c3k

Oooh, the old "and then the turn ended with the incoming round frozen in midair"! Keep 'em coming.

Yeah, and look at the AT weapons in vogue in the mid to late thirties. 20mm was "normal" and 37mm was "hot stuff". (Long barreled.) Support weapons, stubby barrels, were larger, but not much. The 75mm of the PzIV was the cat's meow. So, it was expected to FACE, at most, 37mm ATG's. The chassis could only take so much more weight. As they uparmored the PzIV, priorities had to be assigned. The sides and rear were very vulnerable by late 44.

But, if someone makes it as scenario, I'll gladly play it.

Reading Bil's posts, he seems to have a great grasp of what's happening. However, the crux will be if he can DO anything with that knowledge! He (to me) correctly sussed that GaJ is stalled out with his main force and that GaJ's tanks are milling about without a clear plan. (Harsh, that, but essentially correct.) By the time GaJ gets his tanks in a shooting position on his left, Bil's Stuart will no longer be easy pickings. They're both sparring. When they decide to close in and slug it out, it will be fast and furious. I'm still waiting for Bil to commit his tanks.

How close to the nail head? Well, we'll have to stay tuned to find out! Who's turn is it? MORE!!!

^^^ Yeah, you have done some (limited) intel dumps. Let the players play. Ask away, but don't put information into your questions. Good example: "GaJ, how do you feel your tactics are working against the enemy tanks?" Bad example: "GaJ, how do you feel having to fend off Bil's veteran tank battalion which has direct sight onto all your areas of advance? Will you modify your advance once his air support comes into play?" See? Both are somewhat tongue in cheek, but one is bad, one is good. Ask, participate, but if you cannot find where to draw the fine line needed, then go gonzo in the Peanut Gallery thread. Anything goes over there. (Both GaJ and Bil are prohibited from reading that.) Onto the game: GaJ, MORE SCREENSHOTS!!! Please.

^^^ No doubt a piece of shrapnel cut the receiver in half, or somesuch. (At least, that's how I get my head around it.) Oh, and the in the gunner's last moments, he removed the bolt and buried nearby so only he could find it. Alas, he is no more...

Did someone mention Nazis on the Moon as being unlikely? Have you not watched Iron Sky?

Okay, GaJ is moving UP! Tanks on the plateau!?!? That sounds like a recipe for disaster! It's the old, "If I can see everyone, they can all see me" problem. I hope, for his sake, that the plateau is not as exposed as it seems to be. Bil has done an exemplary job of utilizing every scrap of intel. I've never been a point counter type, but now I can see how devastatingly effective it can be. He's sussed out a LOT of information from just a few scraps of data. Ooh, it's about to get interesting! Ken

I like how you appear to've blanketed your entire front-line with eyes. I know that I frequently don't scout enough, or put out enough flankers. Nicely done.

Do you keep your tanks opened up, or buttoned?

1. If you go higher, you get the direct top down view. It "sticks", as long as you don't change the camera elevation, as you go back lower. 2. Try FACE or COVERED ARC. This applies IN a building. Is that to which you're referring? Ken

"Aaaahhh! Mein Herr, der blue arrows!" Cool shots.

Interesting. No use of HUNT and COVER ARMOR ARC? Do they even work together? (Meaning, hunt forward and only stop if you have LOS to an armor target.) Ken

Buddy-aided and acquired an extra one?

Morale blow? You call THAT a morale blow? I've just lost 8 tanks in one little field to an opponent with 3 German squads and YOU think THAT'S a blow? You need to transfer into one of my units. I'll show you how to take a gut shot! (FWIW, I'm getting destroyed in 2 pbem games and also in one vs. the TacAI: oh, how fickle a mistress this game can be!) Get back in the fight! Ken

Contacts on the right, contacts on the left, spotted and seen, And up the middle rode the 2nd platoon. (My apologies to the Light Brigade.) What could possibly go wrong? In a more serious vein, your approach is VERY analytical and is interesting to watch/hear about. Thanks, Ken

How critical is that radio to your OBA? Surely you'll find a volunteer to crawl over, under fire, provide buddy aid and perhaps get the radio if it's needed? "Dammit, Jim, I'm a Doctor not a radio operator!" Ken

If you want to lure the enemy into the open, then short-ish cover target arcs. Again, lots of variables. Remember to MOVE your troops if you want them to survive, if possible, without leaving cover. A static troop is a dead troop.

That's an oft-reported, classic symptom of mis-applied patches and/updates. Most who report that error had left a mod folder ("Z" or somesuch) in their data folder. All reported normal behavior after removing the mods, then applying the patches as PER the INSTRUCTIONS. (I'd link to them, but then, my men aren't the ones with their arms sticking out. )

Such a large part of the East Front involved fighting in city outskirts, villages, woods, rough terrain, etc., that there is plenty of fodder out there to reduce the 4km sightlines. Those big open spaces did exist, but only in certain areas. Look towards Kharkov, for example. Or, from the middle of Army Group Center's zone all the way up to Leningrad. Villages, woods, etc., make up a LOT of the ground, which is hilly and broken by streams and rivers. Not great tanking country.

A Ferdinand would've been impressive! It's heartening to see GaJ sending his PzIV's over to his left. It looks like he MAY be trying to use them offensively. Like we've all mentioned, the key to this battle will be the tank fight. GaJ is behind and has to even the odds. Losing a PzIV would be a big blow. Losing both may as well be the game. However, if he just sits them in an ambush location w/a keyhole, then they're essentially out of the game. He can't afford to do that. They MUST be in play. That forces him to use them offensively. Glad to see he's doing so. The key will be how well he makes out. He'll have to be pretty cagey AND a bit lucky. Ken

Release the dogs! Sounds like a decent idea, having your tanks hunt about. The power of the offensive is what wins! What do you think he has?

Bil, Most EXCELLENT screenshots! Give that combat photographer an award. Eagerly awaiting your MAJOR move.

Yeah. He's got to USE his PzIV's. Right now Bil is being a bit coquettish with his tanks, but GaJ should see that he is outnumbered in the armor battle, and all the problems that could cause. GaJ has to take the initiative to balance it out. Maybe he's hoping that Bil will be foolish and advance some tanks where his PzIV's can ambush them?