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Lobster -> RE: Equipment Transitions (12/18/2020 2:00:04 AM)
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On the west side of the Molochna River in Ukraine is a bluff. It's 40 to 60 meters high and about 70km long north to south. That doesn't sound like much of a height. But east of the Molochna River is a plain as flat as a billiard table. That low bluff, part of the Woton-Panther (or is it Panther-Wotan [:D]) fortified line, has a commanding view for several kilometers to the east. It was a hard nut for the Soviets to crack. So you can't really say a hill is any particular height without considering everything around a height.
Not everyone will interpret a map the same. Sometimes it depends on what a scenario designer is trying to accomplish. This probably sounds corny but a map is as much a work of art as it is part of a scenario. It's the canvas the scenario is painted on. It's only natural that everyone has their own style. So what someone says you should do may not be what you should do. That's the only advice I can give anyone.
Military heights:
1. Better view. You can see a greater distance and thus can see better what the enemy is doing.
2. Ballistics. You can shoot a lot farther if your bowmen, riflemen, cannons are up on a hill vs down in a valley. In fact, it is possible for the guys on the hill to fire stuff down onto those in the valley and the guys in the valley may not be able to shoot back and hit the guys on the hill.
3. Defense. For the enemy to attack you, they are going to have to charge up the hill. By the time they hit the top of the hill, they are very tired out. And as they come up, you can throw stuff down or just roll rocks down the hill. If you do decide to attack them, you get to go down hill and that is a whole lot less work than going up hill.
4. Secrecy. You can do stuff high up that the other side can not see. But if you are down in the valley, the other guy can pretty much see what you are doing.
5. Weather. When was the last time you ever heard of a hill top being flooded out? Tanks and artillery on top of a hill can move without a lot of worry about mud. Down in the valley where the water runs, you may have your entire unit flooded and your tanks totally bogged down.
6. Sun. No matter where the sun is, the guys on the hill are looking down at the valley and enemy. Whereas the guys down in the valley sometimes are looking up into the sun trying to see what you are doing. Nothing ruins your vision faster than looking into the sun. In fact, the guys on the hill could use the sun to their advantage, such as attacking the enemy in the valley with the sun at their back.
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