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The trouble with WASPs . . .


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I was playing a TCP/IP game with Kestrl last night and I had purchased a WASP flame carrier to support my Canucks.

Kestrl's machinegun toting Volkstrum marched into town and I set them alight!! BWAAAHAA ha ha, rats. Why is my WASP Shocked? Oh, the TC is wounded. Oh well, no matter. I'll continue to set the rest of his stunned troopers aflame next turn. smile.gif

What's this? I can't fire anymore? Huh? Am I out of ammo? Nope. say's I've got 150 ammo left!! There are still two other guys in that little wagon . . . whassup!?!?

smile.gif

So anyways, just incase you don't know this already . . . always keep your WASP buttoned up. Losing one man out of the three man crew means NO MORE OUCHY-HEAT for you, my friend.

Now WHY is that? Hmmmm?

Gpig

P.S. On another note, Kestrl showed me the ULTIMATE in infantry tank assault tactics. Thank you Kestrl. :(smile.gif

Gpig

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Your crew got shocked when they lost one to enemy fire. Afterwards there was no else to man the weapon....nothing left to do but hit reverse and get out of harms way.

Same thing will happen to halftracks or MG jeeps

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Well, Kestrl chalked it up to luck, but . . .

I had just repulsed an infantry attack of his. He had pushed a platoon (at least) of VolksSMGers into my hilltop village.

I had a WASP, and a Sherman V and a Sexton. All parked just over my side of the hilltop. The WASP burned down the tall,light building to my front. The Sherman and the Sexton reduced another to my right. The Sexton fired another HE round at a heavy building just a bit farther down hill, and it set alight as well.

At this point I could see about 4 or 5 squads/units of german infantry in the rubble, or out in the open, probably SHAKEN in the least. I moved my WASP in to spread a liberal allotment of the ouchy heat on all survivors. That's when I discovered it was out of commish. :(

So I ordered my Sherman and my Sexton up about 50m to the top of the hill in order to lay some HE down on the remainders of his squads. (He had an IG and a StuH about 700m down range, so I kept both of my tracks behind the burning buildings so as not to get shot up.)

My Sherman and my Sexton got off a couple of shots, but not much more damage was dolled out to the retreating infantry.

The next turn I noticed Kestrl was dropping a bunch of smoke rounds to my Shermans left-front. About 25m away and on either side of a small, heavy building. These were big clouds, so they were most likely plopped in from his IG and/or assualt gun.

I had a platoon of canuck infantry across the street from this smoked building, so I figured I was ready for any infantry rush through the smoke.

ORDERS phase: My Sexton was feeling a bit exposed so I pulled him back down the hill and through the trees. But my Sherman, I gave TWO pauses to before ordering it to REVERSE back downslope to relative safety. That 30 seconds of PAUSE spelled disaster for that sherman crew.

ACTION phase: The turn starts out quiet. Burning buildings and the occasional shot from small arms. Then my Sexton starts reversing on down the hill. Suddenly, two enemy squads/units are seen running through the small houses in the smoke screen. The Sherman spots the lead squad as they get to within 25m. My tank starts letting loose with MG rounds as it brings it's 75mm down for some point blank hello-boys.

All the hairs on the back of my neck have now crawled up to the top of my head to have a good look at the screen. My troopies across the street have no LOS to the enemy squad, thanks to the smoke screen. My sherman has been buttoned up somehow. Then, as soon as the lead enemy squad reaches the near wall of the small heavy house . . . swooooooOOOOOOSH! PANZERFAUST!!! AIIiiiieeeeee!

I watch the heavy leaden graphic of the FAUST round arc through the air, covering the short distance to my tank.

(I have the time to silently mouth "miss, miss, miss . . .")

KABLOOM!! Front penetration. MASSIVE EXPLOSION!!! No survivors!!!

AMAZED. STUNNED. (I watch it again.)

The next turn I can do nothing but order some indirect mortar fire on their houses. But I watch in dismay as the offending enemy infantry scoot back out the same way they came. Disappearing through the smoke. My 2 inch mortars thunking pathetically on the shingle roofs of empty houses.

It seems obvious to me now that the 2nd enemy infantry unit was most likely an HQ unit. Probably with good combat and morale modifiers.

Anyways, it was a masterful combined effort on all his units parts. And a sharp smack in the face to my morale. Talk about your see-saws. smile.gif

Also, I have NO idea what caused me to issue TWO pause orders to that sherman. I should have just scooted him back as there was nothing more to see up on that hill. :(

Watch out for that Kestrl fella. He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. smile.gif

Gpig

[ May 22, 2002, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: Gpig ]

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Nice vehicle and on-map Gun smoke usage, for sure; cheers Kestrl. That stuff is nice and accurate, with a short delay before you get a result, unlike on-map mortars, whose smoke I find to be dissapointingly hard to place such that it forms a useful screen, esp. the lighter ones like 2" and 60mm, I guess 81mm is OK.

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GPIG - Being a bit of a pyromaniac I have used Waspes a fair bit. My tactic is to button them as soon as I approach enemy fire. Once buttoned you can still fire them and you rarely get them rendered useless by losing the gunner.

A veteren (or better)sniper is absolute death to unbuttoned Waspes. Easiest way to take one out (though you don't get many victory points for doing this)

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