EROMMEL'S KAMPFGRUPPE PEIPER

[ERommel]

NEW VERSION 5 READY JUNE 28 2015

EROMMEL'S KAMPFGRUPPE PEIPER CAMPAIGN
by EROMMEL

BETA (IN DEVELOPMENT. PLEASE PLAY AND OFFER SUGGESTIONS)
*** Please provide me with feedback to assist me in improving the scenarios for the next update!***
CAMPAIGN TYPE: Historical, every effort was made to simulate the historical battle.

Based on the historical battles of the 1 SS Panzer Regiment of the 1 SS Panzer Division commanded by Battle Group Commander Obersturmbannfuhrer Jochen Peiper in operation Wacht Am Rhein (Watch on the Rhein) also commonly known as The Battle of the Bulge.

Every effort was made to provide an historical campaign that serious gamers will enjoy. Both the German and American player will enjoy the challenges.

LIST OF SCENARIOS IN THIS CAMPAIGN (SCENARIOS 1 to 10 are now available)

“Paving the Road for Entry”
Forces: Regiment of the 3rd Parachute Division vs US Recon Platoon
01 Lazenrath town and Ridge

Shock Assault”
Forces: Kampfgruppe Peiper's Advance Guard Force vs Various US Rear Line Forces.
02 Bucholz Train Station
03 Honsfeld Town
04 Bullingen Fuel Dump & Airstrips
05 Wirtzfeld US Division Command HQ

“Cross Country Race”
Forces: Peiper's Advance Guard vs Rear Line Infantry in disarray.

06 Baugnez Crossroads, Malmady
07 Ligneuville Town, US Divisional Command Post "Dinner at Hotel du Moulin"

“Major Bridge Crossings”
Forces: Peiper's Main Force vs Regular US Infantry, TDs, and Engineers

08 Battle at Stavelot Bridge
09 Trois-Ponts
10 Stoumont Assault
11 Targnon

IN DEVELOPMENT
“Defensive Positions”
Forces: Peiper's Main Force Very Low on Supplies vs Regular US Forces, Tanks, and Air Support
12 Stoumont
13 Chapelle St-Anne
Forces: Peiper's Main Force Critically Low on Supplies vs Regular US Forces, Tanks, and Air Support
14 Stavelot
15 Trois-Ponts
16 La Gleize
“Escape to Germany Through US lines”
Forces: Demoralized German Soldiers that have dropped their equipment with no support vs US Airborne
17 Rochelinval

NOTES REGARDING ALL SCENARIOS:

There are new units and mods (A big thank you to Enric for script support)
All Scenerio maps are massive and most scenarios include a large number of units.
***If you don't like loading time I don't suggest these games. I am pushing the envelop”.
Most turns are from 25 to 35 turns long.

New Units:
USA FOO (Forward Observation Officer) Unit has triple the "scouting" ability of regular scouts. Unit provides the US player with exceptional operational awareness. They are virtually defenceless with no ability to assault vehicles. Keep them safe! 


GERMAN BATTLE GROUP
Parachute Company Attached, used as support
Advance Recon Team : Usually consisting of 2 Panthers, a few Half-tracks, and scouts / infantry.
Advance Guard: The faster moving units. Usually Mechanized Waffen SS, Panthers, Panzer IVs, and other fast moving units. The Peiper "Leader" unit will sometimes be included.
Main Battle Group: Same as above but includes Tiger class tanks, 150mm Arti Support (towed and self propelled), AA units and other misc support vehicles. The Peiper "German Leader" unit will always be included.


SCENARIO #1: LAZENRATH

GERMAN PARACHUTE BATTALION vs AMERICAN RECON PLATOON
1) BATTLE OF LANZERATH RIDGE
The first battle of the German operation in the Ardennes, 16 Dec 1944
Although not a battle of the Kampfgruppe Peiper, I decided to begin the series with the battle at Lanzerath town as it did directly impact Peiper's battlegroup. This is the battle of German Infantry units tasked with clearing the town of Lanzerath and securing the highway that passes through the town that is Peiper's designated route through the Ardennes. The small town of Lanzerath bordered the military border. The destroyed bridge leading into Lanzerath was actually destroyed by retreating German forces during the fighting in the fall of 1944. Peiper was assigned this route and expected to cross it. Due to improper intel or simply a lack of preparedness, Peiper was unaware that the bridge remained destroyed. This is the first in a long list of problems that Peiper would face in his drive to Antwerp which ended in total failure.

BATTLE OF LANZERATH RIDGE (Historical outline for the purpose of this scenario)
Organisation
GERMAN ORGANISATION
500 Soldiers from the 3rd Paratroop (Fallschirmjaeger) Division
The Division suffered massive losses during the Normandy campaign. The new reconstituted division was filled using old men, young boys and anyone that could carry a weapon. Soldiers were teamed up with experienced "real" paratroopers. 

US ORGANISATION
18 soldiers of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, 394th Regiment, 99th Infantry Division, 2 Forward Observation Teams "FOO", and reinforcements & Support.

CONTACT:
The US Intel Platoon spread out and dig in. Reinforcements are ordered to establish a defensive command post on the ridge, North East of the town. Intel units are not carrying heavy weapons and are not capable of mounting any sort of assault. Rather, they are hoping to delay the Germans with what they do best: Calling in Artillery.

BATTLE:
The battle was an outstanding victory for the US side and the platoon was honoured for stalling the entire German army for some 20 hours. The inexperienced German troops rushed into the prepared defences in frontal assaults that was described by one of the US soldiers as like shooting turkey. Eventually the Germans were able to flank the Americans and when they did the young 20 year old Lt leading the soldiers ordered a surrender having successfully completed his task to delay the German attack. The delay of an entire army by less than 50 lightly armed soldiers however became legend. It was also extremely lucky that accompanying the intel units was a total of 4 FOOs. Their skills at calling in artillery and their ability to reserve 4 divisional guns for the defence also proved pivotal in resisting the assaults. As the German player of this scenario you will come to hate every 4th turn of a massive Arti barrage and will quickly learn to plan around them or quickly lose your units. As the US player you will need a great deal of skill to keep the German units from overrunning the ridge.

NOTES:
This is version 2. Thanks to KINGT for play testing version 1 and offering outstanding support.

SCENARIO #2: BUCHOLZ STATION
GERMAN PARACHUTE COMPANY/TANK RECON TEAM vs AMERICAN INFANTRY

Peiper arrives at Lazenrath at 2400 and finds that the men of the 3rd Parachute division 9th Regiment resting throughout the village. Although the Parachute Commander outranked him the bold Pieper does not hold back on his indignation. He orders and an immediate conference with the commanders to resume the assault to the next objective.

The plan: at 0400hrs an advance scout group consisting of 2 halftracks and 2 panthers will slowly drive down the road supported on each side by parachute troops. Following this group will be a company of infantry from Diefenthal's battalion of the 2nd SS Panzer Grenadiers Regiment in halftracks. The remainder of the force will advance forward once the road to the train station has been cleared.

History: The column began at 0400hrs and met no resistance. They advanced to the station and caught the 2 platoons of Company K of the 394th American Infantry Regiment totally by surprise as they had lined up outside for breakfast.

SCENARIO #3: TERROR AT HONSFELD
GERMAN WAFFEN SS / PANZERS / ROCKETS / MISC vs AMERICAN INFANTRY SUPPORTED WITH A/T UNITS

Kampfgruppe Peiper refuelled at Bucholz Station and made plans for his next target: town of Honseld. The town straddled a major highway and the intersection of major routes. For the Americans the town was a junction for various troop movements and supplies and was well in the rear of the 99th Division. It was also the designated rest area for the 99th division’s 394th regiment. Peiper would be facing tired, burned out soldiers. Defences were light: New recruit infantry, 2 platoons of the 801st Tank Destroyers Battalion, and a few additonal towed guns from the 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion added the previous night. Honsfeld was also the V Corps anti-aircraft defence region and included 2 battalions of 90-mm guns. Troop A, 32d Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was also en route through the town during the preceding evening and would add to the defence.

Peiper grasped the reality of the situation and planned to take advantage of the confusion and disorganization on the American side by attacking late at night when the Americans would be at their most vulnerable. He ordered his troops to quietly infiltrate the town and attack by surprise. The majority of the fighting would be conducted by his elite Waffen SS troups supported by the battalion of Paratroopers that he, the previous day, had transferred to his command from the 3rd Parachute Divison. The plan worked beautifully with the majority of Peiper's infantry including a few Panthers and some halftracks managing to enter the town without having to fire a shot. “All hell broke loose” as one American soldier late stated when the Germans were finally spotted. A guard at an intersection found that a tank seemed to be oddly wider than usual and upon closer inspection realized that it was a German Panther. Resistance broke within minutes although some anti tank gunners maintained some resistance until they were finally dispatched. Peiper was in a good mood for the first time since the campaign began. The booty included 50 American vehicles and several anti tank guns which would serve Kampfgruppe Peiper well in the coming days.


SCENARIO #4: BULLINGEN FUEL DEPOT (AIRSTRIP , FUEL)
GERMAN WAFFEN SS / PANZERS / ROCKETS/ MISC vs AMERICAN INFANTRY / ANTI-TANK / ARTI / MISC DUG IN DEFENSIVE POSITIONS

A captured map identified a fuel depot a few kilometers north of Honsfeld at Bullingen. Honsfeld was off his course and a designated objective of the 12 SS Division which was yet to reach the area. Peiper took the initiative and decided to conduct a quick raid of Bullingen to fuel up his vehicles.

Bullingen also suffered from chaos and was lightly defended. Engineers of the 107th Michigan (then 254th) were ordered to shed their equipment and to reorganise as regular infantry. This had to be done during the late hours just after midnight as it was now expected that a German assault would soon be coming in the early morning. At 0600hrs Peiper's tanks came into view. Armed with small arms and a few bazookas and supported by anti-tank guns and recon units, the brave Americans managed to resist 2 initial assaults before being ordered to withdraw.

Peiper's Kampfgruppe seized 50,000 gallons of fuel by the time American artillery came down. There was also sporadic sky clearing which allowed for some limited US air support.

SCENARIO #5: WIRTZFELD
GERMAN MECH RECON TEAM vs AMERICAN INFANTRY / MISC
German confidence was beginning to rise and with the capture of the fuel and ammo depot at Bullingen spirits were up. The taking of Bullingen was technically beyond his specific orders and not wanting to press his luck he ordered that his battlegroup return to the designated route West towards Malmedy. In his hands however was intelligence showing the location of a US Command HQ just a few km north at Wirtzfeld. Not wanting to press his luck, Peiper ordered a small recon battle team to probe North to investigate and take the opportunity to capture a command post if the opportunity presented itself.

Wirtzfeld was defended by anti-tank guns from C Company of the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion (57mm guns). Additional anti-tank guns and infantry arrived in time to support the defense. The loss of 3 tanks and 1 half-track in the initial advance was enough for the Germans to decide that this objective was too costly to proceed with and the small recon force returned to join the main battle group heading west.

SCENARIO #6: BAUGNEZ “Malmedy Massacre”
GERMAN ADVANCE GUARD vs AMERICAN INFANTRY / MECH UNITS / ANTI-TANK / MISC

***This scenario is based on an alternative history: What if the Americans had anti-tank support to fight off the Germans!”

1200hrs noon on 17 december
Peiper's advance guard reaches crossroads at the Hamlet of Baugnez, a tiny village of 9 houses a few kms south of the town of Malmedy. The US battery B of the US 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion was on route to Ligneuville (the same objective as Peiper).
Please research “Malmedy Massacre” to learn of the events at Baugnez.
In this scenario, I have attempted to simulate an initial massacre followed by a counter attack by US forces. The German player has the advantage however and it will be extremely difficult for the American side to win.

SCENARIO #7: Dinner at Hotel du Moulin (LIGNEUVILLE)
GERMAN ADVANCE GUARD vs AMERICAN INFANTRY / ANTI-TANK / MECH / MEDIUM TANKS

Peiper learned from a captured American Colonel that there was a command post in the town of Ligneuville which made that next objective an even more important target. Ligneuville was home to the 49th Anti Aircraft Artillery Brigade headed by a Brigadier General. The capture of such a highly ranking officer would be a feather in Peiper's cap and he made plans to surprise the command post housed in the Hotel du Moulin (you can still visit the hotel today!). The American general caught wind of the advancing Germans however and fled quickly. It was said that his dinner was still warm enough for Peiper himself to enjoy.

Ligneuville would be the first time that Peiper's troops would face American tanks since the operation began. 2 Shermans and 1 M10 was all that stood against Peiper's Panthers. For the sake of fun I have balanced the forces giving the American side a fighting chance in the defence. The German player continues to have the overwhelming strenght on the battle field.

SCENARIO #8: BATTLE OF STAVELOT BRIDGE
GERMAN MAIN PANZER BATTLE GROUP vs AMERICAN INFANTRY with MIX SUPPORT

Following a lovely meal at the Hotel du Moulin, Peiper ordered his battle group forward to their next objective: the crossing of the bridge of the Ambleve river at Stavelot. Peiper reached Stavelot with his lead scout units and 60 grenadiers in half-tracks. No sleep for 3 days, hungry, and cold his forward guard was exhausted. His battle group was now stretched too thinly for comfort. His heavy tanks were far behind. Peiper decided to consolidate his forces, to give a chance for his heavy weapons and infantry to catch up, and to allow his forward troops to rest the night. This gave valuable time for the Americans to pull out important supplies and to build up a defence.

By morning a good number of heavier units managed to arrive just in time to participate in the attack for Stavelot including panthers and the heavier Tigers as well as his elite Waffen SS troops. Defending the bridge was lightly armed “green” troops that had been pressed into action during the evening. Engineers and other personel were ordered to drop their equipment and pick up rifles. The Americans had a few shermans and other fighting vehicles to defend the bridge.

The Americans suffered very heavy losses and within a few hours the Germans controlled the town.

9 TROIS-PONTS
Will post a description soon

10 STOUMONT ASSAULT
Will post a description soon

11 TARGNON
The end of the road for Peiper.

Will post a description soon




DOWNLOAD THIS FILE

LST FILE:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/211 ... SION_5.LST

*** THIS IS A NEW FILE NAME SO IT IS SEPARATE FROM PREVIOUS INSTALLATIONS. IT WILL NOT OVERWRITE YOUR CURRENTLY INSTALLED PEIPER CAMPAIGN. I did this so that you could continue any on going games. Once you have completed the other games you should delete them.

[guardsman]

Will this over ride existing games that I am playing.

[ERommel]

Will this over ride existing games that I am playing.

No, it will not override currently installed games. Once you have completed all open challenges however you might want to delete the old version. You can have both versions installed at the same time. The previous version only has one scenario, the new one has 8.

[ERommel]

*** IF YOU SEE A RED POPUP TELLING YOU THAT THE VERSION IS DIFFERENT FROM THE OPPONENT IT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE GAME PRIOR TO 7:30PM NEW YORK TIME on 5 DEC.***

Please end the games and uninstall the Peiper Campaign. Then, please install again using the same LST file.
My apologies but I had noticed a script error with the jeeps which I fixed.

The campaign is very complex with new units and a load of scripts. I don't think there will be any further issues....fingers crossed. (this is what is meant by BETA version )

[ERommel]

GAME IS OFF LINE AT THE MOMENT. THE PROMISE THAT THE MAX WOULD BE RAISED FROM 20 to 30 IS SHORT OF ITS MARK.

PIP HAD PROMISED THAT THE MAX HAD BEEN RAISED TO 30 BUT IT WOULD SEEM THAT THIS PROMISE DOES NOT APPLY TO ME.

Once again, customer service sucks!

After telling me that there was a max of 30 I went ahead and worked very hard yesterday to get these games ready for all of you. What a bloody waste of time as I cannot even play test the very games I created.

Here is what I have

MY TURN: 10 MATCHES
ENEMY TURN: 11 MATCHES
MY CHALLENGES: 3 MATCHES
I click to set new challenges but I am frozen out.

[yamamoto]

LOL

Here is my situation

MY TURN: 6 matches
ENEMY TURN: 2 matches
total of 8 ongoing games.

MY CHALLENGES: 2
2 challenges waiting to be accepted by someone.

I just accepted 4 matches against EROMMEL which gives me a total of 8 matches (2 previously ongoing games). I no longer am able to accept any more matches.

For those that are complaining about 20 matches try coming down to my level.

LMFO

[ERommel]

This is really messed up and I am not impressed.

To think that I wasted so much time preparing the 8 scenarios ahead of the weekend and actually believing what I was told by Pip that there would be a 30 max. Not the 40 I asked for but at least it was better than 20.

Well, whatever system is operating at the moment I can say that it totally hampers my ability to test new scenarios and mods with ease. And the max is not the 30 that was promised.

Absolutely absurd. Please increase the number to a reasonable level. The current system is not working and I am close to giving up on this game. Perhaps Slitherine has already cashed in on BA and is now concentrating on BA2. If so, it is unfair. BA was not cheap considering that I purchased all the extensions including Metz which I doubt I will even play it once. I did it to support Slitherine. Now call me an idiot....I deserve it!

[pipfromslitherine]

If you are not seeing the correct number of games available then I will chase it up with the server team. It definitely looks like something is not working as it should and I will work to get it fixed asap.

Cheers

Pip

[ERommel]

If you are not seeing the correct number of games available then I will chase it up with the server team. It definitely looks like something is not working as it should and I will work to get it fixed asap.

Cheers

Pip

Thank you Pip. Please excuse my over expression of my anger. I'm upset that all this wasted time and frustration occurred because some dude emailed you complaining that a new customer got over excited by posting 70 challenges. Would have been more effective to simply write Mohammed a friendly email reminding him to not overload the server rather than punishing all of us.

[ERommel]

I have updated the Kampfgruppe Peiper Campaign once again after someone PMed me asking me to give the newer version a different title and also to make the scenarios unique so that the player can easily identify on going games from the previous games and those from the newer one.

HERE IS THE NEWEST VERSION OF KAMPGRUPPE PEIPER
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100 ... _1-8v3.LST
(also available above in the main posting description).

This is how to identify the newest version from the previous one:
In the Campaign list

The previous version looked like this:
EROMMEL'S PEIPER 1-8 v2
#1 Lanzerath Ridge
#2 Bucholz Train Station
.....
#8 Stavelot Bridge

Here is how the newest version looks like:

EROMMEL'S KAMPFGRUPPE PEIPER V3
1) Lanzerath Para Assault
2) Bucholz Train Station
3) SS Terror at Honsfeld
4) Bullingen Fuel Depot
5) Wirtzfeld Recon Probe
6) Massacre at Baugnez
7) Dinner at Hotel du Moulin
8 ) Battle of Stavelot Bridge

I hope that helps you to clearly identify the newest version from older ones.

I'm not in a good mood at the moment and I'm basically on my last straw here. If my ability to post and accept challenges to players continues to be extremely limited I will be giving up on developing further campaigns. This is a hobby that is suppose to bring me fun, not stress. God knows I've already had plenty of stress dealing with one Tyrant already.

Regards

Erwin Rommel

[petirouge]

Hi guys, we made some changes to the PBEM code, and run some tests. It seems now working fine. Can you please check it again?
If you still have issues, can you please tell us what you were doing and the error reported? (Ex. issuing a new challenge, accepting a challenge, etc...)

Cheers,
'Pet'

[ERommel]

Hi guys, we made some changes to the PBEM code, and run some tests. It seems now working fine. Can you please check it again?
If you still have issues, can you please tell us what you were doing and the error reported? (Ex. issuing a new challenge, accepting a challenge, etc...)

Cheers,
'Pet'

If my "running fine" you mean a limit of 30 than I disagree. That number is simply not enough for modders and developers. I need more to manage all the scenarios that I am play testing and updating.

I suggest giving selected modders and scenerio developers UNLIMITED NUMBER and regular members a max of 40.
Keep in mind that some players only play once a week. So even with 40 it may mean you only get to play 10 to 20 matches a day if lucky.

If you cannot give selected modders unlimited than give 40 across the board.

I'm reaching the end of my rope when it comes to working for free for you guys. I like this community but I'm beginning to feel under appreciated.

[glenghiscan]

What annoys me is when people accept games and make a move once a week I think games should be forfeited if no move for say 7 days other wise youve got a back log and can't accept games because of other people

[pipfromslitherine]

I believe that the current limit to claim a game is 14 days. After that you can claim any game where you are waiting for the other player.

Cheers

Pip

[ERommel]

I believe that the current limit to claim a game is 14 days. After that you can claim any game where you are waiting for the other player.

Cheers

Pip

The pop up says 30 days although it might be 14

[kingt]

Many games posted for whoever wants to. Looking forward to this!

[ERommel]

I look forward to your report on the games KINGT. You have been extremely helpful in play testing.

Here is a thread for notes on the Peiper Campaign. Anyone with suggestions and comments please send me a PM or post there.

Thank you everyone.


viewtopic.php?f=105&t=47005

[guardsman]

Picked up 3 of KingT's games.

[dcoffin]

I had trouble downloading this file from Dropbox using the link. I thought link in formum would be a direct download but I had to copy the link address out of the text file that opened. When I did that, file downloaded but but shows up as a .cpf file extension. I thought it would be .LST extension so I guess I am missing some understanding of the process.

Could you clarify for me how to get to get campaigne to install. Sorry, but it appears that I am in need of remedial assistance.

Thanks for assistance and you efforts in developing these scenarios.

Regards,

DCoffin

[ERommel]

I had trouble downloading this file from Dropbox using the link. I thought link in formum would be a direct download but I had to copy the link address out of the text file that opened. When I did that, file downloaded but but shows up as a .cpf file extension. I thought it would be .LST extension so I guess I am missing some understanding of the process.

Could you clarify for me how to get to get campaigne to install. Sorry, but it appears that I am in need of remedial assistance.

Thanks for assistance and you efforts in developing these scenarios.

Regards,

DCoffin

I am waiting for comments from those that play tested so that I can update the newer versions. Please wait.