Madmatt

Gordon and I worked out our file and list import issues and I am happy to report that the FULL and ALL INCLUSIVE CMMOS 3.02 mod file list (with download links) is now ready. Tons of new CMMOS 3.02 enabled mods are there for your mod slut indulgences. Enjoy and happy downloading. CMMOS 3.02..ONLY on CMHQ! Madmatt [ May 13, 2002, 02:03 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

This comes up every so often. We have researched this issue internally and found several things. #1 It wasn't always fuel that those drums carried. It could be anything from Lubricating Oil, Diesel Fuel, Water or just packed with dry supplies. #2 On some late war vehicles the drums could be "jettisened" from inside although it was in reality probably just an ad hoc latch release. Some sources indicate that it was in fact some sort of explosive bolt retention system evidenced by the presence of wires leading from the internal hull to the latches. Probably dependant on the vehicle though. What is known is that the internal fuel cells could not normally be refilled directly from the external drums as there is no connection between the two. This was changed in the T-54 and beyond which of course not relevant to CMBB's time frame. #3 Depending on what was in the drums normally dictated if they were removed before the unit was deployed in action but even so it could occur that a unit went into battle with tanks still attached with potentially flamable contents. #4 The flash temperature of Soviet diesel fuel is extremely high (I dont have the numbers right here anymore) and much higher than the flash temperature of comperable Allied or Axis fuel. #5 While the most common fuel drum was a 200 liter drum, it was not the only one deployed and I have seen configurations from a single drum on one side to upwards of 6 drums lashed to both sides of the hull of varying sizes and volumes. #6 They look cool! As such some models in CMBB will show them but we dont model any enhanced vulnerability due to them being attached (or hit) nor is there enough evidence to show that we should. Madmatt

We have narrowed down the submissions to the finalist and should be announcing the winners very soon. Madmatt

Be sure and READ the news on CMHQ. All the other CMMOS mods will be posted soon (sooner if I get a volunteer to format the list for me). Madmatt [ May 12, 2002, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

By the way, if someone with Dreamweaver 4 wants to help with the HTML formating for me (Read: Do all the work while I take the credit) we can get the rest of the CMMOS mod list updated and posted much sooner than my busy ass will allow. I have the HTML template all set, its just a matter of importing the data from the list that Gordon supplied me with. Time consuming drudgery but not all that hard to do. Email me if you want to volunteer for this task. I really want someone with Dreamweaver though as thats what I used to do what you see now. Madmatt

Fixing. Madmatt

You can read giant headlines can't ya? Well? Get moving. Please read the news on the main CMHQ page for info on where all the other CMMOS mods are... Madmatt

This thread is getting close to the 300 message mark so I am going to close it down now. Feel free to start a new one. Madmatt

You are correct, we are rearranging old CMMOS files in preperation for the release of CMMOS 3.2 Madmatt

Okay, and on that note I am going to lock up this thread. If you wish to start over in a new thread then you can of course do so but keep out the personal snipes and objectionable pictures. By the way, all the testing you are doing regarding accuracy and long range engagments in CMBO will have little bearing in CMBB since that is one element that has been reworked and tweaked. Madmatt

You forgot the Poles. There are also Partisans which have their own TO&E and I suppose could technically be considered a seperate force. Madmatt

Capturing ingame movies with a PC is near impossible. The quality usually sucks and it just takes too much time. With a Mac its much easier but then I don't have a Mac and the guys that do (Steve and Charles) are a little pre-occupied at the moment. Too soon for another bone anyway, don't get greedy. Madmatt

Nyet

Yes Sometimes it appears to me that CM:BO has started as a simple 'icon-moving' game with a 3d environment. A lot of things still work that way - like the well known MG that can hold down only one enemy unit. The engine of course is much more complex right now. However, from some point of view, it still works like a 2D icon moving game. It is a 3D tactictal game, and the best we have, for sure. But it is still an abstratction. I guess this is written somewhere in the manual, too. A barrage causes X damage. This is what the engine calculates. The chance to hit a tank is x. The chance to destroy with this hit is y. Period. There is nothing hidden in this calculation. It is - maybe a bit more complex and with more used datas - in princip the same way how damage is calculated in 'Steel Panthers', or example. Some people seem to believe CM is a 3D battle simulation, like a tank sim, only with a lot of different units. What is not right. Not yet . And that causes a lot of missunderstandings. BTW, Redwolf, I hope to see everything in future games what you have mentioned!!!</font>

Puff, Actually we will show the moral for vehicles now and often you will see it say "Paniced" (which is similar to what you said 'sared' and even if Paniced they can and will still fight and move etc, just with various penalities and limitations. Madmatt

I am always awake Puff but it is YOU that I see being out of line. Andreas asked some legitamate questions and now you resort to childish comebacks and distorting his name. Knock it off and learn to conduct yourself with more maturity or else I WILL be coming back here, hard. Understand? By the way, units are affected to various degrees to what happens around them including being scared to some extent becuase of the presence of enemy units or to what occurs to adjacent units. In CMBO it is not always evident, in CMBB it is MUCH more so, espically with the new vehicle moral system in play. Madmatt

They are not backwards, they are meant to *point* in the direction of fire. In the game they are much bigger than they would ever appear in order to be seen and be of use from the various camera heights and distances. Some people think they are backwards because the wide side is at the back. These people would prefer a *fireball* style appearance with the front being wide and the tail getting smaller. We do not agree with that idea, but understand why some would prefer it. Madmatt [ May 01, 2002, 12:09 AM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

You can NOT recrew abandoned weapons in CMBB, not sure if the AAR made it seem like that but it is NOT in the game. One thing that IS in is that ALL foot units (yes MG's too) can run now. Some much further than others. Madmatt

We are not worried about the initial success of CMBB and as such providing such support is not really worth the investment in time it would take. In the days following the release of CMBB there will be plenty of new material being posted. We have no doubt of that. Now Michael, had you spent the last 2 years telling me how great I am, like Andreas and Mace, then you could have been a beta tester and you would have already seen how cool CMBB is. Madmatt p.s. It's too late now, but you can still praise me. [ April 28, 2002, 11:14 AM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

Camera views have been tweaked with better (more) panning, an additional zoom mode (x16), a new level and different heights than before. Madmatt [ April 26, 2002, 07:23 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

Actually we got new hi-res faces in the making already. Maybe that will be the next bone...Or maybe the new textured tracers?? So many things to show... Madmatt [ April 26, 2002, 07:10 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

...done

As part of Operation Bone Throw, here is the second of three goodies. A story type After Action Report from Beta Tester and forum regular Pillar. Intro: This is the first of (hopefully) a series of "letters" written from personal experiences with CMBB. I hope to give the reader a "look" into the world of CMBB and what is to come in an entertaining manner. I'm no writer, but I've tried to make the 'preview' interesting with some drama. This first letter details a combat experience I had with another fellow during the pre-beta (internal team) testing. The opponent is a good player and we've played many games of CMBO together to practice tactics and discuss techniques. For this reason, I think this account is a fairly balanced portrayal of two relatively equally skilled players. The decisions taken during the game were rational on the part of both sides, so what we really get from this is an illustration of the new game engine characteristics. In particular, we see the strength of machine guns (when used properly with artillery and wire.) Since this has been a point of issue with CMBO, I thought it would be a good place to start showing off CMBB.I realize that the scenario is not purely historical, but these settings were chosen for the purpose of demonstrating some game changes. Since this is from an internal testing build, further changes will take place between the time of this AAR and the final release. I specifically picked a scenario that was rather general, so as to minimize any chance of significant changes. Most of the terrain and unit-types (not specific though) were in CMBO. (I.E. Artillery spotters, machine guns, infantry, mortars…) Any comments should be posted on the forum. CMBB Letter #1 Just to outline the present scenario, these are the equipment tables for each side: Soviet (Friendly) OOB: 1 Company Soviet SMG Infantry, 8 Maxim Machine Guns, 3 50mm Mortars, 76mm Artillery in Support. German (Enemy) OOB: 2 Rifle Companies, 2 Engineer Platoons, 1 Fusilier Company, 4 MG42HMG, 4 MG42LMG, 4 81mm Mortars, 105mm Artillery in Support. Situation: German Battalion attacks a dug in (with obstacles) Soviet defender. Soviet is behind a ridgeline. October 1943, Dawn, Dry, Slight Breeze. The following narrative is written from the perspective of a platoon commander on the Soviet side. It is a memoir, not a play-by-play, so it is assumed he has access to details he would not have known at the time during battle. The Story: The lookout’s screaming whistles wrenched us from our sleep on that drowsy autumn morning. Instantly, officers began barking orders, getting the men out of their holes and ready to fight. Minutes ago, a large force of German infantry had been spotted moving towards our positions from the West. Our patrols conduct security and reconnaissance along the ridgeline all day and all night. Their job is to spot the enemy main effort and deny him the ability to sneak FO's or reconnaissance teams over the ridge. It was these teams returning to our camp early this morning that brought word of the German force approaching, and because we had so little manpower they immediately rejoined their platoons inside the defensive network. From what was gathered, it appeared the enemy was about a Battalion in size, perhaps more. Being the forward-most company in a series of defensive works, we had plenty of support. Our company had been attached 8 Maxim Machine guns to make up for our poor numbers, as well as a token force of 3 50mm mortars. We also were being supported by artillery from our rear, and had arranged targeting prior to engagement. The hillside we defended was laced with wire entanglements, virtually sealing in our position and giving the enemy but two choices: attack into the teeth of our positions or risk annihilation in open ground trying to bypass. The company to our northeast rear (Note: Off-map) covered a small bowl that we couldn't observe very well, and a company (Note: Also Off-map) to our adjacent south secured our flank. The position was laid out as follows: the wire was laid out in open ground around and in front of the company’s forward entrenched positions creating an obstacle between us and the nearest enemy jump-off points. These forward positions were manned mostly with Maxim guns but had positions for infantry to occupy should the enemy breach the wire. There was only one gap left in the wire, which was surrounded by a large area of open ground. The Maxim guns were sighted primarily on the wire and the open ground around it. Each gun had been given a specific area of interest -- a covered arc of fire, which it focused on denying to the enemy. Working with our artillery, we had also designated a number of Target Reference Points near the wire and covering the openings. This would allow our 76mm to respond quickly and accurately to enemy assaults or breaching efforts. For the 76mm guns, we had in the area of 400 shells to support our defense. If limited to firing on concentrations of enemy infantry, each burst could kill two or more enemy infantrymen. This enormous fire capacity gave us confidence, despite our small numbers. There was only one route directly to the wire that did not involve standing in open ground, and this was a line of scattered trees running west to east. We had, fortunately, anticipated this route being used for breaching efforts and had three of our Maxims sighted on it, as well as artillery reference points. A second possible approach was a hook to the north, running through some forest and scattered trees. This route does not run directly through the wire, and open ground must be crossed here. Again, Maxim fire covered this approach and so did reference points. There was also a slight ridgeline running west east to the north, behind the position just described, which lead directly to our rear. In front of it was a large bowl, covered by B Company (off map.) If the enemy approached along this ridgeline, out of LOS from Company B, he could make an infiltration to our rear. This was heavily guarded at night, but during the day two Maxims (also covering the second approach) served to deny its use. The plan was to allow the enemy to get himself into trouble breaching the wire and to inflict as many casualties as possible on him while he did so. Machine guns were to deny movement over open ground to prevent significant maneuver. Our big killer was going to be our artillery, which would work best whenever the enemy concentrated forces in an assault attempt. Our company consisted of three close range assault sub-machine gun platoons, packed with automatics and close range weapons. We intended to stay away from the forward positions, where enemy artillery and rifle fire would be at its worst, and wait until, and if, the enemy breached the wire. If there was a breach, it was our duty to attack swiftly against any intruders and oust them from our position. This small defensive system of ours was setup well behind a steep ridgeline (but not on the reverse slope), denying the enemy direct artillery spotting. We had been bombarded here and there during the past days, but nothing of any consequence came of it. Some shell holes large enough for a small group of men to take shelter in have been created in the process that may afford some cover to the attacking Germans. Until now, we had seen little in the way of our adversaries. So that was the situation we found ourselves in the other day. Dawn was sunny and the ground was warm and dry. A soft breeze provided a false sense of security; the soft hushing of trees swaying back and forth amidst our defensive works had an eerie serenity. After the whistles had been blown and the defense had been assembled, all we heard was the wind and the trees. It was a calm before a coming storm, and some of us sooner would have had it over with. But we all knew our jobs, and we had drilled their execution over and over until reaction would come automatically in combat. The greater tactical situation was unclear to us at the time; nobody knew much of anything about what was going on. Nonetheless, we sure knew how to defend in sector, which was our business. We waited for something to happen for what seemed like eternity. Each platoon was distributed slightly away from potential breach sectors, ready to react to such an event but safely away from the machine guns, which would likely come under fire. We also had the three 50mm mortars, which were designated to deal with annoying point targets, such as enemy 81mm mortars that could fire on our Maxims. We waited for the Germans to put our machinery into action. The action began when a platoon sized German infantry element, very well spread out, probed our defenses. Each possible approach seemed to be navigated by a small team of German infantry, obviously looking for the weakest link in our defensive network. We dealt with each team the same way -- we waited for them to get close to the wire, some when they crossed open ground, some when they stopped at the closest jump off positions -- and then we fired on them with our Maxim guns. Now, you have to understand that with our guns sighted the way they were, it was very difficult for any overwatching enemy infantry to spot their position when they fired. We fired in well-aimed bursts directly at the German security parties, so that they could barely lift their heads safely. Foliage, tree trunks and so forth prevented one from seeing muzzle flash or smoke puffs very clearly. Each and every one of the German infantry teams, we counted four separate groups, was turned back. Some were forced to ground and crawled back into cover, often dragging a man back with them screaming in agony. Two of the teams were caught in open ground and lost their nerve, getting chewed at by Maxim guns and utterly unable to advance. Nobody laughed when they ran for their lives back towards their lines, leaving a man here or there. We all knew it could be us next. In denser terrain this phase may have been between our assault troops and theirs, in close quarters fighting. But with the defense setup the way it was and with the terrain being open ground between patches of forest, the machine guns alone were amply able to repel any light German probes. Shortly after these teams withdrew, (some still visible taking cover in woods and receiving the odd fire from our machine guns) the German commander must have decided that further progress could only be made if our machine guns could be suppressed. Yet any supportive fire the enemy could offer would easily be met by our own mortar and artillery, which would leave favorable attrition rates to us and make the enemy breaching effort difficult. The only solution for the German was to initiate the breaching effort and bring online the supportive elements simultaneously, so that our fire would be split or so that one element could go unscathed. That's exactly what he did. Clearly an under strength company came over the ridge, running into cover, with the obvious objective of making at the covered breaching route. Our machine-guns quickly swiveled and open fire on this element, forcing many of them to crawl forward on their bellies. It was difficult to tell if we were killing the enemy at this point, but it was obvious he was having a hard time of it. Meanwhile, the ridgeline that was described earlier became laced with German infantry. It offered a splendid overwatch firing position for them, right into our forward lines. We had no choice but to allow them to take it, because the ridge itself was difficult to defend with our numbers given the terrain. Many parts of the ridge had heavily covered approaches, and thus we needed to defend father back from it, leaving open ground between the enemy and us. Thus a steady volume of fire began to come from the ridge, most of it area fire at this point. It seemed the enemy still had not located our machine guns precisely. The German infantry company that had charged forward into the breach was now in the scattered trees only a dozen meters or so away from that section of the wire. One platoon’s worth was in the breaching effort while two others were supporting it. German mortars were dropping smoke all over the breaching area, but it wasn't heavy. Our machine guns were pouring a steady pounding of lead on them, firing on whatever could be seen through the smoke and forcing them down low. The job of breaching in this sector would not be easy for them as long as our machine guns stayed online. Unfortunately for us, the machine guns themselves were being fired upon from hundreds of riflemen on the ridgeline. It seemed the entire enemy Battalion was supporting this tiny breaching effort; we hear the popping of rifles and other sounds, including the recognizable ripping of multiple MG42s. Our boys manning the forward machine guns truly were doing a swell job keeping up the fire under such harsh conditions. Every now and then, our machine guns would fall silent as our men sought cover, but not for long. This kept up for a minute or so and then we heard the whining of our 76mm shells overhead. The effect was chaotic. The fire had been called upon the scattered trees where it appeared the Germans were making a breaching effort. The shells themselves throw up only modest amounts of dirt, but the effect on the soldiers was horrific. Clearly all the Germans were pinned and men were dying. In any case, breaching here would be impossible under such a barrage. We remained comfortable about this sector, and our Machine Guns turned their attention to the infantry along the ridgeline. For the next few minutes, a duel of fire took place between our Maxims and the enemy rifles and machine guns along the ridge. Our artillery continued to pound the area where the enemy had tried hastily to breach through. The firefight was really something else. I've never seen so many tracers lace the sky. They ripped across violently, most of them coming from the enemy. Our own Maxims gradually became silent. There was certain uneasiness about the whole situation. We had hoped to dominate the long-range fight with artillery and machine guns, but had not counted on the enemy mustering his entire fighting strength to engage us from rifle range. Though the range was great enough that his fire was not killing our Maxim crews, they were certainly having a difficult time firing their weapons. The firing pits had been located after a few minutes of our firing on the breaching party and now were being hit by aimed rifle fire. Not only that, but the Germans were employing 81mm mortars in a precise manner, dropping accurately placed shells on our Maxim emplacements. Our own 50mm responded, but we had very little idea where the enemy mortars were, so it was a very hopeless crapshoot. One of our crews abandoned his post and made for the rear for cover, but not far from his original position. If we could not dominate the enemy at long range, he would have no trouble with a breaching effort. But while our machine guns were being suppressed, some only for moments and others for up to a minute at a time, our artillery could not be suppressed. We continued to fire on anything the enemy pushed towards a breach, and whatever Maxim crews were able continued to fire on him mercilessly. After what was probably five minutes, the enemy breaching operation was in shambles, but the majority of his rifles on the ridge remained in sound shape. For another five minutes or so, we simply exchanged fire at range. For the enemy to advance without suppressing our machine guns would be suicide, and besides, his rifles were doing a fine job from the ridge. We had, it turns out, requested artillery along the ridgeline but it was some time before it arrived because we had not anticipated using it there. In that time, the enemy had setup a small concentration of machineguns and was effectively pinning our rearmost Maxims, while his rifles were pinning our forward ones. At this time, with most of our long range direct-firepower suppressed, a platoon of enemy infantry was spotted running the vulnerable west-east ridgeline towards our rear. This was a dire situation indeed. There was no wire to our North, since it was mostly open ground covered by Company B (Off map). But by staying just below the ridgeline and running forward, the enemy avoided Company B and with our own Maxims suppressed we could not prevent the enemy from moving. The Company Commander noticed this and assigned my platoon to get ready to move out. If the enemy penetrated into our rear, he may just gut out our HMGs through our own interior lines! The potential for a large German force to make it through was slim, because the ground was open and subject to artillery fire. But this lone German platoon spread out slightly and moving quickly had real potential to cause trouble. At this point in the battle, my very own platoon went active. We ran swiftly to rear jump off points and waited eagerly to see if our Maxim crews would defend themselves at close range. We could see the enemy making his way forward, and one of our Maxims began to fire on them. German HMG’s firing from the ridge pinned the Maxim, interrupting the fire and only a portion of the enemy platoon was pinned. 76mm artillery also began to fall on the enemy – thankfully we had a reference point setup along the infiltration route and now it seemed it was being used to good effect. But the shells fell all around the enemy, and as bad luck would have it, none landed near him enough to make a significant difference. Some of the enemy platoon was pinned and the artillery had driven them to seek cover, but clearly a squad-sized element was making an assault on our rear emplacement without too much trouble. They got very close to our HMG and we saw them stop briefly, hurling grenades and firing their weapons wildly. They moved into the forest and disappeared from our view. It was obvious the position had been taken, and we immediately set off to oust the enemy from his victory. At the same time, our own artillery stopped firing there -- since it had already failed to prevent the assault it was better saved for lucrative targets. The previously pinned elements of the enemy platoon ran towards the forest where the HMG had been assaulted. It was clear and personal -- this was a race, my platoon versus his. Our race was to a blocking position, and his was to seize the terrain before we did. But we were confident, we knew what was ahead, we had drilled the routine before, and we were equipped for the task. The enemy faced unknown territory and was disorganized from the assault. This was the most worrisome and difficult part of the battle for our Commander. Our front line machine guns were being suppressed, one of two rear positions had been assaulted (the second was threatened), the enemy had clearly established fire superiority and we were being forced to react to his attack. Our artillery on the ridge had still not arrived, even though a few minutes had elapsed since we direly requested it. We did not consider the need to reference the ridge for firing; we had assumed it would be needed around the wire more. But clearly the enemy was content not to assault the wire at this time. We had reached a sort of stalemate in the battle. We could not kill the enemy until our artillery shifted, and that was taking time. But nor could the enemy kill us. Certainly they could suppress us, but to take our positions or achieve close enough range to kill us would require a breach. In the long run our artillery would drive him off that ridge, but for now we were both staying put. The German platoon-sized assault into our rear was threatening, but could only bring a limited degree of exploitation. The reason being that in practicality not more than a platoon could get in, and we had a company of infantry in reserve to deal with it. My platoon was only the first to react to the situation. If the enemy tried to shift more than a platoon through this route, he would suffer unduly from artillery. In other words, the "rate of return" per soldier sent this route would diminish into the negatives very quickly. It was an ugly situation for both German and Soviet alike. But that was going to change. Although the fighting hovered in a fine balance for the moment, as a ball does as gravity overcomes its ascent, it was soon to move the other way. Almost in unison (although certainly not planned that way), our own assault on the intruding enemy platoon began as our 76mm responded to the enemy on the ridge, particularly his HMGs which were unloading into our rear. The effect of both was devastating. First, we beat the enemy to the jump off positions in our rear and with shouts of "Hurrah!" we surged forward and made contact with the Germans. It was lucky for us that we moved out when we did, because very shortly afterward a German heavy barrage of artillery fell near our previous jump-off points. The ground shook and our ears rang with each pounding blow. Moving forward, our first squad ran into an under strength German squad and engaged them in bloody close combat. Our automatics and the fighting tenacity of our men overcame the enemy with only a couple of losses to the squad. The enemy had been unprepared for such a violent counterattack so quickly after his assault. More of the German Platoon was caught moving through the open, towards our jump off positions. They were exhausted and slow, and the vigor of our own men quickly gained us the upper hand. Two enemy squads, about twenty men, were cut to pieces before our eyes by a heavy volume of automatic fire. Another group of Germans, in panic, ran for cover but were quickly found and shot. We had sealed the rear and taken an entire enemy platoon, at a loss of roughly four men and of course the Maxim position. Cheers of "Hurrah!" were genuine that moment, we felt like we could take on the world. We didn't have to. As I mentioned, our artillery was now pounding the enemy on the north-south ridge. He was being forced to find cover or keep his head down. The rifle fire from the ridge slackened and our Maxim machine guns, the ones up front, began pouring out a vengeful hail of lead. It wasn't a perfect situation of course -- our own artillery was firing somewhat sporadically after the initial pounding on the enemy heavies because we needed to conserve ammunition, in case of a massive enemy assault. But overall, things had stabilized greatly. The rear was free of pests (thanks to my platoon!), and with our men in control of the rear ground we knew the Germans wouldn't try to assault it again. The front was back to its game of long-range firefighting, but we were dominating the fire now and the enemy was taking his licks, without the benefit of covered foxholes. Some of us got impatient, taunting the Germans for not assaulting like brave Soviets would. Of course, they couldn't hear us, but it felt good to yell at them. Only the machine gunners had the pleasure of firing on them at this range. At this point I’d like to explain what our situation was at that moment in the battle. First the Maxims: Most of our teams had suffered a casualty here or there, due to rifle fire. Two had abandoned their holes in the frontlines due to 81mm fire, but were now returning to their positions -- even if a little paranoid of further 81mm. The northeast (rearmost) Maxim was assaulted and killed by the enemy. Another Maxim in our rear was fine, but only began to join the fight again after the enemy machine guns stopped firing on it. One of our Maxims covering the North flank was attacked so vigorously by the enemy (at range) that the team lost its nerve and made for the rear. Doing this, they were caught in open ground by enemy fire and reduced to a single man, who could not transport the Maxim by himself. He elected to hide behind it, in the open ground, and was quickly forgotten by the enemy. All in all then, we had lost two Maxims effectively. We still had four up front and two in the rear. Our artillery was down to about 150 rounds of ammunition at this time, but that is plenty for killing assaulting infantry. Only one platoon of the infantry company, ours, had seen any action and our losses were minimal. Two of the three of our 50mm mortars had been abandoned; enemy shells knocked them out. It turned out that these mortars did a relatively poor job for themselves. We expected them to respond to enemy mortars and other such point targets, but had neglected to understand the difficulty in locating these targets under fire. As a result, our 50mm's had not yet found any targets juicier than the odd enemy HMG or Rifle Squad. It was at this point obvious to both sides that the current fighting would yield nothing decisive. The enemy wasn't killing us from range, and we weren't going to leave our positions because we had so few in men. The Germans organized and launched their main assault on the only route that had not been tried: the north hook against our flank. Again, the enemy laid volley after volley against us from the ridgeline to try and suppress our machine guns. They were obviously low on ammo however; the volume of fire wasn't as large as it had been at the beginning of the battle. The result was that our Maxims returned fire on them, but at least for the Germans this meant their assault element was not receiving all the fire. This large German assault element was seen moving around the "north hook route" and we shifted a machine gun from the front to our flank and moved the two as yet unused platoons into position for counter-assault. The remaining 50mm was also moved to the flank, from the frontal area, and artillery was prepared to fire on a concentrated area where the breach might take place. There were two possibilities for assault from this route: he could breach the wire in open ground, but have close jump-off positions to the wire, or he could go around it through a slightly larger expanse of open ground through the gap we had left. Either way was fine by us. The wire would stop him if he tried to assault it, and the open ground would give him little cover if he went around it. As it turned out, the Germans tried to go around it, with the previous wire breaching failure fresh in their minds. With only two Maxims providing reliable cover on this flank approach, one platoon of infantry was put into action to repulse the enemy. The scene was frightful. As roughly a company of enemy infantry maneuvered for assault, entire platoons moving over open ground were coming under a hail of fire from our automatics under one hundred meters in range. Many fell. The supporting platoon of the German assault company was firing back on us. It was obvious he had fire superiority at that range, but we also had prepared fighting positions and a surprise. Our 76mm shells came crashing down on his infantry -- many of them were caught in the open. The sight of the enemy being chewed up by the shells silenced our fire, many of us just watched with open mouths. Every shell that struck took the lives of our enemy. The assault was broken up as quickly as it started, the last ditch effort of the commander to rush assault troops through the opening in our wire proving hopeless. <At this point the opponent surrendered> Our casualties in the battle numbered forty-five men injured, thirteen men killed in action. We earned our glory that autumn morning. Pillar’s Assessment: The enemy breaching effort failed, and further efforts to keep up the fight would have resulted in an attrition of his force. He could safely withdraw the men on the ridge. The men who were chewed up by the artillery towards the end would have had a tough time leaving, but a good number eventually would likely have gotten away after taking significant casualties. The reason for this being, that our infantry force was too small to risk sending in a counter attack at that time. End Game Result: Soviet Casualties: 45 casualties, of which 13 men died in action. 2 Mortars lost. German Casualties: 125 casualties, of which 29 men died in action. 3 Mortars lost. Thanks to Wyatt Barnett for editing. April 2002.

And to round out Operation Bone Throw we have another AAR, this time from Germanboy himself..Enjoy! Report on Operations of the 2nd Battalion 485th Rifle Regiment 154th Rifle Division 6th Rifle Corps 21st Army Western Front Attack on positions of German XXIVth (Panzer?) Corps near Zhlobin, Central sector of operations Report by Starshiyi Leytenant Jefremovich, 2 i/c 2nd Battalion Task The battalion was ordered to undertake an assault on a ridgeline near the village of Gulakovo, SE of Zhlobin. Reconnaissance had confirmed the presence of German infantry in the area. The battalion’s task was to break through the enemy defenses to enable the second wave of the divisional attack to exploit in the direction of Zhlobin. Forces 2nd Battalion 485th Rifle Regiment Major Fedorov commanding Battalion at ~80% strength, men weakened due to long marches with insufficient supply, forcing them to live on reduced rations for a week. 3x Rifle Coy 1x MG Coy 1x 82mm mortar section Attached 485th Rifle Regiment 1x Recon Platoon 1x Pioneer Platoon 34th Independent Tank Battalion 1x light tank coy (-) (2 platoons T-26, 1 Platoon BT-5) 1x Recon Platoon (BA-6) Artillery From 485th Rifle Regiment 1x 120mm mortar battery 1x 76mm gun battery From 154th Rifle Division 1x 76mm gun battery 1x 122mm howitzer battery Boundaries The battalion was unsupported on the right, as no contact could be established to units of 232nd Rifle Division supposed to be in the area of Kholkhoz Comintern. The battalion was supported on the left by a holding attack by 3rd Company of 1st Battalion 485th Rifle Regiment. Enemy intelligence The German defense was anchored on a strongpoint on Hill 299, commanding the open surroundings. A wooded area extending south of the hill was chosen as the only covered approach. Enemy was estimated to be a scratch force thrown in our way, made up of understrength rear area and supply units, insufficiently supplied with guns and weapons. Planning Battalion staff decided to mass the attack on the right flank in a northerly axis, where cover was best for the approach, and tanks would be able to shoot the infantry onto their objectives from a decent distance to the enemy occupied treeline, protecting them from AT assets. Once the enemy line was breached on our right, the axis of the attack would turn 90° to roll up the enemy line from the east. Tanks would continue to support the infantry from the rear by providing direct fire support. Artillery would only be used in an initial barrage over the whole of the enemy line, due to the absence of radios with the forward observer detachment under Leytenant Karikov. Execution Preparation, Recon & move forward While the initial barrage was descending, the armoured recon platoon moved out to occupy the gap in the treeline opposite the German lines, and suppress any forward defenses. It came under fire from enemy AT rifles that scored several hits on the vehicles, finally knocking out the platoon commander’s car, killing Leytenant Malakov, the platoon commander. The Germans then opened fire with anti-tank artillery, brewing another one of the cars. The battalion recon platoon advanced to contact through the woods on our right flank, ensuring that the way was clear of mines and snipers. Once this was accomplished, the order was given for the battalion to move forward to jump-off positions. Kapitan Juraev of the tank battalion ordered his tanks forward into the gap to support the assault. This turned out to be an expensive mistake, as the enemy had covered the area well with AT assets. The recon platoon was ordered to advance further into the first part of the woods held by the enemy, to flush out an AT rifle team in them. Our tanks were positioned to support them. When the recon platoon started receiving heavy machine gun fire from a trench to their right, the tanks opened up and silenced it. In the woods further enemy infantry was encountered, and the recon platoon had to fall back to avoid being annihilated. The platoon commander fell<insert comma> together with about half the platoon. The enemy AT rifle team now took out one T-26 at >420m, and harassed the other tanks. Unfortunately the tanks had positioned themselves in the field of fire of at least one light enemy AT gun (estimated 3,7cm calibre). This gun destroyed a T-26, a BT-5 and damaged the gun on another T-26 without being spotted. The tank commanders began to lose their nerve and fell back into turret down positions. Assault B Company was ordered to assault the first tree line. Kapitan Iakumovich made a mistake in ordering his men to assault over too wide a space, resulting in them becoming exhausted. Marching fire by his men neutralised two enemy squads in the woods in front of our men. A & B platoons made it to the tree line, and attempted to consolidate on the objective, but needed time to recover and reorganise. C platoon on the right was caught in the open and drew the heaviest fire, forcing it to fall back with some losses due to fire from an enemy machine gun. A & B platoons flushed out what amounted to a platoon of enemy armoured reconnaissance infantry, a very bad surprise, since we expected to deal with enemy infantry units only. No tanks were spotted though. When they attempted to clear the woods, they found it full of mines, necessitating abandoning the idea until pioneers could be brought up to clear the mines. The riflemen identified the position of the AT rifle team which was then destroyed by the tanks. Following this, Kapitan Juraev decided to order most of his remaining tanks up to the tree line, where they would be out of the enemy’s guns field of fire, and could support the two platoons against counter-attacks. In their current position, enemy AT rifles had zeroed in on them and achieved numerous hits without causing damage or casualties. A light AT gun however managed to knock out two more T-26. Two BT-5, one T-26 and one BA-6 made it across the open field and began supporting the infantry from close up. Major Fedorov at this point succeeded in organising the battalion in two further assault echelons, and sent in a further two platoons to broaden the hold on the tree line. This was achieved. Exploitation The remainder of the battalion stood by to exploit, but it was at this point that Kapitan Juraev suggested that a further attack should wait until nightfall, to enable him to recover and reorganise his tanks. Major Fedorov agreed, and decided to pull back the forward platoons in the treeline, as it was felt that they could not be adequately supported in case of a counter-attack. The jump-off position was secured and our men dug in. This decision by Major Fedorov led to his relief from command by the Political Officer of the Battalion. Major Fedorov was accused of sabotage and treason, and shot on the spot after a court-martial. Kapitan Ieremenko of A Company was given command of the battalion with a clear order to attack and break through the enemy’s position during the night. Kapitan Juraev was demoted to Leytenant, but kept his command. Assessment The battalion lost 33 men, 8 of them killed. The tank company lost 3 men, all of them killed, and a BA-6 Armoured Car was a write-off. Enemy losses are unknown, but estimated light, confirmed 5 KIA. Our initial barrage appears to have done little to no damage to the entrenched enemy. The enemy defense line has not been breached. We are preparing for a night battle to achieve this. Armour recovery has been able to retrieve all the damaged tanks and one BA-6 at dusk. Enemy intelligence information indicates Germans are from 3. Kradschützenbatallion, 3rd Panzer Division. Signed I.V. Jefremovich, Starshiyi Leytenant, 2 i/c 2nd Battalion 485th Rifle Regiment Y. Jeremenko, Kapitan, OC 2nd Battalion 485th Rifle Regiment July 16th 1941 Near Gulakovo

Today marks the launch of Operation Bone Throw, A three tiered assault of CMBB goodies.. First off, 5 new ingame screenshots with some new models and textures shown. Visit the new CMBB screenshot gallery right here: http://www.battlefront.com/CMBB_Pics/gallery/FrameSet.htm Madmatt