TrailApe

Don't go into the deep end about what Brooker writes, he just rips the piss out of everything - including himself. He probably loves all of these types of games and yet has the ability to step back and laugh at himself - and us. Mind you I have hated him since he married Konnie Huq and took her off the market. When I heard the news I buried my Blue Peter badge with full military honours and wore an black armband for a week.

I agree that the 'hit' during/after "engage" and the skin tight shirts that they wear are causing all sort of problems. Get rid of the pause/engage and let the props wear something more appropriate. The only WORRY I have is that by reducing the consequences of 'technical' infringment at a scrum is that you are likely to de-power the scrum. If your under the cosh at scrum time and looking likely to go back x number of yards, it's easy to 'slip' or 'technically' infringe (ie bring down the scrum) and thus negate the chance of a try. If your not going to even get three points against you, just keep doing it. Might help to get more former members of the front row union involved in refereeing - even if they are only involved as a Video-Scrum-Ref on the big occasions.

There was a 'North British Hotel' not far off the Central Station in Newcastle and we also have a North British Housing Association, so the term still lives on.

look Oz, don't give me facts ok? It's myths were discussing here. Anyway this tactical flexibilty based on MG squads used by the Germans was just a way of getting out of bayonet charges - now that's real fighting, mano a mano, it's the proper way to 'do business'. If those damn boche had went toe to toe with our lads back in 1940 non of this would have happened - but no, they had to hide behind MG34's, tanks and Stukas when our brave lads were advancing in open order, rifles high port looking for somebody to charge. No wonder we got annoyed and stated using advanced artillery techniques strategic bombing and an attritional broad front strategy. Serves the bounders right! Good book that Buckley one, got it myself.

Well that was not the case in Normandy was it? Because German tactical doctine demanded immedeate counter attack onto lost objectives, the allies could quickly switch from offensive to defensive and allow German armout to impale itself on the infantry anti-tank (6lbers) and overwatching allied armour. This is were the germans lost most of their armour (apart from the ones that broke down or ran out of fuel and had to be abandoned) in Normandy. Which of course makes sense - a lurking stug is harder to hit than a Panther moving out in the open. I don't know much about this General Lynch, but he's obviously lusting after uberpanzers, I'd bet he was of the tread head variety rather than a footslogger. Bet he had 'Death before Dismount' as his motto:)

Whilst it might not be relevant to CMBN, many moons ago, to give us a break from artillery stuff, they let us have a weekend doing something called (at the time) FIBUA - fighting in built up areas - its called something different now. However there was a mock village (just a couple of streets) on a site in Catterick and it was supposed to resemble a Western German style environment. Now our lot, being WeekendWarriors and artillery to boot, thought that (as in Hollywood), once you were in a house, that was it, you were in a safe environment. However as we went through the two day course it became obvious that even rifle bullets (we were using 7.62 at the time) would mess up a brick wall, lots of rifle bullets (eg GPMG) would blast holes in a wall and anything bigger would go through with ease. We had some engineers to take us through how to fortify a house and it took a hell a lot of sandbags (floors and walls), bracing (because of the weight of the sandbags) and barbed wire to make a building reasonably resistant to small arms and infantry. In other words, a lot of time, stores and expertise to make one building reasonably resistant to anything up to 7.62. And this only applied to the walls, most houses would not be able to take the weight of the sandbags in the loft area, so really only the ground floor and the basement would have good overhead protection. So to 'fortify' a building takes a lot more than just barracading the doors, smashing the windows and putting piano's on the stairs, no reason to believe it was any different back in the 1940's. Perhaps, BF have it right? - although I can see the sense in having one or two buildings that are proof to small arms - as long as their cost is quite high.

I think, if anything, this thread proves that our educators (on all sides) are not keeping up with the myths out there. Your average lad/lass won't be taught anything about what has been discussed and will pick up snippets from TV, movies and a few mentions (normally around an important anniversary year) from the press. I applaud the OP on sticking his head above the parapet and asking the questions - and for getting to the stage where he realised there's something not quite right about tales of exploding Shermans, GI's trying to make a buck out of the war and shirking combat at all times and ineffective command stacked up against, Uber German Infantry/Tanks/Aircrafts/Generals but still doing a more impressive Blitzkrieg than that of 1940. Something doesn't add up does it? And Kudos to those community members that have answered in the spirit of the original question. Not everybody has parents/kin/friends who have a grasp of the whys and wherefores of 1939-1945 (depending on which mob you are rooting for). Mind you - from some of the replies, the Battlefront Community still have some odd ideas. As a non-American, it's funny to see how the treatment of the Pacific theatre differs in the media from the European theatre. No Dirty Dozen, Kelly's Hero's or anti-war films in the Pacific (although you did get a musical). Perhaps the USMC is just to saintly?

Feel sorry for the driver don't you? it'll give those that like the nuts and bolts of things under the bonnet/hood a new category of testing won't it? "75% of M4A1's when driven into the side of a Panther ausf D (with the non face hardened RHA armour produced by krupp August-September 1944) caused extensive damage to the paintwork compared to the 63% of M4A2's - this runs counter to Steve Zaloga's findings and contrasts with that Osprey book - obviously this games is deeply flawed and unplayable!" :eek: Of course it can go too far - I can imagine the little pixeltruppen driver of a Bren Carrier which has been lined up to plough into a Sturm Tiger, (all in the intersts of science mate - honest) just getting out in disgust and trooping off to the nearest NAAFI whilst muttering earthy language (enlisted men and junior NCO's - For the Use Of)

Lieutenant Gorman, stymied by his inability to flick through his Enemy Armoured Fighting Vehicle Charts (W.O. pam 349a) in a timely fashion when faced with an unusually large tank, decided to keep things simple. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:King_Tiger_rammed.jpg (if the picture doesn't work)

Dirty rotten Yanks and Limeys, they know we are the best mano a mano, but the dirty rotten soft effeminate scumbags stand off and shell us into oblivion. Now that's not the way to fight a proper war........

In the desert sequences, it's interesting to see all of the dust etc being kicked up. The layer of the gun either had Thermal imaging eyeballs or he was crossing his fingers and hoping for the best. I can imagine difficulties picking out tragets if it was a very still day and the dust had to settle instead of being blown away.

Totally agree. Sometimes the choices you get are presented with are not really choices at all and there isn't room for clever arsed Rommel tactics, swanning around where nobody expected you. Bite the bullet and do a 'Monty' - and if you haven't got the assets you think you need for a deliberate operation, well thats when you have some hard deciscions. I'm in the middle of this campaign and I'm loving it - and yes I've had several restarts, but nobody said life was easy.

It will be interesting to see if Commonwealth snipers are modelled in the next (hurry it up please) module. There were German snipers at Normandy, but once again, it seems like they may have been concentrated in the 21st AG sector (or that's what my quick search found)

Think outside of the box lads. 16" Naval Gunfire. Clear that building - What Building?

I’m a four, but I’m certainly not a gestalt entity of Rommel/Patton/Montgomery/Zhukov so I spend a lot of time in deep anguish as my platoon’s path often occupies the impact area for those damn mortars or walks into a killing zone.. With reference to the dastardly AI and those bloody guns – can anybody remember Steel Panthers? They had a good system whereby if your off map artillery was not involved in a shoot and in range, they would automatically counterbattery the other sides off map artillery if it was firing. It used to be a really good feeling when you were told that you had 6 hits on such and such counterbattery. A battle within a battle and the little SP pixel dots didn’t know it was happening – apart from a lessening of the incoming nastiness.

"Artillery is never late, nor is it early, it arrives precisely when it means to” Sgt Gold, I think the constructive comments have given you a good idea of why this seems so. Remember, not only are the trops having to contact the Arty with radios that might be on the far edge of their performance envelope, they will also be having to switch frequencies (and yes you did write it down, but where did you put it?), break into the Arty net, which I imagine is quite busy, convince the radio op that they are who they say they are and not some cunning electronic warfare ploy from the bad guys on the other side then try to communicate their wants to the Arty, who insist on having their own vernacular. I have had experiences of the infantry/arty interface and it’s the little things that build up to create friction. For example, the Arty break a circle into 6400 mils, whilst your infantry lad probably is using his own compass (only ranks above a brigadier are authorised to draw ‘proper’ compasses ) which in degrees, an easy enough conversion usually, but whilst excited and under fire? Unfamiliar procedures, especially when things are tense tend to take a bit longer, and lets not go down the route of using paper aide memoires when everything is soaking wet. So yes, it is a long delay but understandable given the resources.

Fall-Shorts dismissive sneering noise Its DROP-shorts. I never said it was a perfect option. (15 minutes is a long time for a quick smoke shoot with an HE alternative - what artillery branch have you had contact with?)

Magpie Oz, Sir you seem somewhat pugnacious at the moment. Are you trying to tell me that you don't believe that Artillery is the most important/best/sexiest thing on the battlefield? And you know full well that the FOO will not shoot himselve, as they idiot savants who are not allowed to carry weapons (that's why they have the OP ack) as it detracts from the near mystical experience that is Fire Planning. They talk about the beauty of the Lindifarne Gospels - however these publications carry more meaning Command Post Shooting Form B 6587 GPO’s Fire Plan Proforma B 6593 Gun Target Report B 2649 Predicted Fuze Length & Corrector

You go to your nearest Artillery Representative (easy to spot - over 6ft, witty, urbane, handsome, strong jaw etc etc ) and ask the nice man if he can make your problem go away.

Yup as Other Means has just stated - you need a fire base to cover them. It's a bit like advancing - one part being in overwatch, other being manouvering. It's very hard to do properly, tends to end in chaos.

I think you have answered your own question The British Army is called - The British Army. Now if you believe that every-one in Britain has bad teeth, I think you are a victim of Hollywood (and the Simpsons)

OH DEAR oh deary dear. Pulls up comfy chair and lines up 6 modules of beer, opens the pop corn. This should be interesting

Now that’s the sort of guy, when switching from CM1 TO CM2 wouldn’t be bleating about the lack of a tool enabling identification of terrain at the other side of the field with 100% certainty. “Driver get in your tank and get rolling, we got some bad hats to fight!” (I don't think he really said that, just dabbling in a little Hollywood))

As deiseltaylor noted, the crudités are in certain crates. As for the panthers, well, the tracked kind are relatively easy to spot by following the burning vehicles – you can tell the difference between which big cat has been lighting up the green painted vehicles by their tracks, if you find bits of gearbox next to the spoor – t’was a Panther. However the four legged panther is harder to discern. Sometimes, if the action is taking place in the dark you can see the gleam of their eyes in dense woodland as they reflect the tracer and flames. During daylight rumbles, if you quickly toggle from full wood down to stumps, you can sense that something has just been there! Unnerving at times, sometimes I leave it at full tree cover just to stop this brooding feeling of malevolence:eek:

With all due deference Magpie Oz, the worst thing to attack a Panther with is probably a bag of vegetable crudités. (That’s for both the Panzerkampfwagen and the four legged critter with the teeth)