George MC

Ha! Ha! I couldn't even change the rear tyre on my mountain bike in that time. What with wet and muddy tyres, midges and cold hands!

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2395212&mpage=1&key= This thread over at Matrix games has the same question being asked and several guys (who by the sounds of things are ex tank crew or current crew) describe the variety of possibilities. A ball park figure would appear to be around a half hour to four hours. Several required a specialist vehicle(s) to help tow the tank out of the crap it was in to allow the crew to access the tracks. NOTE: none of these were under combat conditions. I suspect under combat the most complicated thing may be hitching the damaged tank up to another and towing away - but doing that under fire from AT weapons?

How long do you reckon it is going to take these guys to do this job? Also it looks like they are not under fire. So how long, under combat conditions do you think it would take a crew to repair a damaged track? I'm curious.

Excellent! Many thanks for creating this Mikey

I'm not sure about the Syrian army being great shots, but, if you keep popping out from the same corner all you have to do is place your sights and wait... Some of the other stuff I reckon is more sniper fire i.e. precision fire but it is made easier by what appears from the FSA guys as repetitive behaviours, bound to get someone killed. I've watched more than a few and it has really drummed home just how squalid and nasty combat is. Bit like a really large bar brawl but with bigger bangs and gorier wounds...

Ha! I never thought of that. I've just PM'd him

Interview with Syrian armour officer about the combat use of T72s in Daraya - maintenance issues etc. English subtitles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udH9uveEQOY

RPG take out Syrian tank at close range.

Apologies for posting this here but given the low activity over on the CMSF forum I thought I'd take my chances here. I'm after a CMSF mod - Syrian BMP2 in plain sand desert camo. Does anyone have or done such a mod OR does anyone have uncoloured BMP files of the BMP2 so I can colour the skin myself please? Many thanks It's to go with a CMSF scenario set in modern Syria I'm putting the finishing touches to.

Yup that's the ones. Ah OK that makes sense Thanks for the quick reply. I'm about to scramble the said QRF now BTW I like the map - nice detail etc on it. Looking forward to smoking my oppo's armour on it Cheery!

You may want to check the German reinforcements. Unless they are being beamed in from the Starship Enterprise their arrival location is a bit, odd. Plus one of the squads is on the other side of the map from it's parent platoon.

Has anyone done a plain sand camo of the BMP 2. I've checked the repository but can't find one. I know there is a sand T72 so thought possibly there was also a sand BMP 2? Ta Cheery!

Why would you want 8 - 12km maps?! I mean I like big maps but 8-12km - effective engagement range of Abrams main gun is just over 3km. Given battlefield conditions etc etc I could see that dropping to around 2km - then you have ground folds etc (terrain not being flat) so that would reduce it further. As MikeyD says it would be a totally different game. Maybe not even 3d but 2d.

Yeah I thought the same re the RPG attacks. It does look like they hit one of them though - unless that's them generating smoke (although don't think BMPs can do that maybe it was a T72?). Re the video you posted - jeezo - balls of steel considering it looks like the tank has infantry pretty close by. I'm not sure that last guy who runs across is as lucky though. As he goes out of shot there are a flurry of shots.

I don't think this one has been posted. Syrian rebels engaging what looks to be BMPs with RPGs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNR5OTZZQTE

Anyone fancy giving this a wee play test whirl? It's short (just over an hour) and your force is pretty small. It's all done (tac/op maps/briefings) and one Red AI Plan. I've done a lot of tweaking but be useful to find whether it's too hard/too easy before releasing it. PM me if interested Cheery!

Busting the Bocage is taken from RL terrain in the same area the original action was fought (laos used 1944 aerial maps).

They did in this scenario (Team - these boys did not survive long - that's why your armour team were tasked - re the brief (Excerpt from brief - elements from the scout platoon (Team 'Catcher') attempted to infiltrate through this zone to reconnoitre enemy positions and obstacles. As of first light this morning, the TF TOC has lost communications with the scouts...). They're a' deid! Re tactics for scouting with heavy mech stuff - Buzz nails it with his comments. The scenario is based on a tactical vignette posed to RL armour commanders. In that context this means that such a mission is indeed probable I would assume? So to recap - use the ground (get down to Lev 1 and check out the approaches - obvious is not always good), use key holed overwatch (lot's of guns pointing at the enemy) and move fast, very fast, from covered position to covered position. Oh for long range keep your armour buttoned - they spot better. Let us know how ya get on Erwin. Cheery!

Yup they still count as points IF the designer has allocated the vehicle they are crew off as an objective.

The key to this one is a/ terrain - have a good look at the ground from level 1 there are several not very obvious routes that allow your AFVs to move fast with some degree of cover. i.e. fast move from one point of cover to the next via shallow cover. b/ if in doubt use smoke c/ you don't have enough arty support to bombard each NAI d/ the Brits have nippy wee mortars in all their sections... Hope this helps? Edited to add: re bogging you just have to take your chances. The low laying gully/wadi features are very prone to bogging - that's the chance you take - but if you dismount all your infantry and move on foot , yup you'll run out time. You have to think bold and fast here BUT use the ground. It's tough no two ways. Ask Buzz

It's nearly done! Just a few more AI Plans. I thought about having a version with NATO forces e.g. Brits or US. However I also realised I've done not a few scenarios with such forces in an urban environment. The difference is with this one is it's T72s and BMPs in an urban environment with no holds barred i.e. you can drive down the street and just blast away. If I did a Blue force version I reckon you'd just have two M1s side by side, closely followed by a couple of Bradleys, maybe a M1 in overwatch and slowly and methodically blast your way down the street. What makes the T72/BMP combo challenging to play is they are very vulnerable to RPGs and they don't spot very well...

YES - although less commonly so on the western front or more particularly Normandy

It's not out yet - still doing the finishing touches.

Drilling was part of the SPW platoon at the time (anti-aircraft vehicle armed with a 2 cm KwK38 on a pedestal mounting with a small armoured turret to protect the gunner. Late war, it was issued as a platoon commander's vehicle to replace the Sd.Kfz. 251/10). You'll possible see em in CMX2 soon Yes they were troop carrying types (251/1). level of opposition was described as PAK front. Yes it was part of the plan - assuming so from the description of their order of march. A lot more accounts throughout the book but I'm at work. I'd recommend the book - very interesting insight into SPW tactics from early 43 through to end of the war.

Peiper's use of SPW in Kharkov 1943. Use of SPW during Kursk (they picked their fights mind but were overrun by T34s during Prokhorovka - I'd wager that is where their total loss SPW were suffered). I'm bit tight for time but there is an account from Agte's Peiper biography, on page 516, of a 20mm drilling armed SPW leading a column of tanks, taking fire from a hidden AT gun and which they drove out, rolled over a HMG, pulled up a few meters from the gun and shot it at close range. Same section earlier page (512) description of SPW rolling behind panzers and providing supporting fire to suppress some AT guns whilst the panzers engage them. All this 1945 eastern front. Proviso - SPW when used offensively are closely tied with armou, main point they are using their on-board weapons to engage enemy positions.