SgtMuhammed

I was on a TOW hummer for a while then got a Mk19 truck of my very own. I love that weapon.

Hey, lots of guys think the M9 is a POS. Personally I love it.

I tried to resist but I guess a new game needs its own "Did you serve" thread. Keep it civil. U.S. Army 10 years. 11B Ft. Lewis: 2-1 INF/Mike Troop 2/2 ACR 91-92; 1-9 INF/1-5 INF 1/25th ID 94-97 Berlin Bde: 6-502 92-94 Hohenfels GE: 1/4 INF (OPFOR) 97-00

Guys, Can we stuff our penises back in our pants, we're all men. This was a nice if a little sharp debate about a valid issue. Let's not let it slip into a simple name calling comparison of equipment sizes. James

“Tank Warning” AAR by James “Sgtgoody” Goodman During setup for the first battle I decide to use the traditional Russian tank rush tactics. I set my infantry and paras to advance behind the hill in the center to push our front line forward. As I am expecting heavy enemy armor I will only use my grunts to hold terrain for now. I do set them heavy on my right to be in position to take the town later on. For the armor plan I split the tanks into three groups. The right hand group remains intact but the left group is split to form the center and left wings. My goal is to present the defender with a tactical crisis across his entire front. This way he will have to have tanks facing various directions in order to deal with the attack and will present better angles for my tanks to shoot at. Plus his tanks will have to slew their turrets greater distances rather than being able to keep them relatively motionless. With everything set I take a deep breath and begin. The terrain has dictated that the wheat fields will be the kill zone for the enemy defense. My initial movement orders have my armor racing over the line of small hills just before the fields and stopping on the edge. I have resigned myself to heavy casualties but the plan is to engage him in a massive battle of attrition. With a little luck I just might win. I had been hoping for fog but the weather turns out to be light rain. Visibility is only slightly affected so the Germans will still have the range advantage. Such is war. As the infantry moves into a defensive line just behind the line of hills my tanks rush past them as I watch from ground level. (Very impressive display of just how good this game really looks.) Tanks cross the ridgeline and immediately start sending spotting reports. Enemy defensive positions are centered on the village on our right with an infantry AT gun detachment to the left. The German lines become a mass of roaring guns as my tankers speed into view. Several 34’s are killed just as they crest the ridges but others make their positions and commence firing. After a couple minutes nearly all my tanks on the center and right are engaged. Some have cowered and retreated back down the ridgeline but my commanders push them forward. On the left the wooded lane provides excellent cover and I manage to push a company almost to the bridge before they meet resistance. They initiate a duel with enemy AT guns and lose one while silencing two enemy cannon. I rush infantry into the void and begin to secure our side of the bridge. Meanwhile things are going as expected in the center and right. The hills and near side of the wheat field are littered with broken and burning tanks. But we have made our presence felt and can see at least 7 dead German tanks and halftracks. My men start effective fire from the left as tanks along the road discover good hull down spots and engage the Hitlerites from the flank. At least two more enemy tanks explode. Suddenly disaster strikes. An enemy Stug appears just beyond the bridge. My left flank company is taken in the flank and unable to maneuver. Return fire bounces from the low slung assault gun as one after another of my tanks fall. The trailing platoons attempt to take up firing positions further towards the center and manage to score a few hits before succumbing to return fire. Within minutes all of my armor is dead. My infantry begin to consolidate their positions and trade a few shots with enemy tanks but the morning battle ends with my frontniki in fear of a German counter attack. The importance of this sector is made clear when another battalion of T34’s arrives to carry on the attack. They also bring with them another company of infantry. The infantry are sent to push up the left hand road while the armor is again split but this time heavy on our right. From vehicles left on the battlefield it looks as though we have killed over 10 German vehicles. At least 7 are tanks. In addition we are pretty sure that we have destroyed two guns as well. Again the battle begins and the air is ripped by the roar of tank engines as my armored phalanx streaks across the killing fields. Return fire is noticeably less and most of my armor is able to reach their firing positions. The Germans are still deadly, however, and casualties are high. I hold back a platoon on the right to take advantage of any opportunities. The infantry on the left have discovered an enemy trench line and call up a platoon of tanks for support. Soon they are advancing down the lane while the tankers plaster the enemy infantry with high explosives. The position falls and we now have a breach in the enemy line. German resistance is becoming somewhat chaotic and many of my tanks are able to push to the anti-tank ditch. A trail of burning tanks shows clearly the price we have paid to get here. Still, nearly half of my tanks are still in action and German return fire is sharply down. We push across the bridge and hit the enemy in the flank. This proves to be the breaking point as two Panzers quickly fall. One of our tanks on the flanking force falls to infantry and another to a Stug but they have done enough. Now I have the surprise waiting and I send my reserve platoon around on the right flank. They push in behind the enemy Stugs and soon the remaining Germans are in a three way crossfire as our center force pushes forward as well. Infantry begins to push across the wheat field. Our fresh platoon continues past their smoking prey and enters the orchard just short of the town. They take a few halftracks under fire before it is decided to pause to consolidate our gains and to prepare for further advances. Another battalion of T34’s and T70’s arrives giving me nearly 30 for my next push. The right becomes our focus and a combined tank and infantry force is set to take the village. We have been unable to re-supply our platoon on the right and they find themselves short of AP rounds. Luckily we have others to rush to their aid. A force is also assembled to assault hill 252. The T70’s are committed to this force as well as a company of 34’s and nearly a battalion of infantry. The battle opens with my lead tanks taking several halftracks under fire in the village. My forces surge forward and quickly overrun the outer buildings and the lower woods on hill 252. At this point resistance stiffens although there seem to be no enemy tanks. A couple tanks fall to infantry as the dirty business of house to house fighting continues. Our numbers give us the upper hand rather quickly and after a tough fight the town is ours. Hill 252 also falls after hard fighting. Another enemy gun is discovered and one tank falls as well as a couple to hidden infantry. In the end though our paratroopers push the enemy out of their holes and the hill is ours. A lull in the fighting gives us another opportunity to regroup. Command sends us even more tanks to finish off the Germans and to prepare for follow on operations. We have pulled back from the crest of Hill 252 to re-supply and are shocked to see two Tiger heavy tanks crest the hill. Radio traffic confirms the presence of another approaching the village. Knowing that it is pointless to try and slug it out with the big cats we immediately push hard for their flanks. In the village two 34’s quickly fall to the Tiger but not before one scores a hit on its tracks. Two others gain flanking positions and slam round after round into the sides and rear armor. We are lucky that the other tanks have no LOS to the village and can offer their brother no support. The first Tiger has fallen rather painlessly. The others will not go down quite so easily. One Tiger sits on the crest of 252 while the other is in a gap in the woods to the left. 4 tanks are caught in bad positions and are quickly destroyed. I send an entire company to flank the tank on 252. They score several hits but lose three tanks to the Tiger in the trees. Fortunately this has made him turn his tail to two of my T70’s. Their tungsten rounds manage to immobilize the beast but one is a little slow to seek cover and is blown nearly in two by the cat’s massive 88. A platoon of 34’s uses the opportunity to score a few more hits including two clean penetrations. Meanwhile the Tiger on the hill continues to fight on. Immobilized and having taken several penetrating hits he still continues to put paid to several of my tanks. The ground around him is littered with T34’s as the monster finally succumbs to our numbers. Suddenly his partner finds his second wind and the turret swings round to take one of my 34’s in the back of the turret. A hail of return fire finally silences the Hun and the battle comes to an end as all enemy forces have withdrawn or been destroyed. The result of the operation is a minor defeat for me but I am actually very pleased with how it turned out. There were things I could have done better but I wanted to use fairly historic tactics and so put speed and numbers as my primary focus. I ended up losing about 50 tanks (19 of those in the final battle with the Tigers) while the Germans lost about half that. This operation will, in my opinion, go down as one of the classics of CMBB. Nearly every part of it is perfect. A force balance that actually lets you use historic tactics and a map that offers lots of surprise avenues and lines of fire make this one that I will definitely play over and over from both sides. Outstanding job.

This is starting to get silly.

That explains that sudden leave of absence he had to take.

Most major modern bridges can support the M1 and a very large proportion of lesser ones as well. The main problem with tracks as opposed to wheels is that the tracks tear up the road surface. The only real problem would be trying to cross away from urban areas but engineers are always with the manuever units, especially if their route of advance might cross and obstical, natural or manmade.

If it will support an Abrams it will support either of the other two.

I believe that it gets cancelled for probable enemy as well. I have had several units stop when the only thing visible are red diamonds with question marks in them. I am not a big fan of the current version of the Hunt command.

Not even close. You must not have visited the General Forum yet.

You can clear a pop smoke order. Go to the combat tab and clear target.

Send it to me Manchu. My email is in my profile. If you would be so kind could you send me the flavor pics as well.

Not only have you robbed me of any free time but just when I finally finish suppressing the memories of YFC you bring them back to the surface. Man I hated that place. If NTC was anus of the Earth, Yak was the arm pit at least. Actually it was kind of fun when I was motorized except for the dust from St. Helens. It was like driving in talcum powder. The most terrifying thing I have ever done was my first time driving with NODs engulfed in powder with a 30 foot drop a couple feet to my left. It took almost an hour for me to quit shaking. Even taking 105 arty (courtesy of the Washington National Guard) didn't rattle me that much. When I really started to loathe Yak was when I went back to Ft. Lewis as a light fighter. That place sucks when you have to walk everywhere. During the Force XXI training we were carrying over 50 lbs in addition to all our normal crap. Talk about assuming the MANCHU position. So anyway, thanks Steve, Matt, Charles, and Martin. [ August 06, 2007, 08:37 AM: Message edited by: sgtgoody (esq) ]

I'll look for it when I get home.

I would like the ability to drop my squads for pushups when they do something stupid. The ones that aren't dead that is.

I was with 199th Inf Bde during my first rotation in 91, with 1-9 INF in 95, and with 1-5 INF in 97. 199th later was reflagged as 2ACR and I became part of 2/2 ACR.

Khafji was a tactical incursion not an invasion attempt. I'm not saying that they didn't fight but the threat of an actual invasion of Saudi Arabia was over once American troops were on the ground. Or do you seriously believe that the 82nd and a handful of aircraft presented such an obstical that the Iraqis were afraid to mess with them. Remember Khafji happened after the fighting already started.

It would look real cool right up to the point where a platoon of BMP's sets the column aflame with a couple bursts of autocannon fire. The M2 is nice but it isn't the god gun that people often assume it to be.

I know that one of the things they did to make the smoke TI proof was to add clay to it. Maybe that is one type. All the ones I have seen go off were white. Saw a Leo II set his off when I was OPFOR and we were fighting the Dutch. He did it just as I came around a corner about 75 meters from him. Scared the crap out of me.

It should provide some even if it is just clobering the missile as it tries to fly through and causing it to hit at a bad angle.

Steve, Put too many miles on my feet to prefer walking under any circumstances. I was with the Manchus, those crazy guys who like doing 100 mile road marches for fun. I definitely believe the Stryker has a role, I just don't think the one they advertise for it is the one it is best suited for. Hey, anything that saves my brother infantry from blisters and artillery is ok in my book. Personally I would make all the light units Stryker units, except the 82nd and 101st. Without a way to get around on the modern battlefield a large portion of your infantry is out of the fight. The battle between the heavy folks and the Stryker folks reminds me a lot of the old arguments about the adoption of the tank in the first place. The military is an inherantly conservative organization and resistant to change. Prior to WWII U.S. artillery actually fought to retain their 75mm howitzers because at least it was something that they already had in their hands as opposed to the newly proposed 105mm's.

As far as the 2ACR, I was part of the 199th Bde (MOT)(L) (The most hyphenated unit in the Army!) that was eventually reflagged as the 2ACR. They were a victim of budget cuts. They were already scheduled to draw down when GW1 kicked up. Once it was done they continued with those plans so they lost their tanks. But since they are the oldest continuously serving regiment in the Army it was decided to reflag us as the 2ACR. We were an experimental unit. Remember the dune buggies with the 25mm on top, that was us, although by the time of the switch we were hummers with Mk19s and TOWs. They fed us a lot of that "we're too fast for the enemy to be engaged and don't need armor" stuff as well. It was a lot of fun and we could do a lot of damage but during our only NTC rotation we died to a man to anything the OPFOR decided to throw at us.

Renaud, Who were you with when you went to Irwin? I last went there in March 97 (or something like that). It was the first heavy/light Force XXI rotation. I was with 1/5 INF 1st Bgd 25th ID.

While I don't share Jason's loathing of the thing I do believe that the Stryker is being overrated because of the current situation. I have nothing against the Army aquiring all the armor it can in any form. As a former light squad leader I always felt that it was silly to expect to be able to make a multi kilometer approach march and be able to contribute anything to the modern battlefield. Of course 11B's are going to love the thing, it has a lot more armor and is a better ride than the LPC and has all kinds of toys to play with. Infantry are the most effective when someone gets them to where they need to fight not when they have to fight to get to the battle in the first place. I would love the Stryker as well were I still in because it helps get rid of the danger of the approach march. Walking through a hostile area on the way to a fight leaves you drained before you ever get near the action. In the current situation the Stryker allows the infantry to get where they need to be in a hurry and in relative comfort. To me though one of the big things is that the squad actually gets to get out and do something. Too often commanders rely on the firepower of the Brad, especially as they were chronically short of grunts to push out the back. Nothing is worse than sitting in the back of a metal box full of explosives that is drawing attention to itself by rocking off rounds with the 25mm. With the Stryker commanders have no choice but to deploy their infantry to accomplish the mission and any grunt feels better when he can grab a piece of dirt or fire back if things drop in the grease. That being said, I still can't embrace the concept with a full heart. I have grave doubts about their ability to stand up to even modest armored opposition and their use as they are in this game I just don't see. They just don't have the punch to be line breakers, not when over half the vehicles lack any real means to defend themselves against hardened opponents. They definitely have a role but I just can't see them as the center piece. To be honest I can't see a situation where they are superior to out current rapid deployment assets. The 82nd can be anywhere in the world in 48 hours and once the U.S. gets boots on the ground the entire situation will immediately change as every nation knows what will be brought to bear should the initial forces run into serious trouble. For instance the initial deployment during the 1st Gulf War would not have been any more effective had it been a Stryker brigade, not in the face of multiple Iraqi armored divisions. It was the threat of what would follow and the signal that the U.S. was willing to spill blood on the issue that stopped possible Iraqi action into Saudi Arabia. This would be the case in any deployment of U.S. ground forces. I think they would have been better off trying to sell the Stryker as an upgrade to the light infantry than as a new novel concept for the Army. Sorry for the rambling but it just kind of spilled out. Hope it made at least a little sense.