Pete Wenman

March to Glorious Victory Post #2 - When Bourgeoisies Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (1-4 mins)
So we are off.  On map, I have a Recon Company of the finest young men that the Soviet Union has ever produced.  Given my relatively crappy position the good news is that there are a lot of trails and cutline so I have room to spread this Coy out and take a wide - EYES (wink, wink) stance.  This shot of initial setup turn one from Bil's (soon to be my) side:

You will note that I am going to leave my tank platoon back, saving it for the big push.
Then in the second minute I immediately see that decrepit old goats little ploy:
 
Oh Bil, you dirty capitalist dotard!!  Yep, he knows that Soviet troops do not do so well in smoke, while a lot of his units have fancy sights etc.  Next turn the smoke continues to build:

So this was turn three and by now, I am all along that tree line, playing the role of the Sneaky Pete, while Bill continues to pollute the planet.  S'ok, my tanks are still back and I have a screen of BMPs out there playing silly buggers.  Turn 4:

First shot, you can see my recon squads, already dismounted and starting to push out across the open area.  They are dead men already but they play their part.  My FOs are already laying in this nice red lines in my brilliant plan, but it is going to take a looong time for that to drop (18mins for big guns...thank you EW).
Second shot:

And there on a hill, through the smoke is a suspected contact, probably a TOW, which means it can see through the smoke like the world sees through the corrupt Yankee economic system.  That's it Bil, up on your hill....feeling so safe and superior...I can hear him whispering "come to me...come to Dollbach"...oh we are coming alright....
 
 

also just to add as the US player be very careful about engaging ground targets with the M163 Vulcan. That thing burns through its ammo when not firing controlled bursts at aircraft targets.
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also just to add as the US player be very careful about engaging ground targets with the M163 Vulcan. That thing burns through its ammo when not firing controlled bursts at aircraft targets.
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Not really answering your question, but the issue with ATGMs in game is one of their flight time. Its not unusual to be seeing missile flight times of 10-15 seconds, which is a long time when every second counts. If the launcher can be brought under kinetic fire while the missile is in flight there is a good chance it can be killed before it's own round strikes. It seems much more noticeable in CW than previous titles.
It's an interesting dynamic and really ups the tension
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Not really answering your question, but the issue with ATGMs in game is one of their flight time. Its not unusual to be seeing missile flight times of 10-15 seconds, which is a long time when every second counts. If the launcher can be brought under kinetic fire while the missile is in flight there is a good chance it can be killed before it's own round strikes. It seems much more noticeable in CW than previous titles.
It's an interesting dynamic and really ups the tension
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Warren I shared this in Bil's thread, so have added here so you don't feel left out. 

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A great place to start is First Clash by Kenneth Macksey. An easy read, but very informative, having been commissioned as a manual for the Canadian Armed Forces in the early 80's
Team Yankee is in a similar vein but written as an out and out novel and so offers slightly less detail re TOE and weapons systems than First Clash
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Warren I shared this in Bil's thread, so have added here so you don't feel left out. 

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I hope Bil doesn't mind but the evolution of the Dollbach map. Note the map image predates the autobahn and bridge. It also gives an overview of the battlefield for those that like that kind of detail

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March to Glorious Victory Post Number One.
  So Bil and I have a loose-agreement (I would say gentlemen's but that is probably a stretch) to not peek at each others threads.  The dirty truth here is that this isn't really an AAR per se, it is more of an IAR (In Action Report).  Full disclosure, we are only about 6 mins into the thing, so I can't really put a spin on my plan or anything because I have no idea how this will end.  So far so good  but we are in early days.  We should start posting turn summaries tomorrow but for now may I present an end-product of about roughly 32 years of military training in both line and staff positions...The_Capt's glorious Mission Analysis!  
So here we are on this grubby little peice of West German real-estate (seriously, Pete Wenman is a freakin wizard with these maps btw) facing off against what I am sure are overfed, overpaid and over-entitled Yankee capitalists all huddled in their vehicles waiting for something to happen.  So like they taught me back in the day..let's start with terrain:

So my guys are coming from the bottom, Bil and his jerks are up near the top.  I have a bunch of woods except for this defile behind a hwy bridge that I have to deploy my main force out of.  We have a big valley between us and the town of Dollbach in the center which is the golden goose we are both lining up to grab, whilst killing the other guy.  Not much to see on my map edge except a bunch of woods with some dirt roads cut through them.  
Bil has the high ground ridge up there and there are three major wooded areas that him and his ilk are no doubt hiding out in.  It is more one on the left but pretty much that approach along with the Valley is dominated by Bil's thugs.  In short, this is not an optimal starting position.
Bil's Plan.  So I have learned some time ago that you are not fighting vehicles and equipment, you are fighting a person (Capt's rule #1).  So spend time understanding and getting inside the head of that person.  With Bil it is easy because we have been sparring in CM for just about 2 decades now.  So here is what I am thinking, that Bil is thinking:

So Bil is probably going to be cautious and build a nice path to victory here.  First he is going to put out Eyes in those woodlines, then he will reinforce with teeth because why stick his neck out if he does not have to?  Then once I have watered the West German countryside with my blood (and other fluids) he will make his reach for Dollbach (Hands...dirty, old, wrinkly hands with yellow fingernails).  I will be at a significant disadvantage at this point because I will be dead, and you do not fight so well when dead (Capt's rule #2).  So my role here is to play peeky snipey from a really crappy position with Soviet gear that does not see as well as his sexy US optics...hmm...Capt no-likey, no likey...one bit.  So now the Plan:

My end goal is to make Bil more dead than me, not to get heavily invested in the West German real estate market.  So we are going to try something simple and blunt.  First, I will get Eyes on my woodline, gotta see what I can see (Capt's Rule #3).  Then I am going to put out hands...fingers really, to make it look like the land grab is my only game.  Then once my art start dropping (could be wait here cause he has EW turned on), I am going to bull rush that corridor and swing up into those hills to kill Bil (Teeth).  This is going to be tricky and I am going to take losses but I can afford them.  I get a MIC FSE in 5 and another Tank Coy-ish in 10, so I will have mass because I am betting the best he has is an Armd Cav platoon, maybe two.  So basically we will play Bil's snipey peeky game for a bit, push recon out into that town to make me look desperate and then freakin charge on the left.  Questions?
 

I hope Bil doesn't mind but the evolution of the Dollbach map. Note the map image predates the autobahn and bridge. It also gives an overview of the battlefield for those that like that kind of detail

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This all seems a bit familiar

 
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A great place to start is First Clash by Kenneth Macksey. An easy read, but very informative, having been commissioned as a manual for the Canadian Armed Forces in the early 80's
Team Yankee is in a similar vein but written as an out and out novel and so offers slightly less detail re TOE and weapons systems than First Clash
P
 

A great place to start is First Clash by Kenneth Macksey. An easy read, but very informative, having been commissioned as a manual for the Canadian Armed Forces in the early 80's
Team Yankee is in a similar vein but written as an out and out novel and so offers slightly less detail re TOE and weapons systems than First Clash
P
 

You clearly meant that TO&E would finally bring the public display of Christ’s crucifixion.  I mean the argument was made on the floor of the U.S. Senate, so that must be correct.

I hope Bil doesn't mind but the evolution of the Dollbach map. Note the map image predates the autobahn and bridge. It also gives an overview of the battlefield for those that like that kind of detail

P
 

This all seems a bit familiar

 
P

I hope Bil doesn't mind but the evolution of the Dollbach map. Note the map image predates the autobahn and bridge. It also gives an overview of the battlefield for those that like that kind of detail

P
 

I hope Bil doesn't mind but the evolution of the Dollbach map. Note the map image predates the autobahn and bridge. It also gives an overview of the battlefield for those that like that kind of detail

P
 

I hope Bil doesn't mind but the evolution of the Dollbach map. Note the map image predates the autobahn and bridge. It also gives an overview of the battlefield for those that like that kind of detail

P
 

I hope Bil doesn't mind but the evolution of the Dollbach map. Note the map image predates the autobahn and bridge. It also gives an overview of the battlefield for those that like that kind of detail

P
 

I hope Bil doesn't mind but the evolution of the Dollbach map. Note the map image predates the autobahn and bridge. It also gives an overview of the battlefield for those that like that kind of detail

P
 

This all seems a bit familiar

 
P

No "B***s" although the were plenty of Tommies involved in this one, with some Jocks. Taffies and Micks. And "Boy's" is correct as their commander was called Boy. A rather clever piece of word play by the designer.

Oh buddy, you're in the right place.
I am new to Combat Mission as well, but oh my god, am I ever glad to have found it.  Never been able to get into RTS games, they often look kind of neat, but the base building and whatnot are just not compelling for me. They may be good games, but realism takes a very, very distant backseat to creating an intense gaming experience, and honestly I'm neither good at them nor enjoy them.
I'm much more of a combat flight sim and FPS guy, and what I enjoy most in a game is its ability to allow me to use real life tactics as realistically as possible and achieve success with them. Whether or not it's a "game" matters almost nothing to me, and my ideal situation is a simulator that has as realistic of features as possible, and presents a sort of sandbox or toolkit you can use to create or at least experience a simulated vision of reality.
Well, after literal years of searching, I believe Combat Mission is exactly that, in terms of battalion level and smaller infantry and combined arms engagements.
I only found CM thanks to the Shock Force 2 listing on Steam, and stumbled across it pretty randomly. I was immediately captivated by the mechanics of the game engine, even though the modern setting wasn't really my thing. Like you, I prefer the WWII setting. Curious, I searched Battlefront, and realized that, in addition to Shock Force 2, they had a whole WWII line. I immediately downloaded the Battle for Normandy demo and was super impressed.
Granted, the price is not inexpensive, and the graphics are serviceable though obviously dated. But I really got impressed when I tried out the Roadblock scenario - I was amazed. It was like everything I'd been looking for in a tactical combat simulation, but had never been able to find. While CM veterans probably find that scenario to be a dawdle, I was really pushed to learn the mechanics, and I really got immersed and invested in the engagement. When I ultimately prevailed - with relatively modest casualties - I was so pleased. What an incredible sim this is!
Then I found the Assault on Brecourt Manor scenario and oh man... talk about wish fulfillment! Getting to assault those gun positions was amazing. I got inspired and downloaded some free mods from TheFewGoodMen.com to get proper 101st Airborne uniforms and Lucky Strike's very nice "Hedgerow Hell" scenery upgrades. This lead me to getting under the hood in the Scenario Editor (so I could apply the correct uniforms to the units), and checking out not only the preset scenarios and campaigns, but also the Quick Battles and Map Editor, and I really fell in love. There's also a very comprehensive manual that ships with the game and reminds me of game manuals of yore - it's got tons of great info, and explains very clearly how to use the tool to achieve your goals, whatever they may be.
Over the past couple days, I got inspired to recreate the "German Hedgerow Defense" diagram from Captain Doubler's famous "Busting the Bocage" essay about hedgerow fighting in Normandy. From a cold start, I was able to use the Scenario Editor - with minimal confusion or pain - to setup a roughly 200 x 200 meter field, with German machinegun emplacements, some farmhouses, and similar. I created a US infantry company with a two rifle platoons, a weapons platoon (with MMGs and medium mortars) and attached a couple Sherman M4s for support. Wow! What fun I've had learning how to move across a large open field.
This, to me, is what makes Combat Mission so great. There are a wide range of settings depicted across the various offerings, and your ability to customize the experience you want is nearly unlimited. Want to simulate a single rifle squad taking on clearing a building? You can do it. Want to simulate a battalion or large engagement? You can do that, too. It's really up to you, and the editor is *so easy* to use, it makes it relatively simple - and FUN!
I haven't even dipped my toe into multiplayer yet, either - but oh gosh, Combat Mission is like the ultimate replacement for my miniature wargaming collection. It's much cheaper, has much more accurate rules, and doesn't require any assembly or painting or physical storage.
I'm just over the moon with this find, and I'm so glad it exists. I hope you give it a shot, because despite the high price relative to other video games, this is the real deal! It's probably my favorite software purchase of 2020.
Anyways, wishing you the best of luck!