Eddie

I liked the video as well, you made some very good looking maps, and it seems there will be some very interesting combatsituations in your campaign. Well done!

Mr.X, thanks for the usefull information!

Edit: Just to make things clear. By no means did I mean to say that you did not finish any other CMBN mission because they were not interesting enough.

I will keep the encyclopedia as it was me who did not read the information regarding the Marders correctly (at all). In fact I have been quickly hiding myself behind a book when I discovered the error I made and wanted to spare myself the public, and world wide humiliation of looking ignorant on this subject. The encyclopedia is very detailed and contains much and very interesting information. I'm stil glad I bought the book some years ago. I will be more carefull in the future when writing about certain vehicles and their use, or specifications during WW II on these forums. You may, ofcourse, change the subject and ask abouth the PzIIL Luchs/lynx. I can't give you an answer now, but if I stumble across any information about the PzIIL Luchs/Lynx and what divisions fielded it I will let you know.

That's allright, I'm not offended at all. I will take your information regarding the Marder I and Marder II for what it is, as I have no doubt it is all true and correct. And I think I will throw away that encyclopedia I have for Armored Fighting Vehicles which claims the Marder III is completely German made.

Thanks for the info. Maybe I should have mentioned that the pdf does not only give information about converted french vehicles but also contains some information about Marder I's that were replaced in the west by marder III's during the sumer of '43, completely German made. Since I did not read the entire document when I posted the link it could have been that the marder II was descibed as well. Now I know that it is not.

Here's a link to a pdf containing lots of information about converted french vehicles the germans used on several fronts. I do not know if the marder II is mentioned though. http://conflictuel.pagesperso-orange.fr/LGGtemp/Captured%20and%20converted%20French%20vehicles%20in%20German%20service.pdf

With these mods I always wonder, how do they do that, and then wish that I could do such things.:cool: I had the ATGM teams deployed already when the tanks came in their sights and got the same result you did, more or less; two misses and one hit if I remember correctly. I did not think any player would use mortarfire on the MG positions on hill 232 since the trenches at the Left, Center and Right flank are objectives that need to be captured and they are filled with infantry which are a real threat to the players infantry and armor. I used all artillery rounds I had on these trenches and the BDF armor and still was ambushed which caused high losses on my infantry. Just as in real life. Ha, you are assuming general Massad himself is commanding his forces on the field of battle from this command center. This is something that will become known only if a positiv identification can be made after the command building is captured, and if its occupants are still recognizable. I'm looking forward to your last AAR and I will be checking this forum regularly to see if it is there. But I understand that it is done when it is done, so I will be waiting for it patiently. I have already reacted on your feedback and I hope you will enjoy the mission once you get to play it.

Thanks for the rating and I'm glad you like the map, the briefing and the fortifications. I printed the satellite image I made with google maps and used this as a "guide" to make the map. I just could not resist using these icons since they have same names that were doing battle in this area on the Cotentin Peninsula. And I could not find them anywhere else so... You are right to put more time into playing the mission. I think this will bring you most fun and I hope you will find this mission interesting enough to make it the first CMBN mission you finish. This I know. I think with all the improvements CMBN has over CMBO you will definitly have a better experience. I'm glad you understand my position concerning the frontal assault against the fortified position and the American armor. I'm designing a completely new mission which will put the player in command of the American VII Corps. I figured that if I made a new mission using the same map, as I originally intended, the map would become a bore for myself and anyone who decides to download and give it a try. The new map, which is done for the larger part, is actually only a few hundred meters east of the current map (it could also be west, this depends if you are looking at it from the north or south). Anyway, I will have to go back to my reading materials to see if there was a counterattack by the Germans in this area so I can make another defensive mission (if I remember correctly there was one counterattack). But if there was no counterattack I will make an offensive mission. I'm not worried and you are welcome.

I understand your toughts about setting up the German defence the way you would like it yourself. But the consequence could be that the order in which the AI is ordered to conducts its actions could be disrupted in such a way it could mess up the entire AI plan. For example, the player could set up the PaK-40 at WN 411c and take out the allied tanks when they start moving from their starting positions right at the beginning of the mission. I did position the PaK-40 at WN 411c in the early stages of missiondesign and it was nice to knock out three of four Sheman's as soon as they were spotted by the crew of the PaK-40 but it left the Allies without any tanksupport on their advance. I think that in a real situation any Allied attack would be halted until the PaK-40 would have been neutralized by Allied artillery or fighterbombers and the advance would be postponed until new tanks would have arived to support the infantry. This is something one can not simulate in a CM mission, well at least I can't. Therefore I have chosen to not let the player decide where his or her forces are deployed and make an AI plan that ensures something is happening all the time during the entire mission to keep things interesting. Besides, it gives the AI more chance to be more of a challenge to the player. If I were to make a mission in which the player was to attack a certain sector I would give him or her more choice where certain units start the mission. In a mission such as this, in which the player has to defend a certain sector, I prefer to do the things the way I did because of what I explained above. Anyway, thanks for your feedback and if I find a way to make a defensive mission which is less scripted, and with more freedom for the player to set up his forces without the chance the AI plan becomes cripled I will certainly do this. By the way, did you win or loose?

I'm glad you had a good time playing the mission. And thanks for the compliments, especially the part "intelligently done". Also, thanks for the feedback and I will make more missions, in fact I have already started working on a new one.

No need to apologize! And it seems I might have some eye, and/or mental problem(s) too since I wrote in my reply yesterday that the village was called Ikasim instead of Ikashim which totally ads to the confusion. A Company Infantry - Left flank When You send the infantry across the river you had already called in a artillerystrike on the left flank for preparation, at least that is what I recall from one of your previous AAR's. As you experienced in the close quarter fighting the trenches provide plenty of room for some BDF units to survive any bombardment and stil easily manage to ambush your units as they enter the trenches. Clearing these trenches is indeed a tricky thing because you only detect the BDF after the already opened fire on your units. The units firing at each other in the trenches were practically stumbling over each other so no wonder some of your troops were shot. Yes, the AI did call in artillery every time I tested or played the mission on that spot and managed to always hit their targets unless I was cheating (loading previously saved games some minutes before the bombardment and letting my units quickly move from the hill toward the river on the right). I hated those airburst rounds knowing that I had m some of commanding units there and could do nothing to save them (unless I cheated). But the 14 casualties you took on the hill by enemy artillery is a lot. But in the end you managed to occupy the front trenches of the left flank, then you will secure this objective for sure at the end of the mission. B Company Infantry - Backyard/Hill 232 Ha, now that was some nice footage of the ATGM hitting the T-54 B. And the T-54 B's quickly repsonded to the infantry running down the hill. Some of them were lucky to get away the way they did. I think you have the "eliminate red cross" mod installed because your units must have taken casualties from the explosion caused by the tank firing on them, but I did no see a red cross when they fell to the ground. So the ATGM hitting the T-54 B I saw in the first clip was fired by the ATGM-team in the second clip. Ha, that was even better footage of a tank getting hit by such a weapon. To bad the other (first) ATGM hit nothing but the dirt in front of the tanks. You knew the tanks were heading toward Ikashim and you did get one of them. Good job! Its nice to read you are using B Company for additional tasks succesfully. But I am surprised about the lack of succes of the HMG's firing on them. I thought that two HMG's would be sufficient to keep B company from crossing the river and taking the trench with the HMG on hill 232, but clearly I made a mistake. Since you managed to get B Company on hill 232 with little casualties you can indeed make a surprise attack in the enemy's rear. I'm interested how your plans with B company will work out since I did not think they would get so far in such numbers. Well done! A Company Infantry/All Armor Platoons - Ikashim/Right Flank/Center Ha, I knew this would happen. There you are in front of Ikashim thinking where can I send my armor without (more of) them being damaged or knocked out. There is a death trap for soviet armor indeed, and in your case (and I think in everybody's case) I succeeded in my evil plans for the player to make his armor his a more or less worthless asset of his battlegroup. Any BDF tank positioned in a difficult location that is destroyed by artillery or airstrikes is one less to care about, and that's a good thing. And if you alreay deployed infantry and APC/AIFV's inside Ikashim the you will manage to get this objective as well despite of the casualties you took. And you just leveled an entire building just to get the one BDF tank? The owners of the building wont like you for doing that and General Massad will probably call in the media so he can use this event as propaganda against the evil soviets, well if the BDF wins the battle ofcourse. The 4 squads sweeping Ikashim sound good to me, I doubt that they will be running into to big surprises. Ha, the explosion caused a crater deep enough for the entire tank to drown in it. If it had not been destroyed it probably would not have a clear view of the battlefield anymore and would be forces to leave its prepared position. Yes, the soviet tank took a direct hit indeed but at least it did fire on some target before it was knocked out. Very nice clip! The BDF tanks had good cover in most cases but against a hovering gunship above the field of battle good cover is worth nothing as your video clearly shows. I always look at the missiles homing in on their targets from all different angles. I really like to see the flash of of the missiles engine thats flying trough the sky to kill its pray. Absolutely great stuff. Sending in A Company from the left flank to the Center is a good idea, but remember the left flank must be occupied at the end of the mission. Yes, the right flank is the most difficult part of the entire map. I recall Schultz saying he wanted revenge on the right flank one day, but I don't know if he ever got his revenge. The way the trenches are situated make it a tough objective to take even with support of artillery strikes. I took some heavy losses in infantry in this area too. I think the tank you mean is waiting for safer circumstances to get to its destination, and it could be its sights have been damaged or so. Hopefully the BMP will survive the mission but there are an awfull lot of RPG's surrounding it waiting for a chance to finish it. The soviets are paying a high price for their capture of Badakshan. If the casualty count were the only factor to decide the outcome of this battle you would win by a narrow margine. But there are the terrain- and unit objectives that could spoil your victory. It looks like the outcome of the battle could go either way, but stil I think you will get a minor victory unless you are going to do crazy things. I really enjoyed reading your AAR and have watched your video's with great plessure. Thanks a lot! Oh and by the way, I have uploaded my mission for CMBN. It is called Kampfgruppe Rohrbach.rar. I was so concentrated on putting the right file in the right location etc. I overlooked the title, typical.

Vin, I forgot to ask. Why do you keep writing Ibrahim? I checked the map in the editor and when I click on the red spot of the landmark the village is called Ikasim? Or did I call Ikasim Ibrahim in the briefing?:confused:

I get it on the tanks now. You practically did the same thing I did but apperently I had more luck when my armor was hit. If the squad was under HMG fire when they crossed the river, things did go the way they were intended when I placed the HMG in the trench. I thought that maybe the orders for the HMG-crews were somehow messed up. I did not think that any squad that was send across the river could make it that far without taking any casualties from the HMG's. You just take all the time you need with the AAR and the video's, I will be checking things tommorow.

I agree with your agreement. And you're absolutely right that a "light version" of missions could be produced. Kind of weird that I never tought of this option, its so obvious. But I will continue making missions the way I'm doing it now since the majority of reactions are positiv.

I placed some of my tanks that were to provide overview for units that were advancing on the other side of the river just behind the highest level in the terrain so they only thing that could be seen by the enemy was their turrets. The T-54 B's did fire on my tanks but most shots bounced off, others penetrated the armor but did not knock out the tank right away. In these cases my crews disembarked to get back in their tanks later and then I drove them, unless they were immobilized, to safe positions. In most cases shots fired by my tanks knocked out the enemy tanks in one shot, but there were also some shots that bounced off. I agree that the angles of the shots, the elevation in the terrain and the skills of the gunners are of great importance in the outcome of these engagements. It must have been a real shock for the "commando-squad" to detect these tanks and the fact that they were caught by them. The video of this encounter is something I would really like to see. So you managed to get some of these "commando's" in a trench on hill 232? Did they encounter any HMG-fire when moving to this position? I will be watching this forum for the rest of your AAR, I'm looking forward to that video of the commando's.:cool:

You're welcome, and I hope you will enjoy the mission.

I'm sorry to hear your mother in law has deceased, but unfortunatly these things happen too. But the good news is you still got a job, so you wont have to look out for a new one. Good to read things have improved for you. If the enemy destroyed your yanks with one shot the distance they engaged must not have been to long. I had these T-54 B's firing on my tanks as well but most of the time they could not penetrate its armor, I think this was becuase they fired from far away positions. As far as I can remember the T-54 B crews have a skil levels between green and veteran. I was kind of hoping you would say I should not make make missions easier. To often one can beat the AI, be it in the CM series or other wargames, without really being put to the test. But on the other hand, if one looses to many missions that's no fun either. But I will not change anything in difficulty level and keep things the way they are, more or less. You can, if you want to, experience this in my CMBN mission. I tested the mission this weekend and was not satisfied with some things but everything is solved now, at least it should be. This evening I will playtest the thing once more, and unless there are really strange things happening I will upload tonight or tommorow early in the morning. By the way, how did the "commando's" end up when they left the Backyard?

I know that I do.

To bad things in the mission are not going the way you planned, and unfortunatly it does sound familiar. I did not realize the tanks were that vulnerable outside Ikashim. You have got all that moblie firepower but it looks like you´re stuck with it in a village. The infantry that is leading your attacks is vulnerable also, but at least they will spot the direction of enemyfire better. You´re welcome for the good wishes, did everything turn out allright, or are things still uncertain? I hope you still manage to get a draw because it would be a shame if you would loose this mission after the time you spend on it. I´m curious how the mission end and I´m looking forward to your AAR. And yes, the enemy has some real firepower in this one, and they know how to use it too. Now that the mission is underway for a while and you have experienced the way the mission is designed, do you think it is to hard? And do you think I should make missions somewhat, or maybe a lot easier? I would really like to know you´re thoughts on this and I would appreciate if you could let me know.

On a certain point in the mission things get going but, as you mentioned, it takes some time for it to happen. I hope the losses in armor and troops were not so high that you wont be able to achieve any of the objectives. I do hope you will enjoy playing the mission over the weekend and I am really looking forward to your 2nd AAR, but just take your time. The mission I'm creating for CMBN is practically done, I will playtest over the weekend and if all goes well I will upload it next week. I think you would like it. And yes, it is nice to see there are more battles being created for CMA and the forum has come to life. I'm sorry to read you are having problems in your personal and professional life. I wish you all the best with the circumstances you are in and I hope things can, and will turn out good for you. If circumstances are such that you can't or wont play the mission any further I understand, no problem. After all its just a game and there are more important things in life.

Hey Vin, are You still around?

The AI plans take a lot of time to make indeed, so I wish you all the best with making two of them.

I will make a note on that date in my agenda.

I think so too. I also agree on this one. I have almost finished a mission for CMBN, and I will tell the player to "Play Red Only" as the defender.