Blimey, that was a bloody turn. By my count, thirteen CMBO turnip-heads either perished or suffered debilitating injuries during the twenty-ninth minute of Bounce the Bogen.
Colonel_K and SunderLad, the admirably dedicated/devious Comment Commanders who have kept this show on the road for much of the past six months, won’t be pleased to hear that more than half of the casualties were Europe liberators.
Unsurprisingly, Sergeant Alvarez is among the fallen. In the seconds before assistance arrives in the shape of Shanley, Olander, and Carlson, the heavily outnumbered and outgunned GI is stung to death by lead hornets.
The SS unit that unleash the killers aren’t celebrating for long. Fiercely assailed from front and rear, they throw in the towel eighteen seconds into the turn.
Moments later, the tables turn again when a previously undetected SS squad engages Carlson’s team from behind.
Two men down and seemingly in trouble, Carlson goes to ground as the bushwhackers hurry past and a third nine-man SS unit appears close-by!
Happily, the Brits advancing in the shadow of the Schloss, and, a little later, Pyle’s Sherman and Lieutenant Costner, spot the new threats and intervene with gusto.
By the time the clock stops, the enemy closest to Carlson has turned tail and the squad that pushed on, crossing the track, has been thoroughly cowed by Shanley and Olander.
East of the Schloss, Marian’s push doesn’t go unnoticed. Leading the way, Sherwood ‘A’ weather MG 34 fire from the vigilant SPW 250/1. The end of their brief ordeal looks to be imminent when Pyle’s Sherman, ‘hunting’ towards the village, spots the halftrack at T+57. However, Turn 29 still has surprises up its sleeve.
Circa T+58 the Comment Commanders’ M4A3 is struck on the turret-front by something hefty. The round fails to penetrate and none of the crew are injured, but it’s a scary moment nonetheless.
Four of the turn’s seven Allied casualties are Tommy infantrymen killed or heavily wounded in the woods near the castle gates. While moving eastward, Hood’s men are surprised at close-range by a stationary four-man German platoon HQ. In the ensuing firefight, Hood is reduced to four men, Forester to one. The fact that the German HQ is ‘green’ and miraculously suffers no losses during the exchange, adds insult to injury.
The situation at T+60:
Although all of the British units in the foreground of the above image have LoS, only one, the ‘shaken’ Forester, is currently engaging the troublesome platoon HQ. Closer to the castle gates, Venison is firing on the two-man rump of a Sicherung Squad that headed westward as Hood’s party moved east.
Fletcher’s HT spotted and engaged two cowering Volkgrenadiers as it motored up the riverside road. The experience seems to have energised the targets.
Turn 30 orders here, please. Commenters are cordially invited to suggest moves for the following seven unit groups. First come, first served. Order execution is usually Monday morning at 0700 GMT.
(See screenshots for unit locations)
– Captain Hood’s party (Hood’s HQ (4 men), Sergeant Venison’s rifle squad (2 men, low ammo), Forester’s squad (1 man), Sergeant Greenwood’s squad (7 men, split) + Corporal Fletcher’s M5A1 halftrack)
– Lieutenant Marian’s men (Marian’s HQ (4 men) + Sergeant Sherwood’s rifle squad (10 men, split) + PIAT team + 3 inch mortar team)
– Sergeant Bowman’s Archer TD
– Sergeant Johns’ Churchill VIII
– Sergeant Pyle’s Sherman
– Lieutenant Costner’s platoon (Olander (12), Carlson (4), + bazooka team + 1 HT)
– Captain Dale’s party (Six POWs armed with pilfered rifles and pistols) + Corporal Whitehand’s team (Two POWs armed with a pilfered Panzerschreck)
Please start all order comments with ‘ORDER’ and any later revision comments with ‘REVISED ORDER’. This will help me distinguish firm instructions from suggestions and advice.
ORDER: Greenwood ‘A’ {easternmost unit}
Continue on assigned route
ORDER: Greenwood ‘B’
ORDER: Capt. Hood
ORDER: Sergeant Forester
Cancel current orders
TARGET enemy HQ
ORDER: Cpl. Spencer’s HT
Current orders are “MOVE to [6, 1-2, 5], MOVE CAUTIOUSLY to [6, 4, 5]”
Speed up the first part of that with a FAST MOVE to [6, 1-2, 5]
ORDER: Sergeant Johns’ Churchill VIII
MOVE southeast across the siding
MOVE FAST east between the tracks [6, 2, 4-5]
MOVE northeast back across the siding
MOVE CAUTIOUSLY to [6, 4, 4] – for a good view east, but screened by the hut to the northeast
ORDERS: Lt Costner’s Platoon:-
Costner – PAUSE 15s. RUN to 30, 3, 4. MOVE to 30, 4, 4. Face S.
Lincoln – Move to 37, 5, 1. SNEAK to 29, 5, 5. HIDE.
Carlson – MOVE to 30, 3, 4. FACE S.
Shanley and Olander – RUN to 30, 3, 4. MOVE to 30, 4, 4. FACE S.
ORDER: Pyle’s Sherman – CANCEL remaining move. REVERSE to 37, 2, 1. ROTATE to 14, 3, 5.
ORDERS: Dale’s Party:-
Dale – TARGET Sec unit circa 13, 2, 5.
Whitehand – RUN to 21, 2, 4, TOP floor window Face E.
ORDER: Bowman’s Archer – MOVE ‘Fwd’ to 36, 4, 1.
ORDER: Tuck 25pdr – TARGET Foxholes 15, 1, 5.
ORDER: Fletcher’s HT – CONTINUE FAST MOVE [28, 5, 5] as previous, from there change to FAST MOVE to SW Cnr of 29, 4, 3, ideally cutting off the corner @ 29, 3, 4. ROTATE E.
ORDERS: Marian’s Platoon:-
Marian –TARGET departing WG’s in square 30.
Hawthorn’s Mortar – No further orders.
Sherwood – ‘A’ team hide.
‘B’ Team – TARGET departing WG’s in square 30.
PIAT team – RUN to 29, 4, 2. SNEAK to 29, 4, 1.
It may be in keeping with his character for Dale to sit in a castle window seat strumming his lute (not a euphemism) but
a) it’s the trouvere Blondel who searches for King Richard
b) as the castellan might inform him, Our King is in another castle
So, unless he’s on the trail of a magic sword or has arranged for a prototype tank to be air-dropped into the castle yard, might I request that he try looking out of a different window.
– – – – – – – – – – – –
Ouch! Again.
I had hoped Greenwood A would have uncovered any enemies within range last turn.
https://tallyhocorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bogen29kk.jpg
Is that all four units at the bottom of that screenshot: Greenwoods A & B, Hood and Forester?
– – – – – – – – – – – –
I presume it’s the railway tracks that explain the slow movement of Cpl. Spencer’s HT.
The four units bottom-right are, left to right, Greenwood ‘B’ (3 men), Hood (4 men), Forester (1 man, shaken), Greenwood ‘A’ (4 men). Only Forester is engaging the enemy HQ at present.
The railway track will have slowed Spencer down, but the M5A1s are surprisingly sluggish in ‘move’ mode whatever the terrain. For example, if Fletcher’s HT had ‘moved’ this turn rather than ‘fast moved’ it wouldn’t have even reached the riverside road!
I say, that’s unwarranted criticism of the good Captain. He’s been at the window just over 2 minutes and spent most of that time plinking unwanted visitors of which there are still three or four groups within brisk walking distance.
Now the wandering minstrels have… well…wandered off, the castle gates are undefended save for the Captain. I’m afraid your request is denied…respectfully.
Might I request you send some of the wanderers to help ‘Captain’ Scarlet scout out a safe route through Varus valley into the village for the AFV’s?
Tim.
Can you clarify how the game handles prisoners.
Do they look after themselves ie just disappear from the map, do I have to babysit, can they change their mind?
Thanks.
I haven’t got a full answer, but I did ask something similar in Turn 12 and the reply included:
“IIRC surrendered units never ‘un-surrender’ in CMx1.”
Thanks. I couldn’t find anything definitive either.
Apparently in CMx2, surrendered units can be rescued if a friendly unit moves adjacent.
We don’t have the time or the manpower to guard so will just have to set the Thompsons to stun.