Michael Emrys

You are perhaps confusing that with what Dean Martin used to say: "You aren't drunk as long as you can still hold onto the floor."
Michael

It lies in wait, you know. Then when some innocent, unsuspecting person comes along, out it leaps and seizes you around the ankles, dragging you back into its voracious maw. [shudder]
Michael

"Taps" is now being solemnly played all over the world.

Michael

Have a plot twist to the story, and it involves the CMBN side of things for the CW. Just got off the horn with brother George, who informed me the British, for reasons he didn't understand, did not do the upgrade kits that put the wide mantlet and the all-important telescopic sight on what had been narrow mantlet Shermans with their associated optical deficits. He thought this was pretty shocking, considering it was the British who raised a ruckus about optics in the first place. He further noted they didn't fit the protective plates to the near vertical driver and bow gunner bulges in the glacis and didn't always have sponson armor added, either. Said the overall situation was the norm in Normandy, and that they were still campaigning narrow mantlet Shermans at Arnhem! Seems to me this is something which ought to be looked into because of its potentially substantial impact on combat performance and also addressed by scenario builders. He sent a photo to my phone of a British welded hull Sherman in Normandy in June 1944, and that tank is very much the OEM first model with the narrow mantlet. Not sure what the situation was for the Canadians and the Poles.
Regards,
John Kettler

Regarding the tank name, here's a naming scenario I hadn't thought of but find intriguing. The time period fits nicely, too.

http://www.cowgirl.net/portfolios/lulu-bell-parr/
Regards,
John Kettler

I like them all, but I think I like this one the best. I think you really have gotten the hang of good narrative flow, Bud. Kudos!

Michael

Wanted to pass the word that all sorts of cartographic martial wonder is on offer right now, including a TOP SECRET-BIGOT map of Gela, Sicily, route of advance maps for named US divisions, ETO tour broadsides for others, Royal Ordnance Survey maps and even US and RAF silk escape maps for various theaters. For the space of a few hours, I held top bid (a stretch at $52) for a TOP SECRET-BIGOT 12 x 15" OMAHA WEST map, but people placed astronomic bids late in the game, and it sold for some $862.15!
Regards,
John Kettler

Was watching an excellent video from huge in content and quality The Terrain Tutor Channel (sample below) when I found this NSFW gem (language and huge video frames of same, hence no vid posted) in the sidebar. It's a hilarious, clever and thoroughly discussed and shown how-to for making your own gaming table with built-in 32" LCD.
The Terrain Tutor how-to of hedges. SAN loss possible! Ignore keyframe. Brother Ed alerted me to these, and he's now got his wife involved!
 
Regards,
John Kettler

Wodin,
Here's a valauble CoC resource on FB. Closed group I was referred to by brother George.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1444501242432741/
The Tactical Painter is amazing and was also found on FB as a link, but is a blog.

https://thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com
 
Regards,
John Kettler

Wodin,
Have played BA a number of times, and it's driving me crazy with its numerous issues, not least of which is troop mobility relative to reach of MMGs. Pretty bad when a single turn of running is enough to close to rifle range! This creates a simply dreadful crippling effect on the tactical utility of MMGs, since there is so little time in which to engage.
Recently, brother George started talking to me about CoCommand, and it's fair to say I've devoured the training videos. Pretty impressed with the system, but have yet to play it. Intrigued, though, I decided to investigate reviews comparing the two games. That's how I found this well done and balanced review. It further occurs to me TrailApe's wargame blog might be a good addition to your links, if it's not already there. So far, the only times my lovingly painted by him 28 mm Germans have been in battle were those rare occasions in which I got to fight Ed and his frontoviki. Lost four in a row over Christmas but learned much in the process--starting with that it's all in vain when your brother rolls really hot through most of the game. Hard to defend when the MG teams get pulverized. Mind, my entire force was in hard cover and in commnad. When I inquired as to whether he'd sold his soul to get such devastating die rolls over and over again, he came back with a classic lightning quick Ed response: "No. I sold yours. Twice!" 
http://trailape.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/so-youre-platoon-commander-comparing.html
Regards,
John Kettler

Wodin,
Aha! Your true motive for the blog stands revealed--free war pig books! (no emoji inserted, but you get the idea) Or do you have to give them back? If so, what a shame!
Regards,
John Kettler

Wodin,
Went over there, did and just got back! Read reviews on computer Napoleonics and 30 Years War, Thomas Gunn goodies (first several of impressive Roman legionary figure pics don't expand, which was frustrating),  MiniFig (not the lead miniatures I recall) SWAT review, and, after devouring the first rate David Heath of LnLP interview, immediately reached out to my longtime friend/game designer/business partner to let him know how valuable that article was. I also plan on passing the word about your site among my gaming relations and close friends who aren't CM types.
Yours is a very well done site which is full of wargamer delights. The downside? Now I have to think about the scads of other games and related things you just had to tell me about!
Regards,
John Kettler
 

DerKommmisar,

You.  rattled me!  Thought you. were  saying the link again didn't work, but then I noticed you'd  quoted Andy. Loved  "Bones". in OST (not   am. Ost). And the epithet for the Untermensch  of. that  episode about good intentions with disastrous consequences. was  "you filthy Zaon pig!"
Regards,
John Kettler
 

Andy,
Sorry   about the  link.  Purple. link has been tested  and  works..  Regarding your do I play CM question,   I   haven't. been able to  do so for months now, but  assuredly would if I could. Indeed, it's stressing me out that I can't destress by playing CM! Since. all I can do is post, that's what I  do instead.
state-sponsored violence in the soviet union: skeletal trauma and ...

Review of
STATE-SPONSORED VIOLENCE IN THE SOVIET UNION: SKELETAL TRAUMA AND BURIAL ORGANIZATION IN A POST-WORLD WAR II LITHUANIAN SAMPLE 
By
Catherine Elizabeth Bird
http://dissertationreviews.org/archives/9045  
Regards,
John Kettler

This is a doctoral dissertation. on state-sponsored violence in Lithuania under the Soviets during  and after WW II. (1944-47).    It  is a forensic study of the specific activities of what the dissertation  calls "violence workers"  (nearly gagged over that one) at multiple sites, with Katyn being explicitly used for  comparison. This dissertation first sets forth the broad  context in which, the security organs operated, their ethos, organizational  structure and effectiveness, before getting down to the brutal  specifics based  on nearly 160  exhumations.   Found this  while looking into  the ability of coroners and  such to distinguish between  peri  mortem and post  portem  GSW.   It is clear that such distinction can be made,   and  that has ramifications on one of  my book  projects.  Spot. reading  of  various. parts of  this. document show it   to be. well-conceived, thoroughly documented, carefully considered and  well argued. It is   replete with  charts,   graphs,   histograms,   plots,  inventories,  photos and. more. Found   myself baffled, though, that a  table for Stalinist period state-sponsored violence in the Soviet  Union somehow  managed  to. have   neither regional  totals  nor overall  ones! The bibliography would  provide an education, too,  were people to chase down  what's   listed and read it. While the. Gulag Archipelago so ably detailed by  Solzhenitsyn chronicled the gigantic penal  system which  was  also.  a way of  disposing of  enemies of  the state by working them to  death amid incredible privation, this piece is  about  prompt liquidation  instead,  often committed  amid considerable  chaos and  upheaval.  Have never  seen anything quite  like   this.

https://d.lib.msu.edu/.../State-sponsored_violence_in_the_Soviet_Union___skeletal_trau...
STATE-SPONSORED VIOLENCE IN THE SOVIET UNION: SKELETAL TRAUMA AND BURIAL ORGANIZATION IN A POST-WORLD WAR II LITHUANIAN SAMPLE
By
Catherine Elizabeth Bird
Regards,
John Kettler

After joining Amazon Prime in a failed effort (driver delivered time but to unknown address) to get a desperately needed Mac keyboard the next day, I subsequently discovered the service included movies, which is how I found ARNHEM. This is a well done documentary featuring some heavy hitters like Kershaw, Beatty and Carruthers. It makes extensive use of a situation map, combat walks (with the narrator pointing clearly as to who was where from a given location), aerial recon images, aerial attack and jump and glider assault footage, ground combat film and stills (from both sides) and much more in a story told day by day, with the primary emphasis on the battle, as opposed to a heavy front end on the grand strategy and nitty gritty of the planning. At times, it gets down to the actions of a single company. Some of whats presented as visuals was familiar to me, but much else was not. About the only real gripes I have is some History Channel grade image disconnects, such as the narration describing all the German armor wrecked at Falaise, but a photo of a ruined truck, a King Tiger which is an exact match for the Becker Special 105 SPH on a Lorraine Schlepper chassis, etc. There are similar annoyances you can find for yourselves, but also some grog goodies you may not have ever seen Overall, though, I think this is a really good military documentary, one which covers an enormous amount of ground in under an hour. Believe Amazon offers a 30 day free trial Prime, which has other war piggery on it, too.

Regards,
John Kettler

I like them all, but I think I like this one the best. I think you really have gotten the hang of good narrative flow, Bud. Kudos!

Michael

Brother Ed is happily making craters on a 3-D printer, and I unearthed this to help him. Turns out this is a blast from my past, in the form of a runway cratering study I used when doing a report on US rapid runway repair capability in my early days at Hughes. This is, in part, quite the tutorial on crater configuration from aerial bombs and addresses dimensions  for a range of bomb sizes against both a range of runway types and against bare soil. It's called BOMB CRATER DAMAGE TO RUNWAYS and was authored by Peter Westine of the Southwest Research Institute. 
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/907456.pdf

P.S.

I give up! This post won't delete. Tried doing that after realizing I put it in the wrong place. Should be in CM GDF, not CMFB. Mods, please move it. Thanks! 
Regards,
John Kettler

It's not a big issue with me at all, but I feel obliged to say that I think these are vastly over-represented in the game. After having over the years viewed scores if not hundreds of pics of knocked out tanks—including many that have had violent internal explosions—the only ones I can recall sitting in a crater as shown in the game had been hit by naval or similar caliber gunfire. And chances were that the shell landed close but not on the tank. The force of internal explosions tends to get vented vertically by blowing the turret off and not even much laterally and almost none at all downwardly as would be required to create a crater. Like I say, not a big deal for me, but as long as we are discussing fidelity of representation, I thought I'd mention it.
Michael

I've always hated those key openers. In the first place, even when they work right they're slow as hell. Not nice when you are hungry and it's only a five minute break. And what's worse, usually I get about half way around the can and the strip starts slipping off the roll. Makes you want to find the inventor and make him eat all the keys, strips and all!
Michael

Ah, the blesséd Meatchopper. Back when I was in high school, I knew a guy who had served in one of those during the war. When I knew him he worked for a major meat packing company. I always thought that was kind of poetic.

Michael

+1. Yes indeed. One of those every once in a while would be greatly appreciated as an aid to stay oriented within the flow of the action.
Michael

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_S
Michael

It has armor and a gun, so it is an Armored Fighting Vehicle. At least that's the way I learned it.
I think the idea was that it was intended as an infantry support weapon to be used against enemy infantry, not intended to go up against tanks and suchlike. But we all know about "best laid plans" don't we?
It often happened in the war that for one reason or another not enough of the desired weapon—in this case tanks—could be produced to meet all desired requirements. So whatever guns available were mated with whatever vehicles were available to try to give at least some capability. These improvisations were often somewhat less than the doctor ordered. Some were downright disastrous, The M6 GMC "tank destroyer" for instance, which had no business appearing on any battlefield. Ah well, live and learn. Or as in this case, die and hope somebody else will learn.
Michael

Implied in this but not explicit is that by increasing the spread between your tanks, you increase the probability of getting a flank shot.
Michael