Firefly

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Skipper, You could always try the Peng thread... no, sorry, forget I said that.

Fionn also did some recon rules for QBs, perhaps not as famous as his Short 75 an Panther/76 rules but they look interesting. Brief synopsis Battle type 'mechanised' (i.e no tanks), no vehicles with a gun larger than 50mm and no artillery larger than 81mm

Mk II grey Cortina - whiplash aerials, racing trim .

Good stuff as usual Jason, just one clarification, The 4 Cromwell troop was normally seen in armoured recon regiments, in an armoured regiment, such as those with 7th Armoured Div. 3 Cromwells plus a Firefly was the normal troop make-up. Churchills operated in troops of 3 and where they were used Wolverines in troops of 4. [This message has been edited by Firefly (edited 02-03-2001).]

Ha! Sentimentality didn't stop you destroying those 3 Pz IVs though, did it Gary? They were minding their own business, not hurting anybody (apart fron that infantry squad) and then KABOOM . [This message has been edited by Firefly (edited 02-03-2001).]

The US manpower shortage was due to inaccurate predictions for casualties resulting in insufficient replacements being trained. The British shortage was due to the pool of available manpower becoming exhausted by 5 years of fighting (although the British casualty predictions were no better than the American). See D'Este Decision in Normandy. But, you're right that Daniel obviously doesn't seem to know what he's talking about.

In Normandy the British airborne units stuck around for the entire campaign, they weren't supposed to, but they were needed. During the Bulge US airborne units were used as infantry because they were all that was available until Patton arrived. So it's not totally gamey, but it wasn't done on a regular basis.

I started at about the age of 12 with a copy of Donald Featherstone's 'Wargames' and Airfix miniatures. My first board wargame was SPI's Napoleon at Waterloo which was free in those days with a subscription to Strategy and Tactics. My first computer wargame was SSI's 'Typhoon of Steel', a precursor to 'Steel Panthers', on the Amiga.

Wild Bill, To be really picky the correct spelling would be Koeln, using the 'e' to simulate the missing umlaut. Gosh Mr. Colvin, my German teacher woud be proud of me for remembering that . [This message has been edited by Firefly (edited 02-01-2001).]

I think he meant Hiram's cat, although who it was in the bag with, one shudders to think.

There is a way around this, but it requires a third party. Each player sends a list of the units they want to the third party and he/she loads the map into the scenario editor, buys the units for each side and generates a scenario, which is then sent back to the players. This is then played PBEM as a normal scenario.

Also remember that, thanks to the RAF and USAF, most of Cologne was rubble in 1945. My father passed through in 1946 and recalled that the only thing standing was the shell of the cathedral.

Some of these probably won't work if the newbie is from a wargaming background, but otherwise... 1. The M4 Sherman is a great example of American technology and know-how, 88mm shells will bounce off it's mighty armour like ping-pong balls. 2. If you are faced with a large open space have your infantry run across it, it will make them harder to hit. 3. The small white signs with 'Achtung Minen Panzer' written on them are power-ups, driving your tank over them will increase its armour and ammo. 4. BTS are considering patching the game to include a campaign mode. They have said that the more people that write to the board requesting this, the more likely they are to do it. 5. When writing to the board always agree with Gunny Bunny, this will win you kudos as he is respected by the designers and readership alike. 6. In a QB always buy a lot of rockets, at the critical moment target them immediately in front of your troops; this will clear the undergrowth of hiding enemies and their superior accuracy will leave your own troops unmolested. 7. Mad Matt is a tolerant sort of guy, he doesn't really care what you post on the board. [This message has been edited by Firefly (edited 01-31-2001).]

Leo, You've got it in the last sentence. The reason you stay where you are is because your job is to defend that spot for the length of the Operation. Remember you're only a small cog in the machine. If you want to see your lines move forward try an Advance or play the other side in this operation. [This message has been edited by Firefly (edited 01-30-2001).]

You came in in mid thread - that was my reply to GB's rant about how anyone who didn't agree with him had been brain-washed by BTS.

Thanks for filling in the detail Andreas. I'll look forward to the scenarios. I should add that the ealy death of my Comets in the PBEM was due to my ineptness, not to the features of the Comet.

No Phoenix has the right group and sums it up pretty well. c.s.i.p.g.war-historical is a much more lively group with a wider readership and discusses all wargames. Fionn posts in both.

I've only used them in a PBEM, unfortunately they didn't last long enough for me to get a good idea of their capabilities. They appear to be up-gunned Cromwells.

So was I Ray . I'm just annoyed that this year in the UK, it's being shown on a satellite channel I don't subcribe to and because of the time differnce it's too late to watch it in the pub. Oh and remember rugby players don't wear any of that wussy padding .

Er.. given that it's been shown live on UK television for the last 20 years, I think he was being ironic, but what is this 'soccer' of which you speak?

US Interviewer: 'What's the main difference between America and England Mr Cleese?' John Cleese: 'Well, when we organise a sports World Championship, we invite other countries to take part.' And now for the day's important sports news: Man. United 0 West Ham 1. Yes!!!

Kevin, I've e-mailed these to you. [This message has been edited by Firefly (edited 01-28-2001).] [This message has been edited by Firefly (edited 01-28-2001).]

Hmm.. Time difference between London and New York -5 hours, Time difference between London and Sydney +10 hours. I would suggest that you seperate your future tourney into seperate European and FarEastern/Australasian tournaments if you want similar deadlines. BTW I live in the Western hemisphere, I'm a few miles west of Greenwich .

Indeed there is. All we need now are some Scottish voice files 'See you Fritz... Stitch that!'