Tux

Right, the first thing to note about the way casualties have hit my forces is that the losses have been taken almost entirely by my Pioneers. One section has been reduced to a mere 3 Mosin-Nagant riflemen (as well as having been bumped down to green). This isn’t good on such a big map, and means I really am going to have to work hard to use my tanks as ‘isolators’. What I mean by this is that I want my armour to eventually form a perimeter of fire around my infantry Main Force, ensuring that Mylgas can’t overwhelm the latter from multiple directions. In all honesty, this is down to the fact that I selected such an AFV-heavy force in the first place; my tanks are effectively having to stand in for infantry platoons that I didn’t buy. So here’s the map: Interesting, eh? The single flag on the far left flank immediately brings up a single question in my mind: How far to the right do I need to go? I don’t have the manpower to secure the entire map… I will certainly feel more comfortable attacking from the hilltop in the centre of the map rather than frontally up my left flank. With this in mind my Company HQ has ‘stolen’ a weakened green section from one platoon and a weakened regular section from the other. Both of these sections have been split into teams of about three men each. Adding a conscript ATR team and a green LMG to this formation will hopefully make it appear very much like a full-strength platoon, and I am going to advance it carefully in a frontal approach on the flag. It is taking along a single subordinate Sherman as heavy support, and the whole getup comprise Task Force A. In fact, the Sherman is the major force in TFA, so it would be more accurate to say that the accompanying infantry are intended to support the tank in a general nuisance and distraction role. I will explain the Sherman’s role in more detail next turn, when it has moved and it is easier to describe. My two proper Pioneer Platoons (each weakened by a single small section), are going to move up towards the hillcrest, and then hook to the left to attack the flag area from the centre of the map, with their base of fire falling at Position 1. They are supported by three Maxim MMGs divided between Positions 1 and 2, an 82mm mortar and an ATR team which the game ‘promoted’ to green for me. These forces comprise Task Force B. My MG Carrier-mounted ZIS-2 is hanging back pending information on where best to set it up. My final two Shermen and my IS-2 are staying well back pending information on where Mylgas’ infantry are and how best to hit them, hard, with HE. The lesser of the two platoons in B is going to hang back in Position 3 when its counterpart hooks towards the flag. It will thus be able to double check that Mylgas isn’t mounting an effort from the far side of the map, before (hopefully), moving to support the better platoon's assault on the flag. If Mylgas does attack from my right though, I am in trouble. My infantry forces are small enough, and the terrain well-covered enough, that an infantry-heavy force taking the longest possible approach to the flag, from my far right flank, could easily ‘corral’ them into a small ‘kessel’ type area and then crush them with fire superiority. My strategy if an attempt of this sort is spotted will be to use my two backup Shermen and, if necessary, my IS-2 to help blunt Mylgas’ advance with concentrated HE and MG fire, and hope no sharp-ended panzers are on the prowl. Overall strategy: 1. Gain as much information on Mylgas’ forces and axis of advance as possible, as quickly as possible and on the way to the flag via my pre-determined route. 2. React to this information once, aggressively if possible, and seek to seize and maintain the initiative from that point onwards. 3. Hope my tanks carry enough HE weight to destroy at least a platoon of infantry, thus evening out the odds a little bit. Could a moderator perhaps remove my previous post, please? I can't any more.

Right, the first thing to note about the way casualties have hit my forces is that the losses have been taken almost entirely by my Pioneers. One section has been reduced to a mere 3 Mosin-Nagant riflemen (as well as having been bumped down to green). This isn’t good on such a big map, and means I really am going to have to work hard to use my tanks as ‘isolators’. What I mean by this is that I want my armour to eventually form a perimeter of fire around my infantry Main Force, ensuring that Mylgas can’t overwhelm the latter from multiple directions. In all honesty, this is down to the fact that I selected such an AFV-heavy force in the first place; my tanks are effectively having to stand in for infantry platoons that I didn’t buy. So here’s the map: Interesting, eh? The single flag on the far left flank immediately brings up a single question in my mind: How far to the right do I need to go? I don’t have the manpower to secure the entire map… I will certainly feel more comfortable attacking from the hilltop in the centre of the map rather than frontally up my left flank. With this in mind my Company HQ has ‘stolen’ a weakened green section from one platoon and a weakened regular section from the other. Both of these sections have been split into teams of about three men each. Adding a conscript ATR team and a green LMG to this formation will hopefully make it appear very much like a full-strength platoon, and I am going to advance it carefully in a frontal approach on the flag. It is taking along a single subordinate Sherman as heavy support, and the whole getup comprise Task Force B. In fact, the Sherman is the major force in TFB, so it would be more accurate to say that the accompanying infantry are intended to support the tank in a general nuisance and distraction role. I will explain the Sherman’s role in more detail next turn, when it has moved and it is easier to describe. My two proper Pioneer Platoons (each weakened by a single small section), are going to move up towards the hillcrest, and then hook to the left to attack the flag area from the centre of the map, with their base of fire falling at Position 1. They are supported by three Maxim MMGs divided between Positions 1 and 2, an 82mm mortar and an ATR team which the game ‘promoted’ to green for me. These forces comprise Task Force A. My MG Carrier-mounted ZIS-2 is hanging back pending information on where best to set it up. My final two Shermen and my IS-2 are staying well back pending information on where Mylgas’ infantry are and how best to hit them, hard, with HE. The lesser of the two platoons in A is going to hang back in Position 3 when its counterpart hooks towards the flag. It will thus be able to double check that Mylgas isn’t mounting an effort from the far side of the map, before (hopefully), moving to support the better platoon's assault on the flag. If Mylgas does attack from my right though, I am in trouble. My infantry forces are small enough, and the terrain well-covered enough, that an infantry-heavy force taking the longest possible approach to the flag, from my far right flank, could easily ‘corral’ them into a small ‘kessel’ type area and then crush them with fire superiority. My strategy if an attempt of this sort is spotted will be to use my two backup Shermen and, if necessary, my IS-2 to help blunt Mylgas’ advance with concentrated HE and MG fire, and hope no sharp-ended panzers are on the prowl. Overall strategy: 1. Gain as much information on Mylgas’ forces and axis of advance as possible, as quickly as possible and on the way to the flag via my pre-determined route. 2. React to this information once, aggressively if possible, and seek to seize and maintain the initiative from that point onwards. 3. Hope my tanks carry enough HE weight to destroy at least a platoon of infantry, thus evening out the odds a little bit.

Lol, I think it's far smoother than 'Shermans', but we'll see. I took the IS-2 because it wasn't too much more expensive than any other AFV with useful HE, including a single extra Sherman or T-34. It does also give me the option of a bit of extra hardiness versus the lethal AT guns Mylgas is sure to wield. I've just been thinking, by the way, that if I were Mylgas and had just lost the previous fight in the way I did, I might well have bought a good number of potent AT guns for this game. I think he identified my Panzers as the key to my strategy and could well balance his force towards their destruction this time. Perhaps I should have invested in more than a solitary on-map mortar?...

I made it. I filched the picture from the Aviation Arthouse (http://www.oilontheboil.com/index.php) and added the textured frame and the text to it using Paintshop Pro X. The original artwork is by Gareth Hector and is called 'Bad Omen'.

Hi all, it's me again. *Cuts to the chase* August 1944. I'm playing Soviets and Mylgas is in charge of the Filthy Hun. All the other settings are the same as before, except that rarity is variable and I've given us a 'Huge' map this time to shake things up a bit. During setup my sense of style gets the better of me and I find myself casually perusing the equipment available to a Soviet Naval unit. When you see their uniforms you just know they mean business! After a little careful thought, I come up with the following selection (all units are regular unless otherwise stated): 1 x Naval Pioneer Company 1 x 82mm Mortar 2 x PTRD teams (conscript) 1 x DP LMG (green) 1 x ZIS-2 57mm ATG 1 x MG Carrier 1 x Truck 1 x M4A3 Sherman platoon 1 x IS-2 (late) As you can tell, I am generally more comfortable in command of AFVs rather than infantry, and so I usually max out my armour allowance. Having said that, I only do so if I have a specific use for every unit: Pioneers: No explanation needed. Mortar: Likewise; Death to guns! ATRs: Conscripts because they will scout ahead of the infantry main body. Also, ATRs have good accuracy and stealth, and a Conscript ATR round hurts just as much as a regular one. I never bother with anything other than Conscript ATRs nowadays. LMG: Bought for chump change at the end of the force selection process. I'll use it to scout about a bit I suppose. ZIS-2: Available at a knock-down price thanks to the Variable Rarity Fairies, careful siting of this tidy piece of kit will give a nasty surprise to any german heavy armour that may show up. MG Carrier: I love the Universal Carrier and all its variants in this game. Their 12mm all-round armour makes them completely MG-proof, which is more than you can say for most other light armour in-game. I will use it to drag the ZIS. Truck: Backup for the Carrier (in case the 10% Casualty Demons pinch either of them). Also able to carry a full mortar crew if needed. M4A3 platoon: I had a choice between these or late '43 T-34s for a negligible difference in price. I chose the Shermen for two reasons. First, they have a three-man turret and so can engage the enemy without buttoning. Second, their 75mm AP rounds are perfectly capable of penetrating german 80mm glacis plate at normal combat ranges, unlike Soviet 76mm. IS-2: Bought for two reasons, again. First off it's a backup cat-killer if my ZIS fails and flank shots for my Shermen are impossible to achieve. Secondly it has 122mm HE with which to uproot infantry. It was cheaper than any of the Soviets' heavy SUs. My basic plan of action is to scout about and make first contact with my infantry. I will then bring my Shermen forward to engage the enemy, destroy his armour and lure out any thick-fronted AFVs Mylgas may have bought. These will be dealt with, if possible, by my Shermen and 57mm ATG. My IS-2 is going to hang right back and will only show itself if it is desparately needed for AT purposes. Other than that it will wait until Mylgas' AT assets are blunted before emerging to break the back of his infantry. We await the map...

Smart ideas are always worth testing out. The germans did so and it didn't work, so they dropped it. Whether it was worth the cost/ complexity would probably have been decided based on the results it achieved. It would certainly have been useful to have an ATR that guaranteed a crew bailout with every penetration (until said crew begain wearing masks).

If I was taking part in a fight versus a single example of each of the other two types, starting at 2km distance from each other on open steppe, I'd choose to sit in the Panther. If I was in one of three substantial tank formations, each of which cost the same to produce and put through the fight, I'd take my chances in one of the T-34/85s which would over-run and bypass the relatively pathetic team of Panthers. If I had to produce one of either the T-34/85, Panther or Sherman E8 en masse for my army, given a set budget, infinite raw materials, a guarantee of being able to competently crew and operate every tank I could produce and a substantial and competent enemy, I'd choose the T-34/85 for its HE advantage over the E8, primarily. Both come streets ahead of the Panther in terms of economy. If I had a limited population (read capacity to crew my tanks properly) then I'd put them in Panthers in order to preserve them as well as possible. Low fuel reserves = T-34/85. Etc.

Which variants are we comparing? Earliest? Latest? Contmporary 1943? Contemporary 1944? etc.

Absolutely mate, just email me a file and I'll pick forces. You can choose the settings this time, although I still prefer company-sized battles to anything larger. It's interesting to hear your side of the battle. What were the exact forces that you purchased in the beginning, and why did you buy them?

Thanks for the encouragement guys. If there are any criticisms/ suggestions regarding the AAR style please feel free to post them as well. I do sometimes get tired/ lack enthusiasm when posting a report of some of the quieter turns, but I try and get all the important bits across. With any luck Mylgas will soon be contributing his feelings and opinions. I am 100% in agreement with Diesel. From the start I recognised that the game had 'handed' me a solid battle strategy by providing me with such a short and direct route to a reverse-slope defence of all three flags. I had to 'keep my head down' at first, since Mylgas was able to position guns overlooking my rear areas (as indeed he did), but once I'd covered the first 100m or so I was in mostly dead ground. Indeed, I didn't even have to use the 'advance' command often to get my infantry into position! I, too, prefer an interesting, hard-fought loss to a dull, messy victory. To be honest I think this fight was dangerously close to falling within the latter description. Most of the threats my units encountered were brought about by rash - or even downright poor - positioning on my part. Another 'saving grace' with respect to interest value was the fact that Mylgas managed to get a gun into a position from which it had a keyholed view into the heart of the target village, and he was unlucky to only knock out one of my point tanks with that particular asset. I'll send MeatEtr a message and see if I can't arrange a game, although something tells me I might be signing my own death warrant with that one...

Mylgas has surrendered and the an unholy silence settles over the battlefield. A brief analysis, to be elaborated upon as and when people request: I had two 'star performers', without which the entire fight would have been incredibly difficult. Firstly, the Panzer IV which I ended up routing Mylgas' rear units with. It accounted for 33 infantry casualties, two mortars, two (both) T-34s and an SU-122. My second star was the lowly SPW 251/2 mortar halftrack. It accounted for both of Mylgas' 76.2mm M36 F-22 guns (one regular and one veteran), thereby allowing my Panzers to throw their weight around and cripple Mylgas' forces during the critical stages of the battle. The majority of my other units scored useful but unimpressive infantry tallies in the low single digits. Any comments, questions or points-worth-making?

Lol, it's ok I'll let you off. He certainly is aware of this thread, but he has been very honourable in agreeing not to view it until the game is over. Turn 26 My Panzer wastes no time in hurling shell after shell at the nearby building, and a few exhausted crewmen are seen sprinting for cover just as the final shell lands its blow: As the dust settles the battlefield goes quiet. In the next minute or so I shall offer a ceasefire, and we will get the final scores.

Turn 25 Again, very little to report. The HQ is wiped out by a brace of 75mm HE shells, eliminating the last expected threat that Mylgas could pose to my raiding Panzer. In my orders for Turn26 I have included one for my Panzer to destroy the building in which Mylgas' crewmen are taking shelter. To be honest I'm jsut running down the clock now. I'll offer a ceasefire next turn.

Hey hey hey, folks, it's Turn 24! I'll bet you all thought the game was dead? Well you may as well be right, in all honesty. The entirety of this turn sees my raider-Panzer IV flush out an assortment of Soviet gun- and mortar-crewmen, who are promptly persuaded to take cover in the nearby building by my tank's MG-fire. One unit, which I think is probably to be a Company HQ, pops up dangerously close to my tank (within 25m), but poses a limited threat since he is promptly spotted and efficiently suppressed by the tank crew. Elsewhere a few of my infantry units maintain nuisance Area Fire at the expected locations of a few of Mylgas' routed troops, but nothing of note occurs. In my orders for Turn 25 I let my Pz IV's main gun loose on the assorted infantry, with priority given to the nearby HQ.

German tanks do, occasionally, retreat when they might be better advised staying for an easy shot. Soviet tanks do it an awful lot more often though, and sometimes even when they should outmatch the opponent they're cowering from! The vehicle turn rate doesn't make up for StuGs being inpenetrable by Soviet 76mm AP at point blank range. If both issues were corrected it wouldn't matter where a StuG's frontal plate was facing or how quickly it could be brought round to face a threat. I don't like buying air strikes either, but not because they're too powerful. To get over this just imagine you've 'bought' an air strike by a whole flight, rather than the game's unrealistic single aircraft. The reason I don't buy them is because they're so unreliable. First off, they may not show up. Second, you don't know when they'll show up, so it could be after you've already lost the fight. Third, they're almost as likely to attack your own troops as they are those of the enemy, especially if the two are closely engaged at the time. As for your firing problem, I have only experienced this when a tank has been ordered to rotate to face a certain direction at the end of a movement order. When this happens the turret must keep rotating to compensate for the rotating hull, and so the gunner can never 'freeze' the turret's angle, adjust his elevation and fire. I have a feeling that more experienced crews may occasionally have the initiative to halt the rotating order in order to fire, but in far too many instances it can be a fatal problem for your tank. The solution? Don't give your tank huge on-the-spot-rotation orders to carry out if you expect to be engaging a target - let the crew decide whether they need to rotate of their own accord.

What were four Hetzers doing flank on to an advancing tank?! Well done though - they are annoying little critters when used well.

Turn 23 Very little happens - a couple of 75mm shells flush out whatever red infantry units remain in Mylgas' rearmost building, and my Panzer IV finally begins to move around to the other side. Sorry for the delays folks. Work has got the better of me these last few weeks, and then I was without internet access last weekend.

Mostly fair points. I'd be very interested to learn how to better coordinate AFVs with infantry on such a map. In my experience the infantry from both sides melts away into the ubiquitous heavy cover within minutes on an urban map, and so I tend to use AFVs as mobile pillboxes to isolate areas that I want my infantry to control. I think Jo was too late to position his StuGs where they could do any harm, and also failed to protect them well enough. My Stag was lucky to get past a Panzerschreck team and a Faust-armed squad without coming to any harm, but on the other hand it was the car's speed that saved it from the Schreck (which was the main reason I bought the thing in the first place) and a moment of delay caused by my own change of orders that made it vulnerable to the Panzerfaust. When comparing my Stag to Jo's armoured cars I think it has to be rememered: My Stag made a high-speed, pre-meditated thrust towards two pre-located and vulnerable high-value targets along a relatively obscure road which was unlikely to be lined with enough infantry with wide enough LOS to pose a serious threat if it kept moving. Jo's armoured cars both raced across the Boulevard and into my flank without any prior knowledge of what units I may have in the area. They subsequently ran head-first into a full medium tank at less than 100m range and both quickly died. We may both have treated cars as expendable, but I would argue that my move was more of a calculated risk.

Turn 15 The men of Platoon B hunch over their sights as they spy movement in the building occupied by the HMG team. They are about to open fire when a white pillow case flops over the windowsill and billows peacefully in the breeze. There is a moment of confusion as the men take cover and wait for their NCOs to make contact with HQ. Slowly, reports filter through of similar goings on across the city. There’s no question about it - the Germans have surrendered! An atmosphere of anticlimax mingles strangely with the forced humour of men cheated of the opportunity to relieve the pent-up tension in their shoulders and necks. Discipline is difficult to maintain in such conditions, but there are no problems this time and almost 150 German Fallschirmjager troops are taken hostage: Joe’s troops are perplexingly positioned. The ‘flanking force’ my Wolverine hit and which Platoon A were positioned to resist consisted of a single, two-man MG 42 team and two 81mm Mortars. Nothing else. I can only imagine Joe wanted to align the Mortars so as to produce a wide smoke-screen which he could use to cover an assault across the main Boulevard. The ‘flanking force’ my Staghound encountered and which I worried so much about consisted of a single, two-man MG 42 team and a Panzerschreck. Nothing else. Perhaps this was just a screening force? Joe also has a full Fallschirmjager Company, with platoons positioned at 1, 2 and 3 in the screenshot below (in which I have also noted the positions of British platoons A, B and C). Platoon 1 seems to be positioned to (eventually) push across the road towards Platoon A. Platoon 3 is sort of in position to combat Platoon C, except that they don’t have LOS to any of the approaches to the flag except the open pavement in the centre of the housing block: It is the positioning of Platoon 2 that I find the most bizarre however. Jo, have they moved at all since the beginning of the game? Very good fight mate – really made me think. Now you may make yourself known and add whatever you want to say about the fight as a whole. Oh, and I’d be fascinated to learn what your plan was. P.S. And, of course, let the discussion begin! Every opinion and comment is welcome. We have an interesting opportunity, now that we have all watched the exact same fight, which we can exploit to compare opinions on the tactics and equipment employed by both sides.

Turn 14 My Staghound crew are clinical in their execution of the two StuGs. The armoured car actually alternates between targets, putting one shell through the flank of one StuG before turning to make sure its twin doesn’t come back to life. It penetrates each StuG twice during the minute in this manner and, as it races away towards its next job both SPGs are completely wrecked. There is not much other news to report. The HMG 42 goes to ground early in the minute – I think Joe might have ordered it to hide. Either way I have assigned my Wolverine and two Platoon B rifle sections to Area Fire at the MG’s last known location. I want to really shake them up while there is little else to do. In the next couple of turns, with the rest of my campaign having gone so well so far, I am going to look to consolidate my claim on the central flag. I will Area Fire high explosive at nearby locations and then assault them when I deem it safe.

The only development elsewhere is for an HMG 42 to be located across the Boulevard from Platoon B. It poses no threat, since I am not planning to cross the Boulevard here, but it is nonetheless located when it opens fire to button my speeding Wolverine and is quickly suppressed by the riflemen of Platoon B holding the buildings opposite. My orders for Turn 14 consist of the following: I have given the Staghound fast movement orders to take it back to support Platoon C. The orders are complex enough that it should have time to kill both StuGs before it starts to move. The orders also take it back via the main Boulevard, since I thought that route would be safer from infantry AT-weapons than the side streets I used for the initial attack. I am assuming that Joe’s StuGs are his only full AFVs, and that they will both be killed by the Staghound in the next minute. My Wolverine is therefore now, as far as I’m concerned, an HE-chucker. I have kicked the crew off in this new role by reversing them back to support Platoon C from my side of the Boulevard and giving them an order to hit the newly-discovered HMG 42. I’ve kept it buttoned to avoid unnecessary casualties and to save the .50 cal ammo in case it’s needed later on. My 25-lber is going to Area Fire at the buildings immediately opposite Platoon C’s two point units as part of a general exercise to make life difficult for any of Joe’s infantry who may be sitting near the flag in that area. Finally, the Sherman to the rear of Platoon C is going to lob an HE shell or two after the two retreating infantry units and then move out to cover the long main road that was previously covered by my Vickers HMG. The latter is a few seconds away from reaching its new setup position from where it will, apart from anything, be able to protect my Sherman’s flank.

The idea is that my Stag's blue cover arc should ensure that, once it reaches its final position, it is already aiming at the nearest StuG. That's what I thought it would do, anyway... Turn 13 My heart skips a beat in the first second of the minute as a Panzerfaust is launched from a building nearby my Staghound. We both have detailed armour hits off, so I don’t know how but the impacting projectile fails to damage my armoured car. Perhaps a glancing hit on the gun barrel? The next 30 seconds are painful as I wait for a second to be launched and nip my little project right in the bud, but finally my ‘Hound is up and moving, and the operation is underway. After 40-odd seconds the car races into LOS of the two skulking StuGs. The two German crews are falling over themselves trying to engage in time, but the plucky Brits are just too fast! The Staghound screeches to a halt metres away from the nearest StuG, but the crew haven’t spotted the two SPGs yet! Thankfully, two factors intervene to buy them time: Firstly, they are now outside the StuGs’ cover arcs and, just as the German crews debate whether to disobey orders to re-engage, the second factor appears in the distance: Mwahahahahahaaaa! What wouldn’t the wartime Allies have given for unit coordination as perfect as this?! The Wolverine is directly ahead of the two StuGs, and so they each level their barrels to engage. The Wolverine fires off a shot which falls short, and just as it reverses back out of LOS one of the StuGs gets off a reply: Thankfully, this round also falls short and the Staghound has now acquired a target. Before the smoke from the StuG’s shot has dispersed the Staghound’s gun barks and a 75mm shell crunches through thin flank armour, causing agonising cries to be heard coming from inside. <Turn continued in next post>

Good point... Turn 22 Everything is so quiet now - it's scary! The only disturbances to be heard are a few Area Firing German infantrymen and the odd crunch of a distant 75mm gun as my commanderless tank hammers away at Mylgas' rear building cover. Unfortunately I was careless with my breakthrough tank's orders, and it spends most of the turn rotating on the spot to avoid a patch of 'slope' which it cannot traverse in order to reach its final waypoint. On the bright side, a mortar unit is identified inside the building and will be attacked next turn:

Turn 12 Frustration! Even as the Staghound arrives in position to attack the rear of the SPGs both vehicles reverse quickly past it. The Stag engages, and is about to fire when its ‘fast’ move back to Platoon C kicks in and it begins to rotate. The Stag rotates on the spot faster than its turret can turn to keep the target StuG in its sights, and so it never gets off a shot! Bugger (to put it mildly)… On the (slightly) positive side, both SPGs have been positively IDed as late-mid StuG IIIGs. Doesn’t change much, but there you have it. Both StuGs are now in a very strong position from which to engage armour which I try to move in support of Platoon A, should I need to. Speaking of Platoon support, my operation to secure my forces’ right flank (behind Platoon C) seems to be going well. Two German infantry units are spotted retreating from the position my Stag found them in into a nearby building. One of them is labelled “Infantry?” and the other is labelled “Crew?”. If they were elements of a flanking force, then they are retreating, which is good. Whether they are or not, my Sherman is now all but in position to cut off any further infantry movements in that direction: One final piece of intelligence I gleaned from these infantry units is that they are wearing Luftwaffe uniforms. Unfortunately I don’t know enough about different infantry types to put this information to good use! In my orders for Turn 13 I cancel the Stag’s movement back towards its starting line. My reasons for doing this are as follows: Currently, I have the initiative. Joe’s StuGs are reacting to my moves and are thus limited in their ability to properly counter the movement of my Staghound. Secondly, Joe has seen my Staghound change direction and begin moving back away from his StuGs. He is therefore slightly less likely to expect me to change back again and renew my assault on the two SPGs. Thirdly, both StuGs are now cornered against the map edge. Whilst this may seem like a strong position from which to fire across the map it also limits them to forwards movement only. If I can race my Stag out and curve about to park immediately to the rear and side of the StuGs they will be forced to either rotate on the spot to engage or to expose their rear armour by driving away to escape. The fourth reason is that the StuGs’ failure to engage my lone PIAT team with more than a brief burst of MG fire leads me to suspect that they have been given blue cover arcs directly across the map. If I can get my Staghound behind them, no matter by how little, the TacAI will have to ignore the cover arc to engage, which it is usually reluctant to do. To maximise the chances of this move succeeding I have buttoned my ‘Hound to avoid a close range MG burst killing the commander when it dashes out in front of the StuGs. I have also given my Wolverine a shoot ‘n’ scoot order to the road covered by the StuGs. As long as I can kill both StuGs with this assault then I consider the Wolverine expendable. I doubt Joe has any other armour heavy enough for me to miss a 76mm gun once these two SPGs are gone. If it works as planned, the Wolverine will enter LOS to the StuGs just as they are attempting to engage the armoured car, thus confusing them and buying one or other of my units time to shoot. Finally, the Sherman I have supporting Platoon A has a delayed reverse order given to him; Two seconds into the next minute he is going to have the option of reversing out for a shot at the StuGs, should they have killed the Wolverine and rotated to engage the Staghound. I don’t want to lose this Sherman though, so if the other two units are managing ok I will play it safe and cancel the reverse move. So there you have it. To help you picture it, here is what all those orders look like: The Wolverine is bottom left, the Stag mid-right, and the Sherman is top left. Wish me luck!

Hoolaman, absolutely! I have decided not to comment too often and let my turns do the talking. As I mentioned though, I've decided that, now Jo definitely knows of my Stag's existence, I should push on and go for broke. What's the worst that can happen...?