This place is getting busy

[Bayonet]

Looks like the sale generated more interest!!!   

[budd]

game deserves more attention....now one of my favorites

[Missouri_Rebel]

game deserves more attention....now one of my favorites

+1 and then some.

Best thing to come out of Russia since Yakoff Smirnoff and Anna Kournikova.

     

[Flashburn]

From my understanding from asking a guy from Belarus. ......Calling guys from Ukraine Russian is like calling a Canadian an American.     lol

But patch plus sale........ya.  Heck, I even slowed way down on my SABOW mod to go on an APOS binge.........again.   

[andrey12345]

Some geography 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/World_map_political_ISO.png?uselang=ru

Big red country on top of map is a Russia (RU).
Small magenta country near "left-bottom" borders of Russia is an Ukraine (UA).

[Bayonet]

<--- The Canadian knew that.  He also knows holopchi, perogie and borsch.

[andrey12345]

holopchi

hloptzi (guys)

borsch.

borsh' (soup with beets and tomatoes)

 

[Missouri_Rebel]

Some geography 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/World_map_political_ISO.png?uselang=ru

Big red country on top of map is a Russia (RU).
Small magenta country near "left-bottom" borders of Russia is an Ukraine (UA).

Lol...I thought I read somewhere the game was made by Russian developers. My mistake.

My Great Grandmother was from Kiev.

For my mistake I shall buy your next game and the one after that. You had me at привіт.

I'm taking down Yakoff but Anna shall stay!

[wodin]

Since  my first Graviteam purchase of SF 42 about  five so years ago I've been a Graviteam fan. Loved APK but it got little attention just like SF42 which is one of my all time favourites aswell, and considering I've never enjoyed a tank sim before that has to say something.

I've had the demo of APOS for awhile and was waiting for a sale which came on at the same time as I had the money, thankfully strat first sale came along and bingo. APOS is a great evolution of APK and long may it continue.

I spread the word about the sale on my Wargame FB page which hopefully might have brought in another customer or two.

Oh and where is the SF42 Op Blau expansion for us english players?

[JMass]

I spread the word about the sale on my Wargame FB page which hopefully might have brought in another customer or two.

Hi Wodin, I bought APOS too!

[wodin]

Hello JMass old mate..enjoy it's a great game.

[Bayonet]

hloptzi (guys)

 

No, holopchi(cabbage rolls) 

[Missouri_Rebel]

hloptzi (guys)

 

No, holopchi(cabbage rolls) 

Sure. Cabbage rolls. Is that what the kids are calling them these days?

[andrey12345]

hloptzi (guys)

 

No, holopchi(cabbage rolls) 

AAAA golubtsi, but "holopchi" is good too 

[Redmarkus4]

From my understanding from asking a guy from Belarus. ......Calling guys from Ukraine Russian is like calling a Canadian an American.     lol

But patch plus sale........ya.  Heck, I even slowed way down on my SABOW mod to go on an APOS binge.........again.   

How about going on an APOS Campaign creation binge??? LOL

[Flashburn]

LOL!  You have no idea................I am trying not too.  Still have 2 campaigns I need to balance out and get finished models into SABOW (finished m2hb, F5E, and corrected g3).  Fortunatly Andrey has said he will help out.  Minor silly issue with G3 and I don't know WTF with F5. 

But have been considering doing a campaign mid 42ish, non or semi historical.  Don't know much about 2nd battle of Karkov, so semi historical would be as far as I would go.  MAybe battle of Rostov or based off it?  I don't know.  But it would take a day or two to get the basics of what I would want to do and at least a couple weeks making sure it plays out the way I would want (or close).  Does anyone know what red army units got m3 stuarts from lend lease?  Also new scripting functions to learn as I certainly would want to use them. 

But I am considering messing with Solovoko campaign and making German side playable.  Not really into the Germans and it would be pretty easy playing as them in this campaign.  That is my guess as to why German side is not playable at least. 

[Redmarkus4]

Do something that hasn't been done before.  Operation Mars Nov 1942 focusing on the fighting around Belji:

1. The Soviets cross the river and break through the German lines.
2. Sov rapid penetration is halted head on by the arrival of a Regiment from GD and elements of 19th Pz Div (?) along the line of the Belji highway
3. Halted Sov units are then attacked in the flank by additional German Pz Divs coming up piecemeal from the south.
4. The Sovs have to try and rescue their forces with a fighting withdrawal under severe pressure.

Should be great from both sides.  Lots of movement.  Loads of tank and Panzer units engaged.  Most people have never heard of it.

The forces deployed for Mars were equivalent to those engaged to create the Pocket at Stalingrad.  The Soviet offensive was commanded by Zhukov. 

[Dane49]

That would be excellent.I play alot of quick battles on APOS,portraying the GD division moving into the Luchessa  river valley(SE of Belyi) trying to stem the tide of a Soviet breakthrough.Lots of attacking,defense and counter attacks in the scenarios of mine.

[Dane49]

The Luchessa Valley:
The German defense in the Luchessa
Valley was the responsibility of the 216th
Grenadier Regiment of the 86th Infantry
Division. The regiment covered a front of
over 7 km . To hold this line the regiment
was composed of two battalion (with
a total of six companies) and three batteries
of artillery (less than one company for every
kilometer . The only unit
in reserve in the area was an anti-partisan
detachment of the 110th Infantry Division
(roughly two companies strong).
The Soviets conducted company strength
probes of the German lines in the early
morning hours of 24 November but by 0900
the front was quiet. In the early afternoon
the 9th Army ordered the first units of the
GD to move from Olenino to Gusevo to act
as OKH Reserve in the Luchessa Valley.
What prompted this decision is unknown but this action was the first step that would
doom the Soviet efforts.
The main Soviet attack began at dawn
on 25 November after a one hour artillery
barrage. The sector of the Gr.R.216 was attacked
by two regiments of the 238th Rifle
Division supported by tanks of the 49th
Tank Brigade. The German strongpoints
held throughout most of the day but by
nightfall a 2 km gap had been formed in the
center of the regiment. The Soviets halted
for the night. By midnight, II/Gr.R.GD and
Pio.GD had arrived at Travino and were
immediately attached to Gr.R.216
The Soviets renewed their attacks on 26 November and by early morning had forced
another gap between III/Gr.R.216 and I/
Gr.R.167 to the south. Moving through the
gaps the Soviets tanks of 1st Guard and 49th
Tank Brigades probed to the east while the
infantry surrounded the III/Gr.R.216. The
tank exploitation was not pushed very hard
and was easily halted by counterattacks of
I/Gr.R.216 and II/Gr.R.GD. After dark the
III/Gr.R.216 was able to slip away and a
new line was formed.
The line was held throughout 27 Nov
as the Soviets concentrated against the I/
Gr.R.167 to the south. This battalion was
pushed south and the dent in the line was
widened to 6 km. At dusk the decision was
reached to pull the German line back to
Griva  - Travino -
Starukhi - Ladishino - Karskaya. Also at this
time, the GD Infantry Division was placed
in command of the Luchessa Valley sector
and additional GD units began moving to
the area.
The Germans were successful in breaking
contact with their foe and Soviet efforts on
28 November consisted of probes designed
to locate the German forces. In the first
of these actions the Germans virtually
destroyed the Ski Battalion of the 185th
Rifle Division as they approached Starukhi
at dawn. After this it was noon before signs
of further attack preparations were observed
and when the attacks came they were small
and easily repulsed. One factor that worked
to keep the Soviets off balance throughout
28 November was the local counterattacks
launched by I/Gr.R.216 from the area of
Griva. Also beginning on 28 November, a
German radio intercept unit was set up and information about Soviet plans and actions
found their way directly to the GD Division
Staff.
At this point, Soviet Command realized
that the Rifle Divisions had failed in their
efforts to force a breakthrough. With patience
running thin the decision was made
to commit the 3rd Mech Corps into the
meat grinder.The GD Fights for Survival:
The German command was split into two
Kampfgruppen located north and south of
the Luchessa River: KG Lindemann with I/
Gr.R.216 at Griva and Jagd.110 at Travino
and KG Lorenz with II/Gr.R.GD, two
companies of Pio.GD, and one company
of Gr.R.252 (110.ID) in the area east of
Starukhi. Also nominally attached to KG
Lorenz (but in effect isolated) was the III/
Gr.R.216 located at Karskaya. An antitank
line composed of available AT and Flak guns
was also set up from Voronino to Merkushi
and KG Köhler (I/Gr.R.GD) was moved
into Vaskovo in reserve.
The attack of the 3rd Mech Corps (including
over 200 tanks) was initiated in a
formation that was basically two brigades
wide and two brigades deep. The combined
1st Guard and 49th Tank Brigades, followed
by 1st Mech, was to attack down
the main road, cross the Luchessa River at
Bogoroditskoe, and push to cut the main
road at Gusevo. The 3rd Mech, followed by
the 10th Mech, was to parallel the left wing
and clear the south bank of the Luchessa
River ultimately reaching the main road
where it crossed the river. Follow-up forces
consisted of the 114th Rifle Brigade and
the 1319th Rifle Regiment supported by
the 39th Independent Tank Regiment.
The attack against II/Gr.R.GD was initiated
at 0800 hours on 29 November and
the defenses were breached by 1125. The
German 50mm AT guns were virtually
powerless against the mass of Soviet T-34's
and most were simply overrun. Fearing the
worst, the bridge at Bogoroditskoe was
prepared for demolition and a detachment
was sent to guard the bridge at Smolkovo.
By 1200 the Germans were in full retreat
to the river where a new line was formed
with I/Gr.R.GD behind the steep river bank
(by 1420 the II/Gr.R.GD was down to 80
men with three LMGs and three 50mm AT
guns). The Soviets were slow to follow-up
with infantry and it was 1815 before they
worked their way to the bridge forcing the
Germans to destroy it.
In the south the Soviets attacked the III/
Gr.R.216 with two battalions of the 3rd
Mech Brigade while a third covered the
flank of the Tank Brigades. Karskaya was
held for the better part of the day but the
Germans were finally forced out due to
low ammunition supplies (the III/Gr.R.216
again escaped encirclement). Follow up
was slow but the 3rd Mech was able to
take Goncharova and disperse two German
artillery batteries in the area.
Throughout the day all available troops in
the rear area were sent to the front including
a number of Alarm units. Except for occasional artillery fires, the Soviets were
content to rest for the night and their tanks
pulled back for resupply. During the night
concern for the southern flank resulted in
the movement of the I/Gr.R.GD into the
area of Smolkovo.
The Soviet attacks on 30 November began
at 0540, again after a sustained artillery
bombardment. Their infantry was initially
successful in capturing Bogoroditskoe but
a counterattack by Pio.GD forced them out.
A new bridge was completed about 0930
but since the tanks had been sent to the
rear to wait, it was early afternoon before
they began their crossing. New attacks
developed late in the day but these were
stopped through the combined effects of
the artillery and flak guns.
Attacks south of the Luchessa were light
and easily repulsed throughout most of the
day. At 1510, however, the Soviets attacked
in force taking the villages of Smolkovo and
the forests to the east. The I/Gr.R.GD and
III/Gr.R.216 barely avoided encirclement
before retreating to Gorovatka.
The Germans continued to feed troops
into the battle and by dark actually felt
that they had absorbed most of the Soviet
offensive capability. They were so confident
that orders went out for a general counterattack
to begin on 1 December...orders that
would never be executed.
On 1 December, the Soviets started the
day with major attacks along the entire front.
Infantry crossed the river at Starukhi and took the Travino heights while tanks (carrying
infantry) crossed at Bogoroditskoe
and push into the forests at points 236.9
and 241.3. In the south the German defenders
were also severely tested. By dusk the
German line was formed as follows: KG
Lindemann holding Griva, Dunino, and
Belikovo but isolated from the main line;
KG Lorenz blocking the main road at
Lomov-Vereista; KG Köhler at Vereista,
Kutsovlevo, and Gordeevo; KG Huch (I/
Gr.R.252) in the forests near Krivusha
and Khudulikha. In the south the Soviets
were dangerously close to the main supply
road.The Final Soviet Push:
During the night of 1-2 December the
Soviets concentrated in the bridgehead
north of the Luchessa River. This included
the 1319th Regt at Travino facing NW, the
1st Mech, 1st Guard Tank, 49th Guard Tank
Brigades astride the main road, and the 10th
Mech Brigade located near Misyulkino.
Fortunately for the Germans only the 3rd
Mech Brigade remained in the south.
The Soviet attacks on both 2 and 3
December were concentrated at Kotenitsi in an attempt to outflank the German road
block and open the way to Gusevo. Fighting
was extremely fierce and these attacks cost
both sides heavy casualties. With additional
German units continuing to arrive the front
finally stabilized on 4 December.Aftermath
The GD would remain in the Luchessa
Valley through the end of 1942 and would
finally concentrate there as a division. Attacks
and counter attacks would continue
but the Soviet 3rd Mech Corps was wrecked
and had to be withdrawn and rebuilt. The
performance of the entire Großdeutschland
Division throughout the winter battles in the
9th Army area was exemplary and General
Model (commander of 9th Army) showed
his appreciation by transferring one officer,
one NCO, and one enlisted man from each
of the divisions under his command to help
the Großdeutschland rebuild.Hitler, however, had also taken a personal
interest in the Luchessa Valley battle and
was very unhappy that the GD had been
forced to give ground (seems no one bothered
to tell him that only three battalions
of the Division had been present). For the
alleged disaster a scapegoat had to be found
and the Division Operations Officer (Major
von Hobe) was replaced, an act that did not
sit well with the fighting troops.

[Flashburn]

Never have understood why the soviets named all their operations after planets.   


Well for historical background...........combined with what I would consider interesting........

1.  Needs to be something that could have easily gone either way.
2.  Focus on battalion or less.  Attempting to do justice to division sized actions would be nothing but problematic. In addition, I am personally more interested in the plight of individuals and small units.  All to many of the history books focus on large scale stuff IMO.
3.  Maps need to work somewhat for it...
4.  Do not want to do a winter offensive.  We have the seasons such as summer and such that I miss.     Thats a big one for me!
5.  Future dlc and such will have more focus on later equipment of the war......su152, later model KV1's, panzer 4G's, stugs and such.  Flat square in 42 sounds good to me.

early days of 2nd Karkov offensive is the way I am leaning.....  But alas do not know much of units involved and there respective equipment.  But then again, even a large engagement or probe at company and battlalion level would work vary well within APOS.  Sure it is not a super mega battle, but tell that to the guys that had to fight it.   

Or just drop the historical aspect........ok, no.......I am a history buff too.  But semi historical balancing between FUN/CHALLENGE/and the flavor of the action that took place.  Geee does that not sound easy?  UGh.