G Ned Anderson

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rwcanuck: I read somewhere that two Tiger 1's were to be sent to Japan during the war and one was about to loaded on a freighter when something happened to abort the order and no Tigers were sent afterall. Does anyone have more info on this story? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I don't know the specifics of this, but I remember reading somewhere that Italy and Japan were in the preocess of negotiating the transfer of blueprints, licensing rights and technical experts from Germany to develop locally produced Tigers and Panthers. IIRC, these plans never really moved beyond the initial phases of negotiation, due to the lateness of the war, Italy's fall and difficulty transporting needed information between Germany and Japan. Greg ------------------ I love the f***ing Army and the Army loves f***ing me

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Major Tom: Hopefully, he and Lucas will actually listen to what people say about their films, and the next WWII movie will be more realistic (ie. no exaggerating feats) or not to try and cater to too large of an audience which screws up the movie (ala Starwars I, and SPR). Criticism is the way to tell people to do a better job next time. If we all just sat back and praised them then the industry would remain stagnent.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I've heard Hollywood rumors that Spielberg is doing another WWII movie based on the historical book "Band of Brothers" by Steven Ambrose. I've heard that Tom Hanks will be in this one as well. Don't have an ETA or independent confirmation yet, though.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Username: I liked "Thin Red Line" Lewis<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Wow.. I thought I was the only one. I thought it was a lackluster (though still enjoyable) war movie, but I think the philosophical and cinematographic aspects of the movie were absolutely brilliant. One of my favorite movies of all time (and I know I'm in a minority here). G ------------------ I love the f***ing Army and the Army loves f***ing me

Forgive this, but I think its too funny not to share. -Greg Three Legionnaires are walking through the desert under a baking sun. They're fully equipped with enough water for days and food aplenty. On the shimmering horizon, mirages come and go and come again. They see visions of swimming pools attended by dusky maidens and stalls full of ice creams and sorbets of every conceivable flavour. But the Legionnaires do not crack. Instead they keep marching solidly on. Suddenly one of them freezes. "Psssst," he says. His companions halt and strain their eyes to where the first Legionnaire is pointing. Le voila," he says, "Regardez, mes amis, isn't zat a bacon tree on ze 'orizon?" And sure enough, there it is, proud and defiant in the middle of the desert, a true bacon tree. Slowly they creep forward towards the far off mystery object. Inch by inch, centimetre by centimetre, until they are within a stone's throw of the bacon tree. Ever nearer they creep until suddenly a shot rings out, dropping one of the Legionnaires in his tracks. The other Legionnaires hit the ground as bullets thud into the sand around them. The other two return fire and give first aid to their wounded companion. Even as they bandage him and pour water over his face they can hear his faint voice. "Zat was no bacon tree," he gasps, "Zat was an 'am bush."

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Speedy: A wombat is something you do not want to run over, believe me!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Heh heh.. ever seen an Australian soldier do an impression of a wombat? Its really bloody funny.. Greg ------------------ I love the f***ing Army and the Army loves f***ing me

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Miyamoto Musashi: But on the topic of meeting places for the par-tay, I don't much care. Wherever we have it will be a loooong way away from Montana most likely, so it doesn't much matter. Too bad we can't rent out the Patton museum or something <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Or better yet, we can hold it at the US Army Ordnance Museum at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. The museum there BLOWS Fort Knox away... many more vehicles on display.. including German railroad guns, all sorts of German, American, Russian, Italian armor.. Maybe we can make a convention out of it. Greg ------------------ I love the f***ing Army and the Army loves f***ing me

22 in july.. been wargaming since age 10.. my dad's fault. Greg ------------------ I love the f***ing Army and the Army loves f***ing me

NO!!!! I leave for Kuwait on 13 May. I'll be gone for five months. They say that we'll be living in Air Force barracks and have computers... but.. the Army has changed their minds on me many times before. Sigh. I had to volunteer, didn't I? Well.. maybe I can play the Gold Demo for a few hours before I go. Greg

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Elvis: You got the reference Kurtz <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I was beginning to think that I was gonna have to go outside and get one of the goddamned maids to it... God thats a great book.. Greg

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rune: Fionn and All, this was not the ASL players, I am still waiting for them to pick a date, this was for members of this group that lived in my area. A few had to cancel last minute, so he wound up on his own, and loved every minute of it. It amazes me, stuff we take for granted because we see it everyday, was brand new to see for him. He learned what 105mm VT can do. He saw how much the AI has improved [see his record against the AI]. Saw a lot of the vehicles that pictures have not been posted on yet. it amazed me, he was impressed by basically everything as evident in his post. The two of you covered things well. He saw how large a battle can be, played one where there were over 60 vehicles and troops. [Turns took about 15 secs, nice to have a 800mhz with the pc800 memory and a 32meg video card ]I could tell how impressed he was with the game by the happy look on his face, even while getting his Pershings wiped out. For everyone else, now you can take the word of a non-beta tester. If you are in the Chicago area, I will be posting when I do the Chicago Area Wargamers club, as soon as they post a date for me to demo the game. G., What was the thing that surprised you most without mentioning the NDA things? Also, what was your favorite part of any scenario you played? I think it was your Sherman 76 that took out 4 Panzer IVjs and 8 HTs before getting nailed, or maybe the bazooka team that took out the StuG and Panther along the wooded road... [This message has been edited by rune (edited 03-21-2000).]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh man, it was beautiful. I was in the process of being overrun by a company or so of Panzer IVJs - they wiped out all my defenses and last remaining guns. Only a handful of crews, a diminished rifle squad or two and a certain artillery major were all that was between the Germans and the map exit. Suddenly, a suprise. Reinforcements! A platoon of M4 (76ers) shows up, along with an airborne company. I drive the M4s up the road to the village where the last remnants of my first line of defense are holding out. The Sherms arrive piecemeal, the first one kills a Panzer IV, but takes a hit soon thereafter. The second Sherm - my hero - shows up and gleefully begins plinking a group of Panzer IVs sitting in a snowy field some 300m away. The Panzers don't know what hit them - one brewed up, followed by two more and the fourth died a spectacular, firely death. No more panzers in view, so my Sherm, still waiting for the rest of his platoon to play catch up (my fault.. they got caught up in some trees on a ridgeline) starts taking out all the German halftracks in the area - eight in all. Without warning, however, another Panzer IV emerges from the village, quickly acquiring and destroying my brave crew before they can fire. Ah well. The survivors will get medals. It was a great scenario, though. The rest of the Shermans showed up, taking out a few more panzers, though I lost another two Shermans (one survived). A platoon of M10s reinforced me a little while later and the infantry I sent up to reinforce the village told me that mo more panzers were in the area. I sent an M10 and the last Sherman up ahead while the remaining Wolverines took on some German engineers (with flamethrowers, I might add). This M10 and accompanying Sherman stumbled into about ten German halftracks - all empty - and had a field day brewing them all up. It is interesting to note that on more than one occasion my forces misidentified German vehicles (like halftracks were identified as light tanks and Panzer IVs as Panthers). This is the only battle I fought where I won. I got a total victory and the results were something like 14 allied vehicles destroyed to 90 Germans (one of their Panthers and a halftrack survived, but I managed to kill all their StuG IIIs, StuG IVs, StuH 42s, and Panzer IVs). There are many more stories to tell about this battle (and the other battles I fought, for that matter), but they are for another time. Greg PS - the Pershings.. oy vais. If its one thing I learned, don't send buttonned up tanks speeding up an unreconnoitered road in a hasty attempt to flank the enemy. Their spotting was so bad that I drove right past two StuGs who took their time turning 180 degrees to shoot me in the ass. Twice. Not one of my finer moments.. It was nice to see an 88mm shell bounce of of something too.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rune: Fionn and All, this was not the ASL players, I am still waiting for them to pick a date, this was for members of this group that lived in my area. A few had to cancel last minute, so he wound up on his own, and loved every minute of it. It amazes me, stuff we take for granted because we see it everyday, was brand new to see for him. He learned what 105mm VT can do. He saw how much the AI has improved [see his record against the AI]. Saw a lot of the vehicles that pictures have not been posted on yet. it amazed me, he was impressed by basically everything as evident in his post. The two of you covered things well. He saw how large a battle can be, played one where there were over 60 vehicles and troops. [Turns took about 15 secs, nice to have a 800mhz with the pc800 memory and a 32meg video card ]I could tell how impressed he was with the game by the happy look on his face, even while getting his Pershings wiped out. For everyone else, now you can take the word of a non-beta tester. If you are in the Chicago area, I will be posting when I do the Chicago Area Wargamers club, as soon as they post a date for me to demo the game. G., What was the thing that surprised you most without mentioning the NDA things? Also, what was your favorite part of any scenario you played? I think it was your Sherman 76 that took out 4 Panzer IVjs and 8 HTs before getting nailed, or maybe the bazooka team that took out the StuG and Panther along the wooded road... [This message has been edited by rune (edited 03-21-2000).]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh man, it was beautiful. I was in the process of being overrun by a company or so of Panzer IVJs - they wiped out all my defenses and last remaining guns. Only a handful of crews, a diminished rifle squad or two and a certain artillery major were all that was between the Germans and the map exit. Suddenly, a suprise. Reinforcements! A platoon of M4 (76ers) shows up, along with an airborne company. I drive the M4s up the road to the village where the last remnants of my first line of defense are holding out. The Sherms arrive piecemeal, the first one kills a Panzer IV, but takes a hit soon thereafter. The second Sherm - my hero - shows up and gleefully begins plinking a group of Panzer IVs sitting in a snowy field some 300m away. The Panzers don't know what hit them - one brewed up, followed by two more and the fourth died a spectacular, firely death. No more panzers in view, so my Sherm, still waiting for the rest of his platoon to play catch up (my fault.. they got caught up in some trees on a ridgeline) starts taking out all the German halftracks in the area - eight in all. Without warning, however, another Panzer IV emerges from the village, quickly acquiring and destroying my brave crew before they can fire. Ah well. The survivors will get medals. It was a great scenario, though. The rest of the Shermans showed up, taking out a few more panzers, though I lost another two Shermans (one survived). A platoon of M10s reinforced me a little while later and the infantry I sent up to reinforce the village told me that mo more panzers were in the area. I sent an M10 and the last Sherman up ahead while the remaining Wolverines took on some German engineers (with flamethrowers, I might add). This M10 and accompanying Sherman stumbled into about ten German halftracks - all empty - and had a field day brewing them all up. It is interesting to note that on more than one occasion my forces misidentified German vehicles (like halftracks were identified as light tanks and Panzer IVs as Panthers). This is the only battle I fought where I won. I got a total victory and the results were something like 14 allied vehicles destroyed to 90 Germans (one of their Panthers and a halftrack survived, but I managed to kill all their StuG IIIs, StuG IVs, StuH 42s, and Panzer IVs). There are many more stories to tell about this battle (and the other battles I fought, for that matter), but they are for another time. Greg PS - the Pershings.. oy vais. If its one thing I learned, don't send buttonned up tanks speeding up an unreconnoitered road in a hasty attempt to flank the enemy. Their spotting was so bad that I drove right past two StuGs who took their time turning 180 degrees to shoot me in the ass. Twice. Not one of my finer moments.. It was nice to see an 88mm shell bounce of of something too.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Fionn: Oh so Rune had his get-together eh? Did many people turn up? What was the general concensus? Come on, I want DETAILS damnit . If there isn't a full report online within 6 hours I'm gonna put on some ass-kicking boots and call for "THE VAN !" . Seriously though, more details . (except for the stuff which I'm sure you were told not to tell...)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I was the only one who was able to show up for that day (I think the others may have rescheduled?) so, poor me, I had the beta all to myself. <sigh>.. Such a tough life I lead. Details.. hm.. The AI has improved vastly. Of the scenarioes I played (and I tend to think I'm a decent player) I walked away with one win, two losses and a draw. I was suprised at the number of units modelled.. I dunno, maybe it was the shock of seeing units besides Tigers, StuGs and Shermans.. ha ha ha. There were, however, units, vehicles and weapons that I really didn't think were going to be in the game. The scenarioes which I saw (and will not otherwise mention) are all excellent and hugely challenging. I really didn't think I'd win the scenario I did win and I really thought I won (one of) the scenarioes I lost. The victory conditions are definately less forgiving.. Like Fionn said, the game has become immensely immersive. Lots of playability enhancements, sounds and textures are excellent. Seeing the new faces on the soldiers.. Madmatt's non-regulation beard.. I *wish* I could have taken a beta home with me.. but I am contented with what I saw and now patiently wait for the Gold version while pictures of Panthers and Pershings dance in my head. Greg PS - I loved the 14" fire support..

Go ahead.. touch me! Recently the man by the handle "Rune" on this board (who shall otherwise remain nameless, lest he decide otherwise ) most graciously invited CM fans in the Chicago area to check out the latest CM Beta, with Steve's permission. I took Rune up on the offer, brought some beer and checked it out.. AYE CHIHUAHUA!!! This game is amazing! The game is nothing like the beta demo.. so much cooler.. so much better.. I can't and won't comment on any specifics, but you guys are definately gonna scream out in glee when you get your copies. This game will definately be worth the wait. I think I'm gonna go and preorder some more.. haha.. Keep touching me... that tickles.. Muahahahahahaha!!!!!!!! ------------------ I love the f***ing Army and the Army loves f***ing me

Howdy folks The PRC military (err.. PLA) just happens to be my specialty. Without repeating too much of what has been said already, I'll start my brief ramble. 1. China (PRC) can only take Taiwan by controlling the seas. This will not happen, barring nuclear escalation, for many, many years. 2. China does not have the airlift capabilities to successfully invade. Of the three airborne divisions, only the capability to drop one regiment per 6-12 hours is currently feasible. Seizure of airfields and civil aircraft could allow for faster deployments. 3. China has three active marine brigades. With reserves they have eight marine divisions. Their equipment is mostly antiquated and not a match for anyone. There is one PLA group army (3-4 regular infantry divisions plus a tank regiment) trained for amphibious landings. Official PLAN capabilities are one marine brigade afloat that can be landed immediately on a beach. Civillian naval transport can allow for much (MUCH) more, but need ports to do it. 4. Reunification won't happen. The PRC will fall before any reunification happens. 5. Nuclear weapons and nuclear blackmail are VERY plausible in any future conflict involving the PRC. Greg ------------------ I love the f***ing Army and the Army loves f***ing me

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rune: While waiting for a reply from the Patton museum, wondered if anyone had facts on the M3 halftrack armed with an 75mm AT gun. I need the years it was used and the number built. Anyone have any information on this please post a message. Not that Fionn would be scared by this thing with his German Heavy Tanks. Rune<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I have a book about the US Army Tank Destroyer Corps in WWII. It has a chart of production and useage timelines for all the verious TDs.. including the M3 GMC. I don't have it here at my apartment, though, so it may be a few days before I can get it. IIRC, all the M3 GMCs were turned over to the Free French Army as the M10s and M18s came online. Greg ------------------ I love the f***ing Army and the Army loves f***ing me