LongLeftFlank

This was my earlier suggestion: no Prokhorovka II / Fulda mass carnage here, but plenty of possibilities for sharp internecine clashes at the battalion scale in a screwed up fight where it really isn't clear who the good guys are. And, e.g. you can get French turning their guns on US or German/Polish/Ukrainian forces. Just like in Beirut 1982 where you nearly had US and Israeli forces coming to blows, or Mogadishu where the Italians and Pakistanis wouldn't lift a finger to help the US troops, whose high-handedness had offended them.

Quite suitable indeed

I agree with your post above, and suspect the best "fix" would be behavioural rather than "nerfing" the pistols themselves. In other words, bailed crews might be Elite inside their vehicle but once bailed they're at best Regular troops, and at minimum Shaken... they can protect themselves if overrun but are unlikely to become gunslingers looking for a fight.

Well, I remain hopeful that in some future iteration of the engine, BFC adds some features to enrich urban fighting (e.g. flat-roofed buildings, industrial buildings, locked gates/heavy doors, low Walls topped with (uncrossable) iron railings, urban flavour objects) and so forth. One would think the Market Garden (and Aachen / Paris Lib) module would be a logical place for them to do that, but so far I haven't seen any clear indication that they're putting resources into these features (and yes, I appreciate that the workloads are likely significant).

Have you tried putting High Walls along the building wall? That would require you to place the building edge so that it's "halfway" into the square, but it should keep infantry from entering, or shooting between buildings, at least at ground level. Unless they Blast a hole.

Just had a Sherman crew bail after their tank was KOed by a Japanese (modded British) demo charge (Breach) team (I deliberately had the Sherman NOT spot and kill the DC team, which it would otherwise quickly have done -- the test was whether the AI side will throw DCs at a moving tank of its own volition. They do) Range is point blank; the Japanese have rifles and are in cover. Two crewmen fall at once; a third cowers. The last guy pulls his 45, kills one Japanese more or less immediately, moves a few meters left then pins and kills the other after about 6 shots. Seems not unreasonable for a motivated, hacked off tanker. Intrigued, I swapped vehicles for a M7 Priest. Bailed the Veteran/High crew (8 pistols) and had them advance on a Japanese (British) rifle squad over a crest that let them close to within 20 meters before LOS gained. Result: the Earp brothers did hit 4 Japanese (Regular/Fanatic) during the shootout, but the squad Sten and Bren gun made fairly short work of them.... pinning and then killing. Done within about 30 seconds; no grenades used until the very end when it was already over. Again, not unreasonable under these unusual conditions. FWIW.

Yes, it totally sucked to lose that squad, although from a realism standpoint it's another awesome win for CM. They weren't in the A/C strike zone, but weren't that far away either. The air controller watched in horror then called off the air strike (by then in its 7th or so minute), but too late. In the real Makin operation, with 800 men landing on a tiny island enshrouded in jungle and smoke, there were major problems with troops having to hold up their advance or even pull out of positions they'd taken when "friendly" shells began coming in. This even though the Navy had been carefully briefed on the fire plans and was trying to be very careful where they shot/bombed and when. Errant rounds, mostly, but when so much HE is coming in it's a problem.... on the plus side, a lot of Japanese defenders were indeed killed or stunned. The stubborn Japanese snipers in the ship hulks also created a lot of confusion and "crossfires" -- tank rounds overshooting and landing ashore. The support landing waves were delayed some 90 minutes while these hulks were pounded by aircraft and the USS Dewey's destroyer guns. The above tragedy included, my latest latest playthrough last night began to feel "right". 5 minutes of intense prep bombardment before the first wave comes on map allows Force Z to come ashore with far lighter casualties, but with most squads still Rattled/Shaken/Broken and in no state to do much more than secure the beach for the next wave (very appropriate for Green US forces). Had a couple of very dramatic close assaults against Japanese snipers and Nambu nests though. Fanatical troops, even Green ones, just don't give up! Grenades and tommyguns are essential to finishing the bloody job. Fewer tanks are Immob although I continue to tinker with this key dynamic (if 12 Shermans can wander about too freely ashore the scenario will be a pushover). In recreating a historical operation of this scale, I am also becoming aware that 90-120 game minutes can actually represent a RL historical action of several hours quite nicely; assume some significant lulls in the action while troops hesitate, rally, look for the enemy, etc. The landings began at 1030; the main force was ashore by 1110 but didn't move inland until after noon. First elements didn't reach the ocean shore (300m) until 1400 and the 1st BLT wasn't contacted until 1600. But it seems to work nicely without 6+ hours of gameplay

Which is why the backstory is going to need to be fairly carefully crafted. In the absence of an existential threat to the West itself, there's just no way IMHO a Western expeditionary force intervening in a Ukraine civil conflict is going to be authorized to initiate a bloody stand-up fight against Russian mech forces. And the Russians wouldn't attack unless confident of inflicting a humiliating defeat and forcing the exit of the meddlesome West; i.e. the odds very much in their favour. But even under those conditions, you aren't going to get more than a couple of battles before a disengagement and cease fire is ordered. And we now return you to your previously scheduled asymetrical / proxy war against well-armed Russian partisans bent on ethnic cleansing. Either that or WWIII has now broken out and nukes are flying, in which case you get Twilight 2000 Redux: Beyond Thunderdome

True, it appears the tank was advancing down a typical city street without an infantry screen, it seems (I assume those feet running around behind it before the fireworks start are FSA fighters). But that seems typical for the government forces -- they're short of infantry (only so many reliable soldiers to go around) and with the primary FSA threat still being light weapons, they tend to hide in their armour. Kind of dumb of the RPG gunner to try a frontal shot though, especially while running, as opposed to a somewhat aimed oblique rear shot from a sheltered alley or shopfront (backblast permitting). Unless there are other regime troops (e.g. a sniper or BMP) behind the tank covering its arse as it moves forward. Which may have been the entire point of this exercise, use the tank as bait to lure the FSA guys out to snipe them.

.... if that enterprising lad then wanted to get his town intensively shelled by the irate artillery unit for no good purpose. This actually happened: Fred Cederberg's excellent combat memoir The Long Road Home relates how a Canadian got his throat slashed by some locals (a mugging I think) in a village taberna and his unit then basically leveled the place with mortars; the CO papered over the incident. We Canucks can be right bastards if you offend our sense of fair play.... just ask the SS. No, never mind, you can't (without a Ouija board).

Beautiful screenies and map (although the shadows could use a little tweaking)! just gave me an intense urge to buy CMFI, but I want to release my little PTO project before spreading myself even thinner. The "real" town shot actually reminded me of something I noticed in Tuscany; the extremely thick doors on "prewar" houses.... basically wooden gates, with bars. One doesn't simply run in and out of these doors if they're locked and barred, and there isn't an obvious way for squaddies to jimmy or shotgun a lock to get in -- you either need some serious HE or a vehicle as a battering ram. I've longed for some kind of rules around such secure building doors and locked security gates (in high compound walls) since Ramadi days (e.g. you can always exit a building freely, but it could take infantry up to a minute to destroy a specified "heavy door/gate" without using a BLAST command). But I suppose that needs to go on the "if wishes were horses" list....

I'm on the road for the next couple days, so no playtest screenies for a bit. But I am curious: any bona fide Japanese or Korean WWII wargamers lurking out there? (expats, Westerners of Asian ancestry, white dudes who dig Asian women or just love kimchi need not apply). I am trying to test my hypothesis that an Asian market exists for CM games (the "Tamiya factor"). Anybody? We don't mind poor English skills... most of us speak pretty lousy English too.

Playtesting tonight. Here's my take on the famous AP photo in the OP of this thread.... And Hell followed with him..... So once again Detachment Z is pretty much a broken force by the time it gains the shore, with the company taking about 60 casualties and nearly all squads Broken. Some guys even try to Surrender to the Japanese. The defenders have lost about 40, mostly from the prep bombardment or when the Shermans blast hell out of them. 8 of the 12 tanks are Immob en route to the beach, which is a lot more attrition than I wanted.... may need to ratchet conditions back to Damp.

Enters thread briefly, quickly regrets having done so. Tiptoes quietly away.....

Getting pretty close to playtesting here. OPERATION KOURBASH, November 20, 1943. Butaritari Island, Makin Atoll, Gilbert Islands, Central Pacific. You command 2nd Battalion Landing Team (BLT), 27th Army Infantry Division (105th and 165th Regiments) in the opposed landing at YELLOW Beach, in the heart of the Japanese fortified zone. Operation GALVANIC was the first step in the Central Pacific "island hopping" campaign that would end at Okinawa. A huge US Navy armada put Marine and Army forces ashore at two Japanese-fortified island atolls, Tarawa and Makin. Makin was not as defensible or strongly fortified as Tarawa, so US losses were far lighter. The tactical challenges were still significant however. By late 1943, the tide had turned fully in the Pacific and the war's outcome was no longer in doubt. Any early war advantage the Imperial Japanese forces had enjoyed over the Allies in quality or quantity was now drowning in an ocean of American industrial might. MacArthur's forces were on the march in the Solomons and New Guinea, while the naval and merchant tonnage that held Japan's new Pacific empire together was sinking by the day under an unrelenting US submarine and aerial onslaught. Guadalcanal, Buna and other brutal battles had dispelled the Japanese notion that Americans had no stomach for infantry assaults on fortified positions in the jungle and would therefore make peace. All the increasingly isolated and outmanned Japanese island garrisons could do was deepen their fortifications, hope for a miraculous counterstroke by the Imperial Navy, and sell their lives as dearly as they could. .... The KOURBASH operational plan for H-Day is a "one-two punch". Two battalion landing teams (BLT) have landed before 0900 at RED Beach on the western shore of Butaritari. The beachhead is already firmly established and is pushing east against minimal resistance. As any enemy reserves are drawn west toward the RED beaches, 2nd BLT is to conduct a surprise lagoon-side landing at YELLOW Beach, in the heart of their built up zone. This site neatly outflanks their primary fortified line (West Tank Barrier) across the long narrow island, isolating it and allowing it to be enveloped from both sides. While the lagoon side is less defended and less pounded by surf than the ocean side, the downside is that troops must cross some 250 meters of shallow reef to reach YELLOW Beach. The Higgins boats (LCVPs) carrying the main force were supposed to clear the reef edge at high tide, but are unable to do so, so the men must wade ashore with their gear, totally exposed to fire. The first assault wave, "Special Detachment Z" (Company M, 105th Infantry) is being mounted in Alligator amtracs, the first ever such employment of these versatile vehicles (the Marines are also using them at Tarawa). This company has been reorganized into two oversized "platoons", , supported by tanks and naval and air bombardment. Their critical mission is to secure the wharfs on each flank and keep the enemy from firing enfilade across the main landing forces. Advance your main force inland promptly to clear the 4 marked objective areas and effect a linkup with the 1st BLT advancing from the west. Eliminate as many of the defenders as possible, particularly their fortifications, while preserving your own forces.

I've posted this panorama before, but I noticed that when you exit the Briefing the map briefly resolves at a higher level of detail. Thought I'd share for my fanbase. US Objectives are now marked, although VP are actually awarded for finding and destroying the key bunkers in and around these zones, and for killing the enemy without losing too much of your own force, not for "control" of dirt. I'll try to post the mission briefing tomorrow.

Well, if my other job prospects fall through, I'll consider it.

Yes, in the third clip you see the surviving crewman (TC?), still in shock, wandering back to see if his buddies somehow *didn't* all burn alive. Heartrending. Of course, that's more or less what's happening -- largely unseen -- to the Japanese kids in all the other clips.

Hi there American doughboy, so you think the Navy flyboys and destroyers plastered the Japanese HQ buildings pretty good this morning*? Hit a home run out of the ballpark, and now you can just stroll around the bases? Well we'll just see about that, sunshine. * They did in fact kill the garrison commander

Up to now, I've been spending most of my time and attention at the water's edge. I am now working on the "fun" part; the jungle interior. You know, the part the Japanese are actually defending. The part the tanks and aircraft can't see well..... Open air supply dump, heavily bombed by Helldivers. Hard to spot. Given the water table, the Japanese can only dig holes about 6 feet deep. OK, at this point I am definitely cranking up some to mod by. And all the children are insane.... Followed by a little Mike Oldfield. Eardrums bleeing, mouth parched and eyes streaming from the smoke and dust raised by the American bombardment, Korean labourer (now honourary hetai) Park begins to feel a certain ambivalence about dying gloriously for the divine Japanese Emperor. They say a powerful Imperial Navy relief force is two days steaming away, but will that matter to him?

Permanent666 worked those up; yes, they look excellent, but 2 story Modular buildings really dominate the jungle even when I sink them 1-2m into the earth. So I mostly removed them in favour of the tiny barns. As noted before, only the coral-rock-walled godowns (warehouses) by the wharfs provided any kind of tactical cover; the other structures were little more than bomb and artillery magnets for the Yankee. MJK, like most of us, my RL obligations to work and family ebb and flow, so it's hard to say when this will be out. I just laid out most of the Japanese fortifications last night (the US VC is heavily related to finding and destroying the 12 or so key bunkers). Next are the Japanese unit deployments, then the mission Briefings. At that point I'll need a H2H "Goldilocks" playtest to fine tune stuff like fields of fire and navigation in the overgrown interior. Writer, I suspect a single game (no modules) CMPTO with US Army/Marines + Australia/Fiji (sorry, C-B-I fans) vs Japan (IJA, SNLF) would attract at least as many buyers as CM:Bagration (I blaspheme because I care ). Engine-wise the key needed features, in order, are (a) flamethrowers ( caves © "berserk"/Banzai charge TacAI (d) treetop sniper platforms (e) amphibious vehicles. All the other tools are pretty much there or can be reasonably simulated.

Agreed. The West's aversion to shedding large amounts of its citizen soldiers' blood would change only in the event of an existential threat, bringing violence to our shores in a sustained way (i.e. it would take more than a one-off terrorist attack, even a WMD).

Inconceivable!

Thanks! US deployment is now more or less done (4 landing waves plus a tank column arriving on map from Red beach to the west). I am now working on the Japanese OB and defenses. I've also now playtested the first 10-12 minutes a couple of times in RT and WeGo. Resistance at the beach is reasonably light (historical), but is still formidable enough to inflict serious casualties on a US player who doesn't promptly get his infantry ashore and out of the Gators (halftracks). In my first playthrough, the first wave (K Co, 105th Infantry) took ~25% casualties and was largely Rattled/Shaken by the time it secured its objectives (the flanking wharfs).... MJKerner might never have been born! Once again, I have to relearn that critical lesson -- act decisively or stay home! LESSON LEARNED: a dozen .50 cal plus a punishing opening barrage seems like massive firepower, but is NOT enough to suppress all the defenders, so resist the urge to sit in your thinly armoured tracks out on the reef and gun duel the Japanese MG bunkers and snipers. Once the tanks arrive though 5-10 minutes in, they will pretty much knock out whatever's left at the water's edge, clearing a way for the infantry main force (a full battalion) that follows them. Most of this info will be in the scenario briefing. I think this scenario, which is well suited for single player play since the Japanese don't maneuver much (I will also work up a Japanese briefing for H2H though), will make a very interesting diversion from regular CMBN, although I don't yet know when it will be finished.