Conscript Bagger
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Posts posted by Conscript Bagger
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So I'm heading over to a friend's house for a boardgame tonight, and thought I'd bring the laptop for a little CM demonstration. What scenarios do you recommend for a good newbie experience? I want something that features English-speaking attackers, since attacking is better vs. AI and I want him to be able to understand the cries of his troops.
Oh yeah, something on the smallish side would be good for manageability and time considerations.I'm thinking of getting the Chance Encounter and Riesberg scenarios for CMAK, since I have fond memories of playing these scenarios in the CMBO demo--but there may be better ones for CMAK. Your thoughts?
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And you can still use the "+" and "-" keys to cycle through mounted units. Select platoon HQ, give orders, hit "+" to select Squad 1, give orders, hit "+" to select Squad 2, etc.
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As long as he's got something worthwhile to say, I'll take this guy over our collection of innocuously named crapflingers any day. He's just going to have to accept that his name will influence how his posts are received.
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They'll probably throw grenades, which is the game's way of showing a close assault. Do you have an HQ unit in those woods? They are (at least anecdotally) held to be more effective at disabling tanks this way.
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So as not to hijack the M10 thread, I'm putting this here.
Just found this info on my hard drive - I posted it here before the Great Forum Purge, etc.; maybe folks who didn't see it then will find it useful now. AARs often don't say what type of TD was in action, just the unit, and the CM-level tactics for M10s, M18s, M36s, and 76mm towed guns can be pretty different, so it's nice to know which weapon to put into a scenario.Originally posted by CombinedArms:I'm not sure about the historicity of mixing M10s and Hellcats. I'm sure they both were used in the antitank battalions, but whether together or not, I don't know. BTW, the tactics described above won't work for the Hellcat. Even at 1000m, that front is too porous to sustain a hit from almost anything.
Only one type of TD is listed for each unit, except when they converted to a new type. I imagine some of the M18/36 units were upgraded from towed 76s or M10s, but the author of this information (forgotten by me
) didn't know it.There were fifty-two TD Bn's in the ETO on 1 January 1945:Self-Propelled
601st (M36, also served in Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy with M3 and M10)
602nd (M18)
603rd (M18)
607th (M36)
609th (M18)
610th (M36)
611th ?????
612th (M18)
628th (M36)
629th (M10)
630th (7/44 - M18) (sometime pre-1/45 - M36)
631st (M10)
634th (M10)
635th (M10)
636th (M10, also served in Tunisia and Italy)
638th (M18)
643rd (M18)
644th (M10)
645th (M36, also served in Italy with M10)
654th (M36)
691st (M36)
701st (M10)
702nd (M36)
703rd (M36)
704th (M18)
705th (M18)
771st (M36)
773rd (M36)
774th (M36)
776th (11/42 - M10 in Tunisia and Italy) (9/44 - M36)
803rd (M36)
808th (M36)
809th (M36)
811th (M18)
813th (M36, also served in Tunisia and Sicily with M3 and M10)
814th (8/44 - M10) (11/44 - M36)
818th (M36)
821st (M10)
823rd (M10)
827th Colored (M18)
893rd (M10)
899th (M36, also served in Tunisia with M10)
Towed (changes to SP are sometime post-1/45)
614th Colored (T)
692nd (T) (?? - M10)
772nd (T)
801st (T) (?? - M18) referred to as SP 1/5/45
802nd (T) (?? - M10)
807th (T) referred to as SP 1/20 - 2/25/45
817th (T) (?? - M18) referred to as T 2/22/45
820th (T) (?? - M18)
822nd (T) (?? - M18)
824th (T) (?? - M18)
825th (T) (?? - M10)
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Someone groggier can tell us for sure, but I think it would be unlikely to see M10s alongside M18s. My (admittedly limited) understanding of U.S. TD battalions is that they each used a single type of vehicle (or the towed 76mm).
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"So then Guderian says to Hitler, he says, 'if the Luftwaffe can have infantry, why can't the panzertruppe have anti-aircraft?'"
Bah - I started mine before those other yahoos posted.
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I don't think adding pauses will delay firing, just movement. For the small mortars at least, it takes several rounds to have any effect, so single shots aren't too useful, especially since the first few usually fall short or long. Same for smoke.
Bigger guns tend to have bigger ammo loads, and the Area Fire order (IIRC) slows the rate of fire a bit so you don't blow through HE as quickly. Still, I agree that you can run out distressingly quickly with a Stug or whatever... you really have to pick your targets sometimes.
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In CMBO I had a daisy-chain blocking a road on the reverse slope of a 5m elevation change. An AI halftrack came cruising along, crested the slope, and ran over the mine (KO'd). Either he didn't see it in time to stop, or the AI knew it was there and ordered him across anyway (that same game saw many other AI vehicles purposely driving through a standard AT minefield even after its discovery by previous vehicles). It would be interesting to test and find out for sure.
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There are some Stalingrad maps at:
http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/
Most don't have quite the level of detail you're asking for, but they might help with avenues of attack & OBs.
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Trees off during orders, on (usually sparse or moderate) during playback. I waste WAY too much time playing movies over and over from different camera angles, and I'm a sucker for those cinematic "peering out between the branches" shots.
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This excerpt from the Army's 1945 Handbook on German Military Forces is from Moon's site:
When the Germans decide to construct defensive positions on terrain divided by a stream, they organize bridgeheads on the bank on the hostile side where the terrain facilitates crossings. Where the river forms a re-entrant bend into enemy-held terrain, a second position is constructed at the base of the bend. On narrow rivers and creeks, the entire German main line of resistance is on the hostile side of the river, and the stream becomes the tank obstacle of the position. (See antimechanized defense.) When the friendly side of the river consists of swampland, it is used as an obstacle, and the hostile bank is not included in the defense system. -
Could this be a ground pressure thing? I've never checked to see if different ground pressures affect detonation.Originally posted by Kobal2:Ah. That would explain why an empty field explored by PSWs suddenly became a chessboard of mines when the real tanks moved in.
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Immobile and gun damage last all scenario long. In ops you might get them back later.
Rotten luck with those Panthers. No less a personage than BFC-Steve once said something along the lines of he'd rather have 3 PzIVs than 2 Panthers, and a lot of CM players would agree--but then, sometimes you just want to use Panthers, eh?
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Shows just how little you know! Jpz IV/70 was specifically designed so that it could use its gun to swing itself across steep-banked streams, with a bit of spin the driver could make it land on its tracks. Unfortunately, sometimes the gun got stuck in the mud bottom and the Jagdpanzer would be an easy target for Allied gunners, as it would be showing its weak top or underside to them. This is where the name "Guderian's duck" came from (because it was there like a sitting duck). </font>Originally posted by Sergei:</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by MikeyD:
A small annoying tactical problem is the ease with which the driver could impale the tank into the terrain while decending a slope or approaching a rise!
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Isn't that a publicity shot from the much-loved Goebbels comedy, "Feldgrau Goes Bananas"?
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CMBB has factories--no more running into the street just to advance to the next tile.
Infantry units carrying a high proportion of automatic weapons have frighteningly few ammo points.
And there are lots of different airplanes to come and blow up your tanks.
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But doesn't at least one iteration of CM's editor list it as "Pz IV/70" or something, as opposed to "Jgdpz"? I remember that causing some confusion before.
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Runyan: do you have problems with sighting using your terrain? A single forest tile often doesn't block LOS at the same level. Since you raise the elevation, that'll be great for blocking ground level LOS, but I'm wondering if you get elevated units sighting across multiple hedgerows.
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No worries
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Hey Boney, what was the one "good line heard so far"?
Just wondering where the bar's been set.
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From Jade's initial post:Originally posted by MikeyD:I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the often discussed "turret more easily penetrated than the hull" problem (I think with the PzIV?) that , in the opinion of some, make going for hull-down unwise because it increases the chance of a fatal turret shot, as opposed to receiving a non-penetrating hull strike.
"It's important to know, because when you _do_ get hit, it's the turrent for sure... which is thin (usually!)."
From Omi's post (#3):
"But as you mentioned, if the tank does get hit, it will be on the turret. It's up to you check your tank's armor and dedice what's best in the circumstances."
Can I have some of the grass mod you're using?
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I've seen this assertion a lot too, but there's contradictory info out there... consider the loading instructions from 6th Airborne (emphasis added):Originally posted by Siege:Of course you all have missed the other fun factor of the PIAT. Aim it down and the round falls out! From what I have read, the actual projectile was such a loose fit in the trough that they issued them with thin straps that went across the muzzle to hold the thing in place until firing.
and this bit (from here):Ascertain that the projector is cocked. With the right hand grip the projectile lightly by the tail drum and tail tube, with bomb head pointing forward and downward. Place the bomb head in the centre of the projectile support and push the nose of the bomb under the front ring of the support. Slide the bomb forward until the tail can be lowered. Keeping the loading clip against the front end cap of the projector, engage the loading clip behind the projectile guide plates. Release the grip on the bomb and, with the palm of the hand, press down until the tail drum rests in the support, thus bringing the tail tube in line with the spigot guide tube.
Edit to add: Maybe there was an early version without the guide plates?With the rod retracted, you set the bomb in the flanges on either side of the hole. The base of the bomb is flared to fit these flanges and hold tight. The flanges served to hold it in place and align the tail for the rod. Holding in place was important when you were above your target, such as during the city fighting for Arnhem Bridge during Operation Market-Garden.
Oh yeah, something on the smallish side would be good for manageability and time considerations.
) didn't know it.
Best scenarios for aCMilating?
in Combat Mission: Afrika Korps
Posted
Thanks for the suggestions; now I have to run out the door and don't have time to dl anything more. My friend expressed a desire to try Squad Leader, which is what made me think of CM. If anybody else shows up, we'll probably go with Settlers or A&A or even Rail Baron. I'll let you know what he/they think if we do fire up CM.