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CM:BN Beta AAR/DAR Bois de Baugin - German side


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11: Wow. Just ... wow

Every battle has a tipping point, a point in time where, in retrospect, it becomes obvious that advantage has shifted from one side to the other, and everything afterwards is mopping up.

This last minute might just have been the tipping point of the battle for the Bois de Baugin.

At the end of the previous turn, if you look closely, you’ll see that the scouts and ‘schreck forward on the left flank are in big trouble. The scouts are flashing orange because one them has just been shot. That’s because a US squad has just arrived on the opposite side of the wall. And that’s because I forget to take them off hide at the end of the previous turn, when the Amis were still only halfway through their charge down the cart track.

There’s also a Sherman well forward, about parallel with my scout’s position.

I don’t think Elvis had any idea I had some guys hiding there, because there was no suppressing fire or covering fire as they moved up. That’s a pretty good example of how well the detailed spotting can be made to work for you. On the flipside, of course, the scouts and ‘schreck team were totally blind to their front, hiding as they were behind the wall.

I didn’t forget to take them off hide this time, of course, but with the US soldiers already shooting at them over the wall from just metres away ... all in all, things are about to get real bad.

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Instead, something astonishing happens. The surprise of suddenly coming across my guys so close, coupled with the devastating short-range firepower of a couple of MP-40s – and a slew of potato mashers – wipes out the lead US squad.

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The two scouts blow through magazines and hurl grenades like they’re going out of fashion. By the end of it the central section of the cart track has been swept clean, aided by some HMG fire from la Campagne. Huzzah!

The ‘schreck gets a couple of rounds away at the Sherman before they go down under a hail of return Browning fire from the tank, but unfortunately both go well long.

The Jg.Pz.IV up on Hill 144 still has his gameface on though, and brews up a second Sherman.

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Huzzah!

While that’s going on, the HMGs up on Hill 144 start carving up the platoon attempting to advance down the D-28, stopping them in their tracks. Huzzah!

Things eventually get so bad on the cart track that a couple of shocked survivors throw down their weapons.

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Huzzah! These guys are about 50m from mine, so I don’t really expect them to actually surrender. Elvis should be able to get someone close enough to give those two a good Patton-esque slap upside the head, and get them back in the game on his side. Even so, their morale will be pretty shaky for the rest of the battle.

But still; two attacks crushed, heavy casualties, and a Sherman turned into a flaming wreck - all this in just 60 seconds. Overall things did get really bad, just not in the way I expected. Huzzah! I think the course of the game has just been totally changed.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: over on Hill 154 a US soldier suddenly popped up out of nowhere, really close to my line, and started running away. I have no idea how he got there, but I do know he won’t be taking any further part in proceedings. Huzzah!

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I noticed that the flames seem to be shooting directly out of the hatches on that Sherman. In CMSF, the flames seem to be more randomly placed on the burning vehicles.

JonS, have you noticed whether placement of flames is more directly related to hatches etc., in CM:BN?

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Hello. Excuse my English but I use a translator. It is a remarkable work, since cmbo it is a jump of giant who is accomplished. As wargame it is incomparable, to date it is incomparable, very realistic, even after 9 year that I have the combat mission I am always impressed at the time of my parts. It sometimes happens to me to make several times the same scenario but the combat is always different, it there enormously of tactical possibility, it is never similar.

Continue thus and still cheer.

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Huzzah!

The screenshots are getting better, the events are getting better, the bones are getting better. Where to begin?

First of all, good job on the letting the Ami getting a bloody nose these turns. Consider it a birthday present :D

Secondly, very interesting to read about just two scouts dishing out all that pain to that Ami platoon and even forcing two of them to surrender. Very interesting, seems SMG's are going to be very deadly in CM:BN as well :eek:

And we finally get to see a burning Ronson. Woohoo!

But .... if I might nitpick just a little bit, besides the flames it doesn't really seems 'knocked out'. Maybe it helps if the hatches are all open/the gun barrel droops/the turret is askew when a tank gets knocked out?

Other than that, great update again.

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Krilly - I don't think the crew had had a chance to get out of the Sherman yet, that's why the hatches are still closed. See all the dust in that image - that's from the round-strike, and hasn't dispersed yet.

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Indeed. If you look at the Sherman further up the road - it too is KO'd, and the hatches are open.

Ooh, that's .... very ..... disturbing if you think about it to much but even better from a simulation standpoint. Thanks for the quick reply.

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12: TRPs

Today I want to talk about TRPs.

During the setup phase I had five TRPs available, and placed them as follows (trees have been turned off in this overhead shot):

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Now, in retrospect, and looking at it like that, it's obviously weighted too heavily towards the western side of the map, but I want to run through my thinking.

#1, #2, and #5 are located in the midst of their respective victory locations, or at the forward edge of them. The really nice thing about TRPs is that your spotter doesn’t need to be able to see them to call in fire accurately. So by putting them in the midst of the Bois de Baugin (BdB), in the forest on Hill 144, and in la Campagne I’m hoping to draw Elvis into those areas, then smash him unexpectedly with some rapid and accurate indirect fire, followed up by a quick assault to destroy any stunned survivors. Well, that’s the plan anyway.

#4 follows similar thinking. It’s located on top of the forward scout position on the rough track between the fields. Since the fields are open, while the track is flanked by low walls and trees, I’m expecting any advance on this flank to follow the axis of the track. After a brief fight with the scouts – there’s only four guys there, so it’s bound to be brief – he’ll likely reorganise there before pushing on to Hill 144. Surprise! Rapid and accurate indirect fire, to spoil his day. But this one will be purely attritional since I won’t be able to mount a follow up assault.

As for #3 ... eh. It’s located in a little raised copse in the middle of an otherwise open field. I had thought that he might go to it to set up an OP, or some MGs, or sumfink. Actually, it’s just a waste of that TRP. If he does occupy it as an OP or fire-support line then he’s likely to be there long enough to just fire a normal mission. And if he /doesn’t/ occupy it, then the TRP is totally wasted, since no one’s likely to wander by that way and my guys are never going to be moving over that way. It would have been far better placed somewhere along the track that heads off the top of the image – that’s a likely FUP for the US on that flank for the same reason as the track that #4 is on – the fields are open, but the track has raised sides and is flanked by trees, which provide a lot more cover than an open field. Lesson learned.

You’ll notice that I’ve got no TRPs behind the line of BdB-la Campagne-Hill 144. I figure that if – or once - the US get past that line then my line is likely to rapidly disintegrate, the battle is likely to be lost, and he’ll be moving too fast to engage with artillery even with TRPs. There’s no point trying to mitigate defeat – all resources, including TRPs, should be used to win.

This is what the TRPs look like in-game, in this case it’s TRP #4:

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It also provides an excuse for another image with one of Elvis’ many dead soldiers in it. Heh.

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The german with the Machinepistol is firing it at the Americans and obviously causing casualties judging by subsequent screenshots yet looking at his mate while doing it. Trying to impress him with a trick shot perhaps?

Regards

KR

I thought he was taking an action photo of his mate with the SMG! Now, THAT is realism!

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