Bil Hardenberger

End Game Here are the end game screens, for an attack I am satisfied with the 2:1 kill ratio. I'll take that everytime, and 4:1 in armor kills is more than acceptable. It appears that GaJ slipped a team onto the Tame objective to rob me of those points.. that's okay, as long as neither of us score I'm okay with that. I did the same thing to him with the S. Maria Infante objective. I will let GaJ post his scores for his side of the battle. So, critique me, where could I have improved?

The Thirty Eighth Minute Wittmann has a spot on the right most of the three Fireflies at 548m... he fires three times, the first round bounces but the second and third penetrate, the third brews up the Firefly. Wittmann is becoming a Firefly killer, this is Firefly kill number 2 for him. Kister's Tiger gets hit by the center Firefly losing two crew members, the gunner and the loader. They back out of danger. Iriohn's Tiger fires and repeatedly hits the Sherman V blocking the main road... the Jpz on the road fired a couple of times as well missing both shots. Another obstacle removed from my route. All did not go my way unfortunately this turn as Warren's center Firefly fires on and kills a Pz-IV in the compound with my Tigers. Top image shows the center Firefly (Firefly 2) firing on my Pz-IV while Firefly 1 gets hit and penetrated by Iriohn's Tiger. This Firefly's status is unknown at the end of the turn as I lose sight of it after this hit. The current Blood Board.. at least I killed more than I lost this turn.

Well, basically if I had been forced to fight with his forces I would have tried to make the early objectives costly for the attacker... they were woefully under defended IMO. I would have kept the M10s in a couple of two-vehicle sections and ensured that these sections could be mutually supportive... I think one of his biggest mistakes was breaking these up so they engaged me singly (for the most part). Note that my armor rarely traveled singly, and if they did it was when redeploying and they always met up with another in their new zone. But really, if I was defending this map I would not have purchased the forces he did. Too many fixed defenses or of limited mobility (ATG's, leg infantry) other than the SPAA and the four M10s nothing else had transport. I discussed in a much earlier post what I would have purchased with the points available to defend on this map.

This game, for all intents and purposes is over, if anyone wishes to discuss tactics or any decisions I made during the battle, I throw it open for discussion, and feel free to invite GaJ as well. Bil

The Sixty Eighth Minute Sign of the times (this is on Hill 172). Just waiting for the clock to run out, killing what I can and trying to not lose too many pixel lives myself.

Thanks FO, when can we read your AAR? I expect lots of artillery.

Truer words have rarely been uttered Ken! The psychological impact is rarely stressed but is indeed one of the most important aspects of combat and needs to be kept ever in mind. Bil

The Sixty Seventh Minute Obviously GaJ did not have a spot on my Jpz as he started to drive forward, clearly looking to flank my Jpz... it took a few seconds for my TD to pivot, fire, and penetrate the M10. The second round fired also hits and penetrates... by the way that is an impact on the front of the M10, it never fired, though in the bottom image it appears like it is. Two rounds is all it took actually. S. Maria Infante The last bunker falls this turn to a close assault. Now all of GaJ's major assets are cleared from the board... only his infantry remain.

The Sixty Sixth Minute While the Elefant and the Brummbar went left to cover teh route to S. Maria Infante I sent the Jpz around the edge of Hill 172 in case the M10 came back or sat in place. As I rounded the corner on hunt orders the Jpz ran into one of the enemy teams who immediately opened fire, no damage, no casualties. They were running towards my TD, but after Mr. HE they were sent running the other direction. GaJ did indeed come back towards Hill 172... right at the end of the turn this is the faceoff... from 97 meters it is a quickdraw between my Jpz IV and his M10... I have a spot on him, I do not think he has spotted me yet, but we will see very quickly in the next turn.

The Sixty Fifth Minute The M10 behind Hill 172 withdrew this turn, it sure looks like he is setting up a run to S. Maria Infante... not sure what that will get him, but its a possibility. Its also possible he is just trying to get some room between the M10 and my armor. I will be moving at least two pieces of armor in the direction of the red arrow to maintain visibility over that route just in case. I also have 3 or 4 Pioneer teams (all with satchel charges) just over the lip of Hill 172 in case he decides to come over the top.. but that likely hood, with him pulling back is not looking too probable. In addition I have had my Pz-IV that is near the Ridge Road watching this area for a few turns now.. just in case he made a run for it. SITMAP The current SITMAP. GaJ is running out of places to hide. Remember my goal is not to capture S. Maria Infante, I have neither the ammo, nor the manpower to force that, especially with practically GaJ's entire remaining force in those buildings somewhere. 1st Platoon already has a toe hold in the objective area, and 2nd platoon should have one next turn or two. Four turns to go.

Watching this with interest. Quite a clean and neat process so far. Bil

This post also has a discussion from Charles himself on how armor works in the game. Though it doesn't discuss your topic directly I think there are some very good snippets of information that can help you understand how CM handles it. The game does take armor quality into account. http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1239443&postcount=303

When I said I was surprised by the Sherman's toughness, I meant against the Tigers... even with that big gun it sometimes take two or three penetrations to finish one off. Not that I think anything is wrong with that, it just surprised me. Many times one hit is sufficient of course. Don't worry about FOW... this battle is over now. I've got you down for 3 of the 5 remaining Tigers being destroyed. As for my computer specs, I have an Alienware M17XR4 laptop with 16 GB RAM, i7 processor (2.7 GHz) and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M video card. It works fine.

The Sixty Fourth Minute GaJ's infantry on Hill 172 engages my Elefant.. they didn't get close enough to close assault it but they did succeed in taking out the commander with a burst of automatic gun fire... ...the Elefant fired back while it was reversing and caused at least one casualty in return. I now have a fearsome threesome waiting for GaJ to bring his M10 over the top.. will he dare? In the top image you can see how close these two vehicles actually are. S. Maria Infante On the outskirts of S. Maria Infante I just noticed that somehow I knocked out a bunker... the only thing I am firing at these things now is MGs... which appear to be the most effective weapon against them (other than smoke) when advancing in front of them. On the backside of S. Maria Infante in 1st and 2nd Platoon's area GaJ is putting up a good fight with a couple of units, especially an HQ unit holed up in a destroyed building. One of the teams, a bazooka team, breaks this turn and leaves the HQ team on its own.

The Sixty Third Minute Approach to S. Maria Infante This is a typical view from GaJ's side.. on the back approach to S. Maria Infante lies one dead HMG team and another HMG team with one member remaining. 2nd Platoon's lead team watches the systematic destruction of the back row of buildings in S. Maria Infante. Hill 172 GaJ moved his M10 towards the Elefant this turn.. he stayed behind the ridge, but only just. So he isn't backing down, that's to be respected. From the Elefant point of view.. the M10 is just ahead.. but so is some infantry, I saw one this turn and my sweepers forced it to ground.

The Thirty Seventh Minute - Part 2 The current situation shows that I have two tanks, the Jpz and one Tiger that can spot the Sherman V, and another, Wittmann, who can spot the Firefly that just killed the Pz-IV near the Triangle Compound. In fact, I believe it was that firing which helped Wittmann spot him. The latest, and improved Blood Board.. now showing total kills and turns from the current turn (in red). Enjoy.

The Thirty Seventh Minute - Part 1 A bad turn again for me... I made two costly mistakes and Warren made me pay. The Pz-IV that was facing off with the Firefly at the end of the last turn was fired on and destroyed before he could withdraw. Dollinger was fired on by the Sherman III that repositioned last turn... this round hits the wall in front of him. Dollinger responded and quickly puts an end to the affair. Mistake #1 The first Jpz moves to the road keeping its front angled towards the Sherman that I know is down the road... he takes a couple of bounced hits and returns fire which miss. The second Jpz however.. and I don't know what made me do this... but it moves onto the road with its flank fat and available for a round from the Sherman V.. which he promptly receives... damn. Mistake #2 Now THIS was a hell of a shot... I had a Pz-IV on the backside of one of the buildings in the Triangle Compound providing some VERY close support fire to root out the crews that were stubbornly holding out there. They succeed in routing or killing the enemy crews, but a Firefly takes what looks like an impossible shot and hits and kills my panzer... double damn.

Scott you are right.. I normally hate exit objectives in scenarios, but in some cases, like a withdrawal they make perfect sense. Perhaps non ME scenarios should have an exit for the defending side only and only to be used when the game is out of control. The die in place mentality is one reason I rarely play non ex or serving military players. A totally different approach and mindset.

Ken, perhaps I am using the Elefant as a distractor while I move something else up on the flank or rear? Who knows, that could be what I'm doing. I don't want to spook the prey however.. so the Elefant is tiptoeing forward.

The Sixty-Second Minute The M10 on the back side of Hill 172 has oriented towards my Elefant.. this confirms that he still has infantry in that area. I had suspected as much and this is why I have pushed a few Pioneer teams ahead to clear the way.

The Thirty Sixth Minute The Sherman III that was hit last turn has repositioned.. however unfortunately it is still in sight of Dollinger's Tiger which was taking aim at the end of the turn. In the Gaumesnil compound one of my Pz-IVs gets a bead on and fires at the Firefly on the right.. however he only gets a partial penetration.. and the Firefly has him in view as well.. this could end one of two ways.. and its not really an even fight. The latest SITMAP shows my current dispositions.. note that the Firefly I hit a couple turns ago has been confirmed as knocked out... also note that I have officially cleared the Gaumesnil compound.. only the enemy infantry in and around the Triangle compound remain to be cleared out of the objective. Also note that I have sent a Pz-IV section around the left flank to scout and engage Warren's tanks on the next line. I have also identified a third Firefly on line with the other two... okay, now I'm getting worried. A line of three Fireflies is not going to be easy to crack.

The Thirty Fifth Minute Still no news on the Firefly that was hit last turn, but Dollinger did get a bead on the Sherman III again, fired and again hit the enemy tank.. this time the round penetrated though. However the tank popped smoke and withdrew.. I am just a little surprised at the resilience of Shermans in this game. I had forgotten to tell you that I received a Panther Platoon a few turns ago. Thanks for all the cool toys George!!

This is a fun AAR Ken.. so it appears that sfhand is deficient in flank security. Way to punish him for that oversight. :cool:

The Sixty-Second Minute No turn report this turn.. more of the same, I'm advancing, GaJ is withdrawing.. we both take casualties.. his M10 does not move (from what I could tell). Continuing the game now to me is pointless.. it is now simply a grind and is not benefiting anyone, not GaJ, not me, and definitely not you guys who are still hanging around to read this. IMO it should have been ended about 5 or 6 turns ago. I think I'm going to stop my forward advance (except for one or two teams to rob GaJ of the final objective points) and just sit back and shell the town for the final 8 turns or so. Sounds fun doesn't it? Bil

Ken, those impacts you see are the Pz-IV v the Sherman V by the Triangle Compound... shown in part 2 of the turn report.