Ongoing PBEM (through #22)

[Cap'n Fantastic]

Subtitle this one -- "Stug from Hell"
When I left off my last T-34 was slamming into reverse so as to take up new positions near the VL just south of Mount Curtis. I knew going was going to be slow, as the tank had achieved a hull-down position in scattered trees, and would be crawling the first 40m or so. I watched Vendetta send another pair of German infantry elements tumbling towards the exposed tank, only to have one routed and driven back by a pair of nearby Maxim HMGs (the ones positioned near my mortars and ZIS 57mm). The lone element to make it fired a few ineffectual volleys of small arms fire at the retreating behemoth -- which I laughingly dismissed.

NEVER, EVER did I dream what I would see next...that GD Stug III lumbering over the crest of the hill -- just below the overwatching SU-85's "cover armor arc," apparently hale, healthy and bent on completing my humiliation. One shot...one kill. A 75mm HV AP round cored my poor T-34 with ridiculous ease. Leaving me with the near uncontrollable desire to toss my imac through the nearest window. That assault gun not only survived a full blown hit from an 85mm shell, it wasn't shocked, hadn't lost its gun, wasn't immobilized....nuthin.

Now I watch as my infantry gamely fight on...my interest waning in the knowledge that Vendetta will soon turn my flank and wipe the board clean. He has no need to come within view of my ATG, no reason to fall prey to my sole surviving armor killer. And what do my Guardsmen have to fight him? A couple of Molotovs? BFD. This is my 3rd pbem, and my record will soon slip to 1-2. But, being the honest, upright guy I am, I will report the conclusion of my defeat in the next and last installment. Dass right. :cry: It's all over but the singing....

PS -- next report (if you think they're worth reading) will either be my first try at the Campaign Rules OR a series of installments re: a B&T meeting engagement being fought against "Nikita." Hopefully I'll have mastered the art of the screenshot to go with it.

[Sivodsi]

On to the bitter end!

Yeah, it's never quite as interesting after you lose your last AFV.

You don't think you are giving Vendetta valuable information by writing this, do you?

[Cap'n Fantastic]

Nope. I've seen other games where the players have agreed not to read each other's battle reports. And Vendetta is actually a pretty classy guy. In future pbems, I'll do the same when I play my friend Paul, as I know[/I] he won't peek. Or I'll wait to the whole thing's done before posting a complete AAR from beginning to end. Depends on what folks here prefer. Serial installments or a single account.
BTW -- Paul and I are trying our hand at the Panzerblitz scenarios/conversions. Interesting stuff so far.

[Palantir]

Great tactical coverage!

I hope we get more posts like this with maybe an added screenshot of the key "event" described.

I can see other units have a MOE in them!

Kerry :cheeky:

[Cap'n Fantastic]

I'm going to start a thread asking for step-by-step instructions on how to take, and forward, screenshots from my imac. In the mean time, I'm in the early stages of an interesting pbem (Panzerblitz #5)and will start describing what's happening once I get to Turn 10 or so. Right now we're at Turn 6, and look like we'll average 7 full turns or so a week. Not a bad rate, considering everything is sent back and forth after work. I'm saving all the movie files.

Which raises a point. I love writing these things, but didn't know if people want installments or a finished document. On other forums, I've seen that keeping folks up-to-date with battle reports has helped spark some conversation amongst members of the community. And I trust the guys I'm playing right now not to look and cheat based off what I'm revealing.

Any thoughts?

[Cap'n Fantastic]

The last few Turns don't merit their own thread. I don't have much left to move, and Vendetta doesn't seem in any big hurry to move in. We're kind of sitting there looking at each other (although my last SU has pulled next to the infantry around the central VL -- something he can see but do nada about). More later.

[Cap'n Fantastic]

No art. No suspenseful write-ups, as this battle simply ....ground to a halt. After the loss of my last T-34, and with Vendetta's decision to keep his armor perched on the hill indefinitely (which only made sense), I tossed in the towel after another HT was sniped by 75mm HV. I had a good bit of infantry left, but movement would only bring them under DF HE, and there wasn't any way of swinging my last SU into sight of the hill without it getting chopped into steaming bolshi-bits. So I tossed in the towel, ceding the victory to my opponent more in an attempt to do away with the next week of "nothing happening" turns. We're scheduled to play RD#1 "Into Russia We Go" next time around, with me as the Teutonic invader.