The_Capt

LCol actually, but I try not to mix work with...er, other work...kinda. The handle is how long I have been here. Thank you for the kind words.

Well even if we did not discuss ahead of time (which I am pretty sure we did), we were not going to lose an opportunity to show it off here....right on top of my troops no doubt.

That is why they are in the M60A1 (RISE Passive) for the '82 campaign, but M60A3s and M1 do show up as reinforcements. I think people will be surprised by the ol M48, it is actually not a bad tank so long as you treat it more like a Sherman.

Ok let's go with The Plan: I am going to push some BMPs into a screen to try and take out those M60s on the left, also will re-push my T64s on the left. Then I am going to 1) continue to push dismounted infantry forward and 2) push the Tank Coy and a mounted Inf Pl into a slot I call "Slot 2.5". That is some dead ground (I hope) that is also covered by my Eyes on the right. Once we make it to the dead ground in valley center we fan out and start pushing (I have an arty line up there too to screen). So this turn I will position to the Slot and push out the screen, then next turn we go for it. Wish me luck and see you on the other side.

No, I have two other FO teams. They came together, I was going to dismount as soon as they made that forward tree-line...which they did not make it to.

So unless you are talking about pre-War of 1812, it is all pretty much "modern" warfare. The components remain the same even if the speed and distance changes. The problem to my front would be recognizable to Grant or Lee as fundamental: how to get my mass to a better position than my opponent without getting it destroyed in the process? We have been doing position-based warfare for a long time, even if we change the name now and again. Now in the next 10-20 years this will likely change. How to create mass without mass, or mass-less warfare? Fighting at null distance and omnidirectional warfare, stuff like that. Now I am leaning towards a 2.5 option....

Such a delicious tactical dilemma, wish it was someone else's. Well infantry are not off the board, the two dismounted platoons are encroaching and I still have one mounted. Getting them all into and past that village is a workable plan. I like the center push but I am not entirely onside with switching to the defence once we are there. Bil also has DPICM, which stings like iodine so I would rather keep going once we get to the other side. Once I am up in those hills Bil is on his back feet and has to react. I can keep scouts to secure the points of the objective but will be better placed to hit him if I can get up there with him. Either way, you are correct...wrong side of the valley indeed.

True for Bil as it is for me. That, and I know he really does not have infantry to speak of.

Not so much surprised as I basically forgot. In the old folks home that is the deep Beta, seriously a lot of names that are 20 years old on the forum, Bil was like that dear old crone always pining about the "Beta AAR". We politely nod and smile at him, while reminding that he should put his teeth in the glass. So he has been pestering on this since freakin Jan whilst we were also up to our necks in content design and development, along with TO&E support and a dozen other things ("ya Capt, cry me a river"). Anyway, I humored the old guy until a scenario landed on my lap and here we are. So, I was thinking T64s, or maybe even 80s (which in hindsight makes no sense for the timestamp) but T62s are not a deal breaker. I have had them destroy A3s at 1500ms, they are just a bit trickier to manage. Your plan is similar to my thinking but I am weight the merits of driving into those woods along #2.

March to Glorious Victory Post # 5 - The Bitter Tonic of Sacrifice (Turn 8 - 11) So the theme of todays post is to validate The_Capt's rule #5 - never play by their rules, play by your own. So in this episode we are building to a decisive moment one way or the other. I posted the kill shot on the M150 for turn 8 previously, beyond that not much to report as I continue to move into a broad tree line position of Eyes. Turn 9 we score another M150 kill as my tanks pull onto the shoulders on either side. That is an AT3 and sabot round...it was the AT 3 that does the job. You can get a good sense of the setup laydown on this shot of the kill. I have infantry in the center and the two T64 pls on either shoulder. The setup here is for the impending arrival of The Boys So the good news is that is a Tank Coy (10 tanks strong) but the not so good news is that they are T62s. The T62 can still do the job and can kill an M60 from the front pretty well, problem is that they are a little blind. So I am re-thinking my approach to Kill Bil and Teeth. Turn 10 is when my original thinking is validate. If I stay in this tree line and play Bils game he will pick me off from that ridge, mainly because the optics on the US tanks are simply better. Ok, this first one actually hurt the worst. There was a Coy HQ and a FO in that BMP. And the T64s are tough but not invincible, this one on my right. And on my left another T64 (this one of those frustrating TAC AI shenanigans) and another BMP. So the tree line and play peekaboo is not going to work, particularly with T62s...we move or die. Turn 11 sees no further losses but those T64s do take some bounces as the M60s on the hill have them well dialed in but by the end of Turn 11 we are in position. So, dear reader, here we are at the edge of eternity. I have two infantry platoons dismounted because I really do not want them to die inside their vehicles. They are pushing up a bit towards the town. I have a tank coy in a good position to push out and I still have a pretty good force on the shoulders. Hmm...so what should the plan be? Seriously...discuss. Right now, I am thinking about not swinging to the left and up but going straight through the town and up. The primary issue is that those T62s are deadly up close (1000m or less) but I have to get them there and all that open ground to my left is not looking good. There is probably at least a US tank Pl on that ridge to the left and another covering from the right both sweeping that open field. If I can get into those wood beyond the town, we will have the knife fight and I will be in a better position to overwhelm. The other option is to go right, lotta dead ground there. So here is a shot of the map from the (included) scenario editor: Very interested to hear from the audience cause I really have not made my mind up on this one.

Nope, the Bn is in the 8th Infantry, which was an odd one that straddled the line between under and well-resourced. The 8th was a depth Div so in this campaign they are using M48s, also a good excuse to take out the M48 and see what it can do.

No what I mean is if you add up the area of all the US Campaign maps together, they come to approx 90 sq kms. CM won’t support a single map that large. Map sizes vary, the largest are about 4x4 kms, the issue here is weapons ranges, with ATGMs they get very long. And what Cpt Miller said....

Steel not meat...so we are good.

The US Campaign maps (which were done up by Pete Wenman) will be made avail so that players can use them in the editor. By Pete's count we are talking about approx 90 square kms of countryside.

So for those wondering, I am planning an update soon. I am waiting on turn 10 and then can do a 8-10 summary. Hopefully tomorrow or next day latest. Here is a teaser: T64 can take a hit.

It definitely does, working in it right now.

Well you are close, right now “officially” there are three campaigns: US Campaign - Set along Hwy 66 from Fulda to Hanau. Basically pits a US Battalion TF against a Soviet divisional advance. There are two versions of this one, the primary is in 82’ so M1s/M2s do make appearances but it is then M60/M113 family that does the heavy lifting. The second version is the same campaign but set in 79 both with and against older equipment. The US has M48s as the primary tank, with M60s showing up. The Soviets will have T55s and primarily T62s. The 79 Campaign treats Fulda as a secondary theatre but from what we have seen it is the harder of the two. Soviet Campaign - This one ‘may’ have two versions but I will save that surprise for later. Set also in ‘82 it follows the 120th MRR in the first 48 hours of the war from the West German Border (near Mansbach) through to the outskirts of Alsfeld. Right up front this will be the hardest campaign, the Soviets are primarily in BTRs/T62s (but the 120th does have a BMP Bn) against top notch 11 ACR and 3rd Armd Div troops. NTC- think of it as a tutorial campaign but knowing Bil H it will dole out the challenge (he is a crafty old coot). Bil, is pulling for his own time at NTC back in the same time period, so I expect to be excellent.

Short answer is no but we can talk after release....

Wow...no pressure. Ok, so this is not as formal turn report, I will do a summary once we get a bit further but here is an example of the Soviet Missile Hell ("SMH" copyright) awaiting the US player. First a M150 get cocky and crest a hill, and three AT 3s light up (red circles) And 2 out of 3 aint bad...(Capt's Rule #4) Bil is lucky that was an M150 because those AT 3 would have killed anything short of an M1. [edit AT3Bs..my bad, AT 5s are even deadlier].

Generally yes, but made worse because Bil has EW.

Oh, I like that! I am not sure to be honest but I do not think that is modelled.

How dare you sir! That is the MG Platoon, it comes centralized but can be distributed in the defence. 6 MGs for the company. Disagreements (and I am sure there will be) can be taken to Bil, the designer of the Soviet TO&E.

March to Glorious Victory Post #3 - Clausewitz was a Chump (min 5-7) From the title I think you can gather that I am not an enormous fan of good old Uncle Carl. It isn't that he is totally wrong, it is the fact that he is only half right. I get that we are all products of our time and station in life and Carl was a Prussian aristocrat in the early 19th century, so his views of the world and warfare reflect that. It is what he missed as he tries to package something as deep and fundamental as warfare into a nice tight (and very German) manual. War is an extension of policy, governed by government, fueled by a well-behaved public and executed in glorious isolation by a professional military, really only says one thing...war is a rational exercise. It may have irrationality in its guts but those error bars (i.e. friction etc) are still governed by logic and over-arching structure. I am with John Keegan on this one...Carl gets the theory of the mechanics but misses the entire point. War is emotional, it is cultural and it is very irrational. To the point very few animals in nature engage in the type of warfare we are capable of conducting (ants actually...really interesting). "Uh, so what The _Capt?". Well you can see it in this battle I am having with Bil. On one hand I can see that there is a rational/logical construct at play here...on the other I am beginning to loathe this withered old crone...as he stares across the field at me through those milky old eyes. The_Capt's personal definition of warfare: "a collision of irreconcilable envisioned realities, as all parties negotiate with an unwritten future". War's function is three main components: communication, negotiation and sacrifice. So I ask myself: what am I communicating through my violence? What is my opponent willing to give and take? What am I willing to lose? I would ask that you all keep this in mind as we proceed...I know I will. So here we are at turns 5 through 7. Turn 5, was pretty uneventful, except for one Cpl Shnookskov who died in the service of his country as the Sneaky Peeky portion of Bil's plan begins to unfold. We are down a recon BMP, but I am advancing recon squads forward as per the "hey look Bil, I really care about having schnitzel tonight!" Turn 6 and the crew shows up. BTW in-game we have various models that reflect both Soviet and US organizational doctrine. This is a purchasable Forward Security Element: So my job here is to get these guy in position to be TEETH without Bil pounding them into scrap metal, You will note I already have my MANPADs dismounted...for all Soviet player I highly suggest you do this as early as possible. Turn 7 and I see Bils plan begin to emerge. So So there is an M60 up there plinking away at my Recon screen, or at least one I can see. On this turn they managed to ping yet another BMP on my left, I am jockeying the remainder to at least make it look like I am trying. So my real issue now is all about timing. I have another Coy of tanks on the way but I know Bil has forces on the way too. So do I go now, or wait? My arty is still 10 mins out on the upper line and it is 16 min out on the outskirts of Dollbach....hmm.

Uh, ok...not sure this is better but hey, each to their own.

So what I am hearing is that it is not me you love....you just need me for your Grog porn needs....disgusting.....but ok. Apologize in advance as I am not the best screen shot guy. (Top T64B1s...love that tank, Bottom BMP 1PK,,,lookin bad ass.)