Claymore

Just to prove that I am not at fault for the low turn rate here is another update: Fionn- still awaiting his purchase list Jarmo- still awaiting his turn file Moon - came awake for one turn then he slipped back into slumber MrSpkr- finally came through with a purchase list. Mike sent me the map. I sent the first file out within the hour....result: de nada Shandorf- the only fellow with a respectable turn rate. A skeleton crew protecting against a flanking maneuver on his right has spanked down an M4 and at least a half a platoon of infantry. My Hetzer hordes bearing down on his left flank will crush the remainder very soon! Anyone out there want to start a game? Prerequisite: Currently not in or planning on being in a coma for at least the next two weeks. No narcoleptics or catatonics considered. Must own a stable connection to an ISP. Cheers Murray

MrSpkr Aye to all you've said. Now...how's about that purchase list? Hmmm? Cheers Murray [ 08-01-2001: Message edited by: Claymore ]

Gateway 600MHz Celeron w/ ATI Rage graphics set under W98. Very playable if you don't mind working around some small issues. Namely: 1. No fog - ATI does not invoke fog tables 2. Ugly smoke - see above 3. Disappearing Cursor at Game start solution: hunt and peck until you invoke the PBEM BUTTON and thus get the FILES WINDOW. Thereafter the cursor is visable as long as you don't jump to the desktop 4. 800x600 graphics (low res) Other than those issues I have never experienced drop outs or hangups even when using files up to 3MB in size. Cheers Murray

Bump

Just a little status report Moon and I are back into the swing of things. His tracks are still milling around on the far side of the crestline. He seems to have purchased an inordinate amount of armour considering the foggy evening we find ourselves in. Whatever infantry has come my way has been spanked but my zooks are having difficulties punishing his tanks. Shandork and I find ourselves in a patchwork map of bocage and wheatfields. I've purchased potent tools but the short LOS is hampering my use of them. A bull rush up the middle seems to have met no resistance. MrSpkr requested a redo on purchases after we started our game. There was confusion over whether the 100 pt deletion rule was in effect or not. Mike is still awaiting his new list...MrSpkr? Don't make me come back into the Pool in search of you! On a related note Lady Seanachai took exception some time ago to my characterization of his/her appearance. We decided the only recourse was to meet in battle. I sent my files out some time ago, but have heard nothing. Again...I don't want to go back into the Pool in another quest for satisfaction. If any converse with this fellow prod him for me. Fionn and I have decided on an Infantry only game w/o towed guns. I was hoping that Charles (TT) would have some success against him but it appears as though it was not to be. I have sent my list into Mike and he awaits Fionn's list. I really enjoy the infantry only battles, but 1500pts on maps this size are a little dense for my liking. No matter. Jarmo and I are into it as well. We find ourselves on an undulating wooded plain fogged in with only 200m of visibility. Our purchases were without restriction and my forces have not yet met any resistance as they flood towards the three buildings surrounding the VL. As long as I can keep my Hetzer hordes with their 60/60 armour facing forwards things should go swimmingly. Cheers Murray [ 07-29-2001: Message edited by: Claymore ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jshandorf: Wait a minute.... Claymore.. when did we negotiate? Did we? Hell.. I can't remember. I know I did some negotiations with SuperTed. What the hell did we decide? Okay... Listen up! Murray! Claymore! and Superted! Here is what i can last remember about out statuses. Claymore: I have no clue. E-mail me at jshandorf@mediaone.net and lets rehash what we settled on. Superted: Negotiations are done. 1. Blind map 2. 100 point area limit on deletions. Murray: We are still in negotiations. E-mail me also at jshandorf@mediaone.net <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Uh doh....Claymore = Murray. I agreed to your restrictions (blind map/100 pt deletion, me Axis) (ONLY RESTRICTIONS!). I sent an acknowledgement of our game to Mike and am awaiting the date before constructing the purchase list. Cheers Murray/Claymore [ 07-19-2001: Message edited by: Claymore ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jarmo: Neglecting me? Do your shopping list! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Sorry I forgot to say in my last message: Jarmo - purchase list sent to Mike. Waiting for reply. Cheers Murray

Hey I'm back...I know you all missed me. I've relocated to New Mexico for a week or so , but have finally convinced my ISP to talk to me while on the road. Game status: Moon - on vacation - game paused - he's down at least 1.5 platoons. MrSpkr - still waiting for the first turn. The setups are complete. JShandork - finished the legal negotiations - waiting on Mike for the particulars Ho hum Cheers Murray

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bauhaus: Claymore you wanker, stay out of the MBT. Ya gamey little bastich.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Much as I hate to admit it I was waiting for some neurally challanged Chipmunk from my outer board victories to surface in the MBT. Bau-hahahahahahaha, I believe at last count your number of victories against me is what? THE BIG O (Sit down, it's not that big O dammit!) Now from my extensive readings of the MBT I know that this is a record to be expected against you provided one has either passed kindergarten or can recognize three items of the color green. Some individual in the past best described the situation when he said that "nobody like Bauhaus can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory". Our sweet Lord must have been drained to the very limits of his powers when your name finally appeared on the creation list. If you'd like another brutal slapdown and once again be reminded of your place, then by all means send me a setup.

Gawd there must be some kind of undertow in this place. Here I stick my foot into the Muther Beautiful Thread to kick some life into that bag of repellent insect parts, MrSpkr, and then next thing I know I am up to my neck in challenges. Lady Seanachai, the cross dressing wiccian dwarf of my last post, has taken exception with my fair description of our encounter and has defamed me most cruelly. You fancy yourself an Old One? I say that perhaps this acolyte of Abdul Alharazed has had the misfortune of attracting the attention of something truly Old and Unnamable? Guard your head! The eldritch crys of "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" surging up from the darkness signify the approach of your doom Lady Seanachai. It appears that Squeeker has freed at least one of his hands long enough to recount a dream he has had. will not speak as to MrSpkr's hallucinations of having my body chained to a wall somewhere as his plaything except to say that the thoughts of such are repellent in the whole. Such kindly ministrations should remain with his basement collection of paperboys and pizza delivery personnel. I have sent the Lady Seanachai a QB PROBE as a response to his challenge but on second thought feel that perhaps a setup created by Beriberi might be a more fitting poniard upon which to hoist this reprobate. For Beriberi, as one who sucks at the rancid teat of Yog-Sogoth is known to all as the most evil of all the makers. BerryLicker: Could you perhaps dredge up from the most foul and putrid corners of your most evil self a setup for the Lady and I? "Being attacked by him is like being savaged by a dead sheep." Dennis Healy [ 07-16-2001: Message edited by: Claymore ]

Game report so far: Moon and I are dancing in the dark. It's amazing just how invisible sharpshooters are in night enshrounded forests! I've got at least two (that I'll admit to) in his backfield scoping out his forces. I purchased a whole passel of TRPs and it has been a fine investment. He has advanced at least one platoon and two SP guns into a nest of three TRPs and I'm about to introduce him to my friend Arthur in 11sec. MrSpkr and I had completed the discovery phase of our contest and are now proceeding to try our case before the court of flying lead and things that go BOOM. We've decided on RECON rules for a fairly open map with long LOS. He shall not fair well against my trained ubermensch. Anyone else care to start up with me? Cheers Murray P.S. I really think there should be an un-sportsmanship prize, don't you?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Seanachai: Did that...that...sodomite actually imply that anyone in the Cesspool would drink Coors? I can accept his trashing Berli, though I like it not, but this sort of calumny cannot pass unnoticed. I say we all go over to the Winecape 'Tourney of Stars' thread and kick his arse.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The weary traveler continues his trek upwards through the fetid halls of this madhouse. Occasionally he stops for a long pull on a flask now but half full of 15-year-old Laphroaig. The hard punch of its thick peaty spirits proves a stong elixir against these dank and miserable caverns. As we stand here observing this stout warrior we dimly hear the sound of bells in the far reaches of the tombs above us. He immediately stoppers the flask, secures it to his belt, dawns his rubber gloves and only then shines the torch upwards towards the direction of the bells. He is not afraid of this place or its denizens but a little caution and preparation against these whelps of darkness is always of worth. The bells we first heard alone can now be heard accompanied by a frenetic falsetto voice but the words are nie indistinguishable. It appears to be doggerel of some type, a frantic bleat of some collection of phrases, ending and beginning nowhere. A figure appears, small and runted, misshapenly twisted and standing perhaps a total of 4 feet tall. It dances towards him continuing it mad sing-song. Frog and toad and newt and bat I'm a witch and that's a fact I'd love to sleep all day in my bunk If I could only find some burly hunk It appears dressed in a short stained and tattered black robe revealing a pair of black-haired bowlegged limbs that terminate in what must be size 16 feet. The figure sports white hair which sticks up crazily about its head like a crown of thorns. The face is heavily made up with harsh splotches of rouge lathed on the cheeks and brilliant red lipstick scrawled half-hazardly across thick brutish lips. Garish purple mascara has been applied to the crone's eyelashes creating an effect reminiscent of a forest in winter. We are left with the impression that this dwarven person can only in fact be male but has dawned these garbs for some reason only known to it. "Hiya sonny" the crone shrills, "I haven't seen you around here before, ooohhh say…you're a big one" "Back Madame…I mean Sir…I mean…keep your distance, whatever you are" "Keep my distance eh? I'm a witch sonny! You better be nice to me or I'll turn you into a newt!" This exchange gives our companion precious time to recover his bearings and to recall the wise advice given him by others before he started on his journey down into the bowels of this Bedlam. "Pay them no attention" they said, "after all…they're all a just bunch of gits and panty-waists. Although they're drunk, filthy and possibly infectious gits and panty-waists." He draws himself up and says "Push off. I've got no time or inclination to converse with those who's minds have been twisted by this foul and unwholesome abode" "I'm a witch" the dwarf continues, attempting to bar the way of our hero. "I got a wart and everything!" It then produces a disheveled dust mop from some harness attached to its back and lays wildly about itself in a frenzied swirl, creating not an inconsiderable dust cloud in the process. "cough…hack…cough…I'm a witch! I'm a witch! …cough…hack…see I even got myself a website and everything!" It tears apart its black robes to revel a T-shirt, topped with a dingy blue push-up bra stuffed with old grey athletic socks. We can see however that the T-shirt is in fact emblazoned with the letters "Lady Seanachai - Witch - http://home.talkcity.com/DharmaDr/ladyseanachai" Our companion thinking it best to ignore the overstuffed bra quickly disarms the figure of its dustmop which now only infuriates the gender bent sorceress even more. "Ar' give it back! That's my broom! Give it back or you'll be sorry!" The now frothing buffoon has now dropped all pretensions of feminine voice and our ears are lashed with a guttural Irish brogue. Planting the dust mop firmly in the center of the now frantic figure, our hero pushes him inexorably back against the wall. The length of mop handle giving some measure of protective distance from the spittle and goo explosively ejected from the goon's mouth. He rears back with one massive club-like fist and stepping forward smashes the fist directly downwards on the buffoon's head. It is over instantly, the figure drops as if pole axed and lies splayed on the filth-encrusted floor. "Damn…I'm not even half way out of this place. I hope there aren't more of these creatures lying about. A fellow could catch something if he wasn't careful." He drops the dust mop at the feet of the comatose cross dressing spell caster, shakes his head and after another quick taste from his flask continues upwards.

A bit of a dry old AAR and short but that was because...ah..well..um..you know. Berli and I decided on a no-rules game. Map was an undulating plain with a big old hill in the center. Two VLs on top of the hill at either end. Clear conditions gave good LOS from any high ground you might occupy and the slightly damp ground was too iffy for me to purchase bogable giant tanks. Being partially brain dead and not a small amount overworked I had a mixup over who was going to be the Germans. I had thought I was going to be the forces of darkness originally and it wasn't until Berli reached back into his email archives for our original conversations that things got put on straight. Looking at the map I decided that I could use the undulations with fast Hellkitties to work my way into Berli rear. (shut up Bauhaus!) I really didn't trust Berli not to bring the wrath of hell down upon any infantry I might purchase with a rocket barrage, so I put my faith into a pure armoured force. The charge up the hill would be performed by a platoon of M24s. Just to make sure any gamey bastage SMG charge was nipped I purchased som vanilla 155mm spotters and some TRPs. I purchased 4 x Vet Hellcats (right flanking hook) 4 x Vet Chaffees (straight up hill) 2 x Green 155 spotters (hidden way back) 4 x TRP (dotted on Berli's reverse slope) 3 x VET Sharpshooters (riding on M24s) Round 1: Send the Hellkitties on a charge down my right flank using the dips for cover. Pull into positions that give LOS to Berli's reverse slope. M24s charge up hill. Spotters target two TRPs...indicated 42sec to impact but since out of LOS will take about 90sec to impact. Round 2: M24s drop off their sharpshooter riders who run for cover on the top of the hill. I can see a bunch of generic vehicle markers racing up the hill. At the 20sec mark my Hellkitties take a PzV under fire and immobilize him and knock out 2 251/1s. Then the artillery starts falling, taking out another HT and killing all the dismounted infantry. German HTs which start cresting the hill away from this carnage are ambushed by my M24s who are just below the crest, two die immediately. I give the 155 spotter a targetting nudge towards the german infantry which are trying to become gophers and escape the DF 75mm HE from the Chaffees. I request the two of Hellkitties to continue their way around Berli's rear (...Bauhaus!...never mind) Round 3: Hellkitties knock out the immobilized Panther (three penetrating hits from three different M18s within 1 sec of each other!) M24s knock out another 3 HTs on the hilltop. Artillery slams into the dispirited infantry. One lone german takes an "over the shoulder" pop at one of my sharpshooters and lay him low. That's the long and short of it...the story of the Great Berlianas Turkey Shoot comes to a close. Never has a wild charge worked so well...and probably never again. Take note! I will NOT attempt this again. Cheers Murray

Ok. Results for the Berli-Claymore game are in. Claymore: 99 Berli: 1 True to Berli's predictions there was quite a bit of "die a lot now". Unfortunately his troopers misunderstood the orders and casualties to his side were a bit grim. German casualties: 101 killed 64 captured 1 PzV and 9 251/1 knocked out 1 PzV abandoned upon surrender :eek: American Casualties: 1 KIA oh....and 3 fellows stubbed their toes on the corpses Any hopes of winning the sportsmanship award are dimming fast I guess. Next! Cheers Murray

Ok Berli get on with it! Send me that next file! Muahahahahahahaha Cheers Murray p.s Mahahahahahaahaha

Sound off like you have a pair? Hmmm...I've got a whole bouquet of undersized hairy knignets from Bearlick's infantry hanging from my rearview mirror. Would they suffice? If you've noticed, BrrrLich is typing in much a higher timbre lately due to his untimely pruning. So far I've taken a single casualty while putting down at least a company of PzG, a PzV and 6 251/1. Nuts are a much more reliable trophy when "counting coup", much more than the standard ear, nose, or scalp on a keyring. Unfortunately the wife hates the bloody things dangling around and collecting flies. Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of the load I'll be collecting during the Tourney. Cheers Murray [ 07-09-2001: Message edited by: Claymore ]

Ya ya ya...what are you anyway my wife? Nag nag nag. Mortgage payments be damned you say? Know you then that the small smile I wear as the bailiff drags me to the poor house shall be from that satisfaction I receive from defeating my opponents. Actually...all my proposal paperwork is done and in the hands of the bureaucrats. My family and I shall have bread enough for another year and now I can get back to CM! Cheers Murray

Grog-lerhood spent in Halifax, NS, CANADA then off to Windsor, ONT, CANADA (take note Mark IV and StugIII: Speaking to a Windsor-ite here...stay away from my Canadian beer and babes) Now I'm in Santa Clarita, CA and commute on the Kalifornia Autobahn (210) every morning to lovely Pasadena. Duke: Just think how the Northridge quake shutdown N-S traffic. Los Angeles is supplied through chokepoints unparalleled anywhere in the civilized world. Forget the immediate casualties...just imagine trying to bring in adequate relief supplies in the event of the "big one" Cheers Murray [ 06-28-2001: Message edited by: Claymore ]

I believe we should let Treeburst be the final arbiter on questionable purchases. If some obviously convoluted set of instructions come his way for purchases I am more than willing to let him decide it's gameyness or not. As for commander or support weapon boosting in the purchases...if Treeburst is doing the actual game setup this hack would be obviously nullified. Cheers Murray BTW It appears as though BeriBeri...I mean ...Berlichtingen (oops almost lost the sportsmanship prize there) and I will be dancing in the first round. Did you know that BeriBeri is not uncommon in chronic alcoholics? It's victims suffer from explosive anal venting, weakness, tremors and in the end heart failure. The similarities between this and my opponent need not be expounded upon. Who needs a lousy 50 bucks anyway?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Renaud: A tactic I use in AT ambushes is to use some light artillery (typically mortars) to cause all the intended targets to button up a minute or so before you spring the AT ambush. This makes a huge difference in how long your AT guns last. It's practically a requirement for me now. Of course infantry eyes are a problem so I try never to open up when I know a horde of infantry can see the AT gun. Ren<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Excellent Renaud...now just let the mortars perform dual duty. At the beginning of the turn you request your ATGs to fire, switch the mortar fire to SMOKE, or let your ATGs fire for one round with HE from the mortars and then switch to SMOKE. Sometimes I SMOKE the ATG instead. Once LOS is broken you can either HIDE and hope you haven't been seen or move back into cover. This is where setting up right on the edge of the woods is not a good thing. If you setup farther back in the woods at the "edge" of visibility, then moving back will break all LOS to your ATG. Obviously your results may vary. cheers Murray

Qualifications: Physicist with 10 years of direct experience in the fields of explosives and counterterrorism. Not exclusive experience mind you...but a constant supply of funds which come my way to do...ah..well...something. I've worked with the FAA, FBI, and Navy SEALs on the what, where and how of things that go BOOM. Opinion: The destruction of ANY building type by DF HE < 105mm is completely inaccurate in CMBO. Whether it be a LIGHT or HEAVY building you are not going to blow out the supporting framework nor comprimise the stability by using these lightweight rounds. You will make life VERY uncomfortable for anyone caught inside them but the building will remain standing. There is a much higher risk of fire than currently modeled in CMBO however, especially from the AA rounds. The multipoint impacts of HE/HEI/Tracer rounds inside a structure packed with combustables have a much greater chance of starting fires than is currently modeled. A SWAG you ask? Ok...about three times more likely. The destruction of SMALL LIGHT buildings by DF HE >= 105mm is adequately modeled in CMBO. A small wooden 2 story home submitted to 2-3min of 105mm DF fire is going to be on the rickety edge of collapse. Obviously as the caliber increases the models excursion from reality drops. The destruction of SMALL HEAVY buildings by DF HE >= 150mm is adequately modeled in CMBO. In reality the stone farmhouses of Northern France became ad hoc pillboxes for whoever occupied them. The reduction of these strongpoints was NOT performed by leveling the structure using DF HE. If a close assault by troops was not feasible then AP rounds were fired until a hole was made, unless a suitable window presented itself. Then HE would be fired through the breach, and the concussive and explosive effects more than sufficient to persuade the defenders to move on. CMBO uses an abstraction of BLAST effects and cover/concealment bonuses for housed infantry. Q: Do housed infantry receive the cover/concealment bonus when a round detonates inside a structure? In general there should be no real difference between infantry having a round detonate nearby while inside a HEAVY or LIGHT building, interior walls being made of the same soft woods construction materials. There is room for argument and debate here as to the historial use of DF HE from tanks. Was the majority fused as super quick or with a delay? From my examination of historical photos I see a lot of blast patterns from point detonating rounds on the sides of buildings. The destruction of LARGE LIGHT, LARGE HEAVY, and most especially CHURCHs is not in any way handled correctly by CMBO. In the case of a 4 story box structure composed of a light wooden structural framework you need to supply the equivalent of 15kg of TNT in order to drop the building. This SINGULAR charge also needs to be placed quite accurately otherwise the amount of explosives roughly increases as square of the distance. Punching 500m/s DF through these buildings and expecting a cumulative effect in BLAST damage is really beyond the pale. Again...I'll say that the chances for sparking ignition inside these buildings is very much under represented in CMBO. Anyone who has seen a round detonate will attest as to its pyrotechnic potency. now...my last opinion. It is certainly better than anything else I've seen in the wargames arena. There are far more things which require attention than this. Play on! cheers Murray [ 06-27-2001: Message edited by: Claymore ]

Mike, See! I TOLD you Charles was worth including in the Tournament. As for your unsuspecting wife...I can only add that mine was mightily suspicious when I started trolling for information on sending liquor worldwide. I quickly threw up a Mk.Zero smokescreen...a bit on how beautiful she was looking that evening. Not entirely original but I'm sure that it was entirely successful. Wooo Hooo Cheers Murray

Gentlemen, The word for today is misery. That most evil and dastardly of milksops has in fact succeeded in knocking me out of the Tournament. But...he shall not have my scotch! Win goes to Charles...Toasted Testis that is. Cheers Murray

When last we met I was trying to cover the support units. I've decided instead to jump a little ahead and try to delve into my thoughts on the proper use of infantry and combined arms. I am NOT professing to be God's gift to CMBO (witness my run of bad luck against TT lately...and that's all it is dammit!) but I have some small success. First, some General rules for Defense using Infantry #0 - Primary Golden Rule ALWAYS FIGHT FROM POSITIONS WHICH HAVE BETTER COVER AND CONCEALMENT THAN THE ATTACKERS! Don't setup positions and ambushes where you'll both be slugging it out in the heavy woods if it can be avoided. Don't count entirely on defender's foxholes to give you an additional advantage. If he is advancing through TREES, make sure you pop him from positions inside WOODS. 1. Never place your forces inside of buildings during the setup phase. Buildings are always going to be there, whereas a foxhole in a vital location can only be created once. Place your infantry on the ground in the setup phase and then move them into the buildings (if that's what you want) during Turn 1. 2. Always have two foxhole complexes for each platoon to fight from, primary and backup. Split your squads during the setup phase and place half of them in what you believe will be the primary main line of resistance (MLR). Then put the other half platoon in a fall-back position. 3. Always plan for the enemy to pound your MLR with artillery before his forces arrive. That means don't put your men in their MLR foxholes, weather an prepratory artillery barrage, and then expect them to defend against dismounted enemy infantry. What I suggest is to group your platoons in their fall-back foxhole complex (see above) at first. Allow the enemy to pound your MLR and then rush forward to occupy the MLR when the prep fire ceases. Alternately you can allow your platoon to occupy HEAVY BUILDINGS at or near the MLR during the prep fire, especially if the incoming fire is 150mm and larger. 4. LIGHT BUILDINGS are horrible cover I've never had any success putting my infantry inside LIGHT BUILDINGS unless surrounded by pristine grasslands. Usually its much better to find a dip or relief feature that you can incorporate into your MLR. Unfortunately since CMBO only has unimproved foxholes without any overhead cover, under artillery fire most infantry will break and run for TREES, WOODS, or BUILDINGS instead of their holes. That's why following rule #3 above is very important. If a LIGHT BUILDING occupies a position that is a cornerstone of your defense then consider reducing it to RUBBLE with some DF HE. Gamey? Perhaps...but I look upon this as an "improved" defensive position...SOP real world infantry tactics that can only be mimicked in CMBO thusly. 5a. REG infantry make good static defenders. You can save a lot of money purchasing REG forces. They should be spending 80% of their time fighting from positions with better cover and concealment than the attackers, so they need not be ubermen. Note: I don't advocate using the term "static" interchangeably with "expendable" or "fight to the death". A reasonable SWAG (if there is such a thing!) is that a platoon of REG defenders will likely withstand about 3-4 turns of an assault before being suppressed beyond usefulness. An experienced opponent timing his preparatory artillery barrage and combining his forces into a schwerepunkt can combine small arms fire, DF HE, and support weapons to easily shrink this timescale down to just 1 turn! 5b. VET infantry make a good reaction force It is likely that "mini breakthroughs" of your MLR will occur during the course of battle and you'll be called upon to plug that gap. Overlapping and mutually supporting fields of fire can slow the enemy breakthrough but someone may have to counterattack at some point. For this reason I like to have my reaction force being of greater experience than those manning the frontline foxholes. It is likely that the reaction force will have to experience enemy fire as they advance to the "hole" and it is important that they don't break and run before the battle is even joined. 5c. VET (or better) infantry are satisfactory (good) as an ambush force. Depending upon the size of the game you may want to send out in front of your MLR a force to ambush the attackers before they ever reach your MLR. In larger games where you can withstand the loss of a platoon it is best used by the less experienced player. If planning this type of action then I'd suggest you overwatch the ambush zone with a light mortar FO. Have the FO spot HE rounds near the ambush location but within their "GREEN" range for respotting. Once the ambush is triggered hopefully you'll get a full turn of small-arms fire and mortar fire on the enemy. Then quickly use the WITHDRAW command and change the mortar over to smoke rounds. You see, after the ambush is triggered it is likely that your force can be quickly pinned, overwhelmed and destroyed by the enemy. You would prefer to cause more casualties than you receive so preserving the ambush force is of utmost importance. An ambush upsets your opponent's timetable and generally messes with his mind. Just one such event can ratchet up his/her stress levels. What you want is for them to "overplan" every movement from there on, consuming precious turns protecting themselves from another ambush that you have likely not even planned upon. Ask yourself, if it were available, how many points would you pay to shave a turn or two from the clock? 6. Plan to defend in depth. Just like in rule #2 where your platoons have two defensive foxhole complexes you'll want to apply the rule to all other assets at your disposal. A sharp and seemingly inpenetrable MLR will fall to pieces fairly rapidly went breached in one location and then your opponent turns and begins to roll up your flank. You need to think of what will happen WHEN your MLR gets punched through and plan for it. A few support weapons or a backup platoon in good overwatching cover can blunt a breakthrough long enough to catch your breath and allow you to reorganize. Don't believe that this equates DEPTH with ATTRITION. Don't sacrificing your MLR troops to the last man and think a second line of defense then picks up the pieces...that unhistorical, inefficient, and lazy. I'll talk more about this later. 6. Learn to use the WITHDRAW command. It's a great tool for getting REG forces that are suppressed the "hell out of Dodge" and back into command and control (C&C). Don't issue RUN commands and expect them to weather the next 30-45 seconds of incoming small arms and DF HE fire, because they'll probably die without ever getting to their feet. Take the morale hit and casualty losses and use the WITHDRAW instead! 7. Attacking back across your MLR is unwise. If the enemy attack is repulsed at the MLR sometimes the unwary and overly aggressive can attempt to counterattack back into what was originally "no man's land" during the setup phase. It is a difficult thing to gauge how weakened an enemy really is. A careful assessment of the known casualties and likely initial force strength is required before any such action is taken. All of your thinking to date has been purely defensive and to switch over to the offense is not a simple task. For most I would advise that time spent consolidating defenses shows much better sense. 8. Even when on the defensive...always try and maintain the initiative during the battle. Save little surprises for your opponent during the time when his forces begin to approach your MLR, don't try and spring everything at once. For example in a defense I'm running now (Me: British using Short-75s against Germans using Panther 76) we've followed the following sequence of actions through successive turns: T0. Allowed his infantry/armour to approach within 200m of the MLR T1. Dropped HE for one turn (killing infantry and HTs) T2. Opened up with 2 x 6pdrs and 1 x 40mm from 500-600m killing 5 tanks in one turn and switched HE to smoke rounds. Smoke screen in place before end of turn. T3. Put ATGs into HIDING and retargeted smoke on both the ambushed enemy and towards his rear (prevents overwatching Panthers from using DF HE on my ATGs) T4. Brought up a platoon of infantry and a Crocodile Tank from the SLR to MLR. Engaged whatever enemy infantry had struggled forward to the MLR by this time. T5. Withdrew infantry and Crocodile to SLR, continued to smoke MOST of his overwatching tanks. Brought another Crocodile up into a flanking position (@90 degrees) and took his tanks under fire from side. In each case I did something on the next turn which was "orthogonal" to the previous turn's actions. My opponent reactions were then out of phase and ineffective against what I did the next turn. Example: He ordered his overwatching Panthers to DF HE my ATGs (from about 800m) only to have LOS broken by my smoke which started arriving within 30sec. I'm not out of the woods in this game yet but I've popped 2 platoons of infantry, 5 tanks and at least one HT at the cost of two 6pdrs. More than a fair trade. 9. Gamey Tactic #1: Use the fact that MGs don't abandon their weapons (fix in CM2 please!) and that they are DF HE magnets. Emplacing MGs 100m (60m) to the rear of the German (Allied) infantry works extremely well and is good sound tactics in any army. However there is a slight quirk in CMBO which you can use if completely unsporting. Assume that once your opponent's forces uncover your defensive strongpoint he will attempt to bring DF HE on the your more lethal infantry opposing his forces (closer, more FP). Unfortunately for him/her when his forces see the MG the TacAI can't help but re-target his tank's DF from your infantry to the MG. Even a REG MG can withstand an incredible amount firepower before it is forced to break and run. Sometimes during the heat of battle this can be turned to your benefit. Defensive Formations Before emplacing your infantry spend some time looking at the map from View #3 or #4 from your opponent's side. After looking at the map for a good 5 min you'll probably start to notice two or three likely avenues that he might use to approach the VLs. Important features like: A. a hodge-podge of TREES, WOODS, and BUILDINGS leading up to the VLs that his infantry can leapfrog through under good cover. B. a ravine or drift in "no man's land" through which forces of all types are masked from your view during their approach Look for the wide open lanes that lead to your VLs. Just as routes which offer cover have a high probability of being employed, those routes without cover have a very low probability. It might be my scientific training but when I look at a map it becomes in my mind's eye a contour map of probabilities. Areas of high and low probability shaded and standing out from each other, giving strong clues as to my opponent's strategies. If you've done as I've suggested elsewhere and chosen a subset of VLs which you can defend giving mutual support and defensive depth it's likely that your opponent will not be able to surprise you. 1. Small arms fire from an extended arc is more effective than from bunched forces. Try and experiment with the "shape" of your MLR and SLR such that the enemy will experience incoming fire from many different angles. A good rule of thumb is to emplace your infantry units at the limit of the command radius of the platoon leader. 2. Optimal ambush range for all forces is about 45-60m. Plan accordingly. 3. Don't put your foxhole complex in and around the VL. You're just begging to have an artillery barrage dumped on you. Instead put a platoon or two on the VL's flanks such that enemy artillery on the VL will be ineffective and you'll be able to ambush his infantry as they rush the VL. 4. The Two-Up-One-Back (TUOB) formation is not as useful as emplacing your infantry such that all squads can provide fire equally to the ambush. You'll want to achieve maximum casualties during the engagement time and then disengage if the enemy is not repulsed. Support units to the rear (MGs, Guns, etc...) can provide the covering fire for this movement. 5. Infantry should be emplaced on the reverse slope whenever tactically possible. Benefits as per previous postings. 6. It's not likely that AT infantry units (zooks, PIATs, or Pshreks) will survive in the front lines with the infantry. Since most enemy tanks will lag 200-300m rearward of the infantry it is unlikely that the AT infantry unit would even get a tank in range before being overrun by enemy infantry. I suggest then putting zooks etc... on the flanks of the main action only to uncover when the enemy armour comes into range. Well....that's not a complete listing but enough for now. I'll continue very shortly with the infantry and other overlooked support units. I'm also chewing on Adam's question and trying to put it into something legible. Cheers Murray [ 06-18-2001: Message edited by: Claymore ]