BigDork Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 May have had to reload as well, I have seen them on occassion pull a pistol and I expect that is why. Guess they have a moment there where the choice is to reload under fire with the enemy too close or to try and fire back with whatever is available. Your lucky with all the talk of pistols and accuracy he didn't gun down your entire force. That makes sense. I started to get nervous the German was going to do just that! My men have the worst accuracy. The German had time to turn the gun around, hit the ground, sit up, pull out his rifle, and start firing. The whole time my men were shooting and missing. With luck like that I expected to start seeing my men get taken out one by one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 TURN 27 - 31 Things continue to go slowly over the next few minutes as we both take a break to recover and prepare for the next phase of the battle. That's not to say that there are no casualties. There are still a few stragglers on the hill and my men pay for each German I eliminate. Thirst minutes into the battle and my men are closing in on the crossroads. I have seen no German infantry activity nor has the Marder made an appearance in several minutes. I am positive that Tiresias has an ambush or two prepared for me though. It is going to be costly to take the village. On the hill my men continue to catch their breath. I'm toying with the idea of waiting until after the road junction is secured before moving on the windmills. If I do that I can close in on the final objective from two fronts and put the remaining Germans at a disadvantage. In preparation for my assault on the village I order one of my 81mm mortars to drop some HE on the objective. I'm unsure if it did any damage or caused any casualties but I'm hoping for a psychological effect on Tiresias. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 TURN 32 With men moved into place I decided it was time to push forward and start scouting the village. Unfortunately for the team I sent in, the Germans were waiting and not where I expected them to be. The first indication that there were Germans around was an incoming potato masher. My men were bunched up and the sudden appearance of the Nazi grenade was unexpected. The results were tragic. 4 out of 5 men in the team were killed or wounded. One of my infantry teams was able spot the offending Germans. Too late to save my initial team but at least I know where the grenade came from and can deal with them. After only a few seconds of being under fire from my men the Germans are spotted by one of my squads on the hill fleeing from the backdoor of the building. That's four less Germans defending the crossroads. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baneman Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Love the guy with the binoculars - totally unfazed, "It's just a scratch"... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 He's really investigating that wall. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baneman Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Farmer's daughter removing her top in 3 .. 2 .. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 TURN 33 The fleeing Germans don't get far before my men start dropping them. For once the Americans fire accurately and Tiresias' men pay for it. The surviving Germans make it only another 20 meters before another one is taken out. While I am still upset about losing my scouting team I do feel a bit better about killing several of the Germans who were responsible. Along the way to the village the B. Company commander scrounged up a bazooka and one round for it. Needing to get rid of the Marder I ordered the captain to hunt forward looking for the German AFV. I'm not hopeful that he'll actually be able to take the Marder out but it is definitely worth a shot. Officers need to leave the hard work for the grunts. I couldn't fault his courage for trying to take out the Marder but the captain clearly had little experience firing a bazooka. The shell goes high over the AFV. Thankfully though the Marder doesn't spot the captain and I am able to give him orders to flee to a safer position. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 BigDork, Attacking uphill is never easy, as you yourself observed in this marvelous Freudian slip: "Thirst minutes into the battle..." Your captain clearly forgot marksmanship 101, since he yanked the trigger, clearly evidenced by the round's subsequent flight path. That Marder's awfully close! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlackHand Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I have a different question. I just send a QB to Eltorrente. The map looks almost EXACTLY like this one. I thought the QB maps were built randomly for each battle. Is that correct, or are they stock? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkerner Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 They are stock. They are all in the QB folder, The BlackHand. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlackHand Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Aha. I thought so. Gonna have to ask my oppo if he still wants to play it. Seems like this entire thread is a big map preview! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 That Marder's awfully close! Not quite as close as the screenshot makes it look. I'd say the Marder was about 90 meters away. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Big Dork, So the brass went medal hunting, eh? Nice little episode with the bazooka attack. These little individual actions of the pixel troops are what really gives a special flair to the struggle. I love the details. Your screen shots had us right alongside the Captain as he lined up his shot at glory....and boffed it. He'll have to scrounge up more rockets, it would seem. Really cool action. Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 Big Dork, So the brass went medal hunting, eh? Nice little episode with the bazooka attack. These little individual actions of the pixel troops are what really gives a special flair to the struggle. I love the details. Your screen shots had us right alongside the Captain as he lined up his shot at glory....and boffed it. He'll have to scrounge up more rockets, it would seem. Really cool action. Heinrich505 Thanks Heinrich, glad you're enjoying following along. I was surprised when I saw the CO running around with the bazooka. I had sent him off earlier in the battle to give buddy care to the WIAs and he must have grabbed the bazooka then. Unfortunately it was the only one my guys brought to the fight and from what I can tell there are no more rockets to be had. I'm going to have to figure out some other way to get rid of that darned Marder. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpella72 Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Great! I love AAR but I have no idea how to make it.I'm playing CMBN but I prefer the terrain from CMFI,probably because it's quite similar to the one at home.I'm from Spain,Catalonia,and I'm living in the Mediterranian area.I'm thinking in posting some pictures of the real terrain where the Battle of Ebro(in the Spanish Civil War)took place.It's very close from where I'm living. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 TURN 34 & 35 The 34th minute of battle is a quiet one. The last of the fleeing Germans from the ambush on my scout team manages to get away behind the safety of a stone wall. On the hill I send a squad forward slowly, hoping to make contact with wherever Tiresias has decided to make his final stand. The only other activity is the Marder moving south to the village and possibly putting some of my advancing infantry in danger. I was correct in surmising that the Marder would prove dangerous. As I tried to hurry my infantry away from the Marder it manages to take out the CO for 3rd platoon. I had hoped that the Marder was out of HE and that is why Tiresias was hiding it in the back of the village. Apparently I was incorrect in that assumption. 3rd platoon suffered a pretty big setback with the loss of their lieutenant. Suddenly that entire platoon became that much more fragile and at a time I cannot afford them to not be in top fighting shape. I am putting the pieces in place for them to assault the crossroads and seize it from the Germans. A huge positive of Tiresias moving the Marder where he did was it came in LOS of one of my 81mm mortars. Right after the AFV took out the 3rd platoon CO it came under sustained mortar fire. While there wasn't a direct hit several landed very close and I am pretty sure I heard at least on German scream out in pain. It is quite possible I will be able to finally get rid of the Marder in the next turn. I certainly hope so since I have ordered my Priest to move forward in order to provide fire support for my infantry taking the road junction. Tiresias is off traveling for work and pleasure for a bit over a week. We'll pick things up when he gets back. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 Tiresias is back!!! TURN 36 My 81mm mortar team continues to lob round after round at the Marder. Even after the German AFV is hidden in a cloud of dust and smoke they relentlessly fire on hoping for the killing blow... and then it comes. Suddenly a different sort of explosion is heard along with the mechanical death rattle of the Marder. After a couple more mortars for good measure my crew stops firing. As the smoke and dust clear the surviving two German crew men are spotted around their now useless vehicle. Unfortunately I have few infantry near them and they are able to run off out of sight and escape. With the Marder gone my Priest is now relatively free to roam the map. I have to be careful for the odd rifle grenade but other than that I should be safe. Oh, and mortars but I'm not too concerned there. The bigger enemy to me now than even the German infantry is the lack of ammo. I'm about to start pushing the final confrontations in this battle and I'm doing it with dangerously low levels of ammo for my men. With the Marder taken out I'm read to take the crossroads. I would have loved to order my men to put some suppressing fire on the objective buildings and storm it but I don't have the ammunition for it. Instead I order a smoke screen and will storm them. It's going to cost me some men but I feel like it's that or I wait for the Priest to level the buildings. That's perhaps the better idea honestly but I want to save my Priest and it's HE for the windmills if possible. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 TURN 37 The next minute is a quiet one. My men don't make any contact with the Germans. On the hill I am slowly moving forward but also giving my men a rest while I finish up the fight down in the village. Things go a bit wrong at the crossroads when an incoming smoke round lands too close to one of my units, causing a casualty. At the end of the minute the smokescreen is formed and my men are given orders to push in to the last couple buildings. I'm hoping that I'm doing all this prep for nothing and that the Germans have bugged out but I'm certain that won't be the case. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 BigDork, Turn 37 proves yet again "Friendly fire isn't." Were that WP (might be non WP smoke) operating as I'd expect it to, having only one man hit would be a blessing. You must have excellent hearing to catch the death rattle of this http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marder on the heels of all those 81mm mortar detonations! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 TURN 38 Here is an overhead look at the battle at the end of turn 38. The road junction is almost firmly under my control I have one building left to search but I don't believe I will find any Germans. From what I can tell Tiresias has pulled out. With the village cleared I will be able to bring my Priest (red circle) around, allowing it to have a clear line of sight on much of the remaining German held ground near the windmills. Once my Priest is in position and ready to provide some serious HE support I will order my platoon (orange circle) to come over to the other side of the hill and start circling around towards the windmills. If any Germans do reveal themselves and start firing they should quickly be neutralized by the Priest. My other platoon (yellow circle) is going to sit tight until after the other platoon has done a sweep and moved in towards the windmills. I have also ordered two off-board 81mm mortars to barrage the top of the hill in preparation for my final assault. On the left of this picture is a HQ unit I have scouting around to the back side of the windmills. Their job is to slowly move forward and if they come on fire I will have them hug the ground and call in some mortars on the Germans firing on them. The momentum is in my favor and we're nearing the end of this battle. Unless Tiresias has some big surprise waiting for me near the windmills I think this battle should be wrapped up in the next 10 minutes or so. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 BigDork, Turn 37 proves yet again "Friendly fire isn't." Were that WP (might be non WP smoke) operating as I'd expect it to, having only one man hit would be a blessing. You must have excellent hearing to catch the death rattle of this http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marder on the heels of all those 81mm mortar detonations! Regards, John Kettler Considering that there were several more smoke round behind that first one I'm lucky anyone survived. Thankfully they were just around that wall and it made all the difference. I find that little furry critter far cuter than the Marder I just took care of. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 TURN 39-43 My caution in clearing the village proves to be unnecessary. Tiresias pulled all his men out at some point and left it empty. Not only do I feel like I wasted time but also I keep thinking about the friendly fire casualty that I suffered when I called in smoke. Such a waste of life. As my men start to move out from the crossroads and look towards the windmills we've spotted a few German stragglers attempting to go unnoticed amongst the brush and weeds. The AFV crew proves to be resilient and guns down a couple of my men before they are stopped. This sole survivor of his infantry squad had fought enough today and instead of shooting it out with my men attempts to run for the safety of the windmills. He gets a bullet in the back for his troubles. With the village cleared of Germans I feel safe bringing my Priest around and have it begin to soften things up a bit for my approaching infantry. I feel a little guilt with destroying some poor Italian farmer's windmills but if it means more of my men can live I think it's a good trade off for the Americans. I've also had a spotting round land in between the windmills and that barrage is imminent. Tiresias is quickly running out of time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 BigDork, In light (bit of a grisly pun) of what happened with that smoke round, I believe you'll find WO 291/150, WP as an anti-personnel weapon, of interest. Page 8 at the link. http://mr-home.staff.shef.ac.uk/hobbies/ww2eff2.pdf Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 BD, The Priest rules! Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 BigDork, In light (bit of a grisly pun) of what happened with that smoke round, I believe you'll find WO 291/150, WP as an anti-personnel weapon, of interest. Page 8 at the link. http://mr-home.staff.shef.ac.uk/hobbies/ww2eff2.pdf Regards, John Kettler You're right John, I did find that interesting. I never considered that smoke rounds could be so harmful before but it does make sense. I'll definitely keep this info in mind if I decide to drop smoke in or near my men from now on. BD, The Priest rules! Heinrich505 It truly does. With around 50 HE rounds the thing is a killer. Of course it's also fragile and has to be babied. Even though I've cleared the village I still have this random fear that Tiresias has a German or two hidden away somewhere and suddenly grenades are going to start falling all around my M7. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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