c3k

Hurtgen: There's a bit of recent perspective giving credit to that campaign for the eventual complete defeat of The Bulge. It did two things: it shored up the northern shoulder with US forces, making the Germans take little bridges (Stavelot, etc.) and it bled out units husbanded by the Germans for their offensive in an attritional defense.

It happened because Eisenhower was weak. Seriously. He was a pleaser. In full recognition of the seniority of the elder partners, the British, and the needs/desires of the Commonwealth, the obvious objective was the Scheldt and Antwerp. He may've rationalized his agreement with Monty, not as appeasement, but as a bold move. He didn't like to command. He liked to herd; which way does everyone want to go? Okay, let's do that. Hindsight is so clear.

Artistic dispute! Artistic dispute! This can only be solved by an engineer. Carry on.

End, 48:00 Here's the overview: I still need/want to get more guys in the Ardennes positioned better. It's only been 12 minutes and I pushed them hard. Only about 1/2 are "ready". The rest are "tiring" or worse. Ken

In the middle of the Dunes... I thought about pulling them back, but why? They live for my pleasure. Giving their blood to the sands will be part of my long-term plans. Plus, there's a piat just off screen to the right, at the edge of the wheat. Bil tried area targeting them with Zephyr, but to no effect. There's a slight ridge between the piat and zephyr. The two vickers nailing the windmill will provide suppression so the Piat can get off a clean shot.

oops, forgot the middle: My two flanking teams are still going okay. We'll see what happens. I'm moving some more stens and demo charges up. I may breach the front bocage and use the windmill to provide cover. Bil's left flank (my perspective) tank onslaught may change the timing of that. Back to the rest...

... and on the left flank, Nicely done, lads. A storm of steel coming down the road... They look invulnerable! I like opened up tanks. I'll spray down all the vehicles and hope that gives the Piats a bit of a chance.

Turn 49:00 to 48:00 I'll start on the right, Town Center, and work to the left, Two Pond Bog. I've got two piat teams and a tank performing a squeeze play on this 20mm halftrack. I'll consider it a win if I kill it with no losses. Ahhh. By the end of the turn, and my orders... more...

Well, yes. I'm busy searching for a Scroll of Resurrection to chant over my Challenger. It'd be nice to bring it back right about now. Meantime, reverse slope, crawling, mutually supporting positions. And Piats. Lots of piats.

Before this thread totally pengs, one brief bit of (hopefully) helpful advice: Before you pre-order, start your currently installed CM:BN game. Look at the splash screen. Down in the lower right hand corner is a version number. The first digit is important. If it is v1.xx, then you need the Market Garden + V2.0 Upgrade bundle If it is v2.xx, then the bare Market Garden module is all you need. ^^^ Hope that helps. (Now I'm off to charge at Bil!) Ken

Thanks! It's not the cannon in front of me, volleying and thundering, so much as the ones to my right and the ones to my left.

Finally, my plans and outlook: Not much changed. Without my few (mishandled) tanks, my offensive punch is zero. NOT! I can creep and ooze and I will. However, I'd like to get him to come to me. On the left, I'm positioning my Tired troops among the Ardennes to defend against a push, or to ambush him when he gets tired of my sniping with a mortar. (The 3" hit pictured above was from 4 Platoon's early indirect call, not the direct fire mortar I just set up.) On the right, I need to consolidate my grip on the Town Center and slow Bil up from attacking. Here's a pic: The Town area is about to get hammered. My AA tanks are vulnerable. However, I can't back them around freely, yet, due to his 20mm track. Plus, that Panther (and other unspotted ones, too, I'm sure) want to pick off any vehicle that exposes itself. I'll try to pick out good keyhole spots, with ratlines, for the tanks. Push some more men into and around the town, then ride out the artillery and stuff Bil's counterattack. Maybe that's when I'll try a grab on my left. After he commits a reserve towards the town. You know, after I stop his initial attempt. That's how I think it'll play. Or, Bil will sit at 1,000 meters and rubble the Town one building at a time. That'll just delay the decision he'll have to make. My men will be ready, sharpening their knives. Or loading Sten magazines. Ken

...and here we are: My Piat teams are purely to keep Bil's armor away from my crunchies. I don't want them to die, I want them to kill something. However, I'll pull 'em back if I can. Kind of like a hissing mongoose. Or something. The Prowling Panther, noted above, has my interest.... So, Bil is trying to seal off the Town Center. Good. That means he wants to keep me there. I'd love to stuff every nook with Sten-armed paratroopers and have him come pry me out. We'll see... More, near the windmill, a nice juicy shot... I really hope he had some guys near that corner position. I'm creeping two teams up, one on either side of that bocage. That could cause some fun, later! (The left team has a piat.)

...and what better to deliver some fire, but a CS tank? I think that clears out the church. I've ordered Blue House piat team to go straight through the ground floor of the church and peek across the courtyard. They ought to get a good bead on that pesky 20mm halftrack. After the track is dead, I'll sweep the woods, then consider my rear clear. (Insert lame joke. Do it. Let me know if was funny.) I'll also sweep the church, just to make sure there aren't any hiding Germans. (I'd do it. Sacrifice a team or so to keep another team hidden. But that's the way I am. ) More town views... Let's go over to the middle...

TURN 50:00 to 49:00 The boring: not much action on the left. My piat team (being hounded by Panther On High) finally made it to shelter across the road. I passed one section through some bocage to put some eyes and firepower on that group Bil has near the bog. Otherwise, some slight positioning amongst the trees of the Ardennes. I -did- get a 3" mortar in position across the Dunes of Arrakis. I'll see what it can do, later. I'd like to incite Bil into attacking me there. If not, I'll just dish out some punishment. Most of the current action was on the right, in town. I'll let some pictures do the talking... The reason they were fleeing was that I'd hit some of them with small arms fire last turn. This turn, my AA tank was laying in the hurt onto the OP Bil had setup in the steeple. The fleeing guys were safe from that particular team. However, out of the frying pan and into the fire...

Stray? Why, that would imply that there is a PLAN for this thread! There is none! Forward, always, unless we're turning a flank, then sideways, but briefly, keeping a weather eye cocked and... I forgot where I was going with this one. Onto the turn!

Oh, wait until I manage to post pix of the turns we've just exchanged! Fun action abounds!

Move that lad to the head of the class! I'm gonna keep my eye on you. You're going places; important places.

^^^ LOL, yes, no. 2's and for the very reason you expounded upon. The faces "looked" better.

I have a request: from your position, the sand dunes of Eerde are just to your south. Quickly send a strike force my way and we can squeeze Bil between us! Attack now! Ken

The objectives in Bil's backfield are out of reach. I will continue to pressure him about them to keep him from freely moving his forces. Mobility: his armored strike force has far more mobility than my paras. I pushed hard and fast to gain some ground, expecially when I saw an opportunity on the right. That group, Company B, is getting TIRED. I'll try to get them a little more in cover, then button them down. My lack of mobility will be crucial. I have one truck. Period. It won't do well if it gets spotted. Overall, I'll clean out the Germans in the Town Center. I spotted an HQ unit, and killed one of them, in the church steeple. - One AA Crusader will shred the tower while a 4-man sten team storms it. - A Piat team will enter a house near the church and get a flank shot on Bil's 20mm halftrack. Another Piat team will distract it. My CS tank will HUNT forward towards the church - Goal: clean out the church and woods. That will give me a clear field of fire where I can observe any approach. Germans in that corner (church) will be a big headache. The other end of town (Den of Death), also needs to be cleared. The Den of Death is destroyed. Seemed a bit fast, given the ordnance I used. Similar purpose as above. Clearing out his toehold will afford me a wide open field of fire. Of course, having a weapon or two to influence movement over such an open space would be nice. Ooops. My AA tanks and CS tank have to be husbanded carefully. But they also need to be used. A Company, with Vickers and Brens, are in a few fields to put some mg fire out on Bil's approach. His tanks can move with impunity. On my left, C Company will poke forward a little, just to keep Bil honest. If I can, I'll try to entice him to attack, even with just a few squads. I'll ambush them, and celebrate. (I'm setting a mortar up at the edge of Arrakis, near the burning Cromwells, to be bait. ) My earlier mortar calls are just starting to come down near the windmill. I don't think it'll do much. However, maybe I can crawl the windmill piat team closer to some juicy targets. Heck, I may even rush the darn thing with the brave lads of 4 platoon. Overall, I'm going defensive. Well, my version of defensive. I've lost my tanks in a gamble. Crapshoot? Maybe. I thought the one Cromwell had a good position near the knoll. I'd checked the LOS, but obviously that tool didn't help. The others, similarly: using hulldown positions was risky, but I thought doable. Ach. Ken

51:00 to 50:00, cont. My center forward Piat team (Plucky Piat) got further than I expected. In fact, they spotted the Panther... A miss. However, their threat should give Bil a bit of a pause. More on that benefit, later. Over on my left, the Piat team which was being shelled by the Panther On High disobeyed my explicit command: To give them credit, they TRIED to go where I said, but got spooked by a burst of mg fire and ran back to the underbrush. Where a 75mm shell took care of one of them. The piat is still in capable hands. Over in Town Center... and a little closer My orders, and my plans, next.

TURN 51:00 to 50:00 Let's see how my Cromwell fared! Not well. I was hoping it would make it. I'll post some more pix, summarize the turn, then go over my orders and outlook. Then I'll attack.

^^^ Well, I was faced with a conundrum: if I angled away, it would pause at the turn point and be a sitting duck; straight back, and it may have a chance to get below some terrain before the JgPz could reload. I went with a single, straight, reverse.

All portraits shown are straight from the game. Remember, it's a beta, so it may have some placeholder graphics. Any particular unit you're interested in?