Col Deadmarsh

Aye, like any ammo selection (other than smoke), what shell gets fired is down to the TacAI of the element, so the 37mm has AP, HE and CAN options, and will fire what "it thinks is best" in a given situation. My experience says that the algorithm doesn't draw the line at the right range for the "HE or CAN vs Infantry" choice, and will fire its CAN at ranges where it is ineffective.
So, yes, Target Light makes sure they only fire their MG "by default", and when I find the unit shooting at infantry, I'd cancel it if they're "close" (like "Shreck Range") and the CAN will be effective, or very far away when the AI will probably choose HE. If you're going into "close terrain", I'd even consider putting a short, circular TA on, so that it won't "plink" at distant targets (I don't think most CAN-equipped units in the WW2 title are good "plinkers" anyway  This may change in later time periods (I think some 120mm-plus MBT guns get such rounds...) under AI control, but will respond with gropo-shredding CAN if infantry threats appear.

Any spotter (HQ or FO) will spot less well if they are hiding while the spotting rounds are falling. While Hide-ing, a unit doesn't Spot as frequently, so will potentially miss any given fall of spotting shot and take another round to generate the bracket (which it may also not see).

If the unit is Hide-ing while you're trying to set up the mission, it will likely be prone and therefore unable to see the same range of target locations as it would be if it were not given a Hide instruction. If it can see what you want to shoot at, the Hide won't affect anything.
They can Hide while waiting for the spotting rounds to start and any time the FFE has been called. Since Emergency missions don't have a spotting phase, they can Hide as soon as they have called in the mission.
There are two aspects to the number of assets: number of batteries and number of tubes. Each battery has a number of tubes (usually 2-4) and an allocated number of rounds. The duration of a mission is somewhat indeterminate, but is measured, I believe in "rounds per tube" or "salvoes" so a given duration of mission will use ammo proportional to the number of tubes assigned to it.
A spotter can combine eligible batteries into one mission, and each battery gets the same orders, so ordering a one tube mission from 4 batteries will send the same number of rounds downrange in the same time as a 4-tube mission from one battery, but the ammo expenditure will be spread across the 4 batteries. There may also be some subtle differences in the timing of the shell impacts.
What to use, when is, unsurprisingly, situational. The more tubes you assign, the more rounds you'll get landing. The longer the mission, the more shells you'll get landing over the course of the mission, from start to finish. The more intense the barrage, the faster they'll arrive.
A common tactic is to assign a "Maximum", low tube count (1, maybe 2) Harrass mission to an observer, since adjusting a mission is faster than calling a new one. This can be used to bring low intensity, so mostly suppressive, fires to bear quickly if you have a good perch for the observer, or a scattering of well-placed TRPs. If you want a position obliterated, hit it with a Heavy, Maximum mission with all available tubes. But be aware you won't have any ammo left on those assets for later.
In general, specific missions are probably better shorter than longer. If you want to keep a position's heads down for a while, use low tube counts and longer missions. But it's very situational.

yeah, german troops laughing at antiquated Stuart tank 37mm gun.  Then it fires canister.  No more laughing.

I don't mind how easy they are to kill in open ground.
What nags me is how useless foxholes and trenches are in CMx2 for protection, and even have a negative effect on being spotted.

The affects of TRP's on artillery and air support are as follows

1) No LOS required to plot an artillery and/or air support mission. (Only one "mission plot point" needs to be within the TRP area. So you can plot a line with one end in the TRP area and one end out of the TRP area to gain the TRP effects. !NOTE! If you want TRP effects, the first plotted point MUST be within TRP area. If you plot the 1st "mission point" out of TRP area and then plot 2nd point within TRP area, there will be NO TRP effects (does not apply to "Point" type missions)

2) Correct Stikkypixie, TRPs eliminate spotting rounds. !NOTE! there is a drawback to this. You cannot adjust fire until the mission is firing full force. This can be bad if you do not have artillery to waste, as you have to wait for the mission to adjust while firing at a standard rate, not just spotting rate.

3) Call in time for all missions based on TRPs are shorter. Experience/Leadership rating for spotter is still a factor, longer for lower experience/lower leadership ratings.

4) Correct Stikkypixie, TRPs enhance the accuracy of indirect as well as direct fire.

I don't seek out armor duels because they are a bit like tossing a coin, but they come up again and again. So I was interested to learn what I can do to maximize the chances for my tank in a duel if it gets into one.
So I put two identical Pz IVH (late) tanks with regular crews, no modifiers, against each other at 600 m range. I called one "Attacker" and the other "Defender", although it does not mean anything. I put both on a mild slope (partial hull down) and varied different conditions. Crew hatches open/closed, vehicle movement, terrain type, crew experience. I ran each case at least 1000 times and recorded the percentage of wins by each side. A 'win' means that the other vehicle was destroyed or the crew bailed out. If both vehicles were alive after 5 minutes, neither side won - usually one vehicle got hit and retreated back down the slope. If neither vehicle survived, both sides got a win.
The tables show the win rate on each side. The statistics were not perfect even with 1000 duels per case. Results of repeat runs could vary by up to +/- 3%. Notably I did not get a perfectly symmetric results even for reference cases R1 and R4 where the vehicles had identical conditions on both sides. So, don't take the numbers as the absolutely accurate truth. They just show what works.
Pz IVH was a good tank for this purpose because it can easily kill itself - powerful gun and vs weak armor. Therefore, the duels were mainly about who is able to spot first and land the first round accurately on target.
I did not find anything revolutionary - mostly stuff people already know and do - but it was still interesting to see the numbers. Here it is:
1. Keep your crew hatches open when expecting to fight an enemy AFV. If you can, force the enemy to close theirs.
Table 1. Effect of crew hatches open/closed. Both AFVs are stationary on Grass.
Attacker
Defender
Closed
49%
49%
Closed
Open [R1]
48%
50%
[R1] Open
Open
76%
21%
Closed
2. Minimize movement when within enemy LOS. Stop as soon as your vehicle can see the place where the enemy is (represented with the "Hull Down" command in the table below, which gives additional advantage of being harder to see and hit due to being hull down; this is not to say that the Hull Down command is always useable, but it worked here well because the Attacker was going up the slope). Movement makes you more visible - and it does not appear to matter what kind of movement command you use - in fact the faster movement commands seem to work a bit better.
Table 2. Effect of vehicle movement. Attacker starts out of LOS and moves in towards the Defender using different movement commands. Both AFVs are on Grass and the crew hatches are open.
Attacker
Defender
Hunt [R2]
41%
57%
[R2] Stationary
Slow
35%
63%
Stationary
Move
39%
59%
Stationary
Quick
42%
56%
Stationary
Fast
41%
57%
Stationary
Hull Down
61%
29%
Stationary
Quick: Minimizes the time interval when the Attacker is moving within the Defender’s FOV. Therefore, Quick works well as it gets the attacker into position quickly, whereas Slow works poorly.
Hull Down: Better cover than the Defender and minimizes time when the Attacker is moving within the Defender’s FOV. Also: Easier to disengage when damaged – probably for both sides. High percentage of duels with no winner.
3. If you have to Hunt, point 1. about crew hatches still applies and can reverse the odds in your favor.
Table 3. Effect of crew hatches open/closed while the Attacker is moving. Attacker starts out of LOS and moves in towards the Defender using Hunt. The Defender is stationary. Both AFVs are on Grass and the crew hatches are open.
Attacker
Defender
Closed
37%
60%
Closed
Open [R2]
41%
57%
[R2] Open
Open
64%
34%
Closed
Closed
14%
82%
Open
4. Target arc can serve various purposes but does not help with seeing or hitting the enemy. TRP helps, likely by increasing the chances of a first hit.
Table 4. Effect of using Target Armor Arc and Target Reference Point (TRP). Both AFVs are stationary on Grass and the crew hatches are open.
Attacker
Defender
No arc [R1]
48%
50%
[R1] No arc
Target Armor Arc
50%
49%
No arc
TRP on Defender
72%
28%
No TRP
Note: Target Arc can still help by pointing the gun and the Commander’s attention to the right direction if the vehicle is not moving directly towards the defender. Also, it prevents distraction of the Attacker by other, low-priority targets.
5. Ground type can provide some help by concealment. Tall types of grass (T and TY), Weeds, Brush, Lt Forest (without trees) and Crop 1 give a small advantage over hard or bare surfaces. Very tall types of crops (2-6) and Grass XT give significant advantage. There is no disadvantage in being on road or pavement compared to grass, but sand, mud and cobblestone seem to hurt a little, possibly because they lower the chances of disengaging when retreating in damaged condition.
Trees are complicated and depend on type. Type A trees are somewhat helpful if there are 2 or 3 on the tile. Type B trees are not helpful at all. Type C trees seem to be best, especially if there are 2 or 3. Type D trees are somewhat helpful independently on their number. Type E are like Type A. Bush does not make much of a change.
Stone and brick walls and low bocage give some advantage - can be concealment as well as cover. But bocage is the big one. A tank behind bocage almost always wins against a tank in open ground.
Table 5a. Effect of Defender ground type – bare surfaces, hard surfaces and roads. Attacker on Grass. Both AFVs are stationary and the crew hatches are open.
Attacker
Defender
Grass
45%
51%
Dirt
Grass
47%
50%
Dirt Red
Grass
49%
48%
Hard
Grass
50%
48%
Rocky
Grass
49%
49%
Rocky Red
Grass
52%
47%
Sand
Grass
52%
47%
Mud
Grass
50%
49%
Pavement 1
Grass
50%
50%
Pavement 2
Grass
52%
47%
Cobblestone
Grass
47%
51%
Gravel
Grass
46%
49%
Dirt Lot
Grass
49%
48%
Dirt Road
Grass
47%
50%
Gravel Road
Grass
51%
48%
Paved 1
Grass
48%
51%
Paved 2
Grass
47%
49%
Foot Path
Sand, Mud, Cobblestone (?): Can impair movement, possibly making retreat of a damaged vehicle slower and less likely to succeed before the Attacker fires another accurate shot.
Table 5b. Effect of Defender ground type – low vegetation and cultivated fields. Attacker on Grass. Both AFVs are stationary and the crew hatches are open.
Attacker
Defender
Grass [R1]
48%
50%
[R1] Grass
Grass
50%
47%
Grass Y
Grass
50%
48%
Clover
Grass
50%
48%
Flowers
Grass
49%
50%
Plow NS
Grass
50%
50%
Plow EW
Grass
43%
57%
Grass T
Grass
43%
55%
Grass TY
Grass
44%
54%
Weeds
Grass
44%
55%
Grass + Brush
Grass [R3]
46%
54%
[R3] Lt Forest
Grass
42%
57%
Crop 1
Grass
39%
60%
Crop 2
Grass
39%
60%
Crop 3
Grass
39%
60%
Crop 4
Grass
40%
58%
Crop 5
Grass
39%
59%
Crop 6
Grass
38%
60%
Grass XT
Table 5c. Effect of Defender ground type – foliage. Attacker on Grass. Both AFVs are stationary and the crew hatches are open.
Attacker
Defender
Grass [R1]
48%
50%
[R1] Grass, no foliage
Grass
50%
46%
Grass + 1x Type A Tree
Grass
44%
51%
Grass + 2x Type A Tree
Grass
42%
54%
Grass + 3x Type A Tree
Grass
49%
49%
Grass + 1x Type B Tree
Grass
51%
46%
Grass + 2x Type B Tree
Grass
51%
47%
Grass + 3x Type B Tree
Grass
43%
52%
Grass + 1x Type C Tree
Grass
33%
62%
Grass + 2x Type C Tree
Grass
32%
62%
Grass + 3x Type C Tree
Grass
44%
52%
Grass + 1x Type D Tree
Grass
44%
51%
Grass + 2x Type D Tree
Grass
40%
55%
Grass + 3x Type D Tree
Grass
50%
47%
Grass + 1x Type E Tree
Grass
42%
55%
Grass + 2x Type E Tree
Grass
41%
55%
Grass + 3x Type E Tree
Grass
49%
49%
Grass + 1x Type A Bush
Grass
52%
47%
Grass + 2x Type A Bush
Grass
50%
46%
Grass + 3x Type A Bush
Grass [R3]
46%
54%
 [R3] Lt Forest, no foliage
Grass
44%
54%
Lt Forest + 1x Type A Tree
Grass
39%
57%
Lt Forest + 2x Type A Tree
Grass
37%
59%
Lt Forest + 3x Type A Tree
1x Tree: Can be detrimental because it does not provide enough concealment and can trigger APHE shells passing high, wounding the exposed Commander.
Table 5d. Effect of Defender ground type – walls and fences. Attacker on Grass. Both AFVs are stationary and the crew hatches are open.
Attacker
Defender
Grass [R4]
48%
51%
[R4] Grass
Grass
46%
54%
Grass + Stone
Grass
47%
52%
Grass + Brick
Grass
 
 
Grass + Rural Stone
Grass
43%
55%
Grass + Low Bocage
Grass
7%
89%
Grass + Bocage
6. Crew experience - there is a big change from Green to Regular to Veteran, but Crack gives little advantage over Veteran.
Table 6. Effect of crew Experience. Both AFVs are stationary on Grass and the crew hatches are open.
Attacker
Defender
Green
33%
66%
Regular
Regular
36%
61%
Veteran
Veteran
44%
57%
Crack
Green
20%
78%
Veteran
Regular
32%
67%
Crack
Green
18%
82%
Crack

Would Germans-only tank riding be a fair compromise for CMBN and FI?
It seems like the Allies mostly rode tanks on the way to the jump-off point where as the Germans sometimes rode them into combat. Of course by 1945, the Western Allies rode tanks as SOP.

It was during the Battle of Normandy and in particular during Operation Cobra that the Americans successfully applied the tactic of getting on the tanks.

Here is an excerpt from "Busting the Bocage" of Michael Dale Doubler

Annnd the answer is NINE! Hedgerow number Ten is the killer. Your Shermie or M10 will snap a track right in the middle of punching through number ten. This blocks the gap of course but at least your tank is level so you can use its firepower (but the term 'Sitting Duck' comes to mind). My map was 512M wide by 704m tall with fifteen hedgerows across it, half tall and half short on each row. Some of the ground tiles were rocky and hard to test for their effect. The only noticeable effect was that a hedgerow placed on a rocky tile did slow the vehicle down more than usual but did not contribute to the cumulative damage. Now, how many tall hedgerows can a M5 Stewie take? The Stewie died in row seven. As a further test of the fragility of a Shermie Rhino with tracks in critical condition I did a U-turn and sent it back through the gaps it created. It made it through all nine rows (slowly, very slowly) with no further damage. My next test coming up is a Shermie & a M10 on low hedgerows, BRB.

Mystery solved! John in Tech Support uncovered that this scenario requires the Vehicle Pack. Once I purchased and activated that all five panzers showed up.

I want to thank all of you for your responses and input. Thanks everyone, stay safe, and let's all have a great 2021!

Huh...
Did not expect this. Always operated on the assumption that "stone" buildings offered better protection than "wood" ones. 

One can't do that.  The AI automatically chooses the appropriate armament.  The good news is that it appears that the appropriate shell is magically and instantly the "correct" shell and used.  No need for crews to unload a shell to reload something else.  It's another item for the "Weird CM2 Phenomena" thread.

Once FFE has started one can move the FO to anyplace one wants even out of LOS of the target.  That way one can order an ADJUST to a new location (which is a faster method than starting the targeting process from the start).   
Once FFE has started even if your FO is KIA, the fire will continue.  

I'm no expert but as far as I can remember, hiding troops have a peek around occasionally. When they're not taking a peek then their LOS is limited, from what I've read from various people here, they will hide their observers until they know the spotting rounds are due to arrive and then unhide them during the spotting process and until they get Fire for Effect. Once FFE has been called, the spotter no longer needs visibility onto the target for the rounds to land where they should so you can safely hide the observer again unless you want to conduct battle damage assessment.

The vehicle pack adds flamethrowers to the game and that alone is worth the purchase in my opinion. If you play Commonwealth forces, the Churchill Crocodile is a great tank to choose as it is effective against enemy armour and devastating against infantry. 

Try one of Fredrocker's scenarios and u wont regret it.

The roof mortar was a Sherman (or German) thing and not all Shermans had them.....The usual British smoke launcher for a large part of the war was essentially a tin can and the workings of a .303 rifle.....Here's a pair on a Firefly (the turrets were probably allocated for conversion prior to the introduction of the mortar on the US assembly lines):

The gubbins:

I believe this is the ammo:

Here's the Sherman's turret mortar:

I have a similar problem. I purchased the Battle Pack for BS a week or so back, and it said that no DL was necessary as it came with v4 already, all I needed to do was to insert the activation code, which I received at purchase. I tried to do that, but could find no place to insert the code. I don't know how to get the process started.

Michael

Some like the panther don't even have any

I'm watching this now for the first time and I'm already put off by one of the scenes. They've just finished killing off the AT guns by the tree line and then want to execute the German soldier...oh wait...I meant Nazi...cause every German is an evil Nazi in these films. So not only do we have this ridiculousness, but I'm supposed to identify with American soldiers who want to illegally kill this unarmed prisoner. WTF? 
It's sick how the men who run the Hollywood studios try to get the public to believe these lies against the German people. Do you think that if this movie took place in the Pacific, they'd have our heroes executing a Japanese POW?  Doubtful.
 
    

I'm watching this now for the first time and I'm already put off by one of the scenes. They've just finished killing off the AT guns by the tree line and then want to execute the German soldier...oh wait...I meant Nazi...cause every German is an evil Nazi in these films. So not only do we have this ridiculousness, but I'm supposed to identify with American soldiers who want to illegally kill this unarmed prisoner. WTF? 
It's sick how the men who run the Hollywood studios try to get the public to believe these lies against the German people. Do you think that if this movie took place in the Pacific, they'd have our heroes executing a Japanese POW?  Doubtful.
 
    

I'm watching this now for the first time and I'm already put off by one of the scenes. They've just finished killing off the AT guns by the tree line and then want to execute the German soldier...oh wait...I meant Nazi...cause every German is an evil Nazi in these films. So not only do we have this ridiculousness, but I'm supposed to identify with American soldiers who want to illegally kill this unarmed prisoner. WTF? 
It's sick how the men who run the Hollywood studios try to get the public to believe these lies against the German people. Do you think that if this movie took place in the Pacific, they'd have our heroes executing a Japanese POW?  Doubtful.
 
    

Col_Deadmarsh,
 
I would recommend sticking with an Nvidia chipset.  Do not get anything less than a GTX 750.  They are relatively affordable and nothing really over the top for anyone building a system and expecting to have decent grunt to play CM and many other games.  CM is the least of you worries when it comes to finding a suitable gfx card  CM is not really the kind of game that plays better even with the latest gfx cards.  Gameplay performance in CM seems to be capped by other factors, which I think are inherent to the game and the way it is coded.

You should read it as "G-Sync support"
Here is explanation what it is
 
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/g-sync
 
By the way, from the cards you provided, i guess i would choose EVGA if you don't know anything about overclocking. The EVGA card is already overclocked to 1176 MHz base clock, and Gigabyte is overclocked only to 1033 MHz. In theory you should get slightly higher frames per second with EVGA.

Well I say Smoke 'em if you got 'em. :-)