danfrodo

how what has always started?  Fascism??  starts w political correctness?  Totalitarianism?  what is it that starts with 'political correctness'?  My definition of political correctness is "if it offends me, it's offensive!  if it offends you, it's political correctness".  Yes, there's folks that uber sensitive and don't like this or that, and they whine a lot.  But they aren't the ones that take over governments and start jailing, beating, and killing people they don't like.

how what has always started?  Fascism??  starts w political correctness?  Totalitarianism?  what is it that starts with 'political correctness'?  My definition of political correctness is "if it offends me, it's offensive!  if it offends you, it's political correctness".  Yes, there's folks that uber sensitive and don't like this or that, and they whine a lot.  But they aren't the ones that take over governments and start jailing, beating, and killing people they don't like.

how what has always started?  Fascism??  starts w political correctness?  Totalitarianism?  what is it that starts with 'political correctness'?  My definition of political correctness is "if it offends me, it's offensive!  if it offends you, it's political correctness".  Yes, there's folks that uber sensitive and don't like this or that, and they whine a lot.  But they aren't the ones that take over governments and start jailing, beating, and killing people they don't like.

Charles MacDonald's book was the best I have read, though Anthony Beevor's recent was also very good.  MacDonald was a company commander at the bulge (see his book Company Commander) and wrote a number of very good books on WW2. 

Getting one man team is easy.  All I have do is say "glad that area is cleared" and send forward an entire squad.  60 seconds later I have a one man team.

Getting one man team is easy.  All I have do is say "glad that area is cleared" and send forward an entire squad.  60 seconds later I have a one man team.

Getting one man team is easy.  All I have do is say "glad that area is cleared" and send forward an entire squad.  60 seconds later I have a one man team.

Let it be written, let it be done!  I think I'll get it.  It's certainly well-loved here on the forum

wow, great AAR.  thanks for putting so much work into this.  I don't have SF, I am still plowing through all the WW2 titles, but this makes me want to get it.

First try working on the patches.  BREN GUNS!!  I was ~15 minutes into an infantry-only attack up a big hill in CMFI and was having a hard time.  Then patched and restarted and now I am actually able to suppress using my infantry squads.  This is great!!

congratulations!  I had a similar story when I came back to CM after many years 😊   May all your battles be merry and your casualties vanishingly low.  Italy and Russia games are both great, and so very different from what you face in Normandy.

I take a break by switching from tactical to operational level warfare, like The Operational Art of War.  back & forth, keeps both fresh.  Currently doing 'what if' scenario where instead of sending forces south for the great kiev encirclement in august 1941, germans go for broke toward Moscow, as guderian et al suggested.  I am encircling and destroying lots of soviet forces, but dang, there's always more.  And my supply lines aren't getting any shorter.  Turns out mechanized units need fuel, who knew?  And in two years or so I bet I'll be doing 1941 battles like this in CM (please please please). 

I take a break by switching from tactical to operational level warfare, like The Operational Art of War.  back & forth, keeps both fresh.  Currently doing 'what if' scenario where instead of sending forces south for the great kiev encirclement in august 1941, germans go for broke toward Moscow, as guderian et al suggested.  I am encircling and destroying lots of soviet forces, but dang, there's always more.  And my supply lines aren't getting any shorter.  Turns out mechanized units need fuel, who knew?  And in two years or so I bet I'll be doing 1941 battles like this in CM (please please please). 

I just started Matterhorn on audio.  Glad to see it was top of your vietnam list.  😊

Please see my earlier post above, there is no "the" in front of "hoi polloi". I do wish people would remember that. Exits stage right tutting loudly  ------------------->

🧐
Another Brexit, I guess.

I think wargamers mostly would love Barbarossa.  What's not to love?  Not all want this, but most I am sure.  Great, epic battles of encirclement and desperate counterattacks,  hopeless defensive struggles where all you can do is try to take as many germans with you as possible and delay them.  It's not all a walkover by the germans -- the stand in front of Smolensk in July that brought the germans to a halt.  Lots of great battles w lots of goofy gear -- the semi-obsolete masses of russian tanks, the czech T35 T38, silly little pz1 and pz2.  And the shock of meeting a KV tank for the first time and having nothing that can penetrate its armor.  Great stuff.  Lots of maneuver (well, for the germans). 

I think wargamers mostly would love Barbarossa.  What's not to love?  Not all want this, but most I am sure.  Great, epic battles of encirclement and desperate counterattacks,  hopeless defensive struggles where all you can do is try to take as many germans with you as possible and delay them.  It's not all a walkover by the germans -- the stand in front of Smolensk in July that brought the germans to a halt.  Lots of great battles w lots of goofy gear -- the semi-obsolete masses of russian tanks, the czech T35 T38, silly little pz1 and pz2.  And the shock of meeting a KV tank for the first time and having nothing that can penetrate its armor.  Great stuff.  Lots of maneuver (well, for the germans). 

CanuckGamer, I am also wanting the earlier years and N Africa.  but RT is really, really fun.  The russians have good gear and are very good at making war by 1944.  I am doing my first campaign as russians and it's great.  The germans have MG42s, but russians have more men.  So suppress supress supress & assault!   As the germans, it's a case of great gear but not enough of anything. 
then end of the war should have hungarian winter campaigns, which were large, very intense combined arms operations with both sides both on offense & defense.  Looking forward to that.

And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, as per Mort's list above.  Last night my family & various folks were talking about best Christmas memories.  I said when I was 7 or 8 and I woke up to the fireplace filled with WW2 german & american soldiers, with halftracks, an 88, etc.  Then today I realized I am STILL playing with army men thanks to the fine folks at Battlefront.  I've got two weeks off work and am plowing through lots of lovely campaigns (having finally reached the point where I can have some success in campaigns).  Currently I am that nasty Pieper fellow, plowing my way through the otherwise lovely town of Stavelot.  SO THANK YOU BATTLEFRONT for bringing back proper Christmas joy to me!   Looking forward to new stuff in 2019.

And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, as per Mort's list above.  Last night my family & various folks were talking about best Christmas memories.  I said when I was 7 or 8 and I woke up to the fireplace filled with WW2 german & american soldiers, with halftracks, an 88, etc.  Then today I realized I am STILL playing with army men thanks to the fine folks at Battlefront.  I've got two weeks off work and am plowing through lots of lovely campaigns (having finally reached the point where I can have some success in campaigns).  Currently I am that nasty Pieper fellow, plowing my way through the otherwise lovely town of Stavelot.  SO THANK YOU BATTLEFRONT for bringing back proper Christmas joy to me!   Looking forward to new stuff in 2019.

JohnLondon125, just jump into 1944.  There's a lot of work to be done!  Fighting as the Russians is really fun, though most folks in the west  would not think this.  And the Germans have some great gear, panthers & tigers -- though these are vulnerable by 1944 to T34-85s.  and by the time you are finished with that there will probably be more new content, and you also have Normandy & Italy to fight your way through.  It'll keep you busy for a long time.  Every time I get impatient for new stuff I remind myself that I haven't even finished the content I already have.  I just need to win the lottery so I can retire and have time to do all this.

JohnLondon125, just jump into 1944.  There's a lot of work to be done!  Fighting as the Russians is really fun, though most folks in the west  would not think this.  And the Germans have some great gear, panthers & tigers -- though these are vulnerable by 1944 to T34-85s.  and by the time you are finished with that there will probably be more new content, and you also have Normandy & Italy to fight your way through.  It'll keep you busy for a long time.  Every time I get impatient for new stuff I remind myself that I haven't even finished the content I already have.  I just need to win the lottery so I can retire and have time to do all this.

All well said about the 1000km front, etc.  I would add that at some places there were lots of PAKs, tanks, etc.  Those are the places we play in the game.  The parts of the front that were poorly defended were of course more numerous, but aren't much fun to play, and were generally not the important places, usually due to being poor areas for transportation/movement.  AT guns would be concentrated at strategic/tactically important areas, just as would be more troops, tanks, etc.  There were certainly very wide stretches of terrain w no AT guns at all, probably just covered by patrols if at all.  But the important roads, etc, those would be have some nasty defenses set up.  This is how the Soviets were always able to make bridgeheads across rivers.-- the germans couldn't defend the whole river line in strength.  Happened all the time.

Lots of good advice here.  One thing you will notice is that most experienced users will play turn-based, not real time.  I thought I wanted real time, but turn based is actually way more fun because you can replay from anywhere.  That will also help you with time management.  And remember that if there's a nice, easy path to you objective then the enemy knows that too and is waiting for you.  That's a big part of these scenarios -- the enemy is set up in pretty clever ways, striking you suddenly as you move into some restricted field of fire they've set up.