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Friday, 5 August 2022

Die Festung Hamburg - Area of Operations Extended

As you maybe know, the command / organizational structure of NATO had one of its most important boundaries right along the Elbe river, separating AFCENT (Allied Forces Central Europe, including CENTAG and NORTHAG) from BALTAP (Allied Forces Baltic Approaches, including the LANDJUT Corps and the Danish Army).

Like NORTHAG and CENTAG, BALTAP had its own air command and assets (AIRBALTAP) and its own strategic objectives: namely, the defense of Schleswig-Holstein, the territory of Denmark and the whole Baltic Sea.

During development, several good discussions concerned the rules needed for simulating the capabilities, limitations and strategic needs of BALTAP. 

Most of the development team suggested to extend the map further North to the Kiel Kanal in order to give JUTLAND Corps enough room for retreating, and to include what would have probably been the last serious obstacle to a Warsaw Pact advance into continental Denmark.

For a series of reasons, I stubbornly resisted the idea to expand the map until all the special rules for handling BALTAP were almost ready....And at that point, I realised I was wrong. Uh, almost time.

So here's the latest, extended Operational Map for Die Festung Hamburg! Bigger, Longer and Uncut.
The operational area is much better represented and includes what could be considered the last plausible defense for the LANDJUT corps. As a consequence, several special rules for BALTAP will be probably not needed anymore.


For comparison, here's the previous, smaller map draft:







3 comments:

  1. Excellent News on the "extended Operational Map"

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  2. I like this decision as it will make the game hugely interesting for both sides. A NATO player must decide whether to hold or slowly withdraw towards the Kieler Canal. The WP player had to make a choice on how to move the 2GTA and the second echelon. Great challenges.

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  3. The new map boundary looks great! I agree with your compatriots, giving LANDJUT more room to work with is a net positive for both players

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