Oперация Тернопіль

This is the first playable mission that I am releasing for Iron Front: Liberation 1944. The scenario is a fictitious engagement between a German Panzer Company (ten Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B King Tiger tanks) and a platoon of Soviet anti-tank forces that consist of four AT teams, three 76mm ZiS-3 guns and a small anti-aircraft platform.

Oперация Тернопіль is Russian for Operation Ternopil, which is a city in the western Ukraine where the village of Ivachev is near and what the scenario map Ukraine Ivachev 1944 is loosely based upon. The scenario begins on Sunday August 5, 1944 at 5:35 AM. The Soviets have a small tactical advantage in that the sun is rising behind them.

The player starts out as an AT Engineering private on Fire Team Alpha, but upon death can utilize the in game Team Switch functionality to change to any other character on the map. The German forces are supported by a flight of Fw 190 F-8 fighter/ground attack aircraft which should make quick work of the anti-tank guns that the Soviets are fielding, but if one is still up definitely jump in it as a gunner.

This is a beta test build of the scenario and is meant to be played through the mission editor, not through the single-player missions menu navigation. The folder should be installed in the following path (assuming a typical game installation):

C:\Users\Your Name\Documents\Iron Front\missions

Once the folder is placed there, in the game navigate to the mission editor and load the Ukraine Ivachev 1944 map then load the file “01032014_004”.

Download Oперация Тернопіль

If you have any feedback to provide, please do so by making a comment at the bottom of this post.

After-action Report

Mission Editor overview of the scenario showing the disposition of the units and associated waypoints.

Simple text for the mission briefing and notes sections.

Hauling ass towards enemy contact: the AT weapon the soldier is equipped with is the default weapon in the game assigned to the AT Engineer.

A German Fw 190 F-8 is making a run on the AT guns above the ridgeline overlooking the main road.

Our anti-aircraft platform could not stop the devastation of the battery.

This was the first of many team switches I performed at death.

I stumble across a King Tiger parked along the road.

It is hard to miss at such a close range.

A shot to the side armor skirt lights up the tank killing everyone inside.

This is me trying to lead one of the German aircraft for a cheap kill. The AA platform was eliminated long ago.

With little left on the battlefield to go up against the German tanks, I sprint towards a King tiger along the road firing its main gun at a target.

Imagine my disgust when I shoulder the AT weapon just to go wide right on the target.

Although the Germans were understrength with only eight tanks total, they seemed to be everywhere at the worst possible moment.

The two aircraft are still up as they cover a King Tiger coming down the main road.

I have one tank in my sights just to find out the character I team switched to was already out of AT ammunition.

It was difficult to move over any rise in the terrain as the King Tigers had no issue firing the main gun at Soviet infantry.

Yet another German tank pressing forward making my effort seemingly insurmountable.

Not sure how we killed this King Tiger but I’ll take it.

Everywhere I turned to find AT ammo there was a tank moving directly across my field of vision.

Here I come across a Panzer crew that bailed from their King Tiger and open fire with my machinegun.

The last available team switch to be used.

My frantic search for AT ammo continues as I scrounge every corpse I can find on the battlefield.

Act of desperation: throwing grenades at a King Tiger.

The last screen shot taken before the last death. The Soviets lost this engagement.

Post Mortem

The game designers apparently could not be bothered to provide the Soviets with their own AT weapons. The Soviet AT Engineer unit is equipped with the same RPzB Panzerschreck that the German AT Soldier unit has. Furthermore, the Soviet player is at a disadvantage as that unit has only two rounds while the German unit has three. The AT Engineer unit for the Soviets is the one with the weapon, the standard AT Soldier for the Soviets has no AT weapon equipped.

While it may be true that the Soviets employed a number of AT weapons for their infantry (such as the American Bazooka through the Lend Lease program) and they did use a number of Panzerfaust’s captured from German forces, they had their own anti-tank capabilities such as the PTRD anti-tank rifles that could have been modeled.

In my honest gaming opinion, this is sloppy work – much the same as releasing the game and then the D-Day DLC without any standard parachute in the game. Apparently the developer expects the modding community to complete their game for them.