JonS Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Welcome So, this thread is going to be a rambling, ongoing collection of posts relating to a PBEM that Elvis and I are currently playing. It’ll mostly be an AAR – or, actually, a DAR – but there’ll probably also be some thoughts on scenario design, playing, strategy, and of course the game itself. We’re playing this on a fairly early beta. Some of what you see and is talked about will change – has already changed – before the game is finally released. In the screenshots especially you’ll see stuff that’s still being worked on, and perhaps models that don’t have any skin at all. Also, I’m using some mods for various things, so what you see won’t be exactly like the final game anyway. I’ll answer questions when and if I can, but don’t be surprised if not everything gets a response. I’ve resolved not to read Elvis’ thread, mainly because he generally can't string two words together or form coherent sentences but also I don’t want to know what he’s up to. I assume he’s not reading this one, even though he'll desperately need all the help he can get. I’d really appreciate it if you bear that in mind when posting comments – I don’t want to know what he’s up to. I hope you enjoy it! Table of Contents 1: Setup 2: Setup part ii 3: Ten Minutes of Probing (T1-10) 4: The simple beauty of … a road 5: The Duel (T10-13) 6: The Battle for the Bois de Baugin (T13-20) 7: The Battle for the Bois de Baugin continued (T20-24) 8: Sniping for Victory (T10-20) 9: General Assault (T24-27) 10: Buddy Aid (T24-28) 11: Wow. Just … wow (T2727) 12: TRPs 13: Fury (T28-34) 14: Five men and a kubel (T30-40) 15: Stalemate (T35-40) 16: Patience (T42) 17: Improv Everywhere (T43-47) 18: Pummelling and Stalking (T48-55) 19: Closing In (T55-60) 20: Making Lemonade (T61-66) 21: Desperation (T66-69) 22: Das Alamo (T70-76) 23: Watching the Clock (T77-82) 24: PBEM Filesizes 25: Gentlemen, the envelope 26: Heros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Awesome! The game info is really picking up steam now...Looking forward to you guys battling it out. Mord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 1: Setup Ok, the scenario we’re playing is one I made a while ago called Bois de Baugin. Having created it probably gives me an advantage, but Elvis and I have started playing this particular scen several times, playing either side, so he should be familiar enough with both sides. Also, he’s the attacker, so gets to set the tempo and location of the main effort. The map and battle of Bois de Baugin are fictional, but it uses actual units and is in a plausible setting. The basic setting is east or south east of St Lo, in late July. At a high level; elements of 2nd US Infantry Division are advancing south-west into the flank of 352nd Grenadier Division, heading towards the Vire River near Condé. The forces I have at my disposal are 6 Kp., II. Bn, 914 Grendier Regiment, reinforced by a platoon from 7 Kp., a pair of antitank guns, a pair of Jg.Pz.IVs, some off-map artillery and a large number of MGs. There are also some mines and TRPs. This image is taken from the editor. The units with [R7] beside them are reinforcements that’ll never arrive - they’ve been retained in the OrBat rather than deleted in order to maintain C2 links. Now, something tricky has occurred with one of the Rifle companies. What should be 5 Kp. has been renamed 14.(Pz.Jg.)Kp. – that’s the regimental anti-tank company. Let’s have a look inside 14 Kp.: See that? This is new in CM:BN. All the rifle and pzschreck units that belong there have been deleted, and some antitank units have been purchased and placed directly in the platoons. In fact, all the original company is being used for is to provide C2 structure and the HQs. There is a long list of teams, guns, and vehicles which can all be purchased individually, and with a little thought can be used to re-create your favourite OoB or ToE. What I’ve done here is create two independent towed guns, each with an HQ and an LMG for local protection, and a separate TD section. Was there ever an actual anti-tank company that looked like this? Probably not, and certainly not officially. But I think it’s plausible for late-July German forces, and more importantly it fits in with the scenario. The scouts, snipers, and forward observer attached directly to the 6 Kp. HQ are more of these specialist teams. From the briefing, I know that I’m facing “a combined arms battalion-sized force”, and my mission is to prevent them moving through this area. So that’s probably a couple of companys of infantry, plus some tanks, and various odd and sods; mortars, MGs, etc. There’ll be some indirect stuff too. The US edge of the map is in low ground which is mostly out of sight, so I can’t know where his main effort is going to come from, but there are three obvious routes – up the middle to seize the village and press on (this would be best for me, and I’ll massacre him in the open ground in front of the village), or taking one of the hills then turning at right-angles to take the hamlet. The next step is to lay my forces out on the map. There are a number of terrain objectives, the most important being the two hills – Hill 144 and Hill 154 – on either side of the little hamlet of la Campagne. Both hills are swathed in forest, with the one on Hill 154 giving the scenario its name. (larger image) The objectives are circled in red (trees are turned off in this image). They also happen to be the best defensive terrain, since the rest of the map is quite open. There are four objectives, and coincidentally(?) I have four rifle platoons. A naive and simple disposition would have one platoon at each, with the various support weapons scattered around similarly. It’d also be a rather poor disposition, since I’d lose flexibility. The two main objectives and la Campagne together make a nice linear position, either each able to offer mutually supporting arcs to the others. This is the view from the rear of Hill 144, across the front of la Campagne, and over to the open ground in front of Hill 154 (larger image) continued in next post ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 1: Setup continued ... Even better, la Campagne is on a small saddle that joins Hills 144 and 154, meaning that there’s covered ground to the rear. This is the view from Hill 148, at the rear (larger image) (That big floating N? Why, that’s a rough mod I use to help maintain spatial awareness There’s one at each of the cardinal and sub-cardinal points, superimposed on the mountains.bmp files.) That cluster of unit icons just off centre is in the hamlet. The open ground between the camera and the hamlet is – mostly – out of LOS from the far end of the map, which is where the US forces come on from. Therefore, I’ve decided to hold the two hills fairly strongly, hold the hamlet lightly, and just picket the rear Hill 148. I figure that if I’m fighting for Hill 148 I’ve already lost the battle, so strong forces there will be wasted. Each of the forward Hills gets a rifle platoon, an anti-tank gun section, some HMGs, and a sniper. However, I’ve kept the main forces well to the rear to keep them out of any direct fire, which is likely to be overwhelming, and also to avoid the worst of any indirect fire. The hamlet just has a couple of ‘schrecks, some HMGs, and a spotter. Slightly out in front are some small scout teams and ‘schrecks. Their job is to spot anything coming, then disrupt and delay the first approach. The units circled in green are my reserve, and it’s reasonably strong all things considered. There are three rifle platoons, the company HQ, another spare platoon HQ, and the two JgPz.IV. The upper platoon is actually the designated platoon for Hill 154, but it’s so far back that from where it is would be fairly simple to switch to the centre or right over to the other hill. So, there it is: two strong flanks, a weak centre, and a reserve consisting of over half my total force. Let’s see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanzfeld Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Bigger battle (force wise) than I usually like but I am pumped to read it!!! THANK YOU!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gpig Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Would you tell us what that random scattering of light colored objects is, located in the field North and West of the village? Hay bales? Dead cows? Gpig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Would you tell us what that random scattering of light colored objects is, located in the field North and West of the village? Hay bales? Dead cows? No cows They're hay stacks (it's actually north east of the hamlet, just on the other side of the main road) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 So, there it is: two strong flanks, a weak centre, and a reserve consisting of over half my total force. Let’s see how it goes. I like it! I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks in advance for the DAR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Those bright CMBO-like graphics will be improved??? Or, are we relying on the army of volunteer mod makers again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnersman Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 DAR? During Action Report? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Incidentally, a screeny from this scen has already been posted, here (from this screen shot gallery) That crossroads is at the US end of the map, where the first lateral branches off the main road. There hasn't been any action there - that vignette (apart from the three US soldiers running up) was all created in the editor. The tree-covered rising ground in the background is the Bois de Baugin on Hill 154. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 DAR? During Action Report? Yep. The game is still in progress, so it isn't really an after action report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Those bright CMBO-like graphics will be improved??? Or, are we relying on the army of volunteer mod makers again? The two oblique views have a red tint to them because of the German setup zones that cover almost the entire map. Otherwise ...? For my tastes, the graphics are quite subdued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krilly Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Thanks for taking the time to explain the map, force and choices about your deployment. Gave a me a good feel for the map. It will be interesting to see how those choices play out I am squinting a bit at the icons though. Is the 'spiderweb' an icon depicting man made fortifications like foxholes? What I’ve done here is create two independent towed guns, each with an HQ and an LMG for local protection Hmm, interesting. How much would it benefit AT guns to be in C2 through their own HQ? Since AT seems mostly there to ambush any armor that appears in LOS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 this should be interesting agree some of the screen-shot colours look a tad bright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childress Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 agree some of the screen-shot colours look a tad bright. Or saturated.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gpig Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Another cool pic from the main page: http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawomi Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Good informative description. One get's a clear picture of the tactical situation. As it should be. On the Ami side there is only just the usual lot of drivel and self-praise. I expect from you to give the cowboys bloody noses. Weitermachen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryphonne Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I've asked this in the US thread too, if you are allowed to do so, could you post some screenshots with the unit info? Like, for example a screenshot of the Jagdpanzer with it's internal systems/protection and so on. Quite curious to see how this looks in comparison to CMSF. And even if it looks the same I'd still like to see it (I can't help it, but I love to drool over stats and icons). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futon river crossing Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Looks like the blood is flowing one way at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanzfeld Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I've asked this in the US thread too, if you are allowed to do so, could you post some screenshots with the unit info? Like, for example a screenshot of the Jagdpanzer with it's internal systems/protection and so on. Quite curious to see how this looks in comparison to CMSF. And even if it looks the same I'd still like to see it (I can't help it, but I love to drool over stats and icons). I think in this beta the interface in not complete so no reason to show it. In fact it looks as if they go out of their way NOT to show it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincere Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Sily question: what do the prickly stick icons represent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gpig Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I believe those represent fortifications (wire, obstacles etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincere Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I believe those represent fortifications (wire, obstacles etc.) Cheers Gpig, looks logical. I didn't want to make any asumptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanzfeld Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Ohhhh...ohhhhh.....maybe we can have a note when they are done for the day so I dont keep on refreshing like a nutjob! German....we are waiting your write up!!! SCHNELLLLL!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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