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Back during the summer of 2022, when I first started to look for primary sources to build the Master Allied and German databases for Overlord, it quickly became obvious to me the Germans would be the toughest nut to crack.
Why? In part there weren’t standard Tables of Equipment (TOE) for Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, and Waffen SS Divisions. In 1944, each unit was - with respect to its TOE - different from its sister units.
For example, the 709th, 711th, and 716th Coastal Defense Divisions not only had different numbers of Ost Truppen Battalions, but their Artillery Regiments each had a different mix of howitzers and/or guns - both in size and country of origin - to include coastal artillery. And with respect to their Infantry Regiments, the 709th had three while both the 711th and 716th only had two.
So in August 2022, it was a very lucky coincidence that I was reading a Board Game Geek blog - “Hans and Carl take over the Nakatomi Plaza” - on Panzer Lehr (https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/6892/blogpost/135050/here-lehr-and-everywhere-panzer-lehr-and-their-rea). [Yes, the abbreviated link works.]
In the blog, Carl Fung briefly described Lehr’s organic Panther Battalion (I./130 Panzer Regiment) being replaced, by 3rd Panzer Division’s Panther Battalion (I./6 Panzer Regiment). [In June 1944 I./130 was in Germany, going through Panther new equipment training.]
I quickly dashed off an E-Mail to Carl asking, if for this little nugget, he would share his source(s). To my surprised, he quickly responded crediting Niklas Zetterling’s “Normandy 1944 German Military Organization, Combat Power, and Operational Effectiveness”, Niehorster’s Order of Battle site, and Lexikon der Wehrmact.
I checked on Amazon, and - as I recall - for about $35.00 I could purchase a hard bound copy of the 2019 fully revised Zetterling book. When it arrived, it only took me a few minutes to notice the immense detail Zetterling had poured into his book and the very extensive footnoting.
Quickly it became my go to book for the German Master database and one of the books that made-up my Overlord, quick reference compendium.
But it’s one thing to find a primary source for the Germans. It’s another - much more time consuming - to input the data into the database.
Not having used the WEGO Editor before, I had to create, one at a time - by hand, if you would - the 538 German counters. Not to beat a dead horse, this took time.
[And let’s not forget the 579 Allied counters. Olive drab for the US, khaki for the British, dark brown with red for the Canadians, and royal blue for the Free French.]
Just over a year ago, one of the Alpha play testers noticed I had forgotten to use white “ink” on both the I SS and II SS Panzer Korps counters. Easy fix, but it’s shows how hard it is to see a small error when you’re looking at a small ocean of counters.
The good news is, bcgames - who developed the master databases for Desert War and Stalingrad, plus the counters, maps, scenarios, etc., etc. - was there to help. bc allowed me to build off of his earlier WEGO WWII work, as well as create all of Overlord’s new graphics/counters and the map. To say the least, he plus very helpful answering my myriad of questions and providing insightful guidance.
My Overlord Compendium:
Wishlist now WEGO World War II: Overlord
