Some Tactical Advice Needed - Rooting out Infantry in a town

[Bud Backer]

16 hours ago, General Jack Ripper said:

Congratulations, Bud.

It seems to me all you needed was a little motivation from the gallery in order to get stuck in and win.

Sort of, a bit. It was really a case of wondering what am I missing that my opponent would defend that way. I was expecting some major revelation that would make his plan brilliant. 

10 hours ago, JoMc67 said:

That's interesting...you would have thought to only see across 1/3 the map in 'Bad' Weather...I figured you could see maybe 250 meters max (400 meters is way too far in spotting AT/Inf in cover), and spotting enemy Troops hiding in cover to be no more then 100 meters max, and probably less then that.

So,  I'm guessing that the Weather may be only slightly Bad with little snow fall...This, versus Heavy Snow & Winds, etc which would considerably reduce visibility.

No, the weather was set to heavy snow - the only worse setting for winter weather is “Blizzard.”  The “problem” with subjective terms like “heavy” snow is that they mean different things to different people and we end up with some confusion. I was surprised as well, but then, living in a climate where snow in all its various forms and intensities is not exactly unfamiliar, heavy snow is still something in which you can see a fair distance. It had to hamper spotting, as I had such trouble finding my enemy until I was almost on top of most of his forces (when it comes to infantry). The Targetting line was blue quite a bit farther but one has to remember that it’s a theoretical limit. One may see something that far but with far less chance than at 200m.

[Bulletpoint]

On 3/2/2020 at 2:15 PM, Bud Backer said:

It was really a case of wondering what am I missing that my opponent would defend that way. I was expecting some major revelation that would make his plan brilliant. 

This is one of the brilliant things about this game. Often, you're held back not so much by what your opponent actually has, but what you fear he might have. Then, after the game is over, you look at the battlefield and say "Oh, was it only that? I could have...."

Edited March 5, 2020 by Bulletpoint

[Bud Backer]

3 hours ago, Bulletpoint said:

This is one of the brilliant things about this game. Often, you're held back not so much by what your opponent actually has, but what you fear he might have. Then, after the game is over, you look at the battlefield and say "Oh, was it only that? I could have...."

Truth, that.

There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

I know. Glib, but psychology is a part of warfare, perhaps not as much as tactics or logistics, or artillery but important nonetheless.

The funny thing is that if you aren’t questioning what you think, what you see, and what you expect to be true, you’re going to face some nasty surprises. It’s all good if you happen to be right and sometimes, you’re golden, everything works within reasonable limits close to your plans, but sometimes, things go sideways. 

I’m wrapping up a big battle with @ianL that’s been loaded with surprises and is extraordinarily difficult but also one of the most exciting and memorable battles we’ve played.  More in that later in its own thread as I don’t want him to read any of my plans. 

[Erwin]

1 hour ago, Bud Backer said:

psychology is a part of warfare, perhaps not as much as tactics or logistics, or artillery but important nonetheless.

Very good observation.  Back in the day when I played CM1entirely H2H it was fun to come up with ideas that could discomfort an oppo.  One that was used frequently (as CM1 maps were huge compared to the average CM2 map) was to display a lot of forces on one flank and then quickly transport them to the other flank for the main assault - while the oppo was busily repositioning his troops to face the first flank.  Another example was setting up an ambush that was painful for the oppo (even if it also ended up hurting you as well in terms of losses).  Most players don't appreciate their oppo's losses and it slows them down after they had a bloody nose.  

[Bud Backer]

The thing that is so interesting in these simulations is that fog of war is very much a factor. Not just in detecting the enemy, or even seeing your own forces (if playing iron) but also, being quite uncertain of just how much you’ve hurt your enemy. If you try to on top of that treat your men the way a real commander would, in other words, not purposely sending them get killed to gather info,  then it can really give one pause. 

I still think we are too hard on our pixeltruppen, especially as the clock runs out near the end. Losses count for scoring but still...

[Erwin]

5 hours ago, Bud Backer said:

we are too hard on our pixeltruppen, especially as the clock runs out near the end. Losses count for scoring but still...

Yes, it's very easy to take a lot more unrealistic chances as the clock runs out.  I figure our pixeltruppen would refuse in RL.  It's probably more realistic to fight only using Green troops with low morale etc.  But, of course that's not as much fun.  "Realism" is rarely fun.  What we players want is "verisimilitude" - the illusion of reality that makes us think we are great commanders.

[domfluff]

On 3/2/2020 at 1:15 PM, Bud Backer said:

Sort of, a bit. It was really a case of wondering what am I missing that my opponent would defend that way. I was expecting some major revelation that would make his plan brilliant. 

I think that's generally a wise approach - any plan that requires that your opponent is inferior to you (at least in terms of tactical ability) is doomed to fail at some point - in anything competitive, it's a good idea to assume that they're at least equal to you, if not better, until proved otherwise.

[General Jack Ripper]

On 3/5/2020 at 7:32 PM, Bud Backer said:

I know. Glib, but psychology is a part of warfare, perhaps not as much as tactics or logistics, or artillery but important nonetheless.

On 3/5/2020 at 8:56 PM, Erwin said:

Another example was setting up an ambush that was painful for the oppo (even if it also ended up hurting you as well in terms of losses).

In my battle against BletchleyGeek, I endeavored to use psychology to cover what turned out the be a significant shortage of bodies. I was outnumbered 3:1 but managed to get him to agree to a ceasefire that granted me a Minor Victory. All because I shoveled bullets, shells, and bodies onto the ramparts in an effort to convince him he couldn't win.

If he'd refused the ceasefire I would have been forced to surrender, or at least fight a diminishing set of skirmishes while he stomped my guts out.