Kingfish

My goof. I should have said '7 roads to Hell'. In any event, check your e-mail. Another good one. Eric Antonsen (sp?) has created a series of excellent scenarios based on the battle of the bulge, in particular the actions by KG Peiper and also the battle for Bastogne. Since he is a Belgium native, he has personally visited the battlefields, and his maps are as close as you can get to the real thing. Take a look here: Belgium combat mission website Doesn't 'Malmedy' look familiar?

Maybe you haven't asked all your former CMBO opponents

At the end of the first battle you get the option to skip the night battle. Are you sure you or you opponent didn't hit yes by mistake?

In a test I ran this morning a T34 using MTC ignored a German trench, roadblock and barbwire. The same with a Russian rifle platoon. I'm not sure if this is working as intended, or not. On the one hand I wouldn't want my troops stopping at the sight of a roadblock 500 meters away, but I also wouldn't want them to continue walking forward if they see a line of trenches in the scattered trees 100 meters ahead.

Check your e-mail

Which leads to the obvious question: if the spotting round is widely off target, then why is the battery FFE? Shouldn't the battery hold off on FFE until it gets confirmation from the spotter that the spotting round is in fact on target?

If you think about it, there should be no difference between how CMBO and CMBB handles barrages in LOS . Targets out of LOS should be way off target, and difficult to adjust, but those in LOS should be either very close or right on target.

Hopefully an arty grog can confirm this, but here's my take on how it should work: 1)Spotter calls in fire mission on target 2)Spotting round lands 200 meters to the left 3)Spotter calls in adjustment 4)Another spotting round comes in 5)rinse, repeat until battery is on target 6)now call in for FFE. The current system is steps 1,2 and then straight to 6. There doesn't seem to be any adjustments by the Tac AI for barrages landing off target.

But Daisy chains could be laid in seconds, and were often used in hasty retreats (page 63 of the manual).

Click on my sig, go to the Barbarossa to Berlin section, then to scenarios. There you will find a killer Op of the Seelow Heights by Patrick 'Warphead' Zimmerling. Make sure to bookmark the site before you leave. We will be giving you plenty of reasons to visit us in the months to come

I suspect that Scott will get little in the way of sleep between now and Nov 19th Oh, BTW....Bump

I can only speak for the Boots and Tracks scenarios, but if they can be tested on a P2-233 and a TNT, then they'll run fine on your rig.

I disagree. The time when a BN HQ can influence the battle is before it actually happens, where he outlines strategy with subordinates, arranges fire support and resupply, and coordinates with follow-up forces. Once the fight has started the actual control of the battle has been passed down to the individual platoon and squad leaders. Sure, CO and BN HQs can lend a hand, but only in a limited way. We have to keep in mind that we are talking about the control of a +1000 man force with 1940's technology.

Yes, they will benefit. A vanilla HQ has all of the characteristics needed to lead men in battle: command, combat, morale and stealth. The bonuses are just that, an increase in what’s already there.

You owe me a beer, preferably an Oberdorfer.

A lot depends on the battlefield conditions, mission type and caliber of the mortar. For instance, you'll get a lot of use out of three 81mm mortars defending on a clear day, but practically none attacking on a foggy morning (or night). LOS and min ranges play a big part in that. Most folks keep their mortars grouped together, under the overall command of either a company or weapons platoon HQ. This will work best in a defensive situation. On the attack, I like to parcel out the smaller caliber stuff (50mm & 60mm)to the individual platoons, so that each one has some support if they run into a dug-in MG or gun emplacement. The larger stuff usually works best grouped together and in command. They will serve as instant artillery in case my front line runs into real trouble. They also are good at dropping a quick smokescreen for attack or withdrawal purposes. The best is obviously direct LOS, as they can make targetting adjustments on the fly. Mortars using HQs as spotters can only use area fire, and you'll end up wasting rounds if the target moves during the barrage. Still, that method is a lot safer than exposing the mortars to return fire. Firing blind is a waste of ammo, IMO. Again, depends on the battlefield. On a clear day, keep them behind the lines where their long reach can be put to good use. In less visibilty, have the smaller stuff closer to the front. In all cases, be aware of their min ranges and LOS conditions. If visibilty is only 75 meters, but the min range is 100, then your best bet is to place them behind a HQ unit that has a command bonus. He will serve as the 'eyes' of the battery, and allow the mortars enough space to hit targets they normally would be too close to fire on.

TB, When you get that manual done please send a copy my way. I'd like to add it to our ROW webpage. Thanks

That should go over well

You can find them at the depot. All 3 beta demos are there as well as the Fionn/Moon alpha battle.

It will run fine on a P2-233 with a 16meg TNT. Granted, it's not up for running 'to the volga', and I do have to turn off some features such as smoke and trees if the map is too cluttered, but it runs flawlessly on 90% of the scenarios out there. Thank you Charles.

Better yet, come on over, explore and then bookmark the site. Why you ask? Stalingrad pack (Nov 19th release). ROW III (Due to begin in January). New scenarios by Franko, Rune and others (3 new ones by Rune availible right now). The Boots and Tracks times (every month a new edition complete with news, articles, interviews, trivia, naked wome...uhh, more news) New AAR and Map section coming soon. And a lot more that I can't reveal, but will be posted on our site.

1) Do the victory flag markers have a major influence on the AI? So, for example, will an obviously strategic position only appear as such to the AI if its marked by a victory flag or is the AI a bit sharper than that? Yes, the flags are what the AI considers important. You can have a very important piece of real estate, such as a bridge, and have no flag on it, and then on the same map place a flag in the middle of a swamp. The AI will attack (or defend) the swamp and ignore the bridge simply because of the flag. 2) How are the bonus points for units exiting the map calculated? Assuming you are the one that has to exit the units, your opponent will earn twice the value of a unit that you can't exit in time. For example, a 100 point unit will earn your opponent 200 points if you can't get it off in time.

Talk about bogging! Get a large 3-cheese supreme caught in the tracks and you ain't going anywhere.

I had nothing to do with it!