CAOS News

Greetings! We are happy to announce CAOS Operation Husky Stage 1 will launch in just under two weeks on February 12! As part of Stage 1, we are also including the dynamic air zone and new unit graphic set originally planned for stages 2/3.


[h2]New Game Mechanics:[/h2]
Dynamic Air Zone: Air control dynamically projected from map edges and controlled airfields. You can now visualize the aerial battlefield using the air overlay (pictured above) and see just how much of the map your squadrons really cover.
Amphibious Landings: Amphibious assaults in a new Invasion scenario mode designed specifically for naval invasions. Units conducting amphibious landings enjoy powerful naval fire support and barrage bonuses.
Paradrops: Paradrops for the attacking player in Invasion and Attack scenarios. If you have air control over a hex and you have paratroopers to spare, you can drop on it.

[h2]New Maps:[/h2]
Sardinia: An idyllic Mediterranean tourist destination, and also incidentally a fantastic battlefield. Sardinia features rugged mountain bastions, light forests, and sweeping open plains. Some sectors of the island present serious challenges to mechanized movement, but almost every hill-top fortress can be bypassed and isolated with proper planning.
Corsica: A mountainous and densely forested island that boasts many choke-points to entrap reckless adversaries. Corsica favors infantry combat and places even more importance on controlling the air than other maps.

[h2]Historical Orders of Battle and Order of Battle Additions[/h2]

The historical orders of battle which will be used in the coming historical and hypothetical scenarios will also be available in custom scenarios.
Allied Operation Husky, featuring US 7th Army and UK 8th Army as they stood during Operation Husky in July/August 1943.
Allied Operation Avalanche, featuring US 5th Army (composed of US 6th Corps and UK 10th Corps) as they stood during Operation Avalanche in September 1943.
Axis Operation Husky, featuring the Italian 6th Army and elements of Germany 14th Panzer Corps as they stood during Operation Husky in July/August 1943.
Axis CorSard, featuring all Italian and German forces on Sardinia and Corsica on September 8, 1943.
Soviet Paratroopers: Every Soviet standard order of battle from 1941 onwards now includes one Airborne Corps (or equivalent number of brigades), the USSR will not be left out of paradrops!

[h2]Alternate Unit Graphic Set:[/h2]
Non-NATO graphics lovers rejoice! An alternate unit graphic set can be toggled on and off in the options screen.


After stage 1 releases on February 12 the new gameplay systems required to support pre-built historical and hypothetical scenarios will be fully in place. With stage one wrapped we will set to work on bringing Operations Husky, Firebrand, Brimstone, and Case Axis to life, and bringing you what so many of us have dreamed of for months: a CAOS scenario editor.

Beta testing for Husky Stage 1 revealed that invasion scenarios require the dynamic air system to be reasonably balanced, so we are expediting dynamic air from stage 2, to stage 1. In development terms this means stage 1 will take longer to complete, because the dynamic air system interacts with every aspect of CAOS, and opens its own Pandora’s box of bugfixes and testing before it's release-ready. However, in gameplay terms it elevates air combat in CAOS from something that happens behind the scenes to a fluctuating aerial battlefront that you can actually see, plan around, and interact with. Let’s dive in and see how dynamic air system and invasion scenarios work!


In Operation Husky Stage 1, air power will be dynamically projected from map edges and on-map airfields in all scenario types. Your air zone originates off the map, but you can extend your air control over the battlefield by increasing the number of squadrons conducting air superiority missions, or by capturing airfields to extend the reach of the squadrons you already have. Controlling airspace reduces the effect of enemy air missions and prevents them from conducting amphibious or paratroop landings at all. Ignoring the skies completely and simply massing more tanks will be far riskier, especially in the late-war years. Neglect your air force at your peril.

[h2]Visualizing Air Control:[/h2]

The new air overlay visualizes the aerial battlefield. Airspace control is color coded by faction. In the example above red-highlighted hexes are Redfor airspace and blue-highlighted hexes are Blufor airspace. Hexes that are hash marked both red and blue are areas of contested air space wherein neither side enjoys superiority.

[h2]Effects of Air Control:[/h2]
Amphibious and paratroop landings can only be conducted in friendly airspace, and the efficiency of enemy air missions is reduced in your airspace.

[h3]Friendly Airspace Exclusive:[/h3]

• Amphibious Landings: Amphibious landings can only be performed in friendly airspace. Also note that if you make a successful landing and then lose air control over the beach, you will not be able to land additional reinforcements until you recover air control over the hex.
  
• Paradrops: Paratroop drops can only be targeted on hexes inside friendly airspace. If you want to drop behind enemy lines bring enough fighters to push the enemy’s air zone back.
  
• Reduce Effect of Enemy Air Missions: The effect of enemy air support, strike, and bombing missions inside your airspace is reduced.
  

[h3]Friendly and Contested Airspace:[/h3]

• Commando landings: Commando units can conduct amphibious landings in either friendly or contested airspace.
  

[h3]Amphibious Landings:[/h3]
‘Conventional’ amphibious landings involve placing a landing marker, and then selecting 8 invasion beaches within 6 hexes of the marker. In addition to whatever units you storm the beaches with the turn the marker is deployed, these beaches will remain landable to reinforcement units for 3 turns, unless you lose control of the beach. If properly used an invader can deploy entire corps across a full set of 8 beaches in a matter of days. Do not ignore amphibious landings, they start small but escalate quickly. The downside of amphibious landings is that your opponent can see the beaches you selected after you land, even if they do not have direct line of sight on the landing beaches (invasion fleets are hard to miss); so amphibious landings are never stealthy.


In this scenario one landing zone has already been planned and units ordered to land (note the shaded hexes with units waiting offshore). While another landing zone is being placed (note the landing marker, indicated by a transport ship on an octagonal counter), the number above the vessel indicates the number of beaches left to select for the landing zone.

Landing markers can be purchased during requisition phases, which means that if an invader can afford new landing markers and maintain air cover, follow-on landings after the first wave are always a possibility.

[h3]Commando Landings:[/h3]
Commando landings can be conducted anywhere in friendly or contested air space without requiring a beach landing marker. This means unless your opponent has units with line of sight on the commando’s landing zone, they will not know you are there. Use commandos to grab ports or airfields in the enemy’s rear area just ahead of a major ground offensive to seize these objectives. A well-timed commando raid to capture a port can provide a fresh reinforcement point in the enemy’s rear. Likewise, taking an airfield in contested airspace can undermine enemy air resistance just ahead of your own land offensive. The threat of commando landings alone forces your opponent to deploy more forces to secure their rear and lends a significant advantage to nations such as the United Kingdom in invasion scenarios.


Note the lack of landing markers or shaded beaches in a commando landing. If this landing wasn't aimed directly at enemy ports, it could be stealthy.

[h3]Ports:[/h3]
In custom scenarios any city or town on top of a beach hex is considered a port. In invasion scenarios, if an invading player captures a port they can continue to land reinforcements on that hex without needing to expend a landing marker. Additionally, most port-cities are also considered major supply depots, so invaders will typically try to capture one early on in an invasion to simplify their logistics.

[h2]Reinforcement Points:[/h2]
Reinforcement points represent the naval or air logistical assets required to land a combat unit. Deploying units in amphibious landings, commando landings, and paradrops all consume reinforcement points. The number of reinforcement points required to land a unit is equal to its stacking value. Without proper planning reinforcement points can become a serious bottleneck for an invading army. Units stuck in the deployment box with no reinforcement points left to land them will do you little good until you get a chance to buy new reinforcement points in the next requisition phase.

Additional reinforcement points can be purchased during requisition phases at a rate of .5 requisition points per reinforcement point.

[h2]Hitting the Beach: Amphibious Combat:[/h2]
[h3]Amphibious Combat:[/h3]
Amphibious landings are the highest intensity battles in CAOS. When landing units encounter beach defenses they relentlessly attack every impulse until they take the beach, are destroyed, or the turn ends. If a landing unit rolls a retreat in combat they take an automatic 15% strength loss like encircled units do, but keep attacking. While invading forces suffer an amphibious combat reduction and the risk of high casualties, they also gain the powerful bonuses of naval gunfire. Consequently, opposed landings tend to be bloody for both the attackers and defenders.

Failed Landings: Landing units that fail to take a beach but are not destroyed automatically return to the deployment box and suffer 50% cohesion loss, in addition to attrition suffered during the landing.

[h3]Naval Gunfire:[/h3]
Amphibious landings enjoy powerful naval barrage and fire support bonuses. Before combat even begins the beach is hit by naval barrage and then naval fire support is added to the combat value of the attackers for every impulse of the landing. Naval barrage/fire support values differ from nation-to-nation, but in each case is calculated from the artillery throweight of common light cruisers and destroyers. The US and UK lead the higher end of the naval gunfire charts, but naval gunfire of any nation can be dangerous.

[h3]Expanding the Beach Head:[/h3]
Landing units can move one hex of open terrain inland (2 on a road) after landing, movement points allowing. If a beach is well defended landing units will rarely have enough movement points left to get off the beach after the initial battle. But when beaches are lightly held, or undefended, invading forces can immediately start establishing a safe perimeter around the landing zone.

[h3]Amphibious Landing Stacking Limit Exception:[/h3]
Up to 5 stacking points can be landed in a single hex per turn. A common invasion package against defended beaches is 2 infantry regiments + 1 tank battalion to ensure combined arms. You can also use this extra stacking point to get headquarters and artillery units ashore that would otherwise have to wait an extra turn to make landfall.

[h3]Destroying/Disabling Landing Beaches[/h3]
Landing beaches automatically close after 3 turns, after which point the attacker must use a new landing marker to renew that beach head if they want to keep using it. Landing beaches are also removed if:

• An opposed landing on the beach fails.
  
• Enemy units occupy the beach.
  
• The beach is inside enemy Zone of Control, and there are no friendly units on the beach to protect it.
  

Likewise, beaches are disabled and become unlandable (but are not removed), if the invader loses air control over the beach. If the invader regains air control over the beach before it automatically closes after 3 turns, then they can land on it again.


With the basics covered, let's consider how to actually plan an execute something as monumental as a naval invasion in CAOS.

[h2]Attacker:[/h2]
The invader’s numerical advantages are limited by the logistics of naval landings and aggression is essential to throw the defender off balance The invader might overwhelmingly outnumber the defender, but that only matters if they can actually get boots off the beach. Don’t be afraid to play extremely aggressively during the early stages of an invasion, you can afford to take more losses than the defender can. Take risks, grab supply hubs, grab airfields, expand outward from the initial landing zone as quickly as possible. Force the defender to commit their reserves and then stage follow-up landings on their exposed flanks. If you have commandos or paratroopers consider holding them until a few turns into an operation and then use them to capture ports behind enemy lines to open another front.

Here’s an invasion checklist to keep in mind while planning your operations:

1. Always make sure you have enough reinforcement points to keep landing new units. In a corps+ or army size scenario, buy at least 40 stacking points during the first turn.
   
2. Maintain a strong air force. If you lose air control over your beaches/ports you cannot keep landing reinforcements.
   
3. If you’re expecting resistance on the beach, make sure your invading stacks possess combined arms.
   
4. Does your invasion zone promise quick access to ports to provide easy access to reinforcements?
   
5. Does your invasion zone promise quick access to a supply hub? (Check the supply overlay) If not, be prepared to bring mobile depots in reinforcement waves to keep your troops supplied.
   

If you ever find yourself in a situation where your landing has been contained and can’t break out, dig in on that front and start pouring units into an alternative landing zone if possible. Time is of the essence, the invader enjoys a force advantage when the game starts, but if you can’t capture objectives and increase your requisition point income then the defender will eventually rival your power and grind you into the dust.

[h2]Defender:[/h2]
The defender’s watchwords are Delay and Deny; the longer you can keep the invader away from major objectives the stronger you get. Keep your best mobile and armored units in central reserve to confront and contain enemy landings as they move inland. Don’t be tempted to park expensive tank regiments on beaches; naval gunfire will cut them up like a can opener and then you’ll have nothing to stop invaders moving inland. Consider deploying expandable infantry supported by artillery and cheap armor to beaches where you expect contact, but you can’t afford to cover everything equally. Weigh what’s worth defending against what you can afford to give up.

Here’s the defender’s invasion checklist:

1. Check the air overlay every turn to see what beaches the invader could attack. Use the invader’s checklist and your enemy’s observed behavior to identify beaches most at risk and deploy forces accordingly.
   
2. Forget a well-balanced air force, bias towards fighters to contest the skies and deny the invader access to beaches behind your lines. Remember the Air Superiority mission focus on the Air Command screen to maximize the value of your fighters.
   
3. Deploy mobile units in central reserve and then rush them toward invasion zones to prevent breakouts and contain landings near their beaches.
   
4. Create bastions of defense. If you identify a specific airfield or city (especially a supply hub), that the invader must capture to support their invasion make that as hard as possible for them, even if it means sacrificing units.
   
5. Station engineers on bridges at critical choke points throughout the map and blow those bridges ahead of the enemy advance. Construct minefields where bridges aren’t available.
   
6. Deploy recon units in rear areas to quickly locate and entangle enemy paratroopers for quick removal by your armored forces as soon as they land.
   

The first few turns of an invasion as a defender against a veteran invader can be harrowing. The invader knows their plan, you can only guess at it. But so long as you can prevent the invader from running free and capturing objectives, the tide will gradually shift in your favor. The invader enjoys many advantages, but so do you; blow the bridges, mine the highways, stuff the cities full of conscripts, level your heavy howitzers out and use them like cannons, throw entire tank regiments at anything vaguely resembling a paratrooper. Delay, deny, and make the invader’s life miserable.

Invasion scenarios will be the most complex scenarios in CAOS and we look forward to sharing them with you in Operation Husky Stage 1! We expect to release Stage 1 in January, but the exact release date isn't set yet, so stay tune for more updates and let us know your thoughts!

We are happy to reveal our release plans for the CAOS: Operation Husky update! Because of the sheer volume of content and systems coming in Husky, we’re going to split the update into three stages so everything can be properly tested and debugged before it hits the live game. The systems such as paradrops, amphibious landings, historical scenarios, and editor coming in Husky will ultimately make it possible for us to expand CAOS into the Russian Front and later the Pacific, so it’s essential that we give this update the time it deserves. All parts of the Husky update will still be completely free, they’ll just be spread out over more time than originally planned to allow ourselves to properly test and polish everything.

[h2]Stage 1: Systems and Content[/h2]
Operation Husky Stage 1 focuses on adding new gameplay systems, maps, and orders of battle, to custom scenarios in CAOS.


Paradrops: Paradrops as a selectable scenario option. When enabled either side can conduct paratroop drops if they possess air superiority. See the paradrop dev blog for more info.

Amphibious Landings: Amphibious assaults in a new Invasion scenario mode designed specifically for naval invasions. Units conducting amphibious landings enjoy powerful naval fire support and barrage bonuses. The mechanics and restrictions of amphibious landings, and the commando landing variant will be discussed in a separate dev blog.

New Maps: Two new maps, Sardinia and Corsica, playable in all custom scenario types.

Historical Orders of Battle:
The historical orders of battle which will be used in the coming historical and hypothetical scenarios will also be available in custom scenarios.

• Allied Operation Husky, featuring US 7th Army and UK 8th Army as they stood during Operation Husky in July/August 1943.
  
• Allied Operation Avalanche, featuring US 5th Army (composed of US 6th Corps and UK 10th Corps) as they stood during Operation Avalanche in September 1943.
  
• Axis Operation Husky, featuring the Italian 6th Army and elements of Germany 14th Panzer Corps as they stood during Operation Husky in July/August 1943.
  
• Axis CorSard, featuring all Italian and German forces on Sardinia and Corsica on September 8, 1943.
  

[h2]Stage 2: Historical/Hypothetical Scenarios and Dynamic Air Zone:[/h2]
Stage 2 focuses on Historical/Hypothetical Scenarios and the crucial Dynamic Air Zone feature.

Scenarios:
See our upcoming scenarios dev blog for more details.

• Sicily: Operation Husky (Historical and Free Deployment variants)
  
• Sardinia: Operation Brimstone (May, July, and September variants)
  
• Sardinia: Case Axis
  
• Corsica: Operation Firebrand
  

Dynamic Air Zone: Air zone dynamically projected from controlled airfields. Paratroop drops and (non-commando) amphibious landings will only be available inside friendly air space.

Allow Players to Disable Nation-Locking: Scenario creation option to allow nations to be played against themselves. For instance, Germany versus Germany matches will be possible.

[h2]Stage 3: Scenario Editor[/h2]
Stage 3 will focus on adding a scenario editor and integrating the new alternate counter set.

Scenario editor: This editor will let you create scenarios on existing maps, you’ll be free to choose both side's nations/years, place units, objectives, supply points, starting zones, requisition points, forts, minefields, etc. These scenarios can then be saved to your scenario list or shared with your friends.

Alternate counter-set: The alternate counter-set will be made available for direct download (likely via steam workshop) before Stage 3 for players who prefer a non-NATO look and want to use it early. But the option to swap between the NATO versus Alternate counter-sets will be added in stage 3.

Here's an example of the current in-development alternate counter-set, most of the vehicle/artillery graphics are based on either US or German weapons for easy identification.


We expect to make a public beta build of Husky Stage 1 available around Christmas, with a full release following soon after. Each stage will be released when it’s ready. We look forward to sharing Husky with the community and we hope you're looking forward to a very merry Christmas!

Paratroop drops rank among the most powerful orders in CAOS, but also the easiest to catastrophically misuse and send good divisions to their death. Let’s dive into the paradrop system and learn how to harness the maximum potential of paradrops in the upcoming Operation Husky update!

[h2]Hitting the Ground: [/h2]
Paratroopers land on or within one hex of the targeted drop zone on impulse 1 of turn resolution, although the presence of enemy troops can make them land even further away. Upon landing paratroopers suffer casualties and cohesion loss that leaves them vulnerable to immediate hostile counterattacks. Although some of these casualties automatically trickle-back to the unit over the succeeding turns. See the section on paratroop sub-types below for details on how drop casualties and trickle-back differ between paratrooper types. Due to the uncertainty of the precise landing zone and the risk of drop casualties, it’s usually wise to avoid dropping paratroopers directly adjacent to powerful enemy units or too far away from relief forces. You don’t want to end up jumping a bridge too far.


(Full Image)
Here's a high risk paradrop operation, we're going to insert the 504th/505th US Parachute Infantry Regiments, alongside the British 1st Airlanding Brigade, immediately behind the Axis line to block their retreat while US ground forces advance to link up with the paratroopers. If this goes to plan the Axis flank south of Arras will be completely crushed, and their defense of the city compromised. We'll see how it goes at the end of the dev blog...

[h2]Paratroop sub-types[/h2]
Paratroopers come in three sub-types, Paratroopers, Glider troops, and exceedingly rare Para-Commandos.

Paratroopers
Paratroopers are the most common airborne units and they suffer consistently high casualty rates on drops.

Paratrooper casualty and trickle-back rates vary between years and nations, but US Paratroopers in 1943 suffer between 35-50% casualties on drop and recover 40-60% of these casualties over the succeeding 2 turns.

Here's an example of the US 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment before and after drop from the operation earlier in the blog:

Some of these losses will trickle-back over the next few turns, but the unit is very vulnerable to counter-attack immediately after landing. Bear this vulnerability in mind while planning your drops.

Glider-borne
Glider units are the high-stakes gamblers of airborne assaults. Glider landings can go flawlessly and deliver an entire fighting force with minimal casualties, or be total disasters that render units combat ineffective. While glider infantry are the most obvious glider-based airborne units, most airborne artillery and anti-tank units are glider-borne as well.

Glider casualty and trickle-back rates vary between years and nations, but US glider-borne forces in 1943 suffer between 10-60% casualties and recover 30-50% of these casualties over the succeeding 2 turns.

Para-Commandos: Para-Commandos suffer the lowest drop casualties, but also tend to be the smallest paratroop capable units. Para-commando units are exceedingly rare and only a few nations deploy them, such as the: French Bataillon de Choc, British SAS, US/Canadian Special Service Force, and some Italian Arditi.

Commandos suffer between 10-30% casualties on drop and recover 50-80% of these losses over the succeeding 2 turns.

[h2]Drop Restrictions[/h2]
Air Control: Paratroop drops can only be conducted within airspace you control. Dynamic Air control is another new feature in development for Operation Husky, and will be featured in its own dev blog further down the line. But for now, suffice to say that if you intend to use paratroopers you’re going to need air superiority to cover them.

Terrain: Paratroop drops cannot be ordered in mountain or swamp hexes, although paratroopers can still accidentally fall off course and end up landing in these terrain types if they are adjacent to the selected landing zone.

[h2]Surviving the Drop: Using Paratroopers Effectively[/h2]
There are three broad ways to enhance the survivability of your paratroop drops. 1) Dropping a small number of units away from known enemy positions and then slipping into their rear to cause havoc. This technique is well suited for para-commandos seeking to capture poorly defended enemy objectives or supply depots. 2) Dropping paratroopers directly behind a large enemy force you intend to hit with ground forces the same turn, thus blocking their line of retreat, potentially creating an unexpected encirclement, and keeping your paratroopers within a stone’s throw of relief. 3) Concentrating many paratroopers in a single target area and hoping that enough force lands intact to hold off counterattacks until relief arrives. In any case you should always conduct thorough air recon and identify favorable terrain near the landing zone for the paratroopers to fall back on and defend until rescue arrives if things go badly. Paratroopers are simply too rare and valuable to waste on a whim.

With all of this in mind, let's revisit our paratroop drop from earlier.

(Full Size)
The drop went...poorly, but it did not entirely fail. The paratroopers mostly hit their drop zones and they successfully blocked Axis reinforcements from the east, who otherwise could have halted the breakthrough entirely. However, unexpectedly stubborn resistance against the relief forces prevented a total collapse of the Axis line. The StuGs at the crossroads, exposed Italian artillery south of Arras, and Italian infantry north of Peronne will likely be destroyed next turn, but the US 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment will be overrun before help arrives. The problem with this paradrop plan was that it required everything else, outside of the paratrooper's control, to go perfectly, and in combat reality tends to clash violently with your neatly planned operations. Never plan a paradrop based on the assumption that everything will go according to plan, be prepared for the worst and plan accordingly.

Let’s dive into the scenarios coming in the CAOS: Operation Husky free update! Some of these scenarios will receive their own deep-dive dev blogs closer to release, but today we’ll take a look at each of the scenarios, their scope, and victory conditions. We have a lot in store for you!


Axis forces hold a tenuous perimeter ahead of the Allied advance on D+5. The 1st Fallschirmjager Division will stabilize the line south of Catania, but it won't hold forever.

[h2]Operation Husky – Historical Allied Invasion of Sicily[/h2]
Date: July 10-August 16, 1943.
Background: The Allied Invasion of Sicily, Operation Husky, was one of the largest amphibious invasions in history, consisting of seven assault divisions followed by two full Allied armies. After determined Axis counterattacks on July 10 failed to crush the beachheads, Allied reinforcements poured into Sicily unabated and any chance of containing the landings quickly faded. By July 18, Patton’s 7th Army had completely broken out of the landing zones, overrunning western Sicily in a mere five days while Axis forces retreated toward the Etna Line. Meanwhile, Montgomery’s 8th Army faced the unenviable task of clearing German fallschirmjager, panzergrenadiers, and armor from the river lines of eastern Sicily and then the slopes of Mount Etna. Even after the twin allied armies brought their full might to bear against the Etna Line after the fall of Palermo on July 22, progress remained slow in the face of Axis delaying actions and the implacable mountainous terrain of northeastern Sicily. After over three weeks of bloody combat on the slopes of Etna and the Messina peninsula, Allies forces finally entered the port of Messina itself, only to find that Axis forces had already completed their withdrawal in good order. Operationally, the Allies failed to annihilate Axis forces in Sicily, but the invasion was still a valuable Allied strategic victory. Operation Husky precipitated the collapse of Fascist Italy and the subsequent diversion of German forces into Italy and the Balkans, troops sorely needed on the Eastern Front. Operation Husky was an imperfect Allied victory, but a victory no less; the question is, can you do better? Can you lead Allied forces to a decisive victory in Sicily? Or perhaps you’ll turn the tables and defeat the invasion entirely at the head of Axis forces on the island?

Victory Conditions: Axis: Highest victory point score accumulated through controlling objectives for as long as possible and by withdrawing units to the mainland.
Allies: Control Palermo, Syracuse, and Messina, and possess higher victory point score than the Axis at the end of the game.

[h2]Operation Husky – Dynamic Allied Invasion of Sicily[/h2]
Date: July 10-August 16, 1943.
The Dynamic variant of Operation Husky allows the Allies to choose their invasion beaches and allows the Axis to deploy their mobile forces freely before the game starts. Likewise, instead of following a fixed historical reinforcement schedule, both sides purchase reinforcements from a unit pool, much like the custom scenarios. With total control over the Allied landing beaches or the Axis mobile forces can you do better than your historical counterparts? Can you create a perfect invasion or infallible defense?


All of the selectable initial invasion beaches in Dynamic Husky marked in blue above, versus the historical landing zones of the US (in green) and Commonwealth (in red), below. Go nuts! You've got plenty of options!


Victory Conditions:
Identical to historical Operation Husky.


[h2]Operation Brimstone – Hypothetical Allied Invasion of Sardinia.[/h2]
Background: The concept of an Allied Invasion of Sardinia, later dubbed Operation Brimstone, was originally proposed at the January 1943 Symbol Conference as a smaller May 1943 alternative to the massive Operation Husky. The concept was revisited again as an alternative to the September 1943 Operation Avalanche landings at Salerno by US 5th Army. In both cases, Operation Brimstone enjoyed the advantage of attacking a softer target than Sicily or the Italian mainland. However, all incarnations of Brimstone also called for much smaller invasion forces than Husky or Salerno and were further from existing allied air bases. Historically, Operation Brimstone was turned down in both its May and September variations, and Sardinia subsequently came under Allied control regardless following the Armistice of Cassibile. In CAOS, Operation Brimstone presents an exciting historical what-if scenario to enjoy in three different forms!

The basic Brimstone (May) selectable landing beaches are marked in blue, additional July beaches in green, and additional September beaches in purple.

[h3]Operation Brimstone: May[/h3]
Date: May 21-June 21, 1943.
Background: Brimstone (May) models a hypothetical Allied invasion of Sardinia consisting of one corps landing and one corps in reinforcement. While Axis defenses in Sardinia are comparatively light in May, Allied invasion forces face several limitations that make the battle surprisingly evenly matched. First, many veteran Allied divisions in North Africa are unavailable because they are absorbing replacements in the aftermath of the Tunisia campaign. Second, the Allies have a more limited selection of invasion beaches in May than later months due to lighter air cover. Third, the smaller initial landing force is unlikely to overrun the island before significant German reinforcements arrive. In a May Brimstone, both sides are relatively weak and a well led Axis defense can create a bloody stalemate.

Victory Conditions: Axis:Achieve highest victory point score by controlling objectives for as long as possible or by withdrawing units to Corsica. Or control 51% of objectives on the map at the end of the game.
Allies: Control Cagliari, Oristano, and Olbia, and possess higher victory point score than the Axis at the end of the game.

[h3]Operation Brimstone: July[/h3]
Date: July 10-August 10, 1943.
Background: Brimstone (July) assumes the Allies chose Sardinia instead of Sicily for the Operation Husky landings, and three corps drawn from the US 7th Army/UK 8th Army are tasked to overrun the island. The Allies must move quickly to secure airfields and ports to bring in additional reinforcements because the longer the Axis holds onto these key objectives the more reinforcements they will receive. If the Allies delay too long, they may find themselves facing formidable SS, Fallschirmjager, and Alpini units shipped in from Corsica and the Italian mainland.

Victory Conditions:
Identical to Brimstone (May).

[h3]Operation Brimstone September:[/h3]
Date: September 9–October 9, 1943.
Background: Brimstone (September) presupposes Operation Husky was a success, but the Italian Fascist state has not collapsed. Thus, the US 5th Army consisting of US 6th Corps, a UK 10th Corps, are tasked to invade Sardinia instead of Salerno in September 1943, and all Italian units on the island remain combat ready. Allied forces enjoy firepower superiority and a wide selection of potential invasion beaches, but these advantages are tempered by Sardinia’s geography and the Axis ability to gain victory points by withdrawing units from the northern ports. The Axis defender’s primary objective is to delay as long as possible and then withdraw to Corsica in good order; they don’t need to hold the island to win the game.

Victory Conditions:
Identical to Brimstone (May).

[h2]Case Axis (Sardinia): German Evacuation from Sardinia[/h2]
Date: September 9-18, 1943.
Background: Following the Armistice of Cassibile and the final collapse of the Italian Fascist state on September 8, 1943, German forces in Sardinia withdraw first to Corsica, and then to the Italian mainland. Historically, the Germans were able to withdraw from Sardinia with little difficulty due to prior agreements between German and Italian commanders on the island, and the limited mobility of Italian forces present. This scenario simulates a German withdraw from Sardinia in the face of staunch Italian resistance from the start. The German player must utilize their high mobility and armored superiority to punch through the Italian lines, secure an evacuation port, and withdraw from the island before time runs out.


The rough positions of the German 90th Panzergrenadier Division and the various German fortress battalions at the start of Case Axis, versus the Italian mobile units opposing them. The German player will have to make tough judgement calls about which fortress battalions to save and which to sacrifice while planning their retreat.

Victory Conditions: German: Evacuate majority of forces from the island.
Italian: Prevent German evacuation.


[h2]Operation Firebrand – Hypothetical Allied Liberation of Corsica[/h2]
Date: September 20-October 4, 1943.
Background:Operation Firebrand was a proposed follow up operation to the September variant of Operation Brimstone, to be executed primarily by French forces following Sardinia’s capture. Historically, Operation Firebrand was never enacted, instead Corsica was liberated by French forces operating in tandem with the former Italian garrison against the retreating Germans on the island during Operation Vesuvius in September/October 1943. This scenario assumes that Operation Brimstone was completed in mid-September, and the Free French Expeditionary Corps has been tasked to wrest control of Corsica from the Axis. Corsica’s rugged terrain naturally favors defenders, and French forces will need to leverage every advantage of their Moroccan Mountaineers and air supremacy to dislodge determined Axis resistance.


Moroccan and Algerian mountaineers of the French Expeditionary Corps slog their way through lower Corsica after successful landings at Ajaccio and Propriano, but even more rugged terrain awaits them further north.

Victory Conditions: Axis: Achieve highest victory point score by controlling objectives for as long as possible or by withdrawing units to the mainland. Or control 51% of objectives on the map at the end of the game.
Allies: Control Ajaccio and Bastia, and possess higher victory point score than the Axis at the end of the game.


We look forward to seeing these new scenarios in action when CAOS: Operation Husky releases later this fall! And remember, the orders of battle for most of these scenarios will also be available to play in custom scenarios, so in addition to the new scenarios you’ll get plenty of chances to put historical force compositions to the test in head-to-head matches with other historical orders of battle. For now we’ll get back to hammering away on the new scenarios and we’ll bring you another order of battle blog for Axis forces in Sicily soon!