Murx

Yesterday I gave Axis +50% in VoT and I think he had 10+ SchrekTeams. Its not funny to spearhead a attack on a calm sunny morning and facing 4 SchrekTeams firing all at once at your lille tank :-( lucky me one Sherman was able to pull back. murx

One thing on this game o you really believe those rats will like it ? Its no dumb blow away game, even if they warez it to few of them will play it or see even the reason why. I have contacted BTS to get me my valid copy of the game and I wont give it away. Not even for murx

Yes that M113 chassis is what I mean, its used i a large array of servies as I noted, but got a number for each of the special modificatins. As far as I know there are a minimum of 5 different versions. murx

I was not sure if walls should work that way Thanks for the info. And as I said, the units don't stand on TOP of the wall but IN murx

OK, that gives proof that the AI doesn't know the postion, was just wondering couse the AI seemed to maneuver around them in my games ... murx

On the meaning of Ersatz Bn. - yes - I'm sure, for the equipment sure it wasn't the best in most western units at that time but I don't know to which Divisional/Brigade Command the unit is attached, so I can't say anything. And for the soldiers, sure not all were that young but the average. murx

Just remember when evaluating Hitlers commands (and faults - most time you can't tell one from the other ) was just a little small soldier in WWI with no experience in modern warfare. He was a Obergefreiter (some class of private). So what do you expect when such a little boy plays war ??? But as a polish officer told me, yeah, you Germans have lost the war but look at Europe now, you won the peace ! murx For war you only need three things, money, money and again money ...

I think this is a way people trying to gain from build-in quirks. The reinforcements have to show up anywhere (best would be if the player decides where they should show up!). Normally they don't pop up out of nowhere, the panther would have started firing off-map (maybe we need a scrollable/enlargeable map ?). So are you gonna play each and every scenario of CM just to get the advantage to know where the reinforcments show up and by that gain unjust advantage ? (somwhat grumbling) murx

Hi, I m still looking for somme PBEMs but as the last msg here is 2 days old I wont just send a turn to you cause I dont know if you have enough games running. So just send me a setup marcus.metzler@schunter.etc.tu-bs.de murx

As far as I know nowadays German PanzerGrenadier Battalions got up to 4 M110??? (don't exactly know, these tracked APC that serve as platform for all type of things, like Command, FOV, Sani, ABC-Abwehr etc) with 120mm mortars, normally they put them together as a battery. Same goes for the Milan (AT-Launcher), they got 4 per Kp and put them in ne platoon. murx

One thingie on collapsed buildings: I would like to see the outer walls still standing. Light buildings should collapse one a direct 105mm hit, minimal after the second. And walls dont really work. When I move units to the point where it says 'wall' they end up IN the wall and get much more hits as when I put them close behind the wall on 'open ground'. murx

The units AI is really great, and sometimes the complete AI (that is when it controls one side) has some good days, but mostly average. One thing on tank wrecks. Most wrecks will give other tanks a good additional armor as with a good driver it can position itself in a way that most of his silouette is concealed but the gun & sights still got enough space to aim & shoot. So we all should be lucky that wrecks are rendered ghosts after disabled. Else it could be 50% harder to kill the second Sherman murx

Good idea to keep the tanks off LOS, but the AI handles it quit good, he just moves several of his Sherman 75 in LOS at approx the same time and the the 75mm has no chance of killing more then 2 of them The first time I played the Amis in VoT (fixed setup, and I had played the Germans before) I laid a 105mm barrage on this bunker The third round a shell hit home and set the bunker on fire. Was a funny sight and I was so happy to get my tanks up to finish off those wooden and concrete MG bunkers.... murx

Problem is that you have different angles from which units could/could not be seen. So a mean player (or maybe by mistake) could find enemy units and set his units in the best way. I noticed a bug in CloseCombat 2 where you could target enemy units in setup mode and even get the exact unit description, so you could start all weapons firing (works only against AI). Just think of the setup phase at dawn and when you are finished the morning fog raises and oops, there is a bunker murx

I can only laugh at US body/vehicle counts. They got more Tiger II kills in their books then there were ever produced ( I read something on 1500-1600 counted Tiger II shots - maybe every US tank that came by a wreck shot at it and claimed the kill . And for bodycounts I remember some bad things (maybe not even half of that is true, OK) on the Vietnam War ... And the long text on pool: He used to sit up there in the turret - you could tell Pool anywhere by the way he sat up there, more out than in! Yeah, thats a dumb one, should have died by the first sniper that came around ... If some people here know PanzerTactics (and I guess there are some here) they will know better. So another tank of his platoon got a Panzerschrek hit - thats when you move too fast and too close on the enemy There is a German Panzermann saying : "Waldesrand zieht Scheisse an!" meaning the edge of a forrest draws **** err, danger CM makes me really!!! happy cause it is the first game that implies real PanzerTactics (that is tactics that are teached in most militaries). I was fascinated when my 2 Sherman 105mm smoked themselves and drawed back when they got in range by the German Panther at VoT. Even more when my Sherman 75mm turned his hull to the Schrekteam to maximize his armor and weapons bearing. The programmers must have read the books. (maybe Guderians Panzertacics guidelines ?). The most interesting fact on Panzertactics is that they haven't really changed since German ínvented' it and realized that tanks are a weapon of their own and not only support for infantry. OK, enough murx

The word Ersatz doesn't mean that these troops were all greenies or hurt veterans. In fact Ersatz Bn. means it was the reserve of a Brigade or even Divisional Command. These units were neither for administrativ services but a backup for bad situations where at a special point of the front support was in dire need. The second thing You have to look on is that at the time D-Day happened there weren't those all greeny or conscript / Volkssturm units. The average German soldier at that time had a 3-5 year premilitary time at the Hitlerjugend with straight military discipline, weapons and physical fitness training. Then two years of Arbeitsfront, another premilitary training where they mostly build/worked at autobahn/rail or other important infrastructure including military fortifications. Then they had one year of hard military drill both on infantry combats as on their special proficency (tank, AA, arty etc). Only then they would be sent in real service. So most units at D-Day (except those few low motivated StrafKompanien) were much better trained then the average US soldier. murx

Yeah, I submit to this - there is no real turning point. The last option - if at D-Day the SS-PzDivisions were activated and Overlord had failed (or the West Allied offensive in France had failed) - would have been the Fat Boy and that would have been the end. Only then Germany would have signed a peace treaty. Thats my personal opinion. murx

Now for real, those barking dogs or maybe a flight of birds coming out of a wood where a pack of soldiers try to flank you would be real cool What about some partisans ? They don't really make the day, but gives you somthing to think of when your prepared defense has a beaten up squad cause three french partisans gave them some bullets. And for the Souvenirs ? Why not ? Not just a silly Death & VictoryPoints diagram but some medals & the piece of a Tiger II you just torched murx

I never saw a single AI infantry or tank get killed by a mine. And I doubt that even a engineer squad will see a concealed mine at a distance further the 30cm ( and even then its a 50%-50% gamble at best). So either they are open minefields, then they are to direct the enemy in a special spot or prevent him from spots... (but then there are to few of them) or they are far too easily spotted. At VoT I found that I can only learn their postion the hard way ... Though my question is : are the mines easier to spot for the AI (to give here a better chance couse she isnt that smart) ? murx

Sorry that I didnt read that thread on crew weapons First of all - OK - this is a game and for the sake of CPU & Graphic power - there are limitations. For tank crews I can say (as I m a tanker or better was on that neat Leopard 2 A1) you have the time to take your SMG or even MG when bailing out especially when the tank is just disabled and not under immediate additional fire. For the AA-MG its on the top all the time in war and its not more dangerous for the operator then it is for the commander so when a tank is used as a long range support at 500 m or more there is no real problem to operate it. There were on some tanks even additional front armor at these AA-MGs to operate them in closer combats. For tank crews your right that in most cases they would retreat and get them new tanks. But especially the German gun crews with more then 3 or 4 crewman where used too (at least at that time of the war) to pick up their carbine and defend... OK, I think I have - but I surely can live with the fact that crews are useless in this great game !! Sorry that I sumbled over this game only a week ago else I would have been here much earlier And as JWorthing wrote : *Do not take offense, only my opinion and observation* murx

First of all I want to say that I don't want to insult anyone (I hope I didn't it with my first post...) but it may happen as my mind is not always right on target and my arguements sometimes fire wild For the stuff I said about MCDonald & Coca-Cola - I meant both as a example how they change the everyday way of life of people. Its just a symptom of how the local/cultural way of life of other nations is changed and twisted - the most visible one I can think of. I like to quote argie on this one : The thing that really amazes me is how hard is to the USA people (not all) understand hat your country isn't the Messiah, just the dominant culture. As I did quote Ghandi: I like to welcome each and every culture in my home but I don't want to be overwhelmed by just one! Thats rather my whole point - other problems are US own politics and they have to deal with that on their own. Only thing is that I dont wat them to happen elswhere ind the world ... (BTW I believe US is supporting NATO/UN actions - military ones that is - only to have just right to act when their own politics are affected too. Compare the Gulf-War and the Jugoslavia conflicts with other conflicts. The Gulf war is on oil and the Jugoslavia is on a globar strategical location to the instable post Russian nations, but the wras in south & middle africa are OK, couse they buy lots of weapons (money!), kill each other (less world population) and aren't endangering any worthy natura ressource supplies .... Thats in answer to Hakko Ichui Why else do we send our troops on operations that can be of no conceivable net benefit to the United States? E.g., Haiti, Kosovo, Bosnia, Sudan. BTW, not You are sending, Your goverment is and what means do You have to stop them ?) Again hopefully I didn't insult anyone ... murx

I got some bad news, I had a PzSchrek Team lying in his foxhole (VoT) aiming at 225m ! (230m is max). First shot - failed, 2 Shermans returned fire with all out, even a 105mm Sherman from 70 degree to the left flank startet with all it had. Second shot - failed! All tanks still fired all they had ! And then the unthinkable - third shot - tank burned. It was a regular team. So what's the point? Then the panzerfaust doesn't really take time to set it up, it's a oneway fast and easy to use weapon (for a got view on the weapon see "The Bridge - Die Bruecke"), just make sure no comrade is next to your rear, aim, fire all in all 5-10 sec. But one thing really sucks. Each and every soldier had a weapon, not only a addon weapon like a PzSchrek, but a carbine or a pistol or a smg. So AT-teams should have carbines too. And the MG-squads, you don't need 6 men to handle a MG, even a HMG. One aims second (and maybe third) assist with ammo, but the 3-6th soldier is free to use his own weapon. MG squads should leave their MG when they route/panic in ???%. But they won't leave (most time) their personal weapon. Same goes for guncrews and mortars. Even vehicle crews! BTW I'm missing the AA-MGs on the tanks! And Pz crews not only got pistols. They got SMGs and if trained (or situation is not to bad) they will take one MG from the tank with them. The MG is not fixed build in! Its just a normal MG34 or MG42! and they would take it with them (if you bail out through the ground door there is enough time for the loader to get that weapon). The crews in CM remind me of the crews in CloseCombat - they are of no use ! In CloseCombat you couldnt move them and in CM they aren't armed ... And what about scavenging ! Ammo, grenades even weapons ! I would prefer less ammo in game if my soldiers were able to pick up / use weapons that are abandoned (through death or capture/panic). OK, now I said it! Didn't found the right thread for this stuff and I'm hoping for a patch to patch this all up in CM murx (BTW I'm ordering now this great game!)

Hi I'm not that informed on weapons as some (most?) of you are but I would like to contribute some things to this discussion: G11: As far as I know this weapon was not introduced as the main German weapon of only one reason: Its caliber is 4.45 caseless ammo. No other nation of the NATO use this so there could always be the problem of supplying this type of ammo in a conflict. There is the fact that it uses very high velocity rounds but not different in behavior then the standard 5.56mm rounds of the M16 or the like. The pro for this caseless ammo is that a soldier could carry three times the ammo others could(At my military training i had 120 rounds with me...). Second this weapon burst mode fires at such a high rof that the backbeat happens after the third round had left the barrel (so effectly at 100m three rounds would hit within 10cm!). It had a 40rounds mag (btw a funny thing on this weapon: Military demanded a full auto mode, with the 50round mag it always jamed after some 40 shots, they never found a way to fix that - so they cut the mag to 40 shots). 40 round mag? Not quit right, in fact there are 2 mags build together, at the top of the barrel are three guide rails, so you just switch the mag one rail to the side and have a fresh mag . One thing on ammo: There is the clear tendence that nowaday soldiers need much more shots to hit a target! I read someday (might not be accurate) That in WWII the average European soldier needed 20 rounds per hit, the US approx 200, not to mention the Vietnam war with several thousand. I don't really understand this fact. Even in 'nowadays' crimes in US both police and criminal fire whole mags at distances much shorter then 50m at each other with very few hits. I have trained with the UZI and G3 and even the P1 (which is said to be the worsed pistol in the world, chances are that you hit better if you throw it) and never got problems homing in. I'm not that strong and the backbeat from the G3 or even our MG2 gave me problems but I can't understand whats so hard hitting a target ... (BTW there are [as far as I know] only two differences between the MG2 and the MG42 ask me if you want to know them) There was a long discussion on caliber. In my opinion this 'new' 5.56 (now Germany got its G36 with 5.56) is bull**** ! I read in a German army manual on field fortyfications that you need 110 cm of sandsack barricade to make sure that medium MGs and assaultrifles with 7.62 won't hurt you. I guess with those lightweight 5.56 you need less then a third (correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe most buildings in the world aren't build like they are in Europe but there is no way a 5.56 will go through 20-30cm of brick. But when you got a G3 (I think there is a M16 variant that uses 7.62 too) and you see a son of a bitch hiding in a house you don't mind and punch a hole in the place you think where that guy is (and probably punch a hole in him too). And light armored vehicles ... heck with a good rifle you can penetrate the back armor of a BMP-2! Uh, ok, its late gotta go murx

Hi I'm new to PBEM too, not really new as I played a lot of strategy on Hotseat or PBEM from house to house (we're in a students dorm with a nice LAN here or online. Played all (nearly) from ole Battle Island over Close Combat, Panzer General or those RTS like Age of Empires & Command & Conquer. I would like to play approx. one turn per day. But I would like to play a game of "THE ARDENNES OFFENSIVE" too (a nice game too . So just send me a mail to marcus.metzler@schunter.etc.tu-bs.de I will make use of the side You didn't chose OK then hope to find my master! murx

I would like to contribute to the original cause of this thread, the way especially Hollywood is twisting history. My feelings are that the US goverment and industry (thus including the entertainment business) are on a very strict imperialistic way ! Not only tries the goverment with help of trade taxes and financial support on their own industry to strengthen its economy, the industry itself tries to set its standards as worldstandards too, but even the way of life mainly through stuff like Coca-Cola & Mac**** and more important Hollywood (and the like)! As Ghandi said - he likes to welcome each and every culture in his home but he doesnt want to be overwhelmed by just one! Not only the British get their share in Hollywood productions but the Germans too In most James Bond (and lot of other movies) there's this evil henchmen blond, strong with blue eyes (very germanic - did you really believe we look all like this ?). And especially in war movies the Germans are real dumb ! Like in SPR - yeah, we usually drove with this open top antitank panzers in a city, and we never expect a mg or a sniper at a churchtop ... It was said that SPR was a anti war movie ... never ! Yeah, this great highcommand even cares for a single soldier (wasn't there a estimated death toll of 70% at the airborne preattack on D-Day ? even if it was much less then that ...), and didn't they won the battle and the war ? Aren't they heroes ? I never got the feeling that the characters from 'Das Boot', 'Im Westen nichts neues' or 'Die Bruecke' were heroes - these movies weren't so bad that they made me puke - but SPR was so , sorry I'm missing the exact English words for this, falsch, unehrlich, it nearly made me. Ok, I stop now ... Hopefully I will be here more then once a week ... murx