GoofyStance

Reminds me of an experience a friend of mine had, a couple years ago. Apparently she and her fiance got into some hanky panky one afternoon, and immediately afterwards, he went back to playing an Xbox game. Not quite as good as a round of CMAK I'm sure, but anyway, she failed to see what it was I found so funny about her experience and subsequent annoyance at being denied a chance to snuggle. Oops.

A large-caliber artillery shell won't knock out a bunker? I'd think a direct top hit by a 300mm rocket would have SOME effect ...

Whoa nelly - I am once again amazed by the level of erudition and passion displayed by people on this board. I started out with a squad-level question, and it was elevated to divisional status Not that I don't appreciate the effort you folks have put into answering my question and expanding on the original concept - I do! It's very interesting to read, and I learn a lot. In response to Jonny's recommendation, I am actually reading "A Forgotten Soldier" at the moment, having learned of this book from previous mentions of it on this board. Yes, I'm well aware of the numerous caveats surrounding this book, but it's still an interesting read, keeping in mind its shaky foundations I've just started it though, so I haven't seen anything yet about delaying and fire brigade actions. Thanks, though! To everyone else, a big THANK YOU for all your contributions. They make an great game even better and more informative.

Wasn't Starace the one whom partisans executed along with Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacchi (sp?) in April 1945, and strung up alongside the others at a service station in Milan?

Are you talking about the concrete flak towers that withstood many hits, both from aircraft and artillery? I believe one of them stood on the grounds of the Berlin Zoo. Ah, to have my books on hand ... I think it's mentioned in A. Beevor's "Fall of Berlin, 1945."

What was Vizienz's rank during his exploits? I'd also assume that the aforementioned lieutenant-colonel was promoted to that rank in recognition of the bravery of his actions in knocking out enemy tanks? I guess what I'm trying to ask is if, during the fall of 1944 in Italy - when the Germans were still relatively organized, as opposed to the chaos in the spring of 1945 - was it unusual for an officer, at least above the rank of lieutenant, to risk his skin by using Panzerfausts against enemy tanks?

During a QB game set in Italy in the fall of '44, a Sherman broke through the defenses of a SS Pzgr. company and began marauding in the rear areas. As I was about to mount a counterattack with a StuG III, a SS platoon HQ hidden in some woods 20 meters away popped off a Panzerfaust and took out the Sherman. Admittedly, I didn't examine this unit for AT capabilities, as it was used to steady the fire from a ATG also hidden in the woods (why didn't I use this ATG against the Sherman? Because an air attack the previous turn took it out.) This got me wondering - how common was it for a SS platoon HQ unit to tote around a Panzerfaust in the fall of 1944 in Italy? Or any other German platoon-level HQ unit in Italy at the time, for that matter? It seems like it'd have been a potentially disastrous use of a valuable commander in such a close-up AT role. Any comments?

LOL. I've never seen that before. I'm going to spend my time now placing all my vehicles on bridges precariously close to the edge </font>

Cold comfort, I'm sure Now I feel better knowing that's probably what happened to the lone Panther D I'd purchased during one QB and which subsequently went AWOL. At least I could *swear* I'd acquired one before heading off to war ...

***** DISCLAIMER: The following response is based on limited experience playing CMAK, and only vs. the AI. Thank you. ***** I've been driven to distraction by the generally crappy Italian vehicles and AFV's available for QB's, but was determined to find a combination that would afford me even the shred of a chance at winning a defensive battle. I've found that in small QB's (less than 1000 points) two or three 75mm Modello AA guns (or maybe the 75mm PaK AT gun, if available), plus a pioneer platoon and several Breda MMG's were fairly handy for fighting off mixed-arms assaults. Just be sure to purchase several trenches, or place the big guns on opposite sides of the map in palm tree groves or brush, way back from the start line, and try to place at least one under HQ command. Then hope one or more of them survive long enough to make a difference. The pioneers squads with their large number of rifles aren't bad for medium-range fighting, and the flamethrowers can be placed next to the victory flags, hidden and with short covered arcs. Worked for me ...

FK, thanks for the tip! Not having CMBB, I didn't think to look there. But once I did, I found an excellent thread on the topic. I take it that CMBB and CMAK use the same engine code, at least in this regard...

I did several searches for this topic, but was unsuccessful. Are vehicular breakdowns modeled in CMAK? Seems to me that, considering how often tanks and other AFV's broke down during real-life manuevers (especially German AFV'S later in the war), this could introduce a interesting wrinkle in any scenario. [delivered with a very bad Col. Klink imitation] "Ok, send Lt. Steiner's Tiger forward to take care of those Shermans ... what? His tank won't START? Schiesse - alright, change of plans! ..."

Jon, not a problem. I find it very interesting to research the provenance of the emblems that military units chose for their use. My misidentification of the 7. Pz. Rgt. bison as a lion led me to envision admittedly romantic images of the Lion of Africa, the Lion of Babylon, etc. Being told it was actually a bison took me by surprise - then [mentally moving on] I started wondering about the provenance of the choice of a bison. It can be very illuminating, as I'm sure you know, to learn why a unit picked the emblem it did. For example, I learned quite a bit about the 15th-16th century robber-knight when I researched the iron fist emblem of the 17th SS Pzgr. Division "Gotz von Berlichingen." My apologies if I came across in a completely unintended manner. Andreas - a wardrobe malfunction, now that was funny Think the Deutsche Rundfunk took exception to that anatomical feature being so prominently displayed? Heck, if the USAAF got away with scantily-clad vixens in their aircraft nose art ...

Going off on a tangent, how did the Panther with its 75mm L70 cannon compare to the Tiger I's 88mm L56 when it came to long-distance accuracy? I recall from my distant past that the board game Squad Leader assigned the Tiger's cannon an "L" rating and the Panther's cannon an "LL" rating, meaning the Panther was more accurate at greater ranges. Was this actually so?

You know, now that you mention it, I do recall reading somewhere online about the restoration of a German tank (a Tiger?) where the restorers had a heck of a time getting the specifications for a missing "canvas shell bag." Wonder if that's what you just described ... but I'd imagine, especially with Badger's post mentioning oil-stained rags, that the canvas bag might eventually catch on fire. Such a fire, and oily smoke, would've caused no small amount of consternation for the crew in the turret.

I suspect that the occasional disregarding of new or standing orders by individual units in CM is built into the game. Just last night, I was playing the Axis side in a CMAK QB, and had a quad-20mm flak gun in a palm grove. It started firing on an infantry squad some 400m away, so the next turn I ordered it to "Cancel Target" and to "Hide" so as not to give itself away too early. The flak gun crew proceeded to disregard those orders and to resume firing on the infantry squad, even though no one was firing at them. This flipping of the bird at my constantly renewed Cease-and-Hide orders went on for two more turns until the flak gun was creamed by arty. Oh, and the flak crew was "Regular"; I wonder if experience level has an effect on the unit's likelihood to obey orders?

VL, thanks for posting the screen shot! Joachim, the artist could've seen a wisent at the famed Berlin Zoo - goodness knows they had all sorts of creatures, exotic and native, before the war. I'm not familiar with the attitudes of pre-WW2 German zoologists, but if the wisent was that rare, it would make sense the Berlin Zoo would have a few to try and preserve their numbers. Then again, Africa was (and still is) a popular vacation spot, so that doesn't answer the question of the bison's provenance.

During the heat of WW2 battle, what did the tankers (presumably the gunners) do with the spent shells that were ejected from the cannon? I know that some WW2-era tanks had shell ejection ports, but did the gunners manually shove the shells through those ports? What about during a firece fire-fight - did they just let the spent shells roll around on the floor of the tank? I imagine this could've posed a problem, especially in the tanks with larger-caliber guns like the Tiger, what with 20 or 30 spent shells rolling around, tripping up crewmen or falling into the machinery ...

Well, my first reply to this posting apparently was toasted, so here's another attempt ... I was able to view that mod, and I almost fell off my chair. Juju, did you DRAW those weapons from scratch, or did you use photos as a base template? What program did you use, PhotoShop or what? Fantastic!!! Maybe you ought to sell prints of your art, if you aren't doing so already

Understood. Now, where did I put those air mail postage stamps ... Kingfish - nice shot of a Guild Navigator

Fernando, I do believe you - and my apologies [NEWBIE ALERT], I wasn't aware of your exalted status as a member of the BFC design crew But in my defense, earlier I showed the screen shot of the 7. Pz Regt. Pzkw IV F2 to a mammalian biologist friend of mine, and his first comment was: "Oh, a male African lion." Upon being told it was actually a bison, he leaned closer, adjusted his glasses, and said "Well, the dorsal mass there [pointing to hump] is in the wrong place. It should be in the thoracic region of the spine, not the cervical region. Then the distal portion of the spinal column is much too elongated. It should be truncated." In other words, the hump is too far forward, and the tail is too long [begin BrownNoseMode] Not to detract from an excellent game with an astounding level of detail, though. Personally, I love it! [end BrownNoseMode]

LOL. I think you'll find your wish has already been granted. This site has this pic for Pz.Regt 7: (though I think the right edge has been cropped) </font>

After a couple dozen QB attempts, I found the Pzkw IV F2 with that white emblem, and after more careful study, I still think it's a male African lion. I haven't figured out how to post a screen shot, but you can probably find the emblem if you're so inclined. For comparison purposes, here's an excellent profile shot of the American bison (a close relative of the wisent, the European bison which the Germans probably would have used as the model for that emblem; the American bison looks very similar, and the picture is the best I've found): http://www.northrup.org/photos/crap/Animals/nl-65.htm You can see that the tail is much shorter on the bison than on the emblem, and that the "hump" on the bison is further back, over the shoulders. Here's a picture of a male African lion: http://www.northrup.org/photos/crap/Animals/nl-65.htm Not a very good profile shot, but you can see where the tail is proportionately similar to that of the emblem, and the "hump" (the mane) is closer to the head. Can someone from the BFC design crew confirm the identity of this emblem and its origin, please? Thanks! *EDIT* Whoops - I posted the lion link twice. Here's the link for the American bison: http://www.overlandbuffalo.com/bison_bulls/lot121_lg_2.shtml Sorry ... [ February 09, 2004, 09:45 PM: Message edited by: GoofyStance ]

Now that makes sense. Michael </font>

While playing a QB set in North Africa in the fall(?) of 1942, I panned around behind one of the Pzkw IV F2's in the scenario. On the rear of the turret was a white emblem that looked like a lion. I did a Google search, but could not come up with any seemingly relevant hits for the origin of this emblem. I suspect that, given the German penchant for African-related mythology in past times (i.e., Goethe's "Mignon"), the lion emblem has ancient roots - perhaps the Lion of Babylon? Can anyone shed light on the choice of this emblem on the Pzkw IV?