Bil Hardenberger

Now you're making me all weepy. Bastard. Bil

I know everybody is excited and would like to know what is next after the Base Game... believe me we are all excited too! As far as follow-on modules go.. yes several are planned, but what they are specifically we will keep to ourselves until after the game is released. For now the focus must stay on the base-game for us, but feel free to conjecture and dream, I enjoy those threads, but we won't be confirming or denying anything until after this one is on the street. Just so you guys know that we aren't ignoring you in those discussions, we are trying to stay focused and not get sidetracked so we can deliver this thing in time. Cheers, Bil

Tentative Plan Battle Planning: My philosophy is to never develop a final plan until I have an estimate of the enemy situation. “The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That's the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!” George S. Patton In the above quote, Patton is describing the OODA Loop, though of course John Boyd’s description and breakdown of his now famous loop was still decades away. OODA Loop (Observe-Orient, Decide-Act) - In the OODA loop the Observe-Orient components never stop, from the battle kickoff to the end. They are always running, and all enemy interactions and sightings feed Observe-Orient which add to the picture a commander has of his battle space making their decisions easier, faster, and more intuitive. If you can beat your opponent to “understanding the situation” then your OODA Loop will cycle at a much higher pace than theirs and your decisions will be more effective and they will be at least one step behind, which is a bad place to be in a fast paced combat zone. For this battle, I need to get eyes on NAI 1, 2, and 3 as quickly as possible so this initial formation (1st Platoon) will act as my reconnaissance force. Once I have an idea as to how the enemy is deploying I can then Decide how to Act. Once a decision has been made there must be no hesitation, act aggressively and with confidence in the decision. I can make some assumptions: Assumption 1: The enemy will attempt to seize the village. This is a sure bet, as it is the main objective for this scenario, for both sides. Assumption 2: The enemy will advance down EAA1 towards the village. Another safe assumption due to the masked movement corridor this avenue presents. Assumption 3: The enemy will build a SBF position close to either NAI2 or NAI3, or both. Reasoning is that both of these positions can provide excellent flank support to the main effort, probably moving through EAA1. Reconnaissance Plan: In order to get eyes on the enemy I need to close the distance as soon as possible. Scouts: My main recon force will be the three M113s, Scout teams and the Platoon HQ team. Which will rush toward Dolbach, dismount prior to entering, and creep forward as far as possible. These are not expendable units, I want them alive and capable to help in a later phase. CMCW Feature: New to Cold War, US Scout teams all have the ability to call for fire. Overwatch: The two M-150 TOW vehicles will provide long range overwatch from the ridge. Their visibility from up there is suspect and I am pessimistic as to the level of fire they will be able to place on the enemy. Overwatch/Support by Fire: Split into two, two-tank teams the M-60A1(Rise+) tanks will be on the extreme right flank providing Support by Fire and Overwatch for the M113s. Their goal will be to shadow the M113s and to interdict any enemy vehicles they can. Obscuration: My two Howitzer batteries will be laying down a quick smoke screen in front of the enemy in order to, hopefully, decrease his ability to engage any of my moving units. Also this is meant to increase the difficulty of the enemy spotting and any shots the Soviets may attempt. Intent: The intent and goal for this initial phase is to answer as many of the PIRs as possible prior to the initial reinforcement wave (5 minutes). They are not to get decisively engaged or do anything stupid that will force them to suffer casualties. Force preservation is key, especially for the tanks and the M-150s. Bil

Just a quick word.. this isn't a normal missile launcher. It is ad-hoc.. a TOW launcher mounted on top of an M113 and is fired from the unbuttoned position, so there is a little soldier head somewhere in those pixels. Still.. this is one of my favorite vehicles in the game. Bil

Yes the Berlin Brigade organization is included in this game. I will let @The_Capt give you the broad strokes as he prepped the US TO&E, Bil

It's kind of a preview of what's to come.. but did someone say, Hull-Down M150? This is taken from Warren's side and is REALLY zoomed in. Bil

METT-T Analysis TROOPS “We are an Army historically unprepared for its first battle. We are accustomed to victory wrought with the weight of materiel and population brought to bear after the onset of hostilities. Today the U.S. Army must above all else, prepare to win the first battle of the next war.” FM 100-5 (1976 – Introduction to the Active Defense Doctrine) Troops: My advantage over the Soviet force will probably be in available support. His BMPs and tanks will probably out class my M113s, M60A1s, and M150s so I will depend heavily on my attached support assets to even the playing field. My force for this action is task organized as follows (start formations are in blue text). Armored Cavalry Troop Troop HQ – Five minutes out HQ Team on M113A1 FO Team on M113A1 1st Platoon – Initial Formation on the map HQ Team on M113A2 x2 Scout Teams on M113A2 – note, these teams have the ability to Call Artillery x2 Tank Hunters (M-150 TOW) x4 M60A1 (Rise+) 2nd Platoon – Five minutes out HQ Team on M113A1 x2 Scout Teams on M113A1 – note, these teams have the ability to Call Artillery x2 Tank Hunters (M-150 TOW) x4 M60A1 3rd Platoon – Ten minutes out HQ Team on M113A1 x2 Scout Teams on M113A1 – note, these teams have the ability to Call Artillery x2 Tank Hunters (M-150 TOW) x4 M60A1 (Rise) Mortar Section – Five minutes out HQ Team on M577 x3 M106A1 Mortar Carriers Support (Attachments): x2 Battery (x6 M114A1 guns each) – available at start x1 Battery (x6 M114A1 guns) CLUSTER MUNITIONS – Available in five minutes x2 AH-1F Cobra Attack Helicopters – Available in ten minutes CMCW Feature: New to Cold War, CLUSTER MUNITIONS!! For both artillery and aircraft (if available historically). Wait until you see these in action. METT-T Analysis TIME Time: There are 40 minutes available in this action. Reinforcement Schedule: On map: 1 Armored Cavalry Platoon with x2 Heavy Artillery Batteries Five Minutes: AC Troop HQ, x1 Armored Cav Platoon, plus x1 Battery with Cluster munitions Ten Minutes: x1 Armored Cav Platoon, plus x2 AH-1F Attack Helicopters Bil

That's it for tonight ladies.. tomorrow I will complete my analysis posts and then get into my tentative plan for this action. Sleep tight! Bil

METT-T Analysis TERRAIN “Key Terrain: Any locality, or area, the seizure or retention of which affords a marked advantage to either combatant. See also vital ground.” Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms Terrain: This is very complicated ground… the heights, along which my forces are situated provides very scanty and elusive visibility over the Soviet approaches in the north. This is forcing me to close the range fast to get eyes on my areas of interest. The forest, through which the enemy must advance, could slow them down if they exit at NAI 2 and/or 3… but if they rush out through the NAI 1 approach then they have a secure straight road into the heart of the village. That is my biggest fear. Map size: East to West @ 2 km, North to South @ 2.5 km Terrain Objective: Control the Village (Dolbach) If my opponent doesn’t do a thorough terrain analysis then he may weight his approach differently than I suspect as laid out below. Enemy Avenues of Approach (EAA): EAA 1: I suspect this will be the main enemy approach. This is low ground and as such provides excellent masked movement up to and into Dolbach. My goal is to get as many eyes, and guns on this area as quickly as possible. EAA 2: I suspect that this approach will contain at least a Support by Fire (SBF) position but could it be the main line of effort? Doubtful. Though this area is covered pretty well by my forces on the ridge, I suspect it will be a minor avenue if it’s used at all. EAA 3: I suspect that this approach will contain at least a Support by Fire position but it could be the main line of effort. This approach is pretty secure from my ability to place fire here, so I suspect it will have a higher priority than EAA 2. Key Terrain: EAA 1 is the Key Terrain feature within this area of operation. Whoever can control it, controls the center and probably the village. If I can cover it by fire, then the Soviet commander will have to use one of the other, more vulnerable approaches. If he can maintain fluid movement down this route, then he can push a lot more combat power into Dolbach than I can. Named Areas of Interest (NAI): NAI 1: This area is blocked from view right now and is expected to be the main avenue of advance for any Soviet push towards the village. NAI 2 and NAI 3: These exit points from the woods could provide nice over-watch positions and for support by fire positions. These could also be assembly/assault positions for a flank attack into Dolbach. The goal for all of these NAIs is to identify enemy activity within them before it becomes a problem. Bil

In case you missed it.. I put a Table of Contents in the original post. Should help you orient and check if any new AAR posts have been posted. Bil

METT-T Analysis ENEMY “Remember, me lad, though the Irish fight well, the Rooshian artillery’s hotter ‘n hell.” The Kerry Recruit – 1855 Folksong Enemy: The expected enemy force consists of perhaps a Reconnaissance Company and an FSE with unknown follow-on forces, but Intelligence says that the closest supporting Soviet formation is a Reserve Tank Battalion, so we might see elements of that formation come in as a reinforcement. Suspected enemy Order of Battle (OB): Reconnaissance Company x2 Recon Platoons on BMP 1(type?) x1 Tank Platoon (x3 tanks) – unknown type (possible T-64A or T-64B) Possible Forward Security Element (FSE) x2 Mech Infantry Platoons on BMP 1(type?) x1 Tank Platoon (x4 tanks) – unknown type (possible T-64A or T-64B) Follow on force – possible Reserve Tank Company? Company (+)? – unknown type, (possible T-62) – possibly x10 tanks. Available Support – unknown, but no enemy aircraft are expected in this battlespace. Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIRs): Where is the enemy’s main effort concentrated? Where is/are the enemy SBF position(s)? What is the size of the initial Soviet force? Where are enemy’s tanks? This is a persistent PIR and should be kept updated throughout the action. What model tanks are in the Reconnaissance Company? What is the organization of the initial follow-on force? What model tanks are in the initial follow-on force? What is the organization of any additional follow-on forces? What model tanks are in any additional follow-on forces? Bil

Appreciate your appreciation... it was mostly off than on in those eight years... got hot and very ON over the past couple of years. Bil

METT-T Analysis MISSION “The Army I grew up in was focused on high-intensity conflict against a peer competitor called the Soviet Union.” Mark Esper Mission: Seize and control the village of Dolbach that sits along an important Main Supply Route (MSR) which runs east to west just north of this village. Advance to contact and “convince” the Soviets that this is not the village they are looking for. I think Warren once described this type of fight as "two fat men fighting over a donut". So the mission is simple... at least it sounds simple. However this is 1980 and the US does not have the technical advantages they will have a mere two years later. “Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult.” von Clausewitz This is basically a meeting engagement, and our forces will be, in numbers at least, relatively balanced. However there is a capability gap at this point in time in favor of the Soviets as you will discover. Bil

I'll get into that of course, but those are M-60A1 (RISE+) tanks. I am actually fielding, M-60A1, M-60A1 (RISE), and M-60A1 (RISE+) in this battle. Bil

Dave, this is not the same scenario from the campaign.. we built it especially for this AAR game. Bil

“Here, across death’s other river, the Tartar horsemen shake their spears.” T.S. Eliot This BETA game is being played against Warren (The_Capt), and we are very familiar with each other’s style, strengths and weaknesses as we’ve been playing CM against each other for close to 20 years now. CM Cold War was our brainchild and has been on our wargame design table, off and on, for eight years now, but now it is a real thing. You’re welcome. With that said it is only fitting that Warren and I play in this BETA AAR. We haven’t played in public since our original CMBN BETA AAR, Not your Father’s Combat Mission. I hope you enjoy the ride, and welcome to the COLD WAR!! Sidebar! I strictly use the Movie Mode when I play so all of my screenshots use that feature. I don't mean it to insult anybody, but I just think the game looks better. Meeting Engagement at Dolbach Heights, 1980 When Warren and I laid out the design for this game we wanted it to be primarily and ultimately a sandbox for experimentation and reflection. A tool to test the tactical theories that were prevalent at that time. Time… yes, we also wanted to be able to examine the different sides from different time perspectives, and this release, the base game in the CM Cold War series, contains the years 1979 to 1982. We also only cover the months March to October, mainly so we didn’t have to generate winter textures and models which would have been one feature too many. This particular scenario is one that Warren and I threw together that we thought would be fun to play and show off. The map is from the US Campaign and when you play that you will see this map eventually. I will start my METT-T analysis in my next post, but for now, sit back, enjoy the existence of this game, and don’t go away! Bil CONTENTS: METT-T Analysis MISSION ENEMY TERRAIN TROOPS / TIME Tentative Plan The Action: First Three Minutes! Fourth Minute - First Contact! Fifth Minute - Return of the Blood Board! Sixth & Seventh Minutes Eighth Minute - One Meter Too Many Eighth Minute - BDA & Some Movements Ninth Minute Tenth Minute Eleventh & Twelfth Minutes - "...damn your eyes." Thirteenth Minute - The Board is Set Fourteenth Minute - Spoiling Attack Plan Fifteenth through Seventeenth Minutes Eighteenth Minute - Relearning Old Lessons Nineteenth & Twentieth Minutes Twenty-First & Twenty-Second Minutes - Beyond Here, There be Dragons Twenty-Third & Twenty-Fourth Minutes - Saga of Tank Section 1

Would you be surprised if I told you that BMPs are a handful?

@IICptMillerII Well done Justin!

Chuck, I saw that. Of course in my rules the Covered Arcs (and this is how I see them) are used for formation control and fire discipline.. I argue that this is not, when acting within a Leader's/Commander's control an individual task.. it will be dictated. When not acting within a Leader's or Commander's control then that unit will not, in most cases, have the full intelligence picture to enable it to make decisions like how to restrict fire, or what zone to cover. We can agree to disagree on this one subject, and of course if you do decide to use these rules feel free to not use Rule 7 Covered Arcs, or substitute it for your own house rule. Everybody has their own interpretations of how things work in action... mine comes from my military experience and decades of gaming, research, tactical blogging, etc.. I also work as a Wargame M&S Engineer for the USMC's Warfighting Lab (Wargame Division). It comes down to, what makes you happy and enjoy the game? Do what you think is correct and makes you comfortable. Bil

Of course. Let's shake and have a conversation. Regarding Cover Arcs... those are in the Optional/Advanced rule section (page 2) so obviously you can feel free to take them or leave them as they are optional and considered Advanced rules. But the purpose behind them is to force a player to maintain proper C2 distances... keep the squads within their Platoon Leader's command range. A real Platoon Leader will control the zones that each of his squads cover, to ensure his entire zone of responsibility is protected. THis is not normally a squad leader function when working within the PL's control. Now there are two exceptions to this and both have to do with scouting, as an infantry team on a scouting mission and a dedicated Scout Platoon (on a scouting mission). Both are really autonomous units and thus do not need a leader to dictate fields of fire, etc. Exceptions: Units performing a scouting mission Recon platoons performing a scouting mission A word about the reasoning behind exception #2 - a player could abuse a Scouting Platoon and use it in an infantry role.. in that case it should follow the same rules as a normal infantry platoon. If it is actually performing a scouting mission, then of course it is in its element and gets its special exception. Now if a squad from that Platoon is working independently as a maneuver element during a platoon attack drill, then of course that squad is acting as an autonomous unit and should also be able to use covered arcs as required. This type of exception to the rule could be a player decision or I could add it as a third exception type thus: Exceptions: Units performing a scouting mission Recon platoons performing a scouting mission Formations/units acting as a Maneuver Element during a Battle Drill (i.e. Attack Drill) We have to be careful to not give too much slack, for example, if I were to say "Exception 3 is any unit acting independently" a player could then say, "well... all my units are acting independently!" So we need to carefully spell out the exceptions. These rules were written for myself and a small group of like minded players.. most of whom have been constant commentators in this thread, they definitely are not for everybody. I'd be interested in your thoughts. Bil

Open response to @chuckdyke: If you really do think the rules are nonsense then I am not even sure why you come in this thread and attack them... of course you are going to get a reaction from me. This thread has always been about discussion and exploration of the topic (simulating Command & Control (C2) and C2 Friction). The game is awesome, but it isn't perfect, my rules don't make it perfect either, but they do add a layer of command friction for the discriminating player that doesn't exist normally. That is all we were trying to do with them. They are about adding another level of experience that few wargames touch. It might be that you have a point and I'd be interested in pursuing it, but let's have a civilized and open discussion. I have made edits to the rules several times due to the feedback and discussion in this thread (and others) and am always open to new interpretations, ideas, and exceptions... maybe you'll even come to understand why a rule is worded a certain way and actually appreciate why they were created in the first place. Peace, Bil

Right, and now I see the kind of person you are. Oh and I want to congratulate you, because in 20 years in this forum you are the very first person I am placing on my ignore list. Well done. Bil

If you don't like the rules.. don't use them. Any argument you may have to make is just getting lost in the noise of your rudeness. Bil

Great write ups @Zloba! Happy you took those for a spin and hopefully some of the lessons will stick. Bil

The problem with any game, is that you do not have the luxury of being on the ground and checking it with your own eyes. The only way to ensure a unit will position itself correctly, whether that be hulldown, or in full defilade (or whatever) is to use the LOS tool from a waypoint. It is a tool, nothing more, and it is also just an approximation. Actual visibility from that spot may or may not be what you expect due to the different height of units and other factors.. like the tactical AI placement of individual soldiers in a squad along a hedgerow, etc. It's a tool, nothing more and is no more gamey than any other tool that is meant to aid the player and help them cope with the artificial world that CM inhabits.