Advice on RU campaign mission 4 - First Contact?

[robertiv]

As mentioned in another thread I'm relatively new to CMBS, & CM in general. At this point I feel like I've picked up the gist of the game plus skimmed thru this forum for a few tips, but still get the sense there are some basic tactics that elude me (only doing solo play at this point).

I'm looking for feedback on the 4th mission of the Russian campaign - not because it's insurmountable, but more because it's a relatively manageable size and I've got a hunch some of the errors I'm making there can be corrected & applied universally. Especially regarding infantry tactics. So any advice would be much appreciated.

Basically you've got a bunch of infantry squads along with a handful of BTRs & a couple BMPs, and are assaulting some prepared American lines. I've tried to advance my squads from building to building looking for good vantage points and in mutually supportive formations, but once I uncover the first line of defense things just bog down. Both attackers & defenders whittle away at each other from their respective positions (usually from windows and roofs) and it feels like my infantry is stalemating at best if not getting the worst of things.

The Yanks also have Strykers hidden on their flanks so any attempt to bring up my vehicles for support usually goes poorly, as does trying to hit them from the side with infantry. In my current game, after a while of grinding against their front I was able to carefully advance my BMPs & BTRs to flush out some American squads, but they took some losses and soon discovered a couple more Strykers waiting. I've gotten thru their first line but doubt I have the remaining firepower to go much further.

So what am I doing wrong?

My infantry gets hit hard anytime I try to advance them, but get shot up if they stay in place. Should I be advancing using the "Hunt" command instead of "Move", etc? Last scenario - the Dnieper crossing - while trying to be more cautious I fell behind schedule, plus Hunt seemed to wear out my troops quickly.

Are there any specific tricks to spotting that would be helpful?
Any advice for using machine guns? Feels like finding a place with good LOS is a crapshoot - even if it looks good from afar - and I always wind up getting spotted & disrupted/killed before the gun can be deployed.

Basically I have no idea how to send infantry & light mech units against dug-in defenders, especially on a constrained map. Help!

[Erwin]

Can't recall the specific mission, but in general, the Russians do better when they do a lot of area fire as they advance.  Remember that in this game bullets and shells carry on further than just where you target them.  Even if you can't see a specific target, sending a lot of bullets and HE in the enemy units' general direction will suppress the yanks. 

The trick is to find places to locate your units where they can all concentrate fire at the desired target (or area) but where the enemy can only bring a part of his units to fire at your units.  That's how one gets fire superiority.

Do you have artillery?  Russians usually or should have a lot or heavy stuff.  Due to the usually lengthy time to call their big stuff, it's best used in prep fire.  Also, SMOKE is your friend.  Use it to blind the enemy as much as you can.  Modern vehicles may see through smoke, but inf cannot.

[robertiv]

Thanks Erwin! I wasn't sure how effective area/suppression fire is in this game.

What about the different movement commands for infantry? How often do you use the more deliberate ones like Hunt & Slow?

[Chudacabra]

20 hours ago, robertiv said:

Thanks Erwin! I wasn't sure how effective area/suppression fire is in this game.

What about the different movement commands for infantry? How often do you use the more deliberate ones like Hunt & Slow?

I use hunt rarely for infantry. I think it's much more effective for vehicles, but it does have a place in wooded areas. Slow is good for creeping to the crest of a rise or up to a rooftop, but it tires your pixeltruppen out very quickly. I feel like infantry do best moving as quickly as possible to cover/firing positions.

[Erwin]

SLOW is useful when getting an FO or sniper team into a good spotting position - or for avoiding being seen by known enemy which may be on the other side of a wall.  Also, for moving a medic team into position to treat a WIA (who may be in enemy LOS) with a HIDE command.

When sending out scout teams I may use a combination of QUICK between cover and HUNT thru cover so they don't run into an enemy.  But, that's doable only when there is not much time pressure in a scenario.  When there is time pressure I find one needs to run the scout teams until something shoot at them (and usually kills em). I hate that and it seems very unrealistic.  That's why I favor longer scenarios which allow one to be careful with movement and economical with friendly casualties, and why often it's nice to give oneself extra time to finally see one's plan executed.

 

[c3k]

Suppression is key, IRL and in-game. Find a suspected enemy position and nail it. Move a FRACTION of your units forward while the majority are in overwatch. Once you suppress a position, keep some firepower on it, actively shooting. Once a position is suppressed, it takes less firepower to keep it suppressed.

If you see a "?", nail it.

Russian APC/IFV have great firepower...but little endurance. They don't carry a lot of ammo. Use their cannon to nail known targets or sparingly to suppress. Most of their suppression should be with their machineguns (Target Light).

Suppression is different than trying to win the firefight.

[Kinophile]

Not enough ammo... So true.. 

[Erwin]

The Utube Rommel video was a great reminder.  From what I understand, he pioneered the concept of using the vast majority (~90%) of your force for suppression and a quite small element for the actual assault.  This tactic seems to work very well in CM.