Tux

Hi guys, sorry for the wait - I've been out of it for a little while in Real Life. Turn 28 There seems to be some movement on Mylgas' part. In the centre a Grenadier section dares to advance towards a forward defensive position and is immediately made to pay for it by my central Sherman: At the same time the flanking unit which has just had its cover reduced to rubble picks itself up and takes a few pot shots at my units. It will be permanently silenced in the next minute. Unfortunately I am up against a bit of a brick wall here. I cannot bring myself to launch a full-scale infantry assault at close quarters because I am fearful of losing a great many points to SMG and MG armed Grenadiers. O, to be taking the orders, not dealing them out!

Ok Rankorian, let me finish this game off like you said and then we can play a game of your choice. Just so you know, I've decided that this will be my last AAR for a little while. I have a lot less time on my hands than I did when I started writing them and I think that, apart from anything, the quality of report has suffered a great deal as a result. I rarely have the time necessary to write interesting and detailed reports of turns and so I end up holding back turns from Mylgas so that I don't end up with five to write up at once. This means that my opponent suffers, as do my tactics and my enjoyment of the game. Before then, though, I have two more turns for you all and then the battle result (when I get around to writing them up)!

Turn 27 Everything goes without a hitch. Within 20 seconds my two Shermen have unleashed a flurry of HE shells at Mylgas' flanking section's cover, and the building is in rubble. My mortar also does sterling work, and none of Mylgas' units are up and firing beyond 30 seconds. Very little else happens. Hopefully in the next minute or so Mylgas' second Tiger will emerge to add ~200 points to my score.

Turn 26 The turn begins and my men set out to follow their advance orders. The foremost section meet very little resistance - the one MG42 that does open up, from range, is quickly silenced by my IS-2 and Sherman overwatch. They quickly make it to cover and take a breather less than 100m from the flag. The second section is not so lucky, and takes a concerted burst of MG and rifle fire from the left, and also small arms fire from the right. It seems that Mylgas is pushing his recently-uprooted flank platoon back into combat and they have immediately had an effect, making my advancing green section dive for cover and then begin crawling slowly back towards the building to their rear, between my two tanks. In my orders for Turn 27 both of my central Shermans are ordered to area fire at the building cover of Mylgas' flanking unit. It shouldn't last long. The other major development in this turn is for Mylgas' second Tiger to reappear. It is reversing back towards his centre, but does gain brief LOS to TFB's Sherman. Both tanks shoot and miss and then LOS is broken. At the end of the minute I uncover a worrying fact: If Mylgas pushes his Tiger up towards the main road it is possible for him to engage my central Sherman without gaining LOS to my 57mm ATG. Obviously this will not do, so in the next minute I am reversing said Sherman to make sure that it cannot be engaged independently of the gun. Other orders include a command for my 82mm mortar to area fire at the MG and Grenadier section on my central platoon's left. Finally, I am ordering the one remaining section from my central platoon to advance along the route followed by the green section which has been panicked. They are regulars and the firepower arrayed against them should be suppressed, so I expect them to do a lot better and successfully reach their destination.

Very interesting post, Rankorian. It is always fascinating for me to read other people's impressions of how the game is going. One or two points: TFB was useful in its intended role as a feint, yes, but I didn't think it would get quite so ruthlessly beaten up and destroyed quite so quickly! As it happened I only just had time to take advantage of Mylgas' slight loss of positioning. Overall I think the infantry acted as bait, and then, when he'd wiped the floor with them, Mylgas was in just the right mood to pursue my fleeing Sherman for just enough time to allow me to settle into the position I wanted. IS-2s are extremely capable AFVs, obviously. I tend to use them as turreted, over-armoured assault guns though. The likelihood that they will miss their first shot, combined with their critically low rate of fire, makes it very risky to duel cats at close range. At longer ranges they do better, but opponents often have time to disengage before the IS-2 can land a telling shot. Overall the only reason I would buy an IS-2 over an ISU-122 is for the turret, since I use them both in more or less the same manner. My opinions: 1. I think the odd infantry casualties that I have caused add up with the Tiger I have killed to more-or-less even out the scores as far as casualties are concerned. Either way it is crucial that any engagements which occur during my attack result in a favourable kill/loss ratio for my forces. I'm not sure how easy that will be though, so my priority (after minimising casualties) is to at least contest the flag. 2. Waiting for the Germans to take up position on the flag and then attacking them does put me at a disadvantage, yes, but it was a calculated risk. The Germans are being forced to stay quiet by the weight of direct HE I have arrayed against them, but by so doing they are not being harmed, which is a worry for me.

Turn 25 Despite the area fire orders given to disrupt Mylgas' mortar, it keeps firing. 30s into the turn my Carrier finally gets around to starting to move, but too late... This is probably the single most annoying event to have happened during the entire game because I was pleased to have found a good use for an otherwise useless machine. As it is the survivors that remain in my advanced platoon's HQ will have to support their men on foot and without armour protection. Elsewhere on the map little happens. An HMG 42 is identified at the far end of the main road and it forces my HQ Sherman's commander to button. The nearby IS-2 sprays the enemy gun with MG fire, levels its main gun barrel and shoots... hopelessly off target. Again. The damned thing has now loosed three 122mm HE shells at german infantry targets and not one has landed close enough to have caused any casualties (which is saying something). Disappointing... My orders for Turn 26 have my advanced platoon finally launching an assault on the area surrounding the flag. They have two Shermans and an IS-2 in support/ overwatch, as well as a Maxim MG, an 82mm mortar and a rifle-armed Pioneer section. I just hope any defenders in the area under attack are suppressed by that lot before they can slaughter my attacking men...

I'm not sure what the chances of getting smoke rounds for a Tiger are, but I don't think they're high. I think, in general, Tigers are expected to blow up threats rather than just obscure them... Turn 24 TFB's Sherman fires off the last of its smoke rounds (worth their weight in gold so far during this fight) in order to provide a complete LOS block to the nearby Tiger, and then advances fast towards the crest of the shallow rise it has been sheltering behind. From here I hope it will be able to spend the next minute interdicting troops movements in the areas marked by the blue arrow below: Unfortunately, the Tiger has unbogged itself a second time and is reversing back the way it came, towards the road. A couple of points: If it does head for the road, it should die at the hands of my ATG and IS-2. If Mylgas sticks to the open ground beyond the bend in the road ahead of my units then he will pass beyond their LOS and should be able to save his Tiger. Damn... Meanwhile, my central tanks are in action harassing Mylgas' attempts to cross the main road with infantry. One unit in particular comes under heavy MG fire from both my IS-2 and my HQ Sherman before both let fly with HE. The Sherman is spot on target but I can't help thinking that, if only the IS-2 gunner could aim his HE rounds worth a damn, this infantry unit would no longer exist. As it is it is routed into cover on the far side of the road. Finally, my MG-carrier has come under attack this turn - by a mortar! I would have considered such a weapon to be far better employed against some of my nearby infantry units, but there you go. As it is no damage is caused, and I have studied the spread of the impacting rounds to try and locate the offending unit: TFA's tank and an infantry section have been assigned to area fire at this 'crew' contact next turn. My carrier has been ordered to whizz around to my central tanks where it will pick up the PHQ of my foremost platoon. Hopefully I can then keep my platoon in command without exposing their HQ unduly during their assault. I have also just noticed that I have only got five minutes left in this battle. I may have to get this assault going sooner than I hoped. Not that that's a problem - most of the units are in position now anyway.

He had infantry everywhere, which my IS-2 had fired a shot at, so I find it very difficult to believe that he did not know what his Tiger was in for. All I can think is that he must have hoped that the IS-2 missed its first shot (perhaps based on how short of the mark its first HE shot fell) and that the Tiger was subsequently allowed to get off two-three shots at penetrating the turret front. The odds on him achieving that were far too low for it to make tactical sense, but if he had then the rewards would have been fairly rich. I can also only think that he assumed the gun I had in the vicinity (which he must have spotted beforehand when it was en route to the setup zone) was a 45mm or 76mm type. He simply can't have knowingly pushed his Tiger forwards to face a 57mm ATG and an IS-2 at 100m range, can he?

Turn 23 In the opening seconds the Tiger stops and both tanks take aim at each other. One has an 88mm AP shell chambered and the other, more optimistic one has a smoke round ready to go. In perfect unison they both let fly, and their respective ordnance rends the air between them: I cringe, waiting for the clash of torn metal that denotes a critical hit on my Sherman, but it never comes - the Tiger has missed! It is already too late for it to take another shot, because my Sherman is reversing quickly into cover, and has broken LOS before the 15 second mark. Most frustratingly, Mylgas has his Tiger reversing as well! The formidable array of AT weaponry which I have focussed on the spot 10m ahead of it isn't going to get to 'play' unfortunately, because Mylgas has other plans for his unit. He doesn't have it all his own way though, because it doesn't get far before it's mud-clogged wheels sink deep into the earth, and the tank comes to a sliding, sucking halt. Let's hope it's for good this time! The only other significant development is that Mylgas' advanced Grenadiers have been persuaded to turn back and crawl for cover by my distant Maxim. By the time the minute is out a man is down and the rest of the section are in a state of panic:

Turn 22 Mylgas is still pushing the Tiger onwards - he really wants that Sherman dead! After 30 seconds my heart skips a beat as the bla$ted thing opens fire at my tank! There's no target line or anything, so as the shot plows into the earth 50m short of my unit it acts as a potent reminder that I shouldn't get complacent about the safety of my tank, especially when it's hidden in such a shallow depression. Mylgas is also, more predictably, pushing his Grenadiers ridiculously far forwards in puruit of my two routed green riflemen. By the end of the minute they have opened fire with small arms and grenades, but one of my overwatching Maxims has forced them to hit the dirt in open ground: My orders for Turn 23 focus on moving TFA and their three accompanying tanks into their final positions from which to launch an assault. I have also given my IS-2 a blue cover arc towards the open ground which Mylgas' Tiger must surely cross in the next minute. With a little luck the Grenadiers will get marooned in open ground under machine gun suppression, and I'll be able to destroy them with HE next turn. Finally, TFB's Sherman has had its orders to join TFA cancelled and it is reversing back behind a patch of woods and loosing off its final two smoke rounds in order to try break LOS to the enemy tank one last time before the Tiger (hopefully) meets its fate. It may then also be able to rejoin the fight on my left flank, thus helping to crush Mylgas' troops out of the vicinity of the flag from two directions. If Mylgas has LOS from his Tiger to my Sherman (as I have vice-versa) then he may well order the Tiger to take the shot which it has not yet taken of its own accord, in which case I have to pray that TFB's Sherman survives that one shot. I don't expect the Tiger to have time for more than one before LOS is broken. Roll on Turn 23!

Flying Column, yes I should think so. I'll look into it further in the next minute or two but I would be surprised if he pursues TFB's Sherman any further now. One thing Mylgas has to think about is that if he orders his Tiger to about-turn and move back then he will be exposing his rear to TFB's Sherman (whether or not I have left it in position to take advantage). Unless Mylgas guesses that TFB's Sherman is engaged in a full-scale withdrawl and redeployment then he may not wish to take that chance, which will considerably slow the amount of time it takes him to retreat. That doesn't matter much unless I launch a full-scale assault on the flag in the next minute or two. That is unlikely, but Mylgas doesn't know that. Finally, I'm not sure where he can reposition his Tiger for it to be of much use defending the approaches to the flag. He can either continue along his current path and take flank shots from an IS-2 and HQ-assisted AT gun or he can double-back and cross the main road, taking flank shots from an IS-2 and HQ-assisted AT gun. Broadly speaking he appears to be caught between a rock and... the same rock!

I've just sent back the orders for Turn 22 and made the following note: This is the LOS line from my IS-2. As you can see it should allow me to engage Mylgas' second Tiger from the flank if he tries to push it too far forwards. I haven't given the IS a rotate or cover-arc order along the LOS line yet though, because I don't want to warn Mylgas that I've noticed the line and I think it will take the Tiger more than one minute to cover the necessary distance. I have however given my ATG a cover arc along the line seen above. It has the same LOS as the IS, as does its HQ which has a double combat bonus. As long as Mylgas tries to move that second Tiger around my left flank, it should be dead within two-three minutes. My other orders have been to get the whole of TFA and all three Shermans arrayed against Mylgas' centre in preparation for an assault on the flag area in the next ten minutes.

Yeah, that's why I said the Tiger's fate was sealed when my ATG finished setting up in time to engage. Even if the IS-2 had missed the veteran 57mm was immediately ready to engage and destroy the Tiger. I'm sure Mylgas knew the gun was there or thereabouts, so he must have assumed it was a bog-standard ZIS-3 - not an unreasonable assumption when facing any late war Soviet force.

Turn 21 After 14 seconds this is the view from my centre: A picture says a thousand words, as they say, but I will try to explain what everything here means: Mylgas' first Tiger has reappeared and is driving directly towards TFA's position. My HQ Sherman is committed to area firing at the HMG on my mid-right flank, as you can see, and my IS-2 has yet to gain LOS. You can also just see my advancing section's legs below the Sherman's muzzle blast. The most nerve-wracking thing is that my 57mm ATG has full LOS to the advancing heavy tank, but is 9 seconds away from completing setup! Over the coming second the Tiger advances at an ever-increasing rate as he hits tarmac and grinds through the gears. He clearly intends to take his chances against my IS, knowing how much havoc he can cause if he comes out on top of that one duel. Just as my ATG finishes setup and twists to engage, my IS-2 gains LOS and does likewise. All of a sudden the Tiger's fate is sealed. The IS-2s gunner has had a b*llocking from his commander after his last effort, and he beats the gun crew to a first shot: The result is so clearly catastrophic that my veteran gun crew commander immediately orders his men to hold fire. There is no need for them to expose their position and nature still further by firing upon a dead tank: Little else happens this turn. As the Tiger's crew abandon their wrecked vehicle and crawl for cover TFA's Sherman and the flanking force have moved forwards unopposed, and shall take another 'step' next turn. In the centre my advanceing section and the MG Carrier which I pushed up with it (to help trigger any Panzerschreck ambushes) have done likewise. The only other event of note is the re-emergence of Mylgas' second Tiger on my far left flank. It has evidently managed to unbog itself, but is currently driving itself further and further from the sanctuary of a proper, metalled road surface by chasing TFB's Sherman. If it advances much further I may look into the feasibility of gaining a quick and easy flank shot with my IS-2 along the general axis denoted by the red arrow below: As you can also see in the above picture (near the end of the red arrow) two men from the green Pioneer team which was routed a couple of minutes ago by Mylgas' 'sweeping up' infantry survived their ordeal and are currently hiding within LOS of his forces in order to act as a 'listening post'. I think Mylgas knows they're alive though, and may be looking to correct the situation in the coming minutes.

Turn 20 Things quieten down briefly for this turn. TFA's flanking force and their Sherman take 30s or so to wipe out their atagonist; the MG 42 which refuses to die. My IS-2 sees the most activity by far; after 20 seconds or so a nearby Grenadier squad briefly opens fire on a moving Maxim of mine. The IS crew immediately catch sight of them and rotate the turret to engage. Unfortunately their gunner is horribly off target: I don't think this bodes well for my heavy tank if it should ever have to take on a Tiger... Anyway, a few seconds later some cheeky b*stard-type Grenadiers try and sprint across the road directly ahead of my tanks. Luckily for them my IS has yet to reload, and has to make do with a long burst of hull-mounted MG fire in their direction. TFB's Sherman is basically safe by the end of the minute: It is now in defilade, and will spend the next few minutes moving around to join the assault from a more useful (and less dangerous) position. For Turn 21 I order TFA's flanking bunch to advance on the erstwhile positions of Mylgas' flanking force, with their Sherman in support. In the centre, I will move a squad forwards, towards the flag, to take shelter in a small house midway. Everyone else's orders remain 'as is' including my ATG, which is '1 minute' away from finishing setting up to help cover the main road.

I will use the IS if I can, obviously, but I have to take into consideration that all AFV movement is slow and awkward in this weather. When I use armour I usually like waiting for an opportunity and then manoeuvring it quickly and decisively to gain an advantageous shot before my opponent can react. It's very difficult to do that in these conditions. Also, Tigers quite regularly penetrate IS-2 turret fronts at these sorts of combat ranges and so I really wouldn't be happy putting my tank toe-to-toe with a Tiger in a head-on fight; It's odds-on that, if it missed its first shot, my tank would die before it got off a second. Have all the pictures appeared ok by the way? I can see them on my monitor, although I did post the wrong picture link at the end of my second-last post, as previously noted.

Lmao! "The Croc would new york asian escort have been better suited for new york asian escorts". Post of the year, anyone? Gotta love some of the more creative spambots!

If a moderator could alter the link for the final image in my Turn 18 post from 'Turn18a.jpg' to 'Turn18d.jpg' I'd be much obliged.

Turn 19 TFA's Sherman does exactly as I asked it for an entire minute, levelling the nearby HMG's building, but the li'l b******s are hardy enough that they don't let up firing at my troops. Thankfully, they have yet to cause a casualty. In the centre my HQ Sherman is buttoned by the same HMG it is supposed to be suppressing. Until it has finished rotating though its turret is not going to be able to keep up for long enough to fire accurately or at the gun. On my left Mylgas has a nice little surprise for me. My Sherman is almost out of LOS when a sinister shape is seen emerging through the smoke: This was just beginning to look like it might go horribly wrong for my Sherman when the Tiger grinds to a halt agonisingly short of gaining LOS through the fog. After a few seconds its status changes - it has bogged! If my stars are in a good mood it will immobilise in this spot and be rendered impotent for the rest of the fight! At the very least it should be unable to advance any further through the smoke before my Sherman has reversed into dead ground and escaped.

Turn 18 TFA's Sherman performs well, spraying a nearby HMG with machine gun fire. It takes time out to knock out a fleeing mortar, and then gets back to the more urgent threat: In the centre, my IS-2 is buttoned by a burst of MG42 from the position highlighted below: Unfortunately, Mylgas has a second mortar somewhere, and smoke rounds are landing on the road. In the next minute they will become active and provide perfect cover for any forces he tries to get across the road. Bugger... TFB's Sherman is all but out of LOS now, and his smoke rounds are active in precisely the right area to cover him from Mylgas' second Tiger, should it advance in his direction. Unfortunately, Mylgas' tactical insight remains spot on as he advances a Grenadier section towards my remaining three riflemen. The advance is a dangerous move and the reversing Sherman gets off a healthy dose of hull-mounted MG fire at them, but they are determined to clear that tiny patch of trees, and so they do. My riflemen haven't even spotted the grenadiers by the time they setlle in cover and open fire, and are quickly routed. In my orders for Turn 19 I have ordered TFB's Sherman to area fire at a building on the extreme left edge of the map which is currently housing an HMG 42. It will, of course, continue reversing in the mean time. TFA's Sherman is going to attack the nearby HMG 42 with HE; an option it seems remarkably reluctant to choose on its own. My central tank pairing will continue moving into position, since there is a small area of the road which will be visible to them both, and they may therefore be able to hinder any attempted crossing by Mylgas' just a little bit. The HQ Sherman is also going to area fire at the MG which buttoned my IS-2 in Turn 18. All of my infantry are continuing to either set up in their zone opposite the centre of the map or to engage Mylgas' left flank forces.

Hi. Sorry, I've been very busy for the last couple of weeks and so I haven't had the time to write up a couple of turns which have been played. I need to try and get that done asap so that I can start sending turns to Mylgas again (I've stopped at the moment to avoid running up a huge backlog of AARs to write).

Well I was trying to stay optimistic... lol. In all seriousness I can't disagree with what you're saying, Jason. I think an awful lot hinges on how much Mylgas correctly guesses about my plans in the next couple of minutes. If he susses how empty my left flank is he can, if he wants, sweep around and cause me even more serious problems with at least one Tiger and a Grenadier platoon. My infantry weakness was, as I believe I stated at the time, one of the first things I regretted about my force selection. If I remember correctly my force selection was slightly weighted towards a more open fight, but that is no real excuse. I suppose I can concede that the game is Mylgas' for the taking but, in light of how uncertain it is whether Mylgas himself realises this, I am willing to continue to the best of my ability. One mistake I think I made was to attempt a fully-fledged flanking attack through the map centre. It has taken a long time to get that far, even allowing for the interruptions encountered, and I have yet to get to a stage where TFA is ready to settle down and fight. In the meantime TFB has been discovered, engaged, sounded-out and destroyed by Mylgas' foremost forces, and he still has time to reposition and face TFA. This is a difficult game. I think I'm slowly realising just how much I abhor wet, foggy conditions apart from anything!

If he hasn't got any armour on his left then it is looking up, yes. I particularly like my IS-2's current position, with its supporting Sherman: If nothing else, TFB drew Mylgas' forces across the main road in order to engage, which is further than they need otherwise have travelled. I now have two full tanks poised to prevent them from coming back to engage TFA without risking heavy losses. Effectively then, Mylgas is now a Tiger and a reinforced Grenadier Platoon down.... unless... do Tigers carry Smoke ammunition as standard ? The Tiger might also get lucky and race back across the road, assuming my IS-2 misses its first shot and doesn't get a second. It might also get lucky and defeat the IS-2 with a one-in-three turret penetration in a head-head duel, but that's something of a long shot. Having said that, once my 57mm ATG is set up and ready to go facing down the main road I may withdraw the IS-2. This is because Mylgas still has a second Tiger with which he can threaten any Shermans which attempt to properly support TFA, and I would like to be able to hunt the second Tiger on my own terms (i.e. not having to work my whats'ems off for dubious flank and rear shots). To finish off this particular disjointed splat of thoughts and ideas, I agree that I may be able to further harm Mylgas' efforts by chasing his left-sided flanking platoon down and destroying them. The only problem is that the platoon in question is flitting in and out of the fog and trees like nobody's business, and so it's difficult to decide on a suitable axis of advance. I only have one platoon to do it with as well, and they have to be able to cover supporting Shermans from Schreck attack. Also, if Mylgas has any AT guns or bogged tanks towards his starting line, then I could easily come-a-cropper if I push too far. For my own sake as much as anyone else's, I'm just going to note down here what I think Mylgas has done with his units: I think TFB faced a Grenadier platoon with Panzerschreck and Tiger support. I think the Schreck is low on or out of ammo, and the infantry will have taken a casualty or two and used up a healthy portion of their small Grenadiers' ammo-allotment. This platoon and one Tiger is now (hopefully) cut off and unable to rejoin their colleagues without suffering heavy casualties. I think Mylgas has another, weak platoon in his centre, opposite TFA. They have all-but-full ammo, and that is all I know (or think I know) about them. I think he bought a company and has the third platoon as his left flanking force, accompanied by an 81mm mortar and two HMG 42s. The mortar's ammo is low or empty, possibly restricted to a few smoke rounds. The HMGs are either suppressed under direct 75mm HE fire (on the left from my POV, in the trees) or fully IDed in a light building from which covered retreat is almost impossible. Hopefully I can destroy these two as useful combatants in the next couple of minutes. That leaves whatever else he has, including a few unidentified infantry-type units spotted ghosting about near his second Tiger over the last few minutes. I have no info on these other than that one of them counts a bolt-action rifle amongst its inventory. They could be un-used HQs (ever wished you could sell that green PHQ with no bonuses? ) or weakened auxiliary support weapons. I don't know.

TFA consists of 2 platoons, each with three squads and a decent HQ. Remaining manpower is as follows: 6xGrn, 7xReg, 8xGrn in the first platoon's sections and 6xReg, 6xReg, 8xReg in the second platoon (holding back fighting the flankers). Turn 17 TFB is almost entirely gone now: their supporting Sherman is in full retreat and everything is going ok so far. The Sherman's own gun has laid a pretty effective smoke screen across the face of the nearest Tiger. The weather is still, so that smoke will last for the next minute or two which it takes for my Sherman to reach defilade. In fact, unless the nearest Tiger reverses back onto the road and along the red arrow shown below it will be unable to stop my Sherman from retreating safely. If it does try and move onto the road it will face a fight against my central Sherman + IS-2 pair, but more of that later. The red circle in the shot above shows where I plan to smoke next turn, in order to stop Mylgas' second Tiger from dashing out and taking a quick shot at the retreating Sherman. Finally, TFB's infantry presence isn't entirely gone yet. I have three green bolt-action riflemen hiding in the small patch of scattered trees just to the left of the Sherman's Area Fire line above. They will be useful as scouts until discovered. In the opening 10s of the turn, Mylgas' infantry begin trying to dash back across the road to regroup opposite TFA. The one unit which attempts this is immediately and satisfyingly arrested by a combination of my HQ Sherman's MG fire and my IS-2 commander's Dushka. Next turn I shall order the HQ Sherman to destroy them with HE. At the end of the turn, my two central tanks are positioned as follows: During Turn 18 I hope to reposition the IS-2 within the blue circle shown. From here it is set to prevent any of Mylgas' infantry or armour from using the main road safely. The HQ Sherman is going to set up just nearby it to help attack infantry crossing the road - I don't want too many to be able to dash across while my IS-2 crew are reloading fresh HE shells. TFA are doing just fine. My ATG is up and moving towards its final setup zone deep in the woods. The Task Force's supporting Sherman has also done a good job of suppressing both Mylgas' units (an HMG and a squad or HQ) in the patch of trees chosen for Area Fire treatment. Before the minute is out a retreating mortar (probably empty or low on ammo) and a second HMG 42 have been positively identified as warranting some 'attention' of their own in the next minute or so.

Quality really does count, yes. I always think of anything below regulars as good for nothing except scouting, watching and laying down firepower from medium range. I tend to reason that anything that can't be achieved with regulars shouldn't have been attempted in the first place. Veterans and above just help mask any mistakes you make in the infantry war. I still rarely splash out on them though. Realistically I have a reinforced platoon of decent quality Engineers in TFA. Most of them still have their satchels, in case anyone ever gets up the guts to use them. The group is actually composed of the remains of two separate platoons, both with three squads left I think. I have taken about half a dozen infantry casualties and have had a conscript ATR team wiped out by Mylgas' flankers. His HMG has also caused a single crew casualtiy to my ATG. I'll get a proper count of remaining Engineer manpower for you when I play the next minute.