Buzuluk To Prague News

11.6.2010 - Buzuluk To Prague released

After all those long months of development, I can finally announce that Buzuluk To Prague is now released and available for download since today.

Thanks to AlbertMarcel, you can play this add-on in three languages - the original English together with additional Czech and French language packs.

Enjoy!

5.6.2010 - Ostrava offensive operation

After a hard work and long waiting, the final mission of Buzuluk To Prague is completed. This means that only translations and some final polishing needs to be done now and you will finally be able to get your hands on the mod. The release date is now a matter of days only, so to ease you the waiting for it, I'm providing you a battle report from the last mission of the mod - the liberation of Ostrava.

The Ostrava offensive operation started already on 10th March 1945, but during the subsequent frontal attacks, the Soviet forces could not achieve a decisive victory and advanced only in a matter of units of kilometers. Therefore, the offensive was called in the beginning of April for some time to regroup and reroute the attack from the north rather than from the east (picture 1).

This phase of operation begun on 15 April 1945 by the attack of the Soviet 60th and 38th Army, which part was also the Czechoslovak Tank Brigade and 1st Czechoslovak Mixed Air Division. The objective was to advance to the Opava river, cross it and build a bridgehead on its southern bank. However the Germans managed to put up a fierce resistance in the area of Bolatice and Dolni Benesov, so our advance was halted there until we eliminated the enemy there.

The Germans had some patrol units placed north of Dolni Benesov, so these could warn the defenders of any incoming assault soon enough. After eliminating these patrols, our forces were divided into two groups for the forthcoming pincer attack on Dolni Benesov. The right flank of our shock force begun the assault on Dolni Benesov from the north (picture 2), while the left flank was ready to strike the enemy defenses in their weaker spot on the eastern side. Despite some heavy artillery preparation, the enemy units were still able to put up a strong resistance and both of our groups were halted on the outskirts of the city. Moreover, the enemy has launched an armored counter-attack against us and the left flank soon got into serious trouble (picture 3). But while this group could contain this threat, the right flank was also attacked right in the middle of its own assault and had to fall back to save itself. But as Dolni Benesov had to be captured before we would be able to cross the Opava river, we regrouped, replenished our units damaged by the previous enemy counter-attack, and hit the city defenders again. The Czechoslovaks with IL-2m3 ground-attack planes did a great job with helping us eliminate the German strongpoints one after another so finally managed to liberate Dolni Benesov and could prepare ourselves to cross the Opava river.

Again, the Czech pilots proved to be very valuable, as they well covered us against the enemy Stuka bombers unleashed in order to disrupt the river crossing (picture 4). To avoid the toughest parts of our own pre-war fortifications, we built up a pontoon bridge and secured a small bridgehead on the other side of Opava river. Luckily, the Germans were still unable to gather enough reserves to hit us by other means than by Stukas, so we could concentrate our effort on the attack against Hrabyne. The enemy had not many armored forces there so far, but still the hilly terrain slowed our attack and helped the defenders in the village (picture 5). As our units were pretty weakened already from the combat near Dolni Benesov and reserves were still on the way only, we had to rely on a cautious advance with a heavy support of our long-range artillery. This approach paid off and so we took Hrabyne to our hands.

After that, we received new orders giving us now a new task of capturing Svinov with its railway station, cross the Oder river and advance to Ostrava from the southwest. But during the preparations for the attack on Svinov, the Germans launched their own attack against Hrabyne. We knew that without Hrabyne in our hands, we would loose the whole bridgehead, so we dug-in on the hill and were determined to hold it to the last man and bullet. Our exhausted remaining forces faced a serious threat now. The enemy began throwing wave after wave of infantry soldiers well supported by armored units. On contrary, we had only several exhausted tank units, but could trust our long-range artillery and the airforce, which could operate over Hrabyne thanks to the fact, that it just stopped raining only few moments before. We also hastily brought in our Katyusha rocket-launchers to really weaken the enemy before he can reach our positions, especially his infantry formations. We could also fully utilize the hilly terrain around Hrabyne. Still, the Germans were attacking with more and more powerful armor (picture 6) and as our reinforcements still haven't arrived, our forces around Hrabyne were slowly wearing thin. Luckily, before the battle reached its critical stage, the Germans were finally exhausted enough that they had to stop all their efforts of re-capturing Hrabyne. We had survived and could renew our advance again, as the reinforcements have finally arrived now.

Our intelligence expected a fierce resistance by the enemy forces in the area of Svinov, so to avoid any possible heavy casualties, our long-range artillery started to pound on the Germans there already during the time our units were still recovering from the encounter at Hrabyne. Therefore, the most of any effective enemy resistance in Svinov was eliminated even before our assault groups sprung into action and their remaining defenses were crushed by one assault only (picture 7). After a fast reorganization, a detached tank group crossed the Oder river in order to secure a necessary bridgehead on the other side. The Germans were so surprised by such quick advance that they still could not built up any defenses there and were able to send only one Panther tank against us. This was eliminated by great maneuvering of our own tank troops and the enemy has begun really desperate now. Therefore, we experienced also such dreadful actions of the enemy units as their armored vehicles running over our infantrymen (like the one documented by this photo, where the enemy StuG III has driven right into the formation of our infantry after knocking out one of our T-34 tanks). But as not so many Germans left within the confines of Ostrava city by that time, we still were able to advance northward through the city pretty quickly. Well, until we reached the city center with the town hall and the railway station. Battle for this part of the city became a turning point of the whole process of the Ostrava liberation, because due to the heavy enemy resistance, our advance was again stopped and only the result of this part of the battle could decide whether we would be able to finish the Ostrava liberation or not. After taking some serious casualties, we again had to rely on our long-range artillery, as the airforce was already forced to stay on airfields due to bad weather. Only this way, the enemy strongpoints could be effectively eliminated as well as the remaining German armored force inside the city was destroyed by our subsequent massive onslaught (picture 9). Liberation of the remaining parts of the city was just about clearing the houses of the fascist troops. Ostrava was finally free.

Map of the final phase of the Ostrava offensive operation		Forces of the right wing of our pincer attack on Dolni Benesov		Encounter with the German counter-attack near Dolni Benesov
Brave Czechoslovak pilots are covering our bridgehead on the southern bank of Opava river		Capturing the strategically important village Hrabyne		The Germans are trying hard to eliminate our hard-earned bridgehead
Assault on Svinov with its railway station		On the outskirts of Ostrava		Turning point of the battle of Ostrava

27.5.2010 - Hold on, commanders

First of all, I must apologize for such a long gap in the news updates. Currently, I'm working hard to finish the last map of the chapter - Ostrava offensive operation, but it appeared a bit tougher task than I expected. Therefore, the works on this mission are going much slower than they should according to the plan.

But the good news is, that I can assure you - the project is definitely not dead and the final mission is now in a phase of testing of its gameplay balance. Even if it may take several more days to get it done, the last mission is nearly to be completed so I hope I will be able to present you the mission report soon.

So hold on, commanders, because Buzuluk To Prague is now going to the last phase of its beta stage. This means, that after the Ostrava mission and the translations are finished, you can finally look forward to its release.

12.5.2010 - Buzuluk To Prague in 3 language versions

Great news, everyone!

Thanks to AlbertMarcel, Buzuluk To Prague will be released in three language versions (or rather as an English original version with two additional language packs). AlbertMarcel is so kind that he will be making the French translation of the mod even before its release date, so when it is published, the mod will be immediately available in three different language versions.

And what is that third version apart from the English and French ones? Well, what it would be of a mod about the Czechoslovak soldiers without the Czech language version of it? Yes, all the Czech and Slovak players can look forward also to the official Czech translation already since the release date of the mod.

Moreover, for everyone who would like to translate the mod into his or her mother tongue, I will put all the localization files into a separate *.pak archive for easier translation.

7.5.2010 - Hard times near Liptovsky Mikulas

After the exhausting and bloody breakthrough of the Czechoslovak Army Corps to Slovakia through the Dukla Pass, its units had to go to defense temporarily. Only during the end of January 1945, its advance through the territory of Slovakia could be renewed, now under the command of the Soviet 18th Army. But all the three attacks on the German defenses in front of Liptovsky Mikulas in the first half of February have failed, so the frontline got stuck again for some time. Moreover, the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps and the whole Soviet 18th Army were deprived of practically all of their armored units, only with the exception of some light armored cars and several SU-76s of the Soviet 108th Guards Regiment. Yet with such reduced forces, they were to launch another attack on Liptovsky Mikulas in order to distract the German attention from the Ostrava region.

Due to the fact we had almost no armored support and our reserves in the area were thin, the battle of Liptovsky Mikulas became to be all about careful leading of the available units and fine combined-arms tactics. Forces of the Soviet 24th Rifle Division were about to strike the enemy defenses in a frontal assault on Liptovsky Mikulas, while the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps was ready to perform a flanking attack from the northeast through Smrecany village (picture 1). As it was decided to secure the right flank before the main attack on the city, the Czechoslovaks advanced westwards and stormed the enemy defenses in Smrecany right in the beginning of the whole battle. As it was said before, we could not afford wasting our valuable forces, so the assault had to be well arranged before it could have started. First of all, our howitzers covered Smrecany with artillery preparation fire while the assault forces were regrouping for the attack. Then our infantry formations moved forward being supported with armored cars to strengthen their firepower against enemy infantry. SU-76s were also grouped behind the main force in case that some German armored unit would appear. While the howitzers moved their fire a bit ahead, the close artillery support was well provided by our mortars, effectively wiping out any remaining enemy strongholds set up inside the village houses (picture 2). This way, our attack went on very well and we soon took Smrecany with only minor casualties. However, Liptovsky Mikulas obviously seemed to be much harder obstacle to get over.

Again, the artillery preparation played a significant role and allowed us to save our valuable units. We hit the city from the east and the north simultaneously to divide the enemy forces and to be able to react flexibly to the changing situation on the battlefield. Despite most of the battle was about infantry action, we could also see several thrilling clashes of the very few armored units present in the area. One of such encounter took place in the northern suburbs of Liptovsky Mikulas, where a small group of German armor caught us by surprise with a local counter-attack to draw us back from the city. Only thanks to the effective command and well performed maneuvers, we were able to eliminate that small enemy armored group while loosing only one SU-76 (picture 3).

Soon after, we renewed our advance onto the city, concentrating most of our effort on its northern part this time. Step by step, house by house, Liptovsky Mikulas was being liberated. After we successfully broke through the outer defenses, our units advanced to the southwest to envelop the remaining German forces inside the city and so to prevent them from withdrawing. Thanks to cautious advance, we were wiping the Germans out one by one while not suffering any heavier casualties on our side, so after some time, almost no enemy forces left in the city (picture 4). As no other enemy armored unit appeared within the confines of the city itself, we could soon regroup to face the forthcoming enemy counter-attacks.

Still, our forces were already not strong enough to be able to defend the city as a whole. If we would have built up defenses around the city, these might have been soon eliminated, so we rather decided to rely on improvised defensive positions within the streets inside the city itself. Captured German anti-tank cannons were placed in such way that they each covered certain street being supported by several groups of infantry placed inside the houses that were still standing by that time. This way, we were surprisingly quite capable of holding the ground against the incoming enemy assaults (picture 5). Meanwhile, Smrecany were covered only by a small detached force, also strengthened by some captured German guns. As the enemy sent only minor attacks against this village, this group could hold on without the need of any extensive help from the main forces. However, in Liptovsky Mikulas itself, the battle was progressively getting heated, because the enemy attacks were becoming more and more dangerous and our forces more and more worn out. The Germans even aimed their long-range artillery fire onto our revealed positions in the city, so almost all the remaining houses were now reduced to rubble (picture 6). Also our last reserves had to be called for help and it seemed we would be unable to hold on much longer. And then the fascists deployed their StuG III and Hetzer SPGs and attacked us with this force from the northwest in an attempt to envelop our defenses in the city. We were therefore forced to unleash all of our remaining SU-76s to face this imminent threat. Even if we eliminated this enemy armored group, we have lost half of our armor capacity. Therefore, we were now ready to draw back to the eastern parts of the city to put up the last fierce resistance there. Luckily, this appeared to be the last enemy attack, so we could breathe out for a while. Now, our eyes turned to the Ostrava battlefield, where the largest battle operation on the territory of Czechoslovakia was in progress.

Scheme of the last assault on Liptovsky Mikulas and the subsequent German counter-attacks		Effectively conducted attack against the enemy defenses in Smrecany		A rare clash of armor at Liptovsky Mikulas
Finishing the liberation of Liptovsky Mikulas		German probe attack		Battle gets intensified

30.4.2010 - Crossing the borders at Dukla

Honestly speaking, Dukla mission was so far the toughest one to get it balanced properly. Its design has gone through many iterations, but finally after quite a long time, the job is done, so I can bring you the battle report from the final version of this mission now.

After the Red Army units liberated Volyn in western Ukraine (and partly in southeastern Poland when talking about the pre-war borders), the 1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade was able to recruit new men from the group of the Volyn Czechs living there. During the summer 1944, there were enough trained soldiers that the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps can be formed. This unit was then assigned back under the command of the Soviet 38th Army. While the Slovak National Uprising had begun earlier than expected, the preparations for the offensive southward onto the territory of Slovakia in order to help the uprising were speeded up.

As the two Slovak divisions which were about to switch the sides right after the beginning of the operation were disarmed by the Germans, the Czechoslovak and Soviet forces were unexpectedly forced to fight through heavily defended mountains even before they could enter the Czechoslovak territory (picture 1). The hard times just waited ahead.

The German forces had occupied the positions in the mountains in front of the Dukla city, so if we wanted to return back to Czechoslovakia, we had to make our way through these defenses somehow. One of the hardest combat was fought over the Hill 534 - the key position in the whole enemy line. To weaken the fascist defenses there, we fully utilized our long-range artillery support covered up the enemy positions with heavy artillery barrage. Meanwhile, our forces have regrouped and prepare for the forthcoming assault. But even if the enemy was weaken by our artillery preparation, his units still were able to put up fierce resistance and so losses on our side were inevitable when we were trying to seize the Hill 534. Especially the enemy Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck weapons caused severe casualties among our tank troops (picture 2). Moreover, the Germans even managed to mount a local counter-attack against us, which was quite surprising and forced us to pull back for a while. Still, our persistent endeavor proved to be decisive, so after several assaults, we were finally able to eliminate all the enemy resistance on Hill 534 and its vicinity and finally enter Dukla city behind enemy lines (picture 3).

In Dukla itself, the German resistance was not so much intense, but we still had to proceed pretty carefully through the streets, if we wanted to liberate the city without any heavier losses. The fascists have based their defenses of the city itself on the improvised but very clever system of anti-tank gun emplacements supported by Panzerfaust-equipped soldiers hiding in the houses. Therefore the best way of how to beat these defenses was to stick to the combined-arms policy and advance with our tanks closely supported with infantrymen (picture 4). We also chose to strike against the western part of the city at first and only after that to advance through the streets further to the east. This way, we were able to even surprise some of the enemy positions and destroy them from behind.

But after we liberated the city and were preparing for the final assault to reach the Czechoslovak borders, we received information that the Germans are now gathering forces for the counter-attack in order to recapture the previously lost ground. All effort was now aimed at securing our positions in Dukla and on Hill 534, so before the enemy units came, we were ready for them. The German units attacked Dukla from more directions simultaneously, while the core of their force concentrated the offensive against the western and southwestern parts of the city. After some initial more or less probe attacks, they hit us hard and the fierce combat for the city was raging again. But we were courageously holding on and whenever the enemy attack wave was more supported by tanks and armor in general, the reliable tactic of striking the flanks of these forces with our own armored group always saved our defenses from collapsing (picture 5). However, the Germans also tried to cut us off our rear and attacked against the Hill 534, so we had to deploy part of our forces there as well to secure our vital communications. The mountainous terrain provided us quite an advantage over the attackers, so all we had to do there, was just holding the ground firmly (picture 6). Nonetheless, the enemy attacks begun to weaken our defenses in Dukla slowly, so after several attack waves, the fascists managed to get into the city itself, as our frontal defensive positions were overrun (picture 7). Therefore, some of our armored reserves had to be deployed within the streets to ensure that the Germans will not retake the city center as well. Luckily, these dangerous attacks were the last ones as the enemy assault force was now finally exhausted and so the counter-attack had to be halted.

Now, it was time to regroup and finally start the attack against the last enemy defenses around the Dukla Pass, located right on the Czechoslovak borders (picture 8). But the German resistance was even more stubborn now and so we had to proceed really carefully, as our forces were not as fresh as in the beginning of the operation. Just as before, the intense artillery barrage preceded the offensive, but the enemy fought for every piece of the ground so our advance was again practically nil. We had to repeat our assaults for several times to weaken the enemy defenses enough to be able to break through the mountainous ridge and finally enter the Czechoslovak territory afterwards. Our effort has paid off when our units have reached the outskirts of Vysny Komarnik (picture 9) - the first settlement which was about to be liberated by the Czechoslovak units after all those tough years of the fascist occupation. The liberation of Vysny Komarnik was then not so difficult, because we were now back at home.

Return of the Czechoslovaks back to home		One of the Czechoslovak assaults on the Hill 534		Entering Dukla city
Combined arms policy in action within the streets of Dukla		Mobile flanking counter-attack helping out our defenses in Dukla city		Holding on against the enemy counter-attacks on the key position - Hill 534
The fascist forces are getting inside the city		On the border		Finally coming back home - at Vysny Komarnik

 

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