Posts made by unc_samurai

Sadly, the video was removed.  Is there a reposting somewhere?

Oddly Enough, I never played Pacific General.  I literally wore a hole in my Panzer General I disc, played a lot of Panzer General II, played People’s General until I realized how broken the Chinese engineers were.

More power to you guys for being able to play Fantasy baseball.  I have an arduous task every year running Fantasy football, and that’s once a week.  I don’t know how you do it, but I do admire your dedication.

@Baghdaddy:

THis thread is not “french bashing” take that to the proper forum please…

I don’t think it’s “trendy french bashing” to point out the number of flaws in French strategic military thinking in the 20th century.  The French historically (and by historically, I mean 1500-1865) always operate from a position of strength.  The rapid success of opposing powers at various stages in combat has led to the myth of the poorly prepared France.

Additionally, am I missing something about hating on the French?  I remember the vitriol towards them in 2002-03, but five years later, is there still as much of an active disdain for the French?

@Imperious:

Wait did Avalon Hill get into the soap business? I have soaps like those in my bathroom. They smell good too.

The ones we’re not supposed to ever touch?  Along with the towels we’re not supposed to use to dry our hands?

I’ve been playing this one for a few weeks with friends, and I decided to let everyone on the forum know about it.  Tsuro: The Way of the Path is a board game that showed up at my FLGS last month.  The object is really simple.  Players alternate placing tiles on the board that create intricate paths.  It’s a lot like chess, and you have to remain on the board longer than everyone else.  It’s a Wizkids product that doesn’t involve pre-painted miniatures.

@Jermofoot:

Smoke grenades would be awesome.  Some games just don’t do them right, but when they get them correctly, it’s an awesome tool.  There’s a map in Red Orchestra that’s nearly impossible for the assaulting Germans before they put smoke into the game.

Experience with shooters, especially Half-Life mods, has taught me that smoke grenades pose difficulties mainly because they put such a strain on PC hardware.  I used to loathe smoke grenades in Counter-Strike that I disabled them given the chance.

I’d want to give the P-61 a try.  It seems like an interesting airframe to manipulate.  And, I have a copy of the pilot’s manual.

I’ve bought a case of boosters, an extra booster, and two starters.  I’m 9 rares and 2 uncommons short of a set, so I’m getting a second case.  Hopefully I’ll have enough trade fodder to finish the set.  My biggest problem is I got none of the big US rares out of the box, so I’ve had to buy/trade for them.

US:  Keep the mortars, throw the flamethrowers in the box.
UK: You don’t need more than a couple of engineers
Generic:  Ditto for commanders

Careful, Baghdaddy, you coming dangerously close to a reasonable idea with some common ground.  That sort of thing is not tolerated on either the internets or in public education.  :wink:

@Jennifer:

Well, the nice thing about uniforms is that the district can buy them in bulk and get huge discounts and then have families that can afford them purchase them.  This way all the children have adequate clothing to shield them from the elements.  Remember, a uniform does not mean plaid skirts and ties per se.  A uniform could be jeans, white sneakers, school t-shirt and, for cold weather, a school jacket.

Furthermore, parents could get together and exchange or sell their children’s uniforms to the next student - since the style would not change, the uniforms would have lasting power.

And anyway, after school, kids would be free to wear whatever, whenever.

You know what I never thought of until now - college athletic teams sign deals to use Nike and Reebok brand gear, I’m surprised the clothing companies haven’t tried this on the lower levels.  Granted, people would raise all holy hell if a public school tried this, but a private school could get away with it.  “School Uniforms Provided By Nike”, and then they get their apparel at cheap rates, and have all these kids walk around with their swoosh label on.

Kinda creepy, in that corporate saturation sense, but I’m surprised no one hasn’t tried it.

Oh, and since the point of this thread was to add five more battles, here’s my list:

Mexico City (1847):  Established the U.S. as the dominant power in the Western Hemisphere, fulfilled the Manifest Destiny, and sewed the seeds of imperial aspirations that would culminate in greater involvement in world affairs as the 19th century ended.

Antietam/Sharpsburg (1862):  Essentially ended the Confederate State’s bid for foreign recognition.  A lack of external support irreparably harmed the chances of a Southern victory.

Sedan (1870):  It has been mentioned already, as it marks the ascension of Germany into imperial power status and begins her military aspirations that would culminate in two world wars.

Hiroshima (1945):  No single discharge of a weapon has had so much impact upon the world.  The dropping of a single bomb changed warfare and world politics forever.  A 40-year Cold War and the threat of nuclear terrorist actions all stem from August 6, 1945.

Huai-Hai (1948):  This is my sleeper.  This was the battle that broke the back of Nationalist Chinese forces.  Their losses along the Huai River and the Hai Railway prevented them from further contesting Communist forces for mainland China.  In the 50 years since, the political and economic impact on the region has been more significant than almost all of the battles during the Pacific Theater of World War II.

I would contest the idea that Jutland is a determining factor in the demise of the battleship.  The first thing Britain demanded after the Armistice was the sinking of the German dreadnoughts.  Hindsight might show us early warning signs, but remember that in the inter-war period all naval treaties concentrated on restricting battleship development.  It was not until the start of hostilities in the Pacific that battleships were proven less effective.  If there had been a significant incidence of some weapon being distinctly better than the battleship, navies after the First World War would have jumped on the new bandwagon.

Correction, Picture 3, literally one sector below the V/V.  And I just realized it’s a Gloire.  In that pic it looks like it has an American color scheme.

Picture 2 - just beneath the Vittoro Vinetto

@Mechanized:

Dont forget about the Battle of Jutland!  That was a very important naval battle in WWI.  It stopped the Germans from gaining naval superiority and made them go back to the unrestricted submarine warfare policy (which eventually helped them lose instead of win.)

I don’t see much decisiveness, tactical or strategic, in Jutland.  The only outcome that would have changed the outcome of the war would be the destruction of the British Fleet.  Churchill said of Jellicoe, “He is the only man that can lose the war in an afternoon.”  Even if the German High Seas Fleet is annihilated, the British have won nothing.  The submarine campaign the Germans waged operated independently of what the High Seas Fleet did.  They waged war on British shipping before and after Jutland, and what prompted a declaration of unrestricted warfare was the knowledge that Germany’s Army was going to run out of resources before the Entente forces did.

It’s been brought up already but Saratoga is on the list while Yorktown has been omitted, and I believe that’s a huge mistake.  While Saratoga had great implications for the American Revolution in bringing other European Powers into the conflict, the result of Yorktown was a huge blow to British prestige and forced them to accept their losses.  It was the Tet Offensive of the 18th century, but it’s real impact is in the 225 years hence.  Imagine just how radically different the 20th century and two world wars would have been if North America were still divided between European Powers.

@Mechanized:

Yay my WaS minis came!!  I didnt get any carriers but I did get an Italian BS.  Here are some pics.

Is that an Atlanta?  I’ve opened a starter and 13 boosters and have yet to find one  :oops:

I like some aspects of military school, but just like every other educational measure, it won’t work if applied universally.  I would have performed far, far worse in a school run like a military academy than the laissez-faire style of my high school.  That’s the problem with the U.S. educational establishment.  Administrators try to apply universal policies at the state and local level, and I believe that’s only impairing our success.