Reorganization of core during long campaign
 

I'd like to make a rather drastic change to my core in a current long campaign. I want to end up with a StuG/10 type company layout, that is a command section of one StuG and three platoons of three StuG's each. I currently have a panzer company with a command section of one panzer, a platoon of five light panzers, and three platoons of five panzers. For storyline reasons I'd like to get rid of the old 0 units.

I'm planning to buy a sniper to hold the units, play a dummy draw game where I assign all the panzers (except 0 units of course) to the sniper as their platoon HQ unit. Then in the refit stage, delete all remaining elements of the original panzer company, and expand core with the new formation. In a second dummy draw game, I'll replace the non-0 units of the new formation with units attached to the sniper. Then in the second refit stage, delete the sniper formation and change the remaining panzers to StuGs.

Wondering if this will work? Anyone have any experience with this sort of massive change and any tips to share? I also wonder whether the platoon commanders will stay the new 0 units or switch to the possibly higher ranking/more experienced non-0 units?

Brian

Re: Reorganization of core during long campaign
 

Why so complicated? Just replace first 3 units in first 3 platoons with what you want and convert the rest say into PzGrenadier support ;)

Re: Reorganization of core during long campaign
 

On an unrelated note, don't you think having only stugs would be a wee bit boring?

Re: Reorganization of core during long campaign
 

He could probably do another big re-org a few battles later again. Im having a long German campaign and would like to be able to do something similar. Ive got Panzers and Inf now in Poland but would like a big re-org to a paratrooper or mountain core for Greece for example. Then back to Panzers for Barbarossa.

Re: Reorganization of core during long campaign
 

The reason for the complexity is the storyline behind the KG Krafft GE long campaign DAR and the plot device I'm using to transfer a portion of KG Krafft (including the commander) out of the North Africa theatre.

Historically North Africa seems to be the 'black hole' of theatres for Germany in WWII. I can't find one instance of any formation being rotated out of that theatre, although a few were reconstituted elsewhere after the surrender in Tunisia. Personnel, on the other hand, were rotated out, mostly for health reasons but still it happened.

The German army, at least early in the war, preferred to raise new formations by calving older formations rather than entirely from scratch. Basically this involved taking half of the personnel from the veteran organization and using it to form the core of the new organization.

In the story, Oberstlt Krafft is being relieved of his command for political reasons - having an old nemesis whispering in the ear of high ranking SS officers could do that. Some of the generals Oberstlt Krafft served under, including Rommel and his chief of staff, are doing what they can to mitigate the damage.

The new formation in this case is being, more or less, calved from the old formation (even though they are of differing types), with a third to a half of the old unit being rotated out of theatre and transferred into the new unit. The catch is that this is all being done behind the curtain with Rommel's consent but also subject to his imposed limits. The limits being his reluctance to part with any more command personnel (officer losses were high as it was in that theatre) or bleed the old formation too dry of its veterans.

I realize I'm probably going a bit overboard on this :D

Thanks,
Brian

Re: Reorganization of core during long campaign
 

Ever played the Sturmgeschutz Brigade 276 campaign? I really enjoyed that one, of course, I realize that just a StuG battery alone in a long campaign would be rough if not downright suicidal. Initially I plan to have some sort of self propelled artillery along, just trying to find a higher level formation to lend it to me :) Of course, there will also be some AAA assets of some kind, and StuG's without munitions transports and infantry to support are not very effective. Some of that I'll buy from support points but I'll likely have a company of infantry along in the core although, like the support companies and various infantry companies which have been in the core before, they aren't really 'the core'. I sell them off and replace them before they get too much experience.

Later on in the story arc of the long campaign I plan to have (assuming good performance in the interim) Oberstlt Krafft overcome his situation and once again become a panzer commander, probably a schwere panzer formation, and probably about the time I switch to the western front.

Thanks :)
Brian

Re: Reorganization of core during long campaign
 

See? Convert the "superfluous" panzers into infantry and you have your StuG and Infantry co. ;)