Reno

ScoutPL. Just wanted to pipe in and say thanks for your excellent tutorial and excellent post on fire and maneuver. I know that your efforts to bring real world tactical thinking to this forum have sometimes met with resistance. That has to be frustrating. I think your decision to divorce yourself from the occasional petty squabble was a wise one. Here's hoping you don't lose heart and that you continue to share your knowledge to make CM even better than it is. We're fortunate to have you here. All the best, Reno

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pillar: Now the great part about this as you can see is he hasn't seen me. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Great AAR of the first few moves, Pillar. Thanks. What I don't understand is, every time I try to do a stealthy move to contact followed by an envelopment, my trigger happy guys open up at the first sign of the enemy and bust the whole plan. How come your's didn't? Judging from the first screenshot none of your guys were in hiding. I think it would be great to be able to move parallel to an enemy force without being seen, kind of like a submarine moving on the edge of a convoy, and then race up ahead or behind for the attack, but CM doesn't seem to allow for this. There's no "hold fire unless fired upon" command that I know of and the hide and ambush commands are not quite the same thing in this kind of scenario. Was it just luck that your scouts didn't open fire? And what if they did? Wouldn't that have given you an incomplete intel picture and seriously compromised your strength at the sharp end of the stick? [This message has been edited by Reno (edited 11-07-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jackson: I’ve noticed that the M3A1 scout car will not target and will not fire after having suffered one crew casualty (even after recovering from shock)... Has anyone else experienced this? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I've noticed this also with the wasp and MMG carriers. Both have a crew of three and if you suffer one casualty they will not fire. I mentioned this in the flamethrower thread, but got no response. http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/011648.html My initial thought, at least regarding the wasp, was that CM had the crew strength wrong for the wasp. My only reference that mentions the wasp, the Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, said the British wasp should have a crew of two and the Canadian wasp a crew of three. (The Canadians combined the two internal fuel tanks into one and mounted it on the outside making room for a third crew member who fired either a machine gun or mortar). I was playing the British at the time but the crew strength was listed as three not two. I reasoned that perhaps the strength report was just listed wrong and in fact it was two which would reasonably prevent it from firing with the loss of one crew. But then I saw the same behavior in the mmg carriers. I think this may be a bug. [This message has been edited by Reno (edited 10-22-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Croda: ... almost voted for Flying Tigers until I realized that I couldn't say a word against the big guy! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Flying Tigers..worst war movie? Croda, have you lost your mind? I grew up with that movie. I remember as a kid putting together some bad models of the P-40 and Zero and single-handedly saving the world. I know you were just kidding, right? Watched the DVD of "They Were Expendable" last night. John Wayne in a PT boat. Wooden acting, shameless patriotism, self-sacrificing heroics..It was great! That part where Ward Bond serenaded Donna Reed and the Duke, it just doesn't get any better.

Speaking of Wasps..per the Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War Two, the only reference I have handy that even mentions them, the British wasp is supposed to have a crew of two and the Canadian wasp a crew of three. The QB I played had British Wasps but a crew of three. I think the third fellow was shooting a machine gun. Not a big deal but during the house to house fighting one of the crew was injured or killed and the Wasp immediately lost its ability to shoot, even though it had almost a full complement of ammo, two crew left, and could still race around the battlefield with the best of them. Why would one injured crew member prevent the Wasp from firing? The crew was OK..not shocked or anything. Any wasp experts out there?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jeff Duquette: ..I'm an ugly american...do you know if these folks take overseas orders?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I did a credit card order a couple of hours ago. It seemed to go without a hitch.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PeterNZer: ...my wasp was happily toasting some people when all of a sudden it just ran towards the enemy.. PeterNZ<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's kind of what I meant about the wasp having a tendency to run amuck once the shooting starts. In my case it was a sight to behold because it could do no wrong. But I feel your pain...really I do.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by coralsaw: Can you lot recommend a book on the WWII history. I am interested in political and military events, and would appreciate a lot of military detail. I would also prefer a true historical perspective, rather than a "biased" (no offense) autobiographic description of one of the war victors. I have read Martin Gilbert's WWII book, and it is good, but can be tiring at times, as, with all due respect, it refers too much on Nazi atrocities on an individual basis and makes it difficult to appreciate the flow of events. Help is appreciated. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> On the surface this may seem like a strange recommendation but if you're looking for a good source that chronicles the "flow of events" in a very visual way try "The Atlas of the Second World War" edited by John Keegan. Great maps and concise writing give you a good feel for the economic, political, and strategic flow of World War II better than any single source I know. Try it, you'll like it.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The Blitzkrieg: Lets hear your techniques generals... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Did a QB last night where technique never entered into the equation. I was given three wasps and a company of infantry to probe a town in hilly moderate wooded terrain. (400 points). Split squads approached the buildings. When they encountered resistance the Wasps moved up and burned them out. By the end of turn six 3/4's of the town was in flames. The Wasp is a very wicked weapon and seems to have a tendency to run amuck once the shooting starts. It almost seems to potent. It can stand off from a considerable distance and set three or four buildings on fire in one turn. It also is very fast and took out two armored cars in that same QB. Again, its almost too good. Kinda like a super weapon. Or maybe it was just one of those lucky QB's where nothing goes wrong.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ibucephalus: The best war movie thread seems pretty well covered. What about books? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> There's so many great books about war out there that it'd be impossible in my opinion to label any one of them as the best. Even the bad ones have something to offer. Some recent non-fiction that I've read and enjoyed.. The Deadly Brotherhood - The American Combat Soldier in World War II by John McManus. Why The Allies Won by Richard Overy The Winter War by Eloise Engle and Paananen Sempi Fi, Mac by Henry Berry Battling The Elements - Weather and Terrain In the Conduct Of War by Harold Winters The Fall Of Eben Emael by James Mrazek Closing With The Enemy by Micheal Doubler The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer The Long Road Of War by James Johston Utmost Savagery - The Three Days of Tarawa by Col. Joseph Alexander The Second World War by John Keegan. Scorched Earth by Paul Carell The Wars Of America by Robert Leckie When The Odds Were Even by Keith Bonn Atlas Of The Second World War edited by John Keegan How They Won The War In The Pacific by Edwin Hoyt. Battle Of Wits - The Complete Story of Codebreaking in World War II by Stephan Budiansky. ( I just picked this one up today but the reviews are good. ) Guadalcanal by Richard Frank Breakout and The Last Parallel, both by Martin Russ This Kind Of War by T.R. Fehrenbach The Guns Of Normandy by George Blackburn I haven't read too much fiction lately but a few that I recall that were good.. Battle Cry by Leon Uris. (In my opinion the most memorable first line in any book.."They call me Mac.") Any of the submarine books by Harry Homewood. Final Harbor and O God of Battles come to mind. Mister Roberts by Thomas Heggen Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer Run Silent, Run Deep by Edward Beach Any of the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell. (Good escape reading-not sure how accurate they are) Any of the Bolitho books by Alexander Kent. This is really Douglas Reeman. He wrote a a lot of WW II naval fiction too that I heard is good but never read. (Again, good adventurous escape reading) I just picked up two WWII fictional books by David Robbins. The War of the Rats and The End of War. Can't really comment on them as of yet but Rats seemed to have good reviews.

Kelly's Heroes of course. Just about as much fun as CM, and it's got something CM doesn't have...a T-19.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The Commissar: I'd like to ask here for some advice on recommended reading, gameing, and web surfing. Thanks in advance fellers, Cheers! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> A good start for websurfing would be http://www.napoleonseries.com/. Follow any of the links from there. Also if you haven't discovered the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell you're in for a treat. First in the series is Sharpe's Rifles.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pillar: Who here is interested in having all the AAR's, tactical articles, etc. at a specific Combat Mission Tactics website? That means, you can submit your tactics etc. all at one place. Since it's specialized, it will be updated more regularly than a generalize page. Authors, Madmatt, etc. : Would you give permission for your articles and aar's to go on this site if they are already on another site?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Good idea. And while you're at it how about making all the AAR's and tutorials printer friendly.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Napoleon1944: Pacific Air War by Microprose. Pretty good flight sim for its day. I loved dive bombing carriers! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> PAW was a great flight sim. Way ahead of it's time in flight modeling and gameplay..had a flawless H2H system. What I liked most was the ability to film your dogfights with the AI. On replay you could even jump into the opponents cockpit if you wanted and watch the fight from his eyes and from several different angles. Very realistic, and a bit spooky.

The Encyclopedia of Weapons Of World War II, edited by Chris Bishop. If you're looking for something more technical and less personal this is a pretty good choice. It has a good section on infantry anti-tank weapons and another on anti-tank guns. Lots of illustrations and photos of just about every WWII weapon you can think of. 500 plus pages.

Panzerjager: Tank Hunter William B. Folkestad Good first person account. Mostly the Eastern Front. Plenty of rare photographs. Will definitely put you in the mood for CM2

There's a half track in Kelly's Heroes with what looks to be a 105 on the back. Is this a T19? I tried to find a photo on the web and in the reference material but came up short. The HMS Encyclopedia of Land Combat say 320 of these were made in '42 but dropped from inventory less than a year later after a poor showing in North Africa. Anyone know where I can find a photo and more info? Anyone know where they stored the ammo and hid the crew of six?

USMC, 1966-1979 Vietnam '68 -'69 (Danang) Commissioned in '72, left in '79. Last rank, Captain Last assignment, Intelligence Officer for Marine Air Control Group and Senior Air Director for Marine Air Control Squadron.