George MC

@ChudacabraHow hard the missions are does depend on how ell you do on the previous. There are several branches. I'm not sure which one you ended up on but if you had tanks then you are on the alternate branch. And yes that one is hard as the Soviets have warning your coming so have bolstered their defence. Re infantry - you have what you have I'm afraid. That's the point behind the campaign is you command a single company of SPW equipped panzergrenadiers. You need to look after your men. My top tip FWIW: you don't want to lost panzergrenadiers needlessly in this. The campaign models 72 hours of near continuous combat - there are no infantry or armour replacements and depending on who well, or how badly or what decisions you make you might also start to run low on ammo. In such a short time frame that sort of thing just did not happen. I think this campaign is very unforgiving of losses, so might not be everyone's cup of tea. You can blow this in one poor mission where you lose lot's of grenadiers... In RL German SPW units suffered very heavy casualties very quickly - on account of the type of missions they were usually given. This is one such unit. Further down the line you get some support from your sister kampfgruppe so you can get them to do some of the heavy lifting, for a change! I think the third battle could be a decisive one for you. Good luck!

Nice one Aye I must admit although I saw em loads they weren't my fav. Band I was with did a few gigs with them as well. However it was a short lived relationship. We were more the Crass side of punk. Anarchy, peace and freedom!

Aye given normal morale and a surprise dead top gunner they tend to get out of dodge pretty quick. If its buttoned up - tbh not sure. That would need testing to be sure. Anecdotally I have seen what tends to be a higher rated morale and experience unit that when unbuttoned will tend to stay and duke it out, in which case, if taking heavy enough fire you'll start to lose the passengers one by one. But tbh I think that would need checking for sure.

Ha! An Exploited reference. I've seen em live loads of times. He used to hang around one of the record shops in Edinburgh.

Hi @RockinHarry Aye likewise Good to see you resurfacing. Hey went to my first heavy metal gig the other week - saw Sabaton - brilliant gig and not like the punk gigs I used to go to. No-one spat or started fighting! in Glasgow. Re your mod - nice work mate - I agree it does not turn SPW into UberSPW but does allow you to use them a bit closer to the reality. I'd still keep well away from unsuppressed infantry!

I don't want to speak for Harry but @IanLIMO I think the key one is that a SPW under fire and losing it's gunner will then have any passengers start to crew the MG. This can go on until all the passengers (one by one) meet their deaths. The SPW tends not to back up. If taking heavy fire you can go through a whole squad in a turn (assuming playing WEGO). However I think this is down to the morale state of the crew/passengers. Equally I've seen a SPW panic when the gunner is KIA first time. It's a difficult one to test as it's so context dependent. In saying that I am reminded of Blackhawk Down as the Hummers make their dash through the streets and the top gunners in the HUMVEE are taken out one by one, only to be replaced by the passengers, who then in turn are take out. Maybe it's not that far off!

I use this https://justgetflux.com/ so the images above will have been taken at different times off day so the colour settings on my PC change. I just tweaked em in paintshop (mostly to lighten em up as the screenshots appeared darker than they did on my PC monitor). Other than that it's the in-game settings - normal colour palette but I do use lot's of mods. Oh I've also got a pretty beefy graphics card - GTX 970 and a good quality wide screen monitor.

Still doing some last minute stuff to this. Been a bit slow due to RL. I've pretty much finished up three scenarios to end the campaign with a bang! A few screenshots from them.

I've tried this out Harry and must say it does appear to reduce casualties amongst the guys being carried. I've ran SPW through ambushes and guys inside seem to do better than before. Gunner's still die but I am talking close range ambush by Soviet SMG armed squads. When using the SPW in a more measured way passengers do appear to do better with this wee mod. NOTE: This is only anecdotal I have not done any testing as such just playing with the units and this is how I perceive it.

Best bet is download the demo and make your own call. The game engine is very different from CMSF. The demo will let you check it out for yourself. The controls are still fundamentally the same although you can customise the controls via hotkeys. TBH I use mouse and the UI and I don't see the problem myself. And i play massive scenarios with lot's of units.. Guess it's what floats yer boat. "3000000000 buttons" - Really?

Good to hear I think that "well balanced" force though soon becomes less so as the campaign moves on and casualties mount!

Just pre-ordered - no problems.

Cool - I'm looking forward to reading this one Oh it's only dangerous if you fall off

Good point err @Bulletpoint Make the world in their own image! From my POV striving to make maps as realistic as possible this is baffling. Still, takes all sorts I guess.

Surely, by now, in the 21st Century, people know the world is not flat!

Thanks @RepsolCBR for the update. Apologies for the slow reply - it's been super busy with work at the moment. I'm just back from a busy week involving ice climbing, assessing trainee instructors and capped off with two days snowholing in the Cairngorms! The last was good experience for how rubbish it must have been to fight in the spring on the Ost Front! I'm pleased to hear the final scenario was worth it. Look forward to the final AAR. I'm putting finishing touches to a final final mission for the campaign. Just doing the briefings and maps. So progress slightly stalled but picking back up and still on track for completion Cheery!

Scoobies = Scooby doo = not a clue hhm must be a Scottish expression. Use it all the time as in when asked if you know/think something - "I've no got a scooby!" Or "Hav'na got a scoobies!"

Hi @Wodin Cheers for comments. Good effort in in taking all the objectives. Re scoring - Hhmm... Looks like I need to tweak the scoring for the Germans. The Soviets do get points for spotting right enough - concept being if they see too much of the German force then they radio ahead so Soviets forewarned. But... I also need to take into account if the German player manages to take all the OBJ. So I'll tweak the on-map terrain OBJ for the Germans. On the plus side you get an interesting fight in your next mission Oh re the extra Soviet guys - they are reinforcements that are set to never appear - wee stiffener for the AI as it was too prone to surrendering in earlier versions. This means the Germans have to physically clear and take the objectives rather than just slaughter the Soviets. Also means you are more exposed to being spotted, engaged and Kod by Soviet units. Useful stuff ta. I'll make a few scoring tweaks. Cheery!

...I might have done some stuff for the them in the past re scenarios...

Thank you!

When it's ready Still in early throes of playtesting at the moment - although judging by feedback and comments it's all going well... Fingers crossed!

Cool Look forward to it Glad you've enjoyed the first three missions. Many thanks!

Cool good to hear you are enjoying it. Hope the next few missions deliver as well! No pressure... I'm working on a final final scenario for this campaign. Inspired by some accounts I've been reading.

Just found this - ref Allied tank commanders in Normandy but it quotes a 60% casualty rate amongst tank commanders due to snipers and ordinary rifle and MG fire. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-PXQYVjbp6MC&pg=PA276&lpg=PA276&dq=casualty+rates+of+german+tank+commanders&source=bl&ots=qpRV1qfLvc&sig=lOvh64jyE3RR40dnM5A1Vt3k91Y&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ4dyHs-PKAhWFkA8KHcdTBfQQ6AEIVTAJ#v=onepage&q=casualty rates of german tank commanders&f=false

Hi @BarbaricCo Ah using SPW - you have to be really careful with them. This stage in the war the Soviets have lot's of AT guns any of which can pop a SPW. A few top tips: Recce - if you can check out what lays ahead. However time is not always on your side... Although as one Ost Front guidance pamphlet stated: 1. Before any attack acquaint yourself with the ground. Use the information provided by other units or by the map. Share this information with your subordinate commanders. Exact information and correct estimation of the terrain will be the decisive difference between victory and defeat. 2. No armored attack is so fast, even under the most pressing situation, that you do not have time to put subordinate leaders into the picture about the tactical situation, mission, and anything else which may impact on the coming action. Losses due to over-hasty action are your responsibility and place the success of the mission in jeopardy. 3. Only careful combat reconnaissance can protect you from surprise. Protect to your flanks as well as the front. Observation to all sides is the duty of every commander. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR THE ENEMY! 6. You must lead with strength. At least two tanks must be forward, and the trail platoons must be held far enough forward to support the lead platoon. The more guns that fire in the first minute, the quicker the enemy will be defeated and the fewer losses you will suffer. 24. In combined operations with infantry or armored infantry, you must make certain that the arms stick close together; only so can they help each other and achieve success. Which of the two is leading is a secondary matter; what must be known is that it is the intention of the enemy to separate them and that you must prevent this in all circumstances. Your battlecry must be "Protect the Infantry!" and the infantry's battlecry is "Protect the Tanks!" I'm currently on the mission where I have to seize the bridges at Rakow. I'm already noticing my panzergrenadiers are at reduced strength, I've few original tank commanders left alive and my ammo is running low... Oh and I managed to run into my own AI ambushes that I created... That was not good. I should have remembered this: 9. When antitank weapons are encountered at long or medium ranges, you must first return fire and then maneuver against them. First make a firing halt in order to bring effective fire to bear - then commit the bulk of the company to maneuver on the enemy with the continued support of one platoon. Good advice but in this case my panzer zug were all dead before they had even ID'd where the firing was coming from. Overwatch and recce would have been good. I'm currently reading a book about Operation Konrad in January 1945 and the attriton rate amongst the German panzer and SPW panzergrenadiers was really high. Mostly by running into PAK or tank ambushes.