Michael Emrys Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Yes. Bil, you've raised screen shooting to a high art. It's a pleasure to watch a fine workman at work. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albe Pavo Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I absolutely agree with Michael, and not just because i want to be in his signature! Your AAR are delightful and you are a very skilled commander!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 The Thirteenth Turn There comes a time in most every battle where a cloud is suddenly lifted from my eyes and I can suddenly see with clarity the situation from the other side. This has happened with me on turn 13 (how lucky). There is usually one event that makes all of the data that I have collected become suddenly clear and I can begin to connect the dots. The event in this game was this sighting... ...on my left there is another Company HQ team.. radio intercepts tell me that this HQ team belongs to a Rifle Company.. the other sighted last turn was a Weapons Company. They are numbered 5 Rifle Company and 8 Weapons Company... Side bar: sorry I can't help that the intel in the game is so specific, I will of course take advantage of whatever information the game gives me and place it under "radio intercept" or other intelligence information. This is not entirely unrealistic by the way.. as an Intel analyst I could often identify an enemy unit down to the Company or platoon simply from listening to their radio chatter. ...There are few reasons to place an HQ unit in an overwatch position like these two.. one of which is to call in artillery. I do believe that is what these two HQ teams are in fact doing. The weapons company HQ team I believe is calling artillery in on my Shermans and the rifle company HQ team is most likely calling artillery in on my center force or perhaps on the ridge my HMG team on the right is placed behind... I know the Shermans must be causing him fits.. the center recon squad was spotted last turn.. and I doubt he has spotted very much else other than this, thus I suspect he thinks I am moving my main force into the center. What do I know from all of this? Because of the numbering of the companies I know that he bought "something else" before he bought his FJs.. otherwise they would be numbered 1-4, instead they are numbered 5-8... what was the "something else"? Armor I suspect... though I have not seen a hint of it yet, so I don't know how much he has on hand. I also suspect that his original intent was to force at least two full companies on my left, but this was stymied by the presence of my Shermans... can his armor be in the bowl behind those two peaks on my left? Perhaps... but why hasn't he used it to try to dislodge my Shermans? I don't know.. maybe he is waiting for an artillery strike to arrive then he plans on engaging them while they are dodging artillery shells. That would explain the two Company HQ units... So maybe he has at least two FJ Companies (at least one Rifle) and possibly some armor on my left... ...I really like thinking he has them on my left, for if he had armor on my right I think I would have seen them by now.. as that flank is far weaker.. but then again maybe he doesn't know exactly what kind of armor I have there? If he knew they were Stuarts would he be more aggressive? Maybe.. but in our last game I took out a STuG of his with a Stuart from the front and he might have more respect for them than is warranted given the range my tanks are from his force.... ...sorry, I'm thinking aloud here as I type... no.. I think his right side force is a DIVERSION. .that's right a diversion, of from a Platoon to a Company in size. That would explain how active they have been with recon teams running over the tops of the ridges and then taking cover.. he is trying to hold my attention here. Clever. Well, he has my attention. Okay I am going to do a full court press.. less press on my left than a probe though.. I want to keep his attention on my left, so will be pushing two of my forward squad's teams as deep as they can go.. overwatching here will be one Sherman, an HMG team, and the squad's Bren team. I want to convince him that I am attacking in the center.. so I have the rest of 2 Platoon entering the valley and acting aggressively... they will soak up some artillery for sure.. but I plan to keep them spread out to keep any casualties to a minimum. I WANT him to think the center is my goal, so I am also sending a Sherman into the valley to help drive home this thought in his mind. I want to give him a lot to think about in the center. However, the hammer is going to fall on his diversion force on my right... I am sending the kitchen sink at him here... both Stuarts, as much infantry as I can pull together, more than a Company worth for sure, and the Sherman going into the center will also join this attack after a turn or two... So, what do you think, am I mad? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 The Fourteenth Minute Really starting to heat up now to a slow boil... This spotting round hit in my rear area just missing the truck with two HQ units and an HMG team. That is either one way off target spotting round, or he has TRPs in my back area. This is exactly what I was talking about earlier when I stated I didn't like firing artillery blind. You never know if you are going to hit anything.. and chances are, like this salvo, it will fall on empty ground. In the center there was another round impact near my forward team.. this is definitely another spotting round. Again... other than this team, nothing else is really close to where this fire mission will impact. Also.. the HQ team I spotted last turn (5 Rifle Co.) ran behind the ridge at the beginning of the turn. The red arrow shows the direction this round came from. The weapons co. HQ in the saddle lost its radio man as he stuck his head above the parapet once too often... (killed by tank MG fire - blue circle) By the way.. I counted at least 3 casualties for GaJ this turn. There was a lot of confused/confusing activity in the center on the hill that looked to me like flank security for what I am now calling GaJ's diversion force... one team was running away from my right (an infantry team of 2 men) and lost a man to the sniper in my forward recce team (blue circle, red circle indicates where the FJ soldier fell). The other team, a light mortar, was running back over the ridge towards the diversion force. This composite image shows all of the activity I am now seeing from two separate vantage points in the center-right of the map. They seem awfully isolated to me. Elsewhere, my forces continue to reorient and occupy their jump off positions. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 So, what do you think, am I mad? No, not mad. I think your strategy is mostly sound. I won't identify the parts I disagree with as that would give too much information away. But I don't see any big disasters happening to you if you aggressively pursue the course you have embarked on. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Contacts on the right, contacts on the left, spotted and seen, And up the middle rode the 2nd platoon. (My apologies to the Light Brigade.) What could possibly go wrong? In a more serious vein, your approach is VERY analytical and is interesting to watch/hear about. Thanks, Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 The Fifteenth Minute Okay, I learned a lessson... that is to trust your instincts.. remember a few turns ago where I said that the Rifle Co. HQ was probably calling for fire on my center recon squad or possibly the ridge where my HMG (on my right) was setup? From my Turn 13 installment: ...the rifle company HQ team is most likely calling artillery in on my center force or perhaps on the ridge my HMG team on the right is placed behind... Well I did nothing about that HMG team.. I should have re-positioned it.. it had been sitting in that position for too long anyway. I think I lulled myself into a false sense of security. So the spotting round that fell into my rear area was indeed a far astray round.. for the artillery mission itself (medium sized shells) was dead on target. So on target that I suspect I am sitting on a TRP. TRPs are cheap enough that GaJ could have the ridges and hills peppered with them. Smart guy if that's the case, if not then damned good shooting and my hats off to that battery. Anyway it seems that GaJ has some teeth after all... good for him. The damage? Two casualties so far... the leader is the only survivor.. if he can run from the impact area he can save 1300 rounds of ammo.. and after it stops go back and get the gun. If not, well then I have another HMG team coming onto the line very soon. I'll just make sure I don't keep him in one place for too long. By the way.. these are my first casualties in this battle. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Oops! My condolences. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 The Sixteenth Minute Well the artillery did indeed take out the last man from that HMG team. Maybe I can salvage the gun, I'll have to see. I am going to step up the pace some as I do not want to get caught in a position like that again. On my right the enemy units seem to be pushing more and more behind the hill that is centered on this flank. Including a PzSchrek and a few full squads. GaJ also has a team that appears to be trying to sneak around the rim of the map on the far right.. tank hunting? My assault force is almost fully formed and many will be going over the top next turn.. I don't expect too many fireworks as I don't think GaJ has many eyes on the ridge that I have been maneuvering behind. By the way after some thinking I have determined that the two rounds that I thought were spotting rounds in the center were actually from the light mortar that I saw skeedadeling a few turns back.. so no artillery mission on my center as far as I can tell right now. But those enemy troops on my left have to be doing something.. he can't just have them sitting there can he? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 The Seventeenth Minute On my left my forward recce team on hunt orders spotted a few members of an enemy squad: I don't think they ever saw what hit them: Also identified on my left was this mortar team.. obviously part of the Weapons Company. They are located right next to where the Weapons Co. HQ element had been sighted. On my right (I keep getting my right and left mixed up in this game for some reason) it is clear to me that GaJ is moving his diversion force down into the gulley at the back of that center hill. So far I have seen at least two Rifle Squads (not broken down into teams), a Panzer Schreck team, and a light mortar team moving the indicated direction. I'm sure there were more. With this information and with most of my force now in place I am planning the following movement.. Hold in the gulley with four teams and one Stuart... attack around and over the hill with everything else I can muster (will probably take a few turns to set up.. but that's okay.. it'll give him a few more turns to drive into the noose). note: the Sherman will be rushing through the gap and joining the attack as soon as I can confirm (I suspect it is) the gap is clear of enemy AT teams. I might also pull over one more Sherman (I displaced him last turn to redeploy him as he'd been in place too long) to bring a bit more firepower to bear. next several turns should be fun! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Bil, Fascinating and engrossing. Clearly, my tactical analysis neurocircuitry is in need of radical upgrade. I'm confused about one point, though. I thought you said you stripped out snipers from your force, so as to get pure infantry. If so, how did you get a sniper kill? Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 John, each para section (squad) has a sniper. I stripped out all individual snipers and AT teams. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childress Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 What do I know from all of this? Because of the numbering of the companies I know that he bought "something else" before he bought his FJs.. otherwise they would be numbered 1-4, instead they are numbered 5-8... Clever! But wasn't BF supposed to fix this? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Clever! But wasn't BF supposed to fix this? Fix what? GaJ could just as well have bought something to use up the 1-4 slots, then deleted it before finalising his selection (leave the bttn HQ as a few-point placeholder while greying out the rest of the Formation so his points totals wouldn't be incalculably off-base. It would be worse if you knew there was always going to be a numerically sequential series of company numbers; as it stands, you can't necessarily be certain of learning anything from the company HQ labels, which is as it should be. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childress Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Pointless busywork in an ideal world. Only rarely should one be able to determine an enemy's unit affiliation. Or know if it's an HQ, an FO, or even a mortar team given sufficient distance. And this scheme works gangbusters when playing the AI. Steve mentioned addressing this months ago. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Pointless busywork in an ideal world. Only rarely should one be able to determine an enemy's unit affiliation. Or know if it's an HQ, an FO, or even a mortar team given sufficient distance. And this scheme works gangbusters when playing the AI. Steve mentioned addressing this months ago. That sounds like a fairly large change to the FoW rules. A welcome one, for sure: the info you get from clicking on a unit is pretty unbelieveably comprehensive. Maybe we'll get it in v3, but if we do, I'd really like the ability to maintain notes of observations: it's not like the squad sergeant will forget seeing an MMG from one minute to the next, but if you're playing several PBEMs and have many hours between turns, it's easy to lose track. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childress Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Yep. It's no doubt trickier to code than we realize. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vark Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 An activity log might be nice as well, clicking on a unit could display recent spot reports, actions and casualties. It might be nice as well for an MG symbol to not just turn into a question mark, after contact. As you said, a section leader is not going to forget the former position of an enemy MG. Perhaps, for that unit an MG? not just a ?. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 The Eighteenth Minute On my left my probe runs into a little difficulty with a light mortar after taking out another member of the forward enemy squad. I lose two paras in this exchange... I guess you could say I got his attention... but it's now time to head back down the slope and see if he pursues... I doubt it, but it could happen. Well, it looks like 5 Rifle Co. HQ is back and up to its old tricks... I believe this team is spotting for another artillery strike as another spotting round hit in my rear area this turn... what could be its targets? Well. from that vantage point, I think it can really be one of two points.. either he is gunning to knock out the recon team I have on this knoll that overlooks the area on my right and also can look onto the backside of his 5th and 8th Company's positions... ...or he could be gunning for my Shermans... I doubt he could be going for my forces massing against his on my right.. I don't think he has eyes on that area of the battlefield. I'd be really surprised if he does. Regardless, everybody on a ridge who has been there for more than a few turns is displacing this next turn. They will reorient and we'll see where this little present is slated to land. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnart Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 An activity log might be nice as well, clicking on a unit could display recent spot reports, actions and casualties. It might be nice as well for an MG symbol to not just turn into a question mark, after contact. As you said, a section leader is not going to forget the former position of an enemy MG. Perhaps, for that unit an MG? not just a ?. For a battle log check out "The Roster" concept under thread title "Know all at a glance". http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=104982&highlight=roster There is a FOW icon for MG's built into the game, but currently the game does not utilize it and they still show as regular infantry FOW icon. I addressed this awhile back when the new FOW icons were first introduced so I hope BF will fix this. It would be nice if the game could start using it when an MG is positively identified especially now that the MG’s are now so deadly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 The Nineteenth Minute It is getting interesting on my left... a few more light mortar rounds fall taking out the last member of my forward team.. the second team who was nearby was pinned by that fire and did not execute the movement orders I gave them.. ...however I think this worked out for me.. GaJ did indeed attempt to pursue my teams and he ran into a wall of lead.. here is the scene, first from my perspective, then from his: This team also took under fire a light machine gunner from the enemy squad, and the light mortar. If nothing else this little probe might be keeping him from reorienting his force towards my right... I want them interested in holding this ground. In another few turns I will be sending forward two more squads from this platoon to see how much trouble they can cause. Hopefully this should be timed with my attack on the right going in. I am very impressed by the amount of lead these para teams can throw out. In my center GaJ's light mortar took my forward recce team under fire again.. no casualties and now I know where he is and am closing in. The MG Section HQ is performing medic durties on the fallen HMG team.. hopefully they will gather up some ammo and the gun.. not sure if they will take the gun, but its worth a shot. Before I launch my attack on my right I want to get eyes on the gully where GaJ has placed this force. I haven't seen any movement for a few turns now so suspect he is either creeping carefully around the base of the hill or has gone to ground and is waiting for me. I should have answers in a turn or two. Here are my current orders reflecting the fact that I need to re-position some to get better intel before coming over the top of that hill blindly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 "Aaaahhh! Mein Herr, der blue arrows!" Cool shots. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rokko Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Wait those are actually light mortars. They are new right? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Wait those are actually light mortars. They are new right? New 81.4mm GrW 42 mortars for airborne. They're light in the sense that 26.5 kg is lighter than 62 kg for the GrW 34. Still fire the big round though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 The Twentieth Minute My repositioned units started to pay off as I have identified the locations for at least two squads, the Panzerschreck and the recon team I had spotted several minutes ago but had lost contact with. On the flank of my right flank force I have several recon teams as can be seen in this image: That isn't as important as what they hear coming from beyond the ridge directly in front of them: Well finally I have a clue as to where GaJ's armor is located... interesting that its been on the right the entire time.. why keep it back so long? This is also making me wonder if my analysis on turn 13 is indeed correct... I still think I was in the ball park. I suppose the fact that there is armor on my right doesn't necessarily mean there isn't armor on my left as well... he is being very shy with it I must say. I think that's about to change however as I watched the sound contacts move ever closer to the ridge separating his troops from mine. I believe he is going to try to take up hull down positions on that ridge and interdict my force that is working its way around the big hill. I have stopped all forward movement in this sector (except for my teams armed with PIATs) until I can be sure just what he is up to. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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