Wicky

Krater,
 
Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
 
Apocal and Crueldwarf,
 
Many thanks for getting us a way better than many I've read English translation!
 
Observations
 
A very gutsy and withering critique of a military organization which is so primitive it would be almost reasonable to argue it's only a few steps higher tech than having fire! If you were to deliberately do everything wrong when assembling, training, supplying, maintaining, motivating, organizing  and leading a partially mechanized combat force for modern war, it'd be difficult to do much worse. Provided you left the early war Ukrainian units out of the assessment. Equally, it's abundantly clear that the UNCONs of the real world and CMSF would mop the floor with these guys, for the jihadis in Iraq,Syria and Afghanistan are fanatical, heavily armed at the lower levels, ferocious fighters, have had at least some military training, with many having combat experience, do have fairly decent communications, etc.
 
One of the things which stood out for me wasn't merely the huge disparity between TO&E and actual equipment, AFVs, softskins, radios and such, but acute personnel deficiencies, worse, near total absence of vital specialists (never mind using tank crews and artillerymen as assault infantry), and on and on.
 
Something I'd dearly love to see added into all the CMx2 and beyond games: the ability, in scenario and campaign design, at least, but preferably also in QBs, to apply variable levels of dings (incremental, maybe even randomly assigned, damage levels) to various AFVs, softskins and other equipment with subsystems which can be damaged. The dings would reflect things like things like ordinary effects of wear and tear, lack of maintenance, accumulated battle damage still unrepaired and many other things, too. As it stands, you either have a fully intact AFV or immobilized AFV, but the account makes quite clear there is a lot more going on than that. You've got guns not properly boresighted or which have lost zero. You have sights and sensors which have been damaged in all sorts of ways or even shot out. You have radios with no antennae (common problem from artillery fire and lack of spares). No headsets and/or intercoms in AFVs. AFVs barely wheezing for want of parts. Trackwork and suspensions in dire need of TLC. You have radio nets missing most of their radios, and what they do have probably ought to be modeled as under ECM attack, even if there is none, for that's how bad it is. You doubtless have AFVs with missing ERA blocks, as seen in MOUT footage in Syria. You can count on issues with complex things like autoloaders,too. These are but a few examples. Seems to me that if the game can handle damage inflicted during a battle, it ought, theoretically at least, to be able to handle damage applied before the battle.
 
I believe that my proposal, were it doable, would create all sorts of fascinating possibilities, add immersion and provide insight into the military history we've read and some here have lived. Combat operations under less than perfect conditions, with not merely force depletion depicted (a capability we already have), but with the kind of abuse real armor and other systems are subject to, conditions not found in a well-organized and properly supplied motor pool, yet very much the case, to a lesser or greater degree, in the field, especially after sustained combat operations. I'd imagine a number of people here found the readiness numbers horrible and the late in the campaign stuff outright gasp inducing. The numbers certainly start higher and end higher for better forces, but look at some of the figures for the Russian Army in the GPW's later phases. Huge losses to breakdowns and combat, leading not merely to absolute force reduction, but severe force degradation among the survivors. In turn, this helps explain how a counterattack with even small quantities of fresh reserves can exert such a crushing effect. To a considerable degree we can model the quality, physical state and morale of the men, but it would be fantastic were we able to tailor AFVs, softskins and other weaponry in an analogous way. Any number of combat accounts talk of these things, and panzersaurkrautwerfer gave us a fine example of the kinds of things which can befall even the Abrams, and he was talking about doing gunnery training, not fighting a war.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

JonS,
 
After having started, and deleted, no less than five replies, I have decided instead to let your own words convict you before your fellow gamers. To anyone with half a brain, it is patently obvious that the disconnect between what I've said and done vs what you assert I've said and done requires measurement in parsecs. Indeed, it may be necessary for SI to adopt a new and much larger measurement to more adequately reflect the acute disparity between what is and your (I'm being very kind here) unique perceptual approach and manner of expressing yourself. 
 
Bud_B,
 
I'm glad you asked your question, for much that's useful has emerged as a result. Never knew, for example the US 75 mm had canister, let alone it was used with considerable effect in bocage fighting. I shudder to think what sort of metal hornets that one disgorged. Nor had I ever encountered the fact that 70% of Stuart ammo load in the 735th Tank Battalion was canister. That alone paints quite a picture. As does the notion of M8s configured for ambush vs German infantry!
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Kettler,
You clearly still won't accept that you're just flat out wrong about Doubler. Despite being told you're wrong by at least half-a-dozen people across four threads.
 
Therefore, I propose the following. I'll re-examine my opinion of you when you stop spamming the forum, knowingly spreading false information, gish-galloping, and all the other nonsense you regularly pull.
 
Deal?
 
Frankly, there is NO advantage in this deal for me. You have shown over and over and over again that the best you are able to come up with is either wrong, worthless or trivial. I desire absolutely NONE of the dross you call information. Occasionally - occasionally - despite your best efforts you might accidentally stumble across something that's vaguely interesting, but even though broken clocks are right more often than you, there's no value in paying attention to them either. The rule of thumb did not come out of nowhere.
 
Sweet FSM. Is that really beyond your google-fu?

It's been the custom for some time now for us to inform new CM players the game is E-crack; to write off any relationships, sleep, eating (except gamer food) and to resign themselves to monastic devotion to CM. There is no 12-Step Program, but we all know how addictive the game is and the plaintive "Just one more turn" we find ourselves thinking or even uttering, right?
 
Guess what? if you're a reader and a Kindle (or similar) should enter your life, you're done. It's over. And if you don't watch yourself, so is your economy. Not only is the core idea worse than crack--give away the reader and make money on the E-books--but the temptation is everywhere you turn, starting with the full page ad which greets you when you open your new mistress. Add to that an entire row of other books waiting for your purchase. Now, in my case, I did my searches via my computer (didn't really know what I was doing yet on the Kindle) and bought a few things, using, so I thought, a relatively safe gift card. First warning: there is no relatively safe, especially if you're already an Amazon customer and the system has your credit card or debit card on file, not to mention a highly detailed list of every book you ever looked at. Mark this and mark it well.
 
Okay. One way or another you buy some E-books, probably some for 99 cents, others for a few bucks, maybe get some free ones while you're at it. Quite a few for minuscule outlay (unless you get some that unbelievably go for $200) No worries. Many of the E-books are short (70-80 pages), so if you're any sort of reader at all, you go through one in record time, but you're doomed from the first and don't know it. As soon as you finish a book, you're asked to rate it and are served up more books the AI thinks will be of further interest (heaven preserve you if you're interested in Spec Ops!). You've just come off a high and are now asked whether you'd like another fix? But how about this other drug? Not sure? No sweat. Here's a free sample. We'll even deliver! You'll just try it; what can it hurt? Famous last words! It just so happens the Sample button and the galvanizing Buy Now button are practically on top of one another, while the Undo link for the oops! purchase is buried in a paragraph of smallish type below the two prominent buttons. Human nature being what it is, how many oopses become actual purchases? I'd imagine many, for the temptation is great to say: "Screw it; it's only a few bucks" (did just that last night, so now have a Delta Operator's memoir I hadn't planned to get--really good book, though). 
 
And this is what confronts you every single time you open the Kindle or what have you! People who have no impulse control and love to read are going to self-immolate. Period. For others, it'll be more like a time bomb or death by inches. One E-book (or worse, several) at a time.  Amazon makes it oh so easy to kill yourself with a bunch of seemingly nitnoy purchases. Next thing you know, you discover your outlay rivals some credit card bills. That's if you're sufficiently coherent to notice. After all, your E-reader craves attention. Nay, demands it. It doesn't respond to chocolates or flowers. Only time and money!
 
NOTE
 
The above is somewhat tongue in cheek, but only somewhat. There is a very real financial danger here, and it is altogether too easy to buy and buy and buy. I managed to stop at only two unplanned book purchases (mercifully only $3.99 in aggregate, plus that additional quarter or fifty cents Amazon tacks on), but was offered 93 total since I was curious enough/foolish enough to ask for the complete list, rather than just the five on the main page. It goes without saying, but needs to be said, that this could have rather dire impact on getting the next CM, upgrade, vehicle pack, etc. Consider yourself warned!
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Sublime and delliejonut,
 
As I've said kindly, explicitly, even pointedly to LukeFF, Wicky et al., Steve asked me quite some time ago not to start threads on certain topics, and I haven't. Those named have repeatedly and with malice aforethought made it a point to drag those very things from a certain place I mustn't name to over here, then have proceeded to hit me when they know I can't hit back. Moreover, they've done so despite my further pointing out that what they were doing was directly injurious to me, for I'm under medical instructions I'm not supposed to be stressed. They still did it. They have called me names, attributed things to me that weren't true, belittled me, called me a liar and deliberately baited me in the hope I'll slip. I did so once, on the old board. Wicky dragged out a technical mistake I made, a point I've many times admitted my error concerning. He kept hammering away at me thereafter with spurious claims, and I, angered and  swept up in righteous indignation, posted a fateful link. That got me a Moon rocket. I haven't made that same mistake twice. On this board, I got a warning for an offense not even on the books, yet the three of them flout the Forum Rules at will, but nothing ever happens. You can see the pattern for yourself in thread after thread starting with the disastrous emoticon post. Over and over again a certain Admin lets them tear me to pieces, and when I, sometimes accompanied by others, object, defend myself, call for appropriate behavior and even quote the malefactors the Forum Rules, magically a thread lock appears, with not so much as a word of reproof. Which, of course, empowers them to do it again. When it gets so bad  that other Members are quoting them the Forum Rules, pointing out stalkerish behavior, baiting and the like, who is the problem? It assuredly isn't me. And that's not just my opinion, but the published views of other Members. 
 
I will happily debate the views, the issues, the concepts, the facts and more as they apply to the games, weapon capabilities and military history. Equally, I will share my own direct experience where relevant and permitted. Nor do I make any claim of infallible memory. Indeed, I've many times said I could be wrong. This is supposed to be a civilized, family friendly place. It generally is, but we have board bullies. And as bullies do, these pick on those least able to defend themselves. On those who are different. It is rude, uncouth, low and boorish not merely to conduct forbidden ad hominem attacks, but to do so when the one being attacked is on the ground, bound hand and foot and has already been kicked in the head!  Let me be blunt: 
 
There is absolutely no excuse or justification, even if someone hates me outright, for ad hominem attacks, slander, character assassination, insults, intimidation and a laundry list of other offenses against the Forum Rules, commonly accepted social standards and simple human decency. What these malefactors are doing to me is profoundly violative and hurtful. I wish to be able to go about my lawful occasions on the Forums without being vexed, annoyed, harassed and attacked. This is my right as someone who carefully abides by the Forum Rules.
 
Canister Effectiveness
 
To claim that canister had no utility in the bocage is the same as saying six HMG-42s firing simultaneously at the same target, from spitting distance, have no effect. Anyone here care to make that argument? HMG-42 at full cyclic rate puts out 20 rds/sec. The 37 mm canister round puts out 122 in vastly less than that in an instant. If the MG in the bocage is able to shoot into that field, it stands to reason that blast after blast of the intensity I described and going at the German MG position is going to have an effect. The greater the fire density over unit time, at least to a certain point, the greater the suppression and shock effect. This is the basis of the WW II TOT, the basis of concentrated surprise fire by Pakfronts, the longstanding virtue of the ambush. Canister creates instantaneous fire superiority. Supporting my argument is this M4 Sherman Wiki excerpt. It's under "Miscellaneous."
 
"The 75 mm gun also had an effective canister round that functioned as a large shotgun. In the close fighting of the French bocage, the 2nd Armored Division tanks used Culin Hedgerow Cutters fitted to their tanks to push three tanks together through a hedgerow. The flank tanks would clear the back of the hedgerow on their side with canister rounds while the center tank would engage and suppress known or suspected enemy positions on the next hedgerow. This approach permitted surprisingly fast progress through the very tough and well-defended hedgerows in Normandy. Over 500 sets of these were fitted to US armored vehicles, and many fitted to various British tanks (where they were called "Prongs")."
 
That canister round was designated T30. Source: M4 Sherman at War, Michael Green and James D. Brown, on page 68, last paragraph, bottom right.
 
Doug Williams,
 
Then I should be okay, for I'm working with SLIM to figure out GaJ's CM Helper.
 
LukeFF and JonS,
 
Not only do you not listen, but you apparently can't read anymore, either. I have many times now asked you to leave me in peace, yet here you are again trashing me. I look forward to seeing how you talk your way out of what I just posted on canister: information that's credible, is fully in accord with demonstrated combat realities, and is multiply documented. I may well be wrong on the Stuart assault technique, but I'm right on the use and efficacy of canister in bocage warfare. 
 
Bud_B,
 
The M8 has canister, is self-evidently firing same in the pic you provided, and it is wholly appropriate it should be doing so. In case you have any doubts, Steve Zaloga, noted weapon expert and armor writer (not to mention a tremendous modeler), lists three ammo types for the M8: AP, HE and canister. Page 19 of his Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-1991. 
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

For those playing along at home; after being called out on repeating previously-shown-to-be-wrong information, Kettler has now moved on to
i) a weird MilHist version of the Gish Gallop
ii) various forms of "woe is me, it's all just sooooo unfair"
iii) flooding the board with irrelevant, quickly googled, links
iv) vigorously contesting points nobody has made
all of which, like the repetition thing, we've seen dozens of times before.
 
Would anyone like to place a bet as to which of his 'tactics' will be trotted out next?

Kettler = 'Mount Stupid'
 

Bud_B,
 
You're welcome. Understand this. JonS has a very long history, years,  of intimidating and attacking Forum Members, and by no means just me. Have gotten PMs from others attesting to the same. Some won't post for fear they'll draw his ire. He is singularly fortunate to still be here, I suspect his doing scenario work for BFC helps, for he has been publicly warned by BFC in the past, and this doesn't exactly show he's figured out gentlemanly behavior yet. The link tells the sordid tale. No matter how good the evidence I present, he not only won't acknowledge it, but he'll lash out at me some other way.
 
I've never claimed my memory is perfect, and, regarding the Stuart vs bocage business, I may have conflated several things I read, but disagreement should consist of courteously debating the evidence, not making sweeping dismissive claims to others about everything said by the other party, and it certainly should never descend to the level of ad hominem attacks. Claiming I'm going around deliberately spreading incorrect information is pretty rude, and that's some of his better behavior.
 
JonS,
 
After the way you ungraciously, ungratefully and gratuitously exploded on me in the Katusha thread, then made Bulletpoint collateral damage from your outburst, which you then capped off by prohibited name calling targeting me, I'm surprised you have any spleen to unload! Please stop behaving like a board bully, start behaving like a mature adult male, stop slanging me and poisoning people toward me.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Kettler = 'Mount Stupid'
 

Kettler = 'Mount Stupid'
 

Lol comes from the guy who said Putin nuked Ukraine and threw nerve gas in there as well, And I even remember reading Putin threw in 1000 T-90s might as well state a company of M1 Abrams (105mm version) destroyed the 1000 T-90s and Putin retreated. You have to stop posting irrelevant stuff on here... Gets real annoying... I recommend you go to F-16.net. 

We've got a long way to go in terms of the game animations, but meanwhile, I thought this would be of interest. I found it while looking for something on Spetsnaz use of the entrenching tool in battle. I think it's a pretty cool piece of combat art. Very powerful and dynamic.
 
http://www.combatreform.org/russianETOOLcombat.jpg
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Patch 1.0.69
 
Fixed Bug where Armata's turret is weaker than expected at key points along the frontal arc
 
Patch 1.0.7
 
Undid former bug where Armata's turret is weaker than expected at key points along the frontal arc due to recent information
 
Patch 1.0.71
 
Modified bug where Armata's turret was weaker than expected at key points along the frontal arc by covering it with a canvas tarp
 
Patch 1.0.72 
 
Fixed bug where Armata was ingame

Sublime,
 
I don't know know whether you're aware of this, but Patton was from the landed gentry of Virginia. He was so well off that during his time in the service, he kept a stable of polo ponies with him at his own expense. Racial attitudes in the period were awful, and the haughty Patton was no exception.
 
" General George S. Patton, Jr., in a letter to his wife, wrote that ‘a colored soldier cannot think fast enough to fight in armor.’"
 
Patton wised up, though, after watching the 761st Tank Battalion operate during maneuvers.
 
"The tankers received a welcome from the Third Army commander, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., who had observed the 761st conducting training maneuvers in the States: ‘Men, you’re the first Negro tankers to ever fight in the American Army. I would never have asked for you if you weren’t good. I have nothing but the best in my Army. I don’t care what color you are as long as you go up there and kill those Kraut sons of bitches. Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things from you. Most of all your race is looking forward to you. Don’t let them down and damn you, don’t let me down!’ "
 
Patton was very much the product of his class, his time and a very real American xenophobia. This was after all, the nation that put its own citizens into internment camps and robbed them blind, too. Equally, as a military man, Patton would've been thoroughly conversant with the deception practices of the Huns and the Mongols. It turns out that during the GPW the Russians used the Mongols as a model for OPDEC. See 17 and 18 here in Russian Deception Operations.
 
As for your wonderings, I shall not be commenting upon them. 
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

boekie,
 
Welcome aboard!
 
Soldiers live in the bunker. They have their combustible packs, which are full of combustibles (spare uniform, socks, tobacco, books, mags or newspaper) plus blankets, bedding, mattresses (made of straw, horsehair or even feathers) and anything similar they can obtain "outside of normal channels." They'll probably have a stove of some sort in there, too, together with fuel. Ammo explodes nicely, as do hand grenades and other toys.  Wooden packing crates, cardboard cartons and such are also a ready meal for fire.
 
Think of it this way. If your house were made of concrete and the interior was subjected to instantaneous enormous temperatures, what would happen? On balance, concrete is practically fire immune, but practically everything else will, under the right conditions, burn. 
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

kohlenklau,
 
Love the way you express yourself! "Modwarians," a group not previously identified by the wargamer ethnologists. Genius neologism. As for your ongoing analyses. CMSF, had it not been released in the rather dire state it was, would've done much better than it has. After all, it was the first. CMSF has/had, I suspect, nothing like the overall level of interest CMBN commanded. But CMSF was, until recently, the only US/NATO modern game there was. And it's got lots of goodies these days. I don't know much about it, but I think it's grown on the Forumites, with many taking it up (once it got sorted out) who thought they'd never play it.
 
Scads of gamers are WW II buffs, and most of the game buyers are US centric and ETO focused, not to mention Panzer besotted, so it's no surprise CMBN has flourished, especially with CW, MG and now the Vehicle Pack. MTO is far less well known, so was guaranteed, based on known wargamer preferences, to play second fiddle to CMBN in the West. To my knowledge, the second most popular combat area for US gamers is the Eastern Front. Consequently, I'd expect it to go: CMBN, CMRT, CMFI. But now the drumbeat for Bulge is thundering, and I expect the rank ordering will quickly be, once it's out: CMBN, CM Bulge, CMRT and CMFI. Had CMRT been set at Kursk or earlier, it'd certainly be showing better metrics, for most gamers never heard of Op Bagration. Again, if you want to play CMx2, it's CMRT or nothing for now. CMRT has also, I'm sure, benefited from attention and sales via our colleagues who live in the region. CM:Battle of Berlin should stomp CMRT, with lots of Forum activity from East and West, helped by movies such as "Downfall" and a slew of books.
 
I think what's happening with CMBS reflects a bunch of things: first modern CM in practically a decade; very high media and public interest in Ukraine situation; subject area of great interest to non US players in region and from a variety of national and other perspectives, and pretty much everything short of laser-armed sharks when it comes to toys and war piggery!  Further, I think a lot of FPS franchises have helped grease the skids for CMBS with all their modern releases. My best guess for where the CMBS will fall relative to the four WW II titles is: CMBN, CM Bulge, CMBS, CMRT and CMFI. A major variable here has to do with which game gets what and when, developments slips, mod involvement. CMBN has the considerable advantage of having two Modules and a Vehicle Pack. CMFI has a Module, and neither CMRT nor CMBS yet has a Module. Additionally, there is the vexed matter of whether a new purchaser will need to buy an Upgrade immediately in order to be current. 
 
Something else I've noticed has become more and more evident--plummeting duration of "it girl" status for new releases. I got into CMBN, which already by then had CW, shortly after CMFI came out. But it seemed to me that CMFI had very little time in which to get established before CMRT took over, and very little time after that before CMBS in turn displaced it. And now, with CMBS barely released, CM Bulge has practically stolen the show. The situation is even worse with Modules, going back to GL, at least. Bil and c3k did their fabulous Beta AAR for GL, yet practically as soon as GL got going, here comes MG, which got obliterated by the tsunami of CMRT. Seems to me we're both blessed and accursed. We're blessed in that BFC keeps turning out CM wonders, but the more CM games titles are out there, the more fractionated the overall CM community becomes and the shorter the effective (in terms of "hotness") life of a particular product becomes. This isn't to say people won't be playing and talking about an earlier game for years, but that what is currently of mass interest to the CM community has increasingly less and less time to make a splash before being swept aside. It's kind of like the observation that dozens of classic TV shows would never have made it under the operating conditions and limited amount of time the network execs of today give a show in which to become viable and maybe even truly succeed. 
 
In other news, I left you some goodies in the Op Herkules and vehicle painting threads.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler 

Locking is too good for this thread.  It should be hung from a light pole in the main forum square as an example to other threads how things can end if they aren't careful.

Mmmm Korean tank from at least 2008 ( http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/11/205_34719.html) conveniently jaunts in time and space to the present day half-way across the planet - chances nil

Desertor,
 
There's a very simple explanation of how Do Right could know about the PzH 2000. It's in a PzH 2000 vid I posted in another CMBS thread.
 
Do Right,
 
Someone does vid content aggregation and has no less than 57 vids vids on Msta-S and other SPA. The 2S19 Msta-S does not have MRSI capability, but the Koalitsija-SV does. Given the current budget crunch in Russia, I have serious doubts this SPH will even be in service in the CMBS time frame. The vid you posted is fascinating to watch. Time lapse tiny people and cars scuttling about or whizzing by (tower shot from must be really high), eventually made more exciting by what look like battalion volleys, not MRSI fire. If the goal is to cut the road, or at least damage it, conventional artillery fire is perfectly adequate.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

noob,

Are we talking will I be able to figure out how to play it, will I find it meets my standards, or both? It's important to be clear about these matters!

Regards,

John Kettler

Stagler,
 
(Ben Stein VO)
 
Wow!
 
(End VO)
 
Regarding your #11, i feel safe in asserting you have forever redefined and greatly expanded the meaning of "family friendly" regarding the Forums. Appreciation is a good thing, but this may be taking it to extremes. Contrariwise, I don't have a PC and run an ancient ATI Radeon 4670 graphics chip on my equally ancient late 2009 iMac. Therefore, I'm not AMD GPU bedeviled, so maybe such an extraordinary expression of gratitude on your part to Wiggum15 is indeed warranted. In any case, a CM first!
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

What the actual f**k is going on.

This is a pretty intense story of a truly remarkable incident in the Normandy Campaign or, for that matter, the war. You be the judge. This guy clearly was tight with the leprechauns when it came to luck!
 
http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/crazy-irishman-rammed-a-tiger-ii-with-his-sherman-then-went-off-looking-for-a-firefly-to-make-sure-the-tiger-wouldnt-be-going-anywhere.html
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler
 
 

Gonna have to settle for John Kettler, Im afraid!

FFS the pompous JK soap opera rolls on
 
Care to explain why you've invoked my name when I haven't even posted in this thread? and then procedeed to insult me in a derogatory way using Russian slang - especially as my family were made refugees due to Russian invasion.
 
Funny as to what you accuse me of you've received your infractions for committing them already yourself.
 
Do you fully comprehend and appreciate why you've recieved your infractions from Steve et al, if so why do you baulk and rail against them?