CAOS News

At first glance, the British military seems to be at the zenith of its World War 2 power on the eve of the Normandy landings. British armoured brigades are powerful battering rams. British infantry divisions remain substantially larger than their allies and adversaries alike. Their anti-tank guns are among the finest in the world. Meanwhile, the RAF can challenge any opponent on equal or better terms in the skies above. Britain, and the Commonwealth generally, has come far since the dark days of 1940. Yet…a crisis brews beneath the surface. Years of total war from Malaysia to Tunisia have bled Britain dry. The Italian theater consumes manpower in hard-won bloodbaths like Anzio and Monte Cassino, while the fighting at Caen and the triumph in the Falaise Pocket inflict their own heavy price. By mid-August 1944, only 1,100 trained infantry replacements deemed ready to reinforce 21st Army Group remain in Home Forces. British infantry training levels stand on the precipice of a sharp decline. As fighting rages on in the Low Countries, Italy, Greece, and the Pacific, the demand for fresh infantrymen continues unabated. Britain must adapt, but the path forward is fraught with challenges.

Adapting to the Crisis:
Britain’s manpower inefficient infantry divisions posed a serious challenge as the replacement crisis deepened. British infantry divisions were large, upwards of 18,000 men, and lacked the battalion-level firepower common in contemporary armies. British commanders were hardly blind to these deficiencies and forces in the field engaged in a wide variety of local adaptations. The 5th Infantry Division hoarded an impressive 40 4.2” mortars, distributed at division and brigade levels. The 49th West Riding Division converted roughly half its rifle sections to SMG sections from July onwards. 51st Highland Division organized scout/sniper platoons in most battalions. In the summer some divisions in the Mediterranean started converting rifle battalion AT companies into mechanized infantry. By September some units were eliminating the anachronistic 4th rifle company per battalion entirely, and embracing a 2-LMG per squad organization. Ad-hoc combined arms columns were assembled from divisional anti-tank batteries to create quick reaction forces incorporating mechanized infantry, mortars, and tank-destroyers. Divisions in the field were skillfully adapting to the manpower crisis and deficiencies of their organizations, but the War Office did not institutionalize these adaptations army wide. Instead, the War Office focused its efforts on the equally important tasks of dissolving excess units and squeezing manpower out of other arms with merciless efficiency.

Playing UK 1944
UK 1944 primarily models the British army at its height between April and July. As such, the deleterious effects of the growing manpower crisis are perceptible, but they are not yet critical. Many infantry divisions now have variant organizations. Some excel in close combat, others enjoy superior AT capabilities, some buckle under the weight of mounting attrition; each has its own niche to fill. Britain enjoys substantial advantages in flexibility and mobility over past years, especially if commanders utilize creative battle-grouping. Mechanized MG and recon units, 4.2” mortar, M10/Achilles, and self-propelled AA companies, provide an excellent basis for combined-arms battlegroups. Use these battlegroups as cheap and effective combined arms support for your infantry brigades. The massive proliferation of 17pdrs, mounted in Shermans, M10s, Challengers, or even simply towed, presents a serious threat to enemy armor. The proper employment of 17pdrs means life or death against enemy tanks as the PIATs and 6pdrs controlled by infantry brigades will not defeat concentrated armor assaults. In defensive battles the British army in 1944 remains one of the most capable orders of battle in CAOS. Always keep your infantry properly supported, immobilize your opponent, harass their artillery from the air, and once they have lost momentum, unleash your powerful tank brigades in a decisive counterstroke.

[h3]UK 1944:[/h3]
Infantry:

• Implemented variant MTO and Northwestern Europe infantry division organizations and tables of equipment. Units in Northwest Europe typically employ more mechanization and primarily use Stens as SMGs. MTO units are more likely to use Thompsons, incorporate MMGs down to the battalion level, and use more older 6pdr AT guns, or sometimes eliminate AT units entirely.
  
• Added the 2nd New Zealand Division in its July 1944 organization, just after its post-Monte Cassino reorganization.
  
• Added the 10th Indian Infantry Division in its April 1944 organization, immediately after arriving in Italy.
  
• Added the 43rd (Lorried) Independent Gurkha Brigade, a motorized brigade formed from Gurkha battalions that served as a fire brigade style reserve unit serving with Indian divisions in Italy.
  
• Added the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade, a veteran brigade detached from the 8th Infantry division in Italy.
  
• Added the 233rd Infantry Brigade, a 2nd line security unit based in Malta, and the 162nd Infantry Brigade, a line of communications unit under the command of 21st Army Group before Operation Overlord.
  
• Re-organized the 59th Staffordshire Infantry Division to its early August organization, reflecting declining training levels, and just before the division was disband.
  
• Re-organized 51st Highland Infantry Division to its June 1944 OB, including scout/sniper platoons attached to each rifle battalion. Additionally, the 5th Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders Battalion (152nd Infantry Brigade) receives the 2pdrs they still had instead of 6pdrs in July 1944. Yes. We were surprised to learn this too.
  
• Re-organized 49th West Riding Infantry Division to its July 1944 OB, including dedicated SMG assault squads.
  
• Re-organized Brigade Support Groups in the MTO to their actual field ToE, instead of their official war establishment. This transformation completely removes their AA guns, but increases their MMG and 4.2” mortar allotments.
  
• Added the Lovat Scouts, a crack independent infantry regiment (battalion strength) specializing in mountain warfare and light infantry combat. They boast both mountaineering capabilities and substantial skirmish combat bonuses
  
• Issued SMGs to company, platoon, and section leaders, throughout UK 1943 and 1944 MG battalions. Raises close combat value from 1.85/2.5 to 2.1/2.65
  
• Mechanized UK 1944 MMG sections (in Universal Carriers), where appropriate, primarily applies to units in Northwestern Europe. Close combat 2.65/2.75
  
• Organization of Independent MG Companies in Armoured Divisions (using the March 1944 Basic Organization No. VIII), updated to reflect the unique tables of organization used by these units.
  

Armo(u)r:

• Added the Centaur-Equipped Royal Marine Armoured Support Group, in its June 6, 1944 organization. This new addition lends UK 1944 a novel, relatively cheap, armoured regiment that excels in an infantry support role.
  
• Armoured recon regiments of the Guards and 11th Armoured Divisions re-organized to their July 1944 orgs, complete with Challenger TDs that could not be landed during Operation Overlord.
  

Anti-Tank, Artillery, and Anti-Aircraft:

• Added 57th Anti-Tank Regiment, composed of 1 battery towed AT, 2 batteries M10s, and 1 battery of 4.2” mortars, specialized for combat in Italy.
  
• Added 105th Anti-Tank Regiment, composed of 1 towed battery, and 2 self-propelled M10 batteries.
  
• Added 62nd Anti-Tank regiment, composed of M10 Achilles and towed 17pdrs.
  
• Re-organized 102nd AT Regiment (50th Infantry Division) to its June 1944 organization, including 2 Achilles SP batteries borrowed from the 73rd AT Regiment.
  
• Reorganized 74th, 90th, and 124th Field Regiments royal artillery to their June 6th landing ToEs, armed with M7 Priests and Sexton SPGs.
  
• Issued M7 Priests to 12th Regiment RHA. It was previously erroneously equipped with towed 25pdrs.
  
• Re-organized 4th Regiment, RHA into its June 6 assault OB with towed 25pdrs instead of self-propelled Sextons. The 4th RHA did not convert to an SP Regiment until September.
  
• Made the 1st Mountain Regiment, RA an independent unit.
  
• Reorganized 7th and Guards Armoured Division Anti-aircraft regiments to their overstrength June 6th landing ToEs.
  
• Added the 93rd Light Anti-Aircaft Regiment in its June 6 assault organization. This is a specialist low-altitude AA unit is armed with towed triple Polsten AA guns and the only field-deployment of the triple 20mm cannon variant of the Crusader AA tank.
  
• 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 1943 Revisions:[/h3]
2nd New Zealand Division 1943 Revisions:

• Added Armoured Brigade HQ tanks to 4th NZ Armoured Brigade.
  
• Added missing scout cars to 18th and 20th Armoured Regiments, 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade.
  
• Added missing Stuart Vs to 19th Armoured Regiment, 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade.
  
• Corrected Sherman types from Sherman IIs to Sherman IIIs in 4th NZ Armoured Brigade.
  
• Replaced Sten SMGs in 2nd New Zealand Division infantry squads with Thompson SMGs more common in the MTO.
  

• Added a drop-down button to swap sides in the editor, instead of needing to end turn to swap sides. You will still need to run the turn at least once to establish the air control grid, or prepare the scenario for saving and uploading to the workshop.
  
• Added code support for air landing units. Air landing units will play a key role in Operation Sea Lion, but you’ll see them in the general national OBs before then.
  
• Increased beach persistence by 1 turn in invasion scenarios, this applies to all scenarios.
  
• Airfield values can now be set per side at the scenario config level. Useful if you want to create scenarios where airfield control is more valuable to one side than the other.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented corps HQs from extending port-based supply networks in Invasion scenarios.
  
• Fixed a bug that could allow armored units to cross under-construction (brown) bridges. Infantry ARE supposed to be able to do this, but armor should not.
  
• Fixed a bug introduced in the last update that caused minefields on broken terrain hexes to become impassable to all enemy units.
  

We’re back with a combined update/dev-blog featuring a series of new mechanics developed for Operation Sea Lion that greatly enhance broader CAOS amphibious combat gameplay, editor additions, and UK 1943 OB expansions.

The first half of these update notes double as a CAOS Amphibious Warfare Overhaul dev blog. Fair warning, it gets table heavy and deeply nerdy. The second half tackles the more routine aspects of the update.


The amphibious combat system has been totally overhauled to reflect the extreme difficulty of amphibious operations and differences in capability, doctrine, and naval fire at the national and equipment level. Each country now receives its own amphibious assault modifier tied to year, naval barrage/fire support is now directly derived from specific ship types, and every equipment type in the game has its own amphibious combat modifier.

Modding: All of the modifiers below can be easily modded in the naval_support, amphib, and wep, inis inside the game files.

[h2]Amphibious Equipment Modifiers:[/h2]
Amphibious equipment modifiers are derived from three essential questions: 1) How will the soldiers reach the beach? 2) Do they have specialist training and doctrine for amphibian operations. 3) Does their equipment give them some unique advantage or penalty?

All weapon types suffer severe amphibious combat penalties, but these can be reduced or completely overcome through various modifiers. Amphibious tractors that can deliver combat personnel directly into combat such as the LVT-2 provide the best bonuses, but any kind of landing ship that can run directly up on a beach helps. Armored vehicles use a similar model, which generally favors swimming tanks, but bottom crawling tanks still enjoy benefits. Doctrine is split into four categories (from highest to lowest), marine-commandos, marines, commandos, and naval infantry. Finally, vehicle size and weight plays a decisive role; it should come as no surprise that you really should not include King Tigers in an assault landing force. Amphib modifiers can be viewed on any weapon card; they are currently listed under the Support header, pending a re-organization of the graphic itself.


See the table below for generalized examples of the new system, combined with UK 1944 national modifiers as a benchmark.


Now, let's see the same table from the German perspective:


[h2]National Amphibious Landing Modifiers:[/h2]
Each nation receives a global amphibious combat modifier, tied to year, that reflects all aspects of a country's ability to wage amphibious operations not already reflected by the equipment modifiers detailed further below. This national amphibious modifier is derived from a nation’s: 1) Joint air-land-sea planning capabilities. 2) Logistical capability to support landings. 3) Experience conducting opposed landing operations. Unsurprisingly, the dominant naval powers enjoy substantial amphibious combat advantages. For instance, the US and UK enter the war with +10% amphibious assault modifiers, and their modifiers rise to an imposing +40% by 1945. Conversely, Germany enters the war with a -10% amphibious penalty, and rises to a +10% bonus in 1941. See the table for details below, by nation.



[h2]National Naval Fire:[/h2]
Direct naval fire support and pre-invasion naval barrage is now modeled by nation, by ship-type. Each naval fire support or barrage mission rolls on a table to select what type of ship is servicing the fire mission. Naval support missions utilize destroyers and light cruisers (sometimes gunboats for Germany and the USSR), while naval barrage selects anything from destroyers to heavy cruisers. The chance of each vessel type being selected for the fire mission are not equal. Larger ships such as CAs, or rare/unique ships such as the German Emden CL, are less likely to make an appearance. The tables below display a sample of ship types, some countries, particularly the UK, have far more sub-types than can be displayed here.

The system does not currently let you micromanage what ship types cover what landings, but if we ever extend this system to include capital ships then a manual selection system akin to the air orders button will likely be implemented.

Broad outcomes: Larger hulls do not necessarily correlate to better naval fire performance in support of amphibious operations. Indeed, the best performers in the current destroyer/cruiser dataset are Cleveland class CLs, and their even more terrifying Brooklyn class siblings, due to their substantial rate of fire advantages over heavy cruisers armed with 8" guns.


As two of the world's dominant naval powers, it's little surprise that the United States and Great Britain generally dominate the naval fire charts. Within the destroyer/cruiser dataset we base these calculations on the US enjoys superiority due to the outstanding performance of their modern 5 and 6" guns. British naval fire can be formidable, but it is inconsistent. Britain's 15" armed monitors are potent and their Town class CLs are excellent. Yet, their DD support is brutally average and some of the other British light cruiser classes (Didos/Bellonas, specifically) fail to impress. Most of these deficiencies are budgetary in origin, owing either to ships continuing to use old weapons, or never receiving their full allocation of guns, or both. Still, even on the Royal Navy's worst day, they outperform Italy, France, the USSR, and unlike the Germans they will never have to rely on a patrol gunboat...


The Kriegsmarine performs admirably...when they actually show up. German naval fire does not reach potential heights of the Anglo-American maritime powers, but they stand firmly ahead of the other continental states due to relatively high rates of fire and solid weapon design. However, Germany falls flat in employment and thin reserves. In the case of Operation Sealion planning for instance, fire support consisted of converted patrol vessels and armed barges due to the combined factors of low ship availability (the Kriegsmarine had 10 destroyers ready for action in the English channel in late September 1940) and poor interservice cooperation between the Kriesgmarine and the Heer/Luftwaffe. In gameplay terms this means German landings either enjoy competent support, or worthless barges, and you will not know which you are getting until you hit the beach.


France and Italy suffer from different naval fire deficiencies that lead to very similar outcomes. Italian naval gun design favors excessively high velocity, necessitating short barrel lives and thick shell walls that leaves less room for explosive filler. Consider for instance, that the 152/53 M1929 cannon carried by most of the Condottieri family of CLs (Cadorna, Montecuccoli, etc.) carries HE shells containing 2.3kgs of explosives, compared to 3.3kgs on average in 5"/38s carried by most US destroyers. 5"/38s further boast substantially higher rates of fire. Consequently, for the purposes of naval barrage and fire support, Italian CLs are routinely outperformed by ships weighing 1/3 their displacement.

French guns on the other hand employ perfectly adequate bursting charges, but suffer from chronically low rates of fire, due to the age of the designs or sometimes defects in more modern designs. While neither France nor Italy play German gunboat roulette, their average naval fire rolls are still well below Germany and in the DD category, even below the Soviets.


Purges, industrial inefficiency, and the pressing need to prioritize land and air forces, left the Soviet Navy woefully underprepared for war. The Chapeyev class CLs were not finished before Operation Barbarossa commenced, and the Kirovs suffered from rates of fire far below design specifications. Consequently, the Soviets lack effective cruiser support, their destroyers are respectable, and sometimes invasion support ends up in the hands of ships that have no business being anywhere near an active landing zone.


This update brings UK 1943 up to a modern CAOS standard, with a slight expansion of the OB, including the flexible 2nd New Zealand Division, 2nd tier line of communication units, and various minor corrections for historical accuracy. 1943 is actually a relatively stable year for the UK; it lacks both the desperate improvisation of the war's early years, or the rapid adaptations to combat in continental Europe that the Commonwealth armies will undergo in 1944.

[h3]UK 1943:[/h3]

• Added 2nd New Zealand Division in its September, 1943 order of battle. Complete with the freshly raised 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade and Staghound heavy armoured cars.
  
• Added the 3rd Infantry Division, a formerly veteran division stripped of its battle hardened personnel and relegated to Home Defense.
  
• Added the 227th Independent Infantry and 25th Indian Infantry Brigades as independent units.
  
• Added Y (17/6pdr) and Z (M10 Wolverine) batteries to 21st Anti-Tank Regiment.
  
• Converted 146th Field Regiment RA and 13th Royal Horse Artillery Regiments to their Tunisian Campaign OBs using towed 25pdrs instead of SPGs.
  
• 61st, 64th, and 81st Anti-Tank Regiments received partial batteries of 17pdrs.
  
• 52nd Anti-Tank Regiment expanded to 5 batteries and received a handful of 17pdrs.
  
• 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, RCA brought up to full strength (each battery was previously missing 1 troop).
  
• Added the 87th and 93rd Anti-Tank Regiments, with 3 and 4 batteries, respectively.
  
• Removed erroneous 4th battery from the 105th Anti-Tank Regiment.
  
• 69th Medium Regiment weapons corrected from 5.5 to 4.5” Guns.
  
• Added the 75th Medium Regiment, equipped with 5.5” Guns.
  
• Reduced training level of British AA units to recruit.
  
• Added historical battery names to all Royal Artillery units.
  

• Added support for asymmetric victory conditions in custom scenarios. For instance, you could set Red to require 70% of VPs to win, but only 50% for Blue.
  
• Added support for historical dates in custom scenarios.
  
• Custom scenarios can now be created without any units pre-deployed on map on turn 1.
  
• Unit availability in requisition pool can now be time-gated in custom scenarios. Use this to deny access to specific units until a certain date.
  

• Fixed the infamous ultra-wide resolution screen tearing bug caused by opening regiment cards or issuing orders.
  
• Fixed a bug that could unit pool to become unopenable after loading a save during a preturn after turn 1.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the requisition screen to draw over the multiplayer ready screen in custom scenarios.
  
• Fixed a bug that could duplicate the host player’s requisition points during reinforcement turns in head to head custom games.
  

That wraps it up for today's dev blog and update notes combo! Operation Sea Lion development has also led to the creation to code support for air mobile divisions, contestable port lines of supply, and many other cool features we'll be rolling out into the base game once they are stable. Broader Operation Sea Lion development itself is currently experiencing an AI development bottleneck, because it requires effectively totally overhauling the the AI to handle scenarios that are far larger than anything the base CAOS was designed to handle. That said, even if it takes a while, general AI improvements are a welcome improvement to CAOS as a whole.

Update 1.0.6.4 has reached full deployment! The scenario editor and the order of battle updates it brings with it are live. If you played the experimental branch, you already know what to expect; the transition from experimental to live build was remarkably smooth. These patch notes are very long so the short summary is: the scenario editor is here, the supply system was re-written, ultrawide support improved, and UK, USSR, and Germany all received major early war updates.


With the arrival of the scenario editor you can make your own custom CAOS scenarios and upload them to the Steam workshop to share with friends and the community. The editor tools can even be used to make variants of our own historical scenarios, or other scenarios off the workshop, go nuts!

The version of the editor deployed today has a few more features than the preview last year, including the ability to reduce units to units to a percentage of TOE strength, the capacity to lock out training level changes in a scenario, and upload to Steam workshop directly from inside the game, among many others.

The manual has also been updated a new chapter covering the editor, and the official CAOS discord server has an official editor support channel. If you have any questions, even just questions about how to design a scenario you've imagined, feel free to let us know on Discord.

[h2]Example Scenarios:[/h2]
We have prepared several example scenarios, all available for download on the Steam Workshop to help inspire your own creations, and for the pure fun of playing them as well:
Siege of Paris (1940): A siege scenario pitting outnumbered French defenders of the city of Paris against invading German forces.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3126158090

Somme Map Control (1942): A conquest style scenario pitting the USA against the USSR, where every objective on the map is worth points and both sides receive requisition points on an ongoing basis. The battle starts small but escalates over time.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3126155387

Fortress Sassari (1945): US forces must hold out against an unrelenting Soviet onslaught until time expires.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3126155697

Al-Hudud Offensive (1944): British forces must penetrate and capture a multi-layered German fortress line before powerful German reinforcements arrive on Turn 16 to initiate a counter-offensive.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3126155163

[h2]Entering the Editor, Playing Custom scenarios, and Enabling Workshop Scenarios:[/h2]

1. To access the editor, select Single Player, choose the Editor menu option, and setup a new scenario.
   
2. Custom scenarios are listed under the new Custom scenario type header during game creation (both single and multiplayer). Scenarios downloaded from the workshop also need to be enabled in Options (see below).
   
3. After downloading mods from the workshop, you can enable them from the Mod List in the Options menu.
   

• Completely re-wrote supply propagation code to optimize it for larger maps/scenarios. Turn run speed on larger maps increased by upwards of 84%.
  
• Completely re-wrote code used to graphically draw air grid to eliminate lag while the overlay is active on larger maps.
  
• Improved ultrawide screen support. Some ultrawide displays still experience graphical tearing, but the sinister bug that caused the right edge of the screen to draw out of sight has been slain (thanks to Max and Mezentius for bringing this to our attention).
  
• Fixed a crash caused by buying more than 9 landing markers at once.
  
• Fixed an exploit that allowed players to reset supply depot cost to 0.02.
  

This update continues our campaign to flesh out older orders of battle or add new and interesting tools to your arsenal of destruction. Editor testing has particularly highlighted the need for more diverse options for independent units for custom scenarios, and this update aims to please.
[h2]United Kingdom:[/h2]
In terms of unit quantity and types, UK 1941 and 1942 previously ranked among the smallest and least detailed OBs in CAOS. Update 1.0.6.2 resolves this by bringing major additions to the early war British OBs. Exotic independent units have been added, often overlooked divisions from Home Forces join the fray, and the evolution of British armoured forces, both in the Desert and at home is reflected in detail. Be it the 2nd Armoured Division’s Italian M13/40s in March 1941 or 1st Armoured Division’s iron fist of Shermans and Priests at 2nd Alamein, we have gone to great lengths to reflect the unique evolution of British armoured might.
[h3]UK 1941:[/h3]

• Added 9th Armoured Division, a Home Forces armoured division equipped with Covenanters.
  
• Added 38th (Welsh) and 49th (West Riding) Infantry Divisions from Home Forces.
  
• Added 65, 69th, 70th Anti-Tank Regiments as independent units.
  
• Added 111th and 140th Field Regiments as independent units.
  
• Added exact battery numbers for all royal artillery units
  
• Added 25th Army Tank Brigade in its July organization, as Churchill IIs started to arrive.
  
• Reorganized 21st Army Tank Brigade to its fall organization, armed with Churchills.
  
• Added the 24th and 31st Infantry Brigades as (substantially over strength) independent units.
  
• Added No. 3, 5, and 7th Commando Battalions.
  
• Lowered training level of most UK units held in Home Forces during 1941 from experienced to trained.
  

9th Australian Division and Tobruk Fortress:

• Reorganized 9th Australian Division to its April/May 1941 Siege of Tobruk organization, complete with plenty of captured equipment.
  
• Made the 2/2nd Australian MG Battalion, 2/7th Field Regiment RAA, 2/8th Field Regiment RAA, 2/3rd Australian AA Regiment (minus 8th battery), and 9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment independent units. These elements of 9th Australian Division did not see service during the Siege of Tobruk.
  
• Added various elements of Tobruk Fortress (as of April/May 1941), including 4th AA Brigade, 51st Field Regiment, 1st, 3rd, and 107th Regiments Horse Artillery, and the Tobruk Fortress Engineers, either as subordinates to 9th Australian Division or independent units.
  

[h3]UK 1942:[/h3]

• Added 9th Armoured Division, a Home Forces armoured division in its spring, 1942 organization, with Covenanters.
  
• Added 4th Infantry Division, a mixed infantry division with 2 infantry and 1 tank brigade in its fall 1942 Home Forces organization, with Valentines.
  
• Added 26th, 25th, and 21st Indian Infantry Brigades as an independent units.
  
• Added missing HQ platoons (sometimes companies) of British armoured/tank brigades.
  
• Added 121st Field Regiment (on Bishop SPGs) as an independent unit.
  
• Added 66th Royal Engineer Mortar Company, armed with 4.2" mortars, to XXX Corps CSAEC.
  
• Removed 8th Armoured Division and made most of its remaining elements independent units. The division was historically stripped to bring many other armoured divisions up to strength for the battles of El Alamein.
  
• Reorganized 2nd New Zealand Division to its October 1942 state. Division motorized and 4th NZ Infantry Brigade removed (converting to armour at this time).
  
• Reorganized 1st and 10th Armoured Divisions to their October 23 organizations at the start of 2nd Alamein.
  
• Reorganized 6th Armoured Division to its Fall 1942 state, after its transfer to the Middle East.
  
• Reorganized 7th Armoured Division to its November 1, 1942 organization (adds the 131st Lorried Infantry Brigade).
  
• Made 4th Armoured Brigade an independent unit, using its September 16 organization.
  
• Made the 20th Armoured Brigade an independent unit (detached from 6th Armoured Division in April).
  
• Corrected balance of Churchill tank types in 25th Tank Brigade. The brigade previously had too many Churchill Is.
  
• Reduced number of operational Matilda Scorpions in the 1st Tank Brigade from 16 to 9 to reflect on-hand strength on October 23.
  

[h2]Soviet Union 1942:[/h2]
Soviet 1942 was already a large and well-equipped OB, but it was also one of the oldest in CAOS. This update brings Soviet 1942 up to the research standard of our newest OBs. The Red Army underwent numerous organizational evolutions during 1942 and this update reflects these evolutions from squad to corps in infantry and armored units alike.

[h3]TOE Updates:[/h3]
Guards Mechanized Corps:

• Increased SMG squads in Guards Motor Rifle Battalions within Guards Mech. Brigades from 3 to 9.
  
• Increased MG squads in Guard Motor Rifle Battalions from 4 to 7.
  
• Increased 82mm BM-37 mortars in Guards Mech. Brigade mortar company from 6 to 12.
  
• Added missing signals and recon platoons to Guards Tank Regiments. +2 T-34s and +3 BA-64s.
  

Guards Tank Corps

• Removed SMG Company from Armored Infantry battalions of tank brigades. SMG Companies do not enter their official TOE until January 1943.
  
• Removed 45mm AT guns from Armored Infantry battalions of tank brigades.
  
• Increased 82mm BM-37 Mortar strength from 6 to 8 in armored infantry battalions of tank brigades.
  
• Removed sapper and recon platoons from Tank Brigade HQs that were not implemented until 1943.
  
• Added 37mm AA gun section (4 guns) to Tank Brigade HQs.
  

[h3]OB Updates:[/h3]
Mechanized/Tank Corps and Brigades:

• 1st Guards Mechanized Corps reorganized into its December 17, 1942 OB. It previously included attachments it did not receive until the Donbas fighting in January/February 1943.
  
• 1st Tank Corps re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 2nd Tank Corps re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 6th Tank Corps reorganized into its August 1942 OB.
  
• 21st Tank Corps reorganized into its May 1942 OB.
  
• 24th Tank Corps re-organized into its November 1942 OB.
  
• 26th Tank Corps re-organized into its November 1942 OB.
  
• 29th Tank Brigade re-organized to its April 1942 infantry support organization.
  
• 21st Tank Brigade re-armed in its April 1942 infantry support organization.
  
• 15th Tank Brigade re-armed in its August re-organization, post 2nd Kharkov, equipped with American tanks.
  
• 3rd Tank Brigade re-organized to its September 1942 OB.
  
• Added 235th Flame Tank Brigade, as it was committed to Stalingrad in October, 1942.
  
• Added Maikop Tank Brigade, a training unit armed with BT-7s deployed to the Caucus Front in July 1942.
  
  The 235th Flame Tank Brigade in all of its napalm-fueled glory.
  

Infantry:
All Soviet rifle divisions and independent brigades reorganized according to their December 1941, March 1942, or July 1942 OBs and ToEs. Most, but not all, rifle battalions are represented reduced by roughly 1 company in strength to reflect common manpower shortfalls during the period.

• 8th Guards Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 13th Guards Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 40th Guards Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 45th Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 1st NKVD Rifle Division re-organized into its September 1942 OB (as the 46th Rifle Division).
  
• 10th NKVD Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 49th Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 51st Rifle Division re-organized into its December 1941 OB.
  
• 55th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 86th Rifle Division's infantry battalions re-organized according to the December 1941 Shtat (as a former Leningrad militia division, it already has a highly non-standard organization).
  
• 109th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 146th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 160th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 243rd Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 250th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 277th Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 306th Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 334th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 354th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 411th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• Infantry battalions of the 23rd, 106th, 109th, 119th, 134th, 141st, 234th, 235th, Separate Rifle Brigades reorganized according to December 1941 Shtat.
  

[h2]Germany:[/h2]
Germany receives a series of cheaper 2nd line infantry divisions and a range of specialist armor or mechanized units to enhance its early war flexibility.
[h3]Germany 1939:[/h3]

• Added 8. Infanterie Division (Wave 1 Division)
  
• Added 216. Infanterie Division (Wave 3 Division)
  
• Added 251 and 253 Infanterie Divisions (Wave 4 Divisions)
  
• Base training level for German field flak units in 1939 lowered from experienced to trained.
  

[h3]Germany 1940:[/h3]

• Added 8. Infanterie Division (Wave 1 division).
  
• Added 208 and 216 Infanterie Divisions (Wave 3 Divisions)
  
• Added 251 and 253 Infanterie Divisions (Wave 4 Divisions)
  
• Added Infanterie Regiment (Mot.) Großdeutschland.
  
• Added 601 and 505 Fla-Bataillon. Armed respectively with 4 and 3 companies of SdKfz 10/4 self-propelled 2cm Flak guns.
  
• Added 40. Panzerabteilung z.b.V, in its April (Invasion of Norway) OB. The battalion consists of three mixed companies of Panzer Is and IIs, plus a single platoon of Neubaufahrzeug heavy tanks.
  
• Added 659 and 660 Sturmbatteries. Each equipped with 6 StuG III As.
  
• Added 525 and 605 Panzerjager Abteilung. Armed with mix of 8.8cm FlaK 36s and 3.7cm PaK 36s.
  
• Added 1st Company, 8th Panzerjager Abteilung as an independent tank destroyer unit armed with Sdkfz 8 8.8cm Bunkerflak. This unit historically operated under XIX Armeekorps during the Battle for France.
  
• Reduced Wave 4 Aufklarungs Abteilungen to company strength and attached them to their divisional Panzerjager Abteilung, in accordance with Spring 1940 re-organization.
  
• Removed regimental pioneer company from Wave 4 divisions, in accordance with February 1940 revisions.
  
• Replaced 4th rifle company in Wave 4 infantry battalions with an MG company, in accordance with February 1940 revisions.
  

[h2]Other OB Updates:[/h2]

• Added 1st NKVD Rifle Division in its August OB to Soviet 1941. These hastily mobilized border troops are of dubious quality, but they're cheap and expendable.
  
• Added 184, 191, 203, and 210. Sturmgeschutz Abteilungen to Germany 1941.
  

[h2]Graphics:[/h2]

• Replaced Hold and Defend order action graphic with a shovel.
  
• Replaced on map Hold and Defend graphic with sand bags.
  

Further immersion and quality of life improvements are already in development, including the ability to replace turn numbers with historical dates, and better visual distinction between Red and Blue air hubs, among others. An intermediate update centered on UK 1943 OB improvements alongside a series of editor improvements is already in internal testing. With the mammoth work of getting the editor ready and all the Steam workshop integration that came with it off our shoulders, it is time to gradually grow the editor's capabilities and cast our gaze once more upon the Cliffs of Dover.

Expect a development roadmap update next week.

Greetings! We are back with a major experimental build introducing the scenario editor and a series of hefty order of battle updates. These patch notes are very long so the short summary is: the scenario editor is here, the supply system was re-written, and UK, USSR, and Germany all received major early war updates.

See the picture below for information on how to opt-in to the Experimental build if you’re interested in playing new updates early.



With the arrival of the scenario editor you can make your own custom CAOS scenarios and upload them to the Steam workshop to share with friends and the community. The editor tools can even be used to make variants of our own historical scenarios, or other scenarios off the workshop, go nuts!

The version of the editor deployed today has a few more features than the preview last year, including the ability to reduce units to units to a percentage of TOE strength, the capacity to lock out training level changes in a scenario, and upload to Steam workshop directly from inside the game, among many others.

See the screenshot below to opt into the experimental branch and give the editor a try:


The manual has also been updated a new chapter covering the editor, and the official CAOS discord server will receive a dedicated editor support channel tomorrow.

[h2]Example Scenarios:[/h2]
We have prepared several example scenarios, all available for download on the Steam Workshop to help inspire your own creations, and for the pure fun of playing them as well:
Siege of Paris (1940): A siege scenario pitting outnumbered French defenders of the city of Paris against invading German forces.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3126158090

Somme Map Control (1942): A conquest style scenario pitting the USA against the USSR, where every objective on the map is worth points and both sides receive requisition points on an ongoing basis. The battle starts small but escalates over time.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3126155387

Fortress Sassari (1945): US forces must hold out against an unrelenting Soviet onslaught until time expires.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3126155697

Al-Hudud Offensive (1944): British forces must penetrate and capture a multi-layered German fortress line before powerful German reinforcements arrive on Turn 16 to initiate a counter-offensive.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3126155163

[h2]Entering the Editor, Playing Custom scenarios, and Enabling Workshop Scenarios:[/h2]

1. To access the editor, select Single Player, choose the Editor menu option, and setup a new scenario.
   
2. Custom scenarios are listed under the new Custom scenario type header during game creation (both single and multiplayer). Scenarios downloaded from the workshop also need to be enabled in Options (see below).
   
3. After downloading mods from the workshop, you can enable them from the Mod List in the Options menu.
   

• Completely re-wrote supply propagation code to optimize it for larger maps/scenarios. Turn run speed on larger maps increased by upwards of 84%.
  
• Completely re-wrote code used to graphically draw air grid to eliminate lag while the overlay is active on larger maps.
  
• Fixed a crash caused by buying more than 9 landing markers at once.
  
• Fixed an exploit that allowed players to reset supply depot cost to 0.02.
  

This update continues our campaign to flesh out older orders of battle or add new and interesting tools to your arsenal of destruction. Editor testing has particularly highlighted the need for more diverse options for independent units for custom scenarios, and this update aims to please.
[h2]United Kingdom:[/h2]
In terms of unit quantity and types, UK 1941 and 1942 previously ranked among the smallest and least detailed OBs in CAOS. Update 1.0.6.2 resolves this by bringing major additions to the early war British OBs. Exotic independent units have been added, often overlooked divisions from Home Forces join the fray, and the evolution of British armoured forces, both in the Desert and at home is reflected in detail. Be it the 2nd Armoured Division’s Italian M13/40s in March 1941 or 1st Armoured Division’s iron fist of Shermans and Priests at 2nd Alamein, we have gone to great lengths to reflect the unique evolution of British armoured might.
[h3]UK 1941:[/h3]

• Added 9th Armoured Division, a Home Forces armoured division equipped with Covenanters.
  
• Added 38th (Welsh) and 49th (West Riding) Infantry Divisions from Home Forces.
  
• Added 65, 69th, 70th Anti-Tank Regiments as independent units.
  
• Added 111th and 140th Field Regiments as independent units.
  
• Added exact battery numbers for all royal artillery units
  
• Added 25th Army Tank Brigade in its July organization, as Churchill IIs started to arrive.
  
• Reorganized 21st Army Tank Brigade to its fall organization, armed with Churchills.
  
• Added the 24th and 31st Infantry Brigades as (substantially over strength) independent units.
  
• Added No. 3, 5, and 7th Commando Battalions.
  
• Lowered training level of most UK units held in Home Forces during 1941 from experienced to trained.
  

9th Australian Division and Tobruk Fortress:

• Reorganized 9th Australian Division to its April/May 1941 Siege of Tobruk organization, complete with plenty of captured equipment.
  
• Made the 2/2nd Australian MG Battalion, 2/7th Field Regiment RAA, 2/8th Field Regiment RAA, 2/3rd Australian AA Regiment (minus 8th battery), and 9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment independent units. These elements of 9th Australian Division did not see service during the Siege of Tobruk.
  
• Added various elements of Tobruk Fortress (as of April/May 1941), including 4th AA Brigade, 51st Field Regiment, 1st, 3rd, and 107th Regiments Horse Artillery, and the Tobruk Fortress Engineers, either as subordinates to 9th Australian Division or independent units.
  

[h3]UK 1942:[/h3]

• Added 9th Armoured Division, a Home Forces armoured division in its spring, 1942 organization, with Covenanters.
  
• Added 4th Infantry Division, a mixed infantry division with 2 infantry and 1 tank brigade in its fall 1942 Home Forces organization, with Valentines.
  
• Added 26th, 25th, and 21st Indian Infantry Brigades as an independent units.
  
• Added missing HQ platoons (sometimes companies) of British armoured/tank brigades.
  
• Added 121st Field Regiment (on Bishop SPGs) as an independent unit.
  
• Added 66th Royal Engineer Mortar Company, armed with 4.2" mortars, to XXX Corps CSAEC.
  
• Removed 8th Armoured Division and made most of its remaining elements independent units. The division was historically stripped to bring many other armoured divisions up to strength for the battles of El Alamein.
  
• Reorganized 2nd New Zealand Division to its October 1942 state. Division motorized and 4th NZ Infantry Brigade removed (converting to armour at this time).
  
• Reorganized 1st and 10th Armoured Divisions to their October 23 organizations at the start of 2nd Alamein.
  
• Reorganized 6th Armoured Division to its Fall 1942 state, after its transfer to the Middle East.
  
• Reorganized 7th Armoured Division to its November 1, 1942 organization (adds the 131st Lorried Infantry Brigade).
  
• Made 4th Armoured Brigade an independent unit, using its September 16 organization.
  
• Made the 20th Armoured Brigade an independent unit (detached from 6th Armoured Division in April).
  
• Corrected balance of Churchill tank types in 25th Tank Brigade. The brigade previously had too many Churchill Is.
  
• Reduced number of operational Matilda Scorpions in the 1st Tank Brigade from 16 to 9 to reflect on-hand strength on October 23.
  

[h2]Soviet Union 1942:[/h2]
Soviet 1942 was already a large and well-equipped OB, but it was also one of the oldest in CAOS. This update brings Soviet 1942 up to the research standard of our newest OBs. The Red Army underwent numerous organizational evolutions during 1942 and this update reflects these evolutions from squad to corps in infantry and armored units alike.

[h3]TOE Updates:[/h3]
Guards Mechanized Corps:

• Increased SMG squads in Guards Motor Rifle Battalions within Guards Mech. Brigades from 3 to 9.
  
• Increased MG squads in Guard Motor Rifle Battalions from 4 to 7.
  
• Increased 82mm BM-37 mortars in Guards Mech. Brigade mortar company from 6 to 12.
  
• Added missing signals and recon platoons to Guards Tank Regiments. +2 T-34s and +3 BA-64s.
  

Guards Tank Corps

• Removed SMG Company from Armored Infantry battalions of tank brigades. SMG Companies do not enter their official TOE until January 1943.
  
• Removed 45mm AT guns from Armored Infantry battalions of tank brigades.
  
• Increased 82mm BM-37 Mortar strength from 6 to 8 in armored infantry battalions of tank brigades.
  
• Removed sapper and recon platoons from Tank Brigade HQs that were not implemented until 1943.
  
• Added 37mm AA gun section (4 guns) to Tank Brigade HQs.
  

[h3]OB Updates:[/h3]
Mechanized/Tank Corps and Brigades:

• 1st Guards Mechanized Corps reorganized into its December 17, 1942 OB. It previously included attachments it did not receive until the Donbas fighting in January/February 1943.
  
• 1st Tank Corps re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 2nd Tank Corps re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 6th Tank Corps reorganized into its August 1942 OB.
  
• 21st Tank Corps reorganized into its May 1942 OB.
  
• 24th Tank Corps re-organized into its November 1942 OB.
  
• 26th Tank Corps re-organized into its November 1942 OB.
  
• 29th Tank Brigade re-organized to its April 1942 infantry support organization.
  
• 21st Tank Brigade re-armed in its April 1942 infantry support organization.
  
• 15th Tank Brigade re-armed in its August re-organization, post 2nd Kharkov, equipped with American tanks.
  
• 3rd Tank Brigade re-organized to its September 1942 OB.
  
• Added 235th Flame Tank Brigade, as it was committed to Stalingrad in October, 1942.
  
• Added Maikop Tank Brigade, a training unit armed with BT-7s deployed to the Caucus Front in July 1942.
  
  The 235th Flame Tank Brigade in all of its napalm-fueled glory.
  

Infantry:
All Soviet rifle divisions and independent brigades reorganized according to their December 1941, March 1942, or July 1942 OBs and ToEs. Most, but not all, rifle battalions are represented reduced by roughly 1 company in strength to reflect common manpower shortfalls during the period.

• 8th Guards Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 13th Guards Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 40th Guards Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 45th Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 1st NKVD Rifle Division re-organized into its September 1942 OB (as the 46th Rifle Division).
  
• 10th NKVD Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 49th Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 51st Rifle Division re-organized into its December 1941 OB.
  
• 55th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 86th Rifle Division's infantry battalions re-organized according to the December 1941 Shtat (as a former Leningrad militia division, it already has a highly non-standard organization).
  
• 109th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 146th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 160th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 243rd Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 250th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 277th Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 306th Rifle Division re-organized into its July 1942 OB.
  
• 334th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 354th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• 411th Rifle Division re-organized into its March 1942 OB.
  
• Infantry battalions of the 23rd, 106th, 109th, 119th, 134th, 141st, 234th, 235th, Separate Rifle Brigades reorganized according to December 1941 Shtat.
  

[h2]Germany:[/h2]
Germany receives a series of cheaper 2nd line infantry divisions and a range of specialist armor or mechanized units to enhance its early war flexibility.
[h3]Germany 1939:[/h3]

• Added 8. Infanterie Division (Wave 1 Division)
  
• Added 216. Infanterie Division (Wave 3 Division)
  
• Added 251 and 253 Infanterie Divisions (Wave 4 Divisions)
  
• Base training level for German field flak units in 1939 lowered from experienced to trained.
  

[h3]Germany 1940:[/h3]

• Added 8. Infanterie Division (Wave 1 division).
  
• Added 208 and 216 Infanterie Divisions (Wave 3 Divisions)
  
• Added 251 and 253 Infanterie Divisions (Wave 4 Divisions)
  
• Added Infanterie Regiment (Mot.) Großdeutschland.
  
• Added 601 and 505 Fla-Bataillon. Armed respectively with 4 and 3 companies of SdKfz 10/4 self-propelled 2cm Flak guns.
  
• Added 40. Panzerabteilung z.b.V, in its April (Invasion of Norway) OB. The battalion consists of three mixed companies of Panzer Is and IIs, plus a single platoon of Neubaufahrzeug heavy tanks.
  
• Added 659 and 660 Sturmbatteries. Each equipped with 6 StuG III As.
  
• Added 525 and 605 Panzerjager Abteilung. Armed with mix of 8.8cm FlaK 36s and 3.7cm PaK 36s.
  
• Added 1st Company, 8th Panzerjager Abteilung as an independent tank destroyer unit armed with Sdkfz 8 8.8cm Bunkerflak. This unit historically operated under XIX Armeekorps during the Battle for France.
  
• Reduced Wave 4 Aufklarungs Abteilungen to company strength and attached them to their divisional Panzerjager Abteilung, in accordance with Spring 1940 re-organization.
  
• Removed regimental pioneer company from Wave 4 divisions, in accordance with February 1940 revisions.
  
• Replaced 4th rifle company in Wave 4 infantry battalions with an MG company, in accordance with February 1940 revisions.
  

[h2]Other OB Updates:[/h2]

• Added 1st NKVD Rifle Division in its August OB to Soviet 1941. These hastily mobilized border troops are of dubious quality, but they're cheap and expendable.
  
• Added 184, 191, 203, and 210. Sturmgeschutz Abteilungen to Germany 1941.
  

[h2]Graphics:[/h2]

• Replaced Hold and Defend order action graphic with a shovel.
  
• Replaced on map Hold and Defend graphic with sand bags.
  

Update 1.0.6.4 will stay on the beta while the scenario editor takes its first steps "in the wild." We look forward to hearing your feedback and to seeing what you guys create on the workshop! The deployment of the scenario editor marks a major step in CAOS development, and it will become the basis of what we envision as a more expansive map/terrain editor in the future. After the editor reaches its full public release, outside of experimental branch, we will release our updated 2024 development roadmap as well.

For now, go forth and create to your heart's content, report bugs, and enjoy the order of battle updates as well!

A quick hotfix today to resolve a bug introduced with the 1.0.5.7 update that caused the tutorial to become stuck when attempting to assign fire support to the 6th Armored Infantry Regiment.

Special thanks to Cush for bringing this to our attention.

Work continues on the editor update as usual, we are currently writing the editor manual and assembling the two example scenarios that will deploy with the editor update.