Bil Hardenberger

In this fight, they are bait.. they are only effective against enemy infantry, BMPs would eat them for lunch. My hope is that Warren gets target fixated and fails to notice the two M-60s stalking him and also continues to push into my Dragon's Lair.

The Twenty-First & Twenty-Second Minutes – Beyond Here, There be Dragons “Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the General, the more he contributes to maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.” Winston Churchill There was a second T-62 in Dolbach, and this one caught one of 2nd Platoon's tanks.. after two penetrations... On my far left with the delay force, Warren's T-64B across the map caught one of my M-113s trying to withdraw and took it out with one round. It's obvious now that this Soviet force has taken the bait and is pushing into my Scout teams, obviously trying to go on an APC killing spree. Note my Tank Section 1 (1st Platoon) is moving up carefully.. if they are spotted Warren hasn't shown any reaction. The Soviets are leading with their tanks... oh joy... well my lead 3rd platoon Dragon team takes a quick shot (note this took about 10 seconds from spot to launch). The result.. another burning T-62. This team was heroic.. firing a LAW at a BMP, which alas went high (you can see the rocket just above the BMP)... ...but also a 40mm HEDP round which hits and penetrates! The BMP was withdrawing as the turn ran down. This team has another T-62 in its sights for next turn... if that damned Dragon can finish reloading before they eat an HE round! Tank Section 1 is closing in... note how I am staying close to the trees to remain out of the LOS of that damned T-64B across the valley. I'm curious to see Warren's reaction when he notices these guys coming up his rear. I really hope he didn't leave a couple dismounted teams in these trees... ..but I think this is an armored attack.. I have seen no hint of any dismounts (other than the dismounted tank crew)... still. Oh.. and my support started to arrive. Including my mortars and 155mm battery falling on Dolbach.. and my two AH-1s arrived in zone... though I do lose one to a MANPAD. Oh! And some great news! My Cluster munitions Battery freed up and I was able to plot them this turn too.. it'll arrive in six minutes. After looking at my options with the Short route.. now that my tanks are here.. the less I am liking it. I wanted to drive up the flank of the enemy BMPs in the treeline overlooking my right.. but that looks hazardous. So.. remaining ever flexible, I have decided to pull all of the 3rd Platoon tanks out of the stream bed and push them around the right and deep onto the Soviet held road. Note the smoke rounds used to block Warren's eyes on this movement. Once they get on the road there will be very little left to stop them. On my right (Warren's left) he has two damaged T-64As and some BMPs. But this type of fight will not be to the BMP's advantage, it'll be fast and close.

Yes, I've been using them to interfere with his targeting/spotting for a few turns now... the smoke you see in the images above (on my right) are all WP rounds.

The Nineteenth & Twentieth Minutes “The important thing in strategy is to suppress the enemy's useful actions but allow his useless actions” A Book of Five Rings - Miyomoto Musashi Starting to get HOT... this is a long one.. so buckle up!! These two minutes of action unfold a lot of important developments for this battle. On my right, 2nd Platoon/s tanks made it to the low ground that composes the Short Option... ...one of them gets a spot on Warren's star killer BMP-1P in the treeline across the map and after some back and forth missed shots it finally lands one... damn fine shooting for a vanilla M-60A1 on the move. One of 3rd Platoon's M-150s spots and fires at the T-64A that was beaten up by 1st Platoon's Tank Section 2 last turn (and again in these turns) as it withdrew through the woods into the open ground... the M-150 does hit with its TOW.. but the T-64 shrugged off even that blow. However.. I would be surprised if any of Warren'e two surviving T-64As have a working gun now. On my left Warren is indeed up to something, the action was preceded by an artillery strike on the the woods in this area. Sadly the only casualty was the Scout team that was calling in my Cluster mission... isn't that the way it always works? ...initially three BMP-1s and two T-62s broke cover. The 2nd Platoon leader team fired a Dragon at one of the BMPs.. which missed long. The BMP then oriented on the 2nd platoon Leader's M113, which was caught too far forward and put one gun round through it's front armor... killing the vehicle and it's crew. After reloading, 2nd PL's Dragon gunner took aim at the T-62 traveling with the BMP and succeeded in killing it. FYI, the Dragon firing animation is still a work in progress, so I am keeping zoomed out from it. Hopefully losing this tank will make Warren pause or change his tack towards my Scout teams. Remember that my units on my far left were originally meant as a decoy.. and hopefully his attack will orient itself on them and away from my main combat power. By the end of the twentieth minute there were five T-62s (including the dead one) and five BMP-1s identified... so I think at least two Platoons of tanks and two platoons of BMPs. I suspect these BMPs do not contain any infantry, so this is probably meant as an armored raid into my rear. That's how I see it at this point in the game anyway. I have started moving 1st Platoon's Tank Section 1 across the map to hopefully hit his attacking force in the flank, or better.. the rear. It'll take a few minutes for them to get into a position where they can begin hunting. Back on my right, Warren has pushed at least one T-62 forward to blunt my tanks coming up the stream route. Spotted by the same M-60A1 that just took out the BMP, with this result: So to recap... if Warren pushes towards my Scout teams on my far left.. then that suits me. It's less fire power for him to devote to blunting my tank movement on my right. My scouts and M-150s (which are withdrawing as fast as they can) will transition into a Delay operation now. Final bit of action... on my right, 1st Platoon's 2nd Tank Section (tank 1/7) took a penetrating hit from the T-64B across the valley (should be the final undamaged T-64 on the map). The M-60 suffers one casualty and minor damage. Damn... well hopefully I can pull it out of the line before it gets hit again.

The Eighteenth Minute - Relearning Old Lessons “Lost in a blurred confusion of yells and groans... down, and down, and down, he sank and drowned, bleeding to death. The counter-attack had failed.” Siegfried Sassoon I seem to be relearning the same old lessons over and over again. I had my 2nd Platoon tanks driving through the open to get to the low ground for the Short Option… the lead M-60A1 was spotted by both the T-64B and the BMP-1P across the map, and after exchanging fire with them, the BMP (of course) hit… …at least the smoke from the burning tank should mask two of the three tanks which are following. They are too far forward to reverse and use a covered route, so pedal to the metal boys! Lesson learned.. again. The 2nd Platoon tanks that are already on this “open route” will continue as fast as possible behind the burning and smoking wreck of their comrade… the tank that hasn’t broken cover yet will remain and take a safer route. 3rd Platoon will also be taking a safer route. Details next turn. 1st Platoon Tank Section 2 moved forward slightly and was able to take the T-64A in the blocking position tree line under fire... ...actually got a couple hits, but alas, no penetrations. However this tank did start to withdraw from the line. By the way, this was the final undamaged T-64A... but these things are very hard to kill.

Well seeing as my tanks have done most of the killing so far, they are much more precious to me. My M-150s can't seem to hit.. in fact the M-150 that was just killed missed a shot long (at the BMP that killed it) in the previous turn. Bil

The Fifteenth through Seventeenth Minutes “I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack." Isoroku Yamamoto The fifteenth minute saw the loss of another M-150.. I swear the track of that ATGM fired from the BMP-1P... it's like magic the way it hugs the ground comes over the top of the hill and hits him in the lower hull.. must be a crack gunner! Pretty sure I was hull-down to that BMP and T-64B too. C'est la guerre. Pushing on... So over the next few turns Warren, who has finally figured out that the central approach is masked from my view, has been pushing his T-62 Company and some BMPs far forward... ...is he planning on defending the town? Pushing into my rear area? If the latter.. then I have no defense. Just don't have the combat power available to fight off a determined push. What to do.. what to do... well first of all, I need to confirm one or the other. If I need to react and push some support units over towards my M-60s for protection then so be it, but I plan to continue my movement with the tanks. That, hopefully, will force him to redeploy the assets in the center, maybe weaken any attack into my rear area. In the above image.. note the contact icon (BMP) which Warren has pushed forward... very close to one of my Dragon teams. Bad news.. the visibility here is very dodgy and it'll be tough to get eyes on that BMP unless it moves forward. I am pretty sure this is one of his remaining BMP-1P's that I lost sight of a few turns ago. Probably followed up by the BRM-1.

Appreciate the feedback! I would love to do the Deep option.. however those three BMPs and the T-64A would eat me alive without something substantial to suppress/distract them. It's a long drive from the assemble area to the attack point... and all of it within his line of fire. I am thinking of doing the Short Option and then seeing how he reacts.. a strong reaction might just leave the Deep option available for a second phase of this movement... regardless the Short option would get his attention, and I could flank the line those BMPs and T-64A are sitting on... he would have to dislodge them. Just got back from a little trip, I will try to get the next turn report up soon, as there have been some developments that could force me to move my tanks out earlier than I had planned. Coming soon! Bil

The M-551 will not be in the base game, the M-60A2 with the same gun and missile system is however. Bil

The Fourteenth Minute - Spoiling Attack Plan “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.” Bruce Lee Bruce said it… “…adjust to the object…”, that is how I play… remaining flexible and adjusting my planning according to the enemy position and movements. For several turns now I have been building to something… and the moment is close to when I put it all into action. The 14th Minute This one changed the battlefield calculus some. Warren has moved a BMP-1 platoon and the surviving, undamaged T-64A to the tree-line overlooking the approach I wanted to move my M-60s down. This complicates the approach, but doesn’t change my mind. I may have to delay my move for a few turns so I can drop a mix of cluster munitions and standard artillery on this position. But then again... I may start a movement through some masked terrain, or under a smoke screen to keep him busy and interested. I don’t know if Warren has spotted my tanks starting to assemble, or if this is in reaction to my 1st platoon tanks, which up to this point have been pretty effective. From that position though, Warren cannot spot my 1st Platoon tanks, so he is probably attempting to close his left flank. In this turn I had moved my 2nd Platoon Tank Hunters forward into Hull Down positions to cover the center-right of Warren’s force. Immediately the M150 highlighted below spotted and fired one TOW at the BMP-1P indicated. It missed long but is reloading for another shot next turn. Spoiling Attack Plan My initial goal in this fight was to clear Warren’s left flank (my right) and open it up for a tank heavy spoiling attack into his center. I am not interested in the Dolbach objective... my objective is the Soviet force. My intent is to kill as much of his long range firepower as possible, then his infantry won’t matter. All of my positioning up to now was in support of this move. The 2nd and 3rd Platoon’s tanks have joined the 1st Platoon’s tanks on my right and are currently in their assembly area, or entering it. What I wanted to do was, using my 1st Platoon tanks as over-watch, drive all eight of the 2nd and 3rd Platoon tanks deep into Warren’s left flank and then drive toward the center, disrupting his assault on Dolbach and hopefully attrit him to the point where his combat power is significantly reduced. The way I see it I have two Courses of Action (COAs): COA 1 – Deep Attack. This was what I had hoped to do, but with Warren’s flank security position this one comes with increased danger for my tanks. COA 2 – Short Attack. I actually like this one as well, it will unhinge Warren’s flank security and force him to react to my move, plus it will provide some pressure on the center and Dolbach. Follow on Force. Regardless of which COA I decide on, I do intend to follow the 2nd and 3rd Platoon tanks with 1st Platoon’s tanks as indicated in the planning map below. I have moved two platoons worth of scouts to my left flank for a dual role: As a decoy force The scouts, armed with Dragons as flank security and a reserve I have called in my attack helicopter support on the main enemy assembly area, but that is still several minutes away.

Hey Bob... really what you describe is a scenario designer issue, not a game limitation. There are tons of examples of combined arms scenarios in all of the Combat Mission games. Some people really enjoy a good tank v tank scenario, so there are plenty of those and maybe its unfortunate that most of what gets shown off are those because tanks are sexy. For examples see my BETA AARs for CM Red Thunder and for CM Fortress Italy(Gustav Line)

The T-64 is a bad-ass tank. Take M-60A1s of any flavor (and I have all three types in this game) against it one on one on a flat map and the T-64 wins the majority of times.. mainly because its armor is so tough against the rounds carried in the M-60A1... not until the M-60A3 and M-1 does the curve start to flex the other way due to the superior ammo and optics they carry. What you are seeing now is a difference in positioning... my M-60s are all hull down, Warren's tanks are not.. plus he is moving into my line of sight, mine are stationary most times... a moving tank is easier to spot. My tanks are keyholed... his are set up in non-hull down positions in treelines.. now I'm a fan of treeline positions for armor, but I will take a hulldown position over them any day. One T-64A presented its flank to me in front of the trees.. it lasted seconds after getting spotted. On average it is taking me multiple rounds to kill the T-64s, in the case of the most recent T-64A it must have taken 8-10 hits (lost count) over two turns before the tank was destroyed... if it had been the T-64A firing at my M-60A1, the M-60A1 would have been destroyed with the first hit in most cases. Bil

Thirteenth Minute - The Board is Set “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” Art of War, Sun Tsu Minute 13: 1st Platoon's Tank Section 2 continued to harass the two T-64As on the Soviet left (my right) flank. These are the two T-64s that took a beating in the 12th minute... and they each take several more rounds into their front hull and turret, both backing into the woods the whole time. T-64A (right side) manages to escape.. but it has to be damaged. I am considering it a mission kill until I know otherwise. If it pops back up later I will address it then. T-64A (left side) takes a penetrating hit at the end of the turn.. and this one kills it: CURRENT SITUATION This is a busy image, and I apologize for that. Enemy Situation: Recon Company remnants are pushing forward and are on my extreme left. Warren's dismounted infantry and scouts continue to push toward Dolbach, supported by the Recon Company BMP-1Ps/BMR-1 and the Infantry Company's BMP-1s BMP-1s in overwatch are starting to move forward some, but are remaining behind the infantry for now T-62 Company is still being held in reserve, but is moving forward slightly T-64B Platoon is down to one fully functional tank and one wounded and probably gun damaged tank T-64A platoon is down to one wounded and probably disabled tank My Support Plan: 2 of my 3 available M-106 Mortars are starting to drop rounds in front of the Soviet infantry. Timing with indirect fire is always a challenge, but I am liking how this is shaping up One of 155mm batteries is dropping spotting rounds for a linear fire mission as shown below. Fire for effect should start in a couple turns. I do have more planned, but am saving that for the next report! Yes, I will finally let you in on the planning that I have been working toward for several turns now... stay tuned! Finally, some Tank Porn!! BMP-1P: BMR-1 (Recon Company CO's ride:

Hey thanks for that.. I quite enjoy word origins, and in fact the English word "Fight".. would have been pronounced fekt (much like the German word) in Old English... subsequent vowel shifts and dialect changes over time changed the pronunciation but kept the original spelling... that's why there are so many oddly spelled words in English (night, knight, caught , etc.). Fun stuff. Cheers, Bil

Thank you, but this is more than just my idea... @The_Capt has been working with me since the beginning on this project and it was our brainchild, not mine, ours. In addition @IICptMillerII has been a boon since he joined the core team, managing scenario development and doing a ton of research and testing. There are also a few special people like @George MC, @Pete Wenman, @Combatintman to name just a few that have contributed some serious content, from campaign, scenarios, maps, quick battle map development, etc. to this project. Cheers, Bil

Eleventh & Twelfth Minutes – “…damn your eyes.” “There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry.” George Armstrong Custer Minute 11: This might have been a pivotal turn and Warren must be reeling... his email simply said, “…damn your eyes”. Warren is a pretty confident guy, but it could be that I am getting under his skin now. Planned moves for this turn… Tank Section 1 was moving to the rear slightly to improve their Hull Down status to the T-64Bs near NAI3 Tank Section 2 was moving forward to aggressively interdict the enemy vehicles near NAI2.. note that at the end of the last turn I had one BMP-1P spotted on this flank and this was the only enemy vehicle identified on this flank. Note the identified enemy units important for this turn’s resolution. Also note that the T-64B tagged in the following image, is NOT the same one I beat up on last turn. I ordered my M-60s to ignore that one and concentrate on this second tank further back in the tree line. For each of the following overall images, the firing unit is circled in white, the target is circled in yellow. Tank Section 1 – 1/9: At the end of last turn this tank left a round in the air, and this turn it connected with a BMP-1… Kill #1 Tank Section 1 – 1/8: Manually targeted the T-64B in the tree line… first round was a penetration but several HEAT rounds later this T-64B was knocked out. Tough bastards. Note that in this image, a T-64A has been spotted on Warren’s left flank (my right). Kill #2 Tank Section 2 – 1/5: The T-64A was moving laterally in front of the treeline… it was an easy two rounds into its flank. Kill #3 Note the BMP-1P in the background of the above image… Tank Section 2 – 1/6: At the end of the turn, this tank finally killed the last of the Recon Platoon BMPs that was on this flank (this was the BMP that killed my M-150 last turn). It took two rounds to kill it... a third set it alight. Kill #4 Note the knocked out T-64A in the background. Finally at the end of the eleventh minute, my 1st platoon’s recon scouts spotted a platoon of T-62s… this will be his final reinforcement. These are located just beyond the overpass and behind the line of BMP-1s overwatching the infantry swarming toward the town. Minute 12: No images this turn… but in the twelfth minute Tank Section 2 (1/5 and 1/6) spot two more T-64As in the trees near the one destroyed last turn next to the BMP-1P… they hit them both several times (one received a gun hit), no penetrations and both were alive at the end of the turn, but they had both moved back and away from the line.. one or both of these tanks might be severely damaged and will be engaged again next turn. I've been building to this.for a while, but now... ...Warren’s left flank is open.

Please be patient... the game is still in BETA and I am purposefully staying away form the Soviet infantry in my AAR thread because they are not yet ready for their close-up. Bil

Tenth Minute “As long as I breathe, I attack." Bernard Hinault A few key events this turn: M-60A1(RISE+) (1/8) missed the shot it took at the end of last turn, that round going long. But it fired an additional four times at the T-64B it spotted last turn.. connecting on two. That had to hurt.. I know those hits caused at least one casualty. Its possible this tank is a gun kill, and that's as good as knocking it out as far as I'm concerned. Still, I am not counting on that. M-150 (1/5) - I'm an idiot... in he hope of bringing the final (as far as I can tell) BMP near NAI2 under fire, I crept this tank hunter forward to take up a Hull Down spot with visibility of this spot... but I failed to mask the M-150 from the rest of the field. It was spotted by both a BMP-1 and the T-64B (from the previous vignette) in their battle position. First the BMP fired it's Sagger: Then the T-64B fired as well... The T-64's shell fell short, but the BMP must have had a gifted Sagger gunner, as I swear that missile skimmed inches off the ground... ...but alas it flew true... Finally, for the group playing my "What's Bil Planning?" game... I am moving 2nd Platoon's Scouts to the left side of the field, as shown... what are they up to? Hmmm I promise I won't keep you in suspense much longer, and will reveal what I am thinking with one of my next two posts. Bil

Thanks Doc. As for the quote... beats me, I grabbed this one from Goodreads.com. I suspect their collection is from various translations. Bil

Ninth Minute “Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” The Art of War, Sun Tzu M-150(1/5) and the BMP-1PK on NAI2 spotted each other about the same time, though the M-150 fired its TOW a second or so earlier than the BMP fired its AT-4… Scratch one more BMP. Early this turn in Tank Section 1, M-60A1(RISE+) (1/8) spots another Recon BMP-1P… …it does take a quick shot… …which falls well short.. and then he loses the spot. Right towards the end of the turn the same tank spots a T-64B moving toward the clump of trees ahead of NAI3. Again it fires, but this time, the turn expires before the round can travel the entire distance. Damn! We'll find out how that goes next turn, don't go too far from your computer. T-64B, beauty shot: Two of my M-106 mortar carriers began sending their spotting rounds this turn… this fire is intended to block the approach into Dolbach. For those of you playing, the “What is Bil planning?” Sweepstakes... another clue: I have moved my FO up to the ridge and dismounted. What can that mean? Finally, I wanted to give you a good overview of the map and an update on my enemy Order of battle reconstruction: After some research the Soviet Recon Company is composed of the following: Company CO on a BRM-1 x2 Recon Platoons – each composed of: Recon Platoon Leader on a BMP-1K x2 Scout Teams, each on a BMP-1 So far I have identified the following Recon Company units: Two BMP-1PKs, the Platoon Leaders’ rides (as of this turn, both have been knocked out) Three of the four BMP-1Ps the Scout Teams ride on (one has been knocked out) This turn I also identify the Company CO’s BRM-1 So the intelligence picture of what I am up against is becoming clearer every turn. Following is the current SITMAP. Note the enemy Support by Fire (SBF) positions and the central position taken up this turn by one Mech Infantry platoon, three BMP-1s moved forward of the overpass and disgorged their infantry. I suspect the infantry will be moving on foot to Dolbach while the BMPs remain in an overwatch position. Warren's weight is on his right (my left) as his SBF near NAI2 has lost two of it's three BMPs. The SBF position near NAI3 has lost one BMP-1PK, but has been reinforced by the Company CO's BRM. I expect Warren to push hard toward Dolbach shortly.. and that is a fight I cannot participate in as I don't have the infantry he does. So I have something else in mind... CLUES GALORE!!! Have fun. For reference:

Even the US visual modifications used at the NTC are supposed to represent Soviet equipment and their capabilities are supposed to be equivalent. Thus, at the NTC you will be facing a Soviet equipped OPFOR. Of course when you guys get the game you can do whatever weird things you want with it. Bil

Soviet equipment.

Thank you, definitely appreciate the kind words. Re: the Blog.. yeah.. been kinda busy, eh? Still you are right in saying that I need to finish up that Rifle Platoon series. I have written abut hull down and how to get into hull down manually on my blog: Hull Down Post

HEAT warhead damage on an M-113... the game has it pretty much spot on:

Excellent Miquel. Not saying whether you re right or wrong. FYI the "dismounts" shown at the tip of the arrow in the tank image are my mortar platoon and Troop HQ... just to clarify the details a bit. Bil