Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

We are pleased to report that rumors of the Colonel's demise, apparently started by unsavory characters in the enemy propaganda dapartment, are grossly exaggerated. While a serious injury was inflicted on him in the last battle (pulled his arm out of socket while moving computer equipment), an extended medical R & R break has allowed a sufficient recovery for him to return to the action.

It is now April 1954, and we've come back to the scene of the crime, fighting the Chinese. They are advancing in large numbers against our forces, and we've been caught with little time to prepare a defense. The terrain in the expected encounter location is a heavily wooded area with two roads and about 6 medium sized hills, plus two large hills in the enemy operating area. The paved road runs E-W basically through the center of the map. A dirt road comes down from the NW and then turns and runs parallel to the main road about 1/2 clik north of it. Both cross height 20 hills near the center of the battlefield, and about 1 clik in front of two of the enemy's objective areas. Control of those two hills will probably be crucial to the battle, since there is reasonalbly-sized open areas to the southeast of each.

Contrary to their usual modus operandi, the Chinese have been moving in broad daylight, rather than at night. We've noticed that their prior operations in daytime are at dusk or dawn, when they need at least some light to move vehicles. These brazen daylight manuevers have probably been necessitated by the large number of tanks they've been using lately. So while the extended visibility (3 1/2 cliks) gives us lots of warning, its also a sure sign there will be MANY enemy tanks. We've emplaced our units to take advantage of our superior armor, but at the same time hidden it to stave off enemy artillery effectiveness until the last minute when battle has already closed.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

What really surely not, better to break it its a lot less painful.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

[to Imp: you're right. Technically it's small tears to the tendon and resulting tendonitis, not dislocated]

The enemy is approaching from the West. The two sections of M103 Heavy Tanks have each been placed astride the two roads on the reverse slope where they crest the hills near the middle of the battlefield. Our other main-force units have been deployed in the western edge of woods that border open areas, with armor and infantry intermixed. The one exception is a mostly bald hill to the NW of the northern objective area, which will be a likely approach for the enemy. Due to its exposure, only AT guns and infantry have been placed upon it, with the guns occupying several areas of broken ground for better defensive protection.

The tactical plan is a true delaying action. All units have been ordered to wait until they "see the whites of their eyes" before engaging. We hope that a few well-aimed shots will destroy enemy armor by ambush at close range, leaving them no time to react and return fire. The hope is that burning wreckage will block shots from following enemy units. Then, the units that have fired and revealed their position will withdraw back through the woods and reposition at the far side of the next break in the woods. Infantry will remain a few hundred meters back in the woods, hopefully far enough to avoid responding enemy arty, to ambush enemy armor that attempts to charge in pursuit. Then rinse and repeat as often as possible.

We were excited at the prospect of such clear visibility offering some ripe pickings for our air power, but our hopes were dashed when division announced NO air cover would be forthcoming, other than two old planes that would be available for recon flights. We did get 4 upgraded tanks - a few partially damaged M-47's being replaced by M-48A2's with the night vision equipment. Also sent over in support were 6 mechanized recon platoons and 6 sections of the new Jeep-mounted 106 mm recoilless rifles. The Colonel plans on sending them around the enemy flanks as scouts and to spot enemy artillery and AA guns on hilltops. Apparently he read some tactical guides on employing this type of rig while he was in recuperation. The scouts will, obviously, scout. The accompanying APC's will supress enemy troops, while the 106-armed jeeps will try to ambush any enemy armor encountered.

Time to get into position and await the enemy.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

Sorry meant to say good to have you back this is a great way to waste 10 minutes cant wait for the book.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

[to Imp: Thanks for the well wishes. Glad to be back too!]

Watching the droves of enemy tanks approach is slightly un-nerving. Even though our crews are better trained, and our armor more capable, it's still tough to sit and wait while that many armored vehicles are steadily streaming in your direction, without any prepared positions to hunker-down in. Because of the trees, we glimpse vehicles moving in and out of sight, and it's hard to know whether any given sighting is the same or a different tank. Thus, we don't really know how many of them are headed our way. In spite of our superior capability, they just might be able to overrun us with sheer numbers. It's difficult to restrain the men from firing at long range when they see a target, hoping to knock it out before it can get too close, and to thin the herd a little. However, discipline is holding up so far, and they only fidget a little while steadily tracking the closer targets.

Showing some of the bravado recon units are known for, the mechanized scouts the division sent over have raced off into the woods on both flanks, trying to get around enemy columns before they spread out for their attack. Two light helos sent to provide cover and extra eyes were forced to turn back when they came under heavy AA-fire from Chinese 37mm guns. We strongly suspect they are positioned on the two large hills in the middle of the enemy territory, but haven't managed to spot any so far. Thank goodness we were looking skyward, because we were able to spot two MiG-15 aircraft coming in from the north. Our own 40-mm AA guns opened fire, they and the Dusters being the only units given "free fire" engagement rules during this operation. While they probably spotted our four heavy tanks on the two hilltops, the planes apparently couldn't tighten their turns enough to bring them under fire on this pass. Instead they shot into the tree line in front of the objective areas. We don't think they spotted anything else clearly, since none of our units were targetted or damaged, but one of the new M48A2's was hit many times by flying fragments from their shells. Thank goodness that will be the extent of their harassment, as they were both shot down by our guns. One was taken out in his initial dive, as he flew almost right over two of the Dusters at low altitude. It must have been a direct hit, because that MiG just disintegrated when the Dusters let loose with their second burst. The other MiG was severely damaged after being hit on its pull-up by two of the fixed 40mm guns. The pilot bailed from his smoking plane, and a short time later it rolled to the left and dived into the woods. We'll send some of the recon units off to find him after the enemy advance is (hopefully) repulsed.

In the meantime, enemy 85mm and 122mm artillery has been hunting around the map, trying to find some of our units. Although several salvos landed close, none made hits. They are, as expected, concentrating on the area of the objectives, which is also why the Colonel avoided placing any of us near there at first. Our own batteries replied with counter-fire. It must have had some effect, as the second enemy barrage was significantly lighter in volume. However, that barrage included shells from some of their 152mm field guns that landed much too close for comfort, spraying a wide area with shrapnel. Finding and eliminating them will be a top priority for us now.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

A scout down south reported a company of T-34/85's moving at a rapid clip through the woods along that edge of the battlefield. Six of the eight APC's have been ordered to disgorge their onboard scouts to set up an ambush line across the tank's path of advance, and pull back. The 106mm jeeps are backing up the scouts, using their small size and stillness in hopes of spotting and shooting before they become targets themselves. Unless there is infantry riding on the enemy tanks, they appear to be unaccompanied. They are moving so fast, no infantry could keep up with them. Other observation units have also reported that the first wave of armor all across the battlefield appear to be alone. That will make is easier for our units to get a quick shot off and remain undetected.

As hoped, the enemy tanks down south blundered forward into the ambush line in the woods. Four tanks were assaulted by the scouts, with two being immobilized. All four, plus two others trying to rush by unmolested were capped by the 106mm jeeps. Those RR are rather effective weapons, expelling a large shaped-charge warhead with a loud "Whoosh!" and gush of flame. Rather like a large bazooka. The scout units then loaded up quickly and high-tailed it out of there, expecting enemy arty to arrive soon, which it did. Three batteries of 85mm fell in the area, some of it hitting their own remaining tanks, to the delight of our scout units.

Up on the northern edge of the battlefield, our recon units managed to get around the enemy thrust, but then got confined to a narrow band of woods, as enemy vehicles had a good field of fire through some open areas. One jeep cautiously motored up to the edge of the woods, but was immediately spotted and taken under fire. Fortunately, the driver was an agile fellow and dodged the incoming fire while careening around trees to get deeper back into the woods. Hopefully the enemy wave will pass by and the recon units can continue their progress deeper into enemy territory.

The Colonel has ordered our SPA to begin firing at a line of tanks coming down the two roads. I think it's a little early to let our artillery be spotted by the enemy, but he says he has a plan. Besides, he wants their fire to disrupt and slow the enemy advance as soon as possible. This way, the enemy tanks will be more spaced-out and possibly suppressed when they run into the M103 heavy tanks on the hill. He's the boss, so I guess there will soon be 203mm and 155mm shells falling amid the enemy tanks. I can't say I'm sorry to hear it.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

The enemy T-34's came right up to our M103's and attempted to overrun their hilltop position. It was all our crews could do to keep loading those large shells in time to fire the next round. At such point-blank range, there was no missing. And those 105mm AP rounds were not stopped by the lesser armor of WWII era tanks. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. We almost felt sorry for them, until we remembered they were the same people trying to overwhelm our own forces. After six or seven enemy tanks were dispatched at each location, they tried to make a flanking manuever around the hilltops. That was met with similar consequences, although they did have a little better chance of success due to longer ranges. The Pattons in the woods a little past the hills made short work of the ones screened from M103 fire.

Enemy tanks coming up through the woods fared better, getting to within about 500 meters of the objectives before they could be targetted. No enemy vehicle made it past there. It was a slaughter in every sense of the word. In their mad rush without infantry support, about six of their tanks fell to infantry assaults with bazookas or flamethrowers. Our men had initially been very nervous about the enemy attack, but after seeing several enemy tanks destroyed on the hilltops, our morale improved greatly. About 1/2 of the enemy force halted in the middle of the battle, not moving at all. We're not sure if they were contemplating their losses, or waiting for their infantry to finally catch up, or if they had reached their assigned positions and were waiting for more orders. Considering the usual doctrine of the Chinese to strictly follow orders (and nothing more), we're guessing the latter. We took advantage of the stalled advance to pepper the known enemy armor concentrations with artillery fire, and many were immobilized, with a few actually being destroyed. The enemy artillery, which had continued blasting at any position occupied by our troops, had mostly been silence by this time, so our fear of counter-battery fire was greatly diminished. Fortunately, our withdraw from previous firing positions minimized the enemy artillery effectiveness. One M4 flame tank was unlucky enough to be caught in what we believe was a stray barrage, rather than a planned target zone, and was destroyed, although most of the crew was able to bail out before it exploded in a tremendous ball of flame.

Enemy leg infantry did much better, using smoke to advance into one of the objective areas before several minutes of our artillery fire sent them packing. They lagged way behind the enemy armor, not having any transport. There were many of them, escorted by what enemy armor remained mobile. The sight of all those men running at you and shooting is different than facing down their armor. On the one hand, the armor seems almost invincible to our poor men on the ground, but at least one can attempt to hide from them in the woods. When several hundred men are coming at you, their doesn't seem like there will be any place to hide, and only the fear of disappointing your comrades makes you stay in place and fight. Fortunately most of the battle did not turn hand to hand, as our artillery soon caused the enemy infantry to go-to-ground, and our tanks began to drive them back with what seemed one continuous volley of MG fire. Our own crew-served heavy machine gun sections also opened up once it was clear that their positions would not be overrun if detected.

In the meantime, the recon teams coupled with our light attack helos were able to spot the locations of about 12 Chinese AA gun emplacements. Artillery was called, and the ones on the hilltops were silenced by that barrage. Our two transport helos brought in the sniper teams and dropped them in secluded woodland clearings. After sneaking into position, they were able to destroy several more. The last several were swarmed by helos after they had been suppressed by an exchange of fire with the APC's. Then the hunt was on for enemy 60 mm mortars, which had begun extensive harrassing fire on our frontline troops. Many of those were also located by the dust and smoke from their firing positions and dispatched by the helos, now roaming the battlefield with impunity since the enemy armor had no AAMG, and 90% of the enemy AA had been located and destroyed.

It soon became a rout, and in their haste to pursue the enemy, two more Sherman flame tanks were hit by enemy recoilless rifle teams and destroyed, both crews miraculously also able to exit their vehicles with few casualties. A company of T-34's came up from the enemy reserve, trying to salvage the situation, and managed to destroy two of the recon APC's before they could scatter into the woods, but it was a hopeless case, and the enemy abandoned the field. Casualties were minimal and the Colonel considers it a great victory. I have a feeling someone may be promoted!

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

It is now August 1955, and tensions with the Russians have flared again. While our forces were conducting standard training exercises, some Russian recon forces were spotted and pursued by over-zealous West-German militia. A fight soon erupted, and now both sides have sent supporting troops into the melee. We should be encountering each other soon enough. The expected meeting place is an area of fields and farmland, hemmed in by long tree-lines and small pockets of woods. Two large-sized hills of height 30 or so dominate the center of the expected battlefield, with the southerly one having a paved road that goes right through the saddle of its twin crests. There's also another east-west road of hard-packed dirt farther to the south, lined in many places by trees. Our objectives are the fields east of the two hills, approximately evenly spaced to the northeast, east, and southeast of them.

Since the engagement erupted in the late morning, there will be plenty of light left during the afternoon hours in which we expect to meet the Russians. Visibility is pretty good, about 2 & 1/2 kilometers. Also, because training operations were already underway, there will be a whole squadron of F-86 Sabre's available for air support. Division said most of their planes are currently arming and re-fueling and expects 10 or so to be airborne soon. Conversely, since the Russians were merely spying on us, no Russian aircraft are expected to be ready in time to engage us. The Colonel has also requested that some of the recon troops/106mm jeeps be cross-attached from division, as he was pleased with their exploits on our last mission. Finally, Corps headquarters sent two more of the upgraded M-48A2's to replace damaged tanks. Somewhat surprisingly, the Colonel chose to request repair parts and keep our Sherman Flame tanks. With their low standard ammo load, mediocre armor, and poor-pentrating gun, I question his logic. While they are extremely good at digging enemy infantry out of entrenched positions, the short range of their flame weapons means they must get into range of the new enemy hand-held AT weapons and limits that use. I suppose if the enemy infantry are suppressed that might still work, and unlike our own grunts, they'll be shielded from enemy MG and small-arms fire. Maybe they'll still be useful after all. Only time will tell. At least I'm not the one riding around in those things...

The Colonel plans to drive directly for the hilltops, one hill assigned to each Battalion to ensure they do not fall into the hands of the enemy, then divert part of each to occupy the outlying objective areas. An additional portion from each will divert toward the center objective, hopefully flanking any Russian units attempting to occupy it. The larger, slower, and more heavily armored M103's will continue to occupy the hilltops to snipe from long range at enemy armor moving forward. They're the only ones with enough penetrating power at long range to be effective, and their thick frontal armor should provide some protection. Well, it's time to saddle up and get moving. I'll send more reports as time permits.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

As we begin rolling, the Colonel has decided that it will be more effective to have some of us grunts ride forward on the armored vehicles. Only about a third of us will fit, so its still a long, hot march for most of us. I'm beginning to wonder now if we'll make our objectives in time to set up any kind of defense, or whether it will be us trying to push the enemy out.

Soon after the helos took off, the radios started crackling to life. They were taking fire from some large enemy AA guns that they couldn't even see in the bright haze. And the fire was much more accurate than expected considering the distance they must be firing from. A hasty conference with the Intel section has disclosed the enemy is rumored to have new radar-guided 57mm AA guns, and we must have encountered some. It's all but paralyzed helo movement thats not screened behind the crest of the hills. Because of the unpredictable visibility through all these shallow tree-lines, even NOE flying is risky. However, with most of the enemy guns concentrated on our little attack helos, the two transport helos have managed to successfully insert our two FO/scout/sniper platoons into some small woods only about 300 meters from two of our objective areas to keep watch and provide spotting for our guns.

The helos have also spotted a large number of a new enemy armored personnel carrier, called a BTR-50 or some such, which they must be using to rapidly advance their infantry to the objective areas. There are also a fair number of enemy tanks, both T-34's and T-54-3's evenly mixed. This obviously will be no walk in the park. Enemy artillery, mostly 122mm guns, is also pounding the area around the objectives. I suppose they're trying to soften up the area before they reach it, not knowing that we're nowhere near them yet. Our own guns responded, hopefully suppressing theirs so that they won't bother us so much. The Colonel's also asked our arty to shoot a few rounds on the road just southeast of the central objective to disrupt any Russian units speeding along the road. The Colonel's also ordered our fixed guns to mount up and try to find some secluded positions in the treelines near the objective areas to set up some ambush points. The divisional scouts riding in their APC's and the 106mm jeeps have darted ahead of our main body to look for some likely places.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

Unlike the Chinese in the last engagement, who led with their tanks, the Russians have sent infantry forward quickly to feel out the area. They've used both older and the new model APC's to drive up really close to the objective areas and offload. We've managed to pick off a few enemy infantry with our snipers, mostly the vulnerable but easily concealed RPG-2 teams, but our snipers are going to be overrun soon if they keep shooting and get spotted, so for now they're laying low. Some of the scouts with them have crawled up through the woods to monitor the fields on the other side of the treeline, and both FO's have set up in places with long lines of sight.

The two lead tanks in each Bn were left riderless so that they could spot from hills and other vantage points at longer range a few hundreds meters in front of the other 10 tanks. This way, if the Russians open up on them they won't be covered by the hamburger that's sometimes left when infantry wait too long to dismount. The 106mm jeeps aren't nearly as helpful on the march. They're extremely vulnerable to any return fire, even small arms, and they can't hit squat at long range if they've moved much. The mechanized scout platoons encountered some of the enemy APC's and their infantry passengers, and started dueling at about 800 meters. Our APC's headed for the woods to dismount the scouts in concealment, and they've started spreading out to put some eyes on the enemy movements. They discovered a company column of APC's heading down the paved road and we've called in some arty to disrupt whatever nefarious plans they have. We've also diverted the two lead tanks from the southern Bn to take positions on the road and intercept any that proceed onward. The support tanks and infantry will take the sector to the south of the road, and the main-force tanks mounted with infantry will continue to move forward in the southern portion of sector between the two hills.

Up north, main force tanks from Bn B have also pressed forward diverting around to the northern perimeter of the northern hill. Support tanks have diverted even further north, to intercept an enemy thrust moving along the northern edge of the battle area.

The first major firefight erupted between the mech recon platoon APC's and 106mm jeeps, assisted by two Patton tanks on the paved road. At least two platoons of enemy mech infantry made it through the artillery barrage we laid on the road (althogh we had the satisfaction of seeing a third platoon being mostly demolished when several APC's blew up on the road and the remainder swerved wildly off the road and started smoking). The enemy infantry dismounted after taking MG fire from our APC's and a few near misses from the 106mm jeeps. The jeeps pulled back out of small arms range and out of sight of the enemy APC's. When the enemy infantry moved forward through some trees that occupied a bend in the road, those jeep crews just wailed on them like there was no tomorrow. Round after round of RR shells took apart that woods. Whether there were many casualties, I'm not certain, but they sure tried. Come to think of it, some of those flying tree limbs looked an awful lot like broken bodies. In any event, the infantry didn't get far, until a bunch of them rushed out of the woods at once, with two APC's rolling along as mobile MG's. The jeeps took out one and suppressed the other, but the advancing enemy troops forced the jeeps to pull back farther. Our APC's raked them with MG fire of our own, and they went to ground and took up defensive positions. A few fired their RPG-2 AT rockets, but thankfully none scored hits. That's when our two tanks joined the fight. They just slowly rolled forward, belching cannon and MG fire without a concern. The enemy infantry was pinned down for the most part, and part of the woods was on fire by then as well. Three more enemy APC's came out of the woods, probably to pick up their men and get the heck out of there, but our tanks left them smoking hulks. Eventually all the enemy infantry was driven back and scattered to the wind. Two more enemy APC's also bit the dust, while one of our tanks was slightly damage by an unseen RPG-2 team that must have rallied itself in the woods when the heavy fighting passed them by. Now we better clear out before enemy arty and tanks arrive. Hopefully we can keep them reacting to our probes, and we'll grind them up bit-by-bit.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

Am loving this AAR! I'd like to credit you with getting me playing SPMBT again after a bit of a break. :)

:up:

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

Through clever electronic intercepts, the enemy was able to sever our communication links for the past week or so, and no reports have apparently gotten through. Their ability to penetrate our security systems is being throughly investigated, and if a traitor is found, he will be severely dealt with! (i.e., I wasn't able to post for some time for some as-yet unknown reason. John/Imp's useful advice to trash my cookies, reboot, and re-login seems to have worked)

[SecretGeek - glad you're enjoying it, welcome back]

Our last engagement concluded with several rounds of airstrikes and artillery pounding the enemy in advance of small probing actions. Eventually we punched through the enemy lines, and began streaming units into their rear area, using our infantry/RR106 jeeps/fixed guns to frustrate the enemy's own advances. Our artillery provided supporting fire against any large enemy concentrations, which convinced most of them to give up. We then wheeled our penetrating teams to the north and south and began hitting them from behind. The enemy decided that discretion was the better part of valor and left the field in a ragged and hasty withdraw. Casualties on our side were a bit more than previously, but no irreplaceable losses.

A few more M-47's Pattons that had been damaged were upgraded to M-48A2's, and our two transport helos, which only had single-squad capacity, were upgraded to some heavy-lift (226 capacity) helos.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

Its January 1956, and our next assignment will take us to French Indochina. Thank heaven we won't be going back to Korea again. It's colder than billy-hell up in those mountains this time of year. And it won't be quite as miserable in the jungles of Vietnam in January either.

The Viet Cong have been active lately in the Mekong Delta region, and the French just don't have the transport and equipment necessary to move their present forces around in that semi-liquid landscape. We'll be out of the river area itself, but there's plenty of flooded areas, swamps, and rice-paddies to make any mosquitoes absolutely gleeful. I hope they send some bug-repellent along with us. Any spare Viet-Cong repellent could also come in handy.

There is a fair amount of tree-covered areas, which border on jungle, but it's not quite so dense. There are some obvious choke-points where the flooded areas will force passage in land bridges of only 200 or 300 meters across. There is one paved road running E-W which passes through two small villages, and farther south is a dirt road that will be of more tactical importance. It has a wooden bridge spanning the northern section of a flooded area about 200 meters across. Because there is densely wooded areas to the north and south of the road, but not too close, it will be an ideal route for us to drive into the enemy rear area. Therefore, we don't plan on destroying it, but we're sure the enemy will be making use of it as well. We expect that location to be the scene of heavy fighting.

The battle plan is to advance quickly and secure as many of the choke points as possible before they are taken by the enemy, then wait to see the enemy's force disposition. One or two points will then be chosen for a sustained push, and our forces will then be realigned to block the enemy at the others while driving throught the chosen gaps. Since speed will be key in this encounter, we've requested and received from division several platoons of amphibious APCs. The standard complement of Ammo 1/2-tracks is the only additional ground forces available. Two flights of A-26 Intruder fighter-bombers with the new cluster munitions have also been assigned to help disperse enemy infantry concentrations that are expected at the choke-points.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

The battle shaped up to be a totally one-sided massacre. The enemy attacked en-masse for the most part, had no vehicles, no armor, and few heavy guns. They got a few good shots in with their hand-held anti-tank rockets and 57mm recoilless rifles. A new heavier Recoilless weapon called a B-10 also made an appearance, but the few of them that made it to the front lines shot from long range and revealed their positions too soon. They did not score any hits before being demolished by return fire from our vehicles.

Our infantry advanced rapidly in their APC's and set up blocking positions in the wooded areas, and our armor waited in positions at the fringe of woods that had open shots to the bottlenecked areas. As the enemy appeared, our armor cut loose with MG's and occassional cannon fire to stop the advance and force the enemy formations to pack together, then artillery was called in to obliterate the concentrated troops.

An unexpected and very effective enemy mortar barrage succeeded in heavily damaging one of the Dusters and immobilizing another. It also sent a platoon of ours running for cover. There must have been 20 or 25 shells landing within the course of a minute or two. There was just one explosion after another as they kept firing them on us. Most of their other mortars fell without significant effect. Sometimes it forced our tanks to fall-back momentarily while suppressed to avoid any surprise infantry charges, but otherwise the enemy made poor use of its much-vaunted mortar teams. Perhaps this was because it could not find most of our infantry until they were in the thick of things. Enemy arty consisted of light 76mm pieces which had very little effect other than to immobilize two of the Shermans. It was silenced by counterbattery fire after about 15 minutes in any event.

As predicted, the real action was around the wooden bridge. Heavy infantry fighting occurred in the woods to the north of the bridge, as our troops attempted to stop an enemy flanking attack. It was touch and go for a while, as the enemy kept pouring troops into the fight. Two of our squads lost their nerve and fled before being reminded of their duty. APC's were providing supporting fire, but in those close quarters, they had some difficulty. In fact, two APC's were lost to enemy hand-held AT rockets, and about 20 of our men also fell. Eventually the two Sherman Flame tanks of Bn B appeared and laid waste to both wood and flesh around them. Three of our own men suffered severe burns when some splash-back landed on them in the close-packed woods. Although diminished, it wasn't until the whole enemy force called it quits that this entanglement ended. By the time it was over, we had committed 4 platoons of infantry to the fight, including supporting APC's, plus the two flame tanks.

It was the opposite situation on the bridge itself. One Sherman FO tank and one platoon of infantry held the bridge for the entire battle. Upon arriving at the bridge on our side of the flooded area, we could already see the enemy troops approaching the other side. By good fortune, there was a slight rise in the road just before the bridge. Our tank could sit protected behind the hump, then nudge forward to heave shells and pour MG fire into any enemy troops that tried to cross. They were only able to get three or four AT shots at it the whole fight, and they all missed, then the launchers were blasted to bits. The enemy made repeated attempts to cross, all of which were repulsed. While a few single soldiers managed to make the crossing, our supporting troops made short work of them. Seeing that we were not willing to blow the bridge itself, the enemy troops gathered their nerves and prepared to make a concerted rush across and overrun us with sheer numbers. That's when the tank commander called in a strike by a flight of the A-26 marauders. I could tell from the size of them that they must carry a good-sized payload, and boy, did they. Between the three of them they must have dropped 10 tons of bomblets on the hapless enemy. The planes droned overhead at extremely low altitude and it looked like someone was shaking pepper down on the enemy. It sounded like firecrackers at a Chinese new-year celebration, with a continuous pop-pop-poppoppop-pop noise wafting over the water. After the dust cleared, all that we could see of the enemy was the fleeing backsides of the survivors. It wasn't long after that until the whole enemy force began disappearing into the woods.

When we slowly advanced over the bridge, it was a grisly scene that awaited us. We must have wiped out the major part of a whole enemy regiment. We counted almost 400 bodies on and in the approaches to the bridge. While we were generally happy to have succeeded in our mission, it was sobering to see all that wasted human effort.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

Having pushed the VietCong/VietMinh back in the Mekong Delta area, we have gradually been flushing enemy units out of their bases and worked our way northward over the past few months. It's now the fall of 1956, and we've cornered some consolidated enemy units in the rugged mountains of the Central Highlands. They haven't had time to prepare defensive positions yet, and we've been ordered to move forward and engage before they do have time.

Their positions are concentrated in an area containing six rugged peaks, comprising one central horseshoe-shaped ridge surrounded by five others that are nearly as impressive. There are some tree-covered valleys, some rice paddies, and a very few open areas on the surrounding plateau. There is a single dirt road running E-W, and one running N-S. The N-S road will be of little use, since it will be well behind the expected encounter area, and it's unlikely the enemy will come down off their high hills and seize it. The E-W road, while potentially useful, offers many opportunities for ambush (of us) and will therefore be used only on a section-by-section basis as we clear it. There's good visibility from a weather standpoint, but the many high hills and trees mean it will be mostly short lines of sight. The enemy's acquisition of B-10's, discovered in our last encounter, combined with the short lines of sight, will make it difficult for effective enemy troop-killing by armor without endangering our own tanks, meaning they'll be relegated to a suppression role when/if they have an LOS to the enemy. That also ignores the extremely rugged and steep hillsides. When you factor in that aspect, armor will have only a limited role in this engagement.

Since our last report, we've upgraded another tank to M48A2, and replaced another that was lost to an enemy SKZ bazooka. We also got new SPA artillery after ours went back for refitting. Our 155mm units were replaced by 8-inch, closed-top units. Unfortunately, they hardly carry any ammo, just enough for a few volleys, and they'll have to be be tied closely to an ammo supply or they'll be of very little use either. Division has sent over six platoons of scouts to search out the enemy, and six big transport helos to ferry troops around in the area. Two flights of Intruder's with those kick-a** cluster bombs are also waiting on-call. That's all we're getting in terms of support this time, plus a bunch of ammo 1/2-tracks. Wish us luck!

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

As we began to move forward, the enemy pounded the dirt road with 122mm heavy artillery. I was orinally a little ticked off at the Colonel for not allowing us to ride the tanks down the road until the heavy jungle and steep hills began, but I'm beginning to see his wisdom now. It wouldn't have been pretty to have been caught in that barrage. Heck, I didn't even know they had 122mm artillery. I thought the biggest thing they had was the 85mm stuff. At the last minute, division called and said that we'd receive some artillery support ourselves, two batteries of 105mm howitzers that would be dedicated to us.

After plastering the mountain peak above with 8-inch SPA fire, the heavy helos dropped two platoons of scouts and three platoons of our infantry on our side of the ridge to the NE of the central horseshoe ridge. No enemy fire was received during the offload, but as soon as the troops crested the ridgline, the fight was on. The enemy has at least two platoons on the reverse side of the slope, and elements of several other platoons fired at us from the SE ridgeline as well. The helos went back for another load of troops while our vehicles from Bn B navigated the heavily forested plateau to make a screened approach to the northern side of the ridge. Scouts sent ahead of the vehicle column spotted two ambushes by enemy soldiers, which were quickly neutralized by helos spraying the canopy with MG fire. The suppressed enemy units were then overrun by our vehicles.

Rounding the northern foot of the ridge was not as easy. The column came under fire from three B-10's somewhere on the lower slopes of the NW ridgeline from long range, and despite the column's multiple eyeballs, the launchers could not be located until after the lead Patton was lost. When the B-10's were eventually spotted, they were fired at with everything the column had. While the enemy attack did succeed in destroying one tank with a lucky shot, they paid dearly. All three B-10's were destroyed. I'm guessing they knew what would happen once they were located, but they just kept shooting round after round until they scored a hit. You have to admire the courage of those guys!

In the southern area, the tanks of Bn A eventually took a quick jaunt down the dirt road after it had been cleared up to the crest of a smaller hill. On the other side, our infantry once again came under intense MG and small arms fire. Two of the MG's were spotted, and tanks moved into place to take out their positions. An SKZ launcher popped up from over the crest of the hill, having crawled their way through a broken area unspotted by our now suppressed troops. Fortunately the Colonel had the column headed by the slower, but more protected, M103 tanks since they can still manage a good pace on the road. Two shots from the SKZ hit home, but neither penetrated, and as you can imagine, there were no more chances given to the enemy. At the same time, we dismounted all the heavy MG crews of our own that had been piggybacking on the rearward tanks. Just in time too, as the enemy had two heavy MG's of their own somewhere on a ridge about 1 click to the south that began raking the column with bursts of 12.7mm bullets. Everyone hunkered down for a few minutes, until one of the scout teams got the courage to give the enemy the finger before popping a few smoke grenades and screening us from the incoming rounds. Now we'll have to decide whether to move forward and push through the enemy blocking force, or deploy more spread out around the road to avoid incoming artillery until we can neutralize the enemy. We know better than to just sit here too long. Gotta move, shoot, move.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

The Colonel opted to spread out around the road and make a serious effort to annhilate the enemy troops rather than smoke or suppressing them and passing through. The heavy MG's to the south kept the heads of our infantry down, so the armor would have had to advance without escort. That option was judged unacceptable. The armor has both climbed and descended the small ridge to either side of the road. In the meantime, the loaded helos were diverted to the south, and under cover of smoke, deployed two platoons in the fields of long grass to the south. One platoon was put to the western edge, to approach the woods and small hillock believed to be screening the enemy heavy MGs. The other was dropped in a wooded clearing to find the source of some 7.92 medium MG's that began firing as well. This platoon began receiving lots of small arms fire as soon as it emerged from the woodline, losing 2 men in the hail of gunfire. Bullets were flying everywhere, and all they could do was drop to the ground and hope that help would arrive soon. You'd be amazed how flat you can make yourself when it really matters! Fortunately, some of the armor that had repositioned higher up the ridgeline could see the spots the firing was coming from, and laid down some suppression fire with their machine guns and a few cannon rounds. The Dusters made some good use of their rapid-fire 40mm guns, since they weren't expecting any air threats. In fact, after the Dusters sprayed the area, the enemy firing almost completely ceased, and we were able to get up some screening smoke.

The platoon to the west fared better, taking only a few bursts from the heavy MG's which went over our heads, and small arms fire from one enemy squad that must have seen our movement in the tall grass. The MG's were spotted after they spewed a few more bursts at the remaining troops on the hill with the tanks, and the helos and two Pershings shooting from long range were able to silence them after a few minutes.

In the north, it was a continued slug-fest as our men on the SE ridge and theirs on the SW traded shots. Some casualties were caused on both sides, but niether side lost any units. One of our squads will have to be retired due to men lost, but our armor has finally negotiated the rim of the mountain and is inside the "bowl" formed by the surrouding ridge lines. Two AA MG's on the NW peak were spotted when they shot continuously at our orbitting helos. Our 8-inch SPA made short work of them after a few minutes of dropping their huge shells all over that peak. The Colonel took advantage of the shelling (and its suppression effects) to go ahead and drop a platoon on the inside rim of that ridge to provide recon info. There was a suprising volley of small arms fire at the off-loading troops that came from the wooded valley in the center of the bowl. Apparently the 10 minutes of 105mm barrage hadn't done as great a job of suppressing that area as expected. As the men scrambled for cover, an enemy squad hidden in rough terrain on the eastern edge of that ridge fired on them from above as well. Since our men had taken cover based upon the fire coming up from the bowl, they were exposed to fire from above and took several casualties before suppression fire from our ammo supply 1/2-tracks, shooting from all the way across the bowl, managed to force the enemy squad back into cover. Subsequent fire from the tanks' main guns, especially the CS Pershings, eventually drove the enemy from his shelter, and the much relieved infantry squads dispatched the survivors as they ran for the safety of the reverse slope of the ridge. Unfortunately, one of our squads on the ridgeline will also have to be retired from combat now. The bowl received several more liberal applications of 105mm, and that seemed to have quieted that area as well.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

Once a good smoke screen had been established, another platoon was helo'd in to support the troops that came under fire after emerging from the woods down south. After the smoke cleared, even more enemy fire erupted. We estimate there are three to four enemy platoons in the area. Since headquarters never believes the figures we report, we probably out to tell them there's three companies down here, and then they'll cut that number down and arrive at the correct actual amount! The tanks on the small ridgeline along the dirt road fired upon as many enemy units as they could spot, and then we laid another smoke screen down while the helo's come back to evacuate us, and we'll await further orders. By this time, some of the heavy MG's we had left behind had established good positions on the ridgeline as well, and they began to fire at the revealed enemy infantry after the smoke cleared again. The tanks had already rolled forward, screened in front by the divisional scouts. Just in time too, as several rounds of mortar fire walked back and forth across the road where the vehicles had previously stopped and fired. One of the machine gun teams newly established on the ridge caught a mortar round close to their setup spot, and it put two good men out of action. However, those enemy troops are starting to get chewed up from the hail of MG fire. Some have even started moving back toward their base. The MG fire is turning out to be so effective, we've contacted division and called off a planned artillery strike so the resulting smoke won't block the line of sight.

Enemy troops on the NW side of this same road-ridge have started shooting at our troops on the SE ridge of the bowl, as well as shooting from behind at our scouts moving west in front of the tanks. The CS Pershings and the Sherman Flails have been diverted to engage those enemy troops, but were themselves taken under fire by an SKZ bazooka. It hit one of the Pershings, but did only minor damage, and was shortly taken out by one of the Pattons with a couple bursts from its coaxial machine gun. The other tanks have pushed down the road another 400 meters or so, and are waiting there for some real infantry support before they approach a small village with woods on the north side.

In the bowl, the Bn B tanks have pulled even with the infantry on the ridges and down in the wooded bowl and are now offering some serious fire support to the troops. While the enemy squads continue to appear out of nowhere and cut down one or two of our men occassionally, they have short lives in the face of all that firepower. A platoon of grunts has also now been successfully emplaced on the western edge of the NW peak of the bowl and has spotted and engaged 4 enemy squads and provided targetting info against two of the enemy heavy MG's that were suppressing our troops to the east. Light attack helo's maneuvered around and were able to spot another AA MG and engage two squads with deadly effect.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

A heavy firefight developed on the western edge of the SE peak of the "bowl." A scout team blundered into an enemy squad hiding just below a large cliff as they descended it. The enemy was very cunning, waiting until the scouts were in point-blank range before cutting them down like so many stalks of grass (4 stalks, to be precise). The two of our squads following them heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene, lobbing smoke grenades over the edge of the cliff before approaching the precipice. They shot blindly down upon the area the shots had come from, and received a fusilade of return fire, much more than that expected from a single squad. An observation helo arrived to monitor the scene, and it spotted three enemy squads hiding in the woods on the slopes below, as they suddenly changed target and started shooting at him. Tanks in the bowl managed to get a bead on one of the squads, and poured round after round of HE into the area. We think it caused a few casualties, but were satisfied regardless since it forced the enemy to bury their faces in the dirt. The cavalry also arrived in the form of a light attack helo that strafed the enemy squads until our men could descend to the enemy's position. We threw all our grenades down the hill at the enemy and succeeded in driving them out of their hidden ambush ground. They are being encouraged to continue their "strategic withdrawal" by a prod from one of the circling A-26 Invaders. The vegetation on that whole side of the ridge was flayed with cluster bomblets as the plane flew over and dropped it's payload. Take that, you lousy SOB's!

Down south, our MG fire continued from the smaller ridge, and we were able to get a platoon of scouts helo-lifted to the edge of the woods. After signalling all clear, they ventured further south and southwest looking for the enemy positions. They spotted several enemy militia units, and also an SKZ when it fired at them and killed one of our troopers. A pair of 40mm AA guns were also helo-lifted to a sheltered rock outcropping on the eastern end of the small ridgline as well. Those guns and the MG's kept the enemy squads suppressed, and gradually whittled away at them until two CS Pershings arrived and cleared the area.

Enemy resistance increased as our infantry and medium armor pressed forward on the western side of the small ridge, toward another small wooded ridge north of the road. Several of our squads took one or two unexpected casualties, as the number of enemy units in the area was much higher than previously estimated. Apparently our scout teams are not detecting many enemy units in this terrain until/unless they stumble right into them. We'll have to be more careful approaching these pockets, but we need to make sure no enemy AT weapons can take shots at our armor as it passes by. In fact, one Sherman Flame tank was immobilized by a lucky B10 shot from almost 750 meters away, hidden in tall grass south of the nearby town. Our infantry teams temporarily fell back to regroup and plan a better attack route. Meanwhile, some 155mm off-map artillery was requested to pound the new ridgeline for a couple minutes in advance of our advance. We had hoped to avoid the need for artillery support in this area, as it could heavily pockmark the road if it's off-target, as well as the fact that most of our artillery is currently engaged in destroying enemy artillery and mortar units spotted in the region by their lingering smoke palls.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

The heavy M103 tanks finally caught up with the infantry on the smaller ridge to the south. Using their thick frontal armor as a defense, they plowed their way forward into close proximity to the enemy infantry emplacements. Many RPG-2 rockets were fired at the brave tankers, but fortunately most missed, and the few that hit did not penetrate. One of the M103's was immobilized, but it basically just turned into a heavy pillbox at that point. It continued to pour serious amounts of lead into the enemy positions from its three MG's. Eight enemy infantry squads were eliminated or forced back into the woods. The B10 launcher was taken under fire by several Pattons, and was forced to cower in its foxhole until a light attack helo crept close enough to strafe it into oblivion.

Our infantry and scouts are now making good progress down the west side of the SE peak and across the valley to the SW peak, assisted by a battery of 105mm, tank fire, and MG volleys. Smoke is screen them from long range fire, and most of the enemy units they uncover are heavily suppressed and unable to return fire effectively. Time is getting to be a problem since we still need to climb that peak. The men are getting hot and very tired. I don't think they can be pushed much harder or they'll lose some of their fighting ability.

Up north, the tanks are turning south to approach the NW peak, while the two transport helos have managed to deposit a company of infantry in a sheltered area at the base of the peak. Sniper and MG teams have been doing a good job of covering fire as the other troops press forward to join them. Two A-26's have been ordered to make a pass ahead of them and pepper the slopes with cluster bomblets to allow them a chance. Otherwise, the enemy shooting down from the slopes is liable to cut us to pieces.

-----

After an additional 20 minutes or so of heavy fighting, we have managed to reach our objectives with minimal losses. The enemy, seeing our flags raised above the objective areas, slunk away and left us to celebrate a hard won victory.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

We have returned to the Korean peninsula, to head off another incursion by those pesky Chinese. The terrain is rolling hills with moderate woods clumped in groups. We're moving in from the east, expecting to encounter the enemy after taking the objectives due to our superior mobility, armor, and the relatively good lines of sight. This will allow us to advance quickly without worrying about ambushes from enemy units. The warm summer weather has made the ground firm and we'll be able to move cross-country and take advantage of the terrain for cover and firing positions. Two roads pass through enemy territory from West to East, and then angle towards each other, eventually crossing in our territory. A large village borders the dirt road on a hilltop just in enemy territory, and this is expected to be a primary encounter area.

Several platoons of M59 APC's have been requisitioned from the motor pool to provide mobility to the leg infantry, and four heavy-lift helos have also been lent from the local air wing. A flight of A-26 Invaders with cluster bombs have been made available for overhead cover. No enemy air activity is expected. At the last minute, division called and said two batteries of 105mm will be at our disposal, in case we need to suppress any stubborn enemy units. The battalion was joined by two platoons of armored infantry on the way to the battlefield, along with their supporting section of 106mm jeeps and M21 1/2-track mortar carriers that we'll use as fighting scouts.

***

As hoped, we have moved swiftly to take up positions beyond the objective areas in the northern and middle areas of the battlefield. We haven't been able to reach the southern objective yet, but chances are good we'll take that without much resistance as well.

Enemy artillery pounded the roads with a surprising number of HE rounds. 122mm, 85mm, 76mm ... you name it. It's fortunate we've chosen to advance over the countryside, or we'd have taken a beating this morning. Our own artillery has returned fire, with an estimate of about 1/2 of the enemy guns out of action within 20 minutes. We sent our light attack helos forward behind the hills, so that we can scout out the enemy disposition. But the minute they exposed themselves, all hell broke loose. The enemy is saturating the air with light SPAA fire. It seems they've recently aquired an APC with twin AAMG's mounted on it. And they have a multitude of them. Our helos are defenseless against this nefarious new vehicle, as their own machine guns cannot penetrate its thin, yet sufficient, armor. For the meantime, our helos will have to cower behind the hills and wait for another opportunity.

The enemy has also apparently loaded up with mortars, as 60mm and 82mm rounds are starting to fall everywhere. Fortunately, only one barrage hit our troops and was ineffective, except to scare the crap out of the inexperienced APC drivers. We're trying to get a fix on their location, so at the moment we hope they continue firing, since they're not doing any damage.

***

One helo managed to get a peak around the hills without bolting for cover, and reported back some really good news. The Chinese have a column of trucks advancing along the road approaching the village. We took some of our 155mm artillery off counter-battery duty, and plotted in the coordinates of the road just outside the village, figuring they'll stop and unload before entering the village. We were rewarded with the sight (and sound) of many secondary explosions, and thick clouds of greasy black smoke rose into the air as a dozen trucks blew apart and burst into flame when the artillery rained down on them. The A-26 pilots radioed that they were going to make a pass down the road to pick off the survivors fleeing back toward their momma's. The Colonel waved them off, however, worried about all the enemy AA fire that was waiting to riddle those slower, bigger aircraft.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

We've got one of the scout platoons emplaced and creeping toward the village, while our infantry has unloaded in wooded areas all across the battlefield. The infantry line will be used as trip wires and ambush points in the trees, while our armor is taking up overwatch positions to cover the clear areas between the woods. We've also helo'd in a few AT guns to provide extra fire support to watch hilltops where we expect the enemy will try to establish tactical advantages.

We're moving the M45 Pershings and the Sherman Flame tanks up to support infantry positions in the woods, where their short range heavy weapons will take out enemy armor and provide overwhelming destruction on enemy ground troops.

Some more artillery is being changed from long-range to short-range CB fire to take on enemy mortar teams, and also a few AA batteries we've located. It seems this enemy commander is relying on truck transports, T-34/85 tanks, the new SPAA MG APC's and LOTS of mortars. That and the typical horde of Chinese infantry. No other enemy vehicles have been spotted so far.

***

The Colonel has decided to move a platoon of nearby infantry into the Eastern edge of town, since the scout platoon has laid low and allowed several enemy squads to take up positions concealed among the buildings. They're doing a good job of spotting, but it appears that the enemy will be overrunning the place soon unless we get some troops up there. Calling in a barrage of artillery would probably solve the problem, but HQ has ordered us to minimize collateral damage. We were concerned about the civilians too, but apparently they've all fled by now.

***

The first wave of enemy tanks has surged forward and ran smack into our overwatching armor. Most of the enemy tanks erupted in flaming wrecks as soon as they made their appearance out from behind the woods, but a few managed to dodge and weave enough to avoid being hit in the first volley. However, their advance quickly ground to a halt and we began hunting down the survivors. Our infantry in the woods also managed to get some kills with minimal casualties. One squad unsuccessfully launched an assault, and two nearby enemy tanks laid into them with MG fire. After popping some smoke, they let out an old-fashioned "rebel yell" and charged back at the enemy tank again. This time they were not halted by the presence of the enemy armor, and succeeded in getting some grenades into their objective that put it out of action.

Another team placed a well-aimed bazooka round into an enemy tank from 200m away. The impact made a "Crumpf!" sound as it impacted the side of the turret. A small hole appeared, and shortly thereafter smoke began to billow out of both the hole and some of the hatches. They waited, trying to decide if they should let the crew escape or gun them down as they bailed out, but no one emerged from the vehicle.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

Enemy units have been reported in the area of the southern objective, and they've probably occupied it by now! We'll have to push some infantry teams forward far enough to get a look-see and find out what kind of presence we'll be facing down there. Gauging by the distance covered by the enemy, its got to be some armor, so we'll also have send some supporting armor of our own. Two M48 Rollers have been dispatched from the armored engineers to assist, as two infantry platoons work their way SW through the woods. Nearing the edge of the woods, the men don't hear any vehicle noises, and are wondering if the enemy have also set up an ambush by turning off their engines to hide their presence. This thought is dispelled when the nickering of a horse is detected up ahead. It turns out an enemy cavalry patrol is the culprit. Rather than revealing our presence, the troops lay low in the woods and keep watch, waiting for the armor support to arrive.

After the scout teams in the village laid a small smoke screen, a platoon of infantry was rushed up to the outskirts of the town in their APC's and unloaded. Four Patton tanks were also moved up to cover the edges of town on the northern slopes of the hilltop. Two of the Sherman Flame tanks have also pulled onto the road and used it to gain quick access to the crest of the hill from the east, where they can remain in ready position without being seen by enemy tanks. Two enemy infantry squads came hurrying down the road through the smoke laid by the scouts, possibly having noticed our platoon of troops disembarking at the edge of town. The accompanying APC's tried to suppress them by using machine gun fire, but it was only good enough to cause the enemy to spread out and temporarily stop advancing. A few minutes later they got up and came forward toward us again. By this time our infantry had organized itself and also laid down some fire. After taking a few casualties and popping some smoke, the enemy ran into one of the buildings and hunkered down. However, as soon as our troops moved the slightest bit, the enemy once more started shooting. Two more enemy squads also advanced through the smoke and joined the fight.

By this time, one of the M21 1/2-track mortars had worked its way into a position that gave it a good line-of-sight on the hilltop and edges of the village. It launched some WP rounds behind the two squads in the road and provided a screen from any enemy heavy weapons. The APC's used their MG's to rake the buildings holding the enemy infantry, causing them to again seek cover behind the walls, while our infantry, also now in cover in the buildings, exchanged fire with the enemy troops in the road. Lacking discipline, one of the enemy squads got up and ran back into the smoke. Taking advantage of the enemy's distraction, the two Sherman Flame tanks crested the hill and advanced on the enemy troops. One stood guard facing the smoke screen and approaches from up the road, while the other hosed down the buildings concealing the enemy troops. It was a frightening display of the horror those vehicles can have on people. Normally, out in the open or in a woods, the flames aren't as concentrated and their effects are less pronounced. In those close quarters of the buildings, the napalm and flames just pile on top of each other, roiling and tumbling over and over. We could feel the searing heat even from a hundred meters away. There were ghastly screams from inside the building, and a few "men" came staggering out into the street. They were really nothing but moving masses of flame, like human-shaped torches. Even the buildings seemed to groan and recoil in reaction to that onslaught. Obviously, the Colonel's directive not to cause collateral damage will have to be modified slightly.

Re: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist
 

After a long hiatus due to (1) a divorce, (2) a job change, & (3) a move, I've returned to SPMBT and the forum. I hope to post some more "stories" when I get a bit more time (hopefully including map pictures this time). In that vein, with no more protests from the spousal unit, I finally was able to purchase the enhanced version and reward the developers for their efforts. Thanks to Don and Andy for their continuing work to keep this awesome game updated.