Oberst Angsthase

Carentan Defender Computer v1.01 7 of 9 Defender Total Victory Drive to Mortain Defender Computer v1.01 5 of ? Defender Total Victory

If you are buying your units, add a couple of TRPs to your artillery observers. Usually you can discern the attack path—the line of approach with the most cover. Set up some resistance to make the enemy pause on the big X (not unlike the old roadrunner cartoons) and let death rain from above. The ability to call in support without delay lets you strike at the best possible moment. A correctly placed TRP is a thing of joy.

I remember something about the recon battalion of the 17th SS PG division having to plug a miles-wide hole in the line south of Omaha beach. I think a small mobile hit-and-run defense against a large infantry force reinforced with tanks sounds good. Agree with the push-back issue. It is frustrating to repel an attack, hold the line and still be pushed backwards only because you didn't kill every last sob that came at you. I'd like to see the front bend a little more too.

Spoiler * * * * I just finished it as well, as the germans, with results similar to PD's. Allied attacker 847 casualties (373 KIA) 10 captured All vehicals knocked out 266 Men OK Axis Defender 214 Casualties (100 KIA) Half the guns 1 Stug, and some lesser stuff. 474 Men OK I agree, this scenario has it all! I was using the thin line defense with a reserve platoon by the trucks. Good use of the FOs was critical to tying up the amis advance, though the 81mm mortars seem to lack the clout to stop an advance cold. The 5 shermans arrived in battle 6 in my operation, and the AI used them pretty well. I was able to take them out, but only with lots of smoke, heavy loss and driving an 50mm AT gun onto the scene. YIKES! I finished the game in the seventh battle by using heavy artillery to break the allies line along the road to Ste. M. Eglise. The halftracks, loaded with SS swept through the gap and turned right behind the line, killing anything that moved. My happiest discovery was the 3 dead FO teams in the rear. It's blitzkrieg all over again! WooHoo! The big winners of the operation were the men of K platoon, inflicting 45 casualties while taking 8. In the vehicle category was a 251/1 HT with 17 inf and 2 mortars. I love the operation, and think it would be improved by increasing the length of the battles to 30–35 turns. It seemed to take the AI about 8-12 turns to mount an attack, and several times the battle ended just as things were heating up. A few times this saved me, a few I was prevented from following up on a success. Given the area in the game, more time would allow for some reaction/response before the end of a battle. Off topic, but my repect for actual combat commanders has shot up exponentially. The uncertainty of not knowing what's out there and what's coming after it is one of the best aspects of the game. That anybody can operate successfully with that when it really is life and death impresses me to no end.

Since the game understands the concept of "zones" perhaps there could be a second zone layer where the operations designer sets up geographic zones. A village is one zone, a large field another zone. The game would determine who controls each zone at the end of the game. This would allow salients and islands to develop over time. Troops that are cut off would have their ammo supply drop a level for each game they remain cut off. You could then get rid of the "No Man's land" but have a setup zone about 300 yards from the front. Units already on the map and not cut off can stay where they are (I'd give them the ability to move 50m or so to find some cover if needed) or they could pull back to the set up zone. Reinforcements could only be deployed in the set up zone, and would have to make their way to the front. Players would have to deal with a more fluid set of problems then.

Sorry if this is old news, but I didn't find anything on my search about it. I was playing an operation as the germans, and had managed to knock out a few shermans and an AC. There were 3 vehicles that didn't burn, and hence, were still salvagable. So when night fell I sent out platoons with 'schreck teams to toast them for good. I secured the area around the first tank, walked the schreck team right next to it, and let fly. Well the tank burned, which was good, but to my shock and consternation, a crew bailed out of it and gunned down the astonished AT team. I tried it again, and sure enough, a new team would pop out of the destroyed tank. I was able to rationalize that maybe some lost soldiers had found shelter in a abandoned vehicle, but really, this should be fixed at some point. This may be connected to the "Armoured Clown Car" phenomenon.

Is there anything more frustrating than a gun hit (when it happens to you, of course)? In one Quickgame I had a Panther reduced to a mobile MG unit at the worst possible time. In the same game a Mark IV scored a gun hit on a Jumbo Sherman, then proceeded to chase it a ways before knocking it out from behind. I remember reading about a british tank destroyer commander who had taken out several Panther A's by aiming for the 3-4" high shot trap on the gun mantle. It may be easier to aim to disable than we assume. I would like to know if the crew doesn't realize that the barrel is damaged what happens when they fire a shot?

Thanks, your replies are helpful. On at least two occasions the .50 cal MGs have taken out an AC while on the move. The scouting distinction is an important one to remember. By the time we start the game the scouting phase is over. Using them from a safe distance to support infantry is probably a better use of them.

Those german armored cars seem awfuly wimpy. I have on several occasions tried to use them in flanking actions to get behind the enemy, and they are inevitably lost to machine gun fire, sometimes at long range. What's more annoying is that the cars are never "knocked out" but always "abandoned". I have had better success using them like mobile infantry guns and MGs, waaaay in the rear. I will of course do whatever works best, but it doesn't seem to be very armored car-ish. The allied M20 seems to fare much better. Also I want to publically apologize to BTS for all the nasty private thoughts I had about the wooden MG bunkers. If you can eliminate the tank threat, they are excellent defensive units, especially when used in conjunction with a bit of infantry. I had one covering an approach through scattered woods. The bunker (with support) drove back an entire company with heavy loss. I still to sit there saucer-eyed and slack jawed watching as each new battle unfolds. What a great time to be alive!

Can anyone tell me how to save a replay movie on a mac? I wouldn't mind saving all of them and editing them later. I'd like to start producing little Quicktime newsreels of battles to send to my friends. I had an experience where an M3 was trying to reverse away from a King Tiger. As I was replaying the turn I selected the halftrack and hit the tab key. I watched in wonder as the halftrack gained reverse momentum and the tigers turret slowly turned toward it. The Tiger hit the M3 on the first shot, resulting in an explosion that filled the screen. Even better, the now burning halftrack veered to the right and rolled backwards into a thicket. It was a wonderful piece of cinema!

I generally enjoy playing the germans, but have come to love the plain vanilla M4/75 as an anti-infantry weapon. A pair of those used wisely can turn a battle completely around.