Company of Heroes 3 - Narrative Arcs

On 2nd December 1943, over 100 German bombers attacked the port of Bari in Italy destroying the U.S. Liberty ship, John Harvey, and dozens of other ships. Over 30,000 tons of cargo were sunk and destroyed, and in the days that followed many of the soldiers and civilians caught in the attack developed unusual symptoms creating a puzzling medical mystery. 

The events at Bari are one of the “Narrative Arcs” that feature in the Company of Heroes 3 Italian Campaign. Separate to the main branching storyline, these arcs are side stories that take place as you progress through the campaign and add additional depth to the gameplay and narrative. 

Some, like Bari, are large, multi-turn stories with several possible outcomes and long-lasting effects on the campaign. Others are smaller and provide you with resources or simply affect your relationship with the subcommanders. In the case of the Bari arc, capturing the port sets off a series of events and decisions that not only affect Bari but can also have repercussions across the rest of the game. 

Ports are key to maintaining supply lines for your troops. The arrival of additional supply ships at Bari makes it a tempting target for German bombers and a wise commander will protect the port by using anti-aircraft weaponry or capturing nearby airfields. 

If a German attack does get through and Bari is bombed, you’ll be faced with new challenges – a fire and an ever-growing number of casualties. Providing help in the form of a garrisoned company or medical support will solve the immediate crisis but may result in calls for an investigation into the strange medical situation developing in the port’s hospitals. 

What you choose to do from there is up to you. 

There are currently five different outcomes to the Bari Narrative Arc. Some are straightforward, others are more complicated, but all of them have an impact on the campaign. Decisions you make at Bari may affect you later in the game in unexpected ways. 

CoH3 features a wide variety of Narrative Arcs and not all of them are as dramatic as Bari. One deals with a divisional track meet after the battle at Potenza. Another covers the impact of malaria on British troops. 

Some Narrative Arcs are based on real events while others have been created around gameplay features, but they all add another layer of decision making and narrative depth to the game. And not every campaign play-through will feature every arc bringing another level of replayability. 

As always, everything we’re talking about here is subject to change, but I hope this overview gives you some insight into one of the many ways we’re bringing narrative depth to our dynamic campaign. 

Historically, an investigation by a U.S. medical officer, Lt. Col. Stewart Francis Alexander, led to the discovery that the John Harvey had been carrying chemical weapons. The sinking of the ship released mustard gas into the water and caused the strange medical symptoms seen after the attack. Concerned about the possible German reaction to the existence of chemical weapons, the events at Bari were largely covered up until after the war, but data collected by Alexander eventually led to development of a treatment for cancer, known today as chemotherapy. 

If you have ideas for historical events or people that could inspire Narrative Arcs, please post them here. We’re always looking for fresh inspiration. 

Agree with above post, I remember TW Rome 1 campaign it it's so well done, but Rome 2 is over complicated and they introduced a lot of unnecessary things, it's ok if they include deep mechanics but without abusing... I suppose this works like in Rome 1 events that change how you are playing the campaign( disease, Marian reforms  etc) I like random events... 

Hi @Philip_RE ,

Thank you for more insight on the Narrative Arc's you've been working on. These sound great and I like how unique they can be like the Bari story. I've read in other sources too but this source Hidden archive references the high civilian casualties specifically in Italy during the losing effort retreat of the Germans and how the Italians/Partisans were fighting back but the high civilian casualties are often overlooked or not focused on as much as the military and strategic battles. I know COH3 is a video game and doesn't want to get too dark into the atrocities of war, but I feel like if there are NPC's, saving them from imprisonment or if they're being lined up into trucks for transport we can rescue them. That sort of concept. I understand you cannot have them lined up in front of a firing squad or hangings or other grotesque visuals but loading them up into transports and rescuing the trucks and even turning some into Partisans you control sounds like a cool concept. Instead of showing any violence towards the civilians if the transports leave the map by a certain point then you lose that objective but can still win the RTS match. You already had us play a scenario in the pre-alpha where we rescued some partisan soldiers, my narrative arc is more rescuing civilian npc's and having some sort of interaction with them after rescue. Maybe they provide intel through fog of war or even on campaign map unlocks a route previously would be blocked, or weapon upgrades or a unique vehicle, some sort of perk to use in RTS match? If you do rescue enough civilians perhaps a constant perk will be NPC's in maps will fight alongside you or help you with recon. Just some ideas to include the civilian element into the campaign game, I know for many players it'll be rewarding to play the hero and come in and save the innocent. A more personal narrative arc for pushing Germans out of Italy.

- Art of War

Any specific type of "events" u are looking for?

Here is one Axis suggestions:

Battle of Sicily - Attack at Gela.

The Italians had formed a number of "Gruppi mobili" on Sicily for form armored counter attack units against allied landings. 

With the US landings near Gela the Italian Command of the 6a Armata (6th Italian Army - Defending Sicily) ordered the "Gruppi mobili E" around Caltagirone to attack the US landings.

The Gruppi Mobili E was a mixed unit with a company of french R35 tanks, a company of Italian coastal infantry, a company of motorcycles (mobile MG unit), a company of cannoni da 47/32, a company of obici da 75/18 and a company of truck mounted 20mm anti air guns. The commander of gruppi mobili E split his units. One units should attack Gela via Priolo and the other units should crush into Gela via highway 117.

At 5:30 a.m. ‘Gruppi mobili E’ started to advance from Caltagirone to Gela by using the highway 117 (Today Strada statale 117bis) and the street 11 at Priolo in the prepared 2 columns. Their task was simple; they should destroy the beachhead by an armoured attack. The Priolo group was soon repulsed by US heavy small arms fire. The 2nd group unter Capitano Granieri got closer to Gela beach than any other Axis unit in Sicily. His group consisted of 16 R-35 worn training tanks, a company of Cannone da 47/32 (47mm anti-tank guns), a motorcycle company, a company of infantry of the 501a Battaglione Costiero and a battery of Obice da 75/18 (75mm light howitzers). Highway 117 was defended by advancing Rangers of the 1st and 4th Ranger battalions and some leading elements of the Big Red One Division (1st Company, 39th Combat Engineers). Soon the US soldiers heard the voice of rattling tank tracks advancing their position a few hundred meters outside of Gela. They realised that an attack was incoming. They called for naval artillery support. The advancing Italian infantry was pinned down by incoming naval gunfire but the tanks were able to break through the Ranger’s lines. The next minute chaos erupted at the streets of Gela. The Italian tanks tried to get to the beach. The Rangers and Engineers tried to stop them with improvised explosives to allow the few Bazooka teams to get close enough to shoot the tanks. The next minute's heavy shooting took place in the small streets of Gela with R-35 firing on any visible potential target. They destroyed some Jeeps and trucks, heavy MGs and other US equipment. Some Pioneers and Rangers were hit by the R-35 tanks too. A group of Rangers took a surviving Jeep and raced down to the beach to find heavy weapons. When they found a 37mm US anti tank gun they raced back into the city to find the riotous Italian tanks. Supported by the anti tank gun the Rangers were able to knocked-out one tank after another. When most of the R-35 were disabled the Italians realised that they wouldn't win the fight without additional support. So they retreated back to Caltagirone.

The attack hit the US units without any alert. For the US forces it was luck that the naval gunnery could stop the advance. With the full Gruppi Mobili E on the run the US units at Gela had seen a tough fight with a large italian formation supported by tanks. The Gruppi Mobili E failed because of the lack of support and lack of coordination. The german Division 'Hermann Göring' was still organizing its units for its own counterattack some hours later - a brutal attack with Panzer III, Panzer IV and some Tigers and german Panzergrenadiere in Halftracks. The Livorno Division, the italian counter attack division next to Gela was launching its own attacks at Gela later the day. Just imagine the possible damage of an italian division spearheaded by some italians tanks and a german division exploiting the italian foothold. It could have caused the US forces thousends of soldiers and it could have ended in a bloody US defeat. Thanks for the US forces the axis were not well coordinated and organised for such a full swing attack. On the other side the italian R35 tank men showed their bravery and skill in battle. The riot at Gela caused some panic along the US units and forced them to callin any naval gun support at hand.

Hey @FilipeREP ,

Good stuff glad to see you still providing your content, after seeing your post in the original thread by Kyle_RE back in like 2017 I knew you were an OG like me. Searching for COH 3 intel and posting feedback ideas 5 years ago was a rare gamer indeed!

Imagine sitting in that Italian Armoured Death Ride, not for causing death but like a coffin. I'd rather be out in the open than in that tiny coffin. I think the only thing it would have going for itself would be hopefully speed and agility. 

P.S. - That's a pretty bad#$$ name Crusher Cap!

- Art of War