snake_eye Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I am glad to read that battles will have a tendency to take a longer time than earlier. As a matter of fact I was really surprise to see in B-N and CW battles of less than an hour. Some battles running for 30 and 40 minutes. Besides a wild dash these battles don’t afford any tactical challenges. I think that a great number of players have no knowledge of what a real fire fight is. They are lucky to have not known that, but they should be aware that CFMI is not a shoot them up. You have to play it, more or less like it should be done in a RL battle. Normally when a shot comes, you don’t put your head up to get the next one. You crawl, crouch and get somewhere else to have a cautious look or you just stay where you are and let a better emplaced squad do the job, till you can move safely again. That takes some time ranging from a minute to an hour depending of the situation. If you know clearly what’s going on, go fast if you don’t, get to know what’s going on before moving carelessly In CFMI, first you should look closely at the ground features and in particular at what I call killing grounds that should be avoided unless the guns and troops covering them are suppressed, fleeing or out of action. That means that secondly you must plan a recon to assess the enemy forces and emplacements. Third you should plan a mortar, artillery and or tank suppress fire on the most dangerous areas. Fourth you should commit your forces in closing in the enemy defined objectives. Keeping in mind that you should have suppress fire facing the enemy and moving troops on the flanks to attack and or bypass him. To do that takes time and coordination. That means that you should fire your mortars when the troops are ready to jump from their location, since mortars are on target within 3 to 4 minutes. For artillery it is a bit longer, usually 8 to 13 minutes. You can do it at the set up and have no delay in firing, but, you won’t be sure to strike the right area having done no recon. More, your troops are usually not in a good departure line emplacement. Most of the time a normal and cautious Recon takes 10 to 15 minutes and we might have difficulties moving forward an FO and or a leader, able to call a barrage from a suitable emplacement giving a good FOV. Further more we have to add the time required for the firing to begin. That means that from the start of the battle it might take 13 to 28 minutes before having any troop manoeuvring toward their objective To Bill, Pretty good AAR. The Italians paid highly for neglecting a thorough recon. Your KT4 approach sounds clever with KT2 suppressing fire in case of a Counter attack. You should try to bypass the Villa, getting out of KT4 on its left to strike it from the back. That is if you still have some time left. Time is always playing against us ! Staying tune to your AAR 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 The Twenty-First Minute So the next turn has ND's T-30s firing at my PBI who are only trying to get somewhere to rest. Luckily I only suffer one casualty. I really do not mind, because as long as his guns are distracted by my moving infantry perhaps I can do something with my Pz-III. Meanwhile my Pz-IIIs start moving fast to their overwatch positions. I only hope that dust cloud isn't visible from the Villa. On my right I am slowly hunting my Pz-III forward in the hopes of spotting and getting a shot off on his T30. For this move I am firing at the wall directly behind his T30's position in the hopes that it will force them to hunker down... then my tank will hunt forward about 10m and attempt to spot the T30...after 20 seconds it will reverse, and then hunt forward again. Finger's crossed. I am due some luck going my way in this battle. Finally my FO has been busy as well. He has adjusted fire with the 81mm mortars from the HIll to the other T30's location. This vehicle did not move last turn so hopefully I can catch it before ND gets wise. These rounds are slated to drop in less than a minute. I also have a battery of 105 set to drop on the Hill and Villa in 7 minutes. If this doesn't do much damage at least it should provide enough cover for the next stage of what I have in mind... I might have to adjust fire to delay this strike until I am ready. Here we go. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Bil Hardenberger, A sound plan. Talk about a cliffhanger ending! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vark Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Bill, any chance to exploit the limited traverse of the T-30, with the fully turreted Pz-III's? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 Bill, any chance to exploit the limited traverse of the T-30, with the fully turreted Pz-III's? Its all about the angles Vark... if he is focused on my infantry and my Pz-III can spot him then yes the chance that he will then be at a disadvantage is there. All depends on what ND does with his T30s. It's possible he might rotate the one closest to my Pz-III in its direction in the hopes of getting a spot himself.. in that case, it'll be a quick draw and accuracy contest. Stay tuned. Bil 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vark Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Ah, the angles, those damn angles, as the ancient Britons used to say! It's times like this that I found AT rifles to be ideal, high concealment and just enough oomph to cause T-30 type spatchcock vehicles headaches. Will be interesting to see if ATR's in the Bagration game are objects of derision or serious pests. What is the range of the Brixia? Could it target the T-30? Love your AAR, and the fascinating METT-T really showed how CM demands, real-world tactical knowledge, both in planning and execution, to get results. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 The Twenty-Second Minute Well, my mortar fire did not drop on the T30 yet.. but they did fire a spotting round that hit on the Hill objective.. so that should mislead ND into where that is planned to fall. On my right my Pz-III never did spot the T30 on the other side of the Villa, and now that bastard has retreated back around the corner of the building. Worse still, though I checked LOS completely before I moved my Pz-III forward a bit I see that my tank has spotted his Sherman.. oops. Luckily I think the smoke I had one of my infantry teams pop last turn must have obscured my tank from view because I do not think his Sherman can see the Pz-III. Still I target the Sherman and order the tank to reverse back into cover. I doubt I'll hurt his tank but who knows, eh? Vark, you asked about the Brixia, well it just so happens I've had this team slowly and carefully working its way to a position where it could hopefully spot and fire on the T30. I also have one Pz-III that now has eyes on the T30's location. The T30 is still busy firing at my Italian infantry so hopefully it will make itself obvious to my tank. So that makes three weapon systems that are ready to engage the T30, the Brixia and Pz III, if they can spot it, and the 81mm mortars that will be dropping their load on it next turn. Should be entertaining. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Bil Hardenberger, Running out of fingernails here. Do you have PzGr 40? If ever it was justified for issue, it's now against that Sherman! I would think you could outshoot a T-30, given both its high profile and relatively low velocity gun (a WW I vintage Soixante Quinze). Your tank gun's a sniper rifle by comparison. Oh, and your firing position reminds me of a great article from ARMOR magazine in the 1980s: "You Can't Forget Cant!" Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 Running out of fingernails here. You and me both John. Do you have PzGr 40? If ever it was justified for issue, it's now against that Sherman! I would think you could outshoot a T-30, given both its high profile and relatively low velocity gun (a WW I vintage Soixante Quinze). Your tank gun's a sniper rifle by comparison. Oh, and your firing position reminds me of a great article from ARMOR magazine in the 1980s: "You Can't Forget Cant!" I thought my Semovente would have an advantage too.. but we both saw how that worked out. I'm taking little chances of having that same thing happen again. I loved Armor magazine.. they need to release those old magazines in Kindle format 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I loved Armor magazine.. they need to release those old magazines in Kindle format Anyone else remember AFV News? I used to get those for a while back about 30 years ago. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 AFV News finally ended its run a year or two ago after 45 years continuous operation. A one-man operation to boot. A downright herculean task. I remember picking up my first issue back when I was 19-20. I ain't 19-20 anymore. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 hmm does your plan for the villa involve something to do with fire and smoke Bil? You may want to pass that link to ND. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 I just hope there is no mold in the Villa. Well, if there is I know who to call. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 AFV News finally ended its run a year or two ago after 45 years continuous operation. A one-man operation to boot. Wow! I am impressed! A well-deserved round of applause for the gent. I ain't 19-20 anymore. Is anybody? Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I just hope there is no mold in the Villa. Well, if there is I know who to call. Maybe he He should have posted in the Cess Pool. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 George Bradford also did some first rate books on armor camouflage and markings. Believe the first was ARMOR CAMOUFLAGE & MARKINGS NORTH AFRICA. I wanted that book so badly I could taste it. Way beyond my budget then, and I still don't have it. I recall being just blown away to see some of the camouflage jobs on the Shermans, the blue and sand(?) Matilda IIs and all kinds of other goodies. Bravo Zulu, George Bradford! I learned a lot from you, even though my exposure to your work was limited. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boche Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Is anybody? Michael I stand guilty Glad to see the AAR back in progress, too bad I wont be able to get CMFI in a while 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 George Bradford also did some first rate books on armor camouflage and markings. Believe the first was ARMOR CAMOUFLAGE & MARKINGS NORTH AFRICA. I wanted that book so badly I could taste it. Way beyond my budget then, and I still don't have it. I recall being just blown away to see some of the camouflage jobs on the Shermans, the blue and sand(?) Matilda IIs and all kinds of other goodies. Sounds tasty. I have Desert Tracks: British Armor Camouflage and Markings in North Africa by William E. Platz. It is not so all-inclusive since it is limited to British formations, but it does also have pretty good OOB material. I picked up a copy in a hobby shop about 30 years ago, but that one fell casualty to the fire in '06. I found a replacement on ABE Books a couple of years back, but it cost me a small fortune. It's considered a rare book. I'm very glad to have it. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Michael Emrys, It's his only book, it turns out. Was wondering why I knew the guy's name is "Bill" Platz. Turns out Baron Publishing Company put out his book, so I know him from Baron Publishing Company's primary pub, AFV-G2, for which he wrote wonderful stuff. I used to have a pretty complete collection thereof, which featured carefully researched paint chips in every issue, but some unknown disaster resulted in their disappearance, and my reconstructed partial set is currently status unknown. Sure wish we had a report for another turn! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Michael Emrys, This may be a good complement for your Platz book. British Army Colours & Disruptive Camouflage in the United Kingdom, France & NW Europe, 1936-45 by Mike Starmer Got top reviews on Missing-Lynx, in part because it's got the pertinent excerpts from the Regs! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 Sure wish we had a report for another turn! Sorry John, Normal Dude is taking some well deserved time off. As soon as he gets back in the next day or two we will resume. Bil 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 ...but it does also have pretty good OOB material. Hate to be a niitpicker, but I just have to put my ex-instructor hat on for a second.. you have been reading too much British literature, as someone who lives in the US you should be using the correct acronyms... OOB is used by British and Commonwealth countries.. in the US military we use OB Same goes for FOO (Brit) and FO (US) Got it Troop? Bil 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 ...AFV-G2, for which he wrote wonderful stuff. I used to have a pretty complete collection thereof, which featured carefully researched paint chips in every issue... I have one, count it, one issue of that. Affirmative on the paint chips. That one issue carried me a long way. I would have loved to have had more. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Michael Emrys, This may be a good complement for your Platz book. British Army Colours & Disruptive Camouflage in the United Kingdom, France & NW Europe, 1936-45 by Mike Starmer Got top reviews on Missing-Lynx, in part because it's got the pertinent excerpts from the Regs! Thanks for the tip. I'll see if I can get a peek at it. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Got it Troop? Duh, what was that again? Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.