Guess who's back… back again. This time I will attempt to fuck up another games' reputation with my L33t HAx0r b4TtlE-REp0R+1N9 5KilL$. This time it's going to be Close Combat 5. This game is a real time strategy game that focuses on squad tactics in Normandy during World War II. I don't have a really good introduction so I'm going to go straight into the meat and vegetable department. I went in Gamespy Arcade and found a person named Grick. He started a game and I chose Nazi Germany. In this two game series I will try and recreate 2 battles that decided the outcome of the war. NOTE: this report is a little pic heavy but i have tried to get the lowest file size on all the pictures. The first map was Tare Green: a map with a beach,a town, hedgerows and Americans attacking all of it. I carefully picked my force, which consisted of:

1 Zugfuhrergruppe - Command Squads, which boost moral if the soldiers near them are starting to crack.
2 Leichtes MG42s - Light machinegun squads, which carried the infamous MG42.
1 Schweres MG42 - Heavy machinegun squads, which carried the infamous MG42.
3 Grenadiers - Just normal infantry squads.
1 PanzerIVH- medium tank
1 Befehlspanzer- a Panzer IV that doubles as a command tank.
1 s35 47mm- light tank.

June 6, 1944 8:00 am - A German MG42 team was getting some R&R by the beach, which was lined with obstacles prepared for a possible allied invasion. The crew was a little tired after manning the anti-aircraft guns the night before. Suddenly the beach started to explode. A naval barrage of huge proportions was unleashed on Tare Green beach. This was to be the landing pint of the 1/8th RCT/4th Division, which was fast approaching on their landing crafts. The MG team quickly ran into the nearest bunker and informed the rest of its unit, the crack troops of the 21st panzer division, of the approaching Americans. Most of the troops were in the rear toying with the French villagers in a small town, but as word spread of the upcoming battle, the troops mobilized and headed for the beach.

The first wave of the American division landed and was being suppressed by 2 MG42 teams located in reinforced bunkers and 1 light tank. Luckily for the Americans, a Sherman knocked out the light tank and was approaching the seawall. Unluckily for the Americans they were not going to get a free ride on this beach as the Germans called in the artillery to bombard the beach. Shells soon barraged the shoreline destroying a tank and killing numerous US soldiers. The beach obstacles came in handy for a few Americans who used them for cover. What the rest of the Americans didn't know was that most of the obstacles were protected by mines, which quickly persuaded the advancing Americans to use them otherwise.

The Americans were making a strong push towards the center of the seawall. The machine gun teams tried to hold them back but the Americans suppressed them with their BARs and Tommy guns. One MG team decided it was pointless to say on the beach and made a tactical retreat for cover in the hedgerows behind the beach. Unfortunately, the closing American tanks and infantry forced them into a nearby foxhole. The team decided to fight to the last man. They put up stiff resistance but could not stop a whole division from advancing.

The Panzer grenadiers from the village finally arrived to their defensive positions but were too late to save the soldiers on the beach. The Americans pushed past the beachhead but the Germans gave them a bloody nose for their trouble. Everything was quiet for a while until the Americans made another strong push inland. During the attack, an American command squad was spotted heading north to flank the Nazis but a MG42 team stopped them in their tracks. American tanks spotted the team and annihilated it but the flanking maneuver was all but duped.

The American army advanced along the hedgerows cautiously but did not spot the 2 German squads lying in wait to ambush them. By the time the American commander realized what was happening, it was far too late for his men when the Germans opened fire, incapacitating or killing many of the American soldiers. In another blunder the Americans charged head-on into the German lines, which was heavily defended. In an unexpected turn of events, the Germans got a call from a Luftwaffe officer, informing them that there was an air strike available. The Germans threw a yellow smoke grenade to indicate the target area and a BF109 swooped in and strafed the American line. Mistakenly the fighter shot at German soldiers as well as the Americans.

Eventually the Americans overwhelmed the German defenders but they miscalculated in thinking that the Germans were all but gone. Two panzer IV tanks appeared through the bocage and wreaked havoc on the American soldiers. The panzers were having a field day until one American soldier threw a yellow gas canister at it. The crew inside started to laugh thinking the Americans didn't know how to destroy a tank. Until they heard the engine of a B-26 bomber that dropped 10, 500lb bombs on the tank, burning it to a crisp. The other panzer tried to get the hell out of there but a Wolverine tank destroyer annihilated it.

And so the Americans got a foothold on German occupied France. The 21st panzer division was informed of this and raced to counter-attack the allies and drive them back into the sea. The defending infantry divisions were the only hope of stopping the Americans before they broke out.

Game 2

Forces Used:

2 Zugfuhrergruppes - Command Squads, which boost moral if the soldiers near them are starting to crack.
2 Leichtes MG42s - Light machinegun squads, which carried the infamous MG42.
5 Grenadiers - normal infantry squads.
2 Pak 40 7.5cm - anti-tank guns
2 Inf Geschutz- Infantry guns

D-Day +2
1:00 pm- The Americans were building their beachhead but it was unknown as to where they were going the attack. One of the most likely places was Azeville. It was pre-calculated before the invasion that this would be a potential combat zone and a string of bunkers were built to halt any attack that would come from Tare Green. To the Germans delight the attack route of the Americans was Azeville. The Germans set up defensive positions in the hedgerows, buildings and bunkers in anticipation of the attack. When the attack commenced, immediately all hell broke loose. One Sherman tank immanently blew up when an anti-tank round penetrated its armor. But most of the German field guns were wiped out. The main American thrust was towards the bunkers in the middle of Azeville but they would have to go through a fistful of nazi squads first.

Large numbers of American troops were spotted at a strategic two-story house. The German commander called up a huge mortar barrage on that location, which killed many infantry and destroyed a tank. The Americans, undeterred by the barrage, continued to fight on, they would have to go through a yard that was covered on all sides by German soldiers and infantry guns. As the first of the soldiers crossed the yard, MG42 bullets and shrapnel from the infantry guns cut through the Americans faster than a knife through hot butter.

It seemed like the Americans couldn't get past the yard but their use of smoke grenades saved them from a bloodbath. They stormed out from the yard and overwhelmed the German defenders. The MG42 team got wiped out in less than 20 seconds while soldiers in the nearby bunkers prepared for battle. As the Americans stormed in the bunkers, it turned into a knifing arena. It was a very fierce fight but the numerically superior Americans won the battle.

The Germans rushed reinforcements from the southern villages of Azeville to the bunkers to recapture them but to no avail. They were forced to go on the defensive as the Americans drove south. Many Americans died for their efforts but in the end they blew a hole in the German front lines and crushed all German resistance.

The Americans broke out of their beachhead on that day and struggled to capture Cherbourg. The 21st panzer division was still on its way to counter-attack but some German generals already had thoughts that the 1000 year Reich was not going to last much longer. I want to thank Psyonic_Reaver for proofreading this report and Mark4 for responding to emails. :p

And so I leave you with these last pictures. ~SG~ out.