Looking for playtesters

[fairline]

Originally posted by Case

Churchill Tank: was replaced by Centurion tank. The Churchill sucked - what was I thinking when I included it?

Case, the Centurion arrived just too late to take part in the War, which I guess isn't a problem unless you want to stick to strict historical timelines. If you are looking for an upgrade tank for the Brits then either a Firefly or Comet would do I think. The Firefly's armour was just as poor as any other Sherman, but the 17-pdr the Brits put in it was better than any other anti-tank gun other than a JagdTiger when using sabot ammunition. The Comet had effectively a cut-down version of this gun which, whilst not as good as the 17-pdr, was significantly better than anything either the US or Russians used. It also had decent armour, a low profile and was fast and was pretty much a match for a Panther. Just my two-pennyworth.

[Cyrion]

Comments from the swiss consultant...

Originally posted by Case
Because the Swiss are the only ones who wired their their entire country for detenation (seriously!)

Yes and no

What is true (and it's still like that today) is that ALL the transit roads are mined: every bridge (motorway or railway), road, narrow valleys, etc.

The goal of that is to hinder movement along all the access ways into the country! And there were (they are currently being dismentled, for most of them) bunker with guns and such everywhere in the mountains/hills overlooking all those roads.

But nothing was done to provide a "scorched earth" effect, only to stop movement!

I hope I didn't reveal any military secret...

[fairline]

Re: Comments from the swiss consultant...

Originally posted by Cyrion


Yes and no

What is true (and it's still like that today) is that ALL the transit roads are mined: every bridge (motorway or railway), road, narrow valleys, etc.

Blimey - do any of these mines ever go off by mistake?

[Darius871]

And where are the detonators? What if some kid decides to get some kicks by downing a bridge? I know I would.

[Cyrion]

Well, we're not as silly as you think...

Actually, the mines are not in place: they are ready in arsenals nearby and the places (holes and such) have been prepared, so that in the event of a war, it would be a matter of hours to put them in place and be ready to bring it all down...

Yes, we Swiss were (and some still are...) a bit paranoid...

[Case]

Originally posted by fairline


Case, the Centurion arrived just too late to take part in the War, which I guess isn't a problem unless you want to stick to strict historical timelines.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the Centurion only missed out on the war by a matter of weeks. If the British had given a greater priority to it's development then I don't see why it couldn't have been in service by early 1945, much like the American Pershing and Soviet JS-3.

Originally posted by Cyrion
What is true (and it's still like that today) is that ALL the transit roads are mined: every bridge (motorway or railway), road, narrow valleys, etc.

The goal of that is to hinder movement along all the access ways into the country! And there were (they are currently being dismentled, for most of them) bunker with guns and such everywhere in the mountains/hills overlooking all those roads.

But nothing was done to provide a "scorched earth" effect, only to stop movement!

I hope I didn't reveal any military secret...

I have read that in WW2 the Swiss government ordered the explosives to be placed in tunnels, and prepared all the key factories for demolition as well...

Anyway, it's too cool a feature to drop from the scenario

[Cyrion]

Sure tunnels too, and it's still the fact now!

I don't know about factories during WWII, never heard it, but it sounds quite possible!

[Case]

You Swiss must have really strict laws about dropping cigarette butts

[Cyrion]

Well, the restrictions on smoking are not as drastic as in some anglo-saxon countries...

[fairline]

Originally posted by Case


Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the Centurion only missed out on the war by a matter of weeks. If the British had given a greater priority to it's development then I don't see why it couldn't have been in service by early 1945, much like the American Pershing and Soviet JS-3.

You're absolutely right Case - initial design studies began in 1942, I think, but the Governmant banned development work on designs that could not be in service in 1944, so development wasn't signed off until mid-'43. The first half dozen or so were ready by May '45 and rushed to the front to try them out, but they arrived shortly after the end of hostilities.

So I guess if it had been green-lighted in '42 it would certainly have been in service well before the war ended.

[Case]

Fairline, I was hoping that you'd post something like that, especially after I noticed that Talonsofts 'The Operational Art of War' claimed that Centurions were introduced in 1949!

I've been pretty generous with the Centurions stats - they're about halfway beween the Imp Medium Armour and Heavy Armour. IMO this is justified on the grounds that the Centurion was the first well balanced main battle tank, and was at least half a generation ahead of anything else which was available at the time. I may be wrong on both points

[fairline]

The Centurian was ****-hot for a 1945 tank...17-pdr and an anti-personnel cannon as secondary armament, 152mm max armour and a proper sloped glacis. It was a far better tank than anything else around bar the Konigstiger which was cumbersome and mechanically complicated (read unreliable). IMHO it should have stats to reflect this.

I think that the gun was updated in 1949 to a 20-pdr, so maybe thats where TOAoW reference comes from(?)

[Case]

Originally posted by fairline
The Centurian was ****-hot for a 1945 tank...17-pdr and an anti-personnel cannon as secondary armament, 152mm max armour and a proper sloped glacis. It was a far better tank than anything else around bar the Konigstiger which was cumbersome and mechanically complicated (read unreliable). IMHO it should have stats to reflect this.

...and it does (though my stats reflect the likely performance of a division armed with such tanks, not the actual tanks per-se).

I think that the gun was updated in 1949 to a 20-pdr, so maybe thats where TOAoW reference comes from(?)

I did a bit of research on the net this morning, and it seems like the 1945 Centurions were advanced prototypes which the British were trying to rush into battle (they'd built about 50 and were weeks away from fielding the first squadron when Germany surrendered). When the war ended Centurion development seems to have bee put on the back burner, and the tank was developed further before entering service with the British Army in the late 40s (presumably with the 20-pdr gun, hence the TOAW date as you sugest). Production seems to have been painfully slow, with Australia ordering Centurians in 1950, but the first Centurian not arriving untill 1955!

BTW, the 20 pounder seems to have been a fantastic weapon, with one site stating that it had twice the tank killing power of the Konigstiger's 88mm gun! You certainly can't say that the British didn't learn from their experiance in WW2

[Case]

OK, all the RRs are now history, and the road muliplier has been increased to 6. Thanks for sugesting that Darius - the scenario 'feels' a lot better.

I really want to include a ground attack aircraft unit, but this requires getting rid of another unit. Does anyone have any sugestions as to what I should kill off? (I'm leaning towards getting rid of either the artillery or AA unit).

[Case]

BTW, given the amount of techs available, is research too slow?