Fluf

I find the story about the man in body armour taking a 7.62 NATO round at point blank range and shrugging it off hard to believe, unless it was a softpoint or rubber bullet or something. Those solid point military rounds (7.62 NATO = Winchester .308) penetrate 4 inches of steel plate at point blank. I've observed the large chunks of turf that they toss way up in the air when they hit the ground in front of the target butts (not from MY shooting of course :cool: ).

Another 'real-life' anecdote about .45 slugs. A bud of mine was working in a bar in Hull, Quebec in the '70s - a rough bar. One night a drunk pulled out a .45 automatic and waved it around before shooting two men standing across the table from him. My buddy said that they were literally knocked off their feet and "they flew through the air" from the impact of the slug. He knew his pistols because he was a member of a shooting club. A grim example of the brutal power of big-bore pistol/SMG rounds at close range. I have read accounts of the 9mm pistol round failing to have this kind of impact during shootouts between criminals and police officers in the U.S.A. Perhaps some of our American buddies could elucidate on the old .45 versus 9mm controversy. I recall quite a debate on this topic not that long ago when the US armed forces converted to the 9mm Beretta from the .45 Colt auto.

A remodeled 6 pounder AT gun with distinctive wavy gun shield has been included with CMAK! I am content at last. For some reason the generic looking gun in CMBO bothered me and I had to do my on mod. But the CMAK mod is even better looking. Thank you! Now I await only for Michael Dorosh (who waits only for his postman) to convert his 'Ortona' operation to CMAK so that I may drag those shiny new 6 pounders into the rubble filled streets. I am enjoying CMAK even more than it's predecessors, and that is saying a LOT!

If a designer wants to make a scenario historically accurate, then close air support may be required, if it was there in the battle being modeled. And you only need to read the account of the Falaise gap battle in the South Alberta Regiment history by Donald E. Graves to see that friendly fire incidents from CAS aircraft occurred very frequently under some conditions. Since the Combat Mission simulators are intended to be as realistic as possible, then they must include this aspect of the WWII experience. It is a reality that ground commanders had to live with. Some of them certainly hated CAS too.

Oh, if only I knew what an "SD" was!

When I first got CMBO I created small training battles for myself based on typical real WWII situations - things like clearing a hamlet of light holding forces/snipers with a platoon of infantry, up to assaulting a heavily defended line with a battalion and tank support. I would treat these as training exercises, and experiment as I saw fit, changing the force makeups, troop qualities, adding/subtracting support weapons, etc. etc. to get a feel for the way a battlefield worked. In training exercises I feel free to retake moves a lot, experimenting with different tactics. Then I attempt an "official" scenario that I haven't played yet and treat it like a real battle, with no take backs, in order to feel a bit what battalion level command might be like - to live with the loses taken under my direction. I've read many accounts of real battles which criticize commanders for not doing their job right. Doing it right the first time turns out to be pretty difficult sometimes, as the Combat Mission simulators prove. It's a sobering and very challenging experience if you pretend for a moment that your men were real at the end of a battle. So, in 'real' battles I do not retake moves, I force myself to live with the consequences. The good news is that the training exercises have paid off for me. My first attack in CMAK proper (after the demos) was an 85% win with minimal casualties against a smaller but high quality enemy force. This was due to what proved to be a good battle plan (with hindsight), good co-operation between my combat elements, and as always, a bit of luck. I find these 'real' battles so engrossing that I have accidentally stayed up all night on more than one occasion - not noticing the passage of time. "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, my boy, practice!"

I suspect that they are saving us the shock and grief of being blackmailed for a $25 brokerage fee which couriers such as UPS enjoy springing on Canadians after they have already paid for an order and shipping from the U.S.. I once ordered a game from Firaxis (Antietam) - it was about $30 dollars, plus shipping. UPS, who had already received their shipping fee, delivered it to my house when I wasn't there, and demanded a $25 customs brokerage fee PLUS a $4 COD charge for collecting the brokerage fee - and my innocent wife paid it, which, along with GST, meant that I paid more than double the sticker price to get the game in my hands. This happened again when I ordered a chess set from the States, so it wasn't an isolated incident. I now insist on my goods being shipped by post from the States. For anyone interested in the history of this bizarre situation - you may recall that years ago you would receive a bill in the mail from Canadian customs for duties assessed against goods delivered by courier or post. You were supposed to mail Customs Canada a check for the amount in the envelope provided. According to a friend of mine who works in Customs, 90% of these bills were never paid, so Customs said "screw this" and stopped sending bills out. Instead told couriers and the Post Office to collect the duties upon delivery. This annoyed the couriers who, in protest, charge a minimum $25 rate "brokerage fee" in the hope that we citizens will protest and force the government to make other arrangements for the collection of custom duties. It hasn't worked so far.

Wow! Thank you Mr.Dorosh for the in depth review of the Sten situation. I stand enlightened on the subject now, having previously based my opinions on anecdotal stories I had read. I'd also never heard before that they were using steel casings on Thompson .45 rounds. Sounds expensive! The closest I've gotten to an M1 .30-30 carbine was at an army cadet shooting match. While we were using the FN C1 7.62mm (Win.308) in the match, one of our cadet officers brought along his M1 carbine and fired off a few magazines. This was back in the 60s, so the 15 round mag was still legal. His grouping at 100 yards from a prone position wouldn't fit in the rim of a bushel basket. The rounds looked like pistol ammo to me. He was a much better shot with the FNC1. He was quite disappointed with his carbine - but as noted by others, it was designed for jungle combat, not Bisley matches.

Canuck forces were issued with Thompsons and carried them throughout the Italian campaign. When Commonwealth forces eventually standardized on sten guns - so they could use 9mm ammo - Canadian troops in Italy hated them and would trade, borrow or steal to get Thompsons again. My uncle, a combat engineer, carried a Thompson in his jeep at all times to the end of the war. The sten was a dangerous and unreliable piece of crap, and it was a crime that they were forced on our troops. They were prone to jam in battle, and if you dropped one they tended to fire off their whole magazine while rotating around in a circle on the ground. Canadian troops used Thompsons thoughout the Italian campaign and loved them. Canuck infantry squads are shown with sten guns as the squad smg in CMAK, but that is a small inaccuracy that has no effect on gameplay.

Unlax LBD, my package had a little green sticker that said something about $5 as well, but it was stuck to the package itself, and I wasn't required to pay anything when the postal clerk handed it over. Since I had asked about this before, and was told that custom duties were payable upon receipt, I assume that we ain't paying anything. Perhaps we shouldn't inquire too closely, though, and leave sleeping tariffs lay. In the meantime - I accidentally stayed up until 4 a.m. playing the fictional Canuck vs. Fallshirmjaeger scenario by Andreas. Riveting play! A very lucky guess when choosing my battle plan led to a lop-sided win, but it could so easily have gone the other way! CMAK was definitely worth the wait.

A slim package from Vermont was handed over to me this morning (Sat.) down at the post office here in Almonte. CMAK has arrived just in time! I'm home alone and have nothing to do for the rest of the day but check it out. So far very impressed with the graphics - even the pointy top British helmets . The on-disk manual is in colour. The biggest looking of the 3 Canadian battles that come with the game is the Melfa River crossing (Liri Valley). Great looking Canuck uniforms! Now we need the Ortona operation converted from CMBO. My sincere wish is that you lads out West and down in the Maritimes are also picking up your packages today.

Ah, Bruce Mines, home of my Mother-In-Law. A swirling metropolis, to be sure. Sault Ste Marie is the suburb to the west, right? No sign of CMAK in Almonte, but, checking in at the local post office revealed that they're down to 50% staff there and in surrounding towns due to workers and managers being "off sick". The parcels are stacking up on the other side of the counters.

In response to Wasi's interesting comments - allied troops were only too well acquainted with the effectiveness, power, and accuracy of the stock KAR98. The German practice of delaying allied infantry breakthroughs with ad hoc long range sniping by non-specialist troops was very effective in harassing and causing casualties. My own grandfather, who fought in most of the major Canadian battles in WWI and carried the Ross Tbolt for a while, admired the Mauser rifle and considered it the finest infantry rifle of the era, especially in that it withstood the conditions of the trenches better without rusting - as his Ross rifle was prone to. The Lee-Enfield .303 does have one special characteristic that might make it a bit more effective in a close encounter - the short bolt throw. Troops could work the bolt with thumb and two fingers, while pulling the trigger with the little finger, so they could fire quite quickly "from the hip". I never tried it with my Enfield (which I no longer own), but perhaps this feature, along with the 10 shot clip, gives the weapon a small advantage at close range over the KAR98. Like the KAR98, the .303 was also a very accurate weapon. My father (who was a superb shot himself) watched an old Algonquin Indian guide shoot two whitetail deer which were 800 yards away on the side of a hill with his army-surplus Lee-Enfield. He set the ramp sight to "800" and dropped them side by side. The second deer looked up at the distant sound of the first report, but must have assumed that it's companion was lying down because it was tired, and went on feeding until it too was hit. But, someone - Gen. Chris Vokes, or perhaps Pierre Burton - said that most Canadian troops might as well have been carrying pitchforks, for all that they used their rifles in battle. Vokes did scold his infantry for not using enough rifle ammo at one point of the Italian campaign. As far as ammunition loadouts - isn't this affected by the supply level attribute which is configurable when you are creating a battle? I have noticed that in CMBB and the CMAK demo, both Axis and Allied squads seem to deplete their ammo very quickly, once in contact with the opposition. This makes the planning for and use of reserves an important and realistic part of the game. I agree with Wasi that its hard to see why the mg34 would have a lower effectiveness rating then the Bren gun.

I've read 'Ortona' and Zuehlke's book on the Liri Valley battles. My favourite book about the Canadian forces in Italy was 'The D-Day Dodgers', unfortunately out of print. The book avoids political correctness and seems to get closer to the real feelings and experiences of the people who were there. I had two copies - gave one to my cousin, whose dad was a veteran of the campaign attached to a Light Aid Detachment of engineers. He had some amazing stories to tell about recovering damaged Shermans at night, bridging the river near Cassino, and of hearing the distinctive sound of the German 28mm squeeze-bore AT gun. I gave the other copy to an old vet of the campaign who lived here in Almonte. He passed away about a year later, so I'm glad he had a chance to read about the history he made. Unfortunately I haven't yet found a replacement copy.

No sign of CMAK yet in the metropolis of Almonte Ontario. It did snow, however, and that always slows everything down even more than usual around these parts. Here's a hopeful thought though: last month I ordered a chess set from Paris France, and it arrived two days later! So, with Vermont being just a 3 hour drive from here, and applying the mysterious Rule of Post, I should expect to have CMAK in my hands in, oh, about 2 weeks or maybe 3 if I take into account that they ought to get theirs out in Manitoba a week before I do.