MrSpkr

My oppo has gone dark on me, so aye be good IMO to have a wee nudge sent to players.
 
Cheery!

I was on vacation until this past Monday, able to post initial turns (basically set password) beforehand and started returning turns on Monday.  As Syrian side, I was able to eliminate my opponent's US small force in about 4 minutes of game time by Wednesday.  As Americans, my side is holding up pretty good after 4 minutes.  But I have not received turns back since Wednesday and because there is no way to contact my opponent (as no e-mails provided) i have no way of knowing if they have bailed out, or if they are experiencing a real life situation (e.g., work, vacation, ...). I certainly could not let my opponent know that I was away at the start of this.
I feel the communication aspect of the Tournament system is a weak point and should be addressed.  Even if it has to be done in a manner that anyone wishing to join the tournament has to provide BFC with an e-mail so that there is a way for opponents to communicate.

I enjoyed it.  Working with small units is so much more challenging because you have no margin for error.  Losing a vehicle transporting a squad could mean losing ten percent of your combat force in a single blow!
I do tend to think that, when all is said and done, the Syrians have a decided edge here.  There are chunks of the US setup area that can be under Syrian observation from Turn One.  A clever Syrian commander who knows this can position rockets and tanks to strike a critical blow against the Americans within the first minute or two of the game.  I think that should be masked a little better.
 

Per Matrix/Slitherine’s Tournament Rules, the first round is totally random; after that, they match by scoring ladder position (1 vs. 2; 3 vs. 4; etc.).  The only exception to that is they will not match two players who have already faced one another in that particular tournament.
https://bit.ly/43g8FCy

Per Matrix/Slitherine’s Tournament Rules, the first round is totally random; after that, they match by scoring ladder position (1 vs. 2; 3 vs. 4; etc.).  The only exception to that is they will not match two players who have already faced one another in that particular tournament.
https://bit.ly/43g8FCy

I got a little lucky with artillery.  At about ten minutes left, I dropped a 120mm shell right in the middle of three suspected infantry units (sound contacts) that had been forming up for an assault.  That caused him to delay his final assault on the Syrian right until about the five minute mark, when he advanced infantry and Strykers. I happened to have exactly ONE RPG guy on the lee side in good enough morale  to defend against multiple vehicle contacts.  He hit the first Stryker to emerge from the smoke one (though he did not destroy it) just about the time my adjusted artillery really started pounding the position.  At the two minute mark, the Americans tried to rush the objective 1 reverse slope, but a nicely placed rocket from a team on a rooftop knocked out his lead vehicle on the left, causing the others to fall back.  My adjusted artillery fire began firing for effect, dropping shells on his men (and my own - I'm pretty sure that's how the platoon commander died).  The artillery and the (very light) small arms fire from the remnants of the Syrian infantry on the reverse slope convinced his troops to drop in place just outside the objective as time expired.
The Syrian left (objective 2 reverse slope) was largely uneventful.  I was able to plink against his vehicles with some very accurate long range RPG shots, and had some fun with my tank ducking in and out of a hull down position to knock out his Strykers (until one of his Javelins nailed it.  He tried to rush the position in the last few minutes, but my infantry was in decent order and, backed by an unconventional truck, I was able to break his attack fairly easily.
One lesson learned - I need to pay much more attention to the impact of slight terrain elevation changes on LOS.  I had a pair of ATGM units that were largely useless due to undulations in the terrain.  Had I placed them better, my tanks might have lasted longer because I would not have needed to expose them to enemy fire as often.  I also learned that, despite their having a 5200m maximum range, SAM units need to be much closer to the area under attack to be effective.  Mine were on a roof in the town.  They had a great view of the Longbow tearing up my vehicles and strafing my men, but did not fire a single shot.  ☹️
I think the US had the tougher tactical problem than the Syrians.  The Syrians win or lose the game in the setup phase.  The US forces have to attack.  Had I played it, my plan for the US side was to move somewhat aggressively with my infantry units on the left while keeping the Strykers in hull down positions (as best as possible)to protect against incoming Syrian fire from reverse slope Objective 2, and play for time until teh Longbow arrived.  After that, I intended to try and inflict maximum casualties rather than seize objectives in the hopes of getting his men to surrender.  But, infantry attacking across open ground is risky.  It would have been interesting to play.

Finished one battle as Syrians. I largely relied on a reverse slope defense, though the guys on the Syrian left made multiple cross-map shots to help out the other side of the battle.
 
Discovered the joys of calling artillery down on my own positions (partially, anyway) during the last four turns in order to prevent the flag rush I know he was preparing.  Won a tactical victory (poor placement of certain assets on my part kept my score down).
A very fun little battle.

Finished one battle as Syrians. I largely relied on a reverse slope defense, though the guys on the Syrian left made multiple cross-map shots to help out the other side of the battle.
 
Discovered the joys of calling artillery down on my own positions (partially, anyway) during the last four turns in order to prevent the flag rush I know he was preparing.  Won a tactical victory (poor placement of certain assets on my part kept my score down).
A very fun little battle.

Finished one battle as Syrians. I largely relied on a reverse slope defense, though the guys on the Syrian left made multiple cross-map shots to help out the other side of the battle.
 
Discovered the joys of calling artillery down on my own positions (partially, anyway) during the last four turns in order to prevent the flag rush I know he was preparing.  Won a tactical victory (poor placement of certain assets on my part kept my score down).
A very fun little battle.

I think if there was a way to get your opponent's e-mail that would be a good first step.  I had a ghost player in the first beta tournament (CMCW) and it was frustrating.  Could not contact them in any way to find out what was going on.  Even tried looking up their names on the Battlefront, Matrix, Slitherine forums but no luck.  Mainly, if I recall correctly, there were no ways to look up a forum member by name on any of the forums in order to check out their profiles and DM or email them.
 

Your approach was fine given information available.  No matter what, people would inevitably play the "B-b-b-but Smerch!" etc card if Fulda Gap: RL Edition doesnt occur.
 
The scenario gives what unit it does.  For all we know, an Abrams brigade was nearly wiped out by a massive barrage two-battles over.  All we can do is focus on the fight as it pertains to us, and the units which we field.

Bud, I blame you for my losing some sleep last night! 😁
Seriously, glad I discovered this! Keep up the great work!