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HFQ Official Snippet #16

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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by Randomiser   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:45 pm

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fallsfromtrees wrote:Remember that snippets are pre editing. He could throw in something that he planned to have edited out, for just this purpose.
Editor: "David what the hell is this passage?"
RFC: "Oh, I meant to delete that before I sent you the manuscript. Just take it out"


That would be
a) dishonorable
b) too easy
c) no fun for RFC

So I don't believe it for a minute.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by isaac_newton   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:53 pm

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n7axw wrote: SNIP

That phrase "half way to Thesmar" does require a bit of interpretation. The Sandfish road does go in the direction of Thesmar. In fact it comes out east of Thesmar at Ft Sandfish, probably about 200 miles, give or take from Thesmar. It doesn't make sense for them to go all the way down the Sandfish road, but it does make sense to go far enough to be clear of DE's blocking positions and then turn toward Dohlar.

I agree that once they turn west, their rate of progress slows down.

Don


textev is that it is twice as far...

Earl Hankey said at the second to last Army of Shiloh command conference at/near Karmych at the north end of the Sandfish Road, when Alvarahez first calls for 'retreat':
We're two hundred miles from the southern end of the damned forest [Kyplynger], and it's four hundred miles from there to Thesmar, all of it over handful of farm tracks. We'll be lucky if a third of our strength makes it back to Trevyr or Somyr
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by Randomiser   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:05 pm

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Don, I make Thesmar to Fort Sandwich nearer 300 miles, but that's straight across Thesmar Bay. The trip Ahlvarez actually has is the one Isaac N is talking about above.

Granted, the Fort Sandwich road has been improved and extended between the MTaT online map and LAMA, and the sensible point to leave it with an Army depends on what the roads and terrain to the west are like in detail.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by n7axw   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:58 pm

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Randomiser wrote:Don, I make Thesmar to Fort Sandwich nearer 300 miles, but that's straight across Thesmar Bay. The trip Ahlvarez actually has is the one Isaac N is talking about above.

Granted, the Fort Sandwich road has been improved and extended between the MTaT online map and LAMA, and the sensible point to leave it with an Army depends on what the roads and terrain to the west are like in detail.


Hi Randomizer,

Figure cited was a rough guess on my part. No disagreement with the rest of your statement although with my previous post, I was thinking in terms of getting clear of DE.

Don
When any group seeks political power in God's name, both religion and politics are instantly corrupted.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by Kacey   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:16 pm

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Graydon wrote:
Still, upon further reflection, the idea that they have to swim upstream from below the Temple forces' limit of observation, find the sunken barges, figure out a demolition plan by touch and hand signals they can't see in the dark, plant the charges they've been lugging with them, also by touch in the dark, and float home downstream seems implausibly strenuous even by demolition diver standards.

So now I'm wondering if the stick headed upstream was a snorkel for a tiny compressed-air powered submarine, thinking, no, that's crazy, they're just not there yet, maybe it's just a guy with a snorkel scouting to find the barges? But if you can't stick your head up, you can't get landmarks, so the utility of your report is going to be rather diminished. And if you can't see because it's dark, it's going to be an even worse report.

All that makes me wonder if this is the lead guy for a bunch of assault swimmers, there to take out the sentries to allow guys in boats an unopposed landing, but that gets into the distance and gear-towing issues again.

This is a river there is no navigation needed, you want to blow the barges so you can pass the ironclad. Swim along the bottom to get to the barges, if you have rope use it and some anchor spikes or points. Find the first barge by feel and start laying in explosives by feel. i.e. barges are 100 ft long so 4 arm spans should be about 25 feet plant some explosives repeat twice more, next barge. Water does not compress and accuracy is not required, just make kindling of the barges.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by fallsfromtrees   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:29 pm

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Randomiser wrote:
fallsfromtrees wrote:Remember that snippets are pre editing. He could throw in something that he planned to have edited out, for just this purpose.
Editor: "David what the hell is this passage?"
RFC: "Oh, I meant to delete that before I sent you the manuscript. Just take it out"


That would be
a) dishonorable
b) too easy
c) no fun for RFC

So I don't believe it for a minute.

I agree that it would be a. Maybe agree on b. Totally disagree with c. It has to be hysterical for RFC to watch the rampant speculation, particularly on a small piece of text that may not be deleted but will be edited with malice aforethought just to teach us not to take the snippets too seriously.
========================

The only problem with quotes on the internet is that you can't authenticate them -- Abraham Lincoln
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by Keith_w   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:07 pm

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So now I'm wondering if the stick headed upstream was a snorkel for a tiny compressed-air powered submarine, thinking, no, that's crazy, they're just not there yet, maybe it's just a guy with a snorkel scouting to find the barges? But if you can't stick your head up, you can't get landmarks, so the utility of your report is going to be rather diminished. And if you can't see because it's dark, it's going to be an even worse report.


Not if you tie a piece of string to it before heading back downstream.
--
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by fallsfromtrees   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:30 pm

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Keith_w wrote:
So now I'm wondering if the stick headed upstream was a snorkel for a tiny compressed-air powered submarine, thinking, no, that's crazy, they're just not there yet, maybe it's just a guy with a snorkel scouting to find the barges? But if you can't stick your head up, you can't get landmarks, so the utility of your report is going to be rather diminished. And if you can't see because it's dark, it's going to be an even worse report.


Not if you tie a piece of string to it before heading back downstream.

Wouldn't be too sure that you can't stick your head up. The barges (at least those closest to shore, are only half-submerged, which means that you can place one of them between you and the shore line. and take a look around.
========================

The only problem with quotes on the internet is that you can't authenticate them -- Abraham Lincoln
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by phillies   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:56 pm

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Swim in winter water, with novel equipment. Highly improbably.

The stick, if there was anything, was a small boat of some sort,
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16
Post by n7axw   » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:50 pm

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For what it's worth, the MTAT map with the routing of the various forces around Ft Taiyrs does note Ahlverez down the Ft Sandfish road probably about half way in Feb. '97.

I am not sure how authoritative this is, but just looking at the map from where he is at, there are no east-west roads for him to use, so that would mean that he would have to cut across country without roads which might be ok for forging but would be quite slow.

Don
When any group seeks political power in God's name, both religion and politics are instantly corrupted.
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