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"3: When you get pinged let the rest of your team know where the sods are! (yup, another excuse to get shouty )"

You are not supposed to do that as far as i know when your hit ?

I think you've got the wrong end of the stick there! When you see the enemy, let the rest of your team know where they are - I mean "pinged" as in the old RN term, not "pinged" as in hit

I fired less than 150 bbs all day and that was in the later stages of the game.
I was alone when the hoard got me in our base, I fought like a demon killing 20 of them with a sharp stick and the others I got with an empty cornflake box after which I took them all .................................. oops sorry that was my dream last night I have to say most of the day I could hear the firefights going on but Headshot gave us orders and we followed them leaving others to do the fighting, the Germans that did cross the river gave us some interest and the trouble there was the dalm brits kept on turning up, I have to say I thought the site was small for the game and this was why so many contacts were made.
I still say what a great day and can't wait for the next one

There, Barrie seven points hit the mark. Any idea how hard it was for the US to play for two hours without firing a shot? It was expecting a lot but some managed it and I hope got something out of it. You might have been frustrated, annoyed, rebellious - a nod towards 'realism'. I think WW2 airsofters would be beyond expecting to shoot at people all day and are looking for something 'more'. (Heh, for the first hour of the Eagles game Allies had no weapons at all apart from four patrolling guards who were only issued with 5 rounds each! Next summer's E&E will push this further but don't worry, we won't be banning BBs at CiA games from now on )

Now, let's have a crack at answering Froggy's points...

Yes, four men firing against a 30 man onslaught will lead to defeat. You will run out of ammo and it's not a good idea to regen on something that is under attack. There was no Allied advantage in taking that position (HQs were permanent) but the mortar was there so seemed like an ideal distraction to give you a hand across the river. Remember, commanders on each side are working in the interest of all players, not just their own side.

The Germans advantage was a rolling regen - until the last hour the Allies has only one, the main HQ. Coupled with good use of the medics good progress should have been possible.

At no point was this game going to be 'easy'. It was going to stretch you mentally and physically. It's why I'm always wary about complete newbs to airsoft starting with CiA WW2 games - unless you have played open days before it might be rather overwhelming/boring.

"The difficulty comes when there are three separate groups of allies all within sight ,they didn't know we were there for 10 minutes but how are are u supposed to go anywhere else"
Wait 20 minutes then. In the meantime feel your heart pumping as the enemy gets nearer and nearer.

"Well I tried twice and it only took 4 allies to hold of around 15 of us as they had all the cover"
My point exactly. You had MGs and the high ground and numerical supremacy and a regen close by and the same medic rules. Yet four allies held you up.

Squads on the Allied side were 'play with your mates' too (where possible). Pals work best together and if that doesn't work, nothing will! You can sort your own squad leaders out, you are supposed to be mates - we can't micro-manage.

Safety brief - hmm, if people can't hear then just say so! By the way, way too much rummaging in cars when a briefing is called - we were 15 minutes late trying to get people together.

Yes, we could have used more of the site but with 55 players or so and no troop radios it would be a complete nightmare trying to keep tabs on people and making sure they are in the right place. Pity you didn't come to Bryansk - that was a huge site! And as you point out - terrain apposite to the battle was used. At Husky we used pretty much all of the site (which was nice and island shaped with a volcano in the middle!)and chaps don't half moan about trekking! (Don't mention D-Day anyone!)

Pyros - the CiA team were trained by TLSFX but you will understand we have a very limited budget esp as we gave away a huge amount of grenades (did they all get used? Don't think so!). In fact we lost money on that game (heh, don't worry, we're not going bankrupt). In any case, the barrage at the end didn't form part of the game but was just the culmination of events so even if we had arranged an atomic explosion it wouldn't have added anything!

Just to add, should my replies to direct points seem defensive, that isn't the intention. Players only see one side of a battle so it should help to see counter points.
At Husky I gave an epic after battle report so that both US and Brits (if they could be arsed to read it) could see what was happening when, and why (as they had been playing separate games). There is always a reason for everything!

This battle was to give the Germans a chance to attack for a whole day. At Husky they were always retreating and also at Webby's Pocket - both accurate to the real battle of course. So at Autumn Mist if the Germans found it hard, that's good, you were in the shit and you would have to be to be organised and aggressive. That's not to say anything was impossible with a bit of teamwork and planning. However, with this game there were no winners or losers. The Germans didn't (and couldn't) get to cross the Meuse. But they had a lot to do on the way. CiA WW2 battles aren't about dressing up in costume and having a blat - it's personal endeavour, getting into the period, and 'being there', sodden boots and malfunctioning weapons and all, just for one day....

Hmmm... quite a few very large comments on here. Some I agree with, and others I don't. Either way, here's my contribution.

I think the day went well overall. It wasn't good, and it definitely wasn't bad, but not up to the pedigree of previous CiA games, and I think that can simply be put down to the one massive feature both sides were fighting over all day - the river.

Now, I know the CiA organisers can't do much about the terrain of a site or the weather conditions running up to the event (I know many varied attempts have been tried), but I can't help and feel that the site itself was biased towards those defending the river, rather than those crossing it.

Chommers has already pointed out that there were 3 conventional ways over the river; via the main bridge, the sluice bridge or a log. Not to put too much of a finer point on it, the main bridge we (the Germans) couldn't have assaulted down because there was a fecking huge and unexpectedly deep bog on our side, which getting men down quickly would have proven hazardous at best, dangerous at worst.

The second way across (the sluice bridge) had no such problem - the ground was relatively firm and (with the exception of one bit near a fallen tree) mostly bog-free. The only problem was that once we crossed it, it was pretty much open ground with which we could be (and were) shot with impunity by as little as 4 guys hiding in the trees about 10m in front of us. Going left was of no use because it was more open ground and then the wall to the carpark (another corner to be bottled into).

The final option was using the log to shimmy across the river. I'm only going to say that if you attempted that, then you've got balls.

Right - now that rant is over, onto the rest of it.

I think the first few assaults by the Germans went well, hitting a well organised pocket of Allied forces in force and with aggression, quickly booting them off our side of the river with help from Kermit's mortar. Hats off to Porta for his classic comedy-death when one of the rounds fell short

Once we'd consolidated ourselves (read: had a smoke and relaxed for a bit), a small patrol went over the river to recce that part of the site and identify any fuel dumps that might be laying around. Aside from a very short ping where I fell to a snipers shot, that was possibly the best bit of sneaky-beaky work I've done in bloody ages, even when I must've spent at least 5 minutes just watching Yith and a few of the PBI bods decide what to do.

When we were finally attacked, it ended up with Che, Fandanglos, Porta, myself and 2 others versus what seemed like the entire Allied force - I'm just annoyed my MP40 mags kept jamming and I couldn't hit anyone!

Lunch in the field was a good idea - vegetable stew, rolls, stollen bread all went down well and I'm guessing the tins held frankfurters?

After lunch, we were asked to make a concerted effort to get across the river, which ended up with the CiA organisers getting involved to pull the Allies back to give us time to get over and get a CP set up. While the rest of the German forces were off taking the main bridge and securing a landing site, a few of us were sent out to capture fuel dumps and blow up any ammo dumps we found. A quick recce pointed us in the direction of one of the ammo supply posts, then a fuel dump and then a rather bewildered Taffy who was alone guarding one of the CP's.

While the rest of the force went off to help the main assault force, Steve D, Bob K, myself and one other (sorry mate, I don't remember your name!) spent the next few hours sneaking round stealing and sabotaging as much as possible.

My MP40 mags had given up completely by this point, so I spent a bit of time playing medic before going off to watch the finale, which was pretty impressive despite the issues when setting it up.

I'd like to thank the CiA lot for putting this on, for the Pyro (it definitely came in handy ) and Old'Un for letting me borrow his MP40 for the day.

Roll on the next game!

. The Germans didn't (and couldn't) get to cross the Meuse..

i did make it accross, then got shot 10 yards up from the rivers edge. 5 mins b4 the bridge blew

so the germans in fact gained a 10 square feet bridgehead, for about 10 seconds, and all those men didnt die horibly in vain for nothing eh???

They couldn't cross the bridge as it was out of bounds, as was the other side of the bank. Hence the scenario dictated that, as in real life, the Germans didn't cross the Muese at Huy. I was a bit surprise as you splashed through the water but pleased you had gone to all that effort to take some photos!

Only at the first attack did we have the luxury of a full squad, for starters.

Any reason you couldn't have had a 'full squad' all day?

Because we were broken down into smaller recce teams, with a few kept back for defence. I hardly saw any of the 9th after lunch, as the constant switching of flanks, regen'ing and people needing a rest or a reload split us up and all of the moving around gave us little or no chance to reform. Also, I have no real right to boss people about, as they're all (ie, Hohenstaufen) paying customers, just like me.

Gotcha. Maybe a bit of bossing was what was required, in a leadership sort of way of course.

The fact that 17 men with a close regen and so virtually unlimited lives and ammo couldn't get past four men with limited ammo and lives speaks volumes. Even if it took four attempts it must have been possible to pass them. Ah well, next game is physically really easy - completely flat, short walk to regen and plenty of blatting opportunities!

Aside from a very short ping where I fell to a snipers shot, that was possibly the best bit of sneaky-beaky work I've done in bloody ages, even when I must've spent at least 5 minutes just watching Yith and a few of the PBI bods decide what to do.

Unfortunately you had been spotted by a member of my group. Your position was a consideration in our planning though I was mostly concentrating in getting support from the Yanks behind us. I couldn't see you till I decided to stand up... It was then that I shot you in the bum... and we started our advance...

He always aims there!!!

Well I had a great time and thought the site was good.

Maybe we'll do better next time, when will the next game be and when will details be posted up?

Next up is the game at UCAP, 26th April, restricted to CiA members
viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5776

Not sure when exactly we will open bookings but it will be in the new year.

Gotcha. Maybe a bit of bossing was what was required, in a leadership sort of way of course.

The fact that 17 men with a close regen and so virtually unlimited lives and ammo couldn't get past four men with limited ammo and lives speaks volumes. Even if it took four attempts it must have been possible to pass them. Ah well, next game is physically really easy - completely flat, short walk to regen and plenty of blatting opportunities!

I dont think you have to defend it Chomley, it was hard enough getting up to the hill where the mortar with only 4 germans there, when that MG was going off with thousands of rounds coming the other way from it, it is hard.... I would like to think that my personal effort in getting across that bridge and the 1st up to the top was a good achievement, not really to be met by "we let you have it because we felt sorry for you"

Anywho, enough of this madness, who was the lad who was taking the photos, not that I dont like photos of you SS boys

The lad in the DPM with the blue hat?

He must have been from F&O...

That was Gavin (Gav drove the vehicles at Bryansk and Churchills) snapping for us during the day - and I'm looking forward to seeing the pics too!

Meeeee too

it was hard enough getting up to the hill where the mortar with only 4 germans there, when that MG was going off with thousands of rounds coming the other way from it, it is hard.... I would like to think that my personal effort in getting across that bridge and the 1st up to the top was a good achievement, not really to be met by "we let you have it because we felt sorry for you"

Webby, well done for getting up there, I had fun with the MG-42 until I got killed under a hail of return fire from the US troops after ducking,popping up and shooting for a while .My tooth still hurts lol

hehe, kinda glad you did end up getting shot! I sorta got very stuck about 5 metres infront of your nest! not a good place to lose any sort of traction/movement! thats why i just started throwing grenades wildly hehe

<edit> obviously not glad you got shot in the tooth, thats just damned unfortunate!

it was hard enough getting up to the hill where the mortar with only 4 germans there, when that MG was going off with thousands of rounds coming the other way from it, it is hard.... I would like to think that my personal effort in getting across that bridge and the 1st up to the top was a good achievement, not really to be met by "we let you have it because we felt sorry for you"

Webby, well done for getting up there, I had fun with the MG-42 until I got killed under a hail of return fire from the US troops after ducking,popping up and shooting for a while .My tooth still hurts lol

to echo dels coments, you all did great to cross that river, it took guts and effort, especially the muddy hill climb,

the ammount of fire comming up from the yanks and brits was intense, everybodys effort capture the hill, even the guys up to their waists in mud were still shooting/bandageing people

i was just pointing out how we role played it,and didnt game the medic rules, thats all, im not dissising ANYBODYS skill, effort or commitment.

Yes that mortar assault over the bridge was super fun, if moist.

A great game in my humble, even if I only shot 1/3 of a German.
The PBI guys were all great to play alongside and making the little bunker with sandbags was, I thought, a nice touch which would be fun to do again.

I was pleasantly surprised at how not cold I was (until the last hour) an look forward to more fun in the future, once my legs start working, and I should probably get myself a propper medics kit to wear.

Thanks CiA, and all players for a great couple of days.