This version is caused by a CTD tied to Popov, leader of the Left SR insurrection at Moscow. This version removes the unit while I’m looking for a clean version. The version incorporates the new railway and the rules about armored cars described in the last days.
Archive for December, 2012
This one was severely lacking for a complete depiction of Yudenich offensive, as stated here and by a few other sources
Excerpts from Soviet Air Force Theory, 1918–1945, James Sterret (in a collection edited by David M. Glantz 🙂 )
The revolutions of 1917 fragmented the Russian armed forces, and the air force was no exception. Many pilots went home, or to the Whites; an unknown number of others, including Shidlovskii, were shot by their subordinates. Only a handful wound up joining the fledgling Red Air Force; by 1918 only 33 flights of 6 aircraft remained of 91. By late 1919 the Soviets managed to scrape together around 300–350 machines, and managed to maintain this approximate strength throughout the rest of the Civil War. Despite the numerous difficulties of keeping flyable aircraft at the front, which seriously strained repair and production abilities devastated by effects of the revolution, the most serious shortfall was in trained aircrew. There were at most 300 of these in 1919, and an average loss rate of 50percent per year made it difficult to improve on that number. Furthermore, the lack of training led to enough accidents – a disastrous average of one crash per 10–15 hours of flying in 1919 – that one article railing against it was entitled ‘Destroyers and Self-Destroyers’. With effort, the training and equipment situation did improve over the course of the war, albeit slowly.12 The combat employment of the available aircraft was extremely haphazard at first, with small groups, rarely reaching as many as 30 aircraft, sent to every front of the Civil War in 1918, in an attempt to shore up Soviet positions. Fortunately, at that time the air war was not intense, as indicated by the total of six dogfights recorded in 1918, and the Soviets had time to attempt to remedy their efforts. In 1919, a group of senior air officers, including A. N. Lapchinskii, wrote the Nastavleniie po primeneniiu aviatsii na voine RKKA: Proekt(Regulations on the Employment of Aviation in War, RKKA: Project) on the basis of experience at Tsaritsin and laid out a rule which would become one of the central themes in Soviet Air Force thinking:” Due to our general insufficiency of military aviation, it is necessary to accept a basic rule: group them on the most important directions, completely starving secondary directions or serving them in extreme cases with single detachments and those with the smallest possible number of aircraft..”
The official statistics are probably either inflated, include numerous non-combat flights, such as pilot training, or both. Losses in accidents, over 390, were nearly 5 times greater than those in combat, 83, in which the latter figure compares poorly with the claimed 21 kills in aerial combat. Even these figures are low if the claimed numbers of aircraft repaired and built during the war – 1,574 and 669 – are to be made to jibe with claims of an average strength of 350 machines by the end of the war. However, even if the actual figures are murky, it is quite clear that the Soviet repair, construction, and logistical organization operated at full stretch to keep aircraft available.The shortage of trained pilots, mentioned earlier, was even more desperate. The pilot training troubles were worsened by the aircraft available. In later 1920, of 70 air detachments and four flights, 76 per cent were reconnaissance, 18 per cent were fighters, and the remaining 6 per cent accounted for bombers, photoreconnaissance, and artillery correction. However, shortages forced most air units to conduct all manner of work, preventing the pilots from specializing so as to learn any one job well. It should come as no great surprise that complaints about the effectiveness of aircraft were not few. Even aviation’s supporters complained of its shortcomings. A summary of progress in aviation work in 1919 noted that group bombing by even as many as five aircraft was rare, and that only two armies used aircraft for artillery correction. Tukhachevskii noted that aircraft were all too often seen as an assisting arm of service, useful only for reconnaissance and communications.
Changelog:
1) New White regional decision: Spy
each turn there’s a random chance Southern or Siberian Whites factions gets 1 Spy regional decision. The percentage is very low, especially if the nM is under 105.
This regional decision may be played in area controlled by Red player.
Effects: one leader with very high Hide value will be created in this area. This leader has the Spy ability and will reveal enemy forces.
Duration: randomized. This represents the time needed by Cheka to arrest your spy 😉
2) Maximum NM for Reds, Southern Whites and Siberian Whites lowered to 130 ( ie for these 3 factions NM will not go beyond 130). This decision will avoid side effects created by very high NM. A 130 level delivers sufficient bonuses ans isn’t very easy to reach.
3) Added an AI Agent for Miller at Murmansk. experimental measure to evaluate how this new tool, yet unexploited in official AGE game, allows to strengthen the AI.
4) a few tweaks for other AIs
5) added some gfx from the gfx mod from Koval85, located here:
http://www.strategium.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=37798
6) Armored trains will now have 2 new abilities, improving slightly supplies and morale for other troops, in order to portray these 2 roles of this arm during Civil War without creating micromanagement. Giving a higher supply load for Armored train would force to cope with the work of a logistician : an ability improving supply situation in the region where the armored train is gives the same results without hassle.
7) Southern Whites will start without Armored Trains. They didn’t had such units until they captured some at Tikhoretskaya. SO the capture of Tikhoretskaya, Ekaterinodar and Armavir will offer to Southern Whites several armored trains.
To balance the game, Southern Don will get too some armored trains in August 1918 at Azov, month of the formation of the Don armored brigade, these units having being under work since May 1918.
8) Starting position of Southern Whites have been fixed to display the historical situation as best as possible. A few hindsight of REAL historical situation: the 6th June a Red force landed at Taganrog against Germany ( yes) and was beaten. The main Red force in Kuban had then to face Rostov to oppose a possible German retaliation. Germany ccupied since a few months Bataisk, a few kilometers from the rallying point of Southern Whites force, that were more or less protected here by Germany from Bolsheviks.As you may understand it, the current ap of FY will not allow to portray as accurately the real situation. let’s say the new setup is imo as close as possible from the historical situation.
9) Last , Southern White AI has been modified to fit with the new setup ( at first, Denikin was running to Azov 😉 ).
Comments: the version has been delayed a few days first because of real life, then because I needed to update the Southern White AI to the new setup. This AI work is the main culprit of my slow rate of release, because it requires long test time. It’s too my main satisfaction, as FY is delivering a very valuable AI opponent. One my my little pleasure is to look at the Anarchist situation when I get a save by a player. This small AI faction, surrounded by potent enemies, is generally doing rather well, by its own, something I was almost sure to be unreachable results 2 years ago. The Anarchist AI is among my modding one of the features I’m really proud.
This version is beginning to tackle with OOB problems. Others changes will follow. The next will be Zinoviev ‘ who shouldn’t stay on the field all the game) and Armored cars. My sources are stating only Petrograd was equipped for Armored cars productions, even if other cities were centers of repair and refitting.
The correct solution would be to allow construction of armored cars only at Petrograd. However, this would force player to move from this region armored car new units all across the huge map, a task confining to micromanagement….I would prefer a middle solution: armored cars could be built in several regions, but the loss of Petrograd would disallow Red player to build new cars. This compromise seems to me rather satisfactory.
Last, I’ve at last achieved to define the “diplomatic system ” I wish to use in FY. For long, I’ve been unable to avoid a major risk tied to the cost of diplomacy for players: if this cost was in EPs, NMs or money, I needed to rise the pools. But nothing would have prevented players to use new EPs on any matter but diplomacy…The balance would have been endangered.
So diplo will be bought by….VP. This solution offers another advantage: winning side is more attractive than the losers :-). So the winning side will have more diplo activity than the losers.
How it will work: each small faction will be rated from -3 to +3. -3 signifies an alliance with Red, +3 with Whites, 0 being hostility to both. -1 and +1 will be preliminary talks without ceasing combat, -2 and +2 neutrality ( ie suspension of the war situation). each player will pay options to move the level and some situation , possession of key regions will influence independent shift of the level ( let’s say if Reds are occupying Vilnius, Poland level could be lowered).
Don’t expect this new system soon however. I will introduce it only when Fy 1.085 will have reached stability. And SVF 2.0some progress.
I’ve read again Kenetz book on the volunteers Army in 1918 and the 2 Osprey volumes on Armored trains and tanks during the RCW. I’ve come to the conclusion the initial GC setup in RUS is erroned on several points.
First, the Volunteers Army will start the game at Bataisk
Then the Southern Whites will start without Armored Trains. They didn’t had such units until they captured some at Tikhoretskaya. SO the capture of Tikhoretskaya, Ekaterinodar and Armavir will offer to Southern Whites several armored trains.
To balance the game, Southern Don will get too some armored trains in August 1918 at Azov, month of the formation of the Don armored brigade, these units having being under work since May 1918.
I’ve not yet adapted the Southern White AI to these changes. I will do it tomorrow.
Note: the 2 Kenetz books are fully available on Google books for free. Do a search, especially if you’re interested in RCW, of course, or in anything like historical design of game about this period
No, it will remain 2 separate mods 😉
just a few news:
SVF 2.0: the release in 2013 of AACW2 will not cancel me to work on SVF 2.0 and release it. If ever, it will be a necessary step for SVF 3.0 under AACW 2. Whatever AACW 2 features I’m thrilled to work on ACW, one of may pet period nad design my own version of this war.
Fatal years : I’m postponing once again the new version to tomorrow, because I ‘m doing a few changes to Armored trains.
In short, Armored trains will now have 2 new abilities, improving slightly supplies and morale for other troops, in order to portray these 2 roles of this arm during Civil War without creating micromanagement. Giving a higher supply load for Armored train would force to cope with the work of a logistician : an ability improving supply situation in the region where the armored train is gives the same results without hassle.
Then I’m going to use my new knowledge about armored Trains OOB to rework the game OOB that is mistaken on many points. Reading History books is something really useful for Historical wargames 🙂
1) New White regional decision: Spy
each turn there’s a random chance Southern or Siberian Whites factions gets 1 Spy regional decision. The percentage is very low, especially if the nM is under 105.
This regional decision may be played in area controlled by Red player.
Effects: one leader with very high Hide value will be created in this area. This leader has the Spy ability and will reveal enemy forces.
Duration: randomized. This represents the time needed by Cheka to arrest your spy 😉
Beware: this feature will only be present in new games.
2) Maximum NM for Reds, Southern Whites and Siberian Whites lowered to 130 ( ie for these 3 factions NM will not go beyond 130). This decision will avoid side effects created by very high NM. A 130 level delivers sufficient bonuses ans isn’t very easy to reach.
3) Added an AI Agent for Miller at Murmansk. experimental measure to evaluate how this new tool, yet unexploited in official AGE game, allows to strengthen the AI.
4) a few tweaks for other AIs
5) added some gfx from the gfx mod from Koval85, located here:
http://www.strategium.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=37798
I should release this version tomorrow indeed
One of the most undervalued question in FY has been the spying activity of some of the former tzarist officers enrolled in Red Army. So Colonel Liundkvist, chief of staff of the Army defending Petrograd sent to Yudenich details of Bolshevik defense of the city.
After a few hours of work, I’ ve built a system allowing at last to depict such spying help for Whites.
Whites will get a free but rare regional decision: spying
Here the decision is played on Moscow. Playing the decision costs nothing, but the pool will be very low.
This regional decision will create a leader having a very high spy ability, and so will reveal all enemy forces in the area:
This spy will be removed in the next turns ( from 1 to 5). This leader has too a very high hide value, rendering him invisible to Reds.
This new feature will only work for new games ( that’s why I’ve lost 3 hours tonight).
Gfx are yet under work of course 🙂
Modder Corner 