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AXIS : Gustav Line BETA AAR Round Two - Eye of the Elefant


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I just read from the beginning of this DAR until now. Everything is great, well written, and that "war movie lighting" mode looks really sweet.

I only have one thing to say at this point, quoting from BoB:

"Hey Bil, don't get hit in the face when GaJ throws in the towel!"

I think the battle has reached the point where any further progress will be paid for in blood.

I look forward to further updates.

Slim, thanks for the words.. and the warning. I took note that I was rushing things last turn and need to slow down. ;)

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I gotta say I am a little concerned by your SIG line SLIM. Are you suggesting that the denizens of the cesspool have managed to breed?

Oh god, I hope not. The CMBN forum has been mercifully sane for a while now, I would hate to have that ruined!

I think he was referring to the various species of parasites that inhabit them.

Michael

I simply meant that the thread seems to have morphed into some time-spanning whatchatingy, that exists now, in the past, and for the foreseeable future. It's like a fungus, a very determined and highly infectious fungus.

The thread itself I mean, the people that willingly inhabit it are another matter entirely; I don't think I am qualified to comment on their mental status, being a crazy person myself.

Slim, thanks for the words.. and the warning. I took note that I was rushing things last turn and need to slow down. ;)

Dont' misread me sir, the violence of action is to your advantage, and you have used it very well up to this point. I simply meant that GaJ's forces have been compressed into such a small space you're likely to run into opposition around every corner now.

Greetings!

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The Fifty Sixth Minute

Hill 172

My mortar on Hill 153 opened fire on the ATG near Hill 172. At the end of the turn the crew was seen cowering under the gun. I give it one more turn of mortar rounds and it should be knocked out.

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The M10 was heard moving deeper into the rear side of Hill 172.

The best defense against this TD is to not be where it is.. I want him behind this ridge and not daring to come back over the top.. if he does he will have to contend with my Elefant and one Pz-IV.

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Coming over the top of Ridge Road from the center is the bazooka team that had been hunting my immobilized Pz-IV a turn or so ago. He loses two members withdrawing... probably would have been better to stay put.

Bottom: the effectiveness of cross fire on display.

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Tame

In Tame my Brummbar fires one round at the S. Maria Infante buildings.. there is a method to this madness.. I want the back row of these buildings emptied so am going to try to fire at a different one each turn (if possible).. this will enable me to hopefully get a toehold in the town.

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The Fifty Seventh Minute

Tame

Brummbar Area Fire: before and after

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My lead team from Tame scouting the approaches to S. Maria Infante gets a spot on the M10 that killed my Pz-IV a few turns ago. Now at least I know exactly where to plot my area fire.

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Ridge Road

On the Ridge Road both my Elefant and, less impressively, my Pz-IV take a few shots at the enemy infantry grouping on Hill 172.

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With the M10 in the Hill 172 area (and not moving this turn) I brought both the Jpz and the Brummbar over the top of the ridge to finally clear out whatever GaJ still has on this slope. They are well interspersed with Pioneers to suppress any Bazooka teams.

Note the enemy mortar team in the foreground.

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The enemy mortar team gets up close and personal with my Brummbar.. not normally where you would want to be.

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The Fifty Eighth Minute

Had a bit of fratricide this turn... my Brummbar near Tame fired on S. Maria Infante once again... however...

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...the round impacted directly in front of my lead halftrack, knocking it out and killing the occupants. Oops

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On Hill 172 GaJ's M10 was spotted driving around the base of the hill.. I had evacuated my units from this hill last turn, and this turn there was only two one man teams left on 172. They both fall, but not before wathcing the M10's route of advance.

I actually expected this once I bought my Jpz over the top of the ridge, so this turn I moved it back to the top with a view on the area the M10 must drive into. I however do not like these short range duels with a non turreted tank so will probably pull it off again.. or will I? ;)

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The Fifty Ninth Minute

Although I did not have a spot on the M10 between Hill 153 and Hill 172 I area fired with my Brummbar on the spot about where I suspected it was sitting.

If nothing else this buttoned the tank up.. you might notice that the rounds were falling well short. I expect GaJ will pull this tank back out of harms way next turn.

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My plan for this M10 was to area fire with my Brummbar and mortar (which failed to fire this turn) and reposition my Jpz on the M10s flank.. however as you can see my Jpz appears to be too shallow and never got a spot.

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Tame

My plan for the M10 near Tame was to reposition one Pz-IV and a halftrack around the flank.. this (I hoped) would force GaJ to move his M10 to another spot... in the meantime I pushed my Brummbar that was in Tame up to the position where my infantry team was when it spotted the M10...

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It looks like GaJ was moving his M10 to try and get a spot on my Pz-IV.. I was very happy to see it drive right in front of the Brummbar...

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Surprisingly, there were a few survivors. The route from Tame to S. Maria Infante just got a lot clearer.

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Here are a few bonus images from the M10 kill sequence...

1. I got his attention with my Pz-IV movement and area fire.. I had a lot of movement in the immediate area around the Pz-IV in the hopes that he would think I had a major move occuring on that side of Tame.

2. I moved the Brummbar up as quickly as possible to the exact spot my infantry team spotted the M10.. I had plotted an area fire with this vehicle on the M10's position.. just in case he didn't move it I at least wanted him buttoned up.

He did in fact move his M10 along the route shown...

...when my Brummbar spotted the M10 it diverted its target from the area fire location to the TD.

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...the M10 presented its flank to my hulldown Brummbar and the result from 154m was inevitable.

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So the Brummbar was set to area fire, then spotted the M10, and was "intelligent" enough to target it! Pretty cool coding under the bonnet!

Very nice setup.

I also like the shot of the half-track in post #647 nailing the M15. Looked like a keyhole firing position, with defilade cover (buildings and foliage), providing enfilade fire. Not bad achieving all that in one shot!

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Bil, I have meaning to ask what casualty cross mod are you using wiith the white cross in the red circle?

Its part of my Period Icon mod (on the repository)... I have a new version coming out shortly that will be updated to CMFI-GL standards.

Also my hex bases mod has the same design for casualty bases.

Bil

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Bil,

I suspect HE would do the trick on an open top AFV, but am curious if your BB used HEAT? Any idea? Big HEAT round like that would do evil things to that vehicle.

I'm pretty sure it was HEAT... I'll check that file out again when I get a chance to be sure.

Edit: Yes, it was HEAT

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The Sixtieth Minute

Hill 153 - Hill 172 Ridge

GaJ tried to sneak a bazooka team up on my Jpz.. however I have way too many eyes on this ground now and it was spotted moving into position, the Brummbar spotted it as well and as the bazooka team took aim the Brummbar round hits...

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S. Maria Infante

As you can see my foremost units from 1st and 2nd platoons are very close to getting a toe hold in the town. This is all I want.. I doubt I can actually force GaJ from this town in the 10 minutes that remain, however I do want to deny him control of the objective.

Movement into this area is why I have been shelling the backside of S. Maria Infante, if GaJ hasn't abandoned these buildings, any units he might have in them should at least be suppressed or fragile.

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SITMAP

The situation as it sits now...

--1st and 2nd Platoons push towards the rear of S. Maria Infante

--3rd Platoon and the Pioneer Platoon, in really what is a side show relentlessly push any defenders back towards the town. This platoon has a Pz-IV to back them up and provide some firepower

--The Screen (made up of ammo bearers) is slowly advancing and along with 3rd platoon are simply there to push the defenders back towards the town.

--The Pioneer Platoon is slowly working to clear the Hill 153-Hill 172 ridge of enemy forces.. they now have 3 pieces of armor to help... a Brummbar, the Jpz, and the Elefant. Their role is to solidify their position and kill that M10 if it sticks its nose over the parapet once more.

I want the defenders in the town so when my Brummbars open up on it they have a high chance of causing some damage to GaJ's force. I have spotted a few teams running past the bunkers and towards the buildings, so this is already happening.

The M10 did back off and head back to the rear slope of Hill 172. What are his options with this TD? Perhaps an attempt to get it back into S. Maria Infante? Perhaps a mad rush over the top to see if it can bag anything on Hill 153? This is his last major asset, and I think his options are limited. My Elefant is now coming up the back side of Hill 153, and with only AT rounds left it will go Destroyer hunting.

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