I have been continuing to work on the map I want to use for my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War campaign.
First of all, I allocated the areas of steppe covered by deciduous and coniferous trees different shades of green background colour, ...
... and then I added the roads.
I then decided to reduce the size of the tree symbols I had used (a somewhat tedious but mindless task) and to add both national boundaries and some more small cities.
Then did some basic tidying up, and besides removing a main road east from Moscow, I began to add the marshland just south of Leningrad.
The map is beginning to come together, but there are still some features about it that I'm not totally satisfied with. Once one or two other things are added (such as the heavily forested areas and the place names), I should be in a position to think about writing some simple campaign rules to use with the map.
First of all, I allocated the areas of steppe covered by deciduous and coniferous trees different shades of green background colour, ...
... and then I added the roads.
I then decided to reduce the size of the tree symbols I had used (a somewhat tedious but mindless task) and to add both national boundaries and some more small cities.
Then did some basic tidying up, and besides removing a main road east from Moscow, I began to add the marshland just south of Leningrad.
The map is beginning to come together, but there are still some features about it that I'm not totally satisfied with. Once one or two other things are added (such as the heavily forested areas and the place names), I should be in a position to think about writing some simple campaign rules to use with the map.
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Looking pretty good Bob.The choice of the Quarrie map was inspired - I had forgotten about it.
ReplyDeleteA couple of things strike me which you may wish to consider
1) it's getting quite 'busy'- adding the placenames will make it more congested. I think the rivers may be fading in prominence and, presumably, there are railways to be added, which will only increase the number of 'significant' lines of different types (road/rail/river). I think cartography may be an underrated skill! Looking forward to seeing how you handle the additional information burden.
2) a minor point of almost no relevance. The Hungarian border was extended to include Transylvania pre Barbarossa (Treaty of Vienna?). Whether this was recognised by everyone is moot, so the border shown on your map could be claimed to be the 'legal' one. However, the parties involved, Hungary and Romania (reluctantly) agreed to the change so you might want to revise your map. It's unlikely to have any impact on the campaign, though.
Looking forward to seeing how the campaign framework develops. The map promises great ambition!
Cheers
Andrew
Rumblestrip (Andrew),
DeleteThanks for the feedback. When printed out, the map is considerably bigger than it appears onscreen. As a result, although it looks rather crowded, it isn’t when seen full-size.
I’m currently only including railways rather than roads. Accurate data about the latter is very variable whereas maps of the railway network are easier to get hold of.
I took the location of the borders from a contemporary map, so I can alter it without too much difficulty.
Once the map is finished, I hope to write some campaign rules. These will be based on those in my PCW book.
All the best,
Bob
So that's the railway network you've added? Your post says they're roads.
DeleteAndrew
Rumblestrip (Andrew),
DeleteA slip of the keyboard finger, I’m afraid.
All the best,
Bob
I am following these developments with interest as I too am looking to do an Eastern Front campaign. At the moment I'm working on logistics. I've come up with a simple system by which one vehicle carries one unit (of logistics) worth 3sp which can be used to replace lost so in the combat units. So wow betide the player who outruns his "tail" or gets interdicted by aircraft or partisans.
DeleteAnd it's a lovely map, the work was worth it !
DeleteUnknown,
DeleteI’m planning to base the campaign rules on those I published in my PCW book. I’m not yet at the stage when I need to consider how I’m going to handle logistics, but your ideas would certainly work.
All the best,
Bob
Unknown,
DeleteCheers! I intend to make a few changes as since I started work on the map, more information I’d like to incorporate has come to light.
All the best,
Bob
Hello again, I looked at the Megablitz/Hexblitz logistics rules but they reduce the number of dice rolled for being out of supply but that doesn't really work with the P.W.system as it's one dice per unit and I think that (in an operational/campaign setting) S.P. should relate to logistic support. I hope you're planning to publish the outcome of your work at some point as I've really enjoyed the P.W. series and it's even drawing my fiancee into gaming.
DeleteTake Care, stay safe,
Tony Jones.
Unknown (Tony Jones),
DeleteMy (very) tentative thoughts about logistics are to give both sides the ability to generate supplies of SPs every month to replenish losses, and that as long as they can trace a path back to a supply base, players can allocate SPs to units that require replenishment. If a side runs out of SPs, units will begin to degrade. Likewise, if the supply path is cut, units will begin to degrade until supply can be reestablished.
I’m hoping that by keeping the logistics simple, it will not become onerous. It will also give players the option to either keep existing units up to strength (the a German model) or to allow units to be destroyed and then rebuilt/resurrected (the Russian model).
I will be putting my ideas on my blog, and hope to publish the finished rules etc., at some point in the future.
I’m very pleased to read that your fiancé is enjoying gaming ... and that my PW rules have helped!
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteYour MAP is coming along very nicely- setting a standard for sure. Will you add Place Names? Look forward to your simple Campaign rules for this Barbarossa MAP. Well done. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteThanks for the complimentary comment. I plan to add some placenane at the next stage.
All the best,
Bob
The map looks great Bob - how many hours work does it represent?!
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteCheers! It’s difficult to say how many hours I’ve been working on the map, but it’s probably about twelve hours so fat, spread over quite a few days,
All the best,
Bob
This is a fascinating project. We can’t wait to see your campaign rules when you finish your maps. Will you be adapting your Colonial Wargame ideas?
ReplyDeleteSteve8,
DeleteI hope to base the campaign rules on the ones I included in PCW, but with some alterations to take into account the changing seasons.
All the best,
Bob
I will be fascinated to see how you organize the two sides. Looking back at the Lionel Tarr wargame I noticed that some bathtubbing was done. I suppose you are thinking about something similar?
ReplyDeleteSteve8,
DeleteThe two sides will be organised into a number of 'formations in a box', which will in turn be grouped into 'Armies' and 'Fronts'. I'm looking at something like one 'formation in a box' = one real-life Army Corps (Axis) or Army (Soviets) ... but that is currently just the starting point. Much will depend upon what stuff I can renovate, and how soon it will be done.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob. Long time, but lockdown means spare time. Your map looks perfectly suited to using Berthier for campaign management. Maybe you already mentioned this, I haven't read the entire blog... Arthur
ReplyDeleteArthur,
DeleteI’m retired, and in many ways all that lockdown has done has made me stay at home more than usual ... but even I am finding the fact that my wife and I cannot go to a restaurant or go window shopping is becoming tedious.
I hope to use my map with a version of the campaign system in my PCW book, although Berthier is definitely an alternative that I know will work,
All the best,
Bob