c3k

Turn 35.00 to 34.00 The Hun reveals his character: I mean, look at that! ^^^ Contrast that underhanded, despicable behavior with the high-minded behavior of my men: Really. That tells it all, doesn't it? That's why we'll win. Overview: Big picture hasn't changed much. Yes, I've taken one on the chin. But with a stiff upper lip, it's not so bad. I didn't expect much from the AA tanks. By the time I could get them to shoot at the halftracks, the passengers would've been unloaded. Shrug. I'm down to a stubby snouted CS tank. It looks like it has one of Churchill's cigar stubs as a weapon. And like his cigars, what it emits will surely drive Bil away in tears. I still plan on attacking out of the Ardennes. I'll have to accept slightly higher losses in paras than I'd originally planned on. I'm okay with that. Ready, men? Ken out.

35.00 to 34.00, cont. My AA tanks. Ah, there they are. Let's watch! (Bring some popcorn.) Now, that's a classic. Really. Two with one shot. In an AAR. Truth be told, I should thank Bil. Those two were like an albatross around my neck. "Ken, don't lose the AA tanks. Ken, be careful with the AA tanks. Ken, don't let the AA tanks be taken out." Bleedin' 'ell! Now I'm finally free of them. Feels great. Whew. What a relief. Finally, I can continue with my next plan... Give me a minute. Seriously, that's bad. Not a disaster. Not yet. I'm still sitting on the objective, because I SAW it and I GRABBED it. Bil may be up on points. Maybe. Hell, anyone can brew up a British tank. They're made for it. Meanwhile, I've still got half the battle left to take scalps. More...

Turn 35:00 to 34:00 I finally find some luck. BAD luck, that is... Let's start with where we left off. Sure, we're all wondering about the AA tanks, but we left the Piat round arcing through the sky. Where it lands, no one knows. Okay, I know. Here, take a look: Bil refuses to face the fight and flees! It took a bit of work, but look how I've got ANOTHER piat team who can take a shot: Skill and foresight, boys. Skill and foresight. Not bad. One long, one short. I see where this is going... Sheez. I mean, really? How many piat rounds have been fired at this guy? About 8 or 10? 2 hit. One was beautiful. The TC is dead. And still, they drive away... Enough of that ugliness. Let's at least cast our eyes upon some goodness. Where'd I leave my AA tanks? Oh yes...

Actually, that was the source of some discussion. Under replay, it looks even more complex. Damaged roadwheels have little effect on tank mobility. By damaged, I mean a hole or two in a wheel, not the wheel taken off. Now, based on some EARLIER events, I'd say I'm due for a bit of "luck".

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! No, that would make a lot more sense. He can control where he gets into the town, rather than rolling my defense up from beginning to end. Slice the snake, don't push at it face first. Plus, the terrain favors his longer range weapons. The drawback is that my entire defense can fire at once. That's countered by the fact that anyone of mine that shoots, gets hit by autocannon or HE fire. So, I've got to balance a defence which doesn't let him roll up anywhere, with a defence behind obstacles. Next, the turn...

If you look at the Tiger I, it's just a PzIV on steroids. (Yeah, I know, but the BIG picture...) Tiger II is a Panther on steroids. Sloped, clean lines, vs. vertical, (with viewports and access panels, and bigger/thicker is better). Metal working is labor intense. A rough piece that fits is easier to manufacture than the tight tolerance stuff. Look at how the Germans finally learned to make the overlapping sides a bit big. Far easier than grinding hardened armor plate to size. The amount of rework they did on the early pz families was amazing. The design of the Panther and Tiger II incorporated those manufacturing lessons. But that's a side discussion. Sorry 'bout that. Based on my AAR performance, I should stay away from any and all armor threads.

Turn 36.00 - 35.00, cont. There's a small bit of action around the center. Near the windmill... So, I may grab that piat and go a-hunting. If Bil evacuates, I'll attack. Surprised? Bil bombards a building: And that is no doubt to cover this movement: Ah, so I was right: Bil is going to attack me. Finally. And one last, heart-warming scene, with which to close this update (because I'm sure it'll be the cold hand of fate I'll see dealing with my AA tanks shortly): Ken out.

Turn 36.00-35.00, cont. My AA Tanks. I'll let the pictures show you what occurred. It's bad enough... As if that wasn't bad enough, a little while later as the drivers cursed one another about who has the right of way... Lucky? Oh, yes. However, that balances with some bud luck. Of course, I'm sure there's somebody back in the peanut gallery thinking I should've scouted the route better. Pshaw to you. I'm more of an impressionistic commander. I paint in broad strokes. More...

Turn 36.00 to 35.00 Overview: This is PRIOR to my rushing out the door. That turn'll be posted later. For now, I'll focus on the good news. (No, I have not seen the next turn, even though it's sitting on my hard drive. No foreknowledge before any of my posts.) You can see the rough sketch of how the battle is shaping. When/if he pull out, as I've drawn, that'll give me the opportunity in blue. My infantry in the woods will then support (and be supported by) the 3 tanks I have left, as I push past the Dunes. But let's look more closely at my tanks as the turn progressed. I may not get that opportunity. More...

Disaster!?!?! Why, old chap, this has been the plan all along. I've been pulling the mass of German armor against myself so that other forces could effect the breakout. I never expected to capture that city. Um, the crossroads: I never expected to capture those crossroads. Yeah, that's what I meant...

You bring up some valid criticisms. However, let me just take one of them and give an alternate perspective: hiding and ambush. If you're peeking over your windowsill and looking at the street, you're not in cover. HIDE (I tend to capitalize in-game commands to emphasize that's what I'm writing about) means to take cover and not expose yourself. If you're hiding below your windowsill, you're protected, but you cannot look out. That's what HIDE replicates. The issue of whether HIDE should replicate that behavior is a different question. If you want to ambush the enemy, a short cover arc is a better command. Couple that with a HIDE only if you want the enemy to get very close. Ken

Yeah, I haven't looked at the next turn. I was in a bit of a rush. Heck, I'll expand on it now. Bil and I are communicating. But nothing is being said that would affect the game. Other than his pleadings for me to accept his surrender, we're mostly talking about which beta build to use, and why. Both of us have experienced multiple issues which degrade our combat effectiveness. That's part of the beta process. One issue, which Bil thought was particularly egregious, involved my AA tanks. When I post the turn's pictures, I'll show what I'm talking about. I recieved his email yesterday morning, literally minutes before being picked up to watch the NY Giants decide not to show up for their mauling by the Carolina Panthers. So, yeah, I had my eye on my cooler of beer, box of munchies, and the driveway outside. I quickly played through the turn, after having read his accompanying email, and I spotted something a bit different than what he spotted. (Again, fuller discussion, with pix, soon.) Anyway...I then cast my eye rapidly about other parts of the battle. I thought that I could delay sending a turn until after the football game, about 8 hours later, or just get on with it. I liked what else I saw, so clicked "Go" and sent the turn. About an hour and a half later, sitting in the parking lot tailgating, I realized I'd never gone back to the primary point of mine and Bil's focus. Gah. That was a galling oversight. I usually follow that method: focus on my main point for the initial replay, then replay again, 2 or 3 times, looking at other areas. Then I create the orders for those areas. Instead, being happy with the rest of the battle, and being distracted by my time-crunch, I forgot about my primary focus. (After taking about 20 screenshots of it, my brain slipped into "enough of that place, you're done there...") And all that would've been worthwhile if the Giants had decided to play football. Instead, they got a world-class 38-0 shellacking, and I made a horrible oversight. I will blame any in-game result on the Giants' offensive coaching. C'est la guerre.

Interesting. (Maybe it's reflecting off the glass in that window? ) I'll check my build in a bit. As for direction of the sun, in the summer, northern latitudes, the tilt of the earth changes the relative location of sunrise and sunset compared to in winter. (Obviously this occurs in southern latitudes as well.) If you've got concerns with regards to the direction of the sun, remember that the compass-like thing in the upper right corner of the game most definitely is NOT a compass. I can't count the number of times I reversed my directions when I looked at that thing. Yes, I've placed many a smoke screen downwind of my desired target. Sigh.

Yeah, a follow command would be nice, for several purposes. Imagine giving it to your tank hunters and having them follow an enemy tank? However, I rushed a turn out yesterday and had the horrible realization that I never gave the orders I meant to give. That may be to my men's benefit. It was a BIG oops. But enough of my whinging excuses. I'll post the pix of the turn I recieved soon. My concealed areas were not as concealed as I'd hoped for. Ken

^^^ Alt P shows all movement orders. (Hotkeys menu.) Is that what you're looking for?

I am.

The range started at 134m. It grew as the Panther retreated. (Maybe another 20 meters?) The PIAT =had= been HIDING with a COVER ARMOR ARC at 100m. However, while hiding, they were prone and unable to spot. Of course, only one tank entered 100m, the jaggie by the windmill. So, that may not be a far example. To execute the ambush, I manually ordered TARGET on the Panther. That's what got 'em up on a knee. Ken

^^^ Thanks. The armor's not there yet. It'd be just like dastardly Bil to nail the lead tank just shy of safety, then take advantage of the confusion that causes to hit the other two while they mill about. Hmmm, "mill about"? Perhaps that windmill IS the key, after all? Something to ponder. I'd like to spot his 37mm flak on my left. If I can find it, I can kill it. Then roll up the stummels. That'd create a response, for sure.

Well, a pint at the local pub. No medals if they don't destroy any vehicles. Brave enough, but just couldn't get the job done. At least, that's what Regiment said. Heartless sods, they.

37.00-36.00, cont. Over on my deep left: And a slightly raised view... So, there we sit. Bil had some great fortune with that Panther. That's the way it goes. I'm still in pretty good shape. Hell, I look great. Bil is in a jam. He'll have to move out, soon, to get towards the Town. I've extended my defense of the Town out a bit more. Every turn I delay him is a turn closer to victory. While he has to focus on the Town Center, I'll cast my eye around and see if I can't start rolling him back elsewhere. The obvious start would be to hunt down that 3.7cm flak on my deep left. Afterwards, if I can nail his stummels (all near "the gutter"), then I can advance with the dunes on my right. If I can catch his tanks and halftracks between the Town Center (anvil) and my push near the dunes (the hammer), then I have a decent shot at this. The key to THAT would be killing his Panthers. Then the jaggies would be easy prey. That piat shot that started this turn really would've been nice if it had destroyed 1/2 of Bil's Panther force. Ken out.

37.00-36.00, cont. A few thoughts, of no particular significance. My right flank is weak. But no more so than my left flank or front. It's overlaid with the Town Center. Town Center has 4 (or 5?) piat teams. Bil can slice in with his armored troops, but he'll have to poke his head out of his armor if he wants to take the town. Let's look at how he fares when he pokes his head out of his shell: That team has been getting steadily reduced. Yum. Ah, Bil is trying to save his men. That's weakness. I will attack. Another example. Upstream you can see the flaktrack in orange. Here you see it from Bil's view: And again... Now, sure, all these are just pinpricks. But they are cumulative. Bil has to feel time pressure. And, if he pulls too many men to attack the Town Center he could dangerously weaken his line, and like a ripened pustule, my men will burst forth from the Ardennes and spew forth to fall in clotted groups where they'll most embarrass him. More...

37.00-36.00, cont. An overview of the mid-field, right near the end of the turn: Of note, above: mortar shells continue to slowly harass Zephyr. Bil is obviously concentrating his halftracks in that field for a push on my town. I'd love to get my AA tanks in position to nail them, but they're in transit from Town Center to the Ardennes. They'll take Bil in the rear. So to speak. Speaking of my tanks, here's what they faced as they continued to reposition: That was a sticky little situation. I don't -think- Bil has LOS there (especially now that his Panther has pulled back), but then I've been surprised by his LOS before. Sorry, men. The result: All safe, for now. My lorry, zipping along the road, is in the way. I'd expected that truck to've cleared the road by now. I was wrong. I'll have another logjam right there at the beginning of the next turn. That'll prove interesting. However, once I get my tanks in and among the Ardennes, I'll have the firepower to have a bit of fun, won't I? More...

37.00-36.00, cont. The result: A glorious end for a magnificent piat gunner. His tale would be less sorrowful had he destroyed the Panther, but for sheer ballsiness, he wins. Bil would probably surrender right now, if I allowed him, based purely on my men's moral superiority over his. Now, sure, I laid that trap for a long time. Was it for naught? Not at all. Not for naught, I'd've thought. Bil is pulling back. Time, gentlemen, time is as much his enemy as I. My men are sitting pretty on the Town Center. His men? They've scattered about trying to figure out what to do. Each time he repositions, he loses. Death by a thousand cuts. Let's look at more of the field, shall we? More...

Turn 37.00 to 36.00 The Tale of the Piat in the Field Well, gents, thanks for your patience. The turns are moving again. So too, therefore, are my troops! I attack when and how I can. I pity Bil's troops, caged as they are in their steel traps. Since there's been a long delay betwixt updates, I plan on inundating the thread with a report on this latest turn. When last we met, I asked about your thoughts regarding my hidden piat team, near the windmill. Well, here was what I'd ordered... Of course I ordered them to attack! Attack, attack, attack! When in doubt, attack again! Oh, you're curious about how it turned out? Very well, more pix... And then... And... Ah, so very satisfying, that. More...

LOL! If I -know- I have a tight LOF to an enemy unit, should I keep reloading the turn until I get the "right" tree?