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due to a sod-off sized accident on the M6

That was about 2 miles from my house, and I was sat in it too! There was an accident northbound, and somebody had an accident going southbound because they were rubbernecking!

I got off the motorway at Knutsford services and used the service road to jump onto the A50 then back onto the motorway at J18 and didn't get held up at all!

*smug*

Preumably there will be a full after-action report...

I got off the motorway at Knutsford services and used the service road to jump onto the A50 then back onto the motorway at J18 and didn't get held up at all!

Must have happened just infront of me, i could see the flashing lights about 300 metres infront of me, didnt get chance to turn off as there was no "accident ahead *40*" signs when i went through.

I live on the A50 near Holmes Chapel, you'll have gone past my house!

I had a great time, really enjoyed it. I can't belive how tired I actually was afterwards.

Things kicked off pretty quickly with a number of sporadic firefights as we pushed the allies back from our side of the river. After the US attack things went pretty quiet as I was one of the party defending the ridge. Our patrols seemed to keep the allies well occupied. The last patrol of which I was a part didn't last long as the previous patrols had stirred up a hornets nest. We ran into what basically amounted to the entire allied force who were out in full strength patrols rather than manning defensive positions as expected and got hemmed in on 3 sides. With no where to run we didn't last long!

We then broke for lunch but ate in the field which I thought was a great idea. We were of course joined by one soggy ally, pete following his little dip in the river.

Following lunch things got a little bogged down (literally) as we couldn't cross the river at one end and failed to force our way across at the other. However following a tactial error by the allied command (cheers CW & HS) a sizeable axis force was able to move up the left. From there we took two ammo dumps and a prisoner (taffy) at the allied CP. A small party was then split off and went after the fuel dumps whilst the rest of us headed for the Meuse. The bridge was captured intact before the allies realised what was happening as they were preoccupied with capturing our positions at the first river and our mortar. Defensive positions were set up around the bridge and re-enforcements and fuel arrived shortly after. Gradually however more and more allied troops arrived and bit by bit we forced back as we were hit one by one until eventually we were over run. We regrouped at the former allied CP, them taking up positions around the bridge and put in a counterattack to try and retake it. We managed to get within a few meters of it before the bridge was blown up in our faces in a spectacular display, Chommely nearly going up with the bridge in the process!

My highlights- well really enjoyed defending the bridge from behind the wall, I think we made the allies pay dearly to get it back.
Best individual moment probably has to be taking out Webby and Armourerdoug only 10 feet away without them even seeing me. Changed position and took out Speirs and would have got another (sorry don't remember who) too if my damn magazines would feed properly. That was my biggest annoyance of the day- ended up with not one working properly and probably would have enjoyed it more if like steiner I wasn't just firing air half the time. Well that and there being no snow. Found out when I got back we had got about an inch of snow here Saturday night.

Cheers to the CIA crew for organising everything once again and the Christmas pressies. Plus a special meantion for Kermit for making such a fantastic looking, and working mortar. Thanks to all the F&O guys too for welcoming us and preparing & lugging out lunch all the way out to us.

There were lots of highlights for me. But the most fun was playing pinball through the trees with mortar rounds. I didn't think there was a hope of us hitting anything, but I understand we did get 4 Germans with one round!

Almost as good as the "friendly" German mortar round that landed right next to a couple of our guys!!

Well I did manage to drop a round on top of a yank who was waiting for a medic before repositioning and hitting jerries...

Lol yeah, that was my mate Iain you got mortared!

Best individual moment probably has to be taking out Webby and Armourerdoug only 10 feet away without them even seeing me.

That was quite something mate, even after you'd shot me i could only see your gun, that camo worked really well, plus lying deadly still!

Yeah I'm loving the camo, just can't get used to the helmet- keep catching the rim and knocking it down over my eyes! I think if I get to UCAP I might have to go FJ or I may end up running into a wall.

...probably would have enjoyed it more if like steiner I wasn't just firing air half the time.

I think lots of people had problems - must have been the temperature. I went through 4 guns in the end, some legitimately (flat battery, or just plain crap), others lack of tools to sort them out or miss-firing.

Yith got lucky coming around a wall, I was a bit close so I just shot the once but it was only air (mag sticking) Thompson burst and that was that...I should have lobbed a grenade but I got cocky!

You will not be so lucky ze next time ve met Herr Yith....

Now that I've had a good sleep, I'll add my comments, which are many, long and varied and purely from a players' point of view. My Brother and I arrived on saturday night and enjoyed the usual high spirited and friendly CiA social event. Despite the cold, spirits were high and everyone had a good laugh with the added advantage that most of us were to get a decent nights' sleep for once!

Everyone signed in and CiA members were presented with the rather spiffing gift of 3 free pyros! This was a great "thankyou" from the CiA crew and I am very grateful to them not only for the pyro's but for all of their hard work over the last 2 years.

The 16th SS lads were deployed first as a recce screen and soon made contact and reported back the sighting of an enemy CP. While they were engaging this with the Heer and Fallshy lads, the 9th SS, moved out to the right flank in case there were in depth enemy. We found another enemy CP, occupying a fixed position of foxholes and dense cover. Shaking out into extended line, we then assaulted this position, under covering fire from the MG42's. The CP was quickly taken with small arms and grenades under heavy fire with only light caualties to report. We then swung left and put a flanking assault in on the area of the other CP ( which was also taken by this point) and cleared out the in depth enemy positions behind it. Whilst re-org'ing, the enemy made an attempt to counterattack and retake their lost CP but the difficult terrain hindered them and they were pushed back. No doubt, they were trying to capture our mortar, as another, U.S led counter attack quickly followed, which was again repulsed with heavy enemy casualties.

We then deployed our recce teams, tasked with finding allied fuel dumps across the river. As soon as they went out, they were in contact, which made locating the fuel dumps extremely difficult as they were under fire constantly, outnumbered and hindered by the extremely difficult terrain, my own patrol getting slaughtered by what looked like the entire allied team, who seemed to have abandoned their defensive positions to go and get some trigger time. As the recce patrols returned, the field kitchen arrived and we had a brief break for some hot food before getting ready to cross the river and capture the fuel. A plan was made and off we went. Unfortunately, there were only 2 areas to cross the "river" safely and even these involved some very heavy going. We came under fire immediately and got bogged down in a stand off fire fight and despite switching flanks, this stand off continued, with our attempts to push forward getting wiped out by an entrenched enemy. By now, I'd had enough of this, so, taking Steiner, Hopeless and My Brother with me, we attempted to find a place to cross in the centre. This had mixed results! We managed to cross after going up to our waists in water and bog and located an unguarded fuel dump. Leaving my weapon, I made a death or glory run and grabbed the fuel containers and returned to my comrades who were covering me. Big grins all round! Unfortunately, as we returned in triumph, we ran into ANOTHER allied attack which had moved in to again try to capture the mortar. Our unarmed medic was gunned down by several allies and the fuel was recaptured, along with our mortar, bugger!

I'm not sure how our forces got across the river ( I think the CiA crew intervened to break the open day mentality that seemed to have been in place), but the next phase involved assaulting the main objective, which was a long and difficult process against a well dug in enemy. Eventually, we took the position and again had to fend off several determined attacks until our ammo and grenades were exhausted and we were overrun. It was at this point that some cretin shot the living crap out of Forester and my Brother at point blank range in the faces despite them obviously being dead already. This severely pissed my Bro' off and I had to stop him knocking out the idiot responsible. He took no further part in the game after this. After regrouping, we moved in to try to recapture the lost ground but we were outnumbered and outgunned by a determined and well dug in enemy, who blew up the bridge (with a fantastic display of pyro's!) before we could take it.

A long report, I know! I have a few personal comments I'd like to add (and I heard many of them being echoed by my German comrades as well). First, we all owe the CiA crew a huge "thankyou" for organising these games for us. Next, the standard of peoples' kit is now almost perfect and you all deserve a big pat on the back for that.

Now, I don't want to sound too negative but I also don't want to blow smoke up peoples' arses either! So, I'll say that the site was way too small to mount effective recce's, the allies were on the attack far too much, making it almost impossible for the Germans to achieve their objectives (in the real battle, it was 60,000 allies facing 600,000 Germans, not good odds until the skies cleared!). At previous games, the German side has been reigned in from attacking when in defence but it didn't seem to happen to the Allies at this game, who left several fuel dumps completely undefended in order to camp out the crossing points for the German side, until CiA eventually intervened. It was much too close to being like an open day SISK after lunch at many times for me and I lost heart at many points when I saw two lines of airsofters just firing at each other. Before the game, the German side were told to stick to their orders and we really tried to play the part but our tactics and plans came to nothing in the face of an extended line of entrenched thompson fire.
It was a joy to play alongside the German team, who still didn't give up even though the final attack was made with seriously depleted numbers and we bonded and fought well together. I'm not saying it was a bad game, just that the bar has been set so high previously that this game was a bit of a let down for me to be completely honest. Some players need to take a long, hard look at why they do WW2 airsoft. Is it an excuse to dress up? Or is it a chance to really immerse yourself in the period and honour the men who fought the war (on both sides) but still have a good time among like minded people? Many of us got into WW2 airsoft because we were sick to death of open days and crap "theme" days. It's up to all of us to make sure our WW2 games don't drift down that slippery slope and many Germans commented that, without us to play the "bad guys", there won't be any games! CiA have worked too hard and we've all spent way too much money to let it happen.

Okay that's it. I expect lots of flaming, defensive comments and closing of ranks after this but I don't care! I love my hobby and will defend it to the hilt when I think it's going awry. I'll end by saying that the CiA crew have my full support (and always have had) and I'd like to again thank them for the last 2 years of great games. I'm sure this one was only a blip and the next one will be a stormer.

I see where you're coming from, however there were a number of fuel dumps just across the river where we were dug in. We mounted a few insertions across the river with no resistance until we got up to the top of the hill, 2nd of which we managed to capture the mortar, so it wasnt an utter stalemate... I think the allies had more heart for keeping the Germans at bay, call it payback for the good plastering you guys have given us in previous games.

I don't play to win games anymore, more to look good and emmerse myself like you say, but sometimes you have the urge to do something spectacular, and when it comes off it's great. Highlight for me was storming at Kermit's 42 and going up to my hips in sludge and not being able to move, at which time i expended all 3 of my said given grenades at the top of the ridge, hope they hit something! 2nd place moment was going to rescue Nick, a quick sprint across fire and a honcho roll into cover later I got to him, only then to release during my over zealous roll I had managed to press the mag eject button on my .45, where the mag was sitting in the bog several feet back.

Hi, I agree with Heide's points but they are about specific issues at points of the day and are all fixable!

I had a blinding time, was part of the mortar crew and we held back several allied attacks before finally succumbing

I think the deadlock on the bridge was caused by the ability to regen and return immediately to the frontline (fully bombed up) and this is an issue for all sides. Some ideas might be a delay at regen before being released back to the front or a number of regens at defensive points back or along so you have to fall back to those when regened allowing the game to ebb and flow. This would allow the atackers to capture a regen point for their own use once consolidated (not really capture the flag as the objective is elsewhere but just to keep the walking down). I think Guy used something like this at A2C and that worked well.

Yith got lucky coming around a wall, I was a bit close so I just shot the once but it was only air (mag sticking) Thompson burst and that was that...I should have lobbed a grenade but I got cocky!

It was ze sten... Thompson was sat at home...

Someone did try much the same trick but with a grenade... That didn't work either, it was toooo sloooow

I have to agree with Heide regarding the patrolling part of the game. I was expecting the allies to be dug in to defensive positions around key points with maybe a few small (4-6 men) patrols to maintain contact with our front line and seek out enemy patrols. That way we could have some freedom of movement and have a change to recce things properly and really get in character. What we got were large groups of allies roaming around the woods looking for people to shoot at on a site that wasn't really big enough for us to avoid them. I feel that there could have been more of an effort on the allied side to roleplay the situation and get in character. As Heide says even at this stage of the battle they were massively out-numbered and out-gunned and low on ammo so would have had to dig in and await the enemy, not go looking for them.

Crossing the 'river' was the other problem but I don't really blame anyone for that, it was mainly down to the terrain & weather acting against us. If it was colder (& snowy) like we'd all hoped for then it wouldn't have been such an issue. Just have to remember to bring a boat or at least some duckboards next time. The CIA chaps made the right decision to allow us to cross but if the regen siting/system had been adjust like peppered suggested then it may have worked itself out.
I do feel this could have perhaps been done when the Germans were defending the bridge as we were under constant attack with no chance to re-arm and it does feel a little unrealistic when you can actually watch the enemy walk in the their regen, turn around and come straight back at you. But I did enjoy that bit so I won't moan about it too much.

It was at this point that some cretin shot the living crap out of Forester and my Brother at point blank range in the faces despite them obviously being dead already. This severely pissed my Bro' off and I had to stop him knocking out the idiot responsible.

I also got massively overkilled by a yank from 15 meters near the end that made my blood boil. I think the same person did it to Tiny and Steiner too. I had to shout hit 5 times before he took his finger off the tigger. Someone needs to get his hearing fixed before he does it to the wrong person and loses his jaw.

Someone did try much the same trick but with a grenade... That didn't work either, it was toooo sloooow

That was the damn stupidly long fuses they have- when you're only the other side of the wall the only option was to cook it and hope they don't hear as otherwise they've got more than enough time to leg it. Was fun just dropping them over the top though.

Okay... as for the massive allied attack that occurred.

There were three separate smallish groups of allied troops on patrol around the various objectives.

We (the brits) spotted the enemy moving fairly nonchalantly around towards the wall. We'd already made contact with some yanks to our right flank and so I sent a runner out to inform them of the situation. We agreed that the yanks would attack along the river and we would take the high ground.

At the same time a yank patrol or defensive group further up the hill also spotted the enemy and decided to attack it. In this way the Germans were squeezed and taken by surprise by overwhelming odds. The more we advanced, the more Germans we found. Some did the sensible thing and fell back but most tried to stand their ground and fell. In the end though we pretty much got them all. I can definitely say that one German did manage to retreat beyond the wall and vanish.

In the final assault on our objective at the bridge all I saw was attacks on the most obvious routes in to where we were. There were no attempts to flank us in the way we had done to take the objective and we were ordered several times to fall back without any reason other than to give the Germans a chance... which they didn't take advantage of at all.

Highlight for me was storming at Kermit's 42 and going up to my hips in sludge

Webby that must have been some trek Kermit's MG-42 was in his house and he was an unarmed medic

Yeh well, we let you have the mortar any way so there....

Yeah... we saw a load of you troop off to one of the other crossing points... which we then must have let you have as virtually all of our forces were at the mortar...

Highlight for me was storming at Kermit's 42 and going up to my hips in sludge

Webby that must have been some trek Kermit's MG-42 was in his house and he was an unarmed medic

You all look the same with that SS cammo on! hehe!

Highlight for me was storming at Kermit's 42 and going up to my hips in sludge

Webby that must have been some trek Kermit's MG-42 was in his house and he was an unarmed medic

You all look the same with that SS cammo on! hehe!