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I'm skipping straight to Question 8: when will you ever get to the part when you actually start attacking??? Or is this some HQ induced plan to lull the enemy into complacency? In all seriousness, what you're doing is an outstanding example of how all pre-mission planning should be conducted. It minimizes casualties, and maximizes the opportunities for success. Very solid: you should show your bosses what you're doing. I appreciate your sharing all this. Thanks, Ken

Yeah. I'd like to get icons over fortifications...in the game. Now, they only exist when placing. Once the game starts, all the fortification icons disappear.

C'mon, you don't have Shturmoviks coming in after the rockets? Rockets are fun...but only in stupendously large numbers can they affect the balance. Usually. Love your screenshots and overlays.

My .02: You seem to have advanced the two teams through the SAME terrain. The second team (the trail unit) gains nothing by doing so. As well, with no lateral offset, they simultaneously decrease their outgoing firepower while increasing their vulnerability to incoming fire. Offset one team laterally about 2 or 3 (4?) action spots. Never have one team directly behind the other. With the lateral offset, the stopping positions of your two teams would resemble footprints, as opposed to a wheelbarrow track (or pogo stick tracks?). Sometimes terrain does not allow that type of offset.

I like the way you're not afraid to use your men's deaths to advance your career. I think that's the mark of a great commander! Lesser men would try to save their little, pathetic, worthless lives. Trust me, they have no future. Allowing them to die, gloriously, is doing them a favor. That armored car crew on the left will thank you. In a serious vein, the scouting teams on the left: HUNT is tiring and takes time. Personally, once the lead element HUNTS to a position, I will QUICK the follow-up element until they're even, then HUNT them forward. HUNT-QUICK-HUNT for one, QUICK-HUNT-QUICK for the other. (With the obvious tactic of keeping one element stationary while the other one QUICKS.) Nice analysis on the HMG opening up. Once you start shooting an HMG, you'd better be ready to keep firing. I'm surprised he didn't give an area target 15/30 second burst (J or J+J) at the "?" he must have. Since he did not, I think you're spot on with your analysis. If his HMG can shoot down the road, surely your AC can shoot up the road? A few bursts may pin his HMG (don't expect any permanent effect). That will keep the HMG from shooting at your scouts, and my keep them in place for the rockets. (If they opened up too early, your oppo may try to extricate them. Not likely: HMG's are usually a key part of the defense, not a tripwire meant to fall back.) (Nothing here meant as a criticism! Just offering possible courses of actions, etc.) Post more. MOAR!!

What?!?! You gave me a down vote? I'll attribute that to command paralysis. Scouts, man, scouts. Those are the men who no one else in the squad likes. Scouts are miserable curs and know the best thing for themselves is to seek death. You'll do them a favor if you use them. That HMG? Far better if two scouts were the bullet magnets rather than the whole squad. (Plus, if they survived the road crossing, you've got a two-man maneuver element in overwatch for the rest of the squad.) Split 'em, watch 'em, THEN move 'em. Or link arms, shout "urrah", and surge towards victory!

Lol! Have your men rifle through the hq's pockets. They may find some vodka or binos. Tanks can help infantry. Just sayin'.

Like Bil said. Plus, my .02: if it has a flag on it, it should not be leading the assault. Use your cannon fodder. You've got those SMG squads: toss 'em into the fray...ahead of your high value assets. SMG squads have smgs, and they cannot modify/call in any arty: only HQ's and FO teams can do that. Get them back and get a meat shield in front of them. If the enemy can toss a grenade in its hatch, your vehicle is too close to them. Just a rule of thumb. I think you'll roll the resistance up pretty quickly...but just hope you don't lose the HQ or FO.

Bud, When Bil and I agree on a tactic or technique, a stonemason should be called and it should be chiseled into living stone. What you do with the stone after that is totally up to you. Show us pictures of the explosion! Ken

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Shift. Get some guys (the platoon w/hq in the southern trenches) up to the farmhouse. Don't press up on the hedges with them. Once Ian does that, those guys can gun 'em down. Or something. You've got to get some auto weapons to fire along the road, from behind hedges if possible, to slow down Ian. Tell your landsers that each man is expected to bring down at least one of the enemy. Then show them what you mean. Edited: By "something", I mean use them to do something useful, like, you know, shoot at the enemy. If they go up to the bocage, Ian'll shoot 'em up. If you pull them back (in the farmhouse or the next line back) then they can have cover and prevent Ian from entering the farmyard.

Awesome!!! Your oppo has taken bull by the nuts! Or the early squirrel got the horns. Whatever. I love the early ambush. That'll keep ya honest. Never, never, never, poke your head up unless you've got another 2x more sitting there to bop the other guy. Three's the number. Triangles again. Who is on overwatch for that armored car? Why are they buttoned up? How did a rocket propelled munition get fired and no one is pouring lead on the position? An aggressive defense will stifle the attack. Unless there's rocket artillery on the way. I was about to suggest peeling off two T34s along your startup edge. One echelons off at the center, the other at AOA 1. The sound contacts should/could confuse your oppo, and that'll get them in position, hull-down, to see what's going on. Oh, EVERYBODY unbuttons until they start getting small arms fire or arty. Eyeballs are more important than armor. The riders the two tanks had should stay by AOA 2 and be split into teams. Those 4 teams are your cannon fodder. Err, "scouts". One moves, one delays THEN moves, the other two overwatch. Then they switch. Bounding overwatch, etc. A tank or two pokes up (same time as the other two T34s) and stays hull down and provides fire support. My .02. Gotta love that defender. Sending a team far up just to bop you on the nose. Nice.

I've been using your buildings and really love the extra "oomph" they bring. Thank you!

Triangles: I start with Lines and only advance to Triangles when I think the player is no longer a Novice. By the time you'll have advanced to Octagons and Nonagons, you'll have Grokked the essence of battle. The delay is not a bad idea. However, rocket artillery is very unpredictable. I'd keep my troops FAR away from the impact zone. Or vice versa. I've walloped my men with rockets too many times to count. (I do it to show them I love them.) Ken Edit: It looks like your SMG flankers are using Assault for the last movement segment?

^^^ Yesss...the dark side pulls you.. In all seriousness, a hull-down position which can fire upon both tree lines may be well worth it for some overwatch elements. If the defenders have to guard the length of the woods as well as their flanks, your attack can be assisted by the "fire base" of your triangle. (Two maneuver sides, the base is the fire.) Weight whichever side you like (as you've done on your right), occupy the left with a minor attack so the defenders there, if any, can't assist against your right, and the center guys can pick off any armor with flank shots. If he has non-turreted vehicles, the center force will really light 'em up. I'd put two tanks left, two tanks center, and the rest on the right. FWIW. Edited to add: the timing of the center's exposure will be important.

If you don't send SOMETHING up the Field of Death you're a total pussy! While AOA 1 defenders are looking to defend their zone, the AOA 2 defenders will be doing the same. No one will be looking in the middle! The lucky bastards chosen for the glorious Field of Death attack will be able to flank BOTH defenders. Do it. You know the defender has assumed you'll never go up the middle. Therefore, you must. Think of your men. A jeep, a flamethrower, and one PPsh. It'll be the key to the whole battle.

Yeah, I sent out invites to two newbs who wanted to tutorial via pbem. I told them to pick everything. (Both wanted QB.) I told them this is a tutorial: winning/losing doesn't matter. One quit when his Tiger died. No emails, nothing. Another did the same when his Sherman tank rush failed to work against two stugs and some shrecks. So...I no longer offer tutorial help. Rage quitting is unacceptable. (Had it happen in a tournament.) Ceasefire and surrender is totally acceptable. Usually my oppo's will communicate the desire to ceasefire, unless it's tourney play. As for me, if I'm losing, I'll tell my oppo I'm ready to surrender, but will happily continue until the clock runs out if he'd like. Sometimes it just feels good to wipe the board. I wouldn't deny anyone that kind of fun. My experience has been that the vast majority of pbem'ers are mature and good-humored. It's what brings the game to life.

Both of those last drivers had a bit of a lesson... Glad the last one was buttoned up.

I like the "Passenger" (and other status) indicator being added. The ammo status in red is nice. Toss in the right-facing weapons and faces, and you'll have a better UI...IMO. Regardless, a healthy discussion about the UI is a pretty good thing.

Ian's "Rash Road Dash" was pivotal. He broke through the center. Now the German flanks need to hold, but the northern flank is already non-existant. Ian's got a lot of forces pinning down the southern German defenders, if not outright eliminating them. The Germans must attack.

Of more immediate concern to me was, watching the Stuart video, noticing how the Stuart kept rotating away from its target.

Vere haf your Pantsers been? Ja, schnell, schnell. Der Panzer ist der...solution. Rock, paper, scissors. The PPsh is deadly. Heavy weapon (stable), light round (low recoil), flat trajectory (to 100m or so), and lots of ammo (71 round drum), means deadly within 100m. Stay beyond 500m to deal with them.

Or, you could go here https://youtu.be/dsYfn8yg41wfor some weather perspective.

The stars are also correct: Time of year, latitude, time of night. Go navigate across your game map based on your favorite constellation. Wind: the "compass" is the cause for a lot of confusion. It is really a camera facing indicator. The compass is fixed to the map; the arrow moves with your view. Is that the confusion?

What IanL said. VaB: very cool "time lapse" image.