The Hapless General

Well, if you're after a single player campaign, there's none better that Robert Oleson's: http://www.roqc.cdgroup.org/

German Intelligence Services. Having almost all of their assets in Britain caught right as the war started and then having half of them turned against them... just an example of their ineptitude, especially when highlighted by the brilliant British Intelligence Service.

Which rocky mod are you using?

More like an enema... get rid of the old Peng threads, (or even the current ones, but that's heresy ), then we'll have a lean and mean board, full of tactics and scenario discussions and ... maybe not... THG

Nice one, Gautrek, on the way to my PC near me. Thanks, THG

Well, while we're on the topic of women fighting in WWII, I was telling a friend of mine who lives in Australia about the interesting decsription of the Maori batallion's battles. He then told me that while travelling to NZ, he heard stories of the heroism of Maori women in WWII battles. I conducted a brief search of this but could find no mention of Maori women fighting for NZ in the war. Does anyone know if this is true?

Myself, I would be quite happy with the ability to view a movie of the entire game, with FOW on or off for both sides. Think of AARs and of learning for newbs like me. just my 2c... THG

Well, this is taken from RobO's Campaign Private - Soldato Corporal - Caporale 2nd louie - Sottotenente 1st louie - Tenente Captain - Capitano Major - Maggiore Lieutenant Colonel - Tenente Colonnello Colonel - Colonnello THG

Specifically regarding the tutorial, you will notice, if you look carefully, that there is a patch of "rocky" terrain. Put the HQ there and he will be safe. Regarding the grid terrain, it is very helpful but for fine tuning you still need to lower the camera (which in my opinion is just fine, makes you work for your cover instead of having a gamey LOS tool). THG

I am a great fan of AT riflemen. The Brit ATR has 100 ammo in a regular QB too, BTW. However, I would not rush to conclude that they are more valuable than a sniper. An ATR will not even tickle most medium tanks while a sniper, killing an unbuttoned TC will all but disable the tank... In addition, snipers cause suppression effects far stronger than an ATR, just try suppressing an HMG with both and see which works better. Cheers

Come on mates, give the guy a break. He posted a bad link to a site he found interesting and wanted to share with you all. So what?!!! Hell, if I was subjected to this level of derision every time I made a bug at work (must be thousands by now), then I would have no money for CM, having spent it all on psychological treatment to bolster my self worth Cheers!

To quote Anthony Eden (who himself was paraphrasing Churchill, after 20,000 Italians, with 200 guns and 120 tanks surrendered to 3000 Brits while trying to evacuate Benghazi): "Never has so much been surrendered, by so many, to so few."

Thanks for the help guys. Unfortunately for me, the campaign in question is brits v. italians in e.africa, so no armor for me but I'll try to put the infantry advice to good use, especially about massing before attack and not trying too many attack axes and the like. Thanks.

While I agree to the many problems in night combat modelling, I'm afraid I have no choice but to play a night QB. This is due to the fact I am playing inside a campaign and the current mission calls for a night raid. So, I am up to the challenge and would appreciate any help on this. Thanks

Hi, I ran a search on night fighting tactics and found only one with some information. It still left many unanswered questions and I would appreciate any advice on these. 1. How to use overwatch at night, this is very problematic due to the short LOS. Also relevant for dusty operations, etc. 2. How to perform useful recon. It seems that recon elements are very vulnerable given the limited ability to support them, plus they seem to garner less information, i.e. many more sound contacts at night that would be full IDs at day. Thanks in advance.

Just on the off chance that I am not the only one who didn't know this, I found out today that British ATR are amazingly useful against bunkers. During an advance on the enemy's flank, I had a rifle company held up by an Italian wooden MG bunker. Since I had nothing along the lines of support guns or tanks I decided to move up my ATRs, prompted by the armor ratings for the bunker. To my great surprise they took out the bunker in one and a half turns with no loss. Hope someone else finds this useful.

Hi Karlis, and welcome. I am currently playing a campaign as the brits vs italians in East Africa from Jul40 to Jun41. During this period, the brits have no armor and the italians have only a couple light tanks and tankettes. This makes for very interesting games and I am sure you will be able to enjoy playing the italians in these settings (just go easy on the brits will ya? )

Hi Dave, RTFM - Read the fine manual Yes, HQ is able to direct mortar fire as long as it is in command range of the mortar and it has LOS to the target, be it a unit or an area. In fact, if you follow the CMAK (I'm assuming you have CMAK) tutorial, it explains this and the mortar there is essential to winning. Cheers, and enjoy this new ability.

Hi Determinant, Those quotes from the British Army Review look rather interesting. Is there an online publication or only by mail?

I know this is a tupid question, even as I write it, but still, I cannot hold back... Pray tell, what is a batman, and why does a battery commander have one??? PS, I think I know what a cook is...

thanks, though it had never occurred to me to open a scenario in the editor before I play it...

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the "X vs. AI Blind" type and how is it different than "X vs. AI"?

Hi, I have recently been playing a series of QBs through Robert Olesen's excellent CMAK Campaign Manager. There have been 7 battles so far, in North Africa, from Dec40-Apr41. My core force there consists of a British Rifle Platoon reinforced by a 2 pdr AT gun. Since the British have a dearth of AFVs with HE capability, I have been purchashing, as part of my support force, a 25pdr gun. The problem is that, as I have been mostly on the offensive, I am not able to get the guns involved in the offense. The maps are usually very dusty, with low visibility (it is North Africa) and one has to bring the guns into position on the offense. Usually I end up supporting my infantry with the odd Matilda's MG or with no support at all. But I haven't, for the life of me, been able to make any use of the 25pdr. The same also applies to my own 2pdr AT gun, though with Matildas by my side (when available) or even my own integrated AT rifle squad, the Italian tankettes (The only AFV I have encountered so far) can be dealt with. As I am nowhere near being good at this game I am sure the problem I am having is due to my shortcomings and not due to any inherent impossibility. I would be most grateful for any advice you can give me. Thanks

Well, if you save the QB in the setup, you can then re-use the map, but not the troops, as they are not really there as part of a scenario. If you would like to face the exact same troops, you can of course choose the troops for both sides...

After you do "A walk in the sun, be sure to try "Another Hill" This is a great scenario that sure as hell tought me alot about coordinating armor and infantry, but it still has a small scale that won't overwhelm you. Also, if you like, I'd be glad to play PBEM against you, and do AARs, as I myself am a newbie and learning the ropes, so maybe we can learn from each other, just send me a message at yair_iny@netvision.net.il Cheers