c3k

White 2 bonus Whoever that was (arty spotter? DMS?), it looks like they'll get away...

Turn 27 4:00 to 3:00 Cripes. I forgot to post the pix of White 2. He successfully removed the top floor of that building, but I got a hard spot on a fleeing soldier going out the back door, out of LOS. And White 2 can't give chase. Ken

IMHO, I wouldn't allow already purchased support artillery to be used for counter-battery. I understand how flexible modern arty is. However, things like MLRS/Grad are used for the counterbattery role, moreso than the stuff which supports maneuver units. As well, dedicated support units would not be retasked in the middle of troops in contact. So, I'd make it a pre-battle allocation, with some hefty points needed. Shrug. Just an idea. Heavily abstracted, of course.

Turn 26 5:00 to 4:00 I find a squatter IanL moves out, trying to go before DMS' brings some sort of destruction down in the last minute. White 2 finds a friend and will say "hello". Blue 2 and 3 move forward, and will begin a big hook back to the bridge. I'll toss some fire at the location where I last saw an HQ survivor in the mid-game, on the way back. Ken

Turn 25 6:00 to 5:00 White 2 is doomed. But then, aren't we all? Okay, aren't all of MY guys? Blue 2 and 3 are down to 1 or 2 rounds of AMP each. Blue 1 took a beating from that autocannon strafe. He's backing up next to IanL, between the houses. IanL doesn't want to be anywhere near a tank being hunted from the sky, so he displaces to another building. The endgame approaches, nigh! I'll begin to move Blue 2 and 3 back towards the bridge...just in case DMS has some trick up his sleeve. Ken out.

^^^ On the flip side, my Abrams really haven't engaged in much anti-tank work. The T90's are good, but DMS would've had to give up something else. His arty devastated my infantry (and sent me back to my buxom nurse's gentle ministrations). Would he have given up some arty for T90's? His Kornets have been a pain. Would those have gone? Luck plays a part. Moreso in this one. (I'm being a bit reckless...and the casualty roster shows it.) However, purchase decisions have consequences. You can't just say, "if I'd had 4 more T-90's..." without also adding, "...I'd have given up...". Ken

Yeah, a bit of US AAA/SAM defense would be good about now. (It'd be a nice touch to add an optional "Air Superiority" or "Fighter Sweep" purchase option. Its only effect would be to negate any enemy helo/cas. Maybe even make it an element vs. an element. E.g., if I purchase a two-ship element of "Fighter Sweep", it would negate one element of my enemy's air support (assuming a two-ship air support element). Of course, if my enemy bought a Fighter Sweep AND CAS, then his Fighter Sweep and my Fighter Sweep would neutralize one another. Simple, but effective? A similar purchase of counter-battery support could neutralize any off-map arty, one battery per.)

Well, the APS question for Blue 1 just got answered! More in a bit.

Thanks for the kind words. In exchange, an update... Turn 23 7:00 to 6:00 Abrams are opened up and roam. Bradley fires. Aircraft and artillery are above it all. Immobilizing White 2 is not great, but he is in a very nice position...if DMS is in The Wilds. White 2 interdicts that road nicely, and has good LOS to the nearby area, including any exit out of a gully to its left. Of course, I fully expect some more precision artillery rounds to drop on it. It will not survive the next 6 minutes. I offered the crew the chance to leave the vehicle. To a man, they demanded that they be allowed to remain at their duty station to the bitter end. I acquiesced to their request. THAT'S the kind of men who fight for me. Ken

IanL lives, for now. See http://community.battlefront.com/topic/118353-free-copy-aar-c3k-vs-dms-no-dms/?p=1589579 IanL's fate is not mine to command. His was written in the stars at his birth. Where will they lead him? We will find out, soon enough...

This has been an EXTRAORDINARILY fun game. Win, lose, or draw (okay, I can't win), DMS has been a great pbem partner. I'll post an update tomorrow. FWIW, I do NOT peek at the next turn until after I've posted here. No revisionism allowed. It's sordid, in a soiled way. He's got jets and helo's? Or, is this all some Frogfooting going on? Ach. It matters not... He must get to the bridge or the game is a tie! Edited to add: I post mostly pix, because it's easier to mash the F10 button than trying to describe the action. I try to keep the bridge, or some other landmark, in the screenie, so you don't get lost. Fun stuff abounds...

Turn 23? 8:00 to 7:00 DMS is pulling out all the stops. Or, at least those which are left. And this was a SLOW turn! Well, I lost my scroungers. But at least I lost them in style! The Abrams go on a bug hunt. I don't think they'll find much, but it's fun zipping them from one place to another. They've got 1500hp turbines for a reason. I don't know why White 2 has had the Lase tag on it at start for the last ~10 turns. I'll check with DMS later about that. APS saved the day with Blue 1. Of course, I'm wondering when that bridge is gonna drop!

22 9:00 to 8:00 We're in the Final Countdown... Not much. My Abrams and Brad do as they're told. Of note: As the turn ends, a jet engine rips by. I've searched the sky, and there is a tracer coming STRAIGHT at the front of Blue 1, on the bridge. I've ordered him to reverse, then fast, all whilst staying within the confines of the bridge. DMS may be trying to nuke Blue 1 from orbit. This may not work to his advantage. Also of note: I have a soft contact near DMS' setup zone of a BTR/BMP in motion, moving towards my Abrams. Excellent. I'm ordering them to go that way and meet the "threat" head on. The Brad stays, to seal DMS in. Ken out.

Exactly. This turn, as planned, the two Abrams are lighting up the structures near DMS' abandoned Tigr. I hope to get a reaction.

Turn 21 (ish) 10:00 to 9:00 Not much... The units are getting thinner and thinner on the ground, like survivors from a zombie apocalypse. My Jav finds a resting place. The Brad getting lased had some arty drop nearby. Krasnapol? It lives, and so, it moves. (Modern combat: it moves, so it lives.) My Abrams and Brad have Area Target orders for next turn. I don't expect to hit DMS, but flushing him out would be good... My struggling survivors search for better guns. In a turn or two, I'll pull my Abrams back and make a tight perimeter on the bridge. Or, perhaps, I should pull back, and entice DMS to come closer? Hmmm.... Ken out.

^^^ THAT's what I'm doing wrong! sfhand and I have exchanged the 100th turn of this cycle. Man, that's a lot of data...

Yeah. DMS' arty, and my moves, have resulted in total death. I've only got scraps. My FO team, 3 Jav men, 4 crew survivors, 3 infantry (all light wounded), 2 wounded snipers, and a wounded IanL and mate. That's 16 men. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be much. But they're MY men, and as such, they're motivated to a level 5x greater than if they had any other commander (living or dead). That makes them worth about 40 mortals. They will attack. That's why I'm trying to gather up some better weapons.

Turn 20 11:00 to 10:00 Road rage at a traffic light Again, I'll let my pictures do the talking. Okay, I got lucky with the BTR ambush. Blue 3 sits and waits for DMS to show himself. Once Blue 2 joins him, they'll start demolishing everything. DMS got lucky that the bridge held. That BTR won't be so lucky. Ken out.

Turn 19 12:00 to 11:00 The only thing faster than DMS' artillery, are his turns! Some stuff. My Abrams meet some friends. Photo dump follows. Out.

^^^ LOL! Too much information! Remember, what happens in the East, STAYS in the East!

Turn 18 12:00 to 11:00 Dual Dueling Dance of the Denouement The turn starts with a twist! Zooming in... Back at the bridge, the Red Hammer keeps falling! My roaming Abrams... Ahhh, I have found his abandoned vehicle. It is idling. He left in a hurry! My plans: He is hiding in the orange box, a place I call "The Wilds". I don't have the manpower to search. I will use firepower, instead. I'm bringing both Abrams around (after Blue 2 detours just to put some eyeballs on his setup zone). I want to keep a bit of distance from where he could be, and definitely keep my front armor towards possible hiding locations. From the bridge, I'm bringing White 2, my Brad, as shown, to the flats beneath The Wilds. Hammer and Anvil time, Hammer and Anvil... Ken out.

I'll try to give you JUST that opportunity!

Taking this comment as it's meant, in jest. However, it DOES bring up a point. When should you give your opponent the victory? (I've already mentally doffed my cap to DMS.) In my opinion, there are three phases to every battle: before, during, and after. I'm kidding. 3 Phases - The pre-contact plan - The harsh realities of casualties - The end point, gutting it out with what's left Once the second phase occurs, the heavy casualties or outflanking, when it is clear that you cannot win, then you're about to transition to the final phase. Personally, I enjoy that last part more than the other parts. This is when you have to make do with scraps. You've got to adjust your grandiose pre-battle plans to the realities and no matter what happens, it'll end up being ugly. Now, sometimes it never gets past the first phase. Those are fun, but not challenging. If I quit now, as it's in the final phase, we'll never know what'll really happen. I don't quit or ceasefire unless my oppo asks. Sometimes it's fun, for your opponent, to mop up every last man. I wouldn't rob him of that joy. Other times, it's just time to be done. This battle started as a gamey, fun, loose, fight. It shall continue as such.

In miniature, but still fun to watch... I'm willing to bet that one of them will get immobilized. I don't WANT that to happen, but what I'm doing with them is somewhat un-sound. To prevent it, I'm trying to present a threat, then quickly reposition to another location. My Abrams on the road is ordered to do a fast dash away from there and cut through some backyards in the middle of the village. I'm betting that DMS will posture towards the roads (they being the fast routes), and therefore by cutting cross-country through closed terrain, I'll avoid any reaction force. See, doesn't that sound good? It's really just because I love watching tanks crush fences and things.

Turn 17 14:00 to 13:00 Not much activity. I don't think DMS has much left. A BTR or two I've seen scurrying around, a remnant or so of 2 Kornet teams, maybe some surviving crewmembers. That HQ unit which I labeled "DMS???" still has one man left. Here are a few photos... Risky to move my Abrams through a built up area with known enemy having been there? Yeah, but, c'mon, do you think a grenade can do anything to an Abrams? I'll push them both through his town, come out on the far side and look around. I'll grab his high ground and see what I can see. I tossed down some Area Target from the Brads on top of the two "?" spots from before. As I got closer, the nearest "?" disappeared (Kornet 4's brief location). This shows how fragile some of my guys are. They're aware, in a gut feel sort of way, that a lot of men have died. Finally, a crater analysis: The majority were created in a 2 or 3 turn period...just as I was launching across the bridge. The timing couldn't have been better. DMS did a fantastic job with this. If you look closely, there are a lot of little stick figures lying about. Those were my men. (I prefer to think of all my men as stick figures. It makes TO&E diagrams easy, as well as making it easy to erase them from the TO&E diagrams after turns like this.) Ow. IanL is lucky to still be about. He'd stuck his head through the one wall of the house...the next turn, the adjoining shed in which he was poking was demolished.