c3k

I'd already set the B3/demo team in motion. (Remember, this is WeGo.) Here they are, at 1:08:26... And here they are at 1:08:18... Either sfhand snuck someone into position, or he witheld fire for a nice effect. The cool outcome of this - for him - was leaving my demo team with only one demo charge. If a line infantry unit provides buddy aid, I'll lose the demo charges carried by the wounded engineer. If my demo team provides buddy aid, I lose the timing for blowing into the Key Field. Also, they'll be exposed to whichever unit has LOS/LOF onto that spot. Grrr. Well done, sfhand. Well, they're a demo team and they have a demo charge. The mission takes priority. I'll leave all three men writhing in the road for now. I'll send the demo team back to strip the bodies later.

The most important action of the turn, to me, is here: I've got eyes onto my "Key Field", including any dead zones. It's unlikely the far side of the field is defended. In order to enter this "Key Field", I'll have to blow a tank-sized gap in the bocage. It's time to order up the demo team and the rest of B3...

Since I left that three man team running towards the bocage, let's look at them a few seconds later, 1:08:59... This could be ugly. If they cannot control this part of the bocage, then I'll have to expend more effort. Orange and Blue Teams are in position and are providing security. Let's see what happened... Two dead, one fleeing, one facing. That facing guy could be bad juju. A grenade or some automatic weapon action could be bad... A few more seconds later... All is good. One thing to notice: the Orange Team, top screenshot, is the one that has eyes on that German team. They are the ones that clearing the bocage for the Yellow Team. It was a nice bonus having an LOS from there.

^^^ Terminal velocity is terminal velocity. It is the velocity where the force exerted on the object by gravity (F=ma, m is mass, a is acceleration (gravity ~ 9.81m/s^2 or 32 ft/s^2), is balanced by the force of aerodynamic drag. F=1/2*rho*V^2*Cd*S. rho is air density (increases at lower altitudes); V is velocity; Cd is coefficient of drag (primarily a function of shape); S is surface area ("how much" stuff is exposing that Cd). You can balance the equations and solve for V to determine the terminal velocity for any object of a specific mass, Cd, size, and altitude. A shell casing would have a low Velocity.

Dammit, man, he's BEGGING you to just move that Elefant forward and end his misery! He's even put that M10 in front to enrage the beast. Put him down. It's time. Just roll that big ol' Elefant up, and blast everything you see. Toss a little Brummbar in, as well, just for good measure. You may not enjoy it, but every man needs to face the tasks for which he's responsible, head on. Take it out back, tell it how good it's been and that you love it. Then put it out of its misery.

Terminal velocity would limit any damage. Would I want to be hit on the (bare) head by a casing dropped from 1,000 feet? No. Would it kill me? No. (Likewise, a bullet fired STRAIGHT up will stop, then fall back to ground, but it will be tumbling at that point, and its resultant terminal velocity will be far lower than its muzzle velocity. That won't kill you, either. If it has a horizontal component, then it may retain enough horizontal velocity to kill: that's why innocent bystanders get killed when idiots discharge firearms into the air in "celebration".)

Had lunch at a shop outside an airbase. I shared a table with an old guy. He'd flown B-25's over Germany. He talked about un-assing out at low level, for the reasons I listed. Plus, it let the gunners unload .50 cal on everything they could see. I asked about tough situations. He stated that he did lose an engine once after leaving the bombing target. No, not from a fighter. He hit a cow. Low level works to increase survivability. (WWI, altitude worked: you'd be past the interceptors before they could climb to meet you.)

And then, just to round out the final move of this minute... This team has finished giving first aid to the man that was down. They've come out through the gate (just in front of the just-destroyed Stuart) and are gaining a toehold on my side of the bocage which the Stuart had been area-firing against.

While all this goodness was happening on my left, I heard something on my right... Well, that seems to've come from the German spot labeled "Huh?" several postings upstream... And this is where it ended up: And here is what happened... Sfhand put that 'schreck in a great spot. The center of that far field has a keyhole LOS through to my plowed field. My area fire was all too short. No matter! I am willing to absorb all the HE he can produce. I will merely send more men and machines.

And some closeups of the fight pictured above: Life is all sunshine and flowers for me this turn. Or is it?

Let's look to the left... I've got C1 slinking around while C2 moves to flank some Germans... Here it is a few seconds later...

Okay, back to the current action. Turn 12, 1:09:47. By B3. The area fire has been going on for almost 2 full turns. I've got infantry across the road. Let's get something better there... This could be dangerous. That's okay: I'm willing to risk my men. They thank me. He could have something waiting in that field, or along the bocage. Shrug. I've got enough eyes out there that I'll spot and kill whichever unit he uses. I'm not sure what that new spot is. Shrug. I'll get to it.

Okay, a bit earlier Bil Hardenberger questioned my lack of armor on my center/left. (Remember, ALL this fighting occurred BEFORE any posting on the forum...) Here's the overview at 1:10:00 (End of turn 10): Bil hit the nail on the head. I've got plenty of armor working on my right. I need to get something over on my left. I put the demo team up in front of C2 in order to blast a gap or two for infantry. I can use them to help the tank, as well. I hope sfhad sees the rooster tail and rushes whatever antitank elements he has over to the left. Or, at least, he doesn't move antitank assets from middle/left to my right. The rooster tails (tank and previous jeep) should help keep some units pinned with indecision. We'll see...

Flying low had a very great benefit vs. enemy fighters. By hugging the dirt, you've eliminated the ability of the enemy to come up from underneath. That's minor. The BIG benefit is that it removes the ability of enemy fighters SWOOPING in on you. There is no "pull up" room. If the enemy dives down on you, they die. They've got to -ease- down. That gives your tail gunner a much easier shot. Defensively, staying low is very good. As well, it reduces spotting time. Drawbacks: inability to manuever; possibility of crashing due to minor deviation.

Excellent detailed explanation of picking and choosing overlay layers. Thanks. Ken

Dollinger vs. the Firefly: The Firefly gets hit by 2 other penetrating impacts on its left side during the fight, while the Tiger is missing. What else was shooting at the Firefly? Ken

How high was their altitude limit to ensure their torpedoes did not porpoise or break?

And this is how it's done: A combination of suppressive firepower, deployed infantry, bold maneuver, and, of course, outstanding leadership. Child's play, really. Of course, once you get some men across, you need to get MORE men across. Soviet bridgehead style is best. Not a single casualty crossing the road or entering the field. This is better than savegaming vs. the AI. They say "pride goes before the fall". Perhaps that is true...for lesser mortals. We'll be in Berlin before Christmas, men.

Grrr.... More.... Turn 10 (ish). down to 1:11:00. This shows the turn at 1:11:12. I've labeled my platoons as B1, etc. That should get even the newbest of you up to speed. Over on my right, B3 is the tip of the spear, the lead point, the high motivated individuals. I've got two tanks in position near B3 to spray down sfhand's likely hiding spots. I shall call them "orange" and "blue". Their yellow arrows, pictured above, show where they're area targeting. They are buttoned up. No brain splatters for sfhand! He'll have to pry open my armor before he can get to my men's brainpans! Close examination between the two highlighted tanks shows the icon for my team which just took a casualty. They're hors de combat...for now. I'll allow them the chance to erase that yellow streak later on. My men give me a "huzzah" for showing such forbearance. "You're welcome, men." A closeup of B3 and the blue tank: Deep in the shadows of the bocage in screen-middle are the huddled team with the out of command icon. Over on the right edge are some other guys, huddled for cover. That's okay, I've got fresh meat filling in the gaps. You can see the smoke from the area targeting my Stuart is laying down. MG's and 37mm HE. Well, the HE may not be worth much... I may need to swap over to TARGET LIGHT to get both MG's in action, rather than just the one. (TARGET uses the main gun, rather than the coax. Either way, the bow MG will fire. In this case, I think the coax would be better... I'll fix that, later.) Here's a view, just a few seconds later, showing the left side: You can see that C3, although not exposing itself unduly, is pressuring the middle. C2 and C1 are doing fine work on the left.

Give that man a ceegar! QUICK is far better for scouts. HUNT would maximize their ability to spot and duck. That's not their job. Their job is to absorb enemy bullets. How can they do that if they're on the ground hiding? QUICK gets them into the fire zone that much faster! Seriously, HUNT isn't what I like when I suspect they're about to be shot. QUICK ensures that they will keep moving through the killzone. HUNT will drop them into the muck and leave them there, even if their morale is still good. If I'm feeling out a =distant= enemy, then I'll use HUNT. Within the confines of a small bocage field, I want them moving, unless I've given them a pause. I PAUSED the scouts in the tall grass to give sfhand a chance to expose his men...and my men a chance to spot. Then I moved them forward to try to trigger another ambush. More screenies tomorrow...

Gratze, mille! (Or something...)

Look on the bright side: your forces are doing an exceptional job of running his Brummbar out of ammunition. It'll have to stop firing at some point. Right? Stop that quivering lip and get in there and attack something, somewhere, somehow! Ken

I like the brixia option, myself. (Of course, the brixia is FAR better than the 50mm mortar, so perhaps reduce the ammo count.) Second choice would be using British 2" mortar.

A "blood board"? You've created a "blood board"? Aaargghhh!! Will this man NEVER stop?!?! Sweet AAR...

Getting a more solid contact: I love it when my men carry ammo and weapons forward and then remove themselves from the rations list! Good job! If you look closely, you'll see three survivors next to the red cross. They're currently huddled behind the bocage. And then, behind them... B2 sits, as still as mongoose, biding their time...