winkelried

Maybe one should read the "THE UNITED STATES STRATEGIC BOMBING SURVEY". Some interesting statements about the effect of US strategic bombing. See here http://www.danshistory.com/ww2/docs/ussbs_euro.html

the manual says in the allied strategy section, that the soviets should defend behind river hexes. I found no reference to the defense value of river hexes somewhere else in the manual. Anybody a better reader or is this an undocumented feature?

I served 15 years in recon and one of our tactics was effectively to use jeeps. We always did it in pairs, one sneaking up front, the other covering. Both were equipped with radios and so we could warn each other. Worked out quite well in simulated battles (with the laser sensors etc), when you applied the right tactic and use the terrain properly. The reason to do so, was a question of time we had to do the job. If we had plenty of time we went on foot (eventually being heli-ported), if time was tight we would use jeeps (sure we would have felt better in an armored vehicle). If time was very tight they would send in a platoon or so of armored infantry and heavy tanks to "see where the enemy was shooting from". I do the same in combat mission: - scout teams and sharpshooters when you have time to scout properly. often just screening before the main body. Sometimes it can be useful to let the guys ride on a jeep or a M8 to get them somewhere quickly. - recon vehicles (jeep, M8, 250/9) are ok if you need to penetrate quickly and deeply. - eventually a platoon with a StuG/Sherman to recon in force. I believe that it helps me a lot to get proper information about the enemy's tactic. A lot of the battles I don't win, my recon gets "f..." up.

this is one of the challenges posed to the leader: - do I want to get to the enemy or a position as quickly as possible? Then I will have to compromise on the firepower i can bring to bear and will leave the HMGs behind. - do I want to bring as much firepower as possible to bear? Then I will have to decide for a slower movement or vehicle transport. One possible tactic could be: - bring a small forward element to the position. try to hold it until the main body arrives with the firepower. but remember that every situation needs another decision, there is nothing like a standard ...

you're right with the hit probability. need to find a good compromise. helped me though ... maybe luck ? you're right, that's why you need to be in a reverse slope if possible to see only as many tanks as you can chew (depending on your rate of fire e.g.). and maybe on the flanks ... you need a good web of weapons to get the job done (e.g. build a "fire sack/bag" -- or how do you call this in english?). if the infantry gets so close that you need the mines, you're probably cooked anyway ... [ July 01, 2002, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: winkelried ]

... ah yes, don't open fire on these bloody recon vehicles ...

1) to be realisitic forget that a gun crew will make it til 1946. give them 5 shots, maybe 6. 2) place the gun rather deep in a wood / tall pine or scattered tree so that the target line gets dark blue. this will make it more difficult for the enemy to spot them even after they start their fire. 3) HIDE the gun and shoot only when you see the white in the enemy's eyes. 4) put them on reverse slope. keep the firing distance short to increase effectiveness and hit probability. 500 m maybe 800 m is fine. (except maybe for the 88 if you want to fire dozens of shots against a single target) 5) use flanking positions wherever possible. tanks are most vulnerable on the flank (the silhouette is larger too. 6) use the guns in pairs. this increases the hit probability further. 7) protect them with HMGs and mortart (smoke ...). 8) have the prime mover close to change position (I do this with a good success rate - lose 50% of the guns - but would lose them anyway since the position is compromised). doesn't work with the 88. Counter Tactics: - have mortars to put blind the guns. - have 105ers or 150/155ers to zap them. did i forget something ...

Very good statement. To my knowledge corn was only introduced after the war on a large scale in Central Europe. Mainly as green fodder for the cows (there is not enough sun to ripe entierly). The main crop was wheat, oats and rye (and naturally potatoes) ... With your thoughts you brought up some other aspect which is not modeled in CM: The degradation of dirt roads by tracked vehicles. In the army we had some rules about how many tracked vehicles could run over such a track until we had to add gravel on it (depending also on the speed). The same would apply on fields or other terrain features (I once saw an apple orchard after two platoons of Panzergrenadiers on their M113 had rolled through)

on the wheat you're right. todays wheat is a bit smaller than during wwII but not significantly. for the measurements: my car is 180cm (roof), me standing on the front seat and peeking through the sunroof (+1.20) roughly ...

I don't think that a jeep would be able to tow the 6pdr which weighted 1100 kgs. ( http://www.stormpages.com/garyjkennedy/Weapons/antitankguns/infantry_anti_tank_guns.htm ). The jeep itself weighting only just 1.2 tons (as I faintly remember from my army days ...) and we were only allowed to tow .25 ton trailers (single axle). see also http://phaedra.apana.org.au/ww2jeep.html But CMBO is probably modeling a generic small truck which could pull the 6pdr. E.g. a 3/4ton Dodge ?

thank's for the explanation ... answers also some other questions ... I checked it in the game, you get to 155 m visibility in brush ...

Or maybe I am the farmer

June '44 setting: 2 Tiger IE can't see each other even 100 m's apart (Eyes approx. 4 m above ground - 2.98 height of the tank). June '02 setting: My wife and I drive into a grain field in central Europe with a SUV each. I see her car with eyes 3 m above ground in more than 200 m distance easily. Can anybody explain the paradox ? Do we grow smaller crops today ?

I had even a 250/9er downing an aircraft ... besides the usual Flaks. I never saw a .50 cal firing at an aircraft (maybe because the Luftwaffe is so rare). Anybody saw this ?

Maybe a 81mm mortar FO or even 81mm/60mm mortars could help too: lay a smokescreen to move in with your tanks and zooks or make the panzerjägers move to expose flanks. The M-20 is a cool thing too - i just got one of my hetzers killed by such a damn thing attacking from behind.

You still could try to 1) strip the panzer from its infantry. 2) get the panzer with your rifle grenades (if any). dune it myself (even in PBEM with regulars against Tiger IE and Panther) ... or plan B: 1) as above. 2) get enough infantry and try to knock the damn thing over

By the way, the FM 18-5 (1944) is also a good reference and you will also find a good article on the evolution of US TD doctrine on ftp://160.149.109.31/carl/gabel2.pdf ...

I often use US/UK TD's. The main point IMHO is to use real tactics (e.g. read "Gare La Bete : A History of the 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 1942-1945"). These tactics take into consideration the advantages (firepower, speed) and the disadvantages (armor, open turret) of the TD's pretty much. - I always combine the TD's with recon (M-20 or M-8) and at least a squad of inf (recon and close support), better an inf platoon. - I try to use them in full platoons (4 TD's) or half platoons (2 TD's). - I use "shoot and scoot" tactics: stay in the defilade, have the recon spot enemy tanks, move up, shoot and go back in coverage (another rule: never pop up at the same spot twice - the other guy could be waiting for you). - I try to have superiority of fire (e.g. 4 TD's popping up at the same time). - I try to pop up at the end of the turn (pause befor the hunt begins). - I use the speed of the M-18 wherever possible (this bastard *is* fast). until now, I think I was pretty successful with this tactics (amongst other's I zapped 5 KingTiger's like this, in one of my current games 4 regular TD's zapped 2 veteran Tiger IE in a frontal attack - at the cost of 1 TD). But be aware that one of the best anti TD weapons are mortar shells ... as Axis I shell TD positions with 81mm mortars almost immediately ... regards Honneur et Fidelité

Hi ! I would be interested in maps of the Rzhev salient (Soviet Operation "Mars" in November/December 1942). Best would be 1:50'000 or 1:25'000. The problem will be to see how the terrain looked like 50 years ago... I heard that there is also a possibility to get access to original German Wehrmacht maps through the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz (Germany). Does anybody know something about this ?