Heinrich505

George MC, I finished playing out this remarkable scenario yesterday. In the designer notes, you asked that if anyone had comments about the scenario, to please post them. This was a wonderful battle, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found that I had to pull myself away from it when other things came up. When I got really going and caught up in the battle, I'd lose track of time and suddenly wonder where the past few hours blew past. Thanks so much for putting this one together for our enjoyment. The time alloted was very generous, a full 2 hours and 30 minutes. I took this to mean that perhaps I should be wary of unexpected difficulties. I ended up getting the enemy to surrender with 1 hour and 30 minutes left in the game. I was playing against the AI and on Elite. While I ended up with a Total Victory, it didn't feel that way, as I had 18 men killed and 10 wounded, losing 2 Armored Vehicles. I had a lot of virtual letters to write. The mix of troops felt just right, the enemy AI seemed to behave very competently, giving me fits at times, and the battle had a very real feel to it, with an ebb and flow that felt just right. It was very enjoyable commanding the Marines, and they worked very well in the battle. The map was amazing - it really helped to draw me in to the battle. I spent most of my time right down on the ground level, looking for elevation changes for my men to take advantage of, as well as giving them "guidance" on where to set up and overwatch. There was a lot of building clearing, with assault teams charging into buildings while being covered by the rest of the squad. Things looked very real. I'd highly recommend this battle. It was a blast to experience, and had a very real feel and look to it. I tracked down the actual briefing by Major Kassner that you referred to in the notes, and your version was faithful to his original idea. I think your AI was more devious than Major Kassner might have expected though, haha. [ [ [ [ Spoilers [ [ [ [ Per your briefing, I split up into three sections, one going fast to the left flank, one going fast to the right flank, and one heading straight up the middle. I put some FOs and Javeline guys on the high escarpment right there where everyone came into the map. I had the snipers up there too. I have to again say that the map was amazing to see. I had the center group stop just before the bridge into the town area, worrying that the bridge might be booby-trapped. I ran some squads on foot into the first gully. I also ran the right flank guys up the large escarpment there, to get some high views of the valley. The left flank boys kept working their way over to the road, as I intended to move in on the village from the left and hold, while the center worked further forward and the right cleared the ridge lines. Everything was looking just fine until a command AAV blew up from an enemy rocket, wiping out Lt. Fish's HQ team, two M60 MG groups, and the vehicle crew. A rather unauspicious start for a battle that was stressing keeping my casualties down. Ugh. Of course everyone now spotted the enemy rocket unit, and laid down fire on the ridge. Just a little late, boys. The crackling flames from the armored vehicle were a constant reminder of me messing up. I had everyone for the center group get out of the AAVs, and they moved slowly and methodically through the first group of buildings. Since the platoon no longer had a commander, I ran the XO unit up to provide some sort of command presence. I don't know if that really had an effect, as there were no red command lines. But, the Marines were still able to split into smaller groups, and they didn't seem to suffer too much when working so independently. That was a big relief. I had only one squad and their AAV on the escarpment on the right flank, and moved the others forward carefully, now wondering what other surprises were in store. I spotted another enemy on the far right escarpment, and immediately opened fire on them, thinking they were another rocket unit. I also dropped arty on them as well. The left flank was fairly uneventful, and I'd just formed up with the 4 AAV and was beginning to move forward when a whole gaggle of enemy vehicles rolled right into my sights. It was a crazy mad minute or two, with me scrambling to unload the squads while trying to blast the enemy trucks and the cab. The enemy lost badly, as I wiped them all out, even the ones that were hotfooting it across the map in a frantic attempt to escape. I wondered at the time if this might have been the main bad guy that I was tasked to eliminate or capture in the briefing. I had one casualty out of the mad scramble, the lead M60 gunner of one of the two MG units. For the next 10 turns I had his two assistants try to locate him in the brush to render buddy aid. It was maddening, because the two bozos kept walking right past him and not trying to help him. I became suspicious that perhaps they didn't really like the guy, and were pretending to not see him in the brush. At this point, I was about to have the LT move over and patch up the wounded MG gunner (I figured he'd find the guy), but the team leader of the other MG unit said they'd take care of it, leaving the LT to continue to give orders to the rest of the platoon. I found out later that the wounded gunner actually didn't get along with the other two guys, as they considered him an arrogant martinet and were trying to get moved to a different MG unit. You just never know who you friends are, or aren't. The other MG unit found the gunner fairly quickly, and rendered buddy aid. Oddly enough, after that, even though the now two-man MG unit was registering nervous, they were consistently ordered forward on foot to support the squads, while the three-man MG unit, showing cautious, was kept in reserve. I wonder if the LT was trying to send a message to those guys. They got shot at a lot, later in the battle, but kept their heads down for the most part. Hmmm.... I was wondering what new surprises might happen, so I moved the left flank squads forward in three groups, holding the others back in good overwatch. Soon a heavy enemy machine gun opened up, as well as an anti-tank rocket team. That brought a rain of machine gun and grenade fire on their position. It was good I was moving cautiously and slowly on this flank now. The right flank started taking fire from the small groups of buildings they were moving towards, and a lot of overwatch fire started to silence the enemy there. In the center, I was actually having the men clear buildings systematically, so the going was very slow, but very safe too. I finally started to uncover small nests of enemy troops as I neared the second gully/bridge/river area. Because I was so cautious, I was not suffering any (well, any more...ugh...) casualties in this area. When the LAVs showed up, I ran one fast to the left flank, the LAV commander straight up the middle, one to the far right flank to work the ridge line, and one to stay in the right valley and work with the right flank guys who were slowly moving towards the main town, but clearing all the buildings with methodical house-to-house tactics and careful overwatch. Having the AAVs in standoff provided a lot of firepower when the enemy soldiers finally - and foolishly - took their shots. My ridgeline LAV and its scouts confirmed the death of what turned out to be an enemy FO, and then cleared the far right ridgeline. In the process, they provided some really important intel and fired on many enemy positions that they spotted. It was a very good move having them up there. Several more enemy positions were spotted and eliminated, one being a pesky sniper team that ended up getting eliminated by the left flank LAV and scouts. From this elevated position, the LAV had a clear view right down the main street of the town. They stayed there and uncovered some more enemy AT teams as well. Left flank was slowly moving forward, once some enemy positions were discovered and then eliminated or forced to flee by the AAV support fire. I really avoided using the bridges and had the AAVs ford the streams, as well as having the Marines on foot getting wet. I pretty much had the left flank blocked off by now, and I didn't really advance further, preferring to block any enemy that might try to flee the town in that direction. The main push up the middle was done, moving carefully across the stream and then easing up into the edges of the town. I had one AAV that I ordered through the gully and stream but the driver was a cowboy and raced across the bridge, exactly what I was trying to avoid. But, he made it safely, so the next one was ordered across the bridge too. On the right flank, I had reduced the enemy positions in the small group of buildings, but now there was a walled in section that I kept getting partial indicators that enemy troops were still there. There was only one way in - through the front gate. I didn't have any demo guys nearby. Then the enemy inside briefly sniped one of the LAV scouts on the high ridge behind them, so I knew for sure there were in there. Staff Sergeant To volunteered his assault team for the first charge, if someone would smoke the entrance up a bit. The second team gave him the thumbs up and promptly tossed smoke into the courtyard. SSG To delayed the charge just a little, maybe 20 seconds, and then gave the high sign. His team took off straight into the smoke and in a beeline to the first building on the left side of the entrance. They made it in style, setting up quickly inside the building and facing into the complex, which was now pretty much smoked in. A minute later, the second team split into two teams and one went straight through the gate and into the middle building, while the third team button-hooked right and dashed into the right-side building. All this was done without any command lines. The LT was just a little further away and had only grey lines to these guys. I was really proud of the way they handled the assault. Once inside, they moved around systematically and cut down the insurgents without any casualties. It was really textbook. The LT was actually coordinating the move forward to the next group of buildings at this point, so I am sure he figured SSG To would be able to competently handle the operation. The LT was right. The center platoon was now easing forward, with all the snipers and Jav boys in close overwatch on rooftops. I had the one squad clear out a small neighborhood off to the right side of the main road. It was close at first, as there really wasn't any easy way to get LOS into it, but the snipers on rooftops and some covering fire from the LAV across the stream to the right, had the enemy with their heads down. The LAV commander then slipped off to the right on the road, exposing his vehicle but laying down some serious fire on the enemy position. I'm not sure what happened next, but the fire team that was closest to the enemy building, and partially behind a wall, apparently didn't like the LAV firing so close to them, and when the LAV stopped their briefly fire command, these guys dashed around the edge of the wall and into the enemy building. Luckily the two insurgents had been taken out by the LAV and the fire team was not injured. Wild stuff. Then an AT team opened up on the command LAV, but their rocket missed. They took some serious return fire and were partially knocked out. I was now moving the leaderless squads and fire teams forward into the town proper, and keeping the XO team close to them. I was really in the grass with them, taking advantage of the dips and rises, and having them properly covered. The area they were trying to infiltrate had known enemy in them, and while the enemy positions had been blasted, it wasn't known if they were eliminated. The one fire team uncovered an enemy AT unit, but the AT guy was out of rockets and started plinking away with a handgun. The assistant didn't notice my guys fast enough, and the fire team opened up, blasting the rifle guy first (nice touch) and then finishing off the rocket guy who only had the pistol. One of the fire team took a round in the vest, but was not wounded. By this time, I was pushing slowly and steadily in from both flanks, and up the middle. I was still going slowly though, because there was a lot of movement in and around the buildings, and I was getting glimpses of enemy AT teams. The enemy was being spotted really well from the LAV on the escartment. They took out the remaining enemy truck, and several more enemy soldiers were cut down, prompting the enemy to surrender. The surrender came the turn after one guy with a AT rocket took out a second AAV. Doggone it! Last turn and I lost another vehicle and their 3-man crew. The enemy gave up. There was still an hour and thirty minutes left, but hey, a surrender is a surrender. I did very well, pointwise, with the exception of destroying buildings, which I only did acceptably in that category. It was actually great fun to run the Marines tactically in building clearing operations, and it felt very realistic. I could have pushed forward faster, but then I would have run into some rather nasty ambushes that the AI had set up for me. I'd say my pace of advance was just right. Thanks again George for another masterpiece of a battle. It was lots of fun and put together very nicely. As I said before, I'd highly recommend this battle. Heinrich505

Bud, Were you able to finish this? Just curious. I re-discovered it and read through to page 11. Then it stopped rather abruptly. Thanks for posting this. It still is a really fun battle to follow. Heinrich505

IICptMillerII, Thanks so much for doing this. It was a really cool AAR and was lots of fun following the evolving battle. I've been periodically checking back to see if you'd finished it. I just now found that you had. What was the final tally of casualties? I think this really was a successful proof of concept for combining the two systems. Very nicely done! Heinrich505

Bud, Wonderful story - I loved it. I especially liked the after-report on the players in your episode. I was going to ask about them if you hadn't provided the epilogue. Very nicely done! Personally, I liked the narrow perspective story. I've done these previously, but used several narrow stories just in case the main one got wiped out in-game. I congratulate you on your storyline courage, following only one group of soldiers on such a deadly battlefield. I didn't find the story confusing because I expected not to know anything else going on around me. I didn't refer back to the main map at all - I just went with the flow of the story. The "confusion" seemed just right. It was simply a squad that had been pointed in a direction by an officer and told to go there and search for the enemy. It made sense. The style was nice - I didn't really need the onomatopoeia, although it would have been fine if you used it too. Having lots of BAM! and POW! would not have been appropriate to the style you used. The straighforward text felt just right. Although...a KA-DOOOOOM! would be appropriate for a BMP explosion. I'd say that the picture-in-picture panels suited the style nicely. It also let you include more visuals for what was happening without lengthening the story or increasing the number of panels, because you could include more details in the same panel but staged around the main picture. As I have no idea how to do the picture-in-picture format, just the episode with the grenade being thrown at the Tigr would have caused me to include three large pictures, whereas you were able to do this with a single picture and several smaller ones. It saves on the overall length and also seems to focus the action more tightly. Just my two cents. The story was very well done, moved nicely, had plenty of jaw-dropping action, and kept your readers wanting more. The last point is the one that shows just how successful your story is - we were sorry it ended and now we look eagerly for your next one. Great job! Heinrich505

Arrgghhh...the last gasp before....???? Before What? What else could happen? Shrapnel from the ammo cookoff nails our last two survivors? Very cool story, Bud. Loving it! Heinrich505

Bud, Those are some crazy "mad minutes." Nicely done. Nah, I don't have anything against officers - I was just thinking out loud for Gorokhov. This is some intense action you are showing us. Heinrich505

Bud, Great stuff. I like how the Leytenant says "we" have to scout for enemy tanks, but he's pointing to Gorohkov. I'm sure he will lay back and delegate missions. Nice to see the Tigr in its role as an AFV. It seemed very close to that Ukranian tank that got toasted by the BMV in the nick of time, but we also know the driver is completely out of his mind, heh heh. Maybe, too close! Another near miss for our intrepid band of warriors. If Gorohkov was a cat, he'd be down to 5 lives by now. And, is that Russian artillery snapping down near where our happy band is running towards? Maybe the term "Danger Close" doesn't exist in the Russian high command. They should be hitting the ground for sure - some of those are airbursts. Yikes!!! I'm still on the edge of my seat for this, Bud. Great job! Heinrich505

Hah! Thanks Bud. I was wondering what Bakhtiyarov was up to. As if things couldn't get worse. Now Gorokhov has some shavetail ordering him around. I hope he is a +2.

Well, that's the second tank that Gorokhov and his men have looked down the barrel of...and survived (well, some of them)! For now... I'm hoping this isn't your shortest comic yet. Crazy stuff Bud. I'm pretty sure "Piz-Dets" doesn't translate to "Where's the Tube Guy?" And, you leave us huddled in the smoke while facing down certain death once more. [Cut to commercial...Limu Emu...And Doug...] Hungering for more! Heinrich505

HaHa. Sorry, couldn't resist. They always seem to blow up with incredibly visual effects when I am controlling them. But yes, they can put out some real serious firepower if protected correctly. Looking forward to more!

Bud, Wow, the attrition rate is pretty brutal. I'm surprised they even knew Oleg's name, as he was a new guy to a tight-knit squad. Gorokhov has to be feeling sick. He started with 6, lost two in the woods near the tank, and now lost Oleg. That means there are only 3 of the original squad left. Sheesh! At least he can fold his survivors in with a new group. More targets mean better survival rate, right? Hah, not on this meat grinder. But it's better than taking a chance on jumping in the BMP and getting more ammo...and dragging their feet...while someone else gets gunned up. Those BMPs are rolling explosions just waiting to go off. I'm surprised they didn't name them TNT instead of BMP. Gorokhov shakes his head and wonders how they assign BMP crewmen. Are they volunteers? Who would want to crew them? They explode if hit hard by dirt clods. He and his men put distance from the death trap and catch up to the large group. [Sorry Bud, couldn't resist...it's the storyteller in me, haha] Great story line, Bud. Heinrich505

I'd be guessing that Gorokhov was already wary of "getting too far ahead," as relates to his narrow escape in the earlier incident. Things don't look too cover friendly up ahead. He might want to slow down just a bit and let someone else buck for Hero of the Soviet...er, I mean, Hero of Mother Russia. Bud, if all all possible, would you periodically keep us posted on Bakhtiyarov and what he is up to as well? It doesn't have to be storyline panels, but I'm curious. If it complicates things too much, then you can disregard. As usual, your story-telling prowess leaves us wanting more! Heinrich505

Well, you had me holding my breath through the whole rescue operation. Nice job!

Oh yes, I'd forgotten - there was a bombardment being called in right on top of them. Wow that was tight! I was waiting for some hidden tank to blast the Tigr just as the squad jumped inside it. That would have been my luck... Nice extraction there - a little too close for comfort. I'm sure the Serzhant has a warm and fuzzy feeling about how valued he is by his officers in the grand scheme of things. "What? Those bastidges were calling artillery right on top of us?" Did you have the Tigr driving fast or quick? Just curious. Heinrich505

Bakhtiyarov drives like a wild man towards the trapped squad survivors while hoping/trusting/praying/having blind faith that the supporting tanks will take out an enemy tank that he is essentially driving straight towards. Sheesh! Did he marry the Serzhant's sister or something? Or is he afraid of the officer that ordered him on this stunt? I like this guy - he's got chutzhpah (or however you spell it)! If he didn't need two hands on the wheel, I'd guess he was swilling Vodka one-handed while singing some crazy Russian Techno-pop song. Thanks Bud. Now we are following the sniper driver too. Keep him safe. Someone's got to go back to get ammo and vodka soon.

Bud, Whenever I started those vignettes, my biggest worry was that all the guys would get wiped out so quickly that there wouldn't be any story. That's why I always used several groups of soldiers or different tank commanders, just in case some of the story characters got wiped out quickly. The game is unpredictable at times, so you take your chances and hope for the best for your pixeltruppen. It had me holding my breath so many times during a storyline. You are mighty brave, focusing solely on a single squad. I was holding my breath with you as that tank swung the barrel onto your squad. Heinrich505

Bud, i see them now. Thanks! Whatever you did works. I'm following with interest. They got real lucky that the tank didn't fire - maybe the crew was overcome by fumes. They also got lucky their own guys didn't open fire on them when they came busting rearward out of the smokescreen. So, bad luck is they lost two guys. Good luck is they didn't get blown up by the tank and didn't get gunned down by friendly fire. They are breaking even so far, haha. The modern battlefield is so deadly, as you noted. I'm wondering how much longer these crunchies are going to last, dashing around the big tracked monsters in the smoke. Heinrich505

Bud, Oh Yes! This is soooo cool. Thanks for yet another graphic adventure. I stumbled on this and it is just as neat as the others. For some reason, I can't see the previous three posts though. When I had more time, I'd do storylines like these, but just with screenshots, not comic versions. I like your new software, but I never got reader boredom from the standard comic book boxes, so either version you choose works for me. I remember back when I waited anxiously for my Sgt. Rock comic to arrive. I'd just look at the cover for a few days to enjoy the anticipation, knowing that as soon as I started, I'd be through very quickly, and then have to wait for the next one. I'm sure the mail deliverer read them before putting them in the mailbox. I'm glad you stretch these out a bit, so we have to take a break before your next post of actions. Love your work, Bud. Gorokhov needs to school his men not to cheer too soon, haha. As the US squad leaders say, in game, "Let's have some noise discipline here.: Heinrich505

My troops had been advancing on an area, with lots of air support swirling around above, and they'd shot up this building complex fairly well. What my Brits didn't know was that a whole HQ team of the enemy had taken cover behind the building to avoid being spotted and shot at. Corporal Niles had considered sending a two man scout team around behind the building, but in the two story adjacent, a heavy MG unit was spotted earlier. Niles decided to keep the scouts around the front and pin down the MG if they popped their heads up, while he'd lead his squad around the back and into the one story, and then shoot into the ground floor of the two story. Niles and the lads came whisking around the back and ran right into the middle of the enemy squad. It was over in seconds, and none of the enemy had a chance to surrender. Total annihilation. They then dashed into the one story, and immediately opened fire on the MG team hiding there. Niles decided right, as he was pretty sure the two man scout team would have taken casualties if they'd run into the middle of the HQ team. Heinrich505

Bud, The scout that was killed wasn't Kurt's brother-in-law was it? If it was, there will be Hell to pay! ;-0 Always look forward to your work. Heinrich505

Bud, Wonderful story as always. Loving all of it. The map looks great and your storytelling mixed in with screenshots of battle progression are really working well. These battles always come to life when you start including some personal details for the characters in your screenplay. A quick question. It looks like your arty will come down on your advanced scouts in the woods. Were you going to pull them back? Remember, Kurt's brother-in-law is up there...unless he's the one that "found" the mine from earlier. Maybe it's best that Kurt doesn't know about that, hmmm? Always a treat to read these Bud. So nicely done. You've a large following even though it seems quiet - we are hanging on your every move! Heinrich505

It’s a good read and the pictures are nice! It’s always a nice surprise when your troops on the far side of the battle get target lines on the enemy flank pushing forward on the near side . Following this with interest.

Not a problem Ian. As an aside, when I started the battle, for some reason it did not have trees visible, and I didn’t realize this. I played about a third of the way into the battle with just barren desert and some head-scratching about why my LOS was so bad from the high ridge. After viewing your turns, my game also defaulted to trees on, and I was treated with a much greener view, lots of trees and orchards, and the reason for my LOS being obstructed somewhat. Hah! Go figure. Your defaults turned out to be a good thing too. The struggle for the last city was really savage. It is a really fun and very challenging battle.

Thanks Ian. That's what I get for playing without my glasses - it's right there in the hotkeys list. Doh!!! Wicked battle this one. Paper Tiger authored this, I believe. Figures.

Ian, Just as an aside, when I loaded your game it overrode all my game settings. It disabled my mouse move commands where you move the mouse to the edge of the map and it then moves the screen in that direction. I can only do that now using the right and left buttons on the mouse. Any idea on how to make the map edges work again? I've no clue. ????????