Heinrich505

"...and the HQ accidentally stayed behind..." Zet vas no axxident, Comrade Colonel. Zer is much special China plate that ze Comrade General is wanting us to...appropriate. That was one of the most intense house-to-house combat scenes that I have seen since I was playing out battles in the ruins of the Stalingrad Mod. The one Russian lad took a German rifle round right in the freaking gut as he ran into the hidden position of the enemy. That was painful to watch. Your AAR is simply amazing, Sir. So very well done and the camera angles are stellar. Narrative is spot on. Absolutely riveting. Heinrich505

Mord, Amazing work. Thanks so much. So nicely done. Heinrich505

Macisle, Hooo-oooly Crap!!! The God of War has struck. I love it!! Great job on the explanation and the set-up. The only thing I'd do differently is to have all the guys up close to your artillery strikes put into Hide command. They seem to last out the barrage a little better and don't break and run as much. Your map looks like quite a challenge. Eagerly looking forward to Part 2. Heinrich505

Happy Birthday Mord. That dinner looks amazing!!! Heinrich505

Very nice work Mord. They look great. Now take your birthday off, haha. Heinrich505

Erwin, Yes, the main road route was brutal. I only managed to break through there once I flanked from the right side road. And, that was delayed because of the long range tank destroyers that had to be dealt with. My initial intent was to push heavy up the center and around the right. Once the center bogged down, I then pushed hard on the right but also probed around the left, which turned out well for me. I agree with you, I had plenty of reservations about the left flank road, but after destroying the ACs that were guarding it, I reasoned that the Amis probably hadn't driven through their own minefields to get their ACs into those positions, or the mines weren't all that dense, so I pushed ahead anyway. Lucky, perhaps...fortune favors...but I can say that the one panther that made it through really hurt the US tanks that were lobbing shells at the panthers on the other side of the map. Heinrich505

Erwin, If I recall correctly, I also pushed some of the halftracks up the left side, after I had a Luchs meet with mine misfortune. Then I followed the halftracks with panthers, always moving very slowly and right in the halftracks path. If the halftrack met with grief, I would then try to steer away from the area, but still pushed onward. I was kind of shocked after the battle at the number of mines that I missed, but I must have been getting lucky rolls or the driver of one of my panthers had eyes like a freaking hawk. I did lose his partner to mines though. The halftrack drivers were not very happy with me though. c3k would be proud of my use of them. Heinrich505

Erwin, I played this in WEGO versus the AI at Elite. ---------------------------Spoilers, of a sort-------------------------------------------------------------------------- I loaded up squads on the panthers, and then advanced slowly, stopping to toss some guys out front and recon a bit before remounting them to move forward. They (infantry) started spotting the tank killers (after I'd lost some Luchs, unfortunately), and then it was time for the panthers to try and get line of sight on the enemy tank killers. I had the panthers working in pairs at the very least. And yes, I did rush the Luchs from hiding spot to hiding spot, almost as if it was a single soldier. Not very glamorous but I did finally get spots on the enemy tanks and started to take them out. Once they were either destroyed or backed off, I then repeated the tactic, eventually working my way well up the left flank and way up the right flank. Once my flanking maneuvers out-flanked the enemy positions in the center, they were destroyed or they retreated as well, which then freed up my center push. It wasn't very fast, but it worked. That damn Jumbo - I hit that thing so many times I couldn't count the hits anymore, but I only killed it much later when I was able to flank it. Some of those long range hits from my panthers KO'd the main gun, but of course I didn't know that until I was flanking it and it wasn't taking shots that it should have been taking. I'll add that I took some chances with the wide tracks on the panthers to move across some of that incredibly bog-friendly terrain. The panthers performed admirably, bogging at times but always freeing themselves up to keep moving forward. Just my two cents. I got a total victory with the AI surrendering. I did not get to the furthest victory point. And it was both a challenge and lots of fun. Heinrich505

PanzerMike, I'll have to jump in here and second everything already said. This was quite a battle, one I enjoyed the challenge of greatly. I think the map itself was one of the big stars. I loved the fact that you had options for maneuver. The map was so well done though. It greatly enhanced the immersion factor and there were some very long lines of sight that came in handy. As the Axis player, I had to take some flat-out calculated risks with the terrain at times, and they paid off with dividends. But I'll come back to the map and the freedom to take advantage of the maneuver options, which was so neat. Scouting was also important, but I'm afraid my little Luchs suffered a bit with my aggressive scouting efforts. They also gave me some really excellent intel as well, so the map allowed their proper historical usage. Slysniper is spot on with all his scoring. I concur - a perfect score all the way around. Heinrich505

Very nice post, Falaise. There have been many times where a historical battle came to life for me while playing Combat Mission. I would be starting out a battle and suddenly realize that I'd read about that very encounter in a book. The mapmakers really immerse you in the physical location as well. It is, in many ways, an amazing experience more than a game. Heinrich505

Thanks Dragonwynn. No hurry. Just when you get a chance. Heinrich505

Dragonwynn, I just shoved this baby into my Red Thunder game. I had to take a look at the map and troops. They look stunning. This really looks amazing. I'm very excited about trying this one out, but I have to try and extract Captain Stevens from the last battle in your campaign for the Field of Tears first. Too much goodness - where to start? Haha. As the names of the leaders get cut off when you enter them with the rank listed, there are a number of the officers whose names are not fully represented. The box for the names apparently doesn't have enough characters to include rank and name. I know I've bugged you for the full names on some of your other amazing campaigns. Do you have their full names somewhere? Thanks so much for your really amazing work. It is greatly appreciated. Heinrich505

Dragonwynn, Those shots look amazing. Your work is incredible. I'm trying to keep Capt. Stevens alive in the mists of your Field of Tears mini-campaign and now this!!! Too much goodness...[but don't stop, keep them coming...] This is most impressive. Thanks for all your hard work. It is very much appreciated. Heinrich505

HaHa. Quibble noted. Yes, that should be King George. A slip with modern times.

Sgt. Squarehead,, Thank-you, and glad you liked it. They needed sympathy - the Canadians were tenacious. Heinrich505

Dragonwynn, The map for Battle 2 is stunning. So well done. I'm trying to look after your boys but the Germans are making that most difficult. Major Allied Victory on Elite for Battle 2, at the last minute of the battle, time 0:00. Lots of letters to write...Dinosaur, Machine, Cowboy, Slick, Preacher, Uptight, and Pappy. It was a pretty brutal battle. I'm already in the field of tears after 2 battles. However, I am curious. How does the game figure out who makes it from battle to battle. I am about to start the 3rd battle, and it seems I was slightly mistaken, as there are three of the lads who have returned from the dead...Dinosaur, Preacher, and Slick. If any of their crew escapes, does this bring the commander back for the next battle? I was checking the survivors of the crews from the blown up tanks, and I counted the commander as KIA if he wasn't listed in the crew that fled the tank. Evidently the crews must have gone back and recovered their commanders from the wreckage of the tanks. No problem with that. Just curious. Love your work. My stomach is all knotted up every time I move Stevens and his lads forward into battle. Thanks for putting this together. It is another gem. Heinrich505

Aragorn2002, You are too generous - I'm just a storyteller. Thanks for the compliments. Always appreciated. Heinrich505

Bud, Thanks for the compliments. High praise in deed. Glad you liked it. Heinrich505

Dragonwynn, Always a pleasure to play your campaigns. This one is no exception. Thanks for your hard work. It really shows. The first battle was no pushover. The 334th suffered a bit as I was really worried about using all the core tank units in an aggressive fashion. Turns out you have to in order to be successful. I even had the LT COL and the Major manning machine guns in their halftracks. Cleaner's tank got knocked out by a panzerschrek, but there were no flames and the crew got out with only one casualty, the loader I think. Then they got wounded some more when artillery dropped on the woods where they had run in a panic. Easy managed to bog and then immobilize his tank in the woods in just the right position where he couldn't shoot at anything. Jerk!!! However, both are back in armored beasts for the second battle. As I think I got lucky in the first battle, I'm really worried for the second as there are many more opportunities to lose core tank units. Fielded for this battle are A Co HQ, 1st, and 2nd platoon. Damn, I can feel the tension ratcheting up already and all I've done is the set-up. Heinrich505

MOS, Great shots. Man, that one guy in the third shot looked like he got totally F'ed up. Snapped the left ankle as well as a boatload of shrapnel in the chest. Yowch!!! Heinrich505

Thanks Steve. This is great news. Looks like I'll be tossing greenbacks out for CMSF2 as well as CMFI. Merry Christmas!!! Heinrich505

With much talk centering on CMFI and the upcoming (hopefully soon) release, I played out a scenario that had some great action. I thought I would share it. It is December 6, 1943, 2:15 PM local time, and Obersoldat Rolf Schenk peers through his binoculars at Villa Roggati. His uniform is soaking wet, the cold rain running in rivulets down his neck and back. It drums off his steel helmet with maddening consistency. He wipes the smears of rainwater off the end of his binoculars, letting out a sigh of frustration. Things are quiet now, way too quiet. He was in town when the Canadians attacked, and his unit had to retreat. They took up positions just outside of town, and now he has his MG team set up where they can just barely see the town. He has been tasked to support the coming counter-attack, but Hauptmann Esch has also given him the job of providing intelligence from his vantage point. He has not been given a radio, so he will have to break away one of his ammo carriers for this task, leaving him a man down. He is not pleased. He quietly waves over one of his ammo carriers, gives him specific details, has the man repeat them, and then sends him to the rear with his observations. Time is ticking inexorably towards the attack time of 2:30 PM. The attack begins, slowly at first. Artillery begins to fall on the town at precisely 2:30 PM. Off to Rolf’s left is a PAK, set up to cover approaches into the town. Suddenly two Sherman tanks are spotted by the PAK gunners. The tanks ease out from behind a large white building – they are barely visible. The PAK gun is pointed straight at their location, but a hail of MG fire from the tanks causes the gun crew to duck for cover. Then they are slowly picked off by the deadly hail of lead, one at a time, until they are all dead or wounded. Schenk can hear the wounded moaning in pain, but he dares not move from his position to help. The tanks have that location zeroed in. Rolf hears the distinctive squeal of tank treads as panzers move up to try and duel with the Canadian tanks. The Germans didn’t have tanks earlier when they were thrown out of the town by the Canadian attack. Now they do. He wonders where HQ managed to scrape them up. If they’d had them earlier, then they would still be in the damn village. One of his crew mutters that the tankers will deal with those upstart Canadians. The panzers roar and 7.5 cm shells launch towards the enemy tanks. The lead tank trundles forward under cover of the following tanks. Oberstleutnant Fuhrmann is trying to gain a flank shot on the enemy tanks. He has his driver ease past a small shed, his turret already facing the right direction. Fuhrmann is confident they will get the first shot off. As his tank barely clears the shed, Fuhrmann stares in shocked horror down the barrel of one of the enemy tanks. The tank spouts fire, and the first shell rips into the lower front of his tank. Smoke instantly fills the interior. He can hear screaming from the driver and radio man positions. His gunner is already ripping at the side hatch, self-preservation overtaking any thoughts of return fire. Fuhrmann is counting down numbers in his head. He knows a good tank crew can reload in about 5 seconds. He yells “Everyone OUT!!!” as he reaches up for the…4…hatch. The lever swings…3…and he throws his back against the hatch. The hatch flies…2…open and he is looking up at grey sky that immediately bathes his face with cold rain. He starts to…1…clamber up into the cold rain and he hears the roar of a tank gun. He realizes that if he hears the gun, the round is already on the way…his last sight is a boiling roar of red flames… View from the Canadian tank – a catastrophic explosion as the kill shot ignites the enemy tanks ammunition loadout. There are no survivors. In the space of a mere five minutes, the Canadian tank gunners knock out three German panzers. This view is from the Canadian held town. Funeral pyres of the flaming steel coffins rise into the grey December sky. Fuhrmann’s tank lies in a crater in the road, caused by the giant explosion. Schenk sees some badly burned survivors run from the other tanks. He immediately sends his runner back to Hauptmann Esch to inform him that the initial thrust up the center is being blocked expertly by the Canadians. Hauptmann Esch slams his fist down on the hood of his Kubelwagen. He didn’t rush the armor in. He was cautious. Still, the verdammt Canadians are putting on a show. His right flank is getting blasted by very accurate artillery fire. He sends out the orders – Left Flank, GO! Several remaining panzers veer off to the left flank. They take a circuitous route, bogging at times, but somehow managing to pull out of the sticky Italian mud. They arrive in time to support the Landsers who are trying to overwhelm stubborn Canadian resistance. The cowering ground-pounders find new courage with the arrival of the steel monsters, and they rise up to push through the warehouses on the left flank. Pioniere Unteroffizier Hardenberger leads his squad up the same road as Fuhrmann. He is confident they can work their way along an embankment, concealing their approach. As they near the flaming wreck of Fuhrmann’s panzer, 7.5 cm shells and machine gun fire tear into his men. He screams “VORWÄRTS” and sprints towards the shed that appears to be the only real cover available. Two more of his men crash through the door and throw themselves on the floor, panting with exertion and adrenaline. Hardenberger can just see the Sherman tank through a crack in the wall. How the hell did it see us? he wonders. “These Canadians are possessed by the Teufel,” he mutters out loud. The unlucky Pioniere caught by the enemy tanks… Fuhrmann’s tank still burns on the road. Hauptmann Esch receives reports that the left flank attack has broken through into the town. He orders his command staff into their Kubelwagen and he heads around the left flank to see the progress. Hauptmann Erwin Ruckdeschel leads the push into the town from the left flank. His Mark IV Panzer takes a right turn on the first street and eases slowly towards the town center. He is careful not to outpace the infantry. Like all panzer men, he hates fighting in the close confines of any town. Dead Canadian soldiers lay in the street as a reminder that nothing is safe here. “Feind Panzer, Eins Uhr!” shouts his gunner. Ruckdeschel’s eyes immediately snap to the one o’clock position. His gunner had already pointed the turret in this direction moments before, as the driver slanted the tank at a slight angle to increase their front armor effectiveness. He sees the barrel drop ever so slightly as his gunner lines up the shot. He has a very good crew. Following tanks are covering flanks with HE, and he had his loader keep AP in the breech. He calls out “115 meters.” This is knife fighting for panzers. They are so close. Erwin sees the enemy Sherman tank starting to round the corner. Their turret is already turning in his direction. He smiles, knowing they will be too late. “Fire!” he shouts, the roar of the cannon rocking the tank. Smoke fills the interior and then begins to vent. “Treffer!” shouts the driver. Now Erwin can see the explosion. Flank shot. It is a kill! Two more Sherman tanks will try to work around their flaming comrade and will meet the same hideous end, brewing up after taking one or two hits. Ruckdeschel’s crew is putting on a clinic. A forward MG crew has set up in a blown up gasoline station. The pumps are still standing but the building is rubble. They took casualties and one of the crew tries to stem the bleeding of his comrade. In the distance to the right, another squad of Pioniere are also attending to casualties. Smoke from the three Shermans brewed up by Ruckdeschel are ahead to the left. Ruckdeschel and the crew of a Wespe, commanded by Unteroffizier Thylin, systematically reduce the buildings that are sheltering the two Shermans that blunted the initial attack. Their handiwork can be seen by the MG team, as a field of rubble that used to be buildings now stretch out before them. Stabsfeldwebel von Pannwitz tried to ease his Mark IV Panzer slightly past the bus station to get a flank shot on the enemy tanks. Again the cursed Canadian tanker somehow was already watching. Von Pannwitz took a shell in the turret, knocking out his main gun. Obergefreiter Lorenko is now in command and Ruckdeschel does not know if his friend, von Pannwitz, is dead, dying, or merely wounded. It tears at him but he keeps his focus on the dangers all around him. There is some confusion now, as the battle grinds to a halt. The two Canadian tanks at the front of the village are stopping the frontal assault and have now stopped the flank attack too. They are perfectly placed to interdict any movement towards them from the front or from the side street where Ruckdeschel sits. And, unfortunately, they are very good at their craft. Hauptmann Ulrich is given hand signals by Unteroffizier Franz Witt. They are at the front edge of a vineyard and can see the enemy tanks, maybe 100 meters to their front. Ulrich sees that Witt wants a smoke screen dropped on the enemy tank position. If that happens then perhaps the tanks in town can get the drop on them. Franz has something more daring in mind. He plans to lead his squad into the smoke for a close assault of the enemy tankers. The Hauptmann doesn’t get that part of the message. Ulrich calls in the smoke. The FO is one of the best, and the smoke rounds start to fall in about 3 minutes. The smoke is now building all over the enemy tanks. They will be blind. The tanks on the flank will now be able to advance and once the smoke dissipates, they will have the drop on the Canadians. Ulrich sees Witt leap to his feet, and start sprinting towards the wall of smoke. Witt’s squad instantly rises as one and they pound after their squad leader. Hardenberger sees the smoke and immediately has the same idea as Witt, even though he has no idea what Witt is planning. One of Hardenberger’s survivors has at least one satchel charge and they can use that on the blind tanks. He roars to his two men to charge the tanks. They leap to their feet and begin the crazy charge towards the wall of smoke and probably certain death. Rolf Schenk and his men see the smoke dropping. There is a silent Mark IV right next to their position, yet another panzer vexed by the skill of the Canadian tankers and knocked out with a single shot. All the crew got out of this one though. In front of the berm protecting his men are two dead soldiers from an earlier attempt to sneak through the vineyard. They have no idea what is being planned, until Rolf sees Unteroffizier Hardenberger and his two men, greatcoats dark against the backdrop of white smoke, pounding across the wet field from the left, heading right for the smoke. He catches his breath at the daring attack, and one of his men shouts “Sind Sie verrück?” This echoes his own thoughts – they must, indeed, be crazy. They don’t see Witt and his men off to the right, as the smoke has already obscured their equally mad charge. It is chaos and madness in the smoke. Hardenberger can barely hear anything from the loud pounding of his blood through his head. Machine gun fire rips the smoke, as the Canadians fire blindly. He barely hears the screams of one of his men, and he finds himself running just under the barrel of the enemy Sherman. He has no idea that Witt’s men are also rushing into the smoke. Witt himself is crawling towards the misty bulk of the enemy steel monster that lashes out at the host of tormentors that mean to do it harm. Hardenberger rues the fact that he didn’t take the satchel charge himself, as he is now in the perfect spot to attach it to the enemy tank. But all he can do is run in the smoke, hoping the enemy tankers focus on him and don’t see his men trying to assault it with the satchel charge. He now seeks some sort of cover as the tank flails the smoke with its machine guns. Franz Witt’s men are among the two enemy tanks. There is some slight cover from the rubble of a building and some craters from artillery fire. The smoke is dissipating way too fast – the rain is settling it too quickly. Dammit, Witt thinks, they only have seconds to live now. Witt takes cover in a crater and hurls his grenade. The man to his left – Max, he thinks but can’t be sure – is about to shove a grenade into the front tracks of the tank. Karl, off to his right, is about to hurl yet another grenade. All he can do is hold his breath now. It occurs to him that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. Witt’s grenade goes off, a cascade of sparks and smoke lighting up the side of the tank. Two more grenades are heading for the enemy monster. It is time for them to get the hell out of this deathtrap. He screams to his men to run. The enemy tanks open up with their machine guns. He hears some of his men scream as they are hit. Everyone runs like frightened rabbits in every direction to confuse the enemy gunners. Erwin Ruckdeschel sees a Feldwebel in the captured bus station to his right. The man is waving through an open window, trying to get his attention. He throws open his hatch and slightly pokes his head up to try and hear the man. The Feldwebel shouts that Landsers are attacking the two Sherman tanks, running into the smoke screen. Ruckdeschel had seen the smoke dropping, but in the absence of any instruction, he had remained in his position, covered by the wall of the bus station. As the smoke clears fast, the Feldwebel gives Erwin a running blow-by-blow as he describes Witt’s and Hardenberger’s men being cut down by the enemy tanks. This is too much for Ruckdeschel. He gives his orders fast. He has the turret swung to the 2 o’clock position, and he orders his driver to move forward smoothly about 15 meters. He tells the crew they are going to try and hit the two enemy tanks in the flank, just like von Pannwitz tried earlier, but his crew is going to succeed perfectly. The men nod quietly and grimly. “Now!” he orders, and the tank slides smoothly out from cover, gun turret already lined up in the right direction. A soldier, incapacitated from his wound, lies helplessly in the street as the giant panzer rolls past him, missing him by centimeters. He can only scream, knowing that no one will hear him over the roar of the panzer engine. He stops screaming when he realizes he has not been crushed. Then new terror fills him. What if the tank turns? What if the tank is blown up? Horrors flood through his mind but he is powerless to do anything. Mercifully he passes out from blood loss and fear. Erwin’s gunner has two perfect flank shots, just as predicted by his commander. The Sherman on the left starts to turn its turret. That makes the choice for the gunner. The first shot is a hit. Is it a kill? No time to judge. The second Sherman is now trying to turn the turret towards them. Ruckdeschel lets his gunner turn the turret smoothly to address the 2nd target. The second shot – this is a certain kill. The second Sherman is torn apart in a massive explosion. Still no time to breathe or think. The gunner gently sweeps the turret back to the first Sherman. They have to be sure. Moments count. Seconds tick off. Erwin is not aware that he has stopped breathing. The tank is utter silence, save for the clang of the ejected shell casing on the floor of the tank and the schick of the new round being slammed home into the breech, then the slam of the breech as the shell is rammed into the gun. The loader cries out that the gun is ready. Unvented smoke is wafting through the interior and the heavy smell of burnt powder is tickling the back of Ruckdeschel’s throat. The gun roars again, and sparks and flames gush from the 1st target. It is a kill too!!! Smoke is already pouring from the burning wreckage of the other Sherman. “Damn fine job, Comrades, Damn fine job!” shouts Ruckdeschel. The crewmen smile and bask in their commander’s praise, while still watching the enemy ahead. A figure is seen leaping from the burning tank on the left. His uniform is blackened and smoking. A second man falls from the Sherman. Then a third. All are burned and covered in soot. They are too far away to see any blood. Ruckdeschel sees the faces of his men turning towards him, questions on their faces as they wait for orders. “Let them go,” he says quietly. “Don’t fire.” He thinks he sees relief in the faces of his crewmen as they turn back to their stations. He knows the Canadian tankers have fought with skill and bravery, just men doing a horrible job. The survivors deserve a chance to escape. With the destruction of the two enemy tanks in their crucial defensive position, the Canadian opposition wanes and they fall back to defensive positions outside of the town. Oberleutnant’s Gloser’s command squad emerges from the vineyard and joins with Rolf’s MG team. They are bloody and grim from attending to all the wounded in the vineyard. Pioniere Harzer, the sole survivor of Hardenberger’s attack in the smoke, finds his squad leader bleeding in a shellhole, wounded as he fled the attack on the enemy tanks. Harzer still has satchel charges that he didn’t use in the attack, as he faltered at the last minute when they entered the smoke and he found cover to hide. Hardenberger is bleeding and unconscious. Harzer shoves the charges under some nearby rubble and attends to dressing his squad leader’s wounds. No one will know. Witt and his entire squad are wiped out. They will never know if they immobilized the one tank in their attack. The two tanks are destroyed so it wouldn’t matter to anyone but Witt and his survivors if their attack was for nothing. Witt is badly wounded, as are two others from his squad. Three are dead and the attending Sanitäter remove identity discs from the fallen while others patch up Witt and move him and the rest of his wounded squad to the rear. Ruckdeschel knows that the attackers in the smoke played a vital part. He saw that the two enemy tanks were distracted by the brave Landsers in the smoke. This was what gave his tank the edge, that and the skill of his crew. He is so proud of them – the crew can see it in his eyes. Rolf Schenk sees a very different skyline of Villa Roggati now. It is a scene of carnage and destruction. He shakes his head at the stubborn Canadians. They fought with skill and honor and they died when overwhelmed. They have surely given his comrades a bad blooding this day. He wonders why they didn’t just retreat out of the town. Why did they stay and die? Do they owe The Queen and England their lives? One of his comrades gives the Canadians an off-handed compliment. “I sure don’t want to come up against these bastards again,” he mutters. Rolf quietly concurs. The war goes on. Heinrich505

Merry Christmas Mord. This is great! Heinrich505

...couldn't...stop...laughing...

LiveNoMore, I concur with Freyberg. +1 on his comments for this really tight little battle. I did a lot of racing around with the jeeps. It was fun and tense all together. Every time you decided to rush the next building, you never knew for sure what you were charging into. And yes, the map was excellent. Thanks for your hard work and for posting this scenario. Heinrich505