Iron Duke

One last thing to note before I send out the Second Round maps. The Second Round will be fought in the 1.1BETA version, so please remember to use the proper executable when attempting to open it. That is all. ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Gentlemen, Two more of the original Terrible 24 have joined the Second Round. One in a historic and inaugural TieBreaker match...Cap'n Speedy and his 2 Hellcats faced down a numerically superior force of 3 Hetzers and a Pnz IV/70. With skill, determination, and Lady Luck on his side, Cap'n Speedy was able to destroy 3 of the 4 German tanks and win the TieBreaker. Congratulations are in order. Secondly, we have the Honorable DEF BUNGIS who served along side me in Desert Storm. Fighting off mild doses of Cyclosarin, Nerve agent pills, Radiation, and a case of the clap his wife doesn't know about , Sergeant Bungis was able to hold the Victory Locations in his battle practically for the entire game. His Elite troops, having to fight at night, proved invaluable to his operation. Congratulations Sergeant, you move on to the Second Round. Please see updated bracket for details. First Round Bracket: Terrible 24 TBlaster vs.-----------------TBlaster U8led 1) Kunzler vs.-----------------Kunzler Juardis ============================== Def Bungis vs.-----------------Def Bungis Splinty 2) Jeff Heidman vs.-----------------Jeff Heidman Teutonicc ============================== GuzzleBock vs.----------------SuperSlug SuperSlug 3) Stoffel vs.-----------------Stoffel Capt. Ayers ============================= Jack Hughes vs.-----------------Jack Hughes rwwald 4) Kollos vs.-----------------Joeski Joeski ============================== Texastoast vs.-----------------Texastoast Clement 5) Bigmac vs.-----------------Kain Kain ============================= Speedy vs.-----------------Speedy Snoop 6) markk vs.-----------------Chairman7w Chairman7w ============================== Keep the updates coming! Remember, Sunday, December the 10th is the deadline. If you cannot make that date, e-mail me ASAP! Now I only need to hear from Jeff Heidman and stevetherat. Lets move out guys! Out. ------------------ One shot...One Kill [This message has been edited by Iron Duke (edited 12-10-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>No matter how much armor I have, one hit from the Germans will knock out any of my vehicles, so I might as well throw out the armor entirely, save points, and use cheap-but-deadly Hellcats and Jacksons. I try to turn every tank battle into a series of ambushes where two or three TDs gang up on one tank.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's a good plan Dan, but you, and others that have been reading this post, may be wondering why Historically, Tank Destroyers didn't make it...and here is Old Iron Breath telling us to "maximize firepower...buy Hellcats and Jacksons..." what gives? I have seen other PBEMr's post/talk about this before, and they generally have the correct answer, but maybe it is not so clear as to be relevant in Combat Mission. The short answer is that Tank Destroyers are not Tanks. So what does this mean in CM? First off let me reiterate the old saying of the best way to kill a tank is with another tank. (Maybe not so much now-a-days) With this in mind, we look at The Commissars battle. His opponent has shown an affinity to nothing less than a 75mm Panzer Kannone, and, as far as I can tell, does not rely on AAA and light guns. You see, when you pit a tank vs a tank, one of them is going to get penetrated and die. Almost all the Allied tanks cannot withstand direct hits from any German guns of over 75mm. So naturally the next step was to say, "well since none of our tanks can take direct hits, lets try and make them lighter and much faster", and thus was born the TD. In an exclusive Tank vs Tank Destroyer battle, like Commissars, TD's can easily, with good tactics and maneuver, hold their own. The greatest single threat that I have seen in CM to the Hellcat, is the 37mm AAA gun, whether it be in a foxhole, on a motor carriage, or on a truck. In one Armor battle I had, I was given the unenviable task of stopping a HUGE German Heavy Armor attack. I chose a few Sherman Jumbo 76's for my base of fire troops, and had 15 Elite Hellcats at my disposal.(One group of 12 and one scout group of 3) My opponent was smart to keep all his Panthers, Tigers, Jagdpanthers, Pnz IV/70's, etc...in a large Kampfgruppe. So imagine a scene where you look across a valley and directly in front of your positions are 2 Kompanies of this heavy Armor mix. I was lucky that one platoon of Panthers was too far forward, almost entirely out of gun support, and I managed to engage it with my Jumbos first. That first exchange went in my favor, 6 Panthers, Tigers, and JK's to my 2 Jumbos. In the next turn, the group of 3 Scout Hellcats happened to be in a nice crossfire position joined with 1 more Jumbo. I engaged the Kampfgruppe once again, making sure to tophat all my Jumbos and crossfire tanks at the same time. The kampfgruppe lost another 7 tanks to my 3 effectively stopping the Kampfgruppe cold. So all in all, I had lost 5 tanks in exchange of 13. Not bad. Now, I got greedy and stupid. Instead of re-engaging and making sure I had seen (scouting) everything there was to see (in terms of his tanks/vehicles), I then in the next turn committed my 12 Hellcats to the fight, thinking I could then outnumber him and decisively crush the remainder of the gruppe. Unfortunately for me, my opponent had purchased 2 Sd Kfz 7/2 37mm Flak trucks, and had been lucky that they had remained hidden in a wheat field in the previous turns. When my force of Elite Hellcats engaged, six of them where knocked out in a span of 60 seconds! By unarmored trucks!!! NONE of my Hellcats had been killed by other tanks, hell, the tanks that where left in the dwindling Kampfgruppe where all beating a hasty retreat to the rear! The ROF of those little 37mm's is devastating, especially to the lightly armored Hellcat. So from a stunning victory, it was now pretty much a stalemate. So, in order for a TD to really be useful, it HAS to be able to live long enough to actually fight what it was meant to fight...other Tanks. But History shows us that they died in droves, not from other tanks, but from everything else that is resident on the WWII battlefield. And if you gave them any more armor, you might as well use the Sherman. And that leads to...drum roll...The Combined Arms Tank Force. (...to be con't) ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Let it be known that Chairman7w advances to the Second Round. Unfortunately, markk had to forfeit the match. See above for updated bracket. ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Hello, I would very much like a copy. Please send it to: iron_duke@mindspring.com ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The Second Round to commense on Suday, December 10th! Whoo hoo! After some butt-kicking on my part, evey one of my stragglers replied and we are on-track for Sunday. Hauptmann Kunzlers' troops have triumphed over Captain Juardis and his band of merry men. I am told that Hauptmann Kunzlers' uncanny purchases is what won-out the day; goes to show that you need to have the right troops to do the job. Congrats! You move to the Second Round. I will be posting the final battle outcomes as I hear of them...Stay tuned! Also, be prepared to recieve your new map on Sunday. (Please see bracket for details) First Round Bracket: Terrible 24 TBlaster vs.-----------------TBlaster U8led 1) Kunzler vs.-----------------Kunzler Juardis ============================== Def Bungis vs.-----------------Winner Splinty 2) Jeff Heidman vs.-----------------Winner Stevetherat ============================== GuzzleBock vs.----------------SuperSlug SuperSlug 3) Stoffel vs.-----------------Stoffel Capt. Ayers ============================= Jack Hughes vs.-----------------Jack Hughes rwwald 4) Kollos vs.-----------------Joeski Joeski ============================== Texastoast vs.-----------------Texastoast Clement 5) Bigmac vs.-----------------Kain Kain ============================= Speedy vs.-----------------Winner Snoop 6) markk vs.-----------------Chairman7w Chairman7w ============================== Keep the updates coming! Remember, Sunday, December the 10th is the deadline. If you cannot make that date, e-mail me ASAP! NOTE: Anyone else out there that wants to sub please let me know. I need you! ------------------ One shot...One Kill [This message has been edited by Iron Duke (edited 12-09-2000).]

Ok Jeff, I just sent you an email explaining the situation. Stevetherat will be taking over for Teutonicc, please see updated bracket for details. First Round Bracket: Terrible 24 TBlaster vs.-----------------TBlaster U8led 1) Kunzler vs.-----------------Winner Juardis ============================== Def Bungis vs.-----------------Winner Splinty 2) Jeff Heidman vs.-----------------Winner Stevetherat ============================== GuzzleBock vs.----------------SuperSlug SuperSlug 3) Stoffel vs.-----------------Stoffel Capt. Ayers ============================= Jack Hughes vs.-----------------Jack Hughes rwwald 4) Kollos vs.-----------------Joeski Joeski ============================== Texastoast vs.-----------------Texastoast Clement 5) Bigmac vs.-----------------Kain Kain ============================= Speedy vs.-----------------Winner Snoop 6) markk vs.-----------------Winner Chairman7w ============================== Keep the updates coming! Remember, Sunday, December the 10th is the deadline. If you cannot make that date, e-mail me ASAP! NOTE: Anyone else out there that wants to sub please let me know. I need you! ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Jeff, Honestly, do you think you will be availible for the Second Round? When was the last time you heard from Teutonic? If I advance you to the Second Round, I will expect you to play. If you cannot, no big deal but I need to know this right now. Your thoughts? ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Ok guys, it is now Friday, Dec 8th and I still haven't heard from: Kunzler Juardis Def Bunion Splinty Heidman Teutonic Speedy Snoop markk Chairman7w Are you guys going to make the Sunday deadline? Please let me know as soon as you can. ------------------ One shot...One Kill

1) Mickey Mouse (So I could kick his ass) 2) Santa Claus (So I could kick HIS ass) 3) Hitler (Need I say it?) 4) Charles 5) Steve 6) God (hehehe...I won't say it!) ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Hi Commissar, As far as surrounding the enemy goes, yes, that is a great plan BUT, as Rommel found out, several key things need to happen/be in-place for it: 1. Speed is paramount. This is especially true when you are trying to surround a mechanized force. 2. Obviously, you have to have plenty of troops in order to do this. 3. Even though you may have enough troops to surround his forces, are they spread so thin that the counter-attack/breakout (which is sure to come) smashes through with ease? 4. A highly skilled, crafty, and aggressive Commander can certainly pull it off, but timing, command and control, and most importantly, realizing WHEN to make the call and ACTUALLY making it all weigh in. So as you can see, it is very difficult to surround any force, let alone a mechanized one. He found, that in the desert where maneuver was King, flanking movements combined with a good base of fire worked far better and achieved greater results. Patton’s old "Hold em by the nose and kick them in the ass" routine. As far as getting flanked goes...that is always a concern. That is where proper formations come in. When we fought Desert Storm, the US Army came up with/borrowed a great formation just for that purpose. A Diamond. One unit leading in a Wedge, two units in a column formation to form the "legs", and finally, one unit covering the rear in a "V" formation, thus 4 tank Companies formed a large Diamond with all the support (trains) vehicles in the middle. Also note that our mechanized infantry traveled with the rear Tank Company. This formation ensured that if an enemy suddenly appeared from any side, there would be 1 Tank company ready to meet it head on whilst the others maneuvered for position. Also note that this Tank BATALLION (52 M1A1's + 200 or so other vehicles) fit in an area no larger than 1 square kilometer!(actually 1200m x 16-1800m in length. I got to remebering and 1 sq. km just didn't sound right! ) That is serious local superiority! Another tactic is to use bounding overwatch. With a company-sized force, you could bound a platoon ahead while 2 platoons overwatch, then repeat the process until you gain contact. In this way, if your bounding platoon gets flanked, the guys that flank you are likely to get flanked themselves by your overwatch units. But remember...keep your bounding platoon within gun distance from your overwatch tanks. Also, take one or two of your tanks and as your unit is moving, send them over to likely flank areas and keep an eye out. You can do this with grunts/sharpshooters also. Use smoke to cover your move, just make sure to move out smartly. Finally, use a combination of all the above, but most of all...Always keep an eye out for the enemy. Always. So as you can see, there are ways of covering your flanks while maintaining a tight formation that projects local superiority wherever it may roam If you are on the Attack later today and the points are 2000...you should get 3000 points, by the regular PBEM setup rules. So, you should be able to get a nice and buff force going. If the weather is set to random, you'd better hope it doesn't rain, or is muddy...your attack could bog down! If he is insisting on no Arty, then if I where you, I would insist on a clear morning and get myself 1 or 2 "Jabos" for the fight Remember, even you need to see! One last small tip on moving tanks in CM. I have found that if you keep your waypoints fairly short, say 30 to 50 meters each (about 1 to 2 inches on your screen), you will have a lot more flexibility when it comes time to "adjust for local conditions"...if you know what I mean. This is especially true with Regulars because, as you know, you can only adjust each waypoint so much depending on that units skill, so if you have a whole bunch of them, you have a lot of flexibility of movement, even if you have to delete a few. With very long waypoints, there is hardly any flexibility and if you delete just one, well, it sets you waay back! Anyway, I hope you understand what I am trying to say here. Well, good luck man. Use your anti-tank assets on his tanks before committing your tanks to the fight. Keep your head down, and lead from the front! ------------------ One shot...One Kill [This message has been edited by Iron Duke (edited 12-07-2000).]

(con't) Ok, one thing I want to talk about is your purchase of the 2 Super Pershings and 4 Daimlers. Don't get me wrong, they did their part in your battle and allowed you to break even, but, you spent roughly 600 to 700 points on the Vet SP's and roughly another 300 on the Daimlers. Honestly, how would you rate the performance of your Vet SP's? By the sound of it, they didn't pull their weight. A lot of PBEMr's talk down the US 76mm gun in-favor to the 90mm, though the 76 admittedly has its shortcomings, the addition of a Tungsten round makes it a formidable weapon. I know the SupPer has T rounds also, but did he use them? Nope. Did your TD's use their T rounds? Yep. Imagine, if you will, instead of buying the 2 Pershings, you would have bought 4 more of Old Scratches personal rides? Could you have used an extra 2 cats? I think if you would have put a Hellcat in the same situation as that Pershing that bounced 2 rounds off the rear armor of those JagdTigers you would have seen at least 1 dead JT, I firmly believe that TD would have used his T rounds. The 90mm gun is just not strong enough for the big tanks. On to the Daimlers...while they did get some kills and definitely pulled their weight, the 40mm gun only has an appetite for small cats. With the same amount of points spent you could have had 2 possibly 3 reg Hellcats and used them in the same fashion, but the Hellcat has a slightly larger appetite It likes its felines to weigh over 50 tons...hehe. And with better speed than the Daimler, it is simply a better machine. So all in all a force of 18 to 19 Hellcats could have hit the field! Man, I salivate at that thought! Ok, now for the fight. Once again, you did good! I'm not coming down on you one bit...I just want to help you BEAT this guy...send him back to Germany with his scrap iron in-hand! Remember, I am NO authority, its easy for me to sit back in my chair and play General...you are the one out there! For what its worth...here goes. You did much better this time in fighting as a unit...well 2 units anyway. So how could you have fought better? With your second lesson learned in mind, scouting out and finding the enemy, it could have gone like this... It sounds to me like you had two separate lanes, next to the 2 hills, in which you could have advanced...and you did so. One group running into a bad ambush, and the other out-flanking a kampfgruppe and destroying it. The thing about an Armor battle is that you have to forget the VL's. The true VL's in an Armor battle is your enemies Armor. Killing his Armor should be paramount to anything else on your mind. Thus, to begin with, you had 2 VL's, the "heavy" one that ambushed you and the one you destroyed. One thing a Company commander needs to always remember is that if you have 2 objectives, it is better, almost mandatory, to attack 1 objective at a time with your whole company. In this way you stand a much better chance of taking that first objective with very minimal losses and in a timely fashion. Then, with your unit still very much alive and capable, you attack the second. So, perhaps setting up your Armor into 2 separate units is what cost you the battle. You see, unknowingly you forced yourself to say, "these are the 2 lanes I will advance from no matter what is out there", and leaving yourself with limited options in terms of maneuver. As you witnessed, one Platoon was decimated and one platoon won out...50% does not win the battle. Know imagine if you would have set up somewhere in-between the 2 hills, close enough to each lane so that when the time was right, your whole force could have advanced down one of them. This is called a Command Push, you scout out ahead of you, find the weakest spot and push your men on through. You see how this leaves you with many options? Say you could have identified with your scout M-18's that on one side there where some heavies and on the other, a lighter force that could be flanked. Now you thank the Gods of War for blessing you with such good scouts, wipe your chin from the drool of anticipation of the kill, and you send your TD company into the flank of the lighter kampfgruppe. I can say with certainty that you would have lost no more than 4 (probably less) TD's for the prize of half is entire force! Simultaneously you would want to of smoked his heavy force to ensure that they could not help out the lighter force. So, with half his force destroyed, you still have 14 TD's! Life is good. Now is the time where you wait him out. Waiting is the one thing, it seems, you did not do in this battle. You went looking for Death, and he found you! So think of it from his perspective..."Oh ****! Half my force is gone...He has over 10 tanks/TD's left vs. my 5 heavies...hmmm" 14 to 5, those are great odds! Now, with the aid of your snipers, 81mm Arty, and Time, you first: Make him squirm...wait him out. Let him maneuver himself into your trap. Kill his TC's with your snipers. Button up his Tanks with your Arty. And while your mortars ARE STILL FALLING, you launch your final blow. Think of it, even if you lose 10 of your 14 TD's, you still win! And with this guy, Winning is what it is all about! BTW: Have you ever tried out the M8HMC for infantry support? It is an excellent little tank to use against infantry...75mm "Grunt Killer", .50 Cal Ma Deuce, and most importantly, they cost 58 or so points! Hell, I have 58 points in my pocket right now! For a buck-twenty you can have 2 of them to bolster your infantry and beat the hell out of his. Anyway, enough of my banter. Just keep doing what you are doing and you will go far. Like you say, it IS a learning experience. Out. ------------------ One shot...One Kill

(Hmmm. I guess my post is too long...I cannot post it. I will have to break it up) Congratulations Commissar, you have taken a great step forward to becoming a great Land Warfare Commander. But, like all of us, "you have much to learn my young Padawa". Lets analyze your AAR shall we? <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>3000 points. My setup.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Now your talkin! <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I took 13 of them (lucky number, eh?), with 4 vets and the rest as Regs. I accompanied this with 2 Veteran Super Pershings, 4 regular daimlers, a single Reg M-10 (had some points to blow) and a platoon of regular Rifle inf with 3 snipers, 2 81mm spotters, and a bazooka team.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Interesting, a formidable force indeed. Yet... <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>For the terrain I decided upon an overcast evening attack, and visibility was pleasantly reduced to slightly over a 800 meters at best. I took medium tree coverage and modest hills. The main battle field would be some god-forsaken town surrounded by lots of hills, lots of woods, and lots of flying lead.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Nice. Too many trees for my taste, but that is just me. (Tankers...go fig... ) <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>My M-18's are getting toasted. I back off a few and advance with 3 of the M-18's flying in different directions firing on the go, while my Super Pershing sneaks around a lone church closer to the German tanks. M-18's fire and cause no damage. Germans fire and miss the high speed M-18's. The Daimler which killed the Hetzer is ordered to go into the rear of the group of tanks, distracting them, just as my Persh lumbers out from behind the Church. The Germans are indeed distracted, and all 4 of the remaining tanks turn around. My Super Persh fires off two shots into to back of a JagdTiger with no effect. The Tiger and JagtPanthers turn around and toast up my Persh. The Daimler is killed and an M-18 which stops in the middle of a field for no good reason is also toasted. A single M-18 is left flanking around the Heavies.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Wow...sounds like a tough fight here. More on this part later. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Meanwhile, my tanks rush over the hill and out of a valley which was hidden from the sigh of the Germans, effectively flanking them. 3 m-18's and a Super Pershing gang up on a trapped KT and brew it up. Hetzers, JagtPanthers and PZ4's go up in flames everywhere. A KT manages to sneak around from my flank and is about to wreck havoc on my armor. A sniper which I positioned in a building snipes off the TC just as the tank lumbers into range of my M-18, exposing its soft side armor. The shocked KT goes to kitty heaven<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yeah! Schweet! <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>My M-18 speeds past, fires off a shot, misses, and is about to pop the JT into its slowly turning side when a well-aimed grenade from one of my enemies' squads lands into its open turret, knocking it out. That German should play for a Basketball team, heaving a grenade into a meter-wide opening on a vehicle going 55 mph<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's just wrong! LoL Freak'n Shak-attack! <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Second, scout better next time so as not to fall into a stupid bush wack like I did on my right flank with my tank group.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This lesson is paramount! I have to keep teaching/learning this to myself EVERYTIME I play! It is hard to be patient, but absolutely vital. Knowing where the enemy is, is more important than almost anything else you can do for your battleplan. Look how much money, time, and effort modern-day Armies have spent on finding new ways to pinpoint the enemy. From JSTARS, ground seeking radar, thermal imaging, to satellites...if you can pinpoint your Foe, you can develop your battleplan to crush him with authority while suffering minimal losses. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Fourth, a well placed sniper can ruin a tankers day.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh hell yeah...plus, a well placed sniper can report enemy formations and locations. (con't)

Test

Sing O Goddess the Wrath of Kain, son of someoneorother. The ruinous Wrath that fell upon the house of Mac and the village at the crossroads... Congratulations Kain, your victory over "Le Bigmac" secures you a position in the Second Round. See below for details on the updated bracket. First Round Bracket: Terrible 24 TBlaster vs.-----------------TBlaster U8led 1) Kunzler vs.-----------------Winner Juardis ============================== Def Bungis vs.-----------------Winner Splinty 2) Jeff Heidman vs.-----------------Winner Teutonic ============================== GuzzleBock vs.----------------SuperSlug SuperSlug 3) Stoffel vs.-----------------Stoffel Capt. Ayers ============================= Jack Hughes vs.-----------------Jack Hughes rwwald 4) Kollos vs.-----------------Joeski Joeski ============================== Texastoast vs.-----------------Texastoast Clement 5) Bigmac vs.-----------------Kain Kain ============================= Speedy vs.-----------------Winner Snoop 6) markk vs.-----------------Winner Chairman7w ============================== Keep the updates coming! Remember, Sunday, December the 10th is the deadline. If you cannot make that date, e-mail me ASAP! ------------------ One shot...One Kill

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>1) We usually play smallish battles (1500-2000) so I never get a chance for gigantic collections of tanks. I attempt to use the Lowski/tophat tactics so skillfully deployed by some, so my tanks are usually popping out from behind ridges and trees in groups of two.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This is very much a part of your problem. Live by this: All or None. When a Company commander gives the "Fire at will order...or Tophat!" This means the whole company Tophats/fires at the same time. The reason being is simple...safety in numbers and local superiority. When you pull 2 of your tanks "out" of cover hoping to kill a Tiger Royal you are asking for trouble. When the time is right to engage the beast, do it with your whole force at one time. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>He usually keeps all his tanks in one large group, with a pair or two on each flank. He likes to maneuver his KT alone once in a while, though<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This is bad for you...he does what you should be doing, however, there is such a thing as keeping your tanks too close together. Based on a 2000 point game, I bought 2 Regular Tiger Royals, 7 Pz IV's, and 6 Hetzers (38t). Though a formidable force, it has major weaknesses. First its strength: Numbers...he is beating you the way I want you to beat him...with numbers of tanks. He can field 15 tanks + a Platoon of grunts in this battle. Bad for you. Weakness: Arty. The suspension system of the Pnz IV's are vulnerable to 155mm Artillery and especially the Hetzers. I have seen 155's immobilize Hetzers from 30 to 40 yards away! Use this to your advantage; if be bunches up his armor...hit it with arty. Secondly, do not underestimate the power of smoke. Buy 1 81mm spotter purely for smoke reasons. Smoke is a combat multiplier, it can blind a target, mask a move, but more importantly, it can gain you local superiority by sectioning off manageable bites of his Armor force. Another nice feature of smoke is that it can persuade tanks to maneuver out of their hull down positions because they are blinded by it. Whenever you can make your enemy maneuver against his will, you have an advantage. Another weakness is the turretless Hetzer. Turretless tanks, though potent from the front, are extremely weak from the sides and if immobilized, are practically useless if not pointing in the correct direction when they became so. Even if they happen to be facing the right direction, their field of fire is rarely more than 15 deg. to either side...and maybe less. The other obvious weakness is the lack of AAA. Buy yourself a Fighter Bomber. Just the thought of a "Jabo" overhead may cause your opponent to make some mistakes, and make him worry more about his precious Tigers than you! <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>No, he usually has a single KT, a Tiger or a JagdTiger, and many PZ4's, Hetzers, Stugs, etc.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> He is beating you with numbers here. With 2000 points he can muster two tanks shy of a whole Company! That's 15 tanks...quite the force. As you have seen, Jumbo's, Pershings, etc...do not stand up to his KT's. They get penetrated and die, so don't influence your purchases with that thought. Think more along the lines of...how can I maximize my firepower, meaning numbers. The answer? Hellcats and Jacksons. With 2000 points you can have 13 Hellcats, 1 155mm Arty Spotter, 1 81mm Arty spotter, 4 TRP's, 1 Bazooka team and 1 plt of Grunts. And seeing how Jacksons only cost 1 more point each, roughly the same number can be had with them. I don't know about you, but I would put my money on a Hellcat over a Pnz IV or Hetzer any day of the week. With this TD force you would have a firepower advantage, even with his KT/JadKT's. (Especially now that Allied tanks/TD's are finally firing their damned Tungsten rounds! Yeah!) I guess you would have to weigh the choice of Jacksons vs Hellcats...personally I would go with the Cats. T-rounds and 55mph are a great combination So, you end up with 2 and 1/2 platoons of TD's...not bad. But how will you use them? Certainly NOT by inching them forward 2 at a time! Keep them hidden until you are ready to press the attack and then...All for One and One for All! But before this... The importance of TRP's is sometimes lost on PBEMr's...a GREEN 155mm Arty spotter can drop rounds on a TRP in 42 seconds! (If he has a line of sight to it. If not then more like 1.30 min...but waaay better than 4 to 5 min without los) A Regular 155mm Spotter should have no problems killing/immobilizing tanks with the aid of TRP's. 81mm spotters are fast no matter what! 1 min without TRP and like 25 seconds with one! Awesome for covering a move, buttoning up TC's, or gaining local superiority. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>7) The battlefield is usually a square or a rectangle, with deploy zones always opposite each other.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If I where you, I would insist on a square map as large as you can get it. The more room you have to maneuver the better for you, also, try and attack in the morning/dusk to that engagement ranges are no more than 1200 to 1400 meters. This gives your 76 APC rounds a much better chance against Panthers and the like. Tungsten works miracles at this range! So, I cannot tell you how to fight. I am no authority, I am simply telling you what I have learned from other men. Just remember, fight as one unit...not as small groups of individual tanks. Always keep each tank "gun distance" from each other, meaning, each tank MUST be able to support his brother when the shooting starts. Lay into the enemy...hit him with all you've got! Better to die quick than a slow lingering death! Choose the time of your attack, don't force it. Use your Arty to disrupt his formations and break up his Armor, save your smoke for when you need it...use your smoke to gain local superiority...isolate his main tanks with it and hit him with ALL your guys. Instead of setting up your tanks in a long row "sideways", setup in depth. This allows you to have a very high density of tanks in the smallest space possible while maintaining adequate distances in-between for Artillery protection. Finally, Wait. Wait. Wait some more...make him squirm, make him maneuver around looking for you. Wait. Choose your time, do not force it. Don't go looking for Death, for He finds us all soon enough. ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Maximus...before you do anything to your HD... Do you have McAffee Virus checker? If you do, you should see a small shield (or a file with a magnifying glass) in your task bar next to the system clock. RIGHT click on that icon and turn it off/exit it out...whatever you need to do. Now try running scandisk again. Doesn't really matter what virus checker you have...just try turning them off while you do your scandisk. May work...cross your fingers. ------------------ One shot...One Kill [This message has been edited by Iron Duke (edited 12-06-2000).]

Couple of questions: 1) When fighting your tanks, in what size unit do you use/deploy them? (i.e. Section (2tanks), platoon (5), company (17) etc...) 2) Is the battlefield so flat that you cannot setup in hidden areas? 3) When he fights his tanks (KT's) does he pull them all up at once? Or does he pull them up one by one? 4) Does he use KT's exclusively? Meaning, NO other types of tanks or support vehicles? 5) Does he use Arty at all? 6) Does he buy any supporting Infantry? (in the tank battles I mean) 7) Finally, what are the dimensions of the battlefield? What shape is it? (Square, rectangle, etc) If it is anything other than a square, where are the setup zones? (along the long side or the short side) ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Speedy, well unless BOTH of you knock each other out right at the same time (highly unlikely) then you will have to do an unheard of Tie-TieBreaker! It could happen I guess, but chances are one of you will get a kill sooner or later. ------------------ One shot...One Kill [This message has been edited by Iron Duke (edited 12-06-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Its a hard decision between experienced tankers and regular ones.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Exactly why I chose 400 points rather than 1000. With 1000 points everyone would have Elite King Tigers and Elite Jumbo 76's and Pershing's all the time. This way you can have 1 Elite "big" tank (or 2 Elite TD's) but your opponent may have up to 4 Regulars or 3 Vets. So it balances out. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I do like the no tree, hilly map a lot. Its different<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Tank country my friend...gotta luv it. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>It would be nice if it was 1000pt instead of 400, because at just 400pts I think the lucky player will win, and not the skilled.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh I disagree with that. You said yourself that it was a hard decision on how you bought, so it takes first-hand knowledge of all the Vehicles available to you for your choices...therefore skill is involved. Now, the way I setup the map (setup zones) you'd better have some skill in maneuver or you will get waxed right off the bat! I think maneuvering and fighting a section or platoon sized Armored force takes a LOT more skill than maneuvering and fighting a company sized Armored force, you cannot afford ANY mistakes. Each of your orders can have DIRE consequences for your men, there can be no gamey "scout with a jeep" tactics in the Tiebreaker...unless you WANT to throw away 50 or so points (1/8th of your total). <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>So overall I think its ok<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Glad you liked it. ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Joeski, the brackets will work themselves out now. Your next opponent is Jack Hughes, then, depending on if you win that battle, you will be fighting the Second Round winner from the #3 bracket and so on...understand? If everyone comes back for the next AKOTM, then true seeding will take place, as I will know everyone's ability level, or at least have a better idea. ------------------ One shot...One Kill

One more thing: Please remember that Sunday, December 10th is the DUE DATE for the First Round. If any of you will not make that date, please contact me by email and let me know so that something can be worked out. I feel bad pushing the date, I know people get busy, but I am trying to be fair to everyone else and attempt to keep this tournament moving. (Hell...I bought a Trophy people! ) So...Move out! Voward Marsch! ...and all that Jazz. ------------------ One shot...One Kill [This message has been edited by Iron Duke (edited 12-05-2000).]

Speedy/Snoop Since you two are the first to have a tiebreaker...what are your thoughts on them? Are they fun, are the points good, how about the map? SOUNDS fun by your updates...let me know. ------------------ One shot...One Kill

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Some yahoo could opt to by a platoon of infantry and 20 batteries of artillery for example <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I be that yahoo! ------------------ One shot...One Kill

Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to annouce the glorious victory of Stoffel over the brave Capt. Ayers. With Stoffel now in the Second Round, only six more battle resolutions need to be turned in. Please see above for details on the bracket. Remember, the due date for the First Round is next Sunday, the 10th. Out. ------------------ One shot...One Kill [This message has been edited by Iron Duke (edited 12-03-2000).]