Strela]

Well it’s Friday and I feel like the rabid pack will track me down like paparazzi if I don't deliver soon. Targeting this update for when Europe wakes up should help a little as well...!
 
It's been a busy week on the game. Quite a few testing results came in and we have tweaked some scenarios accordingly. The longest scenario in the game had 26 turns removed from its overall total, so it’s that little bit shorter and hopefully more playable. I've been involved in this particular play test and it’s amazing the range of tactical situations that arise in some of the bigger battles. All in all it feels like you're really battling in the bocage.
 
There have been a few more adjustments to the map and a couple of significant tweaks to the order of battle. 
 
I am also working on another medium to large scenario that has some very unique features. Historically the Allies 'paused' for six hours with some of their key formations awaiting some follow on attacks. We will build this into the scenario and probably have a variant where the pause doesn't occur.
 
The other area that has had some additional work has been some nationality dependent vehicle graphics.
 

Here is what I mean - an example of different M7 self propelled artillery vehicles and markings. The nationalities shown here are US, British, Canadian & French;






There were also questions about how far into the campaign we model. Lets just say the French did not arrive in Normandy until late July and they are available to be used in scenarios. These are examples of the masters we use for creating the side graphics;






Lets get into the meat of this weeks update. Here are the scenarios that are covered in the first two weeks after D-Day. There are 9 scenarios in total between June 7th and June 22nd;






Juno D+1 covers the resumption of the Commonwealth drive to capture both Caen and the Carpiquet Airfield. This is a reasonably sized scenario and includes the first engagement of the Hitlerjugend Division which had marched for the last 24 hours from its reserve position (again you can view these images full size by right clicking or using a touch device);






Authie was authored by Kevin Hankins and covers the vicious counterattack the SS executed against the strung out Canadians. This engagement was so bloody that the Canadians and HJ had a pathological hate for each that transcended the campaign;






Le Mesnil is a small 8 turn scenario that covered the ambush of advancing Canadian forces;

 



Villers Bocage is the famous Michael Wittmann engagement where his Tiger company managed to stop 7th Armoured Division as it tried to flank Caen. This composite image shows some of the starting forces and Wittmann about to surprise the British who had 'stopped for a spot of tea';

 



Caumont covers Villers Bocage and the bigger events around Operation Perch. The bulk of 7th Armoured Division is available as is elements of Panzer Lehr, 2nd Panzer Division and the 101st SS Tiger Battalion.

 



Carentan on June 13th is a Rick Bancroft scenario and covers the fighting around Hill 30. The US Paratroopers were planning to continue their advance with support from 2nd Armored Division when the newly arrived 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division with 6th FJ Regiment launched their own attack in an attempt to capture Carentan;

 



Carentan Revisited is a hypothetical scenario based on the premise that the prior days German attack had been successful and Carentan had fallen. The Americans have to try and recapture this key town;






Cherbourg Landfront is the first monster scenario after 'The Longest Day'. Currently it runs for 88 turns or two+ days. This scenario is still in testing and may have the total number of turns reduced based upon the results we see. There is a dedicated parameter file so that night turn length and other items can be tweaked to cover this unique battle. This shot will give you an idea of the overall area of the battle at maximum zoom out;






Here is another shot from Cherbourg Landfront showing the US forces preparing to attack the German defenses. The 'Landfront' was extensive, but the delay in the Germans retreating into the fortifications coupled with their poor quality gave the US infantry a chance to breakthrough  through the fortified areas;






Cherbourg Right Flank is just that, a subset of Cherbourg Landfront - the attack of 4th Infantry Division to try and clear Theville airfield and then attack the city from the east;






The defenses around the airfield were built around the resident AA positions with scratch Luftwaffe 'Alarmheiten' or emergency militia to provide some backbone. There was significant flak at Cherbourg but there was a dearth of transport to move it around. This is represented in the scenario by making the bulk of the AA units static and the German defenses tended to gravitate to these positions;

 



That's it for this week. Hopefully this will start to give you a feel for the variety of scenarios that are included with the game.

Have a great weekend all!

David