Retreat off lower map edge?

[_Tim_]

I've just seen something for the first time and throw this open to opinions.

A DUKW located in a hex next to the lower map edge (partial grey hex) came under artillery fire (76mm).

A the start of the next turn I find that it is abandoned - nothing surprising about that. Judging by the smoke it was probably immobilised, but it is not destroyed. Still nothing strange.

This is the strange thing - the crew and all the occupants have disappeared. The roster doesn't show a surviving crew and lists every passenger unit as destroyed - so 30 men have gone and the vehicle isn't destroyed. Is it possible that every unit has retreated off the bottom edge of the map? I didn't think this was possible but I can't think of any other explanation.

Anyone got a clue?

cheers,

Tim

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

Originally Posted by _Tim_

I've just seen something for the first time and throw this open to opinions.

A DUKW located in a hex next to the lower map edge (partial grey hex) came under artillery fire (76mm).

A the start of the next turn I find that it is abandoned - nothing surprising about that. Judging by the smoke it was probably immobilised, but it is not destroyed. Still nothing strange.

This is the strange thing - the crew and all the occupants have disappeared. The roster doesn't show a surviving crew and lists every passenger unit as destroyed - so 30 men have gone and the vehicle isn't destroyed. Is it possible that every unit has retreated off the bottom edge of the map? I didn't think this was possible but I can't think of any other explanation.

Anyone got a clue?

cheers,

Tim

The Crew from A Destroyed;/abandoned vehicle is in rout state, they'll start running, and since the grey hex was close...

[DRG]

Do you have a save game?

Don

[_Tim_]

Save attached, exactly as at start of the turn following the bombardment. The unit in question is in hex 134, 178.

thanks for taking a look.

Tim

[_Tim_]

For info, I've run the AI turn a dozen more times to see if the same result occurs, and it hasn't created the strange outcome again. The DUKW got destroyed three times, twice with some survivors amongst the passengers and once with no survivors. The other times it is either unscathed or merely immobilised with passengers and crew staying onboard.
When there were survivors from the vehicle's destruction they survived the rest of the artillery barrage so I doubt that they bailed out and then got wiped out, the 76mm doesn't seem to have enough HEK to do that, unless at the very extreme end of the probability spectrum.

So the outcome that leaves the vehicle abandoned and no sign of crew and passengers is definitely an extreme event.

cheers,

Tim

[DRG]

OK, here's my theory;

The abandoned unit in question is right beside the lower grey edge. The replay of that event is gone now but what *MAY* have happened was the crew and passengers bailed when the DUKW was first hit then were forced to retreat south into the grey zone by the continuing arty barrage and as a result when the turn ended the game sent them to the twilight zone because they were now located in the forbidden grey zone.

AFAIK the game will not deliberately retreat units off the north or south edges but , under rare circumstances like this, a unit may find itself caught where it shouldn't be.

Don

[_Tim_]

I agree, seems to be the only plausible explanation. In future I'll keep all units a couple of hexes away from map edges just to be on the safe side.

cheers,

Tim