Panzer Battles 2 - The Official Teaser Thread

[Strela]

Well it's Friday here (at least this side of the dateline!!!) and we all know that there has to be some form of update to keep you all 'happy', 

As promised we said we would move beyond 'pretty graphics' this week and get into more of the 'meat' of the game.




So today we are sharing a snapshot of the 'Getting Started' scenario. This will probably give you a flavour of the kinds of scenarios in game and the sort of details we're including.





But before we dive into that I thought I'd share the Cover Art for the game. This is final (until I change my mind again!);




If you can't tell - it's not very specific on the focus of the game!!!






So getting back to the Getting Started scenario. Here is the description from the scenario/manual;


#00 Getting Started: Pegasus Bridge - The Initial Landings                                       Turns : 10

Pegasus Bridge, North of Caen: June 6th, 1944. (Scenario Size: Brigade. Allied Human vs Axis AI)  In the early morning hours of the 6th of June, the paratroopers and glider men of the 6th British Airborne Division were landed on the far left end of the Normandy Beachhead. Their mission was to protect the flank of the British 3rd Infantry Division scheduled to land just west of the Orne Estuary. The action began with the glider coup-de-grace by Major John Howards D Company of the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Their task was to secure the bridges across the Orne River and Canal and hold until relieved. Over the next 2 hours all of Brigadier Nigel Poett's 5th Parachute Brigade would land to build this easternmost bridgehead before the local German forces counterattacked. This scenario is a truncated version of #0606_02: East of the Orne - 6th Airborne's Landings. See the 'Getting Started' guide for a play through tutorial.



With that clear, here is the command report for the first turn and the map section for the scenario (all screens can be made full size by opening in a new tab). You'll note the Canal and Orne River bridges that the paratroopers had to capture to prevent the Germans from attacking into the flank of the Allied landings;






Here is a section of the reinforcement dialogue for the arriving British. Note that there is both parachute and glider borne troops;






The actual units arriving on the first turn are the bridge 'coup de main' glider force led by Howard. There are also the initial parachute pathfinders who were to drop where each of the Brigade's 3 battalions were expected and to provide navigational guides for the following Dakota troop carriers;

 




After the initial landings/drop here are the dispositions of both sides. The glider troops at the bridge are ready to assault across and clear the German security troops. A pathfinder has landed a little too close for comfort at le Mesnil (new tab for a full size version);






A little bit of chrome - we have managed to include the various platoon leaders names for the bridge landing party;






Here is a view of the second turn reinforcements. The yellow outline indicates disrupted status. Glider troops will normally arrive undisrupted, paratroops less so. There is randomness on when and where units will arrive and the British player will need to both await for disruption recovery and to start to move the scattered platoons back into companies and battalions. Dropping amongst the German garrison doesn't help. Howards glider men have captured the Benouville bridge and are (hopefully) ready for anything that approaches from that side of the bridge. Brigadier Poett's HQ is shown in the unit box on the left;





Here is the start turn report for turn 3. You can see that the British recover quickly - now just to get them consolidated into a reasonable fighting force!





Here is the situation at turn 3 (it's only 2am!). Ominously, there are 21st Panzer forces at Ranville. These are significantly tougher than the local garrison that consists of Ost troops and under trained soldiers. Glider borne AT guns are also arriving and will be needed with the 21st Panzer Division nearby;






Looking from the German perspective in turn 4, there is already a mix of Panzergrenadiers and armoured vehicles converging on the British landing zones. This may not be as easy as first thought....







That's it for this week. I'll share more of what we actually cover in scenarios for D-Day in my next update....



David