LongLeftFlank

Just musing: is it possible to simulate an "armoured VBIED" attack on a fixed location by using a speeding BRDM to run over an IED mine (that appears as a reinforcement)? The timing bit could be tricky

One thing I've noticed is that AI vehicles hate to be directed to (or placed in?) anything but squares clear of any impassable terrain, including walls. Even if part of the square is clear it still dumps the order rather than selecing a better square. Squares for each unit are selected entirely at random from what you paint.

Nanawatai! Drifting OT (again), I can recall mulling military=>foreign service career options back in the mid '80s, against the backdrop of the waning Cold War: Star Wars, hostages, Ollie North, snake eaters left of the Khyber, etc. Good thing I didn't, it turns out, given the 'end of history' that ran 1989-2001. A lot of careers came crashing down. Canada was even worse off than the States.

"When you're lyin' wounded on Afghanistan's plains / an' the women come out to cut up your remains / just lift up your rifle and blow out your brains / an' go to yer Gawd like a soldier"

Yup, I face the same issues in Ramadi; had to replace some compound walls with roads to get the AI not to thunder run DEVIL SIX trying to get to their waypoint. But from the flanks is where they hit; all the reportage agrees on that.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/03/islamic-state-uses-improvised-weapons-of-war-in-mosul-iraq.php If you inspect the following shot closely, you can see some details of the block clearing tactics being used by the IA (these aren't black humvees so guessing it's not CTS - shot is dated 17/3/2017). Smaller columns cover the flanks of the main element, with single guntrucks also detailed off to watch down vulnerable sidestreets. It's clearly all about VBIEDs at this stage. Looks like Daesh hasn't fortified or mined this undamaged district, but you can see the main group has dismounted to enter a building. Oops, the jundi missed a street, and alert Daesh spotters jumped on it in a second. The VBIED turns left (mistakenly?) and the trailing humvee frantically reverses, while pumping lead into its armoured front. Not enough, but if the kid had turned right and hit the dismounts he could've taken down a platoon of 'Badrist rafidha'. This is also an example of what I've noticed for some time about modern armies, both Western and Arab (IAF and SAA): not enough infantry/leg firepower, so they're basically tied to their vehicles. That limits both their tactics and their boldness, and also renders them vulnerable to smaller more nimble Uncon forces. Especially in an era of cheap and cheerful tactical commo using cellphones and camera drones. Same tactical problem was evident in Ramadi, although over time the Marines and Army units beefed up their QRF squads by converting support troops to riflemen, and turned Humvees into higher capacity troop carriers to ensure they could 'flood' buildings if needed, and quickly gain fire superiority at any point. Frankly, Western forces are going to need to impose comms blackouts on MOUT areas, perhaps to the point of using EMPs to kill all unshielded electronics! Also, it looks like this photo contains an example of the Coalition cratering a road to block it (unless it was a subsurface IED). Of course that didn't help the poor guys in the foreground, insh'allah. This is all terrific (if grim) 'a ha' learning stuff, and why I spend so much time with CM....

In case anyone thinks the Stalingrad / Fallujah comparison is exaggerating. Just a brilliant combat shot.

Sorry, the good guys are who again? http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/559041/Golden-Division-Special-Forces-ISIS-Iraq-Mosul-Liberation-Skull-Masked-Commandos Obviously, season this to taste since the Space Lobsters of Doom are doubtless on the very next page of the Star (after the Page Three girls, natch). Some good combat photos though though mostly taken before Nov 4.

“Look at their trucks,” said Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed, a community elder, as he sat by the main road leading into the city. “They were all given to them by the Americans, and not one of them hasn’t been hit by a rocket. All of their windows have been hit by snipers. They look like they have been fighting for five years. It is closer to two months.” And this is why.... http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/11/islamic-state-defends-mosul-with-dozens-of-suicide-bombers.php According to Amaq, the Islamic State carried out 58 “martyrdom operations” during the first week of the battle for Mosul alone. Eighteen “martyrs” purportedly blew themselves up during the second week of the fight (ending on Oct. 31) and an additional 29 martyrdom operations were orchestrated during the third week of the battle (which covers the first week of November). In total, Amaq claims that 108 of its “martyrs” have defended Mosul in the first three weeks of fighting. https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1006576/department-of-defense-press-briefing-by-coldorrian-via-teleconference-from-bagh/ Iraqi forces have gotten about a third of the way into eastern Mosul.... There's no question that U.S. advisers are in harm's way. We do advise the CTS. They are in the thick of a very tough battle. So there is a significant amount of danger here, especially on the eastern axis as they moved into the city. They moved through some very tough resistance as they've approached the city... https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1016840/department-of-defense-press-briefing-by-british-maj-gen-jones-via-teleconferenc/ The CTS has continued clearing in the east of the city, despite tough resistance from Daesh elements.... the coalition has disabled four of the five bridges connecting east and west Mosul, and increased terrain-denial missions.... seems to be reducing the number of VBIEDs the enemy has been able to use.... In the case of Mosul, the decision was taken to advise the population to stay in their homes so long as it was safe to do so.... Counter-Terrorism Service who have broken into the eastern side of the city. They've done so, as you indicate, at great -- great cost.... We continue to do that by adjusting our tactics, by giving them better and better fire support. But also, we can help them by replacing some of their battle-damaged vehicles.... part of that is about cratering the routes so that those suicide vehicle born I.D.s physically can't get down the routes and strike the Counter-Terrorism Service in their flanks. Driven by cheerful good looking young kids. Heartbreaking, but also a sign that Daesh are tapping out their manpower....

Nah, just changed it last month. And yes, I've played GUARDS and TRACTOR WORKS so many times it's like riding a bike, or memorizing the Kings Indian. Or the Cheese Shop sketch. Anyway, sorry S2 for making this thread so 'chatty'. Back to the grim business of Mosul.

For the wry amusement of the (slightly less tiny) group following these proceedings, I will immodestly quote myself from our PM sidebar, ahem.... So, Grasshopper, you wanna fight Stalingrad style? There's gonna be some blood spilled. Ask my countrymen how the first couple of days at Ortona went for them. Or the Sturmpioniere at Stalingrad. Things go BOOM at awkward moments. This.... becomes this.... forcing you to play the rest of the campaign with a battalion already shorn of much of its command structure. Part of what Sir @sburke calls, in his highfallutin' new style, the "command dilemma." Situation Normal, All Effed Up

"The odds are good, but the goods...."

Oh yeah, ASL and D&D definitely stopped me getting into Harvard (Harvard women otoh, nudgenudgewinwinksaynomore)

(just in case you didn't get the reference. I was 14 when SL came out but I forget that not all wargamers are so hoary)

Nice! That's definitely in keeping with the "bite by bite" nature of heavy duty MOUT we've discussed in PMs. Also, S2, your first scenario can be called THE GUARDS COUNTERATTACK (c), lol.

As noted elsewhere, I have trouble in general with the tendency of Cmsf buildings to pancake too easily under direct fire, so my own inclination would be to nerf down the HE and IED calibres to compensate. Great work ginning up the 'movable' IED booby trap but I wouldn't use anything other than a Small bomb in such a configuration in Ramadi. Except for AQIZ, the mujahideen were not about deliberately demolishing the homes/families of their supporters. Fallujah, different beast of course, but Stalingrad fights don't interest me much, at least not as a designer.

Slightly tangential but there's also a fine film called "A War" about a Danish junior officer in Afghanistan. Vastly superior to anything Hollywood has done on GWOT.

That's a 'sandbox' game kit, which would certainly be ideal for the 2.5 of us actively designing scenarios, but is completely uneconomic as a product for BFC. As Ian says, it's pointless to dream of an extreme makeover for an old game; all we can hope is that too many older features don't get removed. Whatever they do release needs to have content that is both fully functional and compelling to a general wargamer market in what is already a niche hobby.

... So what's your list for the reboot? Just keep it real, ok? TERMINATOR: Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range. PAWNBROKER: Hey, just what ya see here, pal.

Here's my humble 'tweaks' wish list for the CMSF2 reboot, in priority order. I assume here that all existing CMSF and all CMBS 4.0 content and functionality becomes available. I excluded dreaming up "new" features that really need a CMx3 engine (e.g co-play, camo nets for vehicles/ fortifications, limited tank gun elevation vs adjacent targets). Note my top asks are terrain-related, as intelligent use of cover is one of the only 'equalizers' RED has to use in the game. 1. Default modular building walls are thin, as in CMSF1 (mud brick or cinderblock), but also have heavier square pillars at the corners that provide tree trunk like cover. Can also be used to simulate open shops, garages, under construction, etc. 2. Buildings don't collapse very readily under HE fire, crushing occupants. Instead, thin curtain walls are readily torn away / blown out, leaving a ragged skeleton of pillars and flooring intact. 3. Building floors are dense poured cement, providing significantly better hard cover than do walls against fire directed up or down through them. 4. Custom buildings include a minaret with 2 man max capacity (and multiple textures), or at least an oversized doodad with no functionality. 5. Keep modular buildings with flat roofs and parapets a la CMSF, but give some custom buildings angled (steel or tiled) roofs. 6. Reskin the thin-walled double height 1 story European barn as a tin roofed high bay or warehouse area (no rooftop access). Option to ctrl+click remove one or more walls, leaving 4 corner pillars (i.e. the last stage of 'damage' is total removal of the wall) 7. Standard building skins include open fronted shop types ubiquitous in the Middle East. 8. Ctrl+Alt+click window/door frame toggle includes a "gutted" version with windows and doors removed (alpha channel transparent) 8. At least 6 different skins for the tiny European Shed outbuilding, with minimal windows. Third world settlements contain countless sheds, shacks, cookhouses and shanties, mostly cinderblock or mudbrick with rusty tin roofs. 9. Top asks for new Flavour objects: COSCO shipping containers, lie down freezers, an alternate skin for the bus shelter object to represent shopfront awnings. 10. Doodad cars, lorries and buses, each with multiple skins, including new, rusty and charred wreck. Also a soil type containing a slick of burned oil. (Charred wrecks add mucho atmosphere to otherwise sterile maps). 11. Wider range of CM tree types including Med climate CMFI vegetation, plus conifers for higher altitude areas. 12. For each AI order, designer can paint map squares for units to *avoid* (as if it contained impassable terrain), as well as destinations. A simple fix to hinder zombietruppen banzai charging down roads etc.... 13. Some way to fortify/sandbag/thicken selected walls of upper building levels, and rooftop parapets (aware that this is harder than it sounds in CMx2 as fortifications are a kind of vehicle). Perhaps just a thicker-walled small square modular building we can then use to "harden" portions of a larger structure. 14. "Rout / remove" (!) feature for all non-Fanatic Uncon infantry, not just Spies. Units removed in this way don't count as kills for VP. If possible, link rout probability to pop density (i.e. guerrillas who strike then fade into the population) 15. Tall clusters of reeds/grasses/ thornbrush for watery/marsh areas (high LOS block). These grow prolifically in any Mideast water source. Something like the growth atop gapped Bocage, without the embankments. 16. Units and men stay inside buildings and don't enter balconies if their facing is <30 degrees in each direction from perpendicular to that building wall. Otherwise, they do use the balcony (i.e. to gain LOS up a street). 17. Western forces facing Uncon units do not Surrender. They know what happens.... 18. Some kind of locked (driveway) gate in a High Wall section that any unit can 'Blast' a gap in without special charges, after a brief delay. (Even better would be a Toggle allowing these gates to be freely passable to a Defender without blasting (presumed to have support of occupants), but this may require too much brainjar....) 19. Uncon sections (not snipers, MG or RPG teams) don't take a prone position when fighting, except when they Pin or Cower. Middle Easterners tend to think of it as unmanly, unless they receive Western-style military training. 20. "Poor" equipment Uncons get SMLEs or Mausers instead of SVDs. 21. Ambient smoke and haze from explosions lingers in the air for longer (toggle it with the Toggle Smoke switch). Also, would love to see bigger plumes of smoke and more cookoffs from burning wrecks (which also turn black). Again, immersion without major new functionality. 22. True Humvee guntruck with better protected gun turret, as well as "passenger" version with open topped rear and higher seating capacity (don't make me reskin a BRDM). 23. I personally like the idea of a "collonade" or a wall surface with multiple doorways, for fights in mosques or Old Town areas.

'And the mob all cried out with one voice, saying, "Away with this [Combatint]man; release BARRAS unto us!"' [/blasphemin']

Interesting, cheers. Now that the Russians and Iranians are 'in the tank' (rimshot) for Assad, I suppose he doesn't need to worry about the Republican Guard tanks becoming too dominant relative to regular Army. Mind you, 4th Armoured Division is under personal command of Maher Assad and is always at the flashpoint of the moment. I do wonder what the regime is doing to find infantry these days though.

No joy infidel crusader, the most you ever get to do is occupy it, with Iraq jundi and US paratroopers. ROE....

Sitting by the Pacific, I penned out the next scenario in the Ramadi cycle (don't worry I will tweak the AI for Wicked Wednesday first). Same approximate map area as WW, but about twice the forces and US largely counterattacking this time..... SHARIF DON'T LIKE IT QUICK START 1. You are 2/4 Marines XO Mike Wylie, BASTARD THREE. Your column of 4 vehicles is rolling west on MSR MICHIGAN, expecting an ambush. Get through it as best you can, then talk in the QRFs and air support. 2. Heavy QRFs from all four 2/4 companies: Weapons (WHISKEY), Echo (PORCUPINE), Fox (BADGER) and Golf (JOKER) are standing by, ready to envelop the ambushers from all sides, together with air support and COLD STEEL Bradleys from Camp Corregidor. 3. Killing RED forces matters this time, although once again, if BLUE takes a lot of casualties doing it, this is going to make the papers. But then hell, we're already in the papers. Let these cowboys find out who they're messing with. 4. Do not damage Saddam Mosque. There are also VP penalties for demolishing too many other buildings, so be selective with the heavy ordnance.... BACKGROUND Central Ramadi, IRAQ, 21 July 2004 1230 The sharp step up in insurgent attacks in Iraq's "Sunni Triangle" in July 2004 gave 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (1MEF) grave cause for concern. While foreign bombmakers and organizers were leavening the mix, the main threat was homegrown. Militias of the Sunni tribes, whose ancient vendettas and power struggles lay at the root of all Anbar politics, were now openly up in arms. Contrary to reportage from antiwar media, 1MEF and the NatSec agencies knew these players quite well. Their kinships, hatreds and business interests were amply penciled out on whiteboards at Camp Blue Diamond. But while the Dulaym sheikhs were just as happy taking US reconstruction contracts as they were smuggling AQ takfiris along historic ratlines from Syria, to a man they were unwilling to adopt anyone's vision for government but their own. There would be no winning of Sunni hearts and minds without them. And since April the Americans had stepped harshly on their toes. For their part, with Fallujah still defiant, US commanders felt they had no choice but to show resolve in Anbar: "presence patrols", to show that no area was denied them, and "cordon and knock" detention raids, to show that no personage was above the 'law', as laid down by Uncle Sam. Above all though, the Americans were convinced that building up a professional (neutral) Iraqi military and police was the key ingredient that would in time restore order and let them declare victory. They were embarked on a long, hard road. Just after 3pm on this third "Wicked Wednesday" of this blazing July, Major Mike Wylie, XO (S-3) of 2/4 Marines (BASTARD THREE) and a four vehicle convoy entered the gauntlet stretch of MSR MICHIGAN, between OP Ag Center and the Saddam Mosque, driving west. MAJ Wylie had a great deal on his mind. Following last week's attack on DEVIL SIX, the JCC had issued a warrant to detain one of the paramount Dulaym sheikhs, Abdul Razak al-Kharbit. He was now said to be in Jordan, but about 20 of his clansmen were in custody, and intel warned that the clan was now threatening to make Fallujah look like 'a tickle'. Ominously, 501st Iraqi National Guard battalion, whose HQ now lay in front of BASTARD THREE, had abruptly confined itself to quarters. And the corpse of LTC Attallah, one of the few reliable police commanders, had been found outside town 2 days earlier. So it was "High Noon", with Mike Wiley in the Gary Cooper role and the cowardly townspeople running for cover. Except that he and LTC Kennedy had decided that on this day the "Magnificent Bastards" of 2/4 would be the ones acting, not reacting. All four mobile companies of the battalion were on standby. As BASTARD THREE slowed to thread the cement barriers of the deserted ING checkpoint, not a single human being was visible, anywhere. With the hairs standing up on his neck, Wylie began counting down silently: "Ten... nine... eight...." Sequence. 1. AT 1507D, 2/4 MARINES XO S CONVOY (20 PAX IN 4X VEHICLES) WAS ATTK WITH AN IED, FOLLOWED BY RPG AND SAF FROM 8-10X AIF IVO AR RAMADI (LB427998). THE CONVOY WAS MOVING WEST ON MSR MICHIGAN RETURNING FROM COMBAT OUTPOST TO CAMP HURRICANE POINT. AT 1543D, THE CONVOY WAS ABLE TO BREAK CONTACT AND RETURNED TO COMBAT OUTPOST. [The] Humvee had been hit at a deserted checkpoint outside the Iraqi National Guard headquarters, where concrete barriers force vehicles into a slow slalom. Marines later said they had seen people moving inside the building -- Guardsmen, they believed. The attackers had tunneled under the pavement to place the bomb. Scores of guerrillas fired rifles and rocket-propelled grenades from rooftops near National Guard buildings, sparking a street battle that drew in more than a battalion of US forces, and that killed 25 insurgents. “There was about a half-mile stretch of the main road in town that instantly became a battlefield as we moved through it,” explained Maj. Mike Wylie [LTC Kennedy] “My XO was returning from my far eastern outpost when his four vehicle convoy was hit by an IED (155 round, remotely detonated) and immediately engaged by small arms and RPGs. They attempted to get out of the kill zone but it extended about 400 meters with shooters lining the road from rooftops. Every vehicle was hit several times but they escaped unharmed. 2. 2/4 MARINES COMMENCED OPS TO CLEAR THE PRIMARY CONTACT SITE AND REPORTED MULTIPLE RPG AND SAF CONTACTS. [LTC Kennedy] “We launched the Quick Reaction Force [W/2/4] within minutes along with my Fwd CP (Ollie [North] and cameraman imbedded). As we were swooping in from two directions more IEDs hit us. The vehicle behind mine (carrying a rolling camera) was struck by a Vehicle Borne IED; no damage or casualties except the Arab who went to his maker." While the QRF drew closer to the objective, the AIF detonated a vehicle-borne explosive. The explosion startled the Marines meant to reinforce those under fire in the city, but didn't stop them. Several civilians, however, were killed by the blast. "We got out of the vehicles and started looking for targets and made sure everyone was okay," said Lance Cpl. Mathew L. Brown, a 20-year-old machine gunner for Weapons Company from Hillsdale, Mich. "Then we got back in and started pushing towards Saddam's Mosque." 3. They encountered a fierce fight. They found themselves in the middle of a hail of bullets, RPGs and more homemade bombs. "Once we got there, an improvised explosive device went off in front of my vehicle," Brown explained. "An RPG hit a wall right next to our truck and we got out and started suppressing." Marines ran toward the source of the fire, weapons on all sides blazing. "While we were still moving we kicked open our doors and started firing at buildings we thought we were taking fire from," said Cpl. Jared H. McKenzie, a 22-year-old squad leader for Weapons Company. McKenzie jumped out of the vehicle, directing the gunner in his vehicle to kill the enemy hiding out in a furniture store.... "It was hard to hear if we were receiving any small arms over all the explosions." [Kennedy] “By this time Golf was in contact to the east and Fox coming in from the south in contact. Fox-6 and fire support team were casualties from an RPG but they continued to fight. Weapons company with me shooting rockets and 40mm easily broke up the attack. Golf was in a big MOUT fight, clearing a hotel and adjacent building for a couple of hours. Echo finally came in from the north and crushed the bastards. My Fwd got to defend itself again as the companies love to abandon me. Luckily I have a great Three and SgtMaj to keep us healthy. 4. Cpl Holladay, 2/4 Golf. Civilian traffic had already stopped so we had a straight shot to the ambush site. However, we decided that we should detour to the street directly south of the MSR and come out to the west of the 3's convoy. We diverted from the MSR and started down the side street. I guess we surprised a group of insurgents posted at the other end of the street that were probably waiting for us to move directly to the convoy and then move south. They recovered quickly enough though, and opened up on the lead truck with an automatic weapon and fired an RPG. I was in the third vehicle in line with the CO and watched from my turret as the rocket missed the lead truck by scant inches and slammed into the side of the second vehicle. All vehicles immediately got out of the kill zone and Marines jumped to the ground and sought cover. The machine gun that had initiated the attack was still launching rounds at us and I heard Gunny bellow, "GET SOME SUPPRESSION DOWN THAT STREET!" I had also noticed that there was a car parked about 50 meters to my front with it's trunk open. Finding this rather odd, I pumped a burst into it and one of the tracers set the fuel tank on fire. The insurgents were using the car I had lit up as some kind of ammo dump. The rockets, explosives and other munitions started cooking off and I told my driver to get the hell out of there. In the initial attack, the lead vehicle had taken several rounds in the engine compartment and was only able to move far enough to get behind a wall before the engine quit. The recovery team had already shown up to tow the RPGed truck back to base and decided to just take both back. 5. ARMORED QRF FROM 1-16IN (M1 AND M2 S) AND MARINES REPORT HEAVY AIF ACTIVITY CENTERED ON THE SADDAM MOSQUE (LB429999) AND TO THE NORTH (LC4282008). There was a building directly to our north that stood 5 stories and was believed to contain 3-5 insurgents. Before clearing it out, we were to saturate it with lead and HE (High Explosives). Two Army Bradley Fighting Vehicles had shown up and were to assist in this endeavor.... The door was blown in with an AT-4 and a squad cleared the building, finding the insurgents, unsurprisingly, dead. Overhead air support moved on to cover the Marines as they swept through searching out the remnants of the attackers. During the sweeps the Marines discovered another vehicle-borne explosive they detonated with a TOW missile. Soldiers recovered another homemade bomb in a burlap sack, made from a 155 mm artillery round. Abandoned grenade launchers and enemy machine gun and grenades, two anti-tank mines, a homemade rocket launcher and ammunition were also recovered. 6. THE LAST CONTACT, CENTERED ON THE SADAM MOSQUE, OCCURRED AT 1850D AND 2/4 MARINES THEN COMMENCED CONSOLIDATION AND SEARCH OPS. The Marines arrested 25 people - including two Iraqi police - and said that at one point they had faced up to 100 attackers. ****

Rumors are flying down here, with pamboats filled with terrorists being sighted all over the Visayas. But it looks like a half assed desperation move by Abu Rami; a bunch of his ASG brothers turned themselves in last week and his plans became known. So he and his core group decided to go out in a blaze of martyrdom and take some 'white meat' (that's people like me) with him. But his departure (and maybe intent) was known, so when (non-Muslim) villagers in his staging area phoned him in, AFP was ready to move and he was toast. Burn in hell, arschleit: you just discovered the only god you've been serving all these years is Satan.