CMBS Rollin' on the River Con vs Undercover Geek AAR - Game Over

[Con]

Turn 169 Time Remaining 1:09

The burning Humvee on the railroad trestle bridge exit continues to provide an effective obstacle for any more of the US forces to try and cross.  (The charring blackened skeletons of the crew and command unit grinning like the dammed as the flames burns their skin off also might give the other US forces reason to pause).

UCG is still sending troops down the treeline his determination makes me sure that he must have a touch objective on or near the village.  He might make the objective but I doubt he has done the calculation on the price of blood he has spilled trying to get it.  The XO of the 5th Brigade Combat Stryker team is going to have to spend a lot of time writing letters to the families of the fallen.  I wonder if they will appreciate their sacrifice to take some chicken coops in a nameless field in Ukraine.  Anyhow I order another round of arty this time 152mm anti personnel to fall on the tree line again.  8 minutes damn I should have started this earlier.

Turn 171 Time Remaining 1:08

It's my time to get some luck of the Irish (Russian Irish Russish?).   Both my T90s in the village scoot forward fast to see if they can do a shoot and scoot.  The far right T90 has barely moved forward 10 meters when a volley of Excalibur rounds lands where it was parked mere seconds before. 





The other T90 noses past the chicken coop fires off a round in the direction of the tree line that the Us troops are advancing.  The round lands smack dab into a half squad of grunts who are running forward.  Cries of I am hit and medic begin to waft across the battlefield from this squad.  I see several squad members running away from the dubious safety of the trees into the fields.  I might have broken this unit.



Its my turn to do some chewing on the right embankment flank.  My T90s and MT LMBB 6M spot several US troops (mostly because they fired and hit the reactive armor on my T90).  They are learning a valuable lesson you better kill what you shoot at or it will be mightily pissed off at you.

[Con]

Turns 173 and 175 Time remaining 1:06

Some distant booming arty possible aircraft drone being shot down and steady movement of US troops on right embankment and tree line.  Nothing really noteworthy of a screenshot.

I notice with alarm that I only have 1 Tunguska left that has any ammo.  The others are all dry.  Hopefully UCG doesn't get any more helos or it will be bad for Ivan.

However I did decide to add a screen shot of a CMBS PBEM game I just finished as the Americans.  Not Bad huh.  I did everything the opposite so far of UCG.  So it will be interesting to see how he prevails in the end (I dont think I will get a Russian victory but I do think that I have prevented UCG getting a Total Victory)

[JasonPratt]

Wow, that was a crushing victory!  :o

You should print that off and hold it close to your chest and rock back and forth as you and UGeek mutually violate each other.  >:D

Not to give any spoilers from reading his side, but I honestly could not even begin to guess who will come out ahead in the end here; not from this point, yet.

I roughly figure there's a less than 50% chance that both sides will continue eating each other until the fighting sporadically dies in the latter third of the game, at which point each side will go back to maneuvering for victory points -- with what result I have no idea, although there could be patches of small, bitter duels over them until the end of the game. Possibly resulting in option 2 at last, in a more limited fashion.

I figure there's a better than 50% chance that one or the other side will suddenly develop a breakout lead in force, either from a late reinforcement being far more effective on the reduced field than it otherwise would have been, or from one or two types of unit on a particular side just managing to survive long enough to be far more effective on the depleted field than otherwise. The other side simply won't have enough troops with ammo / will to fight against this newly developed force advantage, and the collapse will happen quickly with a surrender to follow.

I'm very curious to see which way it will go. And I certainly don't want to speculate further on how it might go, since that might give either of you ideas.  O:-)

[Con]

Turn 177  Time Remaining 1:04
Apart from some US troops scurrying around in the woods on the right flank embankment this is a time for both sides to be licking their copious wounds.

[Con]

Turn 179 Time Remaining 1:03

I can actually catch my breath and try and do a little planning.
The Tunguska that is in the tree line is the only one with any ammo left (plus I found out he was hording 2 SAMs).  I order him to move to the farmhouse where there is already a Tunguska that has burned through its ammo.



I also reposition my T90s in the farming complex area (I am paranoid after that near miss)
I see lots of US soldiers scampering like little mice back up the right flank embankment away from the heavy fire from 3 T90s that are pulverizing the woods there.  They must be stripping the bark off the white birches with all the shrapnel, HMG fire and 125mm thermobaric rounds.  I decide to get cute (its worked so well for me so far) and sneak up my last remaining MT LMB 6M on the far right flank.  I want to bring him up through the woods and see if he can nail those US grunts as they are crossing over the railway line.  What could possibly go wrong

OF COURSE IT WILL GO HORRIBLY WRONG.  A hidden Stryker spot my AFV and perforates him with 30mm APDS rounds.

[Con]

Turn 181 Time remaining 1:02

No one dies for a change
I move my Kornet ATGM out of the tree line towards the burning T90s.  I want to get him positioned where he can hopefully get a shot off at a Stryker if it crosses the embankment.  The Tunguska and T90s in the farming complex  reposition.  The sound of choppers appears heavy in the air again...god damn it how many of those things does UCG have.  I must have decimated half the air corps in the Ukraine by now (or at least made them all go buy a new bulk shipment of adult diapers) with all the SAMs I have shoved down their throats.

The turn ends with Mortar Stryker showing up at the corner of death moving fast towards the railway bridge.


Turn 183 Time remaining 1:01
This one left a mark for UCG.

In Deaths corner not 1 not 2 but 3 Mortar carriers start making a break for the railway bridge.  What they dont know is that way n the distance is an unspotted Kornet ATGM.  With a woosh he fires one then two missiles taking out two different Mortar Strykers.  The crews never even make it out of the open top.  The third Stryker dropping all pretense of calm panic drives their way out of there like a cop running all the red lights to a doughnut sale.







Deaths corner is now more aptly named then ever.  I can count 11 AFVs from the US and Russian sides in an area less than 200 meters across.  I know there are at least 1 more US one in this area but I can't see it.



The Tunguska barely makes it to its new position before it swivels and drops its last two remaining SAMs at the helicopters.  I think I moved him to the best spot just in time.  The previous Tunguska claimed a couple of aircraft kills from this spot.



On the right flank embankment multiple Hellfires bore in....luckily those dopey helicopter pilots choose to spend their ammo on my already smoking and clearly dead Tunguska.  The T90s in relief decide to get the hell out of their kill box.  The chopper pilots will have to take a remedial class in spotting starting with don't shoot at things that are blazing away under a giant funeral pyre of black roiling smoke.



I think this turn will have broken UCG a little more.

[Con]

Just a heads up I have a couple of more turns to write up but I will be heading out on a business trip from Sunday to Friday.  Since my company is paranoid beyond belief we have no way of putting any programs on our laptops that are not from the company app store.  I looked and funnily enough the company App Store does not have CMBS as an app.  It does have the train times in Darmstadt though

We will see how far we get until the next break

Conrad

[Con]

Turn 185 Time remaining 1:00

My Right flank T90s rapidly leave the US Helo pilots to continue pulverizing the dead Tunguska into even smaller tiny metal fragments.  I will hand it to those fly boys when they get an idea in their head it really sticks.   They are so intent on destroying that dead Tunguska that the live one smokes one of the Apaches with a SAM.





Arty continues to rain down on the tree line.  I am amazed that UCG troops continue to press forward against t.  This is old School WW1 over the top kind of stuff here.

[Con]

Turn 187 Time remaining 0:59

I cant believe we broke the 1 hour mark left before Christmas 2015.  UCG has been a champion at getting turns back.  That being said the frenetic pace of combat is beginning to slacken as both sides I suspect are grievously wounded.

I send one T90 into the middle of the woods in the embankment and keep the other two back.  I want to get that T90 away from any surviving choppers


Turn 189 Time remaining 0:59
The T90 in the woods tries to do the same thing the earlier MT LMB 6M did which is cosy up to the railroad tracks to see if he can spot any Strykers or troops.  The same result but a different outcome happens where an unseen Stryker lights up my T90 in the rear.  The difference that some armor gives is immense.  The T90 crew laughs of the hits as opposed to the AFV which can apparently be disabled by a mosquito bite.  The Stryker seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere trying a rear attack pops smoke and flees.  (This last sentence could also be used for a gay bar outcome).

The treeline continues to get pummeled by 125mm anti personnel artillery fire.

[Con]

Turn 191 Time remaining 0:57
I rush the T90 that popped smoke into the tree line.  Those Javelins have made me a believer that a little cover is better than none.  The best safety is not to be seen.


Turn 193 Time remaining 0:56
The T90 that was worried about Javelins and ATGM and Laws takes it nervous revenge on the US HMG crew that has endures arty fire, lots and lots of arty fire and tromping through the Ukrainian swampy woods only to get blown to kingdom come by the T90 suddenly popping up in front of them.



Around the railroad trestle bridge smoke starts dropping.  I bet UCG is going to try and run some more vehicles over it to the other side.

Turn 195 Time remaining 0:55

I pull the far right T90 closer up towards the burning multiple times attacked Tunguska to see if it can get any better spotting on any Strykers on the right embankment. 

Smoke continues to grow around the railroad trestle bridge but I have three T90s in the farming complex/tree line that can still spot on and around it.

Turn 197 Time remaining 0:54

I have been jockeying my T90s in the village back and forth every couple of minutes and once again I cheat death by seconds.  Three Excalibur rounds slam into the ground where a T90 had been standing 30 seconds earlier

[Con]

Turn 199 Time remaining 0:53

Sure enough a Hummer tries to make it across the trestle railroad bridge.  One of my T90s gives it the same Viking funeral that the other Hummer got.  Now UCG has burning vehicles at both ends of the bridge.  I don't think anything on wheels will be able to push by these flaming speed bumps.

I spot a Stryker in the embankment on the right but the only way to get my T90 to engage it is to bring it up into the woods close to where the MT LMB 6M got knocked out.

[Con]

OK got back from a week of hellish travel and meetings (but good beer I was in Denmark, Germany and Ireland). Memorial day was BBQ weekend here in the states (I smoked 2 briskets, 4 racks of ribs and steaks chicken corncobs wrapped in bacon and cheese and garlic in a massive smoker I have - my last man toy that the wife let me buy before kids).

In between all this I was able to fire off some turns to UCG and I now see I have to write up 12 turns (or minutes worth of fighting).  Its not been as hectic as the previous battles more cat and mouse but I will get to it hopefully today.....after I finish eating more left over ribs and making Brisket Chili mmmmm  brisket chili 

Con

[Con]

201 Time remaining 0:52

We are two hundred turns in and war even pixel war this is exhausting.  My troops are decimated and wavering.  Even the ones who have not suffered casualties are nervous and looking askance at their leaders (who they would follow out of a morbid curiosity to see what foolishness they will do next).

In the woods in the embankment line desperate little skirmishes between the remnants of my infantry and whatever remaining US troops UCG can scrape up break out.  A US HQ unit totting a LAW gets chopped down while they are trying to cower into the ground.   B squad from the motor rifle battalion exchanges a ferocious amount of small arms fire and grenades with a US half squad.  Both US and Russians lose 1 grunt each and both quickly move to other ground away from each other.  It goes to show you that no one wants to hold this dirty piece of Ukrainian territory.  We are going to see who is going to be the more tenacious.





In the tree line a T90 creeps forward and spots a US sniper team also hugging the ground for all he is worth.  The turn ends before the T90s cannon can be brought to bear on him.



In the village the game of repositioning the T90s continues so that they dont get smashed by any US precision Excalibur munitions.

I am still nervous that UCG will be getting Abram tanks as additional reinforcements but I am wavering in that belief for the following reasons.
1. He has had a crap load of Strykers including specialized Anti Tank Strykers
2. Time is running out for him to bring on any more forces and do something with them
3. UCG has been very aggressive (maybe too aggressive) in this battle.  I don't see him sitting on his hands if he had a platoon of Abrams for this long.
4. I have been hammered by countless Apaches.  I don't think there are any choppers left in the US arsenal that haven't been tasked to helping UCG out.  Those flying deathtraps are expensive so they must be eating into his points for scenario balance.
5. I haven't seen any signs of vehicles coming from the back (UCG side) edge of the map.  I have some good LOS from my Kornet teams that are out there and its been still as a grave (poor choice of words).
Even with all these reasons I am still not convinced that I might suddenly be facing these death dealing monsters and they would make short work even of my T90s.  Those T90s are my only assets right now that can tip the balance of the battle in my favour.


Turn 203 Time remaining 0:51

My arty fire starts coming down in the treeline.  The US sniper unit manages to hug the ground for almost a minute against the T90 MG fire.  Eventually the tank tires of this and puts two rounds of 125mm HE into the US sniper. 

My T90 on the far right of the embankment sprints to the tree line hoping to surprise a Stryker that was opportunistically spotted by a lone surviving crew member.

I bring my FO team which has been slowly yomping into position where they can hopefully spot the embankment right hand side.

In the middle portion of the embankment I order the half squad to hunt forward I am hoping that I can capitalize on the US pulling back maybe they are in a panic mode?

[Con]

Turn 205 Time remaining 0:50

Curses......an unseen Stryker risking it all has crept up and found my half squad.  Despite their 3 sets of eyes to the Strykers one they fail to see it.  The Stryker unleashes a hail of Mk19 HE grenades while my chaps are lined up like they are on parade.  Honestly only one round would have done it since they were perfectly aligned.

Now I am more nervous I know there are US troops in the woods and I dont have any left.  No Russian troops to support the tanks versus Us troops and Strykers - bad juju for sure.  Time to move the T90s back.

The turn ends with smoke begining to billow in front of the railway bridge.  I also might be hearing choppers.....not again?

[Con]

Turn 207 Time remaining 0:49

This is awkward.   My T90 on the middle of the embankment backs up and is lit up by an unspotted Stryker once again.  It even manages to partially penetrate the front glacis plate of the T90 causing it to pop smoke and reverse out of there fearful for its life.  That is like a kitten chasing away rottweiler.....just embarrassing.  More US troops and a spotted Stryker are seen on the right hand side of the embankment but now that far right T90 is in the wrong position...





In the tree line the T90 spots a US MMG team again equipped with LAWs.  This time he doesn't take chances even with arty raining down on the US team the T90 uses his cannon again for maximum effect.  It might be like using a howitzer to swat flies but those US troops have been tenacious.



On the plus side my FO is finally in a position where he can spot the right hand embankment and call in fire.  Time for a plan.....

I am gong to call in plenty of anti-pers fire on the right hand embankment to suppress or kill Us troops then under the arty fire I will bring in my T90s and cross the embankment.  Hopefully I can catch some Strykers on the other side and not a face full of javelins.  This is not very complex but it suits my mood right now.