2015 Field Exercise (Tactical) "Delaying Action at Foy":
This year's battle is intended to advance us further down the road of authenticity in the following ways:
1) Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) was formally introduced as the core discipline directing Axis and Allied command staff planning. Both staffs spent 2 days at the US Army War College Heritage Center in July 2014 reviewing each side's military doctrine and the tactics used at the small unit level.
The classroom instruction was followed by a terrain analysis of the FIG training area selected for this year's event. Each side developed a rough outline of a field order. From there, each side developed its own complete field order to be distributed to their troops at a later date prior to the field exercise.
The German field order is in semi-final draft stage and under review by the Kampfgruppen commanders.
We also chose to properly scale the scenario. Rather than pick a cross-roads of just a few hundred square meters and call that "Bastogne", which is a town closer to the size of Hershey, PA, we've taken the FIG training area and matched that pretty closely in actual distance to a part of the actual battle on the approach to Bastogne, hence "Delaying Action At Foy" is what we are attempting to recreate. We've also discarded the practice of calling the battle formations, "battalions", which as we all know were much larger in reality than the size of our formations. Thus the Allies are formed in Teams and the Germans are formed in Kampfgruppen.
2) Judged Event. Umpires were introduced to the 2014 event for the first time with a moderate but pleasing success. We've taken this concept out of the "trial and error" phase and looped feedback from the umpires and the troops into this year's process. Mirroring the MDMP philosophy used in developing the field order, we've also used the actual U.S. Army FM 105-5 from the 1942-1944 period to guide how the umpires will make decisions. There is no "scripting" or "Kabuki theatre" as in the past. Wherever we end up Friday is where we start Saturday. The mission is to take and hold the bridge at 626801 (see link below to scenario map), securing it for heavy armor traffic heading for Bastogne. If we are not in possession of the bridge at endex on Saturday, we lose. Given that it's important for both sides to get trigger time, Axis and Allied command decided to identify that objective and make it known to each other. Beyond that, all other plans and intelligence are strictly Geheim.
See links at bottom for details on Umpire staff, rules, etc.
Historical Context
Please visit the Federation website link below for a description of what happened at Foy in 1944, along with a series of maps depicting the overall actual battle and the role Foy played.
http://www.wwiifederation.org/c5/index.php/about/battle-plan/
Scenario Description Overlay on FIG Training Area
Please visit the Federation website link below. Some of the specifics have evolved/changed since this was published.
http://www.wwiifederation.org/c5/files/3714/1748/1996/Start_point_for_website_-_2015.pdf
Umpire Details:
This year's battle is intended to advance us further down the road of authenticity in the following ways:
1) Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) was formally introduced as the core discipline directing Axis and Allied command staff planning. Both staffs spent 2 days at the US Army War College Heritage Center in July 2014 reviewing each side's military doctrine and the tactics used at the small unit level.
The classroom instruction was followed by a terrain analysis of the FIG training area selected for this year's event. Each side developed a rough outline of a field order. From there, each side developed its own complete field order to be distributed to their troops at a later date prior to the field exercise.
The German field order is in semi-final draft stage and under review by the Kampfgruppen commanders.
We also chose to properly scale the scenario. Rather than pick a cross-roads of just a few hundred square meters and call that "Bastogne", which is a town closer to the size of Hershey, PA, we've taken the FIG training area and matched that pretty closely in actual distance to a part of the actual battle on the approach to Bastogne, hence "Delaying Action At Foy" is what we are attempting to recreate. We've also discarded the practice of calling the battle formations, "battalions", which as we all know were much larger in reality than the size of our formations. Thus the Allies are formed in Teams and the Germans are formed in Kampfgruppen.
2) Judged Event. Umpires were introduced to the 2014 event for the first time with a moderate but pleasing success. We've taken this concept out of the "trial and error" phase and looped feedback from the umpires and the troops into this year's process. Mirroring the MDMP philosophy used in developing the field order, we've also used the actual U.S. Army FM 105-5 from the 1942-1944 period to guide how the umpires will make decisions. There is no "scripting" or "Kabuki theatre" as in the past. Wherever we end up Friday is where we start Saturday. The mission is to take and hold the bridge at 626801 (see link below to scenario map), securing it for heavy armor traffic heading for Bastogne. If we are not in possession of the bridge at endex on Saturday, we lose. Given that it's important for both sides to get trigger time, Axis and Allied command decided to identify that objective and make it known to each other. Beyond that, all other plans and intelligence are strictly Geheim.
See links at bottom for details on Umpire staff, rules, etc.
Historical Context
Please visit the Federation website link below for a description of what happened at Foy in 1944, along with a series of maps depicting the overall actual battle and the role Foy played.
http://www.wwiifederation.org/c5/index.php/about/battle-plan/
Scenario Description Overlay on FIG Training Area
Please visit the Federation website link below. Some of the specifics have evolved/changed since this was published.
http://www.wwiifederation.org/c5/files/3714/1748/1996/Start_point_for_website_-_2015.pdf
Umpire Details:
| 1942_-_us_umpire_information_card.pdf |
| umpire_guide_-_18_nov_2014.pdf |
| umpire_organization_-_4_dec_2014.pdf |