DerKommissar

Phase 1: Recce

Recce platoons sneak their way into the brush. We need to see what we're dealing with.
 

Forward observers establish satisfactory observation posts. They are ready to direct remaining artillery assets, for Phase 2.
 

Oi! PAK opened up on us! Reverse -- oh, and do let Major Chetty's Shermans know where they are.
 

Firing at that tree-line! First shot falls short!
 

PAK returns fire! That was a close one -- hope we've brought spare underpants.
 

They've quieted down after a few shots... but keep firing! Major Chetty doesn't want to see that PAK, ever again.
 

The Huns know we're here. MG bullets ricochets off of armour, as our own MGs arrive into the thick of it.
 

HMG spotted. The gloves are coming off. Time to establish fire superiority.

Phase 1: Recce

Recce platoons sneak their way into the brush. We need to see what we're dealing with.
 

Forward observers establish satisfactory observation posts. They are ready to direct remaining artillery assets, for Phase 2.
 

Oi! PAK opened up on us! Reverse -- oh, and do let Major Chetty's Shermans know where they are.
 

Firing at that tree-line! First shot falls short!
 

PAK returns fire! That was a close one -- hope we've brought spare underpants.
 

They've quieted down after a few shots... but keep firing! Major Chetty doesn't want to see that PAK, ever again.
 

The Huns know we're here. MG bullets ricochets off of armour, as our own MGs arrive into the thick of it.
 

HMG spotted. The gloves are coming off. Time to establish fire superiority.

Phase 1: Recce

Recce platoons sneak their way into the brush. We need to see what we're dealing with.
 

Forward observers establish satisfactory observation posts. They are ready to direct remaining artillery assets, for Phase 2.
 

Oi! PAK opened up on us! Reverse -- oh, and do let Major Chetty's Shermans know where they are.
 

Firing at that tree-line! First shot falls short!
 

PAK returns fire! That was a close one -- hope we've brought spare underpants.
 

They've quieted down after a few shots... but keep firing! Major Chetty doesn't want to see that PAK, ever again.
 

The Huns know we're here. MG bullets ricochets off of armour, as our own MGs arrive into the thick of it.
 

HMG spotted. The gloves are coming off. Time to establish fire superiority.

Celleno: The Final Battle

 
The Mission

Before us, lies the hill-top fortress of Celleno. This is the final objective of our campaign, and it looks to be the toughest one, yet. We did our best to conserve our fuel, ammo and manpower for this battle. We are ahead of the recce, and nearly blind. Now, night approaches and we must begin the assault.
 
The Plan

Phase 1: Establish observation points and direct the initial bombardment.
Phase 2: Occupy the heights and establish a base of fire.
Phase 3: Begin the combined assault on ALPHA.
Phase 4: Mop up BRAVO and CHARLIE.
 
The Forces

Task Force 1 (Armoured): C Squadron (Major Chetty)
Task Force 2 (Infantry): B Company (Major Jansen)
Task Force 3 (Infantry): C Company (Major Ntsimango)
Supports: 2 x Recce Troops, 2 x Forward Observers, 2 x Machinegun Sections

This is my computer. There are many like it but this one is mine. My computer is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my computer is useless. Without my computer I am useless.
:)

Glorious March to Victory Post #13 - "The Song of Small German Town 1980"
So on the very next turn Bil has offered ceasefire...we have playing together for a long time.  We have decided to do the final debrief at the same time, so I will wait for Bil to catch up a bit.
But I could not leave the second to last turn hanging because it represents this battle so well:
You remember the stand off on the Red Knoll at the end of turn 31...well here is how it played out:

My T62 got off the first shot and it was a killer (note the now-deaf-est Soviet Pl HQ in the ETO circled)
Then this happens:

Seriously, this is like the freakin ending of Reservoir Dogs at this point.  BTW I found out later, that M60 is immobilized by my heroic second squad.
So here we are at what is essentially End Game:

I will leave you to speculate as where things landed....
I can tell you that the fight over this non-descript little town in West Germany created so many pixel heroes in less than an hour.  I hope you have enjoyed it a fraction of as much as it was to play.
 

The Twenty-Fifth - Thirtieth Minutes - The Wheels Come Off
“Be the hunter not the hunted: never allow your unit to be caught with its guard down.”
James Mattis
 
My AH-1 has been flying overhead for several turns now, and as far as I know this BMP is its only kill.  But in its defense it was being chased by AA missiles for most of the time it hung around and did lose it's mate so I'm lucky it made even this kill.

 
After that the wheels started to come off....
...one of my M-150s exchanged ATGMs with one of Warren's BMPs...


...both missiles passed each other on flight... the M-150's hitting a tree... sigh...

...of course Warren's didn't miss.  Damn!

One of Warren's T-64Bs... (in fact one that had been beaten up, in what seems like another life now, by my 1st Platoon tanks) fired and destroyed one of my M-60s still sitting on the Short Route... damn.  That means 2nd Platoon has now lost three of four tanks. Triple damn.

 
Now with Tank Section 2 joining in on the fun I order all four 1st Platoon tanks back into the breach!

Tank 1/9 had it's career cut short when it exchanged rounds with a T-62... 1/9 fired first, however... it missed.. the T-62 did not.

Uh-oh... have I pushed too far?
 
Third Platoon's tanks have also started moving down the highway... 

An update on our friend the PT-76 since the last post. The game continues to be massaged. They've abandoned the rather absurd huge roof hatch  for 'open up' command in favor of the more reasonable (but more rarely photographed) small commander's hatch.
 
 

An AA gun in a foxhole? That's new to me! Your opponent is in it to win it baby!!!
But seriously that map looks like a total knife fight. If I was to avoid it I would strike Charlie with TF 2+3. TF1 would secure that nasty SW-facing alley. Proceed to flank and destroy. Without knowing the topography of course.
Great title btw, I had a total blast.

PRELUDE: A Retrospective

This was our Battalion's first battle against the Hun, in Italy. It has been a rude awakening, and lessons were learned the hard way.
 

After a heavy bombardment, Jerry pulled back from his defensive line. Little did we know about their well-prepared fallback positions.
 

Their guns are well positioned, camouflaged and fortified. They make mincemeat out of infantry, and seriously crippled a couple of Shermans.
 

We tried to advance quickly, to avoid being bled dry in kill-zones. The Hun made great use of automatic weapons and hand-held anti-tank launchers.
 

We decided to take it slow, to conserve our forces. If this deadly maze is a sign of things to come -- we will need them for taking Celleno.
 

First, we take our time probing their positions. Second, we slowly surround them. Third, we pound them into submission.
 

Fourth, Jerry counter-attacks with tanks. This caught us off-guard -- we can expect armoured counter-attacks, going forward.

Nice!  End of that first post, can't quite figure out what that tanker is doing with his gun. Where's a 400 year dead Roundhead's picture-captioning contest when you need one?

Good screenshots!

PRELUDE: A Retrospective

This was our Battalion's first battle against the Hun, in Italy. It has been a rude awakening, and lessons were learned the hard way.
 

After a heavy bombardment, Jerry pulled back from his defensive line. Little did we know about their well-prepared fallback positions.
 

Their guns are well positioned, camouflaged and fortified. They make mincemeat out of infantry, and seriously crippled a couple of Shermans.
 

We tried to advance quickly, to avoid being bled dry in kill-zones. The Hun made great use of automatic weapons and hand-held anti-tank launchers.
 

We decided to take it slow, to conserve our forces. If this deadly maze is a sign of things to come -- we will need them for taking Celleno.
 

First, we take our time probing their positions. Second, we slowly surround them. Third, we pound them into submission.
 

Fourth, Jerry counter-attacks with tanks. This caught us off-guard -- we can expect armoured counter-attacks, going forward.

PRELUDE: A Retrospective

This was our Battalion's first battle against the Hun, in Italy. It has been a rude awakening, and lessons were learned the hard way.
 

After a heavy bombardment, Jerry pulled back from his defensive line. Little did we know about their well-prepared fallback positions.
 

Their guns are well positioned, camouflaged and fortified. They make mincemeat out of infantry, and seriously crippled a couple of Shermans.
 

We tried to advance quickly, to avoid being bled dry in kill-zones. The Hun made great use of automatic weapons and hand-held anti-tank launchers.
 

We decided to take it slow, to conserve our forces. If this deadly maze is a sign of things to come -- we will need them for taking Celleno.
 

First, we take our time probing their positions. Second, we slowly surround them. Third, we pound them into submission.
 

Fourth, Jerry counter-attacks with tanks. This caught us off-guard -- we can expect armoured counter-attacks, going forward.

Celleno: The Final Battle

 
The Mission

Before us, lies the hill-top fortress of Celleno. This is the final objective of our campaign, and it looks to be the toughest one, yet. We did our best to conserve our fuel, ammo and manpower for this battle. We are ahead of the recce, and nearly blind. Now, night approaches and we must begin the assault.
 
The Plan

Phase 1: Establish observation points and direct the initial bombardment.
Phase 2: Occupy the heights and establish a base of fire.
Phase 3: Begin the combined assault on ALPHA.
Phase 4: Mop up BRAVO and CHARLIE.
 
The Forces

Task Force 1 (Armoured): C Squadron (Major Chetty)
Task Force 2 (Infantry): B Company (Major Jansen)
Task Force 3 (Infantry): C Company (Major Ntsimango)
Supports: 2 x Recce Troops, 2 x Forward Observers, 2 x Machinegun Sections

PRELUDE: A Retrospective

This was our Battalion's first battle against the Hun, in Italy. It has been a rude awakening, and lessons were learned the hard way.
 

After a heavy bombardment, Jerry pulled back from his defensive line. Little did we know about their well-prepared fallback positions.
 

Their guns are well positioned, camouflaged and fortified. They make mincemeat out of infantry, and seriously crippled a couple of Shermans.
 

We tried to advance quickly, to avoid being bled dry in kill-zones. The Hun made great use of automatic weapons and hand-held anti-tank launchers.
 

We decided to take it slow, to conserve our forces. If this deadly maze is a sign of things to come -- we will need them for taking Celleno.
 

First, we take our time probing their positions. Second, we slowly surround them. Third, we pound them into submission.
 

Fourth, Jerry counter-attacks with tanks. This caught us off-guard -- we can expect armoured counter-attacks, going forward.

PRELUDE: A Retrospective

This was our Battalion's first battle against the Hun, in Italy. It has been a rude awakening, and lessons were learned the hard way.
 

After a heavy bombardment, Jerry pulled back from his defensive line. Little did we know about their well-prepared fallback positions.
 

Their guns are well positioned, camouflaged and fortified. They make mincemeat out of infantry, and seriously crippled a couple of Shermans.
 

We tried to advance quickly, to avoid being bled dry in kill-zones. The Hun made great use of automatic weapons and hand-held anti-tank launchers.
 

We decided to take it slow, to conserve our forces. If this deadly maze is a sign of things to come -- we will need them for taking Celleno.
 

First, we take our time probing their positions. Second, we slowly surround them. Third, we pound them into submission.
 

Fourth, Jerry counter-attacks with tanks. This caught us off-guard -- we can expect armoured counter-attacks, going forward.

The first battle was a probing attack on a Soviet Company.

The Mujahideen scouted and inflicted one casualty onto the enemy then disengaged.

At the end of the day, I'd rather be in a Sherman, on the fields of Europe. They were made in better staffed, equipped, and stocked factories, which were safe from occupation and bombing. US and Canada had the luxury of time for quality control in both design and production.
US and Canada had ocean travel to consider. When shipping costs are paid in blood, tanks couldn't constantly be replaced. That's why the M3 and Ram were produced, before the M4. Knowing that a large batch of early production vehicles guaranteed trouble.
What if I'm in Stalingrad, though? I don't have aircraft engines, radios or the luxury of time. I don't have tankers -- only tractor drivers. I face better led, trained and equipped infantry and pioneers, in a tight urban setting. I don't need a Sherman, I need a T-34 -- a couple of mortars and a howitzer!

At the end of the day, I'd rather be in a Sherman, on the fields of Europe. They were made in better staffed, equipped, and stocked factories, which were safe from occupation and bombing. US and Canada had the luxury of time for quality control in both design and production.
US and Canada had ocean travel to consider. When shipping costs are paid in blood, tanks couldn't constantly be replaced. That's why the M3 and Ram were produced, before the M4. Knowing that a large batch of early production vehicles guaranteed trouble.
What if I'm in Stalingrad, though? I don't have aircraft engines, radios or the luxury of time. I don't have tankers -- only tractor drivers. I face better led, trained and equipped infantry and pioneers, in a tight urban setting. I don't need a Sherman, I need a T-34 -- a couple of mortars and a howitzer!

At the end of the day, I'd rather be in a Sherman, on the fields of Europe. They were made in better staffed, equipped, and stocked factories, which were safe from occupation and bombing. US and Canada had the luxury of time for quality control in both design and production.
US and Canada had ocean travel to consider. When shipping costs are paid in blood, tanks couldn't constantly be replaced. That's why the M3 and Ram were produced, before the M4. Knowing that a large batch of early production vehicles guaranteed trouble.
What if I'm in Stalingrad, though? I don't have aircraft engines, radios or the luxury of time. I don't have tankers -- only tractor drivers. I face better led, trained and equipped infantry and pioneers, in a tight urban setting. I don't need a Sherman, I need a T-34 -- a couple of mortars and a howitzer!

You bunch of slackers got nothing better to do? I got chores to hand out for some CMRT MODs.
YOU! Mod me a Romanian tank!
YOU! Record some George Enescu and save in 1411 bps for "music end of battle". 
YOU! Make some coffee, this is an all nighter. The wife is out of town....er..add a shot of Jameson. Thanks.

YEEEEEE boiii could use something spicy for my TOEs

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a fun glimpse of how the sausage gets made. An early shot of the M48 Chaparral AA vehicle model with the official US MERDC camou pattern overlaying it. Adventures in vehicle texturing.