USSR 1943 - Kursk, Op. Citadel

RedBaron · USSR 1943 - Kursk, Op. Citadel

A map chosen by my first and most dedicated fan, the man whose nickname I cannot recall entirely, it goes something like this: Westenschlathi... , but I know his real name, so I am excused.
By winning a bet, he could decide what kind of map I should do next, and his choice was the Ukraine landscape, with vast open spaces for the dedicated long range German warmachines like Wespe, Nashorn, Hummel and a few small villages here and there. I hope my choice fits his wishes. I am quite pleased with this map, it should prove interesting to play. This could fit/host even a Kursk scenario.
The name of the map... went with "USSR 41 Kiev", but of course, this may change in the future if I will have the time to propose a scenario.
The map is yet to receive it's hexes and I am still deciding if those should go N-S, or E-W as main direction. Anyway, the layout:

general Hoth

Wow! Great map, once again. Cool

I agree that it could well be Kursk, but the Ukraine is a good choice.

RedBaron

well, this may be a fun map, but my playgroup wont be very happy... I can see their comments: "another pro-German map"... with all the extended range stuff.

But a good argument for the T34 - P4 F battle. Sup Armor, All round defense and speed vs Extended Range... It should be fun indeed.

Also Kursk, here you could play the Elephant, along with Tigers on one side,coming from the North, with the objective to take the small village in the South, while blasting some soviet defenses in there. I can picture all of that in my head, maybe this should be a Kursk scenario Smile

general Hoth

Westentaschenschlachti

Omg i love it!!!!

Always good to bet with you, baron Laughing

Well but serious, this map is exactly what i had in mind. Quite similar to the desert Tobruk map wide open spaces for germans high developed extended range warmachine which meets overhelming forces of russian factorys. Thats too cool, cant w8 to hold this in hands.

And you 2 are right, Kursk fits perfectly. I would call it so since you can use it for '41 battles too but a Kursk scenario would be better for advertising.

Well, i think i have to end my post exactly the same way i started it: I LOVE IT!

Panzer Commander

I love it -- a wide open map with little cover where you can FINALLY engage in some bloodletting tank battles. As for extended range - give me a break. As long as there is SOME cover and a map edge, extended range only gets you so far. At some point, the Krauts must take the objective! At that point, extended range becomes moot.

Looking forward to it.

RedBaron

RedBaron

well... only managed to do the first two quadrants (upper half of the map).

white hexes - clear terrain
green hexes - forest
green line - hedge
cyan line - road axis
orange line - that separates the first 2 quadrants, does not actually show on the map.

If people are interested to buy this, please let me know because next week I intend to print it so... it would help knowing in how many copies. PM me for that, do not write in here pls.

Thanks for looking and PICS will come after I print my copy also. Do not get scared, on the actual map, the hexes do not seem so "powerful" as in the pic, they blend in the landscape, as for all my other maps - see pics from other topics.

general Hoth

Richter von Manthofen

One note - you base the streets on "modern" sattelite photos.

i assume that back in the 40s there were less "streets" - a dirt road might nor qualify for giving "bonusses" on movement Wink

maybe less roads ...

RedBaron

@RvM
yes, I was thinking about the roads... leaving them or not leaving them on the map.

on the one hand, the dirt roads would give interesting tactical choices for both sides, on the other... they may be a little bit too many.

@Gen Hoth
See my Marketplace topic or just click on my Sig. The maps go for trades or are sold.
Right now I would go for cash since a few trades I have already declined.
But for more details PM me when you consider appropriate.

re/

Konsul

Hi all!

Yes, very nice Map ,good for Playing. I have a Question? I want to buy this Map ,only New Skill for the Hex Field! How Much?

Plz in € not in Dollar ,i am come from Germany.

I Hope you can send me a Pm or so and tell me waht you want for this great Map!

Konsul

RedBaron

RedBaron

Hit refresh, look at the first post: updated with the whole map (deleted some of the dirt roads as suggested) and, more important, the Soundtrack Laughing

First copy of the map is printing, hopefully I will be able to post also some "battle pics" today or tomorrow.

regards

RedBaron

A few pics added to give a feel for the map, for the people who ordered it. The units are part of a diorama.

No spectacular pics since the map is big and I used a few units in order not to post "blank parts" as pics for the map.

One thing is clear though! This map is perfect for tank carnage and I ain't saying this because I made the map. It gives a little cover, but mostly open plain, so extended range / enhanced range here will help. Also if you have lots of obstacles, these will help for creating the russian defensive lines.

regards

PS= if you like the "tribute" Me109 ACE, that's for trade/sale or I will throw it as a bonus for ordering a map Laughing

, any map.

general Hoth

Kursk! Here we come. Cool

RedBaron

general Hoth

RedBaron

mon general,

are you an Axis player or an Allied player?

because us Axis, do not go into battle thinking "we will lose"... well we had some issues with the Italins though Laughing

Btw, your map could be ready for delivery on Monday if you still want it. I will PM you with the missing details so we can proceed.

regards,

general Hoth

Let's do it. Very Happy

With this map we could almost try a "mini campaign". Question

I like playing the axis but have much respect for the Allies. Cool

RedBaron

yeah well, in my group I always play Axis, and one of my friends always plays Allies.

Today he saw this map and started to laugh! His first words were: "I aint playing this without a Centurion! I can bet on your side we will see all the Beasts, on the russian side only the tractors. Don't sell that historical year limits crap to me, I am playing the Centurion" Laughing

So there you have it... all to blame on Westenschlathi who wanted such a map. It's his fault!

Don't blame the Baron, he listens to his customers, unlike... we know who Laughing

general Hoth

We could break it down as:

1/Soviet Guards' attack.

then

2/ German SS (or GrossDeutchland) counter attack.

A mini campaign of two games on the same map.

What do you think?

RedBaron

I agree with you. If you look at my Tobruk scenario or DDAY one, you will see distinct parts of the game, lika a campaign.

In the DDAY scenario you have the Allied landings, then the CAEN defense, but those phases interact, in the way that if you lose many units in the 1st phase its more difficult in the second.

In the Tobruk Scenario (Op. Sunflower) you get a series of mini-games, a real full length campaign, from defending Tobruk with the Italins, to Op. Battleaxe or Crusader. All those parts also interact.

So yes, dividing a scenario into... a campaign is useful, but as you said, for veteran players, not rookies.

Westentaschenschlachti

RedBaron

No flowers, no girls, but the map will be sent to your address in Vienna Monday.

general Hoth

I had a look at the pictures. Great!
Who won? Soviets or germans?

Also i wondered, would you mind telling me who's forumini members own the map, it would help me start on my scenario.

RedBaron

general Hoth

Oops, i missed that one. Embarassed

I've got a good feeling about what this map can offerplay-wise!

RedBaron

Yeah well, add to this a few new inquires about this map, and the number of the people may increase...

Hoth, take a look at my other scenarios, I want a dynamic scenario for this, in which the Soviets cannot win Wink

general Hoth

LOL!

I've found the topic for the scenario and have started collecting sources: IIIrd Panzer Korps @ Kursk. Not sure where yet but it will be east of Belgorod. Cool

boersma8

I've also ordered this particular map as well as the Tobruk one!

Bit tired of using the same old WoTC maps over and over again, these even look much better and you don't have to use any overlay tiles all the time (which is not necessarily bad, though).

general Hoth

general Hoth

Assembling the map now. Cool

Pizza in the oven, Wife and kid away. White Burgundy in the fridge. Starting work!

RedBaron

What are you "cooking" over there Hoth?

general Hoth

All i will say so far is that it's a "monster" scenario (as was common in the eighties).
OK, i'll give this away too, it includes a full Tiger I platoon... Cool

RedBaron

now that is a good dish Very Happy

general Hoth

general Hoth

I did a second playtest which allowed me to find the victory conditions Cool

This was hard on me. A lot of mind twisting for me using the book IIIrd Panzer Korps by didier Lodieu, a french master of mechanized warfare.

As i know that the Baron is not too keen on turn record tracking this scenario (IIIrd Panzer Korps) will not have any.

You will still need to count turns for the Soviet reinforcements on turn 6. No planes involved.

Beware: this scenario will be for people who:
1/ own the Kursk map
2/ own a fairly large soviet-german collection
3/ can afford 5-6 hours of playing time.

Game Geeks. Wink

RedBaron

don't worry, there are enough people out there that have the map, and again, I repeat, the map can be simulated by WotC maps so do not worry about that.

soviet-german armies have all the players, and well, if one two pieces are missing, that is not a problem.

5-6 hours? well, that is more or less along with my DDAY scenario. I am curios with what you will come up!

general Hoth

RedBaron

I might have a rally in the week-end but i am sure the section will take care for itself without us anyway Laughing

Of course it wont be that cool but... hey, a man 's gotta do what a man 's gotta do!

say Hello to the brits for me, next time I go in Britain nothing its gonna stop me to land on the beaches!!! Laughing

regards

general Hoth

Here is the line up. We're playing it live Tuesday. Cool

http://i668.photobucket.com/album...Rsolutiondelcran.jpg?t=1258939904

RedBaron

General, I am a photographer also, and I am tempted to comment on that photo, but I wont Laughing

Keep us updated!

general Hoth

I know what you were about to say... Very Happy

I'm hoping that Santa will bring me a new camera. Still using the cheap one.
Tommorrow, 11.30 AM until 6PM.
Clash of Steel! Very Happy

RedBaron

Have fun and... do some still pictures if you can Laughing

Put some trees on the map, I want to see terrain on the Kursk Map. Also put some small houses if you have or such.

I hope you balanced well the scenario, it would be sad to know that the Soviets can win. Very Happy

PS= put that camera on Automatic or choose the Sports program or something. Or try to make photos with your phone.
What kind of photo camera you have? name and series, I will tell you how to set it up.

general Hoth

it's a lumix dmc ls60.
cant even zoom as i want it to, it's terrible! Evil or Very Mad

Yes i'll put a lot of 3D elements. Also as i had two teeth pulled out today i spent the day reading about Tobruk and Kursk. Found some new stuff (planes and assault guns) for 3rd PZ Korps in another source.
i'll try those tomorrow.

RedBaron

that is 3x optical zoom machine with image stabilization. The cause of the blurry images you are posting could be the fact that your image stabilization is turned off.

http://www.infoborder.com/Digital_Cameras/Panasonic/dmc-ls60.php

Try to find the booklet you received with the camera and look for the Image Stabil. pages. You might have turned it off by mistake in the menu display.

Keep the settings to full auto "the red camera" on the rotating piece button (below the flower icon). The camera is too primitive for me to be able to give you specific details, but IT SHOULD PROVIDE GOOD PICS if it is not damaged. It's not that bad for a pocket photo machine.
When making pictures, give it as much natural or artificial light as possible. If you are in a dark room (as the link you provided above) turn on the lights, also keep a steady hand while making the photos - do not move the camera while taking shots.

I would tend to advice you to try also the SCN mode (on the rotating button) and from there choose Sports. It should increase the snapshot speed hence no more blurry pictures.

Give it a lot of light, turn on the lights even if its day and verify if the Image Stabil. is on. Hope this helps you as us to see better your battlefield.

I see you had a nasty day today... losing... body parts... yaaack Smile

Be careful not to go too historical with your scenarios, because the maps do not simulate the exact terrain so... you know, be careful with balance. Sometimes I to tend to get too historical but I restrain that because it would ruin the scenario. You just need to keep a historical flavor imo.
regards,

general Hoth

thanks for the tips. Cool

RedBaron

I wonder if Sacha is winning or losing that battle he was talking about? Maybe he is wounded... in his Ego of course... if he lost the game... but i gave him explicit advice to "balance" the scenario towards the Germans...

German High Command to General Hoth coded message: Halt!

general Hoth

I'm typing it now... Very Happy

We had a Hard battle this afternoon!!

Thanks again for this great map. Have a look here in half an hour. Cool