Voriax
Posts: 1719
Joined: 5/20/2000
From: Finland
Status: offline
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Okay..now you'll have to suffer from my translation. Hope it's legible.
The Article
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Two Armchair Generals are staring at their monitors, grumbling like it'd be a more serious matter. SPWAW 5.01 game is trying to
find a connection between two computers. Both commanders have received strategic leadership lectures as part of their humanistic studies. That education is based at the skill of a General, the leadership of a war. Whether those lectures have been of any use will be tested in the villages of Suurimaki and Rautamaki located adjacent to river Viteli in East-Carelia that are modelled in the game. These villages were the scene of ferocious battle in 9.6.1944
Commander Lassi is leading the Soviets and Markus is leading the Finns. When the computers found each other, the Commanders start looking more grim, a tiring slaughter awaits.
RAUTAMAKI 06:20:34
Lassi: My troops have taken their positions after a night-long march from Kuksmaki. Troops that have advanced thru the forest are
in scattered formation, morning is clear and troops are waiting... At the edge of the forest the terrain starts to raise: Rautamaki. It's quiet there, no movement in sight.
The plan is to strike at the village and then continue to river Viteli, cross it in two places and then attack Suurimaki. There are no tanks but there is some light arty. Everything is ready but we must still
wait a bit. Waiting. i've heard that it's the nucleus of the War. Long periods of boring waits before sinle battles. Oscillating
between boredom and horror.
Markus: What force makes the War like this? Numbers, clumsy shorties like ErP 18, 35.KV ItPtri. Are we trying to solve a cryptogram?
In reality the troops in Rautamaki were led by Lieutenant Segerstrale and also all his subjects had names. The fact that I know it'll be a surprise attack doesn't help a bit. Allocating the meager resources
hasn't worked. There are too few of us in Rautamaki.
RAUTAMAKI 06:50:21
Lassi: Now it's time to advance. My troops haven't been spotted and they have advanced in positions North, South and East of Rautamaki. Forward! Two platoons are rushing from South and the Finns are firing at them from uphill. How many Finns are there in the village?
Grenades! Well started attack in Rautamaki is beginning to slow down when the defenders dug in their positions. The village should
be taken rapidly so I could position my arty in there. Exchange of fire continues and the Finns are shouting from the houses.
I'll order the mg's to take positions at the edge of the forest and to open fire. Soon the finns are beaten back and retreating
using buildings as cover. My main force makes an unstoppable strike from the east.
Markus: In reality Segerstrale was able to break out from the village and to hold up the Soviets at the southern bridge of river Vitele. He didn't fall until during the later counterattack to Rautamaki.
Under my command the Finnish defenders are slaughtered to the last man west of Rautamaki immediately after leaving the village. Now
the enemy has two open lanes of advance to Suurimaki. Lousy defense.
RAUTAMAKI 07:40:53
Lassi: The taking of Rautamaki is successful without big losses. My scouts are reporting of troop movements with horse carts in the
direction of Suurimaki. Thus I'll command my infantry to hurry towards the bridge. Part of the batallion will make a feint towards
the northers bridge. Few troops can go to south close to the riverbank as a ruse.
I'll start to setup my artillery and scouts are hurrying to the river to realy information to the gunners. Stalin called artillery the God of War, soon it'll have a chance to show it's power.
Our generation doesn't stay silent about the virtual war experiences, as during lunchbreaks they tell where the grenades exploded last night.
Markus: President Koivisto thinks the army must always have people from all types of citizens. He's wrong.
I try to fire a revenge strike to the lost Rautamaki, but I don't know how to use my artillery at Suurimaki. Even though I've heard that the Finns had the most accurate artillery in WW2 my grenades fall at my side of the front line.
RIVER VITELI 08:20:27
Lassi: My scouts are reporting Finnish troop movements between Suurimaki and Viteli bridge. I command my arty to fire, the main
force is still advancing towards the bridge. At Commander level the war is simple mathematics. I can eat that counter when I sacrifice this counter. Soviets have so many counters I'll order the troops to advance in careless formations.
Only the Close Combat 2 game has tried to model a character to the soldiers. Troops in Steel Panthers do just as ordered. There's
no Rokka to protest or James Ryan to be irreplaceable.
Markus: Viteli River's southern bridge isn't a brindge but a cutting board. Lassi is pushing his troops on the bridge in waves, and I'll cut them there with rifle fire.
The continuous arty fire is paralyzing my defenders. From time to time I'll manage to sweep whole enemy platoons into the river but
the pressure is raising too high. Leaving the bridge is only a matter of time.
VITELI RIVER 09:00:31
Lassi: Mg's are being carried towards the bridge, but they are arriving after the infantry. Arty barrage is continuing and it throws shells and smoke at the other side of the river, but the Finns are dug in deeply.
Soviet troopers are trying to reach the bridge and now bullets are flying everywhere. Every meter is paid with casualties, but the
defenders are going down also. There are no more heroes on the screen, the platoon that was successful a minute go is struck by a grenade. casualties all the time. Where are the clear lines and positions from war movies?
Orderly attack is turning into a chaos, when Finnish reinforcements are arriving to my rear via the southern road. My soldiers won't obey but are retreating in the middle of smoke. My mg's are left in the woods when a surprise attack messes up the plans of the southern part of the batallion.
Markus: The Red Army is rolling over the southern bridge and reaches the edges of Suurimaki. I lose my blind arty rapidly and soon there'll be house to house fighting in the village. Soviets are dying in piles
but finally every Finnish platoon is destroyed or forced to retreat.
SUURIMAKI 09:50:01
Lassi: Which side will have the last man to hold the flag? The only victory available from Suurimaki will be a Pyrrhic one, the death screams are making you numb. During the whole fight the Finns have used an
AA-gun to fire at the attackers, now it's sound is beginning to horrify.
In the south finns are advancing towards Rautamaki, where I'll order my engineers to place mines and position the arty. Smoke is beginning to cover the stretch of road where my troops are. My disarrayed soldiers striking from the woods cannot stop the enemy.
I'll begin rallying my troops for a final attempt. The last survivor of one recon team throws away his radio and vanishes into the woods.
Markus: The peak of futility. I lose Suurimaki and most of my troops.
At the same time on the other side of the river I take back the Rautamaki where it all begun, destroying the Soviet arty and support
units.
As a result of over 800 in casualties both have only moved to the other side of the river. I've lost Suurimaki and Lassi's supply
lines have been cut from Rautamaki.
In reality the Soviets didn't succeed in crossing river Vitele, but reality is far from us.
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Oh God give Me strength to accept those things I cannot change with a firearm!
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Printable Version
SPWaW feature in a finnish newspaper - 
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