Update 1.0.7.4 - UK 1945 Overhaul

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.