Keydet
Member
In the course of updating KOAD I have completed a 13th scenario, Operation Tourist. It is the 150th Pz Bde vs 18th Cav Squadron. What do you think about it?
Two of the "Knock on All Doors" title scenarios assume Skorzeny's 150 Pz Bde have infiltrated the porous lines of the US 18th Cav Squadron and seized key strong-points just before the 0530 assault. Both "Preiss Knocks" and "Blumentritt's Big Knock" start at 0530 with 9 of Skorzeny's companies in control of Krewinkel and Weckerath, wrapping up the fight or in the throws of the struggle. This 13th KOAD scenario allows the German player to explore how such an operation would be executed.
The logic of the mission dictates the attack as late as possible - to be just in time so as to reduce the chance and value of raising the alarm. However, the scenario includes most of the night of 15/16 December ending at 0530, more time than is actually needed. This allows the player to experiment and learn in a Duffers Drift ( http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/online-book-the-defence-of-duffers-drift ) like experience. This also compensates for not being able to realistically position Skorzeny's troops the night of 14/15 December per the objectives. Instead it allows the player time to move up to the right spots. Also, occasionally some element of the 18th Cav Squadron will come to the rescue of beleaguered US strong point(s).
There are limits to playing a commando scenario in the CO2 engine as the AI doesn't have raiding logic, for instance posting security teams or measures to reduce defender's external communications or to carry out a ruse. Nevertheless after several experiments the player will come away with a sense of what could have been done.
It is hard to work out the most successful concept of the operation. Each scheme you come up with demands a new solution. After playing this many times I started to get the hang of the timing and tactics. Reflecting on the results and the fit with the whole offensive I have concluded such an attack was feasible but the assault(s) on the objective(s) would have to wait till 0530 so as to hide the raids in the general chaos. This suggests moving the starts of "Preiss Knocks" and "Blumentritt's Big Knock" to allow the German player to devise different solutions. I tried this when I first started KOAD and it was just too hard to design.
Two of the "Knock on All Doors" title scenarios assume Skorzeny's 150 Pz Bde have infiltrated the porous lines of the US 18th Cav Squadron and seized key strong-points just before the 0530 assault. Both "Preiss Knocks" and "Blumentritt's Big Knock" start at 0530 with 9 of Skorzeny's companies in control of Krewinkel and Weckerath, wrapping up the fight or in the throws of the struggle. This 13th KOAD scenario allows the German player to explore how such an operation would be executed.
The logic of the mission dictates the attack as late as possible - to be just in time so as to reduce the chance and value of raising the alarm. However, the scenario includes most of the night of 15/16 December ending at 0530, more time than is actually needed. This allows the player to experiment and learn in a Duffers Drift ( http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/online-book-the-defence-of-duffers-drift ) like experience. This also compensates for not being able to realistically position Skorzeny's troops the night of 14/15 December per the objectives. Instead it allows the player time to move up to the right spots. Also, occasionally some element of the 18th Cav Squadron will come to the rescue of beleaguered US strong point(s).
There are limits to playing a commando scenario in the CO2 engine as the AI doesn't have raiding logic, for instance posting security teams or measures to reduce defender's external communications or to carry out a ruse. Nevertheless after several experiments the player will come away with a sense of what could have been done.
It is hard to work out the most successful concept of the operation. Each scheme you come up with demands a new solution. After playing this many times I started to get the hang of the timing and tactics. Reflecting on the results and the fit with the whole offensive I have concluded such an attack was feasible but the assault(s) on the objective(s) would have to wait till 0530 so as to hide the raids in the general chaos. This suggests moving the starts of "Preiss Knocks" and "Blumentritt's Big Knock" to allow the German player to devise different solutions. I tried this when I first started KOAD and it was just too hard to design.
