Major Tom

Well, I still think that I like Panzer Trupen's buildings better, but, Magua's bridge, concrete and wall are probably the best that I have seen. His buildings give me too much of a 'Southern Europe' feel.

Actually, I tend to lose most of my tanks to enemy tanks, but, I tend to kill most of my enemies tanks with Infantry. When I have a tank force I tend to be most afraid of dense packs of forest and buildings, not knowing what Zook, Faust or PIAT might be hiding in there. Enemy tanks are fairly easy to kill, especially when you have no tanks of your own and they know that. They always get too close, thinking that the war is won once the last Sherman goes up in flames, then they get nailed by concieled PIAT's and their infantry gets routed. Handling Infantry is easly, handling tanks is difficult. There are only a few avenues of approach for an armoured force, while Infantry can go anywhere. Infantry AT, from medium-close range is deadly. When I have a tank force, my greatest fear is Infantry, not enemy armour. Infantry used well is much harder to kill than a tank used as well. Always have Infantry with your Armour, you don't always need armour for your Infantry.

Thanks for the correction and clarification Andreas. Yet again your actions cause me dishevelment!!!! Fortunately this time it was not a PBEM game.

Actually, would a 20mm Flak produce more casualties than a 0.5inch HMG when firing at an open field? The reason that the 20mm did so well on SPR was that it tended to hit the Tiger and explode their shells causing the shredding of the troops on board. However, if you just fired a 20mm Flak accross a field it will only cut through the troops, not explode, resulting in far fewer casualties than you would think. Most shells would land at the other end of the field, relatively harmless since they didn't hit anything worthy of causing them to explode. The 0.5inch has a much higher rate of fire (based on ammunition storage, etc...) so it would probably hit more than a 20mm Flak would. A 50 calibur or 20mm shell will probably knock a troop out of the battle, and with the 0.5inch having a higher rate of fire they could throw more shells out than a 20mm. Remember, these 20mm's aren't time delayed. So, I would figure that in certain situations a 20mm would be way more effective than a 50 calibur (if they were in a urban area, or around a tank causing more shrapnel), but, the 20mm would not be vastly superior to the 50 calibur in every instance. I see that BTS managed these weapons pretty well.

Because it wins wars. United States Civil War World War One World War Two Vietnam Korea Roman-Carthage Punic Wars Crimean War Boer War etc...

The problem about detailed ordering of units is that occasionally the tide of battle will change so that the orders you give the unit will be obsolete once they first encounter the enemy. You will be yelling at that AT team when they ignore the infantry moving toward them waiting for a tank to plod on by. The way BTS set up the thing now is that each unit uses its own discretion based on the best chance of survivability in relation to its experience. Regular units will behave better (on average) to green units. In reality, AT guns could NOT and did NOT obey their commander 100% of the time. They saw some infantry advancing on them so they decide to use their HE to get rid of them while they were at a suitable range. If they would have obeyed orders NOT to fire on infantry, they would be able to walk right up beside the AT gun and wipe out the crew. Giving detailed orders for who to kill will not work in CM. If BTS did add this feature people would start complaining that 'my AT gun/tanj ignored this infantry advancing on them which killed them' and so on.

I rarely ever break the nationality/weapon arm rule. When I choose to fight as one unit (ie. British Army) I just pick troops and weapons from that selection. Sure, I might have been better selecting US Infantry, British Fireflys, Canadain 3" Mortor spotters, etc., but, it just doesn't fit right. I don't think that anything posted about CM is gamestopping. Sherman tanks have around 5-6 smoke shells, which isn't a lot. They also don't last very long (1-2 turns). Same thing with just about any other tank with high levels of smoke. Both the Allies and Axis suffer from the AA gun 'innacuracy' as it might be. Never really had my infantry up against a AA gun (other than 88mm) so I wouldn't know. The Shermans do have a much faster firing rate, so they will get more hits on their german foes, but, this is historically documented, and not a problem isolated with CM. Yes, each allied platoon gets about 1 mortor, either 2" or 60mm, both of which are only usefull against light forces on the move, not against entrenched guys. However, their squads lack the firepower of average German squads. The only reason that gundamage is more prevailent on German tanks is, that usually an Allied tank would be killed before its gun gets damaged. I have had allied vehicles wrecked, immobilized and lost their guns through hits by enemy mortors, light AA weaponry and full fledged artillery. No difference than what the Germans suffer from. Actually, I have many battles of manuver. Where I lose very little and my enemy loses a lot. Not through artillery, but through hand to hand combat. Also, casualties were usually gained through either long (arty) or short range combat, not medium stand off range.

Here are some more un-modded vehicles Universal Carrier Humber II Basically every Artillery weapon Jeep Also, it seems like, as other people pointed out, that certain vehicles (Panther, Tiger, Sherman) have the most mods, and modders continue to work on these AFV's. I understand that they are the most interesting and commonly used, but, after 4+ mods the only thing that changes are camo patterns. There are some AFV's that desperately need to catch up to the rest. Sure, they might not be that much fun to model (who wants to model a truck?), but it would enhance the game having everything up-gunned. Also, how about some more High-Res mods? Their numbers seem to be waining. Don't take us wrong, these aren't demands, just suggestions at what we feel is missing. We won't be upset if you guys continue producing wonderful mods for the Panther or Sherman! Thanks for your time and effort!!

Of course he will find some way to take away the thrill of victory. He definitely is Germanboy's student.

Strangely enough I would have to agree with Mark IV, even though he is named after a sub standard piece of prussian trash. In my current game against Hiram I have killed 3 of his tanks along with a reinforced platoon of Infantry by losing just 1 stug, another vehicle of questionable character on the first turn (these were in pity positions, he had to kill something, eh?) as well as around 2-3 Infantry. The only thing that could possibly save him here is the arrival of the Jabo's, which, lucky for him aren't under his direct control.

Well, putting ambush markers to only fire on things that you tell it to will cause the same problems and complaints as if each individual unit had this ability. If you put 'only fire at armour' and infantry stumble accross your position, and wipe it out you will be pretty pissed off when they didn't fire at a distance to scare them off. The way BTS set CM ambush up is that they had each individual unit look out for their own survival. Those AT guns targetted those infantry BEFORE they got within lethal distance. Unfortunately, other tanks and arty could now see the position. However, if they would have left the infantry alone they would most probably have walked right on your AT position and annihilated it without a fight. Ambush and long range AT fire are also two completely different things. The average CM map will not be large enough to warrant successful AT long range fire unless you have more guns than enemy tanks. The way an ambush works, is, that your weapons have a limited fire arc both in and out (so they can't get you from other angles). Direct fire AT guns won't last long (ie. if they are facing the frontline. Angled AT fire, accross roads for example, will result in the enemy getting killed or stopped within a good fire range. Also, ambushes are ambushes, they are only temporary, meant for a quick strike then retreat. AT guns are only good for 1-3 Tank kills before you should definitely move them out. PROTECT your AT guns with ample Infantry and HMG's. Make it so that enemy infantry can only directly attack your AT unit AFTER going through a platoon of your own infantry. Have HMG's set up around to stop a direct frontal attack on the AT gun. However, there is NO protection from Artillery fire. Once your position has been discovered if you don't retreat you will loose everything. Always have a light transport vehicle nearby (Universal Carrier, Jeep, Kubelwagen, etc..) so you can move out your AT guns either to better positions, or out of the main attack once they have fulfilled their ambush job, or, have been discovered before they could. I have set up some pretty good ambushes using both Infantry AT and AT guns. The key is, to have enough support so that if an enemy squad should happen to stumble upon them they should be quickly annihilated by your escort squads so they won't just eliminate your gun. Infantry AT, Zooks, Schrecks and PIAT's are much more versitlie than AT Guns. They are much more mobile and can go more places than a gun can. Although they have a very small amount of ammo, they can kill any enemy tank in the field. They are more manuverable meaning that you can get closer to the enemy to guarantee a hit. Also, not every ambush has the benefit of time to set up perfect ranges, nor would this necessarily guarantee success or better aiming. It might help, but, every ambush should not give your troops a to-hit bonus. Create kill zones with just more than one AT weapon. Have an AT gun, along with some or one Infantry AT guy, plus some HMG's and infantry to further confuse the enemy. Open up with your HMG on the lead tank to button him (so he won't discover your AT guns!) and your infantry and other HMG's to suppress enemy infantry and other tanks. Remember, every plan falls apart once you get in contact with the enemy. The same goes for ambushes. It wouldn't be much fun if your opponent ALWAYS did what you think they would! [This message has been edited by Major Tom (edited 02-04-2001).]

I Don't Know??

The one thing that I wonder about the snowed Halftracks, is, should the engine cover still be that coated with Ice and Snow? We are assuming that these halftracks have been running for a while before the battle, so wouldn't it melt off more on the hood and engine casing more than the rest of the vehicle? I really like this mod, but, that was one of the things that I am wondering about....

And what a tank it was! (sarcasm mode off)

Actually, I would claim to differ regarding at least the British. Pre-War, British theorists and American designs had developed most of the tactics used by the Germans and Russians. The British had two types of tanks, Infantry support tanks (Matilda, Matilda II, Valentine, Churchill) and Cruiser battle tanks (Vickers Mark III, Cruiser series, Crusader, Cromwell, Comet). ritish Cruiser tanks were designed to kill other tanks, while British Infantry tanks were designed to support Infantry. The German Mark III started with a 37mm Gun, and was upgraded to a long 50mm Gun (as was mentioned). The Mark III was primarily a AT weapon, with earlier Mark IV's being primarily Infantry support. As these tanks became obsolete (like ALL tanks eventually do) they were modified to continue in service in other forms. The Mark III went to the CS role and the Mark IV went to the AT role. However, when they were in their roles they were highly specialized. AT tanks had trouble with Infantry while CS tanks could not handle other tanks. The all-round Sherman/Cromwell types were probably better tanks than the average German tanks (Mark IV/III) as they could fill in just about any role that they were required. Although they didn't surpass the German's in one particular aspect, they were better troubleshooters. So, by 1944 when Western Allied armour was more 'universal' like the Sherman they were much more useful than the German tanks. It doesn't do much good if you have a bunch of tanks sitting around without their optimal enemy in front of them.

Afraid already, eh?

So thats why you didn't do anything for those 10 turns, afraid of breaking protocol, eh? I have to admit, you did a damn fine job in not killing my guys at that!

Yo, Hiram, you seem to be doing a lot of posting, but not a lot of PBEMing!

Listen, Agua Perdido (losely translated in English meaning "Water in Pants"), I can put any damn smiley any damn place I want. Knowing the names of the backdoor boys isn't going to impress me. Prepare to meet your death and go back to the backstreets from whence you and your soggy title whence came! THENCE!!!!

DAMN STRAIGHT!! You would have thought that since the title was "10 minute break" that the Germans would only have 10 of the 30 minutes in which to make their break, eh? Waiting any longer than that would result in your gameplay resembling that of a retired sloth. [This message has been edited by Major Tom (edited 02-01-2001).]

Shut your lucky face uncle lucker...

Since I just spectacularly beat Germanboy without even really coming to major blows. With the loss of one of his FJ platoons he admitted utter and complete defeat before my troops barrels got even warm. A cease-fire allowed his side to crawl back to Germany with the triumphant Amuricans holding the town, and a little bored due to inactivity. Anyone up for a REAL PBEM match?!?!

This isn't over yet?!? GB hasn't posted a reply for days, why keep this thread going?

Keep a hold of your wallets hozers, it appears some of those Australians are aboot here, eh? Just because Canada wasn't a penetentiary for criminal culture like Ustralia was, and Amurica currently is doesn't mean that we can't swing insults with the bigboys. In my battles against "Germanboy" (there is no real larger insult than the combination of 'German' + 'boy') and "He-reemed (all) Sunday" (aka Hiram Sendai for you non-english speaking Uzies and Amuricans) are all going fairly well. Germanboy has revamped his old strategy of piecemeal Goanna like-Bonzai charges against the likes of tanks, HMG's and vacant buildings, usually directed away from the VP's (for some reason he thinks he is the defender!). HS is experienceing, yet again, the Kasserine Pass, with the Heroic German Peoples Army smashing through the ill concieved defense of Stuarts and Shermans with them facing the wrong way in which to run away. Unfortunatlye for Hiram, he did not realize that he was actually the defender, leaving 2 of his tanks in flames, and the rest running in vomit and terror. It seems that the Mighty Canadian army is yet again going to vanquish the likes from the capitalist pigs!

Welcome to Canada (Bienvenue au Canada) As a member of the Canadian nation... (Comme un membre de la nation canadienne) I would like to welcome everyone to our... (J'aimerais à l'accueil tout le monde à notre) Contribution to the Cesspool. (La contribution au Cesspool.) There are a few rules special to posting... (Il y a quelques-uns gouvernent spécial à poster) In Canada, such as, (Dans le Canada, tel que,) Touques must be worn at all times when posting... (Touques doit être porté à tout instant en postant,) Please post in both English and French, for... (S'il vous plaît la poste dans anglais et français, à) The benefit of our Quebequios minority, (Le profit de notre minorité de Quebequios,) Any insult resulting in severe emotional damage... (N'importe quelle insulte qui résulte dans les dommages émotifs sévères) Will be met with severe reactions by the CBC... (Sera retrouvé des réactions sévères par le CBC) If Candian content is less than 43%, (Si le contenu de Candian est moins de 43%,) And (et) Never EVER insult Canadian Beer. (Ne jamais JAMAIS insulter la Bière canadienne.) (Pardon my French, it's very weak) ((Pardonner mes français, il est très faible)) Major Tom (Tom majeur) [ce message a été édité par Tom Majeur (édité 01-30-2001).] [This message has been edited by Major Tom (edited 01-30-2001).]