CM Final Blitzkrieg - ALLIED (Defense) BETA Battle Report

[A Canadian Cat]

Fight the enemy, not the terrain.

To be honest, I am fighting the enemy force, if I do that the objectives will take care of themselves.  

Careful you are starting to sound like @JasonC 

The objectives should be used to help orient your force in reconnoitering and attacking the enemy, because chances are he is going after the points. 

Ah there you go that's better

[kohlenklau]

Bil, 

Please show American capitalist winter clothing if possible. Da?

Red Army Liaison team assigned for handling German POW's.

[gnarly]

Bil, 

Please show American capitalist winter clothing if possible. Da?

Red Army Liaison team assigned for handling German POW's.

Pure gold!

[Bil Hardenberger]

TURN 7 (1:24-1:23)

Target halftrack, 30 second pause, then withdraw...all went according to plan.

On KT1 I had a feeling that I had been visible too long so while I limited the length of time the Hellcat sat on the hill, just long enough to take out the halftrack, I also pulled the recon team off the hill back towards their jeep.  Time to fall back and take up a position somewhere else.  I only feel bad that i could not complete the medic duties as it kept getting interrupted by the halftrack's MG fire.

I pulled off just in time as at the end of the turn a few mortar rounds fell in the trees.. that could have been ugly.

SITUATION: while I pulled off of KT1 I also pulled the jeep I had along the edge of the town and the HMG Jeep, as I never could get it to a good spot to fire on the other halftrack.

Not much movement noted this turn.. as I am re-positioning it might be a few more turns before I start to see him move again.  He has to come out somewhere, and I think I know where that might be.  

[gnarly]

Oooooohhhhh, I have been so hanging out for your(?) animated GIFs!!!!  Thank-yee thank-yee!

[JoMac]

But of course, one shot hits in WWII CM...You were able to move-up, spot the HT in inclement weather (which in RL would probably take most of the turn), Fire & Hit in one shot, then withdrew, all in same turn...I'm simply impressed. 

Joe

Edited December 17, 2015 by JoMc67

[Bil Hardenberger]

But of course, one shot hits in WWII CM...You were able to move-up, spot the HT in inclement weather (which in RL would probably take most of the turn), Fire & Hit in one shot, then withdrew, all in same turn...I'm simply impressed. 

Joe

I moved the Hellcat into that position early in the previous turn and it wasn't until the very end of the turn that the Hellcat spotted the halftrack (which was moving).  Then this turn it only took one shot to kill it.. it was only a few hundred meters, point blank range for any tank at this point in the war, those are the facts.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Bil Hardenberger

[Bud Backer]

Well done, Bil; A kill that didn't cost you much. It's a pity to have to pull back already, but that is an important thing to develop: a sense when it's time to not overstay one's welcome. It can be a fine balance that is easy to misjudge.

 

[General Jack Ripper]

Well, IMO its a good idea to prep a building prior to assaulting it if you suspect it might contain an enemy unit.  However doing so definitely shows your hand, so I concede your point.  

No argument here, personally I prefer to assault smoking heaps of rubble wherever possible, rather than houses.

It just seems to me that particular prep fire was unnecessary, because even if you had occupied that building, you would have spotted his possibly advancing troops already, and made adjustments to avoid the possibility of preparatory fires.

Granted, that "prep fire" could have just been some kind of ruse(?). There is always the possibility of nonsense when playing a human opponent.

I too, missed your .gif posts, that's some old-timer embedded video right there. Classic!

[JoMac]

I moved the Hellcat into that position early in the previous turn and it wasn't until the very end of the turn that the Hellcat spotted the halftrack (which was moving).  Then this turn it only took one shot to kill it.. it was only a few hundred meters, point blank range for any tank at this point in the war, those are the facts.

It's not the range in this case that concerns me, but other factors...I guess will be seeing more of these one shot hit wonders throughout the game.                                                            

I personally only use Green Troops along with letting the AI pick targets ( not human ) in CM, and AT Combat in my opinion is still alittle to accurate...But anyways, what can you do. 

Bil, as a suggestion, I think you and Banmann (email him) should try letting the AI pick targets (instead of human)...you can still, of course, use 'Area-Fire' & 'Arcs'.

This, might give CM a little more realistic feel to it...Just a suggestion from a Forum Member. 

Edited December 17, 2015 by JoMc67

[Chudacabra]

I only feel bad that i could not complete the medic duties as it kept getting interrupted by the halftrack's MG fire.

I actually think first aid is one of the more interesting, but subtle aspects of CMx2 games. It can really make you empathize with those pixeltruppen.

[Bil Hardenberger]

It's not the range in this case that concerns me, but other factors...I guess will be seeing more of these one shot hit wonders throughout the game.                                                            

I personally only use Green Troops along with letting the AI pick targets ( not human ) in CM, and AT Combat in my opinion is still alittle to accurate...But anyways, what can you do. 

Bil, as a suggestion, I think you and Banmann (email him) should try letting the AI pick targets (instead of human)...you can still, of course, use 'Area-Fire' & 'Arcs'.

This, might give CM a little more realistic feel to it...Just a suggestion from a Forum Member. 

You play your way and we will continue as we are.  I often let my units make their own targets and many times I assign the target myself.  How is this unrealistic?  A C.O. Can't assign targets?  BS.  By the way, in this particular instance the AI did self target that half track   

I totally disagree with you about the one shot kill thing as well. You expected a Tank Destroyer that has been sitting for a minute in the same position to miss at that range?  That is an unrealistic expectation. 

Edited December 17, 2015 by Bil Hardenberger

[Vanir Ausf B]

It's not the range in this case that concerns me, but other factors...I guess will be seeing more of these one shot hit wonders throughout the game.                                                            

I personally only use Green Troops along with letting the AI pick targets ( not human ) in CM, and AT Combat in my opinion is still alittle to accurate...But anyways, what can you do. 

The range for that shot was around 400-500 meters, at which the first shot hit % should be about 70%.

[sfhand]

Bil, thanks for yet another AAR. So far it is, as always, very insightful and very entertaining.

[Andreas3]

It's not the range in this case that concerns me, but other factors...I guess will be seeing more of these one shot hit wonders throughout the game.                                                            

I personally only use Green Troops along with letting the AI pick targets ( not human ) in CM, and AT Combat in my opinion is still alittle to accurate...But anyways, what can you do. 

Bil, as a suggestion, I think you and Banmann (email him) should try letting the AI pick targets (instead of human)...you can still, of course, use 'Area-Fire' & 'Arcs'.

This, might give CM a little more realistic feel to it...Just a suggestion from a Forum Member. 

Make your own AAR...just a suggestion from a Forum Member. 

Edited December 17, 2015 by Andreas3
sburke is right, my apologies

[sburke]

no name calling necessary, let's keep this civil.

Thank you

Edited December 17, 2015 by sburke
for your civility :D

[sttp]

I don't think tank accuracy is so unreasonable in most cases? I'm sure BFC is aware of the actual hit probabilities, by tank, as a function of distance, and if those numbers are off at all I'd guess it'd be for some very good gameplay reasons. These guys are obviously obsessed with detail and accuracy, otherwise I doubt we'd all be loving the CMx2 games this much.

I've wondered a few times if tank accuracy may be a little exaggerated when the firing tank is on the move, especially for the allied tanks, but... that's really just been a thought or perception of mine, which of course means very little with respect to historical accuracy. My money is on BFC having the hit percentages right where they should be.

Finally, thanks Bil for all the images and status updates. Loved that animated .gif, especially. I didn't know that the 0.5MB limit would accommodate those. And sorry for having mis-spelled you name a few times. I see now that it has only one L.

[Bud Backer]

I actually think first aid is one of the more interesting, but subtle aspects of CMx2 games. It can really make you empathize with those pixeltruppen.

This is very true! And adds a sense of realistic priorities if you take the time and try to administer buddy aid a lot. It's not just about the score, it's about feeling you're responsible.

 

[Bud Backer]

Finally, thanks Bil for all the images and status updates. Loved that animated .gif, especially. 

Agreed. Looks terrific! 

[MikeyD]

I've read in many sources how American tankers in ETO perfected a 'quick draw' shooting technique, often getting two rounds on target and a third in the air before the opponent could fire his first shot. I don't know the experience level of Bil's TD crew. If they're veteran or higher that would reduce the chances of first round overshots that are otherwise pretty common in the game. In the cartoon AAR the poor Americans are being plagued by overshots as the opponent peeks over the distant crestline

 

[Bil Hardenberger]

...I don't know the experience level of Bil's TD crew...

Four Hellcats are rated Regular, and one is Green.  Mace's Hellcat that made the halftrack kill is regular.

[Bil Hardenberger]

TURN 8 (1:23-1:22)

Near KT1 Mace's Hellcat moved back into a hulldown position to keep an eye on the L Shaped Wood and to provide overwatch... 

...Mace spotted an infantry team in the woods, squirted some MG fire and caused at least one confirmed casualty.  Right at the end of the turn Zeiger's Hellcat spots another infantry team.

And now for the INTERACTIVE PORTION of the AAR!!!

EVENT 1: The Shermans from Team Pain are on the move!!  See if you can predict where they are headed and what their mission will be!

EVENT 2: The remaining three Hellcats (those not near KT1) are on the move!!  See if you can predict where they are headed and what their mission will be!

[BletchleyGeek]

Hmmm, are they headed to adopt firing positions along the line between 10,24 and 13,28 to hit Baneman's left flank?

[A Canadian Cat]

I've wondered a few times if tank accuracy may be a little exaggerated when the firing tank is on the move, especially for the allied tanks, but... that's really just been a thought or perception of mine, which of course means very little with respect to historical accuracy.

Actually your impression is spot on. It is a game play compromise. The SOP was to move, halt, fire, get moving again repeat when the next round was ready. So, they never really fired in the move. Programing the AI to do that is lots of work so the compromise / fudge is to let the AI fire on the move but with an accuracy that is higher than it should be for a moving tank. That way they simulate stopping to fire without the extra work / complications.

My money is on BFC having the hit percentages right where they should be.

Mine too.

[Bil Hardenberger]

Hmmm, are they headed to adopt firing positions along the line between 10,24 and 13,28 to hit Baneman's left flank?

Perhaps...

...any other guesses?  Post your guesses and I'll reveal the answer in my next turn report.  

Hint, the Hellcats and the Shermans are on different missions.