Kingfish

Most SMG squads have smaller default ammo loadouts, the rational being they burn through their ammo quicker than say a rifle squad. Not so with the Italian airborne SMG squads. When the game was coded they were mistakenly given the equivalent of a rifle squad's worth of ammo. So what you end up with is a unit that packs 340 firepower points inside of 40 meters, with the capability of shooting for 10+ minutes.

A question somewhat related to the above battles: does anyone know what the max firing range is for a Sherman III? I tested one out in CMAK and was able to area fire to a distance of 6700+ meters. That sound right?

Post your problem in the tech forum. You'll get a faster reponse there.

Based on some online resources it appears the German formation guarding the Panaro river line in the 88th ID's sector was the German 94th division, although elements of the 8th Gebirgsjager division may also have been present. Therefore, if you want to keep the German OOB historical I would suggest just plain Grenadier formations for the 94th, and of course Gebirgsjager for the 8th. If you want to add a fictional element you may want to consider a Mech formation, but don't mix any formations. All German units should be well below full strength at this late stage in the war.

E-mail me. I did the conversion a good while back, and Treeburst155 modified it slightly. In the new version the German reinforcements arrive in several locations, thus making it far more manageable than the original.

Advance is tactical movement towards an objective. The unit is bounding forward in short hops, taking cover, then returning some supressive fire, then taking cover again, and so on until it reaches its objective. This tires a unit quickly, so its best to use it only within the last 40 or so meters. Assault is similar to advance, only you get to return a bit more suppresive fire and the unit gets a slight morale boost. Again this tires a unit quickly, and is best used within 10-20 meters of the objective. Move to contact allows a unit to move forward, but stop at the first sighting of an enemy unit. Good for moving though close terrain, such as heavy woods. You can add a hide command to the end of a MTC order so your unit does not return fire and reveal its position. Withdraw is get the hell out of dodge. No delay, so it is useful for certain situations, but it also increases the chances of your unit panicking. Human wave is available only to Russian units, and it is basically a mad rush towards the enemy. The wave benefits from a morale boost. Best to give it to multiple formations so as to increase the chances someone will get through.

The next ROW will be played here. You may also want to drop by the proving grounds and ask around. I saw a post or two a while back about a tournament, although can't remember if it was on one that just finished or another about to begin.

Yes. The 508th was deployed south of Florence as a reserve for I Fallschirmjager Korp. Both the South Africans and new Zealanders had run-ins with Tigers, although usually only against 1 or 2 at any given time. Here is a nice shot of the first Tiger destroyed by Kiwi troops just outside of Villa Strada Come to think of it, I think there's a scenario that covers that battle. Now where did I see it...

Interesting that some of the excerpts from the above transcript (which I appreciate you posting, BTW) are word for word indentical to what you find in the ATB mag. The artillery distribution is very interesting

In a scenario there is no reorganization of depleted units. This was historically done after the battle. In operations there is some reorgnization, but is limited. Depleted squads within a platoon will amalgamate under certain conditions, but you won't see an entire formation being removed and the remaining men distributed to other commands.

Now go and convince Charles to add the Cromwell variants to CMAK so that I can convert your "Into the East".

The point where the road emerges out of a tree line would be the ideal spot to lay an ambush. A hidden AT minefield, covered by a keyholed Pak40 sited on a TRP, would be a tough nut to crack. Toss in a HQ with good combat bonus, in a trench with a MG42 HMG team, and two 81mm mortars in command but further back to handle the inevitable infantry counterattack.

July 23rd/25th, but not all was on Grenadier Ridge. The 23rd saw the 3rd Coldstream Guards and Pretoria Regiment capturing Monte Domini, then the 5th Grenadier Guards capture the lower peaks - Grenadier Ridge - the next day, followed by an advance to Monte Collegalle on the 25th. So in a way it was a 3-day running battle. Don't worry about it, I can swing it with what I have here. I'll just add your name to the list of references to give it that stamp of historical accuracy. Works everytime

I would suggest beefing up the American infantry a bit. A 2-squad platoon is good for at most 2 engagements, and with 6 kms I envision quite a lot of ambushes / roadblocks to fight through. A good reference is the old CMBO Op "Drive to Mortain".

Yep, got those. I Also have this excellent site. The problem is where exactly is the area known as Grenadier Ridge?

Unfortunately no. Apart from the online sources I listed I've also e-mailed the webmaster of the Grenadier Guards assoc website, but so far have not had any response. If you happen to find the time and can get it I would be most appreciative. No rush at all, I'm taking my time with the Romola map anyway.

Although I agree with you here, I would also suggest cutting Krautdog a little slack. Jason has a certain way of getting his point across that rubs some the wrong way, especially those who haven't had the pleasure of going round and round with him on a particular subject That he is walking encyclopedia on all things military goes without saying, and his contributions are always welcomed, no matter how wrong they are

No, but they came close on several occasions of breaking the front wide open. There was nothing in front of KG Peiper when it reached Stavelot except for a squad of Engineers. You are correct, but then again you have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. They put their armor in the lead because it held the potential for a rapid breakthrough, something an infantry-paced attack could never accomplish. Again, the advantage of surprise that the Germans gained from launching Op Wacht am Rhine in the Ardennes in the winter evaporated after a day or two, so all they had left was the initiative. This could never be maintained if the attack was paced to that of a foot marching soldier. Not against an opponent that can truck in 60,000 fresh troops in a single day.

Duh, you stretch 4 division on an 80+ mile front and I'll walk entire regiments through the woods. Now do that for an entire week and watch the woods get jammed with American infantry backed by pre-registered Arty.

I can't honestly see how this would be successful given the strength and mobility of the allies. The whole point of launching the offensive in the Ardennes is that no one expected it there, but that advantage is lost right away, and from that point on the terrain begins to work against the Germans. Thus it is paramount that they push through this very difficult country and get across the Meuse as fast as possible. Slowing down the surge westward to a foot pace, as you suggest, would only guarantee one thing - by the time they were to have reached Bastogne and St. Vith they would have found not single divisions, but entire corps in defensive positions.

The differences between a VG and Chinese division in terms of organization, logistics and tactics is such that you can't really compare how the two were employed and what they accomplished (or didn't). As Krautdog has stated, the offensive called for a rapid thrust deep, something that could not be achieved if the entire attack was dependent on inflitration by foot infantry. This may work if your ultimate objective was Bastogne and St. Vith, but certainly not if you are shooting for Bruxelles and Antwerp. Especially against an opponent that is fully motorized and enjoys complete air superiority. At some point the armor has to take their rightful place at the head of the column.

Are you trying to load it from the saved game folder or the scenario folder? When you save a scenario the saved copy goes in the saved game folder, but the original should still be in the scenario folder. That is unless you did a 'tournament save', in which case there is no way of getting into it now. You can send me the file and I'll take a look at it.

Complete with butter cream grass mods.

Yes. Go into the unit purchase screen, click on the unit whose name you want to change, then click the edit button directly below. This takes you to the edit screen, where on the right is a box with "standard name" written in it. Click on that box and choose "special name", then type in whatever you want that unit to be named. Note that units keep their rank prefix no matter what name you type in. For example, if you wanted to change a company commander's name and rank to General Smith, the name it will display in the game will be Cpt General Smith.

3 new maps now available at The Scenario Depot II. All have the word "map" as a prefix, and are derived from scenarios I also have at the depot. Map - All is fair is a 2800 x 2000 depiction of hill 609, one of the strongest defensive positions in all of North Africa. Very dry arid rock, with mix of scattered palms and scrubs leading up to the forward slopes, and extensive rough tiles covering the entire hilltop. Map - Bois de Bavent covers the southeastern corner of the Orne Bridgehead, which the British 6th Airborne held during the first weeks of Operation Overlord. Map is 2800 x 2560, and encompasses the area from Troarn to Sannerville and then north to Herouvillette. Typical Normandy farmlands, with enclosed fields and tree-lined roads. Small towns and a few farms. There is also an large expanse of thick woods - the Bois de Bavent, which was the exclusive preserve of the British 8th Parachute battalion. Map - Dragon Rouge takes place in central Africa, and is a depiction of Stanleyville, a medium-sized city deep in the Republic of Congo. The map is 3600 x 1760, and consists mostly of urban sprawl, with the main city situated next to the Congo river, and the suburbs of Bruxelles and Belge I to the north and east. However, there are extensive stretches of jungle to the west. Also west of the city is Stanleyville airport, located about 2km away. You are welcomed to slice, dice and julian the maps to your heart's content. Change the region, ground type, time of day, whatever suits you. Enjoy!