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The Flare Path welcomes combative commentersColonel Croesus commences
Colonel Croesus commences
Peter Peiper picked a pack of pickled Panzergrenadiers.A pack of pickled Panzergrenadiers Peter Peiper picked.If Peter Peiper picked a pack of pickled Panzergrenadiers,Where’s the pack of pickled Panzergrenadiers Peter Peiper picked?
Your Units
Initially, the goodish guys have at their disposal…
Count Casari’s (Fabio Testi)Autoblinda 41armoured car.
Captain Squires' (Michael Medwin) three-man breach team.
Corporal Wood’s (John Nettles) two-man sniper team.
Private Moffat’s (Alun Armstrong) two-man PIAT team
Due to arrive in approximately five minutes' time are the rest of the ‘Montaretto Millionaires’…
Lieutenant Ashbridge’s (Roger Moore)Achilles tank destroyer.
Corporal Singh’s (Ben Kingsley)Wasp flamethower.
Corporal Williams' (Jim Brown) halftrack, aboard which is the other third of 1st Platoon - 3rd Squad under Sergeant Costello (George Savalas).
Captain Lynch (Harrison Ford) and 1st Lt. Bishop (Michael J. Pollard), two survivors from a downedB-26, may also appear at some point. They were last seen scaling the mountain above the base in search of a ventilation shaft.
The Venue
The fact that Croesus and Co. weren’t fired on or apprehended as they bailed out of the wrecked Greyhound strongly suggests that all of Steiner’s force is now busy inside the mountain.
Communal Combat Mission Basics
For example… one turn Peacock_Plucker might order 2nd Squad to advance down the tunnel on row 3, while Balaton76 manoeuvres Crabmeat 1, and SlowDoris does something dashing with the Autoblinda. During the next order round Geodetic might decide 2nd Squad needs to pick up the pace, while LMF reverses Crabmeat 1, and Shropshire_Lass rethinks the Autoblinda’s route.
At around 1800 hrs GMT every evening I’ll execute all issued orders posting the results as a short illustrated article the following morning at approximately 0800 hrs GMT. Did the Achilles bag the Tiger? Did 1st Squad survive the dash along the quay? All will be revealed.
It will be Yours Truly rather than CM’s internal logic that ultimately decides whether the battle has been won or lost. At the end of Turn 15 I’ll take a look at the situation in columns a to r and dish out bouquets and brickbats accordingly. Neutralise all of Steiner’s armour, ‘puncture’ his submarine, and gain control of key locations like the main quay (‘GOLD’) and gate control room (c4/5) and, rest assured, the pilfered Prosecco will flow. Kills, casualties, and general battlefield behaviour, will also be considered when I pass judgement, but control of the wet, western end of the map is the primary objective in Colonel Croesus.
Issuing Orders
You don’t need to understand the intricacies ofCombat Mission: Fortress Italyin order to participate. Consider the tactical situation, and provide a destination coordinate and perhaps a clue to pace/cautiousness and I’ll do my best to translate your instructions into successful in-game orders.
Full strength infantry squads can be split into three sections for tasks like scouting and tank hunting, and will fight harder, react quicker, and be less likely to panic if close to an HQ.
During the sixty-second non-intervention ‘action phases’ that follow order issuing, units may encounter a threat or target that causes them to abandon or modify your instructions. For example, AFVs may decide to pop smoke and reverse if they don’t like the situation they find themselves in. Specific targeting instructions may be issued but usually combatants can be relied upon to self-select targets sensibly.
This is the first time I’ve set one of these scenarios at night. Because of the darkness inside and outside the mountain (Artificially brightened for command/screenshot purposes) expect relatively poor spotting performance from your units. Stationary, unbuttoned units asked to scrutinise a small sector of scenery will spot much better than moving ones without ‘target arcs’, but, as time is of the essence, painstaking scrutiny of every inky corner is a luxury you, unfortunately, can’t afford.
TheCMFI demois a great place to start if you’re not familiar with CM play mechanics. I’ll do my best to answer any technical questions that arise during the next three weeks, but as I knowthe original triofar better than I know the second gen titles, I’d be very grateful if spectators and players with more experience furnished explanations and proffered advice too.
Enjoy the hostilities, Comment Commanders. Best of luck. You’ll need it.
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