CAOS News

[h2]Force Overview:[/h2]
In 1944 Germany’s panzer forces reach their zenith, on paper at least, but the entire German military faces severe material shortages. Manpower reductions continue across all formations, but the proliferation of new vehicles, small arms, panzerfausts, and heavy mortars help compensate for reductions when equipment is available. However, Germany’s dramatic firepower escalation brings an equal rise in price and German forces are typically outnumbered as a result. One wrong move and even the most powerful armored kampfgruppe can be trapped by more numerous foes. Despite improvements in firepower, the Wehrmacht’s infantry divisions continue to contract and cover less front than ever. Likewise, the artillery arm relies heavily on werfers that cannot conduct fire support missions and a chaotic assortment of captured foreign guns. Germany’s panzer forces are formidable, but the army surrounding them has been stretched to the breaking point.

In total the 1944 German OOB consists of 256 units from 9 Panzer divisions, 6 Panzergrenadier Divisions, 16 Infantry Divisions, 1 Flakkorps, 3 Werfer Brigades, and dozens of independent tank destroyer, tank, artillery, and engineer battalions or brigades. Most of these units are drawn from OB West and are modeled according to their May-July 1944 TOEs or status reports, although some units have included from the Eastern and Italian fronts or from different times in the year.

[h2]The Panzerwaffe - The Crown Jewel:[/h2]
1944 Germany commands the most potent armored divisions in CAOS, but their price can be their own undoing. For instance, in the most extreme example the famous Panzer Lehr Division is the strongest division in the game, but its gargantuan panzer regiment alone costs more than most divisions. For the price of the Lehr Division, an American opponent can purchase 2 less powerful US ‘Heavy’ Armored Divisions, but cover twice as much ground. Even the more mundane 116th Panzer Division costs significantly more most Allied rivals.


That said, many panzer divisions are far below their official table of organization. For instance, the 11th Panzer Division fields a Panther battalion but it barely has one company left in its Pz IV battalion. Cheaper, albeit often mauled, alternatives to the exorbitantly expensive panzer regiments of units like Lehr are available.


When it comes to tanks, 1944 Germany has many ways to kill you; Panthers, Jagdpanthers, Tiger Is or IIs, Sturmpanzer IVs, they’re all here. However, mechanical breakdown can quickly wear your panzers down unless you give them time to rest, which usually necessitates protecting them with less valuable units for several turns. Consequently, Germany has two broad armored playstyles that you can mix and match: 1) Rely on medium tanks/tank destroyers, and battlegroup your armor with panzergrenadiers and self-propelled artillery to sustain constant mobile combat. 2) Bring slower, mechanically unreliable, but exceptionally powerful, heavy tanks, assault guns, and tank destroyers to methodically crush your adversary.


[h2]The Infantry Arm - An Overburdened Workhorse:[/h2]
Panzerfausts lend German infantry a potent anti-tank advantage over all competitors, but the German infantry arm is declining under the overwhelming weight of attrition on all fronts. Most line infantry divisions have been reduced to two infantry battalions per regiment, bringing the number of infantry combat battalions per division down from 10 to 7. This decline will continue during fall 1944 as recon fusilier battalions are downsized into companies. New small arms and support weapons partially compensate for falling manpower levels at a tactical level, but Germany’s shrinking infantry divisions simply cannot cover enough front. Specialist Fallschirmjager, Jager, and Gebirgsjager divisions remain exquisitely equipped, but these formations are rare and expensive. The bulk of Germany’s infantry divisions will require plentiful armor or artillery support to undertake offensive operations.


[h2]The Artillery Arm - Competent but Unambitious:[/h2]
German artillery is effective, but it lacks the sheer concentration of firepower enjoyed by the US and Soviet Union. As in earlier years of the war, German artillery primarily serves to support combined arms operations, but German battleplans rarely hinge on artillery alone. Devastating 21cm Morsers, 17cm field guns, and self-propelled howitzers, are rarely available in sufficient numbers. Moreover, OB West deploys an abnormally high number of captured foreign field guns due to chronic artillery shortages. Meanwhile, Werfer Brigades provide powerful short-range barrage, but they’re incapable of fire support. German artillery is competent when used to support larger combined arms operations, but don’t expect a miracle.

Despite these limitations, Germany excels in flak artillery. The mixed 8.8cm FlaK battalions of III Flakkorps provide an ideal combination of anti-aircraft and artillery to support mechanized kampfgruppes. Use them, abuse them, and infuriate your opponents with them.

[h2]The Luftwaffe - Masters of Air Denial:[/h2]
Historic logistical deficiencies aside, at an operational level the Luftwaffe excels at air denial. German fighters are excellent, but their bombers are highly vulnerable to interception, and the Luftwaffe lacks the close air support flexibility of its Western Allied rivals. Whereas the US and to a lesser extent UK can repurpose most of their fighters as support aircraft and flood the battlefield with close air support missions, the Germans largely rely on designated close air support squadrons. However, armed with Luftflotte III’s abnormally high allocation of FW-190s, the 1944 German OOB is well suited to disrupt enemy air missions and deny air superiority.
Development Note:We're still working on the air requisition interface shown in the screenshot above. In the current version of the game it doesn't show the individual air group's names. For those who are curious Germany 1944's fighters come from JG2 and 26. The ground support is from SG4 and SKG 10, and the bombers hail from KG 6, 66, and 76.


When properly played the German 1944 OOB is among the strongest in the game, but it has weaknesses that competent opponents can exploit. German armor is exceptional, but expensive and prone to excessive cohesion attrition from mechanical breakdown. German mechanized/motorized infantry is well organized and equipped, but there is never enough of it. German line infantry is tactically dangerous, but force reductions have left it unable to hold large swathes of front without significant support. German artillery is competent but it doesn't outshine the US or Soviets. Finally, the Luftwaffe is highly capable, but it lacks the flexibility of its Western rivals. Throughout the war Germany has always excelled at combined arms warfare, but now more than ever the weight of victory or defeat rests on the panzer divisions, but they must be skillfully employed, and the margin for error is very thin.

I am Archimedes, lead programmer at NS2Games, and today I bring you our first developer AAR! Today we will watch Italian and British forces square off in a 1942 random objective meeting engagement on the Tobruk map. The side that controls the town of Akramah at the end of turn 10 will win, and I will be playing the Italians.

[h2]Let’s look at the forces:[/h2]
Meeting engagements are about speed, so for this battle I have selected the famous 131ª Divisione Corazzata “Centauro,” an armored division, and the 101ª Divisione Motorizzata “Trieste,” a motorized division. I will also bring a pair of independent tank battalions, the 3rd and 11th, to provide additional tank support for my motorized infantry. In total I field approximately 260 tanks, mostly, M13/40s and M14/41s, plus about 80 AB 41 armored cars. All of my armored units have seen combat and my Bersaglieri motorized infantry are battle hardened veterans.



This combination provides excellent mobility for the open desert terrain around Tobruk. The 101st will screen the inland right flank, and I will make heavy use of the reserve order to spread out its armor support. Meanwhile, the 131st advance down the coastal highway to outflank the objective and threaten the British rear. To make the 131st even more effective, I will reorganize its regiments into combined arms battle groups, containing infantry, armor, and artillery. Although this will expose the artillery to higher casualties, it will ensure that each unit has combined arms during maneuver and facilitate a highly aggressive playstyle


We will also have support from two squadrons of MC 202s for air superiority, one squadron of RE 2001CB for close air support, some JU-87s to strike enemy forces, and a squadron of Ca. 311s for reconnaissance.


[h2]Opening Maneuvers:[/h2]
My first challenge is road access; I only have a single highway leading to Tobruk, as well as a parallel inland trail. The trail will reduce cohesion loss, but it won’t speed my forces up. Conversely, the British benefit from a denser road network coming from the south-east and can almost reach Akramah using the inland highway.


As expected, we’ve encountered some traffic jams, but the leading elements of the 131 are where they need to be at the head of the column. I will assign the RE 2001s to provide close support and push the entire division past Tobruk, setting up a J shaped hook maneuver back toward the objective over the next two days. Meanwhile, the 101 will screen the right shoulder. Some of the escarpments to our south are impassable to mechanized forces, so this could be risky if we fail to seize the crucial road junction at Acroma. If the British beat us to Acroma then my forces will be physically divided and this whole maneuver could become a disaster.


As the sun rises on the third day I’m in a good position. The 131 engaged recon and supporting elements of the British 51st division, badly bloodied the British right flank, and is now in a position to drive toward El Adem. The British 4th Brigade of the famous 7th Armoured Division has occupied Akramah; but my boys in the 101st have zone of control locked the highway, thereby forcing British reinforcements to either divert off the road or fight to push the 101 back to reach Akramah.


[h2]Breakthrough and Counter-Attack:[/h2]
After two more days of fighting the British have amassed a sizable force around the objective but I’ve breached the eastern flank and I’m poised to threaten their line of supply and an encircle Akramah.


Unfortunately, the RAF is taking a heavy toll on my air cover. Although air control remains mixed the cohesion of my air units is deteriorating rapidly, and my Stukas are on the ropes.


Adding to these challenges, my initial attack on Akramah has failed to carry the position. Despite partial encirclement the 4th Armoured Brigade stands firm with the help of anti-tank guns and motorized infantry in reserve. Further, the British have recovered from the disruption caused by my flanking maneuver and they’re counter-attacking from the south-east.


[h2]The Last Gambles:[/h2]
The British launched an unsuccessful attempt to breach the costal road, and initiated several indecisive skirmishes with elements of the 131 south-east of Akramah. The Brits are running up their casualty count, but they must collapse one of my flanks to relieve the siege of Akramah, or the beleaguered defenders may be overwhelmed. Heading into the final turn the British dominate the sky, and the most heavily engaged elements of the 131 and 101 around Akramah are starting to become exhausted. However, the encirclement and zone of control lock has starved the British defenders of supply, and they are taking heavy casualties from constant probing attacks launched by the Italians besieging them. Everything now rests on one final push.



Here we go! In the final determined assault of the game, my Italians overwhelm Akramah and secure victory on the very last day of the battle.


[h2]Debriefing:[/h2]
The British fought hard, and they outperformed me in the air, but the seeds of Italian victory were sewn from turns 3 to 5. The British secured an early lead by concentrating their best forces on the objective, but they were not prepared for the sheer volume of firepower the 131 brought down the coastal road. Moreover, the early success of the 101 securing a foothold adjacent to the highway to Akramah forced the Brits to waste time and forces reinforcing Akramah’s eastern shoulder, when they needed to focus their efforts on preventing a total collapse of their coastal flank.

In summary, the British assumed the bulk of Italian armor would meet them at Akramah and overconcentrated their forces there as a result. With the coastal flank inadequately held, I was able to break through with the 131 and place the powerful British forces holding Akramah in an encirclement from which they could not easily escape, thereby denying the Brits of the firepower they needed to stabilize their faltering flanks. From then on it was a battle of attrition in my favor as British supply dwindled and I chipped away at the forces caught inside the encirclement. Had the British deployed a powerful combined arms battlegroup to the coastal road they may well have been able to prevent me from ever encircling Akramah, or at least stall my offensive for a few precious turns.

We are happy to announce CAOS will release on June 21, 2021! In just over 2 weeks you can assume control of thirty-five orders of battle, across six nations, from 1939-1945.

As we close in on release, swing by often for more showcases and dev blogs! Check in tomorrow for our first developer after-action report from NS2 Archimedes.

Stay tuned and feel free to join us on our community Discord server:
https://discord.gg/fBVXaSjV

Greetings! Today we take a look at customizing your forces with the configurable army system and battlegrouping. Later in the week we will showcase Germany 1944 in its own dev blog, since attempting to combine the two dev blogs is far too crowded.


At the start of every game both teams select their nation and annual order of battle (OOB). The OOB provides a large pool of units to choose from and customize for your mission, but you will never be able to afford all of them. The largest scenarios are balanced to include approximately 10 divisions per side, while many OOBs include over 30 divisions in total, and that’s not even counting independent brigades, regiments, and battalions. Consider your objective and budget, then build an army that suits your needs. For instance, in in the rugged mountains of Sicily, specialist mountain infantry with plentiful air support will usually prevail over hordes of unsupported tanks. Likewise, only motorized and armored divisions have the mobility to control the desolate expanses of the Libyan desert.


You can alter the training level of units or even change their divisional attachment at the start of the game for a price (or discount by decreasing training level). Depending on your objective and playstyle, a larger army with lower average training might be preferable to a small army with extreme training, or vice versa. For example, let’s take a look at the British 6th Armoured Division in 1945 at Experienced or Elite training levels.


Likewise, you can change the attachment of units to move them between divisions. For instance, if predict your opponent will bring lots of armor, why not attach a few tank destroyer battalions to your infantry divisions? Or perhaps you want to solve the chronic infantry shortage of US armored divisions by cleaving a mechanized regiment off a division you are not bringing and reassigning it to a division that you have already purchased.

Here we’ve reassigned the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment from the 3rd Armored Division to the 1st Armored Division. The reassigned unit is automatically 10% more expensive, and sure this makes the 3rd Armored Division weaker, but if you don’t plan on bringing it that’s not a problem.


Once you’ve purchased your army you can remodel it in even greater detail if you desire. Most regiments can be broken down into their constituent battalions and these battalions can operate independently or be merged into new units called Battlegroups at any time during the game. Up to 3 stacking points or 7 units can be included in a Battlegroup. Units from separate divisions can be grouped together, but keep in mind they will lose their divisional leadership bonuses while grouped with units from other divisions. Let’s use our prior modifications to 1st Armored Division as a basis for experimentation.


Let's start off simple, we've attached an M3 Stuart light tank battalion to a pair of mechanized infantry battalions and an anti-tank gun platoon. This isn't a remarkably strong battlegroup, but at least it gives our infantry tank support.


Let's up the ante. Here we have combined a Sherman tank battalion, a mechanized infantry battalion, and a M7 self-propelled howitzer battalion into a single battlegroup. Infantry, armor, artillery - this unit has it all. It will always enjoy at least a +30% combat modifier from combined arms.


Now let's shake things up a bit more and take a look at a more exotic battlegroup. Maybe you're playing Germany 1944 and you've decided you really hate your opponent. Let's combine a King Tiger battalion with a Sturmpanzer IV battalion, and throw in mechanized panzergrenadiers as escorts. This terrifying little battlegroup will likely draw the attention of every bomber and field gun your opponent can spare, but it'll be fun while it lasts.


Between building your army, altering training, changing attachments, and building battlegroups, CAOS lets you shape your army to your will. The examples above barely scratch the surface. If you enjoy modifying your forces then the sheer diversity of units in CAOS will keep you experimenting for many hours. Even more so in co-op battles where we let you transfer units to your allies. If a single nation and year has hundreds of possible battlegroup combinations, imagine the combinations when you're trading units between different armies. Go forth and experiment!

Greetings! Today we'll explore the three most fundamental systems in CAOS: simultaneous movement (WEGO), stacking, and Zone of Control. Next Monday we will dive into the configurable army system and start showcasing orders of battle.


CAOS uses 9 movement/combat impulses per turn, reflecting different times of day, to simulate real time movement in a turn-based environment. Both sides issue orders and then their units move and fight simultaneously. Consequently, enemy actions and your own units blocking each other can delay or halt your plans. For instance, enemy air strikes might prevent your artillery from supporting a critical breakthrough, or a crucial tank regiment might become stuck behind friendly infantry and fail to reach its target. Just like real warfare, plans in CAOS rarely unfold perfectly in practice. Good commanders adapt and improvise in response to unforeseen setbacks and unexpected triumphs.

The screenshot below displays how far a mechanized infantry unit can move in a single turn. The black and yellow numbers over each hex indicate the estimated impulse the unit will arrive in that hex.



Every hex has a 4 point stacking limit. To put this into perspective, the typical regiment is 2 stacking points, and battalions vary widely from 0.5-1 depending on size and type, so the average hex can simultaneously host 2 regiments or between 4-8 battalions.

The 4 point stacking limit can only be exceeded under 2 circumstances. 1) During beginning of game deployment stacking limits are temporarily ignored. 2) Stacking value is increased to 6 while moving along roads during turn resolution. If a hex is still over 4 stacking points at the end of the turn, excess units are automatically ejected into adjacent hexes.


Every stack with 1 or more stacking points projects a zone of control (ZoC) into the surrounding hexes. Under normal circumstances, units can move into and out of enemy Zone of Control hexes, but units cannot move between enemy Zone of Control hexes. See the images below for examples.


Enemy Zone of Control (marked in red) will block this move because we are attempting to move between two enemy ZoC hexes.

But this move will succeed because we are moving into enemy ZoC and then out into an open hex.

[h3]Suppressing Zone of Control:[/h3]
Zone of Control can be temporarily suppressed using artillery, air attack, or ground combat. Artillery barrages, air strikes, and air bombing have a chance to suppress the target’s ZoC the impulse after the barrage. The stronger the bombardment, the higher the odds of ZoC suppression. Likewise, ground combat suppresses ZoC during the impulse after the battle as well. Consequently, with proper planning and a little luck you can suppress enemy ZoC and infiltrate through their front line if they do not keep reserves behind the lines to stop you. A clever commander can equally use ZoC suppression to create a window of opportunity for their own forces to escape an encirclement.


Understanding the interaction between simultaneous movement, stacking limits, and Zone of Control is the key to playing CAOS. Much like real world operational commanders, in CAOS you issue orders and the units under your command execute them to the best of their ability, but you can never plan for every possible outcome. The consequences of your decisions and those of your adversary do not become fully apparent until the units are in motion and beyond your direct control. It is up to you to adapt your plans on a turn-by-turn basis to outmaneuver or outfight your opponent. This inherent uncertainty is the lifeblood of CAOS and next Monday I look forward to showcasing the tools you will use to fight these battles as part of our first order of battle analysis: Germany 1944.

-NS2 Xenophon