BlackMoria

Huba, you have my profound and heartfelt respect.   Seriously....respect.

The most madding aspect of this war to me is the delusion the Russian nationalists/imperialists/knuckle draggers have that they still can "win" this war, despite all evidence across a wide spectrum on a wide range of metrics that it simply isn't going to happen.  Russian isn't a great power anymore - it has not met that definition pre-Feb 24 and even less so now.  That is got to be some fantastic 100 proof hooch that is being served up in tanker trucks that is being swilled in the power structures of Russia to continue to believe that all their stated objectives will be met by their beaten to crap army.  Completely ignore that the expected 3 day op and a parade in Kiev is now 4+ months in.  And everything is 'going to plan' we keep hearing from Kremlin talking heads.  It is like they are snorting lines of coke off of a stripper's ass and then getting in front of a camera and proclaiming everything is going as planned and victory is just around the corner....yeah, right <eye roll>.
Except that dream is a nightmare now.  Except they don't see it or accept it.  And the dying on all sides just goes on and on.

The most madding aspect of this war to me is the delusion the Russian nationalists/imperialists/knuckle draggers have that they still can "win" this war, despite all evidence across a wide spectrum on a wide range of metrics that it simply isn't going to happen.  Russian isn't a great power anymore - it has not met that definition pre-Feb 24 and even less so now.  That is got to be some fantastic 100 proof hooch that is being served up in tanker trucks that is being swilled in the power structures of Russia to continue to believe that all their stated objectives will be met by their beaten to crap army.  Completely ignore that the expected 3 day op and a parade in Kiev is now 4+ months in.  And everything is 'going to plan' we keep hearing from Kremlin talking heads.  It is like they are snorting lines of coke off of a stripper's ass and then getting in front of a camera and proclaiming everything is going as planned and victory is just around the corner....yeah, right <eye roll>.
Except that dream is a nightmare now.  Except they don't see it or accept it.  And the dying on all sides just goes on and on.

The most madding aspect of this war to me is the delusion the Russian nationalists/imperialists/knuckle draggers have that they still can "win" this war, despite all evidence across a wide spectrum on a wide range of metrics that it simply isn't going to happen.  Russian isn't a great power anymore - it has not met that definition pre-Feb 24 and even less so now.  That is got to be some fantastic 100 proof hooch that is being served up in tanker trucks that is being swilled in the power structures of Russia to continue to believe that all their stated objectives will be met by their beaten to crap army.  Completely ignore that the expected 3 day op and a parade in Kiev is now 4+ months in.  And everything is 'going to plan' we keep hearing from Kremlin talking heads.  It is like they are snorting lines of coke off of a stripper's ass and then getting in front of a camera and proclaiming everything is going as planned and victory is just around the corner....yeah, right <eye roll>.
Except that dream is a nightmare now.  Except they don't see it or accept it.  And the dying on all sides just goes on and on.

The most madding aspect of this war to me is the delusion the Russian nationalists/imperialists/knuckle draggers have that they still can "win" this war, despite all evidence across a wide spectrum on a wide range of metrics that it simply isn't going to happen.  Russian isn't a great power anymore - it has not met that definition pre-Feb 24 and even less so now.  That is got to be some fantastic 100 proof hooch that is being served up in tanker trucks that is being swilled in the power structures of Russia to continue to believe that all their stated objectives will be met by their beaten to crap army.  Completely ignore that the expected 3 day op and a parade in Kiev is now 4+ months in.  And everything is 'going to plan' we keep hearing from Kremlin talking heads.  It is like they are snorting lines of coke off of a stripper's ass and then getting in front of a camera and proclaiming everything is going as planned and victory is just around the corner....yeah, right <eye roll>.
Except that dream is a nightmare now.  Except they don't see it or accept it.  And the dying on all sides just goes on and on.

The most madding aspect of this war to me is the delusion the Russian nationalists/imperialists/knuckle draggers have that they still can "win" this war, despite all evidence across a wide spectrum on a wide range of metrics that it simply isn't going to happen.  Russian isn't a great power anymore - it has not met that definition pre-Feb 24 and even less so now.  That is got to be some fantastic 100 proof hooch that is being served up in tanker trucks that is being swilled in the power structures of Russia to continue to believe that all their stated objectives will be met by their beaten to crap army.  Completely ignore that the expected 3 day op and a parade in Kiev is now 4+ months in.  And everything is 'going to plan' we keep hearing from Kremlin talking heads.  It is like they are snorting lines of coke off of a stripper's ass and then getting in front of a camera and proclaiming everything is going as planned and victory is just around the corner....yeah, right <eye roll>.
Except that dream is a nightmare now.  Except they don't see it or accept it.  And the dying on all sides just goes on and on.

The most madding aspect of this war to me is the delusion the Russian nationalists/imperialists/knuckle draggers have that they still can "win" this war, despite all evidence across a wide spectrum on a wide range of metrics that it simply isn't going to happen.  Russian isn't a great power anymore - it has not met that definition pre-Feb 24 and even less so now.  That is got to be some fantastic 100 proof hooch that is being served up in tanker trucks that is being swilled in the power structures of Russia to continue to believe that all their stated objectives will be met by their beaten to crap army.  Completely ignore that the expected 3 day op and a parade in Kiev is now 4+ months in.  And everything is 'going to plan' we keep hearing from Kremlin talking heads.  It is like they are snorting lines of coke off of a stripper's ass and then getting in front of a camera and proclaiming everything is going as planned and victory is just around the corner....yeah, right <eye roll>.
Except that dream is a nightmare now.  Except they don't see it or accept it.  And the dying on all sides just goes on and on.

"Next, on Survivor"  😃.  Looks like getting voted off the island is in full swing with all the firings and 'resignations' that are occurring.   And I imagine 'tribe mergers' are not a possibility?
**Edit - Survivor is a popular reality show in North America and my comment above is a reference to that.  Realized that other members may not be familiar with the show and hence, not understand my reference.

Seems Biden and Macrons aids are using the same guide...

Some of the conversation over the few pages have referenced the former Yugoslavia.  Which brings back... well, not so good memories.
I was a Canadian peacekeeper in Bosnia in latter half of '93.   During the Croatian offensive in the Medak in Sept of '93, I was with the 2 PPCLI when we went into the sh*tstorm to try to stop the ethnic cleansing going on.  The Croatian army attacked our unit during that operation, a thing that the Croatian government denies to this very day.  Despite us photographing the Croatian dead after the battle and collecting their ID, etc.    We had god damn evidence and to this day, the Croatian government position is that they never attacked us.
Part of our job, beside trying to keep the warring factions apart, was to document evidence of ethnic cleansing and I was in charge (I was an officer) of a evidence collection team.  So, literally thousands of photos, videos.  Transcripts of interviews with witnesses and victims.  Six months exposed to that living hell, day after f*n day....
So I had the evidence, because sometimes our official recording devices ran out film or tape and we used our personal recording devices to finish up at a site.
After I got out the military, I found myself sometimes on various military forms about games, such as this one.  Arma forums, military wargame forums... that sort of thing.  And as it happened, I ran into forum members from Croatia and Bosnia Serbs and we would get into it.
Universally, every Croatian or Bosnian Serb forum poster denied what happened there.  And I was called a liar on many occasions for telling them them the truth of that war as I was there and they weren't.  And I have evidence to back up my claims.  No one believed me and if I offered visual proof, they didn't want to see it or they disclaimed it as fake.
I remember a particular Bosnian Serb who was not in the war but we got deep into the weeds discussing what happened during that war.  Deny, deny, deny.  It never happened.  Until videos that the Bosnian Serbs took of them killing civilians and dumping them in mass graves what was recorded by the very soldiers who committed the atrocities surfaced and made it onto their local media and they couldn't deny it any longer.  Those videos were part of the process besides sanctions that resulted in some notable Bosnia Serb / Serbian leaders being turned over to the ICC for prosecution for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.  After the revelation came out, this individual on that forum who I had spent hours engaging with about the culpability of Serbs in the atrocities simply ignored me from that point onwards.  I will never know why.... was it that he discovered that I was right all a long and he was wrong and he was ashamed (as he would have been) or he simply wanted to hang onto his delusion of what narrative he wanted to believe was true and he knew that I would keep chipping away.   
Denial is a powerful thing.   I don't understand why it has such power but it does.  People can dismiss an outright objective reality because to accept the truth is to undermine what they think reality is or should be.   I don't get it and is beyond madding to see the denials in the face of objective reality happen over and over.
Sigh.   I don't know why the hell I rambled on with this.  Maybe it was a story I need to tell to remain sane in light of the same brutality I witnessed back in Bosnia happening in Ukraine now.  Or maybe I still am the greater fool for believing my experiences in Bosnia can be an object lesson to others about holding onto a narrative that is personally comfortable but runs counter to all the real evidence to the contrary.   DMS, I am looking at you....
The truth will come out after all this is over.  At least, I hope it does.  The truth of this war needs to be told and codified so generations that follow can know what really happend.
Now at the end of this and reviewing it, I feel that I should have deleted this or apologize for it.  
I am hitting post. It is my truth.  Let people accept it and learn something from it or ignore it.  I needed to say this for a long time.   
 
 

Quote - (I am also the kind of wargamer that feels bad when he losses pixel troops unnecessarily, they are my responsibility to use wisely).
Amen, brother.
When I play any of the CM games, I am really anal about keeping my casualties as low as possible.  To the point of obsession.  I play real time and I micro manage my forces to a point that most people would wonder if I am actually having fun ( I am).
Screen shot of my best accomplishment.  The point of pride is not in the kill count on the right.  For me, the satisfaction is the left hand column.  That is all that matters to me.

Quote - (I am also the kind of wargamer that feels bad when he losses pixel troops unnecessarily, they are my responsibility to use wisely).
Amen, brother.
When I play any of the CM games, I am really anal about keeping my casualties as low as possible.  To the point of obsession.  I play real time and I micro manage my forces to a point that most people would wonder if I am actually having fun ( I am).
Screen shot of my best accomplishment.  The point of pride is not in the kill count on the right.  For me, the satisfaction is the left hand column.  That is all that matters to me.

Some of the conversation over the few pages have referenced the former Yugoslavia.  Which brings back... well, not so good memories.
I was a Canadian peacekeeper in Bosnia in latter half of '93.   During the Croatian offensive in the Medak in Sept of '93, I was with the 2 PPCLI when we went into the sh*tstorm to try to stop the ethnic cleansing going on.  The Croatian army attacked our unit during that operation, a thing that the Croatian government denies to this very day.  Despite us photographing the Croatian dead after the battle and collecting their ID, etc.    We had god damn evidence and to this day, the Croatian government position is that they never attacked us.
Part of our job, beside trying to keep the warring factions apart, was to document evidence of ethnic cleansing and I was in charge (I was an officer) of a evidence collection team.  So, literally thousands of photos, videos.  Transcripts of interviews with witnesses and victims.  Six months exposed to that living hell, day after f*n day....
So I had the evidence, because sometimes our official recording devices ran out film or tape and we used our personal recording devices to finish up at a site.
After I got out the military, I found myself sometimes on various military forms about games, such as this one.  Arma forums, military wargame forums... that sort of thing.  And as it happened, I ran into forum members from Croatia and Bosnia Serbs and we would get into it.
Universally, every Croatian or Bosnian Serb forum poster denied what happened there.  And I was called a liar on many occasions for telling them them the truth of that war as I was there and they weren't.  And I have evidence to back up my claims.  No one believed me and if I offered visual proof, they didn't want to see it or they disclaimed it as fake.
I remember a particular Bosnian Serb who was not in the war but we got deep into the weeds discussing what happened during that war.  Deny, deny, deny.  It never happened.  Until videos that the Bosnian Serbs took of them killing civilians and dumping them in mass graves what was recorded by the very soldiers who committed the atrocities surfaced and made it onto their local media and they couldn't deny it any longer.  Those videos were part of the process besides sanctions that resulted in some notable Bosnia Serb / Serbian leaders being turned over to the ICC for prosecution for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.  After the revelation came out, this individual on that forum who I had spent hours engaging with about the culpability of Serbs in the atrocities simply ignored me from that point onwards.  I will never know why.... was it that he discovered that I was right all a long and he was wrong and he was ashamed (as he would have been) or he simply wanted to hang onto his delusion of what narrative he wanted to believe was true and he knew that I would keep chipping away.   
Denial is a powerful thing.   I don't understand why it has such power but it does.  People can dismiss an outright objective reality because to accept the truth is to undermine what they think reality is or should be.   I don't get it and is beyond madding to see the denials in the face of objective reality happen over and over.
Sigh.   I don't know why the hell I rambled on with this.  Maybe it was a story I need to tell to remain sane in light of the same brutality I witnessed back in Bosnia happening in Ukraine now.  Or maybe I still am the greater fool for believing my experiences in Bosnia can be an object lesson to others about holding onto a narrative that is personally comfortable but runs counter to all the real evidence to the contrary.   DMS, I am looking at you....
The truth will come out after all this is over.  At least, I hope it does.  The truth of this war needs to be told and codified so generations that follow can know what really happend.
Now at the end of this and reviewing it, I feel that I should have deleted this or apologize for it.  
I am hitting post. It is my truth.  Let people accept it and learn something from it or ignore it.  I needed to say this for a long time.   
 
 

Quote - (I am also the kind of wargamer that feels bad when he losses pixel troops unnecessarily, they are my responsibility to use wisely).
Amen, brother.
When I play any of the CM games, I am really anal about keeping my casualties as low as possible.  To the point of obsession.  I play real time and I micro manage my forces to a point that most people would wonder if I am actually having fun ( I am).
Screen shot of my best accomplishment.  The point of pride is not in the kill count on the right.  For me, the satisfaction is the left hand column.  That is all that matters to me.

I love that scenario.   And the map.   Wicked urban terrain.   Based on the feedback I provided, it got harder to complete without taking some casualties but playing it about a dozen times, I have managed to keep the casualties to a single digit each time.   A true gem of a scenario.  And that map.  Deep respect of LLF for painstaking doing that map.

LOL.
@BlackMoria is also the playtester who demolished -- no really, chewed and effing spit out! -- my CMSF1 Ramadi JOKER 3 urban hellscape (back a decade ago), taking only a single casualty! 
IIRC, he end ran the QRF column around the (obvious) insurgent kill zone, linked up the forces (replenishing ammo, which is key) and then brutally straight punched into the heart of the ghetto to relieve the cut off Marines.  Freeking legend! (I had to make quite some design tweaks to the scenario after that, I can tell you)
Canucks by and large are a peaceable people, but we do have hidden talents for war when put to it.  My uncles in the South Scotias and Seaforths told quite some stories  #TommySS

Quote - (I am also the kind of wargamer that feels bad when he losses pixel troops unnecessarily, they are my responsibility to use wisely).
Amen, brother.
When I play any of the CM games, I am really anal about keeping my casualties as low as possible.  To the point of obsession.  I play real time and I micro manage my forces to a point that most people would wonder if I am actually having fun ( I am).
Screen shot of my best accomplishment.  The point of pride is not in the kill count on the right.  For me, the satisfaction is the left hand column.  That is all that matters to me.

Quote - (I am also the kind of wargamer that feels bad when he losses pixel troops unnecessarily, they are my responsibility to use wisely).
Amen, brother.
When I play any of the CM games, I am really anal about keeping my casualties as low as possible.  To the point of obsession.  I play real time and I micro manage my forces to a point that most people would wonder if I am actually having fun ( I am).
Screen shot of my best accomplishment.  The point of pride is not in the kill count on the right.  For me, the satisfaction is the left hand column.  That is all that matters to me.

Quote - (I am also the kind of wargamer that feels bad when he losses pixel troops unnecessarily, they are my responsibility to use wisely).
Amen, brother.
When I play any of the CM games, I am really anal about keeping my casualties as low as possible.  To the point of obsession.  I play real time and I micro manage my forces to a point that most people would wonder if I am actually having fun ( I am).
Screen shot of my best accomplishment.  The point of pride is not in the kill count on the right.  For me, the satisfaction is the left hand column.  That is all that matters to me.