Centurian52

It's possible the name gives a hint as to the vest's purpose.  

Hi,
A few folks were asking for this. I have the 2004  annual "Military Balance" periodical by the Institute of Strategic Study. It lists the Syrian Armed Forces as consisting of the following in 2004:
 
Army c. 280,000
 
3 Corps HQ
7 Armored divisions (3 armored, 1 mech brigade, 1 artillery regiment each).
3 Mech divisions (2 armored, 2 mech brigades, 1 artillery regiment each).
1 Republican Guard division, ( 3 armored, 1 mech brigade, 1 artillery regiment).
1 Special Forces division (3 SF regiments.)
4 independent infantry brigades.
1 Border Guard brigade.
2 independent artillery brigades.
2 independent anti-tank brigades.
10 independent Special Forces regiments.
3 surface to surface to service missile brigades each of 3 battalions.
1 coastal surface to surface missile brigade.
 
Reserves
1 Armored division HQ
4 Armored brigades.
2 Armored regiments.
31 infantry regiments.
3 artillery regiments.
 
Navy c. 4000
 
2 Petya III class fast frigates.
18 patrol and coastal craft.
 
Air Force c. 40,000
 
Fighter/Ground Attack
5 Sqds with 50 Su-22s
2 Sqds with 60 MiG 23s
2 Sqds with 20 Su-24s
 
Fighter
8 Sqds with 160 MiG 21
5 Sqds with 60 MiG 23
2 Sqds with 30 MiG 25
1 Sqd with 42 MiG 29
8 Su 27 reported
 
Recce Aircraft
5 MiG 25
40 MiG 21
 
Attack Helicopter
36 Mi 25 and SA 342 L
 
Air Defense Command c. 60,000
2 AD divisions, 25 AD brigades with c. 150 SAM batteries, 23mm, 130 mm.
c. 472 SA-2/-3 , 100 SA-6, and 4000 AD artillery pieces.
2 SAM regiments with c. 48 SA-5.
Actually the map that came with the physical copies of Shock Force  reflects the OOB above pretty well.
 
 
I have more detail but it's mostly derived from research forum member SDP compiled for the meta campaign he was going to run back in 2010. He came up with a quite detailed Order of Battle which I discovered I still have on my harddrive. Some of it is fictional but he identifies what's fictional and what's not in his document. If you are interested in the document, I don't think he would mind me sharing it. Just send me a pm. SDP if you are still around and would rather I not share your OOB please let me know.
 
 
 

I'm thinkin either tomorrow or sometime next week. Most likely next week though, as a general rule launching software on a friday is a no go.

Friday, April 30th 23:59 GMT-12

Norway.  They would be joined by UK and French commandos and para.  Now, THAT would make for an excellent expansion for CMCW.  (hint, hint)

Glorious March to Victory, Final Post - "Like Tears in Rain"
Well big thank you to all who watched.  I figure I should stop leaving you all hanging, so we cease fired on the last turn (33 I believe).  Now take the end-screen with a grain of salt:

So first off there was a dumb double-accounting error for the Soviet side.  Basically the parameters were:
En Cas 50% = 50 VPs
En Condition 50% = 50 VPs
Dollbach Village = 100 VPs.
The error was the Soviets had another 100 VPs for having fewer than/better than 50% cas/cond, so I subtracted that because if we had paid attention Bil was above 50% too.  So the score was really 100 because I held the town.  (Note, also a small error in that his M150s were counted as tanks...a bug we noted for fixing)
The outstanding question is "could Bil have reduced me to 50% without going there himself"...that one is tougher.   So for Soviets:
215 men: lost 71 = 33%
17 Tanks: lost 10 = 58%
17 AFVs: lost 9 = 53%
For the US:
138 men: lost 56 = 40.5%
12 Tanks: lost 6 = 50%
17 AFVs (also counting his mortar carriers): Lost 6 = 35%
So this was by no stretch a "Total Victory", that was straight up on us for not checking the victory parameters.  I hold the village but given the drubbing I received in taking it, I am not sure I can put a statue up in Red Square for this either.  Add to this the fact I started with a lot more men and tanks, it starts to push the whole thing into Draw territory to my mind.  
Now Bil had much better arty, had air (I had none) and EW which made my arty next to useless without TRPs (which I did not have) so there is that.  And my starting position was not the best but it is a poor craftsman that blames the workbench.  
I will let you all judge for yourselves.  Regardless, was a helluva fight, the kind that comes around only every so often,  and we are all working to get you guys a chance at it yourselves soon enough.
 

I was a very militant communist during the late 70s-early 80s when I was young and thought I could change the world, but that is another story.
Most young "communists" back then were actually Marxists who thought of the Soviet Union as being only slightly better than the USA. Most Marxists believed the type of state controlled economy in the USSR set up under Lenin and Stalin had little to do with Marx's original concept and was just a different style of imperialism and capitalism with a governing class made up of top Party bureaucrats. The left-wing political filmmaker Costa Gravas released "The Confession" in the early 70s which was a powerful indictment against the Stalinist show trials in Czechoslovakia in the early 50s which had a big impact on many of us back then.
The point is that it is extremely doubtful any of the Euro communists who were actually more social-democrats than real hardline communists would have seen a Soviet invasion as a "liberation". They would actually be more likely to want to defend western democracy which despite all its flaws is still better than Soviet style "People's Democracy".

Knock them all down is the beginning of the Aachen Campaign in FB and a few doors don't work. 'Knock them all down was the solution.'

Thank you all sincerely and you are very welcome.  I am very glad people got enjoyment out of this. 
Once the game is released I will post the scenario so you guys can take a run at your own stories (someone remind me if I forget).
We will do up a final post-game once Bil finishes up his final turns.  I see many congrats at "my victory", I am kinda split here because 1) Of course the glorious forces of the Soviet Union were victorious in crushing the corrupt capitalists, but 2) in reality...when the commissar is not looking, this was pretty much a Draw in my books.   You guys can be the judge when the numbers go up but neither side is doing much with what is left on the board, Soviets do hold the objective but we failed to achieve any real breakout, breakthroughs or overwhelm the US forces.  The only good news is that there is probably another dozen Soviet outfits like the one I just lost behind me.  
But does winning or losing really matter (*duh, of course it does, it is why they keep score*)?  A game well played between two old friends as we enter our autumn years (Bil is on the doorstep of winter) is the best reward in itself. 
 
 

Glorious March to Victory Post #12 - "We Try Harder" (25-31)
So based on observation, I am seeing quite a few "likes" (thank you btw) but few comments, which tells me that I am probably telling you all something that Bil has already posted.  So for fear of getting left behind in the narrative I am just going to pull you all the way to where we are as of today.
I want to say up front that no matter how this ends, this is a really good game.  This is one for the books.  You can tell when everything feels so finely balanced and you and your opponent are fencing on a tightrope.  every PBEM turn gets the heartrate up!  
When I left you things were not looking so good for the brave soldiers of the Soviet Union.  But like the superior communist system, Soviets know how and when to pick themselves up and get back to it.

So not much but re-positioning in Turn 25 as I scramble to re-establish a parameter up on the ridge, Bil pulled back so that all proceeds.  The only interesting thing happens here near the end of the turn.  Looky here comrade the corrupt capitalist system thinks that they are so clever...looks like Bil is taking the deep left option after all.

The next turn I immediately start repositioning my remaining T64 on the left in order to form a blocking position on my left (that poor BMP got nailed by a second Cobra before I scared it off).  Bil could try and hide in the that wood line but we are past that now, he is going to try and roll me up (more on my logic later).  Meanwhile back on what is now called Red Knoll:

My intent here is to establish a hard point and pull Bils forces in, this time however, I am pushing infantry up front.  Note that an ATGM duel is forming up with that M150 and a BMP on the right here.

Which we win.  That should be about 4 out of 6 M150s killed.  Another sign of a really good game is the emergence of all the micro-dramas.  Here there are literally a hundred small stories all unfolding simultaneously, here is one:

So that brave little infantry squad breaks out of that tree line and sees a M60 monster...do they run and hide...nope they open up like it is the last thing they will ever do (and literally is).  Those are both the RPG 18 and RPG 7 firing simultaneously right at the turns end.  Finally on back on the Hwy:

So yep, pretty much as I expected this is an attempted roll up...oh Bil, you tired foolish old man, did you think I would leave the door open?  So here I am re-positioning another T64 and BMP to bottle up that Hwy ploy.  Onto Turn 28 and things start to turn:

My brave little squad misses, and then die in a hail of glory but they spook the crap out of those M60s, who promptly back off buying time for my T62s.  You can see here another T62 I snuck up from the village in the woods, so I have got a pretty good bead on this.

Meanwhile back on the Hwy, Bil's M60 here get spooked by a lone Recon Pl HQ and I start hunting that T64 forward.  I am starting to feel a bit like we are getting back up and then this happens:

Back in the center, Bil still has some armor with eyes on the objective (note: he is still pounding that nearly-empty suburb like it slept with his wife).  My poor immobilized T64 nails this M60 in a single blistering 125mm of bad-love.
Onto Turn 29.

 So on this turn is a positioning turn on the Red Knoll and Hwy, Bill has brought up at least one M60 to reinforce up here, so a lot of micro-drama potential.  And on the other side:

The bottleneck force is shaping up nicely..so the stage is set for another showdown.  
Turn 30 and things start to click:

It starts with this showdown at near-point-blank range.  The M60 fires first but (I like to think my little infantry squad (now all heroes of the Soviet Union) killed the crew commander and rattled that tank so badly that..) it misses.  My T62 does not, because cold steel runs in Soviet veins

Ok, now this is a Balls Game!  Back in the center:
 
DPICM, the last refuge of the desperate (seriously I think we may have overloaded on arty, and of course EW makes most of mine near useless).  But again Bil doubles down on that lone squad and MG team (who have taken a single casualty after all this)  A hint for anyone who plays Bil...he has problems with artillery.
But all is not good news:

This one hurt but it is a straight up "war happens moment so deal with it".  I start to push that T64 up a bit to try and snipe that M60 and he gets killed...gotta admit that one hurt.
Turn 31 and we are nearly caught up.

So up on the Red Knoll, Bil is stubbornly pushing with his 3 M60s (counting the dead one, that is a full third of his armor)  A second squad wins the Hero of the Soviet Union here by fearlessly opening up on two M60s and here they get an RPG 7 off before also being chopped up.

Which hits but I have no sight on the tank so I can only hope it at least rattled them up a bit.  The back on the Hwy:

My other T64, cooly drops that M60 like first period French (swear to god if I had all T64s this game would be over by now).  Back on Red Knoll the turn ends with this: 
Both barrels are lined up and loaded.  This screenshot pretty much captures this entire freakin game!
Ok, my assessment with 9 mins left on the clock.  So, Bil is seriously considering ceasefire right now cause even int guys can do math.  My force on the objective is still very solid with the better part of an infantry Coy and 2 x T62s (I sent the other one back), so the odds of him taking it (which were never great given his force) are low.  He could try a gamey sneak in the last minute of the game but I doubt it.  
So his problem here is one of points.  The US get points for cutting me down past 50% but they need to keep their own force above 50% and based on losses so far he has to be concerned about that buffer.  I am definitely closer (I may be below 50% right now) but even-losses at this point would be fatal to the US side.  And in the last 4 minutes I have lost a single T64 and BMP to at least 3 x M60s and an M150.   By my math Bils armor is precariously down to 50% (and I suspect at least one tank is gun-killed)...and I still have a lot of those nasty BMPs on the board who can all kill Bil's...well, anything.  
Regardless, even if we ended it now, I think this game is a Draw (at least right now).  In reality both forces are at a standstill (even if the US side has not realized it yet) in what has been a see-saw battle that has left me with scars and some therapy requirements.  The Blood-Red Dice still will roll, so we will see.
Capt's AAR Battle Theme Song
 

I was up too late last night and it wasn't the only night that I almost woke up my wife because I busted out laughing a few times at The_Capt's banter.

As soon as this thing drops, I'll be doing an AAR.  Of course, it takes me a solid 2-3 weeks to get it played, recorded, edited et al.
My money is on Hapless being first out of the gate with a YouTube vid.

A video AAR of this match would be epic. This would probable require giving the save files and beta access to some content creator like @Hapless
@Battlefront.com , @BFCElvis would this be possible? Would be great marketing! 

They definitely should.
This game needs to be marketed as a multiplayer sandbox with a solid historical foundation. If BFC can keep pushing successful titles like this on big platforms that get a lot of attention they will quickly become the staple of wargaming. That is ONLY if they are able to get a dedicated lobby browser going to make joining MP games as simple as possible. Even if it's a little ghetto. Something like AOE2's lobby browser. Simple and clean. You would have to allow file transfers between players somehow (having a small dedicated server for this?). Obviously these games are the ****!!

I check back after a couple days and there are six full additional minutes of battle. You spoil us sir!