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OK. This evening, the 6th of June and the 65th aniversary of the Normandy invasion Rob and I played 4 games. Well actually the first game we played (Amfreville) the map was split into 1/3 again for deployment so we burned a turn on the map setting up our positions for the next battle. No shots were fired.

We're still on the first turn of the game:

Our next battle was for Merville Battery. This was probably the bloodiest battle we'd had so far. The Germans were in good position to fend off the British paras. My troops formed a defensive semi circle around the British BG's starting position. My plan was to simply give the British as much pain as I could. I was fairly optimistic that with 2 MG 34s occupying the nearby village in the south east corner of the map I could fend off the inevitable British attack in that direction. Below is my overall deployment.

Things started out well. I managed to grease a para team trying to sneak up toward the gun emplacements. But Rob had an ace in the hole. He had an ATG set up in the hedge on the far side of the field with a perfect field of fire on my units in the village. He guessed correctly that I would set up there. In no time at all he managed to blast my MG 34s to bits, killing the entire teams with his ATG. This opened the way for his troops to occupy the village with minimal casualties.

I tried to take out Robs ATG with my mortar but only managed to kill a few of the gun crew, leaving the remainder to continue firing on my troops in the village. Finally I dropped a smoke barage in front of his gun but the barage still left a clear window straight to the village. All was in vain.

My only relative success. Rob's troops try to take the VL on the road to Pegasus Bridge. But my Grenadiers are waiting for them. Rob's attack is beaten off but not without my share of casualties.

And here is the aftermath of the battle.

NEXT BATTLE: PEGASUS BRIDGE

Having learned my lesson with ATGs, I figured I would try to turn the tables on Rob this time around. I brought my own ATG to the battle to duke it out with the Brits.

As the battle kicks off Rob's ATG finds my troops in the 2 story "Poor Sod's House" eliminating them quickly in a couple shots. I aim my own ATG at Rob's to try and destroy his gun but the first couple shots miss, giving Rob the chance to spot my ATG and blast it to bits, killing the entire crew. So much for my dastardly plans.

By a strange twist of fate I have my main force spread across a line of hedges meeting squarely with the main British advance. Both battle groups are about to collide in a storm of gunfire. First off Rob's men find my Osstruppen guarding the entrance to the Ranville Bridge and blow the puss out of them without sustaining a single casualty.

Now the battle REALLY heats up!! Rob has charged just about EVERYTHING he has right into my waiting Osttruppen. It's going to be an absolute bloodbath for both sides!

Both sides are suffering HEAVILY! But the British have more men and hence are able to sustain the casualties better than I am.

Finally my defensive line is broken. My noble and brave Osttruppen died to the last man, brave foreign volunteers dying for the glory of the Fuhrer. Alas their reward is in heaven for their bravery. But the British now control most of the battlefield and as Axis morale breaks, they now control almost the whole map.

And the aftermath of the first battle for Pegasus bridge. German morale broke giving the Brits areas of the map which the Germans had previously held. including Pegasus bridge itself. My Osttruppen will be hard pressed to take that territory back.

ORIGINAL: Gary Childress

NEXT BATTLE: PEGASUS BRIDGE

Having learned my lesson with ATGs, I figured I would try to turn the tables on Rob this time around. I brought my own ATG to the battle to duke it out with the Brits.

I cant ever remember having 2 atg's out in the open battling it out like that, that was so cool. I was lucky I had 3 mortar teams to eventually start firing in support of our duel (but there was a delay as you caught me totally off guard). Thats one map were the Ost could use a mortar team.

Gz...

LAST BATTLE FOR THE EVENING: UNCLE RED

On this auspicious day, the 65th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy Rob and I played our last battle for the evening. Day is breaking over the coast of Normandy on June 6th 1944. All during the night there have been reports of battles with enemy airborne troops. Something is afoot. All these airborne troops can only mean one thing. The Allied invasion is near. But is this just a diversion? Will the Allies still land at Calais as our high command suspects?

Dwan breaks along the beaches of Normandy to the sound of gently breaking surf. The air is crisp and the smell of salt water permeates. H-hour, June 6th 1944. German troops along the coast are preparing coffee and breakfast, getting ready for another routine day along the mighty Atlantic Wall. Off in the distance there is still the muffled sound of gunfire somewhere back inland, back in the distance. A strange night it has been. Telephone lines are down, the French underground has been very busy last night. What is going on?

General Von Garystein peers through his binoculars out into the haze of the morning surf. Is this it? Will they come today? Or will it be another monotonous day along the coast of France. Suddenly something catches my attention, a faint spec on the horizon, growing larger, slowly materializing out of the mist and darkness. Then another spec! And another! And another! Invasion!! The enemy has come! And to Normandy of all places! Warships and transports as far as the eye can see! A fleet so mighty as that would never be assembled by man again. If only once I had such power in my hands!

Suddenly a loud crash and a great torrent of wind. A near miss by a large calibur naval shell. There is more crashing and exploding. All over a living inferno of hell. My troops dash madly to take cover wherever it is available. The noise is defening. Little do I know that this stetch of beach would be known to my adversary as Utah beach. The Allied invasion of Normandy has begun.....

OK. the battle begins. The Allied invasion force lands on Utah beach, Uncle Red. I decided to set my defense up right smack in the middle of the map. I figure Rob will probably come straight for me judguing from his setup area. The flanks are left unguarded. I don't have enough men to cover the whole beach. But I'll give Rob a run for his money.

Play begins and I see three Sherman DDs sitting nice and pretty on the beach. I have my Pak 38 ATG sheltered in the main bunker in the middle of the map with a perfect field of fire on the beach. Boink! Boink! Boink! My tank gun fires at the northmost Sherman. But all I get is the rattle of the shell ricocheting off the Sherman's armor. I spend about 7 shots on the Sherman and nothing. Then suddenly....BOOM!! My ATG gets blown up. The crew run to the back of the bunker to hide. Now it's up to my machine guns to deal with the enemy. Not a single of the three American tanks has been knocked out.

Rob advances straight up the beach right into my concentration of units. But I have nothing to deal with his Shermans. I manage to mow down some of his infantry from the safety of the bunker with my MG 34 team. But the Americans soon overrun the position killing everyone inside. In a short but fierce battle German morale breaks forfeiting all the VLs except a single one leading off the beach.

And the aftermath of a short but ferocious battle. Americans almost control the whole beach in a single turn.

And so ends this day the 6th of June 2009, 65 years after the original battle of Normandy. Rob (a/k/a panzerlehr62) and I have now played our first Beach map. The invasion is in full swing. Will the Allies be able to win again, 65 years afterward or will history be rewritten? We shall see as this campaign develops. Win or lose this will be a great campaign as my first multiplayer CC campaign. And it seems only fitting that we should kick off the first beach map on the 6th of June.

Rob and I salute all those who participated in this battle 65 years ago. May their memory live on. And thank you for all the sacrifices they made for the rest of us. The greatest generation America has ever produced is slowly fading away but their memory lives with us in games like Close Combat The Longest Day. Peace be with all of you who served in the second world war. May the road rise to meet your feet every step of your journey into the unknown.

I just want to post a follow-up. Our game file became unplayable so the GC was cancelled.

What do you mean by corrupted? If it has and it is not due to changing exe versions during the ongoing campaign then you should zip it up and add it to a post for the developers to look at....

Hello Tejszd,

We were never sure what happened. We both had beta 1b patch from the start. For some weird reason the game just went crazy. We were having 1/3 map deployments thru out most of the AB (both 82/101) drop maps. Then the weirdest was missing mortar teams after the first turn (basically found that out by running it thru the turn as a test as that happened in another GC I had going were we did patch in the middle of the game file. So the fact that file (other GC) was screwy was blamed on patching it after we had started it.

I have since started a new GC and as you can see (posting it daily) we are at turn 3 and everythg is fine so far. What I did was re-install the game as was recommended by Andrew.

We did send the file to Andrew by the way to look at (you will see posts about 1/3 deployments some weeks back).

Gz..