LongLeftFlank

This has come up before, even back in the old CMBO days when CM was closer to its hex wargame roots,  but in Elite and Iron modes it would be interesting to introduce a limit on the total number of units (% of total in play) the player could issue commands to each WeGo turn. Not sure of the RT equivalent, but it could mitigate the 'speed chess' clickfest issue that makes RT H2H a rarity for most of us.
1. The limit would be set based on: 
(a) formation quality (reflecting likelihood of units to take initiative);
(b) comms, using a 1-5 scale set by the designer to reflect radios/wire, visibility, terrain, atmospherics etc. (emplaced defenders would usually be a point higher?)
2. Units in command all the way up to the top HQ (the player) would be exempt from the limit. This could also tempt the top dog to go forward and get things moving.... at his own risk, which speaks to the thread topic.
3. Elite status units (exceptional self-reliance) and units not yet in contact (Rested, zero Alerted status) might also be exempt, so the entire formation can advance to contact before all hell breaks loose.
4. Emergency cancel/bugout commands, Hide/Unhide or Face would not count against the limit; units would always be allowed basic self preservation orders. Specialized orders like artillery direction could also be exempt.
5. Not everyone would dig these limits of course, as it would discourage excessive micro and squad splitting, and place greater reliance on the TacAI.
But it would arguably be more realistic, and the "in command" exemption would make CM much more of a Command game, as opposed to shoving orders at 300 'should be' Audie Murphies each turn. Men take fire, go to ground, defend themselves. They aren't necessarily keen to get up and going again all at once.
Thoughts?
EDIT: I have no expectation whatever of this being introduced, it's just for discussion.

In prior discussions of this idea, a standard rejoinder has been that the chaos of war is already baked into the In Command logic: you can issue as many orders as you like,  but can never be sure how soon guys out of command (and Shaken) will respond, if at all. 
Fair point of course, but
1. I never feel like out of command delay is significant enough. Morale and troop quality seems far more weighty. (And let's face it, 'my dudes don't do what I tell them! WTF!?' really ticks off FPS gamers)
2. At present, formations already in battle can change plans/course en bloc *far* too quickly to react to unexpected developments,  and with far too much cohesion. Even a unit in full command shouldn't be able to swarm onto a sector counterattack instantly, especially in forest or bocage, or at night.
.. In fact, night actions should be by default: as soon as plan A goes to heck there is NO prospect of plan B. Get your men out of the meat grinder...
2. Putting the move limit in  would restrict that kind of reactivity to high quality, good order formations only, and even they couldn't go all at once.
3. Overall, it would streamline play and add back a  command 'chess' element to the game. You must focus your limited micro/command allotment on the schwerpunkt, and also make the most of your few dependable elite leaders and Sgt.  Rocks. The less important sectors are left to stagnate until they can be given attention and new orders. 
Btw, I also believe that in an WW2 infantry game, armour support should always be out of Command by default. Directing it, even in close proximity,  should be akin to calling artillery....

I am aware that l'humour Anglaise is generally as 🙄 with Frenchmen as la cuisine Anglaise.  But, you know...

"Fetchez la vache!"
https://youtu.be/YV0LGMGuLN0
 

BTW I updated my title to reflect @LongLeftFlank's kind words

Thank you
Ok I didn't take it that way but I'll retroactively consider it good natured ribbing. 👍
It's tricky to design a feature and get it to work well with everything else.
That would be a way to solve it - have the TacAI do more and so it better and have us be more generic in out orders.

Oh, I definitely agree with that but I'd also add, as a slight counter, that death was very much a common part of life back then even in the civilian sectors. By that I mean, by the time you were ten (if you made it) you'd probably have seen hundreds of dead people, due to disease, pneumonia, birthing fatalities, sport, work accidents, starvation, crime, etc, let alone war. In modern culture, at least Western societies, we have been sheltered from a good deal since about the 50's onward. It's not as common place in our day-to-day, I guess is what I am trying to say. Epidemics are rare, modern medicine keeps a broken leg, severe cut, or flu from becoming a life ending event, modern food production staves off starvation, extreme crime is usually relegated to specific areas, babies and mothers are more likely to survive pregnancy than not, etc. I am not saying that is 100% the case for everyone, but as a whole, I'd say the majority of us don't live with tragedy month by month or even year by year. To put it in perspective, I didn't see my first dead body until I was 22, and that was at my grandfather's funereal. I've known people that were murdered but they were on the periphery of my life and I never witnessed it.
But I will check out that book. I am gonna put it on my Amazon wishlist so I don't forget it.
I agree and disagree at the same time LOL. On one hand our ability to destroy humans is on a level never imagined. Then on the other hand, it seems to be distant and removed. I mean most soldiers probably don't see up close the act as it happens, considering some of the engagement ranges, it's usually the aftermath. But four or five hundred years ago you were right in a dude's face, nothing but your axe and his sword to decide who was gonna eat breakfast the next day. And the guy who didn't, well you sure saw, smelled, heard, and felt the effects when you ended him. I think it boils down to that Stalin quote (paraphrased) "The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic."
 
Yeah, that's the part that I think can really screw with you even if it has nothing to do with war. That survivor's guilt thing. Why him not me? Or conversely, where I've had a couple incidents where I almost got myself killed or seen someone killed and that twisted me the hell up for a few hours with all the what ifs. Made me feel surreal.
 
Yep it sure is. I've always been a morbid and macabre person (intellectually) so it's right up my alley. But I don't like violence in reality, if that makes sense. I have a book on the history of execution and it's one of my favorites. But man, LOL if I saw any of it in real life I'd puke and run screaming like a three-year-old girl.
 
Mord.

The more I learned about the realities of combat in WWII the more I wondered how on earth men withstood it. I found, however, that sometimes they didn’t. 
Below is a link to an overview of battle fatigue in US forces in WWII. I found some rather astounding numbers, and also that the army studied the issue of men’s breaking points very meticulously. Given the numbers involved, they had to. 
The morale model in Combat Mission’s WWII titles are remarkable in their reflection of reality. There have been studies that found that the “soft factors” that determine when and why men will break are not as abstract as one would think. 
Battle fatigue in WWII is a fascinating - even if heartbreaking - topic that I thought deserved some study. Figured you guys might be interested as well 
 
https://battlelines.blog/2019/01/09/the-spirit-of-the-infantry-battle-fatigue-in-the-second-world-war/
 

Oh man you don't know the half of it.  He strolls around the beta club showing off some bomber jacket with that scrolled across the back.  He even has a tattoo! Doubt that is official, but you'd think so from the way he flaunts it.  He does this really lame casual move edging up to the bar in a way to put the dang thing right in your face and considering where the tattoo is... well it is just quite rude.

This has come up before, even back in the old CMBO days when CM was closer to its hex wargame roots,  but in Elite and Iron modes it would be interesting to introduce a limit on the total number of units (% of total in play) the player could issue commands to each WeGo turn. Not sure of the RT equivalent, but it could mitigate the 'speed chess' clickfest issue that makes RT H2H a rarity for most of us.
1. The limit would be set based on: 
(a) formation quality (reflecting likelihood of units to take initiative);
(b) comms, using a 1-5 scale set by the designer to reflect radios/wire, visibility, terrain, atmospherics etc. (emplaced defenders would usually be a point higher?)
2. Units in command all the way up to the top HQ (the player) would be exempt from the limit. This could also tempt the top dog to go forward and get things moving.... at his own risk, which speaks to the thread topic.
3. Elite status units (exceptional self-reliance) and units not yet in contact (Rested, zero Alerted status) might also be exempt, so the entire formation can advance to contact before all hell breaks loose.
4. Emergency cancel/bugout commands, Hide/Unhide or Face would not count against the limit; units would always be allowed basic self preservation orders. Specialized orders like artillery direction could also be exempt.
5. Not everyone would dig these limits of course, as it would discourage excessive micro and squad splitting, and place greater reliance on the TacAI.
But it would arguably be more realistic, and the "in command" exemption would make CM much more of a Command game, as opposed to shoving orders at 300 'should be' Audie Murphies each turn. Men take fire, go to ground, defend themselves. They aren't necessarily keen to get up and going again all at once.
Thoughts?
EDIT: I have no expectation whatever of this being introduced, it's just for discussion.

This was your original query. @Combatintman,  who does this for a living in RL, gave you a series of very useful and documented answers.
You could at least have the good grace to thank him for his efforts before getting cute with corner cases (if those are your Likes, fair enough).
(Thanks, CIMan!)

This was your original query. @Combatintman,  who does this for a living in RL, gave you a series of very useful and documented answers.
You could at least have the good grace to thank him for his efforts before getting cute with corner cases (if those are your Likes, fair enough).
(Thanks, CIMan!)

There are 2 things I hate in mission combat
It
and that "shark teeth"

As for the distortion in the ploughed fields, Kieme's mod brilliantly solved the problem.
But for shark teeth alas, it is a constraint related to the engine of the game.
Some scenario maker and map maker make a lot of effort to avoid them.
I am thinking of the Bulletpoint "front contact" scenario where no shark teeth are visible, which gives you some of the most beautiful and realistic map. some other map makers , shift the bend two or three turns to avoid the effect of shark teeth.
However for historical scenarios that rely on a precise map of places there is sometimes no choice.
I recently tried the scenario The Carillon 1 It's Quiet-Too Quiet and I noticed this curious road with an unknown angle of 22.5 °
Revelation !!
The author, (I do not know who) is a genius who managed with the highway tiles to do this feat, opening a new field of possibility in the design of the maps.
The only flaw is the visual
So I created this little mod to give a coherent visual.
Now I like everything !!
Road of Carillon

Change on the map of "Liking up and breaking out"
then and now

this one to compare with the one above that I hate

the different angles of the road

This was your original query. @Combatintman,  who does this for a living in RL, gave you a series of very useful and documented answers.
You could at least have the good grace to thank him for his efforts before getting cute with corner cases (if those are your Likes, fair enough).
(Thanks, CIMan!)

“The company commander posts himself where he can best direct and control the action. Whenever practicable he occupies an observation post from he can see all or at least the vital part of the company zone of action; observers are posted to watch the remainder of the front and flanks. His position must be able to communicate readily with the company command post, with the support, and with supporting weapons under his control. Whenever conditions make effective control of the entire company impracticable from such an observation post, he goes wherever he can best observe and control the action of that part of the company whose operations are most vital to success.”

FM 7-10 Rifle Company, Rifle Regiment date 02 June 1942 PP 20-21 refer.

Or put another way, there is no set distance, the commander needs to position themselves so that they can see the battle and influence it. That could be a tactical bound behind the lead platoon or it could be sat on a hill a couple of hundred metres behind the rifle platoons.
The stated distance for the Company Command post in the publication above is about 400m away from the front line. This is where the XO would hang out. The whole document is here:
https://archive.org/details/Fm7-10/page/n1
 

LOL if you ever were in a unit equipped with BMPs I expect that could be arranged

Re "girl's basketball", you can keep your New York Liberty. I'll watch the Aussie netball thanks very much.

FWIW, I made my peace with CM's massively ahistorical casualty levels by presuming many casualties are not in fact hit, but rather gone to ground and unavailable for further orders in game terms. 
In the same way, I mentally reconcile CM and historical timetables by presuming 'lulls' in the action during which neither side is doing very much beyond skulking around, observing and medevacing. Not every minute is an on the clock mad minute. I don't know if that helps anyone else.
Perhaps it's my hex wargaming background that lets me comfortably apply these filters and not take the visual literalism of CM2 too, umm, literally. Those brought up on FPS might have their own. 

A nice walk in a river valley with the Syrian Army...
... playing all that CMA came in handy.

The cathedral and Sauron tower are pretty damage resistant, even to heavy FP. (That's why I was sad they couldn't get something of that nature into CMSF2. But anyway.... )
Sink the structures a metre into the surrounding earth and you have additional cover. Prone soldiers in there are nearly immune though I haven't tested that rigorously.

My ADD/OCD fidelity mapping project for tonight: Claies de Vire.
1. Overview 


2. A nice back door into the German anchor position at St. Martin for Company A, 119th Infantry?
3. Simple. Just cross this weir, single file.


4. ... and hop the open barge lock (US engineers subsequently shut it btw, flooding German footbridges upstream as far as Pont Hebert).


5. ....But wait, it gets *better!* You then cross the dam and take the solid stone powerhouse/mill by the old mill pond. (No chance the Krauts have turned that into a blockhouse or anything).
 

My ADD/OCD fidelity mapping project for tonight: Claies de Vire.
1. Overview 


2. A nice back door into the German anchor position at St. Martin for Company A, 119th Infantry?
3. Simple. Just cross this weir, single file.


4. ... and hop the open barge lock (US engineers subsequently shut it btw, flooding German footbridges upstream as far as Pont Hebert).


5. ....But wait, it gets *better!* You then cross the dam and take the solid stone powerhouse/mill by the old mill pond. (No chance the Krauts have turned that into a blockhouse or anything).
 

My ADD/OCD fidelity mapping project for tonight: Claies de Vire.
1. Overview 


2. A nice back door into the German anchor position at St. Martin for Company A, 119th Infantry?
3. Simple. Just cross this weir, single file.


4. ... and hop the open barge lock (US engineers subsequently shut it btw, flooding German footbridges upstream as far as Pont Hebert).


5. ....But wait, it gets *better!* You then cross the dam and take the solid stone powerhouse/mill by the old mill pond. (No chance the Krauts have turned that into a blockhouse or anything).
 

My ADD/OCD fidelity mapping project for tonight: Claies de Vire.
1. Overview 


2. A nice back door into the German anchor position at St. Martin for Company A, 119th Infantry?
3. Simple. Just cross this weir, single file.


4. ... and hop the open barge lock (US engineers subsequently shut it btw, flooding German footbridges upstream as far as Pont Hebert).


5. ....But wait, it gets *better!* You then cross the dam and take the solid stone powerhouse/mill by the old mill pond. (No chance the Krauts have turned that into a blockhouse or anything).
 

My ADD/OCD fidelity mapping project for tonight: Claies de Vire.
1. Overview 


2. A nice back door into the German anchor position at St. Martin for Company A, 119th Infantry?
3. Simple. Just cross this weir, single file.


4. ... and hop the open barge lock (US engineers subsequently shut it btw, flooding German footbridges upstream as far as Pont Hebert).


5. ....But wait, it gets *better!* You then cross the dam and take the solid stone powerhouse/mill by the old mill pond. (No chance the Krauts have turned that into a blockhouse or anything).
 

Yes.  It works in CMSF2 also.  It was made by @LongLeftFlank.  Ramadi Buildings mod
Store fronts, closed with graffiti.  

The Mosque look.