Bil Hardenberger

By the way this is another QB.. the title refers to the sequel to Rocky of course... duh, get it? German Attack - US Defense We are purchasing units right now so be patient. There is a lot more available now in the BETA so expect to see some new/unique units.

It's on. GaJ and myself will be playing another battle, this time an attack with some special pieces of equipment. I will be attacking on a beauty of a map. Sound interesting? If so stay tuned!

I'm just having some fun with him Vanir. Heh, maybe he'll do something silly and challenge me to a rematch eh?

How did I miss this? GaJ, by the way, your opinion of course matters very much as you were on the opposing side and that carries a lot of weight. However, it's too bad your opinion is so wrong. By the way you keep misspelling center, and armor. I thought I was the Brit in this scenario..

George, I am playing this one with Warren "TheCapt" and we are having an amazing game. I wanted to send my thanks for putting this together.. and we (or just myself) will probably be putting together an AAR after we finish it. FYI, I am the Germans and kicking ass (and getting mine kicked back).. Wittman is still alive, as are most of the Tigers, even though those Fireflies have been simply murder. I don't think I've ever seen so many brewed up tanks on one map before. From Warren's last email: "Damn, this is one helluva swirling dogfight." So thanks again, and keep 'em coming!

And picked up in more recent times by B.H. Liddell Hart with his Expanding Torrent:

Well the heights were important from an intelligence point of view... but fighting from them can be hazardous. I lost one tank while it was hull down on a ridgeline, yet a second Sherman killed both of GaJ's Pz-IVs without being spotted by them while advancing through one of the low lying areas on the map. My infantry was very vulnerable to his mortars when emplaced on the heights, yet safer when they were in the valleys and could use the slope to mask themselves from his fire. So while important I do not for one second believe that having that one high mountain on my side gave me a clear advantage.. rather I would say that capturing the center and thus splitting his forces and ensuring I could mass against one and then the other was what won the battle .. that could have been done from his side of the map by his forces as well. I would send my main combat power, as I did in this game, wherever I found, or felt him to be weakest. My maneuver plan is generally not decided upon until I have some intelligence on the enemy... and then it can shift as the situation changes... I try to be very fluid with my forces and have no qualms shifting from one approach to another if I think the situation warrants. I try to never "fall in love" with a plan so much that I get target fixation and thus keep pushing when pushing is going to get too many men killed. Bil

While I wouldn't be able to do a terrain analysis on a specific map (if I do one for you then I'll get a dozen requests ).. in my next AAR (might be coming up quicker than you think) I'll do an in depth terrain analysis and include details on how to apply OAKOC to a map in CM. Then you could apply those principles in your own scenarios. Bil

Thanks Hister. Why would the side of the map I am on change my tactics? Or the OB either? I still would do a good terrain analysis, scout, then make my decisions based on what my scouts tell me. Scouting should never end also, it is not just a pre-battle activity.. it should always be on your mind. You need ears and eyes on your flanks, in your rear (if that is a potential danger area), and as deep into enemy territory as they can get. GaJ had a force that needed to keep mine at arms length and fight me with his LMGs and light mortars, only closing in when my infantry was suppressed or attrited... in the game when we closed to less than 100m I think I won every fire fight infantry to infantry... only getting pushed back and taking serious casualties when his light mortars deployed. So at the lower levels I would most definitely have fought differently.. I saw early on the advantages of the Brit infantry... I also saw his advantages as well which is why when possible I tried to get very close to him while trying to mask my units from his follow-on force (read mortars). Bil

Hister, I expect a full debrief from you regarding both sides performance when you finish.

He fired on the 5th Co. HQ.

Ian, real feature. It is my preferred way to watch the game unfold now. It isn't just the saturation.. everything has a much more realistic look and the lighting really helps see the ground better..

Heh.. thanks Jon but I don't want to read a book about it.. a blurb would be sufficient.. I take it "filleting" is breaking an enemy force down into bite size chunks? Sort of doing a mini Tannenberg? Bil

What does that thing weigh? I bet they could run with that little gun.

Thanks John... is scarily a word? He must have stripped them out.. I haven't seen him make mention of them.. they might have come in handy.. I wonder how fast their crew can push them around...

Hey Jon, do you have a link to this? Just curious.. my searches are coming up empty.

It is sweet. We weren't allowed to show it off until this announcement

No I don't think so... I think he needed to stay mobile.. AT guns once spotted would have been sitting ducks and very hard to re-deploy.

HA! This one gave me a good chuckle

Yes indeed, as a product of the US Army I do tend to play like I was taught (though often I get lazy)... when it comes down to it battlefield tactics are really simple to understand but a bear to master... patience and attention to detail are the keys. Also, never create a plan of attack until you understand or have an inkling of what your opponent is planning or how they are arrayed. This game against GaJ was the perfect storm I think... he had a plan and by god he was going to stick with it.. sure he diverted his armor, but IMO that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.. the error was not being flexible enough to abandon the attack on his right or the advance on his left when it became obvious that those avenues were being blocked. IMO he should have left a defending force (platoon) on his right and then attacked and seized the center when his right flank assault ran into difficulties. The center was the key to this battle. I on the other hand only started making decisions on where to commit once I had a good idea of what I was facing... and then I think I was flexible enough to abandon my initial impulse (attack his left side force) once the combat power differential changed, ie. the arrival of his armor on that flank. Bil

Well that's a relief, I thought it was because I was boring. Actually, I was busy fighting the battle and could care less about the view count.. other than as a tool for Battlefront to drum up one or two more sales.

FWIW I agree with you.. the BETA AAR I did for CMBN was done after the game was long over and I really enjoyed the back and forth between myself, Warren, and the community... that was probably the favorite of my AARs.. these live ones are less fun because there is so little interaction, and none between the participants. Bil

Aw shucks Sly. Next you'll be asking for my phone number

Well I'm in the middle of reading this thread.. good god you lot spent a lot of time talking about driving tanks over walls Some interesting stuff in here GaJ.. the most interesting is the seeming confusion caused by my constant re-positioning of tanks at the beginning of the game... and the fact that you thought I was massing in the trees behind my mountain position on your right flank (thus calling in an artillery barrage there - at the time I thought it was off target).. actually I was using that treeline to hide my movement (unsuccessfully obviously) as I moved my teams into the valley. Interesting.. still reading.

I agree that you could have won with the forces as purchased it was a powerful force. Hmmm.. well I believe that a plan made without sufficient intelligence on the enemy is most likely doomed... so I do not really think that is where you lost the battle. Rather I think you really lacked in the recon stage of the battle... I truly believe that is where the game was won and lost. Well that may indeed be the case... I love the armor game.. my favorite aspect of these games. I would not have shifted my center Sherman over to the right side of the map if your tanks had not been there... and when I read just a little bit ago that you shifted your tanks from your right all the way to your left I was shocked.. I thought they were there the entire time and were just being hidden in the background. Not sure what to say there... I used the gullies for all movement in order to keep a low profile and to keep you from seeing them. Got lucky I guess... but most of the troops that were on my right (your left) actually came in through the back door that you had no eyes on.. and I knew you had no eyes on that entry as my Stuarts were keeping a close watch. I think your force purchases were fine.. handled only slightly differently and the game could have easily been yours.