Are we even playing the same game? The Browning .50cal is utterly brutal toward the enormous number of paper-armored German recon cars and half tracks they've got tons of.
Murphy didn't kill anything bigger than a man with that Browning. He fought extremely hard and by all accounts did something very heroic and selfless in the face of a terrifying situation. The overpowering imagery and depictions of his fight are universally illustrating events which Did Not Happen Like That and paint an embellished idea of the battle obviously to sell war bonds and support Hawk policies post war.
Incidentally, it was not even the first time Murphy did something worth earning a Medal of Honor for. The man's entire career was an insane defiance of death and odds and it left him by the way - with no shortage of emotional and drug problems after the war. He clearly felt that his life and exploits had been violated to some degree by a system with an ulterior motive. That's a far more interesting discussion to me than "oh if only CM would model the special AP incendiary round I read about on wikipedia".
Finished the Victory at Verdenne battle and was amazed at the beauty of the map. Put together a small story that featured some shots that I hope will give some idea of how stunning the map is.
The Kriegsberichter
The Kriegsberichter moves forward to a fence line to survey the landscape. Max Nussbaum has two Leica 35mm cameras around his neck. Instinctively he pulls one to his eye and takes a wide view shot. It is lighter now, the shooting has died down, and he is told that the battle is over. Verdenne and positions beyond have been secured. He will now be able to document the victory in photographs for publication back home.
He was positioned with Oberst Gerdes, the battle commander, in a large farmhouse as the battle unfolded across the valley. It was pre-dawn when the attack started – no good for photographs. Their eyes strained in the murky gloom as dawn struggled to overcome the darkness. It was hard to make out the Landsers as they waded deliberately through the snow and across the open terrain, with artillery crashing into Verdenne. There was resistance in the town by the Amis, but the enemy was reportedly crushed. Casualties are reported to the Oberst as moderate.
Oberst Gerdes takes Max aside for a moment. He warns him to be careful. Yes, the battle might be over, but the enemy may still be around, pockets of resistance cut off, and desperate to escape back to their own lines. The Oberst walks the Kriegsberichter away from the farmhouse while he counsels him.
When they are out of earshot, the Oberst quietly tells Max that he really needs to be careful around the unit’s political officer, NSFO Leutnant Hahn. Hahn has been spouting propaganda ever since he was assigned to their unit, responsible for morale and indoctrination. The Oberst warns Max that Hahn is seeking out those who display weakness of spirit and conviction for overall victory.
Max is told to be wise in his choice of photographs, so as not to bring any unwanted scrutiny from Leutnant Hahn. The Oberst tells him that no one is safe from the prying eyes of Hahn, not even himself, even though he outranks Hahn. This chills the Kriegsberichter even more than the early morning bitter frost.
The Oberst claps him on the back and shows him to a Kubelwagen. “Here is your driver. His name is Hans.” To the driver, “Take care of our Kriegsberichter, Hans. You might even make it into the magazines.” The Oberst forces a laugh and returns to the farmhouse.
The Kriegsberichter tries to make small talk with Hans but the man is dour and only mumbles. It is clear he doesn’t want this assignment as it is taking him towards the enemy – he’d prefer the warmth of the farmhouse or some other location as far away from Belgium as possible.
The countryside is breathtaking with its snowy majesty. He orders Hans to stop for more distance shots.
As they near the outskirts of Verdenne, Max sees the first evidence of the battle for the town. It is a destroyed Ami tank. Hans is ordered to stop and Max picks the Leica that has black and white film in it. He will go back and forth between the two, as the black and white film is more reliable and the color film is somewhat new and experimental. He composes his shot, with the wound that killed the enemy tank clearly visible in the picture. In his excitement he catches the rear tire of a destroyed German armored car he was trying to crop out of the shot. He can only guess that the armored car was a victim of the enemy tank. The US tank had to have been killed by the nearby Panther behind him, still scanning the horizon for targets.
Still working the black and white camera, Max gets yet another view of the savage fighting that went on in Verdenne. None of this was visible from their vantage point across the valley. He can see that his driver Hans is getting nervous. Even with the cold wind, they catch the smell of death coming from the nearby vehicles and the town. Hans is ordered into town. He grinds the gears as he shifts. Max thinks he can see the man’s hands shaking, but is it just from the cold?
Hans lags behind as Max chooses color for his next shot. Two Ami tanks are dead on the main street through town. The enemy dead are sprawled around, some from the tank and some from an infantry unit that must have been defending the town. The ugly black smudge on the flank of the lead tank shows where a close-combat weapon was used for the kill.
More destroyed enemy tanks are seen. A dead Ami soldier lies in the center of the intersection. Max coldly composes his photograph, snapping the shutter after adjusting his F-stops for the lens. The soldier’s dead eyes seem to stare right at him, accusing him of being an interloper disturbing the dead. Max shrugs off the feeling of unease he feels.
Max moves in to take a closer shot of the tank from the previous shot. Again, the kill shot is visible on the side of the tank. The building behind the tank shows damage. The fighting here must have been savage, he thinks to himself. The tank crew didn’t make it far from their tank before getting cut down.
He switches back to black and white shots. He catches two dead enemy tanks near a Panther. He guesses that the Panther took the enemy tanks out, as well as the dead infantryman in the street.
Max is struck by the fact that there are only dead US soldiers in the streets. He heard that casualties were moderate. He has not seen a single dead German soldier. He wonders if the casualty report was accurate. Perhaps all the dead and wounded German soldiers have already been policed up from the streets and relocated into the houses.
Max finds a small squad of Landsers inside a nearby house. The morning sun shines through the eastern windows behind them and highlights their helmets and the side of their faces. He goes with color on this shot, and tries to get the men to smile and look at the camera. Instead, they ignore him, looking out the windows. Through the back window he can see up the main street.
He shows the men his Kriegsberichter cuff title, but they pay no attention to him. They are cold and hungry and want nothing to do with being in the magazines or newspapers. Max doesn’t understand. This is so unlike the previous years, when the men all wanted to be photographed, they were happy and confident.
The door opens and a blast of cold air rushes in. It is Leutnant Hahn. The Leutnant sees the two cameras across Max’s chest. He warmly greets Max, smiling and shaking Max’s hand. “Be sure to take good shots,” he says. “We want the people back home to witness our great victories and triumphs.”
“You can count on that, Herr Leutnant.”
Hahn turns to the men, smiling, and says “You men are all heroes of the Reich. Give thanks to your Führer as he leads us to our glorious victory.” Only the Feldwebel turns and says “Jawohl, Herr Leutnant.” He snaps his arm out in salute. The other men mumble something and stare at the floor.
Leutnant Hahn has a cold smile that is more of a grimace on his face as he returns the salute, turns, and quickly leaves the building.
Max is confused. The Feldwebel sees the look on Max’s face and comes over to him, leaning into Max with a face twisted in anger. “That strutting rooster just now showed up, after all the shooting and bleeding was done. I’ve lost half my platoon holding on to this cursed village. He was hiding somewhere safe, probably readying his next lecture about how weak we are and how we better show courage or he will have us arrested.”
Max recoils from the burning hatred in the Feldwebel’s words.
Again, the Feldwebel leans in close to Max, and he hisses quietly “Mark my words. Stay away from that rooster when the bullets are flying. You never know what direction the round with his name on it might come from.” With that he steps back to his men as they gather quietly around him.
Max is shaken and quickly leaves the warmth of the building.
There is a four-barreled FLAK unit positioned behind the building. Max waves his camera at them, but they hardly notice him. They are watching the road and the sky, especially the sky. With the clouds clearing, the Jabos are likely to appear. The Amis have complete control of the sky and the Landsers’ only defense is the FLAK units. Enemy aircraft are a terrible threat.
Max stands on the front seat behind the gun to get a better shot of the road leading out of town.
Max walks to the edge of the town where the ground slopes away into the valley. A chilling sight grips him. Frozen bodies lie silently in the snow. Were they killed by the FLAK unit he was just with? These Amis were clearly a part of a failed attack on the town.
He focuses his camera for a shot. Then he looks at the men a little closer. The one man has his hand out, frozen in time, as if beckoning to him. It is an ill omen. Max shivers yet again, and not from the cold. He walks quickly back to where Hans waits in the Kubelwagen.
Hans is ordered to drive them out of the town, down the road where the enemy attack was halted. Max switches back to black and white, and he spots something off the road in a small depression. He orders Hans to stop and he gets out to see what he noticed.
Yes, those are bodies, many of them. Max takes a long distance shot, but at this point he isn’t sure which side those dead belong. A passing cloud shrouds the bodies. He moves closer.
Americans. They must have been caught in a mortar barrage. Max remembered when the forward observer was calling in mortar support. These men must have been the unfortunate recipients of that particular hand of Hell. He silently takes his picture.
Hans is getting very nervous now. They have driven well away from the relative safety of Verdenne. Max sees an Ami tank that appears to have been abandoned. He orders Hans to drive up next to the tank. He gets out to avoid the vibration of the running Kubelwagen spoiling his pictures. Hans refuses to turn the engine off. He says it might not start again because of the extreme cold if he did turn it off.
Max composes another picture, with the dead tank in the foreground and another dead tank in the background.
Suddenly Hans starts gibbering and pointing. “Herr Kriegsberichter, that one is still breathing,” he stammers. He is pointing at the tank in the distance.
And so it is. Now Max can see the exhaust fumes slowly rising from the rear of the enemy tank. His throat is suddenly dry, he can’t speak, and he is instantly in the Kubelwagen. He points forward towards a group of trees and Hans quietly drops the transmission into gear. They slowly move into cover – a fast dash would have made them more obvious. They catch their breath from their brush with near disaster.
They will have to find another way back to Verdenne, as it would be too risky to try and rush back up the road they just drove down. Why they weren’t noticed in the first place is a mystery. Max can only think that the tank is trying to avoid being noticed and will eventually slip back to enemy lines after dark.
As Hans quietly maneuvers down a long sloping road, Max sees more bodies in the snow. He orders Hans to stop and he gets out to investigate. The momentary terror of the enemy tank is forgotten as he slips back into his Kriegsberichter mode.
Max takes another shot, before realizing these are dead comrades. They are the first he has seen since starting out on his photo journalism mission today. He sees that he caught an enemy tank in the background. Did they kill the tank, or did the tank kill them?
Max trudges through the snow towards the enemy tank. The cold wind soughs through the trees now, whispering of the horrors that took place in the shadows. He starts to get a bad feeling about this place.
The tank gun is pointing to the rear – very odd. As he gets closer, he sees what probably happened. A terrible fight took place here, in the low bushes and shadows of the snowy trees. Dead tank crewmen are mixed in with dead Landsers. His fellow soldiers must have attacked the enemy tank as it crawled through the woods, and somehow they stopped it. The tank is not burned so the Landsers must have crippled it somehow.
Then the enemy tankers piled out of the crippled tank and there was a horrific hand-to-hand struggle to the death. Max wants to preserve the heroics of both sides but his cold photograph only shows Death’s ugly hand.
He is unnerved by this struggle. He now sees many dead bodies, partially hidden all around this small forest. It is a killing zone. The rustling of the wind in the trees now seems to speak, whispering accusations from the dead. Why are you here? You have no right to be here. Trespasser. Are you trying to steal our souls?
Max remembers reading in history books how American Indians refused to let themselves be photographed, fearing their souls would be captured on the film. As the wind pulls at the uniforms of the dead, they seem to be trying to rise. He is seized by a moment of unreasonable fear and he bolts back to where Hans is parked.
Max stands by the road and forces himself to regain control. He can see Hans’ hands visibly shaking now. He wonders if Hans had the same feeling he had moments ago.
Hans makes a feeble gesture for Max to get back in the Kubel. Max turns and suddenly sees a column of greasy black smoke rising into the sky. He shakes his head at Hans and points to the smoke. It appears to be coming from a tank. Max snaps off a quick black and white shot and then carefully heads down the road towards the smoke. Hans stays put, refusing to drive closer.
Easing through the trees, Max comes upon a tank-hunter team. “Stay back,” the man with the panzershrek hisses at him. “It is still burning inside and the ammo might cook off.” Max needs no further encouragement and takes his picture from behind a tree.
“Did anyone…?” The gunner cuts him off. “No one got out. Now, Photographer, stop your sightseeing and get out of here. The front line is not secure and we expect more American tanks. Why do you suppose we are still lying here in this bloody snow?”
Max runs back to Hans and the Kubel.
Hans takes a very circuitous route away from the forest haunted with the spirits of the dead. As he crosses a ridge, he suddenly makes a strange sound and stops abruptly. More dead, everywhere, lying frozen and motionless in the snow. Large burned patches of snow reveal that these Americans were caught in a heavy artillery barrage. They were shredded by shrapnel.
Max takes one more shot of the dead. This doesn’t feel like a victory. It is just a charnel ground of horrors where the Grim Reaper has harvested men with his sickle and left their spirits to wander aimlessly seeking peace.
“Get us out of here, Hans,” says Max through gritted teeth. The Kubelwagen lurches as Hans grinds the gears again and detours around the killing field. Max looks back over his shoulder and sees the tower of black smoke marking the steel coffin grave of the tankers. He imagines the ghostly whispers are following him and he wills the Kubelwagen to go faster. He has had his fill of death this day.
There it is...I suppose you want to see my manager next.
No, we are not tweaking based on your feedback (beyond the Tac Air Controller, which I did most of the legwork on as your responses were extremely vague) and you should not walk away thinking that. We are tweaking based on MKs feedback because it is good. It shows screen shots of an end-mission screen and layout which does not look right. It let me narrow down a feature that was left out by mistake.
Of course I made a mistake and am acknowledging them, that is why I am posting here for all to read and not offline.
As to this whole "hurt puppy" routine, take it somewhere else. You have been loud, entitled and rude pretty much since you dumped on this forum. Hell, you came back for a big "I told you so" moment, and now you fall to the ground a "wounded paying customer". You gave BFC legal currency, they gave you a game and we will continue to support that game, including fixing tweaks and errors. None of it bought being simply rude to the people who are trying to build the best game with what they have for a community they have been a part of for over 20 years.
Or we could not worry that the coin is broken because someone reported having managed to get 10 heads in a row. 🙂
Unusual an unlikely things do actually happen. I have no problem checking things like this out - obviously that's how bugs get found. Just know when its not needed any more.
The other factor could be the intervening foliage - avoiding hitting branches could be causing the shooter to not adjust their aim the same if they were in the open.
The main issue I take with the criticism regarding Churchill's decision to support the Greeks in their struggle is that they are all purely military criticisms. Churchill wasn't a purely military leader (indeed, constitutionally, he wouldn't be much of one at all in any other circumstance other than total war).
It was an excellent political decision, and arguably a morally sublime one. The United Kingdom was functionally alone at that point, Western Betrayal sentiments were just beginning to really solidify in Poland and Czechoslovakia, and there had hitherto appeared to be no way to get at the Germans on the continent since being bounced off it in 1940. Intervention in Greece showed that the UK was still very much willing to fight against the odds. Crucially, it demonstrated that it wouldn't further abandon anyone who sought to resist Fascism and Nazism. The decision may have made Wavell despair but it certainly would have been a trumpet blast to occupied Europe, and the Americans, that the British were willing to not only defend themselves on their island, but to seek active decision with the enemy. In short, there were political considerations, very good ones.
Goodness knows there's a lot to criticise Churchill for, the man was far from a saint. I just don't think most of the grounds for criticism are related to his leadership during WWII. From a top-down perspective he did precisely what was necessary to carry his country through the conflict, and it must be said, quite a few other governments-in-exile. Any further analysis is nitpicking best left to academics with more letters behind their names than myself.
Because the AI can't adjust it's positioning and has very little situational awareness the game has to make what seem like ridiculous situations possible in game otherwise you could have situations where friendly vehicles are destroying friendly vehicles and I don't think anyone would be a fan of that. The Tac AI does a decent job most of the time, but the Tac AI can't evaluate the entire battlefield the way a person does. That's why.
I also enjoy the small and quick scenarios. Micro Battles? @Bud Backer coined the term I think. Another guy back in CMBB called them "byte battles". For my brain and attention span they are better versus large monster battles @Blazing 88's but of course some folks opinion will differ.
Tiny battles are much easier to envision as I get a hankering to make a scenario. Then I can jot some notes and scribbles and do some research and over a FEW days I can finish it. They are also easier to test. They are also less of a hassle to go and tweak. Map making is easier with a 208m x 208m tiny map.
For the desert battles, with the same forces, the map can be easily made bigger with not as much mouse clicking...which is a technique I am planning to take to Barbarossa as I use big undulating fields of "Crop 2" as my desert with some action area near a village or bridge or road intersection.
🙂
Bud Backer reacted to SimpleSimon in Men against tanks
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