souldierz

Glad to see you like the AAR on your mission.I to would like to see how others did and proceeded in this mission, it would very interesting to see peoples approach to it, win or lose. Those collapsing buildings was a new danger,and i never encountered them like that before.It was a good surprise that made my eyes widen a few times.At the end I must have stared at the screen blankly in disbelief for 5 minutes as i looked at the 2 sections that were basically wiped out in one blow.I never had a serious blow like that in all the hours i played in CMSF.That was the most devastating hit I ever took,as all those men died at the same time, in the same place,in the same way,from the same projectile.You would need to hit someone with a scud missile to get that result, but the one RPG shot was good enough.Seconds later after the building crushed the 2 sections, the Syrians gave up,and I was shocked at this little dirty trick that they pulled on me.Surrender? after that?, you little son's of...... I'll also give 'Edge of Darkness' a try.There's so many missions I want and have to play, and so little time.

I have seen a bug like this before, but I remember it very vaguely.I ordered area fire and everyone started to shoot wildly all over the place around them like a bunch of...well... drunken retards.:DI canceled the area fire and told myself I better not do that again in that area in that mission,because obviously it was glitched.It was very weird and I only seen it happen once.It's like they all lost control of themselves and grenades and bullets where flying everywhere in their confusion.

I'm having a lot of success with snipers and find them very lethal.A wounded sniper won't hit much,if anything, but I've had vet snipers pick off anything moving or stationary at 600 or less meters.The arc of the bullet was cool to watch as it fell onto its target. A few things i still wounder about though is, Do the snipers have certain target priorities when they see a squad?For example if they see all of a 7 man squad, will they target the leader first, or anyone at random? The Brits seem to have a silencer on their rifles,does that really decrease their chances of being spotted?For example,If a tank was 300 meters away and a sniper team was in a bush in a tree line in LOS of the tank,but the tank has yet to see them,if the Brits fire a shot from that silenced weapon at another target,would the tank locate them and fire back?

First of, this was another great mission by Paper Tiger. The city was part of Damascus and it was hit hard even before the mission, and while playing, it was bombed and pounded and bombed and pounded over and over again by the British forces. The part of the city on the map was left in ruins by the end of the mission and if the wind so much as whispers, the whole part of the city on the map will collapse and be nothing more then dust and rubble. The place is very brittle now from the fighting, and during the mission, buildings would collapse often and took more pixel lives then the bullets that were fired and also gave the British forces a devastating and very unique blow for the outcome. The remains reminded me of the bombed out ruined city in the war movie ‘Full Metal Jacket’, where they fight the sniper. On another note, in the briefing it said that the Civilians have fled to the inner part of the city off map, but the civilian density in the game was at Very High. I guess that a great number of civilians stayed and could not get out in time. If so this is another mission that I play as the Brits that’s guaranteed not to win any hearts and minds. -----------SPOILER----------------------SPOILER-------------------SPOILER------------ In the beginning the mission was very slow going, mostly because of the ATGM threats, also, it seemed that the Syrian forces were set up and waiting to shoot anything that approached with their heavy weapons with a volley of heavy fire. The Brits had to try and be stealthy at first keeping the vehicles back and out of action for the time being and try to get the foot recon troops to spot any enemy. The goal was to try to spot and clear out the ATGMs first so the vehicles could move and use overwhelming firepower as they closed the noose on the city in preparation for the Infantry along with the Challenger tanks to assault the objectives. The temperature was Extreme heat , but did not effect the troops endurance or performance on the ground to badly. Picture color was altered a bit so you could somewhat read the Landmarks. The South Yard was occupied by 3rdParty/ FOO(Captain Moorehead) and 2ndTeam/Sniper(Corporal Haig), they remained there during the whole mission. The Tower House compound and the East Yard on the East of the AO(area of operation) near the highway was hit with Linear Howitzer fire and the Bank compound on the West of the AO was hit with area Howitzer fire to soften up any enemy in the area. 2nd Section/ReccePlt(Sgt Mercer) with PartyHQ/Tac Air Control(Major Clark) and 1stTeam/Sniper(Corporal Hammond) were mounted in two vehicles, one warrior and one APC. As the howitzer fire stopped , the two vehicles rushed North alongside the East road and laid down heavy area fire on the East Yard as they passed. The vehicles then pulled up beside the Tower House compound on the East side of it and dismounted. 2nd Section/ReccePlt(Sgt Mercer) with PartyHQ/Tac Air Control(Major Clark) and 1stTeam/Sniper(Corporal Hammond) moved in through a hole in the wall caused by an artillery hit, to clear out who ever was left in the Tower House compound. The compound was clear and PartyHQ/Tac Air Control(Major Clark) and 1stTeam/Sniper(Corporal Hammond)would move to the roof of the Tower House to spot enemy and they would remain there for the duration of the mission and 2nd Section/ReccePlt(Sgt Mercer)remained on the bottom floor for the time being. The Brits in the Tower House would identify and shoot enemy located beside them in the East Yard and at the Garage compound and they would also engage and shoot an enemy ATGM team in the field North of the Tower Houses. Later 2nd Section/ReccePlt(Sgt Mercer) would move and sweep the East Yard house to house and hold in the West house in the East Yard compound for the remainder of the mission. From these locations the Brits can see into and around the city very clearly. In the West end it was thought that the Signal House near the Railway Line could and may hold some Syrian troops waiting to ambush the Brits as they tried to move to the Bank compound on foot from the South. There was no known contacts in the Signal House and it looked as though it could be used for spotting purposes, but no chances were taken and Howitzer fire was called onto the Signal House, it destroyed all its buildings except for a small house. Later, Section 2IC/Manoeuvre Support Co(Captain Witherspoon) would then move up and hold in the building for quite some time before they began to move North again towards the Bank compound. Cobra gunship’s were continuously called in to hit the city hard as the reinforcements came into play. Company HQ Manoeuvre Support(Major Bell) would hold at the Store House South East in the AO and A Company HQ(Major Sidney) would move and hold at the South Yard. 2nd Javelin Detachment(Corporal Presnell) would move and rally with the Brits in the Tower House compound and from there they were later able to hit some targets, one being a T-72 M1V(it was very tough to destroy).Two Sniper teams(Corporal Maule and Fraser) along with 1st Javelin Detachment(Corporal Matheson) and Mortar Fire Control(Sergeant Edington) would later rally with Section 2IC/Manoeuvre Support Co(Captain Witherspoon) at the Signal House and remained there for some time watching from behind low walls. Further behind them they had three Scimitars and three Warrior vehicles supporting them in a line. In the South and on the South side of the Road that leads from the Store House to the South Yard is where 3rd Platoon(Lieutenant Wood)and 2nd Platoon(Lieutenant Inglis) lined up to form up the main push into the city. Behind them for support they had Ten Warrior vehicles. Three Challenger tanks also formed up beside the infantry who were dismounted and holding at the side of the road in a line formation, anything that shot at the troops or the tanks was blown away. First Phase, the Challenger tanks would later pull up in front of the infantry, and the Warriors would remain behind a down slope out of LOS from the city. 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) with Assault Pioneer(Sergeant Regan) attached to them, mobilized to the Tower House where they dismounted. From there they would cross the road and move into the ditch and use it to move to the wall of the Garage compound. They blasted a hole and moved in and cleared the Garage compound of enemy. After clearing the compound it was noticed that the entrance was funnelled and made for a good kill zone against the Brits if they decided to move through it. After some time, it was decided that 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) will pull back to the Tower House compound and the East Yard compound and call for a howitzer area strike to level some suspected buildings. These buildings would be the Repair Shop and Fire station. After the Howitzer fire support strikes destroyed a building at the Repair shop and also destroying one Fire Station building as well as the Fire Station walls, 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) went back into the Garage compound to see if they could proceed to the Repair Shop and clear it out. When some British troops ventured onto the roof tops of the Garage they received AK fire from the Repair Shop and more Syrian troops were discovered around the Fire Station. Once again due to the rough angle and not being able to get good LOS on the enemy positions, 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) pulled back to the Tower House compound and the East Yard compound. While the British forces remained hidden behind cover more Howitzer fire was called on the Fire Station and the Repair Shop. 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) would remain there for some time as Howitzer fire was called in. After some time and confirming that at least 4 Syrian ATGMs have been destroyed during some fighting, 2nd Platoon(Lieutenant Inglis) would move up and clear and hold the Tool Shed compound with the help of a Challenger tank. Then after, 3rd Platoon(Lieutenant Wood) would move up and clear and hold the Workshops compound with the help of a Challenger tank as well. When the two compounds were secure all vehicles rushed up to form a Line facing into the city that spread from the Tower House, to the Tool Shed, to the Workshops and to the Signal House. From here all hell broke loose between the Brits and Syrian forces, and artillery as well as air strikes would be called in to pound the enemy in the South Block as well as deeper in the city. A steady flow of British Vehicle fire destroyed the Compound walls around South Block, and they would continue to pour heavy fire into the South Block and the deeper into the city where ever there was enemy. They would also engage some enemy that was seen near the Fire House. Explosions were going off everywhere and 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher)would again move to the Garage compound to try to push on past the Repair shop that now only has two buildings standing out of the five connected buildings it had previously. Once again and unbelievably, the Syrians began to fire from one of the Repair buildings and they also began to fire from the rubble of one of the destroyed buildings at the Fire Station. The Fire Station and Repair Shop have been hit hard and Syrian forces still continue to defend it and it seems to be a very tough nut to crack, so once again 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) would move back to the Tower House and East Yard compound in order to call in an air strike to completely destroy and devastate the enemy positions so they could finally proceed to clear what’s left of the Fire Station and the Repair Shop. Phase two, the noose gets tighter and all vehicles move to give the Brits maximum fire power. The Syrian forces at this point were now killed or pushed back out of the South Block and enemy fire calmed down a bit, but the British bombardment and bombings did not. The Train Station was hit very hard by Howitzer fire and it destroyed around 11 Train Station buildings. More Cobra fire along with Air strikes and Artillery would now constantly hit all objectives and areas around the objectives. Buildings would demolish and dust would swirl all around the city as it started to fall in ruins from all the fire power. Syrian locations would get blown up and some buildings would collapse under the stress of fire power, crushing anyone in them. In some buildings, the walls and some floors would be destroyed, leaving it with very little cover to use and in a very weak condition. Section 2IC/Manoeuvre Support Co(Captain Witherspoon)now moved to clear out the Bank compound with the help of an Assault Pioneer section(Sergeant Moorehead).They demolished the wall and proceeded to flood into the compound, grenades were thrown into each house before they moved in to clear it. On one occasion as they threw grenades into one house and moved in, the house beside them collapsed at their feet from the grenade blasts. The artillery strikes that were earlier called in, seems to have really weakened the buildings. It’s just a little over an hour into the operation and everything is going well at this point. There are no British casualties and the Syrians and the city are taking a tremendous beating. All enemy are now located in the city North of the highway and the British have one big line stretching from East to West completely dominating the situation outside the city.1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) remained at the Tower House and at the East Yard and what was suppose to be a light Air strike that was ordered on the Repair shop, was now about to hit. The announcement was made over the radio that the strike will hit in 30 seconds. Everyone in the Tower House and East Yard compound then took cover in the buildings and start to hide behind some cover with their ears plugged and heads down as an air strike was about to happen danger close at around 200 meters away. Even though the strike was danger close there was still walls and a compound that separated the Brits from the strike zone, then it happened. The bomb hit the target dead on completely destroying the building with a huge explosion, but it was far from being a light strike and it sent a bone shaking shockwave for all to feel in every direction. In a twisted fate of luck, one of the buildings at the East Yard that was housing 2nd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Winchester)seems to have collapsed from the shock of the blast from the air strike200 meters away and it killed 2 Brits and severely wounding 3 others, only 2 men remained in 2nd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Winchester) and one was wounded, leaving Corporal Winchester the only one who walked out without injury. Due to the severe blow, that section is now out of the fight. These were the first casualties the British forces suffered and could technically be due to friendly fire. The building seemed fine on the outside, but the previous Howitzer strike must have weakened it and the blast from the air strike seemed to be enough to make it collapse on the Brits. So the air strike proved to be a double edged sword. It destroyed an enemy building, but also a friendly one 200 meters away, and no other buildings went down, but those two. Even with that devastating blow, 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) now once again moves back into the Garage compound and was able to kill the few remaining enemy they spotted near the Fire Station. Only 3 buildings now stand at the Fire Station and the Repair shop out of the 9 that were previously there, and 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) now prepares to assault the Train Station from the Fire Station. With the help of the 3 Challenger tanks, 3rd Platoon(Lieutenant Wood)and 2nd Platoon(Lieutenant Inglis) moved in and took up positions in the South Block. With the Syrians showing little resistance, all vehicles (except for about 7-9 vehicles) moved up to the highway and formed a line facing the city. The noose is now very tight around the Syrians defending and all that’s needed now is for the British infantry to engage in urban combat for the objectives. Before they move in, more air strikes and Howitzer fire will be called in on the objectives, kicking up a dust and smoke storm. Phase three,all thats left is for Urban combat and the vehicles are lined up outside the city still maintaining maximum fire power. Most buildings now at this stage of the game are showing real weakness. Whatever enemy show themselves get hit hard and the buildings now start to collapse very easily due to the constant rain of fire and explosions and bombs. As the fire and air support start to calm down, 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) would then move to secure the battered and destroyed train station with the support of the Challenger tanks. There is dust and smoke all over the city and a lot of it has gathered at the Train Station. More enemy emerge and are discovered at the train station and are hit hard by the tanks creating even more dust and smoke. A couple Warrior vehicles also move up to support the foot troops. Here’s where a major mistake was done. One of the Warrior vehicles was ordered to move into a hostile high walled compound without any support from any friendly fields of fire, and as the Warrior moved solo in to get a better shot on a building in a backyard, they were hit by an RPG forcing them to bail out inside the compound. Before they could run for cover or move anywhere, they were gunned down from many directions in the hostile compound and 2 crew members laid severely wounded while one remained dead in the vehicle. 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) has now moved into the Train Station area and moves into the only building still intact and showing no structural damage on the South Platform of the Train Station beside the Railway Line. The North Platform is completely destroyed and there is basically nothing but rubble around the Railway Line. All for the moment was quiet and it was suspected that if there are any enemy near the Train Station, that they would be dead, wounded or weakened, and scattered. 3rd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Sutherland) and 1st Section/1st Plt(Corporal Lyle) took up positions on both floors of the building they were in at the Train Station and waited for the dust and smoke to settle. When it did, all of a sudden Syrian locations and Syrian fire picked up very quickly and heavily. The Syrians were being spotted everywhere around the Train Station and once again, suddenly all hell broke loose. What happened next happened so fast and violently, and it made the situation very perplexing to understand because it all happened so fast. Bullets were being fired around by both sides and 3rd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Sutherland) and 1st Section/1st Plt(Corporal Lyle) were able to defend themselves well with the support of tanks, but even though the Syrian squads were weakened, there were many Syrian locations that popped up and the Brits could not shoot them all at once. That’s when the unthinkable happened. One Syrian soldier launched an RPG at the building 3rdSection/1st Plt(Corporal Sutherland) and 1st Section/1st Plt(Corporal Lyle) were in and it had enough force behind it to cause the whole building to collapse, crushing the 2 British Sections. A Challenger tank quickly responded with canon fire and in turn destroyed the wall along with the Syrian RPG team that shot, and also targeted and destroyed another enemy building quickly after. A Warrior also engaged and destroyed another building outside the train station and Smoke and Dust started to funnel and filled the Train Station again and everything stopped firing. An eerie silence broke out as the fighting stopped and it was later discovered what the real damage was as a result of the RPG collapsing the building. 1st Section/1st Plt(Corporal Lyle) was completely wiped out and every British soldier in that Section was dead. As for 3rd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Sutherland),3 Brits were dead and 2 were severely wounded. Only 2 men(both are Privates) out of the 14 that occupied the building were able to walk away, one was very lucky and made it out uninjured ,the other one was wounded, but still able to walk. As the smoke and dust lifted, very shortly after, another Syrian location was discovered by AK gunfire and the enemy forces managed to shoot 1 more Brit in an Assault Pioneers Section. Right after the Challenger tank identified them and shot a cannon round, annihilating anything in the area, and the Syrian forces surrendered with 13 minutes and 57 seconds left giving the British a Total victory, but a with a very, very nasty blow just before they gave up. 12 British troops were KIA by collapsing buildings and 5 were WIA in the same way making a total of 17 British troops who were crushed from weakened buildings.2 crew members were WIA and 1 KIA and a Soldier in one of the Assault Pioneers section was hit and laid KIA in the final moments. Once again, Great mission PaperTiger, I really enjoyed this one. Good eye candy and to bad fire wasn't actually simulated in CMSF, that would have looked real good alongside the smoke dust and collapsed buildings. I had lots of action at the end. The Syrians still could have put up a good fight with the forces they had left, but if they decided to put down their rifles to flee or surrender, that is fine by me, so be it. I learned in this mission, that in this game the Brits might not destroy buildings very quickly, but they weaken them severely, and occupying any buildings that received heavy fire from the Brits ,could very well play out as a self made deathtrap.

Some people get to have all the fun.

She's the perfect example of the Queen of hearts who's off her head in the movie 'Alice in Wonderland'. It pleases everyone to see those people fall from high places as they do.No Soldier or Sailor should have to endure such madness from a superior.It would be such a high honor to be in her position in command of a military ship and I would never be able to bring myself to do what she did, such dishonor towards your crew is blood boiling and intolerable.Me personally if people cheered for my dismissal the way they did for her's, I would be crushed and broken, because that is pure failure. Out of all her insults, the best one was laid on her "I relieve you".

There's a lot of cinematic photo's in this thread,very good pics that capture the moment well, and I liked every single one of them. The night time pics were great, as well as the ones with the battlefield covered with smoke.The action pictures were well captured and the stand off ones with plumes of smoke in the background were fantastic. Marines moving under the cover of a smoke filled village. Syrian tank, well camouflaged,waits patiently for it's prey to wander into its trap The sky has cleared the way. Humvee TOW Humvee MK19 Edit for the previous posts: Yes the Javelin that Hit the Challenger disabled it, but it wasn't destroyed and smoking.The crew survived and no one was harmed, but it still was a heavy blow.

Well, there was one other thing it could have been,a 50 Cal ricochet.They were also firing along with the MK's and a 50 Cal round could have impacted at the same time near the target area and bounced off the house, and making it the projectile in question.There's also a chance the distance traveled could be shorter, but not by much and its Still a Fluke:)

If people do that, they should change their name to Hermit, And this thread makes me hungry, I guess i'll give in and order me a pizza, might as well be a meat lovers and I might as well get me a sub too,for later on since I suddenly got a craving for one of those. Hope no one is trying to diet while reading this thread, i predict your will,growing weaker:p And me o my,a possible bone for desert, life is good....for now:)

I'm playing as the Uncon forces in a PBEM game against the Marines in a village valley fight.I was stumped to how this militia man got hit and after review, It seems that I experienced yet another jaw dropping fluke. The Marines MK19 AAV was pounding a house with heavy MK fire, where there was suspected to be Uncon units, and then it happened.Another projectile with the title 'to whom it may concern' found its way to a unsuspecting RPG unit located 200 + meters out and nowhere near the action at the time.I played it over and over to make sure he wasn't sniped or shot or hit in any other way, and concluded that a piece of shrapnel from the MK did indeed hit the RPG guy after i got a glimpse of it.After a MK round impacted on the single level house, the piece of shrapnel flew out of the tightly packed neighborhood,over the main road,across the village, and traveled over top of 5-6 separate houses, it also simultaneously on it's journey, flew over and past tree lines and other single trees and obstacles in the area as well as over other Uncon units,over a few small walls and then eventually over a large wall and into the high walled compound the RPG team was in.As the guy holding the RPG was facing away from all the action in a single story house and looking out a window away from any LOS or LOF from any Marines, the projectile flung its way through the window on a very, very awkward angle, practically landing in the window from the side, and struck the man holding the RPG in the middle of the chest, causing a small explosion and making him instantly fall to the ground as a WIA.A one in a million chance shot and I dont think it could come out any more spectacular or luckier then that.:eek: What a fluke!,and what made it such a great fluke is that out of everyone and all the space, it had to hit the RPG guy, out of all people.The RPGs are limited and very important for me to have and keep in this game if I'm to achieve any kind of victory against all those AAV MK19's and a fluke like that was a pretty stressful blow,and humorous also.The RPG team never took a shot yet,never seen any enemy(and there were many), and no enemy has even saw them yet, and then pow, right below the kisser! I thought that was phenomenal. I can only imaging the unseen flukes that took place in my favor.Any one else experience such bad luck, or in my opponents case, good luck flukes like that?That was just incredible and that definitely makes it to the top of my list and scores high points on the Fluke-o-meter. The saying 'luck of the Irish' comes to mind:)

Best of both worlds, good call:)

I'd jump on the release it as a Campaign side,I like Campaigns and I love to see the overall result of the operation,and I haven't seen or played this one yet, plus campaigns seem to be rare, But since I see you typed that there is plans for both sides, it would make sense to release it as individual missions, so people can play both sides or even a PBEM.If its single missions and there's a way for players to see where they fit in,in the campaign structure, then I'm all for that.

Dude, the Demo for Kharkov is bugged for me.The mouse pointer is inaccurate and the screen is not centered, so i can't see some options, or find a way to click them.I had the same problem with the Theater Of War demo also a while back.Damn Dude,Vista can be a real downer sometimes.

Looks nice indeed, could be very useful when some of the mission makers out there create a big Coalition mission, combining all forces(Brits,Marines,Army,and ANA)to hit up a big Uncon force in a valley, with multiple villages and compounds.

Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943 looks very impressive, especially the maps.Good find Thomm,thanks for posting that one. I will keep my eye on it.This is close to how I would like to see CM turn out.

That's Hilarious. And the trumpet sounds...ladies and gentlemen.... I present to you the warriors that will defend your nation....Doh! Honestly I never threw a grenade and never thought it would be hard to do.Throwing things was natural for me, but I guess not for the poor fellow in the small clip above. I wouldn't want him throwing anything, not even a chocolate bar to kids.I think they might set him up for a desk job. I think sometimes in CMSF the troops throw to many grenades.The first volley of grenades seems reasonable at times, but the constant shower after wards is a little much.In real time play, I can balance this with micromanaging and have the troops throw 2-3 grenades before clearing a room, but in WEGO in PBEM, I'm starting to realize this will not be managed easily, if at all. I've seen some vids and heard a few stories about grenades being used en masse to hit enemy that's near,or to clear a flank, or to hit a suspected entrenched enemy, or to repel an enemy assault, but in CMSF I have seen 4 Brits stop in the open as they ran, to throw 4 grenades simultaneously at a threat.I thought it was cool, but I didn't think that was to realistic.I think most comments here for a tweak are bang on.

I guess they have to many tanks and they don't have any places left to hide them, so now they just cram them anywhere they can. Good place to start up a used tank dealership.The slogan was already worked out.

Forth Mission- Decisions, decisions…. Designed by- Martin Van Balkom(Moon) Time is now 14h50, June 24 Mission, Plan, Commanders intent-1stPlt/GolfCo(2ndLieutenant McIntire), plus attachments, will conduct a route recon towards the mountain foothills in order to select a route through the mountains. The most important thing for the attack is to maintain momentum.1stPlt/GolfCo(2ndLieutenant McIntire) is tasked with pushing through the coastal plain to scout a route. Higher HQ has detailed intel on two routes - Route Tiger leading North East will produce tight battles in complex terrain against a mix of irregular and Syrian Airborne troops - Route Eagle option will be a head on thrust up the open valley against the main strength of Syrian 5th Airborne Regiment.1stPlt/GolfCo(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) will recon and pick one route and should avoid getting decisively engaged, the follow on forces will be able to handle anything that is bypassed. Enemy-UAV(Unmanned Aviation Vehicle)flights have noticed significant movements towards the East throughout the AO(Area of Operation). The Battalion that the Marines have been fighting in this area since the initial landing is reported to have its Headquarters in the Village of KARRU. Anti-Tank mines were reported to be placed at cross road areas and 5th Syrian Airborne Regiment and Irregular forces are expected to make a determined effort in defending the routes through the mountains, with it’s main effort in the HIMS gap. There is also ATGM’s to be expected. Friendly 26th MEU(SOC)2ndBat/6th Marines(Lieutenant Colonel Oliver) -1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire)=2xRifle Squad,1xHQ -1st LAR(Light Armoured Reconnaissance)Plt/D Co/2nd Bat/6th Marines(2nd Lieutenant Baker)=2xLAV,1xHQ,1xScout -CAAT(Combined Arms Anti Tank) =M1114 Humvee M2(Corp Jackson) and M1046 Humvee TOW(Corp Talley) -3rd MTVR Plt CLV26(Corp Thomlinson) =3xMTVR -4th Squad Engineers(Sgt Walsh) Terrain-The coastal plain in general is open, rolling, intensively cultivated agricultural land. Numerous orchards and farmlets dot the area .Small ,but dense villages are common in the area. The road net in this area is dense and not well developed. -Route Tiger- Over the JABAL AN NUSAYRIYAH mountains via SHAFITA and SHIN, winding roads and steep complex terrain. -Route Eagle- via TALL KAHLAK and through HIMS gap, just North of the Lebanese border. HIMS gap is flat and broad and carries a multi lane highway and railroad between the coast and HIMS. Weather- Hazy, Fine and Clear Temperature- Warm Wind-Medium From East Ground Conditions-Dry Civilian Density- Moderate Start time-14h50, June 24 Mission Begins, Time Limit 35 minutes Between Missions-10h51, June 23 - 14h50 ,June 24 After the Syrian forces failed in their attempt to counter attack, the Syrian forces start falling back from the coast in some dissaray.26th MEB managed to secure a beachhead and an all weather SPOD(Sea Point Of Disembarkation) at TARTUS. Now the task is to push past the JABAL AN NUSAYRIYAH mountains to the Eastern plateau of the city HIMS.26th MEU has now formed a small, mixed task force of infantry, LAV’s(Light Reconnaissance Vehicle) and a CAAT(Combined Arms Anti Tank) to recon a route across the coastal plain. 14h50-15h00 The skies are clear and there’s no clouds in sight. The sun sits above and behind 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) and the attachments as they appear on the AO, and it turned out to be a very beautiful and warm sunny day. The wind is blowing in the faces of the Marines from the East and brings with it a brief feeling of calm, peace and relaxation, but the Marines must remain on their guard within this hour because they are the tip of the spear for this thrust and are expecting to be attacked and fired upon as they look for a route through the agricultural lands.1st LAR Plt/D Co(2nd Lieutenant Baker) was ordered to dismount, and to move East on foot at the end of the tall grass to scout the wide open area East of them, and the LAV’s were ordered to hang back with the other Marines for the time being. After much thought and reflecting on the fact that the Battalion that the Marines have been fighting since the initial landing is reported to have its Headquarters in the Village of KARRU, the decision was made to try and get to Route Eagle to TALL KALAKH to the South East of the AO and while on the way to see if they could locate and hit the Syrian Headquarters and neutralize the Command. They reminded themselves that they are ordered not to get decisively engaged and if the village of KARRU proves to be to tough of a nut to crack, they will pass and allow other forces to sweep them up. A hard fight is expected in the next half hour. A perimeter is formed on a dirt road South of the main road behind elevated terrain that cuts the view from the enemy and after a quick scout from the tall grass that turns up nothing, 1stPlt/Golf Co(2ndLieutenant McIntire) and 4th Squad Engineers(Sgt Walsh) move South through the long grass to see if they can start to move East along the South of the AO. As the Marines were moving South through the tall grass, a Syrian rifle and C2 team was spotted by 3rdSq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Beall) and reveal that the enemy is located South East in a tree line 500 meters out just past a dirt road. The Marines try to engage, but the Syrian soldiers are hard to hit because there is a small wall that blocks the Marines LOF(Line Of Fire) to their location. Small pot shots would be taken from time to time by the Marines, but lead to no real or decisive results. The path the Marines took 15h00-05h10 The CAAT teams were ordered to dismount and to set up their heavy weapons along the tall grass to gain LOS to the East, they will form a line with the dismounted units of 1st LAR Plt/D Co(2nd Lieutenant Baker) In the tall grass to provide over watch as 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) and 4th Squad Engineers(Sgt Walsh) split into teams and start to move East in the South of AO towards the contact. The teams will try to use bounding over watch using the scattered bush’s to conceal themselves and cover each other along their path in the open in an attempt to close in on the Syrians in the tree line.60mm Mortar fire support has signalled it is ready for requests and 3rd Team Scout/1st LAR Plt/D Co(Sgt Abrams) would direct Heavy Short Linear fire across the Syrian positions in the tree line.1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) then held their positions for the mortar strike.1st Section 1st Team Anti Tank(Corp Talley) ended up spotting a Syrian C2 team in an open field East of them, and was ordered to see if they could hit them with a TOW missile. The TOW missile was successfully fired and landed within a 10meter radius of the Syrian C2 unit and detonated, but had no effect on the enemy Infantry and 1st Section 1st Team Anti Tank(Corp Talley) was ordered to pack up and relocate to a similar position after some time. The commander had confidence in their equipment and that the Marines can win that battle of missiles, but deploying and packing up the TOW missile proved to cost to much time and the Humvees presented themselves as to good a target for the enemy to hit, so the TOW missiles would not be used or deployed again. As the 60mm mortar support fire was hitting the Syrian troops in the tree line, it was decided that the two LAVs(Sgt Bradford and Sgt Orosz) would put the pedal to the medal and rush the Syrian forces in the tree line as mortar fire hit them and faded away. There were bush’s and tree lines there that the LAV’s could use to break any possible visual on them from the ATGM’s that have yet to be seen in the AO. As the LAV’s were moving South, an explosion was seen near KARRU. It is unclear as to what caused it, but it’s suspected that it could have been a failed ATGM attempt. Just seconds later another explosion occurred in the center of the AO as the LAV‘s turned to move East. It’s now clear the enemy are reacting and trying to hit the LAV’s that are racing across the open to assault the Syrians in the tree line. More explosions are heard from failed ATGM attempts in the distance and an AT-3 ATGM Sagger was identified on a roof top in KARRU. The LAV’s had now reached their destination and quickly spotted and gunned down the Syrian troops that were previously identified in the tree line and held into place by the Mortars. Right after they finished off the Syrian soldiers in the tree line, 2nd LAV(Sgt Orosz) was ordered to put area fire on the roof of the enemy ATGM position, and 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) and 4th Squad Engineers(Sgt Walsh)started to continue their movements East across the open field. The LAV’s rushed the Syrians Identified in the tree line. There was nothing those Syrians soldiers could do to react to the mortars and LAV’s. 05h10-05h25 80mm Mortar fire support has announced it is ready for request’s and after considering the options and realizing things will progress to slowly if the Marines keep going with the original plan, in an unorthodox way, the plan changed and half way into the open field, the Marines on foot were ordered to stop and turn around and head back as quickly as they can, back across the open field. 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) and 4th Squad Engineers(Sgt Walsh)along with the dismounted units of 1st LAR/Plt/D Co(2nd Lieutenant Baker) then loaded back onto the trucks and then would hold for a moment before they moved South, then East with the CAAT teams M1114 Humvee M2(Corp Jackson) and M1046 Humvee TOW(Corp Talley), who also simultaneously started to load back onto the Humvees. As they mounted, It was considered that the enemy will be able to hit the gunners in the vehicles before the enemy could be spotted and identified as the vehicles moved, so everyone located in a gunner seat was ordered to button up and take shelter in the vehicle and the LAV‘s would be the only one’s allowed to shoot back with it‘s cannon. As time is winding down and the Main Marine force behind the Recon Marines are getting closer, the Recon Marines decide that they need to quickly get passed KARRU and avoid any and all firefights. The enemy have a presence in KARRU and in order for the recon Marines to get past it without getting engaged, a plan was decided quickly on how to proceed.60mm mortar fire support will lay down smoke cover at the South of KARRU and Half way through the Smoke fire mission, 80mm mortar fire support will hit the village of KARRU in hopes of keeping the enemy pinned down in KARRU, and the Recon Marines will roll past South of KARRU through the farmland, as a convoy, to Route Eagle, to TALL KALAKH during the fire mission. The farmland is very muddy and there’s a chance at getting bogged down ,but any other way could be mined and ambushes could be set up, so the vehicles will have to take their chances and try to remain on the high banks within the cropland. The LAV’s were sent ahead East to the next tree line and as they moved, heavy MG fire was heard echoing and zinging past the trucks and Humvees as they also started to move South, then turn to move East. The shots were suspected of coming from KARRU right away due to the echo from the burst of fire, and the LAV’s were ordered right away, to start to systematically hit every roof top in KARRU in order to suppress the enemy further. LAV’s start to systematically hit every roof top in KARRU from second tree line 3rd MTVR Plt CLV26(Corp Thomlinson) with 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) and 4th Squad Engineers(Sgt Walsh) who are mounted in the trucks along with CAAT teams M1114 Humvee M2(Corp Jackson) and M1046 Humvee TOW(Corp Talley) have passed the first tree line where the fist contacts were made, and are now racing up to the next tree line where the LAV’s are and continue to suppress the roof tops in KARRU. As mortar smoke and fire came down, the vehicles simultaneously navigated their way through the narrow palm trees and started to cross the cropland in a column while the LAV’s kept and maintained suppressive fire on KARRU at the head of the column. One LAV then quickly punched a hole in the small wall in front of them so all the vehicles could get through and move to Route Eagle, to TALL KALAKH, and the LAV’s still continued to aim and hit the roof tops with heavy fire as they proceeded, and halted at route Eagle. Picture above is the view from KARRU rooftops on the scattered convoy’s path passing through the cropland under smoke cover. The new plan to move between the palm trees and roll across the farm land as a tight convoy sounded like a good easy idea at the time it was created, but it was very sloppy and poorly executed. The mortar strike was accurate on KARRU, but lasted a very short time and the fire mission smoke cover was lousy and lasted a short time also and was basically useless and did not create the smoke wall that was anticipated. Along the way the LAV’s had to deploy smoke to help further conceal the convoys movements across the cropland as well as continuing to put down constant suppressive fire on KARRU. The convoy was broken up as it moved through the trees and farmland and became very loose. Luckily all the drivers of the vehicles were able to keep on a straight line on the high mound in the croplands as they passed through under some smoke cover from the LAV‘s, and no one became bogged down in the mud or shot at. As time ticked away it’s last seconds and ended the mission, most of the Recon Marines vehicles have made it and were in the Route Eagle marker except for a MTVR and the Humvee TOW(Corp Talley), who just got out of the croplands and were almost there. NOTE-The game says the Marines suffered a Major Defeat. In the briefing it was mentioned as a note, that if the player chooses Route Eagle a loss outcome would appear. It continued to say winning or losing was irrelevant in the context of this particular battle and that it’s merely a mechanism by which the campaign knows which routes to progress along. In other words Mission Accomplished. There were very few shots fired by the enemy then anticipated ,but some enemy MG rounds narrowly missed the mounted Marines who were shoulder to shoulder in the MTVR‘s. There were no casualties, and that’s thought to be due to the LAV’s constant area fire on the roof tops of KARRU. 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire)and the Attachments were successful at getting past KARRU and were able to provide intel on the Syrian forces they encountered for the Marine forces following up onto route Eagle. They were unable to clear KARRU themselves, but they sure let the Syrian Headquarters in KARRU know that the Marines were outside passing by and there was no where left for the Syrian Headquarters to go now.

That last part was just a light hearted joke.That was the reply I got growing up when I said 'I didn't see that it in the book'.It is hard to find new and solid proof of events, because no new stories emerge. If you have any accounts on the Canadians in your book,I wouldn't mind reading a few short paragraphs or stories if you translated them.I heard about the mustard gas attack every Remembrance Day growing up,and even wore the nasty smelling gas mask the soldiers in WW1 wore when I was a kid.I'll never forget that.Right there at that point when the mask covered my face and I inhaled, I knew war was a dirty and very uncomfortable business.It would be interesting to see what kind of stories made it out of Canada, and what other people hear in other Countries.

In Canadian military History, Canadians faced the mustard gas in WW1 and it had serious and severe effects on the soldiers at the time, because they didn't know of it.Many horrible Canadian war stories emerged from it and were passed down and most speak of the color yellow.The gas would later lose its value and would not cause as many casualties, because the allies were now prepared for it, but even to this day, everyone fears a chemical attack. Here's a little quote of the color of gas some troops saw at Ypres. "During the morning of 22 April the Germans poured a heavy bombardment around Ypres, but the line fell silent as the afternoon grew. Towards evening, at around 5 pm, the bombardment began afresh - except that sentries posted among the French and Algerian troops noticed a curious yellow-green cloud drifting slowly towards their line." They thought it was to mask a German infantry assault that was behind the cloud, so they got up and into ready positions.From there the gas went into the Allied trench's and the horror stories now emerge.It was devastating and the allies had to flee the area or die a horrible death.It was said the Germans did not push on and did not take advantage of the gap the Gas created, and the allies later would recover. Another quote "As we gazed in the direction of the bombardment, where our line joined the French, six miles away, we could see in the failing light the flash of shrapnel with here and there the light of a rocket. But more curious than anything was a low cloud of yellow-grey smoke or vapour, and, underlying everything, a dull confused murmuring." Oh and on another note, all of life's answers do not come from a single book:D,Expand your search past the one book you hold:D.But from most stories I heard growing up.Yellow was the common color of Mustard Gas.Now if your friend is wrong you can now school him.

Thanks for posting,I had a chance to watch this last night.A documentary that really shows the sorrow of the conflict.18 months on a single outpost!!WOW! I have much respect for the Russian soldiers as well as the civilians who form that country, but in the Afghan Soviet war, the Soviets followed a very ruthless and merciless path and their strategy was not sound.Raiding villages and leveling them with their fire power along with murdering civilians will always cause more people to rise against you.They lived by the saying 'To the man with a hammer, everything is a nail' and looked to pound everything.The General said it best when he spoke of an old Russian proverb at the end.Something along the lines of measure a thousand times, and cut once.The Soviets seemed to have miss calculated and miss measured, and it cost a lot of pain and grievance amongst their country men and women due to the death that came from the war.You could tell with the parents in Russia, that their sons were not going into a glorious(if there's such a thing) or a well justified war like that of WW2.The cause to fight in WW2 was more understood and justified at the time, even though the obedient application to get the soldiers to fight was also ruthless.The Soviet Afghan war was very much opposed by the Russian civilians much like Vietnam in America. In my opinion, the greatest and most ferocious warrior, will not prevail if his cause is not justifiable in the peoples eyes.He will gain more enemies then allies and then inevitably fall. It's always the same with War.Young people get hooked on glory talk and want to become as great as Achilles.When they finally see the realities of war and realize it's not fun like a rock video, and that they to are very vulnerable to death themselves at any time, then they all suffer the same depression as the millions upon millions of men who went to war before them.To go to war is to go to hell, there's no happiness in hell, it's a miserable place.So leaders must be very wise about burdening their Soldiers with this life long torture and the soldiers must be very clear on the hellish burden they are about to receive and why.Soldiers must understand it physically and mentally before they fight and join the conflict. I stumbled across what I found to be a good documentary on the Basics of how the war played out.The individual just posted this up not to long ago.The link will bring you to part 1.Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJOBq827SH0

Very well played Mike Churchmoor,and great AAR,thanks for posting it.Good screen shots to. Seems like Mike was able to stay one step ahead by knowing and reacting to Hcrof's movements.Getting to key locations and terrain advantage points seemed to play a great roll in this and help give Mike a better understanding of the field as well as the better advantage for defending against attacks.Good tactics, it won you the day. Hcrof could have probably really ripped into Mikes defense using most if not all of his tanks with the assault.Using those tanks like a pack of wolves is always hard to beat and repel unless you your self have a pack of tanks around and not scattered.Could have thrown Mike off balance, but those choke point bridges Hcrof would have to take would be tough, if he decided to take them.I think if Hcrof would have gotten to the hill farm first and secured the hill,even if it was secured through a firefight,Hcrof would have gained the advantage and forced Mike to take up tight defensive Pos on the other side of the river with Hcrof located and spread out on two sides, and if Mike wanted to try and break out, Mike would have to funnel and attack across the choke point bridges.Getting to key and advantageous terrain first is always the best thing to try and do in a meeting engagement.Identify that terrain and get to that terrain and be the first to keep it. As for the tree line draw distance and muddy roads look, I find if you zoom in, it makes everything appear on the map and lights up like a Christmas tree.I use that when I take screen shots, because it makes all the vegetation appear in the background and little details start to become noticeable.It can be a little tricky to find the right angle for that perfect screen shot though.I tried playing a couple times with the camera zoomed in a bit to capture all the details,but I didn't adjust to it well and zoomed back out. It would be nice to see more DAR take place on the forums.This one was great and the map is very nice.

Ha! I completely forgot about Mr Brown(who is white).You can now chalk that up to 5 teachers in my school that had the last name of a color, yes that's right 5.I knew I was forgetting someone, and he happened to be one of the coolest damn teachers of the bunch. I'm almost ashamed for forgetting about him, I considered him a mans man and he had every ones respect.Not to mention he was the first teacher in the school with the last name of a color.All the others joined after, so that made him the original one.

Sergei might have fallen a little short on the film reference, but he gets the runner up prize for hitting the most common joke on the school yard.Our teachers were named after colors,now how gangsta is that? Funny and weird names are tough to deal with, but the other tough part that could fit into this, is look a likes.When someone else looks like a funny looking character on TV like Pee-Wee Herman or Mr Bean, or even a cartoon character like Chip and Dale and the list goes on:D.Just saying those names makes me laugh ,imaging when you see someone who looks like them lol.Poor guys get the same reaction from every single person they meet.Life for those look a like people along with the people with funny names can be cruel at times, but also on the flip side of that coin, some advance quicker then others because of their name and look a like features.Just gotta roll with it I guess, or change the name. It must be hilarious if someone enrolled in the military and had the last name Parts."Hey! Private Parts, stop fooling around and fall back in line!":D

In my school there was 4 teachers named after colors.A Dr Orange, Mr Black (Who was white),Mr Green (Who was black) and Mr White(Who was very white and almost looked like Wolf Blitzer on CNN).I also had another teacher in elementary school who was called Mr Obey, and believe me, he was not to be messed with as the name says.