Tiresias

Thanks for the tip. I think my guys in 3 platoon will be OK in this regard; they had to race to get across that open ground but now they're mostly in the trees and can slow down. It's conveniently sloping, which means that they are in a defensible position while they get their breath back, too.

Turn 5 As three platoon begin their advance on the left, my attention is drawn to the windmills, which are hit by something other than mortar fire. It looks like it might have come from a tank or possibly a field gun of some description. Whatever the source, this is the closest the Americans have come to causing some damage up there. A couple of minor injuries are sustained among the squad hiding in the basement. It's nothing serious, but enough to have me pull them back behind the summit next turn. The windmills are where I will fight my last stand, and I need 1 platoon intact and fighting fit. Meanwhile 2 and 4 platoons are battered by mortar and machine-gun fire on the lower slopes. Unlike the previous turns, there is no evidence that they might be causing the Americans a problem - in fact, most of them are too busy cowering for their presence to be in any way effective. I resolve to pull a few of the teams back next turn, including 2 plt's commanding officer. They will reassemble on a small plateau slightly to the rear of their present position, where it may just be possible for them to inflict a few casualties as the Americans advance up the hill. Before they reach the windmills, they will have to cross a relatively narrow ridge, and this fallback position might enable me to hit them a little there. For the time being, my MG teams are still on the lower slopes in the hope of suppressing any attempted US advance, however. That mortar strike I've called in is just a few moments away. The news is better on the left. Forward elements of 3 plt. race forward through the bushes that lie in front of the road junction. They're spotted by an XO team over to the far left of the map, but an MG from 1st squad keeps them in check. No casualties so far, and not much sign of American infantry covering their advance, either. Two teams from 3 platoon's 2nd squad have made it across the one stretch of open ground that lies between us and the American right flank by the turn's end. Having encountered barely any resistance, I will be accelerating the move forward on my left next turn, to get them into the relative cover of a grove of trees that lies on the opposing slope. It's the one bit of really fast movement they will have to undertake. I am convinced that I have caught the Americans by surprise in this area and now is the time to get everyone across, while my opponent is still working out what is going on. Otherwise, the advance will slow up in the intense heat. Once in this first grove, there will be little time to catch their breath: 2nd squad will spearhead the advance, moving relatively cautiously up to the far perimeter wall, where some contacts were spotted earlier. 3rd squad will follow once their position is secure. 1st squad will break slightly left, however. I expect to have to move them over towards that XO team, as I think there may be a field gun of some sort pointing towards the windmills on the summit. That's the gun which was misidentified by my men as an AT piece in the first turn. With 3 platoon now moving across the open, there's no question that the Americans will realise that we are threatening their right. My hope is that this will draw some men away from the hill, allowing 2 and 4 platoons to recover slightly and maybe buying us more valuable time to keep the enemy pinned down and hit them with mortar fire. I'm slightly disquieted by that shot at the windmills at the start of that turn, however. Is there another tank alongside that Sherman? As the turn ends, I think I hear the first of my spotting rounds screeching through the air...

Hi Ian, Thanks for the message, and for reading. I think your assessment about keeping 2&4 platoons where they are for too long is almost certainly about to be shown to be spot on! As you say, the intent was to keep the enemy pinned down so that I could pound them with artillery. The combination of my first bombardment ending earlier than intended and the appearance of Americans slightly to the right of where I had expected encouraged me to arrange a second bombardment, which is the main reason they are still hanging on in there. A proper reverse slope defence is something I have yet to master given my limited experience. There is definitely potential for this where 1 plt are positioned, and it could form the basis of my "last stand" at the windmills. For 2 and 4 platoons the prospects are slimmer. The hill effectively becomes a ridge line running all the way back to the windmills. In an effort to create something approaching a layered defence I identified a point where it plateaus out between their current position and 1 plt. I have an MG team there at the moment and retreating elements could pull back there within the next few turns. It isn't a reverse slope as such but I think that, in a similar manner to that kind of position, it might be possible to catch a few more Americans as they come over the crest. Again, thanks for your thoughts. The main reason I decided to write this in the first place, in spite of my lack of practice with the game, was because the BF community seem such an informative and positive bunch, so I really appreciate the advice!

Nope, I'm not sure either! Like I say, it seems the best way of making sure that 3 platoon can actually play a part that influences the outcome of the battle, rather than sit at the road junction waiting for the Americans to attack when they feel ready. We'll soon find out what happens. It's been a fascinating experience playing this one so far. Thanks for the comment!

Ah, thanks Poesel - I'll give it a try.

Ah, pity. I'm on an iMac and everything I've tried so far gives me a rubbish fps.

Excellent. Story of my life in CM so far and great to see a little CM:A action. Would be interested to know what you recorded it with?

Turn 4 The bulk of the American infantry starts to appear exactly where I expected, facing the lower slopes of the hill. MG teams from both 2 and 4 platoons have moved to cover their assault, which I imagine is only moments away. I don't think my men will hold out much longer, now. Last turn an MG 42 crew were seriously shaken up by a casualty they sustained, although thanks to the steadying presence of their commanding officer nearby, they are still in the game for now. I expect heavy weapons and maybe that Sherman to start firing on us in the next turn or so. Ominously, the mortar bombardment around the windmills has also stopped. It has proven wholly ineffective and 1 plt's men. remain unscathed. Where does this leave 3 plt. on the left? As discussed last turn, it's now clear where the thrust of the American assault is going to be. Hopefully, my mortars will start bombarding the Americans again in a few minutes' time, but it's questionable whether 2/4 plts. will survive even for that long - and the accuracy of mortar fire is not guaranteed. If the Americans push into the map's central area and 3 plt. move round on the left, the latter will be marooned in the trees on my left flank. But potentially, my opponent could then find the majority of his infantry sandwiched between 1 plt. on the hilltop, and 3 plt. below. The alternative is to have 3 plt. stay at the road junction. In that scenario, the US advance would be splitting my remaining force in the middle in such a way as to give them plenty of room and concealment through which to move on the road junction at the leisure. In such a situation, both 1 and 3 plts. would find themselves embroiled in isolated firefights, which could each be undertaken at a time of my opponent's choosing and would have little bearing on the other's fortunes. Although I enjoy a cautious defence, I think this would reduce the Germans' role in the battle to a passive one after the fall of 2/4 plts' position. It's time to force the situation instead: Next turn, elements of 3 plt are going to move forward on the left. Their MG teams are already in positions to provide good covering fire but the whole move is going to have to be executed within the space of a few turns if we are going to be in a position to threaten the Americans before they realise what is happening. And the whole move is a major gamble; it is still not clear what strength the Americans have on their right, but given the numbers of men now focused on taking that central hill, I can't believe that there is yet another platoon hiding somewhere. As for the hill, I've got everyone in positions where they have reasonable LOS and the cover arcs are now mostly off. A few guys remain on the leftward slopes to cover parts of 3 plt's advance, too. But we are still taking casualties and in the coming turns I expect it to get a whole lot worse. I still can't really predict whether this attrition will be worth it - and I still don't know if we have hurt the Americans that much so far. As 3 plt. swing into action, the clock is ticking and I am worried their advance may be too little, too late.

Turn 3 With the premature cessation of my bombardment, that concentration of American troops towards the far end of the map suddenly starts to move. My men on the hill are faced with the daunting prospect of what looks like at least a couple more platoons heading towards them. Meanwhile, we continue to exchange fire with the squads that are now arriving at the foot of the hill in ever-increasing numbers. It's difficult to tell whether or not the enemy are taking hits. My own men are starting to take casualties, however. It's inevitable, really. There is only limited concealment on the hill and with movement on both sides, the lines of sight are shifting all the time. One MG34 team in particular finds itself exposed to American fire and suffers the consequences. Ouch. In spite of this, overall 2 and 4 platoons are holding up well. With pretty much all the Americans spotted so far heading their way, I fully expect their forward position to take a hammering, but if they can cause some casualties too, it might mean the enemy are severely weakened by the time they launch their assault on the windmills. One bonus in this regard is the ongoing mortar fire around the windmills themselves. The American mortars are pounding our position there but to no avail - so far nobody in 1 plt has suffered so much as a scratch. And there's more promising news: As 3 plt arrive at the road junction on the left, only a handful of contacts are identified directly ahead of them. It looks as if my prediction about the Americans being weak on their right flank might be correct. But that means that they are going to throw pretty much everything at the map's centre. This picture shows where their forces are massing, along with what I now expect to be the direction of their main assault. I had originally expected them to aim slightly to the left of this, but it involves only a minor rearrangement of my men on the hill to ensure that we are in position to hit them as they cross the obvious kill zones that lie between them and us. Their weakness on the left and the opportunity it offers is causing me a major headache. 3 plt's original assignment was going to be to hold the road junction and deal with an expected attack. Now, with the American gaze clearly directed towards the hill, they could push forward. But to do that they will have to move down one slope and up another at speed, and in intense heat, presumably under enemy fire. Losing large numbers of men in such an attack would allow the Americans to walk into the road junction almost unopposed. But a successful push might be worth it, as it could potentially cause havoc at exactly the moment the enemy are trying to launch a decisive assault. As 3 plt set up their MG's and catch their breath from the initial advance, it is becoming clear that I need to make a decision fast, while my opponent's attention is focused elsewhere.

Turn 2 In the long run, the next minute of combat will probably prove little more than transitional, but that doesn't mean that it's without surprises. Things get off to a decent start. Although a mortar round which was landing just as the first turn ended takes out 2 plt's 2i/c, my MGs open up again from the slopes of the hill and I can see that I am still inflicting some casualties among the US infantry as they move forward. Then, the first of two surprises occurs. A command in German crackles over the radio and my mortar bombardment of the American positions comes to an abrupt halt. As a non-German speaker, I have no idea why and - as I mentioned in the report from Turn 1 - I could have sworn that the bombardment was scheduled to continue for a good few minutes yet. One possibility here is that the artillery barrels have overheated. The more likely explanation is that, not for the first time, I've screwed up the orders. Whatever the explanation, it's a frustrating development, because I know that there are Americans in those trees. I can only hope that we inflicted a few casualties before the bombardment was halted. Real-life generals reading this may wish to note that it always helps to speak the language of the men you are commanding. Fact. The second surprise is this: The Americans have started to bombard the area around the windmills, right on top of the hill where 1 plt. are stationed. It looks like 50mm fire to me, 81mm at most. Either way, it's not causing any damage yet. Most of the rounds are missing the buildings and my men are all in the basement rooms, which means they are pretty sheltered. The only minor annoyance is that I've positioned my Co. HQ on the rear slopes behind the buildings to keep them out of harm's way. If they stick around they'll be very much in harm's way instead, should the bombardment continue, so I'm going to move them back. Meanwhile there is little sign of the US forces advancing at speed, which is probably because they were sheltering from my own mortar fire - until it stopped. Here's how the battlefield looks at the end of the second turn. As you can see, the Germans are still picking up lots of US contacts so I am confident about where the bulk of their forces are, even if the precise identity of the troops I am facing remains unclear. I can tentatively draw two conclusions from this. First, the lack of movement from the Americans may also reflect the fact that their ability to perceive my positions - particularly those of 2 and 4 plts on the hill, is more limited because they are on lower-lying terrain. That could give me valuable time to arrange a second mortar bombardment, which will inevitably involve a delay. Second, I can also see that they are almost, but not quite where I expected, which was becoming clear at the end of the last turn. A larger concentration of US forces is to the extreme far left. They might be preparing for a heavy frontal assault against the area where 2/4 plts are stationed, moving either against my centre or even my right. That would be particularly understandable if, as the bombardment of the windmills suggests, the Americans think that my own forces are concentrated there on the highest ground. All of this has one important implication: on my left, the Americans might have left themselves a bit exposed. As we reach the end of the second turn, 3 plt are still racing forward towards the road junction and will arrive next turn. If it looks like the US are weak on that flank, we might be able to advance some elements of 3 plt. further, with the Marder in support, and threaten to turn them. But that depends on how that rear concentration of American forces starts to move, and timing will be key. Overall, I suspect that the area directly ahead of the hill will be the scene of bloody fighting in the next few turns. Accordingly, I'm calling in a new bombardment slightly to the right of the earlier one. It's up to 2 and 4 plts. to hold their nerve and try to pin the Americans down until this supporting fire arrives. Only time will tell if they can do so.

Turn 1 Sometimes games are slow-burners, in which both sides spend the opening turns painstakingly moving their forces into position, keeping their men hidden until the moment is right to strike. In such games, patience is vital, the wait for the first shot to be fired can be agonising and the tension cranks up a notch further with every passing minute. This is not one of those games. Instead, the clock has barely begun ticking when a mass of US contacts, variously probable or confirmed, appear in the trees ahead and to the left of the slopes where 2 and 4 plts. are positioned. More quickly emerge on the open ground behind them. For a few seconds, the only thing that breaks the silence is the rattle of one of my MG 42s firing at a target amid the trees. Then, everything erupts as my off-map 81mm mortars open up. It quickly becomes difficult to see exactly what's going on because of the smoke from the exploding rounds, but I can see a handful of GIs are hit during the bombardment. It isn't all going my way, though, far from it. We're still less than a minute in when I also see rounds landing among my own men on the slopes. At first I think it's my own bombardment missing the target, but the second round clearly comes in from the American side of the map. The explosion takes out an entire MG 42 crew - it's so surgical that I can only presume that an American mortar crew has spotted them. Another explosion hits the ammo-bearers for the AT gun. This isn't a devastating loss, but the MG 42 that I've lost had the best LOS to the wall at the foot of the hill where the first squad of Americans is now sheltering from my own bombardment. I break off an MG 34 team from one of 2 plt's squads to take up position next to the bodies of my unfortunate crew. The first minute has clearly caused bloodshed on both sides and it's difficult (and too early) to assess what the damage has been or whether my initial presumptions about the likely direction of the US assault is correct. Here's what my guys can see from the lower part of the hill as we reach the 60-second mark: Most of these remain unconfirmed contacts, but the most striking aspect is that the Americans are spread further back than I expected, with only limited numbers probing into the trees on my left flank. I still think this is the most favourable approach for them because of the amount of concealment it offers, but the large numbers clustered towards the rear of the map arouse suspicion. Is it possible that they are planning on moving against my right flank as well? If so, then their best chance is to come through the trees in the map's centre, right where 2 and 4 platoons are waiting. I also notice this: Looks like the Americans have at least one Sherman in tow as well. However, I'm almost relieved that this is the only armour spotted so far. Although the vast majority of contacts are unconfirmed the best-guess is that they are otherwise infantry. Oddly, the only further exceptions to this are some field guns. My men seem to think they've seen an AT gun positioned on the far left, but this would be an odd choice of assault weapon. More likely, this is a different field piece and the misidentification is a result of the smoke spreading across the battlefield. For now, I'm going to stick to the plan. There has been no bombardment on the left so 3rd platoon are being sent up to seize the road junction. Also, I'm bringing the Marder down behind the houses at the junction in case the Americans have more Shermans knocking about and decide to move up the road to the left of the hill. In the centre, 2 and 4 platoons are ordered to sit tight and suppress the enemy as much as they can. They will only be able to take this for so long, given the presence of a tank and some sort of heavy weaponry in the American ranks. But the longer they can hold the US forces amid the trees, the more my mortar bombardment will take its toll. Theoretically, there are 4/5 minutes more of that yet. Even if my guys in the centre of the map can hang on for a couple of turns, that could be enough to cause the Americans some serious casualties. Ultimately, however, I'm expecting 2 and 4 platoons to get a kicking. Given the Americans' dispositions, it looks like we will be seeing a frontal assault on the hill. But I will be watching the left flank with great interest next turn. If the US forces look weak there, then 3 platoon may be able to at least demonstrate enough to put them under pressure and cause some real problems. Much depends on whether my men in the centre of the map have been spotted, and how long they can hold on in the coming turns.

Hello all, After my mauling at the hands of BigDork in CM:BN, we decided to do a CM:FI battle and a joint AAR. It's been running for a few days on the weplayciv.com forums and my worthy opponent now appears to have gained approval for us to do the same thing here. He started pasting his thread across yesterday, so this is my contribution. I hope you enjoy reading this thread and will of course be happy to answer questions as we go. However, do please remember that I am still very much a newbie - I started PBEMs last month and this is only my second such encounter in CMx2! I think that my side of the story will be most useful for fellow newcomers keen to learn from my tactical blunders. These should be available in plentiful supply. Expect Germans spilling their pixellated guts out all over the map. I should also mention my generous opponent because he's been hugely supportive and despite my battering in the last encounter, he's made the whole experience really enjoyable, despite his fearsome name. My main aim this time is to try to do a bit better in Sicily and see how long I can hold on. Oh yes, and do remember that this AAR comes from a site where people are less familiar with CM, so the references may seem a little obvious occasionally. I'll try to tweak it a bit to suit the greater knowledge of Battlefront forum users. Happy reading! So, to the battle: It's July 1943, and it's a beautiful day in Sicily. My German forces have been assigned the task of defending some old windmills and a road junction, of which the windmills in particular command a relatively steep hill. It's a natural defensive position which means that my chances of at least putting up a decent fight must be reasonable. I've made my unit picks and they look like this: 1 x Panzergrenadier Company - comprising 3 x rifle platoons and a heavy weapons platoon of 4 MG42 crews. The Company also has a couple of off-map mortars, which I am hoping will come in very handy indeed if the Americans get pinned down. 1 x Marder II tank destroyer 1 x PAK 40 75mm anti-tank gun. That's it. The US will have a slight advantage in numbers because this is an Allied Probe game, but hopefully the terrain will even things up on my behalf. I've also invested in "veteran" status troops, mostly with high motivation, in an attempt to exercise a tenacious defence. Here's how I've set things up: As you can see from this, I've stationed 2 & 4 platoons - the latter is my heavy weapons platoon - right in the centre of the map, where the ground begins to rise. This is where I think that the bulk of the action is likely to take place. My suspicion is that the US attack (predicted with the blue arrows) will be through the centre and on my left as this is the area of the map which offers the best cover and concealment. An attack on my right, towards the windmills, would have to cross large areas of open ground and would give the Americans a difficult uphill struggle. For this reason, most of my MGs are with 2 platoon in that central cluster of foliage. They are covering kill zones from interlocking fire positions. The leftward part of this group of men can also cover an advance towards the road junction on the left. Here they are, hopefully sufficiently concealed in the sparse undergrowth to spring a few surprises: Meanwhile, 3 plt have been stationed in a concealed position behind the road junction. Their main task in the battle will be to seize and hold the junction itself, but I am holding them back just in case the US commence the battle with an artillery bombardment in that area. 1 plt have the task of holding the windmills. If my other positions are lost, I expect elements of both 2 and 3 platoons to fall back to this area. This will be the last line of defence but for the time being, 1 plt are in the basements of the windmill structures, again anticipating a possible bombardment here from the US as the battle begins. My main concern is whether I have enough anti-tank weaponry at my disposal. My PAK 40 is close to 2/4 plts in a semi-concealed position covering the low ground ahead and to the right. If the US have a lot of armour and want to bombard the windmills, this is where they will station it because it offers the best LOS towards the VL where 1 plt is waiting. My AT gun has a great view of this area but could ultimately be taken out as US infantry moves through the centre of the map. Meanwhile my Marder II is currently concealed by the hill in an area covering the road junction. It may be that the Americans send their armour this way, supporting an infantry advance and taking out our positions on the left of the hill and around the junction as they go. The Marder has a well-concealed approach to the junction itself, where I hope it will be able to counter the threat of any tanks on the left. If it turns out that the emphasis of US armour is going to be on the right, it will be able to move back round the hill and assist the PAK within the space of a couple of minutes. Finally, I'm hoping to inflict a bit of damage from the word go with my off-map mortars. Anticipating that the Americans will make straight for the cover offered by the foliage on my left at the start of the battle, my Co. HQ has arranged for a pre-planned bombardment in this area. You can see this area in the image below, along with some detail on 2/4 plts positions. Hopefully those mortar shells will land in the right spot and soften up any concealed infantry, evening things up a bit before the Americans can commence their uphill assault. So goes the theory. Now let's see what happens in practice…

Yep, happens pretty regularly in CMx1. Haven't seen anything similar occur in CMx2, though.

I'm afraid I've now deleted the relevant game files because we actually finished playing this a few days ago, but the crews were either regular or veteran, with normal motivation. In the case of the first tank, I was aware that (again through inexperience more than anything else) I had slightly misjudged a cover arc which I had set for it so that it would take out anything in its LOS on the road. Its actual LOS was further than the arc' maximum extent, although the difference was about two metres or so, and therefore relatively marginal. Even so, that might have explained why the Sherman was able to get its shot off. I am certain that the Sherman entered its arc before firing, but the arc itself was sloppy measurement on my part. The second tank did not spot the Sherman. I was quite surprised by this because it was sitting there unbuttoned and had been all game up to that point. It had good LOS up the road to about the point where the Sherman appears to have been sitting when it fired. I know that the question of spotting has been raised as a result of this AAR and to be honest I'm not too wound up about it as I still find the game hugely playable, but this did strike me as odd - or at least unfortunate - at the time. Hope this helps; let me know if I can add anything more.

Hello all, Now that the battle's over I've had the chance to read BigDork's AAR. Huge thanks must go to him both for the game and for the excellent reports here on the forum, it makes for a really great read. Also, thanks to all of you for reading and for your supportive comments. This was my first PBEM in CMx2 and I learned a few important lessons the hard way - notably, as several people have already pointed out, that positioning that tank with no means of reversing out of its position was a seriously stupid move. I rarely play meeting engagements and definitely started off too slow as well, although the opportunities for concealment on my approach were limited and predictable, which made it a bit tricky. After the loss of my armour early on, the only (slim) chance of winning that I could see was to try to soften up the VL with some artillery, then attempt an assault. I think that a real-life commander would have probably given it up at this stage (as, again, some readers have mentioned), but as BigDork said it was huge fun playing and it helped me to keep on learning the game. Again, my thanks go to BigDork for being such a positive and supportive opponent throughout this encounter. We'll be reconvening for some CM:FI action in the near future and will doubtless keep you posted.

OK, thanks for the suggestions Fizou. I can definitely see what you mean about the different installation. I've tried creating a folder called Z in both Data and Game Files, then placed a bitmap image into these. Nothing immediately pops up when I open the map in the scenario editor so I guess I must be doing something wrong. I'm sure it's not a big problem but if any fellow Mac-users have tried this and know the solution, I'm all ears!

Ah, fine, thanks. So it goes as a sub-folder under Data, right?

Hello, Just downloaded this last night and it looks great, but I can't seem to see the Z folder into which map overlay images should be placed. There doesn't seem to be any such folder in the game's data file - could someone let me know where I'm going wrong? Thanks!

Hi there. Have sent you an Email. No guarantees as to who will get kicked round the battlefield more, though, as I'm new to the PBEM experience!

Yep, just to endorse that - well done again to Redwolf for spotting the problem and thanks to all for their help.

Great, thanks again to both of you for your help. That timing certainly sounds about right. Tiresias.

Hey Redwolf, Brilliant - think you might have cracked it; thanks very much indeed. I downloaded the game from the BF store, as part of the CMBB and CMAK bundle. Thanks again for your advice; really helpful.

Thanks, Schrullenhaft. I have sent you one of the files that my version seems unable to open.

Hi Schrullenhaft, Just to let you know I tried reversing the process as advised, starting a game at my end (on 1.04) and sending it to Joe (who has 1.03). Joe sent back his turn, so that seemed to work fine, but as soon as I tried to open it I got the same message - "Opponent has a different version of Combat Mission, make sure you are both using the latest version from www.battlefront.com and try again" (or something like that). I appreciate that you're probably running out of ideas at this stage but just in case it helps from a technical point of view, I thought I'd keep you updated. Thanks, Tiresias.

OK, thanks for your advice. Will give that a go later. Yes, my opponent definitely has 1.03, and only one copy installed.