Level Design RO-Kommissarhaus - Draft Document

[Nestor Makhno]

Since reading Jason Marks' truly excellent account of the battles around the Barrikady Gun Factory in Stalingrad, Island of Fire I have been throwing this map idea around in my head.

I am particularly interested in the parts of the battle centring on the Building which housed the factory managemant before the war, the Kommissarhaus (as it was known to the Germans - P-shaped house to the Russians). There was a brutal fight where the Germans assaulted the building on the 11th November 1942.

There were long-barreled StuG's and the experimental SIG33's involved in the assault so the map would be CA for the axis against infantry defenders of the fortress-like Kommissarhaus.

I am truly grateful to Jason Marks for the book and also for his permission to use photos and some of his painstakingly researched maps in the map design document to follow. It is going to take me some time to assemble all the bits and pieces to ensure that this document is sufficient to do justice to Jason's research and to the brave men on both side who were forced to squander their lives for tiny gains of land in a shattered city.

So please bear with me on this thread and try not to post too many comments negative or otherwise, until the full document is up.

My main purpose for putting this up is that I am too busy with Carpathian Crosses and other commitments to complete this job myself and I would hope that a high-calibre mapper and other members of the community will be able to assist in the production of this map.

 

[Nestor Makhno]

The Setting

The Setting

The Kommissarhaus was positioned in the lower settlement of workers' accommodation for the Barrikady Gun Factory, just North of Central Stalingrad.
It was positioned just East of the factory, towards the river and, once the factory had been taken, was one of the major obstacles between the German attackers and the River Volga.

The area is remarkably similar today in many aspects of the layout of streets and buildings to how it was then.

A closer look at the area in the black box will reveal the actual outline of the foundations of the building:

An overlay of Jason's map shows how similar the present layout is to how it was then:

To give an idea of scale, the park in front of the Kommissarhaus is 250m long and 70 m wide.

Here are some aerial photos - from the Bundesarchiv and NARA,showing before- and after-Stalingrad respectively. Again, they come via Island of Fire.

 

[Bolt]

I remember you said the Germans had used some very tricky and smart tactic to assault the factory and you didn't want to say what it was to make a surprise..
I hope you will make it, cause I'm itching to find out, what had the Germans done?

 

[Nestor Makhno]

The Buildings

The Buildings

Bolt - buy the book, mate - best way to find out.

OK - here's a closer look at what the fighting was about, seizing Stalingrad from the enemy, one building at a time.

I will be in Volgograd soon and will add to these photos when I get the chance.

 

[Lt_Kettch]

Erm ... short question will some Romanias assist the Germans?

Could work like this, for example you select assault class and have the option to select beetween the Orita and the MP-40.

German weapon = German player skin, Romanian weapon = Romanian player skin

CC needs moar maps

And screw the historical accuracy ...

 

[Trendkill]

And screw the historical accuracy ...

This is Nestor we're talking about. I doubt he'll be doing anything of the sorts.

Looks like a great idea for a map anyway and all this info will surely help whoever decides to take this on.

 

[Lt_Kettch]

I was not entirely serious about this point

I just want a Stalingrad map with Romanians. But I better start getting into mapping if I want to have superspecial things.

 

[Nestor Makhno]

The Buildings -part II

The Buildings -part II

I am conscious that the main source of stuff I am using here is Jason's materail and I do not wish to strain his good-will by posting every photo in his book - whether it is specifically his or from another source. I hope that I am not overstepping too much by posting these.

Here is a view across the park - I haven't yet worked out the exact angle. Possibly from House 81/63 given the angle of the SIG33B and booth.

This next is the jumpoff point for one of the pioneer units involved in the assault on the 11th Nov. Notice that the windowholes in the shadow show that the buildings are a) just shells and b) 4 or 2 stories high.

Here are some of the nearby houses before the war:

This next one has a fairly self-explanatory legend:

 

[Nestor Makhno]

The Assault

The Assault

The assault of the 11th November was made by the 578th Grenadier Regiment of the 389th Infantry Division, who followed attacks made by some of the specialist pioneer battalions drafted in on Hitler's orders.

The plan was that the the Apotheke/Apteka and Kommissarhaus/P-shaped house be seized as part of a general push towards the Volga. The aim was to ram straight through the badly depleted 138th Rifle division and cut them off entirely from the surrounding units.

This is what happened that morning:

Under cover af an artillery barrage, the I./Pi.Btl.305 sneaked up to the Apotheke, which had its entrances blocked by rubble, planted demolition charges and, at 3.55 a.m., detonated them. The breach was followed swiftly by assault troops swarming in and overpowering the stunned defenders of the 241st Rifle Regiment.

The assault on the Kommissarhaus went much less easily, with the assault engineers deciding to wait for more light before trying to move in and plant charges on the walls there. Given that the ground before the Kommissarhaus was relatively open this seems to have been a mistake and the Germans were pinned down in craters and behind rubble in front of the building.

Eventually the assault guns of the Sturmgesch

 

[Nestor Makhno]

I've just realised that no mapper worth their salt is going to accept any conditions I might make in return for further research material regarding this map so I had better make it myself.

I will require model and so on for the SIG33B if anyone is interested. I suppose Capt. Obvious seems the ob...er, natural choice Interior shots of that vehicle are going to be an absolute biatch to get, though.

http://wilk.wpk.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/sturminf_33b.htm

http://www.tarrif.net/cgi/production/all_vehicles_adv.php?op=getvehicles&vehiclesX=95


LOL - offroad speed of 8 km/h !!!

 

[Drecks]

I've just realised that no mapper worth their salt is going to accept any conditions I might make in return for further research material regarding this map so I had better make it myself.

It's quite a project you are showing here and with the hard to please community
in mind the only thing normal people will move to start this
would be some decent payment.

Not to mention your conditions......

 

[Nestor Makhno]

Nope, I really oughta do it myself. That way I can't blame anyone else if it turns ought badly.

 

[Captain Obvious]

I will require model and so on for the SIG33B if anyone is interested. I suppose Capt. Obvious seems the ob...er, natural choice Interior shots of that vehicle are going to be an absolute biatch to get, though.

hehe, that won't be a problem. I just need to finish several other projects first.

 

[Nestor Makhno]

I know - me too. Just one to keep in the back of your mind. Many thanks.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Another photo of a SIG33B in Stalingrad. From Panzer Tracts No. 8

 

[Slyk]

Nestor, great idea and great start on your plan. If you need any help with the mapping, please ask. And if Capt. Obvious can get that new tank modeled, I will press Lex and Teufel into service to get it done for you. You were a big help with my 'Tractor Works' project, and I would be happy to help get some content done for you.

 

[DeV]

Capt. Obvious should be busy enough already as it is currently

 

[Boogerhead]

Sorry for the off-topicness, but trying to help for the future:
If you scan in book pictures, you're going to have problems with something called moire, the annoying patterns. It's tough to counter, and
various software and techniques claim to eliminate it but only seem to reduce it a bit.

The most effective and easiest way I've found:
Angle your photo/book a bit on the flatbed, maybe like 5-10 degrees.
Scan.
Straighten it out, e.g., in Photoshop try Edit: Select All, Edit: Transform: Free Transform.

 

[Nestor Makhno]

The Units

The Units

OK, a few updates.

I have blocked out the area I want to use and have found some good news, the Gods of RO mapping are clearly on my side on this one:

The distance from Haus 53 to the Apotheke/Apteka is one 'sprintsworth' meaning that if you sprint your stamina will top out just as you reach the building. Same goes for distance from Apteka to KH.

The leader of I/Pionier Bataillon 305. was Hptm. Rettenmaier. They jumped off from Haus 53 and were the only group in the actual area covered by this map that achieved their objective on the 11th Nov. 1942.

The Panzer-Pionier Bataillon 50.'s 3rd company was fully equipped with half-tracks so I have the option of those, though I do not think they would be used in an assault such as this. They jumped off from Haus 56 and the ruins of Haus 54.

Also assaulting the KH were Sturmkompanie 44, from the 44 Infanterie-Division. This was a predominantly Austrian unit and was, at the time of going to Stalingrad, very much over-strength for a company. This situation did not last very long. They jumped off from Haus 72.

The kit of these units was pretty impressive - here is the loadout carried by a squad from Sturmschwadron 24 (not in this battle but here just to give some idea):

Squad leader: SMG, 2 x grens
Soldier 1: LMG, 1 x 50-rd drum, pistol, 2 x grens
Soldier 2: Pistol, 4 x 50-rd drum, 1 x 300-rd can, 2 x grens
Soldier 3: Rifle, 2 x 300-rd cans, 2 x grens
Soldiers 4-5: Rifle, bag of 8 x grens
Soldier 6: Rifle, concentrated charge (AT Nade), 2 x grens
Soldier 7: Rifle, bag of 6 x smoke grens, smoke pot, 2 x grens

The SIG33B's were a group of six, commanded by Ob.Lt. Alfred Beckmann. Of these 2 were KO'ed irretrievably and 2 were dammaged so badly that they needed to be repaired after the battle.

During this one day the German losses were grievous - e.g. Pz-Pi. Btl.50, alone losing 65 men (12 killed, 53 wounded). The attackers appear to have lost about 25% of their manpower in just one day's fighting.

Defending against them were some seriously depleted units -the 241st and 650th Rifle Regiments of the 138th. Elements of the 241st, in the Apotheke, lost a lot of men in the initial assault. The 650th had men in the Kommissarhaus, reinforced by workers' militia drawn from the Barrikady staff and there were also some NKVD men there, hence the name 'Kommissarhaus'. There were several PTRD's in the KH - these tank-killers also being equipped with molotovs.

The 650th had only 167 men left at the beginning of the battle, 98 of whom they lost during this one day - 9 killed, 65 wounded and the rest captured or ran away.

The German assault actually did reach the Volga by the end of this day - men from the 578th grenadier regment pushing down from the Apotheke. The assault to the North was also successful but, similarly, suffered heavy losses. This left the KH uncaptured that day, holding out an outpost, surrounded by Germans on 3 sides, somewhat like Pavlov's house further South.

 

[Bolt]

Rifle, concentrated charge (AT Nade),

I remember some German from this board told you that it was AT greande. Now I have doubts about it. I think it was a satchel charge - Gebaliteladung.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v517/bizness/?action=view&current=GebaliteladungFire_Reload.flv