c3k

Regarding targeting locations with no "known" enemy contacts. An anecdote from General Abrams' biography. (He was the battalion commander who led Patton's drive to Bastogne. Eventually became top-ranked US Army general and they named a tank after him.) He was the VIP visitor to some tank training location in Germany in the mid '70's. They had their best tank crew take him down the training lane. Pop up targets popped up, and they shot them. Etc. They were the best because of their accuracy and speed through the course. General Abrams was furious. He had them redo the course, but he told them to imagine Soviet anti-tank teams behind every piece of cover and concealment. He had them machinegun every bush, lob HE shells at every structure, stay turret down and observe, move forward with "marching" fire, etc. Told them that's how he'd expect them to fight for real. What does that mean to us? Well, the ability to area fire at unknown enemy is somewhat important to a successful attack or defense. (It'd be nice if the AI would do it, too. But that's a whole 'nother can o'worms.)

The "AP" is the SmK ammo. Steel core, but otherwise identical to 7.92 ammo. Early war, they were sparingly distributed to rifleman as a means to combat armored vehicles. The ammo became much more prevalent later. I try to make sure my squads all have some. Just to help keep halftracks and Bren carriers a bit more honest.

LOL, Thewood1 seems to be giving you good advice. Were =I= the Piat gunner, going into combat, I'd figure out how to carry extra! (In similar manner, columns of infantry were frequently given extra mortar shells to carry. Once they got near the jumping off point, they'd dump 'em near the mortar emplacement. Men can carry a LOT of ammo. As I said, anything extra will get ditched. Ammo and weapons would be retained to the end.) Infantry carry stuff. A 3-pack (which can be slung like a backpack) of ammo is piddling. Look at the ammo carrier in the picture. ALL he is carrying is the dual 3-pack. Where is all that other dross you mentioned? Yeah, who cares. It's waiting for him back there, if he survives. If he doesn't, he won't want it. Don't try to overanalyze this based on charts and regs. Think about sweaty men going into combat. A bit different...

Covered arcs. They should not fire outside of the covered arc unless they feel threatened. So, HIDE and 360 degree COVERED ARC at 20m and they'll hold fire. (Make the arc distance and segment anything you think appropriate for their situation.)

^^^ The decision to stay or pull back is tough. I've found that if I'm even entertaining the thought, "hmm, I wonder if I should pull back", it means I should. The Road: You've got some other squads north of the road. You can rotate them into position while the original guys regain their composure. Do NOT rush towards the bocage! Stop the relief units about 1 action spot back. Pause 'em, then SLOW or HUNT (small covered arc so they don't freeze prematurely) up into position. (If you gave them a small covered arc to get to bocage, don't forget to FACE them, or give a bigger covered arc, at their endpoint.) Or, have the originals back off, pause, then regain the position. YMMV. Let Ian waste his ammo. (Don't put a unit back in the same spot; offset one or two spots.) The Woods: I think it's too late for 2. Smoke? A 45 second TARGET order by covering troops into the bocage ahead of them may help. HIDE for those 45 seconds, then FAST to the rear for the last 15 seconds of the turn. They may make it. (If they get some distance, their chances will increase.) Or just leave them there firing away.

Okay, what I gathered from that was NOT to assume that the lights are on, but to look, first.

delliejonut makes some good points: You should get a micropig. Cede the initiative to him. Really. Let him show you his, first. You cannot afford to mis-place your Fireflies. If you plan on jumping them out on the north side, and that's where his Tigers/Panthers are, you'll be in a face-to-face confrontation which, vis-a-vis Firefly and Panther, won't be in your favor. Whereas I eschew the research that others undertake, perhaps you should open up a similar QB and see what your oppo could buy? Something to chew on... He may only be able to afford one or two and nothing else. That could help you decide. OBA is immune to enemy action. You just need to keep a unit with a radio alive on the map. The TRP's will help. (I agree 2 may be better than 5. Just extend the arty pattern if needed. Maybe a third TRP.) What will 17pdr's gain you? They need towing vehicles and TIME to emplace. I'd pick something else.

Yes, I, too, will turtle when I think my losses will... Sorry. I couldn't keep typing that without laughing and losing my focus. Turtle because of losses? Gadzooks! Your men WANT to die for you! They only showed up for this battle so they could prove their mettle! Don't deny them the opportunity. Make some scouts. Hell, designate an entire platoon as a scout platoon. Make 'em expendable. (Don't tell them that. Tell them you've picked them, not because you don't give a toss if any survive, but because you've been impressed by their skills and fortitude. Tell 'em no one else could do what you're about to ask of them.) Anyway, start small, with HUNT. Move a scout team or two up and about. Have one stop in overwatch while the other continues. Keep moving some scouts forward. Keep the ones that survived stationary. If the enemy saw them, the hard spot will go to "?" status after they've been still. On the flip side, the stationary ones will begin to spot more/better. Pick the guys with binos. This is the "slice the pie" approach, or, if you'd prefer, "the camel's nose under the tent", or, "I just want you to touch it once". Whichever you like. Pry open the Lines of Slght and determine which zones are empty of the enemy. Move up more guns and men and dominate the empty space. If the enemy enters, he dies. How will that help you here? Well, the setup zones seem to be minor depressions. Move several scouts up to the top and look around. He's got 88's? Smoke 'em. Once they're blinded, move up some HE tossers and area target the guns. Tanks? Well, you'll need freedom of maneuver, so you'll need to find the guns first. Ken

Not trying to brush you off, but if you submit a Help Desk Ticket, you may get better (more expertise) assistance wrt your particular issue.

John, Men going into combat tend to "bomb up". How much do I carry when grocery shopping? Far less than when I think I may be in a firefight and then have to evade in the wilderness for several days. You tend to gravitate towards internet references. If you'd only browsed your own link you just posted, you'd see this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIAT#/media/File:Australian_PIAT_team_Balikpapan.jpg That image clearly shows the ammo man carrying 2 of the three-packs. Now, if I were a PIAT-man, I'd carry the damn launcher AND my own three-pack. So, that's my 3 plus my ammo bearer's 6: 9 in toto. If you want your men to carry less, open the editor and drop the ammo supply level to something other than "full". I don't think your men will thank you for doing them that favor. Bombing up is great tradition of men who may die if they run out of ammo. Men who are overburdened (btw, infantry has carried the same ~80-100lbs of gear since the times of Romans, or earlier), tend to shed stuff they consider excess. Poorly disciplined troops are more prone to this. Their route of march would be covered in discarded bits of kit. In ANY account of such discarding, I have never heard of men tossing out ammo. Better too much, than to run out when your life depends on it. 9 bombs? No problem. Ken

There are some who would question that... "Please, dear, can I have them tonight? The other fellas say their wives are letting them go out with theirs."

Umm, "reported" does not equal "fixed".

LOL... I'd just like to see that same driver again, out in public. "Comrade Driver! You have embarrassed us. We will send you to advanced driver school. Da. In gulag."

What? You're not getting paid for this? Hmm. You should talk to someone about that.

Good job! This will be has now been reported to BFC. (IanL got there first.)

A .rar is a compressed file (similar to .zip, etc.) There are different utilities that will uncompress files. You may have one. Right click on the file and see if there is an "extract" option on the menu which opens up. If not, I use (and recommend) the free "7-zip" utility, found here: http://www.7-zip.org/ FWIW. Ken

You meant "May"?

Great job! (And I want to play that guy sometime. ) Lessons learned: nicely summed up. Every battle should be a learning event.

Well, if the ammo bearers see the tank, what are they doing sitting there??? Give 'em a point-detonating shell and order them to charge the tank! One of them may get through... The psychological impact of dedication like that will stall Ian's attack and win you the game. But, yeah, LOS is tough to suss out sometimes. It could also be a sound contact. Have you tried drawing a TARGET line from the ammo team to the tank? If the LOS is clear, the target line will show it. Otherwise, it's a spot due to other than visuals. Just a thought... Ken

New tech... C-17 was rolled out by a VERY experienced aircraft manufacturer, McDonnell Douglas. It underwent extensive testing and development. Boeing then bought MD, and continued with production/development. On it's first flight to cross the equator, every autopilot failed as it crossed southbound. Hmmm, why'd that happen? I dunno. Boeing sent all the techs down and examined the aircraft. 3 days later, they announced the problem found, and resolved. They launched it back north over the equator. And every autopilot failed again. Aircraft have been crossing the equator with electronic systems for decades. How did they screw this one up? Complexity. Does it work fine now? Yep. I expect many, many, many teething issues to crop up with the AKB family. I expect the vast majority of them to be resolved. Being unable to drive a vehicle with a functioning engine is obviously part of that technological complexity. Computers sometimes get in the way of simple mechanical systems. I still want firing trial footage.

I do like how the Russians seem to have incorporated so many pieces of modern tech into one vehicle. Go big, or go home. (Yes, that's a compliment.) I'm curious about the turret ring. The old rule of thumb was that the diameter of the turret ring determined the maximum muzzle energy of the weapon. All those recoil forces/impulses need to go somewhere. That "somewhere" is the turret ring. Sure, newer materials can yield higher strengths, better recoil systems can soften the impulse by distributing the force over more time, but the ring still takes the hit. The Armata's turret ring seems VERY small for weapon of that size. Of course, it could be that all the other turrets are just too big, due to having to have a basket and room for the men in the turret. Or, it could just be that the scale of the thing makes the turret look smaller than it really is. I want to see firing trials!

The hi-res photos clearly show how thin that outer turret cover is. A lot of cotter pins holding it in place. Breakdown: oops. Better to describe it as a demo of the recovery vehicle, preplanned, and part of the parade!

Nice response. Figure 71: 3 teams QUICKing up to the firing line. I'd stagger their moves with pause commands. That Stuart on the road should prove pretty effective. Kind of hard to stand up to 37mm HE/canister and 2 or 3 machineguns. How is your time budget working out?

I am curious if ANY weapon system (WWII and on) has lived up to its "hype". German "wonder weapon"? Not a one did what it was said it would do. M16's debut in Vietnam? 'Nuff said. F14's Phoenix missile system? Err, not really, and not if you want to land on the carrier. (Don't even mention the F111 as a Navy aircraft.) M1 Abrams when it rolled out? Yeah, how's that 105 working for you? T-72? Call me "lefty". BMP-2/3? Etc. So, why taking umbrage when this new, still-in-development, yet-to-be-produced, AFV family has skepticism directed at it? Sure, one year it may be THE BEST thing out there. But the odds of that being THIS year (or next, or the one after that) is infinitesimally small. IF it gets produced exactly as it currently is supposed to, it will STILL have issues. By definition, they will be unforeseen, or if foreseen, greater than anticipated. Modern weapons are so expensive that any mistake in their initial production has national consequences. Hence, weapons go through EXTENSIVE development testing BEFORE being produced/issued. (At least, that's how it's done in the West.) Oh, having a 10 year development guarantees that the weapon will need to be modified/modernized during development. That gains more $$$ for the producer. A lot more $$$. I cannot see a factory in Russia having a big switch turned on and A/K/B's start rolling out the door...for years.

Do you draw blueprints of EVERY vehicle?