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Viking (US) vs. Vathailos (GE)
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2003 5:45 pm
by Vathailos
My first engagement with the renowned American commander, Viking02. He brings with him the strengths of their artillery and air power, and the experience of countless campaigns. I believe it’s early fall, on the largest battlefield I’ve ever gazed across.
My first turn may portend a future defeat, unless my luck somehow changes. Not much contact, my scouts in the front indicate American scouts probing our positions. There was the opening smoke and artillery fire, ineffective. We disable a jeep in the center, and planned on decimating a scout section and the airborne troops in odd amphibious carriers behind them with our large guns. However, on the second salvo, a tube jams, followed by another. That’s two expensive artillery pieces out of the game on turn 1. No counter-battery, no kills.
I fear we’ll be at the mercy of their guns sooner than later. I’ve given the orders to start the engines in our armored vanguard. We’ll be moving forward to whatever fate awaits us sooner rather than later.
Commander Viking, we await your next move…
EDIT:
Forgot to add that I've got my fingers crossed on the load on your end Viking, **** fast arty was "ON" on preferences, had to turn off, re-start, play, send.
We'll see...
In addition, I'll be on tonight and available to play a couple of turns if you'll shoot them my way.
Out of curiosity, how many turns is this large battle buddy?
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 12:54 am
by dwayne
go Vath, go. Show this american boy that they should do something better than mingle with veteran German troops.
Herr Oberst Vathailos, you Knight Cross with swords awaits you after defeding this easy enemy:D
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 4:35 am
by VikingNo2
dwayne: Slap Slap the glove has been thrown
Now that that is out of the way, recon continues to probe and Field Marshel Vathailos goes for counter battery firel
Turn 02 GE
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 5:16 am
by Vathailos
It appears as though General Viking's recon assets have spotted a Tiger atop a small hill. 155mm artillery rains down on it, as the driver is given the command "driver, back full, schnell!"
More recon, and more indirect fire rolls before the American forces.
(next turn should be in your "in-box")

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 5:30 am
by VikingNo2
Just want to let you know I was around:rolleyes:
Turn 03 GE
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 7:02 am
by Vathailos
The action between recon elements intensifies, another jeep with .30 cal is taken out. Bazooka teams are spotted in the North, as is another recon jeep.
Far in the enemy's rear, a special kind of action is brewing - the Special Forces kind...
A squad appears, shoots up then melees an American rifle squad to death. Then the deadly MG42 is turned on a hapless Ammo Truck. BOOM! A Dodge carrier is also riddled with bullets, but survives. The DUK transports turn their .50's on the elite SS recon, but fail to kill them, as they pop smoke to cover their retreat.
Only a fool would assume that the American Rangers are not also lurking about. We have doubled our patrols in the rear and are searching for them now.
The enemy has dropped an 81mm smoke screen in the North, we're expecting an advance. We are well-prepared.
So far, the only German losses are injured infantry from the splashes of 155 HE fire raining down across the map.
My opponent now repositions his artillery in the rear to avoid my infiltrators, and brings quad-.50's to hunt them down, or perhaps even flame tanks...
(next turn to you Viking)
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 7:37 am
by VikingNo2
No hunted them with regular halftrack thequad that killed my ammo truck dies as well as a German squad on the front line
Turn 04 GE
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 8:28 am
by Vathailos
Indeed, Special Forces squad was subjected to three HT's armed with .50's and .30's, and a little direct fire from a 4.2" to soften them up first didn't hurt.
I hope those rounds will be sorely missed now that one ammo supplier is gone. We shall see. A lucky arty barrage on my part kills one soldier, not sure what, just got a casualty message.
The American artillery is ruthless, pounding my suspected recon positions. He's killed one of my SS squads with a quad .50 in a hit-and-run. I'm preparing for more of that. He's got eyes somewhere, time to put them out.
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 9:37 am
by VikingNo2
Speeking of eye's another Spec Ops squad dies to the halftrack Jeep hunt killer team.
This turn he hits me with rockets
chalange
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 1:48 pm
by dwayne
Originally posted by VikingNo2
dwayne: Slap Slap the glove has been thrown
If this should be a chalange than I accept. But I asked for a little delay as I have 3 more games going on and I am loosing track of the things

I will let you know when the time is right to smash you:mad:
Turn 05 GE
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 6:07 pm
by Vathailos
A bit more action this turn. Perhaps in revenge for the death of their SF brothers, the German recon screen pushes forward.
To the North, more heavy artillery falls, but this time the Germans fire some of their own. As recon elements move forward, they find a Ranger squad in the trees on a hill. SS and Panthers are pulled forward and dispatch the Rangers. In addition, we spot a bazook team in overwatch (who was probably calling in all that arty on our positions). We kill one member and force them to withdraw. Some SS troops try in vain to land shots into the open hatch of a Hellcat.
In the middle, a .50 jeep (that I thought I'd killed before) was eliminated. A recon team spotted a sniper, the shell-shocked remnants of an SS squad crested a small to deal with the sniper and found another recon jeep (much to their surprise, it'd lived through a rocket bombardment). They dispatched that instead. And the suprise of the turn was a kubelwagon that somehow survived an intense US 155mm barrage pushed forward, spotted another recon jeep. Again, a Panther rolled forward to deal with it. Destroyed. But in the aftermath, as the lucky kubelwagon crew rolled up beside the Panther, an M9 Bazooka team opened up on them and missed! They ducked while the Panther supressed the bazooka. A recon squad with the Panther assisted, but were damaged by shrapnel. The bazooka team was finally killed by the driver of the kubelwagon himself with a pistol!
To the far South and rear West of the map so far, it's quiet.
US arty continues to punish, and we in turn continue to hunt the US infiltrators we know are there.
(played this fast before work this AM, was probably a bit sloppier than I should have been against Viking)
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 2:37 am
by VikingNo2
The Panther in the north and the south that participated in the attacks are now dead. A infantry squad with a halftrack get shot up but the haltrack still lives
The Tiger that vacated the overwatch position earlier came back this time we put smoke in his way. I belive he was planning to kill anything the was going to come after the Panther in the north:rolleyes: Thats what I would have done anyway
Multiple German snipers are spotted:eek:
In the backfield another Spec Ops has but put to death by my Jeep halftrack hunting party, sadly one of the jeeps dies.
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 3:50 am
by Vathailos
Got your AAR, but no turn

. Please send. Thanks!
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 6:11 am
by VikingNo2
did you get it, or did I send you the wrong one
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 10:04 am
by VikingNo2
Last turn a Ranger squad got wiped out, but i gave me some info I was able to drop some 155mm on some heavy mortars, riding on Jadapanthers
This turn the German infantry is still invisible, two tigers get killed one in the north and one in the middle.
Drops some arty in the trees on his side of the map. There has got to be something in there.
Back to you General Vathailos
Turn 07 GE
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 8:19 pm
by Vathailos
I'm learning rapidly that you don't move MBT's forward in groups of one OR two. A Panther moved forward with a Tiger in overwatch. The Panther was engaged from a rear/side of the hill (out of Tiger's LOS) supressing it. The tiger was supressed from a far off ATG, and then by a jeep with a .30 that popped over a hill. Then two Wolverines crested a small hill and killed the Tiger.
Another Tiger, with a height 15 position, full smoke to its left flank and a straight frontal allignment with it's attacker was hit by 75mm AP fire from about 17 hexes that somehow registered against 95 thickness against it's front, killing it. Viking will have to share that mojo after the battle.
One Wolverine and that Jeep paid the price (I can't believe how some of these Germans can rally).
Elsewhere, we're again barraged by indirect fire, a Panther takes a couple of shots at (and misses) a Greyhound.
A MG team is spotted by my recon assets, engaged (2 casualties, retreats) as well as its 60mm mortar Jeep in overwatch (who was brave enough to lay a smoke screen from about 10 hexex away).
An unlucky GE recon squad stumbles upon another Ranger squad. They are dispatched quickly, but the Rangers pay the price.
My tanks seem to be unable to OP-fire, and I'm facing INCREDIBLY slow (didn't know there was such a difference between PBEM and AI) reload rates of arty, about 1/3 to 1/4 the AI rate. Is this normal?
My rear area is a sea of movement as we search for even more American infiltrators.
One other question, is it possible to turn off the "*" in PBEM? It gives my infiltrators away every time. I can't use them to spot for my artillery when in the enemy rear. His H/K teams root me out and MG me to death every time. Workaround?
Thanks, and back to you Viking (in your e-mail).
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:41 pm
by VikingNo2
I shot the Tiger from a higher elevation, that increases your chances.
An if I have a shot with a AT gun or a 76mm Tank gun at a Tiger I tank it. Even if I don't kill it I can scare it :rolleyes:
Turn 08 UK
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 4:16 am
by Vathailos
Viscious American artillery continues to pound our positions. Firing from high elevations, Colonel Viking's forces are wreaking havoc on our better engineered armor. We will have to use terrain as well.
This turn, we get a Quad-.50, damage a Greyhound and Bazooka team. Kill one recon squad and injure another. Also get one .30 cal Jeep. I'm afraid I extended myself a bit too far to get him as well. We shall see...
Back to you Viking!!

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 7:39 am
by VikingNo2
Not too much kill a couple of halftraks and a Panther. Recon is still reporting nothing:(
Turn 9 GE
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 10:30 pm
by Vathailos
It has turned into a cat-n-mouse game. I feared I had extended those troops/halftracks too far, and they did pay the price.
Very little action this turn, save a large artillery bombardment by the US, which takes out a Panther with a top hit.
I spot a hapless MG team in the south and gun them down. The US artillery has indeed been a problem, but we have a means to deal with that too in preperation.
Something should happen soon.
My turn is in your box, Colonel Viking.