THE CONCEPT
Waiting for Combat Mission PBEMs can be a lonely and frustrating pastime. Spinning on the office chair while flicking through the manual and drinking cold coffee quickly loses its appeal.
One evening when killing time and surfing my ISP's homepage I discovered I had 55mb of web space sitting idle. With this thought still bouncing around my head, I logged onto my favourite forum to read once more the gripping story of an epic struggle.
I was saddened to find this once-celebrated account in a sorry state of disrepair and came to the conclusion it would be a great shame if it were lost in the threads of time. Inspired by Ron Alerdice's site, I decided I would attempt to preserve this magnificent work for future generations ... or at least until CMIII arrives.
If it isn't already painfully obvious, my web skills were (and still are) minimal. Still, if you feel the urge,
feedback on my primitive cut and paste inabilities is welcome.
Anyone who has never before seen what follows is in for a treat. But first a warning - your emotions are in for rollercoaster of a ride in this tense, thrilling encounter. Will MasterGoodale's furious, bitter, molten TNT prevail as his KV-1s sweep all before them, or will he be forced to kneel before ParaBellum (while holding a match to the victor's trinitrotoluene-soaked balls)?
More importantly, will snowstorms, his family Thanksgiving, plumbing problems and conjugal duties end the battle before it starts?
For everyone else, it's a chance to relive what is, in my opinion, one of the best CMBB AARs written.
Thanks, obviously, to the protagonists. Firstly for producing the original and then for giving me their blessing to reproduce it here. A special AAARRRRGG!! to the inimitable MasterGoodale for sending on his pictures after retrieving them from the depths of his hard drive and and also to the Florist for everything he's done to make this website possible.
If anyone featured in the Quotes section is unhappy about anything I've done, can they please let me know.
It is my hope to gradually expand this site with an AAR or two of my own ... but we all know where good intentions lead. However if you've got a tale of heroic sacrifices, tragic waste and derring-do that deserves a wider audience (assuming I get any hits...) then I'd be happy to give it a good home. Any faults or inaccuracies are mine and my only other claim is I make no more claims. But enough of my yackin'. Whaddya say?
Angry Out Loud! 
THE CHALLENGE
Back in the mists of time, Soddball spawned MasterGoodale's Thread of Cheery Waffle...
MasterGoodale:
You sorry excuses for a soldier wanna-be, I will soon have honed my skills to a point where the AI no longer floats my boat. At that historical point in time I will venture out, well actually I'll stay right the hell here as I'm told, but I will be seeking an elite opponent to unleash my new-born fury upon - and I will do so without mercy.
AAARRRRGG!!
THE PITCH
MasterGoodale:
ParaBellum will be the first to suffer a miserable fate at the hands of my henchmen. I am looking for somebody who will be unbiased and fair to create a custom scenario for us to fight on. If you have good map making skills and can make a balanced scenario, please step forward. Otherwise get lost. I will be the Ruskies.
Abbott:
I would be happy to offer my scenario making skills for this titanic contest.
MasterGoodale:
OK Abbott, you're on. As long as I have your word that you aren't friends with ParaBellum and won't show either of us the map or tell us anything about the scenario.
Abbott:
Yes, you have my word I will be fair in its creation.
ParaBellum:
Did I miss something here? When did I offer a game? But then one can never have too many games going on at the same time, so be it!
Abbott:
The map is finished and the units in place. A meeting engagement, 1,500 points, 35 turns variable on a 1,120 meters wide by 960 meters deep map. Yes, it is evil, as a matter of fact with my promised "eye towards balance" I took the liberty of placing ParaBellum (with his greater experience) as the fortunate German commander in July of 1941. Yes, there are some Russian heavies to contend with, with the German lighter guns. The map has been designed with room to manoeuvre and looks to provide a deadly battle. Good luck gentleman!
|
|
