CRSutton

Is anybody using the "withdraw" order with any sucess? I am finding that any attempt to use in while under fire-even is cover simply ends up killing my infantry. Lost a whole company last night that way. They generally run a few steps and those that are not cut down start crawing til death comes at the hands of the attacker. Problem is that it seems impossible to fight any kind of delaying action. I just now leave my infantry in place to fight it out to the death. Whats the deal?

Seem to me that about 4 million Russians surrendered. Looks like there were at least a few who left their positions. It would be nice to see commissars in the game, but don't over rate the influence that they actually had.

All you got is kings over threes and there is $1,000 dollars of your hard earned money on the table. Now you are sure that the sumbitch sitting opposite you is a bluffing lying scumbag but you just really don't know for sure. You are starting to smell your own sweat---and it is the stink of fear. Poker is the best game ever, but I can concede that CM is a pretty fair second.

Historical accuracy aside, I think that gamers just love the tanks too much to avoid them. Besides, many, many thousands were produced and there were plenty of battles where armor was present. Give the people what they want.

Want some feedback here. The just seem to die too easy for the money spent-especially the concrete bunkers. Tanks with AP seem to take them out fairly fast. Should they be tougher?

I suppose that production limitations and inertia kept them in production long after they were obsolete. Not the first time this happened in war. The Russians never really developed significant hollow charge weapons in numbers such as the bazooka or AT magnetic mines. I am guessing that is why the AT rifle was still around at the end of the war. Still, even in late war situations they could be useful. German HT and AC did not get any thicker and ATRs were useful against infantry and bunkers in the right situation. One strong point is that ATRs had excellent range compared to hollow charge weapons which gave them one advantage until the end.

and....don't worry. You will get better with experience.

Well, they are concrete bunkers. They should be hard to take out and death to deal with frontally. That was sort of the purpose of them. Best to find a way around them. Then satchel charge, AP or bazooka to the rear door with do the job. Seems like they are harder to take out frontally with AP in CMBB and well that should be.

Pick your time. Human waves are good for blowing out a depleted and hurting enemy. Against fresh troops with plenty of ammo, you can expect to die a lot. Pretty much on the money historically.

This can really be a problem expecially with green crews and perhaps could use a little tweaking. However, If I was a T34 tank commander and was given the order to engage a panther frontally, I would shoot my commander and then myself. Might as well make it easier on the next guy.

Yes, they are a handful until the 85mm gun becomes common. Just take comfort in knowing that in the real world the Soviet army did not have to worry about tigers too much as there were not enough of them to make much difference.

Gotta think out of the box. You want spotting to be like it was in CMBO but it is not and will not be in this game. However, all quirks aside, CMBB reflects reality much more than CMBO. Not that I don't feel your pain. I am losing a lot of scenairos as the attacker. But, and a big but, I am relearning my tactics and getting better with each try. I agree that assault guns and infantry support vehicles with 100+mm guns are excellent for drawing out the enemy. Area fire has it role here. Also, where I found that 30 turns on a 1000 pt QB attack was sufficient-I generally sent it for about 34 turns as the attacker needs more time to ferret out the enemy. This of course depends on terrain. I still have not figured out how to attack in relatively open terrain-perhaps more points for the attacker. Attacking is much harder now and that really is the way i should be.

I bought in August 44 quick battle Here is an update. On the second shot I tried to thread a shot between two buildings. I caught a large building about halfway between my tank and the target. Unfortunately I had a mess of troops advancing around there. Killed about six of my own men and routed three squads. (Valuable lesson no. 1) Next I moved up up for close infantry support as there are about 200 houses in this scenario. The tank crew spotted a routed, pinned, depleted Russian squad that "was right in the middle of my own attack" and blasted it to eternity. Needless to say, my own troops took the bulk of the damage, giving me about half a dozen broken squads and leaders and a dozen casualties. (Valuable lesson no.2. The veteran (sadistic) crew will have to answer for wasting a 380mm shell on a few Russian soldiers. Having now been schooled in the dangers of close support. I maneuvered the pig for a decent shot at a heavy building strong points surrounded by trenches and barbed wire. Oh what a pretty blast. My friend reported the loss of about a company plus two medium MGs. By the way, every shot has brought about the destruction of at least two surrounding houses. More later.

Oh man, I spent a jillion points and sprung this beast on my (former?) best friend last night. First time I have used it. I just picked a flag and sent an area shot into it on turn one and the Russians poured out of the woods like an anthill after a load of gasoline is poured on it. I could not stop laughing. We are only a few turns into the game but he has exposed an AT gun and is bouncing shots off the beast while I patiently wait to reload. I pity the gun when I finally get another round in. I suspect that we will be banning any further use of this monster in our battles. Pity... I was thinking of buying them as a platoon next time.

Hey, big deal. Those were PZIIS. I once knocked out a PZII with a fart! :-0

Oh, by the way, nice job.

Jeeze, the Germans had a load of showy uniforms. Were they all gay?

I too want a Swedish player. But only a female and only in a bikini.

It is all said here. There are many cool reasons to play the Russians. There is a learning curve but they are fun and have some neat weapons. Use your big artillery in preliminary bombardments. 300 mm rockets can really bring home the love. If you think you are up agains German tanks buy a Strumovik with rockets and cannon. German tanks are expensive and it hurts when airplanes take on or two out. Also, unlike CMBO, you can really use light field pieces offensively. In any but the most open terrain, buy them along with a truck move them up to cover or reverse slope and then use the move to contact command. Usually, they will then spot before being spotted and get off a few shots before anybody knows. Very good infantry support and will get the light tanks and hts as well. Maxim mg is a slow pig but once in position very useful for suppression. 50mm mortar gets a large amount of ammo. Cheap and handy. LGM is very useful on offense. T34-85 is one of the best tanks for the money in the game. Fast turret, good armor, low gp, good HE, good AP. What more can you want?

You have to remember that you are talking drill vs combat conditions. Usually the most ideal conditions are in practice. Rarely do times made in drill reflect reality in combat. In the field, with combat conditions, there are many other factors to consider. For example terrain. Getting a gun unlimbered in woods and into a suitable firing position would have to take much longer, as naturally those dang trees become a factor. Much the same for any other terrain other than absolutely pool table flat ground. (and we don't see that too often). What about mud, snow, rain, incoming fire, the odd green replacment, sad sacks and **** ups, cowards, lost or damaged equipment, fatigue, morale, snakes (ok not snakes) or any number of things that can delay the deployment of a gun. Remember we are stuck with one set time per gun and this has to be an abstract of many types of conditions and enviroments. Actually, I think that the set up times are fairly generous and most likely done so for game play.

Hey Mike, you stil out there. Send me an e-mail and lets hook up for an on line game. ross.sutton@verizon.net

Once many years back while playing Advanced Squad Leader, I killed a 10-3 German leader with my Russian ATR while he was moving in the open. You should have heard my opponent squeel like a little girl who ........................Well, you just really had to be there.

Yes tougher, more complicated, smarter and better. Thats exactly what I would expect from a second generation game. I really like the new commands. For example you can now use light guns offensively. You unhitch them in woods or on a reverse slope and then use the move to contact command to advanced them unseen to the target. Because of the small target size, you will generally spot a pesky tank, gun or machine gun before getting spotted. Your crew will then stop and set up and you will get off three or four shots before being spotted yourself. Brillant! I just love this thing.

Yes, the now the halftracks with mortars are very useful vehicles, and not just worthless flak bait.

Pretty hard to hide a trench. Infantry have excellent cover in them though so there are places where they are worth it. Put them in front of a heavy building along with wire. Leave your troops hidden in the building and man the trench after the enemy has felt it with fire. Perhaps your troops can be on a reverse slope on in the woods near a trench. It is expensive to recon by fire, so I would not worry too much. I like trenches. Still no better place to be during a heavy arty bombardment.