Eastern front map(s)

[33Vortex]

Where are they? I vaguely remember there was a eastern front map not sure. I think we should have at least have a map of the Orel-Kursk-Kharkov area of 1943. That area saw what was probably the heaviest and most intense fighting of the whole war during the fateful summer of 1943.

It was the first aerial battle on the eastern front in which the Luftwaffe could not hold air superiority. No wonder considering the Bf109G-2s and FW190A-5s were up against the La-5 which proved to be faster and more maneuverable. Teh Kursk battle saw extensive use of Ju87D-2, FW190s in jabo role and it was the first time the Hs-129 was put to use. The heavy bombers were He111, Ju88 and even some 30 He177s.

The soviets fielded a vast number of different aircraft, most notably the brand new La5 but also many different old types such as the I-16. The I-16 type suffered heavy losses in air combats over the Kursk salient and production of the type ceased after the battle. Just like the PzIII, a weapons platform proved too obsolete and inefficient to motivate further production of the type.

Here's a basic overview map of the front line prior to 'Fall Zitadelle'.

[Tilt]

I am afraid there is no map of the kursk/Orel pocket of 1943.

Actually our plane set is poor for this conflict particularly from a VVS context.

The most prevelent Yaks were Yak 1's and Yak7's. We do not have a Yak9D and even our Yak9T is more akin to the 44 variant.

The most common Lavochkin was the La5f without the supercharger of the La5FN which although it was introduced during the battle for the Kursk salient was in limited numbers and almost certainly with wooden sparred wings which were only totally eliminated form La5FN/La5F production in september that year.

The IL2 was considerably more common at Kursk than the IL2-m3

We have no Pe2 or SU bomber some Bostons may have seen service at Kursk.

We have No P39 and the lendlease P40's and Hurricanes had been removed to the rear by that time or in use by naval units. As you say we have no I-16.

As for tanks out T34 is appropriate as will be the Panzer MkIV but the German Panther was key in the battle yet we do not have one.

We have no Katyusha.......a key Red army artilery weapon (even if its actual destructive power was limited)

Hence whilst (with Stalingrad and Bagration) whilst Kursk was one of the most important battles of WWII it cannot be done justice here.

Check our Karelia in the map down load section which has been used for the late 44 battles on this isthmus in previous scenarios.

[33Vortex]

Yeah, I think the eastern front conflict in general is not done justice in this game. But what can you expect from a US developed game anyway?

Correction: It was the 109G-6 that was most common in summer of 1943, although the G-2 may have still been in service with some units.

Is this lack of eastern front coverage something HTC intend to improve upon?

[Tilt]

It takes it place in the queue........... HTC must cater to their core markets.

[Kweassa]

I'd settle for a snowy map.

 Can't even remember when was the last time I've flown in snowy terrains in this game..

[whiteman]

more reason to add the Pe-2 or Tu-2 or both while were at it.

[Treize69]

I know a few Eastern Front scenario maps have been in the works for a while now, but with so much of HTCs resources being thrown into the CT money pit and the fact that 90% of the players have zero interest in anything that doesn't involve the USAAF or USN/USMC, they are unfortunately a very low priority.

A very few of us have been rooting around for good resources for maps of Romania, the Black Sea coast and the Crimea for a few years now, both for Barbarossa campaigns and Ploesti/Tidal Wave scenarios, but reliable (read- accurate) info is really scarce. The best I've been able to manage is going through and spending close to a month finding all the old fields around Romania that I could locate on Google- Earth and sending the file to the terrain makers working on the project for reference. But that was over a year ago, and I know its a low priority, so I don't have any expectations.

I based my search on the wonderful research of Denes Bernad, one of the few english-language historians who focuses on Romania amd Hungary in WWII. The map I used for reference appears in his Squadron-Signal book "The Prime Decade"

[33Vortex]

Originally posted by whiteman
more reason to add the Pe-2 or Tu-2 or both while were at it.

Agreed, I'd love to see more Soviet bombers in the game. The Pe-2 for example would certainly fill a role in AH. On the GV side some self propelled guns wouldn't hurt, such as the Hetzer, PzJg IV maybe PzJg V Jagdpanther or a Jagdtiger even. On the Soviet side Su76, Su85, Su122, Su152 comes to mind. Don't know how complicated it is to make a GV but I'm guessing it takes less work than a a/c. On the tank side, a Königstiger and a IS-2 or IS-3 would be awesome!

This game can be expanded on so many levels if someone would be willing to invest, or allow the game to expand.

Looking forward to Combat Tour, don't know what to expect really but we'll see, in about two weeks or so.