c3k

How true! Where are my deerskin gloves? Somebody needs to be slapped! I'd love to see the arty get some killstats for what it does. Ken

LOL. I can't be held responsible for what my aide de camp reports. Regardless, once I post more, we'll see who had the last laugh.

Bil, Great job. Congratulations on almost taking the objective. Now give us some kill stats on the Elefant and Brummbar! Thanks, Ken

GaJ, Great job stepping up for a second bout in the public arena with Bil. It was entertaining and enlightening. Thanks, Ken

That would explain so much...

Yes, my voice may be ringing in your ears, perhaps as loudly as that JgdPzIV round has rung the M10, but admit it: your men are grateful for the chance you gave them. I know mine would be. Ken

Yeah, it would be great if BFC would introduce a change in the game in recognition of this oft-cited issue. Ken

We, the headquarters party, were enthralled by c3k’s mastery of the battlefield. As his aide de camp, I felt a great deal of pride in his accomplishments. We were just behind the front edge of the battle, barely sheltered from the fighting.C3k’s eyes flitted from his map to his radioman. He barked out short, crisp commands. Suddenly, the Charlie Company executive officer rushed into our bivouac. “Sir!” he reported, “Charlie 1 and Charlie 2 are hitting some resistance. We’re taking casualties! We’re jammed up in a line behind the bocage. You’ve got to let us move. Jerry’s sure to hammer us! C3k showed inhuman forbearance. Rather than give the implied rebuke in the executive officer’s report any credence, and to give that officer a chance to rethink his statement, c3k merely gazed at the situation map and continued to work on his cigar, ignoring his scotch much as he’d just ignored the other officer. “Sir!” he continued, “didn’t you just hear what I said? You’ve got to let us pull some squads back!” At this, c3k could brook his umbrage no longer. He slowly turned his head and fixed his icy glare upon the poor executive officer. A dread silence descended over the headquarters. Dripping with sarcasm, c3k asked him, “Perhaps you think you should be in command here?” “N-n-noo, sir” he said. “Really?” replied c3k, “because it seems like you think I’m making a mistake. Perhaps you don’t want to be up front fighting the Hun, but your men certainly want to be. Are you saying that I’m incompetent, or are you asking to pull back because you’re afraid? Are there others who feel this way in your company, or is it just you? I’ve been fighting since the Romans crossed the Rhine! I’ve fought every battle of the American Civil War! I’ve commanded sailing ships, iron-clads, the 6th Fleet! When Alpha Centauri was invaded, I was there!” he thundered. “I was at the Somme, at the bloodletting that was Verdun, and in the air over the muddy trenches! I dropped with the Starship Troopers and fought the Skinnies and the Bugs! I’ve raced Monte Carlo! I’ve fought across all time and space and you stand there and dare to tell me that I don’t know what I’m doing? Is that what’s happening here?” I could see the blood drain from the executive officer’s face. As that happened, we all also heard his bowels let go. C3k let a look of disdain cross his well-worn, handsome, yet rugged, features. ”Well,” he continued, “wouldn’t it be better if you could assault the enemy with the same vigor with which you’ve just assaulted our olfactory senses? Get back to the fighting and erase this incident from my memory by performing a suitable act of valor” “Th-th-thank you, sir”, he stammered. With a “Dismissed!” c3k turned back to the map and gave some more orders. The executive officer hurried back to the front. With a contemplative swirl of his scotch, c3k worked on his cigar and got back to the business of commanding the battle…

Over on the left, the attack is running into some defenders. That's cool... As the turn develops... Finally, as the turn ends, I really like how my left side is lined up. Despite the enemy, in their own line, my guys don't have any open flanks. There are a couple of odd objects coming down. Spotting rounds?

Turn 14, 1:06:55 My Studs! on the right are gaining the bocage flanking position... Yes! It pays off. Now, this should be quick work. A few seconds and a few grenades later: Unfortunately, the Studs! are 50% down. That causes them to flee. Yes, they are now fleeing Studs! This is how it fits into the overall B3 scheme: Regardless, B3 is doing well...

Finally, still the same turn, here's the benefit of flanking a defense rather than going in head-first: These are my C3 flankers. They went up the central road, bypassing The Field o'Death, and gained the position I wanted right after my light mortar bombardment ended. You can see the welcome that sfhand had set up for me. That's barbed wire along the orange lines. Vicious, huh? Next, my flankers will mow down anyone along that bocage. One good turn deserves another. Thus far I've had something around 15 total casualties. Perhaps 2 or 3 KIA out of that total. (~7 on the left, 1 tank crewman, ~5 on the right, plus whoever I forgot about.)

B3, far right, at the end of the 13th minute. While B3 lays down area fire, I threw several smoke grenades (after checking the wind) and ordered a team forward. The trees are off to enhance the visibility. That team of studs needs to clear the "blue line". That will open up that entire flank for the rest of B3. The smoke will help B3 close with the blue line. There's a nice gap in the blue line that B3 can use to enter the field. I'll do that to secure my penetration's flank, as well as close off any safe haven to any Germans escaping from the front bocage block. I've picked an endpoint for my Team o'Studs such that they will have LOS over the entire blue line. That will unhinge any defense of that entire field. Here's a ground level view: Once that tall grass field is secured, then B1 and C3 can clear the bocage block up front. That will free up those 2 platoons to wreak more mayhem. That's a good thing.

Same turn, let's look at the right side. Again, this is THE critical zone. (To me!) I've got B3 penetrating almost to my Key Field. B2 is sitting back, in reserve. B1 is lining the bocage, providing some support and staying out of the way. After sitting in position, B1 has provided some valuable intel: That LOS is not something I'd expected. However, it shows the worth of keeping some guys stationary. Their situational awareness improves the longer they sit. The schreck team may, or may not, be the guys that took out my Stuart. Regardless, in order to use the Key Field, I've got to control the bocage lines. B3 will be ordered to close with and capture the tall grass field. They thank me. While B3 preps to go over the top, I continue mortaring the sunken drive in that first bocage block. B1 is looking at the right part of it, and C3 is manuevering around on its left. A bag o'Germans would be nice.

As the 13th minute wound down, here's my left: My guys in green cannot see any Germans where I thought there'd be some. My guys are cowering and not quite up to the corner. So, maybe they just need to crawl forward a bit more. Of course, they're horribly exposed to the Germans in the wheatfield. It happens. Here's an overview of my left, at 1:07:01. Like I wrote in the screenshot, this is fine. I'll gladly have a battle of attrition to pin down the defense. I'll keep pushing, especially to flank his line, but every German out in the field is one less German in a village house. That helps me. A lot.

Turn 13, 1:08:00 down to 1:07:00 Despite the WIA that C1 has taken, I'm pushing them forward to the line of bocage on my side of the road. Based on incoming fire, I think sfhand has positioned a team on the road. (See the picture in the post above.) So, this is what's happened: I put one squad left and split it. Part, in green, is going to lay down some justice on those Germans. In order to get them there, the guys in blue will secure that corner spot. The blue squad took a few hits. Sfhand has that area covered nicely from his wheatfield line. If I can get the blue guys up to the bocage, they'll gain some cover. Meanwhile, I'm pushing more guys through the bush field, up to the road. Ten seconds later, at 1:07:15, my left (C1 platoon) took more incoming... Every German bullet fired here is a bullet not fired on my right! A closer view of the bush field: (There are a total of three casualties. Two are on top of one another in the middle of the field.)

Okay, I'm back... Remember that tank I sent to the left? Here's what was going on a few minutes earlier which prompted that decision: Open fields, casualties, etc., etc. C1, my platoon on my far left, will continue to press. I want to stress sfhand's defense. Hell, I just want to stress sfhand! Enough stress will lead to fractures in his will. When he crumbles, so, too, will his men. Flesh is unimportant: will is all. Onwards!

Some specifics would help. =What type of gun? =What range? =What target? =What terrain is the target in? Ken

TC casualty on the Elefant? This is your chance! While the crew is busy planning a suitably Teutonic burial ceremony, rush the Elefant! So much more manly than being led away to a lonely stalag somewhere...

If you're serious about searching for a product with the best ballistic simulations available on the market, you won't find anything that beats BFC's games. It may be a leap of faith, but the demos are free to download and use. You, the player, don't get armor quality information. Why? Well, did Hans or Rolf know whether or not the glacis plate of their Panther was quenched properly? That information is under the hood. Now, how is it used? I don't know. Do all late Panthers have the SAME exact armor levels? Or, are some "golden samples" and others are nerfed? I don't know. Reading between the lines of many postings, I'd hazard a -guess- that all tanks of the same model are treated as being armored identically. However, that doesn't mean that they'll act the same with the same type of hit. I think there is a bit of deviation built into the game to model slight differences. A bit of a bell-curve. I don't know. Good question... Ken

JonS, This is an outstanding piece of work. Thank you for taking the time to create it and share it with us. Ken

Well, it's not so much meant to be a human flesh simulant as much as it's meant to be a replicable impact simulant. Human flesh is very different than ballistics gel. Bones, density variation, ligaments, tissue, etc., are VERY different. However, ballistics gel gives a basis of comparison from one test shot to another. That consistency is its strength. (Do I really need to point out the pun in that statement? Really?) If you wanted a human flesh simulant, pig carcasses are useful. It's very difficult to recreate the thinness and toughness of the human body. Dude, we're the friggin' apex of a predatory pyramid. We didn't get here because we're easy to kill. Just sayin'... Ken

What's so interesting to me (aside from your entire AAR ) is how similarly your Allied oppo is developing his attack to the way mine unfolded. So far. Ken

Quick! While he's not paying attention, attack his forces! Capture his Elefant and have it rampage amongst his own men!

Interesting that a RAM disk is twice as fast as an SSD. I wouldn't have expected that. What software are you using for your RAM disk?

And finally, a few overviews as the 12th minute comes to a close... Above, you can see the right side, stripped of trees. I'll spend the next few turns working towards getting the blue and white lines. I've tossed a couple comments into the screenshot to show what I think I'm facing. Above is the overall view. My M5, in blue, is reinforcing the C1 left flank. They'll need a bit of firepower to push through the wheat fields across the road. I'm already getting fire from some Germans over there. C2, orange, has secured the building cluster. C3, yellow, has secured the foothold into the initial bocage block which should have sfhand's screening force. The green circle is some mortar action. I want to bottle the screening force into that bocage block. The driveway which is the focus of the mortars is sunken. It's a great hiding spot. I hope he's got a company stacked in there! Anyway, a bit of HE for interdiction purposes there should contain some forces while C3's yellow group works the bocage from left to right. They're the hammer: B company is the anvil. C2, orange, should cover any squirters trying to get straight back over the road. It's not perfect, but it'll work.