THE MAIN EVENT III! Arrow vs. Moondog

[fluidwill]

There has to be a cheaper way than large caliber arty but bridge dropping, mines, wire, fire, roadblocks etc, chanelling your opponent is in the Will list of "good things to do in CM battles" and its also in my list "things I must improve on to increase my win%"

2009 is gonna be a big year for lists, you heard it here first

[herroberst]

nope - can't do it in meeting engagements...because it would require pre-planning and these armies are considered to be meeting abruptly. (that's why some players insist on having all guns mounted on transport at startup.) This map has some shallow fords in it so it wouldn't be a gamebreaker anyway to blow bridges...

Okay, I thought that on the first turn after setup you could pre plan arty but it could not be moved thereafter... my bad... but, if the game is a rush to the flags, slowing the opponent down with such tactics if other than meeting engagment would be a good idea althought some see stonking the assembly areas as gamey.

[British Tommy]

I must agree with Herroberst concerning dropping the bridges but dropping artillery on the enemy set up zone is not so much gamey as unsportsman like
It will be interesting to see how each player handles his best armour. Will they hold them back and then bring them out later in the battle or start using them early? If I were the German player I would have them sat way back and pick off the Sherman's one by one :)

[Der Kuenstler]

Minute one starts out with Arrow's vehicles snarled in a mild traffic jam - his regular M3A1 halftrack has longer command delays than the trailing shermans - it takes him over 30 seconds to get going. Two shermans plow into his backside but they eventually all get going.



To the North, Arrow's elite sherman goes forward about 40 meters, then cautiously pulls to a halt, letting his halftracks press on alone - no chances will be taken with it.



Moondog's big guns are turning towards the central flags on "fast" - he has several MG42s he wants to deliver. Turning this way means their sides are now exposed to Arrow's Elite Sherman, but still out of his LOS.



First shots fired: this green American halftrack spots a 251/1 off in the distance. "Are those Germans?" The green crew is fresh from the states and has never actually seen the enemy yet. "Shoot! Shoot!" The halftrack's flexible MG gets a burst off at second 56.



This prompts Moondog to comment: "Feckin hell rounds rattling off the tin already on turn one. :-?"

[fluidwill]

I went back and looked at the purchases again, who'd be the yanks in a QB?

Moondogs troops are vets, he's got more arty and all you can say in favour of Arrows admittedly balanced force over MDs is that its got 3 AT guns and a bunch of bazookas and some .50cals. None of those are game winners.
Armour wise I like the 76(W) but again Arrows are reg against some quality on the other side.

I dont know much about QB's but I'd take the German forces any day of the week and twice on Sundays, did Arrow (or more likely me) miss something or are German forces cheaper?

Looking forward to seeing how it plays out regardless.

[Der Kuenstler]

"Who'd be the yanks in a QB?"

Oh I don't know - I checked the stats and I'm 8-1-1 as the allies in 3000 pt CMAK Quick battles. Arrow himself is 9-3-3 as the allies in 3000 pt Quick Battles. Some consider US infantry to be the best in the game. I certainly don't find it any harder to win with them than with the Germans. But he may have trouble with regulars vs. vets.

[Extraordinarius]

My problem is that I really want to win battles as the Americans, not win the pregame negotiatonns. I quit all my CM ladder games a month ago when I played my first "Unrestricted" games as the Germans against the Americans. The designers of CMAK have made such a thorough job of crippling the Yanks that it looks like they did it on purpose.

[Der Kuenstler]

Minute two:

To the North, Arrow directs his Halftrack and 57mm gun between two houses towards some good cover he has found, but as they can make the turn - kablammm!! - 120mm shells start falling. Moondog has had one of his vet spotters targeting that spot since turn one in anticipation that there would be something there. This results in the first casualty of the game - halftrack commander Taylor is killed by the blast - throwing the crew into shock - will they make it out of this alive? The blue circle shows the probable blast pattern.

Also notice that Arrow has decided to zoom his Elite Sherman on fast up to the frontlines - no doubt he wants to bag some juicy German 251/1s before they can hide.



The minute ends with much to be resolved - here Moondog's three Stugs have just come to a halt - notice each has stopped behind a house to give them cover from possible threats from the East. Suddenly the lead Stug spots Arrow's lead regular Sherman coming downtown!



From Arrow's view, we see he has three of his Shermans going downtown while the vet Sherman flanks out to the South. His second 57mm gun is about to be deliverd into some scattered trees - so far unseen. We can see Arrow's lead Sherman spotted by the hun stug. All of these vehicles still have riders on them - there will be blood!



Again from Moondog's view, we see his 251/1s all bunched up downtown. They have done their delivery job well - the pioneer platoon has jumped out and is running towards the church - no doubt the Germans will get there first. But as the minute ends, Arrow's elite Sherman appears and licks his chops - those halftracks are caught like fish in a barrel!



A sweet spot: Arrows third 57mm gun has rolled itself into a very nice place. The gun is well hidden and can see straight down the main street of town where Moondog's vet Tiger is approaching. The blue line shows its line of sight.

[Mikey_FGM]

Great LOS on that ATG... That might be a critical unit in the next few turns if Moondog sends his Tiger that way...

Can a 57mm ATG whack a Tiger at 700+ meters? If it does, it'll be a catastrophic loss for Moondog, as his 3 Stugs will surely be outflanked and KO'd by the 5 Sherman's Arrow now has in the area....

The front seems poised for an eruption... Should be a decisive next few turns...

[British Tommy]

I can't see a 57mm ATG at that range knocking out a Tiger but maybe a lucky shot .... :chin:
The HT's will be easily killed by the ATG and it will have problems against the Stugs if the shells hit them on the front. The thing is, will the ATG be spotted at that range?? It might make him cautious when the shells hit and bounce off.