GIJim

I agree that minatures are not dead. I would ratehr play a nicely set up minatures game any day. In computer wargames you certainly don't get the social interaction you do by sitting around a big table with your friends drinking beers and pushing lead. Also, it takes a month or two to resolve these pbm games. With minatures you finish in one evening, or maybe over two weekends when we have regiment clashes. Just my two cents.

BBQ Wings delivered right to my door, and of course a 4 pack of Guiness ------------------ A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. George S. Patton

Charles, thank you for your reply!!! As I stated in the origional post we have already tried zipping the file, replaying from previous turns, etc. The file will not load when it comes to turn 21 out of 30. I would be glad to send the file to you for analysis if you like. Jim

without fog of war it might as well be battle-chess. Sure it can be fun, but not thrilling ------------------ A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. George S. Patton

As for a gaming strategy I have seen firing into friendly troops many times. My favorite was in a game of Johnny Reb (civ war minatures game) where my friend had a regiment of green troops counter charge some elite rebs charging his guns. The two side ended up in melee right in front of the battery of napoleans and the greenies were getting killed. So.... a call for double cannister was made. When the smoke cleared there was nothing but a fine red mist (ended up picking up both regiments due to moral) That cannon shot stopped the rebel advance in it's tracks and the battle was won by the union. ever since then i have considered firing upon your own troops an acceptable tactic in dre circumstances.

Is the crew green??? perhaps everything is a 'tiger' to them

Di I hear the borg nearby? The collective is close......

September 21st 2000. 15:07:33 EXACTLY. My guess is that the poster will not be a cup-of-tea or a gerbil or even a beergarden. They all take way too much time to compose their posts and likely if they started the post at #1997 or so they will finish it around #2100. BTW, be careful someone doesn't start an alter ego just so they can flood the board with posts... ------------------ A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. George S. Patton

I am currently in a PBEM game (v1.05) with an opponent I have played before (and trust he is not messing with the file just so he won't lose the game) and I am not able to load the file he sends back to me for the turn 21 (out of 30) movie. We have tried recompiling the turn, zipping the turn, replotting from previous turns.... nothing seems to work. When I select the turn at the "load e-mail game" dialog it simply churns for a second - then nothing. I don't even get to the password screen. I can play any other player/game without any problem. I can play any pervious turn, I just cannot load the latest turn. I would greatly appreciate any advice that could be given

I am playing a PBEM vrs an opponent I have played before and trust. We are on turn 21 out of 30 and no matter what we do I cannpt load turn the action sequence of of turn 21. We have tried zipping the file, replaying from previous turn, etc. but nothing works. When we get to me watching the show it will not load, I don't even get to the password screen. Any advice would be appreciated

I'm currently in a PBEM game where I have the same situation as the original poster. My opponent ran a bazooka team up on a tank and deposited him in the rear of my position, losing 1 man of the team. I sent a 'schrek team to hunt down the tank and the two AT teams ended up occuping the same building, 1 meter apart. I have 2 guys, he has 1 and they have both just been sitting there for a couple of turns now. Arming them with pistols like vehicle crew would at least allow for a resolution to the immediate situation. Just my 2 cents ------------------ A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. George S. Patton [This message has been edited by GIJim (edited 08-22-2000).]

There is an excellent british site giving the detailed makeup of of a division of various nationalities. http://www.britwar.co.uk/lists/index.htm

Never underestimate the value of a well placed and timed smoke barrage. Very usefull if you wish to 'quater the board' to try and bring all of your firepower onto selected targets. I almost always try to save a mission or two for smoke, just in case. Of course, I never see the AI exploite smoke the way I like to, it seems just to want to buy a little time. [This message has been edited by GIJim (edited 08-17-2000).]

Is it too late to get in on this? Sounds like a lot of fun to me.

I am not a historian by trade, meerly a game playing physicist so please dont flame me if my 'facts' ar't completely straight. It is my understanding that a 'majority', if not more, of crews turned off their gyrostabilizers as they proved more of a nusience that help. It is also my understanding that only (roughly half) of the armored vehicles that could mount a .50cal were actually able to because the airforce had first priority in receiving them. If this is indeed the case (please coorrect me if I'm wrong) is this correctly modled into the allied tanks, or do ALL allied tanks have these devices, and have them working properly? Just wondering. It is quite a boost to the allied tanks in the game, but may not relect history correctly. Someone please set me straight. Jim

I just wanted to mention a movie that is conspicuous in it's lack of being mentioned. I would like to include some reviews of the film as posted on amazon.com (where you can buy this excellent movie) :" This has to be one of the better war movies of all time. It's a shame that it isn't better known in the US. The battle scenes are fantastic, making you feel like you're a part of the action. What this must have been like on the big screen! This movie follows a Finnish company from mobilization to war's end, with plenty of action and some leave in between. The numbers of people involved, from the Russian wave attacks to the marching soldiers, is also seldom seen these days. Overall, it's an excellent film." :"This is a very good movie about Finnish troops trying to repel the massive Soviet invasion of Finland in the early part of World War II. It has many tense, gut-wrenching battle scenes and some interesting, admirable characters. Some parts are almost heart-stopping, including outnumbered Finnish troops watching huge numbers of Soviets attacking their trenches, and Finns going out in the open to stop the Soviet tanks. Other scenes of soldiers visiting their families behind the lines are also effective." All-in-all, this has to be one of my favorite war movies.

Opps, I see I'm one minute too late.

Just to test the search engine I did just as Kingfish suggested (although I used Hardenberger as the search term, much more unique) and found the following email address : hardenberger@dmv.com

If your talking about troops on your 'front' line, without the benifit of intervening cover, then yes it can almost be suicide to simply start marching them towards the enemy positions. The only time I will recklessly advance my troops is the first turn of a meeting engagement where getting your troops to a particular terrain feature first just might tip the balance of the game in your favor. Otherwise, I am usually cautious with advancing my troops till I am pretty sure that whatever is to their front has been seriously softened up. In playing I have come to appreciate being able to hold one platoon in reserve, if possible, for 'end game' manuvers to seize that victory location. If I do need to advance my infantry I will scout ahead to see if I receive any fire, or simply blanket the area with smoke through which my infantry can move a bit more safely. It does not pay to needlessly moove your trops around. If you are going to do an infantry charge I've always liked the motto 'go big or go home'. Or perhaps you like 'When deciding between quality or quantity remember that quantity has a quality all of its own'. Or even the more esoteric 'when the time comes to **** or go blind, you better not cover one eye and fart' Anyway, I love this game [This message has been edited by GIJim (edited 08-14-2000).]

I am a newbie to this game, but not to the gaming world. I want to say that this message board is very refreshing in it's almost complete lack of disrespect to newbies. In fact, the only disrespecting that goes around in here is between well established opponents. Quite humorous in fact. Keep the flames alive.

I know of many female wargammers: they just play historical minatures, not computer games. This game, however, may just change that. I'm bringing my laptop with me to my next gaming session, I know it's gonna go over big.

I have been playing now for 2 days. Send me a setup file at JFoxwell@aol.com I'll send it back as soon as I can. This will be my first PBEM game. ------------------ For it is the soldier's disposition to offer an obstinate resistance when surrounded, to fight hard when he cannot help himself, and to obey promptly when he has fallen into danger. ~ Sun Tzu

There is a movie out there - one of the greatest movies ever made about WWII - called Winter War. It is based upon the german/soviet actions in finland in the early stages of the war. I wish I could tell you who directed it, who starred in it, whatever, but it isn't a hollywood film. I see it only at historical minatures conventions, or it can be ordered through the military history book club. If you are serious about your war films, this is a must see. One of the great aspects of the film is that they actually use equipment and armor from the war (the german and soviet vehicles aren't just US stuff repainted). Anyway, amoung my die-hard history buff friends, this movie recieves the greatest praise. Unfortunately you will not find it in a typical video store. Find it anyway you can, you will not be dissapointed.

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