mjkerner

I have all the mods for V-waard in my z folder. But I think you are correct in that it should make no difference what the oppo has for mods when the turn comes back to you...you should see your own stuff. However, maybe it's affected by the fact that when you do your prestage thing, you are in effect using the oppo's turn, instead of your own, depending. In other words, you give me your turn (passworded), then I get it and open with your/generic PW, then I send it back. Do you follow?

The report of Zonderz's death has been greatly exaggerated. It's only a flesh wound...and bad one, mind you, but he ain't pushing up daisies quite yet. At least not until we grab his ammo, grenaten, etc. Obergefreiter Brauer has taken over the platoon and is at this very minute checking his procedural manual, issued by Heer Chief of Armaments General Grammont, co-authored by his deputy, Generalleutnant Charlemagne Braininajar, as to whether Brauer is allowed to retrieve Zonderz's maschinenpistole!

Phil or anyone, is there a way to edit a thread title? I like the way nathangun titled his Lost Eagles AAR, beginning with with "ALLIED AAR" so it is very clear which side the AAR belongs to, and want to change mine accordingly.

It's always the leader, innit. The war's over for him, which I think he is secretly happy about. He had a premonition it was going to be a bad day. I'm pretty certain it was a sniper, as opposed to just a good marksman, because he's the leader, there was a lull in the firing at that point, and I distinctly heard only one shot, saw the flash, and down he went.

The Good Hauptmann Doktor von Bletchler has been called away on urgent business, leaving the senior leutnant, Zonderz, in charge of 3 Kompanie, 28th Sicherungs Abteilung. Zonderz has been relentlessly exhorting his men to continue entrenching and fortifying their positions in Valkenswaard proper, when KG Kerner HQ excitedly radios that Allied parachutists are dropping just east of town! Zonderz is ordered to send a platoon to scout the situation, and capture and destroy all enemy troops encountered. Schiesse, no need to panic, my men spotted them in the distance before HQ even contacted us. A dozen or so chutes in the sky--could be some poor bomber crew whose bird just couldn't quite make it back home. But too, it looked like too many for that. Well, hopefully only a lost "stick" of parachutists, and not some sort of Commando raid or worse, a "pathfinder" group like they used in Normandy, leading the way for who knows how many more! Doppel scheisse, Normandy was the ****s, and now it's happening again. My security kompanie was nearly wiped out in just the first week of the invasion by chasing and engaging American 'chutists. Devils in Baggy Pants, as they are known. Then, being chased all across France, barely escaping with our lives, and finally stopping here, I thought, for a much needed rest and refit. No such luck. Mein Gott, what a situation, thrown together in a slap-dash kampfgruppe of discipline cases, marine schutzen, rear area luftwaffe troops, and training school units. And my own men are mostly green, just out of training, and really no more than glorified policemen! And this kampfgruppe is stop to an armored juggernaut! OKW is just plain crazy! And now these parachutists. Ach.... My men need experienced leadership in the trials ahead. The other platoon commanders have little actual combat experience, so I will lead this patrol myself. I don't have a good feeling about this... Leutnant Zonderz barks orders to his Alarm Gruppe,1st squad, 3rd Zug, to follow him, shouting to the other squad leaders to get their men ready, grab a section from the machine gun platoon, and follow as soon as possible. He'll need the heavy gun, because only the platoon and squad leaders have automatic weapons. And these parachutists will be armed to the teeth! ***************************************************************** Minute 1 Good, I can see the north-south road already, and discarded chutes in the first field. Maybe we can catch them in the open. There are woods and buildings bordering the area...if they are allowed to dig in in those trees, or hold up in those buildings, it will be nearly impossible to dig them out without being bled white! Okay, I'll send the following squads into the woods from the left, but skirting them so as to keep them in sight, while I take 1st squad and the machine gun into the copse of trees on the right as a base of fire to cover the other squads and lay down fire on that first building down the east-west road... Contact! We caught them still in their chutes! Feuer manner! Feuer! Minute 2 Mein Gott, these men couldn't hit Brunhilda's ass if it was wiggling right in front of their faces! Dozens of shots and not one hit!! They are escaping into those woods.... Lt. Zonderz is worried. A mortar or bazooka round hits the road behind 1st squad as a BAR team opens up from the wood line, while 3 or 4 paratroopers pop up from the long grass and make a run for the trees... Chasing verdammt fallschirmjagaers! That never ends well. I hope to Gott that was only a rifle grenat, 'cause if they have a mortar, we're fu...Ooooff! A sniper lets one single round fly... ...and Zonderz is down with a nasty wound to the neck and shoulder.

This mini battle is being fought by Nathangun commanding US paratroopers, and me, commanding a platoon of Wehrmacht security troops in Kohlenklau's Panzer Command "The Road to Eindhoven" campaign. If you are following this campaign, you know there have been a lot of threads with campaign info, mini battles, and soon, "regular" battles. This battle (actually should be mini battle #2, chronologically, but was numbered in the order it was created by klk) was supposed to go in the Axis CMPzC Campaign information thread, but in an effort to keep these straight for the viewing public, I started a separate thread. The Campaign so far: The Allies' XXX Corps is driving its armor-laden columns toward Valkenswaard, where a scratch kampfgruppe has been formed under Oberst Kerner to stop, or at least delay, the Allies' offensive through Eindhoven and Nijmegen, and eventually over the Rhine, link with the British 1st Airborne at Arnhem, and on into Germany. Of immediate concern, British armor has tried to grab a bridge over the Dommel, southwest of Valkenswaard, but Hauptmann Burke and a detachment of his Luftwaffe Stafkompanie has successfully blown the bridge [officially, Mini-Battle #2], slowing the Allied attack against the Stafkompanie's defenses across the Dommel on the outskirts of Valkenswaard [big Battle #1"Assault on Hex (1, 7)"--or snazzily "Across the Dommel"] That battle is just gearing up as well, and will be reported on in yet another AAR thread. In terms of our little campaign, "Lost Eagles" is occurring nearly simultaneously with BB #1, but is taking place east of Valkenswaard. My apologies, but initial dispositions and opening moves pics will follow later tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Real life likes to take a swing at you out of the blue, just when you're about to go on stage....

Thanks Bil, Well, I figured this hex would get hit big time by the armored thrust. That's why I toyed with putting the 75mm guns in that hex, but i worried more about a massive air and arty barrage into that hex, and so wanted to preserve them for later use and to cover the flanks. Similar for putting the Penal troops there...they wouldn't be much of a counterattack force later, so I thought to use them for a trip wire,and to take as much infantry with them as possible. We will see how this battle goes; they may simply stand and die to the last man. (Although, I would like to withdraw those 20mm guns if possible after inflicting what damage they can.) The real fight will be in the Valkenswaard hexes, which will offset his armor advantage, and why I wanted to save the better troops for defense/counterattack there.

Very impressive, Christian! I like it when a student of a battle goes in-depth researching and building maps, battles and campaigns. If you ever need playtesters whe you get to scenario building, please give me a shout.

"Saunders" is the English spelling for those ancestors who "emigrated" to the English shore circa 887 or so. Ve who stayed behind prefer "Sonders" or "Zonderz".

Or a long stretch of amphetamines!

Sounds like it will be a fun challenge, Phil. I assume you had to let the Shermans get in close, or did you send the PF-armed men out to tank hunt? That master map doesn't look like it has a lot of cover. But I need to check what it looks like and LOS range with the time set at 0600.

I'll do double duty if Carl can't take it. Btw, I forgot I had your (early?) version of the full Valkenswaard map. Great job! I knew it was generally flat country, great for shooting his infantry from a distance. But man, it is going to be interesting hiding from his armor!

Oh cool, you finally got the flavor object skinned! Can't wait for the upload. Colored 'chutes too?

If The good Doctor is unavailable, Carl is welcome, or Bil if he'd like. I won't mind double duty at all, just want to share the fun. And who told you about the Ardennes? What do you know about it? It is in the very early planning stages...the Allies aren't even anywhere near there projected locations for December yet! Who leaked this? The Wolf's Lair demands answers! Stand by for a visit from your local friendly Gestapo goons!

Lol, Badger, I thought it was out of whack the first go-round! Well, not out of whack, just damn difficult! I haven't tried it since after the mg fix, but I have tried the beach landing in Road to Monteburg, and it is certainly harder. Not a game breaker, though.

Lee, in one of the patches after CW, a bug crept in where three-section squad would not line up along walls and other linear obstacles...the right- or left-hand section would be either 1action square ahead of or behind the rest. It was fixed in a subsequent patch. But as Banex says, splitting squads allows you to align pretty well along irregular contours, etc.

Oberst Kerner does indeed look upon the Allied Airborne Armada and its seemingly endless resources with wonder and envy. He remembers Crete, the terrible losses and the stubborn Commonwealth and Greek resistance. He can only hope that his command can emulate their stubbornness and fortitude. Yes, if Herr Dumkopf Hilter (thank goodness the Gestapo can't read ones mind) had only realized the value of proper equipment and preparation, and let the Generals run the war...such a shame the July plot failed! But he shakes those thoughts loose, and is thankful that he has such fine officers in Major Hardenberger, Hauptman. Fizou and Dr. Von Bletchler. Although commanding a scratch force of security troops, Von Bletchler will give the Allies a welcoming they won't soon forget!

Thanks Phil, looking forward to it. I've read through Noob's rules, but forgot to ask you if they all are in effect. Didn't you have some modifications or additions to them that you linked to me or emailed me at one time?

I get a psycho sniper? Btw, this will be the thread for the Hex 1, 7 battle, I presume?

Thanks Phil. Regarding the plethora of threads for this campaign--and yes, there had better be more similar campaigns forthcoming(!)--you should put the non-AAR specific questions and info in this one. Like the one you just asked about the motivational level of Sept 1944 Penal battalions. It does get confusing following these threads!

Assault on Lucherberg; not sure where I got it.

Crack/Elite with Fanatic motivation? Or should I recuse myself for potential conflict of interest reasons?

That's the spirit, Bil! Is the Dommel fordable on the left/east side of the bridge?

In the first beach assault scenario in The Road To Montberg I blew up a wooden bunker with BAR and MG fire. I was firing away to provide cover for my troops to get inland, and all of a sudden it just blew! No tanks, no mortars on it, not anywhere near close enough for zook or rifle grenades, I thought, what the hell??? After checking the replay, turns out a tracer round (or several) entered the firing port and must have hit the stored ammo in the back. I thought those boxes of ammo there were just for looks. This was before ammo dumps were put in the game. I have no other explanation for the big 'explosion.