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Combat Mission: TTP


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I thought I might try a new video project. My intention is to use Combat Mission to illustrate concepts described in Army Field Manuals. The end goal is a long series of bite-sized chunks of tactics, techniques, and procedures. The ultimate result of this work will provide a common pool of knowledge for Combat Mission players to draw upon.

This is my first attempt, comments and criticism are necessary. As more parts are completed, anyone who wants to provide feedback, or give some tips, techniques or tactics of their own will be welcome. My primary source of information for these illustrations are Army Field Manuals, but anyone who wants to donate any unconventional wisdom can feel free to PM me.

I won't be cranking these out very quickly, because I want to make sure I understand everything before I demonstrate it. This will be a spare-time only project for me.

Let me know what you think.

- SLIM

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Slim,

  I like the concept.  A very good idea.

  It might help to show the targets being interdicted early on in the video, and indicate if you are choosing who fires or if you leave it to the AI to choose.  At the end of your video you did show which units were firing at the enemy locations.  I was a bit confused at first.

  Good job though.  Thanks for the project.

Heinrich505

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The floating icons seemed ......... strange.

I set up the fight as Allied vs. Allied. The next Part will show how to use different advantages over the opponent, and I wanted to highlight the differences between British and American platoons.

It might help to show the targets being interdicted early on in the video, and indicate if you are choosing who fires or if you leave it to the AI to choose.  At the end of your video you did show which units were firing at the enemy locations.  I was a bit confused at first.

That's a good idea, but I don't want these videos to get too "wordy". I'm just trying to keep very simple demonstrations that anyone can quickly watch and absorb.

To explain the firing however, when I demonstrated ineffective fire, I was letting the A.I. shoot without any input. To demonstrate effective fire, I issued manual target orders to each unit. Often times the A.I. will hold fire at targets out of the best effective range unless those targets pose a threat. To overcome this behavior, manual targeting as part of a fire plan is needed for any tactical maneuvers carried out in view of the enemy.

Thanks for the feedback, as I said this project will be worked on in my spare time. I should be able to put out a video once every few weeks. I had wanted to make something like this for a long time, after watching Jeffrey Paulding's Combat Mission Tactics videos for Armchair General. There are many sources of tactical knowledge, such as Bil Hardenberger's site, but I've never seen an exhaustive video series strictly about tactics.

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Slim, I am very happy to see you taking on a project like this.. good start!!  Might help if you speed up the action a bit, seems to drag a bit in places... also, just a tip, its best to introduce the effect prior to illustrating it; the normal training process: Tell them what you are going to teach them, Teach them, Tell them what you just taught them.

Keep it up!!

 

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Slim, I am very happy to see you taking on a project like this.. good start!!  Might help if you speed up the action a bit, seems to drag a bit in places... also, just a tip, its best to introduce the effect prior to illustrating it; the normal training process: Tell them what you are going to teach them, Teach them, Tell them what you just taught them.

Keep it up!!

 

@SLIM,

Kudos.  Very nice in both intent and execution.  My feedback matches Bil's:
1)  Explain what you want them to learn
2)  Show them what you just explained
3)  Summarize what they saw, focusing on lessons to learn

That will prepare your audience for what to expect and where to pay attention.

Additional thoughts,
1)  Consider some kind of TTP standard opening page with reference the Army FM number(s) for this lesson, especially if WW2 FM's used.
2)  Consider same kind of TTP standard closing page with mention of  / credit to CMBN Mod's used.

I look forward to more of these.  Thank you.

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Okay, I've re-formatted the video with the feedback in mind. Let me know how it plays, I want to iron out a standard format for these videos.

                <snipped>

Once again, I appreciate any and all feedback.

Nicely done, SLIM.  Much better.  Thank you.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I spent two hours on the rifle range today.

CM%20Normandy%202015-12-09%2017-19-05-21

Part 2 of the TTP will deliver an analysis of the Components of Firepower of U.S., British, and German Rifle Platoons; as well as offer some tips on how to use your squads organization to maximize your firepower.

The outline for the video is written, I just need to record the gameplay demonstrations. Someone remind me I'm writing this for newbies, not veterans.

I keep thinking to myself "well, duh, that's obvious" and I forget not everyone bothers to scientifically test the practical volume of fire of various squads at various ranges.

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Once again, I appreciate any and all feedback.

Nice video, but to me, the music was distracting. Also, how come you chose Brits vs Americans? Wanted to make sure a burst of MG42 fire didn't spoil the lesson? :) I know this is just an instruction video, it just seemed odd to me.

Also, maybe you could start out each video with a fast primer on the tactical situation. For example "Here we have made contact with enemy forces on the other side of the river. We have set up a base of fire in the woodline, but need to advance". For half the video, I was wondering where the enemy was.

Also, maybe say something about how much fire you actually need to dish out to suppress the enemy. It's way more than what I thought when I started playing. Often, I assumed the enemy would be well suppressed after 30 seconds of fire, but many times you need more than a minute of pretty massive fire to be sure the enemy won't pop up in the middle of your movement.

Edited by Bulletpoint
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Here's Part 2, an analysis of the structure, and components of firepower for rifle platoons. My planned video ended up running much longer than I expected, so there will be several parts to this section.

The video will stay unlisted until some feedback comes in.

Don't forget to write for a target audience of newbies . . . .  :ph34r:

Thanks, I think I did okay this time. Just let me know if I ever ramble on too much about weapon calibers and armor penetration.

I almost got caught comparing the .45 ACP to the 9mm Parabellum, but I stopped myself in time. The average player doesn't care what kind of bullets they are, just how many of them are there. In my mind anyway.

Nice video, but to me, the music was distracting.

I agree, there will be far less music from here on, mostly just to run over the opening title cards.

Also, how come you chose Brits vs Americans?

I felt like doing something differently. There will be a lot of mixed up situations as we go along, just to keep things interesting.

 Wanted to make sure a burst of MG42 fire didn't spoil the lesson?

Not exactly. The lesson is not, "how to fight the Germans" it's, "I plan on moving, what should I do?"

 Also, maybe you could start out each video with a fast primer on the tactical situation.

The tactical situation is irrelevant, the concepts and information presented are meant to apply everywhere.

Also, maybe say something about how much fire you actually need to dish out to suppress the enemy.

Two thoughts:

  1. There is such a thing as "not enough" suppression fire.
  2. There is no such thing as "too much" suppression fire.

Personally I take the enemy under continuous fire until my planned movement is completed, and my troops are in cover. Then I'll cancel my fire orders while I come up with my next maneuver. The actual number of bullets is irrelevant.

Often, I assumed the enemy would be well suppressed after 30 seconds of fire, but many times you need more than a minute of pretty massive fire to be sure the enemy won't pop up in the middle of your movement.

There is no specific time or amount of fire needed, everything to do with suppression fire is dependent on enemy experience, motivation, morale, etc.

Just remember, casualties are expensive, bullets are cheap. You spend bullets to avoid buying casualties.

I hope that helps, thanks for the feedback!

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There is no specific time or amount of fire needed, everything to do with suppression fire is dependent on enemy experience, motivation, morale, etc.

I know that. But when I started out, I didn't know that. What I slowly found out was that the suppression needed was often way more than I thought it would be.

Your video could be better if it showed also your point about "never too much suppression". But maybe that's something that comes up in a later video.

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In your second video, you say that the mortar can use the squad leader as a kind of direct spotter - as long as it's in C2, it can fire at spots the platoon leader can see, but the mortar can't. I think this is a misunderstanding.

What seems to be happening in your video is simply that the mortar can fire at targets that are slightly out of LOS. This is normal for all mortars in this game and not dependent on C2 at all.

Or are there different rules for the British mortar than the rest of the small mortars?

Edited by Bulletpoint
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In your second video, you say that the mortar can use the squad leader as a kind of direct spotter - as long as it's in C2, it can fire at spots the platoon leader can see, but the mortar can't. I think this is a misunderstanding.

What seems to be happening in your video is simply that the mortar can fire at targets that are slightly out of LOS. This is normal for all mortars in this game and not dependent on C2 at all.

You know what, you're absolutely correct. I set up a specific test and HQ's can't spot for direct-lay mortar fire. I should have tested for that specifically when making the video but I didn't. I was aware of the ' able to Target slightly outside of LOS', but I had no idea it worked to that extent. I always assumed it meant just one or two action spots behind an obstacle.

Back in the ye olde CMx1 days, HQ could spot for mortars that were in Command, but apparently CMx2 doesn't mimic that behavior. I'll have to re-edit the video, and post a new version.

It's no big deal, I have 2 hours worth of recorded gameplay from that exercise, I'll cut some extra stuff together, and leave out that incorrect statement.

Now that's exactly the kind of feedback I need to keep this project on the straight and narrow! Thanks Bulletpoint.

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