LongLeftFlank

Building out the AI plans for the BLUE (Regime) force, tossing in some basic opposition for interest. T72-TURMS bushwhacked twice by RPG shots on the elevated highway; minimal damage. MBTs are tough to kill from the side with RPG-7ds.

Just kibitzing here (killing time during a child's ballet rehearsal), but I'm idly mulling how to represent oil infrastructure using the limited building set in the game. One decent trick I found was to use the "stilts + no-railing" balcony type with the "breached" wall surface to create a skeleton that can variously represent a partly constructed building, a parking garage or, as shown in this shot, a large water tank tower. I can't clearly see them in the imagery, but the site probably contains a maze of above-ground pipelines mounted on frames; probably next to roads. Third World facilities generally don't bother to bury these things except where a road needs to cross them which would be most cheaply accomplished with a gravel culvert. The single feeder pipes (feeding out to the tank farm) would seem best represented for tactical purposes by the low stone walls (laying down hundreds of oil drums end-to-end would be a nightmare. For the larger pipeline arrays coming in from the oilfields (multiple larger diameter pipes seated in parallel on a frame), you might consider the long thin 1x2 square building with "shot out" sides as shown above. To lower the profile for LOS purposes, maybe sink the elevation of the squares they're in by a meter or two. FWIW.

Easy. Just hit the "quote" button on my previous post and you'll see how to do it. It's HTML: you precede the filename (ending .jpg, .gif, .png, whatever) with squarebracketimgsquarebracket and then end it with squarebracket/imgsquarebracket. Spaces between brackets and text not required. Squarebrackets being [ and ] The VC for this scenario should be quite interesting. I assume the Coalition has a number of "Preserve" building objectives which for the Iraqi side are "Destroy", involving emplaced IEDs or sumfink. So the commandos need to neutralize the triggermen before they demolish the valve control buildings and the valves themselves. Not much in the way of prepared defensive positions in this complex, I'd imagine; maybe a blockhouse (bunker) at the entrance plus a barracks area where the majority of the Iraqi defenders would be located. I can't see them sitting in trenches around the complex, especially at night. But I haven't read the book.

I've had no trouble myself, although I may not have the entire mod set a(ISTR one of the 3 rar files refused to open). I still get palm trees, but that's OK.

In theory, I suppose ammo cookoffs from a burning tank could damage the structure. Although I never noticed whether or not vehicles wrecked and burning at game start cook off.

Nice! Glad to see someone (else) covering Iraq. I considered laying out an oil facility for a Libya Red on Red fight last year but never got around to it. You can embed your screenshot in the thread by putting "img" tags on your jpg. Like so: Any chance of seeing a 3d pano?

Some of the most intensive bombardment I've seen yet: Hamidiya, Homs March 26. Again, no military purpose whatever is being served by this -- it is pure terror. Note the church domes in the target area (second clip). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L3k5rvE404 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lItpfXA3e54 A glimpse of the hell on the incoming end.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD2LwPSr6ME&feature=relmfu

Empirically I'd say it's the BMP's narrower (and less robust) tracks, but I sincerely doubt that distinction ever found its way into the CMSF engine; no sign it's in CMBN either. My only other thoought would be the T72s turret height letting it "clear" the high walls opposite somehow (vehicles can "cut in" to walls and buildings to a limited extent). I now have the full regime force set up; let me see how they handle it now.

OK, enough. I forbid any further mention of Russia or even worse, the decline of America and how the Chinese now own everybody, in this thread. Please take it to the "Russian troops in Syria" thread or to another forum. Thanks. Back OT, I'm continuing my test-drives through the shattered streets of Baba Amr. Interestingly, while the T72s will edge past rubble (i.e. transit a half-square wide space) if the waypoints are set carefully, the BMPs invariably refuse and try to go around.

Or that Gilligan's Island episode wjere the Skipper gets hit on the head by a coconut and thinks the others are Japanese soldiers.

I think we're talking past each other a little here; when you say "superpower" are you defining that as "can go head to head with NATO in a conventional war?" plus cut off a bunch of critical commodity exports at will? I lump those two kinds of "power" in with the 2000 ICBM's -- actually using either of them is pretty much unthinkable. Superpower to me means a society that is capable of creating wealth both for itself and its partners, so much so that it becomes difficult to flout its rules without losing the benefits of trade. The US, EU and China all fall into this category. It's hard to see Russia joining them, no matter how advanced its army. And the second it looks serious about shutting off the gas tap, the EU will find permanent substutes pronto.

Maybe we should pursue this topic over in the Russia troops thread, but I'm not seeing Russia regaining more than regional power status in a contemporary world where China has stood up and Germans and French generally stand together when push comes to shove. There's only 110m people in Russia today, right? and I think about 10% are non-Slavs. Tack Byelorussia back on and you add what, 20m more non-breeders? Ukraine is 40m or so, of whom 1/3(?) are actually Russian, and it's unclear even those are eager to resume being governed by Moscow. Of the non-Slavic republics only Kazakhstan seems to be a reliable ally (partly by virtue of its own Russian minority plus the generally tolerant nature of the Kazakhs) and that could change once Nazarbayev Khan goes, with Chinese influence. There's more to power than population, sure, but it just seems to me that Moscow is very limited in terms of its power to either impose a new pax Sovietica on its neighbours, or be a beacon of relative stability incenting others to enter economic and political arrangements with them freely, as America still does. Rosneft and Lukoil bring nothing to the table that the Western oil majors don't, except a willingness to deal with unsavoury regimes (and the Chinese have broken their corner on that market). Just not seeing the raw material for a Russian renascence here; in contrast, a lot of factors seem to me to point to continuing decline.

My dance card is full, but if you take the northern section of the JOKER THREE map and delete the Saddam Mosque and water tower, and most of the residential blocks south of there, you have a ready-built waterfront industrial district. Doing convincing docks and ocean will require some more creativity. Again, I deny the entire premise of having Russians in a shooting war in the modern Middle East. So I see little point in taking much time building a highly realistic map for an extremely farfetched scenario. But hey, fly at her if that's what you like.

I have little interest in wargaming the End of Days, but once I release a map people are free to repurpose it for whatever you like.

Good perspective and makes sense. If I'm Putin though I'd focus on the Chinese who are right next door to the Siberian resources that underpin any possible Russian claim to global superpower status (other than their unplayable doomsday card). Otherwise, they're just another aging white nation with limited wealth creation prospects and a brain drain taking away a good portion of their most talented people. The chekisti may feel like they can do what America does, but they can't. The social contract is weak and fraying. A lot of the raw energy and ambition that won WWII has gone, or so it seems to me.

Use GreenAsJade's site instead. Click the link in my sigline to get there. It's easier to work with than the Repository, and a lot of the community knows it.

Well other than the basic plotline of "US forces surrounded by insurgents, calling for help", WICKED WEDNESDAY doesn't actually resemble JOKER THREE much. Keep in mind that my Ramadi series is intended to be a kind of military history exercise, tracing the evolution of MOUT tactics on both sides during the "high intensity" moments in what was on average a "medium intensity" counterinsurgency environment drawn out over 3+ years. I will also try to make them fun and challenging CM games, but they aren't necessarily desperate fights to the death (unless you are careless). WICKED WEDNESDAY is an insurgent "complex attack" (multiple IEDs triggering an ambush) on a roadbound Army column of Humvees and trucks, with a further set of ambushes and IEDs positioned to hit the Marine QRFs whose SOPs have been carefully studied.... it's the rescue forces that are the primary insurgent target this time. Basically, after April 6, the insurgent commanders realized that their best chance of hurting lots of Americans at once and creating lurid CNN headlines was to bring them out of their bases -- preferably in a flustered rush to rescue trapped comrades -- and hit them on the move. They missed their chance on April 6 when too many of their ill-disciplined gunmen focused on trying to kill the holed up JOKER THREE squads instead of ambushing the fragmented US relief forces in a coordinated way. Many of the rebel leaders were cashiered Baathist army officers, remember, and very experienced at fighting the Iranians, Shiites and Kurds. They studied and learned. But this approach, while conceptually correct, still didn't work out for them because the Americans had learned from April 6 as well -- the DEVIL SIX column wasn't about to let itself get outgunned. And the Marine response was both prompt and disciplined (I won't say more -- no spoilers). Once the rebels realized that they weren't going to isolate and outgun any small subunits, they cut their losses and melted away.

Good to hear from you, BigDuke! I always learn great stuff from your posts, even if we're not totally aligned politically. Don't be a stranger. Interesting points on the Russian attitude. As I alluded in the snip you quoted, they do seem to feel a certain "big brother" obligation regarding fellow Orthodox communities; plus they do have a longstanding position (physical and psychological) guarding the frontier (okrajina) of Western/Christian civilization that dates back to before the Mongols. Also, I imagine if I was Russian if I looked and saw observant Muslims trying to overthrow a secular goverment all I would see is those murdered schoolkids in Beslan and say "there is just no reasoning with those maniacs. Anything is preferable." Finally, it seems to me that it is the Turks, not Europeans, who are on the front lines of this one (yes, I know they're in NATO). As opposed to Libya, where IMHO a key driver (even more than oil, also IMHO) was Italian (and French) terror of yet another flood of African refugees pouring into Sicily when Muammar and Saif dropped the hammer on Benghazi. That might not change the Russian viewpoint -- they have no love for the Turks. But it's a different kettle of fish.

Well, the Russians could be modded up easily enough using one of the NATO forces... They'd have body armour and their rifles could be texture swapped. But realistically there isn't much spetsnaz, much less larger Russian combat formations, have to offer the Syrian army that would fit into a CM context. Grozny (re)taught them that urban combat's an awful bloodbath and Putin would be in no hurry to be sending hundreds of body bags home doing the regime's dirty work for it. The regime forces have got the sniper thing down pretty well, and it's not like spetsnaz are going to be better (or less conspicuous) than locals at assassinating rebel leaders if that's what Asssad wants to do. So bluntly I just don't see a role for them. This isn't an Iraq/Afghanistan situation, where the existing order has been overthrown and foreign troops have to back and fill against insurgents while they build up a quasi-competent native army. The regime army exists, intact -- it may not be fantastically competent, but it's clearly willing to fight. So any role for foreign advisers is going to be noncombat -- at higher HQs or at most behind artillery pieces. Same goes for the Iranian Revo Guards who have been rumoured to be in shadowy roles advising Assad to take the hard line.

Yes, per the below post. However, between RL and my other CM projects, I haven't in fact started work on it yet; a lot has to go into creating an intelligent and challenging RED AI plan. Still very much on the menu though. I may also make this scenario an all-Army affair, with Army soldiers standing in for Kennedy's Marine security detail (heresy, I know!), in order to make the game playable by those who own only the base game.

Great clarification, thanks. The OP had already been answered, so I thought I'd throw the "tank heavy-infantry poor" thing in to see if anyone would concur/dissent/both.

Wait, doesn't that involve putting on your cork hat, walking out of your clapboard shack into blazing desert heat, climbing into an ancient Austin pickup and then, raising a huge cloud of dust, driving her 300 miles along the "rabbit proof fence" to the nearest town? Or am I (*shudder!*) cesspooling at this point?

Yes, eventually, thanks for asking. Consider this a detour into current events; it's also getting me reengaged with CMSF after a break for WWII...

The description in the Panzerblitz endnotes of the British Army as a "tank heavy, infantry poor" TO&E (relative to the other armies) after nearly 5 years of warfare has always stayed with me, although this doubtless varied from formation to formation. Interestingly, based on the (several hundred) videos I've been watching, the Syrian army that is presently blasting one rebellious city after another appears to have some of those same characteristics -- piles of BMPs and T72s with a very light infantry screen augmented by shabiha militiamen. This is a pretty major disadvantage in MOUT, especially CQB. I suspect in this case though the issue is that the regime has had to leave many of its Sunni conscripts in barracks, leaving the remaining units understrength.

Getting pretty close to done with the Baba Amr map here. It would take me months more to replace all the Mulaab 2 storey housing compounds with 3+ storey flats, so I've just created enough of them to give a tactically authentic feel to the map. This pano is north from the army's target, the Zubair ibn al Awam mosque to the army start zone on the main boulevard marked by the Al Jouri Mosque. The zoom does compress the view a lot -- this is about 600m deep, more than the width shown.