c3k

The world I live in is exciting, rich, and varied. If I reveal too much of it I may cause a rift in the space-time continuum. Your part of the multiverse could be endangered were I to do so.

The image of a drooping, soft-serve, mound of melting ice cream sliding off its cone springs to mind... Using caffeine, alcohol, physical exertion, and unfathomable energies underlying the fabric of the visible universe, I have regained the ability to manipulate electromagnetic forces to my will. I have game. (And internet.) Bil has sent a turn. It was...interesting. I shall post imagery later tonight. Brace yourselves, lads: they are lo-res and have been banned by various u.n. committees as being too ugly to release upon the public domain. I will do so, regardless. Ken

Well, from a beta viewpoint, what I can tell you is {NDA VIOLATION: Comments redacted!!!} . Despite the obvious personality conflicts, the meetings to resolve these issues, face to face, held at {NDA VIOLATION: Comments redacted!!!} and whenthe dwarf ran down the hall, then {NDA VIOLATION: Comments redacted!!!} but finally, the helmet in question was dug up on a battlefield tour of {NDA VIOLATION: Comments redacted!!!} . I hope that lets you know why it's not out yet, but you can expect it by {NDA VIOLATION: Comments redacted!!!}. Ken out.

Turn 24:00 to 23:00 Left Flank My tank sees a halftrack. It's just a plain jane, vanille, gunnerless box. But it's all I've got to shoot at right now. Plus, it's a spy for Bil. Hit! Actually, TWO hits. My tank used two rounds of 95mm ammo to kill the halftrack. Okay, maybe they're just warming up the barrel. I still need to kill Bil's shooting tracks, not empty transports. The 251/10 to the left, the flak in front, and maybe a flank shot on a Panther??? Speaking of his Panther, Bil is moving it...away from my tank. He is frightened. My moral superiority is paying rewards on the field of battle! That move gives my gully piat men a better shot...if I can get them into the wheatfield. Front line of the Ardennes, I'm still trying to pry more ammo out from under this wounded man! The piat team lost a lot of ammo when he got hit a few turns back. I've been using the pause of the last few turns to see if I can recover some of it. Deep left, the Sneakers reveal themselves. My men shoot. Of course they do. No hits, but Bil's men must be demoralized. They're probably trying to find someone to whom they can surrender. Moves: Attack Jaggie 241. Shift some more stens for close-in defense of the town's right side. Hunt the Lucky Panther. Use the CS tank to kill some soft-skinned vehicles. Ken out.

Turn 24:00 to 23:00 More Town Views This shows the end turn state. I lost one man pulling out of Endhouse. A burst of 20mm quad fire from the sdkfz7 flak in Bil's deep center backfield landed there. Bad luck, that. The team is now 3 stens. They'll be useful more in the center-right of my town defense, so that's where they go. I think Bil's route to gain entry to the town will be along the edge (of course! ) using the copses of trees to give some cover to his infantry. I've pulled the one arty concentration closer. (Actually, it was like that last turn, the entire time I was writing about making a wall with a door! D'oh!) Bil's men are not staying where I thought they may, so this will at least make the arty more useful. It's only 3" mortars, but it's better than nothing... Nessiefield Piat is visible, highlighted icon, in the bottom right position amid the fields. A close view reveals their movement order. It's putting them WAY out on a limb. More...

Turn 24:00 to 23:00 My left flank Piat team. They're tired, but they've got a good target selection. They adjust their aim after their miss last turn... Piat round fired! Where will it land? A stummel stumped! Hit right on it! Sweet shot. Hmmm, still up? The stummel isn't burning or evacuating. Green base? Let's see if it is damaged, later. Perhaps FOW keeps me from seeing the results of that impact.

I was forced to wean myself from all things elecromagnetic due to exigencies beyond my control. I am back. My men fight. I'll post this summary a bit differently. No "in picture" comments or notes. (A minor technical issue.) Instead, I'll comment on the pictures, as appropriate, beneath them. Turn 24:00 to 23:00 Jaggie 241 The Town Piat team gained the position I'd hoped. They fired....and missed, short. Behind Jaggie 241, Piat Nessiefield moves towards their position. A view behind Jaggie 241 Town Piat takes another shot! And it's even shorter. Sigh. They are now out of ammo. The other two piat teams in their unit each have 9 or so rounds. That's 18 to share amongst 3 shooting units. I'll have to get this team near to the guys with ammo. This shows the range that Nessiefield Piat is looking to reduce. They've got to get closer. Much closer. They have been ordered to do just that. More...

No one ever expects the inquisition!

Random thoughts... Flak vs. CS tank: Flak will win. Better optics, a shower of shells. My tank took the flak by surprise, but the spray of mg fire didn't affect the flak. I probably should pull the tank back, but the very thought of retreat makes me feel ill. Too late, anyway: the die is cast! Halftrack gunners: they seem very vulnerable, no? However, my guys are unsuppressed, high experience level, scoped marksmen. (At least, the guys who've been getting most of the gunner kills.) I'm okay with the results, thus far. My 3" mortars: I should probably stop tossing ammo at the windmill. It is fun, though! I'll keep it up... I've got to decide what to do with No. 4 Platoon. They've not much use in their farmhouse, but they do stake out some ground which is important. I can't leave a vacuum there. I'd abhor it. Far left flank: it's a bit of a stalemate. If my CS tank can kill the flak, then it can turn on the 251/10 by the pond. That would isolate jerry over by Gutter Corner. If I can do that, I may send in my unhorsed tank crews to take him. Have you seen the wound a webley makes? Jeep and a Jaggie: It'd be kind of fun to drive donuts around Jaggie 241. I can imagine a dust screen, created by a man-made tornado as the jeep whirls about. (Cyclonic direction, of course.) That may allow my exposed Nessiefield Piat to kill the Jaggie. Obviously their piat would be worthless: they'd have to enter the jaggie and engage in hand to hand combat. Speaking of Nessiefield Piat, they -seem- exposed in that corner I'm sending them towards. Their escape plan, if they come under fire, revolves around a tripartite combination: getting into the soy field (whatever those greens are); having Town Piat distract, damage, or destroy Jaggie 241; using the Bait Jeep to conduct a fast extraction, similar to SEAL's and zodiacs with the lasso technique, but on land. If Bil has a long-range LOS, then they'll just take their lumps. All their orders hinge on Jaggie 241 being their only threat. Have I missed anything? Ken

Edited to make the following, parenthetical: (Yeah, I knew it would be ugly. I did say that he could make the map and pick my forces. "Form squares!" I was desperately trying to blast a hole in the bocage, to no avail.) There, that edit is done. The main game. During that entire turn, I lost one man...I think. From one of the bren teams in the town center. I've lost a few here and there. Really, it's not for me to count. Other than my drib-drab recce cum failed assault on the windmill, and the men in Gutter Corner field, and a few other men here and there, I haven't had many losses. Other than tanks. Bil's firing on the town has caused amazingly few casualties. I lost 2 men (the Glider Flight HQ) in the steeple; and then a few singles here and there, maybe a total of 10 or so. Importantly, my UNITS are still whole and in the fight. (Counting the ones I know about and remember, I come up with 5. This refers to the Town Center only.) I'm eager to see if I can hunt down Jaggie 241 and Lucky Panther next turn (or two). Meanwhile, the clock keeps marching on!

AlexUK, Arty strikes: they've been there for about 4-5 turns. Maybe more. Once I saw that Bil was looking like he'd use that zone for his attack, I called for the hits. Criteria: I needed an in-LOS location for the area fire! I wanted to use an HQ which wouldn't be displaced during the on-call process. That limited me a little. Next, I want to shape Bil's actions. A wall is a wall. A wall with an opening is a kill sack! The front one denies Bil's edge hugging proclivities. (Tongue in cheek, that.) The rear arty denies a sheltered forming up zone. Edge arty makes that route possibly costly. The gap between them is sooo inviting. If Bil moves that way, his men will face more of my defense and be in a worse location for further attack on the town. That will let me "leverage" me left-wing platoon firepower. He'll either have to plunge into a non-objective part of the town, or move laterally across the face of my defense in terrain with poor cover. The timing of the two arty concentrations will be problematic. (I've beefed up my right flank a little, just to deny that edge. Battalion HQ in the Church, etc.) Either that, or I just wanted to see things go "boom!!" Failed piat hits? Hmm...Maybe that's where the Brits came up with "squash head" as a type of anti-tank round.

Turn 25:00 to 24:00 Some planning pix for next turn (and some leftovers from this replay) Bread for the masses... In sum, it could've been better. I'll crack open a piat round and see if the factory is shorting the explosive fill. Of course, it could've been worse. My enemy is Bil. I think he gets the sense that Piats will fly! The only question is whether or not he thinks they're a deterrent. I'll be rationalizing my town defense a bit more thoroughly. (More lateral LOF's, backup positions, etc. The usual.) Tick tock. Another turn down. Still no assaulting infantry. Once the attack begins, I'm counting on 5 minutes of resistance, and hoping for 10. Then it'll be hunt and skulk. Ken out.

Turn 25:00 to 24:00, still... Is there anything left to post? Ah, yes, a few...

Turn 25:00 to 24:00, cont... Another Piat turn! Back to the windmill...

Turn 25:00 to 24:00, cont. As the Piat shell rotates... Piat's seem ineffective. That sounds like carping, I know. But it's getting a bit ridiculous. Supposedly the Piat can penetrate 3"-4" of armor. (Angle matters. Sure, the initial 100mm rating dropped to 91mm, but that's splitting hairs. 9mm thick hairs, but still, it's not critical here.) It seems my piats are a bit nerfed. Once or twice is one thing. All these? Bah. I'll test...later. Meantime, there's MORE!

Turn 25:00 to 24:00, cont... Piat HQ against the world... Oh, you want MORE piat vs. wirbelwind action? Okay...

Turn 25:00 to 24:00 Whirling winds, piats, sawdust, and a dictionary. I'm going to throw a slew of pix up... 6 pages, with 5 screenies per page. 30 screenshots of goodness! I will withhold any commentary. Ask if you have a question on what you see. A lot of little actions. Again. More furious action as my paras continue to stop Bil's armored (armoured) Hunnish hordes!...

^^^ Thanks! Well, Bil has sent me a turn. I watched it. I re-watched it. Then, I re-re-watched it. I can comfortably predict that Bil's keyboard was not ruined due to immersion. However, I am not displeased with the results. A lot of exciting action! It'll be hard to convey the swirling maelstrom of armor and explosions which took place before the town, like a mechanical danse macabre, but I'll try. I'll use pictures. I'll use words. I'll use hyperbolic hyperbole. I'll use it every tool I have. In the morning. Me men are surrounded. We are outgunned. The Germans press their assault. It's time to attack. Like a porcupine which a python tries to swallow, I bristle at my adversary. I stab at thee, Bil! My quills draw blood! Were I a skunk, rather than a porcupine, you'd be covered in my stench! Fie! Were I a rabid badger, I could not bite thee more! More...anon. Ken

Trenchant Tactical Tips from Troops in Trenches Some of the more observant may've asked themselves, "why is c3k using the Piat HQ team in that manner?" Let me expand on my reasons. They have a slim shot on that wirbelwind. No one else has a shot on that wirbelwind. (Damn, you, Piat Prime! Damn you!!) That wirbelwind can do a lot of damage to my defense (such as it is). I don't think I will get closer to the wirbelwind than I am now. Ergo, a slim chance now is better none later. A very cool, tactically adept solution, would've been to give them a TARGET order, with a PAUSE (say 30 or 45 seconds) then a FAST to move behind the brick wall to their rear. While that is happening, the 2" mortar team could lay smoke just behind them, such that it'd drift over them and cover their move. The 30 to 45 second movement delay would allow the smoke to work its magic. That would've been cool. But I didn't do it. Reason 1: Sometimes delays don't work the way you think. Some teams will delay FIRING, then move. That would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? Reason 2: As well, perhaps the team will get pinned by some incoming fire. Then, just as they recover and get a firing solution, it'd be time for them to FAST away. Reason 3: Movement in the open could, and most likely will, cause their death. I'd rather not predict what will occur for the next turn. Instead, I can re-assess their situation at the beginning of next turn and make a better decision, then. Reason 4: This is the opening salvo. It will set the tone for Bil's expectations for the rest of my defense. I've got another Piat which will be firing from the back of the town at Jaggie 241. I want Bil to see piat shells flying everywhere. It will force him to be cautious. Those are the types of thought processes that went into that particular team's orders. Yes, I'm glad I put them where they are. I like their positioning. This target order will allow them to fulfill the purpose for which they were moved into that small copse. Ken out.

Seconds, official or unofficial, notwithstanding (and yes, sfhand, that does look like a pretty "emrized" position you've set up for me!), back to the thread at hand. Bil has not replied. Now, some may blame something like "real life" for the interregnum. "External causes" may be an excuse for a few. However, as I sipped upon my last cup of coffee this morning, I realized the only, true, cause for this long delay: every one of my traps must've borne fruit! I can only imagine that Bil has lost two jaggies, a wirbelwind, and a mobelwagen (the 37mm flak on Dune Road). Yes, 4 afv's lost in the first moments of the latest turn. He's probably weeping, head down on the keyboard, salted tears running in rivulets down the crannies betwixt the keys. I almost feel pity for him. Almost. Tick, tock, Bil. Tick, tock. Ken

But we digress. Back to the subject of this AAR: Bil's inability, thus far, to gain the main objective.

Dude. Seriously? I'm calling you out. Mano vs. Mano. Set the parameters. Hell, pick my forces for me. I'm easy. We'll post our game publicly. Do it. Ken out.

Turn 26:00 to 25:00, cont. (Plans for 25:00 to 24:00, cont.) That's some fun about to drop down! I also have two teams hunting Jaggie 241. The guys from Nessiefield and one team from the back of Town Center. I'm using a Jeep as bait to keep their attention. Ken out.

Turn 26:00 to 25:00, cont... More...

Turn 26:00 to 25:00, cont... More...