Andreas

No he has not forgotten her. Maybe the reference refers to something from before your time, my lad? Or maybe it is the use of the term 'smart' that so confused you.

In a recent game, my opponent insisted on driving his T34s so close to an unreconnoitered forest edge that I could knock out one of them with a Panzerschreck. Then he decided he would drive a Sherman behind my lines in an attempt to destroy my T34s. He did not reckon on a PAK there. I wished he had sent more than one tank there. Puuuuuuuurrrrr

Not quite sure what you are looking at, because the 'Jaeger' formations in the game do not have that organisation. The German standard infantry squad, equipped as the one you give has: 124, 85, 48, 24 Bit of a difference. The Jaeger 43 has 7 SMGs (MP40), 2 Rifles, and a lMG. The FP rating is as you gave. The key question then is whether the MP40 was better than the M1 in close combat situations.

This suggestion has already been discussed. If you do a search under 'multiplayer' and 'Kip Anderson', you may find something about it.

Ahh - that makes sense.

Even higher rate of fire? That sounds really smart... Did it include conveyor belts from the ammunition factories to the trenches for delivery of the rounds to the gun?

I do not believe there was any mixing of Churchills and Shermans in Normandy or elsewhere in NWE. Therefore no Fireflies and Churchills there. Can't comment on Italy.

I was doing you a favour by not sending you a setup. But hey, your slacking behaviour needs some punishment. Expect lots of hot metal striking the steel sides of your tanks and penetrating deeply (sit down Bauhaus) in your inbox shortly.

As designer of that op, all I can say is that I have no clue. This one should not have made the CD, something is clearly broken in it.

Well, in the spirit of the new year 2004, and all that, I feel I have to get Sergei out of the funk he must still be in over this desastrous defeat brought upon him by my superior leadership in the field. Goes to show that even given Finns, leadership and tactical acumen have the potential to turn an assured hiding into a glorious victory. Anyway, since I assume that Sergei is still rocking back and forth in a corner of his tent in Lappland, I thought I'd invite him for a public revanche deathmatch. So, Sergei, what say you? This time you have the choice of weapons. Meet me on the field of battle to avenge the sullying of Finnish leadership skills.

Those Panzers are really suffering. I imagine the song to be a very sad one.

Germans just use numbers, from 1 through to 15, depending on timeframe and formation. E.g. the heavy company of the 1st battalion of 123rd infantry regiment is: 4./IR 123 The whole battalion would be: I./IR 123 Italians also used numbers, I am not aware of any nicknames, but I am no Italo grog.

Robart Are you talking Cemetary Hill or The Creek now? BTW - the game can now be reviewed at the Depot. That way you can share your pain.

Briefings are a matter of personal style. To me, a briefing sets the scenario apart from a QB. A bad briefing makes the scenario much less interesting. In my briefings, I include: </font> General</font>List of scenario attributes</font>Historical background, usually operational situation, in brief</font>Play recommendations</font>Credit to co-designers and playtesters</font>Links to relevant websites (Der Kessel, Red Army Studies, Scenario Depot)</font>Side-specific</font>Situational background - why do you have to fight here</font>Intelligence briefing (as accurate as historically appropriate - I don't lie, but sometimes maybe more obscure than other times) - who do you have to fight</font>Mission - what do you have to accomplish</font>Forces - in quite some detail, with strength assessment, and information about reinforcements</font>

Mine at least. I realised that maybe this time the good folks at the Depot (stay away that sheep Harv, and nobody will get hurt!) are not planning to provide the same service as they did with CMBB, and that I would actually have to do the work (curses! My employer knows how much I hate to work). So I just added my CD scenarios. I guess Berli may do the same at some point. Happy reviewing. www.dragonlair.net/combatmission

No. Your theory is BS. There is a fact right there for you. Since you are reality-resistant, I have no more time to waste on you.

Isn't the US infantry in LoD much higher experience than the Soviet infantry in Yelnia Stare?

My word - Jason and I agree on something. Quick, bring out the champagne. MT - if you still don't accept what has clearly been laid out to you, I am at a loss how to go any further. So I will just recap. 1943 was not a year of standardisation of the Soviet tank force. It was a year in which roles were more clearly assigned to specific vehicles, and a whole new class of AFVs was introduced. Increased production of T34 came from increased production efficiency and new plant, not from abandoning the KV or T60/70 series of plant. The plants for the former were retooled and produced stop-gap vehicles, the plants for the latter switched to SU76. The plants for the former could have been switched to T34 production but were not. That blows a whole in your theory. The plants for the latter could not be switched to T34 production. Rotmistrov's statement did not lead to an abandoning of the heavy tank per se despite the grievous shortcomings of the KV he notes (some of which would apply to the IS series too). It lead to a much clearer role assignment to it. What changed was how they used the heavy tank, i.e. as a breakthrough tank, not as a pursuit tank. Your point about the tank guns is obvious. The successor vehicles to the T70 and KV did not use the T34 tank gun (I think the T70 used the divisional gun, but could be mistaken). So it is logical that the gun production will find its way into the T34, since there is no other taker for it. In what way am I being naive about factories? In stating that the automotive plants could not handle T34 production? In stating that retooling takes time, and will lead to decreased production? Please enlighten me.

Emphasis by me.

The numbers of heavy tanks dropped for reasons outlined. Standardisation in formations, and less marginal usefulness of KV1 over T34, combined with the switch from KV1 to KV85 and IS tanks. Also, the SU1x2 series of guns took on the role that previously would have been with the KV series, i.e. breakthrough. I would be interested to hear if in actuality any factories were switched from KV to T34 production (switchover to the SU series or IS does not count). I doubt that was the case, and that would be the only proof for your theory. If, as I believe, it did not happen, your theory falls apart. The numbers are meaningless, they can mean all sorts of things - most likely increased efficiency of production at the T34 plants, that were not lumbered with switch-overs. I mean 1941. I suggest you do a bit more googling (or even better reading 'Germany and the second world war' would be a good start) if you seriously believe that Germany could win the war by Spring 1944, even with the slimmest chance of all. Operational skills are the reason for operational kills, not the other way round. From December 1941 the Red Army had numerical superiority. It took them until 12 months later to be able to use it. That to me indicates that numbers were not the key factor in allowing the Red Army to beat the Germans. It was their developing skill at using their numbers. A skill that got very good towards the end. Even taking Berlin is much less of a slaughter than people suppose, if you look at what they accomplished and how quickly they did it. We have been around this particular block numerous times, you can do a search.

Developing operational skill was more important than attrition. They did not 'drop'light tanks, they started using the chassis for useful vehicles with Zis-3 guns. They also introduced a whole slew of new models in the assault gun range that were based on medium tank chassis. They also spent the year producing KV-1s and developing the IS range of tanks, so they were looking at the same problems as the Germans, but with a larger industrial base to work from. What happened was that their formations were standardised on specific models, which was different from the German mix and match approach. That was where standardisation happened, not in production. The Soviets began the year with formations fielding KV1, T34, and T70. They ended it with formations fielding KV1s, T34, SU76, SU122, SU152, probably some KV85. That does not look like standardisation to me. The appearance of 75L4x tanks in numbers made this costly, but this was not learned at Kursk, it was already clear from the winter battles of 1942/43. So long before Kursk it was clear to the Soviets that tank on tank was not the way to go. Kursk was a necessary expedient, because the Germans got through defenses in the south that they were not meant to get through. 5th Guards Tank Army was not meant to be destroyed at Prokhorovka, it was not supposed to go there in the first place. So did pre-Kursk operations work, the only thing that was different at Kursk was that the Germans were attacking one last time, and needed to be stopped. Ever wondered why the Romanians were attacked during Uranus and the Hungarians in January 1943? The Soviets attacked the strong part of the German line for the last time in the Mars desaster. Thereafter they focussed on the weak parts. Post spring 1941 the Germans could not win the war. It took them to May 8th 1945 to catch up with that reality. Any strategic wriggling inbetween was just pointless idiocy. The German strategy was never informed by what it 'knew', it was informed by what it wished for, no matter how outlandish.

Think of it as 'Cemetary Hill' for people who did not buy CMBB.

Does anyone have maps or links to maps at least 1:25k or 1:50k for the Lake Velenc area in which some very heavy battles took place in December 1944?

Ian thanks to Berli's efforts we have also reopened Der Kessel with a whole slew of new scenarios at: www.derkessel.org

There is a real map around somewhere, from the British map section of the time. I may still have it somewhere, and can have a dig in the next week or so.