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ALLIED - CMBN-Market Garden - BETA AAR (the better beta beater reader)


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This thread has been a true inspiration. I will devote my life to the pursuit of a sacred objective: talking two young, beautiful and naked women into playing hotseat against each other while I watch.

So you prefer multiplayer ;)

I have confirmed (from unnamed sources) there is hidden treasure in the windmill! Who will find it 1st? ...cue the "Sharks" soundtrack... Forward Boys!

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So you prefer multiplayer ;)

I have confirmed (from unnamed sources) there is hidden treasure in the windmill! Who will find it 1st? ...cue the "Sharks" soundtrack... Forward Boys!

My first girlfriend was bi. :D

Now, back to the AAR. My theory is that first contact has been made but there is so much lead in the air, stilettos doing their thing and screaming pixeltruppen that the turn calculation is taking several days. Poor blue bar, feeling sorry for him. The Valkyrie watches the field of slaughter and smiles.

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A few points of order...in no particular order:

Would have been interesting screenshot: C3k's wife's first look at CM battlefield.

That would've been her first look at a CM battlefield...without the back of my head in her way.

Stens to rifles: each squad (section) has a mix; it is biased towards Stens. Some squads have Piats, some 2" mortars. All have a Bren or two and a few rifles. When I can, I'll post a pic or two. But, yeah, these guys will be fearsome in a city fight. For a few turns. Ammo doesn't last long when everyone is spraying bullets about.

The comment about hearing firing: I asked her a simple, direct question, with one or two followups. "Is that just background shooting, or is it troops in contact? Do you see my guys shooting, or has Bil's undisciplined mob opened fire too soon and revealed their positions? Is it the distant crump of an off-target 81mm mortar, or the hard crack of a German 75? If so, based on the burster charge, was it an L48 or L70 weapon? Do you hear any 7.92mm Kurz being fired?"

Her answer: "Whatever. I'm going to get some more wine."

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c3k

Having just stumbled in from working the 12 hour nightshift, I was admittedly a bit punchy, from lack of sleep. I had been away from The Forum for several days and stumbled on this thread. Great joy!!! Your AARs are works of art. Your first post was…amazing…and I quote:

“….My approach will be the opposite. In fact, rather than counting bullets and examining shoulder patches to gather intelligence, I will fight with no intelligence at all!”

From then on it was most difficult to keep track of what I was reading, as I had to keep getting up from the floor after falling from my chair from uncontrollable laughter.

In fact, I have been convulsed with laughter all through the inclusion of your wife running the turn for you….to take a line from Benny Hill, “Oh Johnny, I think I’ve hurt myself…”

Heinrich505

Written on a laptop in the back of one of those funny white ambulances…note to self, very hard to type while wearing these very long-sleeved canvas sweaters that fasten in the back…calls to attendant…”I am too Napoleon Bonaparte IV…and they’re coming to take me away ha ha….”

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I haven't "walked" this map, it looks odd for a ME. It looks more like an attack/defend, but the defender needs to move a little to set up for defense perhaps more in Bil’s favor as I see no objectives closer to the allied side.

Should be an interesting fight to follow. Remember Ken, when in doubt ATTACK! ATTACK!, and then ATTACK! (While listening to a little Wagner of course. I hear it scares the hell out of the Gerries ;)

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"My first girlfriend was bi." I know ;)

"I will fight with no intelligence at all!” :D

“A man ought to do what he thinks is right” JW... Ken reminds me a lot of John Wayne. "Duke", 6 feet 4 inches, 220 pounds, a solid walk, physique was the quintessential cowboy... not to be confused with the Marlin 1894 Cowboy "357".. Ken has Stens :)

Ken's wife pioneering spirit ... "Whatever. I'm going to get some more wine." .. will whip Ken into shape if he strays from his AAR mission :)

I know mine does :D

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I have a day job. Something about keeping the lights on and food in the fridge.

You sissy! How can you think of eating at a time like this?!!! You should be attacking! Always attacking! As for lights, who needs them? You should inspire your soldiers with such a ferocious spirit that they can see in the dark!

Now get in there and blow something up!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael

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Thank you for the kind words. No, I do not include "sissy" amongst them! Unless you mean "sissi"? Grog check: if you're in the dark on that one, go back to facebook. Leave.

You've asked about Brits and Stens. Here's a screenie of a platoon:

xAirborneplatoon.jpg

Count 'em. Now count the ammo. Now take the cyclic rate, do some addition on denominator, work the numerator and tell us all how many seconds of trigger time do I get? But it will be GLORIOUS while it lasts!

It was a bit of surprise to me when I saw the lack of 2" high explosive rounds. Why did the MOD think smoke was the only reason to bring these things along? Sheesh. I'll use it.

Each section (why can't the Brits use normal terminology like the US?) has about a team's worth of long guns. The marksmen will help. One PIAT in a platoon is better than nothing. The Brens will provide the medium range firepower.

I've got 6 platoons like that.

I'm sure Bil has a spreadsheet or table or somesuch describing his forces. Bah. When my men gather around me for my pre-battle speeches, I see them as a GROUP, not as some line-item entry in a power point slide. Right, men?

Some more screenies, next.

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I made up with my wife (NO! I will not share the details), and told her what a good job she'd done. I told her I totally trusted her. We're a team. Then I snuck up and replayed the turn. Jeezus bloody hell!!! What did she mean "nothing happened"???

LOOK!

xturn2halftrack.jpg

Friggin' armor contacts skirting laterally across the front! I mean, what SANE woman would ignore that?

And my men did not react. Sigh. I'll correct her later, when the time is right.

So, at the end of the turn, we have the situation pictured below. Now, I'm not a professional intelligence officer, but I have learned a thing or two from reading Bil's AAR's. I decided to label each enemy contact to avoid confusion and aid discussion. Here they are:

xendturn002.jpg

"Zebra" is moving towards a clump of trees. Hungry?

"27" is a gamey town grab attempt. My pilots will be happy to meet and great them.

"Destiny" is a child of unknown parentage. Something lurks there...

Of prime importance, though, is the evident callous disregard so far shown by Bil vis a vis the windmill. Is this a trap? Does he know something about it that I don't? I'm willing to have my men die so I can find out.

Finally, and 2nd most importantly, to the left of the windmill, at the edge of the sand dunes, I have artistically crafted a blue "x". If you want to know why, you'll have to read the NEXT post!

Ken

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The still images do not do this map justice. The sand dunes have rises and depressions. (Seriously, the more I explore, the more I realize what a great job Jaws has done. Thank you.) I moved around and found this excellent hull-down position:

xturn001overwatch.jpg

This location offers a great overwatch position. I'm going to move some Cromwells there. Even if his halftrack gets away, it'll be cutoff. Lopped at the root. Without access to sustenance. They will wither on the vine. You get my drift.

There is a danger pushing into that position: the left flank is dangerously exposed. Whatever.

Look upstream at Zebra and 27. They look the same, no? No. Here's a closeup of Zebra:

xzebrazoom.jpg

That's an AA halftrack! Well, I'll see your rook's gambit with a rook's gambit of my own! More...

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Some tactical thinking: the two contacts are leaving from the same basic area. There's a third unknown contact (light armor) in that area. I will call that "Bil's Bastion". If that is where his forces have started, then that gives me some opportunity. It doesn't knock often.

His two halftracks (27 is a 251 filled with infantry) are probably a "quick grab" team. Pshaw. The rest of his forces should be near their at-start locations. I'll bombard them!!! (Kidding!)

If they're a quick-grab team, they'll be out in front of the rest of his forces, and vulnerable. Now, Bil cares about points. Game points. I care about style points. Why? Go ask some women what's more important: game or style? I rest my case. Anyhow, if he's sending some men into town, well, that could interfere with my pilots' plans. This does give me the opportunity to kill them. The Germans, not the pilots. The Cromwells will isolate that part of the battlefield. The pilots will rush forward a bit faster. B Coy is nearby (C is closer to the "Ardennes".) I will push B company towards the town, pilots leading, while C and the two cromwells at the blue x isolate the battlefield.

A company (-) of paratroopers and a platoon (err, "flight") of glider pilots should be able to take care of a squad of Germans. However, this is an AAR featuring new units. Therefore, in a rook's gambit of my own, I am rushing a Cromwell AA tank over there as well.

Not just rushing, but leading. Yes, AA tank out front. How gamey is that?

Here's the plan:

xPlanturn2.jpg

B Coy, pink, pushes toward the town, especially to cut it off from the rest of Bil's forces.

C Coy, the highlighted guys, need to fill out the Ardennes zone.

The blue x, two Cromwells, is exposed. C Coy with some attached A Coy firepower will have to hold the line where the sand dunes meet the grass toward's Bil's Bastion.

I'll probably pull the Cromwells back. Or not. It depends how quickly I can get there with how much support.

B Coy will slam shut the escape and reinforcement path.

Remember all I said about that area sucking for me to attack into? Throw that out the door. If I'm reading Bil's actions correctly, he doesn't have anyone there. Time to grab the dilemma by horns! I mean, "grab the offered opportunity"!

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There may some amongst you who are astute. Raise your hands, please. Um, sorry, Emrys, you can lower yours. Yes, well, anyway, the rest of you may've noticed a mass of icons at the bottom of the screenshot, above, which are unused. Not really.

That mass is my A company firepower and my remaining armor. I've got the Challenger, a 95mm CS Cromwell, and an AA tank left. Everyone in there is moving forwards a bit and dispersing. This grouping is my reserve. I have them in a central location able to move to whichever area I determine. I'll hold off until I know more. The mobility of the tanks is a key advantage. I will use that to rapidly position them at critical points until mortars or vickers can get into position. (Or a platoon of paras.) A reserve, at every level of command, is critical. Even just a couple of rested men, put into the right place at the right time, can tip the balance.

My setup zone was totally horrible. Did I mention that Bil took Jaws' map and created this battle? No? Well, look at where the friggin' objectives are!! No matter; airborne it'll get it done.

There is, seriously, a bit of balance - bipodal - going on. Definite tasks etc. My deep left flank is weak. I've got one Cromwell there as well as my fast team about to secure that zone. "Secure" may be a bit of a stretch. Eyes on is all I really want.

I'm reacting to Bil's opening gambit, but I think I can steal a pawn or two. My initial plan is being modified by the situation. I'm going to call this one "Plan 3, b, ii, 1". It will be revised later.

Ken

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Final note of the night: opening moves can be confusing in an AAR. If you have a question, post it. I've tried to focus on the big picture at this point. I try to give specific labels to specific locations so that we're all on the same page. Big overhead shots give a nice sense of location and spatial awareness. The closeups are cool when the fight starts. However, there is a lot going on, even now. I'm actually splitting my sections down and giving each team different movement orders, with varied delays, etc., etc. Ask, and if I can, I'll post about it or take a different screenie.

Ken

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Over by the water cooler I heard rumours that the Windmill houses a treasure chest containing a Sten of Smiting +3 and two Scrolls of Identification (used to identify contacts). It is only usable by Chaotic aligned characters, which is probably why Bil is ignoring it. All his troops are Lawful Evil. If you get your wizard to cast Bolts of Purity on the Crusader AA, you'll be doing quadruple damage!

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Excellent reading.

What gun and armor does the Chromwell and the Challenger have?

First, some screenies:

cromiechalliecomparo.jpg

^^^

The Challenger is BIG.

Here's another comparison:

challieandtiger.jpg

Some notes on weaponry and armor. First, let me say that the British tradition of small workshops, custom fitting, and making do with what one finds on that island, is strongly apparent in these tanks.

The good news: Cromwell has the 540hp Meteor engine with a Christie suspension. Fast and reliable. (Some sources state 600hp. I don't know which is right, whether it's shaft or crank, etc., based on derated output or mods.)

The armor is 3" basis, front. The rest? Like it matters against any German cannon.

The gun is interesting. The tank was designed for the 6 pounder. Well, then the Brits saw the US 75mm M3 in action. So, rather than redesign the whole tank, they wanted to keep the mount, but use the US ammunition. How do you do that? Easy. Bore out the, um, bore. They drilled the barrels out from 57mm to 75mm. Anyone thinking about Saami pressure specs and thin barrel walls, move to the head of the class.

Next, the breech needed enlarging. That was done.

The gun fired all US-style 75mm ammo (meant for the M3 gun). 2,000 fps muzzle velocity.

The armor piercing ability was poor. They needed better HE ability than the 6 pounder had, and they got it. And let's face it, the medium velocity 75mm was probably just as effective as the 6 pounder when comparing armor piercing ability vs. German tanks. (Both easily pierce lightly armored tanks, and both are defeated by Panther fronts, and Tiger I and II's.)

The Cromwell has a Besa up front and a coax machinegun, as well.

The Challenger: Again, the workshop mentality strikes. Cut a Cromwell in half, add a section to the hull, put it all back together. That gives you the turret ring size (70") needed for the honking huge turret which holds the 17 pounder.

This came out just ahead of the Sherman Firefly. Everyone recognized how much easier it was to make, and use, the Sherman. So, after about 200 Challengers were built, they stopped. The amount of skilled labor needed to make them was a burden that was too high. It just didn't make sense.

Same gun as the Firefly, in a bigger box. (Faster and more nimble than the Firefly. Yeah, I just said "nimble".)

The front Besa was removed for main gun ammo stowage. The turret armor was thinned out a bit. Hammer+eggshell. :)

Ken

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... If you have a question, post it. I've tried to focus on the big picture at this point. I try to give specific labels to specific locations so that we're all on the same page. Big overhead shots give a nice sense of location and spatial awareness. The closeups are cool when the fight starts. However, there is a lot going on, even now. I'm actually splitting my sections down and giving each team different movement orders, with varied delays, etc., etc. Ask, and if I can, I'll post about it or take a different screenie.

Ken

Enough of the big picture yammering. We want to know the details.

Back on post #60 you said:

"Sigh. I'll correct her later, when the time is right."

We can only hope that those corrections involve a good spanking.

Then you said (ever so slightly edited for brevity):

"I try to give ... Big overhead shots ... and ... closeups. I'm actually ... giving ... varied delays..."

We await you upcoming image postings. :D

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^^^

You've a bent mind. But then, you've been told that before, haven't you? ;)

ONTO the game.

First, though, a message from our sponsors.

Bil has communicated with me. He has become aware of the totally unbalanced nature of this map, and wanted to know if we should continue, as is, or restart with objectives better located.

I agreed.

So, we'll clean this all up and start again in a week or so.

Sorry.

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