Bil Hardenberger

I can see this being the basis of a set of C2 rules for especially dedicated players... this is something I've been thinking about for a while now.. just hadn't thought of an easy way to implement it. Examples: No orders allowed to take advantage of a contact until the HQ for that formation is aware of it... if a platoon leader is aware of the enemy contact, then it can react to it and be given orders to that end (only for squads and teams in command)... but a neighboring platoon not aware, could not. A Company HQ aware of the contact could order his Platoons and support units with that information in mind, but only if they are in command. Imagine a tank platoon moving into an ambush without spotting the enemy units lying in wait, while that enemy might be spotted by a friendly unit not in the same C2 link... they would have to keep driving on their original orders (whatever is set for them or planned) until they become aware of the enemy. It would only effect reaction type orders... no more of me running my non-radio equipped kubels up the flanks to scout as I did in my Eye of the Elefant game versus GAJ. Anything they discover could not be acted on until it was relayed to an HQ unit. Hmmm... I'll have to see what I can come up with. Any takers on playing an AAR game in this fashion? It would take the game to a new level and would be best played in Iron mode.

Yes this is an interesting and very useful test.

MOS96B (by the way I was a 98C ), this is a nice technique to keep your platoons organized.. one that I am going to have to use. Thanks for posting it. Bil

John, --- misunderstood your issue.. never mind.

I use the target tool at waypoints because it is absolutely necessary to ensure your movement is masked from enemy view... to make sure you can actually spot from the intended position.. also to apply area fire on suspected enemy positions during a movement, etc. and so on... and yes I use it to check the LOS from suspected or confirmed enemy positions to find safe areas... ...in real life the driver (or guide in an infantry unit) would be able to ensure the unit movement was masked,,, the TC (or squad/team leader) would be able to command fire on suspected enemy positions and check LOS from certain positions as they move... none of this can you do yourself in the game except by using the target tool when plotting movement. Think of it this way.. when you are plotting your movement you are actually doing the tasks that each member of your unit would be doing DURING the actual movement that you cannot do because each turn is hands off for 60 seconds. ...saying that you let them fire on their own without targeting from waypoints is really hamstringing your tactical flexibility and hey, that's entirely up to you. My whole point is that what one person says is gamey another might see a deeper reason why it is not.

Kevin, in my Defense in the Bocage AAR (never completed) my opponent attacked without splitting his squads.. while I (on defense) had everything split. I was able to identify enemy force size very accurately once i realized that he was not splitting his squads... plus his unsplit squads took a beating... maybe that will do for the test tube battle you are looking for?

Kevin, do whatever you are comfortable with... an unsplit squad will have better cohesion than a split squad (never out of C2), however a split squad will give your opponent more to think about (more UI icons) and will be more resilient (will not be taken out by one mortar round), and IMO is far more flexible. I always split my squads once contact seems probable. Experiment with split squads, make sure you keep the components of the same squad together so they can mutually support one another.. it is very easy to get your platoon all mixed up and have a squad (or squads) spread out and intermixed.. that is not a good situation. Your base of fire can be one or two teams, but you want the base of fire to be further back than the maneuver element so try to include the team with the LMG in the base of fire.

Seriously? I'm not sure you are worth debating to be honest. Terrain analysis, which identifies key terrain, fields of fire, potential kill sacks, potential support weapon positions, and danger areas occurs before a battle. We do not have access to an S2 shop nor do we have overlays for our maps which identifies key terrain, obstacles, etc... so we have to do it in the game while we play. A little common sense would be nice.

LOS analysis is something that is done in every tactical Intelligence shop in the US Army (and probably every other Army too)... they even have cool tools nowadays that take the guesswork out of it and will give you LOS from one location to another with far more accuracy then you will ever get in CM using the target tool to do this in-game. Previously this was done by studying topo maps and identifying LOS fans from certain key positions.. IMO, for what that's worth, doing this in CM is not gamey at all but is a simulation of what could be done with a piece of string and a topo map by any trained soldier.

Thank you, this was truly a battle that had it all and Ken gave me more than I bargained for and he truly deserved the victory. Regards, Bil

That explains a lot.. thanks. Personally I will not play games with such a short duration.. but that's just me.

MG, I like your setup, though it would be nice if you had an HMG to cover the road approach, still, I think Ian will have a rough time getting across those fields on your left... do not fire at those sounds contacts, let them come to you... you will only unmask your IG for little appreciable gain and then your gun can be isolated and destroyed by Ian.. so I would wait until I had a good firm contact, or better a bunch of contacts, and preferably in the fields and away from the cover of the woods to maximize the effectiveness of the fire from that gun which could be short lived. I see a danger though.. you are so concentrated on your left that if he feinted on your left and instead attacked through the fields on your right you would be in serious trouble. If I was attacking I would have scouted your entire line prior to deciding where to attack... only after I had a loose picture of your defenses would I then commit to a attack route.. though I would still attack with fewer units on your left just to keep you from displacing to your weak side. Good stuff, looking forward to seeing how this unfolds.

A couple quick comments Ian, when I attack I like to be "seen" everywhere across the front to mislead the enemy as to where I will be focusing my combat power. You seem to have almost everything concentrated on your right.. what if he is setup on that side of the map and your advance stalls? Any contingency plans in that circumstance? Also if your opponent identifies all that movement on your right then it would be a simple matter for him to shift units to meet them... those tanks especially will probably be heard early and he will know that a heavy formation is coming through the woods. Also I will rarely commit everything so early in an action as you seem to be doing. Okay so you are conducting a movement to contact on the right, which is fine, but it would be good to know approximately where the enemy is before committing everything to a course of action... if events prove that the left, or indeed the center are weakly held then you will be hard pressed to adjust laterally in order to take advantage of that. Of course I am not familiar with this scenario and don't know the time constraints you are under, etc. Additionally, from your image showing your infantry moving through the woods.. looks like you are conducting a traveling overwatch movement rather than bounding overwatch.. which makes sense in that terrain... moving fast like you are doing at the beginning of that movement through the woods is going to make a lot of noise by the way... I would Hunt all the way through them to maintain a little better noise discipline. re: how long to pause units, I can only speak to how I play and that is to make sure I ALWAYS have one unit stationary while another advances (operating in sections of two or three teams), especially in close terrain.. this is so they can spot and listen for enemy activity, always ensure your units can support each other by fire so any enemy fire can be quickly suppressed. This is a great learning tool, and its interesting to read everybody's advice and to see how different people approach the same situation.

Hmmm.. I don't normally accept challenges... please attach your military service and wargaming resume. Note that I prefer to play serving or prior military opponents and rarely play against those that do not have a military background. Though I do make exceptions. Ken, I have a love-hate relationship with Stens.. I love them when I have them and hate them when my opponent does.

I'll post one again, someday... but nothing in the near future.

Is this addressed to me? Hard to tell as I only have one L in my name. Doug, yes I have at least one game going on at a time. Bil

I thought we weren't supposed to read the opposite side battle AARs until after the campaign? This battle should never have been fought IMO. You never stood a chance and those casualties are horrific and will impact the game in a bad way as we move forward. There was no way you could ever hope to stand toe to toe with the amount of armor that Chappy brought to the party... not in that terrain anyway with the long lines of sight and open flat terrain. That being said you did a great job with what you had on hand... just probably a bit too far forward with the majority of your forces with no way to extricate them.

I appreciate the kind words and am happy you find the blog useful. What's your background, any military experience? __________________________________________________________ By the way I am going to start posting the Tank Platoon Leader series concurrently with the Rifle Platoon Leader series that is ongoing... first post will be in a few weeks and will concentrate on: tank movement tank v tank tactics tank v infantry tactics the tank platoon in an infantry support role the tank platoon in the attack the tank platoon in the defense the tank platoon in the breakthrough role a few of my personal tank handling techniques hopefully a few surprises and maybe a guest blog post or two

Good start to your defense of the farm! Looking forward to the finish. I must say that all the arrows in your situation graphic are hard for me to get my mind around.. took a bit for me to realize you were pointing to locations rather than identifying movement (which is what arrows normally indicate). Still, it is a handy addition.

I do understand that many play these scenarios several times, but I think keeping them in the same positions so you can try different tactics in subsequent play-throughs is more important than giving a different look each time for added challenge. The latter is not really the intent of these tactical problems. The goal is for you to play them several times and work out why certain things worked and others didn't, all from the same setup, otherwise you might not "get" the lesson they are designed to teach. Note, this will probably be different as we move into the more advanced Company level problems, where planning, analysis, decision points, and battle reconnaissance are the subjects rather than low level tactics.

Loving it Bud! I check often to see if you've posted any updates. It is looking grim for you... but I hope you can pull your forces together enough to come back and whip that damned Texan.

Operation Nordwind kicked off on the Western front in late December and ended in late January. It took place in the Vosges mountains of France and IMO was far more interesting than the Bulge.

I'll be stepping through a platoon attack (or attack variants) in part 2. I will cover attempting to analyze the enemy force size and how to carryout the attack with that knowledge in mind. Also, the supporting Tactical Problem (Platoon Attack scenario) is practically finished, and will follow the part 2 post (probably up next weekend) very closely.

Yep, unfortunately some icons, like those you mentioned are "shared" which means they are the same regardless of which country that unit belongs to. So there is currently no way to change those to be nation specific. Bil

Rifle Platoon Leader - PLATOON ATTACK - Part 1 is posted. Enjoy! Bil