Bil Hardenberger

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.

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.

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.  

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.  

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

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 appreciate the kind words and am happy you find the blog useful.  What's your background, any military experience?
 
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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

There are no tiny issues by forum rules.  All issues shall be presented as fundamental flaws.  At that point lines will be drawn between defenders and attackers.  The thread will immediately veer off topic.  Prior to locking, all parties will scream in high pitched shrieks until everyone is tired and fall asleep.  At that point, BFC sends in the clean up crew and addresses the original issue in Engine upgrade 9.0.

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.

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.

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

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

Any resulting sanity loss from TRADOC's World Equipment Guide 2011. Despite all the goodies modeled in the game, I believe you'll be blown away by what else is out there on the OPFOR side of the house. Threats are conveniently ranked by tier, too.
 
Ground Systems
 
WEG 2011 Vol 1 Ground Systems - APAN Community ...
 
Update for Vol 1. Please understand these are change pages and new ones only, not a revised book.
 
http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p4013coll11/id/2089
 
Air and Air Defense Threats
 
WEG 2011 Vol 2 Airspace and Air Defense Systems - APAN 
 
Naval Threats
 
http://www.soldf.com/download/freebooks/WEG%202011%20Vol%203%20Naval%20and%20Littoral%20Systems.pdf
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Okay, I know there are a lot of these getting released lately.. but I think mine are just a bit unique, vehicle icons are handled uniquely... when selected the icons flash blue for Ukrainian and olive for US units... 
 
Note that these are BETA.. I will be making adjustments, but wanted to get something out there for those of you waiting to try my floating icons.  I was going for clarity and ease of identification with this set.
 
If you download them and try them out please give me any feedback you like... I know there are some issues: for example the FOW icons, ammo dumps get the ammo bearer icon etc.. I need to adjust those for sure.
 
Grab them here: Bil's Floating Icons-BETA
 
Previews:
 

 

Rifle Platoon Leader - Part II Platoon Scouts is posted.  I hope you guys enjoy this one.. it is a subject that I find too important to skimp on.. so it ended up a tad longer than I expected, sorry about that.  
 
Next up is the Platoon Attack, and then a tactical problem scenario.. that will take a little longer to prepare, so I will probably break the attack post into at least two parts.
 

Rifle Platoon Leader - Part II Platoon Scouts is posted.  I hope you guys enjoy this one.. it is a subject that I find too important to skimp on.. so it ended up a tad longer than I expected, sorry about that.  
 
Next up is the Platoon Attack, and then a tactical problem scenario.. that will take a little longer to prepare, so I will probably break the attack post into at least two parts.
 

Not specifically.. but I will add some explanation re: hedgerows, just for you guys.  

Not specifically.. but I will add some explanation re: hedgerows, just for you guys.  

Coming this weekend, Part 2 of my Rifle Platoon Leader series: Platoon Scouts
 
This post will cover:
Platoon Scouts - purpose Scouting and Platoon Movement Techniques Scouting Techniques in relation to: Close Terrain Open Terrain Scout Movement Cresting a Rise Flank Scouts Here is a small snippet from the upcoming post.  Enjoy, and watch my blog for this post either Saturday or Sunday.
 

Coming this weekend, Part 2 of my Rifle Platoon Leader series: Platoon Scouts
 
This post will cover:
Platoon Scouts - purpose Scouting and Platoon Movement Techniques Scouting Techniques in relation to: Close Terrain Open Terrain Scout Movement Cresting a Rise Flank Scouts Here is a small snippet from the upcoming post.  Enjoy, and watch my blog for this post either Saturday or Sunday.
 

Rifle Platoon Leader Part I - The Approach March is posted.
 
Enjoy!
 

I have started a new series of posts on the Battle Drill blog, the introduction is up now: RIFLE PLATOON LEADER
 
Starting with the Rifle Platoon I will cover the following topics:
 
RIFLE PLATOON Approach March Scouting The Attack The Defense The Pursuit The Support Platoon Role Integrating Support Teams into the Platoon Approach March section is almost completed and will be posted this weekend.  I will try to do at least one post in this series each week, followed by the supporting tactical problem scenarios.  I hope this series makes up in some way for my lack of posting content.

I have started a new series of posts on the Battle Drill blog, the introduction is up now: RIFLE PLATOON LEADER
 
Starting with the Rifle Platoon I will cover the following topics:
 
RIFLE PLATOON Approach March Scouting The Attack The Defense The Pursuit The Support Platoon Role Integrating Support Teams into the Platoon Approach March section is almost completed and will be posted this weekend.  I will try to do at least one post in this series each week, followed by the supporting tactical problem scenarios.  I hope this series makes up in some way for my lack of posting content.

I have started a new series of posts on the Battle Drill blog, the introduction is up now: RIFLE PLATOON LEADER
 
Starting with the Rifle Platoon I will cover the following topics:
 
RIFLE PLATOON Approach March Scouting The Attack The Defense The Pursuit The Support Platoon Role Integrating Support Teams into the Platoon Approach March section is almost completed and will be posted this weekend.  I will try to do at least one post in this series each week, followed by the supporting tactical problem scenarios.  I hope this series makes up in some way for my lack of posting content.

I have started a new series of posts on the Battle Drill blog, the introduction is up now: RIFLE PLATOON LEADER
 
Starting with the Rifle Platoon I will cover the following topics:
 
RIFLE PLATOON Approach March Scouting The Attack The Defense The Pursuit The Support Platoon Role Integrating Support Teams into the Platoon Approach March section is almost completed and will be posted this weekend.  I will try to do at least one post in this series each week, followed by the supporting tactical problem scenarios.  I hope this series makes up in some way for my lack of posting content.