Shep

CMAK has arrived in Colorado. One thing I appreciate out of the wrapper is the increased number of tiny scenarios. These are great quick scenarios which also work well to teach tactics to my 8 year old son.

Once all of us folks on this side of the pond have the game, how shall we choose which scenario for our focus? How about in their order as they appear on the disk? Also, we should change the name of the thread to "scenario of the fortnight," and more or less divide the months in half.

Just an amusing sidelight. I took an alternate tactic, putting two platoons of infantry over in the wheatfield on the US left and hoping to creep along and do something decisive. The GE AI put a preplanned barrage of 105 arty there, and I found myself with only half the men. I ground forward and won a minor, thanks to the engineers and reinforcements on the right. The remnants on the left pushed forward and took that side of town toward the end. They didn't do so badly considering how they started.

And this thread is just a warmup, basic training for the real scenarios. But it's been a really good trainup so far. Plenty of good AARs, and some cogent analysis.

I've searched the forums in vain. Apparently there is no CMAK vehicle list extant here. May we have one before the game ships? Or perhaps an enterprising Finn who already has the game would like to clue us in? I remember the first day I bought ASL West of Alamein, and how fun it was to look at the counters and the huge list of Brit vehicles in the armory. I look forward to the same experience here, but I'm hoping for a preview to tide me over.

I had a turret jam happen once in an M60A1. The loader got his sleeve caught in the gearing. He nearly lost his hand, a matter of millimeters.

I've review Fruhlingswind at the Depot. Someone else chime in now too. By the way, has anyone used German HE artillery as the equivalent of smoke? It seems that HE fire can be dual purpose now. Chew up a lot of dust and use it just like a smokescreen...

What not to do. If I get whupped by the AI using a strategy, it seems safe to say it won't work against a reasonably competent human being. I put the Grant platoon forward. (waits for laughter to die down). I put them in front of their default position, right next to the berm there and out of sight of the enemy. I wanted to try shoot & scoot with them, hoping to get some flank shots against the panzers in the middle. Instead, here's what happened: 1) The Shermans hunted through the orchard, and then learned about massed fire. The rate of fire, and the massed fire of 15 tanks knocked out two, gun killed one, and broke and panicked the other two. 2) Round one of shoot & scoot... green tank crews sure do dawdle. They roll up, shoot, miss, and roll back. A couple of panzer crews raise their eyebrows. The GE recon infantry gets shot up because they were almost to the lip of the berm. The Grant MGs do indeed work. 3) Realizing that green crews aren't going to get a lot of first shot hits, I make it a mass hunt command... The command tank runs up and collects all the attention, and before he realizes his command delay is shorter than the green guys, he notices his tank is letting in a lot of daylight and his crew is leaking their vital fluids. The other green tanks are overwhelmed in the next two turns without getting a single kill. The sole highlight from then on was a bazooka getting a first shot kill from 120 meters. Evidently the guy should have gone to sniper school. After the great shot, he became the nexus of many, many yellow lines, and poof! Both flags got overrun, although the Germans took about 100 infantry casualties. Minor victory, Germans. 59-41, I think. The Grants and Shermans need to keep the engagement range at long, and be willing to win an attrition war. Any other innovations? Successful innovations?

This thread needs a big time spoiler alert. . . . . . . . . . . . . I also took the Americans vs. the AI, using the default setup for both sides, except I put both halftracks in the orchard next to the oasis. I hunkered down with the 37 mm ATG on the American left, forward of the oasis, and waited the onslaught. First came infantry and a few paltry Armored Cars, which were dispatched without much ado. A couple of them lasted a few turns by juking. When the German armor came, it came in droves, and here's what I noticed: RICHOCHETS GALORE. Shattering shells, richochets, and partial penetrations are the general story in this scenario. The Grants hold the line, and begin to win a war of attrition against the PZ IIIs. In the mid-game, the German infantry has penetrated down the ravine, and are causing some trouble. My 37 MM in the middle is knocked out. 1 Grant takes 1 casualty and I wonder if they can take 2 casualties without abandoning ship. 7 guys in a tank! I remember when four was a crowd in a big M60A1, a monster by WW2 standards. I am also plinking the IIIMs enough to know that victory is looking good. I send the Shermans up through the orchard, and they also engage the IIIMs with the same effect. A halftrack goes down, and I notice that they both seem to have a shoot & scoot mentality without my telling them. They don't like enemy armor even if they do have to shoot at them once in a while. After a few turns, I lose a Grant. A hundred more ricochets happen, and then I decide to use the Shermans to roust the German infantry out of the ravine. They're pretty effective, but one Shermie gets immobilized and another takes a gun hit from a panzer. Both eventually abandon with full crews, thanks to the pesky proximity of the infantry and the still consistent tank fire. Finally it ends. The map view shows one PZIIIM left out of the fifteen. I lose a smattering of infantry, a halftrack, an ATG, a Sherman, and a Grant. Major victory, Allies.

Here by public demand! Post your AARs; your brilliant analysis; your wins and losses; confess your tactical sins and trumpet your genius.

I'm willing to share the billing. You started the thread, which gave me the idea. Or just "Scenario of the Week." Shall we put the thread here, where it will be read by all? Or relegate it to the relative anonymity of the scenario thread? My opinion is here, as long as that's okay with the forum meister.

Every two weeks feels about right. How about: AARs... Analysis... Overall W-L record for Axis/Allies... Shall we put the thread here or in the scenarios section? Start with Fruhlingswind right away as a pilot?

I do agree with this. May I suggest a "Scenario of the Week" club?

How 'bout for the demo? I'm a little out of shape, but I could refresh for maybe 48 hours straight. Not like the old days though, when my refreshing ability was measured in weeks and not days.

And let slip the refreshing monkeys... ...or is it too soon yet?

As the originator of the original birdsong thread, it is my ceremonial duty to stop by and say hello. Such fond memories.

Verrrry Sneakkkky. You all stole a march on us that time. I thought multi-turreted vehicles couldn't be done under the current engine.

I also noticed the little glitch. Now: can someone tell me how the new 3D model of the PZ 38t(E) differs from that of the PZ 38t(A)? I looked and looked... I thought the E model was new.

I have done a mild rewrite of the review. I was not entirely happy with how I communicated about the virtues of the game. I also wanted to make sure that Steve and Charles were named. They should get their due, I suppose! Mark

Boo: Thanks for the kind words. Just for that, I will sometime in the coming months review To Kill a Mockingbird. No cultural review is complete without one anyway. Mark

Just up at Front Range Bible Blog. Surely it has not been done before! Mark

Steve, Thanks for the reasonable answer. I often feel for you guys, understanding that there is a segment of the gaming community that is filled with folks who are just plain unhappy, and cannot be made happy in any sensible fashion. I imagine that you're catch your share of flaming crap over this one as one, but I just wanted to encourage you to keep up the good work and try not to take it too personally. You all are not perfect, but doing it your way has been wildly successful and I'm glad you have. You've made the two most enjoyable tactical combat games ever. I look forward to what's next. Best, Mark

I was there too, and would have gotten the T-Shirt, if there was one. But there wasn't. CM Forums should have campaign ribbons, by which we can distinguish our "Old Breed."

Or will there be several more days until 1.02 is made available to the public.

Punxatawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and went back to bed. We haven't seen the BFC crew for a while either. Six more weeks til the patch???