Most Epic of Epic fails

VR designs has been reinforced with designer Cameron Harris and the result is a revolutionary new operational war game 'Barbarossa' that plays like none other. It blends an advanced counter pushing engine with deep narrative, people management and in-depth semi-randomized decision systems.

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Steve110
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Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by Steve110 »

Thought I would share my latest blunder on a current PBEM game, as this one really is a cracker!

Picture the situation:

Early-August
Guderian has punched through Mogliev exploiting rapidly Eastwards to Briansk. A regular soviet army at Gomel tries to legit eastwards with the help of a conscript army but they are (after some hiccups) engulfed and dispatched.

Meanwhile further south 1PG dashes for and grabs the bridge at Dnipropetrovsk. After a brief respite as the FSB moves forward, my opponent, who has 2 regular & (I think) 2 conscript armies lining the Dneiper, suddenly senses the "grand encirclement" I'm plotting and starts pulling back from the river just as the SS motorized divisions plow northwards & Guderians Panzers strike south past the mountains near Belgorod.

My limited fuel gets the spearheads to within 2 hexes of each other and, with a triumphant flourish, I click the AGS Luftwaffe fuel card to allow my last fresh Panzer division to close the gap...

"wait... WHAT!!! 960 pallets of WHAT...!!![X(]"

Then the sinking realization that I've clicked the ammo resupply card... not. the. fuel. card.[:(]

*groan*

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rjh1971
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by rjh1971 »

Sh.. Happens!!! [:D][:D][:D]
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Tweedledumb
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Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by Tweedledumb »

ORIGINAL: Steve110

Thought I would share my latest blunder on a current PBEM game, as this one really is a cracker!

Picture the situation:

Early-August
Guderian has punched through Mogliev exploiting rapidly Eastwards to Briansk. A regular soviet army at Gomel tries to legit eastwards with the help of a conscript army but they are (after some hiccups) engulfed and dispatched.

Meanwhile further south 1PG dashes for and grabs the bridge at Dnipropetrovsk. After a brief respite as the FSB moves forward, my opponent, who has 2 regular & (I think) 2 conscript armies lining the Dneiper, suddenly senses the "grand encirclement" I'm plotting and starts pulling back from the river just as the SS motorized divisions plow northwards & Guderians Panzers strike south past the mountains near Belgorod.

My limited fuel gets the spearheads to within 2 hexes of each other and, with a triumphant flourish, I click the AGS Luftwaffe fuel card to allow my last fresh Panzer division to close the gap...

"wait... WHAT!!! 960 pallets of WHAT...!!![X(]"

Then the sinking realization that I've clicked the ammo resupply card... not. the. fuel. card.[:(]

*groan*


Been there - done that!
mikeCK
Posts: 565
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 3:26 pm

RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by mikeCK »

I have a better one! I lost an entire Army group... Army group North to be exact. Yes the whole army group. It was late September I had taken Moscow and was at the gates of Rostov. Actually had Rostov surrounded and was waiting for Stege artillery. Back in August I had used fourth panzer group up north to push for the outskirts of Leningrad but they were cut off and surrounded.

I could not for the life of me get enough action points for them to break out on their own so I had to bring up 16th army as quick as possible . In order to guard the right flank I had to move the 18th or meet over who had previously been guarding the left flank. Next thing you know in late September I finally managed to break through and rescue fourth panzer but units that we're still behind me on the left side had crossed over and linked up with the right side cutting my supply line and completely surrounding the entire army corps

Because they were completely cut off no one could get enough action points to do much of anything and I started getting hammered by the Soviet forces in the east. As soon as I would open up a Corredor I would be out of action points and over the next turn the Soviets would close it up again no one to get resupplied. In the process they had taken the airbase so I could not get any air lifting of supplies either .Before I could do much of anything the Soviets had taken OK H North. I need to lose like that after you've taken Moscow in or at the gates of Rostov ouch. My mistake was trusting the panzers too far north and not realizing how long it would take the infantry to catch up in those marshes. Because the Panzer group got cut off I had to bring everyone up and that was what happened big mistake on my part lesson learned

So I lost my command center OK H North as well as an entire army group. it's worse than Stalingrad
lancer
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by lancer »

Hi mike,

I think we can issue you a medal for that one.

Probably won't be a gold one.

Cheers,
Cameron
mikeCK
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by mikeCK »

Yeah. Pretty sure it would have been a bullet to the head on orders of the fuhrer. Ugh
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Orm
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by Orm »

I wonder if that would have been a win if you had just abandoned the panzers. With Moscow and Rostov captured it seems, to me, that might have been enough for a win. The two infantry Armies in the North could, most likely, have defended the Army Group North HQ.
Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb -- they're often students, for heaven's sake. - Terry Pratchett
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Orm
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by Orm »

I have a contender for the 'epic fail' contest.

During the opening turns of the game I attacked a cut off Soviet unit in Finland. But I didn't bother capturing the Soviet controlled hex west of the unit. So of course he retreated to that hex. And I didn't bother with it since it was cut off. Nowhere to go. So most of my Finnish units pushed forward with two divisions left behind for mop up detail next turn. To my surprise The Soviet division advanced, through ZOC, two hexes towards the surrender line and ended next to it. And converted a hex with an 'S' on it to Soviet control. And just like that Finland surrendered unconditionally. (I wish my OOS units could move like that. Especially during the first turns where my units struggles to move even one hex.)

----

Afterwards I noted that the AI spend several turns capturing all the hexes in Finland. Thanks to that bad use of the Soviet forces I still dream of capturing Leningrad in this game. May I suggest that all the Finnish hexes are change to Soviet control once Finland has surrendered. It might help the AI.

What might help me is giving Finland one turn when they to have to recapture the surrender hexes before they actually surrender. [:D]
Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb -- they're often students, for heaven's sake. - Terry Pratchett
mikeCK
Posts: 565
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by mikeCK »

ORIGINAL: Orm

I wonder if that would have been a win if you had just abandoned the panzers. With Moscow and Rostov captured it seems, to me, that might have been enough for a win. The two infantry Armies in the North could, most likely, have defended the Army Group North HQ.

No. Unfortunately I played the warplan in which the goal is "whatever Hitler says it is" it was Rostov first, Army Hq 2nd, then Moscow and last, Leningrad. About 4 turns before I captured Moscow and 5 before Rostov, Hitler decided that Leningrad was #1. To win I think I need all three.

To answer your other point, looking back, I spent too much time and effort to rescue the 4th panzergruppe. I would have been better off evacuating and rebuilding. I did that but waaay too late. As in, after the whole army group was surrounded. I just didn't realize there were that many soviet units in that little peninsula west of Leningrad. They stormed east from the southern portion and cut me off. They took the supply base and airbase. Game over
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rjh1971
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by rjh1971 »

This pic is from one of my pbem games, of course I won't say who my opponent is [;)][:-].
His situation with AGC could not be worse (25 divs trapped [X(]), I thought he would have been able to turn the situation but I guess lack of fuel prevented it.
Well in his defense I have to say I have been playing this game since October as beta tester, though I don't consider myself an expert.

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MrLongleg
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Location: Plymouth, MA, USA

RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by MrLongleg »

Well, I am on the receiving end of this. I was shocked about his ability to activate armies and actually start serious attacks in July. In my last games nothing serious happened before August. He totally got me off guard and deserved this total victory. Next time I'll be a bit more careful. I even lost my siege artillery in an early counter attack out of Brest-Litovsk. Embarrassing - but there is a lesson in every defeat.

Di I at leat win the contest for the biggest blunder, being defeated in July? Come on guys, you gotta give me that n[8|]

MrLongleg

Life is too short to drink bad wine ;-)
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demyansk
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by demyansk »

Good posts and pleasant to read that I am not the only one who clicks on a button and it's the wrong one
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fvianello
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RE: Most Epic of Epic fails

Post by fvianello »

I have a better one! I lost an entire Army group

Well, that's a real achievement on a whole different level :)
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