Bulletpoint

What the extreme fringes do and say affects regular people, at least in rich coastal cities. It’s certainly not just idiots screaming at each other online. One ridiculous example of this is hosptials at least where I am no longer can say “mother”, but have to use the word “birthing person”. Remember the Stanford guide for acceptable words? It does bleed into our lives. More practically, at my previous employer, a major software company, anything but the most progressive political stance was unacceptable to voice- and that stance was voiced quite a bit- much to the befuddlement of all the foreign employees. This is not atypical at large, well-paying software companies.
 

I just wanted to say that I am absolutely loving the new German campaign of the DLC (playing on hard). I think it is one of the most difficult campaigns I have ever played.
I had to replay nearly each and every mission several times once I managed to beat them. The Americans are just so much better equipped, trained than the Germans. Not to mention the fact of their sheer numerical superiority. The Germans are inferior to the Americans in every aspect at this stage of the war.
During my CM carreer I always wanted to avoid save scumming and just roll with the punches but this campaign forced me to relad time after time. Losing a critical asset due to the inexperienced crew failing at the spotting lottery or getting an entire squad obliterated by heavy artillery would have meant that I either restart the whole map or reload a previous save. I chose the latter.
All in all, great scnenarios, my only gripe is that they are a biz puzzle-like and you cannot really complete them "blind", as there is just no way that you can afford the luxury of a Pershing popping out from nowhere and decimating your whole force.
Another thing that I have learned was that TDs are practically useless. The Jagdpanther should be a formidable opponent when on the defensive. Not in this game though. On the one hand TDs have spotting issues (see my other topic) and the due to the fact that tanks always shoot at the enemy's center mass, which happens to be gun mantlet/barrel of a TD. This meant that although the JP was able to withstand 1 or 2 rounds from the shermans but I ALWAYS ended up with a broken gun.
I would have much preferred to have simple PZ IVs with veteran crews at my disposal instead of these semi-useless TDs (rotatable turrets and ample MG ammo are a blessing that I have so far failed to recognize) .
But oh well.

Unjustified? Like the assassination of an Iranian general?

You do realize that this is basically the same propaganda that Putin uses?
And that is the seed of how war crimes happen.

I know there are many fans of the aforementioned PanzerGrenadier, hence the topic title is deliberately provocative…😇
…but not untrue.
In fact, I don't like playing PzGr. Let me explain why, and please provide me with some advice… 🙏
IMHO, the problem lies in their binary structure. Two LMG, two groups: nothing to complain about. The problem is: what are you supposed to do with that kind of squad when facing close terrain like forest or buldings? With the Brits, the US, plain German infantry or even the Soviet, no problem: you split a two-man scout team and overwatch it with your remaining two teams. Fine.
But what about the two-groups PzGr squad? If you do split a 2-man scout team, the remaining 6 men get stuck into one huge, unwieldy group of 6 men, crammed together in an action tile, ripe for a lost shell or a Soviet sMG burst. And if your scout team gets killed, you're stuck with that "big blob team" FOREVER. No more fire and support. Only fire OR support. Great!!!
So what's the alternative? Using a full 4-man group as a scout team. You're 99% sure to bear more losses than with a dedicated, 2-man scout team, but at least your squad is not worthless anymore: the survivors still can manoeuver.
I've experimented both alternatives. I hate both. Whatever option I do chose, PzGr squads manpower gets consumed a lot faster than any other squads in the game, while it's supposed to be a top-notch offensive unit… 🤬
(I completely understand that the issue is a consequence of the CM game engine limitations. In RL, sending a 2-man scout teams did not reduce the remaining squad to a single group, the 2-groups structure was obviously kept as long as there were 4 remaining men in the squad to serve both LMGs; similarly, in the US and British squads, the 3-groups structure wasn't altered by scouting…)
I'm curious to learn what are the advice of the PzGr fans on the forum… 🤔

It seems that either no one knows or no one cares. The Final Blitz module doesn't seem very popular among the clientele here.

Well, here is our answer to Sullivan or to "anonymous sources" in influent Western medias. 
Kuibyshev refinery, Samara city was struck by two drones this night. Fractionating column is burning. This refinery has 7 mln.tons of year output
PS. It was confusion between two refineries. Part of media write about Kuibyshevsk refinery (in Samara city), part about Novokuinyshevsk refinery (Novokuibyshev city, 15 km SW from Samara). I checked Samara VK publics - they tell about the refinery in Samara city - so this was Kuibyshev refinery (Kuibyshev is old Soviet name of Samara). Interesting, Russians rejected any thougts that UKR UAVs can reach them. They believed this is UKR refugees, enlisted by GUR launche frones from Russian territory %). "This villagers just can't do that" - chauvinistical hubris
PPS. Reportedly drones also attacked and hit metallurgical plant in Staryi Oskol city, Belgorod oblast. This plant specialized on producing of special sorts of steel. Local sources say oxigen workshop building was hit, no casualties, no information about damage.

The range is 900 km

 
 

Scheme of today's missile strike. 
Red - Kh-101, purple - Kh-59, yellow - Shaheds, green - Kh-22, blue - Kinzhal, orange - ballistic (Iskander/S-300) 

It was strongest attack since the end of 2022 with heavy consequenses.
Russians used in mass those types of misisles, which can't be intercepted by more weak AD of eastern cities. 
This was posted here today, but I repeat if somebody skipped it:
63 Shaheds - 55 shot down
2 Kh-59 - 2
12 Iskander-M - 0
22 S-300 - 0
40 Kh-101 - 35
5 Kh-22 - 0 
7 Kh-47 Kinzhal - 0 (according unconfirmed info one Kinzhal, passing north of Kyiv oblast on route to Khmelnitskyi, was engaged with Patriot missile, but interception wasn't successful)
 
Most bad situation in Kharkiv - the city was hit with 20 S-300 missiles from Belgorod  and remained completely out of electricity
In Zaporizhzhia except GES-1 and GES-2 hit (GES-2 got heavy damages, GES - hydro energy plant), which were hit with 8 different misiles, about 450 private and multistorey buildings got different damages
On the photo - aftermath of missile impact in private cottages district of Zaporizhzhia

In Khmelnitskiy also missile and Shaheds caused destructions and civilain deaths 

Total number of victims - 5 killed, 3 missed, not less 30 wounded.
At the evening Russians launched one more Iskander-M on power infrastructure object near Odesa. So, in 8 oblasts of Ukraine there were partial electricity cutting off 
 
 

Also a variable in this test is that in the WW2 version, you're testing with HMG42 which are deployed on a bipod and are bigger targets than the 2-man LMG teams you seem to be testing with in the CW test. The HMG teams also have more crewmembers, which also affects spotting chances.
A better test would be to use German LMG teams.

In the Battle of the Seelow Heights.
It's really too bad that tanks can't drive on the road. I had to ride with everyone personally manually to get to the last positions.
If I let them drive alone I lose 3. They immediately drive like drunks off the road.
It's embarrassing that the AI can't even... recognize the road.

I don't want to get into the whole argument about who is right and who is wrong. Seeing this just makes me sick.

To be fair, official Ukrainian sources have mocked the Russians for stupidity, incompetence, greed, single-mindedness, wastefulness, etc.   Sometimes, it's a propaganda advantage to do so.

It is my biggest gripe in this forum. Closely followed by the idea russia is hanging on by mere threads, collapsing any day now.

Absolutely. It's now a country geared for war like Nazi Germany in the beginning of WW2. Plus they have huge stockpiles of weapons. We'll probably catch up later, when things get more serious... 
The continuous comedian approach on the russian army and state, didn't help the overall effort I think. 

I doubt this is real number. 
Now we have next: 
 - two confirmed Su-35 and A-50U from Russian side
- the video of falling down unknown combat aircraft near Dyakove (presumably Su-34, this is mathes with COSPAS information about eject signal from this area - Su-35 was shot down significantly west from this place)
- COSPAS ejection marks on the map allegedly from three Su-34 (including the one, mentioning above)
- bad quality of something falling down on the screen of some SAM (StarStreak?) claimed as Su-34
- just a claims of shot down jets. 
So, we have 3 100 % confirmed, 2 with high probability confirmed, 2 allegedly confirmed by COSPAS marks and rest 4 just unverified claims
 

I sure agree with you, but my point was, to quote myself: ☺️
In other words, I would find these scenarios a lot more enjoyable and immersive if you really could see what your units actually see !

Scholz annoys me to no end and I definitely hate to feel I should defend the man. Why I do it in cases like this: I may not agree with Scholz on the details and reasons but it is absolutely our right to decide which weapons we want to send and especially which weapons we don't want to send. By extension, it's Scholz right to make that call as our elected chancellor. Acting as if any other nation would handle this differently is disingenuous. I mean, there are lots of countries that are selective in what they give to Ukraine, so calling out only Germany irritates me. I have to admit that Scholz is quite gifted in setting himself up as a target, though...

Trying to find reason in these excuse arguments is an exercise in futility.
They shift over time as proven over and over again as the basis for these excuses erodes.
UA is perfectly able to handle the most complex machinery with little training very successfully.
 
It wont be said out loud but there is no will to give Ukraine the capabilities with which to inflict a massive defeat on the russians.
The (more western) allies have been doing everything to keep the status quo on the front to grind russia down, nothing more and nothing less.
A quick collapse leads to the potential for political issues and instability in russia that europe and usa dont want. In a quagmire, russia is contained and the problem is postponed.
But of course, the reason for only 31 Abrams in 2 years despite storages filled with hundreds of capable machines is, let me check my notes, that they sink in mud. Or was it that theres only so few trainers in the world that the capacity just isnt there? Or was it that their engines are so fuel hungry, the logistic would break down! So many issues.. heres a list! Somehow Iraq got 140, Saudis 373, Taiwan 108,  but thats on sand, it doesnt sink there. Lets not worry about it, did you hear we said we do everything it takes?* Now go fight in M113s from the Vietnam war while we dismantle a hundred Bradleys for scraps.

Can't argue with that...
From nato.int:
... So it was the US who made sure it is possible to "weasel out" of this. Hadn't seen that coming...

Gents, I can try to explain why the decision is like it is and I can give my opinion on what I think b the NATO treaty does or does not oblige an ally to do. If you just want to vent steam and do another round of (irrational) Germany bashing, look for someone else.

If they continue the timeline any further, we will play scenarios where we are marching disarmed German soldiers around in a POW camp.

Frankly, the community can be somewhat gatekeep-y when spotting troubles are brought up, sometimes resorting to Olympics levels of mental gymnastics to justify why fairly plain to see issues "actually make sense".
But a save file is necessary to help make sense of this @SDG. It looks strange based on your pics, but there could still be factors which really do explain it satisfactorily. Looking at the pics though I can see that at least one crew is Green. Most American crews are at Veteran skill in FB, that's a significant advantage right there already.

I don’t think anyone of serious power in the West wants a full Russian collapse.  The overall Western grand strategy since the end of the Cold War has been “stable status quo”.  We have spent the last 33 years pretty much working on all fronts to sustain “the system”.  We toss scarfs and hats on it but at its core is a central unchanging stability.  Why?  Because stability is good business.  The West, with the US at the centre built the scheme that “won” the Cold War and want that party to keep going because we get very rich off it.  The rest of the world makes our stuff for cheap, while also buying our other stuff.  
But pretty much from Day 1 “the others” pushed back.  First was the intra-war years, interventions and then terrorism.  Now this has upscaled to “revisionist states” and “power competition”.  Russia invaded Ukraine for several reasons but one of them definitely was to demonstrate that they are not going to be bound by western rules (Hell, Putin said exactly this in that speech back in Sep ‘22).  This puts the West in a dilemma, they can either do too little and Russia threatens the system, or they crush Russia…and it threatens the system.  So they appear to have chosen the middle path, which of course is getting hijacked by the internal movements who want to…wait for it…change the system.  MAGA, alt-right, nationalists, whatever, all disagree with “the system” even though it has made everyone richer.  The reality is that it did not make everyone equally rich so discontent is natural.  Worse, power spheres exploit this so they can get more powerful (and richer).  So Rust-Belt yokels eat this stuff up and start to dismantle “the system”, which includes democracy apparently.  The reality is Trump is a symptom, not a cause and I am not sure even they realize how dangerous this game they are playing is.
So Ukraine happens and becomes a symbol of a “war for, and against, the system.”  It isn’t about the fact that killing innocent Ukrainians is wrong - hell if morales like human life mattered we wouldn’t have Gaza.  No, Ukraine is all about “the system” and both sides appear to be waging it viewed through that lens.  Russia needs to show that they are going to play by their own rules, but not completely break themselves.  One could ask “why is Russia fighting this war by half measures?”  Do they enjoy a quagmire?  No, Putin understands what he has gotten himself into and is adopting a slow burn strategy, hoping we will get distracted and caught up in our own nonsense…and he might be right.
The rest of the West is trying to step up, but frankly we have grown awfully fat, dumb and happy on the back of the US - who now is having a bipolar fit.  In the end, we can live with a fallen Ukraine.  We can shore up the borders and lock Russia out.  We can live with a partial victory in Ukraine, do we really care about Crimea, LNR and DNR?  No, we did not in ‘14 and we don’t now.  We can’t live with a completely imploded Russia.  Those are where the real risks lie.  Too many unknowns that could really break the system.  So we wind up with a half hearted war designed to punish Russia for challenging the system but not destroy them.  Ukraine is, and I am being brutally honest here, is almost secondary to the entire conversation.  It was simply a very unfortunate country where both sides could try and prove a point.  We love Ukraine all of a sudden because they are an opportunity to show that 1) Russia was wrong to challenge the system, and 2) the system still works.  
I strongly suspect this is why this war is also so muddled in military circles.  We are watching a war to defend the system..that is demonstrating the weaknesses of our own military system at the same time.  So we put blinders on and try to pretend it isn’t happening.  Our military power has to still be relevant…otherwise how can we defend the system?
So to answer your question, “yes, the US and the West know exactly how important Ukraine really is and are fighting this war based on that calculus.”  The answer however is “somewhat important”.  We care and feel bad, but care much more about our own issues.  Putin read the short game about as wrong as one can.  He may have read the long game extremely well.  The way to beat the West is not outright confrontation, it is apathy.  2 years is forever for a culture addicted to clicks and flashing lights.  Putin’s off ramp is being able to draw a victory line somewhere of his choosing and he is shooting for that.  And we might just let him get there.
Now I would not start freaking out and worry about a second attack on Kyiv.  Something that dramatic might actually get our attention again.  No, this needs to become a boring war - I am starting to think Putin’s Tucker Carlson interview was smarter than we thought.  What better way to get Western audiences to yawn and start to change the channel than a history lesson?

Any reason why Mikey?
Oh, I see.

A lot has been said in this topic.
My issue and the bottom line of my argument is:
I know its a game, therefore there is uncertainty involved which is represented in the form of dice rolls BUT under certain conditions a unit should become spotted regardless of chance. It is completely unrealistic that:
- in broad daylight;
- within reasoable distance (900 m is nothing if the crew is using sights with magnification or the TC is using his bino)
- a not very well hidden/camouflaged tank
- that is shooting its main gun for several turns
- while also letting it rip with its 50 cal mg using TRACER (!!) rounds
 
can remain unspotted while 3 enemy TDs are closely monitoring the battlefield. And no I dont care if there are certain objects that partially obstruct my TDs view and they dont have a perfectly clear line of sight to the target. That tank should at least become detected to that extent that my tds at least have a rough idea as to where to put their AP rounds regardless of not gettin a full view of the enemy.