The Commissar

As the attacker, I make a point of been speedy in my assault, especially if my advance is covered by terrain. If the terrain is not covered, I present a target of maybe a squad or even a platoon for the enemy to bombar with all he has. Meanwhile, my actual attack force is sneaking through wooden areas. As a defender, I dont buy much arty anyway. I much prefer the comfort of hidden AT and Infantry guns to take their place. It is usually much more of an annoyance to the attacker as he has to concentrate his own arty and man power on destroying the gun. This can be very difficualt if the gun is in wooden terrain and protected by an infantry screen. Basically, this really isnt a problem for the attacker and not much of a strategy for a defender. Unless you are playing on a tiny map and the defender bought himself Elite spotters, youre pretty much safe if you play it smart. PS: I think this will actually be more of a problem on the Eastern front, where the Soviets had a fantastical amount of Arty to throw at the Germans. If BTS chooses to represent Arty realistically, preliminary Soviet bombardments could win or lose a game for that player. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 01-21-2001).]

I agree with Compassion. A German "Tank Hunter" is idealy used as a regular hunter would act. That is, carefully and silently sneak around, get as close as you can, and fire off a single accurate round to bag your kill. The German "TH's" perform as such, since they are effectively AT guns on wheels. If they start racing around like an American M-18 TD, they'll get KO'ed. My 2 cents. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Personally, I see the M-18 as the direct descendant of Light Cavalry, and I use them as such. Move fast in groups and get in close to the enemy to deliver the fatal, Tungsten-powered blow to any and all before them! Even the heaviest of Uber tanks cannot survive a close side/rear shot by a M-18. Basically, as long as you recon the area you are about to "charge" with your cats before you send them in, you'll be fine. Undiscovered Shrecks, Fausts, and light AT guns will all spell doom for the Hellcat. Cheers! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Speaking from personal experience, I got tired of playing the battles once I hit "All or Nothing" (I think that was the name). IE: My 3rd CM battle, when I was playing in order. I just dont find the AI very challenging... I'd recommend that if you are still learning the intricate works of strategy and tactics, you take it easy and play the smaller battles first. Then move on the the medium, large, and huge ones. Cheers! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

I second that Blah!

I remember the days when we talked about CM2 and stuff...oh yeah, and hamster-manie was still around. Now it's armor-points-mania and we talk about, uh, armor points... What the hell did I just post that for, anyway? Oh well...more posts for me! Tee-hee! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Germanboy: Yeah you know, my grandfather was itching to spend six years in the Wehrmacht, subjugate Russians, Poles and French people. Sure. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Misunderstanding on your part. Frankly I dont know why Im doing this to my own personal reputation since I will get flamed for expressing my opinion, but whatever, freedom of speech makes the internet what it is. I dont feel that the Germans did not suffer. Sure they did. The Eastern front was not enjoyed by anyone. However, it can be argued that for your typical Russian it was much much MUCH worse then for your typical German. Not only did (more then likely) some of your relatives were shot during the purges of the 30's, now you have to go charge a machine gun! The German soldier had training(try to train your army when the enemy is Blitzing into your town and there's only farmers with pitchforks to stop them), able Generals (all of the USSR's were executed by firing squad), the advantage of surprise, speed, and an actual strategic doctrine (thanks for not listening to those warnings, Mr. Joe). Its not that I think the Germans unworthy, or worse yet, evil, it's the fact that I dont feel they deserve more sorrow then the ones who suffered more then even they could have imagined. When that other guy (I forget your name, m8) expressed his sorrow for that "poor German squad", I thought "well what the hell do you feel about that Russian company charging blindly at them in a suicidal assault (which they could not dissert thanks to NKVD officers), about to get massacred?" I respect the Germans as soldiers and I do know that they suffered, but in no way do I feel they are the ones to really cry about. Thats just my view on things, respond if you like. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Not fair! On my ballot, I couldn't tell whether I was voting for CM or "kOoL dOoDz 2: rEtUrN tO iDiOcy"! [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 01-19-2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by WolfLord: SPR...an excellent movie. However, for a view from the other side and just as excellent be sure to watch Cross of Iron (1977)...it depicts some grueling battles on the Eastern Front. Man, I feel sorry for that German squad everytime I think of it...damn show-off "noble" officers.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yeah, those poor murderous Nazis! Weren't allowed to subjugate those filthy no-good Slavs to their Aryan race and had untrained peasants thrown at them, some without actual weapons, by a cruel regime that had anyone not fighting for whatever reason shot. Those poor, poor Germans. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Sorry about the misunderstanding, I meant "totalitarian" or a quais-state of the above. Communism was the "official" state of the government, and one which was never really followed.

Oh, and as an addition to my last post, I would just like to add that IMHO, Russia should be concentrating its limited resources on training counter-guerilla units to fight the guerrillas in Chechnia. I dont see the point of wasting millions on research and production of a new super-fighter while conscripted kids who were given AK-47's are being needlessly massacred by an experienced guerrilla army. I think the only chance Russia has of at least giving the Mujahadeen a run for their money is by better training, not super technology, which has almost no value in guerrilla warfare. Cheers! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dan Robertson: Got to say that it would be very hard for the best pilot in the world to beat the F22 in a fight. The technology level is way a head of even the Eurofighter and the various prototypes the Russians come up with. Even if the F22 was readily detectible it still has the power and super cruise mean it's no escape zone is significantly smaller than fly any enemy plane, and the missiles at medium ranges make the difference. Not dog fighting. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> On relation to next-gen fighters: I read an article recently in one of the newest issues of Popular Mechanics magazine. They had a cover story of the newest Russian fighter being tested as we speak. It's wings are facing the other direction, that is, a "Y" wing of a sort Anyhow, the fighter is said to have superior agility, speed, and radar systems, and is being produced as the direct competition for the F-22. The Western experts who observed the tests were said to be "impressed" and thought the new fighter (gosh, I wish I could remember the name it had) was going to be at the very least as good as the F-22. 'fcourse, Russia is in a bit of a economical dilema right now, so the US has clear superiority in production. Just wanted to share that little tidbit Cheers! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mika: I really wouldn't consider Russians to be much more heroes, we shouldn't forget that Stalin was behind Holocaust too. -- MS. --<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, since everyone is in the mood to be offended, why not myself? Excuse me, did you say RUSSIANS? Surely, you meant SOVIETS, or better yet COMMUNISTS. Because quite frankly, I DO consider the RUSSIANS to be heroic, I mean they only did in - what? - 85% of the German forces? Yub, thats it. All without training and bad equipment from the beginning. I'd say thats pretty damn heroic, willing to fight to the death for ones' country, even if it is under a cruel COMMUNIST regime? Yes, STALIN THE COMMUNIST was really really bad. Of course, since he killed mostly RUSSIANS and never kept death camps visited by Americans, that was never made a big deal of. The purges of the 30's come to mind... On a related note, I didnt think the pic was very funny (kick me jokes stopped being funny for me in the 5th grade), but neither did I find it offensive. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 01-16-2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Guy w/gun: Yeah PCs are going to be around for awhile, but just wait a few years and we'll be seeing consoles with 3 GHZ processors, 50 Gig HDs, 2 gig ram, bitchin video card, AND most importantly open licensing so just about anyone can make anything for consoles. X-Box is the great grand daddy of whats to come.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Rejoice, stoned teenage morons of the world! Dont you see? Precisely because of these high expectations for the console is why if the PC is overpowered, as you say it will, there will BE no niche games. Because guess what - as a publisher on a console, would you make another "sUpA kOol dOoDz fIgHtIn cHaLinGe" that will sell 6 trillion copies to every half-witted simpleton who owns a console, or a wargame which sells several hundred thousand, AT BEST. As you've said, consoles are used to high sales. Wargames would never flourish on a console. Indie companies like BTS wouldnt flourish on a console, because they need things like the net to spread the word. You better pray consoles stay tuned for the twitch crowd, because if PC gaming producers lose interest, bye-bye every interesting genre that wouldnt sell 2 copies to your typical console player. Note - I am not insulting EVERY console player, just the majority. Woops, quite a rant there, isn't it? [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 01-15-2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MikeT: If no get it and check out the section on what happened to the Italian and German captives in the tender hands of the Russians <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Keep in mind that unlike with the other countries in WW2, Russia was invaded and its people horribly massacred by SS divisions. In Belarus alone, over 600 villages were completely wiped out, with all civilians butchered like cattle. Assuming you are a citizen of a Western country, the German army never did this to any of your distant relatives, except maybe those who served in the war and were killed fighting them. The conflict for the U.S. was one across the ocean, and their loved ones were safe behind a big ol' pond. Not so for the Russians. The war was much more personal and brutal for them, thus resulting in a deep hatred developing between the oposing sides. The Russians were brutal to their prisoners, no question about it, but if that prisoner was responsible for stuffing your family along with the rest of the people from your small town into a large builing and burning them alive inside, would you really treat the bastard right? Didn't think so. For a visual look at what those future prisoners did, watch the Russian movie "Come and See". ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 01-15-2001).]

Now THAT is the Ultimate CM Geek Toy! *GULP* It s-s-shoots actual ammunition too? "Hellooooooo Mr. Rogers!" ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 01-15-2001).]

For the shooters: 3 out of 4 games you mentioned will/have appeared on the PC. Half Life was good in 98 - an addition of a few levels wont really save it. Driving games: That game does seem pretty cool, but I could swear Ive read an article about in for the PC. Now to just dig it up...in one of my PCG back issues I should think. And, how could I forget, wargames. Thank goodness your average "stoned-teenager" of a console player wont really enjoy the idea of having to *gasp* think and not just button-mash. The only solely-PC genre left? It might just happen... As for the console cheapness... Not entirely true. For example, I havent bought a new $3000 PC in a looong while. I've just bought lots of updates, spread out over a period of time. Im about to upgrade my PC yet again with a 1Ghz processor, new motherboard, 264 RAM, and a 20 Gig HD. All for about $450 - thus, not far from the price of a brand new console. In return, I get quality games

Found a site that sells this thing. http://www.legendshobbies.com/nu/tam-tiger.htm As you can see, even if it goes down in price by half, I still wont be able to afford it. Maybe in the distant future... ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

What gets me angry about these "Next-Gen Revolutionary Consoles" is that EVERYONE is jumping on the bandwagon. People like Peter Moleneux (who stated that he will no longer be making any titles for the PC - only consoles) and the developers of Halo (Halo may not grace my monitor if Evilsoft has a word about it and its XBox) are leaving. Many more are following. This makes me want to buy a cheap old van, load it with C4, and drive it into Sony's/Microfosfts/Nintendo's office. Do these devs not realise that the PC will catch up and DESTROY these consoles in about 6 months after they are released? Come on people, the PC always catches the consoles and beats them out even if the console is more powerful in the beginning. Think PS2, N64, etc. They all had their "highs" in the beginning, then bye-bye. Computer technology advances by another Gigahert If these fools keep leaving the PC ship, there will be no one left to pilot the damn thing into the future! I do NOT want to see consoles and their idiotic twitch-fests dominating! I want QUALITY RPG's, not those Japanese hacks. I want shooters with a BRAIN, NOT "Resident Evil XX" (Golden Eye also comes out for the PC, so I wont mention it). I want flight sims. I want realistic driving games. I want RTS games, not cinematic interactive films without a brain. I want to stop rambling! Anyway, I think you get my point. Con-darned console whipper-snappers! *shakes fist menacingly* ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Im going down to my local shop Tuesday (might as well get some exercise!), see if they have this bad boy in. Probably not, so I'll waste my time. Plus I've only got some $200 to spend. Wonder how much they have stuff going there for? Anyhow, at least Ill get exercise...

It's too bad you'll be closing down and packing up, Kump, I really enjoyed your site! Well, real life has a way of killing good time I guess... We'll miss you!

Damn! It seems they dont take online orders (or I can't see an option that lets you order online). Now I have to go to my local store and see if they have that beautiful Tiger 1E. However, this local store isnt so very local. To save me a trip across town without a car of my own, can anyone say how much this beast goes for? I s'pose I'd need a R/C Radio as well...any other components? ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Actually, during toe-to-toe combat, the German "Geirbsjager" (did I butcher the spelling?) aka the Mountain Troops, are the most powerful infantry type you can get. With a firepower value of well over 300 at a range of 40 metres, I never go out without at least a platoon when Im battling on a town map. The Sturmtroopers are the best overall, however. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Thanks for the superb info, Mark IV! Very interesting, especially considering this is an engagement I've never heard about. Thanks again! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Can anyone provide me with any information about the forementioned late 30's war between the Russians and Japanese jason mentioned? After the surprisingly inferior performance the Russians showed against the Japanese in the "Russo-Japanese" war of the early 1900's, Im interested in any battles where the Russians got their "revenge" Thanks in advance! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"