Bannon DC

Hello all -- Combined Arms, South to Kiev is now at SD. Operation, CMBB. News to me ---> if you have trouble DL'ing scenarios at the Scenario Depot, right click on the "download" button and select "save target as." For some reason, many of the scenarios I have there have this problem. But, BOOM!, now you can DL them without trouble! I'm sure, everyone will be doing an "author" search for "Bannon DC" now. Go ahead! eheheh. Get "Dukla Pass" while you are at it. I'll start posting more of my finished stuff at SD now with the "right-click" note. Have fun, Bannon

So, the Admiral has some junior officers? And a C-in-C I assume. :eek:

Hello all -- Combined Arms, South to Kiev is now at SD. (This is an Operation - see description above.) News to me -- maybe not all of you ---> if you have trouble downloading scenarios at the Depot, what you need to do is right-click on the download button and select "save target as". Easy. For some reason, many of my scenarios have trouble DL'ing. But, the Admiral has fixed the DL'ing problem with this Operation. Has also received some good reviews. :cool: So go get it! Let me know how you do. If anyone takes this on as a two player game, give me some feedback. Could be a lot of fun. I've got more stuff at TPG. Have fun, Bannon [ May 27, 2005, 10:02 AM: Message edited by: Bannon DC ]

Hey -- if you don't like the topic, then don't take part in the discussion. "Discussion" is when people have discourse... you know... conversation. Here is another tactic for effective use for FTs. Be sure to go back to the FAQ to see if this has already been covered in the last 5 years. When attacking with FTs, use the "move to contact" command and set your cover arc out about 30 to 35m (whatever the max range of the device.). This should allow you to move until you come into contact with something at the range of your cover arc. This will help you get a shot off as quickly as possible before you get gunned down. Also, a distraction -- like other friendly units moving to draw enemy fire -- will help. FT's are sighted easily. Try to have an HQ with good stealth. I think the most effective terrain for FTs is urban or heavily wooded. Night too. Any condition where visibility is limited since the FT has such low range and a slow movement rate.

Alright -- You can download this at the Scenario Depot. But -- You have to Right-Click on the download button and then select "Save Target As". Then you select the location. Easy. Thanks to someone at TPG who gave me the clue -- apparently this happens sometimes at the SD. Well, it happens ALL the time to my scenario there. So, of 397, downloads, I wonder how many actually downloaded it. (At least 50 of those were me trying to get it to work! ahahahah) Anyway -- please download this one. This is a good one. Different than most scenarios you encounter. Let me know how it goes. Thanks, Bannon

No doubt -- she is a hottie. There is an area in Georgia (in the United States) near a plant used to make nuclear weapons that is off limits to fishing and hunting. Scientists go there to study what an untouched...or revitalized habitat is like. Extremely ironic.

To simulate a delay in crossing a bridge (or any other part of a map for that matter), you could use some obstacles in front of and behind the bridge. A roadblock could be used to block half of the road and another on the opposite side of the road on the other side of the bridge. This will at least cause the player to set an additional waypoint. A "tank ditch" -- at least 2 trenches on a dirt road would slow a vehicle considerably. Not sure of bogging changes for a trench. Of course, these options are pretty ugly and effect HT and wheeled vehicles the same or more.

I agree, the surrender rate seems extremely low. Most units that should surrender are often annilated. And I have also captured entire squads with barely a fight. A fluke. In Beda Fomm, I had many surrenders on both sides as the action was almost point blank for half the game. One of my captured Italian crews (a prisoner of the British AI) for some reason was moving wily-nily back to my own line. I chased him down for quite a few turns with one of my crews but they could not catch him and were exhausted. By this time, he was in the middle of the desert well within my lines but still a British POW. I finally chased him down with an armored car. I was tempted to shoot him for insubordination to end the chase.

True... cover arc. 600m is max range. Get closer if possible, ideally under HQ command with stealth or combat bonus. I usually try for 400m. Place cover arc over T-34s. Widen it some if no infantry around. Sharpshooters take a long time to reload, so I think you will only get two shots per turn max. So, going through a lot of ammo is really not a worry. You can hide him next turn to conserve if necessary.

I recently received "Slaughterhouse - the Handbook of the Eastern Front." Nice title. OOBs, biographies, chronologies, weapon stats, etc. Lists Fronts, Armies, Corps and Divisions with a very brief run down on when formed and general locations of where they operated. It is convenient to have in one place, but more detailed info can be found elsewhere. Keith Bonn, editor Aberjona Press/Aegis Contributors: Glantz, Nafziger, Harmeinen, Hugh Foster, Myers, others

Early war? Hell yeah! I love the early war. Nothing is more fun than a slugfest of T-26s vs. PzIIs. I am always amazed at how many holes you can punch in those things. This is about the only time the tank platoon commanders moral bonus comes into play. Mid to late -- the tank crews never freak out and panic or rout. It is funny to see tank crews drive around and do their own version of the "dance of death." Yes... it is also fun to use ATRs as a legitimate tank menace. Here's a scenario I did featuring about 100 Russian tin cans. It's an op... but if you are not into ops, you can just play the first one or two battles. To be played as Germans. Starts off with some Pzr IIIs advancing against a storm of tin cans. Sorry -- I added some T-34s later in the op. :mad: ehehe. Combined Arms, South to Kiev Here is another good one I played recently (George Mc's). Not many tanks, but I remember it as a down to the wire battle. I drove a Pz II through the woods and attacked two T-26s from the side at about 30 to 40m... and lived! TBP No. 2 Point Platoon (These are at the proving grounds. George's might be at TSD, but mine is not.) Anyone ever see an old Clark Gable film... set in China I guess around 1941. He sets up an ambush of a small column of Chinese tin cans on a mountain road. Being a CM junkie... I've always wondered what type of tanks they were. If it was Hollywood, they could be anyones. They didn't look familiar. Don't know the name of the flick. Keep plugging away!

Two new scenarios added. Small number of units, small map. These feature a reverse situation on the same map. Good practice for working with artillery... both on the giving and receiving end. Late war situation. Russian's goal is to advance to the next major town. They have encounted various levels of resistance throughout the advance. Scouts report activity near the bridge in the town ahead. Will the Germans scatter at the first shots... or will they fight? Artillery Sword Best played as the Germans or as 2 player. Tested for 2 player play and was good close game. Artillery Shield Best played as the Russians. Fewer turns than "Artillery Sword" and Germans have more units. Other minor differences. Comments welcomed here or at TPG. Have fun.

Two new scenarios added. Small number of units, small map. These feature a reverse situation on the same map. Good practice for working with artillery... both on the giving and receiving end. Late war situation. Russian's goal is to advance to the next major town. They have encounted various levels of resistance throughout the advance. Scouts report activity near the bridge in the town ahead. Will the Germans scatter at the first shots... or will they fight? Artillery Sword Best played as the Germans or as 2 player. Tested for 2 player play and was good close game. Artillery Shield Best played as the Russians. Fewer turns than "Artillery Sword" and Germans have more units. Other minor differences. Comments welcomed here or at TPG. Have fun.

cut back on the schnapps ration before the battle

Another shameless plug: Combined Arms, South to Kiev Germans fight through multilayered defense screen to enter town. Map is about 4K deep. AI should give you a good fight. Opens with Pzr IIIs vs numerous Russian tin cans. A blast. Get's tricky. I would say this one is medium in size. At TPG: http://www.the-proving-grounds.com/scenario_details.html?command=search&db=scenarios.db&eqskudatarq=534 Cheers

I can't remember the name of the battle... but it was one of the two that came with the CMBB demo. I won with the Russians using the tactics described above. Cover fire, small moves to cover, sneaking, human wave to cover last bit of terrain. Keep your men from getting too tired. They will break easier. Company commanders are crucial since platoon HQs will die or break along the way. For the numbers game, you can split the squads as well. Makes more targets. Any conscript unit will duck for cover when shot at... do give the enemy more targets. I actually prefer lower experienced mortar units when firing at groups of enemy infantry. They tend to scatter their rounds instead of pinpointing them like vet units. Also more effective at laying smoke if they have more than a few rounds.

BTW -- if you like Sevastopol battles, a good one I played was "Sevastopol Port ai." This one was difficult to navigate through a series of interlocking defenses. Well designed battle, but needed a small tweak. Fun in any case. I got it from The Proving Grounds. It might also be at SD.

I played this some time ago... when I got back in to CM. I remember the ridge in the middle of the map to be the place where I picked off most of the Russians. I was able to set up an 88 just peeking over the ridge. The other got knocked out... maybe too high on the ridge. I was able to advance infantry along the right side and moved down the hill. It was tough going. I don't remember getting much further than that dominant ridge other than with some infantry. But I was winning a war of attrition. Yes... cover your placement of the big guns with smoke. It's no spoiler... just a good tactic. Spot the best placement before hand with an HQ or small squad to check LOS before you commit. The airforce is never your friend. If you get lucky, they will destroy more of the enemy than your own troops.

You can do that for games that are not "tournament saved"... that means permenantly locked. Not even the author can get into those games and make adjustments once saved. As for me, I never tournament save the scenarios I create. I'm not sure about the ones that came with the original disk. I know that I have adjusted some of those... like changing winter to spring, etc. I don't think you can do that Quick Battles.

I recently received a copy of "World War II Infantry Tactics." An Osprey publication. Stephen Bull author. The Bren is described as "the heart of the section, around which much of the action would revolve." All very similar to the German and American squad composition. The author quotes the "Infantry Training" manual of 1944. Much as you expect, for an advance, the squad is split in two section with the Bren team laying covering fire. In theory and common practice, the Bren's role was to lay covering fire. However, the author also states "Fired from the should and bipod the Bren was accurate and pleasant to shoot, and with its weight of just over 22lbs a practised man could deliver effective fire from the hip in an assualt." The Germans used the LMG as the spearhead of the assualt. From the 1941 manual "German Infantry in Action: Minor Tactics," quoting the author: "The section works it way forward in a loose formation. Within the section the LMG usually forms the spearhead of the attack. The longer the riflemen follow the LMG in narrow, deep formation, the longer will the machine guns in the rear be able to shoot past the section.... The LMG No. 1 takes part in the assualt, firing on the move." Interestingly, the Bren was an adaption of the Czech Zb26 LMG. Adapted to take the British .303 ammo which was the mainstay of the British small arms arsenal. As I recently just bought CMAK, believe it or not... I've only played two games with Brit forces as yet. What is the real issue? Brens can fire on the move? What about BAR's... can they assualt and fire on the move? A patch? Unlikely.

George... I started a discussion on TPG. http://www.the-proving-grounds.com/tip_results.html?sku=235 And... this came up in the CMBB or CMAK area. Checking... in CMAK -- http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=30;t=003707

Yeah... I breezed through the manual. I got the jist. I'm unclear on a thing or two... but I'll just post some questions here and there. Now... how do you fire the big banger thing on those big bulldozer looking things? :confused: BTW -- welcome... sorry to steal your post.

Right here, baby... it's me! Yeah... it took me a little longer than most people. Cheers... looking forward to meeting you on the battlefield. Bannon

This is the way most ops should be played. I came up with the same idea and developed a set of rules called "Play as the Lay". (Not saying I originated the idea of course). Basically pretty much as noob outlined. Someone pointed out you should have a little more freedom of movement for night battles which I agree to. Artillery spotters I let set up anywhere on the map. Vehicles can move a little, etc. This is the way to play ops... makes you plan the next battle while the current one is under way. Ammo resupply becomes critical if too many men get caught in no man's land. Lot of fun. If you want to take a look at my rules, there is a discussion at The Proving Grounds. I'm not aware of a "sanctioned" set of rules on this, but would be interested if anyone knows of any. http://www.the-proving-grounds.com/tip_results.html?sku=235

I recently upgraded my card to NVIDIA. My original card was ATI and was very underpowered (by current standards). In addition to fog, which ATI just won't display period... I had other trouble with the generic "gun" graphic, barbed wire, etc. I believe current ATI cards work well with CM, but still do not do fog. Once installed I immediately loaded up "Assualt on Moon" from CMBB. Cool. First time seeing fog. What is even cooler looking is fog on night maps... down right creepy.