James Sterrett

The real trick is to find places from which you can fire into the side of the enemy.... which is, well, tricky. 8) Figure out which way they are coming, and try to arrange ambushes alongside their line of march. Or, a bit less clever, find terrain blocks they're going to come through, and station your infantry & SRAAW teams a few hundred meters beyond that. (They might appreciate having arty on call, and tanks/ATGM support further back....) For example, heading west, you have to cross the hill on the southern third of Map 01. Stationing forces for a massive reverse-slope ambush, just west of the west edge of the hill, can wreak havoc on the enemy. The downside is that the infantry rarely escapes any of these techniques alive. 8/

Good ideas, but it looks like Rick has a solution. The sub/unsub info: =========== ============================================================= Messages to the list are sent to tacops@perilpoint.com To subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the list send an e-mail message to Majordomo@perilpoint.com In the body of the message put "subscribe tacops" (no quotes) or "unsubscribe tacops". The digest is a separate mailing list. To change from one to the other, unsubscribe from one and subscribe to the other. The body of the message would be "subscribe tacops-digest" to subscribe to the digest. If you have any difficulties, you can reach me at owner-tacops@perilpoint.com ================================================================= The scope of conversation allowed in this group is simple. If it has anything to do with the TacOps computer game, then it is allowable. Traditionally, subjects not related to Tacops have been tolerated if sufficiently interesting and done in a civilized manner. Anyone posting offensive material (such as derogatory or defaming comments about other members, or personal attacks) will be given a few warnings before being banned from the list. ================================================================ If mail sent to you bounces for more than a few days I'll remove you from the list since I get a notification of every bounce and my inbox can fill up fast. ================================================================= THE LEGAL THINGS AGAIN! This discussion group is in no way affiliated with the producers of TacOps. To unsubscribe, send the message "unsubscribe tacops" (no quotes) to Majordomo@perilpoint.com

Well, RT's MBX is continually threatening to get off the ground. 8) Bill Jennings is gearing up to run another, as well. RT's tend to be more cinematic, and Bill's are very hard-core. [Actually, one of the neatest game experiences I've ever had was in Bill's first MBX: holding the post of Chief of Staff for a modern Soviet-style Combined Arms Army (Steve Althouse was CO) . Integrating all the various weapons systems was a staggering, but fascinating, task.] I'll do my best to remember to annouce my next MBX here as well as on the list (assuming the listserv gets settled - Telelists is dying, replacement uncertain.)

I've got one in the works, no date set... been too busy to run it. 8( There have been a couple of MBXes run over the years too, by Bill Jennings and Rikki Tikki.

Welcome back! I'd wondered where you had gotten to. 8)

So would I. 8) Many are tricky to get, at least in original printing (in Russian). I don't know of a source of translated ones.

No problem - glad you found it useful, and enjoy TacOps! 8) Done "right", deploying forward means Opfor doesn't get out of the first km or two of the map. We imposed the deployment limits on Blue after we asked ourselves why Opfor wouldn't deploy a few km earlier after the scouts and/or lead units of the first MRB got blown away. Artificial limits to deal with artificial map limits. 8) Tanks do tend to get hurt by the missile carriers. Another friend and I made a Gallagher-like, modifying a Canadian scenario on Map 15 to give Canada a tank regiment (~70 Leo 1) plus a recce troop. No missiles made things pretty interesting, facing BMPs. 8) The lack of a central LOS block on much of Map 15 also meant the Opfor could more easily outflank defences on the opposite side (N <-> S) of the map. Opfor SAMs means airstrikes are usually only effective in sets of 6. You can get some mileage out of fewer when only the Opfor recon is on the map (few or no SAMs), or when the target unit has been disrutped/suppressed by some other means. If you can time a passel of airstrikes to arrive the minute after you pound a company column with artillery (direct the airstrikes away from the exact arty targets, so they choose the scattering vehicles instead of any infantry survivors) you may get better results - assuming the company's buddies don't do in your airstrikes. My favorite tank reserve location on Map 01 is the N-S road on the western edge. It lets the tanks move out quickly, and the distance to the frontline in the early going restrains me from sending them into the fray too early. Opfor rarely chooses to move down the central ridge in force, because of the slow going in the rough terrain. You can often get away with defending it less heavily. In addition, there's lots of useful ambush spots onto the central ridge from both sides, so if Opfor fools you and chooses that route, the forces north and south can probably deal with it. I'm always begging for ICM too, regardless of the side. But in Gallagher, at least somebody upstairs likes you enough to let you fire MLRS on tactical targets! 8) By the way, I'm curious what you think of the CPX-style games of TacOps I and some others have run (see: http://www.battlefront.com/resources/tacops/HQ/text/CPX/cpx.html for info on these.)

If your profile information is correct, it feels terribly strange to be giving you advice. Usually it's been the other way round via your books. 8) My primary comment: you aren't using the bulk of the map. The initial 1/3 of the map does offer some great opportunities for ambush and defence; but the next 1/3 does too, and if you know where Opfor is headed, the last stretch has some good terrain for your final defence. Thus, if you use more shoot-n-fade tactics, you may get better results in terms of losses for kills. In addition, Opfor tends to come past the central belt of woods & hills piecemeal, offering a good chance for reverse slope defences in that area. Note that I usually blow my hit-n-fades by sticking in the area for "just one more shot". 8) Use the SOP to shoot and run away. Aggressive counter-recon can help win the early game - send the Brdleys forward to snipe the BRDMs and BMPs. [A cheap tactic given the constraints of the map, but a friend and I discovered in email play that if the entire US force deploys forward fast, it can deploy to chew up Opfor piecemeal as it enters the map. This is not what I'm suggesting. Our guideline to avoid this cheat was: no main force east of E10.5; no scouts east of E13.0; no arty east of E13.0.] Also, these guys can drop stay-behind scout infantry teams to give you recon and arty spotting. The big question hanging in my head after my defence is restoring the old line of defence. Might make an interesting scenario to advance back into your defence, cleaning out the remnants of Opfor, while Opfor tries to take advantage of the retreat with another MRR.

Glantz is a great place to start; especially since he has paid better attention than most to what the Soviets meant by what they wrote in their manuals! The various US Opfor ppublications aren't bad but did not always quite grasp what the Soviets were trying to do. Do you have access to a good research library? If so, you ought to be able to get a fair amount of material (there's a lot out by Glantz. 8) Other than Glantz, you might look for: Orenstein (editor/translator), _The Evolution of Soviet Operational Art_ - an excellent collection of translated documents & articles. Trindafillov, _The Nature of the Operations of Modern Armies_ (1928) is one of the key books in the Soviet's development of operational art. The other, albeit in a none too hot translation, is Svechin's _Strategy_. Neither is an easy read. Finally, some easier reading: Dmitri Loza's _Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks_ is a good look at a worm's-eye view of the Eastern Front from the Soviet side.

It is not present in the game, though it certainly can be in an umpired game. I've had players face the counter-battery war in a number of my more recent IRC CPXes. It hasn't been simulated with very high fidelity, but the imperative to shoot and scoot has certainly been there.

The arty fire *ought* to be spread out across the turn, just as yours is. Either that or Opfor is getting really lucky. 8) However, in the first 15 seconds or so, you units won't have moved much from their initial positions.

TacOps has been undergoing evolutionary upgrades with each version number. v3.0 is in many ways the same game as v1.04 - there are few radical changes. However, there are a lot of tweaks, new maps, new units, etc amen. There's a demo on this site you can download and have a look at. And keep in mind that buying v3.0 makes it more likely that the radical changes internded for T'98 will eventually see the light of day. 8)

RT posted up a partially complete file of mine on Soviet tactics, which includes a TOE description for divisions. It is a bit big for posting into here, and a do apologize for its unfinished nature! Someday I'll fill in the blanks and complete the "further reading" sections, etc. <a href=http://www.battlefront.com/resources/tacops/HQ/files/sovtac.zip>Click here to download the zipped Word doco</a> or <a href=http://www.battlefront.com/resources/tacops/HQ/files/Sovtac.sit.hqx>Click here to download a compressed MacWord version</a> [This message has been edited by James Sterrett (edited 05-16-2000).]

I'd suggest Team McMains/Team Meyers (a US Army/USMC pair) for an early scenario. They are not very tough but give you solid practice in making all the "bits" work together. (Interestingly, they are *much* harder against a human Opfor.)

OK.... To make your own scenario: - start a two-player game, and load a scenario whose name is something like "Custom Scenario XXXX" (XXXX would be US Army, USMC, or Canada). The game will ask you to specify a map. Find Map 515 and ta-da, you are off to begin deploying forces. - You can't use the AI in these scenarios, though you can play them against other humans. You can start the game as an email game or LAN game if you wanted. ----- Map Overlays: To make a map overlay: - Enable "CPX Umpire Mode" under Options - Under "Reports", select "CPX Overlay to File" This will generate the .cpo file. You'll need to assign passwords if you want other people to be able to see only one side or the other; if you assign no passwords, anybody loading the file can see both Opfor and BluFor troops. When you open an Overlay file, you can examine the deployments of the side(s) for which you have a password; you can also look over their artillery state and airstrikes and such. The Overlay feature was developed by Major H. to support CPX play, since it makes it easier for the Umpire to report positions to players in a manner the players can quickly grasp. (The older methods were a text report generated by TacOps, which was quick for the umpire but not the players; those reports (SITREPs) replaced summary reports written by the umpire, which were ust plain slow. 8)

Very carefully. [grin] You can move a unit that short a distance, but it takes a close understanding of where the center of the unit is, and where the next pixel begins. If you have to do it, use the LOS tool from the unit's orders bar, and try to find a spot that is 15 meters away (100 meters = 10 pixels). Then double-click wityout moving the mouse at all. That will cancel the LOS tool and place the waypoint.

<a href=http://www.battlefront.com/resources/tacops/HQ/text/CPX/cpxaars/gagetown.txt>Recce Battle at Gagetown</a> was the CPX. There are things that don't work right for a night battle - no illumination, no spotting firing units beyond normal visibility. But you can get an approximation.

Pretty steep, isn't it? 8) But you can assign yourself more-or-less any point total you like with the Umpire tool for adding supply points (I forget what it is called... somewhere under Options.) There *is* a limit, or used to be, at (very approximately) 99,999.

Regarding the helo assault: Use your snipers to kill the anti-aircraft defences, and to spot for artillery. The artillery can land smoke to cover your landings. Prepped this way, you can get in and out pretty effectively.

You can simulate reloads by using the Supply button on the unit orders menu.... if you run out of points, use CPX Umpire mode to grant yourself more. It isn't a direct simulation, but it lets you get the job done. You cannot have optional units come on after game-start unless they are already programmed to do so. [but there's nothing to stop you leaving them at the map edge until they are "meant" to enter. 8) ]

While it is not very obvious from the website, a lot of the tanks at Bovington Tank Museum (the tank museum of the first posting) are runners, and small shows of around 3 tanks occur a couple of times a day for much of the tourist season (see visitor info for details - but note that I saw this around Easter, well outwith the advertised times). The shows are free with the museum admission (and if you are sneaky, I suspect you could watch the show without paying; you walk one way frm the parking lot to buy tickets and the opposite way to the track where they run the tanks.... They've got a superb collection - certainly well worth a visit.

Whenever John & I get around to the next iteration of Gallagher, addition of helos is very likely, along with more artillery support. Hadn't thought to strip the Stingers, though - bears consideration. 8)

Another thought... We found that US airpower was irrelevant in packages of less than 6 airstrikes. 6 strikes on a given target all at once would get through Opfor's air defences; fewer generally did not. The thing that really hurt Opfor was the death of a thousand cuts: as the US, we were good at running a series of small delaying ambushes against each other, mostly with Bradleys and artillery. These were strung out across the map, with a final defence near the western edge, where finally everything would be committed to a big fight. That latter fight was usually either a foregone conclusion or not necessary. Opfor, going very slowly, could get around part of this; but we both balked at extending the scenario more than 30-45 minutes. Attempts to run "momentum" style attacks - slam all of Opfor down one axis, fast & hard, to overwhelm the delay, also met with disaster - the target array was too dense!

For the record - we did limit the forward deployment after it was conclusively demonstrated by John that moving the entire US battalion forward, fast, was nearly unstoppable. After that, we agreed to the following: - only US scouts will advance - no US artillery/airpower east of easting 13 This let the Opfor get onto the map. 8)

Another point of view on this from a purely game-balance perspective. Playing one of my long-term email opponents in a long series of games of TF Gallagher, we have eventually gotten to the point where Opfor cannot win - even with thermals and advanced warheads. Experiments into possible ways to beef up Opfor were terminated by a variety of troubles but may start up again after we have a fling with some Canadian units. 8) I am **not** saying this balance will be found by everyone. It's possible John & I are simply better at defending, or know each other's attack patterns too well. But Opfor does not necessarily have far too much kit to beat, even with thermals, advanced warheads, and extra tank battlaion, and the slam-bang arrival schedule of Gallagher 8.