Penry

Thanks for the feedback guys. I really enjoy playing CM and doing these AARs, even if spare time seems to be an ever diminishing commodity as the months go by. Sooooo need to win that lotto! Turn 44 - Minute 2 to 1 Got the results screen and the map revealed. Looking at the casualty list, in particular the number of men remaining at the end of the battle, I don't think I stood much of a chance in this one! Even though we lost nearly identical numbers of men, and had identical numbers of men injured, BD still had 121 men left at the end! :eek: Looking back at the setup posts I had most of my men (41) restricted to starting at the farmyard, 11 at either bridge and 12 & 8 at the barns. With 63 men out of 83 stuck in the bottom of the valley I was very much restricted in my ability to maneuver. I had no idea where BD was going to come from and it turned out that he came from both hill entrances and from the far end of the valley. I simply couldn't cope with the number of men he could chuck at me and the number of tanks he had either. My SPGs put up a good fight, but half tracks are just too fragile when faced by small arms fire, let alone main rounds from armour! I'd be interested to hear constructive criticism regarding what I could have done better and what howlers I made during this match up. I feel like I am progressing with each game played, albeit slowly, and I welcome all the feedback you guys can send my way. Looking forward to our next match up. I wonder if we can squeeze one in before the Red Thunder starts to roll in?

Turn 43 - Minute 3 to 2 Two more casualties and the towel was finally thrown in, as all resistance has finally crumbled. BD pushed some infantry right up to the buildings by my bridge, killing one of the two remaining defenders in the process. BD also pushed forward his armour right up to the edge of the farmyard, killing the gunner in my forward halftrack and forcing both half tracks and the lone bazookaman to withdraw back up the hill. Surrender offered to BD. Great game mate!

Turn 42 - Minute 4 to 3 Back from walking in the NZ hills! More deaths in the desperate defence of the valley. I thought about thowing in the towel this turn, but figured, as I still appear to be dishing out the odd casualty to BD, it is still worth clinging on to the situation. I suffered two casualties at the bridge, both from main rounds from BDs R35 by the treeline. The remaining defender by the bridge had enough and fleeded back to the edge of the river. There's just him left defending that side of the bridge now and one man in one of the buildings. I also lost the last defender of the farmyard, but managed to inflict at least one casualty in return (I think) via 30 cal fire from my half track at the top of the hill. The bazookaman, also in the half track, found it all too much and bolted out the back of the vehicle, but hopefully he will recover enough to man the 30 cal in my other halftrack following up behind.

Mr. Emrys - DELAY getting RT? Are you crazy? I prefer it yesterday, not tomorrow! Cymru - Delay the walk? Then I'd still have to leave my fresh copy of RT behind and have the thought of it nagging away at the back of my mind! JT - Alas, the task has been appointed for me, though I do not know the way...... c3k - Someone in Auckland won $26million in the lotto last weekend. It wasn't me unfortunately! I like your style though! Looks like I'll just have to be content reading some Eastern Front literature while I'm pounding the trails.

I've got to say that this AAR clash is really reaching fever pitch and making me hungry for some RT action of my own. What a fantastic way to market the game, as if it needed any help in convincing the majority of us around here to part with our hard earned cash! I really did fear for Elvis when this battle kicked off. Having watched Bill's previous Beta AARs, seeing the meticulous planning and detail that he poured into each of them and the resulting fruition of said actions, I thought it would be a case of same old story. What a surprise to see Elvis repeatedly bloody Bill's nose and throw a spanner in his carefully laid plans. It will surely be rivetting to witness how Bill reacts to these setbacks and if Elvis can continue to knock back the wounded red beast. One thing is for sure, I'll be tuning in from when I first get up each morning, as an accompaniment to my breakfast, during tea breaks and lunch break at work, when I get back from work and fire up the machine to see if I've missed anything during the day and then repeatedly during the evening until I call it a night and hit the sack. One thing I ask of you though Mr. Battlefront. Please don't release Red Thunder between March 10th and March 18th. I'll be walking through the New Zealand mountains and around Mount Doom and I'd hate to be regretting doing so while my copy of Red Thunder lies dormant at home! Game on!

Turn 41 - Minute 5 to 4 Another turn of BD picking off the odd man here and there. Trouble is, I don't have many men left to be able to absorb these casualties! My halftrack in the bottom corner of the map made it all the way across to the bridge buildings, then stopped just a bit too short and copped a round through the door, killing the driver..... My men by my bridge tried to get back to the empty halftrack behind them. Just as they were about to board BDs R35 fired a main round which didn't knock out the halftrack, but did kill one nearby man. The other man got into the driver's seat, panicked and pulled out, only to be on the receiving end of two more rounds from the R35. The first knocked out the halftrack, the second killed the driver..... The two men left from the bazooka team, in the bridge building, spent the minute taking pot shots at BDs men under the nearby trees. I did manage to cause at least one casualty, but by the end of the minute BD had managed to bump off the pair of them..... My halftrack in the southern forest finally fired down into the valley, but it didn't look like he found his target, at least I didn't see any red crosses for confirmed kills. In the meantime BD advanced his other R35 and yet another squad of infantrymen down from the northern forest, right up to the trees by my bridge. With four minutes left it looks like there will be little I can do to prevent BD controlling all the victory locations by the end of the scenario. Here's how hopeless my situation looks at the four minute mark! There is now just one man defending the farmyard - a loader from one of my SPGs. He armed with a pistol, is pinned and rattled, so I don't give him too much longer on this good planet! Four men defend the northern side of the bridge, armed with two M1 carbines and two M1 Garands. One is rattled and the rest are OK, so they last a couple of minutes more. My four man light mortar team defend the southern side of my bridge. Three are wounded and they are all tired and broken. Don't think they will put up much of a fight. The halftrack on the southern forest road is manned by three broken men. If they can avoid being on the receiving end of any fire they might be able to provide some flanking damage as BD overruns the farmyard. The halftrack by the southern barn is being driver by a wounded, nervous driver. If he can meet up with the other halftrack I could swap a man over and have a man on each 30 cal for double the fun! That's the sum of my defences, thirteen shattered men!!! It's a lovely bloody war!

MOS, there are two men in the halftrack, a driver and a gunner, but the gunner sat low for the whole minute! I'm not sure why he did this. The only thing I can think of is that the cloud of dust kicked up by the halftracks movement obscured his vision? I have decided to move the halftrack forward a touch this turn in an effort to fix the problem..... Thanks for the kind words!

Turn 40 - Minute 6 to 5 A bad time to be a bazookaman! Both my bazooka men at my bridge buildings ate lead this turn. The lone bazookaman in the building at the start of the turn took some more incoming fire, was overwhelmed with panic and fled out the door facing BDs men. Needless to say he didn't get very far before he was on the receiving end of both some small arms fire from the treeline and a main round from one of BDs R35s. My other bazooka man, the one who had ran all the way across the open field, managed to get to the safety of the same bridge building. He spent the remainder of the turn repeatedly getting the tube to his shoulder, spotting BDs R35 by the trees and ducking down while small arms fire was incoming. Right at the end of the minute one of those incoming bullets found its mark and he stayed down for good..... BDs riflemen by the low stone wall managed to regain their composure and spent most of the minute peppering the farmyard with small arms fire. My men in the farmyard found this all too much and spent the turn cowering in the dirt or falling back under fire. BD took advantage of this infantry flank attack by pushing another infantry squad forward from his bridge, all the way to the farm building, advancing totally unopposed. While I did have one final man in the farmhouse - the radioman from Compnay HQ - BD kept firing main rounds from his Semoventes into the farmhouse and my man had enough and crawled out the farmyard door. As soon as he regained his nerve and got up into a crouch he received incoming fire from BDs wall squad, forcing him to break for the rear of the farmyard. I did manage to get some eyes on BDs infantry advance, from one of my halftracks in the southern forest, but they seemed unwilling or unable to open fire at the crucial time and by the end of the minute the chance seems to have passed them by. By the end of the minute BD managed to turn the screw even tighter. He now has men in the farmyard victory location and I can't see myself managing to evict him. The more likely scenario now is BD pushing me out of it! My only chance is if my halftrack opens up from the south forest road, if BD shows his face long enough.

Thanks for the info! Good to hear that you can have a one man bazooka team! I really can't see being able to buddy aid the fallen ammo man - far too exposed a position at the moment and only likely to increase in heat these last handful of turn!

Turn 39 - Minute 7 to 6 More Axis advances down from the northern forest. A squad of six Italian riflemen ran down the hill, to take up positions behind a low stone wall. I think their morale must be pretty suspect too, as by the end of the minute half of them had turned tail and ran back up the hill again, despite resistance from my men being minimal! BD also advanced one of his R35s, to join the string of men set up along the line of trees to the north of my bridge buildings. He held this position for the remainder of the minute and looks set to further reinforce it and/or push on in the near future. BDs string of men did prove useful during this minute, managing to catch my bazooka team running back to the bridge buildings. They had almost made it back to safety when small arms fire descended on them, taking out the lead man, who just happened to be carrying the bazooka ammo. I now have just one round and the bazooka, with the last man in the team (the bazooka man) just crawling the last few metres to safety as the minute ended..... I also lost the bazooka assistant in my bridge building, leaving me with just the bazooka man and one round of ammo. I wonder if he can still fire the round, or whether it has to be loaded to be fired? He is currently carrying the bazooka, so if it was loaded before the assistant died I guess there is a chance of it being launched. The bazooka man is currently cowering while being pinned and shaken, so I doubt he will be up to much anyway in the near future. The leader of my recon section by my bridge also bit the dust this turn and my light mortar team by the farmyard ran away in panic, so things are increasingly turning to custard. I'd be amazed if I can hold out for another six minutes..... No prizes for guessing what my orders are. Hold on to your hats guys!

Turn 38 - Minute 8 to 7 BD is really going for it now. He is pushing men down the hill from the northern forest, in a full on advance to the string of trees just north of the bridge buildings. His two R35s are providing assistance to his advance, which is going to make any retaliation a risky affair on my part. My firing arcs are set to the near edge of the trees BD has reached, so if/when he makes his next push my men will open fire at approx 100m. Hopefully my men will make BD pay for their final assault, however with just 3 M1 carbines, 3 M1 Garands, 2 Thompsons and a pistol, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to hold him off for. BD also pushed on from his bridge, advancing with his armour, with light support from more infantry. Three main rounds into the farmhouse caused two casualties to my men and resulted in the rest of the occupants evacuating the house. There are just nine men defending the farmyard now. Four are rattled, one is broken and four are in panic. It doesn't look rosy! Here is the position at the end of the minute. Orders: My bazooka team made it to the halftrack without coming under fire. They are to grab the last of the ammo and leg it back to the bridge buildings. The remainder of the men around my bridge buildings are to open fire on BD as soon as he steps out from the line of trees he is in. The men around the farmyard are to attempt to get back into cover, if they can stop cowering and recover their composure..... The halftracks in the southern woods are likewise tasked with pulling themselves together and doing something productive.

Hey! Don't knock our postman, he does a really good job! If it's any consolation, it's cloudy and windy today - a perfect day to read some Eastern Front literature!

As per Rokko's comment. If there was a DL only option then I'd join the line, as it is I'll pick it up on release day. No way I can even contemplate postage to NZ! That said, great timing on the release date! Just in time for the NZ autumn and longer evenings!

Thanks! Hopefully BD and I can get back in the groove and finish this before Red Thunder grips us in its icy hold!

Better late than never. Spurred in action by the juiciness over in the CMRT forum, I have finally managed to get the ball rolling again. Here's hoping the momentum builds again for the last handful of turns...... Turn 37 - Minute 9 to 8 More of the same. BD pushes forward cautiously and must now realise that I am ripe for taking. BD now has a R35 on either side of the road leading from the bridge buildings up to the northern forest. I have a shaken, cowering bazooka team with 4 rounds by the side of one of the bridge buildings and another bazooka team with no ammo running back to the road entrance of the map to try to meet up with the halftrack with the ammo on. Those are my only options to nullify BDs R35s...... BD also pushed on from his bridge, sending a squad of men forward under cover from his 75mm Semovente. I managed to take two men out as they ran forward, before the remainder headed to the cover of the haystacks. This push was soon backed up by another 75mm Semovente, then a 47mm variety, to further strenghten his hold on the area. With no AT assets left on this side of the river things aren't looking too rosy. Orders: Attempt to get the bazooka ammo from the halftrack at the back edge of the map (not shown) without either party getting killed in the process. Other than that the plan is to keep our heads down and attempt the odd pot shot without taking casualties in return. Yeah right!

My opponent has recently had some RL issues to deal with and has been unable to play his turn. A few days ago I did receive the save from him - I just need to find some time to get it back to him now! Watch this hex......

Turn 36 - Minute 10 to 9 The screw is being turned tighter each and every turn! BD has a host of men up in the north forest and they are peppering my men down in the valley. So much so that my halftracks are getting the wobbles and pulling out of position! BD has a huge fire superiority and all I can do is hang on and hope that BD fails to capitalise on it! I did manage to lay some 50cal fire back at BDs forest men, but the best I could manage was to get them to keep their heads down for a bit while my halftrack withdrew towards the bridge buildings. While my hands were full with BDs men at this entrance to the northern forest he pushed men down from the other end of the forest to the far bridge. BD has far more men than me and I can only presume they are in a better state than my men too. Looks like my earlier artillery strikes were pretty ineffective after all! BD also moved his 75mm Semovente forwards, towards the farmyard and looks to be moving one of his R35s to the road down form the northern forest. As soon as his infantry are in place I expect the coup de grace and the final push on my bridge and farm..... Orders: Get back into/under cover and hang on tight!

Turn 35 - Minute 11 to 10 Damn, not a good turn! It's only a matter of time before BD wraps this encounter up with a victory, providing he realises how weak I am and makes a push for it! I lost pretty much all my AT capabilities this turn, my last remaining assets are my bazookas! BD's R35 took out my AT gun with two shots (red). The gun is still operational but the crew are all toast! BD's 75mm Semovente crossed the far bridge, while my SPG was trying to focus in on BD's R35s, and knocked out my SPG with one shot (orange). The crew are fine, but the vehicle is useless! So I'm left with a bazooka team in the bridge buildings, a bazooka team in one of the halftracks in the southern forest and a bazooka team with no ammo working their way back from the bridge to the bridge buildings..... I also lost my M3 halftrack that was the side of the farm building. Whilst trying to reposition slightly, it took a hit from BD's little Semoventes at the far bridge. No casualties were sustained but it rattled them enough to shift position again, when they took another hit. Still no casualties but they felt the need to wiggle again and this time the driver was killed. The gunner took over the driving, slammed it into reverse and withdrew back through the farmyard, into the ploughed field and continued to reverse until one final round took it out, right at the end of the minute. The stand in driver is still alive, but seriously shaken! (yellow) My M2 halftrack by the bridge buildings also came in for some attention. Small arms fire came down the hill from BD's infantry as they advanced. In return my halftrack returned with some MMG fire. I recorded one confirmed kill, maybe more as plenty of rounds disappeared into the forest, but, as luck would have it, my gunner was taken out by some return fire! (white and burgundy) My M2 by my bridge also sparayed BD's men repeatedly. No confirmed kills, but they certainly held up BD's advance and might have caused some casualties in the depths of the forest. One can only hope! (black) Orders: Bridge buildings M2 to try to get back under cover by the buildings. Two men from the nearby building will attempt to man the gun before BD makes his push down the hill. (yellow) Bazooka team inb the building will wait until BD's R35s come within 75m..... (orange) Ammoless bazooka team will ruh back to halftrack to top up their ammo (red) Halftracks in southern forest will hunt forward a bit. (white) Let's hope BD overestimates my defences........

Orders: AT gun to rotate and let loose at BD's R35 pair (purple). I'm not sure if swivelling on the spot messes up the limber status, but it's worth a try and it's all a learning experience! SPG to cover the rear arc from the R35 pair back to the edge of the map. (orange arc) M2 halftrack to cover the rear arc from the forest road back. (red arc) Bazooka team by my bridge to run back to the halftrack by the bridge buildings to resupply with bazooka ammo. (yellow arrow) Other infantrymen at the bridge to cover the rear arc from the dividing trees and closer (black arc) Men at the bridge buildings to do likewise (white arc) Two halftracks in the southern forest to cover the rear arc (light and dark blue arcs) Men around farmyard to hold fire and dig in!

I noticed that I messed up the turn counter the last few turns, even though the minute count was correct. Everything back to normal now...... Turn 34 - Minute 12 to 11 Blood was spilt in abundance this turn - for both parties! The minute started in spectacular fashion for me, with my AT gun firing of a penetrating round at BD's R35 sitting at the entrance to the northern forest. One round was all that was needed to knock it out and cast a positive outlook for the turn ahead! Shame that positivity wasn't to last. My bazooka team by the ruined farmhouse let loose a round at BD's R35 pair, falling way short of it's target. Then BD's 75mm Semovente retaliated by firing into my farmyard, wiping out the MG team stationed just in front of my AT gun! Another bazooka round missed it's target, but BD's 75mm Semovente was far more accurate, slamming in a further five rounds over the course of the minute, wiping out my 2nd Platoon HQ in the process, killing a member of my MG team in the other farmhouse and killing two members of the above mentioned bazooka team, including the bazooka holder! BD is really turning the screw in his preparations for his final asault! I did have some more joy of my own though. My M3 halftrack by the side of the other farmhouse kept hosing down BD's infantrymen on my side of the far bridge, recording two confirmed kills and possibly more that I was unable to verify. I don't think he'll be making much of an infantry assault from that direction! You will however notice that BD's infantrymen in the northern forest came out from hiding this turn. A sure sign that he will be making a move soon. Either that or he is going to try to overwhelm my defences with small and large firearms for the next couple of minutes before making a dash for it just before the final whistle!

Lol! Maybe BigDork picked them up in an end of line clearance? Try posting in BD's thread if you want to see more. I know he is madly busy in RL, so hopefully he'll update it at some time. Thanks for the kind words!

Orders: My bridge bazooka team will let loose one final round at BD's R35s.(91m to 101m) The collapse of the farmhouse building has also opened up a LOF for a bazooka team in the foxholes besides it. They'll have a pop or four at BDs R35s too! (95m to 105m) My bridgeside SPG will try to get a LOF against BD's R35 duo too! My AT gun in the farmyard will hopefully draw first blood against BDs R35 at the edge of the northern forest. Time may well be running out for BD......

Turn 31 - Minute 13 to 12 Much the same as last turn. My halftracks continuing to to spray large caliber rounds down the valley. BD's 75mm Semivente continuing to pound the left farmhouse. There was another event, but I'll leave that until later...... BD finally succeeded in bringing down the left farmhouse. Thankfully all my men were outside the building and no casualties were sustained as a result. It has also opened up a line of sight between my AT gun and BD's R35 at the edge of the northern forest. Now who can get their rounds off first? As mentioned, my halftracks continued to fire on BD's smaller Semiventes and his infantrymen at the far bridge. I had no further luck with the Semiventes but I did managed to force his infantrymen to turn and run back over the bridge. The level of fire coming from my halftrack in the farmyard was just too much for them! The eagle eyed amongst you might also notice that BD's two R35s pushed forward a bit more too, right into the line of fire of my bazooka team. Unfortunately, the three rounds he fired at them all missed. The first round overshot the left tank, the second fell short and the third fell short of the right tank. He's now got one more try before he is out of ammo and will have to return to the halftrack by the bridge buildings for more ammo.

Orders: Bazooka team by first brideg to hunt through trees and haev a go at BD's R35s. (purple) M2 halftrack to overwatch the R35s, hoping that they make a move..... (orange) SPG to do likewise. (yellow) M3 halftrack by farmhouse to continue to concentrate on foxholes by far bridge. (red) Various teams around farmhouses to seek cover (blues)

Turn 30 - Minute 14 to 13 A bit more action this turn and things went relatively well for my men. My M2 halftrack by the bottom bridge spent most of the minute spraying .50 cal AP bullets up the valley, in the general vicinity of BD's Semivente trio. He managed to connect enough with one of BDs 47mm machines to force it back and then take out two of the crew. Soon after the third crewman bailed out and hit the dirt! I'm glad to see that I've got more options than just my SPG. I'm also glad that BD isn't having it all his own way and I've given him something to think about! My M3 halftrack by the right farmhouse aloso had some luck this turn. BD rallied his infantrymen by the far bridge and made it across to the foxholes on my side, but as soon as they were settling in to their new accomodation my halftrack opened up, raining .30 cal rounds amongst his men, taking out at least one man! I didn't have it all my own way though. The crew of my knocked out SPG were the target of the other 47mm Semivente at the far bridge, a single round dealing death to two of them. Meanwhile BDs 75mm Semivente continued to pound the left farmhouse. My men have long since evacuated the building, although in a less than orderly manner. Hopefully in the next minute or two I'll be able to complete their retreat and reorganisation.