Jotte

It's like you got a bunch of fussy grannies waiting at the bus stop. 
"Oh, it's those bus drivers, again. They're always late."
"It's not their fault! The traffic here is always bad."
"Oh? You're in love with them, then? You always defend them."
"No. You're just putting blame on something they can't control."
"Oh, the bus company should at least give us better schedules."
"No, no... Then you would complain about that schedule when the bus is inadvertently late or early."
"Well, I have a right to complain if the bus is late!"
"If it isn't convenient to you, learn to drive!"
"How about /you/ learn to drive! I expect these bus drivers to do that, that's why I buy the tickets."
"It's a busy road, even if you're the best driver you couldn't always be on time."
"Oh, so you're defending them, again?"
Other people waiting for the bus have heard these grannies argue the same points yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...
If you want to amuse yourself, read these discussions in the voices of John Cleese and Eric Idle.

"A CM2 release is never late, nor is it early, it arrives precisely when Battlefront means to!"
 

Eh, I don't see any harm in posting a pict since early models had already appeared in the AAR.
 

Nah that happens every year. 
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/photos/7-of-the-coldest-places-in-the-world-to-live/hell-norway

I just re-read my old CMBN "Better Beta Beater Reader" AAR against Bil. (Photobucket is back to allowing links, so that prompted me to check.) Anyhow, there was one turn or two where I lost all but one of my tanks. I think this was similar. 
Anyway, get posting! (And stiff upper lip and all that.)

Personally, I think it is likely that he smashed his keyboard after that last turn you posted and has been unable to post anything since. (Not just because of the broken keyboard, but because of the keys embedded in the fleshy parts of his hands.)

You guys are a riot.  I am back from Jamaica, weather and the water was gorgeous of course.
I will post the next turn report tonight... probably on the later side though, so don't wait up   
How is Baneman's thread going?  I had expected it to have another thousand views and another 100 posts by today.. but alas, doesn't seem to be much happening over there.

MINUTE 12
Apologies ahead of time for the media heavy content in this post...
Another Warrior IFV platoon appears to be moving toward Point 32.9… M1 #1 moved into position in the early stages of this turn and almost immediately spotted one of them moving up to the Ruined Farm (Baneman does like that position), with one round it was sent to Valhalla…

10 seconds later it killed a second Warrior also near the Ruined Farm.  Think he has learned the lesson to stay away from that farm yet?

Immediately after killing the second Warrior IFV, M1 #1 spotted a Challenger!  Alas... before he could reload and reorient, the Challenger killed the Abrams with a one round turret front penetration… wow…

After looking at it from the Challenger’s perspective, I don’t think M1 #1 was hulldown to it… not sure if that would have even made a difference though.  To kill an Abrams from the front is impressive gun performance.
M1 #2 spotted one of the Warrior IFVs headed toward Farm 002 and got off one round, which hit the weapon mount with no ill effects that I could see, but that must be a gun kill.  The IFV trundled on toward Farm 002.

At the end of the turn the other Challenger was seen moving around the southern end of the large stone walled field in KT1.  M1 #2 will attempt to get a spot next turn and see if we can’t even the score.  I do like that he has split up his Challenger tanks so each is now operating independently.

Baneman has at least one dismounted infantry AT team (German) far forward near the wall… he is obviously attempting to get close enough to engage my LAVs with an AT weapon.  I need to check on the range for that weapon.  I suspect it looks meaner than it is.  LAV #4 spotted and fired on this team which went to ground.

The Bradley platoon started to arrive this turn, the dismounts will organize a Javelin armed AT team which will proceed to the ridge while the remaining infantry will remount next turn.

At least two Warrior IFVs moved beyond Point 32.9 appearing to be heading toward the position that is held by the BMP-3 Platoon.  I think he has two Warrior platoons in this area, one near the Ruined Farm (two vehicles spotted, both destroyed), and the other moving past Point 32.9 (three vehicles spotted).
Overview of enemy movements this turn:

Battle Position 1 (BP1):

It was brutal.. took forever to prep those graphics too.   
Yes the Challenger has a rifled gun, nasty bugger.
From this point on the action will start to ramp up dramatically... it is a dangerous battleground for sure.

MINUTE 1
Baneman is definitely feeling his oats… without hesitation he threw part of his Scimitar platoon out of his entry point and toward the center of the map.  My irregulars had a clear view of his movements... I can only hope that mine were not so clearly telegraphed to him.  One of his German recon vehicles started to move down AA1.
In this image, the gray trails indicate the observed German Fennek movements and the ochre trails indicate observed UK Scimitar movements.  I lost sight of the UK FV432 shortly after the turn began.  
 


The terrain being what it is, he was able to move into positions much quicker than I.  That could be a problem for me, but it could also tempt him to deploy more units forward than he probably should.  My teams were still moving up at turn end.  It could take another few turns before they are fully into position.
 
Eventually one of the British light tanks got a spot on my lead technical and after a few rounds...

...it was an ex-technical. 

Though he is being very aggressive, and with a combat power advantage slightly in his favor (he can afford to be), I am not going to panic.. I will take up some defensive positions overwatching AA1 with Team 1.  Meanwhile Team 2 will disgorge its ATGM team who will move into a firing position.  Losing one or two Scimitars might slow him down some and cause him to get cautious. 
My USMC LAV platoon will move over the bridge into a forward position and await orders.  They will dismount their recon teams there.
PIR:  Will the enemy recon attempt a recon in force down AA1?  One Fennek spotted moving down this route PIR:  Will the enemy recon attempt a counter-recon operation?  PIR:  Will the enemy recon force take up overwatch positions at KT1?  It appears this may be happening, but need more information The situation in DUMAYR.  No action here yet, but it looks like there will be soon.

Outstanding start!!!
Now, go attack something.

We're up against joint US-Syrian forces - how that happened is hard to imagine, but I'm going to go with the US having been bribed with oil money to pull out of NATO and now they're trying to keep our filthy grubby NATO hands off that same oil.
Feel free to speculate !
I'm going to assume here that Bil will have far better screenshots of the map and its objective areas since he also has mad skills in the photoshop department, so if you're unhappy with what I'm showing or cannot make something out - go read his thread !
Right, so here we have an overview of most of the map, showing our brave UK recon force - 8 Scimitars, a Mortar Fire Controller Team in a Spartan and an infantry recon section in a FV432.
In the distance you can see 3 groups of uncons henceforward referred to as (A), (B) and (C). A & C are infantry and B is a group of 3 armed "bakkies" - that's "pickups" to non-South-Africans.

Eastern aspect of the map showing high ground which is a concern and worry for me. I have named these features accordingly.
Dig site is the "abandoned archaeological site" I mentioned earlier. ( Bil's deployment zone is more or less between Worry Ridge and Obj Garnet )

This shows uncons A & C, but is primarily to give a feel for the map with its many Heights and dips. LoS will be crazy, but at least there will be places we can hide.

Some close up shots.
This shows Uncons A & B again and more detail of the map. As you can see, the rear vehicle has an SPG9 mounted. Front vehicle has a 12.7mm DShK and the middle a 7.62 MMG.

Well folks, here we are again. Your favourite ( I hope ) underdog is once again risking everything ( because I have a named unit on map  ) against Bil, the evil genius.
This battle is essentially a classic Meeting engagement between our recon elements and will escalate as our main forces enter later.
Bil and I are both using forces from 2 nations and the makeup is essentially the same:
Each nation has a platoon of mechanised recon and an infantry company with a couple of attached tanks.
The battle area will also have some local guys, some of whom are on our side and some who have been seduced to the dark side.
In my case, I am fielding elements from the UK and Germany.
The battle is set up ( thanks to George MC ) as follows :
Turn 0:
Scouts - on-map in the set-up zone at the start:
British recce platoon (Scimitars);
German Aufklaring platoon (Fenneks).
Turn 5 Advance Guard:
2 x Leopards;
German PzGr Company HQ and Obs section and the 1st Platoon (Marders);
Artillery ( some 105's ) and on-map mortars;
Myself as the German body HQ - performing a classic c3k manoeuver by waiting until it's safe.
Turn 10 Main Body:
2 x Challengers;
Brit Arm.Inf company (all elements) - Primarily infantry mounted in Warriors.
Turn 15 Rear Guard:
Remainder of the German PzGr company - 2nd and 3rd Platoons (Marders).
Bear in mind that I've never played CMSF1 and barely touched on CMBS due to my preference for WWII.
So I am ignorant of many of the weapons systems and their capabilities.
Just pointing out how underdoggy I am ( gotta get the excuses in early - yeah, I learned that from c3k too !  ).

For this game we wanted to show as much as possible, and yet provide an entertaining and challenging game.  We decided that each of us would take two nations, and some UNCONs and Fighters and duke it out man on man, steel against steel (or Chobham as the case may be)... the only constraint was that whoever chose the US would also have to field the Syrians as the US does come with some advantages (Javelins etc.).
I gave Baneman first choice and he went with his own folks, the UK and partnered them with the German Army.  He suggested that I, as an American should take the US, so what choice did I have?   
As for force purchases we adhered to the following:
These constraints will apply to EACH nation we choose (purchase must be 50-50): Light troops - one platoon of mounted recon (or light armored recon) or two platoons of dismounted recon Armor - either two tanks (1st class: M1, Leo, or Challenger) or one platoon of second class tanks (anything Syrian, Leo 1 (Canada) Infantry - either one company (mounted) or two companies dismounted troops Artillery - whatever comes with our purchased units, plus:  one battery of medium howitzers (one from each nation) UNCONs - will let George select and deploy for us No air We then sent our purchases to @George MC who provided a gorgeous map for us to fight on, and he set us up.. George also selected and setup the UNCON force for us and deployed them.. neither of us knew the force composition or the locations of our irregulars.  George identified key objectives for us also and really this game could not have happened without him.  So, THANKS GEORGE!!!
I will get into the details of my force pick and what I suspect Baneman is bringing to the party in a later post... should be interesting, this is a Meeting Engagement with the following forces arrayed against each other:
BANEMAN - UK and German - UNCONs including some Technical (gun truck) support) ME - US and Syrian - UNCONs including some Technical (gun truck) support) The next post will have some pictures.    I will show some map highlights and include a topo map that I am using to track the action in this battle. 
I will run through my METT-T analysis as quickly as I can in order to get to the action... the first of those posts will probably go up tonight.
Bil

Here it is folks.. the time has arrived for the CMSF2 BETA AAR.  I will be adding to this thread later today,, but wanted to get the thread started. 
My opponent?  My nemesis from the CMFB  BETA AAR, Baneman ,agreed to a rematch.  I really do owe him a more thoughtful game than I gave him the last time.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with that game, Baneman beat me rather soundly.  Hope that doesn't happen again!   
This game is well under way, we have completed 16 minutes of action, so there are a lot of turns to come in relatively quick succession and the Blood Board™ is filling rather alarmingly.  
For those of you who were following my "Lesson in Defense" AAR in the CMBN forum.. sorry about not updating that thread for a while, but I can really only do one of these at a time, and this one takes priority.,  Once I started this game it took up my full attention.
More anon.  Bil
 
LINKED CONTENT MENU:
OVERVIEW & SCENARIO PARAMETERS MAP ORIENTATION SCENARIO BRIEFING METT-T - MISSION METT-T - ENEMY METT-T - TERRAIN METT-T TROOPS METT-T TIME INITIAL SETUP, ORDERS, & INTENT MINUTE 1 MINUTE 2 MINUTE 3 MINUTE 4 MINUTE 5 MINUTE 6 MINUTE 7 MINUTE 8 and 9 MINUTE 10 MINUTE 11 MINUTE 12 MINUTE 13 MINUTE 14 MINUTE 15 MINUTE 16 TACTICS & BATTLE PLAN DISCUSSION MINUTE 17 MINUTE 18  

You asked and we provided.

Oh you said uncon - my bad !
P

This, like +100

Ah yes, apple. It 'just works' like that I guess. 😁
Steam is quite handy for storing licenses, updates, etc. Basically it's very user friendly, at least to most users. 🤣
I don't see the point of discussing CM on steam though. People in the know decide what's best for the company. I'm no BF shareholder so I'm not even going to contemplate second guessing BF.C business decisions like these.
Would I like CM on steam? Yes, why not would be easy for me. 
Does it really matter to me? Nah

She will be turning 16 in December. Her Grade 10 History Class covered Canadian History from 1900 to present day and of course I was a big help for her WW1 and WW2 sections. When she asked if I had any books on the role of Canada in WW2 and I brought her 15 books..... lets just say her project on Juno Beach was the best in the class! 
Some of her friends at school like to play World of Tanks and she was griping about how it sucks to start off with a crappy tank when everyone else has uber tanks. I told her should could play with the best, if she played me in CM since everyone can have the best right off the start in CM. We have played a few battles in CMFI and CMRT, platoon of infantry and a tank. She is getting better, but with sports teams and homework it has been a while since we last played. We usually play the battle twice, each of us as either side, just to show her it is possible to win as either Allies or Axis if you use the equipment properly. 
No allowance in my house, everyone chips in to help out and we take care of spending money for them if needed. 

The Mobile asslt platoon continues to try and force a path down easy street


Meanwhile 2Lt Campbell and his men catch their breath, look to their wounded and redistribute ammo. You get a good view here on the extent of the warrens they still need to penetrate to rescue the other Marines of 2/4th. the tower in the distance is the approx position of the mobile platoon and beyond that Joker 3.

The exhausted members of Joker 3 moving out to rejoin the fight



Feeling like they have an opportunity to wipe out Joker 1, insurgent RPG teams flood the streets only to realize too late Joker 1 is moving forward.

The Mobile Asslt pltn having extracted Joker 3 from their position in the cemetary moves toward Easy street and Joker 1


A team leader firing his personal weapon as an insurgent position is hit by the pltn's heavier weapons


The insurgents small arms are no match for the firepower the Asslt pltn can dish out






An insurgent suicide driver somehow escapes the immolation of his vehicle

so here is my contribution Street fighting in Ramadi courtesy of LLF

Another RPG round impacts taking down a member of Echo CO QRF that has reinforced Joker 1



Gunship fire danger close hits an insurgent position



Insurgent casualties are mounting


Joker 1 puts down one of their tormentors

You won't be disappointed. It has a completely different feel than any of the other games, including BS. I can only imagine how killer its gonna be in 4.0.
 
There's enough of us still around that I don't think that'll be a problem.  And vehicle wise there really weren't that many mods released., not like the WWII titles.
 
Mord.