Detroit Guy

LOL! Intersting, thanks ryan. D guy

*still hasnt made it to the library* damn real life keeps getting in the way of my hobbies! GRR! D guy

Thanks for the follow-up. I gave it another go last night right after putting up my last post, and in my infinate wisdom (stupidity) i thought i'd try a "homeade" strategy which seems to work fairly well in other games (well pre-industrial revolution wargames anyhow) I piled up all my army on the enemy right flank (my left) except the spotters which i put on the big hill as usual. And putting the tanks at the bottom of the big hill hoping to "pop up" over that small ridge there when the panzer is aiming at my guys.(thus not aiming at my charging troops) The dropped a little smoke and CHARGE!! Lol.. well after taking about 50% casulties plus having a rag-tag tried out "leftover" group I took out all the bunkers on the enemy right but was so beat up after it that taking the big hill was pretty much a pipe dream. Also my idea of getting the pazer to face my guys (thus giving me a side shot against that damn german steel) didnt work out. I'll give it another go either tonight (if i have time , gotta get ready for the bar) or tommrow. Back to trying the above concepts. The devil is in the details. Just because i was so sick of getting my ass whooped , i played the senario again with %100 troops on my side (allied). Quite a bit easier .. LOL. Although it underlined the fact that i have a LOT to learn, in that i took an insane number of casulties even with 100% troops. I've never really studied "real" combat tactics. But the bits and peices that i've always heard goes something like this... (mostly from Civl War generals being quoted) :Pile up as much firepower as possible on one small flank area of the enemy, crush it, then move up the enemy flank a bit. Which, i thought was a sound idea, but in this senario it doesnt seem to work. Indeed, most of the suggested ways to tackle this mission include attacking both the right and the left flanks at the same time. While im sure this is the proper way to do it , basicly because EVERYONE seems to say this, im not sure "why" that is. Wouldnt it be simpler to somehow just blast the hell out of one flank and then move on? (not that i know how to do this) LOL Damnit, spent to much time in the message boards now im REALLY gonna have to hustle to get to the meat market... lol thanks again guys D Guy

Rise and Fall of the third Riech is good? I have it burried someplace (i got it at a book closeout sale about five years ago) but told myself i wouldnt read it till i read a book about WWII overall (as well as watched some sort of overall documentary) might have to dust it off soon though. Iskandar...Leckie's War of Northern Agression? LOL... yeah that was a good read. Although i wouldnt recomend it for Civil War "newbies". I actually wouldnt recomend any books at all for people new to a given historical subject. Find a good documentary first, then move onto books once you have a quick "overall feel" of the subject. Still havent made it to the Library to see what they have for WWII documetary stuff. LOL D Guy

scratch that "i read all of the above" part, i read all of the messages as of last night, didnt read the "wait till all your re-enforcments come" one. (which so far of the 4 or so breakdowns ive read thats the first time i've seen that suggestion.) Also i keep one platoon back to be later loaded up on the tank re-enforcments, basicly because i was told too. Not really sure what the point of doing that is, as if i just advanced them, they would be "in play" before the tank re-enforcments came (thus no need to "speed them" to the front someplace) D guy

What does Cuba Libre mean anyhow. Context? D Guy

Guess im gonna try to get my ass to the library agian today. I thought i'd get "one last game" then head out.. but then it was 6pm and i still had errands to run AND had to get ready for the meat market .. er.. i mean bar... Got me some phone numbers and a nice hangover LOL. Guess ill try again to make it to the library to day. D Guy

I read all of the above , as well as 3 differnt breakdowns of how to take this mission from what i read in a search of the forum archive. I only had a chance to play the game once last night (and just woke up from a hangover a bit ago) The computer wiped its ass with me again. I loaded up all the spotters and mortars on the big hill. (all but one at the start and ran the one left in the right-hand deployment zone over there after starting) Then Started movig the 2 Tanks and 1 Platoon from the center to the enemy right flank (my left) Advancing that platoon that starts on my left foward toward the wheatfield/two-story and diagonally moving the 2 tanks and the platoon from the center (leaving one platoon back to load up in the tank platoon(?) that shows up for re-inforcements) As well as advancing the platoon on the right up through the forrest to my right. Well, before re-inforcements came my guys on the left (wheatfield) side where chewed up pretty bad by the pill boxes. (should have smoked bunkers before advancing. (doh!) Both Shermans taken out by that freaking anti-tank cement pillbox, which, up until that last game i played where never able to see the cement AT box from that far away, but again should have smoked before advancing. My guys on the forrest side were blasted to all HELL by either some lucky mortar fire or by that damn anti infantry gun (im not sure which, because even though i tried like a madman to find them i guess they stayed concealed somehow) I was pissed off at that point and just surrendered. Oh well, Guess ill try again tonight. Idiot Me: 1. They Pilboxes got the wheatfield guys basicly because i didnt think they (the boxes) where so effective at that range and thought i could use the spotter to smoke the boxes (target for smoke) and then advance my guys, and by the time my guys got into range the smoke shells would hit. (wrong) 2. Just had no clue that AT pillbox could see my tanks from the OTHER side of that far ridge. Live and learn i guess. 3. Dunno what i was supposed to do over on the forrest side. My guys moved up.. through the trees.. once they got out to the other side.. BLAMO. One turn. Try again i guess. 4. Probably would help if i knew what "hull down" and "in-defliable" meant. LOL 5. The fact that i suck probably doenst help the situation. Ill get thoes kraut bastards eventually though. hehe D Guy

This is a subject i have ZERO info to base an answer on, except to say that i understand 100% what this guy wants. But if WWII books are anything like Civil War books the existance of a Coffee table book AND a good read AND novel-style "good read" (all three qualities in one book) is about as easy as finding a hooker with all her teeth in downtown detroit. You usually can find two of thoes features (usually pager-turner and well resarched) in the same book. But good maps and photos (lots of them) and a great read are not often found together. You can find a "Decent read" and maps and photos though. Just for some reason it seems that the really good writers dont do coffee table style books, dunno why. Myself i tend to stay away from the multi-volume styles. Reading 1500+ pages doenst really read like a "single story arc" (which is what i assume you are looking for) it reads like half a dozen books that just happen to be given one overall title. D guy

Thanks for the tips guys, im gonna search the message board for topics relating to this mission once i get dont hitting reply on this Various people have been nice enough to offer to play me. But right now its fairly pointless as im still learning the interface and i take a long time to move while i check ranges and try to get a feel for all the different troops and how they move and what their stats are and such. Me talking half the day to move would just piss people off, as well as the fact that i have between zip and zero chance of beating anyone. With chess, you know what all the units do within an hour or so, at this point im still learning "how to play" the game. thanks again D guy

The basic design of this game is great. I wish battlefront could get some larger publisher money to add some people to the dev team (with a good contract that doesnt make them Sony or somones lap dogs) D guy

Well Said D guy

just as an aside.. does the term "panzer" mean tank? Or is it a specific CLASS of german tanks? Just Curious D guy

Hi Gang, Yes i am still playing the Demo (its fun!) Im having trouble "beating" the second mission with any kind of respectablity. I'm Playing as the allies. I can get a "victory" but my casualties are always so rediculous that i dont feel like ive actualy won. If anyone has the demo loaded on their machines (or is bored to death and could load it up) and take a look at that map and the starting units. Im not really sure what im supposed to do to beat this map other than to just arty the hell out of them and then rush with inf and hope they dont kill to many of my guys to where i have nothing left for the "final" push for the big hill on the oposite side of the map. Right now what i've been doing is Massing the Infantry and Armor up the center and then moving them over to the ridge to the left overlooking the valley on the "left" of the map. Then artying the hell out of the troops that my guys can see from there (the German Victory point on the oposite side of the vally and the pillbox in town) usually by the time i've reduced these postions im out of most of the arty. Then when i push forward the damn Panzer G (which i assume is an "elite" type tank) can be seen and it basicly wipes the floor with my ass. The panzer seems to be able to stay alive even when i manage to get all SIX (count em SIX) of my shermans pound on it, usually killing 4-5 of my shermans before they nock it out (heck, this last time it killed all six of them) if im lucky i take out the panzer.. and then just by atrition if my troops havent had the hell beat out of them to badly i make a final push and usually take the town and the "big hill" on the far side of the map giving me a pretty pathetic victory with basicly 60-70% + casualties. Any overall ideas on how i should deploy , move, and attack on this map would be apreciated. Espcially the order in which you guys think i should try to take various postions.. i assume right now the best thing to do is to take the valley to the left (as the pillbox on the right hand side of the map can basicly be ignored as it never has any Decent LOS to my tanks to kill them. This game is a blast btw. D guy ICQ 4821972

Oh and BTW for all you guys concerned that to make this site "more professional" that that means , adding frames, tons of java animation, shockwave stuff, ect. For the most part any over-use of that stuff is just as bad as what we have now. Turning this site into a three-ring animations&frames circus would be WORSE than what we have now. Not my intent at all D guy