Bud Backer

My first CAAR (Comic After Action Report) was in the format of a DAR presented as a comic. To introduce some variety and also make this one a bit more like a comic, it will be presented less as an AAR and more as a story, following the actions and adventures of one man, a Russian soldier called Dmitry ("Dima") Ivanov. Of course this is also going to present the battles as well, so the AAR aspect is still included, just not the sole objective.
 
Some of you wanted to hear more about Lt. Warner, Cpl. Dietrich, and Sgt. Hirsch from my first CAAR; they will be back in another CAAR. At the time of this one, Warner and his boys are in Normandy, and later, in Holland during Market-Garden.
 
Once again, Kohlenklau is my partner in this, and I thank him for being a fun opponent in the battles and a patient friend in the delays doing these sometimes introduces.

Eh, depends. Sometimes its a disaster. I've had the most amount of luck in Red Thunder doing it, terrain far more suited to do that on Steppes/Rolling farmland. Not as common as it is in Normandy. 

Apocal,
 
My apologies, With so many informational balls in play, over so many threads and time, I get lost on occasion. My recollection was the claim had been made canister was useless vs dug-in MG positions. Guess my memory was off.
 
Bud_B,
 
Fortune sometimes favors the persistent! Found this on GameSquad in a thread Called Cmbb, Page 2. The main topic is canister for the T-34, but someone chimed in with the quote below. I'm reasonably certain someone here has that book, and Harry Yeide is one of our own, to boot. I think that having an ammo load of 70% canister says, if nothing else, what the Stuart tankers thought was appropriate ammunition for their particular combat environment with their own hides and necks on the line. The listed figure translates to 86 rounds out of 123 carried in total. 
 
"Steel Victory" by Harry
Yeide on the US Separate Tank Battalions in WWII.

"M5's in the 735th Tank Battalion, for example carried 70 percent of their
ammo load in the form of canister during hedgerow fighting." also noting it
was quite effective against snipers and mg positions.
 
Bud_B and Doug Williams,
 
"Tombstone" is indeed a terrific movie, and that huckleberry expression is quite interesting in its own right. Recommend you research its origins.  As for PBEM, SLIM is at the top of the queue, which presently is saying he'll be in the only game, until my brain is more productive on the tactical wargaming side of things and can handle more than one at a time. In better days, with the admittedly much simpler CMx1, I once had five going in tournament and was writing AARs on the fly, too. Sigh.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Very good that you play PBEM. That is really what CM is all about. The AI is just a practice dummy.
 
No need to be confused. That is indeed canister shot the Greyhound is firing. Best thing to do is ignore the troublemakers and play CM. That's what I do. :-)

Thanks for making the CAAR - really enjoyed it!

I get that there is history between individuals in any community. I know it can become frustrating. I understand that one gets tired of some people. But, I've never had problems with either John, or JonS. JonS has been helpful to me when I asked questions about using the editor, and John has never been unpleasant to me. I don't think that either of you gentlemen arguing in an ad hominem manner is constructive to making your points, but it really does reduce my desire to continue the discussion because I'm not here for an argument but go talk about history and our mutual enjoyment of CM gaming.

A new setting for the CAAR is a good idea.  It would be cool to see Lt. Warner and the boys in Italy or Russia.  Things are getting busy around here so I can't commit to making the map.  But maybe by bumping this up somebody else will notice and be able to put together a 500 x 500 map.  

I read through the linked threads, for the most part. I don't think you're at all wrong in critiquing John when you feel that he has said something untrue. Everyone should be open to critique- it's necessary and healthy.
 
However, critique is not my problem. Caustic behavior towards other individuals is. If someone posting a rebuttal does so negatively then logic is displaced, and there can be no genuine discussion. At that point, because of negativity bias, all discussion will become paranoid, defensive, and aggressive. 
 
I know you guys have a history I don't fully understand, but both parties are valid, even if one side is sometimes incorrect. I'm not asking you to stop fact checking or become apathetic. Just try to pretend that other people on the forums are actually people. 
 
Source

Yeah, tracer for canister is not correct...but it looks cool.

c'mon man, what is wrong with the out of the box stuff?  Granted it isn't Normandy, this is just what I happen to be playing right now.  Damn it looks good.
 

Thanks! We're already cooking up something new. 

I was playing a game in CMBN 3.11 and my opponent has this M8 armoured car. A car that fires ammunition I've never encountered before.

Here is the M8 - looks ordinary to me..




And here is what the shot looks like when it fires..



I thought someone was using a Hegehog from a destroyer for a moment! This stuff seems deadly to infantry. I never saw my M8s fire something like this when I used them in other battles. Is this some canister shot? Why have my own M8s not used it in the past? Is there some special requirement or unit to buy?

I just got together with a friend who was a military attaché in a number of assignments. We share some hobbies but he really got excited when I showed him Combat Mission. Frankly, the two biggest endorsements this series of games had were:
-that the primary age group is the same as mine. Nothing against younger folk, not at all, but interests and desires change as we go through life and I like the humour and knowledge that I see here. I speak in generalties here and there are always exceptions to every rule. No offence intended to anyone.
-that so many people who enjoy this game come from a military background. It speaks volumes to how effective it is as providing a reasonable simulation of tactical combat in the eras represented in the game.

Making contact with reasoned, seasoned, good natured people here has had a big influence on my enjoyment of the game. So thank you for your comments and support. Hopefully I'll have a new convert got the cult of CM and a new CAAR for you to enjoy.

Guys, Kohl and I had a quick chat this evening and we had an idea - best to strike while this thread is still alive! 
 
We've had a number of suggestions and request for more CAARs. We're interested in doing it. And we're interested in doing it on a custom map made by one of YOU. It should be a map from the smallest size allowed by the editor to 500x500m max. Suitable for a reinforced platoon on each side. 
 
We have CMBN, CMBT, CMFI. We have done CMBN, so we're looking at CMRT and CMFI for the next one. 
 
Anyone making a map (please let us know in advance of your intent) will have their handle (or name) on the cover of the next CAAR as the map-maker. Be aware we do need to take a look at the map to make sure it will work but generally any well made map should be fine. If in doubt, check with us. 
 
Anyone interested? 

I knew those lads were good with a wrench!

I just got together with a friend who was a military attaché in a number of assignments. We share some hobbies but he really got excited when I showed him Combat Mission. Frankly, the two biggest endorsements this series of games had were:
-that the primary age group is the same as mine. Nothing against younger folk, not at all, but interests and desires change as we go through life and I like the humour and knowledge that I see here. I speak in generalties here and there are always exceptions to every rule. No offence intended to anyone.
-that so many people who enjoy this game come from a military background. It speaks volumes to how effective it is as providing a reasonable simulation of tactical combat in the eras represented in the game.

Making contact with reasoned, seasoned, good natured people here has had a big influence on my enjoyment of the game. So thank you for your comments and support. Hopefully I'll have a new convert got the cult of CM and a new CAAR for you to enjoy.

This is always the most interesting part of an AAR for me; the break down and self-critique. No. 1 reason to play CM: Its good mental floss. The entire AAR was great to follow and read, thanks for doing it.
 
I agree with the mortar assessment, I love IGs but its not something I would reinforce a Zug with unless it was for zone defense and in a prepared position.
 
Surest thing to take out enemies behind a hedge is indirect fire, you'd be surprised how much of a beating you can take; my latest match saw a local counterattack by my opponent; about half a platoon supported by a Stummel. He ran into a blocking force behind low bocage and couldn't dislodge them despite sustained howitzer fire, only a handful of men lightly wounded. 
 
On that note, I just want to point out how rare it is for me to see a German rifle platoon actually sustain more casualties than a "defender" in a victory. 

LOL.     You figured out my handle.  In the 1980s that was the nomenclature for an Intelligence Analyst, E-5, Airborne.  My icon is the crest of the 313 Military Intelligence Battalion / 82 Airborne Division.  I worked in the Division G2.  Interesting, exciting stuff to do when your young.  Nice attention to detail figuring out that jumble of letters & numbers.   
 
Enough reminiscing.  You have work to do!  More CAARs!          

Thanks very much, Intelligence Analyst!
Yeah, the story seemed incomplete without some denouement for the characters, something for the reader to feel that at least this part of their life is over, but there's another to come.

I wanted to include something of an appraisal of what I gathered (and I'm happy to be corrected in my conclusions) as well as to give a feel for the little bits that don't quite fit in a narrative, but would possibly be Included in a conventional AAR. Hence the ops analysis and lessons learned.

Glad you enjoyed it!!

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, "Speak softly and carry a Big Ol' 50 cal".

Lessons learned:

-IG was bad choice. Not mobile, long set up time, and unable to exit deploy area except where it was killed because woods impassable to anything on wheels. Better would have been 1 light mortar to lay down fire and smoke, which was badly needed for cover to get to farm, and another HMG. The combined cost would have been about the cost of the IG.

-HMG was crucial in the battle. As long as it was working, it was almost impossible for the enemy to advance past the point where they were in heavy cover. Two would have been better. German doctrine centered around the MG and for good reason. They are devastatingly effective and ensuring they could work unmpeded would have made me take less losses and maintain better tactical control of the map.

-Their LMG killed the second most people on the American side, despite being brought into play very late in the battle - the last 10 min or so.

-We were unsuccessful in killing a single man behind the hedgerow. This was quite a surprise to me. I thought an HMG, LMG, and countless rifle rounds would eventually kill SOMEONE there!

-I Mistook rifle grenades early on for light mortar fire. I was very concerned about a bombardment initially. That's a matter of inexperience, but it was in retrospect scary that rifle grenades could reach to the rear of my positions.

Operational Analysis:


A number of interesting things came to light as the battle reached it's conclusion.

1st squad had the highest kills in the game, 9 to be exact. Bear in mind they stayed in cover until their advance on the farm, some turns into the game. Their entire repertoire of kills was incurred during the defence of the farm. Their position required an enemy to reach the farm, and to drive out Hirsch's men, and that was going to be difficult.

The second highest kills (7) in the battle were by Kohl's 3rd squad, which is the one that was finally stopped rushing the farm. As I wasn't privy to their identity during the battle, I can't say exactly what they did, but I beleive they were aggressive in fighting from the fields and advancing over the battle to the farm.

The third highest kills were from the HMG 42, which killed six. All of these were done by the time half its crew were killed and it panicked and abandoned its weapon.

It is surprising to find that the rest of the units on both sides did at most two kills, and many had far less. Thirty minutes of battle and so much ammo expended and yet some units had little success. It's interesting to see, and I think rather realistic.

By two thirds into the battle, the loss of Lt. Warner was keenly felt. The absence of a decent leader had a strong impact on the morale of units under heavy fire or taking casualties. This was more serious a problem than could be easily shown in the CAAR. Frequently half my force was hors-de-combat and out of my control. 2nd squad in particular lost its leader early on and thus affected its ability to fight until late in the battle, when the two sections were reunited.

That leads the next observation: Kohl told me that by the end of the battle, all his units had but a few rounds left. On the other hand, 2nd squad had the bulk of its ammo, and an LMG, and was almost at full strength. This made it most welcome by the last quarter of the battle, and likely the most powerful unit in the field on either side.

From mid-battle on - once Hirsch's 1st squad took possession of the farm - the situation became rather static. The charges and my occasional unit panics were really the only movement.

My assessment of enemy casualties was too low; I must have been unable to see some of them. On the other hand, my appraisal of the enemy force size was too high; it turns out I had a slightly larger force than Kohl.

Hey Bud, you should number them on the covers and a date? or at least a month/year.
 
Is "somebody's Hero" just a concept or an in production CAAR from our recent QB?