Heinrich505

Tux, A daring and ambitious plan. I think it does hinge on whether or not the StuGs have that armor covered arc you mentioned. I've yelled at my tankers on many an occasion when a threat suddenly appears outside the arc, and they blindly follow orders and ignore the threat, usually to their destruction. I do think you have timed it cleverly though. This might make all the difference. Good luck on your planned action. Don't think you have to get uber-aggressive just to spice things up a bit. We are enjoying it either way.

Tux, Looks like some loose ends to cover at this point. I can't imagine he has much left, but ya never know. Post when you can. We'll be waiting. Will you be anywhere near Amsterdam? According to the paper, Amsterdam is trying to "clean up the crime," due to adverse publicity. Yeah, like that will happen. You can't have the "fun" stuff (drugs and sex) without the "crime" part being involved. Heinrich505

Tux, Wow, a veritable cornucopia of delights. I kept expecting it to end, and the turns just kept coming. I see you decided to dash with your Stag. The good part is that you uncovered some errant German infantry sneaking forth. The bad point is that you will have to back-track after making a run at the StuGs. I'd say that Jo is easing more than just one squad forward back there. I agree with you. He is making a push for the rear flags. That could explain why he hasn't fortified the center flags you have so easily overtaken so far. He is screening your advancing force while he makes a push to your flank & rear. I think the Stag's rush for glory needs to be terminated, and he should move back to address the possible infantry movement to the rear. The StuGs will likely blunder into your Wolverine's LOS. Jo is probably taking off the gloves as we speak, and things will heat up quite a bit shortly. Good fun. We are enjoying the move/countermove. Heinrich505

Tux, I like the evil laughter. Good touch. I have also had gun damaged AFVs continue firing MGs after taking a gun hit. It doesnt' happen too often though. Heinrich505

Tux, I'd wait a turn or two before racing in with the Stag. Maybe you can ease infantry up a bit more for a look-see to get a better idea of what the Stag might rush into. Heinrich505

Tux, Did Mylgas throw in the towel? It has been a few days (perhaps the holidays were too busy) since any action on the eastern front. Don't forget, you need to "thank" that mortar crew for gaffing up your two tanks with that sneaky homing mortar round.......... Heinrich505

All in all, a pretty solid plan. Moving the 25 pounder will give you a better angle, and he won't know what is up with the smoke coming down. Careful that JoMc67 doesn't ease the StuG to catch your armor with a side shot. Heinrich505

Tux, Yeah baby, TREFFER!! I'll bet you were sweating it just a bit as the great lumbering beast began to grind gears to turn into your Mark IV. I noticed the SU managed to partially turn before getting cored with AP. It is moments like that when time stands still for me. Woe unto that mortar crew....no mercy. Heinrich505

Whoa, looks like you punched out the AC with a shot through the windows. Very nicely done. Keep the action coming. Heinrich505

Dietrich, I'd say from my experience, when cover is available, sneaking works quite well. Right now I'm using it with some success to close up to T-34s with German infantry in woods, because if you approach too quickly, they "somehow" detect you. On limited occasions, I have combined the sneak command with fast/advance, to try and get a platoon across open ground from a wooded area to a wooded area. I have everyone sneaking, running, and advancing at different intervals. Sometimes it works. I wouldn't discount it. It does have it's place, and can be used with some success in certain situations. The ones you described, limited light, smoke for concealment, and the stealthy advantages from HQ units all help considerably. Heinrich505

Tux, Wow, how lucky can we get. You've got one going on CMAK and CMBB. Nice. Love the pictures. We are part of the action. Heinrich505

Tux, Wow, didn't mean to jinx you. Ouch. I hate those SU's, unless, of course, they are in My OOB, heh heh. Nice move using the damaged panzers as distractions. He can't be absolutely sure, and will have to take them into account. I try to use my damaged panzers too, instead of driving them to the rear. They can sometimes come in handy, and I've loaded squads onto them to dash for a position as an armored carrier in some desperate actions. The flank shot is the way to go on this one. Keep up the action. Good luck on the employment front. What jobs are you interested in? Heinrich505

Tux, He's still got that SU lurking, right? Keep an eye out for that one. Heinrich505

Vark, That is an interesting question you pose. I have thought about that myself, and sometimes your imagination is worse than the animations. I can remember seeing my cardboard soldiers gunned down while crossing a street in ASL, or those terrible melees in the rubble of Stalingrad, which seemed to go on for turn after turn, with more cardboard soldiers being fed into the vicious hand-to-hand struggle, and sometimes you were left with no survivors from either side. Everyone was eliminated. I don't know that I'd care to hear the screams of the trapped tank crewmen, or see them burning when clawing their way out of the flaming tank. Some may think I am being melodramatic, but it would bother me. I've seen so many documentaries where the actual tank crewmen were unable to continue with their interviews, when they tried to describe the horrible deaths of fellow tankmen after their tank was blown up. There are those who would laugh and say, lighten up. It is just a game. It isn't the real world. Don't get all wrapped up about it. I would have to agree with them too, as it is just a simulation. But it does make you think about what it was like to really be in combat, and game designers try to approximate their perception of what it was really like. I assume they draw abstract lines for players sensibilities though. Still, when you look at the final battlefield after playing a CMBB battle, there are a lot of those little figures lying on their backs where the squad was finally eliminated as a fighting force. It makes you think about the cost, if you take the time to reflect a little on the contest. Some games are quite graphic, especially the first person shooters. I know that Red Orchestra is one, where blood founts out from soldiers when they get hit, or shredded by grenades. It does get your attention, and helps in the "immersion" effect that the gamer is trying to approximate. The Close Combat series is another example. In CCIII and CCIV, you have the 2D top down view, and you get all 10 squad members running about. They scream quite convincingly when hit, and panic and flee when their morale is exceeded. You get to see all 10 bloody bodies where they were killed, although they are very small on the screen. The animation for the flame throwers is really quite nasty, as the whooshing sound of the flames will then trigger the horrific screams of the sprites as they are burned, and they are shown as blackened and bloody figures when killed by a flame attack. I have never hesitated to attack with the flamethrower teams or the flame HTs, but I did feel a little off about them after the attack. Odd how that is for some of us. A very interesting point you bring up, and one I hadn't thought about too much lately. We won't see this in CMx1 though, as it would hog too much of the computer's resources. Friday night rambles can be good things....thanks for sharing. Heinrich505

Vark, I actually can't remember which CMBB scenario I played first (most likely some small action scenario in Stalingrad), but I mainly tried the tiny/small ones first. I'm sure Winter Wonderland was up there among the first, and I watched in amazement - just as you said -as I gingerly eased men up in the deep snow, and then watched as all hell broke lose, men were panicking, running, lots of screaming for Sanitäter, none of my guys were shooting, and in moments, I'd lost everyone....just silence and the cold blizzard wind blowing through the bloody snow. Quite a shocker. I played and enjoyed the "Day at the Zoo," in contrast to the slaughter that occurred in the blizzard in Russia. I can understand your feelings on that one though. Sort of an inauspicious start with a new game. I just couldn't get over the Winter Wonderland scenario though, and would periodically come back to it, because it is such a challenge, and because there had to be some tactic I was overlooking. And there was. It just took some help from you guys to point it out. Heinrich505

Vark and JasonC, Whoa, I managed a minor victory. This is somewhat amazing for me, as I'd had so much trouble with this one in the past. It was close though, as I managed to secure the center flag, and had just about secured the left flag. There was a death struggle between Lt Wieland's senior Feldwebel and a senior Sgt from the Soviet side, going one-on-one. This, right after the Feldwebel went hand-to-hand to eliminate another HQ Sgt. A squad was coming up to help though. The right flank was more iffy, and no one got that flag. Not sure if I can post a screen shot. I know how at The Scenario Depot II, but not sure here. http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo105/Heinrich505/WinterWonderland.jpg Thanks for your suggestions. They were really appreciated. Heinrich505

Vark, Thanks so much for your suggesions. I have been so frustrated with this scenario, and kept coming back to it from time to time, trying to figure out where I was messing up, because it is a heck of a challenge. I rarely crossed the road, so I never came at the Russians from the back side. Very interesting. I tried bunching everyone up to attack en-masse, but for some odd reason, my troops were ducking, bobbing, and weaving.....when their fellow squads opened up. I thought I was seeing things, but now that you confirmed it, yep, they were freaking out from friendly fire. Evidence that night battles, in a blizzard, can really be chaotic. Thanks very much. Heinrich505

There is a scenario on the CMBB disk, called "Winter Wonderland," by Dan "Berlichtingen" Brown. It is not at The Scenario Depot II or The Proving Grounds. It is a battle at night, in a blizzard, on 11-16-1941, on Hill 747, in the Central Region near Rzhev. It is a short one, only 15+ turns, all infantry. It is actually quite interesting, and based on some small unit actions that occurred during that time. I've tried several different set-ups for Axis vs. AI. I've tried varying CEB for the AI. I usually end up with the Russians slaughtering my troops. First off, does anyone remember playing this scenario? Second, any suggestions? Is it winnable as the Germans? I thought I would throw this out to you all to see what you think. Heinrich505

Tux, Ahh, and I was hoping for a Human Wave attack......Urraaaah Urraaaah...... Heinrich505

Tux, Nice to see things are looking up a bit after that homing mortar round bollixed things up a bit. Medals to the ATR boys....they deserved them for drawing all that fire. Keep up the good work. We are waiting for the next chapter. Heinrich505

Tux, As you were detailing the falling of the mortar rounds, I said to myself, I have a bad feeling about this......crump. Oh C'mon, REALLY!! Yeah, amazing [shakes head with stunned look on face]. The only thing I can think of is that the gunner of the first tank was hanging out the wide open side hatch taking a leak (you did say they took an inordinately long time to fire, right?) when the mortar round landed underneath, and fragments automatically homed in a reverse fan pattern around the sides past the wheels and tracks, then reverse gravity spun them upward to kill the gunner. This same shrapnel then was drawn in by the vortex caused from the two mortar explosions going off in close concert (also known as the Magic Pixie Dust Explosion Effect), whereby deadly hunks of shrapnel were launched in a reverse parabola directly through the also open side hatch of the second tank, and then slashed around the interior of the tank, causing mayhem and destruction of the main gun, the coaxial mg and sights, and the hull mg. Or, the Russians are using that secret magic homing mortar round that Kalashnikov had been working on in his spare time, where the round senses the ground coming up at it, and at the very last moment small gas jets fire from the side, causing the round to move horizontally a few meters and explode underneath a tank. Very clever, those Soviets. Next thing you know, you'll have to watch for dogs running towards your tanks with long sticks extending up from backpacks on their backs.....I wouldn't put it past Mylgas to have purchased some of those experimental "Bomb Dogs" too, along with the horizontal mortar shells. They are pretty expensive, so don't expect to see any more, muhahaha. Geez, what awful rotten bad luck. And, your guys got REALLY lucky to have avoided that cannister round. I've seen what happens to a squad that gets caught by that giant shotgun shell. 'Orrible stuff, mate. You are keeping us on our toes with some really amazing stuff. One of the crewmen on your two damaged tanks must be named Murphy, Wolfgang Murphy from Dusseldorf, right? His "Law" is certainly in effect this day. Keep up the cool AAR. We are enjoying the action. Heinrich505

George MC, Good to see you noting these battles here. They are most challenging, as I can attest, and very true to historical. Heinrich505

Tux, From your description, I knew exactly what was happening. AT guns, yeah, I hate em. Well, I hate them when the other guy has them. Yeesh, good thing your drivers knew what to do fast! Otherwise.....well, let's not go there. Suppress them with everything you can throw in the area. Knock that bad boy out. I'd say the action is pretty good. I've got a feeling that Mylgas has some surprises up his sleeve. Be wary. Heinrich505

Tux, Nice job on the shoot and scoot. I had occasion to use it more in a desert battle just the other day, and it did work well. So, I'll be utilizing it more in the future. If I had to have my Mark IV immobilized, I concur with you on the location. That being said, as noted by Joachim, 122s hurt anywhere. And a few more shots to make sure the SU is finished are certainly in order. Tension is mounting. Heinrich505

Ahhhh, the old "shoot and scoot." Good luck with that. I rarely use it because it doesn't seem to work well for me. At this point, I would guess that your tank commander had reconnoitered forward on foot to the edge of the building, taken a good look at the T-34, figured out angles, and will be able to get off an aimed shot. Nice photo angle; really gives us a feel for the coming action. Heinrich505