A New Beginning-Invitational Tourney

[Claymore]

The soil has loosened around my gravesite enough during the past few nights that I can now extend one thin and scabrous claw to peck out a few games of CM.

Jarmo has kindly sent many of my valiant troopers to reside with me in my eldritch abode. I expect a 35/65 loss in that contsest.

Shandorf either knows not how to end a game or he is just toying with my emotions. HA! Little does he know that I have none. At least none that survive a liberal dosing of peaty spirits.

I need games! Is Fionn still in this mess? Last I heard Mike was still awaiting his purchase list.

I need games. Who wants a poke at me?

Cheers

Murray

[Treeburst155]

Jarmo wins a "Tactical" over Claymore! The final was 62-38. Congratulations, Jarmo!!

The first link below has been updated.

Claymore,

I am still waiting for purchases from Fionn for your game with him. He's taking a break from the tournament I guess.

[Jarmo]

As already mentioned, the match with Claymore is over. He managed to move his remaining horde to the woods right next to the victory locations. But there my four remaining Cromwells stopped him cold. Turns out he had "only" 210mm spotters, two of them, not 240mm as I suspected. I'll have to try those 210mm beasts myself, the explosions were devastating.

I notice Kettler's Jagdpanther has bogged into scattered trees close to the rightmost bridge. I have infantry close by. The man must be yelling at his monitor by now.

The amount of games I have going on has dropped to almost tolerable levels. I need more. Would Somebody send over his terms of engagement.

[Claymore]

Please god....before another idiot comes into my office and attempts to get me to volunteer for some lame review panel...SOMEBODY SEND ME A CHALLENGE!

Oh no...the doorknob's turning...maybe if I squeeze myself under my desk...ok..tuck the keyboard in there first...ugh..ack...

Ok...I'm all set...nobody will find me here.

Cheers

Murray

[Fuerte]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Claymore:

SOMEBODY SEND ME A CHALLENGE!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

PRAAAT!!

I will send you a challenge once I get over with this Night of Arts..... :cool:

[Bil Hardenberger]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I am still waiting for purchases from Fionn for your game with him. He's taking a break from the tournament I guess.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I got an e-mail from Fionn today... he is getting ready to start school again, and will be away for a few weeks yet. He is still very much alive in the tournament, as he assures me he has plans for all that wine

Bil

[John Kettler]

Jarmo is correct about my unfortunate Jagdpanther and its awkward plight. How something as broad-tracked as that manages to

bog in damp ground, not even real mud, is beyond me. His infantry crossed the gulch near the first bridge and is eyeing my AFV hungrily. Such appetites must be discouraged!

The firefight continues near bridge two, and a house between bridge two and bridge three on his side is being shelled with avidity by my armor. Canadian forces seem to be massing near

bridge three.

The situation with Shandorf could use real improvement, for he has even more infantry than I imagined. A minor advance on my extreme left ran into determined resistance from heavy buildings across the lateral road, he's chewing on me in the center, may be holding in buildings to the right of center, and refuses to stay put by the crossroads.

I'm underwhelmed with the performance of my infantry so far, and fire support hasn't been very responsive either. I do like the big stuff, though. It at least seems to land where I want it to.

I wish there was something that could be done to get the turn rate up in both games. Subjectively, it's...like...fight..ing...in slo' mo'. Ironically, Jarmo wishes to start another fight while this one is not moving even as fast than a glacier in the winter. Maybe I'm trapped in a temporo-spatial null?

Regards,

John Kettler

[Jarmo]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Subjectively, it's...like...fight..ing...in slo' mo'. Ironically, Jarmo wishes to start another fight while this one is not moving even as fast than a glacier in the winter. Maybe I'm trapped in a temporo-spatial null? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have this theory that you have somehow been warped into a whole different timezone...

[John Kettler]

Jarmo,

Having carefully read the quote, I can only conclude that I was having an out-of-brain

experience when I typed it. Egad! What terrible grammar! Looks as though I started to say things one way, then switched, while forgetting to make certain textual adjustments.

Save me from myself, I beg of you. Send me a turn!

That goes for you,too, Shandorf!

Regards,

John Kettler

[WineCape]

Treeburst,

Have the following gentleman (Mr Spkr, Ben Galanti, Sten Friberg, Robert Hall, Adam Lloyd and Ari Maenpaa) started any PBEM games so far?

Regards (while I twiddle my thumbs in Namibia awaiting Saturday's match)

b]Charl Theron

--------------

You can't be a wine snob. You have to keep your mind open. You have no idea where the next great wine you drink will come from!

-- Francis Ford Coppola, American film director

[Kingfish]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by WineCape:

Regards (while I twiddle my thumbs in Namibia awaiting Saturday's match)

b]Charl Theron

--------------

You can't be a wine snob. You have to keep your mind open. You have no idea where the next great wine you drink will come from!

-- Francis Ford Coppola, American film director<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Charl,

As you can see in the turn I've sent you, I've begun my victory parade into town. It's time to store the grape juice in the cellar. You should have fine wine by the time the last flag shows the Union jack.

[Treeburst155]

WineCape,

The only person who hasn't started a game so far is Sten Friberg. All the others without completed games have at least one underway now.

Treeburst155 out.

[jshandorf]

Turns will go out very late tonight.

Ketter you need to find other hobbies. I suggest wind sprints through the living room. That might settle you down.

Jeff

[John Kettler]

Shandorf,

Maybe I don't need another hobby, just more of my chosen one. Seriously, I have no idea what's going on on your end, nor how many battles you're presently fighting, but I feel that the rate I get turns is such that for me there's very little sense of flow or continuity. I've already expressed similar concerns to Jarmo. The universe thought that was so funny that we were promptly blessed with an as yet undefined technical problem, slowing us even further.

O Claymore of Scabrous Claw!

Come. Let us discuss the terms of strife. I favor the method used with Jarmo in general--blind map, random force assignment, buy troops, which you may or may not actually get.

What say ye?

Regards,

John Kettler

[Mick_Oz]

A brief report on two particularly nasty town fights now underway:

Berli:

His German hamsters have indeed secured - and swilled - the cache of white wine in the centre of of town ..or at least he thinks it was wine. In reality, this VL was the former location of a village kidney transplant unit.. one captured German officer was heard to mutter it was the best vintage he'd ever ..ahem..sampled... my troops think it a grand joke!

At present, his pyromaniac units are gleefully setting fire to a number of buildings, some unfortunately holding heroic British troops. Revenge is planned.

CDIC:

Good lord, instant night carnage on turn one in the notorious Map B. My regular Brits romped over to have a look at the town church (the main VL). Initially pleased with themselves after surprising a couple of Jerry scouts they ran smack into a wall of crack Gebir Mountain boys. No question of regrouping my lads.. their corpses are lying in and around the church. They took a few of the enemy with them.. but not enough..never enough. The rest of this fight promises truly ugly scenes... (my compliments to Chef Treeburst for cooking up a really poisonous map!)

[WineCape]

Just a reminder to all "star" participants:

The wine you are all fighting over can be found/seen here, page 1&2 of the thread.

Had to fend off some snoopy ,though knowledgable, European wine customers (tour group actually) a few days ago when they saw the bottles earmarked for this tourney standing in their shipping boxes, ready to be send to the winner of this Tourney.

I had offers to sell them...and then SOME offer from them to buy the lot!! Seems that, according to them, a French wine magazine has named 4 of the 6 bottles up for grabs as examples of "New World wine icons" produced.

Did I say the 6 bottles were "good" wines?

Kingfish, to paraphrase somebody here on the board, my comment to you being one syllable only -- "GACK!"

Regards and keep the battles coming,

Charl

--------------

The discovery of a new vineyard does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a new star.

-- Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French gastronome (1755 - 1826)

[Capitalistdoginchina]

Myself and MickOz are entangled in a nasty night battle, my second of this tourney. My Crack Mountain Troops are outnumbered, but making a good account for themselves. My opponent has Armour too - but the M8 Howitzer could only fire off one HE round before a Faust down the barrel caused a massive fireball But the ghostly sound contacts of enemy armour continue to haunt me - my only advantage is that they must venture to within faust range to get line of sight...do i have enough fausts? That is the question. At such close quarters the fighting is bitter, grenades, Satchel charges and fausts are all being used in a frantic strggle for survival. And all this before turn 3!

The arrival of a Churchill has caused panic...is it a Crocodile? We shall see. As mentioned before this is a great map.

Fuerte and i are still in the throws of a good battle, his arty is devastating - my only hope is that those rounds falling short hurt him as much as me. But i feel the balance swinging in my favour after a bad start.

CDIC

[ 09-01-2001: Message edited by: Captitalistdoginchina ]

[WineCape]

Naturally, I will recommend these excellent Chardonnay's too if the winner so chooses!

In fact, one of my favourites is the Glen Carlou 99 Chardonnay mentioned there - very chalky, "pebbly" in style that contrast to the richer, fatter (buttery) style chardonnays found elsewhere. The writer of the above article DID his homework, as these Chardonnay are some of the top ones in South Africa for quite a while now. Good to see.

Sidenote: Mike Dobrovic from Mulderbosch, as mentioned in the above article, is probably one of the most interesting winemakers in South Africa. Plays music to his maturing vats!

John Kettler, thanks for pointing this article out. BTW, Rusteburg made a beaut, a red wine to be released in the trade (I get only a few cases allocation) soon. It is called the John X. Merriman 1999 - a blend - and it was the best wine that I've tasted this year (out of 40-50 estates' wines) at the Cape Waterfront Wine Festival.

Again, this wine will/should be recommended to the winner of the WB RoW Tourney, no doubt!

Regards,

Charl Theron

--------------

Fish must swim thrice - once in the water, a second time in the sauce, and a third time in wine in the stomach.

-- John Ray, English naturalist (1627 - 1705)

[Fuerte]

Berli is attacking, but he has suffered a lot of casualties as well. He got the biggest flag for now.

Shandorf is still killing my units. This map has only one big flag in the middle, and I am bombing it.

CDIC is ahead in the game now. My arty is killing more my units than his it seems. You are right, I am thin on infantry, that seems to be my biggest mistake in almost all of my games.

Ari's game is in the first turn. We have a lot of small flags in the ridge in middle. I hope that I bought the right units this time.

Claymore and I have a city fight. Just bought my units.

Oh, almost forget, Ari is the first person using the PBEM helper! Hooray!

[ 09-01-2001: Message edited by: Fuerte ]

[Capitalistdoginchina]

Hi Winecape,

You describe the wine with so much passion that if i were indeed fortunate enough to get my grubby mitts on it, i could not bring myself to drink it. A special cabinet will be allocated for the showcase

CDIC

Meanwhile, Fuerte must be out of arty by now - i hope. The damage is tremendous, but enough men will survive to push on with the attack.

[John Kettler]

Time for an update from the front.

Believe it or not, the game gods smiled upon me vs. Jarmo! We got the file problem fixed. The Jagdpanther unbogged, and so far has survived a hail of fire against it while reversing through the scattered trees. Sadly, no Naverboogies have fallen on the tormentors. Maybe the AI's waiting for a full company to assault before it'll let fly?

Canadian infantry is across the gulch here in considerable strength (owns the bridge now) and appears to have brought its PIATs with it. I have the flank of his infantry advance under close range fires from supporting armor screened from the opposite bank by trees and smoke. This seems to be discomfiting the lumberjacks a bit. Can't afford to get fixated lest something come trundling up on the other side and shoot me.

His guys across the gulch in the center had to hotfoot it in order to avoid having the large wooden building they were in collapse from my direct fire shelling, an event which appeared to cause some armor behind it to shift rearward. My fire support has also deigned to finally show up. About time! It missed the target and fell on both sides, rattling some German cages in the process. Colorful German is now being spoken to the battery commander.

Shandorf was kind enough to explain proper infantry movement technique after I flubbed one such maneuver, and I now understand the self-bombardment business. 81s aren't very accurate, and I'm used to fighting on a N-S map. This one runs E-W, which just happens to be the range dispersion axis for offboard fire support. Consequently, all the shorts in the mortar pattern landed on my side of the board, even though the mean point of impact was where it should've been.

Jarmo's probably gone to bed by now, being in Finland, but when I do hear from him and Shandorf it'll be movie time. Hope the reviews are great!

Regards,

John Kettler

[ 09-02-2001: Message edited by: John Kettler ]

[John Kettler]

A fickle lot, those game gods!

After rescuing my Jagdpanther from the bog, and keeping it alive while it reversed under heavy fire, they just K-killed me through the lower hull and gunned down most of the crew as well. Didn't get my money's worth on that purchase! The only consolation is that the close in defense weapon (CIDW) launched a most impressive airbursting Naverboogie projectile.

Regrettably, it did this after the presumed PIAT team fired, rendering any casualties effectively moot. If my display's correct, Jarmo has armor crossing the gulch and is not on the bridge. His infantry is numerous.

There is minor good news in that I killed a PIAT team on the opposite bank to the left of bridge two. I hold bridges 2-4.

Shandorf is again claiming I'm shelling myself, but a burst size comparison suggests he's full of it. I have reason to believe that

my 155s are hammering him but good on the right. The center is relatively calm, and somehow I now own the church. Maybe he's shifting troops. He is beating up my extreme left, though, with some sort of support fires.

Things remain iffy.

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Jarmo's risen from the dead, albeit briefly, but Claymore's returned to his grave. He hasn't responded to me yet, though he says he wants a game. Arise, Claymore! Come forth that I might truly spread your carcass to the winds!

As best I can tell, Jarmo now has two pieces of armor across the gulch near bridge one. Infantry situated to the rear of bridge two seems headed to the right, and an infiltration is in progress across the gulch between bridges three and four. This bridge one thing may or may not be his main attack. Whatever it is, it's growing and can't be ignored.

I still hold three bridges.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Jarmo]

Doing very well against Kettler, I've crossed the rightmost bridge. In addition to the JagdPanther my Piat killed, a PanzerIV H just went up in flames. Distracted and forced to button by infantry and then eliminated by my tanks. A suspected Tiger appears a little further out. We'll see if it lasts longer.

Probed across the "river" with a squad, but was driven back by infantry fire. Looks like no more easy crossings for me.

Since Fionn still has to appear, I have only 1 tournament game going. Not enough. Come on! Doesn't anyboady have a slot open?

[John Kettler]

Flag status vs. Jarmo has changed so many times I've lost track. We've really rolled on the turns, aided by my insomnia. As of Turn 19, I think I held three, but I could easily be wrong. At one point, I held one, he held one, and two were disputed.

Jarmo has continued to extend his bridgehead, and even now he has a squad behind the town

hunting down the crew from the flaming Mark IV

his Firefly cooked. Some of his bridgehead infantry has been put to flight by tank cannon fire, and one squad? was killed. We have a Mexican standoff in which I can't quite see him to shoot, but he gets shot if he leaves the cover of scattered trees. Then there are those PIATs. They really discourage closing on his infantry.

I managed, though, to clobber an exposed PIAT team caught crossing the gulch to the right of bridge three. Two turns of fire from buildings solved that problem.

Jarmo has shifted his armor yet again, and there is at least one tank near the fourth flag but back several hundred meters. There are indicators that bridge two may again be in play, but he's postured to move on bridge three also. I've shifted some forces myself.

As Jarmo correctly noted, my tank went into targeting paralysis and paid in full for being unable to decide. Its death wasn't in vain, though, for Jarmo came looking for its sibling, sneaking up the Firefly behind the burning ruin of my Mark IV. He got a K-killed right through the Firefly's turret front for his pains. As best I can tell, he got hit because the tall Sherman stuck up over the forward hull of the Mark IV, and that part wasn't burning. Is this game amazing or what?

My display shows me as winning, but my flank's turned, infantry's all over the place, and he could easily move on at least two of the bridges I supposedly hold. Situation is highly fluid.

Regards,

John Kettler