c3k

Yes, I am rather enjoying that aspect of the oft-vaunted marksmanship of HM's soldiers. It's far nicer than having Bil's armored spies also let loose streams of lead. Plus it's good for the lads, isn't it? Bil has left a decent force covering the windmill, and hence the road intersection objectives. Clever Bil. I'll try mortaring them, just a bit, and seeing if I can squeeze into them a bit. Using the Dune gulley and getting into the wheatfield would be the way to go. Yes, that's No. 5 Platoon's sector. They're slowly building up losses. Okay, not so slowly. I'm very curious about the arty calls No. 5 had going. I may try to adjust one and let the other just keep going. (As long as it helps.) If all else fails, I can just move my mortar. (All my arty is my on-board mortars. I have 8. Six are in an arty park, the other two are in the front line. One by No. 4 Platoon - yellow diamond upstream - and the other by Nessiefield.) Ken

Yes, I noticed that as well, but only after they appeared in-thread. I was forced to use a novel approach on this batch of screenies. That must've led to the compression. Just imagine me speaking them with a high pitched voice.

At the 28:00 point... Several good things this turn. It looks like my tank can clean up Gutter Corner. Bil is finally going to get closer to Town Center and that will let me kill more of his men. Bad news? Well, the loss of No. 5 Platoon HQ is a hit, but minor, overall. One addenda: I have another Piat team in Town Center, near the church cemetary. Ask, and ye shall be answered. Sorry for the brevity. Ken out.

29.00 to 28.00 The Sneaker, Gutter Corner, and the Left Flank One more...

29.00 - 28.00 The Dunes, or "The Worm Devours" More...

29 to 28, town... And in the middle of the battle, near the windmill: More...

TURN 29:00 to 28:00 I won't have much verbiage, instead I'll inundate with pictures. I hope that's okay... More...

What!?!?! Nearly 12 hours and nary a post? I shall have to fix that... Next turn...up.

QFT. (They don't survive long enough to feel fear. It's best for them that way. Their families thank me.)

Routing is part of the game. When your men run away and don't fight anymore, they've routed.

I have an image of a cursing little Welshman running with a bulky piat launcher beating him up with every stride!

Thanks. I need to take solace wherever I can in this battle! FWIW, a sniper did not kill that running German in the field. I'd moved my No. 4 Platoon HQ out of the barn and into the trees in front of the barn for better LOS. One of them got the kill.

30.00-29.00 Town Center and Overview Not much happens this turn. I don't think I even had a single wounded man. Bil fires, to no effect, and shifts some men about. As shown, I've finally ordered a bunch of smoke. It won't be thick, it won't last long. But, using the wind, it should force Bil to either wait it out or shift his attack plan. Any way, I come out ahead. If he shifts, I may get some Piat shots. That'd be good. If he waits, well, each turn he doesn't close with the Town is a turn less he has to fight for it. Ken out.

30.00-29.00 Dunes So, a bit of a stalemate out here. I'd like to upset the status quo. I'll see what I can do about that. Onto the Town Center, next...

30.00-29.00 Sneakers I've got to keep this tank moving and shooting. At best, it will increase my left wing's leverage which, in turn, will only be used to relieve pressure on the town. As such, this piece of hardware is of tertiary importance. But I've told the crew that their contribution is critical: Churchill himself is watching. It may not be fair, but it'll keep 'em at it long after others would've quit. More...

TURN 30:00 to 29:00 In Pictures, featuring Ballsy Piat Pete and what the Fates decided to mete More...

LOL! But I fully expect winged Victory to smile upon my men. Bil's forces were unexpected, but without the Town Center, they cannot get out of the pocket being formed by other Allied armies. We here are doing our bit for the war effort. Seriously, Meeting Engagement: 5 objectives (and I have NO idea what their point values are, no do I care at this juncture). 1 "write off" in Bil's setup zone. He may or may not own that. Shrug. 3 road junctions on his side of the map, behind the windmill. I can't get to them, just not enough combat power. (Unless I do something underhanded with my men in the Ardennes... Hmm. ) The other one? Town Center, the one I started out as saying it was too far away across terrain which would isolate it. Go ahead and read my analysis. I stick with it. However, once the others were slammed shut to me, I went whole-hog after the Town Center. I dismiss any valuation given to the road intersectins. The Town is the key. Ken.

Seedorf81, Excellent question. I'll show some of them next turn. I've got every section (squad for those of us who understand US terms) broken up into teams and spread out. That drops command and control, as well as cohesion, but these men or members of the Para Regiment. The don't need to feel warm and fuzzy to kill the enemy. They do it naturally. They're dispersed to cover avenues of approach and to reduce the likelihood of a single lucky round causing too many casualties. Pix coming after the last turn's report... Ken

Steeple Sniper is merely a Veteran. If you squint at the screenshot, upstream, you can just make that out. The range was about 600m. Sorry, forgot to really check. The other snipers, trying to pick off Bil's guys in the field near Ballsy Piat Pete are both Elite. I've got one in the wheatfield which was bridging my two positions. (The one near/containing Nessie. Okay, that'll be "Nessiefield".) The other is in the plowed field forward of that. A bit of a hinge position. He's at the end of a finger of bocage. One of my Town Center piats is moving towards that position to be ready to take a shot at Jaggie 241. (Does anyone NOT know why that one is "241"?) Oh, I finally did a quick count of my Town Center piats. I've got 4, plus the one flanker (mentioned above), plus one more in Nessiefield (he's probably out of the fight unless I can entice Bil to come around his way). I may've missed one. Shrug. I fights mit vat I got. I'm not one to keep looking at a manpower spreadsheet. (cough) Bil (cough). Ken

Also, the vehicle can still be moving when you give a load command. The passenger will move to the vehicle's endpoint and load there. Unloading is a little different, regarding vehicle movement and passenger disembarkation waypoint.

It's such a cliche, no one ever expects it anymore!

31.00-30.00 My back left sneakers... Not much happened with that halftrack of Bil's with reversed into the woods, deep on my left. I want to screen them out, but my forces are weak.... Overall, Bil is trying to bottle up my forces in the Ardennes. I'll see what I can do about that. I've got a nice gully in the Dunes to move up a piat team and finally kill that lucky Panther. Meantime, my mortars are coming down around the panther, where Bil has a 3.7cm flak and another halftrack. Open top? Enjoy the shells! My tank isn't going to do much good gladding about in my backfield, so I'm moving it forwards. Yeah, I know. But the chaps have volunteered! Ken out.

31.00-30.00 Steeple Sniper and a halftrack First screenie, up 2 posts, shows a halftrack and my steeple sniper. Let's watch.

31.00-30.00, cont... More of Ballsy Piat Pete. Ballsy Piat Pete got pinned in the field of short grass, just short of the farm. I've given him another FAST order and am trying to help out a bit. We'll see if he makes, next turn. I've got 3-ish Piat teams in the town. Bil is staying clear, so last turn I took one and started moving to cover my left. I think Bil is afraid to bring his halftracks closer to the town, based on my rain of piat projectiles over by Dune. If so, that helps. It slows down his ops tempo and frees my piat teams to hunt his tanks. Okay, "hunt" is a stretch. I can move to cover a likely avenue of approach. More...

TURN 31:00 to 30:00 An overview and a piat. Well, I'll just show some pictures, won't I? More...