Mapmaker(s): Minister X and HitRed
Number of Territories: 293
Special Features: Two types of ranged attacks, decay hexes
What Makes This Map Worthy of Being Made: This would be the third largest map in tert count at CC. Quite different rules than the other super-large maps. Site of one of the most famous battles of the last 100 years. Players will be challenged to devise successful strategies and tactics.
Original Map Image:
While struggling with the sizing of my proposed Ireland 1475 map I noted that other super-large maps made good use of hex grids and that got me thinking. What sorts of maps use hex grids? I grew up playing Avalon Hill and SPI wargames on hexgrid maps. The solution was obvious and I quickly settled on perhaps the most famous battle of World War Two.
This map is 1075 by 838. One army number is shown in the southeast forest. Because I used the letter/number references outside the playing area, this map could actually be shrunk considerably. Some hexes will already be a bit crowded, however. My next step (perhaps) would be to place 292 more army numbers and adjust the location of map features to make sure each army number has enough room. I'll also want to find better art for depicting forest. I'd love to mimic those old SPI maps. Can anyone help with this? My treatment of the tan open hexes is tentative. I'm not sure if it looks good or just dirty.
THE RULES: There aren't many places protected against ranged attack from a road or railroad, and almost all are in forest. That seems okay to me. WWII weapons had range, especially artillery and tanks and they mostly traveled by road. If you can hide deep in the woods, fine, but otherwise you're subject to attack from afar. In those old wargames I played roads aided fast travel and woods slowed movement. That can't be duplicated in XML but I think I found the best substitutes. Decay of one in the woods is a penalty, but lots of WWII fighting took place in forests. A decay of two would, I think, be too much. Towns autodeploy two. These towns were generally strongpoints in battles like this. Stone walls; church towers... they had value. And if they are worth two Bastogne must be worth more. I've specified three each - a nice grab of six if you can hold just two terts. "Regular" bonuses are earned for every four terts, appropriate for such a large map. There are no "continents". That's unusual at CC but not inappropriate for a simulation of a WWII battle where holding non-special terrain wasn't important - the goal was to advance along a broad front and destroy the enemy. The rivers and forests provide a degree of channeling - breaking the map up into sections - but not much. I followed the two largest watercourses on my reference map. If deemed essential, some small streams could be promoted to rivers. And if deemed important, I could add more (real) towns. I chose these based on their positions. At least a half dozen more would be possible.
There are two other possible additions you and I might want to consider: 1) ranged attacks can't pass through forest, just one hex in but no more; this wouldn't have a huge effect and might be a useless complication, but it would be somewhat realistic. 2) I have to admit that for a WWII battle I've included absolutely no reference to the actual forces involved. Other maps that depict famous battles usually depict the forces on the ground. I could position three Nazi flags, three French ones, and three USA ones in a rough circle around Bastogne and offer a bonus for control of each set of three, for two sets, and for all. I'd need to use a touch more space for the explanation, but not much. The numbers and letters and text in the top can all be reduced in size. (Until you post a first draft it's hard to visualize how a map will look in a browser.)
Another nice addition, if space could be found, would be to include a certain quote from a certain General McAufille.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
I gave some consideration to using military symbols like those used on the WWII Ardennes map but I find them somewhat artificial since they can't maneuver.
![Image](https://s3.amazonaws.com/ccmaps/WWII_Ardennes.L.jpg)
I realize that this map includes the area I'm using and it's the same battle, but my area would easily fit into just that one central black circle of the Ardennes map and the look and play will be quite different, so I hope this overlap and be overlooked.
What makes this map worthy of being made? Up top I listed several things but for me it's really just these two: 1) nostalgia for those old cardboard-chit wargames, and 2) this map will be unlike, and play unlike, any other at CC, yet the rules are fairly simple and straightforward; players can concentrate on the main map and won't have to frequently study rules printed in the margins. It's more like USA 2.1 than King's Court II in this respect and the former is played three times more frequently than the latter.
v4 Map: