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CM:FI AAR SLIM versus Bletchley_Geek


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It occurs to me I had forgotten to post part nine to the forum followers.
Here it is:

 

I have part ten recorded, and it will be posted after editing.

Part eleven, coming sometime in the next couple weeks, will feature lots of gunfire and explosions, for those of you who only want to see such things. You know who you are... ;) 

I think, at this point, a conversation about the psychology of playing Combat Mission against another human opponent might be called for, but I have naught for time right now.

Edited by General Jack Ripper
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  • 2 months later...

So...

Analysis: Or: "Things Wot I Knowledged In My Brain"

  • My placement of TRP's was incorrect. I placed them inside the victory locations, reasoning that upon losing the location, I could fire my artillery into it. I don't think I should have planned on losing, but instead I should have planned on winning, and dropping my arty on several approach routes I correctly surmised the enemy would use.
  • My placement of wire could have been better, but the prevailing visibility left me with few options. Either place it where I can see it, or place it where I can't. The alternative is just to not use wire, but a defensive position without wire is like a pizza without cheese. I just don't understand the logic.
  • The scout team I sent out at the beginning of the game did absolutely nothing useful, and was a complete waste of time and points. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • My overall force purchase was adequate to meet my objectives, I had a rather high volume of fire in a small package. In fact, I think the Fusiliers are my favorite formation, maybe because they have a cool name.
  • The 'qualitative advantage' I referred to early on was elevating the soft factors of my HQ units. I strongly suggest this option when customizing a HTH force. Your HQ units are by far the most important part of your formation. If your whole formation is 'Regular' set your HQ's to 'Veteran', even if you have to dump some points. If your formation is poorly motivated, make sure your HQ's are properly motivated before operations begin.
  • Setting my troops motivation to -1 had no effect on the battle. Bullets are still bullets, no matter how well motivated the individual. If we were fighting at longer ranges in daylight, then poorly motivated troops become a liability. At close range in the dark, firefights begin and end before any major break in morale or motivation. In fact, having my entire formation poorly motivated seemed to make it slightly easier to break contact when I wanted to.
  • If you're fighting at night, maintain contact with the enemy as much as possible. If you are shooting, he most likely is shooting back. That makes it easier to keep an eye on him.
  • Before decisively engaging the enemy, do some back of the envelope calculations: How many men are on both sides? How much ammo do you have? What type of weapons do you have, and what volume of fire can you expect at various ranges? How much firepower does the enemy have? At what ranges? If you can't answer these questions, don't engage, keep observing.
  • When you are ready to engage decisively, use everything. Even Section HQ's named Carstens who are useless lumps good for nothing but staring blankly in the wrong direction through binoculars still have an MP-40 and some hand grenades.
  • Most importantly, always remember there is a person in charge of the enemy. You're not fighting the enemy troops, you are fighting the person. Never forget that.

Questions?

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" Most importantly, always remember there is a person in charge of the enemy. You're not fighting the enemy troops, you are fighting the person. Never forget that."

The best advice in my opinion! Even moreso when you and your opponent know each other well. I can recall a few matches against my friends (not in Combat Mission unfortunately) that were won or severely influenced by what my opponent feared I would do or thought of my playstyle.

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5 hours ago, General Jack Ripper said:

Try to give the other player a good game. Winning and losing are all well and good, but I'd rather lose a good game, than win a bad one.

Let me raise my drink to that 🙂

And now let me write a down a worthy bulletised replica

  • Remember than Green troops aren't just worse than Regular. They're GREEN. They shoot less, they're not marksmen and if they're roughly handled they won't be wanting to come for more.
  • Using a heavy weapon just because you trucked the f*cking thing across a kilometer of deep snow, over a bunch of stone walls and across a ravine isn't a very sound rationale. Especially if it is not carrying any canister ammunition, like certain similar weapons used by the Germans do.
  • Commonwealth infantry battalions are a very balanced force, which relies on Bren Carriers for mobility. No Bren Carriers = Not Much Tactical Mobility.
  • The Canadian infantry is made of stern stuff, but they're not magical like the NZ infantry is. They're not pack horses either and they're not as highly motivated to charge onto HMGs as a bunch of Japanese infantrymen with their officers chasing them with very sharp swords could be. 
  • There is a trade off between speed and security. Exploring the middle ground, and using the idea of advanced detachments when applicable, is better than bound your way through the above mentioned deep snow and stone walls.
  • Use your reserve to defeat decisively enemy counterattacks.
  • Also, use your HMGs and LMG teams to supplement the fire power of the CW squads, rather than as independent units.

That's pretty much it. I look forward to play with @General Jack Ripper any time. There's  just three guys in the world I would go out of my way to play with again CM, and he's one :)

Edited by BletchleyGeek
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5 hours ago, BletchleyGeek said:

That's pretty much it. I look forward to play with @General Jack Ripper any time. There's  just three guys in the world I would go out of my way to play with again CM, and he's one :)

And if the Postal Service ever relents in it's demands upon my spare time, I will be sure to take you up on that offer.

Heck, we could live a little, and maybe allow the sun to be in the sky next time.

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16 hours ago, General Jack Ripper said:

 

  • The 'qualitative advantage' I referred to early on was elevating the soft factors of my HQ units. I strongly suggest this option when customizing a HTH force. Your HQ units are by far the most important part of your formation. If your whole formation is 'Regular' set your HQ's to 'Veteran', even if you have to dump some points. If your formation is poorly motivated, make sure your HQ's are properly motivated before operations begin.

Questions?

I am still not very clear on what effect the experience (Regular, Veteran ) of HQ units has on their troops/ subordinate HQ units?

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7 hours ago, AlexUK said:

I am still not very clear on what effect the experience (Regular, Veteran ) of HQ units has on their troops/ subordinate HQ units?

The idea is to have your HQ's survive longer than your regular foot-crunchies. Make them tougher, more mobile, more motivated, etc.

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