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Woot! Vroooms, and next, Roars!

Thankfully, the above post just saved me from having the worst post in this thread. Whew.

Wot? Blimey?! More gin! Not sure if that will relieve the crowding, but it can't hurt, what?

Ahh, yes. I was afraid that incident would be mentioned, even if tangentially. What? More gin? Of course... Where was I? Ahh, yes, the Torpedo Incident of '08. I was moving from my abode in Bangalore, which, at the time, was elevated upon some palm trees. Floods, of course. The elephants were lined up waiting to be loaded. Their backs were at the perfect height to just walk out onto from my front porch. I told Sidrhubwahahanna, the whip-man, that I wanted extra care taken when my torpedoes were moved. He agreed, in that obsequious manner that he had, and took some, lashed together, and loaded the first bunch onto the waiting elephant. Yes, I suppose they did look like a bundle of bamboo. Anyhow, don't know how it happened, but his second-favorite driver, related on his sister's side, somehow set them off just as they left the loading zone. The locals had elephant steaks for a month. Put a dent in my collection, it did. Of course I refused to tip the buggers after that. More gin!!! Carry on...

Gents, Many of you know me from our shared interest in Combat Mission game/simulations. However, today, rather than discussing my proclivity to attack, I need some help. See, I live in Bangalore and I need a mover. Sure, I could just toss some rupees out in the street and allow whoever picks them up into my house and have them grab something and tell them where to take it. But, I've tried that, and you'd be amazed how few of my items showed up at my desired location. So, I need a reputable mover. An elephant would be a bonus, since they sweat onto my possessions a bit less than the man-handlers would. (Of course, they can do worse things, so I must insist that any elephant have a one day fasting period before coming into my house.) A petrol-engine van would be ideal. I know, that's hard to come by. Anyhow, does anyone have a link or a suggestion for me? Ken

oooooohhhhhh. aaaaaahhhhhh. Will we be treated to a "vroom" soon?

Absolutely! Those were the men who had fled to the rear to hide. This was some sort of straggler dragnet stopline position. The best they could do was absorb enemy munitions so that real men wouldn't get harmed by the German fire. As such, you've done the best that could be expected and you've allowed them to redeem themselves. As they stand upon the far shore of the River Styx, I'm sure those gestures they're giving you are meant to express how grateful they are to you. On the other hand, the way your defense is collapsing, the Germans are sure to rush into the vacuum and then be vulnerable to your crushing counterattack! You do have a counterattack planned, don't you?

You know what was against German doctrine? Do you? NOT ATTACKING!!! Get those men up and moving! If they must die, and your reputation must suffer, all for our enjoyment, well, so be it. Still waiting.

Dammit! Stop carping about the weather and start ATTACKING!!!

Gotta love the combination of a good gun on a thin AFV, and a "meh" gun on a thick-skinned AFV. Between them, you ought to get some good work done. Or not. And, yes, I like the naming conventions. Ken

Well...I would take Baneman's (lopsided) force and think it could have a good chance against Bil. I wouldn't want it, but I'd take it. I'll leave it to others to count HE shells and whatnot, but the map is such that Baneman could maneuver his forces via covered/concealed routes and close the distance to Bil. Without infantry, Bil will be hamstrung. Okay, "could be" hamstrung. The key will be Baneman leveraging the asymmetry so that his forces produce synergies not ordinarily expected. (Doesn't that sound good? Sheesh.) Squirt infantry into every crack and crevice, crawl about like cockroaches, and confound Bil so much that he'll face a conundrum on how to counter the crunchies. If Bil has to enter the woods to fight...he'll lose. Baneman needs to use Smoke (mortars?) and get into the woods and then stay there. His tanks need to stay back...on roads...and keep Bil from freely moving about. So...Baneman's tanks dominate the center from 1,000m and more. The Jumbos will shrug off some the 75's (I'd guess...someone else can check). The M36's, good as they are, won't penetrate the front of the Panthers or JagdTiger from 1,000m. I think. (Again, I leave it as an exercise for someone else to test.) If Baneman has his armor unbuttoned, as he should, I'll guarantee that his TCs will have at least one head lopped off by a high AP round. Just the way it goes... The M36 may inop some systems. Baneman's got to make sure he doesn't penny-packet his armor, of which he has a definite paucity. He should keep a few infantry teams near the tanks, in advance, with binos, then move the tanks up, opened up, in a group...so any enemy contacts can get engaged by more than one tank. The rest of his force, the infantry and halftracks, will need to stay in every crease he can find and get into the woods. My .02. Ken

Yeah, the criticisms are always best applied after the fact. Well, you've got what you've got. No excuses. Get your men into locations where they can use their advantages. I like the zerg rush. C'mon, how many could Bil get if you rush them all in the first turn? The Somme couldn't happen twice in a century, could it? Ken "20/20 Hindsight"

Nah. These threads never build the count you think they would.

In a serious vein, a mien not often worn, the lack of armor seems to be a gamble. IMHO. (My biggest weakness...game related ;)... is force selection in QB's. When in doubt, I tend to select "realistic" forces. That's not usually best.) By my count, you have 3 Panthers and one JagdTiger. That's...a few eggs in one basket. The large amount of infantry provides flexibility. That's good. And a lot of eyeballs. That's also good. But...in general, infantry is only good for holding ground, or grinding forward in dense terrain (urban, or otherwise). With the snow, they will get tired more rapidly. (You'd be insane to keep 'em in halftracks. Well, except for the few who will dash about with elan trying to win by coup de main. Those would be the manly men.) I think of men as sandbags: you plop them down and that's where they stay. (Of course, that's probably because most of my men die...gloriously, with my name on their lips. ) OTOH, infantry can absorb more punishment than a tank. One shell kills a tank. That same shell may only kill one man in a squad. Or more. But the survivors will be there and be somewhat capable of action. The biggest concern, to me, is the combat range you're giving up. How many weapon systems (squad, specialist team, or AFV) are effective at 100m? 300m? 500m? 1,000m? Against soft targets or armor? Here's a table: range: 100m....300m....500m....1,000m target type soft: ..ALL........Some......Fewer.........4 hard: ...4..............4.............4...............4 See? You're unbalanced. Most of your force can only generate close range, soft target, firepower. More long-range anti-armor will be something you'll feel the lack of. You do have some good HE tossers with the mortars, but that's only good for suppression (in most cases). A lot seems to be riding on that JagdTiger. If it immobilizes, well, that'd suck. I'd make sure your driver is damn good. (And, barring some inept tactical use of the JagdTiger, about all it needs to fear is a bog...or a lucky hit which knocks out its optics or weapon. (I've got a buck that the first hit on it does exactly that. Just the way it seems to work for me.) ) Your forces are built around close-in firepower and a few long-range punchers. It'll be cool to see how you use them. If you manage to get infantry close enough to Bil so they can use their weapons, well, that fight should go to you. Ken "done pontificating since that bridge has already been crossed"

My point is that there is no "proof". So, let's keep facts straight. There is a question about the modeling, but there is no "known bug". Note that I'm not taking a pro or con stance, merely trying to keep the initial supposition clearly where it belongs: as a supposition. IF there is an issue, I'd think it may be present with other vehicles. Regardless, IF there is an issue, I'd expect a patch to rectify it. The time and effort needed to test it in game is not insignificant. The real-life evidence of qualitative armor resistance of specific locations against specific weapons at specific ranges against a rare vehicle is obviously hard to find...if it even exists at all. Ken

I like "B".

Back to the main point: where was it verified that CM has a bug regarding mantlets?

LOL...I dumped my intern right off my lap when I read that! I don't know that the outerboard is aware of her.

Excellent force pick...for a funeral!!! Gah! Okay, okay, okay. Let's look at the positive: with so much cannon fodder, err, "men", you'll have that many more opportunities for your men to display their martial vigor. Yeah, that's the ticket. Okay, so, we've got what, one JagdTiger and a handful of Panthers? That's fine. The burning hulks of the halftracks will shield them from view. So...halftracks in front, tanks in back. Got it. I love critiquing other's purchases. Now, start swapping turns!!!!

Before I read the rest of your post, I thought all the red "KT #" zones on the map stood for how many King Tigers you thought were in each location! Stupendously wonderful presentation...again. Ken

^^^ THAT is some sage advice. Nothing but MP44's would be...delicious! Ammo resupply wouldn't matter. Once your men are standing amid piles of hot brass, gazing in awe upon the stupendous destruction they have just wreaked upon their foe, they will be infused with the warrior spirit and charge forth seeking to grapple any survivors in hand to hand combat. Or somesuch. I'd ditch any rifle grenade teams. They're so meh, especially when fielded with MG42s and MP44s and all the 'schrecks and 'fausts you should have. Use their points to buff up the remaining guys. Don't forget that you can use tanks to ride into battle (about as far as you should with halftracks, anyhow). Too many halftracks may eat into your JagdTiger budget. Ken

"It was the opposite of an ambush. It was a disaster." QFT. LOL. That was a great line. Ken "Whetting my appetite as I wet my finger to turn another page"

I think this sentence should be parsed. Ken "looking for clues in all the wrong places"

Who ist der dummkopf in der house??? I'll bet his commander wishes he'd put a covered arc on him. More. This is a page turner in serious need of new pages!

Great idea!