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I'll be posting my orders when I've got some free time tomorrow (Don't worry, I'm the same time zone as Trin so I won't make any silly mistakes), but here's a couple of things for the time being: Twilight is at Turn 22+23 (the last two turns of this coming update), Night falls at Turn 24.. Remember that mounted units (Literally everything we have on the field, unless you tell your guys to dismount) can be seen from 16" away instead of the normal 12". If steinrokkan is building the bridge at night time (this isn't very clear? I'll check properly later), I'd appreciate it if his engineers spent the 8 turns of this update dropping some barbed wire in useful places, they should have just enough time to each drop a block of 3" (6 turns). Might be good to give them a bunch of extra orders as well? Autonomous units are a little different, and if something goes horribly wrong and my BHQ isn't nearby on Turn 24, then any new orders will have a delay. For me specifically: I'm heading over there to turn back any enemy that might cross in the south and spot the engineers before nightfall, right? If so, I can put eyes (and MGs) on Fords D through G by setting up next to Taillis Douche. ======== As for Attack/Defence stuff, these are probably the most important things to keep in mind: When you order your guys to go somewhere, they're on Attack and all companies MUST move their full range and in Battle Formation on the way (if their Standing Orders cause them to engage an enemy, MGs and artillery will behave sensibly and stop to set up). If you tell them to stay somewhere they are on Defence and cannot move in any way, this is the time you get to draw pretty pictures of your companies locations. If you want your brigade to sit around and wait for someone to charge, then they need a Conditional Order that changes them to Attack and move directly towards an enemy upon sighting them. For instance, the formation my brigade is currently ordered to adopt in Stethoscope is a Bad Formation. MGs are left in the outskirts instead of in town with companies sighting for them with the Billy Bonus. This is because I intended for them to counter charge an enemy attack: this would have caused any companies doing Billy Bonus to immediately run out of the outskirts and leave the MGs blind before they had a chance to fire.  What I did not do however, was actually order my guys to do a counter charge. Instead my MGs would be out in the open and the first things hit by an enemy charge without any benefit whatsoever. I believe this particular example is extremely niche because the scenario of one Cavalry brigade charging into a town held by another Cavalry brigade is basically the only time you'd order such a counter charge, but hopefully it will serve to demonstrate things.
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Mar 17, 2017 04:32
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| # ? May 14, 2024 06:38 |
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[Mostly an excuse to try my new super handy reference header] *Command Structure* *Roll20 table* *Pre-turn checklist* *Movement, cover and spotting* *Firing and combat* *Firing demo* *Billy bonus* *Writing orders* *Example orders* *Brigades, Fatigue, New terrain, indirect fire, engineer times, new hill spotting* *Trenches and terrain* Arrows! Formations! Conditionals! Standing Orders! We have the 87th (Green) Brigade needs a commander. Division commander is Aphidlicker. It will enter the map around 8am Tomorrow, slightly tired. Addedspace has expressed an interest. If no-one has any objections or dealing to do before the next update, then consider yourself confirmed. Reserves: LLsix Cokerpilot Elite Tatankatonk Ikasuhito If you're still keen to play, or you're desparate to get the 87th, then speak up, maybe we can arrange something. Do at least post every so often so we know you're still around, even if it's just what you think of the latest update.
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Mar 17, 2017 06:36
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Mossy if it's not clear your orders are to sweep Stethoscope then if there are no hostiles left proceed south unobserved and escort the engineers to a position where they can quickly move to start bridge building at night. We don't want either of you seen as that would tip our hands. I wanted the engineers to use spare time to set up wire on stethoscope approaches but files overruled me. Steinrokkan also consider getting your engineers to dismount after you start moving towards the bridge site from the sunken road, it will reduce chances of them getting spotted. Also PLEASE PLEASE order them to wait for dark before starting to build the bridge or they will be spotted by any pickets! Saros fucked around with this message at 13:18 on Mar 17, 2017 |
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Mar 17, 2017 10:57
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Saros posted:Engineers: Stein please amend your orders ASAP to 1) Wait for 3bde and 2) Wait for dark to move up to start bridging.
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Mar 17, 2017 13:21
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I can't explicitly order waiting for other brigades. That sort of orders failed in the past because there's no telepathic link between individual field commanders. I can only eyeball how long it could take to capture the town and eliminate threats.
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Mar 17, 2017 13:29
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Well 3bde will walk right on top of you so just set it up to follow them. Also dismount and make sure not to approach the bridge site till after night, I'd expect those AC to be picketing the fords.
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Mar 17, 2017 13:53
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====================ORDERS==================== Bavarian Cavalry Division, 3rd Brigade: Orders for issue on Turn 17 Take the following Defensive positions in Stethoscope. (If you're already on Defence, ignore this). If you spot an approaching enemy force of more than 6 companies, remain in Defence until they are gone.  Form up in Battle Order Formation facing south, then ride south down Chemin Creux to the junction.  Once this is done, advance a short distance west to have a look, cut back north behind Taillis Douche and enter the forest trying to remain hidden. Adopt the specified formation and assume a Defensive stance. If you can't dig holes while on a horse, dismount and do so.  (doesn't have to be 100% obviously, just make sure everyone is in cover, that MGs have Billy Bonus and decent views, and that the Horse Artillery is touching the forest edge in the bottom corner and therefore able to shoot out. If using the corner to see both ways is pushing it, point it West) CONDITIONAL ORDER If all the engineers die, just stay here and await further orders END CONDITIONAL ORDER Upon nightfall (Turn 24), you are to mount up, form into Battle Order formation within the forest, facing south. Then advance directly South for one hour (2 turns), then face west and advance directly West for half an hour (1 turn) - if you're too far to see a river/bridge then try going a little closer. Do not, I say again, DO NOT ride into a river. Halt movement and adopt a Defensive stance. Again, dismount if that is required to entrench.  CONDITIONAL ORDER If the engineers die (if you can't tell, wait for turn 42) and you are not engaged in combat, then about face, and head East to Chemin Creux. Spread out to fill the road South of Stethoscope and keep your heads down. END CONDITIONAL ORDER Once there is a complete bridge in front of you, get on your horses and cross it. Then charge North West into the forest and look for trouble. Obviously you might get lost in the dark - do try to avoid this.  Following this, move to the indicated location (if you can find it), assume a Defensive posture, and adopt the following formation.  (You get the idea, box formation with squishy bits on the inside. Adjust for whatever men are left) Standing Orders When sighting an enemy 12" or less away on Attack stance: Turn and move directly towards enemy When attacking the enemy: Launch a Cavalry Charge When an enemy company Breaks Off or Retreats Suppressed: Do not pursue Break Off automatically when: Fight to the last man Battle Order Formation  ====================END OF ORDERS==================== Included orders for the next 12 hours in case messengers get lost in the night. I almost wish I could leave my BHQ behind... Apologies for the absurdly long post. Oh, and steinrokkan if you could have your engineers delay for a couple more turns I'd appreciate it. It might take me more than 3 to catch up to you. mossyfisk fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Mar 17, 2017 |
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Mar 17, 2017 15:08
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oh poo poo the deadline's like now. i'm going to make some real quick orders:Saros posted:2 Bde remnants: 2 Bde ORDERS Return to Stethoscope along these lines, in battle formation. Upon reaching the NW outskirts, dismount, dig in, switch to defensive position, and defend with rifle fire. Maintain your positions at all costs. HQ is to sit an inch or two inside the town.  Standing Orders When sighting an enemy 12" or less away on Attack stance: Turn and move directly towards enemy When attacking the enemy: Launch a Cavalry Charge When an enemy company Breaks Off or Retreats Suppressed: Do not pursue Break Off automatically when: Fight to the last man Battle Order Formation (to the extent this applies to the few chits remaining) ok now can we talk about this at all? i forgot we didn't have another full day. sorryy oystertoadfish fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Mar 17, 2017 |
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Mar 17, 2017 17:52
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 The adjudication begins...On a point of general principle, I would just like to point out that, if you want to carry on doing what you were doing in the last update, there's no requirement to post new orders for every deadline. You only need new orders if you want to do something different.
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Mar 17, 2017 18:11
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I am performing the traditional mash F5 while muttering "we are so hosed" ritual
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Mar 17, 2017 18:57
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oh, i'm sure everything will go great. wishing i'd specified someone looking up the CC and some billy bonii but oh well, my bad. we'll see if it ends up mattering!
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Mar 17, 2017 19:29
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One thing that I just realised and it is too late to change now but parts of 2 brigade are going to be in places where I said for my 4th Brigade to deploy on reaching Stethoscope if my brigade arrives there before the end of this round of turns.
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Mar 17, 2017 21:26
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we'll find out how trin is working all that out soon enough, i suppose. i didn't draw any specific chit locations so i guess i'll find out what happens when i leave that stuff to him. i hope i at least didn't make illegal orders again, i should probably start writing legal ones
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Mar 17, 2017 21:36
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Too late to change orders because adjudication is happening, but mossyfisk, I'd probably rather you go straight west when across the bridge, without even bothering with bdb. What we have here is an opportunity to sneak past the entire (probable) first line of BEF defences, let's not waste it.
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Mar 17, 2017 22:15
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I'd say the other way. Better he dig in and form a bridgehead then stumbling around in the dark.
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Mar 17, 2017 22:32
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trin does make brigades get lost during dark turns iirc, so it's a real concern i'm contributing to the problem of putting a [1 >] next to this thread that isn't trin's update. waiting for adjudication is, like, foreboding
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Mar 17, 2017 22:35
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyRn_nh7ViM Turn 17: 1600 German initiative The 3rd Brigade enters Stethoscope and, right on the edge of its movement, roots out a suppressed enemy company, killing it.  The remnants of the 2nd Brigade fail to change their orders. Turn 18: 1630 German initiative The 3rd then proceeds into the Outskirts, sees four British cavalry companies trying to escape, and moves into rifle range.  An arse hortillery and a cavalry company were out of range and escaped, but another company and the brigade commander are shot down. Turn 19: 1700 British initiative There's nothing left to see.  The brigade about-turns and continues with its orders.  Turn 20: 1730 British initiative The 3rd continues south.  The 4th Brigade enters the field.  Mid-update overview.  Turn 21: 1800 German initiative 2nd Brigade un-fucks itself and gets moving again.  4th Brigade continues.  3rd Brigade reaches the crossroads, sees nothing, and about-turns to head to the Taillis.  Turn 22: 1830 British initiative The 4th approaches the bridge.  The 3rd approaches its destination.  The 2nd moves into Stethoscope for the second time.  Turn 23: 1900 German initiative Your sneaky-beaky engineers settle down to wait for nightfall.  Since the 3rd will be moving off again soon, I've not moved them into their designed formation, but I have calculated their spotting as if they were in their designed formation. Good thing, too; they see that more wire has been put up across the fords.  The 2nd begins forming up again.  The 4th crosses the bridge.  Turn 24: 1930 German initiative With the last of the daylight, the 4th heads downhill.  The 3rd moves towards its rendezvous with a bridge.  And the 2nd finishes arranging itself. Overview time!  The next update will be 24 turns long and cover the entire night. Nights on subsequent days will be split into two 12-turn updates. The soft deadline is 5pm, Monday 20 March.
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Mar 17, 2017 22:37
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I kept waiting for the surprise AC convoy to pop up. Hey guys I'm still here. I've just been sick as a dog since the last update.
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Mar 17, 2017 22:40
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thank god you got that out before i had to go. how eerily quiet. i suppose the biggest damage i did to us was not letting us discuss the formation 2nd bde took up on the NW of the town. here's trin's picture:  i don't know much, but is that AH blocked from firing to the west due to the MG? also, are there any billy bonus opportunities? is it worth picking everybody up into attack stance (trin will surely not grant me leniency on that twice in a week) and shuffling them around, do you think? what do we lose - a turn or two where if we get attacked we all die? or are we satisfied with this?
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Mar 17, 2017 22:43
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Since we can see the wire in the South, does that mean they probably haven't had the time/engineering companies to put up wire in the North?
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Mar 17, 2017 22:45
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^ it's possible that both of us chose to ignore the north ford. i think they were building those middle-map erections back when our plane was in the air, hours and hours ago, so it's possible they've gotten up there since then too. for my own loving benefit i'm going to emphasize our deadline (for americans, sunday night): Trin Tragula posted:
also here's a crop of stethoscope on turn 24 from his overview  welllll i guess it's just for until the new brigade shows up, then we'll be moving around again. are we staying in the town while bigger forces go off elsewhere? do we start using my little brigadelet for scouting if they survive to hand the town over? oystertoadfish fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Mar 17, 2017 |
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Mar 17, 2017 22:45
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That was a surprisingly clean sweep. If multiple engineer companies work on a single feature, does it improve build speed?
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Mar 17, 2017 22:53
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Pardon the interruption:  I think this should be all the combat officers (bar whoever takes over for Hegel) - if I missed someone, or if there's a staff officer who wants a banner for some reason, let me know.
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Mar 17, 2017 22:58
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24 turns seems a hell of a lot to try and plan out in one go, is that because it would be almost impossible to change orders. As for actual orders for my 4th Brigade. Should I continue to advance into Stethoscope or do you have alternate orders for me Saros? OTF your artillery is indeed blocked and if you are going to go on attack stance to move it you might as well position that MG behind one of your infantry in the western outskirts for the billy bonus.
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Mar 17, 2017 22:58
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steinrokkan posted:That was a surprisingly clean sweep. I asked in roll20 and Trin said it reduces build time by 1/4.
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Mar 17, 2017 23:08
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Hmm. If we build a bridge in the south, we could have a brigade clear anyone in the Bois de Blob by entering it at an unexpected angle. It'd be a whole lot easier than trying to clear it by day tomorrow when Allied reinforcements arrive. Or we could clear the obstacles by the fords under the cover of darkness. Good question about the Foret de Effyaders. If they're anything like us, they won't have the strength right now to defend everything strongly, especially with the loss of a Cavalry brigade. But how do we know where they are?
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Mar 18, 2017 00:23
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Tevery Best posted:Pardon the interruption: Thanks Tevery! I haphazardly added a motto: 
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Mar 18, 2017 00:28
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Jaguars! posted:Hmm. If we build a bridge in the south, we could have a brigade clear anyone in the Bois de Blob by entering it at an unexpected angle. It'd be a whole lot easier than trying to clear it by day tomorrow when Allied reinforcements arrive. Or we could clear the obstacles by the fords under the cover of darkness. Good question about the Foret de Effyaders. If they're anything like us, they won't have the strength right now to defend everything strongly, especially with the loss of a Cavalry brigade. But how do we know where they are? There's a very good chance of the brigade getting lost on the way or blundering into the enemy, or both. Units moving at night get a dice roll to decide whether or not they stay on track, and our visual range is only 4", so if there's something out there we won't know until it's too late. I say we either form a beachhead on the other side of the bridge, or we just keep pushing west and hope our deployment zone increases for our infantry to arrive in the morning.
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Mar 18, 2017 00:33
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Flesnolk posted:There's a very good chance of the brigade getting lost on the way or blundering into the enemy, or both. Units moving at night get a dice roll to decide whether or not they stay on track, and our visual range is only 4", so if there's something out there we won't know until it's too late. I say we either form a beachhead on the other side of the bridge, or we just keep pushing west and hope our deployment zone increases for our infantry to arrive in the morning. Don't cavalry want to blunder into the enemy? They're most effective at hand to hand so anything that lets them close the distance without getting shot is a plus, right?
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Mar 18, 2017 00:45
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Not quite, we'd want THEM to blunder into US ideally, so we can use the surprise to our advantage. Assuming we even reach anyone, or BdB itself. This plan with sneaking over the bridge is a good one, and I think it'll work, but I want to minimise risks. Remember that half of Saros' division is dead because of a big gamble at Steth.
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Mar 18, 2017 00:51
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koolkevz666 posted:24 turns seems a hell of a lot to try and plan out in one go, is that because it would be almost impossible to change orders. It's not so intimidating when you realize 95% of those orders will amount to "dig trenches in Chemin Creux" 2bde and 4bde together can produce up to a maximum of 60" of trench by morning. Now most likely my 3bde is going to die horribly in the night, but the morning will reinforce 2bde to more than full strength. That means we'll have two cavalry brigades able to do their actual job of scouting and picket while the super trenches they dug are filled with our Saxon brothers. mossyfisk fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Mar 18, 2017 |
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Mar 18, 2017 05:05
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I'd rather have the Saxons also pushing forwards, but having the defences there certainly couldn't hurt. Also, when discussing advances: It might be a good idea to have our troops on orders not to fire unless fired upon. Secrecy and surprise are a key part of this plan, and if we open fire we've given ourselves away. If we're shot at first, well, we're already compromised so might as well.
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Mar 18, 2017 07:42
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Flesnolk posted:I'd rather have the Saxons also pushing forwards, but having the defences there certainly couldn't hurt. My guys are on close combat orders - they can only shoot when in defensive, and can only shoot people who can already see them.
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Mar 18, 2017 08:39
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Oh, that's good! Still dubious about the "3bde charges Bois de Blob" plan. Will discuss it with you and Saros.
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Mar 18, 2017 08:46
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I'd like to avoid the scenario where Entente troops march over our own bridge in the morning, thought I'll admit I'm unsure if this is the perfect solution. I mainly want to be in the forest for concealment, so fresh BEF Artillery isn't immediately ordered on my position the moment it arrives.
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Mar 18, 2017 09:05
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Considering the night movement rules, though, you're more likely to get your troops lost and possibly blunder right into the defenders, if any are there. My mind conjures up a nightmare scenario where you mean to go to BdB but stumble around in the dark until you end up right in front of the entire BEF's machineguns.
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Mar 18, 2017 09:27
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After the bridge is done, should engineers return to Steth, or follow the breakthrough force?
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Mar 18, 2017 10:49
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Depends on what we order 3bde to do. I'd prefer they clear up some wire or start fortifying the beaches.
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Mar 18, 2017 11:47
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Time for some upper echelon orders if you want your brigadiers to get theirs out in good time.
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Mar 19, 2017 04:55
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| # ? May 14, 2024 06:38 |
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Saros, see to your division. I'll be around tomorrow to discuss plans as well. At the moment, I see no need to deviate from the current battle plan, but a point of contention has arisen re: 3bde's destination. ...And I really should come up with some orders for aphid, whose division arrives after this phase.
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Mar 19, 2017 05:57
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