March 2018 Challenge: Belgrade, February 2140

[antillies]

I hope my interpretation of the challenge subject is not too liberal. I've yearned for a long time to create a World War II-style situation/operation map, showing the disposition of ground forces as it would appear on the macro-level, and thought this challenge might allow me to scratch that particular itch. The map will be set within the alternate-future universe of Battllefield 2142, which, despite being a first-person shooter, has a very fascinating canon that I enjoy very much.

The setting is the area around Belgrade, Serbia, in February of the year 2140. An ice age has descended upon the world. Temperatures drop continually and glaciers advance from the north and south, eating up land at an alarming rate. This sudden crisis has sparked a world-wide conflict as the various national powers scramble to secure land and resources. The principle actors are the European Union (EU) and their allies, and the Russo-Asian bloc known as the Pan-Asian Coalition (PAC).

Following the devastating EU defeat at Minsk, PAC forces rush across eastern Europe, intent on driving into Germany and toward Berlin, the center of EU operations. Now in February of 2140, the retreating EU 9th Armored Corps finds itself trapped between the advancing PAC X and II Command Divisions and a giant wall of ice that has descended from northern Europe. The EU commander, General Emil Nikoli, decides to mount a tenacious defense, although hope of relief seems to dwindle with every inch of snow that falls...

The map as it stands now is very basic. I have the major rivers in place, though they've been largely modeled based on Google Maps, as well as the urban zones, Belgrade being the most significant. Operational maps tend to be fairly simplistic, with their aim more showing how the armies are disposed in relation to each other. I've been working in Photoshop so far but may switch over to Illustrator to do the text and other line work once I get to that point. I'm also thinking of smooth over the rivers but I need to figure out how to do that first, hah. I also need to verify that the scale I choose is correct for division/corps size units, since the frontage each can cover is significant. Very excited to keep working on this and be participating in my first challenge!

### Latest WIP ###

Belgrade_WIP_1.jpg

[elboe]

Very good start, and interesting premise.

[Diamond]

Cool idea!

[antillies]

Thank you, elboe and Diamond! Appreciate the feedback. :-)

I decided to increase the scale. After some research, it turned out the typical defensive frontage for a division fell between 12-20km. Since we'll be dealing with about six divisions, I wanted to give them sufficient space to live. I redid the rivers and added a few more cities. I tried a few approaches for the roads but in the end settled for the simplest, since anything larger seemed to distract from the rest of the map.

I grabbed some satellite images with topography of the area around Belgrade and patched those together to figure out the "elevation zones." I kept them general since from the perspective of a regiment/brigade/division commander the trend of the terrain is more important than anything more specific. I think I may toy around the the placement of the ice wall, to block some off more the western roads, and I'm not sure about the color scheme for elevation either. I should be moving into Illustrator pretty soon here to start adding more fun stuff.

### Latest WIP ###

Belgrade_WIP_2.jpg

[aeshnidae]

Very cool, antilllies. Thanks for sharing your research, that's interesting info. I immediately wanted to map troop locations (although very differently - mine is a siege in the fantasy middle ages) and I'm struggling a bit with scale.

[antillies]

Thanks so much, aeshnidae! Your style is gorgeous, by the way. I love how hand-drawn it feels, and everything looks so clean and professional.

Can I ask scale in what regards? I looked at your latest WIP and the placement of the offensive works seem appropriate and well-sized. My only critique would be that they may be a bit too close (perhaps the castle garrison is less than proactive in preventing them from coming closer) but I recognize the focus of the map being more on the castle than not. Are you wondering about at what distance and in what number to place the attacking armies?

[Meshon]

Great work so far. I'm really interested to see how you decide to depict the forces and their disposition in the theatre.

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[aeshnidae]

Thanks so much, aeshnidae! Your style is gorgeous, by the way. I love how hand-drawn it feels, and everything looks so clean and professional.

Can I ask scale in what regards? I looked at your latest WIP and the placement of the offensive works seem appropriate and well-sized. My only critique would be that they may be a bit too close (perhaps the castle garrison is less than proactive in preventing them from coming closer) but I recognize the focus of the map being more on the castle than not. Are you wondering about at what distance and in what number to place the attacking armies?

Thank you for the lovely compliment, antillies! I enjoy the hand-drawn approach, even when it's done digitally. ;-)

I was indeed wondering about the distance between military units and their proximity to the city walls, as well as building sizes. I often find it challenging to show various buildings at the proper scale - I don't want a merchant's townhouse to look too large in comparison to a temple, but I want to show sufficient detail. I realize I don't need to be as focused on these minutiae in this case because it's a field commander's map, so approximations are fine.

[antillies]

That makes good sense, aeshnidae. Without having exact measurements it is hard to be totally assured of scale. I tend to use a real-world reference, say if this building is x feet long and if y pixels is x feet, then this building I want to add in needs to be about this size. I'm sure you do something similar. Your troop positions look just fine in your latest WIP. Keep it up!

I've now added place and river names. I was dissatisfied with the resolution so I went back and redid everything to allow for greater detail. Luckily I could salvage my elevation map and road system so I didn't need to spend too much time updating it.

I also spent a bit of time creating the Order of Battle for the Battle of Belgrade. It is as follows:

European Union
9th Armored Corps (Nikoli)
- 44th Armor Division (Ferber)
---- 59th Armor Brigade
---- 3rd Armor Brigade
---- 156th Motorized Infantry Brigade
- 79th Armor Division (Kontz)
---- 9th Armor Brigade
---- 35th Armor Brigade
---- 110th Motorized Infantry Brigade
- 8th Infantry Division (Aulard)
---- 5th Motorized Infantry Brigade
---- 102nd Infantry Brigade
---- 408th Infantry Brigade

Pan-Asian Coalition
Task Group Petrov (Petrov)
- II Command Division (Petrov)
---- 90th Command Armor Brigade
---- 85th Command Armor Brigade
---- 15th Command Motorized Infantry Brigade
---- 16th Command Motorized Infantry Brigade
- X Command Division (Shkuro)
---- 63rd Command Armor Brigade
---- 70th Command Armor Brigade
---- 41st Command Motorized Infantry Brigade
---- 42nd Command Motorized Infantry Brigade

Northern Command Group (Annikov)
- LVI Command Corps
--- III Command Armor Division
--- IX Command Armor Division
--- VII Command Motorized Infantry Division
-LXXI Command Corps
---XXI Command Armor Division
--- IXX Command Armor Division
--- XVI Command Motorized Infantry Division

I wasn't sure what the developers of the game meant by the "command" designation on PAC units, but for my purposes I'm going to treat it similar to the "Guards" designation used by the Soviet army, meaning a better-than-average (or elite) unit. You'll notice that in the initial confrontation the EU force can field a greater amount of armor than their PAC opponent. However, the PAC Command divisions have two armored brigades and two motorized infantry brigades a piece, leveling the field a bit and granting them greater speed and mobility. Doubtless this flexibility is what allowed Petrov to cut off the EU retreat to the west before they could escape, boxing them inside Belgrade. I'll post more force analysis later on.

### Latest WIP ###

Belgrade_WIP_3.png

[Daistallia]

Command in this case is what the Soviets called grouped combined arms units (composite units with different types employed together).