The Bears Rifles, ESL Cup 3 North America

Look at the time! I am late again. *Beep*!

"Today's" finales are between VonIvan and Space Hamster. Strap yourselves in, and do not mind the bear next to you. I assure you, they are completely harmless. As long as you sit completely still.



Arnhem Checkpoint. VonIvan’s Wehrmacht, in the North Base, versus Hamster’s Americans, in the South Base. Elite Troops selected by Ivan.

Hamster strolls through the center and West, while Von’s Pioneers got drunk last evening. They are prancing straight at the West Fuel Point. Beer bottles still in hand. The other German forces are not up to speed with them. So, VonIvan will not have his Fuel connected for a while.

He may not get it connected at all. A platoon of Riflemen are in the area, and they stole the beer, forcing the Pioneers back home to mommy. This leaves behind a squad of Grenadiers and an MG42. The Americans are quite slippery folk, avoiding the MG42’s arc of fire. They hold out until reinforcements arrive, and then push. VonIvan flees. Losing control of his cutoffs.

But only for a bit. Ivan’s early game was rough, but now he has two platoons of Grenadiers, while the Americans only has one and a half of Riflemen. The force advantage is in German hands, for now.

The result is an increase in map control for VonIvan. And he knows how to use it, going for his opponent’s throat: the two cutoffs. He gets the center one easy, but struggles to get the other. An M20 arrives on the field. Von has yet to research and build his Leichte Mechanized Kompanie, instead, he got another MG42. Then a Mortar.

Somebody will have a bad day.

Slowly, the M20 hacks away at VonIvan’s forces, aided by a 50.Cal Heavy Machine Gun. Meanwhile, the Lieutenant has done work on the West side. He has cleared away the German control of the area. But he cannot stay. Too many bullets for his taste.


Tactical Support is selected by Space Hamster, who now reaches the center. The East side is under his control.

One and a half platoons of Riflemen slaughter a squad of Grenadiers. Apparently, their backs were turned, and their trousers down. Another German squad is caught as well. This time an MG42, but luck shines on them. They escape alive, or rather: he.

A Teller Mine is planted. On the West Munitions Point, above the flag pole. What an odd spot for it, rarely if ever, does vehicles travel there. Will it pay off?

Meanwhile, Hamster losses an engagement in the center, sending his army on the retreat. His field presence is nonexistent. Something that Von is more than happy to capitalize on. Cutting off his opponent, again. Oh, and some Grenadiers find barbed wire outside of the church’s front entrance. They will have to go out the back.

The Americans are healed up and ready to go. They retake their cutoffs without much resistance. At the same time, the M20 is playing with its life.

It is right in front of the Teller Mine, near the West Munitions.

There was some Stormtroopers here that tried to capture the point, but they are forced off by the M20. Which decides to hang around, and a plan forms in Ivan’s mind. He has an MG42 nearby.

They are bold, sprinting up to the fence, setting up behind it. The M20 sees them, will it fall for the trap? Hamster is being greedy! He reverses it, trying to get behind the MG42. Boom! It goes down. One of the crew politely tries to fly out the hatch. Good job, Von!


Or not. He gets too excited watching the M20 blow up, leaving a Grenadiers squad hanging. In red cover. With a platoon of Riflemen shooting at them. They also have grenades. Flop, bang, dead Grenadiers. Worse, they drop their LMG.

It gets picked up by one of the Riflemen. Now, it is Hamster’s turn to get too excited! He ignores a rifle grenade, which kills that Riflemen squad with the LMG, and he loses another squad somewhere else in the battlefield. Double ouch!

Oh. This must be so embarrassing for him. Uhm, Sergeant, is this not the barbed wire our Rear boys laid? Y-yes! And is that not some very angry Germans? H-huhu, yes, m-mommy! Phat! A rifle grenade ends a 50.cal crew, trapped by Hamster's own barbed wire.

Well. Three squads down, and that is the end of that, but Hamster refuses to believe it. He fights on for another seven minutes, then realizes that he has lost. Of course, the two enemy Ostwinds on the field has nothing to do with that realization.



Same map. South Base is in American hands, lead by VonIvan. North is in Oberkommando West’s hands, lead by Space Hamster.

This time, VonIvan is not so bold capturing territory. He goes East with a standard capture order. But Space Hamster is ambitious, getting a Kubel first then a squad of Volksgrenadiers. His Sturmpioneers cut through the center.

They are well built men and two meters tall. Veterans in their field. Their goals are the two cutoffs of Von. The central one is abandoned and easy to secure. The other point is on the other side of a nearby building. They ram through it. Shattering the back door, roaring, guns blazing. Jikes, sergeant, did you h- began a Rifleman before he was shot. The rest scream and tumble through a house door. One of the Sturms skims another squad of enemies on their way, to retake the central cutoff point. The squad sprints through the broken house, and comes face to face with their new foes.


At two and half meters tall, with muscles sprouting out, the Elite Bears Riflemen squad looks down on the German lead man. Swish! His head is ripped off and throw away, rolling across the pavement. Now, it is the Germans turn to scream! Another man goes down, beaten down to a cripple and then shot. The third is flung into a toilet and drowned. While the last man legs it, casting away his weapons to the sounds of his ape like screams. He makes it home, where nobody believes his tale.

In short, the Sturms get one cutoff, engage two Riflemen and has to flee.

There are two Kubels afield. One secures territory in the West. The other harasses the East, cutting off Ivan repeatedly and keeping him busy.

Things go worse. A Volksgrenadiers group holes up in a house, overlooking both the cutoffs of VonIvan. While he manages to force them out, he losses his territories in the East. Despite having two platoons of Riflemen at his command, he is struggling.

But finally, he breaks through and recaptures his lost territory. But how long may he keep it? Space Hamster swings in and hits the cutoff yet again! He is reinforced by a Jeagers squad. And, his Mechanized Headquarters complete.

A Luchs is on its way. VonIvan may have made a mistake going for the Lieutenant and an M20. Especially, with his map control so unstable, thanks to the constant cutoff attacks by Hamster. Things are grim for Ivan, but then becomes a little less so.

He wipes the Jeager squad. Maybe this will give him room to breathe?


Alas, he has focused his forces on the West side of the battlefield, capturing territory there. Instead of the East, where he already has territory that is disconnected. The two cutoffs remain in German hands. A big strategic blunder!

To redeem himself, he orders the crew of the M20 to jump out, and help capture one of the cutoffs. But they are interrupted by Volks and the Luchs. VonIvan is sent on the run!

Then he loses one of his Riflemen. They fall among prayers in the church. Really effective healing there, priests! How about you try some bandages next time? They might just work, you know!

Another Riflemen squad is down! The map is in Hamster’s control, and has been for a while now. The Americans are starved. And dying.

A Puma is on the field. The M20’s days are numbered, there is only the question of time before it is destroyed. Von has no answer yet, but the Captain is on his way. Until then, a platoon of Riflemen, his Lieutenant and a squad of Assault Engineers is all he has to fight with. But as long as the Luchs is around, he cannot get a hold of the map. He is pushed back to his base.

It is all but over, unless Von can gain a stunning victory. He strikes at the East with most of his forces, sending one squad West. But he still, even with the Captain and the Bazooka crew, has no answer to the Luchs. He takes heavy losses and runs.

That was his last chance. Fast forward, and he keeps losing engagements, then squads, until finally, he surrenders.



It is one to one, and it is time for a map change to Faymonville Approach. The North Base goes to Space Hamster and his Americans. The South to VonIvan and his Wehrmacht.

Straight off, both players secure the cutoffs in front of their bases. But the Germans are slower to do so. The Rear Echelons scout through the center, finding the Pioneers. A skirmish breaks out for the central Victory Point. Hamster buys himself time, going in and out of a building. Then he forces the Pioneers away with his reinforcements.

Meanwhile, he loses a battle on the West side. But Von gains nothing as his cutoff is taken.


The skirmishes continue, as both players fend off each other and capture territory. The Germans capture half the map and marches on the cutoff of Hamster, who is lagging behind. He stands no chance, and becomes disconnected from his territories in the East.

But it is not over for him. While the Germans are busy capturing their newly won territory, he strikes at their defenceless heartlands with a platoon of Riflemen. Sending his other forces to distract VonIvan in the East, who is unable to defend himself. His forces are routed!

As before, though, Ivan has two platoons of Grenadiers and one of MG42s. Then a Mortar. He has also selected Elite Troops as his commander. But will the same trick work twice? Has Hamster caught on…?

We will find out, he has a 50.Cal and M20 out! Despite that, his opponent controls most of the map. Von is doing well, pressuring Hamster. But the fights are getting more fierce. And as before, VonIvan has no answer to the M20, not even a Teller Mine. Things could go bad, and fast.

The map is in the favour of the Germans. Still, Space Hamster keeps control of about forty percent of it. Just enough to keep him in the game. VonIvan though, is pressing on.

He rips away the West Fuel Point from Hamster, but fails to capture it for himself. The Americans wants it back. But they are losing territory elsewhere. Perhaps their second 50.Cal can relieve the situation? No, it is sent straight home!

VonIvan overruns the West. A platoon of Grenadiers hold a stranglehold over the cutoff to that part of the map. They are behind stone fences, but has yet to capture the point. They give it a try, but a 50.Cal is watching and firing. It is not long before a counterattack sends them home.

With martial prowess, the Germans are forced off the map. Space Hamster can breathe again, but not for long. His enemies will be back, and soon.

They first strike East, stopping the Lieutenant from getting the Fuel. But the American counterattack is swift. The Germans must try their luck elsewhere, and they set their sights on the West. They are successful. But the Mortar was left undefended. The crew is killed and the weapon taken.

For a while now, the Support Armor Korps has been ready. But Ivan has not had the manpower to order in a tank. Until now. A Flakpanzer Ostwind is on its way.


Luckily, the Captain arrives for the Americans before the Ostwind. It is not far behind, though. And its first target is the center. Alas, with his focus there, VonIvan losses an MG42 on a flank. Is this the beginning of the end for him?

Especially, since a Calliope just arrived. But it misses its first barrage on the Ostwind. For now, it lives. Barely, as it accidentally runs into the Captain, less than a quarter of its health remain.

It gets repaired and moves back onto the field, but it is not at full health. Space Hamster, meanwhile, has been busy, it is now he that holds most of the map. In a daring push, VonIvan exposes his Ostwind to a Veterancy One Riflemen, who nails it with an Anti-tank rifle grenade. A calliope barrage follows, but misses again.

Ouch! A squad of Grenadiers are down. And his lost MG42 is captured by the enemy!

Things get worse. Hamster has unlocked his weapon racks, and Bazookas are up for grabs. At the same time, a second Ostwind arrives for VonIvan. Perhaps, things are about to turn in his favour? The Tiger Ace is one Command Point away!

What is also away, is the crew of the last remaining German MG42. But a new crew is quickly found.

It goes back and forth now, until an Ostwind gets a bit too ambitious! It goes down in flames, despite its smoke canisters trying to save it. The other Ostwind is still in its base, a while ago its gun got destroyed. It waits for repairs. Von has enough Command Points for his Tiger Ace. He only lacks the eight hundred manpower for it and he is saving.

He does not even reinforce his men. But that loses him his field presence. The map is Hamster’s, but here comes the Ace!

It cuts through the East, where a 50.Cal is garrisoned in a house.

Say, Sergeant, more coffee? Asks a soldier. Sure, sure, Alfred! Things are awfully quiet today, eh? The Sergeant says, the left wall blowing apart, sending one of his boys through the back window. Oh, Christ! Get ready to leave boys, I will take the cal... He stares into the barrel of the Ace. Bang! The house collapses and the crew are dead.

Having seen all that, a nearby Riflemen squad retreats. At light speed.

The Tiger Ace lays siege to the enemy base. Bazooka shells bounce off its mighty front armour. Has Hamster lost?


Not yet, he manages to force the Ace away. Some of the shells penetrated, and Von will not risk it. Elsewhere, the M20 goes down to the Ostwind, which was repaired a while ago.

VonIvan is busy with his Ace. He losses a squad of Grenadiers to a barrage. A volley of Bazooka fire damages the Ace, it is at half at health. It needs repairs. But he has lost his Pioneers as well, and a Jackson is afield!

The Captain goes down to the Ace! It then retreats to its base, a Pioneers squad are on their way. But during its repairs, it is found by the Jackson, which were chasing the Ostwind. They trade a shot before the Americans pull out.

Both players fight for the map. Back, and forth. Each waiting for the Tiger Ace to be repaired. If it is destroyed, Hamster wins, but if it lives, VonIvan will most likely win.

It is out and about again. Sending some American boys home. Now, Hamster knows where the Ace is. Can he destroy it? He certainly hopes so, a second Jackson is on the way.

An engagement in the center. The Tiger Ace drives forth, a Jackson revealed itself by a shot at the Ostwind. It is time to kill! Or is it? The Calliope expected the Ace, a close barrage hits it spot on, but the German crew does not flinch. Hah! Punny rockets! But then, they realize it. The Jackson is firing at them, and doing quite the damage. At half health they retreat.

Wounds get licked, and the players prepare for another engagement. But disaster! The Ostwind gets caught and destroyed by the Jacksons. Worse, VonIvan's manpower income is low and his bleed high, he cannot afford to reinforce his men, even losing two squads. He goes for a Panzer 4. But Hamster has a Sherman.

And the two Jackons. Them and some Bazooka Rear Echelons take on the Ace. They win, nearly killing it. A quarter health left. VonIvan may have lost already.

A Pioneers squad is dead! It will take ages to repair the German tanks now, with only one left. And his field presence is gone. The map is in American hands.

Despite that, VonIvan tries to contest. He loses his Panzer 4, but trades it for the Sherman. It does, however, allow a third Jackon onto the field. The end is near, they knock onto the German base. In desperation, VonIvan tries to flank the Jacksons. But they are prepared.

Swarmed by the tank destroys, the Ace goes down. Space Hamster wins!



Well, damn, Space Hamster! This is your second time, if I am not mistaken. Congratulations! For real this time. You actually deserve it.