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I am certainly not shy about using edges. In this battle the map is larger than I should defend Not that I should ever defend! Bil was bound to find a seam somewhere. Hanging half a halftrack over the abyss is the ultimate edge huggery. I shall call it the quartertrack option.

Exactly! A few 75mm shells into those halftracks would be just the thing to make them lose their focus. See how that works? I'll provide a full post op on my tank thoughts later. After the AAR. However, based on their construction, I've always been of tge opinion that the Brits didn't really expect them to do much.

One last thought... Up on the dunes, next to the road... Well, okay, he really isn't targeting the Panther. He will, however, crest the dune. I don't give him, or his mate, much chance to survive, but then that happens a lot with the men I command. (I think it's their training.) The 2" mortar? Maybe it'll be mistaken for a Piat and everyone will focus on him so the REAL piat can get a shot off. Or, maybe they really do have HE shells. We'll find out. His real job is to get a few shots (with his sten, I hope) at some of Bil's guys in the open. My orders have my tightening up the left. It's needed. I went fast and loose over there, and now need to fight off his edgers whilst delaying the roaders. The windmill? Well, I may be trickling too few too slowly into it. If I'd put that 4 man team there, it would've been better. Now I'm a minute behind, and 3 men down. I'm putting some scouts out into that field to nail Bil's two man team. If they stick their heads up to get the bocage by the windmill, they'll get shot. My mortars are still interdicting any reinforcements. Some vickers and brens are hitting the windmill and its outbuilding. Town Center? Pretty stable. For now. Bil's plan is obvious. Pathetic, really. He'll push on my left, consolidate, then move onto the town. I'd like to counter, but it's a bit tough against hordes of armored infantry. I've got more bodies. I plan on using them. Ken

46.00 to 45.00 The Left Keep in mind, the left is a conservation of force area. Sure, maybe it's more of an "erosion" of force at the moment, but that's why they wear the red beret! It'd be nicer if the timer were a bit closer to 00 rather than having 3/4 of an hour left. It will be a long time... The platoon, highlighted

46.00 to 45.00 The field next to the windmill The creepers creep

46.00 to 45.00 Windmill Yes, I want it. No, there is no longer a rational reason for it. Other than the chance to gain that ivory tower, that alabaster building, that WHALE!!

46:00 to 45:00 A few seconds later... I've adjusted the mortar for next turn. Bil has a habit of creeping a few guys up and then moving in. He's good with armor, sure, but does he have the drive to charge his men over the corpses of those who went before?

Turn 46:00 to 45:00 I'll start on my right, Town Center, and work by sector to the left. That'll keep the casualties to minimum until the end. Sheesh. My guys have demo charges. They need to get through bocage. I'd rather make my own passages, to throw off any long shots by Bil (interdiction, doncha know), and to give easier passage, up and back, in the future.

Okay, turn coming...

An update later... 2 questions, though, for you guys. 1. Quicker updates with ugly lo res or a slight delay for full res? 2.clean screenshots with discussion beneath or comments embedded within the screenie?

Turn recap. Bil is pressuring on my far left. I have a few teams moving there, but I don't want to put more than that over there. I have good cover and can ambush him as he advances. I will contest the easy edge creep, however. Meantime, I'm trying to get some suppressive fire to assist the section caught out in that field. I want some more piat action. I've got some very close, but I need to suck his tanks in tighter. I may use some men as bait. Windmill: I may grab it. I like the look of it - in higher resolution. The screenies are ugly, I know. Town: Same plan - consolidate and get good fields of fire and ambush points. My intel prior to battle was to expect infantry on infantry. Now, I see I'm facing the equivalent of a late-war panzer division's offensive strength! I shall blunt his rapier, bend his blade aside, and stab him with a stilletto! And one more to end this turn... Ken

Turn cont... A vignette on the road on my left. A piat plan for next turn (I think the Panther may be moving forward. I want to kill it.) Another Piat: More...

Turn cont... Over to the left. More...

Turn cont... In the middle, windmill... I've pushed one team up. The overview of the windmill zone (trees off): Next turn my 4 sten and demo charge team moves up. Time to kill that mg42 team. More...

"Unacceptable casualties"? That phrase has no meaning to me! Turn 47:00 to 46:00 Again, starting on my right... And then a setback... On the bright side... And my long shot sniper... The HQ loss will be a problem later. Much later. Nothing to do about it now but tighten up leadership. Another item: my defense is not a helter-skelter as it may seem. Bil's armor can slice through anywhere. I'm trying to put auto fire on every man he has. I want him to feel that he's facing heavy resistance everywhere. Usually it's just a team with some mates backing them up a bit. Extricating those who are isolated will be next turn's goal. Well, first it will be to kill his men, THEN to save some of mine. Graphics: again, from a netbook. (Asus eee 1215n. Pretty good for what it's got.) More...

Not usually, only when traveling. Like today. The turns are flying fast and furious now. I'll post more screenies (ugly, like the previous) from a bar, later. (No longer in Boston. Must flee the red-shirts!) Ken

However, like Odysseus, I keep my ears clogged with wax, so that Siren faced a Sisyphisian task. I am immune. Hell, I've got wife who commanded my troops in battle against Bil! Beat that, you bar trollop! I see Bil has posted another turn... Allow me to excuse myself from this conversation as I go see which way he tries to squirm this time!

^^^ Keep telling yourself that! Back to the game. Err, the "CM" game. Covered arc for the HQ guys, yeah, I thought about that. But, see, I don't care quite so much about what they can see as what they can KILL!! I really don't think any Germans are close enough, but I'd hate to cover arc them just too short of a target. The steeple has a lot of floors. I have a lot of men. It's like I'm supposed to use them that way.

Finally... And a long shot... My two Piat teams between the windmill and the dunes have Cover Armor arcs. I don't want them to be distracted by infantry. That may leave them vulnerable. Sigh. If they die, I may have someone else grab their piats. Over on my left, the Piat team which went in circles took a hit and lost the Piat man. I'm moving the platoon HQ up to provide first aid. Well, not really. I want them to grab that Piat. The teams moving to stuff the distraction which is his edge-huggers are not needed elsewhere. In fact, they'd just be cannon fodder if I left them where they were. Not that I'm opposed to that, but it'd be better if they shoot rather than be shot. I'm shoving them, hard, over to my left via a combination of concealed and unconcealed routes. I don't mind having a flank in the open, but I don't want Bil to get a freebie. So, I'll expend a section and a half in the effort, then pull back the survivors. Or advance them. I'd love to safely gain the bocage by the windmill. Then I can blow it and assault in within a turn or two. That'd be a blast! Ken

48:00 to 47:00, the left... more...

Turn 48:00 to 47:00, cont. Let's look at the Windmill, in the center, shall we? (Um, I wrote that last bit BEFORE that temptress snuck up on me. I told her to ignore that bit. She left. Sigh.) More...

Turn 48:00 to 47:00 (I dedicate this series of screenies to the woman in the bar wearing the red t-shirt and ray bans. May the screenie images linger in your minds as long as her finger lingered upon my knee.) In the Town Center... (edited to make even clearer that these images look ugly because my laptop barely has a video processor. ) Overview... Now, the above screenies are, indeed, a bit low res. Beauty isn't skin deep! (Unless you're the woman wearing that red t-shirt in a Boston pub...) More...

Well, as a gamey edge hugger myself I'm glad to see Bil working it. I'm working on the screenies while I quaff a few pints in a pub on Boylston in Boston. That may make me prone to hyperbole, mixed metaphors, exaggeration, and orders to my men which may not be in their best interest.

Dear God, I may be too late. This thread has devolved into an arty thread. And not the good kind of arty. I only hope no one mentions mimes. That would be a sign of the end! Onto the GAME!!! I'll post pix in a bit. But, first, a summary: Bil is a gamey edge-hugging bastidge! In a good way! If he's resorted to that tactic, I know I've got him stumped. The next turns will have even more dodgy tactics and tricks. I liked this turn. Again. As I said, pix in a bit... Ken

Re the paint: look up D-Day Oklahoma. Several thousand paintballers from around the world. I've done it. Twice. I'm currently waiting for Bil. If he had a pair, he'd use his right side group to sweep through the dunrd, spraying fire against the Ardennes before they debouche in my rear. His other group should go straight at the town. Instead, my pilots will debauche in the town