Guys, hold on a second. It doesn't say anything in the setup/objectives for Frame 2 sent to me last weekend about bombers remaining feet dry until T+0. Nor did it say that on the Events site prior to Frame 2--I printed it out. Nor did it say that in the Frame 1 objectives--I printed them out too. It does say--twice as a matter of fact-- in the Frame 2 objectives I got that only the optional planes may up at T-25 and only at A6 or A8. I can see that has been corrected for Frame 3 as it's clearly stated that bombers may not go feet wet until T+0.
Do I admit to taking a little--uhh--shall we say--artistic licence with the T-25 rule? I think I can. Sure. I knew the general idea was that I was supposed to be climbing with that time. Nothing I had said I couldn't do a low level thing so I figured it was worth a shot. A refreshing change of pace. Nothing like an urgent scramble of fighters along the English Channel in 1943 to get the blood pumping! Like that never happened. So I made some test runs and found one that worked for me and sent it to the mission lead an hour or so before the frame. Heck, it only worked out partially as the LW fighters upping from somewhere, 46 I think, caught up with the B-24s over the channel and knocked a lot of them down. It was a gamble on my part. The bombers didn't cause a whole lot of damage to 37 in that pass anyway. Seems the guy that got the best bomb run there dropped on the town! Duh!
And I hope this isn't griping about 37 being destroyed. When we hit it a 2nd time later in the frame there wan't ANYONE there defending it and that was where all of the available allied force was. I moved everybody that could make it over to there. The Flak factory was too far away for a second strike so I just wrote it off. Believe me its not like the axis had to wonder where we were! That was the reason we laid waste to the place not because of the bomber strike. Almost all of the damage there came late and we could have dropped the whole place right then no problemo bomber strike or not. We had all the ords we needed and then some.
The short of it is, ya gotta defend against attack for the whole two hours. That didn't happen. Why? I dunno. If we took advantage of anything that was it right there. Maybe the other guys had to refuel and rearm. Maybe they were still buzzing around the targets at 39 and 72--which we'd killed by T+45, btw. I dunno. Still buzzin around the Flak Factory? We weren't gonna get another mission there and back in less than an hour unless we had jets--didn't see them on the option list hehe. But I do know for a fact that from about T+70 on, the axis left the barn door wide open to 37 and we came right in. 37 *is* listed as one of the things the axis had to defend--right?
Look, I really enjoy putting the plans together when its my turn to CO. I always try to actually put forth some effort beyond a straight line between the base and the objective. I try to make it fun. Fun's the reason we play. I try to use all the things available to me in the arena in putting together a plan. It's the strategy part of these events is what atracts me to them. Without that its just another AvA arena.
Drano
