Tunisia: Dawn of Battle, Scenario Rules v22 -- final version

Sections

• Dates and Times
• Introduction
• Further Introduction
• Objectives
• Summary of Player-Enforced Rules
• Map
• Victory Conditions
  • Frames 1 and 3
  • Frames 2 and 4
• Division of Forces
• Allied Forces
• Axis Forces
• Other Rules
  • Lives
  • Armament and bombing
  • Allowed planes and vehicles
  • Ground war
  • Supply
• Settings
• Timing Table
• Reasons for Various Aspects of Rules
• Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena
• Links to Historical Information
• Credits
• Change Log

Dates and Times

Players should register for this Aces High scenario to play in it so that they can get mission orders, although walkons are allowed to show up in the Special Events II Arena on game day to see if there are any open positions to fill. This will be a four-frame event (four battles) with one test frame (or "beta" frame). The test frame is on March 28, 2009. The four regular frames are on April 11, 18, 25, and May 2, 2009. Show-Up Time is 3 PM Eastern Daylight Time US. (For how that translates to your time, here is a time converter.)

Takeoff Time is subject to CM judgement, but is approximately Show-Up Time + 30 minutes. The end of the frame occurs precisely at Takeoff Time + 2.5 hours. Thus, each frame is approximately 3 hours long from Show-Up Time until end.

Important: Please note that the Special Events II Arena will be closed to admittance immediately after Show-Up Time. Please show up on or before Show-Up Time if you want to get in. If you get disconnected and need back in, send a private message to the CM (Brooke) by entering ".p brooke let me in" into a radio text buffer from any other arena. Also, this event will enforce a waiting period after you die before you can launch again. The message "your max deaths have been exceeded" will appear when you try to launch if your waiting period isn't over yet.

Special note on possible delay during running of this scenario: HTC is updating the Aces High terrain engine. We are not sure exactly when this will be implemented or if the implementation will require any edits to the Tunisia terrain file. If the terrain engine update happens during the scenario and if the update requires editing the Tunisia terrain, it is possible that there might be a delay between two of the frames of this scenario. Such a delay might not be likely, and everyone will do their best to make it all happen smoothly, but we mention it just in case.

Introduction

North Africa, February, 1943. After suffering numerous crushing defeats at the hands of Rommel and the Panzerarmee, the allies had finally won an important victory at El Alamein. However, now, Rommel has consolidated the Panzerarmee in Tunisia, in excellent position for resupply by air from Sicily and by sea via ports such as Tunis and Bizerte. Also, Hitler has ordered additional battle-hardened Luftwaffe units into the area, to strike a fatal blow to the allied air forces and to decimate allied forces on the ground.

The axis has at its disposal units from the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica along with the combined forces of the Deutsch-Italienische Panzerarmee, led by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel -- the Desert Fox. Their equipment includes the Bf 109G-2, FW 190A-5, Bf 109F-4, Bf 110C-4b, Ju 87D-3, Ju 88A-4, C.202, Tiger I, Panzer IV H, SdKfz 251, AA vehicle (as M16), and SdKfz 232 (as M8), and for supply purposes, cargo ships (CV's and DD's).

In opposition, the allies have the Western Desert Air Force; the US 12th Air Force; the British 1st and 8th Armies, led by General Bernard Montgomery; and US II Corps, led by Major General Lloyd Fredendall and then by Lieutenant General George S. Patton. Their equipment includes the P-38G, P-39D, P-40E, Hurricane IID, Spitfire V and IX, A-20A (as Boston III), B-17G, B-25C, B-26B, Boston III, Sherman M4 (as Panzer IV), Sherman VC Firefly, M3, M8, and M16, and for supply purposes, cargo ships (CV's and DD's).

Armies and air forces will clash in desert warfare. There will be air combat, bombing, struggles for base capture, antishipping, ground attack, and tank battles. The fate of North Africa hangs in the balance.

Further Introduction

The conclusion of the Second Battle of El Alamein on November 4, 1942 turned the tide of the Desert War on the frontiers of Egypt. The Afrika Korps started a long withdrawl toward Libya with hopes of shortening their supply line and locating a place to make a stand against a resurgent British Eighth Army.

On November 8, 1942, strategic surprise was achieved when the Allies landed troops in Morocco and Algiers. There was sporadic fighting against the Vichy French troops who were occupying French North Africa. As the Allies consolidated and started a slow move east toward Tunisia in hopes of cutting off the Afrika Korps from Tripoli, the Axis started landing aircraft and troops in French occupied Tunisia. It was a tie as both sides reached Tunisia at the same time. A succession of sharp battles were fought in the hills of western Tunisia and stalemate ensued. Meanwhile Rommel, with a powerful force in his rear, fell back toward the safety of the Mareth Line in southern Tunisia. Now the reinforcements denied Rommel for years flowed into Tunisia.

By February 1943, along with the ground units, new Luftwaffe units flooded the airfields of Africa. Soon the unbloodied American Army faced the veterans of numerous battles since 1939 across wind swept hills and amongst mountain passes. The Eighth Army after a plodding pursuit of Rommel across half of North Africa had finally cornered him in southern Tunisia. As the Allies paused to regroup and bring in more combat power, Rommel looked at the situation, and recognizing his interior lines made use of the terrain to attempt a defeat in detail of his two foes, the green Americans and the bloodied veteran Desert Rats.

Objectives

The scenario will start with a large land battle at Kasserine Pass, with air forces (fighters, ground attack, and bombers) available for attack and defense, for strategic bombing, for interdiction of enemy supply, and so on.

Each side has similar objectives:

• Capture bases.
• Get supplies.
• Bomb the enemy's infrastructure.
• Destroy the enemy's aircraft and vehicles.

Many of these objectives involve tradeoffs. How each side balances these objectives and its available resources is up to the judgement of the command staff.

Summary of Player-Enforced Rules

The following is a summary of some rules that regular pilots must enforce upon themselves during play (as opposed to those rules that are enforced by settings or enforced by how CM's or CO's set things up prior to frame start). This is intended as a handy summary list. You still should know the rest of the rules as well. For details of what a term means exactly (such as what is a "life" and so on), see above.

• Pilots get two lives in aircraft.
• Drivers get three lives in vehicles, but deaths to air attack do not subtract.
• The arena will enforce a 5-minute wait after death before anyone can relaunch (will show "your max deaths have been exceeded" dialog box until after 5 minutes).
• Do not load rockets.
• Do not load torpedoes.
  
• Do not load 1000 lbs bombs on the P-38G.
• Do not load the 1800 kg bomb on the Ju 87.
• No divebombing with anything but fighters, A-20A's, and Ju 87's.
• Do not load or use vehicle supplies.
• Players may not use 5" guns.
• Deaths as gunners do not use up lives.

Map

Victory Conditions

For each frame, we calculate the following numbers to represent amount of achievement for each of the four objectives. These are such that, roughly speaking, perfect achievement in a frame is 100 for each category.

• Base Capture = 100 points per Added Base = 100 * ((number of bases owned at end of the frame) - (number of bases owned at the start of the frame)).
• Bombing = 0.5 points per object destroyed.
• Destroy Enemy = 0.5 point per Enemy Loss = 0.5 * (enemy's deaths + bailed + captured + crashed + ditched + disco'd).
• Supplies (for axis) = (3.125 points per DD that makes it) + (12.5 points per CV).
• Supplies (for allies) = (4.17 points per DD that makes it) + (16.67 points per CV).

Then, the score for each frame is calculated as:

• Frame 1 Score = (Base Capture) + (Destroy Enemy) + Supplies.
• Frame 2 Score = (Base Capture) + (Destroy Enemy) + Bombing.
• Frame 3 Score = (Base Capture) + (Destroy Enemy) + Supplies.
• Frame 4 Score = (Base Capture) + (Destroy Enemy) + Bombing.

Final Score = sum of scores for each frame. The winner is the side with the highest Final Score.

For aircraft, if you are still in the air at end frame, you will count as a loss to your side. If you don't want to count as a loss, land prior to end frame. At end frame, there will be a strong downwind applied to force down any aircraft still in the air.

Frames 1 and 3: Stopping Supply

Frames 1 and 3 are supply frames, where supply ships are used. The point of these frames is to capture bases and to stop the enemy's supply. There are no points awarded for objects destroyed in these frames (although you might still want to bomb hangars and bunkers to impede the enemy's progress).

For a ship to "make it", it must be within the radar circle of its allowed base at End Log. The axis allowed bases are: Tunis (a1) or Bizerte (p4) for two of the fleets, and Sousse (a64) for the other two fleets. The allied allowed base is Tripoli (a2).

Frames 2 and 4: Bombing Infrastructure

Frames 2 and 4 are infrastructure frames, where ships and supply aircraft are not launched. The point of these frames is to capture bases and to destroy the enemy's infrastructure. In any frame, valid ground targets are enemy vehicles, any hangar anywhere (vehicle, fighter, or bomber), any bunker (ammo, fuel, or barracks), and any ack gun.

In frames 2 and 4, the only other valid targets are as follows. No other ground installations are valid targets (other than any hangar or bunker or ack).

Division of Forces

The scenario is planned based on a total of 254 players, with the allies getting 1.16 times the number of axis players. In terms of design, the positions for each side are set for 25% GV drivers, 20% bombers pilots, and 55% fighter pilots plus a CO and an XO.

Allied Forces

The allies get a total of 137 players (74 fighter pilots, 27 bomber pilots, 34 drivers, a CO, and an XO).

land5. In the above, "land5" as part of the base designation means that those aircraft can optionally land at a5 instead of their home bases. Also, under special circumstances, "land5" aircraft can take off from a5. The special circumstances are that any aircraft taking off from a5 must be solely on an antishipping mission for that sortie (i.e., may not attack any buildings or land vehicles on that sortie). Thus, the special use of a5 for takeoff is only for bombers or fighterbombers headed out to scout for or to bomb ships and for any fighters that are used for escort, sweeps, or CAP's associated with the antishipping mission.

ma22. In the above, "ma22" as part of the base designation means that those aircraft can optionally land at any Mereth-Line Bases (see "Ground War" section) or at a22. However, they cannot take off from these bases.

land6v53. In the above, "land6v53" as part of the base designation means that those aircraft can optionally land at a6 and v53. However, they cannot take off from these bases.

Axis Forces

The axis gets a total of 118 players (64 fighter pilots, 23 bomber pilots, 29 drivers, a CO, and an XO).

mv. In the above, "mv" as part of the base designation means that those aircraft can optionally land at any Mereth-Line Bases (see "Ground War" section). However, they cannot take off from these bases.

Other Rules

Lives

After each death, the arena is set to enforce a 5-minute waiting period before you can relaunch again. After you die, you will see a dialog saying "your max deaths have been exceeded" each time you try to launch until 5 mintues has elapsed -- then it will let you launch again. So, after you die, feel free to try launching until the system let's you launch again. (Disconnects in the system are treated as deaths, so you will need to wait 5 minutes to relauch after a disconnect as well -- there is no way around this in the system.)

A pilot gets two lives in his aircraft. A pilot uses up a life (1) if he exits his plane anywhere but at an allowed base for his group (unless his landing base was captured, in which case any base is OK) or (2) if he gets anything other than a "landed safely" massage upon ending his sortie. Thus, if you end your sortie (exit your aircraft) at a base that isn't allowed for your group (other than if your landing base was captured), you use up a life; if you end your sortie by a ditch, capture, bail, crash, death, etc. (anything but "landed safely"), you use up a life. You can use the refuel/rearm pad at any friendly base.

II/JG 27 and I/SchG 2 pilots get 1 life in Bf 109G-2's and one life in C.202's. They can fly either aircraft at any time as long as they have a life available in it (i.e, they are not required to fly the 1st life in a particular one).

III/LG 1 pilots can fly Ju 88 formations or Ju 87's. They can have two lives in Ju 88's, two lives in Ju 87's, or one and one. They can fly either aircraft as long as they have life left.

A driver gets three lives in his vehicle. A driver uses up a life if he does not get a "landed safely" message upon ending his sortie. Thus, if you end your sortie by a ditch, capture, bail, crash, death, etc. (anything but "landed safely"), you use up a life. The exception to this is that deaths from air attack (bombs or Hurricane IID attacks) do not subtract from your available lives as a driver. A death from an air attack will still cause the 5-minute spawn delay, and then you'll have to make your way back to the battle -- so there is still a distadvantage to dying from air attack. If you are concerned about being able to tell if you get killed by a bomb vs. being hit by a tank round, remember that, for a bomb hit, there will be the whistle of the dropping bomb followed by the hit and death; whereas getting killed by a tank-round sounds like this: click here for a short gun-camera film.

Deaths as gunners do not count as using up a player's life.

Deaths in M8's, SdKfz, M16's, etc. *do* count as using up a driver's life.

Armament and Bombing

No aircraft may take rockets or torpedoes.

P-38G's may not carry 1000 lb bombs.

Ju 87's may not carry 1800 kg bombs.

Otherwise (other than above two exceptions), all aircraft can carry any armament available to them (bombs, droptanks, various armament) in the hangar.

Level bombers (bombers with formations enabled) may be used for level bombing only -- they may not divebomb or glide bomb. Divebombing or glide bombing is allowed only for fighterbombers, divebombers, or attack planes that are allowed to fly with formations disabled.

Players may not use 5" guns. (This is because the 5" guns have proximity fuses, which are a huge advantage not present in this battle.)

Allowed Planes and Vehicles

Please do not take off in an aircraft or vehicle not allowed to your side -- even if they are mistakenly available to your side.

Ground War

The ground war will begin around Kasserine pass (V104 area) and then possibly move to other areas. Many areas are listed below -- much more than can likely be achieved, but they are laid out just in case.

Vehicle bases must be captured by ground assault.

Unless otherwise noted, spawn points may be used.

Players may not load or use vechicle supplies.

The Battle of Kasserine Pass

The objective of each side is to hold all of the following bases at the end of a frame: v104, v45, v105, and v46. Call these the "Kasserine Bases."

In frame 1, allied ground forces start at V104 or V45 or both. Axis ground forces start at V105 or V46 or both.

V104 may not be bypassed. It must be captured before an attack on V45 is allowed. V105 and V46 are both eligible for capture at the same time due to terrain layout.

During a frame, a side may launch its forces from any mixture of the Kasserine Bases that it owns.

If either side holds all of the Kasserine Bases at the end of a frame, the battle moves to the Battle of Mereth Line for the next frame.

If the allies hold all of the Kasserine Bases prior to the end of a frame, the axis may spawn ground forces from a9 for that frame. If the axis holds all of the Kasserine Bases prior to the end of a frame, the allies may spawn ground forces from a47 for that frame.

The Battle of Mereth Line

The objective of each side is to hold all of the following bases: v110, v111, v112, v113, v114, v115, v116, and v117. Call these the "Mereth-Line Bases."

Allied ground forces start at V114. Axis ground forces start at V113.

Flanking of vehicle bases, such as capturing V115 while leaving V114 in Allied hands is allowed. But, the flanking maneuver may only go as far as the next base back. And further advancement cannot commence until the base bypassed is captured.

During a frame, a side may launch its forces from any mixture of the Mereth-Line Bases that it owns.

If either side holds all of the Mereth-Line Bases at the end of a frame, the battle moves to the Battle of Gabes for the next frame.

If the allies hold all of the Mereth-Line Bases prior to the end of a frame, the axis may spawn ground forces from v108 for that frame. If the axis holds all of the Mereth-Line Bases prior to the end of a frame, the allies may spawn ground forces from v25 for that frame.

The Battle of Gabes

The objective of each side is to hold all of the following bases: a9, v107, v108, v109, and v53. Call these the "Gabes Bases."

Allied ground forces start at V109. Axis ground forces start at V108.

The spawn points for v53 and a9 may not be used, but the other spawn points may be used.

During a frame, a side may launch its forces from any mixture of the Gabes Bases that it owns.

If either side holds all of the Gabes Bases at the end of a frame, the battle moves to the Battle of Tunis for the next frame.

If the allies hold all of the Gabes Bases prior to the end of a frame, the axis may spawn ground forces from a8 for that frame. If the axis holds all of the Gabes Bases prior to the end of a frame, the allies may spawn ground forces from a22 for that frame.

The Battle of Tunis

The objective of each side is to hold all of the following bases: v98, a6, v47, v99, a12, v106, a68, and a1. Call these the "Tunis Bases."

Ground forces start at any of the Tunis Bases.

During a frame, a side may launch its forces from any mixture of the Tunis Bases that it owns.

If either side holds all of the Tunis Bases, the other side may spawn from whatever gets them closest to Tunis Bases.

Supply

Each frame, the axis gets four task groups to use for supply purposes. Two of the task groups must be started anywhere inside the light-green area at sea shown on the map and try to get to Sousse. Two of the task groups must be started anywhere inside the light-yellow area and try to get to Tunis or Bizerte or both.

Each frame, the allies get three task groups to use for supply purposes, which must be started anywhere inside the light-orange area at sea shown on the map and try to get to Tripoli.

Settings

Terrain. tunisia.

Wind. 0 mph at 0-2k altitude, 10 mph from 2k altitude on up, with direction changing from frame to frame, but announced several days prior to each frame.

Icon. Short range (.icon 1).

Clouds. Some clouds if possible, such as along coastal areas.

Radar and Sector Counters. No radar or sector counters.

Time. The cockpit and tower clocks will be set so that Takeoff Time (T) is 9 am in the game.

Destroy Objects -- Task Groups. Task groups kept will be as follows. Allies: 51, 52, 57. Axis: 30, 34, 49, 50. These task groups will be taken out and not available: 31, 38, 41, 48, 54, 56. Destroy the cruisers (FxxSHP005). Destroy the 5" manned guns (FxxBAA000, 1; 2, 3; 4, 5; 6, 7; 8, 9; and FxxBAT000, 1).

Country Order. Reset country to this order before loading arena table: 2, 1, 3.

GV Setup. Can enable Panzer IV's, M8's, and M16's at all fields for everyone. Can enable Shermans and M3's at all fields for Bishops. Can enable Tiger I's and SdKfz 251's at all fields for Knights.

All other settings are the default settings listed here: http://ahevents.org/images/stories/scenarios_images/defaultSettingDocument/defaultArenaSettings.html

In the above, "stays down" means stays down for the frame, but is up again for the next frame.

Actual down time in minutes = (object's down time setting) * DownTimeMult

Carrier hardness = ObjectHardnessMults[SHP] x 6750 lbs
Cruiser hardness = ObjectHardnessMults[SHP] x (Ship Hardness) x 1000 lbs
Destroyer hardness = cruiser hardness

MOTD. The following can be copy and pasted to use as the MOTD, with appropriate number for frame number.

Welcome to frame 1 of the scenario
Tunisia: Dawn of Battle!

If you are not registered, you are welcome to play,
but please change to country Rook,
go to A3 tower, and type on channel 200,
"Walkon requesting assignment."

If you need back in and the arena is locked, please
enter ".p brooke let me in" into a radio text buffer
such as from the Main Arena.

There is a 5-minute delay after you die until
you can spawn again. Until that delay is over, when
you try to launch, you will see a dialog box saying
"your max deaths have been exceeded".

Allies = Bishops
Axis = Knights
walkons = Rook

CM checklist. Prior to Start Time:

• Load terrain.
• Rotate countries if needed. Make sure A1 and axis fields are Knight, A2 and allied fields are Bishop, and A3 is Rook.
• Load tables.
• Change field ownership if needed.
• Set MOTD.
• Check that correct planes are enabled at correct fields. Save if any changes done.
• Check arena variables. Save if any changes done.
• Set object settings.
• Destroy any objects needed.
• Set .icon.
• Set wind.
• Remember to do .startlog before takeoffs.
• Get walkon field number for axis and allies.
• Remember ".vset locked 0" unlocks arena.

Timing Table

Reasons for Various Aspects of Rules

Show-Up Time and closing of admittance

Admittance into the Special Events II Arena will be turned off right after Show-Up Time elapses. This is because the sides in the scenario need a little time to get their players assigned, briefed, and settled before takeoff. We have found -- based on many previous scenarios -- that if admittance to the arena is not closed, players drift in late, and curious players who haven't heard of scenarios before continue to pop in to see what is going on. While we very much want players in scenarios, it is a large organizational problem to deal with players trickling in right up to takeoff or to deal with new players asking lots of questions about scenarios while trying to get things ready for takeoff.

GV dynamics

The terrain is wide open, and vehicle bases are far apart. Thus, there is no cover from air attack, and GV's could for some situations (not all) need lots of driving before they get to the battle front. As this is the first running of this scenario, we are not yet sure the dynamics of interaction of air power and ground power. The designer and the CM's feel that it is necessary for air power to be able to affect GV's (i.e., not to disallow air attacks on GV's), but we decided not to have air-attack deaths subtract from drivers' lives and rather to have air attack cause a GV to have a spawn delay and require driving back to the battle front. So, there is still plenty of reason for aircraft to attack GV's (to weaken the front lines or to remove base defenders), but we hope that it is not overpowering or detrimental to playability.

One issue is that a defender has an advantage over an attacker in that he can spawn at his base, whereas an attacker might have to drive a long distance to get to the base. We aren't sure what to do about that (if anything). Having air attack subtract from GV lives doesn't change this dynamic.

Hardness and down time

In this scenario, there are targets of various sorts. There are targets that do not affect base function but that generate points (towns, cities, factories, HQ complex, ships). For these, hardness was increased a little for towns, cities, HQ complexes, and factories (so that the first three bomber formations in don't destroy the whole thing, leaving nothing for the following planes) and a lot for ships (so that one formation of bombers won't sink a CV and so that one divebomber can't sink a DD). For all of these, once they are down, they stay down for the frame.

Then there are targets that affect game function: hangars and bunkers. When these go down, some type of aircraft or vehicle will not be able to start from that base. On this map (as compared to the Main Arena), there is not a large network of vechicle bases, all within easy reach one from the next. So it potentially just shuts one side down if hangars and bunkers are destroyable and stay destroyed for any appreciable length of time. This is not realistic -- generally, bombing by a few dozen aircraft did not wipe one side out of a major battle. We could preclude attacks on these assets, but that also is unrealistic. A compromise is to allow attacks on these objects, but make them harder than in the Main Arena and to make them regenerate faster, so that if they do go down, it is an impediment, but not something that derails the whole scenario.

For reference, here are what the aircraft can carry in lbs:

Scoring

The scoring was getting too complicated (and might still seem complicated), but it is built around the following four objectives: capture bases, get supplies, bomb enemy infrastructure, and destroy enemy aircraft and vehicles.

Each of these objectives can be estimated at being worth nominally 100 points if everything entailed is achieved. We then set the objectives as follows.

• Base Capture: 100 if a base is added.
• Supplies: 100 if all of your supplies arrive. (For axis, this is 4 CV's and 16 DD's; for allies it is 3 CV's and 12 DD's.)
• Bombing: 100 if a city and a town worth are completely destroyed. (A town is about 60 objects, and a city is about 130 objects, say 200 objects for round numbers).
• Destroy Enemy: 100 if you destroy 200 (approximately 1x, couting that players get multiple lives) of the enemy's aircraft and vehicles.

Now we need to add detail to that so that it is graded from zero to 100 if objectives are met. It is possible to score more than 100 in some categories if a side does especially well -- think of it as extra credit.

• Base Capture: 100 points per base added.
• Supplies:
  • For axis, 3.125 points per DD that makes it; 12.5 points per CV.
  • For allies, 4.17 points per DD that makes it; 16.67 points per CV.
• Bombing: 0.5 points per object destroyed.
• Destroy Enemy: 0.5 point per enemy loss.

Now, as for having two frames of supply interdiction, two frames of bombing infrastructure, and requiring certain targets to be attacked, that is because all of North Africa (an associated water) is a big place, and we don't have many hundreds of pilots, radar, or sector counters. This narrows the territory of interest a bit so that we can avoid a bunch of people guarding targets that are never attacked.

Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena

Increasing Aircraft Range

In scenarios, there are times when using techniques to increase aircraft range might be important. Setting the engine's RPM and manifold settings to the "max cruise" settings in the E6B will result in more range than full military power and is a good choice for a pilot who has no idea what might work better. However, there are times when settings different from the max-cruise settings will result in even greater range, such as lowering the RPM farther than max-cruise settings. Also, the E6B information does not suggest altitudes for cruising. If you have a longer distance to travel, it may be best to climb at military power to 25k or 30k, then lower the RPM below the max-cruise settings. For shorter distances or for aircraft that do not perform well at high altitude, 10-20k might work better. Figuring out a plan for fuel management is, for some scenarios, a useful part of preparation.

Wind

This scenario implements wind. Level bombing in wind is a bit different than bombing without wind, in terms of accuracy and techniques that are best to hit targets. You might want to suggest to your bomber pilots that they practice bombing in wind prior to the scenario if they are not familiar with the impact of wind.

Vehicle Hangars as Base For Aircraft

To bring aircraft closer in to the fights, we have allowed some aircraft to use various vehicle bases. Landing at a vehicle base is not that difficult. Just land where it is clear (i.e., don't run into acks, buildings, or other obstacles) and taxi onto the main concrete pad for exiting your plane. Taking off is not all that difficult -- again, just make sure you pick a clear path and don't run into acks or other obstacles. However, when you first launch, your plane will appear inside the vehicle hangar. Most single-engine fighters can still fit through the hangar doors, but you must aim your nose at the center of the doors -- there is not a lot of room on either side. If you wreck your plane, at least when you exit you will get a "landed successfully" and thus not lose a life or give any points to your enemy.

The most difficult aspect is if the hangar you are launching from was destroyed. Then the opening to get out is even smaller. Planes with smaller wingspans (such as Spitfires) can make it out without scraping -- but only barely. Even a slightly wider-wingspan plane such at the P-40 will not be able to make it out without scraping its wings. You can still get out without damage if you center your aircraft on the opening and creep forward until your wings hit, then give it just a little more throttle and wiggle your rudder. However, it is touchy, and you run a much higher risk of damaging your aircraft in trying to get out. Again, at least if you do, you can exit and replane without trouble as you are on the concrete pad.

Some Links to Historical Information

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein . Second Battle of El Alamein.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Desert_Campaign . Western Desert Campaign.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_Campaign . North African Campaign.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_Campaign_timeline . North African Campaign timeline.
• http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/II/AAF-II-4.html . Information including about 12th AF in North Africa.
• http://www.warwingsart.com/12thAirForce/airforcetable.html . 12th AF units (and Northwest African Air Force, incl. other allied) in N. Africa.
• http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/chron/contents.htm . Air Force combat detailed (day by day) chronology.
• An Army at Dawn, by Atkinson. Book about North Africa fighting from US point of view.
• http://wikipedia.ketsujin.com/index.php/Luftwaffe_Order_Of_Battle_on_27_Jul_1942 . LW order of battle, 1942.
• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3101/is_2_51/ai_n29100068/pg_8 . German radar in North Africa.
• http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/squadrons/RAF_DAF_FAA_squadrons.html . Western Desert Air Force history and composition.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Air_Force . Desert Air Force.
• http://panzergeneral.strategyplanet.gamespy.com/ww2/oob/23oct1942_Allied_Airforce_Egypt.txt . Composition of the DAF.
• http://panzergeneral.strategyplanet.gamespy.com/ww2/oob/23oct1942_Axis_airforce_Egypt.txt . Composition of LW.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_P-40 . P-40 as primary fighter of the DAF.
• http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps51153/airforcehistory/usaaf/ww/vol6/vol6pg16.htm . Excellent reference. US estimates of axis (including LW) and allied (including 12th AF and DAF) strength in Tunisia, Jan. 1943. Sousse and Sfax have supply warehouses. Tunis, Bizerte, Sousse, Sfax, and Gabes are major supply ports.
• http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:Iwp6eVhQgEgJ:www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-cutting-general-erwin-rommels-aerial-lifeline-to-north-africa.htm+1+squadron+saaf+wwii&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us . SAAF in DAF.
• http://www.comandosupremo.com/OOB.html Axis air forces in North Africa and other places, including Regia Aeronautica.
• http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps51153/airforcehistory/usaaf/ww/vol6/vol6pg22.htm . "As of 27 February 1943, Coastal Air Force had 162 aircraft assigned. This total included Spitfires, Hurricanes, Beaufighters, Hudsons, Swordfish, and P-39's. Strategic Air Force had 426 B-17'2, B-25's, B-26's, P-38's, P-40's, and Wellingtons. Under the Tactical Air Force, XII Air Support Command had 178 assigned aircraft, made up of Spitfires, P-39's, and A-20's; while Spitfires, Bisleys, and Hurribombers comprised 242 Group's 184 assigned planes."
• http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/aafsd/aafsd_pdf/t090.pdf Excellent reference on airplanes at hand over whole Mediterranean.
• JAGDWAFFE Vol Three Section 3: War over the Desert, by Smith and Pegg.
• JAGDWAFFE Vol Four Section 2: The Mediterrainean 1942-1943, by Roba and Pegg.
• JAGDWAFFE Vol Four Section 4: The Mediterranean 1943-1945, by Roba and Pegg.
• The LUFTWAFFE in the North African Campaign, 1941-1943, by Held and Obermaier.

Credits, listed as BB name (AH handle, if different)

Scenario design: Fencer51 (Fencer) as main designer, lesser contributions from Brooke.

CM's: Roscoroo, Newman, Brooke (Brooke is game-day CM for this one).

Rules writeup: Brooke

Allied CO: Kermit de Frog (Kermit)

Axis CO: Husky01 (BearKats)

Change Log

This section mentions the changes in each version, so that when changes are made to this document, people don't need to read the whole document to find out where the changes are.

Note on terminology: In this section, "Clarified" has a very precise meaning. If a rule is listed as being "Clarified", it means that the rule and its intent is not being changed but that the explanation herein is being improved to make the rule and its intent more clear. Rules are sometimes Clarified during a scenario based on player questions or misunderstandings about wording.

v1, 12/27/2008
-- Start of the rules document.

v2, 1/4/2009
-- Incorporating information from Fencer's rules writeup and message-board discussions.
-- Changes from Fencer's version and reasons are as follows.
-- Allow C-47's to launch at T+45 minutes. Supplies need to arrive no later than T+2 hours, or aircraft that are attacking them might not have time to disengage and get back to base. Don't want supply C-47's or ships timed to arrive right before end frame. So, if things need to arrive at T+2 hours, you want at least a little more than an hour available for flying various C-47's around, hence T+45.
-- Specified how many people in each thing (GV's, bombers, etc.). We need this so that registrants get an idea for what is available and so that we can know if we have a workable mix of people or not. We need to be realistic on how many people we can get who will be willing to drive GV's and pilot bombers. We're hoping for 60 GV'ers here (GV'ers get their shot in this one, and we'll see if they participate) and 50 people willing to fly bombers. In BoB 2008, we had trouble filling 35 bomber positions, but any less than 50 bombers total for both sides, and we really don't have even remotely the right presence of bombers.
-- Ground war arranged to be a fight in each region with conditions on which the fight moves to the next region.
-- Renamed one British armored unit "7th Armoured Division", as it seems the best fit to have all the ground units be divisions, and the 7th Armoured Division fought in the battles around Mareth.
-- Renamed one Panzerarmee armored unit "131st Centauro Armored Division", as it was a major unit at Kasserine, and it's a shout out to the Italians, who had a major presence in North Africa. Otherwise there were no Italian-named ground units.
-- Precluding level bombers from divebombing (so we don't get people using their formations to divebomb groups of vehicles or ships).
-- Restricted targets available to bombers to the battle area (shown on map) so that allies don't have to worry about axis bombers wandering around in the hinterlands.
-- Not allowing 5" guns (too unbalancing and unrealistic) -- but there are a lot of ships (including destroyers) -- plenty left even if many get sunk. We can up hardness on ships if needed.
-- For starting ships, have regions set up in addition to the regions specified by Fencer so that ships can be set up at the start of the frame (much, much easiser to deal with for setup) and still have them spread out a bit.
-- Using 5-mile radius to decide if ships make it or not, and they need to stay at the port after arriving (and requiring screen shots, etc.). This achieves same thing, but is more bullet-proof for me to administer.
-- Allow C-47's to land at Sousse as well, as it was a major port of entry for supplies and is about as close to Sicily as Tunis and Bizerte.
-- Removed restriction on alt of C-47's. They could fly higher than 5k, so players should be allowed to go at the alt they want.
-- Don't see that we can change troops needed for capture. That might be something changable only at terrain-design time.
-- For A-20's, A-20A was the one in North Africa at the time. Using Boston III (single, no formation) for that. A-20A is basically same as Boston III.
-- Thought of an idea for hardness and down time. See settings section and read "Hardness and downtime" section of "Reasons for Various Aspects of Rules".

v3, 1/12/2009
-- Reduced emphasis on not taking aircraft or vehicle not allowed to your side (as setup should handle this).
-- Removed restriction of ships arriving at port no later than T+2. Can now arrive any time up to end frame.
-- Expanded region for 2nd wave of ships since they can now reach port at T+2.5.
-- Require Ju 52 (C-47) supply planes to fly no higher than 5k because they were overloaded.
-- Adjusted fighter numbers to be even numbers.
-- Moved the B-17 group to a13 from a10 (a little closer).
-- Added notification to the CM upon ship arrival.
-- Changed hardness of DD to 8000 lbs, CV to 24,000 lbs.
-- P-38G not allowed to take two 1000 lb bombs.
-- Added explanation of scoring "Reasons for various aspects of rules" section.
-- Putting in new idea on scoring system. Idea is to grade achievement in four general areas. Also, the idea is to focus on supply for frames 1 and 3, to focus on bombing infrastructure in frames 2 and 4, and to require some regions to be attacked. That way, we get a variety of action without as much likelihood of groups of people sitting around guarding a target that is never attacked.

v4, 1/13/2009
-- Clarified how each side must attack its target areas (i.e., with at least 5x3 bomber aircraft).
-- Updated ship-spawn areas, as ships travel at only 35 mph. Updated based on 2.5 hour range to ports. Added warning to CO's to use care in placing ships, as not all locations can get to all ports within 2.5 hours, especially if the ships do not take a straight-line course.
-- Gave the allies one more task group since we have frames focusing on destroying supply lines.
-- Corrected error in ships making it to port. Sinking them after they arrive does *not* negate the points.

v5, 1/18/2009
-- Corrected ack settings (have to set them all to make sure to get puffy ack).
-- Added information about downwind at end of frame that will force down any aircraft still in the air, counting them as a loss if they aren't landed by then. See "Victory Conditions" section.
-- Put in after-death spawn delay. See "Lives" section.
-- Give drivers 3 lives and do not subtract GV deaths due to air attack. See "Lives" section.
-- Do not allow 1800 kg bomb on Ju 87. See "Armament and bombing" section.
-- Do not allow 1000 lb bombs on P-38G. See "Armament and bombing" section.
-- Updated table of contents.
-- Put in some explanation in the "Reasons for various aspects of rules" section about air attack not subtracting from GV lives.

v6, 1/19/2009
-- Changed DownTimeMult to 166.7 and bunker and hangar Down Time setting to 0.03. (Down Time setting can't be set to 0.025 -- it is rounded to nearest 0.01.) Still works out to effective down time of bunker and hangar to 5 minutes.
-- Put in correct quote of message in DeathMaxCount message box.
-- Added CM checklist.

v7, 1/22/2009
-- Allow Boston III's to be flown as singles (i.e., as attack planes).
-- As allies can now have (if they so choose) 5 Bostons as attack planes instead of as formations of level bombers, allow the axis to have (if they so choose) 5 Stukas in place of 5 Ju 88 formations.
-- The pilots in 1/SchG 2 are now not required to fly Stukas all frame. They get 1 life in Stuka and 1 in Bf 109G-2. To compensate (to keep number of axis bomber lives the same percentage as for allies), part of JG 27 now flies Stukas for 1 of their two lives.
-- Set slightly staggered takeoffs to mitigate server load. See T-0 timeline in "Settings" section.

v8, 2/8/2009
-- Changed some timings on C-47's to further reduce impact on players. Increased delay before they can be flown to increase odds that there are players to fly them who have used up their two lives. Increased time to land a bit to compensate.
-- Took out Ostwind as available AA vechicle, giving both sides the M16 for play balance.
-- Allow the axis to use M8's, as they had armored scout vehicles.
-- Changed the timings of takeoffs. See "Timing Table."
-- Changed mix of allied and axis tanks. Firefly considered too strong to make up all allied tank forces.
-- Added BearKats as axis CO.
-- We are going to have 10 troops capture a base, not 20 as previously planned.
-- Changed bunker and hangar down time to 10 minutes from 5 minutes. 5 minutes was judged too short.

v9, 2/14/2009
-- Setting PlayerResupplyTime to zero (no resupply of bases).
-- Note that vehicle supplies are available and usable (see "Ground War" section).
-- Added more of the references consulted.

v10, 2/19/2009
-- Not allowing vechicle supplies anymore. They are deemed to be too much in favor of a defender at a base, where a defender can get an M3, lay down supplies, and repeat the process quickly indefinitely. An attacker would have to drive back to base then back to the front line.

v11, 2/21/2009
-- Added listing of Kermit as allied CO in "Credits" section.
-- Clarified that names in "Credits" section are BB name (AH handle), so that people know addresses for sending messages via the BB.

v12, 2/25/2009
-- Allowed a CO and XO spot for each side in addition to the previously stated number of pilots and drivers. Re-adjusted numbers to keep 1.16 allied:axis.
-- Corrected error in number of tanks given to each side.
-- Added explanation of how to judge whether you die from a tank round or from a bomb. See "Lives" section.
-- After looking at distances and flight times, adjusted some basing in an attempt to allow aircraft at least the possibility of fitting in two missions to targets instead of just one. DAF bombers allowed to use a22. 12th AF aircraft at a13 and a69 allowed limited use of a5. LW Ju 88's allowed to use a64. See "Allied Forces" and "Axis Forces".
-- Removed Sousse as a supply destination for ships to reduce previous enormous disparity between how much allies have to search vs. axis. See "Frames 1 and 3: Stopping Supply" section, specifically "For a ship to 'make it'". I.e, going back to how Fencer had it in version 1.
-- Added explanation of possible delay due to update of terrain engine. See "Dates and Times" section.
-- Put in tentative dates and times, and corrected to Eastern Daylight Time (as we'll be on daylight saving time).

v13, 2/26/2009
-- Corrected error (was still listing in one part of rules that C-47's could take off at T+45 instead of the correct T+1 hour).

v14, 2/26/2009
-- Corrected error in "The Battle of Gabes" section (where I mistakenly copied the last two paragraphs from the Mereth-Line battle). It is now correct for the Gabes area.

v15, 2/27/2009
-- Fixed typo ("divers" should be "drivers").
-- Added new banner (with scenario dates in it).

v16, 2/28/2009
-- After more online testing, have reduced numbers of Tigers and Fireflies for each side (instead of 50/50 mix). See "Division of Forces" section. In our testing, Tiger vs. Firefly is well balanced, and Panzer vs. T-34/76 is well balanced. But while Panzers can kill Fireflies (although Fireflies are still better), T-34/76's have a lot of trouble with Tigers. This new distribution is a better balance.

v17, 3/5/2009
-- Adjusted number of allied Shermans and T-34/76's slightly (two additional Shermans, two less T-34/76's) as an adjustment for balance.
-- Renamed "7th Armoured Division" to "1st Royal Tank Regiment" for better consistency (as 5th RTR is part of 7th AD).
-- Clarified in the "Timing Table" that the aircraft allowed to take off first are non-bomb-carrying. It used to say "fighters", but the intent is to allow aircraft not carrying bombs to take off before aircraft carrying bombs (so that sides have some ability to get CAP over the ground vehicles before aircraft carrying bombs appear).
-- Fixed "register" link in the "Dates and Times" section.

v18, 3/22/2009
-- Corrected "1/SchG 2" to "I/SchG 2".
-- Changes based on an in-depth discussion among the command staffs to enhance playability. Main goals were to increase playability and balance, to bring some groups closer in to the action, and to set bases so that groups have the possibility for two missions to the various target areas.
-- Allow 12th AF to land at Mereth vbases and a22.
-- Allow DAF bombers to land at a6.
-- Allow DAF fighters to base at v53.
-- Allow 3 and 6 Sqdn to base at v100.
-- Getting rid of C-47's and adjusting scoring accordingly.
-- Allow LW to land at Mereth vbases.
-- II/JG 27 and I/SchG 2 now have 2nd lives in C.202's, not in Ju 87's.
-- I/LG 1 reduced by 3 pilots and III/LG 1 increased by 3 pilots.
-- Allow III/ZG 26 base at v107.
-- GroundAutoLethality changed to 0.08 (the setting needed so that a Ju 88 can survive typically, but not always, two passes through fleet auto ack).
-- DD hardness set to 6000 lbs (two Stukas or two Ju 88 passes). CV hardness set to 9900 lbs (3 Stukas or 3 Ju 88 passes).
-- Allied T-34/76's changed to Panzer IV's.
-- Axis gets two more Tigers and two less Panzers.
-- Changed radar circles around base to 8 miles and successful supply ships now must arrive inside 8-mile radius (instead of 5 or 7 as 5 or 7 were too difficult for bases that are slightly inland).

v19, 3/26/2009
-- Corrected wording in the "Lives" subsection of the "Other Rules" section, making it clear now that landing is OK at any allowed landing base, not just at the base you take off from. (Earlier versions of the rules had only one base for each group -- it's different now.)
-- Added some settings entries to help the CM with his list of settings to check (country order, CommunicationFlags, ExitWhileMoving, list of CV's to keep, list of CV's to destroy, etc.).
-- Corrected error in planes available to I/SchG 2 and II/JG 27 (not a Ju 87 anymore but is a C.202) in the "Lives" subsection.

v20, 4/1/2009
-- The following are changes as a result of seeing how things went in the test frame.
-- Bf 110's cannot fit out of a vehicle hangar, so changing their optional base from v107 to a9.
-- If the vechicle hangar that planes launch from is destroyed, some planes will have a difficult time getting out of the hangar thereafter. I talk about this in the "Aspects Particularly Different From Main Arena" section.
-- Added more arena-setup details to assist CM in checklist of setup.
-- Found that "Down Time" for objects must be a multiple of 1.0. So, changed down time of hangars and bunkers to 1.0 (instead of 0.06, which rounded to zero) and set DownTimeMult to 10.0 (instead of 166.7).
-- Corrected error in contradictory information on Sousse. The "Frames 1 and 3: Stopping Supply" section stated that 2 axis fleets must go to Sousse and 2 must go to Tunis, Bizerte, or both. The "Supply" section stated that "Sousse is no longer a destination for ships, only supply aircraft," which was mistakenly left in. The "Supply" section has been corrected to agree with the "Frames 1 and 3: Stopping Supply" section.
-- Radar circles, and arrival radius for supply ships, increased to 13 miles to make it less touchy to get them inside the circle and to leave them plenty of maneuving room still inside the circle.
-- Give both sides one sector per fleet of starting area, which reduces slightly both sides' starting area. There is more than enough sea to cover for the bombers.
-- Adjusted starting sectors so that whole sector is within reach of port (i.e., don't have to worry about part of a sector being out of range, which causes placement hassle at a hectic time for setup). One axis sector is now closer and one allied sector is closer.
-- Indicate the sectors in range of Bizerte/Tunis in separate color from sectors in range of Sousse.
-- For ships to achieve supply, they must be inside the radar circle and still alive at end of frame. Got rid of the need for screen shots, etc. -- the CM will now just be able to look at end of frame what is in the radar circles. Got rid of ships needing to be placed farther out or closer in to try to force some ships to arrive at port later than T+2 hours. Much, much simpler to set up and administer now. This is a change from before when they just had to arrive inside circle and did not have to survive thereafter. That was very unreaslistic (as of course ships would be attacked wherever they were -- especially near port) as well as having fiddly setup (where sectors were divided into portions). But I did it that way because I was thinking that bombers could otherwise just wait to attack, then concentrate on port areas. This is wrong. Bombers can make at most only two missions to ships and can't just do multiple missions to the ports; and the ships are very hard to sink anyway. So none of that unrealism and fiddliness is needed for playability. In fact, the new way enhances playability, as there is now no danger of bomber finally making it all the way to the ships only to find them off limits because of an unreaslistic line on a map.
-- Since the axis does not have the option to put all fleets together and send them all to the same port, so that any cap they assign doesn't end up protecting a set of fleets that is not attacked, which is hideously boring, require allies to attempt attack on both sets of fleets. Allies must send at least 5 formations over course of the frame to the Sousse fleets and 5 to the Bizerte/Tunis fleets (i.e., 10 formations total at least for antishipping). Likewise, require axis to attempt attack of allies fleets with at least 8 formations over the course of the frame.
-- Allow DAF bombers at a22 to take off with fighters and optionally land at v53 (saving them a few minutes), as DAF bombers at a22 have by far the longest flight times of anyone.
-- Allow CM to extend time of end log 5 min or so if there are any bombers still up at end of frame returning to base to give them a chance to get down.
-- Reduce hardness of DD from 6000 to 3000 lbs. Test frame showed that they were much too hard.
-- No loading of torpedoes. Not having that listed already was an oversight (as the allies have no Beaufighter for carrying torpedoes).

v21, 4/4/2009
-- Mathematical analysis of the raw logs of the test frame (an analysis that does not at all depend on skill of gunners or tactics employed -- just how many actual hits it takes to kill a vehicle, averaged over a lot of instances) indicate that a mathematical balance of Shermans/Tigers should be 1.4 to 1. Since we currently have 12 Shermans to 10 Tigers, this is a small change to accomplish. Each allied tank division now has 7 Shermans and 10 Panzers instead of 6 Shermans and 11 Panzers.

v22, 4/5/2009
-- Test frame showed points for aircraft lost on both sides overshadowing points for shipping and ground battle as a result of multiple lives per player. Thus, reduced points for enemy destroyed to 0.5 per plane or vehicle instead of 1.0. See "Victory Conditions" section.
-- Made it more clear in "Supply" subsection of the "Other Rules" section that axis can put its two Sousse fleets anywhere inside the green area and its Tunis/Bizerte fleets anywhere inside the yellow area.
-- To make the scenario less scripted, completely removed requirements on bomber attacks. See the "Frames 1 and 3: Stopping Supply" section and the "Frames 2 and 4: Bombing Infrastructure" section.
-- These are the final rules for the scenario.