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Alas, no. As shown and stated (obliquely) above, the piat tesm lost the one man with the launcher. The intent was to hug the dirt before the mif-flight shell impacted, then exploit the stummel reload delay to run deeper into the woods.

2) Yes. If unpinned, etc.

39.00-38.00 Town Center Reinforcements Bil's Panther and his various flak devices try to interdict my movement. The movement is mostly successful. A few slow men get caught out, but the vast majority make it. They are tired, but they should have about 10 minutes before Bil can bring any true combat power to bear against them. Once he spends all his time manuevering into a good position against the Town Center, I'll then poke a hole in his butt with my 3 pieces of armor. That should force him into a time crunch. I'd love to see German troops forced to rush in the open ground against my stens. More later. Overall, not a bad turn. I -think- my 3 tanks will make it. I need to get more HQ's into good spotting positions and start using my mortars more effectively. Of course, I'd like to have unarmored targets for them. That's minor. My town center defense is almost finalized. More a function of forces rather than desired positions. Ah, I see Bil has another turn waiting for me. He must be hoping that he won't lose more men the faster he gets the turns to me. My trigger finger is plenty fast... Ken out.

39.00-38.00 More. My pix are full, so to allay bandwidth concerns, I'll minimize their number. My PIAT team: Grr. The tube gets destroyed. Luckily, that flank platoon HQ has just a launcher, no ammo. Perhaps they should meet? Below, Bil unloads.. I shall gift them with some mortar shells. Airmail. I'll express my sorrow for causing that casualty you see. In his backfield, centrally located, he coils, still. Above: I'm still sniping at zephyr with a mortar. That's not a good sign, if you're wondering. You shouldn't be reduced to using a mortar vs. an armored flak wagon. More...

Turn 39:00 to 38:00 Operation Mini-Dunkirk While Bil is sponging blood and gore off his tanks, I'm busy moving mine out of the Town Center, in accordance with my 147th plan of the game. ( You know who you are!) Now, these screenies are raw, no commentary. That may be a benefit for some. Here they are... More...

Why have a threat? Just a tight covered arc should perform the same function. As to circles, well, if youve run a test an determined that the schreck is spotted 34.2%, that's great. Then, in your next test with a tank with no cupola, the spotting goes to 50%, well, then you've found an anomoly. If you test a 12 man team, instead of a tank, and they spot the schreck 11% (whereas the tank spotted it 34.2%) then you've found an anomoly. Just the raw number (34.2% in your example) is not worthless. It is, however, not very valuable without something to compare it to.

Thanks for the comment about the guys in the house. I've skipped a LOT of small tactics when discussing the game. Perhaps I shouldn't have. Here's another one: the last screenie, with the shell in midflight towards my Piat team? Well, I don't want them getting up, kneeling, to fire again. Nor do I want them to run away. At least, not right away. Obviously, they are too exposed to the stummel, so they have to move, but how? For next turn, I gave them a HIDE. That should instaneously make them hug the dirt. Woot for them. That should help. However, to move away, I gave them a FAST. Well, estimating the reload time of the stummel, I want them to suck dirt until the shell hits, then run away. So, I've given them a 5 or 10 second pause, as well. (I forget which, I think 10.) Minor, but that combination, HIDE, PAUSE, FAST, should help that specific team in that specific circumstance. Ken

Piat max effective range is listed as 250m. I like to put anything like that into real life terms. I imagine trying to loft a slow projectile the length of a football field to hit a tank-sized target with the correct aspect angle. At 100m it'd be very hard. At 250m? I think the odds of hitting are very small. Ken

40.00-39.00 A final vignette, visually: My orders? My orders are to hold fast until you can attack. Kill every German you can see! Good luck.

40.00-39.00 More...

40.00 - 39.00 Who's that noggin at your door? More...

Turn 40:00 to 39:00 If I see you, I keel you... Again, the action swirls around the dunes, like seagulls at the beach. I fortify the Town. Bil is stymied. He is unaware of the attack plans I have. Rather, he is more interested in a lateral move across my front, from my left to right. Let's watch... More...

41.00 to 40.00 cont... What's not pictured were my various orders and shiftings. Yes, I, too, am shifty. I'm moving my two jeeps and truck around on dirt roads to create rooster tails. That may confuse Bil. Or not. It's free, so why not? If the jeeps survive, I'll use them to move my vickers out of my middle wheatfield. I've ordered the two AA tanks and my CS Cromwell to locations in the Town Center so that next turn they can scoot out. I'm not sure if they have a covered path or not. How fast can Bil's tanks reload? I'm trying for more piat sniping. I'm not going to move that piat team near the dunes. Movement will get them spotted, and killed. If there are any pix you want, or questions, fire off the requests! Ken

Turn 41:00 to 40:00 Overview. Not much happened on the flanks. This is a "coil" turn, still. Bil shifts a bit to ready for his next phase. I move my men about, just to ensure they know that I'm in charge. Okay, actually, I'm trying to beef up the Town Center, but a lot of my men are very tired. Most of the action took place near the middle, between the Windmill and the Dunes. Here we go... more...

Yes. And, frankly, I don't care. I fight where I fight with what I have. Bring it. Now, were this a battle developed for balance, yes, there's a lot out of whack. Shrug. It's not for balance. There were a couple of goals which were of primary importance. First, someone needed to take Bil down. (Morally, I've already won! Look at the thread count. Woot!) Second, we needed to just get on with it. Third, the desire was to show Market Garden and Commonwealth goodies. I'm easygoing. The map caught Bil off-guard. I generally never post private comms unless the poster pre-announced his approval. (Asking afterwards is a bit churlish, no? That puts the originator in the awkward position of denying a request. "You don't mind if I eat your extra lobster, do you?") However, I received an email from Bil noting all of the above and he asked if I wanted to start anew, with a fresh map, etc., etc. I did not. He was, and is, concerned about balance. I'm not. Now, let's see what we have: A British Para unit with some elements on their objective, other elements off the objective. The two are split, with one trying to assist the other. The Germans have a tight armored task force on the attack. Hey, does this sound even CLOSE to Arnhem? That was not the original intent, but this is how it has shaken out. It is of great interest to me how force structure determines the rythm of a battle. This is what is occurring. The CM system models these interactions so well, that the results are sublimely beautiful. We have paralleled the actual battle, in microcosm, due to forces and objectives. Could there have been any other outcome to the British attack, other than what generally occurred? What other wargame out there could do this so well? Back to the map and forces: it is what it is. At this point my forces are still quite coherent, even if their leader isn't. My offensive power may be spent, but my men's offensive spirit is still present. An active defense will be my best bet. Bil has to move my Para's off the Town. It won't be easy for him. I have two remaining objectives: Hold on in the Town Center; find Bil's top HQ in the game and kill the commander. Yes, Kill Bil.

Gah. The "map maker" faithfully reproduced about 4km x 4km of an area that ACTUALLY exists! He used sat photos and period maps. Then Bil cut the map down to 1.6km x 1.6km. I'm sure his decision on how to set boundaries went something like this. "Hmm, 4km is too big. 1 mile is about right. Hey, I can use the editor to center it on the windmill and make sure I include part of the town of Eerde." click, click, enter. And there we have the genesis of the edge. I shall hereafter refer to that specific route as "The Gutter". Notice the field. I had to demo to get into it. (I thought that would take Bil by surprise. It did, but I couldn't get my men out fast enough.) Other than coming down a road into the Ardennes, The Gutter is his ONLY route. I will make this portentous pronouncement: If Bil somehow manages to eke a victory from this battle, no matter how small his margin, NONE of it will be due to using The Gutter. Now, enough of that talk. I need to plan my attack...

^^^ Yes, like how a twin just knows. Or a spouse wakes up, with the certainty and dread of the death or injury of the other. Your pixeltruppen were birthed in the heart of your cpu: they are, indeed, entangled at the quantum level. Spooky, no? (This is just evident within squads, I believe. I will often purchase many battalions and strip out everyone, just to be sure.)

Well played, that!

...but not if I fill the truck with demo-charge laden troops! And get Bil to fire incendiary rounds at it! This could work...

Gah, no quote within a quote. Okay, your #1, tank under fire by a 20mm to the front, with a panzerschreck team to the side. Most would say that the tank's attention is totally focused on the 20mm, so the 'schreck probably is never spotted. Refining that, a grog checks the tank manual and finds that the TC's duty explicitly tells him to scan while under fire, so that raises the specter of the TC using his cupola to spot the 'schreck. Next, we look at the terrain the 'schreck is in. What is the chance of an unpinned, single man, to spot it? Now, let's reduce that for a TC under fire in a tank with reduced vision. Say, 25% (or less) chance compared to the unpinned observer. Now, let's look a what REALLY happens. The 20mm shells don't penetrate, but to protect their rotating periscopes, the driver and hull gunner rotate them 90^ to the side. What else are you going to do but look through them if you don't have a target? Hey, now you've got a crewman STARING at the 'schreck location. Meanwhile, the TC's vision ports in the cupola get smashed by the 20mm, so all he has to look at is the back side views from the cupola. Now more of his attention is focused on the 'schreck. The TC's point of view is what, 7 or 8 feet above the ground. Does that help? Is it better than an observer kneeling? That's just your first condition. See how I twisted your assumption? I'd test your first condition. See what happens. Don't start with a conclusion. Then change ONE part; what do you expect to change with the outcome? It is relative. You cannot say "condition A should have result A". You CAN say "condition A gives result A; if I change the condition to A+B, I expect result A+B". Now, how often to I expect a schreck team behind a tank to be spotted? Well, I have no rational basis to offer a quantitative number. I do expect it to be somewhat less than how often a schreck team in front of the tank gets spotted. Ken

At 41:00, an overview You can see how the battle is shaping up. I'm going to pull some guys back from the Dunes and distribute them more evenly, especially towards the left/bottom. I'll pull my mortars into the woods. No freebies for Bil. The A Company, (support guys), in the wheatfield will disperse, somewhat. I can't give Bil free rein in the middle. I have a few Piats in there and may ambush some unwary armor. Meanwhile, time for me to figure out how to evacuate my armor without leaving a trail of pyres behind. Ken

Turn 42:00 to 41:00 Not much happens of excitement this turn. (BTW, this was from last night, late. I analyzed my armor in town AFTER this turn, so it remains there.) Bil moves more on my left, and deeper. He consolidates, and begins to coil his forces. Oh yes, "coil". For only a coiled spring can...spring. And like a sprung spring, he will leap forth and fall short, bringing upon himself a winter of discontent. Enough of the heavily seasoned writing. On to the pictures! More...

If so, and to prevent hard feelings and misunderstandings, then I suggest that the onus is on you to ensure that your desire is clearly communicated before the battle starts. About the only "dealbreaker" I can think of, for me, is the first turn setup area bombardment. And that is excepted if there is a reason to allow it. If you really don't like the use of an edge, there are certain practical matters which need to be addressed. Do you tell your opponent to create a "red zone" of a certain width around the edge? Is it hard or soft? If you just cut the map down, well, you've got another edge. What if you suspect he used the "red zone"? Do you quit? How close to the edge is hugging? Etc. You see the issue? You have a clear idea of what you think is a dealbreaker. Your opponent may not have the same idea, even after you explain your stance to him. It's a game and you should play it however you like. I like Bil's use of the battlespace. Ken

^^^ Absolutely! Perhaps I inadvertently fueled a fire by not putting a smilie after my checkers comment. My flank is unprotected. I don't have enough forces to cover that side. Bil chose a protected path, rather than an open field. Totally realistic move. The map is a cut-down section of a MUCH larger one. This "seam" just happened to occur there. There was no original scenario designer intent whether or not a path on the edge should exist. The salient point is that my flank is unprotected. Thoughts on the current battle and where to go... Why is my flank hanging in the air? Because it is a MEETING ENGAGEMENT, with OBJECTIVES in the FRONT of my forces. Why would I try to defend a 1 mile width of map? I have 2 companies, reinforced, to defend a mile? That's a failure right there. 6 manuever platoons plus heavy weapons. That would be about 250m of frontline per platoon. (Assume the tanks are in reserve to deal with breakthroughs.) Each platoon has 3 sections. 2 up, 1 back, means each section would have to cover 125m of frontline, with half a section backing them up. That's paper thin. Bil's force selection versus mine: In the email exchanges to set up this battle I was under the impression it would be an infantry fight. Shrug. Bil's force obviously has much more offensive power than mine. (Did I waste my tanks? I don't think so. I'd love to have them back, though. As I explained at the time, I risked them for a reward. I thought LOS was blocked when it was not. That happened twice. Then one tank failed to spot an obvious target and died. Another died trying to retreat. All that occured in the space of one turn. As soon as I saw the Bil's armor, the retreat and overwatch orders were issued. It happens.) My force selection in the qb editor was shaped by the email. Would I love some ATG's? Yep. I excluded them since I had tanks, and it was a meeting engagement. ATG's aren't too useful in that role. So, I've shoved hard with infantry against a mechanized force purely to gain the ordered objectives. This talk of flanks is purely because of the current nature of our forces. I cannot gain the objectives past the Dunes or the Windmill. The company in the woods will tuck into a ball and lash out as, and where, it can. The company which took the town will ready itself for a pasting. It will be be ugly. My left flank is open because I was attacking and that area has no reason to be occupied, I have too few forces to cover the entire map, and the relative mobility of our two forces means Bil could concentrate wherever he'd like and outposts would merely be chewed up. It's a rather enjoyable battle for me. I've worked to get two piat teams into position. One is blind, in a field, but that may be advantageous in a few minutes. The other got the shot, but it was ineffectual. That took a bit of work and planning to get them there. I'm thinking about long-term use of my remaining armor, at this point. If they stay in the town, Bil will create death-zones for them. My armor will be restricted to certain spots. They'll then get picked off as they try to engage Bil's forces. That's as obvious as can be. In town, as they are, they are sure to die and not use their mobility. Therefore, they may make a move out of town, along my back edge (yes, a back edge hugging manuever! ) and into the woods. That would leverage the infantry in the woods. If Bil wants to attack the Town, he'll HAVE to deal with the forces in the woods. Otherwise those forces can be bypassed with impunity. The calculus gets down to: Tanks in Town = Dead Tanks, Infantry in Woods wasted, Town lasts a few turns longer but still falls Tanks out of Town = Tanks in Bil's rear, Infantry in Woods need to be cleared out to get the tanks, Town does not get hit with all of Bil's forces and may hold out I think that's the solution... Ken

Oh, I don't mind Bil's use of that edge at all. I'd do it. I don't see any problem, whatsoever with it. The edge is part of the battlespace. If I cannot deny it to him, then he's free to use it. It's a flank. If you cannot cover your flank, you get flanked. I think he did a great job finding a path there.