Dave H

Yeah, Snarker, we're waiting for them here, too. Apparently all they do is reproduce and then die. Several landscapers have told me they don't chew up the foliage like, say, a Japanese Beetle. About the only signs of them are the racket they make and the increase in bugs smashed on the front end of your car. I bring good tidings from the BDLRM!! First, an even dozen players are participating. Bravo!! Second, there are now Allied armored units burning in a most delightful way. More to come, I'm sure. Third, the gamey Wallybob and his flying circus seem to have exhausted their ammunition. You should have seen his attack! An entire hill exploded! I never have seen so many rockets. :eek:

Fiefdom? Bah, humbug! I can't join alliances because my barbarians would go home. Not that I want to join one.

Axe, you uber-maggot, I sent your BDLRM turn out about half an hour ago. Quit posting pictures of UFOs and check your e-mail.

Yeah, nothing like a few rockets to start things off on the wrong foot. :mad: I hope when it flies over and strafes your men it does as much damage. My troops still insist it's a P38J. Maybe it's really an A-10. Or it could be a Sopwith Camel. BDLRM setups sent to Mike and Lurkur last night. Snarker, I sent your turn to the address you gave above, too. The competition is fierce. I get to shoot lots and lots of Allied thingies. What could be better?

To get back to your original question, and to ignore the half-wits who have answered previously, here's the true story. Long ago, shortly after the earth cooled, the fabled Seanachai challenged the equally fabled Mr Peng to a game of CMBO, which became the birth of the Peng challenge thread. Originally it was used for a very limited group of old geezers to taunt each other. Somewhere along the line the heierarchy of knights and squires and serfs was grafted on. They even have a queen, the thoroughly delightful YK2. The point of the thread has now drifted away from Combat Mission challenges and is now primarily a thread for Elvis to call everyone "wankers". A lttle over a year ago, the forum witnessed the arrival of a new member named MasterGoodale (the maggot). His enthusiasm for Combat Mission was so extreme that he started creating a multitude of threads to extoll the virtues of the game. In order to keep him from pushing all of the other threads back a page or two, Abbott created the Cheery Waffle thread, where MasterGoodale (the maggot) could post to his heart's content. A few of us began posting in his thread, mainly to egg him on and see how outrageous he could be. Let me tell you, MasterGoodale (the maggot) was something to behold! Sadly, he became the victim of mold or ants or some other infestation of his home. Anyway, BFC has been generous enough to allow both of these threads to continue. The Peng thread is home to a very exclusive and organized club, where the long time members delight in abusing new people who wander in unawares. The Cheery Waffle thread has remained fiercely disorganized, and welcomes anyone who cares to drop in, as long as they don't take themselves too seriously. One other difference - in the Cheery Waffle thread the use of graemlins is encouraged, while the Peng thread members (or <font size=1>penguins</font size=1>) abhor graemlins.

<font size=5>Good Morning, maggots!</font size=5> Due to popular demand (thanks Jim boy Boggs!), here's a quick BDLRM update: Unlike last time, when most of the Soviet players opened with massive artillery bombardments, my Germans have been undisturbed by shelling. One maggot did have a P-38J (which he insists on calling a P-47, like we can't tell the difference :confused: ) begin strafing on turn 2. Unfortunately, this pilot seems to be able to tell the Germans from the Allies and keeps shooting at me! :eek: What else...I've spotted Sherman IIs, Hellcats, a Stuart, M15s, Greyhounds, lots of halftracks, and plenty of infantry. We also see lots of gray tanks? and light armor? My defenders have exchanged a few shots so far, mostly with machine gun fire, at long range. It's still amazing how much detail you get about infantry riding on the back of a tank at 1,300 meters. Could we really tell there was an infantry squad and a sharpshooter sitting on that Sherman? So far I've got Axe, Robohn, PseudoSimonds, Thermopylae, Teddy Windsor, Keke, _Uxcva, Snarker, and Wallybob going. I've sent turn 005 to Snarker three or four times, and he keeps whining that I won't send it. I'll bet his neighbors are intercepting his e-mails. I guess I need to send the scenario to Mike again, whose system seems to have crashed. _Uxcva's friend Tugboat is getting started. Lurkur has asked for more information about the tournament. :cool: One request to the players - please don't post anything about the German units you've discovered. Borg spotting within one game is bad, but if you're spotting for someone in a whole different game, that's even worse! Remember, it's to your advantage to let the other players run into that minefield, or get ambushed by that panzerfaust. Loose lips and all, you know. Like last time, I'm keeping notes each turn, so I can do brief AARs afterwards. My plan is to end the game with lots of burning allied armor on each battlefield. Sadly, no fires to report - yet.

Speaking of best of the best, here's a unique guy's entry from an on-line encyclopedia. Otto Skorzeny (June 12, 1908 - July 5, 1975) was a colonel in the German Waffen-SS during World War II and is considered by many as the best commando in the history of modern warfare. Born into a middle-class Austrian family with a long history of military service, Skorzeny was a noted fencer as a student in Vienna in the 1920s. He engaged in fifteen personal duels, and on the tenth of these he received a wound that left a dramatic scar on his cheek. He joined the Austrian Nazi Party in 1931 and soon became a Nazi storm trooper. He showed aptitude as a leader of men from the very beginning, and even played a minor role in the German takeover of Austria on March 12, 1938, when he saved the Austrian President Wilhelm Miklas from being shot by Nazi roughnecks. When the war broke out a year later, Skorzeny, then working as a civil engineer, volunteered for service in the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) but was turned down because he was over the age of 30. Failing that, he turned to the Waffen-SS, the military branch of Germany's elite storm troopers. On February 21, 1940, Skorzeny went off to war with one of its most famous units, the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and fought with distinction in the campaigns against the Soviet Union in 1941 and 1942 before being wounded and returning to Germany in December of 1942, a winner of the Iron Cross for bravery under fire. After Skorzeny had recovered from his wounds, a friend in the SS recommended him to the German military leadership as a possible leader of commando forces Hitler wanted to create. It was in this role, in July 1943, that he was asked personally by Hitler to rescue Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy and a friend of Hitler's, who had been removed from power and imprisoned by the Italian government. Almost two months of cat-and-mouse followed, as the Italians moved Mussolini from place to place in order to frustrate any would-be rescuers. Finally, on September 12, Skorzeny led a daring glider-based assault on the Gran Sasso Hotel, high in the Apennines mountains, and rescued Mussolini with very few shots being fired. The exploit earned Skorzeny worldwide fame, promotion to major and the Knight's Cross, another major German military honor. On July 20, 1944, Skorzeny was in Berlin when a plot against Hitler's life was hatched, with German officials attempting to seize control of the country's vital organs before the dictator recovered from his injuries. Skorzeny helped put the rebellion down in the capital, actually spending 36 hours in charge of the German army's central command center before being relieved. In October 1944, Hitler sent Skorzeny to Hungary when he received word that the country's Regent, Miklos Horthy was secretly negotiating his country's surrender to the Red Army. This surrender would have cut off a million German troops fighting in the Balkan peninsula. Skorzeny, in another daring "snatch" operation, kidnapped Horthy's son Nicolas and forced his father to abdicate as Regent. A pro-German government was installed in Hungary and fought with Germany until that country was overrun by the Red Army. Two months later, Skorzeny led a panzer brigade of German soldiers in the Battle of the Bulge disguised as American soldiers in an operation known as Operation Greif. A handful were captured by the Americans and spread a rumor that Skorzeny was leading a raid on Paris to kill or capture General Eisenhower; this was untrue, but the Americans believed it and Eisenhower was confined to his headquarters for weeks. He spent the first two months of 1945 commanding regular troops in the defense of the German province of Pomerania as an acting major general. For this defense, Hitler awarded him Germany's highest military honor, the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. Skorzeny surrendered to the Allies in May and was held as a prisoner of war for more than two years before being tried as a war criminal for his actions in the Battle of the Bulge. However, he was acquitted when a British colonel testified in his defense that Allied commando forces also fought in enemy uniform. Still, he continued to be held until he escaped from a prison camp on July 27, 1948. He settled in Fascist Spain with a passport granted by its dictator, Francisco Franco and resumed his prewar occupation as an engineer. In 1952, he was finally cleared by the German government of any wrongdoing in the war, which enabled him to travel abroad. Later on, he worked as a consultant to the Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser and the Argentine dictator Juan Peron, and is rumoured to have assisted several of his friends in the SS escape arrest in the years after the war. Skorzeny died a multi-millionaire in Madrid in 1975.

Has everyone seen Soddball's thread in the General forum? Apparently his younger brother has been diagnosed with cancer, and the doctors estimate he only has a few weeks to live. Let our good friend know we are thinking of both him and his brother.

General Douglas Macarthur, who kept his B-17s parked in neat rows hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He squandered the United States' single strategic asset in the Pacific in the first hours of the war. Well done! The German commander on "The Rat Patrol". He captured various patrol members repeatedly, but they always escaped; he sent wave after wave of armor after them; he lost dozens of infantry to them every week; and somehow he stayed in command? If he couldn't defeat 2 jeeps with his unlimited resources, what chance did Germany have to win the war?

I'm sure it was an oversight, maggot. I attempted to edit my earlier post and ended up losing the entire addition. Years ago I heard Mr. Gay on NPR describing his experiences at Midway. After his aircraft had been hit, and his gunner killed, he flew directly over one Japanese carrier. He could clearly see the bombers being armed, and for a fleeting instant thought about crashing into the flight deck. He suspected the crash would doom the carrier. Immediately, the knowledge that crashing would definitely be fatal for himself outweighed his suicidal thought. He went ahead and ditched his plane, and ended up with the best vantage point for the destruction of the Japanese carriers. My kind of warrior, with a highly developed sense of self-preservation. As Patton said, "No b------ ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making some other dumb b------ die for his country."

Jim, if I remember correctly, there was only one survivor from the torpedo squadrons. Ensign George Gay from Torpedo 8 of the Hornet had the best seat in the house for the dive bomber attack on the Japanese carriers. He has a very interesting interview here. I was amazed that he said before the battle he not only had never flown carrying a torpedo, he'd never even seen a carrier aircraft take off with a torpedo. On the other hand, he had watched Doolittle's B-25s take off from the Hornet. Pretty peculiar experiences!

My nomination is Count Luigi de la Pene, who led the attack on the Royal Navy base in Alexandria on the night of 18-19 November 1941. With only three of the first human torpedos - the "Siluro a lenta corsa" (SLC) or "slow course torpedo" and five crewmen, de la Pene won a devastating tactical and strategic victory for Italy. Both of the British battleships in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Queen Elizabeth and Valiant, were sunk. In a cruel twist of fate, the Italians never knew about de la Pene's success until it was far too late to take advantage of the situation. Both British battleships, although resting on the sea bottom in shallow water, appeared undamaged in aerial photographs. The ruse was enhanced by burning oil to create clouds of smoke from the funnels, as though the ships were prepared to sail at a moment's notice. The sinking of two battleships by six men was one of the truly outstanding feats of the war.

Nine BDLRM battles are underway. I'm already seeing some very gamey behavior from various maggots, just as I expected. I knew I could count on you guys pushing the limits of gamey to new heights (or new depths)! What a boring day at work today! There was almost nothing to do. After setting up my brand spanking new fief, the biggest problem I faced all day was MrSpkr's missing keys. I spent far too much time in the GF today, and for this sin I am truly sorry.

<font size=5>Good Monday morning, Cheery Waffles!!</font size=5> Another Kentucky Derby weekend has come and gone. This may have been the soggiest ever, with up to 5 inches or more of rain in the area. Honestly, I think Churchill Downs is lucky none of the infield drunks drowned themselves Saturday! Okay, you BDLRM maggots, an uber-Finn has joined the fray. Keke is now in the mix, fresh from a few weeks of military refresher training. I was really hoping a <font size=1>penguin</font size=1> or two would accept the challenge, but no such luck. No spirit of competition or something, I guess. The first BDLRM shots have been fired. While it appears some of you must be tunneling your way to the north edge, others are charging forward in an armored parade. Of course, it really doesn't matter, as no Allied troops will be exiting the map. I'm already thinking I should have made this an Allied Assault instead of only an attack. More Allied targets! Snarker, I thought I had returned your last move. I'll check this afternoon when I get home. Axe, I'm really sorry to hear what the weather is like in the metro Toronto area. It's hard to believe spring hasn't made an appearance yet.

Congratulations Dan! Leave it to BFC to team with another innovative game designer. You have a lot of anxious customers on the hook!

In best Howard Cosell voice, "Down goes <font size=1>penguin</font size=1>! Down goes <font size=1>penguin</font size=1>!" Congratulations on your stirring victory! We're all terribly proud of you, maggot. (or would that be magette? magesse? maggotesse?)

Teddy Windsor and _Uxcva have now sent in their BDLRM scenarios. Still some good-for-nothing maggots (no offense) dragging their feet. Keke, are we going to finish the PBEM that stopped a month or so ago? You know, the one where your Sherman has heroicly outfought all the German armor I have thrown against it. Well, my 20 mm armored car counts as German armor!

It's getting harder and harder to pick a fight around here. *slinks away* Let's see, I still need new scenarios from, in no particular order, Robohn, Tugboat, _UXCVA, Wallybob, Axe, Mike (or Stalin's Organ, whichever he is today), 86smopuim, and defending champion Teddy Windsor. :mad: :mad: My turns will be so easy I could probably take another player or two, if anyone else is interested.

Dear map grogs, I spent 20 years (1974 to 1994) at the Defense Mapping Agency, making topographic maps for the US Department of Defense. I think most of you have a very inflated opinion of the maps available in WW2. Until the advent of satellites, most of the elevations on a topographic map, and ALL of the contours, were no more than best guesses by a cartographer. A 1970's era 1:50,000 topographic map had no more than a handful of surveyed points (benchmarks). Even the surveyed points were often inaccurate, because of different datums being used. All the rest of the relief was drawn by a cartographer using a stereo pair of aerial photographs. Mapping in 1970 was just as much an art form as a science. Just guessing here, but I suspect maps in the late 1930s and early 1940s were a lot less accurate. To top it off, even perfectly accurate contours can be misleading. The shape of the terrain between contours makes all the difference in the ability to sight men and vehicles. Where a concave shape can mean perfect sighting, a convex shape can hide an army. You have to look at the ground to be sure.

I'm afraid I have to disagree. You can zoom in right over your pixeltruppen's shoulder to see the lay of the land. Since the actual soldiers made do without contour lines neatly plotted on the ground, I think we can do without them as well. :cool:

Okay, BDLRM maggots, I have received scenarios from Snarker, Thermopylae, and PseudoSimonds. Turns are already out to them. Which means the rest of you mouth-breathing sresol are not paying attention! Axe, this means you! Mike, I don't care if today is a lovely autumn Wednesday or whatever it is for you upside down people, get to it! Teddy, stay in England long enough to select your units! That goes for the rest of you, too! How many days does it take each of you to pick 1,500 points of Allied units? What are you doing, channeling MasterGoodale (the maggot)? GRARGRARRGHARGRAARGH!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Good Lord!! PseudoSimonds is really Julie Andrews!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

You'll be happy to know that I didn't look at your units and I dutifully limited my unit purchases to 15,000 points.... </font>

You'll be happy to know that I didn't look at your units and I dutifully limited my unit purchases to 15,000 points.... </font>

You always were an optimist Dave.</font>