Combat Log

I have recently taken over as commanding officer of the 24th Dragoons, 3rd Canadian Division. Most of the unit is a veteran wwiionline squad composed of primarily canucks - a bunch of good guys all around. I am from Texas - and have fit in pretty good so far; they voted me into the CO slot - we will see if their support was well placed. I just got an email from a guy who is an infantry officer in the Canadian Army looking to join the squad. It will be nice having some more expertise in the unit - and am thinking of tapping him for training activities.

The map is a blowout now - all red sliders since yesterday. Apparently CRS is going to reset the map today at ~1430...which is GREAT since I am at work until 1630... :(

Great opportunity to get the attendance up and start fighting as a unit again.

The division began to put pressure on the Axis by pressing our screenline out from Namur and blowing the FB from Andenne. Some very good work and kudos to Jea3, Secret, Fastiger, Mgoddard, H0ss, and a cast of thousands for kicking some serious butt. Unfortunately we lost Eghezee - which we spent some time trying to retake. After the fall of Eghezee the Germans starting pushing down from the North of Namur; bad deal, but we fought them off (got a kill on a stug and a pz38 as well as inf from my R35 on the north ridgeline). Only 1 24th member was on other than me - so we folded into the adhoc unit made up of other squads.

Spent most of yesterday playing 'whack-a-mole' in Liege. The town is very big - but we were able to set up some good OPs to at least get fixes on where they were entering the town and quickly react to it. A sniper was harassing our troops (actually he nailed a few of them) near the West AB. I was on top of a building across the river from him to the south and happend to see him repositioning on top of the roof top. I spent about 30 rounds in his direction (the distance was at least 500 meters) with no discernable effect; at that point he decided to make a break for the west flag building on the North side of the river. I spent another 10 rounds as he went down the fire escape - no hits - and then he entered the 1st floor of the building - and I thought he was gone for sure.

However, I kept seeing him as he went by the open doorways - and would take a pot shot when I saw him - to no avail. From his movement it was obvious he was going for that flag building. After I saw him go past the final doorway on the west corner of the building - I thought 'this is it' - if he makes it he's going to contest the town. He paused for a few seconds to get back his stamina, and I lined up my shot where I thought he would be - then he made is break for it, running in a zig-zag for the building 20 meters away across the road from his cover. I exhaled and then squeezed the trigger...down he went. I couldn't believe that shot - after all that I finally hit him! 500 meters at least with iron sights on a moving target. I will probably never get off a shot like that again.

We were attacking Tongeren yesterday evening - and I spawned out to look at the map - saw Chevron contested - and decided to jump in and take a look.

Instantly DEAD. - On deathcam I saw no less than 10 panzers in the AB.

I put the division on alert via teamspeak, and spawned in again as a sapper. We managed to get several guys with smgs into the bunker, and we went after the tanks with sappers and the 1934 AT guns and tanks.

The noise and confusion was terrific - I died 3 times during that fight (I thought I would have died more - I guess divine providence was with me). We took back the AB then worked our way outside. The Axis mounted several counterattacks - but we held firm after that.

The second major Armor battle at Chevron later that night was foiled by a recon plane for our Manhay assault that happened to spot your massed armor; we immediately posted level 1 missions in Chevron and rallied the troops. A prime example of how timely intel and teamwork can make the difference between success and failure.

(I wanted to log this on the 2nd - but after typing it out the first time - the blogger interface locked up and I lost it...I decided to come back later - and now is later. This occurred on Sunday night - Monday morning)

I was getting ready to log out at about 11pm, and was going around contesting towns on the periphery just to be a pain in the butt (I had just helped contest Hannut).

I went to Hamteau with a lonewolf (bzz2 - found out he was a regular Axis lonewolf 90% of the time - heheh) with the intention of doing the same. Then, after mentioning what I was doing - the division decided to follow up.

I got bzz2 to hold up on the capping - and he moved into the AB and took out the AI for us as our contesting team arrived. I respawned after they were set - and got another beddy. I loaded up SNAIL, Loc and a few others and rolled back to Hamteau along western hills - originally intending to come in from the NW and be a backup to the contesting teams; reports of a pzr near the church and problems with the original bunker team argued for a different route, so we came in from the SW instead.

I ran right up to the entrance to the AB - and stopped right there to provide some cover as the troops dismounted. The bunker was to the left and they guys ran in and capped it under a steady hail of bullets from the suprised ei and pzrs. I don't know what happened to the original bunker team...

I then helped defend Hamteau while our guys continued on their roll into Manhay (bzz2 - brought up some armor from Marche after dieing - and was helpful in cleaning up some of the panzers that tried to force their way into town from the North). An interesting hightlight of the Manhay attack was the report of a large column of enemy tanks heading into Chevron. I posted a level 1 mission there to help funnel lonewolves into that critical juncture with instructions on the expected composition and location of the force. This is a prime example of how timely intel provided by reconnaisance can make the difference between success and failure.

After spawning into Manhay to help clean it up - we spawned into Sprimont and ran the Verviers operation - with the happy fortune of running into the 333rd who was also there at the same time for the same purpose. Our two units worked great together and we quickly put down the axis air machine at that town, gaining a close launching point for our own aviators. Great job everyone involved.

When I looked at my clock - finally deciding to succumb to sleep - it was 4am! The little harrassment mission had turned into an all-nighter... :shock:

Kudos to all that were involved. In particular Duffman - for cleaning up much of the vultures at the Verviers AF; Snides for running the Verviers operation and showing us where not to go to avoid the AI at the AF; Staffsgt for running the SAB cap team - it went off like clockwork (I was just worried that the AAA that spawned as you ran by would get you before you made it in the bunker); bzz2 for playing allied like an allied; and all of the rank and file and leaders that pulled it off -

!S

I logged in last night with the intention of doing a bit of sniping...

I saw that Liege was contested - for longer than was reasonable. I checked the map - and saw 1 flag down...geez, can't lone wolves cap a flag? I jumped in, put up a level 1 mission, then ran out to the flag in question and capped it. cd6 showed up in an A13 about that time and I was going to have him use his optics to scan the area for ei - when small arms fire and grenade explosions erupted on the far South side of town.

cd6 gave me a ride down there. The battle seemed to have subsided. I got on a tall building - intending to outpost it - when cd6 opened up on an ei. Shortly after that cd6 logged for the evening. Then a flag East of the EAB went down. I respawned at the EAB and checked it out - found a supply depot flag german - restored it to its proper owners. Then, saw movement by the railroad station - which shortly fell as well. An ei decided he wanted to take me out - and started running for me - I took some pot shots at him at range - and he continued to move in. When he was within 200 meters - he dropped and got off a quick shot which winged me. My next shot killed him.

Wounded, I limped over and recapped the trainstation flag - then bummed a ride off of Colt25 back to the base to claim my kill (I don't like to cut them any slack stats-wise). Just when I thought we had them licked, another flag was capped on the West side of the river. I spawned into the WAB and moved East toward the flag. Halfway there I see another flag capped - and reports of the West AB falling!

I turned around and made my way back to the WAB bunker. I tried the dedagn grenade toss around the corner, but failed - and ended up getting winged for it. I backed off outside and saw movement through the firing slit outside, I tossed in several grenades and got a direct hit right inside of the window. Thinking there was only 1 ei, I then entered and made my way down the first hallway - turning the corner I ran into another ei - who nailed me (I did get the kill on the other ei with the grenade toss I saw later). After that others cleaned up the mess...the division was called to Eupen and then Bastogne to put down some major attacks.

I spawned into Eupen and helped clean up the town and secure the flags (I capped one flag, killed a couple of ei and damaged a panzer enough to make him return to base).

So, you can see I spent most of the night putting out fires - and spent zero time sniping. C'est la guerre.

Last night was not very satisfactory (can we say 'CDT' and system lockups?).

I did get involved on an attack on Malmedy that was blown by a lone wolf who decided to shoot up the AB. We were talking to him in chat - but he wasn't listening. My system locked up and I ended up having to power cycle my machine right at the point when we were halfway through the timer (going for another flag no less) - grrr.

Later I dumped out a follow-on force on the ground after my system again locked up while driving a bedford truck (and unbeknownst to me) and running into a wall. RAF was particularly insensed and emptied several magazines into my truck. I decided to just go along for the ride after that - and had another CDT a little later, packing it in for the night.

No plan ever survives the first round fired...and last night was no exception.

Last night was exhilarating and frustrating at the same time...

Logged in and began mission to prep Vise...spawned tanks (Colt25, Staffsgt, Willytee and myself - if I missed anyone or got the names wrong - sorry). We practiced some basic armor formations en route to our jump off point NW of Vise. Our mission was to complete clearing all AI.

We rolled in and blew the AT AI on the SW corner, and rolled in closer and zapped mg ai....then the login server decided to burp. We had no infantry with us in the town at all (note to self: always bring at least 1 infantry with the tank column - even if you are 'just a diversion' or 'just a clearing team'). Robhood was already there in a tank blasting AI when we arrived.

Once the server came up the fight was on...I spawned a beddy and kept pushing infantry and AT/AAA guns up to the front; Axis spawned EI and AT guns were thick. We would keep it contested for a while, even to the point of having a radio in the bunker, then the Germans would uncontest. We just didn't have enough infantry to follow through...Finally a lucky turn of events and we managed to take the bunker.

As this happened - Maastricht went contested - and then we lost it! It didn't seem like more than 7 minutes...but must have been - they got both ABs (where the heck was the BEF??). I spawned into a forward base into Maastricht and found a beddy sitting at the inf spawn (medic2). Medic2 is my old CO from TGIF...so I jumped on him explained the situation - and we rolled into town. We capped a few flags then he went looking for the South FB. We found it on the SW side of town - and it was semi-well defended. Through a hail of bullets we threaded away from their screenline (which was on the SW side of the AB) - and looped around the motorpool. Medic2 rolled me right up to the AB bunker under a hail of fire from numerous EI...and slammed into the bunker by the patio!

I immediately went red from the impact - but only lost my stamina and a small sliver of damage. I immediately turned where I thought the door was and started jogging - I heard fire all around me and took several glancing hits, which kept my view red. Miraculously, I did not go down. I kept jogging and turning where I thought the walls were until my vision came back. I was standing in the AB bunker room where the table would have been and the radio table was gone - chat verified that I had capped the bunker. Right then an EI smg popped into the room and took me out for good.

3CD respawned into AB, cleared the bunker and held it. The combined forces from several squads then spawned and cleared the town, taking out the other AB in the process.

After that we took part in a major operation to take Aachen. The town had already been contested for a long time - and our mission was to take the NW AB. We had a pretty good sized group, and ran into some light resistance (nailed an ei coming out of the infantry spawn). We then rushed the bunker after taking out the mg AI guarding it. I was the first one to make it into the back hallway - taking out another smg guarding it - and then got the table (2nd bunker table of the night for me).

After that it was a long period of guarding the AB punctuated by snipers and Opel rushes that sapped our strength. The other units were not making any headway in capping the last AB - then the Germans started to mount counter attacks - taking the NE AB.

We decided that it was a waste just to let them grind away at us - so we took the initiative and formed up an op to take backt the NE AB. Harrased by a sniper (he winged my commander - I had spawned and drove in a tank after being taken out by a sniper), we decided to switch to the SAB as our target. We rushed it with tanks and infantry and managed to get it. But that was our swansong for the evening. A strong screen of ei at the South edge of town kept us from reinforcing our foothold.

Since it was past 1AM my time - I decided to logout - exhausted, frustrated, and happy all at the same time.

!S

Tonight the allies had vindication. We pushed the map hard and kept the bars RED all night.

We won this map reset! The defeated Axis war machine stacked their weapons by the road and trudged with their heads held low back to the fatherland.

For me the crowning point was the capping of both an AB in Maastricht and an AB in Aachen. Kudos to all the players who participated in those actions.

Chatter was alive on the coms channels as folks 'popped the corks' in celebration. Some very fine teamwork and persistence was shown from all quarters.

!S

I haven't posted anything since Friday because I am burnt out (my smoking corpse is ample proof of that).

Things started off rather well, as of Saturday morning we had secured our phase I objectives. I kept level 1 missions posted at key points in Corps Cavalrie AO - and the lonewolves were kicking back the enemy probes rather well.

Then all hell broke loose. Panzers and large numbers of infantry with ample air support began attacking all along the front. In quick order we lost nearly all of our gains, and some of our starting towns. No matter how many missions I posted - we just did not seem to have the numbers to defend our frontage.

One of the things I found disconcerting was my apparent poor situational awareness. I got sniped, bombed and machine gunned numerous times. The snipers were good - too good. Normally I can identify a sniper easily - and can move about with impunity; not so this weekend - these guys were crack shots and excellent at using terrain to their advantage. When I did see them together their formations and coordination with armor was excellent (this was usually right before I died). This was a different calibre of troop than we have been seeing in the past - and it was all we could do to hold the line in some places - and we got completely steam rollered in others.

We were sorely outnumbered this weekend - and while I think we gave more than we got - there was always that one extra Axis trooper you didn't see that got the job done.

Hopefully this week will be better.

I was appointed CO for 7th Brigade (Camerons) last night. I jumped in with both feet and ran operations throughout the 3CD AO.

We attacked Profondeville, Anhee, and kicked off feints in Andenne and Ciney to good effect. Unfortunately, we did not execute as well as we should have (poor timing on my part) and we were repulsed each and every time.

We will do better next time.

I was busy at home last night, so I decided to lonewolf it so I could have long pauses away from the keyboard.

I snuck into Sambreville and hid out near the NE flag building by the river. I would contest the flag - then go off and do something else AFK for a while - until I heard the enemy approach (had speakers on loud). They had quite a drive to get out there. Inevitably they would spray mg around the area - then rush the flag building and take it back - at which point I counted what they brought and how they performed. I would then wait for them to leave or spawn out, then recap again. One time they were particularly incensed - and they blew up the flag building - and brought a tank, an AT gun and 4 infantrymen to try to find me. Another time, they had an ambush set up for me - but I waited it out and they got impatient and ran into the flag building to check it - then spawned out (at which point I recapped it...lol).

Eventually it was time for me to log, so I capped it one more time and waited. This time only one guy showed up. So I nailed him at 300 meters. He respawned and came through some trees - and I nailed him laying under a tree at 200 meters. My thought at this point was maybe I could take it. So I headed into town. Just as I was going to cap the 2nd flag - they capped the outlying one (he must have had a partner I did not see approach the flag building from the South while I was moving up on the North). I capped mine anyway - and got impatient, running through town I got winged and dodged into a building. The ei popped into the hallway and we both fired at the same time - both dieing.

I found out some interesting things on this little foray.

We had very few players on last night. The main attack in the AO appeared to be an assault on Merbes. I spawned a Blen IV to help bomb - and got several kills in town; but, the attack lost momentum and people went elsewhere (mostly lonewolves).

I rallied the few that we had - and we ran an assault on Mettet. We ran into trouble on the West road with AI - but our follow-on forces skirted the problem and got set. We capped the first flag...then a lonewolf immediately capped another. I guess this scared the Axis; after that they came flooding into the town. AT guns and sappers decended on the two R35s we had guarding the flag buildings (the buildings in the town are very close to the AB), and it was over pretty quickly. Revrin managed, somehow, to stay alive and kept them busy over the evening.

We respawned and decided to join an attack on Merbes once again. We spawned Armor and rolled in - killing an 88 and a pzIII before being knocked out by a pz38. I respawned a Blen IV and layed waste to the pz38 and some infantry. On my next run I noticed that the Axis was trying to push accross the South bridge. I dropped my eggs along the bridge and got a Stug, and several infantry. Then I came back again and put a another string of HE accross the bridge taking out a pz38 and several more infantry. The nearby airfield made it easy to keep HE dropping on Merbes.

While we put a dent in the Axis war machine - we were hard pressed to make any headway.

Not much activity for me this weekend.

Saturday (or was it Sunday?) I took command of an attack on Nivelles. We got in, blew the key AI, and contested the place. Not one ei showed up. It was a cakewalk.

Spent the rest of the night putting out fires in other places as a rifle grunt (Sambreville - worked with Blitzv to breakup an Axis asault (3 panzers, 8 to 10 ei). We ambushed them to the SE of town at the bend in the river. I asked Blitzv to open up on them at 400 meters - which he did. They deployed too early into an open field. I picked off 4 ei and injured two more; I also got damages on two of the tanks. Blitzv nailed 2 of the panzers and hosed down the remaining inf - late in the fight several other 3CD showed up and finished the panzers off.

That is pretty much it in a nutsheck(sic). I intend on being far more active over the next few days...more to follow about that.

Not much activity at all for some time now; I had a lot of work to do around the house over the weekend, youngest daughter stuck her hands in a fire ant hill and got bit up - and other stuff...lol. When I was able to play, I could only spend an hour or so on - so mostly played AA to get a few quick combat fixes here and there.

Yesterday I did login to find about 10 people on; aw1ace was organizing an attack on Profondeville. I decided to tag along as a grunt - and spawned a tank in support of the operation. We rolled in - mgoddard took out the AI from 1 click out - then we rolled up (I was playing infantry transport for the ride in) and dropped our infantry by the church. An enemy scout/sniper - killed one of the men, and our guys responded clearing him out (I dropped some HE in the church as well). After that I deployed on the South side of town overwatching the AB. Once the flag was capped, ei started pouring out of the place (I assume the ei we killed sent the word back to organize). I will be so happy when we have unit-level spawning and attrition fully modeled.

Once the assault went in we moved up the tanks in support. mgoddard got tracked right at the entrance - and I was hosing down massive quantities of EI that were at the entrance. After this a sapper got off a charge and my crew went down. The assault crew also bought the farm.

After that I had to log to do more QT with the family.

Log for Friday September 27th.

Logged in at 6pm my time, to find a good number of troops on (censored), actively attacking Profondeville. I joined in and played grunt.

Unfortunately, the Germans were mounting an active defense and would not give an inch without it being taken from them. Several attempts to get contesting teams into the town met with a quick demise. The Germans got wise and shut down the river crossing with snipers.

After a while, the 9th Highlanders went to Cerfontaine(sp) and I moved the remainder of the Profondeville attackers to channel 2. While the 9th was gone we continued to press home the attack - but were overwhelmed by the german numbers - as well as some good marksman who kept us from crossing the River.

At about the time the 9th had secured Cerfontaine, another squad ran by 'Gipper' arrived from Eghezee with british armor. They became the (censored), and the 3cd became the (censored). Gippers taskforce moved in on the SW side of town - but was taken out by panzers and AI. We tried to move in our (censored) - but were again wasted by a strong screenline of armor at a major choke point on the river.

3CD regrouped and the Camerons spawned armor, with the remainder of the division our infantry assault (censored) as well as R35s for mobile support. With a lonewolf along - we mustered 4 tanks - and rolled toward the bridge South of Namur. As we crested the ridge overlooking the bridge we made contact with a panzer on the far side of the river overlooking the bridge. Our tanks pulled up on line - and all commenced firing immediately. We hit this vehicle numerous times on the top of his armor to no avail. I then gave the order to charge so that we could get within killing range of our weak cannons. He despawned, and we then crossed the bridge having lost 1 tank - however all was not lost - as we had another Char coming up from the rear.

Once on the other side of the river I sent our light sumoa tanks up to form a line to sweep the top of the ridge. I lined up on the road - but then aw1ace called a contact and asked if he should engage - at which point I said take the panzer out. After a bit of a gun battle, the 2nd panzer despawned. By this time our second char arrived and we began to sweep toward Profondeville along the river. At the next ridgeline over I began to take fire on my flank, I turned into where I thought it was and was surprised to see a stug and a PZIV on the ridge.

I mg'd a sapper, then engaged the Stug at close range - dropping HE on what I thought was the gunner's hatch - but he kept firing. I kept rolling, and asked Zurg - our second char - to engage the stug from the rear (the panzers were now between us). I also switched targets and put some AT into the rear deck of the PZIV who had not shifted position. We also recieved support from the sumoas on the ridgeline above. Both panzers soon despawned in a murderous crossfire. We quickly reformed and continued moving south, passing the ridge now in sight of town.

From my optics I could see that the open plain to the edge of town was free of panzers. Zurg and myself moved up to take out the AI, but had difficulty targeting it throught the high grass. By this time I had run out of ammo for my turret - other than MG - and was depending on my hull gun for AT fire. Once we were reasonably sure that the AI was down - we then moved in to cover the 1st flag building. EI sappers showed up and became a bit of a nuisance - partially tracking both of our chars. We also uncovered several PZs that had been hiding in the town. One was taken out by the church - after it nailed our infantry team that was moving in. Another PZII come right out at us - and before I could get a shot off - had disabled my hull gun. Armed only with mg rounds I tried to keep him busy and kill the EIs that were swarming all over my tank. Zurg finally killed him.

Unfortunately something else ended up getting me and my world turned black (I think there was an 88 to our west). Zurg held out alone for a little while longer.

We then shifted gears and attacked ramet - more to be a nuisance than anything else. I again spawned a tank and got a tie in a gun duel with a pzIII early on. After that I tagged along with Warchant on a (censored) mission to St. Truiden. Falling asleep at the keyboard I logged at midnight.

Lessons learned:
(Censored)

Malus
CO 7th Brigade (Camerons)

Map was reset today...back to square one. Put pressure on Spontin and Andenne. A nice target rich environment...

Until next time.

Last night I logged in and aw1ace and warchant were running ops already. I played grunt for the evening. Attacks went like this: Havelange, Andenne, Ciney(d), Havelange - no joy at all...

Then, I logged for the night. I did manage to nail 3 ei at one sitting on my last assault on Havelange...too many Axis defenders in all cases though.

Happily I woke to see Andenne ours this morning.

Been a while since I entered anything here. I have been mostly playing grunt and doing some training for the division.

Last night spawned spontin upon Raf's orders. Objective was Ciney. On our first run out got nailed by a tank. We respawned and I suggested we take an AT gun with us. Mgoddard spawned AT and we rolled; unfortunately, he cdt'd before he was able to engage anything (this would come back to haunt us). We continued on, and ended up in the woods to the North of Ciney - Raf reported a panzer on the S side of the woods - we moved up and attacked with grenades - forcing him to despawn - then began to make our way into town; just then another 2 panzers cam around the AB wall, and lit us up. A few of the guys managed to get into town, but we did not have the force to push the issue; we had the guys contest and then fall back to Namur, which was under attack.

The attack on Namur was light - a few tanks and infantry. While they were close on the East ridge - and did manage to get some folks into the NAB - we quickly cleared them out (got a kill on ei trying to run away on the E ridge from the church tower).

We held Arras solid - and booted the Axis goons out of their FBs.

Arras was still Allied this morning when I got up - we must have given them a bloody nose.

Kudos to Barely8, Dog, and Puma for running the three defense teams. Special commendation for DoppleJr - who ran the FB busting runs and got the job done.

Things we did right: locked up our sectors solid - did not let any significant Axis force enter the city; the few that did were quickly dispatched; we pushed out scouts to overwatch the FBs - and were reporting enemy movements early in the sector; armor reaction force responded like pros - and wiped out a probe from the SW.

Things we did wrong: After the FBs were blown Barely8 put a small team into the town to the east (Mauphaun?) - which had unusual success taking the town; at the same time Allied command put out a call for an attack on Baupaum (town to the south). I take full responsibility for what happened next: I split our forces - taking the remaining troupers to Baupaum while the team to the east was capping the other town. By the time I realized the Baupaum attack was bust, and shifted forces back to the east, it was too late - sadly we had the AB in that town - and lost it again, just as the supporting infantry got on the outskirts of town.

I should have had the available armor team commanded by Dog head out immediately to support Barely8's foothold. That would have made the difference, and we would have taken and held the town.

My thought was that the weight of the attack would be at the Allied sanctioned attack - but that attack seemed to have far more resistance - spys monitoring .allied and reporting our attacks to GHC perhaps?

At any rate - kudos to the whole team; special thanks to all those who stuck out their necks to agressively gain and maintain contact with the enemy.

Everett and I brought tanks down from Spontin to support the FB busting of the Givette(sic)/Haybes(sic) base, as a result of the strong defense that pinned down our sapper team.

The hills in this area make the movement of the slow French tanks an exercise in patience (luckily I have the tank's throttle mapped to my joystick's throttle slider - so no 'tanker's elbow' from pushing the joystick forward). We came up on the FB from the SE - and pulled up on a ridge overlooking. The FB was under constant air attack, and a major friendly force was also attacking it. We spotted some ei - and got them running with mg fire. We still could not put fire on the enemy at guns/armor - and so I moved to the right to get a better view. At this point Everett died to enemy sapper (I think).

I moved further right and came around to a good position overlooking the inf spawn and motorpool. By this time there were several tanks and panhards in place - and our sappers hit. They managed to blow the amor spawn - but did not have enough satchels to take out the inf. Someone voiced concern about the enemy possibly bringing armor up from Givette - so I moved my H39 to the hill East - overlooking the open valley down the east road. I stayed in this position for what seemed like a very long time, covering the FB suppression operation's flank, as sappers were brought forward to finally take out the FB.

At this point we were ordered to bring the tanks forward for an attack on Beaurange(sic). By this time, Everett caught up with me in a new tank. We rallied with Vaughn who had a panhard (there was a bit of confusion on my part - as I initially thought we were going to attack Givette). Vaughn scouted forward for us - and Everett and myself moved out in trail.

Vaughn served us well, living up to the common wisdom that a scout's life can be measured in seconds after coming under enemy fire. The enemy set up an ambush position to block the gap between the two hard forests leading to Beaurange. Vaughn had a short duel with the PZIII - and lost - kudos for giving us consise reports about its location. At this point I split off from Everett and attempted to flank the PZ while Everett continued to move up the treeline. Instead of flanking the PZ, I ended up running inbetween Everett and the PZ - and got caught in the crossfire - still disoriented and unable to get a fix on the enemy tank due to all of the large bushes in this area, I could hear the woosh of the shells as they traded fire. This protected me, as Everett and the PZ went at it.

I finally moved up to where I could see the enemy tank, and put some well aimed shots into the soft spot (there is a small armored window to the right of the main gun - if you hit it there it will kill the gunner) - and the ET became silent and finally despawned.

We moved on toward Beaurange, and Everett fell behind. Part of the problem was the terrain next to forests is slower going (presumably due to roots?). I was farther away from the treeline, and made better time. {Another trick I use, is I have disabled the 'left brake' and 'right brake' - depending soley on the left and right differential clutches for steering. For braking, there is the 'all brakes' that works when you pull the stick back; so, I run faster because turning with the clutches does not slow down the tank as much as clutch and brakes. } Another issue might have been possible damage to his tank from the battle with the PZ.

I made it to the South side of Beaurange, and was pointed to an ET on the East road. I moved up to the east and came up on the ET's flank in a treeline - with the trees almost perpendicular between us, I hoped to provide a shield - as I was again outgunned going up against a PZIII. I got in as close as I thought prudent - probably 150 meters, then opened fire.

The enemy tank's side shrugged off the AP and HE rounds from the H39's main gun, and he maneuvered a bit to put trees between his turret weakspot and my gun. We were both well protected by the trees and blasted the hell out of that stand (there should have been nothing standing). The exchange of fire lasted for at least 10 minutes - maybe longer - neither of us able to get a dead - on shot.

At this time Everett finally caught up with me - I was going to have him flank the ET to the East - but Everett came under fire (I presume from an enemy 88 reported in the area) - and all hope for breaking the Mexican standoff was dashed. Running low on ammo (I was in this tank for 2 1/2 hours and had 3 engagements, after all), I finally decided to reposition to get a fix on the PZIII for the kill - do or die. He was waiting for just such a move, and nailed by turret with a killing shot - I despawned. The results of my mission were 2 PZIIIs damaged (I think I may have immobilized the last one - and probably killed the gunner of the first).

I would like to award Everett the notional 'Order of Hounds' award for doggedly pushing to keep his tank in the fight. Which brings up a good point about French armor: You absolutely must use French armor (any armor really) in teams. The limited visibility available to the French tanks makes it imperative.

I appologize to those who wanted to do infantry training last night. Between orders not to lose the armor, and my daughter vying for my attention, I decided to call it a night.

Cnycttr, Duke2, Blubox, Andrew88 and myself kept Rochefort ping ponged from 3am to past 6am - and tied up at least 6 enemy troopers and a BF110 doing it. Hopefully they didn't get wise to our hiding spots.

When I was finally killed (me and Duke decided to attack a tank after taking the Ciney depot the last time) I ended up with 4 kills - 4 for the price of 1, not bad.

Nice work guys. You can share my foxhole anytime - you just have to bring your own sheep.

I've been made the 3IC of the Royal Marine Division (a week or so ago as I write this). Before that, I had been the XO of the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade (formerly 3rd Canadian Division - which itself is now a squad in that brigade...it’s a long story).

The past few months have been hectic - I was appointed AXO of the 3rd Canadian Division - shortly after returning to the game - and had my hands full with administrative duties in the division. I won't comment on what happened next - except to say it was a wrenching time of change for 3CD and the other squads who spun off at the end of it. We ended up in the 1st Royal Marine Division - who welcomed us with open arms.

I haven't been able to play as much as I would like to (story of my life) - due to a myriad of issues, including reloading OS, my company's union announcing that they intend on going on strike (and as management, I have additional duties etc...).

I did manage to get some playtime in during the last map - which we lost handily (very low turnout - most people on the allied side were on vacation from the big win on the previous map). I tried to rally what few troops we had - but it was disorganized and response was hit or miss at best. It seemed like 50% or more people on TS were AFK during the hours I played. I spent a few days working on bombing the factories (think I might have hit one factory after about 10 sorties - I should probably stay on the ground).

We need to get back to the basics: fire and maneuver; formations; MOUT; movement techniques; scouting and communication. I am feeling frustration that there are not enough people online who feel as I do: real world techniques and tactics win battles. It takes discipline and training/practice to work. The real enjoyment I get from the game is kicking Axis arse on a consistent basis...winning each and every engagement. I am not enjoying myself lately.

More intrigue, and less gameplay made me rethink my move into the AHC. I wasn't really able to be there for the team - either the Marines or 3CD. Between my training and tour of duty in the sticks to help my company weather a strike at the end of May - and Gandy getting the 2IC slot for the Marine Div, I thought my purpose as a liaison as 3IC was moot. Better to bow out gracefully, than to hang in on the sidelines, never able to give as much as I know being an AHC rep requires - which is exactly what I did.

The merger itself has been a rocky road, all the way. I see us making progress in merging the styles of the Marines and the units in 2CAB. I see more of us congregating on one channel during low numbers - like we used to do in the 3rd Canadian Division - when it was a division - and working together more and more. I don't know what happened while I was away - but hope we can put it behind us and really come together as a team. Folks should not invest so much of their egos in this - I am a poster child for this, if anyone can be.

My dream is to see a very agressive, competitive, and professional group come together and kick ass like no one else in game. I see the kernel of greatness in the Marines - it just needs to be tapped... While I find myself, at times, opting for action at the expense of discipline and reinforcement of my own training, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to bring our tactics and techniques to a higher plane.

Enough doom and gloom; I do have some good news to report: as of today, my stats show that my UK Rifleman K/D average is at 1 or above - I do believe this is the first campaign I have been on where that was the case. I don't know if it is the result of taking green taggers, in for the 15 day trial, or an indication of my improvement as a virtual soldier. I think it is improvement - because many of the ranks I took were Maj. or above. Time will tell. My new goal is to get consistently above 2.0 on my K/D for rifle. That will be a bit more difficult - but is doable if I concentrate. I think much of my poor showing in the past was due to attempts to lead and coordinate - leading me to think the idea that casualties are highest among NCOs and Junior Officers is a truism. My rifle stands ready - hope to see you on the battlefield.

The new orbat is upon us - and the Royal Marine Division is no more... In some respects it is sad to no longer work with the same team we of the 3CD worked so hard to merge with. On the other hand, there were some differences in culture that were intractable for some members of both groups - so in some respects a fresh start is in order.

The good thing about this is that the two remaining British divisions in the orbat will have people we know - which can enhance our coordination during joint operations - if we let it work for us.

The AHC voicecoms is also changing to match the new layout - and channels are being shaken out. All the old negotiations to get the correct channels for our operations are being rehashed - thankfully someone else is doing it this time around.

Game-time has been an exersize in fire fighting. I do have to hand it to the Axis - the defenders I have run into have been playing like pros - setting up 360 degree perimeters, using scouts to call-in spot reports to their big guns, and maintaining air superiority over the battlefield. It has been very discouraging to fight outnumbered against such a solid opponent - whoever they are: !S.

Wow! When things looked darkest, the team came through. Since my last posting we won two maps in a row. I can't remember the last time the Allies won two maps back to back... I wasn't fully engaged the last map and was amazed at how quickly it moved East.

I spent one weekend investigating COD (Call of Duty - and the United Offensive add-on). While the graphics are amazing - the limitations of the map sizes limits the maneuver options - and the vehicle weapons are not realistic (I liken it to lobbing rocks at each other). The infantry game is the best part of it - and there is enough variation in terrain to make it difficult for snipers to rule; however the 'spray and pray' crowd seems to dominate. A neat twist is the artillery option that becomes available when you reach StaffSgt and above rank. There is no player controlled aviation - and I actually enjoyed the single-player senarios better than the multiplayer mode. Overall it is a fun game - but lacks the technical and physics details the hardcore gamer takes for granted. I will continue to play it off and on for 'fun' - but WWIIonline will continue to be where I go for the intensity lacking from other games.

I am looking forward to the First Quarter 2005 release of BIA (Brothers in Arms). This game is endorsed by the National HQs of the VFW as an accurate representation of historical combat. The maps and structures on them are taken from actual photographs and aerial maps of the era. The storyline is very engaging, and the AI for your fireteams/squad is supposed to be very accurate; a multiplayer mode will allow 6 players to go head to head - each with a fireteam of AI he commands - including tanks, airstrikes and artillery. Some of the most famous battles of the Airborne units on D-Day will be in this game - and I am very interested in 'virtually' walking those battlefields I have read about and only been able to imagine in such books as SLA Marshall's Night Drop, and Stephen Ambrose' Band of Brothers.

The maps - from what I have seen in screen caps - are at least as large, if not larger than COD multiplayer maps. Additionally, the terrain looks correct (probably because it is taken from real maps). I assume most FPSs have such exaggerated terrain because: A) The developers are using it as a way to break up the small maps into playable areas, or B) the developers don't get out much - and so don't know what the steppe around Kursk or the hedgerow country in Normandy looks like. I think this could go up against some of the other FPS games - as a smarter/tactical alternative to the spray and pray or sniper zone styles of play more common to other titles. We shall see.

Today I participated in the RED vs. BLUE special event at WWIIonline. The objective was to run convoys from several town south of Sedan and Charleville into the towns as relief columns. The enemy had raiders who could attack the convoys and attack forces that could attack the towns.

I was in charge of Delta squad in the Sedan defense perimeter - and came into the game 10 mins late due to 'honey dos' - and the game also loaded a new patch on top of that...

Once I got in - I saw that Delta was assembled on the SE hill - a prime target. Our mission was to provide a screening force, for the main infantry squads - as well as provide some up-close anti-tank capabilities. (see map above)

Ubique did not show up - so I dispatched Ardian (sapper) to the East T intersection. Wanderer also did not show, so I dispatched Noxes (sapper) to the NE treeline.
LMG team (Coldboot - LMG, and Timekill - rifle) where held with me (rifle) in reserve.

Almost imediately after moving out, an enemy Opel appeared coming in from the SE...Coldboot and Timekill were in the best position, and layed into them - mowing down most of them. Alpha team, lead by Hawlsey, fell back to the South to sweep the area around the bridge and South of the AB. Timekill, Coldboot and myself moved back to the SW and began sweeping the road on the South side.

I ran into an enemy LMG - who I got off a shot on (only showed damage on my RTB report - but he went down, Coldboot had probably injured him previously). No more contacts were reported on the South - but enemy infantry and tanks were seen moving in from the North - so I put the LMG team near the bridge on the South side of the road to cover the road and the open fields to the South.

This is when it really heated up. The enemy brought in tanks and infantry and hit Bravo squad, under the command of Ish, head on. An extended firefight ensued - so much so that I was concerned about EI breaking through - I moved up to the NE and did a recon between Alpha and Bravo - and found a gap. I moved Coldboot in to cover the gap. At this time Noxes reported Two PZs and an Opel ontop of his position near the NE woodline. I also had Ardian move North from the T intersection to make contact with the enemy's left flank - he did and found a PZ there - about 2 kms out, as well.

At this point, our fearless leader - Lazsnipe CO of Sedan Defense - decided to play the hero in the Bravo squad area - and got himself killed. Tsk-tsk...

Command went over to Hawlsey the Alpha squad commander, and things got a little disjointed (I don't think everyone was aware that when the leader dies he no longer commands, even when he respawns) - so there was a bit of confusion that we quickly resolved. Noxes recieved permission to attack a panzer and opel truck that were sitting right ontop of him, and he managed to kill the panzer, and get a grenade off at the opel which charged him - flipping it over and damaging an SMG passenger. Sadly, as the opel wiped out - it ran him over. After he respawned I put him in Timekill's old spot by the town bridge covering the road and South approaches.

At this time I moved Timekill up on the NE ridge - Bravo squad warned him about cresting the ridge in their location - so I walked him around to the East - and we made it into the treeline without making contact. Sadly Timekill had to logout - so I continued on alone - sweeping the North Treeline from East to West. At one point I made contact with an opel about 200 meters to the North inside of the woods - but they quickly ran away (presumably to drop infantry to ford the river to the West or to attack Charleville). I completed clearing the treeline - without making any contacts, when we got reports of the Mouzon EWS going off for tanks and infantry.

Hawlsey did not want to redeploy the infantry - so I requested to move Delta squad to provide a screen to the South - to which he concurred. Ardian moved South from the T intesection, Noxes crossed the river to the West and positioned on the Southwest ridge, and Coldboot moved into the position by the bridge.

Meanwhile a battle ensued at the west bridge between our Armor team and enemy raiders. Our AT guns also redeployed at various times during the operation and made a big difference against the enemy PZs. Shortly after the fight at the West bridge died down, we were given word that we had 30 mins to go.

Infantry was reported to the NW of the West AB - so Coldboot and myself moved in to clear the treelines surrounding the AB - we did this, then moved off to the NW - to patrol between the AB and the West Bridge in search of EI stragglers. We didn't make any further contacts - and the operation ended with a picture shoot in the East AB.

Thanks to everyone who participated. I do believe between Timekill and Coldboot killing that opel load, the Bravo squad engagement and Noxes anti-tank actions - we broke the back of the attacking force against Sedan - so much so that we think they may have decided to focus on Charleville instead. Great Job 3CD !

Overall - the Blue team managed to have two convoys delivered into Charleville. No convoys reached Sedan. According to the judge, based on the points - the RED team won. However, they still have not counted the kills - which may tilt it in favor of the Blue team. The official AAR is due out tomorrow.

This evening we pushed on Lueze - attempting to send the enemy's HQ back to the training server. They figured it out and pulled out of town - leaving it to us. We had everything - the AHC removed the attack objective before we capped the AB (we controlled the town.

After that 3CD moved to Ronse - and we took down that town, as well as the FB from Brakal.

In both cases we were attacking from towns that had Naval brigades in place - so we had to be creative about using MSPs to supply ourselves.

I had a big CTD where both Teamspeex and WWIIonline crashed - and called it a night.

Well, it has been a very long time since I posted anything here.  Since 2007, I've played WWIIonline on again and off again for a few months at a time - up to 6 month stretches - but kept going back to some of the newer titles (ARMA primarily - and a few others).  In all cases - new games would come out and the population of the servers would dry up - and I would have to move on.  The key to having a great experience in game is the people.  Without them, there is nothing.

It got to the point where I just couldn't justify upgrading anymore.  At about this same time, I heard rumors that WWIIonline was in a bit of a financial bind - as we all have been - so I thought I would throw them a bone.  I played through the second half of the last map - and really enjoyed what I had been missing (having not played any game in over a year).  I've decided to hang up my wandering boots - and settle down with WWIIonline, at least for as long as they'll continue in operation.  I'm sure they could use my $$.

That is all well and good - but now I'm getting word that the 3CD is on the verge of disbanding.... so ironically I am yet again out of synch with the flow of things.  There is a time for everything, so in the interests of history - here is the overall 3CD history - with my own additions for the sake of clarity of my part in this:

~~~~

The 3rd Canadian Division started in WWIIOL during the early turmoil of the AHC (Allied High Command) subsequent to launch of the game (2001 timeframe). 3CD was initially developed by the 3CD Godfather (Ready) as a non-AHC division that gave squads a chance to work together without AHC politics. It was realized that numbers bigger than a single squad were required to “move the map”. In essence, the organization was what AHC should have been, which allowed 3CD to grow rapidly in the number of member squads even though we were not affiliated with AHC and did not receive any of the developer support that AHC receives from CRS. The initial squad that started the 3CD were remnants of an older WWIIOL group known as the Red Berets. The Red Berets reorganized themselves into a ground squad (24th Dragoons) and air squad (the original WWIIOL 401 Rams squadron). The 24th and 401 squads formed the initial core of 3CD. From there other squads joined (4th Alabama, 4 Wing, 352nd fighter group, 63rd Blood and Fire, Pirates Battle Group, 225th Spectres, Pale Riders, etc.) to make 3CD a solid fighting force.

[I was in the Pale Riders - a squad composed of former military.  Our CO was Blayde - an ex Armor/Cavalry officer, Me - ex Cavalry scout, SGTRose, engel, dude759 - and later E7USN.  We had a number of newbie recruits - but they didn't stick with us.  The squad lasted for about 3 months - at which point we disbanded to join the 3CD.  Blayde disappeared - don't know if he left the game, or joined the Axis.  I believe he was a disabled vet.]

Times changed and AHC became more along the lines of what it was intended to be. In early 2002, 3CD was approached by Badger (who was in ARFR theater command at the time) and asked to help AHC with a organizational problem they were having. The Meuse Riverline between the BEF and ARFR forces was a frequent path for the axis to advance. AHC units were incapable of keeping that “zipper line” closed. The AHC units involved at the time were not interested in spending time with both sets of equipment to halt the axis advance as they were primarily interested in only playing with their chosen equipment (BEF or ARFR). 3CD was asked to become an official AHC division with all of its member squads with both a french and a british brigade to close that “zipper line”. We accepted the AHC offer, and served honorably in the ARFR orbat as the only PLAYER CREATED AHC DIVISION for 2+ years with our primary defensive “hometown” being Namur. There we gained a reputation as honorable players that our enemies knew they could count on for fair play and a good fight. 3CD was known at that time as one of the few units that followed a strict Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) that prohibited any form of camping, as well as other forms of unfair play.

[During this time I was CO of the 24th Dragoons - we were hard core when it came to keeping the river line defense solid.  The Axis would throw everything they had to split up the French and British in this area (at the time French and British brigades couldn't share the same town as they do today) - and we would effectively negate the advantage they had in force numbers - since we could pool a full British and French brigade resources here. Namur, Andenne, Huy, Nandrin and Ramet became known to us like the back of our hands - as we grappled with the Axis divisions thrown at us to split up the Allies.]

In early 2004, 3CD underwent massive internal change. Most of the squads that made up our French brigade decided it was time to strike out on their own as a separate unit, in a different AHC division. Those squads (75th Rangers and 225th Spectres) are now an integral portion of 4th MacRD in Corps Cavalrie. The remaining members from the French brigade and British brigade of 3CD decided that it was in their best interests to prepare for brigade spawn as the current orbat placement within ARFR would not allow those remaining members that preferred British equipment the ability to spawn that equipment under the French orbat. A solution was developed which moved the 3rd Canadian Division into the BEF orbat as the armored brigade of the 1st Royal Marine Division. 3CD gave up its status as a French Division and took the role as a British brigade.

3CD served with the 1st Royal Marine Division for 6+ months. During that time intersquad politics became devisive and it was decided that 3CD should not remain an AHC Division or Brigade any longer. The membership of 3CD had too much time and effort invested into the 3CD name and recognition to allow AHC the power of determining the future of the 3rd Canadian Division. That process involved the reorganization of 3CD from a AHC brigade to a squad. During this process and reorganization, some of the component squads decided it was in their best interests to maintain their own identities rather than simply unify into 3CD the squad. These squads (PBG, TWC) moved back to 3CD’s original hometown area of Namur and joined with the 75th Rangers and 225th Spectres in 4th MacRD. The 4 Wing squadron left 3CD to become one of the largest and most well known dedicated AHC air squadrons in game and joined the RAF orbat. The remaining squads of 3CD voted to drop their squad identities as they identified themselves primarily as 3CD and not that of another unit. 3CD had made a 3 year long transition from a full AHC division to a single squad.

In the summer of 2004, CRS required AHC to reorganize. That reorganization eliminated 3CDs home as the armored brigade of the 1st Royal Marine Division. It was voted by the membership that a move back towards where our roots are would be in 3CD's best interest. As such, 3CD was moved into the 2nd Armored Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division. We served as a BEF unit with our primary hometown being Eghezee. We had a working relationship with our former comrades in 4th MacRD just to our south in the French theater and you will find many of us giving support to each other as we had for 2+ years along the zipper line of the BEF and ARFR forces.

[Further reorganization of both the game mechanics and AHC beyond 2007 has lead to units not really having home areas or map units that they fight with anymore.  Battles are more fluid from a location perspective, and the 3CD as a squad has dwindled in active numbers - as many members, myself included, moved on to other games - returning from time to time to see how things are going.

Currently the 3CD is perhaps in it's final hours - a poll is up on the website to see if the active members want to keep it going or not.  If it does disband - while a sad event - the members who made it great can remember how we were such a thorn in the Axis side.  S! 3CD]

On the 3CD squad front - since I last posted, things are looking up somewhat.  Saw Ready in game the other night to my surprise.   He said he was reactivating his main account 'free' to sample things.  Would be very cool to have a larger group of old-timers in game.

Sadly - I don't think the word got out about the squad night last night.  Me and Jea3 showed up - but that was it.  I spent most of the time patrolling Malmedy and fending off probing attacks, a steady stream of infiltrators (moles), and one big armor assault that ended up breaking their back (at which point they turned towards St. Vith - and I finished the night helping kill their combined arms assault there as well - at which point I logged.  I've never seen so many burning Axis tanks spread across an area as I saw on the east side of St Vith last night -- epic!).

As a result - I posted on the WWIIonline forums in the new 'free play' forum - asking folks who seem frustrated with the complexities of the game - to consider joining a squad.  Told them to IM me in game - hopefully that will give us some new blood and fill the ranks again.

S!

To paraphrase the Bard, "to FRU, or not to FRU?  That is the question!"  To the uninitiated, this is the mobile spawn point that also doubles as a resupply point in game (I believe it stands for 'Field Resupply Unit' - or some such nonsense).

Initially - as I started using them I fell into a pattern of spawn, run to/assault enemy/die, respawn - rinse and repeat.  Then I got tired of that - and asked myself, "why not look at this differently?"

While FRUs do reinforce the notion of frontal assaults and trickling out your resources one dead body at a time - THEY DON'T HAVE TO!  FRUs DO have value outside of being a spawn point - in that they can provide resupply as needed to keep an attack going by players that SURVIVE.

So - to test my theory - I spawned into an attack and made it my mission to guard the FRU.  I spawned a sniper - and dug in on the only place the enemy could approach the FRU under cover.  With a bit of help from an engineer who killed a tank that ventured out - I kept the FRU up during the whole attack.  That FRU never went down.  When I couldn't get a passing infantryman to provide resupply I would fall back and reload at the FRU.

From what I saw it made a difference - the relentless pressure quickly allowed us to control that side of town - then roll through and take the rest of it.  This was no simple capture - it was one of those little towns with limited approaches and few flag buildings clustered relatively close together; the kind of place that is easy to defend.

The moral of the story is - you don't have to fall into play styles that are ineffective/repetitive/boring.  You have a choice - and when you exercise that choice it usually has benefits beyond just yourself.  It's really up to you - fall into the pattern of die/respawn/die, or take another path more inline with how we used to play the game: have a plan, gather your forces, STAY ALIVE.

The lowly ATR load-out is starting to grow on me...

I started out this sortie spawning into a FRU that was under direct fire from a 232 and other things - lucky for me they must have been reloading or something when I spawned in because I was able to get under cover before they could sight in on me - though the berm I was behind took some HE rounds.  I managed to move into some high grass in a field behind the FRU and started looking for targets.  The first one was a PZII - that ran through the AO blasting away - and stopped up on top of a ridge further East about 500 meters away - with his ass facing the FRU.  I cranked off a few rounds at his rear end - turret and tail - to no effect at that range.

That's when I heard a 232 move up close -- putting a hurting on the FRU (they were not blowing the FRU -- just killing the spawning soldiers to push up their kill ratio, no doubt).  I crawled through the grass until I came to the edge of it and saw the 232 side on to me from about 50 feet away.   I put 3 rounds through the side in the angled panel underneath the turret....and it despawned.  That's when the PZII got angry - and came roaring through the grass - ran past me - and on over the ridge as I again got a couple rounds off at the rear of his turret (got a 'hit' in my stats on that one - but no kill).

Small arms fire got more intense - so I moved East then North looking for more armor prey.  Through my Binos I saw a 1/2 Track pulling an 88 - come over the North ridge along the road and pull off.  I circled Northwest and came into that area - but lost track of where they went.  Then they made a mistake - they cranked up the 1/2 track to tow the 88 to a new location (given the call signs of the 88 and Sdkfz 7 - I'm thinking this was one guy with two accounts).  The 88 was indeed getting ready to tow - and I switched to pistol and provide a coup-de-grace on the gun commander, gunner, and finally the 1/2 track driver.

After that I moved down into the circle forest near the AB - and set up a well concealed 'scrapes' (foxhole) - and spent some time trying to take out trucks leaving the AB - and infantry pushing North.  Meanwhile a new FRU came up north along the road out of town - and a major infantry assault came pouring in.  The enemy responded with more infantry and it got quite hot there - my foxhole keeping me alive a number of times when the enemy tried to zero in on me.  Finally I ran out of ATR ammo - and decided to hoof it back to the FRU for more ammo (no friendlies where giving me any resupply love).

As I fell back I saw an EI moving across the road towards the FRU - I tried to follow - but lost him - then the FRU went down - and at that moment a STUG came charging down the road.  I hunkered down in a berm beside the road and waited for him to pass then jumped up to follow. To my surprise he was flanked on either side by infantry running behind and to his flanks.  I dropped down and expended the remaining 5 pistol rounds I had left trying to hit his escorts (not hitting anything) - but it made the STUG turn to the West and get hung up on a berm.   I immediately popped smoke (all four canisters) in the area - then ran where I saw the STUG moving.

Coming out of the smoke (which probably shielded me from the view of his escorting infantry) I was right behind the STUG - which started moving again South back down the road - picking up speed.  I sprinted the last few meters - having selected my lone HE satchel charge - I managed to place it under the bottom rear part of the vehicle on the left side, and then broke to the right and dove behind a berm to avoid the explosion.  The blast was deafening, and the STUG shuddered to a stop - and quickly spawned out.

I got up and ran around the berm heading back South towards the circle forest - when I noticed the infantry running in front of me was one of the german escorts.   When he went prone - I dove on him and had my first knife kill of this map.

At the end of that excitement - I was still running around looking for a FRU to reload - all I had left was my knife.  Finally I ran in to try to cap a CP - and an enemy AT gun or tank saw me - and started shelling the CP with HE rounds -- I was running outside when the Grenadier bounced a round either off the wall next to me - or off me!   BOOM!   Stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place, I went down just a few steps away from another knife kill (would have been easy as the grenadier couldn't return fire until he removed his grenade attachment).

One insane mission.

Tonight was the last night of the 3CD Host Squad rotation.  This weekend has been insane.  We are estimating the system added about 800 new players to our roster.  It is going to be weeks if not months for us to fully review, communicate and help all those players - given the relative handful we've managed to interact with successfully so far.

Drained - but will have to continue wading through the communications and interviews and so on, for the foreseeable future.

Had some pretty good times in game - even though the Axis is pushing the map this time around.

Time for me to hit the hay.

S! <Salute!>