Matt the Paladin

Artillery and mortars are definately better at suppresion than MGs are. If you are firing the artillery for treeline suppresion it will inflict heavy casualties as well. MGs should primarily be used to massacre any attacking infantry, or at least break up the attack. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

I would also reccomend hitting the Stugs from more than one angle at once. Since they don't have turrets it'll be easy to take them out. The Hellcat would be an excellent tank to exploit the Stugs lack of a turret with. It might also be a good idea to buy a halftrack or two and use them to mop up any infantry that strays out of the Stug's firing area. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

It is true that POWs are worth more points than kills, but I wouldn't reccomend actually trying to kill them unless time is almost up. Otherwise, I would try to rescue them, and deny my opponent any points at all. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

And the IS-3 will be fun to use as well. Wonder if anything could take a direct hit from that and live. It will be interesting to get a chance to use Soviet tanks against German tanks, since those two nations were certainly the two best tank builders. Also, doesn't it seem like some of the old WWI tanks would have done okay? The first British tanks came with 2 6-lbr. guns, while the Matildas and several other British tanks came with only 2 or 6 lbr. guns. The first French tank had a 75 mm gun. Of course, both tanks were horribly slow, and had pretty thin armor (It was only meant to block MG rounds), and the French tank had no turret, while the British tank had its guns in half-turrets. Looking forward to CM 2 so I can finally decide if the T34-85 is better than the Panther. I've heard that the T34-85 is pretty cramped because of the bigger gun on the same turret. Also, IIRC the T34-85 had its tank commander reload the gun, how could that be moddeled in CM 2? ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

Is there any relation between the Molotov cocktail and the Soviet guy Molotov? Just wondering. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

That makes sense and seems realistic. Probably it was programmed this way to simulate the morale damage IRL from seeing your allies withdraw from the field. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

I also think the overall morale effects things a lot. I played one game against a very stubborn opponent who refused to surrender. Once his overall morale was at 4% entire relatively entact squads started surrendering as soon as my troops open fire. When I accidently left a few unguarded, they ran off and then surrendered as soon as my troops came into LOS. The type of troops you and the enemy are using also seems to have an effect. I've noticed that after the infantry loses tank support they start to surrender more often. And of coutse, the number of nearby enemy and friendly troops also has an effect. It also seems like there might be some sort of randomization factor in surrenduring. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

As has been mentioned before, the soviet bomb dogs would attack the Russian tanks as often as the German ones, makes them a VERY risky investment. How about a few World War I tanks? The original British tanks had a pair of 6-lbr. guns and four .303 in. MGs. Could probably beat Matilda 1s and 2s easily. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

Panthers and Tigers can also give a decent performance. A good gun and thick armor, and the slow turret isn't nearly as much of a disadvantage. Make sure you keep an eye out for flanking maneuvers, and you'll do just fine. You could also just buy a lot of arty spotters and pound the city flat. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

I don't think you should change to the British just to get the PIATs. Infantry AT units usually get killed by supporting infantry or another tank pretty soon after they start shooting, backblast or not, I actually find the backblast to be a bit useful for it's red herring effect. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

Don't think it would make a big difference in real life., the actual adjustment of aim doesn't take very long, it's mor getting all the orders in and figuring out where to aim. It might have been modeled this way in CM, however. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

IMO it really all depends on your aquired tactics. If you favor slow, methodical advances, the Tiger is a better tank. Fans of the faster advance do better with the Panther. Those with an irrational fear of victory use Italian tanks. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

Wooden MG bunkers also are usually utterly destoyed by a single good hit from mortars, arty, or tanks. If you have to use infantry, have a red herring distract the MG while you move the infantry up to the flanks or rear. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

I think getting hit and shocked also causes some sort of morale damage. Maybe if the TC is still alive he's to scared to unbutton the tank and stick his head back out for a while. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me

Just tell your tanks, mortars, or arty to shoot smoke rounds. If you have trouble remembering the shortcut, hit spacebar. I don't think it would make the Germans abandon theri tanks, though. ------------------ "War is like a cat, it is easy to let out of the bag, but hard as hell to put back in!" -Me