jwright Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 Greetings, <SPOILER> Just got done with "Fear in the Fog" as the Americans, thought I'd throw out a couple of interesting points I saw. <UL> <LI>Had a <U>very</U> rough start as one platoon and my Sherman were overrun (3 turns, all dead) by the Germans. I tried falling back, but they came out of the fog too damn fast. <LI>I usually don't have much luck with Bazookas, but this time I had one team take out both the Panther and the Stug in one turn! It was the most consummately perfect CM moment I've ever witnessed. I laughed, I cried. Fog works both ways apparently... <LI>To the North of the Railway I setup a platoon across the road. I watched an entire full German squad get killed trying to rush across. <LI>Playing in the fog makes for a very, <U>very</U> violent game. When you do finally stumble into the enemy (or they into you) the casualties start racking up pretty quickly. <LI>I had a hard time employing my artillery spotters correctly in the fog. When they were close enough to accurately spot a position, they were close enough to get shot up. If they spotted somewhere out of their LOS I had 105mm shells dropping all over the place. All in all, a very enjoyable scenario. I can't wait to try tinkering with the Fog option for other battles. It really increases the entire sense of blindly groping for the enemy. I forgot to mention, I did win the game (even after my first terrible losses). Had a total victory by turn 25 with all the German surrendering. I really expected more Germans out there though... Regards, John Wright john.k.wright@worldne.att.net [This message has been edited by jwright (edited 06-30-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Bill Wilder Posted June 30, 2000 Author Share Posted June 30, 2000 Thanks John. I call this one a "gut gripper," though I guess all CM scenarios and operations could be called that ------------------ Wild Bill Lead Tester/Designer Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord billw@matrixgames.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Weaver Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 From the Allied side, I found Fear in the Fog beautiful but easy. Allies 36 casualties (9 KIA) Axis 269 casualties (62 KIA) 48 captured 3 vehicles knocked out Axis surrender, Allied Total Victory I took the railroad station with my first company and set up a strong defensive position, then sent a platoon and the Sherman to the northern victory flag, where they set up an (excellent) ambush position at the bend east of the crossroads. My second company arrived as one of my bazooka teams heard tank tracks to the east of the railroad station, so I moved them into reserve positions behind the station and waited. Their accompanying Sherman moved into an excellent ambush position on the railroad tracks. Two turns later a Panther tank raced out of the fog and stopped in front of the northernmost building of the station, apparently intending to engage a machinegun team located in the open. The tank commander had managed to position himself with one AT team 25m to his rear and another AT team 10m to his flank. Needless to say, the Panther was quickly dispatched by bazooka fire and the crew slaughtered in a hail of lead. In despair, the AI made a series of several suicidal charges on the outlying buildings of the railway station. The bloody results of the German charges can be seen at http://www.rdwarf.com/kioh/killingfields.gif. The Volksgrenadiers were simply slaughtered, mowed down at point-blank range by paratroops and pulverized by mortar fire. Amidst the carnage, the Germans moved a StuG and a halftrack down the railroad tracks to lend support. The StuG was wrecked by a bazooka hit, while the halftrack was blown apart by a shell from my Sherman. Repulsed at horrific cost, the Germans began to retreat towards the northern victory hex and stumbled upon my outlying platoon. They fared no better there. The platoon dropped its ambush and concentrated fire on the German stragglers. With the Sherman providing accurate fire support, the remnants of the German force were quickly mauled into rout. I think this battle would have been much harder if the AI had been more aggressive. Mowing down the Germans as they came out of the fog into perfect SMG range was fun, but not really challenging. Played against a human opponent, it would be really impressive. [This message has been edited by Dan Weaver (edited 07-03-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Bill Wilder Posted July 3, 2000 Author Share Posted July 3, 2000 Give yourself a little credit too, Dan. You had a perfect setup for taking on the encroaching enemy. Hard for even a more aggressive enemy to overcome that. Getting to the RR station first and in time to set up some staggered defenses was a smart move. I had one of my bazookas in the buildings and he was the key to my success taking out the SP gun and a Panther. And he lived to tell about it! Nice tactics!... ------------------ Wild Bill Lead Tester/Designer Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord billw@matrixgames.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted July 4, 2000 Share Posted July 4, 2000 Hey Bill, What's the best you've heard a German player score or perform in double-blind PBEM of this one? It certainly is gut-wrenching to play--it takes the normal Hobbesian nature of modern combat and cubes it! (Life for my squads stumbling into contact with the paras certainly was 'nasty, brutish, and short'--the predominance of SMG units in the German OB didn't help as much as I would have expected!) I started a separate thread about penalizing dead units for not exiting--the scenario in question was actually Fear in the Fog. Since I held both VP locations, the butcher's bill for each of us was staggering but marginally in my favor (160+ casualties for me, 170+ for the US, with all vehicles destroyed), and I'd exited some 4 platoons worth of infantry complete with a company C.O., I'm curious how well the German has to do to actually win? If the penalty for not exiting troops is as steep as it seems to be, the German may be better off conceding the on-map VP locations and sprinting for the mapedge, devil take the hindmost... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Bill Wilder Posted July 4, 2000 Author Share Posted July 4, 2000 I'm honestly not sure, Iconclast, just what any penalty might be. My understanding was that you were not penalized for not exiting but got extra points if you did. Let me check on that, or some of the other team may have an answer before I get back. I will investigate. As to PBEM, I think the scenario still tends to favor the US side IF the US player uses the right strategy. Here it is a matter (as in most battles) of who gets the objectives first and then let the enemy come to them. ------------------ Wild Bill Lead Tester/Designer Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord billw@matrixgames.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted July 4, 2000 Share Posted July 4, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wild Bill Wilder: As to PBEM, I think the scenario still tends to favor the US side IF the US player uses the right strategy. Here it is a matter (as in most battles) of who gets the objectives first and then let the enemy come to them. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Wow, Bill, that was a fast answer! <g> Both my opponent and I were left scratching our heads over his victory, especially since I *did* take the objectives first, in strength, and mounted a defense in depth. The manual does say that units eligible to exit that DON'T do so yield points for the other side--although the amount is not specified. I'm speculating (a semi-WAG) that the penalty must be non-trivial, since I should have been even in terms of points based on the casualties suffered (about even) and some 200 points ahead based on my undisputed possession of the VP locations. The sole countervailing factor I could think of is that "only" 25-33% of my eligible force exited. Now the bulk of those that didn't were casualties, which would require a George Romero-esque fix in order for them to get them off the map, at least under their own steam. <g> I wonder if BTS might consider tweaking the VP calculation so that the penalty for failing to exit an eligible unit only kicks in if the unit is still alive at the scenario's end. Otherwise it smacks of "double-counting". [This message has been edited by Iconoclast (edited 07-04-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted July 16, 2000 Share Posted July 16, 2000 I must add my praise for Fear in the Fog... I just finished my play through of this one, and found it to be the most gripping scenario that I've played to date. The fog shrouded battle field was unearthly. I was never sure of what would wander into view from one minute to the next. For those who haven't played this scenario yet, or for those who want to try it again, try playing the battle with these "limitations." 1)Take a good look at the battle field with the fog turned off, then turn the fog back on and leave it on. 2) Try giving all of your orders from View 1 (Grunt's Eye Level). Limiting myself to a grunt's eye view in this scenario added to the FoW of the fog... I managed to crush the Germans in this scenario while taking modest losses to my forces. Has anyone managed to win this one as the Germans? Again, great scenario! -Lurker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Bill Wilder Posted July 16, 2000 Author Share Posted July 16, 2000 Thanks, Lurker! I did in testing it, but then I knew quite a bit about the scenario before I started so that is not quite fair. I haven't played it in a few months and have forgotten some of the details. I think I'll try again as the Germans and see how I do. And the idea of grunt eye-level is pretty appealing too. It will be tempting to lift the view, but I'll fight it ------------------ Wild Bill Lead Tester/Designer Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord billw@matrixgames.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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