jtcm

As I said in my review: the sight of the Tiger, above the crestline in steppe, rampant, blazing away, then suddenly surrounded by explosions and smoke, then the realization by the infantry that the line of explosions is heading for them-- then two earth-shaking explosions and a routed squad-- very good stuff. Played it again, as Germans-- this time knowing the set up. Those mortar HTs are worth their weight in gold-- once the ATG line is out, you can roar up to the trenches and spray away. Until the Soviet reinforcements come, of course.

I played this scenario by Tom Murphy, over at the CM scenario depot. I liked it a lot. Only played it against AI, but it was very enjoyable experience. Highly recommended

Well I've got a scenario set up. Lots of gullies. Tried it as attack against the Germans, using default set up. Not quite right yet-- the T-34s just get too far and too deep in the German line before the PzIVs come to the rescue-- I mean the latter arrive in full sight of Sov armour Tried another Chir QB: depleted security co., huge map.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'd already tried a "Chir QB"-- take one weakened, Unfit, 90% complement, 70% ammo Security Battn. + 2 37mm ATGs +Tank Hunters Put in open Dec 1942, South, light damage map. Add Soviet forces, according to taste (last time I tried, a Co T34s, a Co infy) -- I lose every time. No 11th Panzer to save the day ! Or perhaps they're operating further inside the lines...

Reading the impressive piece on German defensive theory http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Wray/wray.asp --I was wondering what would make a good CMBB, say reinforced Co or depleted Battn size, scenario for action on the Chir river in December 1942-- German alarm units hold the line in preparation for and during Manstein's relief effort. THere is one scenario in the Stalingrad Pack, involving, I suppose, Balck's 11th Panzer, but it's huge.

Wicky: what a great movie

JasonC is the Martha Stewart of CM-- didactic, meticulous, fussy, slightly terrifying for the slapdash. My attacks never quite work out like that, just like my souffles never quite rise and my bike repair never quite looks like the one in the book. What's wrong ? I dunno, grit just gets in the works

If anyone wants to playtest, I have a 60+ minute battle, "German Battn in rearguard, Dec. 1941"

Quickly, someone design a Jan 42, "Defend the strongpoint" CMBB operation !

This particular story of a single KV cutting off supply lines to bridgehead, etc, is also in S. Zaloga's Osprey book on the KV. And i also read it in the US "Small Unit studies" of Eastern Front tactics, which another poster referred to

It was taken by Regis Debay, and it's in an issue of (blush) the Britsh magazine Combat and Survival. probably also in the French RAIDS.

Excellent, action at last ! I've always wanted to see JasonC fight-- I learned most tricks I know from reading his posts

Excellent, action at last ! I've always wanted to see JasonC fight-- I learned most tricks I know from reading his posts

On a tangent: i saw picture of M1A2 what was taken out in Iraq-- small hle on the right hand turret side. I thought that was still Chobham armoured-- what did the Iraqis use ? 125mm ? One of the new Russian ATGMs, with hi-performance HC or kinetic projectile ? In 1991, 4 M1s were lost to Iraqi tank fire, if I remember correctly-- and let no one, please, quote the Clancy-spread myth of a M1 bogging and resisting point-blank 120mm DU fire !

Why doesn't the IS-3 have the "pike shaped" angled front glacis in CMBB ? or am I missing something ?

Does it make a difference whether you fire on a trench head on or from the side ? Does CM model enfilade fire effects on a trench ?

Mumpfel: that sounds like a recreation of the LMG-assault element tactics which the Osprey book (and John D Salt) was talking about Jason: the idea of a scenario of aggressive patrolling between OP lines would be fun for CMBB

Thanks, Jason, for the interesting post. Yes, I think the hypothetical scenario in the osprey book covered a plt spread out as an OP screen being driven in by a full plt moving in as aggressive recon

In Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy, there's a haunting quote from British Small arms manual, teaching how to recognize range from what people look like. "At six hundred yards the head are dots, the bodies taper; at three hundred yards teh faces ar blurred; at two hundred yards all parts of the body are distinctly seen" --hunating becase Crouchback sees various friends appear, and once die, on this scale. I wonder if they still teach it in the British army ?

Thanks for that, highly informative.

Thanks, Jason, for the long primer. It makes good reading and good sense, at the level of detail. I've long been a fan of your tactical posts, both in CMBO and CMBB, for their comibationof historical sense and play sense (useful tip re. resting infy); though I now find it difficult to play CMBO after trying CMBB. The Osprey book seemed to imagine a lead plt. not just locating but driving off an enemy OP plt, in a straight squad vs. squad shooting match, a toe to toe firefight. Assuming this scenario (made up by the author ?) is drawn from tactical manuals, etc, it has the feel of the 1930s thought experiment, and ideal scenario, theorizing how firefights should or might work. In that scenario, the enemy squads are WW1 style armed with rifles only, i think-- the German squads, each with their LMG, are imagined as enjoying immediate and a priori fire ascendancy. The "riflemen manoeuver within assault range", i.e. half-squads armed with rifles and 1 smg and grenades, is not my idea, but how the Osprey book summarized how the early war tactics were supposed to work. Maybe the author there got it wrong ?-- assuming CMBB works well as a realistic simulation (another story that). I particularly like the feel for distances in your primer. Not that it'll make any difference to my lamentably sloppy infy managing, but allows me to imagine, in terms of physical, concrete relations in real life: the rifle+lmg firefight is fought out at distances of, say, 2-3 city blocks or 2-3 football (soccer) pitches-- makes me wonder about how movies portray firefights, never succeeding in conveying those distances In real life, do you need radios to carry out this kind of tactics, or can you pull it off with whistles, hand signals, pre arranged fire patterns and movement drills ?

Read yesterday an Osprey Warrior book, "German infantryman 1933-1940", fascinating on training and tactics of the "early war" infantry, of the "MG 34" vintage. Each squad built around the LMG; win firefights; NCO initiative; map reading, etc. The section on tactics, lots of stuff on order of march, deployment, etc, ended with a pure infy scenario: plt movement to contact towards objective. Three squads abreast, hq behind middle plt, heavy weapons trailing. Once contact is made with enemy outpost plt, the quad taking fire goes into cover, supported by fires from neighbouring squad, hq group moves up, support weapons (2 HMGs and 1 mortar 81 mm) move to overwatch positions to support attack and engage enemy support weapons.-- this much even I get, and i can more or less do in CMBB. Next stage: assault plan. One plt sent to flank enemy outpost. Middle plts: lmgs set up as bases of fire; riflemen act as assault groups, close with enemy. Under liberal cover of 50mm mortar smoke to cover manoeuver, the fire fight is won and riflmen close in with the enmy, drive him from his positions, occupy his positions while support weapons relocate and rest of company comes up. -- I can understand this intellectually, but the actual execution usually beats me, just like i can understand Ikea furniture instructions but not quite do it. I should split up squads into lmg group and assault group ? How do i get the assult group within grenading distance without them starting to sneak towards the nearest bush under enemy fire? Im CMBO, would probably be easier to use, because of the "Banzai" style of infantry movement. Also difficult to judge infy suppression ! etc

The pictures show that it was a real butcher's shop in the last few turns. If I may (as a rather mediocre CMBO player, but ones who's been accumulating defeats since the 1999 demo): Eyes go first: sniper, then half squad, then rest of plt in whatever configuration suits you best (base of fire + manoeuver element, etc) Mass (does not mean throw everything together, but mass fires) JasonC, thread on "How to Attack Like a German" is v. instructive best wishes and keep it coming

Nicely done. But how careful was your recon for both assault groups ? Also, perhaps better to concentrate infantry and armour in a concerted effort. rathe than parcel it out evenly

Gosh. What do you think of CM ?