Supertanker Posted July 7, 2000 Share Posted July 7, 2000 I thought I would share this with my northern neighbors still at the wailing wall. A little story of virtual Canadian bravery. I set up a quick battle last night: 700 points, Allied attacker, mechanized forces, village, low hills, light trees. The computer gave me a Canadian force of three platoons of riflemen, two squads of engineers, a couple scout cars, two MMG carriers, one Kangaroo, one 25lber spotter, several PIATs and 2-inch mortars, and (best of all) three Wasps. We faced off against two platoons of regular German infantry, two Pumas (20mm and 50mm), a 75mm infantry gun (which was unidentified until the end of the game), and three or four MG42s. The terrain turned out to be very open, with empty fields surrounding the village, so I was a bit worried about the lack of supporting armor. Most of the alleged tree cover was merely tall pines, but my troops gamely answered the call of duty. The 50mm Puma took out the Kangaroo, three mortars, a scout car, an MMG carrier, about a squad of infantry, a PIAT team, and dodged about half of my artillery. However, in the process of dodging, it finally moved a little too close to another PIAT team, who nailed it at 113m with the first shot. They must offer Advanced PIAT in the schools up there, as this was just a regular team, not elite or crack. That opened one flank for the approach of the Wasps. The first promptly bogged and was abandoned. The second exhausted all of its ammo, but got 17 confirmed infantry kills and broke or eliminated that entire flank and part of the center. The third was finishing the job on the German center, nearly out of ammo, when it was nailed by a panzerfaust. It didn't burn, but the crew bailed and immediately surrendered. Most of the village was on fire by now, providing a screen against the infantry gun and the 20mm Puma on the other side of the town. The remainder of the artillery was fired against the gun with no apparent effect. In the meantime, two platoons of riflemen and the engineers had, in disregard of their own safety, charged across the open fields and taken up positions in the village. Vicious house-to-house fighting cleared the remnants of the German infantry, with rifle squads bravely engaging SMG squads in close combat. One squad surprised a half-track at less than 20m, took a few casualties, but apparently killed the half-track's gunner. The half-track backed off about 50m and sat until it was stalked and killed by another PIAT team. This shot was at 95m. See, they must learn it as soon as they are big enough to cock the damn things. The Germans surrendered on the next turn, with the 20mm Puma never coming out of its hidey-hole. After the battle, I found it was abandoned, with no sign of the crew. I'm guessing it bogged, and when some artillery hit nearby (aimed at the gun), they bailed and left the board. I had taken 66 casualties out of about 200 troops, and lost several vehicles, but had killed about twice as many Germans, leaving only 8 OK and 15 surrendered. Lacking any long-range anti-armor capability on a wide-open battlefield, it was the bravery and tenacity of the Canadian infantry that carried the day. Well, the flamethrowers didn't hurt either, but they would have been wiped out at long range if not for the accurate shooting of the PIAT teams. I was proud to be an ally! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaffertape Posted July 7, 2000 Share Posted July 7, 2000 Nice to hear! GAFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Bill Wilder Posted July 7, 2000 Share Posted July 7, 2000 We'll be putting up a couple, one on the Canadians and one on the Poles during the advance through Normandy. They are not forgotten ------------------ Wild Bill Lead Tester/Designer Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord billw@matrixgames.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melloj Posted July 7, 2000 Share Posted July 7, 2000 Can't wait to hear about the polacks...pity you cant play them in the demo. I am so going to play as Canadians and Poles. This time no cavalry for the Polish Army Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spook Posted July 7, 2000 Share Posted July 7, 2000 What still sticks to me these recent years is a comment from a Canadian soldier in the docu-drama movie "Dieppe," when the Canadians were berated for poor discipline by a British officer in a mess hall: "The kid volunteered, God damn it. We all volunteered! And we came here to kill Germans, not to clean the crap off of your boots!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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