Falcon988

The hard part is moving them within view of the enemy. Every gun is aimed right at 'em and you're bound to have it destroyed. When you're on the offensive keep them in the rear and only use them to fortify positions that have already been cleared.

I remember once in a Stalingrad battle the Russians put minefields on the roads where I just -had- to cross to reach some surrounded men of mine. If I didn't then my infantry would have to go without armored support. So I sent a brave little halftrack crew to scout a way through the mines and presto! They made it through. Maneuvered all my tanks through along the same path. Little while later another Halftrack deviated from the path I set and was immobolized in that minefield. These things happen.

It's all rendered abstractly. I've seen grenades land and do no damage as all nearby soldiers took cover, and one time a grenade caused multiple casualties to a squad of mine that was in a foxhole. All just depends.

Congrats. Probably won't ever happen again. I've never once won a casualty-less victory in either of the three Combat Missions, against a human or a computer. With all those submachine guns, rifles, machine guns, HE rounds, mortars, 105 millimeter artillery, huge tanks, enemy and friendly airplanes strafing you with their arsenals... you're bound to have someone get hit. So enjoy it while it lasts.

Yea I've seen that many times myself and agree that it's realistic. Generally happens when a unit tries to surrender under a hail of gunfire. The last time was during a battle against the British where one of my Halftracks bravely, but futiley, charged in behind the British infantry and starts shooting them up with its machine gun. It was targeted by practically every British soldier and tank in its vicinity and was soon abandoned. There were probably hundreds of bullets heading their way when the crew jumped out and surrendered so they were all killed instantly.

Yea I've seen that many times myself and agree that it's realistic. Generally happens when a unit tries to surrender under a hail of gunfire. The last time was during a battle against the British where one of my Halftracks bravely, but futiley, charged in behind the British infantry and starts shooting them up with its machine gun. It was targeted by practically every British soldier and tank in its vicinity and was soon abandoned. There were probably hundreds of bullets heading their way when the crew jumped out and surrendered so they were all killed instantly.

I notice CMAK units are -much- more inclined to surrender than their predesescors. All you need is a good tank rush and they give up. I just did a Crete battle where I rushed a Fallshirmjager position with three New Zealander light tanks, pinning down and knocking out their two ATG's, and surrounding the German infantry. Pretty much all of them surrendered.

I notice CMAK units are -much- more inclined to surrender than their predesescors. All you need is a good tank rush and they give up. I just did a Crete battle where I rushed a Fallshirmjager position with three New Zealander light tanks, pinning down and knocking out their two ATG's, and surrounding the German infantry. Pretty much all of them surrendered.

Oh. Heh. I was about to make a reply about it saying something along the lines of "There's your problem right there...". When I see the word "sMG" I assume it means SMG and the small s is just a typo. Glad to see it was purposeful, and now I've learned something new.

Question. What is the 10% chance of death supposed to symbolize? I don't think it's very likely that slipping and falling in a few feet of sewage will kill you, even if that would be very gross. Is it the possibility of being caught by enemy infantry who throw a grenade down at you? I've never used sewer movement before. Never really considered it as a tactical option. I do however recall a Stalingrad battle where my opponent used it to get behind my main attack and harrass my supply lines/reinforcements.

I had something similar happen to me a few weeks ago during a battle on some Italian mountain side. We were climbing a mountain and ran into a prepared German defense on one of the slopes. Bunker machine gun started tearing into one of my platoons in the open. In those situations I recommend you withdraw into cover. That's what I did and it worked fine for the most part. One of my squads didn't make it out, but the other two did, got to cover, attacked along a concealed route, and then flanked and destroyed the German bunker thereby allowing my advance to continue.

82nd Airborne at La Fiere bridge along the Mederet river, June 6, 1944. We captured the bridge with heavy casualties and dug in on the other side to await a powerful mechanized counterattack which outnumbered us at least 3 to 1. Plus my men were mostly low on ammo. I was pretty sure we were doomed. The Germans engaged my forward units and we were being chopped up despite some of my zooks destroying a few of their armored vehicles. At the last moment I unleashed a mortar barrage on the Germans which caught them in the open and with deadly accurace. The fighting was occurring along a narrow causeway so all the Germans were grouped up in one spot mostly. Many of the enemy troops paniced and fled, others were pinned down, and my paratroopers charged to engage in hand to hand combat. It was a massive route, one of the biggest I've ever seen in either of the 3 Combat Mission games, and dozens of German troops gave themselves up then and there. That's pretty much the biggest underdog victory I can think of... there's lots of other defensive actions I've fought and won against challenging odds, but to be honest my positions in those battles were all very strong and despite my being outmatched I could hardly call myself the "underdog".

Germany could have won if it hadn't stretched its recourses thin and expended them in so many places, yes, but then history wouldn't call it World War II now would it? The war could've just been limited to the Blitzkrieg and North African campaigns. Their fatal mistake was attacking Russia while remaining at war with England and opening a two front war. The German economy couldn't sustain that kind of action especially since they didn't mobolize for total war until 1943 (after Stalingrad), a fact which absolutely baffles me.

Not long ago I was playing a scenario where I commanded an American defense in Noville shortly after the Battle of the Bulge began. Long story short the Germans ran right over us and it turned into a massive route. At one point one of my squads was cut off and surrounded by tanks so they surrendered. Not too long later they took of running towards my lines. Unsurrendered as you all call it. so yes I have seen this occur. The squad was fired upon by the Germans but made it and joined up with one of my company HQ's. They were all killed less than five turns later but that's another story.

Not long ago I was playing a scenario where I commanded an American defense in Noville shortly after the Battle of the Bulge began. Long story short the Germans ran right over us and it turned into a massive route. At one point one of my squads was cut off and surrounded by tanks so they surrendered. Not too long later they took of running towards my lines. Unsurrendered as you all call it. so yes I have seen this occur. The squad was fired upon by the Germans but made it and joined up with one of my company HQ's. They were all killed less than five turns later but that's another story.

Tall buildings or high ground behind the lines. Somewhere relatively safe. Currently I'm playing a scenario TCP/IP where I've moved a platoon up a small hill which is turning out to be a key position in the battlefield since I can monitor all of my enemy's troop movements. And that means that I brought up my 105 spotter and am bombarding his lines to hell. First I wasted a group of halftracks massing for an attack, then I bombed a reinforcing infantry company far behind his lines that had just arrived on the map and was moving to the front, and where we last left off I was bombing an infantry company of his on the frontline which he moved into a treeline opposite the hill I'm on. Initially my position on the hill was pushed against by an attack wave of infantry & T-70's, but now that I'm bombing his infantry and have moved a Tiger tank up there I don't think there's any more danger of him capturing that hill. What's my point? Ground. Seen the movie Gettysburg? The high ground is the most important area of any battlefield. I could easily win this battle because of my initiative early on in moving a small force up the hill. From their machine guns and the Tiger can fire on enemy troops all across the map and provide support fire for my other infantry companies when they start advancing during my planned counteroffensive a few turns from now. And all the while 105 spotter continues to bombard the enemy. Move that spotter up to the high ground. You'd be amazed how much damage he can do.

You know I don't think I've ever had much trouble with my own air support. Maybe I'm just lucky. The only friendly fire incident I can remember occurred during the CMBB operation "Blitzkrieg" during which a Stuka dropped a 500 pounder in a forest where several of my troops were concentrated. Thankfully it landed on the outskirts so casualties, while still heavy, were not as catastrophic as it may have been. But other than that that's it. My air support has always either been very helpful, non-existant, or was chased off by flak.

My three favorite games are Combat Mission (I include all three installments under the name) and... Rowan's Battle of Britain: Less well known than IL-2 and much less accessible it is never the less -the- best simulation of World War II air war. The flight models are all incredibly realistic and difficult to fly, and the AI ranges in qualities from rookie to ace, etc. It's just so damned immersive. There's nothing quite like taking off with the 66th Fighter Squadron, Spitfires, from Biggin Hill on September 7, 1940 and meeting over 900 German planes heading for London being attacked by 300 Royal Air Force fighters. And they're all on screen at once duking it out. And that kind of battle happens all the time. In fact the majority of fighting you're going to see in Battle of Britain will be between at least 100 aircraft. Or maybe you'll find a small flight roaming around and jump them. Also am particularly fond of flying for the Luftwaffe as a Messershmitt Bf109 pilot in July 1940 and engaging the RAF in pitches battles over the english channel. Man I love that game. The other I play is Operation Flashpoint which is a war simulator containing infantry, armor, and aerial forces. There are all sorts of modifications for it now that allow you to play all sorts of roles. U.S. soldier on D-Day, Marine Vietnam, Gulf War, etc etc. It's the most realistic game depiction of infantry combat I've ever played and I love it to death. Besides that I have rows and rows of old Playstation and Playstation 2 games I never get a chance to play anymore, but they're all very fun .

How does the computer pick who's computer calculates the turn during a TCP/IP match? My opponent's computer is much faster than mine and yet it always computes on mine. It would be much faster if it did it on his and we can't figure it out. I have 128MB ram, he has 384. His processor is 1.8ghz, and has an ati9200 card. All of which is much better than mine. How can we make it so it computes on his computer when we play, thereby making our battles go much quicker?

Let's do a what if scenario shall we? It's May 1940 and the British agree to a cease fire after the Dunkirque evacuation as Hitler hoped they would. Therefore when Operation Barbarossa begins later that year or in 1941 the German Army can focus entirely on the eastern front. It's unlikely the United States will fight against Germany anytime in the near future. What would have happened? A lot of people think Russia would have won on its own, and my question is why? Perhaps the Germans would've won. This is a subject that interests me greatly so I ask you all to give your thoughts on the matter. Personally I think the German troops freed from the western front would've helped them out dramatically in the 1942-43 era and they may very well have won.

Okay, my friend and frequent TCP/IP sparring partner recently installed an ATI 9200 card on his computer. Since then he says that CMBB and CMAK will only allow him to select software mode, and if he keeps trying to switch settings it won't let him initialize direct 3d. We're both stumped. Help from someone would be GREATLY appreciated so we can get back to our stalingrad battles.

In battle for the Reichstag on April 30, 1945. The Russian T-34's bombarded the Reichstag's outer walls and I lost dozens of men in the collapsing rubble on all sides. What was left of my force, a mixture of paratroopers, Werhmacht, SS, and concripted civilians (even teenagers) was withdrawn to the interior of the Reichstag where I would make my defense. The perimiter was soon breached by at least two, perhaps even three entire Soviet companies. Bloodiest, most prolonged close quarters battle I've ever fought. The Russian losses were HORRIFIC and we made them pay -dearly-. But in the end we were too low on ammunition, and my men were too tired. Some of the civilians broke and tried to run outside the Reichstag only to be gunned down by T-34's outside. Most of my men though held to the last man shooting all the way. Incredible so few actually broke given the sheer destruction thrown their way. I've never seen such a concentration of smoke, fire, and flames in one small area. By the end of that battle there was only perhaps 1/4 of the Reichstag still standing intact. The end for my men finally came though as the Soviets rallied and attacked. We just couldn't hold them and it was a tidal wave of death. In one turn squad after squad of my men fell dead like dominos. When the cease-fire finally came there were only TWO Germans left standing inside the Reichstag, both members of a platoon HQ. Everyone else was killed or badly wounded. Also found out from my opponent though (it was a TCP/IP fight) that his losses had been so ghastly that the final attack that killed my men was really all he could do before his troops gave up and ran. Nearly 80 - 90% of those 2 or 3 companies had been destroyed and the remaining Russians were mostly low on ammo. If my men had just withstood that last attack we would have held the building. But alas it was not to be. That's my favorite CM moment. I have a thing for last stands.

I suppose I can see it possible for an infantry squad to score so highly. In a nice tight foxhole or trench defending against a human wave attack by conscripts, you can probably kill a whooole lot of them.

I remember during in a Stalingrad scenario I led a German battalion, TCP/IP, against those Commie punks and right at the start of the battle my opponent just blew the HELL out of one of my companies. The company was advancing through some ruins and suddenly 155mm artillery rained right down on them, dead on target, the most accurate and devastating barrage I've ever seen in Combat Mission. It destroyed that company and pretty much lost me the battle right off the bat (although my other two companies put up a good scrap). I seem to remember them taking over 50% casualties and the rest being routed. At the end of the battle his 155mm Arty Spotter had 70 kills. Highest I've seen.

The AI is a bit too aggressive sometimes and attacks when it should hunker down and defend. One of the reasons I dislike playing the AI. As I said in my own after action report a few weeks ago, my opponent had his Italians & Germans in their foxholes, waited for me to come to him, and made a -very- difficult fight indeed...