Spanish Bombs

Congrats to all the winners, and especially KR, whose victory I had no small part in contributing to. Thanks to TB, Winecape and the whole B&T team. I am fortunate that the bitter taste of defeat in the finals will soon be washed by the sweet taste of victory in ROW III. Or not. Either way it'll be a blast.

Yeah, well, you got us back pretty good with the whole Ikea thing. Ugghh, some of those scores were pretty ugly reminders of plans gone awry. As for you, Enoch, I have some retribution in mind. I still lose sleep when I think of losing both Stuart/Tetrachs w/in 60 seconds, one to a damn Hotchkiss. Plus, that flame halftrack that rolled right over my Piat ambush marker without a scratch. Plus all that damn wire. Plus.... well, you get the point.

Further clarification, for those outlanders. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say just "New York Yankees". It is either "New York friggin' Yankees" or "friggin' New York Yankees", or less common, "New friggin' York Yankees" (Shakespeare?).

Looking forward to another great time. For the record, I would be against the geographical grouping idea, if for no other reason than it would have prevented me from meeting fine chaps like Juha, who I think is from Texas. Or Ohio, maybe, I forget. Anyway, count me in on a rematch regrouping from ROW I, Treeburst. Unless Wreck joins up, that is.

A bump from almost page 4, in the hopes somebody out there in grogdom has a photo or a link to a photo.

I discovered these recently, too. I was pretty excited about having a 'flame projector' in a scenario- sounded like something from Doom 3. Then I started playing around with it and realized how impuissant the thing is. Took out a AC in a QB with one, though, which was pretty cool although it took about 5 hits. I havent been able to find a picture of one, anybody have a photo? The manual says they were 'widely used', and as I had never seen heard of it before 2 weeks ago, I suppose that indicates how much I have to learn about the Ostfront.

OK, last game finished, all reports sent into Treeburst. As a priority, wanted to express thanks again to all involved in setting this up and putting together a bunch of fun scenarios, which were challenging and frustrating and rewarding in turns. Kudos to Treeburst, whose effort and dedication is nothing but remarkable. I wanted to add that finishing these final scenarios also brought with it a measure of sadness, as it is also the passing of CMBO as the primary game in my life. Like many others, I'm still warming to CMBB and just beginning to appreciate its depth and possibilities, and anticipating the patch. However, it is clear that CMBB will be surpassing CMBO as my main focus. The ROW tourneys were a source of some of my best CMBO experiences, and I hope that the CMBB tournaments serve the same purpose.

What CombinedArms and Kanonier Reichmann said, ditto.

Made the mistake of renting 'Windtalkers' last night and watching that instead of playing CM. I just wish I was supplied in my ROW games with those 37mm guns that cause Sturmtiger explosions that the Japanese had in the movie. Anyway, was too tired and buzzed after the movie to process turns, but have atoned this morning by sending turns to CA and KR, both games of which are in the nitty-gritty stage. Looking forward to catching up to Mick Oz here in a few days, too.

I mentioned this in another thread, but recently I finished a CMBB game where a German 250/8 HT took out 48 partisans. The large majority of those kills were the product of 3 cannister shots that took out (I think) 9, 6, and 16 guys. The last shot was at or near two squads unwisely bunched together, and too shaken to move. Makes me wonder what double-loaded cannister did at close range to grouped regimental lines in the Civil War.

Thanks for the prompt answer, Madmatt. I'm not sure, though, which part of this thread is my favorite: Madmatt's detailed explanation, or when John D Saltused the word "impuissant" in his informative post.

SME AAR - played as Allies vs. John Kettler Setup: Another great map, looks like difficult terrain in which to attack, hopefully. Great troops - often overloaded with ammo, crack and vets, lots of heavy buildings in which to hide out. I make a couple of choices up front: 1) Aside from a few MGs and sharpshooters, I have most of my troops behind the first rows of buildings. There are plenty of heavy buildings in which to hide and shoot, and this way I can hopefully neutralize any armor advantage he may have. 2) I place a lot of my squads in woods or in potential defensive positions in the town, outside of buildings. Once the foxholes are created, I will run them into heavy buildings in the first turn or two. I don’t know if the foxholes will help in any fighting retreat, but they won’t hurt. 3) Finally, I embark one of the AT guns on a jeep, giving at least some availability of movement. Here goes nothing. Turn 01: Tons of armor, at least one of which is an assault gun trying to take down one of the outlying buildings. Fine by me. I lose only a sniper, but only a sniper or two makes himself visible. Lots of armor, and mounted infantry. Turn 02: OK, a second Assault Gun joins in on the building assault, and by luck? decimates a MG crew. I now see infantry, very close to my lines, but I haven’t shown myself, overall. It is nerve-wracking trying to draw him in close, but I have to do it, since I can’t slug it out at a distance with this force composition. Turn 03: He has a LOT of armor moving, but at least they are getting within choke points where hopefully I can get a ‘zook round or two on him. Plus, he will have to use infantry to get into the buildings, and I’m waiting for that. I get a few glider reinforcements for the next turn, I’ll try to hustle them across the board to protect my right flank, where, all of a sudden he is moving. A dozen or so heavy shells land at the cross roads. Turn 04: Some contact, he moves 3 Stugs or Assault Guns right down the road. I get a few side shots at distance with a 57mm, but no luck. They are mostly area-targeting buildings, which I don’t really mind, especially when the buildings are empty. Squad vs. squad in the two outpost buildings, I suspect they will draw fire from guns next turn. Turn 05: His armor is having to move off road, which is the goal, and the roadblock is taking its effect. An AT gun gets a shot off at the flank of a Stug, but misses, and will have another shot in the next 60 seconds. I lose my split advance squad quickly. On my right, a lone MG takes fire from repeated infantry units, but is outnumbered. I continue to buy time while his infantry and armor is drawn into my defense in earnest. Turn 06: That StugIII is nailed early on. I also get about 6 shots at another with a ‘zook team, w/o success. Still, his infantry is striking serious resistance, and I have plenty of ambush opportunities for his armor. Things are getting interesting. Turn 07: Perhaps the terrain is starting to separate his infantry from his armor, but I lose too much (2 MGs, a bazooka team), for the casualties I am causing. Some pretty heavy artillery is landing on my left. The extra ammo will have to count in this one. Turn 08: I lose a whole squad at the crossroads holed up in the rubber, but sacrifices like these have enabled me to get into defensive positions. Again, some unused buildings are collapsed. At least on the left, I have temporarily saved the gun positioned there. There is a huge amount of German infantry on the board now, when are they going to get that armor off the beach? Turn 09: I am pressed just about everywhere - on my right, into the first big buildings there, and in my center, where the rubble is piled high with American corpses. My foremost AT gun is now flanked by a building with the shattered remnants of a German squad and my MG. I have platoons running full speed into protection, but there is a lot of ground to cover, yet. For a turn, though, his armor is relatively quiet, as the outer buildings and AT guns provide some buffer. Turn 10: Lots of shooting, but nothing major: I continue to whittle away at his squads, from heavy, interior buildings. Things are static for now, and am hoping that he moves his armor a little closer to the action in order to bring it to bear… Turn 11: I can tell that I am causing more casualties than I’m taking: I lose men from squads, but he loses whole squads. I also take out a HT (loaded, at that). In a building on my right flank, there are two American platoon leaders, two reduced American squads, and two shattered German squads, all of whom are under fire by adjacent squads. Some intensity! Turn 12: More of the same, I flush out the Germans from the aforementioned building, wiping out one squad and routing two more. My morale is dropping quickly due to the casualties, but nowhere are my lines facing imminent disaster - I’m holding on for dear life, but haven’t lost my grip yet. His armor continues to shell (and hopefully waste precious HE on) buildings which are unimportant to me. My ammo reserves are worth their weight in gold. Turn 13: The line holds, as I shift between heavy, sheltered buildings for the purposes of getting some fire on his incoming infantry. His artillery lands toward his own troops, and does not cause me major distress. He continues to take down meaningless buildings on the outskirts of the town, presumably for purposes of opening up sightlines to my forces inside, but they are all still protected. Several German squads break and beat a retreat. Turn 14: It seems that he is hesitating during the first 45 seconds of the movie, but I find out why in the last 15 seconds, as smoke starts spreading across my left. I actually don’t mind this, it may draw his armor in closer, it isn’t HE, which is much more deadly in my opinion, and it blocks the view of his armor too. Either way, I don’t take many casualties, but don’t cause too many either. Turn 15: Stand and fight. German infantry does not get too far into the village, but there are spots where I am beginning to take losses. He send troops to my far right, where the glider platoon has taken position. The smoke is dwindling, and his armor is moving closer, perhaps I can get a shot off in a turn or two. I only lose 1 morale %, and no victory %, and my opponent cites my ‘withering’ firepower, so things go well for the time being. Turn 16: Moving into crunch time, my infantry still generally stands its ground, but he has over a platoon into the big road in the middle. I had never meant to contest that ground, to do so would have been folly with his armor still about, but it is still intimidating to see at least a platoon of 13-man sturmgruppe squads in my front yard. On my right, I send a squad out of ammo to the building at the edge which serves as an anchor, where it runs into another German squad and a platoon leader. I get the better of them there, but it won’t be permanent. The movie ends with a cliffhanger between a 57mm gun and a PzIV?, both of which miss their first shots. Turn 17: I win the faceoff, with the first shot. The wall is proving to be superb cover. He has a number of squads in the crossroads of the city, and at least one Stug and one SPW on the outskirts. I seem to have blunted the push to my right, but there is big arty landing there, too. Nowhere is there an imminent breakthrough of his infantry, and I have support at most critical places. I haven’t received so many reinforcements as I would have liked, but I have little to complain of thus far. Turn 18: OK, maybe luck really is on my side here. The Stug, which I had figured I would get in a turn or two, I get with my very first ‘zook shot, and at a distance, too. His other, mobile AFV is a SP gun which is far away, and shooting smoke, which might indicate it is out of HE. Either way, it is almost down to an infantry fight, and although he has full squads which have gained the buildings, I am pretty close to even on the numbers, and have some reserves to commit toward the middle of the roadway into the city. Plus, he can’t move in the open without feeling my small arms fire. Turn 19: The general integrity of my lines holds, but I lose a squad and most of a company commander unit to his Sturmgruppes down the road in the middle. I knew giving ground would allow him to take advantage of the heavy buildings, but I am also causing casualties, and it is good to see some of those squads with only 5 or 7 men left, although at least one is full strength. He is falling back on my left, and status quo on my right. Turn 20: His push is on in the middle, and he gains a building or two, but at a fairly frightful cost. Not much happening on the flanks, everything collapses into the middle, and there I think I have him pretty well fended off. I will begin to push him back where I can, and otherwise hold the line. Turn 21: His sturmgruppe assault appears to have been blunted, but he apparently still has some artillery left, which eliminates a ‘zook team and one 57mm AT gun, that was out of HE anyway. I am finally starting to run out of ammo on my right, and have a few rounds left in the middle and left. Finally, a 60mm mortar is dueling it out with a SP gun? at about 300m, and the mortar has lots of rounds left, but the SP gun apparently has only AP left. This might be amusing. Turn 22: I lose one guy from the mortar team, and do not yet hurt the SP gun. The lines remain relatively static, although I can tell that I am causing casualties in his infantry. It is good to see those 13 man squads either broken and heading to the rear, or down to one man, or eliminated altogether. It does not appear that he will reach the flags in this game, although he still is landing arty, and to some effect. Turn 23: Still nothing between the gun and the mortar, although there is now only a yellow line from the mortar, so I’m thinking he is immobile and out of ammo. My lines are relatively thin on my right, but I think he would need some armor or another platoon to force the issue there, and I suspect he has neither. Still some heavy duty arty landing on group of buildings on my right, including a Heavy one with ** on it. I have a platoon HQ there, broken and scrambling to make it out before the next round lands. Turn 24: My opponent seems to have closed the book on the aggressive assaulting. Beyond the static situations on my right and center, a few squads move in the open on my left, but they pose no real threat as of yet. A heavy building goes down from the heavy arty. I take a grand total of 1 casualty this turn, but don’t cause any, either. Turn 25: I’m not certain that he doesn’t get the best of me casualty-wise, this turn, but then he doesn’t make any ground. On my right, and maybe in the middle, he is in position to make a late push, but I suspect his troops are harried and out of ammo, so I’m fairly confident I can hold the line. My victory % doesn’t move, but I lose 2 GM pts. Turn 26: The remnants of his infantry pushes forth on my left and center, and I cause more casualties than I take this turn, and still no ground given. It may come down to hand to hand combat, but I’m fairly well positioned around all victory flags. 120 seconds left. Turn 27: I nearly wipe out two sturmgruppe squads which push down the center road. I don’t take much by way of casualties until his arty starts landing near the flag at my center near the end. One of my squads is broken and suffers 3 casualties from the incoming fire. At least for this turn, he has not made a last ditch effort on my sides, and my center has held. I may just come away with a victory here, but I would be in no position to keep fighting past 30 turns or so. Final: A tactical victory. No last ditch effort, and both sides are fairly low on ammo. A look at the map lets me know that he did have some infantry assets remaining, especially in the heavy buildings on my right. Still, I have an equal in numbers about there, although perhaps not so much ammo. In the short run, his immobilized tanks are a benefit to me, as they don’t play a role in the assault. In the long run, I wish they had not been immobilized, but had been killed, as it would have meant more points on my side. None of the victory flags were ever really challenged, and the excellent defensive positions coupled with the well equipped veteran (and better) troops present a difficult task for the axis in this game. A very fun game to play, maybe a bit balanced toward the Americans. If the Germans had maybe another tank or two, it may have made it much closer, but then all the German armor on the field was made incapable one way or another by the end of the game.

Fire on the Mountain AAR Setup: Pretty much the best map I’ve ever seen. Most maps have the appearance of a small part of a big area, if they are good enough to give across any such impression. This map, however, gives the impression of a whole arena, fit for a battle or sightseeing for that map. I have Gebirgsjagers, with whom I’ve rarely played, but I hope to maul some Frogs this game. Turn 01: At the start, there are already numerous cliffhangers. A Chafee?, Sherman? And HT? are all within longrange firing of my RCLs. Anxious to get things started, I give targeting orders and away we go. The RCLs have small profiles, which makes me hopeful that they can last awhile, and while one of them takes some fire, it knocks out the Chafee without being suppressed or taking casualties. I sneak a few platoons toward Lucio, too, but this will be a game for long range fire, it appears. Turn 02: No luck with the long range stuff, as the Sherman scoots into hiding behind a building. It might be time to try the 105RCLs against structures. My move on Lucio is begun in earnest, but there is French there. I have an infantry gun in great position there, so it should be a good turn 3. No enemy convoy yet, but I have also not shown the ambush platoon. Turn 03: I lose my first guns, a RCL from mortar fire, and the infantry gun overseeing Lucio to offboard arty. I do take out at distance one of his guns, of unknown caliber. Infantry push on into Lucio, and up the hill in the middle, but there is much distance to go. No convoy yet, either. Turn 04: I get a platoon underneath Lucio, in some cover there, and I have mortar fire 33 secs away. The rest of that taskforce is slugging it out at long range, but is avoiding mortar fire, and a brushfire, and taking less casualties than it is giving. I may need to start conserving ammo. I move the two platoons into the hill in the middle, which looks like a tough nut to crack. Finally, I start dropping some heavy mortar fire beneath Schalburg, but can’t tell if it is doing anything. Some more smoke at Lucio would be nice. Turn 05: The primary action is around Lucio, where I have found some cover on the approach, but am suffering from some casualties and some pretty heavy arty. The infantry in the village are somewhat suppressed, but the arty causes some casualties and is pretty tough. I am still awaiting the French column to arrive, and am hoping for a wholesale slaughter. Of course, he is no doubt awaiting my column near Lucio. Turn 06: My rockets, aimed for Schallburg, fall, of course, everywhere but there. I have crept under Lucio with most of my force, but the rest is suffering shelling in the woods above. Next turn I shall move this force closer to avoid the shelling, and to prepare the assault on Lucio after a large mortar barrage. Turn 07: The arrival of the convoy is anticlimactic, as all of his infantry detrains and heads for the hills. I do not mind this so much, as the pause allows my mortars time to land in the midst of the vehicles, the infantry is not being aggressive, and it is in fact perhaps presenting me an opportunity. As for Lucio, his artillery is very accurate and causes heavy casualties. Mine is 5 seconds away. The rockets do their typical worthless performance. Turn: 08: The convoy moves out, and right through my ambush. I take out a number of light vehicles, but whether it is enough is hard to say. My hidden gebirgsjaeger platoon fares OK because it is not dealing with infantry, which is high-tailing it up the hill behind. Near Lucio, the mortar fire falls without great effect. He is thicker there than I imagined, but I have to keep slugging it out, perhaps take some buildings down with the remaining RCL over there. Turn 09: I break the lead enemy squad in Lucio, but there are still many behind him. I hope to move into the first building at the end of the next movie. The convoy scoots and dances around my ambush, and I only manage to take out another truck. I continue to move up the walled hill in the middle, without meeting resistance, but that can’t be the case here, can it? Mortar fire in and around the remnants of the convoy. Turn 10: An absolutely devastating barrage creams my men under Lucio. I no longer have a chance to take that town with the men that are there. I am few and broken, he is above me, well supported, and intact. More of the convoy scoots by, but I am also at the crest of the walled hill. This could have been a better movie. Turn 11: This one is a little better. I take out a Jeep, maybe a truck, and a HT. This is not a turkey shoot, because of the ranges involved. I also shift my mortar fire onto the mass of bullseyes (French infantry contacts) on the hill. I can tell that I cause some casualties, and the fire looks spot-on, but it is impossible to tell. Meanwhile, the slaughter of the troops beneath Lucio is about finished, most my men there are broken or even re-broken. Turn 12: Not necessarily a great turn, but my global morale stays put, and my victory % goes up, and that is always a positive. Have pulled back near Lucio, am licking wounds with remaining half squads and lone soldiers. The battle of the convoy is about out, only a few vehicles remain, and my platoon is beat up, but has caused damage. My last mortar rounds land in the woods, where I feel strongly his infantry is hiding (from the convoy). Another HT taken out in Schallberg, the crest of the walled hill is mine. Turn 13: I take buildings down, with my 75 RCL by Lucio, and it causes casualties and opens a lane of fire into other troops. My ambush platoon on my left is about done with its work, and hopefully has done enough. Still an M20 to corral, though. Some allied infantry moves toward the center, but what their purpose or goal is, I can’t reckon at this time. Turn 14: I take the building down where the Sherman was hiding, but to what purpose, I am not yet sure, but there are now a HT and the Sherman within view of my remaining 105 RCL. My two platoons tasked with holding hill 249 are suppressed by artillery fire, which is not good, but I’d prefer them suffering a casualty or two to losing a gun or RCL. I get reinforcements at the end of the turn, near Lucio, making things right interesting. Turn 15: The murderous fire on Hill 249 continues, I have many casualties there, all from artillery. My reinforcing platoons move toward Lucio, one up the hill, and one circumventing via the road. They quickly fall under the fire of enemy infantry and MGs, but I gotta keep moving because he may still have artillery. There are more troops in Lucio than I remembered. The turn ends with me having a long range shot at the rear of his remaining tank. Turn 16: I get 3 hits on that tank, at about 1000m, but no damage. I have only a few rounds left on that RCL, so will target Lucio with the remaining HE rounds, hoping to take out a few more infantry units before firing the last two pot-shots at his tank. Artillery continues to fall on Hill 249, I continue to take casualties, but am not going to be deterred from that flag. Locate a light gun behind Lucio, but have 2 HMGs in position to contest it. Turn 17: I try to push into Lucio, but the French are thick there, and the building I rush into has at least twice as many French as I have Germans. I will likely lose a whole platoon in that rush, and can only hope that I am exacting enough of a toll on him. My troops on the hill rally, somewhat. My last reinforcement spotter has a one minute delay right on some decent stuff about to land right where his infantry is beating a retreat to Schallburg. Turn 18: Lucio appears all but lost, he is way too strong in there, I needed the infantry gun to hold on long enough to eliminate some of his guys there. He now has armor on its way to help out, I can only hope that the cannon there can help, and the ‘schreck. The ground will be as hard on counterattack as it was on attack, no doubt. Not much action elsewhere, but he has large amounts of infantry moving toward Schallburg in the rear, and I am trying to target them with my mortars and off board arty. Turn 19: Near Lucio, one guy left in a shattered SS squad breaks and actually runs straight through the village. My 75 RCL on that side, with it’s last round, takes out the HT hightailing it over there. Unfortunately, I have nothing left but a hidden schreck team to deal with the Sherman there. Another platoon and I just might make it there. My rocket barrage lands with decent effect amongst his men attempting to make it to Schallburg. They were grouped and exposed on a hill, and I cause casualties in several squads and eliminate maybe one entirely, plus a green HQ unit. Turn 20: Not much left to go here, my forces around Lucio are holding back, as they are outnumbered and there is a tank to reckon with there. The tank is hiding behind a ledge, but I will crawl toward it with my ‘schreck, and see if I can get a shot off. I continue to pummel his infantry at long range, this time with an infantry gun that had heretofore been out of LOS of his forces. I hear a plane, don’t think its mine, but I present few targets at this stage. Turn 21: Things are winding down, but for maybe some action around Lucio, and my long range harassment of his troops moving across the open. The plane buzzes by again, but be it Luftwaffe or French, it does not appear to attack or strafe. Admittedly, there are few good targets remaining. His tank comes right up to my 20mm gun near Lucio, but for some reason does not fire. Meanwhile, my ‘schreck team there should be in a decent spot to get off a shot early next turn, but I hope my 20mm cannon is not an early casualty. Turn 22: A tradeoff turn: I take out his tank near Lucio, but not before it eliminates the 20mm cannon. Then, his airpower drops bombs, wiping out a platoon HQ and almost an entire squad near Hill 249. There is a fat and juicy light building* in Lucio, right on the outskirts, that has lots of green enemy troops in it, that I had hoped to target with the 20 mm. Maybe I can put a dent in it with the ‘schreck, but otherwise he’s pretty secure in that town. Turn 23: Another strafing run, and a few casualties and a broken squad. He has one squad creeping up Hill 249, I just hope I have enough there to discourage him, and to keep the flag secured. He tries to move a gun toward Lucio, but I wipe it out at long range with HMG fire. I am encroaching in a few places upon the Lucio outerbuildings, but will have to decide if it is worth the risk of a final attack. Turn 24: More progress at Lucio, as bits and pieces of his men there are being whittled away. I won’t reach the flag, but might be able to squeeze him there. Elsewhere, continued long range harassing fire, and the plane strafes again causing 2 casualties. Turn 25/Finale: A minor victory, I had hoped that my late rocket barrage had caused more casualties than it actually did. 60-39. Hill 209 stays pretty secure, although some of my squads are still battered by the mortar fire, which turns out to be onboard variety. I did not have enough men to really take Lucio the last few turns, although the map reveals that the numbers are not that far apart - but he is uphill and secured in buildings, I may have been slaughtered. Most of his troops on my left, the reinforcements - have taken some casualties and are less than healthy. Schallburg has been damaged fairly well, there are full squads which had been eliminated there, had to be the rockets. I never do kill that light armor that had remained on the board near the entry point for his convoy. A fun scenario, although the map’s limitations made things a bit static the last few turns. A superb map, though, with almost endless scenario possibilities. I would guess that the my performance in this scenario turns out to be about average. Thanks for the opportunity.

An early morning bump, because I'm still wondering about this. I did go back and retreive the game files from my recycle bin, and would be happy to send them to anybody interested. Send me an email. A few clarifying points - it was a 251/1, not 250/1 as mentioned above. There was a 'top penetration' about 20 seconds into one movie, which in part caused the HT to back up near a platoon of partisans. At the beginning of the next turn, my partisans opened up on the HT with all they had, molotovs were being thrown left and right. Two more 'top penetrations' within the first 20 seconds of the next movie. Also, I confirmed from the end game map that there were no crew casualties. I'm all on board with the 'many variables' notion. I wouldn't mind knowing what the variables are or might be, though. As for the 'hitting the hood' suggestion, I'd buy that but for the 'top penetration' reports. I assume that is an indication that the molotov has made it into the crew compartment.

Was playing a scenario the other day as the Russians. My opponent moved some HTs near a woods and I was able to get 3 'top penetrations' of a 250/1 halftrack by molotovs within about 60 seconds. The result: nothing. The fires just burnt themselves out, apparently. Maybe I'm overestimating the power of a Molotov Cocktail, but it seems to me that getting a liter or so of burning kerosene into an open topped vehicle with lots of flammables inside would almost certainly result in a knockout of some sort. I don't think I even caused a crew casualty, come to think of it. I imagine there could be MC 'duds' or something, but it strikes me as a bit much for 3 of them in quick succession to not kill a halftrack. Has anybody else had the same thing happen? I didn't see it in a search on the board. What about Molotovs - how much damage could they do? What did they have to use for fuel - kerosene? Isn't diesel fuel difficult to alite, and wasn't that the primary Soviet fuel? Just wondering.

Spoilers \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Just finished to a draw in the game Windopaene mentioned supra. I was the Russians, and probably used my AT guns up too quickly, and lost my last one with 8 turns left. On to the Molotovs, which were flying left and right, but mostly to no effect. (Question: could a non-lethal top penetration of an open HT be a bug? Seems to me those should all be kills). He did have a 250/8 that caused 48 :eek: casualties!! Three well placed cannister shots caught squads in the open, and one got two nearly full squads next to each other caused about 14 with one shot. I probably tried to move too much near the end when I ran out of ATG rounds. I also spread out a little much at set up, hoping to blunt his infantry early and concentrate on the vehicles. That worked, actually, but the superior firepower of his HTs did hard work in the late turns. I'm fortunate to have taken out his second 250/8 early, before it loosed it's cannister. I liked this scenario a lot, in part because the mix of units and map conditions portrayed a partisan action very effectively. Also because I was able to play with tons of new forces.

Another Day AAR Setup: Not much to do here, although for a brief moment after I send the file to my opponent, I have a nagging fear that I have failed to rotate my pillboxes, and that their backs will be facing the enemies. Not too much infantry, but with Tigers on the way…. Although, this map is small enough for Shermans to be able to reach out and touch Tigers. Turn 01: Nothing much, only some minor infantry contact on my left front. Turn 02: More of the same, not much going on yet. Turn 03: The minor infantry movement turns into something big. There is infantry everywhere, and aside from a few long range HMG rounds, no firing. The end of the turn, however, leaves a SMG platoon within 25m of an infantry squad. That should be a good turnout for me next minute. Turn 04: His infantry collides with mine on the left, and my SMG squads are not as effective as I had hoped. I lose half a squad, but take out about the same. At the end of the turn, on my right, I have some 81mm arty about to start landing within the field of fire covered by my pillbox. I get two Tigers to start the next movie… Turn 05: The Tigers hustle toward the action, one to the right, and one to the road in the middle. Some nasty close quarters infantry fighting on my left, a SMG squad is broken and shattered, and heads toward the rear, while an infantry squad is broken but hangs on. There is American infantry all across my front, but so far I’m causing more casualties than I am taking. Turn 06: I again rebuff his infantry, but he now as at least four armor contacts moving in his backfield, and one of them routs my advance HMG, which fortunately only suffers 2 casualties, and wisely breaks toward the rear. I have a Tiger squared up to face his infantry, but there is at least one ‘zook team in that formation, although it is 100m off and in woods. Still standing and fighting, but there is no comfort in the numbers here. Turn 07: His armor takes range of my infantry, while my Tigers don’t quite get the shots. It may be time to fall back, at least to an area where my Tigers can protect more. One of his Shermans takes out a pillbox, easily, and another teams with 3 squads to wipe out a SMG squad. Turn 08: Another poor turn, my infantry is being mauled, and the Tigers can’t get the range on the American troops yet. This is going to be turning into an all Americans vs. Tigers affair soon. Turn 09: A slightly better turn, although I still take a number of casualties. My mortar spotter is calling for it practically on his own head, but it lands in the midst of American squads. One of my Tigers also gets a few infantry casualties, as always, too bad about the slow turret and ROF. I have retreated with most of my remaining intact and unbroken squads and HQs, hoping that the distance and open ground between the flags provides enough protection from my armor, to make the rest of this match harder on my opponent than the first part has been. Turn 10: The remnants of my infantry have fallen back to the second line of defense (trees), with few exceptions. I ‘area fire’ with one Tiger, as it falls back, and let another blunt the infantry charge on my left. At the end of the turn, my Tiger on the right has two Shermans facing it, and yellow and red lines going back and forth at about 225m. This will be an interesting movie, the next one. Turn 11: Some truly impressive gunnery, not. The Tiger misses a half dozen shots at Shermans at 225m, and shrugs off an equal number. Meanwhile, my last Volksgrenadier squad stands up to his infantry, and turns back at least two squads. A lost opportunity with the Tank. Turn 12: Finally, a hit with that Tiger, and no ricochets there. The Tiger in my middle pulls back a little, and survives a flank shot before taking out a 76mm Sherman in front of it. The armor odds are at least 3:1, (now 2:1). My infantry is replenished by reinforcements at the end of the turn, which is good because I have few serviceable squads left. I might now have enough to mount some sort of counterattack, especially with two more Tigers on the way. Turn 13: My opponent does the right thing, I think, and tries to use his Shermans to get multiple targeting on my Tiger, and flank shots. It does not work, however, and my Tiger near the crossroads is like a pillbox, causing infantry casualties and knocking out two Shermans. My reinforcements hustle to the front. Turn 14: The Tiger at the crossroads now has four notches on his belt. My opponent works hard to get some flank shots, but they all miss, and I am able to knock out a Sherman on the first shot. My reinforcing infantry hustles to the front. Turn 15: Not so much action here, he gets a few ‘zook rounds off without success at a Tiger from the tree line, but I knew that was coming. My infantry moves on up but it’ll be a few turns before they are rested and supported enough to try to counterattack. Turn 16: I take out yet another Sherman, this time with one of my reinforcing Tigers working its way up the road. My infantry is starting to get into decent attacking position, and with my next turn orders I move a SMG squad back into the woods it had so hurriedly deserted a few minutes ago. Turn 17: I only suffer one casualty, from some artillery which begins to land in my middle, pretty big stuff but luckily not where I’m concentrating my counterattack. I back one of the Tigers up, hoping to work for a shot on the Sherman harassing my right side. Turn 18: I now have half a platoon (the one routed from the same woods 10 minutes ago) back into the tree line, where they wipe out a ‘zook team, and are face to face with an American squad for the next turn. My far right Tiger has worked for a shot on the Sherman on that side, but will have to wait for the smoke it used as cover to dissipate to see if he has a shot. Turn 19: My end run gets me a ‘gun hit’ on that Sherman, which pops smoke and retreats. My infantry is in a position to make a push back into the woods, where the occasional American unit is falling under the guns of my screening Tigers. Turn 20: Relatively uneventful, although at this point am pushing forward with the Tigers, and infantry across the board. Am taking enemy troops under the fire piece-meal by my Tigers, while hopefully I am bringing to bear at least equal numbers of infantry. Am in or near the woodline at most points across my front. Turn 21: Scratch another Sherman, the one on my far right flank. It may have been gun damaged, but it was also a sitting duck for my Tiger there, once the smoke dissipated. I am almost at the point of taking the other flag, and I have his infantry on the run near the middle, and I’m causing casualties amongst those that stay within range of my tanks. Turn 22: More of the same. I am trying to probe forward, causing casualties amongst his infantry while trying to avoid presenting any flank or better shots against my armor. The far flag is now a ?, and I think I can take control of it by the end of the game. No targets for my Tigers yet, but there is at least one M4 still out there. Turn 23: I find the Sherman, it causes on casualty, but my squads are within 60 m ‘faust range, plus my Tiger is pretty close to get a shot there, too. I also locate at least a platoon of Americans waiting at the rear of the tree line in the middle. For the first turn in a while, I take a few casualties. It may be time for a close assault on that Sherman, though. Turn 24: Sure enough, one of my squads uses its ‘faust, and I have caught a bunch of breaks this game. No CAS, faust kills, 7 dead Shermans and 4 live Tigers. I do take some infantry casualties near the end, as a squad blindly stumbles into a squad and a half of Americans. I am trying to get all my tanks in range of his infantry, turning them loose here at the end. Turn 25: The squeeze is on. At this point it is a matter of trying to cause as many infantry casualties on him as possible while not suffering many myself. I do lose a depleted platoon HQ which had been scouting my far right, but I also am rolling up the flank on my left, and I now have targets, or prospective targets for my Tigers, including an American platoon on my right-center near the front. Turn 26: More American infantry casualties, I think I’m whittling him down pretty methodically, but I can’t be sure. He does get off a ‘zook round within range, but not a second shot, as the targeted Tiger eliminates the AT team with one shot. I don’t think I suffer any casualties in this turn. Turn 27: The vice closes. American squads and part squads are being wiped out wherever I can get a Tiger within range and some infantry fire, and my force is pressing hard from my left. Unless he has assets hidden here somewhere, I might even get an auto surrender in another turn or so. I do take a crew casualty on one Tiger. Turn 28: More dead Americans, including a Platoon HQ, two half squads, a MG, but still no auto-surrender. Am beginning to wonder if there is a hidden cache of Americans somewhere beyond my vision… Turn 29: More of the same, I even recapture a HMG crewmember that I had lost about 20 turns ago. He must have assets I can’t see on the board, or else he would have autosurrendered by now. I am a little cautious, therefore, trying to avoid the lucky ‘zook round that could turn this into a closer game. Turn 30: More of the same, although I finally get to the points where I can rout larger numbers of his troops. I kill the remaining men in a company commander squad, and rout several other units. At the end of this game, I’m in pretty firm control of the field. I capture a total victory (84:16). The autosurrender I was waiting for would have come on the next turn. I sense that this is a scenario which definitely favors the Germans: the Sherman numbers advantage is overcome by the narrowness of the map. Having said that, my opponent had a couple of flank shots on the first Tigers I had on the scene, and had fortune favored him on that account, it may have been a different game. I still feel that I had the advantage in the force selection (4 Tigers is a tough task to deal with), but the tanks in this game also trade fire within killing range for the Shermans. Still, my rear pillbox was never really challenged, or at risk, nor was the rear flag, and the last 10-12 turns were essentially a mopping up operation for me. I would guess that my experience will be the common one for the tournament, but I suppose that one or two good allies players might be able to work a draw or even a minor victory with some lucky ‘zook shots or Sherman flank shots.

OK, heres my AAR, which has been inaccessible for awhile due to a computer problem. The scenario ended early because of mutual destruction, unfortunately because it would have been a pretty close contest for all 3 of the flags which were very much in dispute at the end. Hills AAR Setup: The map is just awesome, a great mountain in the front on my right, a valley with a city in the middle and hills to my left. I setup some infantry and company assets on my right, intending to throw some smoke on that side, and feint there with some infantry in order to keep whatever he has on the mountain steady. My real intent is to take the city in the middle, but I will hold off on that push for a turn or two. With the city taken, I can isolate on the hill, and hopefully clean it out before moving on the hills on the left. Turn01 Right off, a German gun starts a duel at 700m with the tank on my left. If I lose the Sherman, it would be a bad start as it is my support for the 3 platoons moving into the town. Fortunately, it shrugs off 3 front turret shots before zeroing in on the gun. Not sure what type of gun, (what do GJ’s have?), but it sounded big but couldn’t penetrate. Turn 2: No further contact, Easy Co. has still not shown up on my left. Turn 3: That tank I was happy to have survived turn 1 makes it all of 10 seconds into this turn, when a gun in the city drills it with the first shot. Given that it was within the range of that gun the whole last 3 turns, I guess I’m lucky I lasted this long. Meanwhile, it also draws numerous infantry casualties on a platoon grouped too close to the gun. First real casualties, and I hate losing a tank to uncover a gun, but I should be getting E Co. real soon on that side, and my plan is still (somewhat) intact. Turn 4: Turns out that there are at least 3 big German guns up front. I take an up-close one under fire and it turns out to be an 88. This is a blessing, as I have its crew halved by the end of the turn. On my right, with my holding advance, I exchange small arms fire enough to take out two LMGs and a Platoon HQ. The extra ammo I apparently have is a huge blessing. Turn 5: The 88 is under heavy fire, but isn’t quite abandoned. It doesn’t get off a shot, though. Meanwhile, on my right, I have wiped out no less than 3 LMGs or crews, and a HQ unit. It started as a feint, but I guess I’ll keep pushing a little there. Otherwise, the city appears heavily fortified by wire or roadblocks. Turn 6: The 88 finally gives way, and the other gun is now under mortar fire and suppressed. I have not run into much by way of infantry here, but knocking out the third gun in the next minute or so would be a huge plus. I finally notice just how far back the flags are on these hills, eventually my infantry will be outdistancing most of the direct fire support, especially given these woods. Some nasty infantry fighting is inevitable, but so far it is mostly guns. Turn 7: I’m starting to uncover spades of snipers, the Battalion HQ which is bringing up the rear nearly stumbles across one, and fortunately kills him without taking a casualty. Meanwhile, a squad surfaces, which must have been the protection for the 88. It causes a casualty or two to the infantry I have there, but I am just happy to have eliminated the 88. I’m going to start laying smoke in the town, and time to make my move there. Turn 9: Turns out the squads guarding the 88 are old men in militia uniforms. They still cause casualties, though, but I hope to whittle them down. I also blunder into a few crews on my left, and take a few casualties there. Serrig is pretty well smoked now, and I have converging formations on both sides, and more smoke coming. Turn 10: The gun in Serrig turns out to be an 88. I have it whittled down to one crew member at the end of this movie, but another one behind it shows up too. And, Serrig appears to be defended by at least a platoon of infantry. I eliminate another two LMGs on my left, but they cause more casualties than their worth including a flamethrower team. Things are static on my right, which is part of the plan, at least for a few turns or so. Turn 11: The wire starts to work near the village, keeping me at arms length and subject to small arms fire. Am sending a platoon on the flank, and still driving up the road in the middle with another. The 88 is still functional, but with only one crew member, and it hasn’t fired a shot in over a minute. Another gun surfaces in the woods, but I think I can flank it with the two platoons in the woods there. Still smoking Serrig. Turn 12: I skirt around the wire, but have met heavy infantry fire in the village. I only hope the formations I have on the flanks of the village will be able to swing around in time to take it. The 88 at the front finally falls, but not before firing a last round, with one guy left. 3 guns taken out, at least 2 more in position to harass my infantry. So far, not too bad on the casualties, but there is a long way to go. Turn 13: Yet another gun surfaces, he now has at least 3 firing. I loose two ‘zook teams to long range gun fire, and without getting off a shot. Meanwhile, across the wire, and outside of the village one of my platoons is starting to get a little ragged, he is well entrenched there, and will take some prying out. I could use some more infantry, but it is now time for my flank movements to squeeze toward the middle. Turn 14: Not a great turn for me. Wherever I am in close contact with the Germans, I am taking casualties. My flanking platoons from the left end up down many men, and broken in their too hasty attempt to get toward the gun on that hill. On my right, I fare a little better, and have the corner, but in the village itself it is tough slogging. At least I have a tank finally get the range on some infantry at the end of the turn, but still have taken too many casualties here. Turn 15: I have two pretty well preserved platoons in the woods above Serrig, two shattered platoons in the approaches to the village, another shaken platoon in the heights to the left. My two remaining tanks are in decent enfilade position with regard to the infantry on the heights to the left - hopefully this I can exploit. Meanwhile, his three visible and remaining guns are pounding from a distance, but I have to shore up what I have before taking them on. Turn 16: My Global morale is way too low, but my enfilading fire by the tanks, and the soon to be helping AT gun, have helped blunt the tide on my left. If the 105s I have landing on his forward-most gun works, I might yet cave in that side. Meanwhile, my engineers slide toward the right hill’s flag, and I can tell that I am causing casualties in the village, but am far uncertain if it will be enough, or close to enough. I could sure use that “counterbattery” fire and extra engineer platoon promised in the briefing. Turn 17: The carnage continues. I am able to rout a platoon on my left with the help of long range tank fire. My support units bringing up the rear on my right run into some dug-in infantry. I’m in the midst of losing a mortar, but have a flamethrower ready to let lose at the end of the turn. I am losing way too much infantry, but at least I receive the long awaited reinforcements at the end of the turn: I’ll let lose with some 155 right off, and I need those engineers in about 4 different places. I am also about to land some 105mm on the top of some clustered infantry and a gun. Turn 18: The flamethrower routs a squad, but is lucky to have some back up there. I make some progress on the hill on my right. The 105 doesn’t seem to have too much of an effect, and the 155 is a minute off. My initial wave has broken against Serrig, but I have decent positions on my right and left, I think. Its just a matter of taking out some of those guns. The tanks continue to be of huge help across the board toward my left, but I lose almost a full squad in the attempt to make progress there. Turn 19: Mostly, more of the same. My reinforcements run to the hill above Serrig. My original engineer platoon is flanking entrenched volkstrum, apparently more than a platoon, in the woods. My tanks are in very good flanking position, using the hills as cover, and the infantry on his right is being pounded, although I am very short on men there to attempt to exploit it. At the end of the turn, I see American flags for the first time, in Serrig, and on the hill above it. This is very interesting… Turn 20: I pause for a second, and continue to let my artillery fall on the foremost gun, without success, but hopefully the close shots have it on the edge. The tanks continue to pound away, with some success, helped mostly by their huge HE loadouts. Turn 21: The artillery falls, but apparently without success. I may have to expose a Sherman on the suppressed, hopefully shaken or broken gun that is on the hill. The reinforcement engineer platoon is moving closer to action on Hill 178, but it is SS there, not old men and young boys. My long range tank fire continues to have some effect, but I cannot tell if it causes casualties. Turn 22: After 60 seconds, the last arty round of the turn knocks out the near gun. One tank and the HT are approaching the village, where there is now little German activity. The engineers on my right are heavily engaged against a mix of Volkstrum and SS, and my reinforcing platoon is about to be put into action. On my left, his squads retreat, out of the line of fire of the tanks, but again I am not sure if I have enough to exploit that. Turn 23: I get another gun about half way through. Once again, my infantry gives up blood for ground. There is only one more known gun position, and I trust he hasn’t been hiding one all game, although I see infantry reinforcements in the rear. I will target the arty on the last gun, and continue to push with my infantry. I have troops at both entrances to Serrig. Turn 24: My armor is finally engaging his infantry in Serrig. I believe I have enough numbers to take the town, but will wait a minute or two before pushing, letting my armor soften it up while my final 105 rounds land there. There are numerous “contact” markers on my left and right, but I also lose a squad of engineers pushing through the hill on my right. I think I have numbers there, too, plus a flamethrower about to be brought to the task. Turn 25: The armor ignores the guys in the village to attack a platoon which surfaces and menaces my left flank. There it is a desperate fight, and a flamethrower, but he might be suppressed too much to fire. My last rounds are 1 second off from the village, and another 2 minutes from the last gun. At the end of the turn I move my assault force for Serrig closer. On the hill behind them, I cause some decent casualties, and I think I have the edge. Turn 26: Everywhere, I am taking casualties, but I think causing more. My far left flank is torn up, but I am moving quickly with my main force on that side. In the village, the 105 lands without effect, but my infantry mass is pressing up to the wall, and causing casualties, but with the tanks in close support. On the hill on my right, am faring well, casualty wise, but can’t catch up to the enemy. Turn 27: A pretty costly turn - my infantry is in heavy fighting on my right and in Serrig, and takes casualties all along. I do cause casualties, however, and am better off number-wise there as well. The turn becomes a good one when his last visible gun is knocked out by my 155’s very first round. I now have some arty to spare, hopefully a free range for my tanks, but a long way to go to the back flag. I also lose my HT unfortunately to a mine on the other side of the road to Serrig, which will cut down my mobility considerably. Turn 28: Finally, a foothold in Serrig, with both tanks in town, too. His infantry is running toward the rear of the town. I have squads in town, and a few more out of town ready to commit. The engineers take some heavy casualties, but appear to have captured the hill above Serrig. Meanwhile, on my left, I am able to rout the volkstrum once I get some fire on them, but at least one of my squads suffers 3 casualties when it stumbles across a full undamaged volkstrum squad. Turn 29: Two hidden SS veteran squads crop up on my right, and play havoc with the forces there. I need to secure that flag, but all of a sudden things are close to even there. Meanwhile, one of my Shermans takes a side shot by a tank that had not appeared yet. I make some progress in the city, but my global morale is shrinking, and it is time to give up on that last flag. Turn 30: This will be a close run thing at all points. Its practically down to twos and threes and fours on both hills 178 and 182. Serrig looks to turn my way, but I’ll have little left to work with. Global morale plummeting, Battalion HQ takes 5 casualties, slight lead in victory %. Final: A surprising end, a joint autosurrender as both sides had significantly low global morales. A dead 49:49 draw, I can only hope that other allied attackers don’t do so well. In spite of the low morales, there was to be a fair amount of fighting left in the next 5 minutes or so. He had a Marder and a 75 mm gun left, but I had wiped out enough troops near Hill 178 that I think I could have changed that flag from ? to USA in the last few minutes. I think I could have held onto Serrig, with a fairly well stocked ammunition wise Sherman ensconced in the middle of town. Dodging that Marder and the gun wouldn’t have been too much trouble, but my infantry reserves there were down to few. On the left, I had some 155 rounds peppering the hill, before pushing with my leftovers there. I don’t think I would have had enough to take the flag, as he has some full, but green, squads nearby. Still, it may have been enough to turn it to ?. A very fun scenario, too bad it ended early. It ends in a sister-kisser, which is a shame, as both sides had some toys left and all three flags were very much up in the air. I was probably helped by the fact that the 88s were so close to my front, but I shouldn’t have been so wasteful of my infantry.

I was playing a scenario today and had two 'top penetrations' with a molotov cocktail on a 250/1 HT. The HT just backed out of the way, though and at most I killed a crew member. Seems to me that a 'penetration' with a molotov cocktail should almost always wipe out an open topped vehicle. Anyone else run into this?

Ooops, sorry Jim, the NLCS (that's baseball) and the comfort of my couch led me to fall asleep earlier than intended last night. Turn sent out this morning.

Computer back up and running, should have my first turns out tonight.

Man, am I glad we have Monday Night Football in this country. Actually, a heads up to my opponents here, I am apparently having some video card problems which hopefully will be resolved in a day or two. It doesn't present any problems receiving, processing or sending turns, but looking at a monitor for more than a few minutes at a time induces splitting headaches and double vision. I hope to be at full speed by week's end, but in the meantime I'll be holding off on the gaming.

I hope that my experience can give some hope to those finishing at or near the bottom. In ROW 1 I was fairly humbled, and landed pretty damn near the bottom. I'd like to say that it was a pretty good learning experience, though, as somehow I've found my way into the finals this time. Thanks to everyone who has made this possible, your hard work is appreciated. Getting to play 3 more scenarios with something at stake is only icing on the cake.

And what an interesting read that AAR is, John. Especially having lived through the battle from the other side - the exasperation expressed within the AAR echoes and reminds me of the emails we traded while playing it. Meanwhile, my AARs are inaccessible due to a computer gremlin, but I hope to have that cleared up in the next 24 hours or so, so I can add them to these threads.

I suppose spoilers might follow, so fair warning... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - OK, like everyone else, I've played with the Sturmtiger in a quick battle. But I think for that beast and some other really cool/unique units I'd like to tryout, a historical scenario would be especially interesting. To that end, if anyone knows a scenario on the disc or for download with the following units, I'd be much obliged: Ferdinand Elefant Sturmtiger (obviously) flamingo SU-152 Brumbarr FWIW, Death Ride of the 424th has King Tigers and JS-2s galore. [ September 27, 2002, 10:59 PM: Message edited by: Spanish Bombs ]