Mark IV

Nomonhan (Japanese)/Khalkhin Gol (Russian), 1939 Undeclared war with Japan testing the Soviet resolve to retain Manchurian/Mongolian border areas. The Japanese had "expanded" the border with various raids and skirmishes in which they had generally been successful. In July, 1939, Soviet forces under Marshal Zhukhov, including about 70,000 men, 1000 tanks, and hundreds of aircraft, launched a surprise offensive against a Japanese Army of about 40,000 men, with little artillery, few aircraft, and only a few dozen of their hopeless tanks. The battle lasted for about 2 months, in extreme heat and appalling conditions, until Zhukhov could concentrate his armor in a huge encirclement. The Japanese forces suffered 79% casualties. Only about 5000 escaped, and only 3000 were taken prisoner. An armistice was arranged, and the Japanese decided that expansion would best be pursued in the south. Japanese troops did not fight Russians again until the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, a few hours before the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

Those are completely cool. I knew if I lived long enough my childhood dreams would come true... now to set 'em up with Co2 cartridges and BB gun tubes... Here's the link: http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/53447battle_system/battle_system.htm [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 01-14-2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mace: my life isn't yet that bad that I have to go counting how many posts someone else has made...that would be truly sad! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> My god, man, you are denser than depleted uranium, thicker than the Maginot Line, and about as useful. Do you think I have a little abacus here with each of your posts accounted for? Think I am marking each of your sad little excretions here on the wall? PawBOOM has finally rewarded our patience with a post that is nearly legible, and which, in revealing your "inner Rob/1", has left me with little to add... ...which reminds me that since the Incredible Disappearing Frog has returned, we have unfinished business. I have kept our old turns; I refused to accept his surrender, preferring instead to hunt down and kill every last man in the inky void that is our map. Watch your mail. And speaking of celebrity returns from the dead, we have an SSPL drive-by! For those who don't know... this Cabbage of a man was once the most prolific poster to the board, back in the beta days, before there was even a Peng thread. It could even be said that he started it all... http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/003957.html ...by launching Peng into the public eye and transforming him from eccentric annoyance, into cultural icon. That post set the standard of discourse to which you young'uns should strive, and proves that SSPL, like some decaying detritus on a nameless antediluvial beach, provided the nutrient for the first emergence of a new life-form, the pre-cesspudlian pengopod, the ancestor of you all. I can only imagine his disappointment in surveying the fruits of his spawn.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mace: I have a life (unlike you), and I don't wish to waste it!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You have 389 posts since October, mostly to this thread, you think Hemingway is a form of dress alteration (and wouldn't recognize him if he slapped you with a trout, which the esteemed Papa might very well have done, and Seanachai virtually has), and you're worried about wasting a life? Rather closing the gate behind the horse, don't you think?

My July 44 version of the same manual has the same text and illustration, with the following additions to the superquick section (picking up where Jeff's left off): "Use the superquick setting when the delay setting results in the round failing to ricochet and penetrating the ground before exploding (mine action). When firing with delay setting over extremely dusty terrain, the shell striking the ground often raises so much dust that accurate sensing of the ricochet burst is impossible. In this situation change to the superquick setting." It then goes on to describe: "b(2) 75mm HE shell, M48, is also fuzed with the M54 time fuze. Time fire is not employed by tanks. Do not fire ammunition with the M54 fuze if other ammunition is available. When set for superquick action on impact, a very high percentage of duds results from rounds fired from tank guns. "(3) Some 75mm HE shell may be fuzed with the M48A1 fuze. This ammunition is not designed for use in tanks. The M48A1 fuze has .15 second delay action which causes a ricochet to travel from 50 to 115 yards before bursting. This makes it impossible to adjust ricochet fire on small point targets. When firing at AT guns and similar targets set the fuze at superquick. When firing at tanks, armored cars and similar targets, set the fuze at delay. "c. 76-mm shell, HE, M42A1. This ammunition is fuzed with the M48 or M8A1. The remarks in paragraphs b(2) and (3) above apply to 76-mm ammunition. d. 105-mm shell, HE, M1. This is a semi-fixed round and may be fired with any one of seven charges. It is impractical to prepare charges in a tank. Charge VII is used normally and is used always against targets with a vertical profile. This ammunition is fuzed with either the M48A1 fuze or the M54 fuze. The remarks in paragraphs b(2) and (3) above apply to 105-mm ammunition." From here it goes on to describe the smoke shells which ARE available, one year later. Of interest is that the smoke for 75 shells is just a "smoke mixture", where the 105mm is composed of WP, with the advice that WP is not suitable for effective screening because of its tendency to "pillar". It says that the amount of smoke generated by a single 75mm is insufficient for screening (partly due to the blunt-nosed projectile's tendency to bounce) and says "A platoon firing 4 rounds per tank can effectively screen an area 500 yards wide in about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes." More on this later... If someone with a website would like to post it, I will scan some of this stuff later on.

Well, well. Wouldn't be much of a Peng thread without a proper Penging, would it? There's been a conspicuous void in the time/hate continuum, and you newbies must now genuflect in the Presence of the Master... <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MrPeng: crank up the volume on my IV.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> My lawyers are reviewing this for possible infringements. Good to have you back. Remind me to kill you if you survive. Otherwise, what size are those boots?

More adventures in literacy with GITommy. Oh, boy. Define "chored". Limericks are supposed to scan. If you can't write a proper limerick, you probably can't dance, ride a bike, or remove earwax successfully, either. "Limerick's" with an apostrophe before the "s" indicates possession, not plurality. Your poetic license is hereby revoked. Now since you're a business major, communications skills will be of no real use to you in life anyway, especially with your ears full of earwax, so feel free to ignore this. The fact that you continue to post here shows that your parents are too drunk to place the trigger safety lock on the old keyboard. Again. This is a golden opportunity for a semi-literate marketeer to launch an MLM scheme from their 'puter before they wake up, and the time you spend here is time and money wasting, lad. I should apologize now for our previous episode with relative pronouns, as it was clearly a case of casting pearls before swine, though having annoyed Geier certainly justifies the effort expended. Perhaps follow the example of Elvis, and eke out a mere pair of spiteful syllables per iteration of the Peng Thread, to keep your hat in the old ring without your rather substantial risk of embarassment. Later dewd.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by stevetherat: time to get down to basics.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> As a taunter he may be hopeless, but ratboy has grasped an essential truth which has eluded the rest of you dolts: a new Peng Thread location every 40 pages or so is now standard operating procedure, and is not a Big Deal. To the outside world it is titillating and we'll still get the drive-bys from the von Clucks, people with no shift key, the simple Simons, even the odd Germanboy, and he is odd, having forsaken his birthright and turned his back on the Pool, the glimpse of greatness having seared his squinty, jaundiced little eyes, but anyway the point remains that Meeks is mad, mad, mad, and regardless of the injustice this is our new temporary home, so stop gawking about like a gaggle of Catholic schoolgirls on a day trip with their firm, tanned, faintly translucent young thighs peeking coyly above their kneesocks and BITE ME. Take it in stride. Spawn hate. We are a traveling Cesspool now, a porta-potty of a mutha-beautiful thread. Be proud. Now go on without me for a bit, while I lead those girls out of this simile and get them into some clean, dry clothes....

Omigod. You call this... justice?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by David Aitken: I think all this discussion of hull rotation brings up an important point<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You seem to have gone from addled to deranged, posting groggy biz like this here. I have forwarded it to your colleague, the highly over-caffeinated Mr. Heideman, for review. He will shortly denounce you for seeking to replace turrets altogether. You will deserve it. Speaking of bad links and misplaced posts: What is a Monte99? Why is it posting here? Is this ESPN.com? The latest tour bus through these parts sure has a lot of thick-headed idiots in stretch pants. Hiram and his stupid Eagles are to blame, of course; he's probably cross-posting to sportstalk radio. Growing up without a professional football franchise where I did (Detroit), I find this O/T sports chatter annoying. Kids talk ball, men talk ballistics, something any good Detroiter learns in grade school. Yer goddam Superbowl was in 1945 and WE won. Now shuddup and stay focused on what matters.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Croda: I'd also like to take this moment to hate MarkIV who, in the most gamey move since Meeks took out all my armor by turn 2, used the cover of night to attack the most ill-prepared side of my defenses, thereby turning them into a nice jam to serve on melba toast....<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Flashback (dream sequence music) to Dec. 4th: "MarkIV...what to say. What an ugly map for him. A night attack. My village set out in tiers overlooking a valley. Not a shred of tree-coverage anywhere. He's gonna Die A Lot!" Please take more than a moment to hate me, I've earned it. Go ahead, hate me all morning. I've been despising you for much longer than that. There's a convenient map edge about an inch and a half behind your MLC (Main Line of Cowering) and if you're quick you can beat the rest of that lovely VT there... shoo! Offa my hill!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ironcross: will we be allowed to make our own gun noises.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Why, yes, you can: Assuming you have a microphone and a sound input with your computer, Open Start, Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, Sound Recorder (in Win 98*). The VCR controls will appear. Face the microphone squarely and press the red Record button. Make a gun noise, or shoot a real gun. "GWEE-OOO-EW" with a falling gargly bit works well, but only for post-44 German 75s, as an example. If you choose to shoot a real gun, BE SURE to insert the muzzle into your mouth first. This will prevent damage to your mic inputs. Save the file with the same name as one of the CM WAV directory gun-noise files. Copy the file into that directory and select "yes" to replace the existing file. Bingo (or should I say Bang!... only with 37mm and below!)- you have a custom gun noise! *If you have a Mac, it probably already came with cool gun noises made by professional mouth models and you only have to look at it right to substitute them. Thanks for contacting the Peng Thread FAQ! "Sludge... helping People!"

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Check6: Let's determine the operative word in the phrase, "the bloody Peng challenge thread". <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Let's determine why you were born. Jeezuz. All the words are operative around here, and they're very sharp and probably infectious. "Bloody" is a nice expletive, used here for local flavor, a souvenier from our Australian sojourn with some nice extra entendres. It stems from "the blood of Christ" and is suitably profane for the environs, though nearly any blood will satisfy this lot. Why not start a thread suggesting they put it in the game? "Peng" is not an "about", "Peng" is a "because of". He is no longer with us, but some say He Will Come Again. So what. He was last seen coughing up green globs of stuff that very closely resemble the folks in the treasured photos in your wallet. Speaking of dull writing, why must you tell us in the middle of your summary what you are saving until last? That's not a literary device, it's syntactical spam. Shuddup until I finish. It's a thread because it's The Thread. If it was just "The Bloody Peng Challenge", period, it would be a singularity, hanging out in BBS space with nowhere to go. But this is a great honking 6000+ post thread (I lost count!), known and acknowledged by all, a single thread long enough to weave a dirigible-sized sock sufficient to contain Meeks' delusions, Croda's losses, and Hiram's shame, which no other single thread could ever hope to accomplish. And it got there without this absurd literary misfire of a bounced Check. I suggest you go into a dark closet somewhere and practice until you can make a real contribution, and become a discredit to the community.

I know of certain situations where uxoricide is mandatory, and failure constitutes malfeasance. Curiously, these situations are often CM-related...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by noah: please help me... what is the difference between the game tacops and the game combat command please write back...!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Jeez, how many places you gonna ask this? Tacops is from Big Time Software. Combat Command is from Shrapnel Games. You are posting (without a return e-mail address, by the way) on the Combat Mission board, which is yet another game by Big Time Software.

Actually Meeks was at his most useful when posting outside the pool, startling and annoying the Very Serious posters in grogland. This was the only thing he was ever better at than me, aside from providing roughage for polar recta. Is WildMAN still appropriate, really, under the (ahem) abbreviated circumstances? WildTHING is much too grandiose for such a minor annoyance; perhaps just Eunuch? And... Croda's just another word, for nothin' left to lose...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by stevetherat: Oh no, I can hear someone coming! There's a back window. I can make it if I'm quick...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Croda: Who’s been messing with our bread? Shandorf: Who’s been sh**ting in the chair? mensch: Dunno, but he musn’t have been very big, ‘cause I found THESE on the rusty nail we forgot to fix on the back window. (Throws mangled but obviously insignificant gonads on the counter.) Bauhaus (throwing the mess in a frying pan): Bet these’d be good with some Cajun spice… Hiram: Well, if he comes back, try not to laugh just cause you know he’s d**kless. Kitty (indignantly): What’s so wrong with that? M. Bates (in a very high voice): Not a darn thing!

The link works and it's a good review, although it is more interested in the 3D angle than in the historical and tactical aspects. But more accolades are always good!

Here we are half way down the 2nd page. This is just plain... ingratitude.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jshandorf: But he's just sooooo evil and stupid I just can't help myself. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hey, watch that. One's a compliment in these parts, and the other is the norm to which many here are still striving.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dog6880: Help my shermans suck. what are they made of tinfoil?!?!?!?! ok three shermans one tiger 500 meters. two round i bounce five shots off the tiger like it was like the Merrimack and i was a wodden ship. in the same amount of time my shermis died.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> First, your Shermans do not need help to suck. 2nd, there is a reason Allied tankers feared Tigers. You found it. Remember that for every one you face on the battlefield, there are probably 2 others just like it, stuck in the mud, broken down, out of gas, or blasted by Allied air. It just wasn't your day. So listen to Babra & Huang (he means to "button", not "unbutton", the Tiger, btw). That's the stuff that gives you that edge. Flank, use your turret speed, and avoid long range engagements. If you gotta engage in the open, spread 'em out and go like hell.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 109 Gustav: I have a question. Do Peng threadders ever bathe? Last time I went in there, it stank. Why bother with the peng thread at all, you ask? Um, well, I was bored.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I have the answers to these questions: Why bathe when you can wallow? The Nose: Germ Portal, or Useless Appendage? He's not heavy, he's my bother Ask Not, why bother with the Peng Thread, but ask, Why does the Peng Thread bother with you? Boredom, The Silent Killer Bummer, it's Jeeves' day off. Now take a... oops. Thanks for contacting the Peng Thread FAQ! [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 01-09-2001).]

...to you all. Especially PeterNZer (I was eating a kiwi when I wrote this). Nothing really to say, just feeling belligerent.

A Public Service of the Peng Thread. Remember, the only stupid question is the one you post where everyone can see it. Wanna know how to take a screen shot? How to string all the turns into one long movie? Why they don't show all 12 men in a squad? This is the place to stop lurking and start smirking, with the cool guys from the incomprehensible Peng Thread, aka Cesspool!

Originally posted by Jeff Heidman: Don't you know that there is nothing that the Iowa class battleship cannot do? Well, I know I got an education by actually reading the posts here, but there always comes a time to defer to a real authority on offensive power. Back to my Pool. [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 01-08-2001).]