[mooxe]

Very pleased to announce that Ortona 1943 v1.0 has been released.

CC5_Ortona1943_v1.0.plugin.zip

[Tejszd]

Congratulations and thank you to the mod team!

Thank you Mooxe for the plugin and CCS for hosting the mod!

[Pete]

Thank you Mooxe for taking care of the plugin and hosting it!

I am delighted to finally present Ortona 1943 version 1.0 . It has taken a while, for which I apologize, and it is still by no means perfect. However, the quirks of the beta have been addressed and it plays better now in multiplayer. Please bear in mind when playing multiplayer that the stratmap bug has not been resolved .
Version 1.0 is the final version for CC5. Future changes will be incorporated in the version for one of the newer platforms, probably TLD.

Cheers,

Pete

[Pete]

Version 1 updates:
Here is a small list of changes. I didnot make notes of each and every change I applied to the data or map coding and placing of victory locations.


Teams, vehicles, weapons data :
Decreased accuracy of guns and machine guns
Canadian and German armour are now equal in terms of morale, experience and command to improve H2H play.
The bias towards the Sherman in terms of performance was caused by the "SP" ammo type that was removed from the Pz IV. Is now removed from both tanks.
FsJ Teams have now MG34 instead of MG42.
Minor changes in teams and soldiers files.
Marder less impregnable against close assault. I chose to leave the Marder to be difficult to knock out by infantry but from the rear its crew will be vulnerable to small arms fire.
Allied battle groups in ‘Recruit’ setting now have German generic unit names (Infanterie, Panzer, Geschütz, etc.) so that when playing against Allied AI in this setting you have less information about the enemy.

Battle Groups:
Somewhat increased strength of battle groups.
Swapped medium mortars group for a single mortar group in setting Line vs. Line.
Decreased speed of paratrooper battle groups.
Kampfpioniere team removed from Grenadier BG's in Line, Vet and Elite.
Flammenwerfer team removed from Grenadier BG's in Line, Vet and Elite.
Panzerzerstorer team removed from Grenadier BG's in Line, Vet and Elite.
Gr.Buchse team replaces pzschreck team in Grenadier BG's in Line, Vet and Elite.
BG 7/26 Pz.: sniper replaced by spähtrupp.
BG 7/26 Pz.:added Flammpanzer III in settings Green and Recruit. Flammpanzers were used in other sectors of the offensive.
Various other changes in battle group compositions.

Sounds:
Intromusic before deployment mode improved.
Decreased volume of some MG sounds.
Removed click at end of some MG sounds.

Graphics:
Changed vehicle graphic SdKfz 251/10 ; is now correct.
A number of changes in interface screens. Many thanks to Tripwire who completely on his own initiative changed these for us!

Maps and coding:
Added victory locations on some maps.
Moved some victory locations on some maps.
Increased cover of some elements.
Unblocked LOS of stone fence element.
Other minor changes in elements.
Haystacks no longer explode.
Various other map coding improvements.

[Pete]

Known bugs:
The stratmap error is still present. Unfortunately I have not been able to find the cause of the error or a solution. In multiplayer Operations or Campaigns the host player has to go through the Execute – Next – Next sequence twice . During this time the client’s game may freeze up. No effect on the progress of the game has been detected however. To deal with the bug the host has to go through the sequence quickly so that the client’s moves are not seriously affected.
Another known issue is clicking in the stratmap area might cause a crash to desktop. The cause has not been determined nor is a workaround available. This happens completely randomly and fortunately it happened to me only 2-3 times.  During testing at least one crash to desktop was experienced when moving battle groups on the stratmap in single player Operations or Campaigns.
Note: the music that is briefly played before the battle when you are still in deployment mode should not be switched off while it is playing. It will cause a game crash.

[Pete]

Playing Ortona ‘43 mod. – Notes to version 1.0.

This is the long awaited update to the beta version. Most of the release notes remain the same.

Due to the small scale of the historical battlefield you will find that the number of battle groups that will be deployed is much smaller than normal in Close Combat 5 and other modifications. There are around 10 battle groups of battalion size on either side. However, the Canadian battle groups are entering the stratmap sooner than most German units. A number of Fallschirmjäger battle groups do not enter the stratmap until the second half of the campaign. For both players the limited number of battle groups will have consequences. For instance, you can not afford to waste units on mass “zombie” assaults or divert units to piecemeal actions. Furthermore, players would be wiser to retreat on time than to stay on a map until a battle group is exhausted and annihilated because there will not always be another battle group on an adjacent map.
In multiplayer Operations or Campaigns I advise to allow a truce if your opponent requests for one particularly if his battle group is threatened to be annihilated or cut off from supply, provided he retreats from that map. This will prolong the campaign but also gives more depth to the multiplayer campaign or operation.
Also, stratmap connections are drawn such that you can not always move to all adjacent maps. In fact, several bottlenecks have been created where you can only move forward or backward. This will mostly favour the defender who can block an advance by occupying a single map or even a single VL. However, when the defender loses a critical map he had better have a reserve unit in the same sector or he might have to retreat along the entire front in order to avoid losing too much ground or being cut off from a supply line.
The German player needs to delay and exhaust the Canadian advance as much as possible. Then, when all reinforcing Fallschirm units have arrived he can start thinking about regaining lost ground.
Allied battle groups will be reinforced to their initial strength.

Settings Preferences:

Human player versus Human player : Line vs. Line .
Human player versus Human player : Veteran vs. Veteran will somewhat reduce unit availability.
Human German player versus Computer Allied: Elite vs. Recruit : Significantly reduced unit availability vs AI with increased unit availability and more aggression (infantry moves more aggressively, however on city maps the Recruit setting is best avoided).
Human Allied player versus Computer German: Elite vs. Recruit: Significantly reduced unit availability vs. AI with increased unit availability.

Operations and Campaigns mostly come in several versions:
H2H : designed for multiplayer games : support for both sides but no air support for Germans.
SP Can: designed to play as Canadians without support.
SP GE: designed to play as Germans without support.
Single battles are designed in one version only.

German Units
I / 200th Pz. Grenadier Rgt. / 90th Panzer Grenadier Rgt.
II / 200th Pz. Grenadier Rgt. / 90th Panzer Grenadier Rgt.
III / 200th Pz. Grenadier Rgt. / 90th Panzer Grenadier Rgt.
I / 361st Pz. Grenadier Rgt. / 90th Panzer Grenadier Rgt.
II / 361st Pz. Grenadier Rgt. / 90th Panzer Grenadier Rgt.
III / 361st Pz. Grenadier Rgt. / 90th Panzer Grenadier Rgt.
I / 1st Fallschirmjäger Rgt. / 1. FsJ. Division
II / 1st Fallschirmjäger Rgt. / 1. FsJ. Division
III / 1st Fallschirmjäger Rgt. / 1. FsJ. Division
I / 3rd Fallschirmjäger Rgt. / 1. FsJ. Division
II / 3rd Fallschirmjäger Rgt. / 1. FsJ. Division
III / 3rd Fallschirmjäger Rgt. / 1. FsJ. Division
I / 4th Fallschirmjäger Rgt. / 1. FsJ. Division
II / 4th Fallschirmjäger Rgt. / 1. FsJ. Division

Canadian Units
The Royal Canadian Regiment. / 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian Infantry Division (“RCR”)
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment / 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian Infantry Division (“Hasty P’s”)
48th Highlanders of Canada Regiment / 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian Infantry Division (“48 HoC”)
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regiment. / 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian Infantry Division (“PPCLI”)
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada Regiment / 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian (“Seaforth”)
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment / 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian (“Loyal Eddies”)
Royal 22e Regiment / 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian ("Van Doos")
The Carleton and York Regiment / 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian (“C&Y”)
The West Nova Scotia Regiment / 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade / 1st Canadian (“West Novas”)

To fill up the forcepool slots a number of smaller battle groups have been created. Some of those do not use all available unit slots. This works only for the first battle. Before the second battle the empty slots are automatically filled up. It will be the player’s choice whether to remove those units again.

[Pete]

Thank you:

A very special thanks goes out to the conceiver of this mod: PT11070. Without him this mod would never have come into existence. In fact, without his early posts on various forums we would probably never have heard about the battle for Ortona. But he did spark our interest with the current mod as final result.
Thank you too:
those who have found the dedication to create the various modding tools that are invaluable for the Close Combat modmaking community.
Mooxe for creating and updating the plug-in file that we are too dumb to create ourselves,
Mooxe for providing space on the Closecombatseries.net forums and hosting the mod,
Tripwire for improving and suggesting improvements in the interface screens,
All modmakers and mapmakers who inspired or helped us without being aware of it,
any other individual in the Close Combat series community that helped us by answering our questions , offering assistance or moral support, showing an interest and better still, continued interest and finally the community in its entirety for keeping the faith and still being a community and thus encouraging the creative few to continue their modmaking endeavours.


Pete and Buck_Compton

[Pete]

Ortona 1943. (Text virtually unchanged from the beta)

The battle of Ortona is a scarcely documented episode in the Italian Campaign and all documentation available to the mod makers is written from Allied and Canadian perspective. The result of this is a ‘fog of war’ for the modmaker. Canadian reports reveal little details on German units and their dispositions. Information on various internet sites mention ferocious battles between Canadians and German panzergrenadiers and paratroopers, often blowing the paratroopers’ efforts out of proportion into mythical heights. Supposedly a single paratrooper battallion battled an entire Canadian Infantry Division and Armoured Regiment at Ortona. This extremely generalized information was our starting point so that our first job was to collect and process reliable information. Gradually more details became available. It turned out that the Canadians had just taken over the front from a British Division in an ongoing offensive and that initially they only fought Panzergrenadiers.
The Ortona offensive must be looked upon in a wider perspective. In fact, “Ortona” is just the Canadian sector of a much larger offensive of the British Eigth Army towards the end of 1943. Further inland the 8th Indian Division operated on the Canadian flank. Next to them the British 5th Infantry Division and still further inland, in front of Orsogna, operated the 2nd New Zealand Infranty Division.  
The Germans were clearly outnumbered. Their lines were spread thin but they had the advantage of terrain and prepared defenses as the Canadians soon would find out.

So, who are the contestants?

The First Canadian Division
The First Canadian Armoured Brigade
The 8th Indian Division, operating on the Canadian’s left flank
90. Panzer Grenadier Division
26. Panzer Division (on the German right flank)
1. Fallschirmjaeger Division (after 13th December)


90. Panzer Grenadier Regiment.
This unit is often seen as the successor of the 90th Light Division that was active in North Africa. After the 90th Light Division was defeated those who managed to escape were incorporated in the newly formed 90. Pz.Gr. Division that was further replenished with convalescents and replacements. Officially this new division was formed in July 1943 by renaming the Sardinia Division that had been formed in May 1943.
The new formation switched to a “Panzer Grenadier Division 1943” organisation in October and from then on consisted of 2 motorised (soft skin) regiments each with three infantry battallions. They were supported by 1 Panzer Battallion, 1 Panzerjaeger Battallion and 1 artillery regiment. The tank battallion used long barelled Panzers IV.
In December 1943 it was rushed to the front on the Adriatic coast after the 65. Inf. Division collapsed. It appears that its battle with the Canadians was its first large scale combat experience. However, the Germans faced not only the Canadians in their sector but also the Indian 8th Division and as a result their defenses were spread too thin. Outnumbered, against a more experienced and better supported adversary, it was after only several days of fighting at the river Moro that the 90th was no longer able to maintain its positions and was forced to retreat to its next line of prepared defenses, later known as “The Gully” .
At the gully the Germans were further depleted and when it became apparent that the 90th was at the brink of collapse and could face complete annihilation it was pulled out of the front line and its positions were taken over by advance elements of the 1st Fallschirmjaeger Division. The 90th Panzer Grenadier Division had lost most of its combat value within 2 weeks after its baptism of fire.

1st Fallschirmjaeger Division:

As soon as the paratroopers arrived at the scene around the 14th of December 1943, the nature of the battle changed. Where the Grenadiers had attempted several counter attacks aimed at throwing back the Canadians behind the Moro river, the paratroopers were content to sticking to their usual defensive and delaying tactics. Initially 3 battallions were rushed to the front, later on reinforced in Ortona by a second battallion and north of Ortona by elements of the 1st Regiment.
A Canadian report mentions at some point that between Orsogna and Ortona 5 Fallschirmjaeger battallions had been identified. The Canadians’ assessment of the paratroopers is as follows :

“From the manner in which they are employed, it is evident that the Germans consider their "Fallschirmjaeger" as specialist inf. They have nearly always been used to hold and delay until a suitable defensive posn further back can be organized and manned by inf or Panzer Grenadiers. Often, they are thrown in to help restore a critical situation.” “The fact that these "Specialists" have appeared on our front to relieve the exhausted 90 PG Div gives us a clue to the enemy's intentions and fears.”

And:
“The most noteworthy characteristics of para tp defensive tactics are: dogged tenacity, extreme economy in manpower (evidenced by their reluctance to counter-attack), skill in timing a withdrawal, and skill in  concealment.”  

Roughly two types of paratroops could be distinguished: the younger and inexperienced men who had been trained for some months but without the jumps and the veterans who had seen action on one or more fronts such as Crete, Sicily and even Russia.
What the paratroopers further set apart from the Panzergrenadiers was that they were volunteers as opposed to conscripted men. Worth noting is that the Canadians were also volunteers because Canada had decided not to impose general conscription for service overseas.

First Canadian Infantry Division:

Mobilized in September 1939 before the war was formally declared it was transported to Great Britain by the end of the same year. As Canada had decided not to impose general conscription for service overseas the division consisted solely of volunteers just like the German paratroopers they would so often meet. It spent its time in Great Britain training, training and training even more to the extent that its lack of combat action became a concern for the Canadian people.
Finally in 1943 it was deployed to the Mediterranean. It took part in the Sicily campaign where it saw combat for the first time. After Sicily it landed in Calabria in the South of Italy and gradually fought its way north against increasing German resistance. The Italian campaign allowed the Canadians to gradually gain more experience and battling the panzergrenadiers at the river Moro they could be regarded as the better troops. Apart from that they were supported by a most effective artillery branch. Outnumbering the Germans the battle at the Moro was effectively over after the panzergrenadiers had wasted their men on ill-conceived counter atacks. Yet the Canadians moved on cautiously on a narrow front that left little room for large manouvres. Sometimes it seemed that they were hampered more by the terrain than their opponents. The lack of understanding of the terrain by the Canadian command resulted in impossible orders. The repeated frontal assaults on a well dug-in enemy in steep gullies is perhaps the best example. Taking the town of Ortona was yet another such plan. Canadian command did not appreciate the defensive tactical advantage of a town perched on a steep cliff. In fact, it was presumed that the Germans would yield the town and retreat to the next ravine. Had the Canadians simply focussed all their efforts on bypassing the town and approaching it from the rear many lives would have been saved. As a result, the Canadian footsoldier was able to leave his mark on the history of the Italian Campaign. With resourcefullness, creativity, determination and to a lesser extent armoured support two understrength battallions defeated two paratrooper battallions. Losses suffered in Ortona town numbered around 100 deaths on both sides. Considering the odds it is perhaps the Canadian performance in Ortona town that has not been put in the right perspective yet.

Enjoy the mod!

Pete and Buck_Compton

[ke_mechial]

Thanks Pete for making and Mooxe for updating!!! I always admire the work of modders, who puts their souls and sweat to the job...

[tripwire]

Thank you Pete and Buck for this update.  Much appreciated!  I'll report back after giving her a go.

[platoon_michael]

WoW
This is Awesome.

Thank-You very much to all those involved.
I'm downloading it now.

And thank you Pete for reading material,
haven't read anything good on this site for a long time.

[johnsilver]

Played 1st 3 maps and they are beautiful! Congratulations team on what appears to be a job well done!

I do want to report a CTD on initial launch of the mod however, that is 1st time launch that has yet to be repeated.

[Tejszd]

[Pete]

Feel free to post your comments and suggestions in this thread. I am going to port this mod to TLD and incorporate further refinements in that version.

[tripwire]

Hmmmmm... no CTD on initial launch for me.

Wonderful work, Pete!!  The updates are working well.... I'm excited to play many more single battles to see more of the effects!

[Buck_Compton]

Let us not forget about PT who started this project originally.

Cheers Buck

[Manoi]

argh I have to wait the tld porting but can't wait to play it! Is it possible to make some screens?

[Pete]

Hey Manoi , sure, screenshots of the maps can be found here:
http://www.closecombatseries.net/CCS/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=thumbnails&album=57&page=1&sort=

[Manoi]

Thanks. I like the historical background and the campaign explanation.

[US_Brake]

Looks great. I wish we had an Italy 43 for COI.