Bullethead

Fionn said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Well personally speaking I think a Regular or Vet SMG platoon is quite capable of taking out a US Rifle company (including heavy weapons) with its ammo loadout.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh certainly. In fact, you'll note I gave a report of just such an occurrance in that "Busy Valkyries" thread that quickly degenerated into arguments about music, of all things What I meant was, you'd like to be able to go on and do that to the rest of the US force But the SMG union squad stewards inform me that destroying 1 company per battle is all they're required to do under their enlistment contracts -Bullethead [This message has been edited by Bullethead (edited 01-11-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Somebody who has dialup please tell me if the load times on the page is acceptable.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Perfectly fine. Better, in fact, than CMHQ's times, no doubt because your ad-spam is in a separate window that I can close, whereas at CMHQ I always have to wait for that to load at the top before I get to the pictures. -Bullethead

Fionn said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Well, in close combat units don't fire continuously but they do fire much more often, say 7 or 8 bursts per minute instead of 1 or 2..<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Aye, the Achilles Heel of SMG squads They are like-- er, ... living panzerfausts--use once and throw away . -Bullethead

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Forwärts männer, mir nach<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> And I'll show you where the Iron Crosses grow -Bullethead

Wolfe said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Au contraire. If you're talking about the wooded area on the right (from the US point of view), you *can* sneak a tank through those scattered trees and even come out in a low area between the small wooded near the road and the scattered trees.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I dunno, I think my point still holds. The scattered trees barely extend beyond the church on the German left, the rest are impassable woods. And moving through the thin band of scattered trees to get that far left exposes you to flanking fire from the village area. So realistically, US tanks can't turn the German left under cover. They can, by going very slowly, approach the German left front under cover, but then they have to either frontally attack or risk flank shots while moving further to the German left. Besides, with normal luck, while some Shermans are taking 9 turns to sneak through the trees, any left out in the open are long since dead. The German player can count so he'll figure out where the others are. Thus by turn 9, the sneaking Shermans will emerge into the kill zone of all the StuGs . But this sort of thing is all gamesmanship anyway. It's the sort of thing that comes from playing the scenario repeatedly and getting out of the spirit of the game defined by your orders in the beginning. In real life, you wouldn't drive your tanks through there, whereas you WOULD use your StuGs as I described. GAWD I can't wait for the full game and its editor, so we can do something besides trying to find and exploit THE gamey SOLUTION for a few scenarios -Bullethead

In Chance Encounter, the StuGs have some good terrain advantages that really help them vs. the Shermans. Against the AI, you can often kill all the Shermans without loss because of these terrain advantages. Against humans, these advantages ain't so decisive, but they sure help even the odds. Terrain Advantage #1 No worries about tanks on the German left flank due to that impassable wooded hill with the objective flag on it. Terrain Advantage #2 The road leading from the German map edge to the church is screened from US observation by a low ridge. StuGs can get hull down on this ridge and have good observation over pratically all of the US tank avenues of approach. Terrain Advantage #3 The German left rear is screened by the wooded objective hill and the hill the church sits on. A Stug right beside the church on the left side can semi-enfilade most of the US approach area from a hull down position without worrying about flanking tank fire from the German left front, due to the wooded hill. So, what I usually do is move 1 StuG up to the left rear of the church but keep it at the bottom of that hill. I put the other 2 spaced out along the road in the German center, behind that low ridge. I keep them out of sight there while my grunts run up into the village and woods on the right. So, on the turn my grunts come into sight occupying the village and forward slope scattered trees of that low ridge in the center, some of them get spotted and some of the Shermans start firing on them. On the next turn, my center StuGs hunt up their ridge and bushwhack several Shermans, usually without return fire, let alone loss. On the turn after that, they reverse back down out of sight while the StuG at the church comes forward and hits the Shermans from another direction. On the last turn, the church StuG reverses. Meanwhile, the center StuGs have moved about 50-100m along the road behind the ridge, then hunt back up in slightly different places. Against the AI, this usually spells doom for all the Shermans at pretty long range, like no closer than the US end of the center wheatfield. But humans KNOW you have StuGs out there somewhere, so will have some tanks overwatching. Still, the above tactics help a lot. -Bullethead

Doug Beman said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>The tracks, OTOH, are another matter. Tank tracks are under an enormous amount of stress, and even a slight weakening (similar to that provided by several dozen .50 slugs hitting together) might be enough to snap the tread. A very low-percentage occurrence, for sure, but not impossible.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Have you ever looked at the condition of the old tanks and APCs used as targets at machinegun ranges? Ol' Ma Deuce really chews up their softer parts, making Swiss cheese out of suspension and track components. So it would surprise me if .50cal DIDN'T immobilize Tigers, especially moving Tigers where the loads on these parts were already high. Knowing this possibility, tank designers put in a fair amount of redundancy and beefiness, but enough .50cal holes will still screw it up. -Bullethead

Fionn said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>One nice thing about being in Ireland is that sometimes we get to see some of the Highland regiments doing military tattoos etc.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm going to the tatoo in Edinburgh this summer . <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>In Ireland long ago killing a piper in battle was deemed of the same quality as killing one of the enemy's commanders. Shows the respect pipers had.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> After Culloden, the Brits rounded up everybody they thought was involved. One guy they caught was a piper, who was charged with "taking up arms against the King." He testified that he didn't own any arms, he was just a piper. But the court ruled that the bagpipes was a weapon and hanged him anyway. And IIRC, it's in the Geneva Convention that bagpipes are weapons--psyche weapons, but still weapons. Thus, it's OK to shoot pipers on the battlefield because they are not unarmed. It's easy to assume these decisions were made by sassenach pipes-haters of low character and no taste, but OTOH they accurately reflect reality -Bullethead [This message has been edited by Bullethead (edited 01-09-2000).]

Steve said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Hey, since I am in the minority in regards to bagpipes (meaning I like them ), do you think the laddies could go easy on me after CM ships? Steve-who-bought-scottish-beer-this-very-morn<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, in that case, just have that beer and some of the Creature laid out as libations when the lads show up and I'm sure you'll be fine. But I wouldn't have any pipe music playing, it might have unpredictable results . We gotta keep you around long enough to make the PTO/CBI version of CM -Bullethead

Steve said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>You guys are all wussies when it comes to picking out music!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> [bullethead is suddenly surrounded by a ghostly army of Highland shades, all waving bloody claymores in fury, all intent on chopping Steve to bits to the glorious accompaniment of the warsong of the pipes] Stand easy, lads! Spare this Campbell until he gets Combat Mission finished. After that, you can teach him to appreciate killin' music . [This message has been edited by Bullethead (edited 01-09-2000).]

Bobb said, re: General Slim <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I have been surprised that you have not been echoed in your opinion.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm VERY surprised that with so many Brits on this board, NONE have stood up for Slim. Given his resources, problems, and opposition, his accomplishments were nothing less than great. And they called for a lot more imagination, flexibility, and just plain ol' dirty tricks than others faced in more conventional theaters. Whether or not he and Monty would have done as well if their roles had been reversed is a moot point. We only have their historical jobs to judge them by. But to my mind, there's no question that Slim did his job way better than Monty did his, and Slim's job was way harder. Plus, I haven't come across the personal animosity re: Slim that Monty generated among is contemporaries. -Bullethead

I'd like everybody to take a moment to reflect that here we have a new topic drawing a lot of traffic, started by our old buddy Captain Manieri, and (apart from some understandable jealousy directed at my Beloved Corps) no flaming of either Manieri or each other. Rather, just good-natured banter. Hell, this thread's been active for several days without getting locked up. Nice change all around (of course, I probably just jinxed it... ) -Bullethead

Major Tom: The worst thing you can do to ANYBODY is make them drink an American "beer." Unless it's one I made myself, but mine are all copies of Brit and Scots ales . [the human body is a wonderfully complex machine designed to turn good ale into lager] And if you think French Canadians are rough, picture the descendants of those that got evicted from their homes up there and have had to live in bug- and gator-infested swamps in Louisiana ever since. Where they interbred with similarly evicted Scots . As to hockey, we like it down here in Bayou Country, too. You got a bunch of yankees, yankee Cajuns, and commies all beating each other to death with sticks. With 2 "halftimes" so you can really get drunk. What's not to like? -Bullethead

I fully understand why there is no scavenging (or dead bodies) in CM. However, having done it myself, I at times find it frustrating that my troops can't do this. So, to keep from blowing a gasket when it would really help my guys to be able to do this, I think up explanations that are more in keeping with the gameworld than the realworld, code-related reasons. Here are some of them: 1. CM soldiers are really armed with retro-styled Star Trek phasers which disintegrate both the victim and his equipment. This is why there are no dead bodies lying around, and no scavenging either . 2. CM's wonderful FOW and spotting system takes over. As is well known, CM troops can't see anyting unless it moves or shoots. Dead men and the equipment they drop do neither, so become permanently invisible to all surviving troops, who thus can't find the discarded weapons . 3. The religion of the CM soldiers is to blame. They believe in Valkyries physically transporting the deceased to Valhalla at the instant of death, there to practice for and eventually fight in (and, sadly, lose) Ragnorok. Because this afterlife requires weapons, the Valkyries pick them up, too, when they snatch the body. 4. Another CM religious explanation: Saint Tom Hanks manifests beside each fallen CM trooper at the instant of death. He removes and discards the bolt from his weapon, thus rendering that useless, then slings the body over his shoulder and carries back to its virtual family. -Bullethead

In my previous wargaming experience, I've developed the following attitude: if I want to win, I play the Germans. If I want to win and feel good about it later, I play the Allies . This is the result of the Germans being so damn deadly in so many earlier games. CM, however, is forcing me to change my views to a certain extent--the CM Germans ain't quite the Aryan supermen they are in some games. Hell, I've seen German troops (admittedly conscripts, but still German) fleeing in panic from a couple of nearby 60mm treebursts that hadn't hurt anybody . I must also admit a certain fondness for playing US forces. Why? Because they have the most and best ARTILLERY!!! (even if it's always way too abstract for my tastes ). -Bullethead

Just keep in mind that the listed kills don't violate FOW. So if you shoot at unidentified infantry units, you might cause casualties but these won't show up on the kill sheet. Or if you kill a vehicle that you haven't ID'd yet, it'll just say "1 unidentified vehicle" -Bullethead

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>the vehicles usually just don't sit there and take punishement either, they will try and move off the road or take some cover if they can. I usually just re-ordered them back into ranks so they could take their medicine!!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> OK, that's what I wanted to know. It just struck me as odd that the surviving vehicles hadn't scattered like roaches after the 1st pass. Now I know the problem is just that the AI is smarter than you are -Bullethead [This message has been edited by Bullethead (edited 01-07-2000).]

Sgt. Huang- General (later Field Marshal Lord) William Slim. He took over command of the Brit Burma Corps in March 1942, after the initial Japanese invasion into Burma. Despite inheriting a bad situation (outnumbered, ill-equipped, and demoralized, beaten troops in bad dispositions, plus total Japanese air superiority), he managed to extricate most of his Brit forces (most of the Burmese troops ran off) to form the nucleus of the counteroffenive force. In due course, this became the 14th Army and Slim was in charge of all ground forces operating from India against Burma. Slim eventually reconquered Burma in 1945, following a classic campaign wherein he divined the Japanese general's plan and figured out a way to upset it at the crucial moment, after pretending to fall into a trap. Before that, he'd also had to beat off a strong Japanese invasion of India in 1944. The Japanese generals facing Slim knew their business and they had very good troops. The terrain involved was very difficult and the supply situation was horrendous. Despite these difficulties, Slim basically built up his force from scratch and led them to victory. It should also be noted that Slim was the only Allied general faced with a theater where the Axis retained the strategic initiative for so late in the war. Anyway, I think Slim did a much better job than other generals did in easier circumstances. But he was stuck out in the CBI theater so didn't get much press coverage (which Monty monopolized anyway). He got his baton and his peerage, so his bosses recognized his achievements, but hardly anybody in the US has ever heard of him. -Bullethead

Madmatt- Question: I don't see much evidence of the vehicular victims trying to scurry off the road and find cover in the trees nearby, even when the planes are coming back for repeated passes. Is this just a relic of the particular shots you posted, or is it because the AI doesn't react that way? -Bullethead

I still say Slim was the best Brit WW2 general. -Bullethead

Yeah, the spotter/FO guys are your link to your off-board arty and mortars. You put them in a good vantage point, click on them, and target something. A minute or so later, down comes the Wrath of God . Just be careful with them, because if they die, no more OBA for you . It's all a bit abstract. There are several threads on this subject that go into all the gory details. -Bullethead

Maj. Tom said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Let me guess, you had Wagner blaring on some Hi-fi speakers all the while, eh?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Opera??? You can't fight to opera music except in movies. In real life, that just puts the troops to sleep . Nah, for fighting, you want real FIGHTIN' music. Music specifically written and performed for combat. Music that's been perfected over untold centuries to fire your troops up to battle frenzy and strike terror into the hearts of the enemy. In short, BAGPIPES! Don't leave base without them . BTW, did you eat your protein pills? -Bullethead [This message has been edited by Bullethead (edited 01-07-2000).]

Setting: Chance Encounter, as Germans vs. AI Situation: Apparently 1 US rifle company in the woods on German left with the objective. 1 platoon by the objective laying down fire on the church, 2 massing in the reentrant treeline for a dash to the patch of woods to the left front of the church. My StuGs were busy elsewhere, and few infantry weapons were able to bear on the US assault force. Even worse, the church itself was held by a platoon of doubtful quality. It looked like the church was about to fall, unhinging my entire line. However, the Veteran SMG squads and their leader were also in the objective woods, hidden just off the US right flank. I'd rushed them there early to be a nasty surprise if I counterattacked towards the objective later. Now they were my best hope of stopping the US assault. Action: The German FO was in the church. He kept the US maneuver platoons pinned down with 2 minutes of treebursts while the 2 SMG squads crawled up within spitting distance. As soon as the last mortar rounds exploded, they leapt up and stormed into the US flank. It was incredible. In a point-blank schlachtfest lasting less than 2 minutes, an entire US platoon, about half of a second, and some attached teams had been annihilated for no German casualties. But as the 2 SMG squads continued left-right along the treeline pursuing fugitives, they were hit in their own left flank by yet another US platoon from deeper in the woods, this one including veterans itself. Instantly, the German platoon HQ was destroyed and the heavy SMG squad took heavy casualties. And then the real nut cutting began. When the grenade smoke cleared about 1 minute later, the new US platoon, with each squad reduced to 3-4 men, was fleeing back into the woods from which it had come. But still standing amidst the heaps of slain were 3 members of the light SMG squad. They were low on ammo, deaf, covered with blood and soot, but still in good order. Unfortunately, Hitler offed himself before he could approve their Knight's Crosses. But their fallen commrades now serve with Woden in Valhalla. SMG squads kick ass -Bullethead [This message has been edited by Bullethead (edited 01-07-2000).]

Moon- I think what Eridani is saying is that for some reason the game treats the Sherman as having its "eyeballs" mounted in the hull instead of the turret. Thus, if only the Sherman's turret is exposed, the enemy can shoot the Sherman but the Sherman cannot see to shoot back at the enemy because its "eyes" are below the hill crest. If the Sherman is to shoot back, then it has to have enough hull exposed for its "eyes" to see over the crest. This puts the Sherman at a disadvantage because it cannot take full advantage of hull down conditions. Eridani, is that what you mean? -Bullethead