BorderBill

Hans, close that hatch and get your head back in here. I don't care if you are getting carsick.

I had the old Moisan-Nagant with the old 30" barrel. Here in the states, I had no problem finding inexpensive, surplus ammo. Most of it Chinese 147 gr. FMJ. The only problem was that they were Berdan primed and quite corrosive. But that old surplus rifle already had some minor pitting in the bore, so I fired it quite happily and just cleaned it thoroughly afterwards. Ballistically, the 7.62mm x 54R cartridge can compete quite favorably with the 30-06 when loaded with bullets of the same weight. True, the sights are quite crude on the Moisan-Nagant but still capable of battlefield accuracy. When I was an Infantry Officer in 1984 - 1993, the accuracy standard for M16A1 ammo was 4 MOA. Basically, standard production ammo had to be capable of consistently shooting into a 4" circle at 100 yds. The Moisan-Nagant even with its crude open sights will easily meet this standard. IIRC The straight bolt handle on the Moisan Nagant results in a shorter overall bolt rotation than the Mauser and can actually be cycled faster. The basic action is capable of outstanding accuracy and I have seen sporterized rifles used for deer hunting down in Georgia. Also, I remember that a Finnish team won some international 1000 yd. matches in the 1930s using a version of the Moisan-Nagant. All in all quite a serviceable battle rifle, even though both the Germans and Russians were basically using a WWI rifle whereas the US had the Garand which was probably the best overall infantry rifle of the war. Nice to be back on the board, I've been lurking but haven't participated much since I left Alaska. My now ex-wife threw away my box of Computer games when I transferred to the Tex-Mex border including CMBO which was listed as the main fact in the divorce proceedings (just kidding) and I figured I'd just wait for CMBB. I've got CMBB and it was worth the wait!! I've had some outstanding tank battles the last few days and I've forgotten the sorrow of my lost CMBO CD. One of these days with therapy, I may even forgive the ex.

The effective rate of fire for a heavy MG would not be effected until the crew was reduced to 2 or less crew. In a HMG crew you have a primary gunner, a loader, and the rest of the crew are ammo bearers who also help carry the tripod, spare barrels, etc. Therefore a reduction in crew from 6 to four while effecting mobility and the amount of ammo that would be available would not necessarily effect the rate of fire. When not carrying ammo, the additional crew act as riflemen who provide local security for the MG and may help spot targets. A crew of two in a static position with all their ammo in their fighting position can use a MG to it's full effectiveness.

Mikester, I have never seen 4 lmgs in a squad either but this makes sense. During reorganization and reconsolidation after a fight the first thing you do is man all key weapons. For infantry that is definitely your crew served automatic weapons. I also remember seeing that during a battle if the lmg in a squad becomes a casualty there is percentage chance that someone else will pick up the weapon. Maybe this squad was picking up all the lmgs it could find.

Blackhorse, Volkssturm are in the game. You have to select them as a category from the top menu -just like selecting Waffen SS, Fallschirmjager, or gerbiljagers.:}

38

U.S. Army Infantry Officer 1884-1989 197th Inf Bde (M)(S) and US Army Infantry Training Center, Ft. Benning,GA 1990-1993 6th Inf Div (L) in Alaska

Unfortunately, I don't have hardly any of my once extensive collection of US Army manuals. After 7 years and about 5 moves, I think my wife has just about trashed them all. I seem to remember that the modern hand grenades had 6 ounces of "Composition B"?. I believe WWII grenades had about the same weight of explosive but of an older, less powerful explosive like TNT. Yes, individual splinters of modern grenades sometimes carry as far as 50 meters this is because of the explosive power and also because the modern grenades have several feet of "piano wire" around the explosive core with the wire being scored (or precut) every 1/2". This causes lots of shrapnel. The WW2 pineapple grenade relied on its casing to provide fragmentation. While the shrapnel from hand grenades will travel far beyond its casualty radius it quickly loses its killing power. It will still cause wounds but is not as likely cause incapacitating wounds. I once read an interesting descripton of the Marines at Khe Sanh where grenade fights with the Vietnamese were taking place at often less than ten feet. The marines learned that the light shrapnel(piano wire) usually wouldn't penetrate their flak vests. They would throw their grenades, turn from the blast, and rely on their vests to protect their vitals. They took lots of shrapnel to their legs but were usually ok. The Vietnamese without any protective vests were killed in large numbers. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

Six days priority mail to Skagway, Alaska. That's outstanding from the East Coast considering the mail comes in by small plane in good weather and by ferry the rest of the time.

IIRC the casualty radius for modern hand grenades is listed as 5 meters(around 20 feet) having been on many grenade ranges I can tell you the average soldier can't even throw one 30 yards. The WW2 pineapple grenade had less fragmentation effect than modern grenades and would have been slightly less effective in the open. JP as far as your panther's HE not having much effect on troops in the open, tank HE rounds also don't cause as much fragmentation typically as do rounds designed for antipersonnel purposes (i.e. arty rounds, mortars, etc.). As a couple of the tankers on the board noted tank main gun rounds are generally considered ineffective at suppressing infantry in the open. HE is most effective against fixed positions (i.e. bunkers, buildings, etc.) because of the concussion effect in enclosed areas and its fracturing effect against certain type of materials. Also, many tank HE rounds are HE-AT which are shaped charges that focus the explosion to form a plasma jet that burns through armor. Ok, my turn for a question, in the ammo load out in the unit window when it says 29he, 22ap, etc. does it differentiate between standard HE and HE-AT? I've also seen "hollow c" for some vehicles - I assume this is a HE-AT type round. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

I think that maybe this adds a little realism to the game. When I was a infantry platoon leader, I thought that I had often given detailed movement orders and expressed my intent to my squads. I don't know how often my squad leaders and sometimes individual soldiers took it upon themselves to do things or go their own way. Sometimes during tactical exercises the results were not pretty. In CM, just like real life, you can't always control the actions or movement of individual squads or soldiers. You issue your plans and orders for your troops and hope that everything goes as you planned. I know you are thinking "but noone would do something that stupid" and you blame the TacAI. But I can tell you that I have seen real troops do things that make even less sense than the occaisional blunders my CM troops make . In fact sometimes my CM troops follow my orders too closely and keep trying to complete my last order even as they're dying while I yell at my computer trying to change my last commands . ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

While I also will not be supporting the continuance of the current administration, I think that the current state of decline in military readiness started during the last Bush(George) adminstration. In 1990-91 the first round of manpower cuts occurred. As a captain at the time my year group was targetted with a series of voluntary and involuntary separations. This wasn't Bush's fault but was the result of political pressure from a Democratic congress clamoring for the so-called "peace dividend" after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yes, I agree that the current administration accelerated the process and took it even further than it should have been allowed to go. I just feel that it should be correctly pointed out that the current down-sized military is the result of a process that started almost immediately after Desert Storm prior to the current administration. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

Since receiving CM, my nine year old son has been playing continously when I'm not on. The other day I finally took him up on his desire to play me in a hotseat game. I arrogantly thought "He doesn't stand a chance. What does a nine year old know about tactics. Besides, I was an infantry officer for nine years, I have professional training and experience!" So we created a small meeting engagement DYO scenario (500 points) and to make it fair I gave him a 25% point advantage and high quality troops. We let the computer select our forces so that my knowledge of equipment wouldn't allow me to have an advantage. Well, I wasn't just humbled, he destroyed me. I knew I was in trouble in the second turn when his veteran Sherman knocked out my only Mark IV panzer. His tank, M8 greyhounds, and MG Jeeps then systematically hunted down and destroyed my Psw 234/1 armored car and halftracks. My platoon of infantry after having their halftracks shot out from under them had moved down the left flank avoiding his main armored thrust. I rushed them into heavy woods to get them into cover only to have his two platoons of until now unseen infantry open up as my troops entered the woods. As the battle ended, I was horrified at the results screen. While being practically decimated, I had not killed a single vehicle or caused hardly any infantry casulties. Total defeat! Well needless to say an immediate rematch with slightly larger forces (1500 points) and no advantages for my son took place. And this time I taught him a few things about maneuver and tactics. But that first game you should have seen the big kick he got out of killing my forces and the trash talking that my nine y.o. laid on me. Thanks BTS for making a great game with such an intuitive interface that even a nine y.o. can effectively issue detailed movement and targetting commands. I think that this is just the start of some serious competition in our house. I'm going to have to stay sharp to stay on top. And I know I'll probably catch some good natured flak on this forum for coming out and admitting that my nine y.o. laid an old fashioned @ss-whupping on me , but hey that's life. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

Those of us who ordered and received the CD from the second production run received V. 1.02. I ordered the night before BTS announced the sellout of the initial production run. I received v1.02 on cd from the second run of cds's. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

Jeez, what's this with the hamster obsession? Are these the same hamsters you keep dressing up in black SS uniforms? Anyway, I only use gerbils as tank crews, they're much more vicious.

What a tactic! I'm going to petition BTS to add a Dismount crew button. That way I won't have to waste my time getting all my tanks killed before I overwhelm the enemy with killer tank crews!!! ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mark IV: Real people and vehicles don't create "waypoints" to move a couple hundred meters- they just go there. They cannot see what they're going to be able to see, before they get there. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> In a combat setting, infantrymen do not usually move in a straight line for one or two hundred meters. They move from covered point to covered point pausing to observe their surroundings as they move. To move in a straight line is a quick way to become a casualty. Vehicles also often make quick dashes from point to point between areas of cover and concealment.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by marcusm: This is highly offtopic imo but. The biggest problems with this system is 1) It's horrendeously expensive. There's a number of better ways to spend hard earned tax money. Marcus<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hard earned tax dollars? I've haven't seen any of our politicians working too hard to obtain these dollars.

Pathy, I still recall it well 15 years later. So I would say that it was quite the experience. None of us hardcharging young stud LT's would admit it, but I bet a couple of them later had to replace some wet undergarments. . Anyway, it sure taught us to respect the sheer power of arty. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

Itkotw, When I was a young infantry LT years ago, part of our Officer basic was an artillery firepower demonstration. We were taken out into the impact area, put into a concrete bunker with about a foot of earth on top. Where there would have been firing positions there were 12 1" plexiglass blocks to view through. They fired a battalion of 105mm and walked the center of the barrage within 25 meters of the bunker. Needless to say, a number of 105mm rounds impacted on top of the bunker. It was extremely loud in the bunker and a little dust and loose concrete shook loose from the roof of the bunker. Later, a battalion TOT of 155mm's fired a suppression mission on a treeline 100m to our front. Very impressive. The best was an eight inch arty shell detonated 50m from the bunker. Shrapnel hit one of the vision ports cracking six of the plexiglass panes and caused the blast shutters to slam shut. Several guys instinctivally dove to the floor. Anyway, after the shoot we examined the top of the bunker. The 105mm rounds that impacted on the bunker left fairly small craters and did not penetrate that deep. I used to have a nice piece of the shrapnel that I dug out of one of the craters. The lesson was that while 105mm is very effective against exposed troops and can take out individually dug fighting positions with light overhead cover they are not very effective against bunkers. To take out bunkers you need the big stuff, preferably eight inch and above and you need direct hits. In my experience, 105mm would not be very effective against concrete bunkers. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army. [This message has been edited by BorderBill (edited 07-09-2000).]

Kump, it sounds like that sniper is doing his job well. He is taking out priority targets and causing morale problems. It sounds as if your morale was seriously affected when he killed your troops! ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

The second production run being delivered is v. 1.02. Read "OK, I got it today!!!v1.02 also..." thread. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by snagdad. but a barrage to an out of LOS target will not be as accurate or "tight" (size of area shots will fall into gets bigger<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Snagdad, I don't understand why the barrage wouldn't be as "tight" as an observed barrage. Yes, the accuracy of where the barrage lands would be effected, but the battery sheaf (I think that's the proper term) shouldn't differ much from an observed barrage. The guns are firing using the same firing data and the shells from a battery should still fall in a consistent pattern even if the shells don't land on target. The only thing I can figure is that the battery might be firing an intentional loose sheaf in order to make up for the less exact target location in hopes of having a few rounds on target. Maybe any Redlegs out there could answer this: when firing on unobserved targets does the battery fire an open sheaf versus a tighter sheaf for observed targets? I know that there are different sheafs used depending on whether your firing an area suppression fire mission versus a destructive fire mission. I would be most interested in any answers from experienced cannoncockers out there as my Infantry school knowledge of controlling indirect is a decade old. Also, this may have been implemented into the game to factor in variables of which I am not aware. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army. [This message has been edited by BorderBill (edited 07-02-2000).] [This message has been edited by BorderBill (edited 07-02-2000).]

IIRC didn't BTS say that the second run that just came out was v. 1.02. I remember a post stating that it would be about a week, which they beat BTW, my understanding was that those of us waiting for the new run would receive v. 1.02. This was just a day or two before v. 1.02 of the demo was released. ------------------ ...But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks, 'Play up! Play up! and play the game!' Vitai Lampada--Sir Henry Newboldt Play the game! Motto of 1st Bn, 50th Infantry, US Army.

Watch Out, Capt!!! Most of those mailman have assault rifles!! Also, see my response to your Ca-Ching thread about keeping locked and loaded.