CAOS News

Update 1.0.8.2 is here with a host of improvements and content additions, big and small! On the UI/immersion side, we are very keen to hear your feedback on our first pass at turn resolution and C2 visualization improvements. On the content side, we have a ton of additions to German and Soviet forces in 1941, namely a the addition of 2 full new OBs: Heeresgruppe Nord, and its Soviet adversary the Northwestern Front, as well as an update to the "standard" German 1941 OB. All in all, lots of fun new explosive toys to throw around, and general interface improvements.


Update 1.0.8.2 brings an experimental pass at improving the visualization of turn results and better visualizing command/control hierarchies. We are particularly interested in player feedback on both systems.
[h2]Improving Turn Resolution/Replays:[/h2]

We have several improvements that affect both turn resolution, and the replay system:

1. Hexes now highlight after combats/barrages/air attacks, and keep a running tally of total casualties, per side, in that hex during the turn.
   
2. Enemy units now display directional movement arrows when they attempt to move/attack into one of your units, or your Zone of Control.
   
3. Turn replays include a modified version of both above changes that reflect what happened in each impulse, so you can better analyze what happened as the turn unfolded in retrospective.
   

In our internal testing we have found: 1) works incredibly well, and makes it MUCH easier to visualize what is actually happening as a turn unfolds. 2) Is a helpful addition. 3) Is a good pilot, but it only scratches the surface of what we could potentially do with replays, since replays do not have to worry about moving quickly, unlike turn resolution itself.

Regarding point 2, we initially experimented with displaying both side’s movement lines and color coding them, but this caused contested frontlines to descend into unreadable tangles of movement lines as both sides attempt march attacks through each other. Internally, we have discussed the idea of adding a series quick filter system to the turn replay system to let the player decide what interaction lines (movement, artillery, etc.), per side, they want to see and leave it to player discretion. But we have not yet prototyped that concept.

[h2]Visualizing Command Hierarchies[/h2]

One of the biggest challenges in any large-scale CAOS scenario is identifying what units are relevant to each other at a glance. Who shares the same command hierarchies and thus, what units can benefit from integrity bonuses together? To help tackle this challenge, selecting any friendly unit will now highlight subordinate units with blue frames, and superior units/sister units (those that share the same higher command), with green frames.

This change allows you to visualize connections between entire blocks of units extremely rapidly. For instance, select a Corps HQ and see every single unit descended from it highlighted at once, from division commands all the way down to individual companies detached from some distant subordinate. This mechanic only shows the current, unbroken, chain of command. If an intermediate unit/HQ somewhere along the chain is destroyed, then its subordinates will no longer be highlighted by their former higher command as they are no longer eligible for integrity combat bonuses.


Heeresgruppe Nord and the Soviet Northwestern Front in their late June/early July organizations have been added as playable OBs in any game mode. These are both Army Group level OBs, composed of 3 armies each, so we cannot fit a full discussion of either OB into these update notes. Check out their respective OB dev blogs below for all the fine details:





Germany’s standard 1941 OB is also receiving a fair amount of attention, primarily centered on the fine details of the panzer forces, with smaller updates to the other arms of the Wehrmacht.

[h2]Unit revisions and additions[/h2]
[h3]Panzer/Mot Division Updates:[/h3]

• Added various armored support vehicles to armored Panzerpionier battalions, including SdKfz 251/5 platoon command vehicles (with PaK 36s), and 28/32cm schweres Werfer Granat (the (in)famous Wurfrahmen 40).
  
• Added missing 2nd armored car company of the 37. Aufklarungs Abteilung, (7th Panzer Division) and added correct captured French (Panhard 178) armored cars to the unit.
  
• Separated Kradschutzen battalions out as independent units. We previously included them as a 3rd battalion inside the 2nd Schutzen regiment of each division for convenience.
  
• Separated German armored recon battalions into detachable Mot/Support and Armored Car companies, instead of trying to shoehorn the entire organization into a single attachment.
  
• Corrected gun mix of divisional flak companies in the 1st and 7th Panzer Divisions. Both companies erroneously had an extra SP-gun platoon in place of their towed platoon.
  
• Replaced armored pioneer company of the 32nd Pionier Abteilung (12th Panzer Division), with a motorized company. 12th Panzer Division was not authorized to have an armored pioneer company on June 22.
  

[h3]Infantry/Mountain Division Updates:[/h3]

• Updated rifle battalion organizations for each Gebirgsjager Division to reflect the variant, and often unique, ToEs employed by each division as of June 22, 1941.
  
• Added extra Austrian/Czech and Norwegian 75mm mountain guns issued to 2nd and 3rd Gebirgsjager Divisions in preparation for Operation Barbarossa.
  
• Various minor tweaks to organizations of various infantry division wave ToEs, and variant ToEs for individual divisions. Tweaks include swapping out cavalry for bicycle recon where appropriate, and subtle differences in support weapon allocation within infantry regiments, and replacing Czech AT guns with French 47mms, where necessary.
  

[h3]Flak/Artillery:[/h3]

• Added the 737th schwere Artillerie Abteilung, equipped with the excellent Czechoslovak-designed 15cm sFH 37(t) howitzer.
  
• Added the 625th schwere Artillerie Abteilung. Armed with 15cm SK C28M naval guns in the Heersgruppe Nord OB according to its June 1941 ToE, and 17cm K 18s in the German 1941 standard OB, according to the unit’s fall 1941 ToE.
  
• Went through 21cm Mrs 18 units with a fine-toothed comb and ensured each is using the proper 9-gun mobile organization, or 12-gun semi-mobile organization, according to each unit’s historical ToE on June 22.
  
• Split German AT battalions in 1941 into their historically accurate 3-battery organizations, instead of consolidating batteries together into 2 attachments for convenience.
  

[h2]Soviet Equipment Changes:[/h2]

The Soviet Northwestern Front brings with it a bunch of foreign, obsolete, and obscure equipment!

• Added AT value to all Soviet 76mm divisional guns in 1942 and beyond, as the USSR routinely repurposed their light divisional guns into an AT role throughout the war.
  
• Added Vickers Carden-Loyd (VCL) M1934, M1936, and M1937 light tanks, produced by Britain and employed by the Latvian and Lithuanian armies. M1934/M1936s are strictly MG armed, while the M1937 sports a 40mm bofors, and would actually be reasonably dangerous interwar light tank if it were available in meaningful numbers.
  
• Added Arsenal M28/29 Armored Cars, an inter-war Anglo-Estonian armored car used in limited numbers by some Soviet units. Modeled in both MG and 37mm cannon armed variants.
  
• Added Landsverk-181 Armored Cars, an inter-war Swedish armored car used by the Lithuanian army and employed in limited numbers by the Soviets.
  

[h2]German Equipment Additions and Changes:[/h2]

A quick sampling of some of the rarer German equipment coming to CAOS in 1.0.8.2.

• Added Wurfrahmen 40 rocket artillery, used by German panzerpionier units.
  
• Added 24cm K(t), an Austrian/Czech siege gun in German service. Long ranged and hits like a freight train, but unbearably slow and incapable of fire-support missions.
  
• Added 15cm SK 28M, a 15cm naval gun mounted on the carriage of a 21cm Mrs 18. The SK 28M has exceptional range, but mediocre high-explosive potential for a weapon in its class, as it shells are designed for range and accuracy necessary in naval combat, not raw explosive potential.
  
• Added GebK 247(n), the German designation for the truly obsolescent Norwegian 7.5 cm Gebirgskanone Model 1911, used in limited numbers by German mountain units and occupation units in Norway.
  
• Added Panzerjager 35(R), a dubiously useful tank destroyer built on a modified French R-35 chassis. Relatively well armed, but slow and suffering from appallingly poor mechanical reliability during its combat debut in Operation Barbarossa.
  
• Added Steyr ADGZ armored car, an Austrian heavy armored car used in limited numbers by some German police units.
  
• Added OA. Vz. 30 Armored Cars. An obsolete interwar Czechoslovakian armored car used in limited numbers by some German police units.
  
• Added numerous militia, garrison, and rear-area security squad types, armed with all manner of captured equipment.
  
• Updated artillery fire calculations for all Czech guns in German service of 8cm bore and above. As we found better documentation detailing precise explosive payloads for Czech shells in German service. In general the fire support/barrage capabilities of all Czech heavy guns, except the sFH 25(t), have increased.
  

• The highest echelon unit now always draws ontop of a stack. For example, a corps HQ will draw over any regiments, or a division HQ over a regiment, and so on. This will make it more difficult to misplace your higher commands.
  
• Static units should no longer draw over mobile units that are stacked with them.
  
• Numpad +/- are now hotkeys to move turn replays forward and backwards through the impulses.
  
• Any PNG file in the assets > images > Backgrounds folder and add them to the main menu image carousel.
  
• Fixed a rare crash that could inconsistently occur when a battalion was detached via button press (but not hotkey) from a battlegroup, while the battlegroup was simultaneously stacked with the origin regiment of the battalion that was just detached.
  
• Fixed an AI turn planning bug that could occur if the AI detected that an uncrossable lake was the geographic centerpoint of defensive hardpoint.
  

We are very happy with 1.0.8.2, and this is an update model we will carry forward. Most updates will not have 2 new full new OBs included, but the combination of new OBs paired with interface and engine improvements is one we believe works particularly well. This style keeps core systems developing while also providing novel new units, and ultimately future fodder for editor extensions.

The interface updates herein are still experimental and subject to change so please let us know your thoughts here, on the forums, or on discord. What's working for you as players and what isn't! In the mean time, will get back to cooking up update 1.0.8.5 which will bring various improvements to fortress/urban combat, and some much-needed love regarding priority alerts for enemy air/amphibious actions in the SITREP!

Greetings! Today we bring you a peak into the Soviet Northwestern Front (NWF) as it stood in June/July 1941! The Northwestern Front (or Baltic Special Military District until June 24) is symbolic of the 1941 Red Army in general. It has great potential, on paper, but severely underperforms in actual combat. If properly employed, NWF can bring to bear an astonishing volume of barrage fire to hammer their opponents, negate their zones of control, and inflict terrible casualties However, the frontline protecting the Front’s heavy artillery is dreadfully prone to shattering. Likewise, the armored units responsible for breaching enemy lines or providing mobile reserves are inundated with obsolete equipment and inconsistent motorization. NWF can be an incredibly satisfying OB in the hands of an experienced player, but make no mistake, there is far less room for error here than in most Soviet OBs.

Type: Historical OB
Preferred Playstyle: Artillery-Centric Attrition
[h3]Basic Composition:[/h3]

[h3]Strengths:[/h3]
NWF is a defense-focused order of battle boasting strong artillery and air capabilities, but middling armor and a large selection of expendable infantry. If you are playing a custom scenario where training levels can be changed, NWF is a solid B-grade OB, but playing strictly historically requires getting creative. Your artillery is the key to victory. Most Soviet heavy artillery cannot conduct fire support, but their barrage capabilities are potent. Use your big guns to relentlessly harass hostile concentrations, pin enemy artillery that might provide fire support to key battles, or negate enemy ZoC to enable your own units to move through hostile lines. Likewise, NWF has vast quantities of cheap fighter and bomber cover. NWF will never command a qualitative advantage in the sky, but its sheer numbers alone present a challenge to any opponent.

[h3]Weaknesses:[/h3]
NWF’s Achilles heel lies in its armor/motorized forces. Without the support of your tanks, the frontline will swiftly collapse in the face of concentrated enemy armor. But your obsolete tanks will struggle to take the Germans in particular on head-to-head. Proper employment of combined arms, and keen judgement to know when to fight and when to run are essential as NWF has less room for error than most Soviet OBs. NWF also suffers from a shortage of recon aircraft, and what is available are obsolete R-5 biplanes that will quickly be neutralized by halfway decent enemy fighter cover. NWF must conduct a delicate balancing act that requires: 1) Skillful maneuver to preserve its armor. 2) Good situational awareness to spot for its arty. 3) Do both of these while being chronically blind.

[h3]Diving Into Details:[/h3]
Let’s take a closer look at the assets at NWF’s disposal.
[h2]Tank/Motorized Divisions:[/h2]

NWF’s armor suffers from dreadfully obsolete equipment, poor readiness levels, and generally slow movement speed compared to their German adversaries. Of the Front’s 4 tank divisions, only 1 (2nd TD) has any meaningful number of modern T-34s and KVs. T-26s and BTs of various types make up the bulk of its armor, and many units are simply understrength. Even in units blessed with modern equipment, insufficient time on type among crews, inadequate unit training, and skilled personnel shortages created by the purges catastrophically degrade morale and cohesion. Inconsistent mobility hammers the final nail in the coffin of NWF’s mechanized forces as many of their tanks are slow, their truck-borne infantry easily outrun them, many artillery units are pulled by civilian tractors, and some “motorized” units lack motorization of any kind! NWF’s armored forces can be effective if properly employed, but they should not be expected to endure sustained combat.


The 202nd Motorized Division endures all the curse's of the front's mechanized forces. (De)Motorization, poor training, and obsolete equipment.

[h2]Infantry Divisions:[/h2]

NWF’s infantry runs the full gambit from good (16th Rifle Division), to speedbump (67th Rifle Division). Most of the Front’s rifle divisions are at their peacetime establishment of roughly 80% ToE strength…if they are lucky. We have also modeled small arms allocations, including SMGs, SVTs, and LMGs, per unit as closely as possible. The result is a wild degree of variation between divisions in both strength and combat power. Among this colorful cast of infantry divisions, none are so unique, or so doomed, as those formed from the former Baltic militaries. Not only do the Baltic rifle divisions suffer from the lowest morale, considering they are largely unwilling soldiers of the Red Army in the first place, many also retain their old weapons, large and small. Expect to see German PaK-36s, British light tanks and WW1 field guns, and the occasional indigenous armored car you have never heard of. On the upside, even poor infantry can put up effective resistance with proper support and advantageous terrain. Use terrain wisely, build minefields liberally, avoid letting your infantry fight armor unsupported, and if a division gets destroyed…don’t sweat it….you have more.

[h2]Artillery:[/h2]

Artillery is the saving grace that can swing a battle in NWF’s favor. Historically, none of this mattered as poor communication and coordination between Soviet forces in summer 1941, combined with the speed of the German advance, swiftly neutralized this crucial force multiplier. But in a more favorable situation, NWF’s heavy artillery enjoys a range and concentration advantage over virtually any adversary. The 110th and 402nd Howitzer Regiments (High Power), each commanding x48 203mm M1931s, are individually 2 of the most dangerous artillery units of the entire war. Likewise, the “lighter” 152mm ML-20s and 122mm A-19s either outgun or outrange most adversaries that do not happen to be American. Your opponent will swiftly deduce that your artillery is your greatest asset and they will stop at nothing to silence it. Unfortunately, the anti-aircraft assets at your disposal are generally lacking, so you can expect the bombs to arrive on your most treasured assets early and often.

Artillery Composition (Battalions):
*Includes units operating foreign guns from the former Baltic militaries.

[h2]Marching Onwards:[/h2]
Update 1.0.8.2 is in its final internal testing stages now and we expect to release it this week. It will not be long before you get a chance to take NWF and HGN out for a spin yourself! We thoroughly enjoy building self-contained historical OBs like these, as they allow us to explore playstyles, or historical oddities, that the “standard” OBs that reflect a nation’s general combat style across an entire year simply do not allow us to touch on. They also serve as an excellent basis for custom scenarios as, in addition to being beautifully detailed snapshots of organizational history, they also come with fully pre-assembled command chains. You will see more updates like this in the future, as general research for longer-term projects tends to surface many fascinating OBs that we will otherwise never find a use for.

Before we go, we will leave you with one final glimpse into a new mechanic we are cooking up for Update 1.0.8.2 to dynamically visualize Command/Control networks whenever you select a unit.

Blue borders indicate subordinates to whatever unit you have selected, green are "sisters" that share the same higher HQ. In this example the same corps command. More to follow soon!

Greetings! Let's take a deep-dive into one of the 2 new OBs coming in update 1.0.8.2: Heersgruppe Nord as it stood at the start of Operation Barbarossa! Heeresgruppe Nord (HGN) is a robust order of battle that lacks raw armored might, and suffers from inadequate air support, but enjoys deep reserves, great engineering potential, and strong artillery support. Next week we will explore their Soviet adversaries, but for now, let’s dive into one of the most unique German OBs yet included in CAOS!

Type: Historical OB
Preferred Playstyle: Attrition Warfare
[h3]Basic Composition:[/h3]

[h2]Strengths:[/h2]
Heersgruppe Nord has a few very powerful hammers, and a whole bunch of anvils. If you just want to hold an enemy in place and bludgeon them to death, this is your OB. HGN has enough panzers to make a breach, enough infantry to outlast virtually any opponent, a high concentration of engineers, and excellent artillery support. If you have a problem, HGN has a 15cm howitzer, or a Czech siege mortar, or a random French 155 long-gun, waiting to solve it. This is one of, if not the, most formidable defensive OB currently in CAOS, but its still imminently capable of offensive action, as its Soviet opponents can attest.

[h2]Weaknesses:[/h2]
HGN has 2 key weaknesses: 1) limited armored reserves, and 2) inadequate air support. Skilled opponents will know that you only have 3 panzer regiments, and of those 2 are strong, and 1 is mediocre. Expect your armor to be relentlessly bombarded the moment they’re spotted. Moreover, you do not have solid options to create your own alternative armored battlegroups. The Sturmgeschutz units at your disposal lack numbers, and the 559. Panzerjager Abteilung is secretly awful because it uses an R-35 based panzerjager that is both slower than every other motorized unit on the OB, and has an extremely prone to breakdown.

HGN’s dedicated air cover from Luftflotte I is insufficient to support the army group, and historically Luftflotte II assets supporting Heersgruppe Mitte were diverted to ameliorate this deficiency. The air cover available to HGN consists of 6 fighter groups, of which 2 are reserve/training units. No Stukas. 8 bomber groups, and an impressive 13 recon squadrons. However, this relatively high concentration of bombers and recon aircraft will swiftly be slaughtered if you lose air superiority. Experienced opponents will go all-in in the air war because it is your greatest weakness and the quickest way to endanger your precious artillery and armored units. Do not trouble yourself with struggling for air supremacy, this OB is not built for it, instead preserve your aerial might so it can be activated at the decisive moment. Play this air game like late-war Germany, not early-war Germany.

[h2]Diving Into Details:[/h2]
Let’s take a closer look at the capabilities of the panzer/motorized, infantry, and artillery assets at HGN’s disposal.

[h3]Panzer/Motorized Divisions:[/h3]

The 1st and 6th Panzer Divisions are both formidable, but for different reasons. 1st Panzer Division has the fewest tanks on hand of the army group’s PzDs, but it boasts both a high allotment of modern Panzer III F/Js and 2 mechanized infantry battalions, compared to the single mechanized company of 6th and 8th PzD. It also possesses a Sturmpanzer company, but you are only ever 1-unlucky battle away from losing them, so don’t get too excited. 6th PzD draws its strength from sheer numbers of borderline obsolete Pz 35(t)s. It’s a perfectly fine division so long as your opponent lacks heavy armor or high anti-tank concentrations. 8th PzD is a fairly standard Panzer Division, albeit one using Pz 38(t)s. 8th PzD has better, but fewer, tanks than 6th, and more tanks of lower quality than 1st.

As for motorized divisions, 3rd and 36th Infantry Divisions are well trained and highly mobile, but otherwise unremarkable. The SS-Totenkopf Division on the other hand is incredibly robust, owing to its sheer size. After your panzers make the initial breakthrough, SS-TD will often be the first division committed into the breach to absorb the inevitable counterattack.

[h3]Infantry Divisions:[/h3]

HGN commands a robust infantry lineup, primarily composed of mobilization wave 1-4 divisions. Virtually all of them are at, or near, establishment ToE. Infantry training levels are high, even among units that were initially raised as reserve units in spring 1940. Summer 1941 is the height of the German infantry arm in CAOS and arguably of the war in general. The meat grinder of the Eastern Front has not yet induced reductions in infantry force structure or degraded the quality of their replacements. Equipment shortages exist, but effective replacements (typically foreign gear) are readily available, and critical supporting corps/army artillery and AT units are generally motorized. Moreover, Germany’s adversaries, namely the Soviets, are only just beginning to embrace mass SMG-warfare that will prove so hazardous to the average German rifleman as the war proceeds. HGN stands at a fleeting pinnacle of German infantry power, enjoy it while it lasts.


To the surprise of absolutely no one, the reserve and security divisions held at army group are the weakest units on the OB. The 206. Infanterie Division is barely suitable for frontline combat and the 3 Sicherungs Divisions will collapse if threatened with anything heavier than an armored car. A substantial chunk of the personnel of the Sicherungs divisions are militia, use them for positional defense within fortifications or as mere speed bumps, as nothing useful should be expected of them.

[h3]Artillery:[/h3]

HGN’s artillery arm provides excellent fire support, but it is slightly deficient in counter-battery capability compared to its Soviet adversaries. HGN’s artillery overwhelmingly has a range of 2 hexes. Longer ranged guns are rare, and in some cases concentrated in the hands of 2nd-line coastal artillery battalions operating captured equipment. Historically, this potential weakness did manifest as ineffective communications, supply shortages, and limited cooperation between air recon and artillery units rendered Soviet counter-battery fire largely ineffective during 1941. Despite limited range, HGN’s sheer volume of artillery, the high motorization levels of its army/corps assets, and the incredible power of its heaviest weapons remain potent force multipliers.

Artillery Composition:
*Includes mixed 15cm/10cm units.

[h3]Most Curious Unit:[/h3]

One of the interesting oddities of building Heersgruppe Nord was the frequency with which units we previously modeled for Operation Sealion re-appeared. Primarily because 18th Army was slated to participate in Sealion, and later transferred east for Barbarossa. Several infantry divisions, Sturmgeschutz batteries, artillery battalions, and even the commandos of II/800 Lehr Regiment Brandenburg appear on both OBs. But of these units the most curious was the Marine Stoßtrupp Abteilung, a relatively obscure German marine battalion whose organizational details eluded us for a while during Sealion development until we found the excellent Deutsche Marineinfanterie 1938-1945 by Jörg Benz. Now, the Marine Stoßtrupp Abteilung makes its public debut not on the beaches of England, but rather being fed into the woodchipper of an Eastern Front OB.

[h2]Marching Onward:[/h2]
That will be it for HGN! Next week we will return to explore their Soviet adversaries in the Northwestern Front. An OB that will include many oddities, seized from the Baltic states and incorporated into the Red Army, including British artillery, locally produced armored cars, and even the occasional German AT gun. Both of these OB updates will release alongside a general Germany 1941 update and our first pass at improving turn resolution in late April.

After an extended development period, Update 1.0.7.7. is finally here, with the Kharkov map, UI improvements, Soviet 1941 updates, a new air pricing formula, some sweet quality of life improvements and a crucial fix to one of the most insidious CAOS combat bugs we have ever uncovered.


Welcome to the Eastern Front! Kharkov is our first historical USSR map and it is a wholly unique experience that differs dramatically from existing maps due to its sheer size. Kharkov combines the mobility of the Russian Steppe with the powerful defensive anchors of fierce urban combat, and the logistical threat of inadequate infrastructure. We have meticulously modeled the region as close to history as we could get using pre-war Soviet maps, and the result is a beautiful nightmare. In some sectors you will fight for dense industrial suburbs, in others you'll be mired in marshes and thick forests, and sometimes there is hardly a settlement to be found for dozens of kilometers and nary a paved road in sight. Your flanks will be vast, your spearheads overextended, and the roads never seem to lead where you need them to...so dive in and enjoy the hospitality of the Soviet Union!

Kharkov also prototypes a few new changes coming to other large-scale maps in the future, namely a slower reinforcement tempo to give breakthroughs more time to expand before defender counter-attacks, and a highly experimental Army + (approximately 11 divisions) starting point level.


Update 1077 also brings a host of revisions to Soviet forces in 1941 to better reflect the chaotic state of the Soviet Armed forces at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. The Soviet 1941 OB has been expanded, but units now deviate far more from their official tables of equipment and training levels are lower. When played strictly historically, the Soviet 1941 OB tends to either strangle its opponent through sheer volume of force and Zone of Control locks… or collapse spectacularly. However, unshackled from the training and morale limitations induced by the Great Purge and constant re-organizations in custom scenarios, the Soviet military can be truly dangerous. Just take a quick look at some of the graphs below to see just how dangerous the Soviets can become if they are fighting on an even footing.
[h2]Unit revisions and additions[/h2]
[h3]Armor/Mech:[/h3]
Updated tank type allocation in the 2nd and 5th tank divisions to better match strength reports on the eve of war.
Brought motorized infantry battalions of the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th tank divisions up to ToE strength, as these units were relatively close to establishment personnel strength.
Added armored car recon companies to tank regiment HQs where appropriate.
Added 15th Motorcycle Regiment, from the 1st Mechanized Corps (Leningrad).
Lowered training levels of most KV and T-34 equipped units from recruit to conscript, stemming from extremely limited training available to crews on new vehicles, due to Soviet security concerns.
Lowered training levels of infantry and artillery in mechanized and motorized divisions from recruit to conscript, as Soviet mechanized forces suffered from most of the same officer and NCO shortages as standard rifle divisions.

[h3]Infantry:[/h3]

• Infantry divisions re-organized in accordance with their June 22 OBs. This places most infantry divisions at roughly 85% ToE strength, further modified by equipment, organizational, and manpower, variations according to the Front they are subordinate to.
  
• Added 168th Rifle Division (Leningrad), a near war-time establishment infantry division.
  
• Added 117th Rifle Division (STAVKA Reserve) a 2nd line reserve division, near full peacetime establishment, but desperately short on SMGs.
  
• Motorized the howitzer regiments of many infantry divisions.
  
• Added 120mm PM-38 mortars to infantry regimental artillery batteries where appropriate.
  
• Raised training levels of cavalry regiments from conscript to recruit, as these units were typically less affected by the radical reorganizations of 1940.
  
• Lowered training levels of the 1st and 211th Airborne Brigades (1st Airborne Corps) from experienced to recruit, as like many VDV units at the time, they were still forming and undergoing training at the time of the invasion.
  
• Added missing 76mm M1938 batteries (4 guns) and AA/HMGs (6 sections) to heavy weapons battalion of Airborne Brigades.
  

[h3]Artillery:[/h3]

• Added 403rd and 108th Howitzer Artillery Regiments (High Power). With 36 and 24 203mm B-4 howitzers respectively.
  
• Added 3 cannon and 6 corps artillery regiments, armed with various mixtures of 152mm ML-20s and 122mm A-19s. Regiment strengths vary wildly, as some battalions retain the pre-1940 8-gun organization, while some use the more recent 12-gun battalion org. Some regiments have a full 4 battalions, some only have 2, etc. Total gun counts vary between 20 and 48 guns per regiment.
  
• Reduced motorized movement speed for division-level Soviet artillery in 1941 from 15 to 12 to reflect shortages of prime movers and chronic reliance on civilian tractors to transport guns.
  
• Units equipped with 203mm B-4, 122mm M1910/30, and 152mm M1909/30 howitzers motorized movement speed reduced from 15 to 12 in all other years as well, as these guns suffered from slow towing speeds due to their carriage designs.
  

[h2]Equipment Changes:[/h2]

• Added pre-war SOV Inf(Apr) ’41, to distinguish infantry squads that are near, or at, ToE strength, from their underequipped brethren.
  
• Removed close air support mission roll from MiG-3s, as Soviet battlefield communications could not effectively coordinate close air missions in 1941.
  
• Increased breakdown rate for T-26s from 20% to 30%
  
• Increased breakdown rate for BT-2s from 20 to 25%.
  
• Reduced breakdown rate of T-35 heavy tanks from 80% to 50%. T-35s historically had some of the highest mechanical readiness rates among Soviet vehicles at the start of the war. Primarily because they were concentrated in units with better logistical support. Still, the CAOS breakdown rate considers both actual breakdown rates and maintenance hours, so their breakdown rate remains high.
  

[h2]The Air Pricing Problem[/h2]
The previous air price formula had 3 key problems:

1. Aircraft were slightly too expensive from 1943 onwards
   
2. It excessively punished multi-role aircraft by adding an additional price for every mission they could perform. This created a serious air balance problem for nations that relied on multirole aircraft for air superiority, notably the USA and Great Britain.
   
3. It made bombers that were also capable of strike missions (PE-2s) unreasonably expensive.
   

Collectively, these problems created a head-to-head meta where players frequently did not buy air superiority aircraft at all on turn 1 in 1944/1945 games, and instead simply turned those points into more ground units. Moreover, the historically air-focused nations of the USA and Britain were less likely to buy aircraft because their multirole squadrons were prohibitively expensive to deploy in substantial numbers.

While shorting air forces to bolster ground force should be an option, and sometimes even a desirable option, it was effectively always the optimal choice under the old pricing system.

[h2]Our Solution:[/h2]
In update 1.0.7.7 we have rebalanced the air price formula to moderately reduce the cost factor of air superiority missions, made interdiction missions completely free, and slightly reduced the cost factor for bombing missions. In general, fighter costs are reduced by 20% and bombers by 10%.

The lists below display some highlights from each nation.

USA:

 P-47D price reduced from 17.54 to 13.96 (20% reduction)
 P-51D price reduced from 16.6 to 13.42 (19% reduction)
 P-40F price reduced from 12.61 to 11.07 (12% reduction)
 P-39D price reduced from 12.49 to 8.79 (29% reduction)
 P-38G price reduced from 13.67 to 11.39 (16% reduction)


Great Britain:

 Typhoon Ib price reduced from 14.41 to 12.4 (14% reduction)
 Spitfire XXI price reduced from 18.63 to 13.7 (26% reduction)
 Spitfire IXe price reduced from 15.04 to 10.83 (28% reduction)
 Spitfire Vb price reduced from 9.9 to 7.92 (20% reduction)
 Hurricane IIb price reduced from 9.21 to 6.17 (33% reduction)


Germany:

 ME262 A-1a price reduced from 25.06 to 20.05 (20% reduction)
 FW-190 A-8 price reduced from 16.6 to 13.33 (20% reduction)
 FW-190 G-8 price reduced from 17.11 to 14.9 (13% reduction)
 BF109 G-6 price reduced from 13.57 to 10.46 (23% reduction)
 BF-109 F-4 price reduce from 9.34 to 7.48 (20% reduction)
 BF-110 G-2 price reduced from 16.33 to 11.54 (29% reduction)
 JU-87 D-5 price reduced from 9.77 to 6.77 (30% reduction)


USSR:

 LA-7 price reduced from 12.09 to 10.21(15% reduction)
 Yak-9D price reduced from 8.9 to 7.43 (16% reduction)
 Yak-7 price reduced from 6.36 to 5.09 (20% reduction)
 Yak-3 price reduced from 6.45 to 5.16 (20% reduction)
 PE2-FT price reduced from 11.51 to 8.51 (26% reduction)
 IL-2M price reduced from 9.03 to 7.03 (22% reduction)

The updated New Game screen, neat, categorized, and built with plenty of room for expansion in mind.

• Added an option to toggle the hex grid on/off. This can be changed in the Options menu, or in game using the F2 hotkey.
  
• Updated the Create Game screen to be cleaner and more user friendly. The updated menu also allows the player to select both Red and Blue orders of battle from the create game screen. Players can still choose to change their OB in the ready screen if desired.
  
• Updated unit requisition window to be larger, made divisions between data fields clearer and left some extra room for further improvements in the future.
  
• Air requisition menu now displays air unit names and training levels (As graphics, instead of as numbers), at all times.
  
• Updated the Save and Load games screens, they are now larger and we fixed a bug that could cause the save screen to skip characters as a player typed save names in scenarios with high unit counts.
  
• Added a hotkey (Shift+P) to place retreat rally points for selected units.
  
• Added a button to the air orders menu to automatically place all air orders. Place any air orders you want to micromanage, then let the AI place the rest for you.
  
• Added a button to the air orders menu to cancel all planned air missions.
  
• Barrage reports now show the percent of effectiveness lost (to terrain, etc.), instead of just the raw value lost.
  
• Improved the graphic for all orders menus to make them more readable by adding clear cell-divisions between orders.
  

• Fixed a bug that could cause units to fail to conduct a march attack when another friendly unit was destroyed, anywhere on the map, earlier on the same impulse. This was caused by a bug in the system that semi-randomizes which of your units move first on any given impulse. This bug was the cause of the vast majority of combats where units failed to participate, or failed to attack at all.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause the defender’s reinforcement point to appear inside the attacker’s starting spawn zone in Attack scenarios on very large maps (Paris and Lake Okum).
  
• Fixed a pair of duplicate British unit names on the 1940 and 1944 OBs.
  

Update 1.0.7.7 is really 3 smaller updates wearing a trench-coat, that tackle separate pieces of our 2024/2025 design roadmap (Air price overhaul, UI update, Soviet 1941/Kharkov map). These updates ended up bundled together due to a number of personal time constraints that are unrelated to CAOS. Now that 1.0.7.7 is out, we are very excited to say we have major news regarding Operation Sealion, which will be announced in mid-April. In the mean time, development will primarily focus on AI and further UI improvements, but we also have some new historical 1941 OBs cooking on the side-burner that we look forward to seeing in action.

Welcome to the grand finale of the British army in Europe during World War 2! Britain is bruised and bloody, but it stands on the precipice of victory none the less. Standardization has become a myth, and adaptation is the watch word of the day. British organizations now vary wildly from under-gunned and under-strength infantry to the finest armoured divisions the Western Allies field during World War 2. The final six-months of the war in Europe witness great adaptation in British tactics and organization in response to the unsustainable attrition of 1944. Now, we bring these unique organizations to life in CAOS!

Britain 1945 enjoys high-highs and low-lows. British armoured forces are drowning in spare equipment, and the proliferation of 17pdr sabot ammunition presents a potent hazard to any opposing armour. Likewise, the ponderous Churchill VII and its flamethrowing Crocodile twin presents a terrifying foe to enemy infantry. Heavy artillery has also finally returned to the forefront of British planning, though it falls far short of its American or Soviet colleagues in sheer concentration of fire. The problems facing Britain in 1945 primarily fall on the shoulders of the infantry. Years of attrition have practically ground some prestigious units out of existence (the 1st and 50th Infantry Divisions), vastly diminished the veterancy of others (51st and 78th), and forced substantial ToE adjustments to most infantry units. Across the British army experienced units are being dissolved, artillerists are handing in their cannons for rifles, and the distinction between 1st and 2nd line personnel wanes. British infantry are now both chronically under-armed and they have lost their veterancy edge. Consequently, Britain 1945 is a substantially more capable offensive OB than past years, but the robust defensive capabilities of the British army have eroded substantially.

[h3]UK 1945:[/h3]
Infantry:

• Removed 1st Infantry Division, as it was moved to lower establishment and transferred to security duties in Palestine, due to attrition in Italy.
  
• Added the 2nd New Zealand Division in its February, 1945 table of organization. The division is substantially understrength when separated from its armoured brigade. The Recon, MG, and motor infantry battalions have been consolidated into a new Infantry brigade. The anti-aircraft regiment disband, and the anti-tank batteries roughly halved in size.
  
• Reorganized 3rd, 15th (Scottish), 43rd (Wessex), and 53rd (Welsh) Divisions’ infantry battalions into reduced strength 3-company organizations featuring fewer total squads, but more MGs per squad.
  
• Reorganized 4th Infantry Division into its January 1945, Greece OB. Changes include: Reduced strength 3-company infantry battalions. Infantry anti-tank companies converted into infantry squads. MG battalion absorbed into infantry battalions. 2 Field Regiments + 1 AT battery converted into a new Motorized Infantry Brigade.
  
• Reorganized 5th Infantry Division into a full-strength Mediterranean Theater infantry division.
  
• Reorganized 46th Infantry Division into its Winter 1944/1945 Greece OB. Infantry battalions use the reduced strength 3 infantry company organization. Infantry anti-tank companies converted into infantry squads. One anti-tank battery dissolved.
  
• Added 49th (West Riding) Division in its hybrid SMG/assault organization, in use since August 1944.
  
• Reorganized 51st (Highland) Division into its Winter 1944/1945 OB. Carrier companies in infantry battalions dissolved. Additional LMGs dispersed to rifle squads where available, and scout/sniper platoons added.
  
• Reorganized 78th Infantry Division into its Winter 1944/1945, Po River Valley OB. The division boasts substantially more 4.2” mortars than ToEs suggest and relatively full-strength infantry battalions. One battery of the 64th Anti-Tank regiment has been dissolved.
  
• Added the 43rd Independent Gurkha Brigade (motorized).
  
• Reduced training of 115th, 305th, and 307th Infantry Brigades to recruit. These brigades were either emergency conversions of Royal Artillery units, or line of communication units raised in response to Britain's infantry manpower crisis.
  
• Training levels in infantry units generally decline to experienced or trained, depending on the sheer volume of replacements absorbed per brigade. Royal Artillery converted to infantry service may fall as far as recruit.
  

Armo(u)r:

• Reorganized the Guards Armoured Division to its February, 1945 organization. See Guards Armoured Division section below.
  
• Reorganized 6th Armoured Divisions into its April 1945 order of battle. Increases allocation of Sherman 76s and 105s, and adds 1st Heavy Support Company to division HQ with x12 4.2" mortars.
  
• Reorganized the 7th Armoured Division into its June 1945 order of battle, complete with Centurion I field test troops, partial Comet I conversion for the 1st RTR, and partial mechanization of the 131st Infantry Brigade in Ram Kangaroo APCs provided by the 79th Armoured Division.
  
• Reorganized the 15/19th King's Royal Hussars (11th AD) into their late March, 1945 ToE, mostly equipped with Comets.
  
• Added the 7th Armoured Brigade, armed with a variety of Sherman 76s, Sherman Vcs, Churchill VIIs, Crocodiles, and M8 Greyhounds.
  
• Reorganized the 2nd Dragon Guards (2DG) of the 2nd Armoured Brigade into their January/February 1945 organization, primarily armed with Sherman (76) and Sherman Fireflies.
  
• Revised every British independent tank/armour brigade to either reflect actual field strength (usually in March, 1945), or Basic Organization, where precise field strength was unavailable. Many of these brigades are actually over-strength.
  
• Added 27th Lancers Regiment, a Staghound-equipped Corps Armoured Car regiment from the Mediterranean Theater.
  
• Revised Inns of Court and 2nd Household Cavalry, Corps Armoured Car Regiments to their November 1944 TOEs, now including AEC Mk. III close support vehicles.
  
• Replaced Stuarts with Stuart Recces (Stuart light tanks with turrets removed) where appropriate. This change is ongoing and will be retroactively applied to prior years where necessary in future updates.
  
• Removed brigade and battalion level AA tanks from most armoured/tank brigades, in keeping with standard British field practice after August 1944.
  

Guards Armoured Division - February, 1945:
The Guards Armoured Division is the best organized and equipped Allied armored division in CAOS. Other divisions match its skill, but within the Allies, none match the flexibility of its organization. The division is organized into permanent battlegroups, boasts more mechanized infantry than its British colleagues, and superior anti-tank capability to its American peers. The Guards Armoured Division competes on equal or better terms with anything in German or Soviet service, but it is not invincible. Its infantry are good but not great, it lacks organic heavy artillery (like all British divisions), and the 17pdrs that equip most of its tanks are excellent tank-killers, but less effective infantry support cannons. The Guards Armoured Division is a finely-tuned tool to be wielded with precision, not a hammer to be swung wildly. Use it with skill, and it will accomplish great things.

Anti-Tank, Artillery, and Anti-Aircraft:

• Added 4th Army Group, Royal Artillery.
  
• Added the 3rd Super Heavy Regiment, using US 240mm howitzers and 203mm guns.
  
• Added the 54th Heavy Regiment, using a mixture of US 203mm and 155mm long-guns.
  
• Added 1st Heavy Regiment in its March, 1945 organization featuring US 155mm M1A1s and...4 Soviet 122mm A-19s captured from the Germans during Operation Veritable.
  
• Re-equipped the 12th HAC Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery with Sextons, instead of Priests, in line with its January 1945 re-organization.
  
• Added 100th Anti-Aircraft Brigade in its February 1945, crossing the Rhine OB.
  
• Added quad .50cal M16 MGMC anti-aircraft halftrack troops (x6 vehicles per troop) to British light AA units where applicable.
  
• Detached 51st Light Anti-Air Regiment from the 6th Armoured Division and re-organized it into its March, 1945 infantry support OB, mixing 40mm bofors and 4.2" mortars.
  
• Added the 105th Anti-Tank Regiment with: x4 6pdr, x8 17pdr, x18 M10, and x12 Archers.
  
• Added 64th and 86th (Corps) Anti-Tank Regiments, each armed with x36 M10c Achilles.
  
• Revised every British divisional anti-tank regiment to reflect the numerous battery organization variations. Some divisions gained substantially more tank destroyers (49th West Riding), some lost firepower by adopting the new 10-gun battery organization.
  
• Removed the 91st (Corps) Anti-Tank Regiment, as it was placed in suspended animation in January.
  
• Reduced training level of UK AA units to recruit, except in units that demonstrated particular talent for ground combat.
  
• Added historical battery names to all Royal Artillery units.
  

[h3]UK 1944 Revisions:[/h3]

• Updated all Recon Regiments to their July or August 1944 ToEs. In general this means more armoured cars and fewer universal carriers.
  
• Removed 59th Recon Regiment from the 59th Infantry Division, as the regiment was split from the division in December 1943.
  
• Added full allotment (6 per squadron) of Humber LRCs to UK Armoured Division Engineer squadrons.
  

[h3]Equipment Changes:[/h3]
New Equipment/Equipment Changes:

• Centurion I (Main Battle Tank)
  
• Cromwell VII (Medium Tank)
  
• Churchill IX (Heavy Tank)
  
• Archer I (Light Tank Destroyer)
  
• UK Inf (RamKang) ’45 (Mechanized Infantry)
  
• Stuart V Recce (Light Recon Vehicle)
  
• Enabled barrage for 17pdr towed guns. 17pdrs were widely employed as part of "pepperpot" harassment bombardments in the final months of the war.
  

• Added an editor config-level toggle to disable Force March orders. Forced March is now disabled by default in Skirmish and Meeting Engagement scenarios.
  
• Added an editor config-level option to control the range at which temporarily static units are mobilized by enemy proximity.
  
• Added an editor config-level option to lock out training level changes in requisition. This is off by default, but is enabled in all historical and alt-historical scenarios.
  
• Added an editor level option to lock out purchasing replacements. This is off my default, but is enabled in all historical and alt-historical scenarios.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused tutorial textboxes to activate and force the game into windowed mode when a connected client used a hotkey to buy units.
  

The 2025 CAOS development roadmap is due to come out this weekend, so we'll get into the details of future development then. But for the moment Sealion development continues, and we will hold a developer Operation Sealion let's play on our discord on November 17, at 10AM Pacific Standard time (6PM GMT-0). Beyond that, with the UK 1945 overhaul wrapped, we are working on a new historical map, set on the Eastern Front. As Sealion moves into its latter stages of production, the focus of CAOS development marches inexorably eastward.