MAIN EVENT VI! Red Devil vs. [hirr]Leto

[Der Kuenstler]

Yes fight fans - believe it! These two grizzled warriors from what some call the "glory days" of the Blitz CM forum have agreed to square off against each other and let their CMAK guns do the talking! The North African desert will be hot but not as hot as this rivalry. Both commanders admit they are a bit rusty from lack of playing, but nothing knocks the rust off like a showdown. Stay tuned for further details!

[OWL]

Interesting!!

Owl

[Der Kuenstler]

Interesting indeed. Here is a map of the historical situation during the month our combatants will be fighting - June of 1942.



A key battle was fought during this time - the battle of Gazala. This is from Wikipedia:

"The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the World War II Western Desert Campaign, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from May 26 to June 21, 1942. The combatants on the Axis side were the Panzer Army Afrika, consisting of German and Italian units and commanded by the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel; the Allied forces were the Eighth Army, commanded by Major General Neil Ritchie under the close supervision of the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck. The battle ended in a resounding victory for the Axis. However, devoid of effective armoured forces in subsequent battles, Rommel was unable to pursue and decisively defeat the Eighth Army in Egypt."

Operation Torch (the American invasion of North Africa) did not happen until November of 1942, so we will see no U.S. forces - this will be a British vs. Axis battle.

The best tank the British had available during this time was the M3 Grant pictured here:



In CMAK the Grant costs 130 points as a regular with 10% rarity added. The Grant can be bought in platoons of three. Its 76mm turret armor is better than average for that day, but the upper hull has only 38mm of armor, and the lower hull 51mm. The Grant can pierce 66mm of armor from 1000 meters.

On the German side, their best tank would likely be the Panzer IVF2.



It costs 132 points as a regular and its rarity is 40% - 10% cheaper than the IVG with identical stats. It can be bought in platoons of four. This tank can pierce 114mm of armor from 1000 meters. It has 50mm front armor from the top down. The 40% rarity may result in the choice of the cheaper Panzer IIIJ at 5% rarity, but the IIIJ has a slow turret and less blast and piercing power.

Both the M3 and the IVF2 have fast turrets, but only the IVF2 has a cupola. The M3 Grant has a gyrostabilizer.

As the conflict approaches, both commanders appear to be ready to put the past behind them and with a humble spirit have a fun battle.

From Red Devil:

"...hell Pete will most likely slay me with his pinkie and a pair of Italian Recon cars.. :)

Pete, offer my hand in friendly shake and a for a good game.
past is past, our differences may still remain unsettled, but the honor and pleasure to challenge you once again is worthy of my best efforts
Cheers"

From [hirr]Leto:

"Ditto Randy.
As far as I am concerned, all the nonsense is water under the bridge. I sincerely hope all is well for you and your family. Let’s just have a bit of fun… blowing up tanks should be great therapy for both of us…Thanks for taking the time to set this all up Der K! I’ll give it my best effort!
Cheers!"

Just to get the facts straight, [hirr]Leto (Peter Moroz) was not one of the group that was officially banned from the Blitz. He left on his own. When this happened, all of his stats were deleted from the Blitz ladder and he became a "shadow" player. But he recalls his ELO rating was a whopping 2452 when he left, with over 350 games played. He also says his win percentage across all clubs is 86%. I have noticed that he joined the Band of Brothers site this past year.

Red Devil (Randy Plume) is still a club member here. His current ELO is 2132. He is 4th all-time with 660 games played. He recently turned up as a new member over at The Few Good Men.

So we can see that it appears both of these players still love the game and are trying to start over elsewhere following the painful events of the past. More importantly, each appears to be looking forward to a measure of healing that this match might bring. But winning always heals better than losing and these two are both still fiercely competitive.

By the way, this battle was allowed only after an entire week of deliberation of the upper club leadership, and I'm sure they will be watching the proceedings with interest...



Next up: the map...

[Der Kuenstler]

This map was created especially for the ensuing battle. Both players have already approved of it as is. As you can see, it is not the typical "race for the flag" map. Instead, it was designed to present several tactical options. First of all, both players will begin out of sight of each other and side by side - a large elevated rock plain separates the two. They will each try to reach the Oasis to the North of the map by running parallel to each other. But it won't be that simple - each has a small blocking force in a town in the path of the other's forces.

Each player may elect to race for the oasis. Or he could go around behind and try to take the other's base in the South. Or he could cross the high plain in the middle and try to catch the other's armor broadside. (Or any combination) The blocking forces could try to hold the town they are in or get out of there on the trucks provided. This should test both players skills as well as their sense of intuition.



Below is a shot of the German holding force that will be imported with the map. It is basically one infantry platoon with some wire, trenches, etc. The British blocking force is pretty much the same to the West. Because this town is closer to the Oasis than the British town, the road on this side has been torn up to slow the Germans a little. The Oasis can be seen in the distance.



Here we see the Oasis - all that water...cool water. There is a luxury hotel in the background overlooking the tranquil scene. But soon the desert flies will be feasting on the bodies of the dead and the air will be full of explosions and screams...



The battle will take place at dusk in order to eliminate planes and to reduce the German gunsight advantage somewhat. The ground will be arid rock instead of sand.

I have already asked the commanders to pick a number between 1-25. Leto picked 12. Red Devil picked 13. (It's a close battle already!) The number was 19. This means RD will carefully choose his forces and send the setup to Leto...

[Mikey_FGM]

Wow, what a map!

Rumble on Arid Rocks,
Scramble in the Sand,
Death amongst the Dunes!

Should an awesome game.

[wigam]

I must say I like the map too and the idea for the game. Nice one DK!

[cillmhor]

What a fantastic map and idea for a battle, and two of the very best. This has to be one of the all-time most anticipated match-ups. I've found my new morning read before work! Well done DK on getting this match together.

[Der Kuenstler]

Thanks guys - I'm looking forward to what happens as much as anybody!

Latest update: Surprisingly, Red Devil has chosen to be British.

"For King and Country then..." he says.

Parameters for the battle:

Meeting engagment
June 1942
North Africa
Force mix, nationality, & quality unrestricted.
Fitness = fit
No casualties
Ammo full
3000 points
no handicap
standard rarity
Dusk
warm
clear
Breeze
33 turns variable
Load map from file

[cargol]

Great map and great concept.
Well done DK for organising this one.
Needless to say that im waiting for Leto's and Red Devil's comments.
It will be an old time classic.

[Der Kuenstler]

North Africa is one of the driest regions on earth. Nearly two-thirds of the region is desert. Desert air contains little moisture, so few clouds form over the land. Without clouds to block the sun, temperatures may reach as high as 125 degrees during the day. At night, without the clouds to contain the heat, the temperature can fall to as low as 45 degrees or below.

Extreme temperatures combined with little rainfall make desert life difficult for people, plants, and animals. Most of the living things in the desert have had to get tough or die under the harsh conditions, growing spines, burrs, and fangs. It is the same for men - the desert is not for wimps - soldiers needed thick skin, a determined spirit and a sense of humor to survive.

Message from Red Devil:
"Kelvin, you can post anything I write in my emails at your discretion - most of it will be incoherent babbling as my forces dissolve around me but that's yet to come.. :P Pete, setup will be with you in a day or so, be sure to begin drinking heavily and constantly over the next month :)
cheers"

Message from [hirr]Leto:
"Okay, got the file. LMK take a few days to personally inspect every rock, nook and cranny on the map and then I will figure out what vehicles blow up and burn the best for the Germans. I just bought myself a nice case of Stella Artois, so I am ready for the thirsty desert! Cheers!"

Soon the setups will be done and then both commanders must be prepared to endure the intense heat - and sting or be stung...