Brent Pollock

The match is over. The beast, which started with 3 crew casualties, managed to inflict a dozen infantry casualties before it was KO'd...about two guys per HE round. [ February 14, 2004, 10:35 AM: Message edited by: Brent Pollock ]

Great - now I'll be under pressure to come up with increasingly cryptic battle titles

Only had it once. In one of my current PBEM matches, it popped up in a QB with Rarity Off. The joke was on us, as the Russian force turned out to be devoid of vehicles. I think it managed to loose half a dozen rounds of HE at most before succumbing to overwatch fire (yah, I know about keyholing, but I wanted to guarantee this thing would get at least one shot off...just for the fun of it.)

Some notes from the designer would help with its permissibility. Possible SPOILER . . . . . . . .. Play the SAPRISTI battle from the CMBB CD as the Russians - you're given the "okay" and the engineers to deliver the DCs.

Ya know, ya coulda just asked me instead, seeing as my e-mail address should be with the Battle section [i'm not at home at the moment, so for all I know you've sent a message to the "telusplanet" address that I won't see until after work tonight]. It's: WBRP = William Brent Robert Pollock TAHGC = The Avalon Hill Game Company TOBRUK = [the boardgame title] #1 = scenario #1 from that game. TOBRUK is an Avalon Hill game that many of us played back in the 70s. Think of it as a forerunner of the SL system (individual squads/vehicles/heavy weapons), although it tends to be closer to MBT and IDF with the hit-location charts. Those eight scenarios are my conversion of the like-numbered TOBRUK boardgame scenarios. They're aimed at folks familiar with that game...my first attempts at using the Scenario Editor. That "WBRP" tag might look messy on the Scenario Depot, but it makes keeping track of my sceanrios a lot easier at home. [ February 12, 2004, 02:23 PM: Message edited by: Brent Pollock ]

I'll second that: my inept AFV handling really hurt. And when I did get it right (the Three Stooges StuG IIIB platoon), they were devastating (their kill stats are mentioned above in another post). I've posted it before...somewhere...sewer movement is mainly for ducking attacks and moving into unoccupied zones. Using it to enter enemy occupied ground floors is a risky business. Also, the moves should be kept to 5 minutes at the longest and only done when supported by a Stealth bonus HQ. Glad to see someone else has added their AAR here - mission accomplished.

Michael, I'm curious: did the Calgary Sun run this story? I read it in the the Herald (the National Post Jr.).

I was just about to start the same thread. The report in our paper states that it goes on-line on Monday.

Part of it might've been bad luck but mostly it was just lack of support. The factory was defended they way big ones should be: stay off the first tile and set up to cover the bit of dead ground just outside the edge. Being that far back gets you out of the way of most suppressing fire. Without assigning OBA, I was supposed to counter this with AFV direct fire to rubble some tiles and use the dust for cover, but I got distracted by T34s and didn't stay focussed. I also attacked a little strung out and could've stacked three or so platoons into a more concentrated space.

As mentioned in this thread (converting TAHGC's TOBRUK to CMAK) I just posted a conversion of scenario #1 to the Depot. It has no flags as the original TOBRUK VC were based solely on damage.

TIME’S UP Dang - I was hoping for a bit more overtime to neutralise another HQ Bunker flag! Steve did a better job with the artillery & on-board 82 mm mortars than I managed: none of my Russian FOs got more than about 15 kills. He held both flanks with little more than the original forces, from the looks of it, although his left side got some stiffening to its right. The stats for the Three Stooges StuG IIIB platoon are impressive: three T34s and almost an entire company of troops (91 infantry casualties)! A Minor Defeat but Major Fun! Here’s the point breakdown: AXIS ALLIED FLAGS 300 1200 Enemy Casualties 3715 4845 Prisoners Taken 1200 0 So, I held all minor flags but, of the majors, all I managed was to neutralise one. Even if I’d neutralised all five, I only would’ve managed a draw: the flank flags really hurt me, and that’s what happens when you try to assault factories without proper combined arms prep. P.S. I kept misrepresenting the 3 x StuG IIIB platoon as StuG IIIE.

Hey - that did it I had too much text in the Author Comments section.

Okay, I've generated my conversion of the first TOBRUK scenario 'THE CLASH OF ARMOR' but can't seem to get it to stick at the Scenario Depot: I get to the end of the form aokay, but when I click 'Submit', nothing happens I've sent a note to Keith about the problem I encountered. If anyone wants a copy of the scenario, let me know and I can mail it. Here are my general "TAHGC TOBRUK->CMAK" conversion notes: Notes for Brent Pollock's conversions of TAHGC's TOBRUK to CMAK. Rather than doing a straight up "vanilla" conversion, I decided to leap to a real CMAK-ification. Essentially, this meant opting for AFV platoons and variations in troop & HQ quality. The entire array of EXPERIMENTAL RULES and SCENARIO ADDENDA have been considered, as has the "Comments and Game Deficiencies" section, with regard to unrepresented weapons and vehicles, which I've thrown in where I thought they fit. The HQ structure is based on using "ASL Chapter H" as a converter. Map board (p.3 ): approximates the 3 x 12 hex by 2 x 20 hex set up of board sectors A/B/C/D/E/F. Contour has been set to Gentle (1.25 m) as per the TOBRUK design notes and I've opted for Arid Rock & Very Dry for the conditions, which is also what seems to have been chosen by the designers of the scenarios on the CD covering the same location and time period. Only scenarios THREE & EIGHT receive elevation changes to reflect their titular "POINT". Units are as direct a swap as I could manage. VL flags are only included where it seems warranted (fixed defenses). Turns (p.3): 2 TOBRUK = 1 CMAK Minefields (p.33): 1 TOBRUK = 3 X AP & 3 X AT Bunker (p. 16) 1 TOBRUK = 1 x Wooden Bunker MG Weapon Pit (p. 13) 1 TOBRUK = Parameter set to "Defender is: Dug In Including Vehicles" Hedgehog (p.7) 1 TOBRUK = Parameter set to "Defender is: Dug In With Fallbacks" Dummy Guns, Blockhouses & AT Trenches have not been modelled as I have ignored SCENARIO NINE. Off-board artillery (pp. 11 & 14): FOs get radios if in a mobile force and phones if they are on fixed defense. REGISTRATION = TRP and Normal Ammo CONCENTRATION = TRP and Double Ammo (or 2 x FOs) BARRAGE = TRP and Quadruple Ammo (or 4 x FOs) -----------

Result: Well, that light tank wasn’t shocked after all: it headed riverward and took out the sIG 33 and turret-jammed Pz IVF1. That leaves me with this for armour: 1 x PzIVF1 at the river with one casualty and plenty of ammo 1 x immobile StuG IIIE with some AP 1 x mobile StuG IIIE CO with no ammo 1 x mobile StuG IIIE with dwindling ammo On the plus side, the two platoons that headed out of the factory haven’t been completely stopped yet and the FT got of another burst. On the Right, it looks like the Russians are moving up to solidify their perimeter: that flanks been about 25 solid minutes of Teutonic Agony.

Now serving Turn 31's orders...

Results: He’s down to a single T34 after the first to head to the Russian lines got distracted by all the German infantry and came reached the factory corner with its turret pointed rearwards: one AP round from the StuG CO into the turret side and a grenade bundle from the factory denizens convinced the crew to bail and run. The sIG 33 gets shocked en route to the ferry landing so we’ll see if it lives through the anticipated hail of MG fire. The Pz IVF1 has started pounding the MG strong point with HE area fire. The Other two StuGs drop the building they were pounding and the non-immobilised one (how’s that for a round-about way to say “mobile”) faces riverward and lets loose with some HE and canister at some hapless marines in the nearby rubble: at turn’s end the pionier platoon starts to head for the “cleared” rubble. The other T34 is zooming back to his lines: definitely feeling the pressure from having German AFVs ready to get a “car wash” in the Volga. Turn 31 (turn one of overtime) Orders: Do what we can to try and hammer that last T34. The StuG CO is down to 2 x HE rounds, so it’ll likely be up to the other mobile StuG. The pionier platoon will keep pushing and the AFVs will throw what HE they have left into the cause. Everyone else has pretty much decided that no other pieces of Stalingrad look any cosier than the one they’re sitting in right now, so “why move?”, they ask.

Results: The live Pz IVF1 is in position at the landing. The StuG platoon dishes more HE, which is almost gone, and is ready to drop one of the resistance nests. The end run has succeeded in luring back the T34s. As for the infantry: not much movement, except for the centre. Turn 30 Orders The other two AFVs head for the landing while the Pz IVF1 starts pounding a MG building. Two StuGs try to drop the resistance nest while the CO gets ready to greet one of the T34s. Two infantry platoons are set to start advancing out of the central factory corners. The left and right sides are pretty much done in and just trying to hold on.

WOOHOO X 2!! Not only was CMAK sitting in the postbox, but my X-mas present to my wife was there...and I beat her home so it's still a secret On to the TAHGC TOBRUK conversions...

Ditto: so much for Klein's 'Alberta Advantage' [ December 17, 2003, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: Brent Pollock ]

Results: Left: Withdrawal is pretty much complete. Before starting to surge forward, the Pz IVF1 puts another round into that hapless T34 before it is finally registered as KO. The other two AFV are running up to help out. Centre: Man – didn’t even get much of delay out of the Pz IVG as it catches fire within seconds. The other T34 seems content to sit tight near the other small corner flag. One of the StuGs gets immobilised by some grenades, but at least it’s facing a target. The other two dish HE, but it might not be enough to help the pioniere make their final push next turn. Right: They’re crawlin’ but not doing much else. Turn 29 Orders Continue on with no changes. Jump off is next turn, although I’m guessing that everyone’ll be too pinned down to really have a go at it.

Turn 27 results and 28's orders...

Results: The withdrawal on the left continues apace. The sIG 33 doesn’t get a target but the Volga-most Pz IV F1 emerges to help the central StuG IIIE double-team the T34 that got tagged right at the end of last turn…here’s a different kind of death clock: 0:06 – SUH Penetration and the T34 starts forward and moves its turret forward...must be panicky 0:15 – Track hit immobilises it…turret doesn’t move 0:24 – SIDE LOWER HULL Penetration 0:30 – SIDE UPPER HULL Partial Penetration 0:31 – SIDE UPPER HULL Penetration 0:37 – Turret Rear Ricochet 0:38 – Turret Side Partial Penetration 0:45 - SIDE LOWER HULL Penetration 0:46 – Track hit 0:53 – Track hit 0:54 – SIDE UPPER HULL Penetration 0:60 – SIDE LOWER HULL Penetration…and it's still not Abandoned nor KO’d The central factory boys are almost ready for jump off, but a T34-sized monkey wrench is on the way: the Pz IVG was supposed to give it a “meet-n-greet” but was possessed by the Tac AI (understandably so, as the right flank T34 spotted it) and now it is BU with its rear facing the T34…which also managed to spring two units from the POW cage…argh! On the plus side, a tank hunter team sprinted into some rubble and, on the fly, lobbed two panzerwurfmines (sp?) and the grenade bundle and KO’d the last T34 on that flank: t’was glorious. The right flank boys are doing what they can. Turn 28 Orders: The Pz IVF1 has a new lease on life: time to head for the ferry landing and try to cause havoc…and maybe neutralise a big flag. The sIG is also going to join in the fun, although I fear it’ll run afoul of a 12.7 mm HMG. The StuGs will continue to do one more turn of softening up before the last surge. The one that is low on HE will get ready to greet the T34 after it kicks the Pz IVG up the whazoo. Infantry gets into position. [ December 17, 2003, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: Brent Pollock ]

Up to Turn 27 now...

Results: If there was any CAS activity this turn, I missed it. Left: withdrawal continues, helped by the smoke. The T34 start to pull back a tad , as all the smoke jungle is probably a little spooky: all the buildings develop grenade-armed shadows. The T34 advancing up from the river keeps coming, but no LOS between enemies. Centre: The Pz IVG, which survives a straffing run, chalks up the KV-1S and pulls back, but no LOS develops across the map to the left-flank T34. The StuG IIIE platoon continues to pump out HE. The lone T34 on this side creeps up, but the StuG is long gone around the corner…maybe next turn it’ll creep forward some more and give the immobilised Pz IVF1 a flank shot or three. The FT team, still two-men strong, might be in position to barf fire next turn. The sweepers keep coming, but I don’t know if I’ll have the firepower to suppress the Russian reinforcements. Right: A couple more squads trickle into the front line. Turn 26 ORDERS [yah, look, I know I've alrready posted Turn 26, but I miscounted the turn numbers for a while there... ] Left: withdrawal continues Centre & Right: Infantry keeps forming up for the last push and the AFVS try to support Results: Left: Wholesale rout continues. The sIG 33 lines up a marauding T34 for a while but can’t get a clear shot; the T34’s partner is also creeping up. Right near the end of the turn, the T34 coming up from the river and one of the StuGs in the centre spot one another and the StuG lands a HC round in the turret front…I hope the Death Clock has starting ticking. Centre & Right: The other two StuGs dish out HE and canister, aided by the FT team that gets off a squirt of hot sauce. The Pz IVG moves up. The T34 on my right flank pokes its nose far enough forward for the immobilised Pz IVF1 to line it up, but it retreats before a round is loosed. If I can fracture these last four T34s, there’s a chance I’ll have enough 75 mm HE to make a push. Turn 27 orders: Left: The Pz IVF1 is going to surge forward pronto to try and help the StuG take out the T34. Infantry will hunker in the jump-off factory and try to keep the lice out of their wounds. Centre & Right: Hmmm…that T34 in the rear area is worrisome…I’d better have the Pz IVG react to it, perhaps with a StuG covering its rear, in case the other T34 surges forward again. Infantry should complete their form up moves soon. Other two StuGs will continues to dish HE. [ December 14, 2003, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: Brent Pollock ]

Bah - a posted OP with no OP...I should have you up on charges for psychological abuse No CMAK here either, which is probably just as well as I've the X-mas concert tomorrow. </font>