M. Bates

CM3 4 3? Looks good, I think that some large maps would be ideally suited to the desert settings. It's a good idea to have this mod because a lot of the major elements already exist, perhaps only the Italians and their tanks are missing. Manx, you should organise a desert tournament to tie in with the release of this mod.

Rexford, doesn't CM compute armour thickness in terms of a box? For example, there won't be any variance in plate thickness across the whole of one side. I found your post to be most relevant and interesting, but I would be cautious about applying those tactics in CM. Is this a correct statement or does CM allow for the 45 degrees tactic?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>All in all a very nice tank.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Sounds like a used car salesman to me!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>If it wasn't for America's almighty industry, we might not have been able to win the war single-handedly. You UK-landers would have been the first people we would have called, though, if we needed some help... or some more tea. We promise. Thanks, Jim<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> What's all this 'we' talk?? You were there personally, were you?

Cmon guys, some Indiana Jones TV series can't count as a war movie, however good the episode! Incidentally, 'Stalingrad' was also a TV series, but they cut the hell out of it to turn it into a movie as well. It's from the same people as Das Boot, but the earlier movie suffers less from being chopped about. Perhaps when a directors cut of Stalingrad is released a fuller story will be told.

I see... in theory I suppose its possible to re-apply the mod textures in a mod manager, and get them back that way, this presumably would leave in place the fixed textures.

With the new version, do people lose some of their mod-enhanced graphics?

How many chances do you want to give the Germans? They shot themselves in the foot so many times that by the end of the war, they didn't have a leg to stand on. My gut feeling is that any of the Allied armies would have made a better job than the Germans of conquering Western Russia. I have no statistics or anything to back up that argument of course.

I find it strange how computer users treat Apple like a friendly/enemy sports team.

Haha, well written.

Terence, Apparently Russian sniper stories were so prolific during WW2, that western civilians thought that "sniping" was a Russian word!! Undoubtedly there are many genuine and deadly Russian snipers, especially the Siberian variety!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Yes, but what do you call a nub that's been worn down the it's nub?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Doesn't even make sense: "down the it's nub". Surely it is possible to wear a nob down to a nub, but a nub to a nub does not work. Or so Mace says. Yoda, you were so much better in Star Wars, I imagine that nowadays you look like a wrinkled child.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Great news, there are some great stories of female (and male of course) Russian snipers in action. We will be able to design these into suitable scenarios. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Not stirring trouble here or anything, but I think that a lot of these so called Russian sniper stories are rubbish. When I read of a Russian sniper who supposedly killed 304 Germans with 304 rounds fired, it's clearly bollocks!

Originally posted by Hiram Sedai: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I agree with you Mr Bates, Shandorf is bitter after losing three Hetzers and getting exposed for lying about game results Master Bates, have a nice day.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The question is, when will Shandorf realise that the weight of opinion in the Ping Thread is against him??

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Hmmm....anybody believe that bit of fiction? Nope, I didn't think so.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I agree with you Yoda, it is astonishing that Shandorf must try to conceal his crap tactics with a package of lies and deceit!

Hey, Shandorf! How are you! <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>BTW the other day I was incredibly board and in the CMHQ chatroom. To make a long story short I ended up in a TCP/IP game with M.BAtes (shudder) but I did so with the intention of handing him his ass wrapped neatly and all. Well, first off M.Bates is a sandbagging gamely little bastard. We were playing a ME and he goes with an Armored selection so that he can buy more armor than me. I was Combined arms. So, I bought a ton of infantry and the 3 Hetzers which I was only allowed because of the 1250 point setting. Needless to say M.Bates HAS to be the most inept, gamey pud on the planet. Not only did he waste his entire arty assets on my 3 Hetzers he failed to drop ANY arty on my infantry. Fool. Also he bought an M18 Hellcat and proceeded to drive it around my back area at full speed. Thus all my reserve troops popped up and not one of the useless Hamstertruppen could hit the broadside of a Dalem at 20 meters let alone a Hellcat that was rumbling by. To say the least this angered me greatly. I therefore pushed M.Bates right flank with my infantry and proceeded to "roll him up" when he suddenly says to me "gotta go" and bails out of the game. Needless to say he saw the writing on the wall and ran with his tail between his legs, the putrid little femme. Needless to say I will never need to play that gamely little sh*t again. Just thought you all would appreciate the drumming I gave him. Jeff ------------------ I once killed a six pack just to watch it die.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> A more accurate repraisal of the event is: Shandorf, either through complete arrogance, or utter stupidity, possibly a mixture of both, parked three Hetzers on top of a hill. I methodically picked off the first two through an AT gun and a sneaky Jackson. I decided to finish off the last one personally with a Hellcat, and the Hellcat was brought safely back home Shandorf, now lacking any vehicle support, had all his infantry hiding in the town. I am in the middle of blasting the buildings he occupied to smithereens when I had to go. Of the three victory locations, one was easily attainable just by parking a tank on it. The other was a church occupied by his infantry, and that was soon to go with two vehicles and an AT gun trained on it. Shandorf says that my right flank was in danger, and that my artillery was spent, but both are untruths. I could not spend any more time at the computer, so I instead of apologise and bail out, I surrendered like a gentleman. And now Shandorf spills his inaccurate blatherings to the forum. Well, I killed THREE of your Hetzers, and you knocked out ONE Jackson. I think that the game was about even, but then even that is being generous to Mr Shandorf. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Needless to say I will never need to play that gamely little sh*t again.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Haha, another great quote to add to my signature. Good day to you sir... [This message has been edited by M. Bates (edited 01-08-2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Well of coarse this is a good role if you drive your HTs and other fast units behind enemy lines like the gamey bastard you are. Jeff<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks for the compliment! (Still sore at losing 3 Hetzers in quick succession, and seeing my Hellcat get away scot free?)

That makes sense, I suppose Combat Mission deals with the period immediately *before* sniper teams would be sent in and given tasks to do. But how about... in Attack games, Sniper Teams or Single Snipers available for the defender, listed under "Fortifications"? Fortifications imply that one side had been able to set up certain barriers and precautions, and sniper hides could possibly be part of that.

I have tended not to buy halftracks recently, as all they tend to do is deliver your infantry far ahead of your main force, but without adequate support. That said, if you DO buy a halftrack, then they can get your troops from A to B in one piece, and after the halftrack has fulfilled its main duty, it can go on to provide a mobile machine gun nest. Another not so well mentioned use for the halftrack, is to hunt down AT guns from the flank or rear. The AT gun crew cannot possibly bring the gun to bear on the M3 halftrack because the Hun crew is pinned under MG fire, and eventually the gun will be abandoned. === BTW I was pleased to see that you used some of my text for the Tiger on your units database. Excellent stuff. Suggestion: include ammo loads, as this is factor for people, for example when buying SP guns. Otherwise good content and excellent presentation.

As I understand it, the British preference was always to send a team of snipers if possible, because the benefits are manifold. Two pairs of eyes are better than one, the the presence of another man is a boost to morale. A sniper team also travels lighter than the single sniper. One man had a No. 4 rifle equipped with telescope which was capable of revealing badges of rank. The second man had an automatic rifle - a Winchester usually - and using his binoculars, would observe and pick out targets for the sniper rifle equipped man. The second man sometimes observed the killer shot with the telescope if the enemy was well hidden. It wasn't uncommon for snipers to "fire blind" after having been given the exact enemy location by the second man. It was rare for the British to use single snipers, but there are obviously some types of people who work best by themselves. It was important that the two men in the sniper team got along together and had mutual understanding. Natural hunters, Highlanders or Kangaroo hunters from Australia, made excellent snipers because their experience in getting "humane shots" on animal quarry came into its own at the front, where men prior to action had shot predominantly at 2D targets. This is all from the one British perspective, I'd be interested to hear how for example the Americans employed snipers.

Hi Benny. Bye Benny.

I'll do more reading on the subject, but so far as my limited knowledge goes, the situation of Sharpshooters in the British Army is not correct.

Self preservation, it's for the best that it drops smoke and backs off a bit.

Okay Maximus, I'll print my signature just for you ------------------ Great Quotes Maximus: "And what's that Rob? The rest of the world doesn't care? I can assure you that when Boris Yeltsin stepped down in Russia last New Years, the world cared. Oh wait, you live in Canada. That's right, Canada only cares 'aboot' Canada. The whole world could be on the brink of destruction and as long as Canadian soil isn't involved, they could care less. Does the phrase, "Isolationist China" mean anything to ya?" Rob/1: "Lets just say I dont like americans ok... if you have a prolbem with that Minumis is one of the resions." jshandorf: "Suck" jshandorf: "How about Stephen Hawkins! Yeah! I would kick his skinny, whellchair ass any day of the week! Bring it on roller boy!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Exactly. When there's a lot of lead pinging around, a sniper is not going to be presented with a lot of targets. Everyone will already be keeping their heads down.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Surely the opposite is true: when enemy "Spandaus" and rifemen are firing, they will be visible. When the situation is more static then hides could be constructed. Of course, in Defense games, this is especially true. I find the current situation of Sharpshooters to be strange. Would the British Army or any other army really hand out telescopic sights willy nilly for soldiers to go and do their own thing? The most sensible wayto judge if a soldier is capable of consistently firing close groupings at long range, AND to make sure that he knows how to use a TS properly, is to put that soldier on a proper snipers course for a week or so.