tabpub

I am playing a game with a Swiss(?). I started the game and the turn counter is FUBAR'd(messed up, unreadable gibberish). Other than that, it is playing fine other than being a "weird" random engagement....

I have the same problem in a PBEM with a gentleman with the german version of the game and I don't own a Dell...

just make sure there are no sharpies or MG's around to harrass/kill your gun crew in their 1/8th inch thick uniforms.

Yes, I have seen the same effect, but on a "smaller" scale. I have a 75 IG shooting at T-60's. It has no HC so it is banging away with the HE. One shell hit near a T60 and KO'd it, another was hit with "no effect" in the turret, but evidently it beat a crewman to death inside and they bailed. Verrry innnnteresting....and cool...

That is probably an 8" Howitzer(203mm).

So you could say, start in the foxholes, fight a bit, then retire to your trench line? Or vice versa? Or, better yet, facing an assault go from foxhole to foxhole to trench? could make attacking that sector a bit sticky, eh?

Something happened here that I missed. I too would like to try the new explosions.</font>

try JuJus explosion mod. Nice and bright, and you can see the smaller hits pretty good, w/o the shockwave.

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Dang it Tree, you missed me! Put me down! Again, and again.....oh, I do love it so....

30th! With 2 pastings and a draw. Though I did give out 2 pastings of my own. Much better than ROW 1, but, once again the top dog for the regular season comes out of my section....so, that calls for a new sig line.... [ October 06, 2002, 12:19 AM: Message edited by: tabpub ]

but a pz II with a 20mm AC should not have to have the commander button up. At least for the first few shots...then he may have to assist in reloading...

I agree that the running thru the open being the same as brush, woods, etc. seems concerning, but do you notice the level of exhaustion going up quicker in the heavier terrain? That may be the answer (I hope). The rationale (if this is the case) is that you can run thru the woods about as well as open ground, you will just tire a lot quicker. As to the LOS, were you merely using the terrain tool, or were you looking at something? As in, you can see over the wheat fine, but wouldn't be able to see infantry stationary in the middle of the field?

Juju, while later divisions like Wessel, RfSS, GvonB were not designated "der SS" and had a good combat record (effectiveness)they still should be considered a "step" below the 7 SS Panzer Divisions; not only for having lesser equipment disbursed to them, but also for having a less homogenous troop allotment.

The term "WaffenGrenadier der SS" was used exclusively for units that were predominatley non German. Estonian, Latvian, Ukrainian, etc. Divisons with this title were still "officered" mainly by German natives, but the rank and file were non German. And even "German" units such as Horst Wessel and Reichsfuhrer SS were mainly composed of "VolksDeutsch" that were recruited/drafted from neighboring countries as Hungary and Romania. I can direct you to a text I have if you would like.

well, regarding the tall pines, the manual states that due to lack of underbrush, movement and LOS will be increased as compared to CMBO. Re the woods, that does not sound correct. Los - was that done by inf, armor, or both? Haven't noticed my self, but haven't been looking either.

Ste Mere Eglise Or Wave at your enemy with one hand, just make sure you have the roll of quarters in the other Here we are tasked with counterattacking a large town held by “elite” American paratroopers in presumably reinforced company strength, if not more. We have 2 reinforced companies; one is a Sturmkompanie and the other is a leg infantry variety. The Sturmkompanie is basically Reg/Vet, while the leg trends Green/Reg. Good platoon CO’s in general , with about 4-5 company CO’s to coordinate/assist. In addition we have about 3 HT’s and 7 Stg’s for support! 2 of them are the howitzer variety. And last, but definitely not least, we have artillery support. One is a veteran 8cm mortar battery w/about 150 shots; not bad. The other is, wow, a 150 rocket w/ 150 shots! He is green, but we have 4 TRP’s, so placed right, that will counter balance his greenness. 1. The setup. The ground is not good. I am worried about the cross country mobility of these Stugs. Experience shows that they tend to bog, especially in wheat and scattered trees. In addition, the area on the right is a BIT too open for an advance in my opinion. The left provides wood cover almost all the way to the town. The plan forms. Unlike a lot of situations we find ourselves in normally, we are up against paras. Their lack of long range AT firepower puts them at a disadvantage. So, we will show him the armor, all of it. I will place the Stugs on the rise in the road in my deployment area. They can see the tops of many of the buildings, especially the row on the left front of the town. They will fire into these buildings and level them with the assistance of the rockets. (Think “Ambleve” when you think about leveling something.) A trp will be placed in that area. The others will go: just back of the first crossroad; along the crossing road about 150-200m from the crossroad; and back by the crossroad in the middle of town. I think these are likely “strongpoints” that rockets could soften up, or places where I might need “insta-smoke” from the mortars. After the row of buildings go down, the Stugs will go right down the road with the infantry in accompaniment. I will be quite obvious about it, because I want to draw EVERYTHING I can to the center. Not only to have an arty target; but, to keep the attention there from my left. The left is the real push for entry. 2. Details…. Ok, armor down the gut with 2 leg platoons beating bushes along the road. The right is open over the fields, so I just have to watch it, not have a “presence” there. The other 3 leg platoons lead thru the woods and fields on the left to seek the enemy and pin him. 4 HMG’s sit in the scattered woods on my baseline to overwatch the 2nd stories of the houses; along with 2 HT’s that will bring them forward quickly when we have gained entry. The real punch is the Sturmkompanie. These units will backstop the line infantry and when they find the enemy, close and destroy. One platoon will be in the center to stiffen that advance and be general reserve. The other two will advance on the left and break thru the enemy decisively. 3. The proof… well, other than his fantastic bazookas, which were drawn to the center also, it went well enough. The Stugs did draw every thing in sight, but paid the cost. 4 were knocked out on the road by some amazing zooks. They were swarming like flies and his other infantry were keeping the rifle squads busy. One of the Stuh42’s was immob’d on turn 3 by a mortar round. This left me with 2 operational tanks to break in with. The infantry had to do the job and they did. In the center, I had drawn so much that I had to commit the Sturm platoon to balance the situation. When 2 more rifle platoons arrived, they were committed to the center and we were able to crack the nut there about 16 minutes in or so. This generated one of my favorite scenes in CMBO. He had a full para squad on one side of a house shooting at a HMG in a house 80m in front of it. I had infiltrated down the road on the other side of the house. 1 hq and a squad doubled back into the house, took the para by the butt, while the 42 chewed from the front. 1 min later, no para squad and no casualties for me. Meanwhile, on the left, the 3 lead platoons find 2 american platoons in the woods and wrecked buildings. The Amis shoot them up a bit, but then the Sturmgruppen move up, and kill a para platoon in 1 min. Now the 3 rifle platoons tie up the Americans in the rubble, while the Sturmies move into the town. Resistance is met in the first street that is enough to halt the advance. But, the stubborn rifles root the paras out of the rubble (with a little MG and HE assistance) and move on to hit the resistance facing the Sturmgruppen. His left flank collapsing and the center being ground down by rifle squads supported by the 2 operational Stugs, the American attempted to break contact, but it was too late. 4. Is in the pudding. Having just reviewed the end of battle, I had never noticed exactly how devastating this attack was. I had suffered 189 casualties and 6 vehicles (4 Stugs, 2 tracks), but he had suffered 284 casualties plus the 49 men captured. About 84% of his men were killed or wounded! In fact, of the 49 captured, only 1 was a combat paratrooper! The rest were HQ, MG’s and crews. He literally did die to the man in the line units. I do regret the high losses in my AFV’s; those points were valuable. But, those losses may have been the seed of the American defeat. They may have made him overconfident to the point that he tried to slug it out on the front edge of town too long. I have not had the opportunity to interrogate the Major yet (he was one of the captured), but I believe that with the high quality of troop present that an ambush, retire, ambush again policy might have been in order. Troops of this level of expertise should be able to retire quickly after inflicting heavy losses on troops moving across streets and open areas. By being fixed in place, he lost the “initiative” and allowed me to dictate the tempo. I shall have to try this one myself from the other side to test this philosophy. Final Score Axis 69 Allies 31 Rob Davidson “Tabpub”

Another Day Or The Ebb and Flow of Fortune This seemed one of the more straightforward scenarios. As the American, I was tasked with advancing to control two physical points that were the dominant terrain around a village (more like a wide spot in the road; but hey, I don’t live there). My infantry company would start the advance and be reinforced later with 2 4 tank platoons of Shermans and an additional platoon of grunts. No real plan here, merely advance to contact, evaluate, and improvise. The company started out toward the wood line that lay 400m to the front. The platoons jumped of in a staggered V formation so that the trail platoon could support either lead. The heavy weapons of the company remained in the woodline jumpoff points. The men fully expected to be shot at, but amazingly, their was no resistance to the advance. A brief glimpse of fleeing infantry was noted. As the squads reached the woods, the HW units picked up and set off. Some were able to hitch rides on the arriving Shermans that now proceeded down the road. Entering the woods was the end of peace for the day. The right and trail platoons sent out fire teams to scout ahead as they ghosted thru the woods. The left platoon fanned left to cover a clearing area there. Just as the teams approached the end of the woods and could see the rooftops of the village, Hell erupted. The Jerries, cagey as ever, had dug in on the back side of the forest. I learned the reason why they had not opposed the advance across the open. They were probably fearful of the support that we usually have for DF HE and MG’s. In addition, these men were equipped mainly with grease guns. Even in the hands of children these are KILLERS at the close ranges we had here. One team died almost instantaneously, the other ran. In addition, a mg bunker was observed on the left and tank movement was noted by the village. The Shermans fanned out; one to the left to deal with the bunker, one right to support the troops there, and the last two to clear the road. The one on the left ko’d the bunker, but the one on the right was spotted by a Tiger dashing across the open between trees and blew up. The tank CO’s on the road sat below a small ridge and had a quick huddle. One of the sherms was a 76, and the plan came to be this. The 75 sherm would crest the ridge, reverse after showing itself and fire smoke dischargers. The 76 would be 10 sec behind and do the same. Hopefully, the Tiger crew would target the first tank and shoot at it; where the 76 could get a unhindered shot before retiring also. About 2 minutes have elapsed since the right Sherman blew, so the Tigers are now shooting any infantry that they can see. This helps the plan come to fruition. The shermans follow the plan and it works! The 76 got a one shot kill on the Tiger on the right of the village and retired into the smoke. Immediately, they do the maneuver again on the other cat and succeed identically! By now, the center and right platoons have gone to earth, but the left gets to the clearing along with the support Sherman and lay effective fire into the German lines across the clearing. Also, the reinforcing platoon has reached the wood line and will replace the right platoon, which is almost combat ineffective. And the reinforcing Shermans have arrived and race down the road to the point behind the ridge. The 105 spotter calls for some artillery on the open area behind the right German position. We are now going to make them pay for their deployment choice. The shermans, not having seen any other tanks, come out “en masse” down the road, shelling and machine gunning the woods to either side. This, plus the resumed advance of the infantry is too much for the defenders and they either die or break. But, they have to attempt to cross too much open ground and are gunned down mercilessly. The tanks and infantry now advance towards the town with ½ of the tanks firing blindly into the buildings, while the others overwatch. An artillery spotter that had been harassing us with mortars is found and killed in some woods near the village; but nothing else is seen. As we approach the village, the leftmost Sherman sees another bunker and another Tiger on the wooded ridge on the right center. After retreating from the Tigers view he kills that bunker. The tanks and infantry are now at the town and The Tiger plan is implemented again. One 75 Sherman dashes for some woods, crossing the Tigers line of sight. Both Sherman 76’s are to advance after it and engage. The plan works, but at a price. The Tiger is killed (by the same 76 that got the other 2; he is getting rather big headed now), but the 75 Sherman is KO’d in the flank. But, the tankers have taken 3 cats for only 2 of their number and are quite satisfied. Now for the advance to the other ridge. Once again, crossing the open is uneventful. Entering the woods near the “objective” though, we run in to the same defense. Except this time there are 2 full platoons here and my 2 platoons had casualties going in. After getting knocked around, they retreat back to our woods edge and hold. Artillery is vectored, but it will be blind fire. In addition, a vague report of yet another Tiger in some woods 3-400m beyond the ridge is reported. The brave Shermans will execute the plan one more time. Success here, and they can deal with the infantry in the woods and allow the advance to continue. This time, things go awry (wrong). First, the 76’s don’t crest at the same time. Second, the timing of the maneuver made it so that the 76’s crested right at the end of the impulse. So, the German commander, being wise to the ID’s of the tanks and the technique, targets the 76 that crested first. He is killed by the second shot of the Tiger. The other 76 (the one with 3 Tigers today already) is swinging on line. I am chanting in the command post “Get him! Shoot!” He fires, HIT! Lower hull penetration! But, no kill…. The Tiger makes the slight adjustment it needed and wham! Deadeye Dick’s war is over… The rest is anti-climatic. The lower hull hit immobilized the Tiger; but he is able to get the Sherman 75 before it can escape. My infantry retire to our side of the ridge under the cover of the remaining Shermans. No one does anything for the last 2 minutes or so and the time allotted for the mission elapses. Score- Allies 51 Axis 49. I went to the well once to often and was overconfident. My error with the last maneuver cost me a decent victory here. I had been fortunate early on, but I should have known that the dice have to roll craps once in a while; and the time to quit is while you are winning. 3 Tigers and 2 bunkers for 2 Shermans is a great return and since the infantry losses appeared even, splitting the flags would have been a decent victory for me. Greed is one of the 7 sins and I had it here. My butt was sore from the kicking I gave myself after this one was over. Rob Davidson “Tabpub”

And to quote from read me for patch 1.12" * If both sides have global morale below 25%, a battle will end immediately with an enforced cease-fire." I think this will answer exactly what happened.

p94 middle "Note: ...trucks, jeeps, and very light armored cars, just to name a few examples, are not considered "armored vehicles"...and are not regarded as valid targets for a unit with an active Cover Armor command"

Besides, I have found it "relatively" easy to do manually. 1. Have the men facing the direction you wish each squad to cover 2. Select the 1st squad of the platoon 3. Use TAB to lock the view centered on unit 4. Use keyboard command "c" or "v"(depending which type of arc you want 5. Hold "Ctrl" while selecting the range 6. Left click to set range and do NOT move the mouse 7. "+/=" key to select next unit 8. Start at 4 again w/o moving the mouse, just c/v, Ctrl, click,+. Fairly quick when you do it. Use "shift X" to see all the arcs you have and that will give you the idea of your total coverage. This will give you a series of "identical" 180deg arcs based on the orientation of each squad. So, if they are in a line, facing the same direction, you will have a series of half circles out to the same range intersecting each other. Just remember, conscripts can't do the Covered Arc command. The Manual doesn't say that, but I have not been able to get them to do it.

As I recall, mutual ceasefire triggers when both sides go under 25% morale. When I played "Sounds of the Night" in the last ROW, I held up my attack when I reached 35% to "save" myself for the final push. Didn't work, but I had no idea where his morale was and didn't want the ceasefire to trigger prematurely.

Nope, the bundle pack came via the good ole, USPS...

Do you still need me to post to play? I guess that I shouldn't assume that I would be on the "list", so here I am...

Digging thru the recesses of my befuddled mind, I remember that a recon battalion should have an attached tank company and AC platoon.