RenoFlame 36

Yes, there are still a few of us out here doing work on CMBO. I have a hi-res (1.07m) Panzer IV mod waiting for final testing. Any takers ? Post to the forum or, contact me directly at dhsinger@attbi.com.

Has anyone considered doing a river mod featuring rocks along the banks ? I don't know what the rivers in Europe look like but, around my kneck of the woods, rivers and stream banks are not just mud and grass.

The answer is, yes. There were several versions of the smock. One was a very early version with inclined zippers. It is mainly seen in pictures of Army paratroops before they were transferred to the Luftwaffe. The second version was Feldgrau, featured straight pockets and fastened around the legs. The version which would have been most commonly seen in Normandy was cut the same as the Feldgrau piece, made from "splinter" pattern material. Once they stopped jumping and became a pure infantry formation, a longer smock was issued in both "splinter" and "water" pattern. These didn't fasten around the legs. The bandoliers were also made in Feldgrau and Splinter patterns. They came in several patterns to match the magazine size for the various weapons used by the Fallschirmjagers.

Mod Manager is great for getting the ZIP files into the proper game folder. It also gives you a preview of what the Mod will look like in the game. CMMOS is a quick way of running the batch file to swap the texture. They both have their ups and downs. In my opinion, Mod Manager is easier to use if you are a Mod maker. However, it's more difficult to keep organized. If you like to have everything where you can see it, scrolling through a hundred Mods looking for the ones you want can be tedious. CMMOS does a better job of managing things. If you are a Mod maker, you must understand its system of rules and go through a clearance process before releasing your creation. It also requires a complete set of BMPs be present in the CMBO BMP folder for each Mod. This eats up a lot of space on your hard drive. So, if you have the room on your drive, put the ZIP files into the Mod folder for Mod Manager and use it to install the BMP files. Use CMMOS to quickly change textures. If you have a limited amount of hard drive space, stick with Mod Manager.

Try combat-missions.net

When you open the program, do the icons come up ?

Be sure to go through the existing rule sets. There are quite a few rules for BMP sets which are yet to be renamed.

I notice there's a rule set for them. Does anyone have the BMP Files ?

It's always interested me what a difference it makes if the projectile strikes the armor surface straight on, or at an angle. Even the Tiger I's were supposed to present a "corner" to the enemy in order to take advantage of the angle.

Take a look at the CMMOS downloads at Combat Mission HQ.

Howitzers fire at angles up to 45 degrees and are capable of "plunging" fire (right down the throat). Guns fire at lower elevating angles and generally longer ranges.

I guess I don't understand what benefit is gained by using this program rather than the Mod Manager. Couldn't the same thing be accomplished by converting many of these Mods to make them Mod Manager compatible ?

Thanks guys. I just remember how disappointed I used to be with board games and SPI when they would come out with historically based scenarios which were impossible for one side to win. It was as if all the designer wanted was to show you why the the loser lost ! Given the choice, I would rather have a bang up fictional situation where the outcome could go either way.

Is there such a thing as balance in a historically based scenario? Should the objective be to create a situation where either side may win? Or, by recreating historical conditions, is the outcome already decided? How do you scenario writers approach this situation?

The MOD Manager is a big favorite of mine. With all the options available, it's just about the only way I can manage 'em. What about a Scenario Manager? The thing is, once I get the game all set up with British or Canadian MODs, it would be nice to have all the relevant scenarios in a folder. I guess I could go in and re-name 'em, but if one of you code writers out there could come up with a solution, it'd be great.

The German vehicles depicted in CM would have been painted "Sand" at the point of manufacture. Vehicle crews were supplied with containers of Brown and Green paint in a paste form which was to be mixed and applied in the field. What the un-diluted paint was mixed with had a lot to do with the way the color came out. As I understand it, everything from water to gasoline was used as a reducer. This leads me to believe it was probably some sort of an "emulsion" paint. Application was also a haphazard affair. I have seen at least one photo of a King Tiger being painted with a spraygun. If none was available, rags, brushes, or even brooms might be used. The same vehicle might look completely different from one unit to the next depending on the resources at hand.

If you are trying to set up an "overwatch" position, you just have to creep forward each turn until you have a line of sight. Drop down to the comander's level to check for this. If there are targets in the direction you are headed, you can use the "hunt" command. Your vehicle will move forward and stop (hopefully) as soon as it sees a target, exposing no more of it's self than is needed to get a clear shot. Just as in the "real world", there is always the chance your tank commander may not see the enemy as well as you do. This is especially true if he is "buttoned up". Causing your enemy tank commanders to "button up" is a good reason why mortar and artillery fire on armored vehicles can help you.

Well, yes, it is difficult at first. In fact it's even difficult after you've been at it for a while. Are you sure your morter teams can see the target? How far are they from a leader? Remember, if the leader can see the target and is in command range, morters can fire even though they don't have a line of sight. Leaders also speed up reaction time, so your units will move and fire faster. Tanks are a mixed blessing, especially Shermans. Since you know their vulnerability, hold them back until your infantry has scouted out the opposition. Use their sped to try to outflank enemy armor when possible. You know you're not going to win in a heads to head fight, so don't do it. Go around the sides and look for the flank shot. Shermans have to get in close because of their gun, but they have a fast turning turret and manuever well. Don't be afraid to fall back with your infantry if you have to. Let them come to you if you can, and then let loose. Cheers,

Let's leave Stalin's sex life out of the discussion !!

Fired lots of M60's from a bipod and M151's. I couldn't hit much of anything firing more than a 3 to 5 round burst. That doesn't mean you can't "walk" the rounds up to the target. I'm just saying that if you want to have any kind of accuracy, you need stability for the gun. That's why you see those terrific "firing platforms" for the MG34 and 42.

Everyone that has responded has made valid points. My interest was in attempting to separate the German "Heavy Tank" doctrine from the Blitzkrieg strategy. Even the original Panzer IV's mounted a short 75mm gun intended to be used in assisting the infantry overcome strong points. If you look at the German "fast tanks" of the early war period, they were quite lightly armored. As someone else pointed out, they were only concerned with the small caliber anti-tank weapons of the time. I think another discussion almost as interesting would be; Without air power used as "mobile artillery", would the original Blitzkrieg tactics have been such a resounding success ?

What do you mean DEVELOPING !

The Tiger tank began development early in the war as a heavy tank to support the infantry. At the time, there wasn't a need for an 88mm gun to defeat existing armor. Even the German General Staff felt there was no call for such a large gun. It was only a coincidence that it arrived on the scene in time to be used against the "new" T34's that began showing up in numbers by late '41. As Germany went over to defence after 1942, they needed heavier tanks to stand against the greater numbers of the allies. Speed took a back seat to armor protection and better, longer range guns. Eventually, they arrived at the extremes such as the "Maus". It seems ironic that the allies actually used the Blitzkrieg tactics of the germans to defeat them.

Yes, the big "Ma Duece" is pretty impressive in CM. You should see one in action. There's something satisfying about nailing some SOB who thinks he's safe hiding behind a brick wall.A few bursts will chew right through it.

In a nutshell, yes, most German tanks will have a better first round hit capability than Allied vehicles. A flatter firing trajectory and higher muzzle velocity meant a hit was more likely to do damage. Much of the Panzer's effectiveness can be attributed to crew experiance. A great many of the German tank crews in France were refitting after tours on the Eastern Front, where they were engaged in tens of actions. Read the accounts of Allied armored crew men in Normandy. For most, it was their first action. They were scared and nervous. There's a good reason why many referred to Shermans as "Ronsons".