MethodGamer

Ian and I had a chat, and we decided to end this game. As Hobo mentioned, once troops in the real world realized there was no hope for victory, they would give up and save what remained of the men.  I thought it was a good idea to do the same in the game (although it was to save us time and not drag this out for another few weeks). It was pretty clear that there was no way for me to win this game, and given that it takes at least 2-3 days to turn around a turn for Ian and I, we decided it wasn't worth the month it would take to wrap up this AAR.
 
Here are the final results:
 

 
I'm not too happy with these results. I wasn't expecting to win, but I was hoping to put up a bit more of a fight. As usual, I couldn't put the AT Gun to use. I thought it was in good position, but for whatever reason, it never saw anything, even though its ammo team just a few feet away did have line of sight on one of the tanks. Obviously a tank kill wouldn't have made much difference, but at least it would have restored a bit of hope for AT Guns.
 
On the other hand, I am happy with my mortar team's performance. Usually, my artillery just barely harasses the enemy, but in this game, I think they good damage and held up the allies in the south. A big gold star also goes to the half squad setup with a line of sight down the road. Even though the alliance eventually broke through, they did manage to hold them up for a few minutes all by themselves (until they were eliminated).
 
Overall, I think this was a useful exercise. A lot of good advice was shared, and I'm going to go back and read through the posts again. But it's not something that I'll be repeating too often. It's a lot of effort to put posts together after each turn, even when the posts were as simple as mine. I'm far more appreciative of the work others put into their AARs, so kudos to everyone taking the time to put all those detailed AARs together. You're doing a great service to the community.
 
That said, I will definitely continue asking for advice on the forums, in the form of "true" AARs (i.e. summaries of battles after the fact), and questions during battles (with permission from my opponents of course), for feedback and critique. I still have plenty to learn (obviously), and this AAR demonstrated that there's a lot of advice to be found here. 
 
To wrap up, a big thanks to everyone who posted in this thread, I really appreciate the time you took to share your advice and make me a slightly better CM player.

Ian and I had a chat, and we decided to end this game. As Hobo mentioned, once troops in the real world realized there was no hope for victory, they would give up and save what remained of the men.  I thought it was a good idea to do the same in the game (although it was to save us time and not drag this out for another few weeks). It was pretty clear that there was no way for me to win this game, and given that it takes at least 2-3 days to turn around a turn for Ian and I, we decided it wasn't worth the month it would take to wrap up this AAR.
 
Here are the final results:
 

 
I'm not too happy with these results. I wasn't expecting to win, but I was hoping to put up a bit more of a fight. As usual, I couldn't put the AT Gun to use. I thought it was in good position, but for whatever reason, it never saw anything, even though its ammo team just a few feet away did have line of sight on one of the tanks. Obviously a tank kill wouldn't have made much difference, but at least it would have restored a bit of hope for AT Guns.
 
On the other hand, I am happy with my mortar team's performance. Usually, my artillery just barely harasses the enemy, but in this game, I think they good damage and held up the allies in the south. A big gold star also goes to the half squad setup with a line of sight down the road. Even though the alliance eventually broke through, they did manage to hold them up for a few minutes all by themselves (until they were eliminated).
 
Overall, I think this was a useful exercise. A lot of good advice was shared, and I'm going to go back and read through the posts again. But it's not something that I'll be repeating too often. It's a lot of effort to put posts together after each turn, even when the posts were as simple as mine. I'm far more appreciative of the work others put into their AARs, so kudos to everyone taking the time to put all those detailed AARs together. You're doing a great service to the community.
 
That said, I will definitely continue asking for advice on the forums, in the form of "true" AARs (i.e. summaries of battles after the fact), and questions during battles (with permission from my opponents of course), for feedback and critique. I still have plenty to learn (obviously), and this AAR demonstrated that there's a lot of advice to be found here. 
 
To wrap up, a big thanks to everyone who posted in this thread, I really appreciate the time you took to share your advice and make me a slightly better CM player.

Minute 15-14
This turn saw a lot of activity. I decided to try and shift my troops around to put them in a better position to defend the road, which I think I'll be able to achieve. Unfortunately, this turn also saw more fire being applied to the southern defenders, and while I didn't take many casualties, a lot of troops started losing their nerves.
 
In the southern sector, allied tanks started pulling back from the treeline due to the shelling, but on the way out, they fired a canister shot that panicked two half-squads that were placed to cover any allied infantry advance (1). Just south east of them, two more half squads and an HQ lost it and are now panicked (2). That's almost half the southern defenders. Fortunately, the HMG team pulled itself together (3), and are now in a position to fire on the allies that are still in the tree line.
 
Note that all these units are all bunched up together. This is definitely not what I ordered. But soldiers that are panicking tend to pay more attention to incoming fire than orders. 
 
Just south of the farm yard, a squad made it across the road to help shore up the defenses there, taking only one casualty while crossing the road. Unfortunately for me, the casualty was the LMG (4). The ammo team and HQ made it to the farm as well, so I do have a few defenders there that could make life a bit difficult for the allies.
 

 
Minute 14 Orders
I don't have a lot of units that are (a) in good order and ( able to fire on anyone. The units that are in good order are in a position to defend once the allies show up, so I don't have many orders to give. Although, this is usually what gets me in trouble in other games where I defend. I'm hoping that things will be different, but I'm not holding my breath either.

IanL and I are trying a little experiment. We're going to play a CMBN mission with a DAR, but with a little twist: we'll be reading and commenting on each others' post as we're playing, and we invite everyone to post suggestions as well. Feel free to suggest strategies, tactics, orders, whatever you think we should do on our next turn.

Here's a bit of background on how this experiment came about. IanL and I are very good friends in the real world. As the forum regulars will know, IanL is a pretty serious CM player. He's a very active member on these and other boards, he's very knowledgeable about the game, and he's even written software to help players get more out of the game. I, on the other hand, am not that experienced with CMx2. While I own just about every CM game released by Battlefront (even the CMx1 titles), I've probably played less than a dozen CMx2 missions, all of them almost exclusively against IanL. To say that I get regularly pummelled by him would be an understatement.

During our last battle, we were discussing problems I was having as the defender. Clearly, everything was wrong: strategy, tactics, orders, etc. The chat eventually morphed into a broader discussion about how to get new players up to speed faster. Obviously, reading posts on the forums or on blogs (such as Bil Hardenberger's excellent Battle Drill) is a big help. But nothing really teaches something as complex as battle strategies and tactics like a skilled practitioner's experience. So we started comparing CM to other strategically and tactically complex games (like bridge or chess), and started thinking about how they train new players. One method they use is open play: a strong player plays against a newer player, and they talk aloud about what they're thinking and doing, and why. We thought this would be a good idea for CM, and that's how we ended up here.

Here's how we're going to proceed. IanL and I will follow the usual DAR format; we'll each start a thread discussing the mission from our respective sides. We'll provide screenshots and our thoughts on what we're PLANNING on doing and why. But before we actually give orders and send the turns, we'll read, comment and take advice from everyone on the boards, including from each other. We'll normally post our plans, and give forum members 24 hours to provide advice before playing our turns.

As mentioned in the inital paragraph of this post, if you have any questions or suggestions about anything we're doing, feel free to post. The idea here is to learn and get as much insight as possible into CMx2. There are a large number of skilled players, all with different strategies and tactics, tips and tricks, and I'd like to soak up as much as I can.

And remember, this is an experiment, feel free to comment on this idea as well.

Two weeks ago, Ian and I started a little experiment where we run a crowed-sourced DAR; we fight each other, but before playing our turns, we let everyone on the forums provide advice on what we should do. The learning experience has been incredible.
 
While most of the learning for me has been around strategy and tactics, one of the things I didn't expect were all the little tips and tricks that make life a little easier and better in CM. For example, I learned that:
 
You can click on a way point and setup a target from there, to get an idea of LoS from that spot You can give pause orders at each way point when moving, which helps with spotting While the DAR is great for learning, it does require a bit more time for analysis and writing. I thought it would be nice to have a thread where people can share their favorite little tips and tricks on the game. So have at it!

IanL and I are trying a little experiment. We're going to play a CMBN mission with a DAR, but with a little twist: we'll be reading and commenting on each others' post as we're playing, and we invite everyone to post suggestions as well. Feel free to suggest strategies, tactics, orders, whatever you think we should do on our next turn.

Here's a bit of background on how this experiment came about. IanL and I are very good friends in the real world. As the forum regulars will know, IanL is a pretty serious CM player. He's a very active member on these and other boards, he's very knowledgeable about the game, and he's even written software to help players get more out of the game. I, on the other hand, am not that experienced with CMx2. While I own just about every CM game released by Battlefront (even the CMx1 titles), I've probably played less than a dozen CMx2 missions, all of them almost exclusively against IanL. To say that I get regularly pummelled by him would be an understatement.

During our last battle, we were discussing problems I was having as the defender. Clearly, everything was wrong: strategy, tactics, orders, etc. The chat eventually morphed into a broader discussion about how to get new players up to speed faster. Obviously, reading posts on the forums or on blogs (such as Bil Hardenberger's excellent Battle Drill) is a big help. But nothing really teaches something as complex as battle strategies and tactics like a skilled practitioner's experience. So we started comparing CM to other strategically and tactically complex games (like bridge or chess), and started thinking about how they train new players. One method they use is open play: a strong player plays against a newer player, and they talk aloud about what they're thinking and doing, and why. We thought this would be a good idea for CM, and that's how we ended up here.

Here's how we're going to proceed. IanL and I will follow the usual DAR format; we'll each start a thread discussing the mission from our respective sides. We'll provide screenshots and our thoughts on what we're PLANNING on doing and why. But before we actually give orders and send the turns, we'll read, comment and take advice from everyone on the boards, including from each other. We'll normally post our plans, and give forum members 24 hours to provide advice before playing our turns.

As mentioned in the inital paragraph of this post, if you have any questions or suggestions about anything we're doing, feel free to post. The idea here is to learn and get as much insight as possible into CMx2. There are a large number of skilled players, all with different strategies and tactics, tips and tricks, and I'd like to soak up as much as I can.

And remember, this is an experiment, feel free to comment on this idea as well.

IanL and I are trying a little experiment. We're going to play a CMBN mission with a DAR, but with a little twist: we'll be reading and commenting on each others' post as we're playing, and we invite everyone to post suggestions as well. Feel free to suggest strategies, tactics, orders, whatever you think we should do on our next turn.

Here's a bit of background on how this experiment came about. IanL and I are very good friends in the real world. As the forum regulars will know, IanL is a pretty serious CM player. He's a very active member on these and other boards, he's very knowledgeable about the game, and he's even written software to help players get more out of the game. I, on the other hand, am not that experienced with CMx2. While I own just about every CM game released by Battlefront (even the CMx1 titles), I've probably played less than a dozen CMx2 missions, all of them almost exclusively against IanL. To say that I get regularly pummelled by him would be an understatement.

During our last battle, we were discussing problems I was having as the defender. Clearly, everything was wrong: strategy, tactics, orders, etc. The chat eventually morphed into a broader discussion about how to get new players up to speed faster. Obviously, reading posts on the forums or on blogs (such as Bil Hardenberger's excellent Battle Drill) is a big help. But nothing really teaches something as complex as battle strategies and tactics like a skilled practitioner's experience. So we started comparing CM to other strategically and tactically complex games (like bridge or chess), and started thinking about how they train new players. One method they use is open play: a strong player plays against a newer player, and they talk aloud about what they're thinking and doing, and why. We thought this would be a good idea for CM, and that's how we ended up here.

Here's how we're going to proceed. IanL and I will follow the usual DAR format; we'll each start a thread discussing the mission from our respective sides. We'll provide screenshots and our thoughts on what we're PLANNING on doing and why. But before we actually give orders and send the turns, we'll read, comment and take advice from everyone on the boards, including from each other. We'll normally post our plans, and give forum members 24 hours to provide advice before playing our turns.

As mentioned in the inital paragraph of this post, if you have any questions or suggestions about anything we're doing, feel free to post. The idea here is to learn and get as much insight as possible into CMx2. There are a large number of skilled players, all with different strategies and tactics, tips and tricks, and I'd like to soak up as much as I can.

And remember, this is an experiment, feel free to comment on this idea as well.

IanL and I are trying a little experiment. We're going to play a CMBN mission with a DAR, but with a little twist: we'll be reading and commenting on each others' post as we're playing, and we invite everyone to post suggestions as well. Feel free to suggest strategies, tactics, orders, whatever you think we should do on our next turn.

Here's a bit of background on how this experiment came about. IanL and I are very good friends in the real world. As the forum regulars will know, IanL is a pretty serious CM player. He's a very active member on these and other boards, he's very knowledgeable about the game, and he's even written software to help players get more out of the game. I, on the other hand, am not that experienced with CMx2. While I own just about every CM game released by Battlefront (even the CMx1 titles), I've probably played less than a dozen CMx2 missions, all of them almost exclusively against IanL. To say that I get regularly pummelled by him would be an understatement.

During our last battle, we were discussing problems I was having as the defender. Clearly, everything was wrong: strategy, tactics, orders, etc. The chat eventually morphed into a broader discussion about how to get new players up to speed faster. Obviously, reading posts on the forums or on blogs (such as Bil Hardenberger's excellent Battle Drill) is a big help. But nothing really teaches something as complex as battle strategies and tactics like a skilled practitioner's experience. So we started comparing CM to other strategically and tactically complex games (like bridge or chess), and started thinking about how they train new players. One method they use is open play: a strong player plays against a newer player, and they talk aloud about what they're thinking and doing, and why. We thought this would be a good idea for CM, and that's how we ended up here.

Here's how we're going to proceed. IanL and I will follow the usual DAR format; we'll each start a thread discussing the mission from our respective sides. We'll provide screenshots and our thoughts on what we're PLANNING on doing and why. But before we actually give orders and send the turns, we'll read, comment and take advice from everyone on the boards, including from each other. We'll normally post our plans, and give forum members 24 hours to provide advice before playing our turns.

As mentioned in the inital paragraph of this post, if you have any questions or suggestions about anything we're doing, feel free to post. The idea here is to learn and get as much insight as possible into CMx2. There are a large number of skilled players, all with different strategies and tactics, tips and tricks, and I'd like to soak up as much as I can.

And remember, this is an experiment, feel free to comment on this idea as well.

IanL and I are trying a little experiment. We're going to play a CMBN mission with a DAR, but with a little twist: we'll be reading and commenting on each others' post as we're playing, and we invite everyone to post suggestions as well. Feel free to suggest strategies, tactics, orders, whatever you think we should do on our next turn.

Here's a bit of background on how this experiment came about. IanL and I are very good friends in the real world. As the forum regulars will know, IanL is a pretty serious CM player. He's a very active member on these and other boards, he's very knowledgeable about the game, and he's even written software to help players get more out of the game. I, on the other hand, am not that experienced with CMx2. While I own just about every CM game released by Battlefront (even the CMx1 titles), I've probably played less than a dozen CMx2 missions, all of them almost exclusively against IanL. To say that I get regularly pummelled by him would be an understatement.

During our last battle, we were discussing problems I was having as the defender. Clearly, everything was wrong: strategy, tactics, orders, etc. The chat eventually morphed into a broader discussion about how to get new players up to speed faster. Obviously, reading posts on the forums or on blogs (such as Bil Hardenberger's excellent Battle Drill) is a big help. But nothing really teaches something as complex as battle strategies and tactics like a skilled practitioner's experience. So we started comparing CM to other strategically and tactically complex games (like bridge or chess), and started thinking about how they train new players. One method they use is open play: a strong player plays against a newer player, and they talk aloud about what they're thinking and doing, and why. We thought this would be a good idea for CM, and that's how we ended up here.

Here's how we're going to proceed. IanL and I will follow the usual DAR format; we'll each start a thread discussing the mission from our respective sides. We'll provide screenshots and our thoughts on what we're PLANNING on doing and why. But before we actually give orders and send the turns, we'll read, comment and take advice from everyone on the boards, including from each other. We'll normally post our plans, and give forum members 24 hours to provide advice before playing our turns.

As mentioned in the inital paragraph of this post, if you have any questions or suggestions about anything we're doing, feel free to post. The idea here is to learn and get as much insight as possible into CMx2. There are a large number of skilled players, all with different strategies and tactics, tips and tricks, and I'd like to soak up as much as I can.

And remember, this is an experiment, feel free to comment on this idea as well.

IanL and I are trying a little experiment. We're going to play a CMBN mission with a DAR, but with a little twist: we'll be reading and commenting on each others' post as we're playing, and we invite everyone to post suggestions as well. Feel free to suggest strategies, tactics, orders, whatever you think we should do on our next turn.

Here's a bit of background on how this experiment came about. IanL and I are very good friends in the real world. As the forum regulars will know, IanL is a pretty serious CM player. He's a very active member on these and other boards, he's very knowledgeable about the game, and he's even written software to help players get more out of the game. I, on the other hand, am not that experienced with CMx2. While I own just about every CM game released by Battlefront (even the CMx1 titles), I've probably played less than a dozen CMx2 missions, all of them almost exclusively against IanL. To say that I get regularly pummelled by him would be an understatement.

During our last battle, we were discussing problems I was having as the defender. Clearly, everything was wrong: strategy, tactics, orders, etc. The chat eventually morphed into a broader discussion about how to get new players up to speed faster. Obviously, reading posts on the forums or on blogs (such as Bil Hardenberger's excellent Battle Drill) is a big help. But nothing really teaches something as complex as battle strategies and tactics like a skilled practitioner's experience. So we started comparing CM to other strategically and tactically complex games (like bridge or chess), and started thinking about how they train new players. One method they use is open play: a strong player plays against a newer player, and they talk aloud about what they're thinking and doing, and why. We thought this would be a good idea for CM, and that's how we ended up here.

Here's how we're going to proceed. IanL and I will follow the usual DAR format; we'll each start a thread discussing the mission from our respective sides. We'll provide screenshots and our thoughts on what we're PLANNING on doing and why. But before we actually give orders and send the turns, we'll read, comment and take advice from everyone on the boards, including from each other. We'll normally post our plans, and give forum members 24 hours to provide advice before playing our turns.

As mentioned in the inital paragraph of this post, if you have any questions or suggestions about anything we're doing, feel free to post. The idea here is to learn and get as much insight as possible into CMx2. There are a large number of skilled players, all with different strategies and tactics, tips and tricks, and I'd like to soak up as much as I can.

And remember, this is an experiment, feel free to comment on this idea as well.