Rokossovski

Hmmmm . . . . Still no Steam update. Automatic patching was one of the things I was hoping would be improved with using Steam.

Hmmmm . . . . Still no Steam update. Automatic patching was one of the things I was hoping would be improved with using Steam.

Hmmmm . . . . Still no Steam update. Automatic patching was one of the things I was hoping would be improved with using Steam.

Hmmmm . . . . Still no Steam update. Automatic patching was one of the things I was hoping would be improved with using Steam.

Russia blaming Ukraine for provocation after invading Donbass and annexing Crimea is some Orwellian ****.

here is an instance where the turret crew bail out and the driver and radio operator remain fighting in the tank.
So anyway, the long and the short of it is that people can quote regulations and from that derive opinions of what tank crews are supposed to do or act, but the reality can be something entirely different.  The only way to know for sure what really happens is to read first hand accounts - lots of them because one veteran's experience will not always be the same as another veteran's experience, but you can sort of get a picture of what is probable and what isn't by sifting through the accounts collectively.  Some of the ways reality differs from the game is
1. If a tank takes a casualty the tank retreats off the battlefield.  There is no crew swapping of positions or anything like that.  If the driver is dead or otherwise incapacitated then the tank is immobilized.  If the driver is okay then he drives off the battlefield if any crewmember is killed or wounded.
2. If a tank takes a penetrating hit and actually notices it (sometimes they don't even know it), but no crewmembers are killed or wounded they will typically withdraw off the battlefield.  Taking a penetrating hit and just sitting in place never happens unless the crew doesn't know that they took a hit.
2a.  If a tank takes a non penetrating hit that causes damage to the vehicle it is likely that the vehicle will withdraw off the battlefield although this isn't 100 percent and it is situationally dependent.  For example, a Tiger took a turret hit that knocked the turret MG back inside the turret which then knocked the gunner out cold.  The tank withdrew from the battlefield.  Another Tiger took a hit on the turret and the gunner's eyepiece was driven into his eye and blinded him so the vehicle withdrew from the battlefield.  I guess that also falls into category 1 above.
3. If a tank crew bails out of a tank the crew retreats to friendly lines and counts themselves as lucky to have survived.  They are lucky to have a pistol if they are armed with anything at all.
4.  Just as many tank crewmen are killed in the process of bailing out of the tank due to jammed or blocked hatches or other complications as are killed when the tank is destroyed.  In CM everyone gets out of the tank as there are no jammed or blocked hatches.  A big offender in this is the PzIV with the turret skirts - if the turret is turned the skirts can block the driver and radio operator hatches.  The Panther commander's hatch is also an offender since it apparently has some sort of a screw mechanism and can be difficult and time consuming to open in an emergency even if the hatch wasn't damaged.
5. A tank crew typically won't recrew a tank that they bailed out of, although it does happen on occasion it's relatively rare.  I've never read an account where a recrewed tank immediately rejoins the fight though or recrews the tank when it is under fire with the intent of engaging the enemy.  Usually there is time spent away from the vehicle and when it seems the situation has changed they might recrew it.  Certainly no crew would jump back into a tank that wasn't theirs if the enemy is nearby since there is no way for them to know what the situation is with the tank mechanically if it's just sitting abandoned in a field somewhere.
That's all I can think of at the moment, but generally speaking tank crews in CM are already supermen in many ways.  They don't need any additional morale boosters in the game.  The problem is that if tanks acted the way they really act players would complain about it because their tanks aren't doing what they want their tanks to do so some compromises are to be expected.
 

Oh, my two best friends are getting married.  Congrats!  All I ever really play are CM (~90% of gaming time) and field of glory empires from Slitherine so I like and trust both companies.  I hope for greatly increased sales and community!

Yeah, it's tricky. The scheme that Heirloom_tomato outlines is good, but it's worth breaking this down a little.

Defining the problem:

Setting up an MG takes time, so in an even fight (an MG and an opposing squad rushing up to facing covered positions), the squad will probably win, simply because the MG needs time to set up, and the squad has much greater situational awareness, owing to a greater number of eyes. Once set up, the MMG/HMG should win the eventual firefight, but if it doesn't get the chance to do so because the MG is suppressed, then you're not getting anywhere. That means that you need something to shift things in your favour.

Compounding this, tree cover is ambiguous. Particularly in CMFI, terrain can be sparse and inconsistent, and it can be hard to mask an entire unit. It only takes on chap being spotted to rumble the whole thing.

In the above screenshot it also looks as though the wall is down the slope. That means that the appropriate position for observation is not the facing wall, but instead the hillcrest covered by forest. The alternative is that you'll likely be spotted through tree gaps as you make your way to the downsloped wall. 

In terms of concealing this movement, it's important to play the odds. Slow movement helps, and definitely setting short cover arcs to hold fire. What also helps is using the minimum possible number of troops.


So, in this scenario I think what I would do is scout with the platoon leader, which would hold fire. The mortars deploy behind the ridgeline, within shouting distance of the HQ's intended position on the ridgeline (four action spots is reasonable). I'm going to assume that you have zero smoke available - there's not much smoke for US forces anyway, and there are too many factors that can come into play - wind direction, weather, etc.

The HQ (and only the HQ) Slow-moves to the ridgeline, to a spot with LOS to the house. Since you'll be moving a small number of troops, slowly and through woods, holding fire, you'll have the maximum chance of doing this undetected. If you can't, then a mass-assault may be the only way - rushing up and overwhelming them with fire. That's not the first plan though.

After gaining LOS on the target (which we're assuming you know is occupied already - if not then this HQ is going to be observing for a number of turns, since you won't have many eyes to spot with. This is where good C2 links and multiple scouts with radios become useful), then you do two things - start planning your mortar fire mission, and start planning your MG placement. When the HQ has spotting contacts, you can move up the MGs (still behind the ridgeline) to collect these using horizontal C2. That'll be important in a minute. The same applies for any rifle squads that are joining this base of fire, but the deployment of the MGs need the most thought.

When the fire mission has been plotted and starts landing, now is the time to rush forward the MGs. Mortar rounds suppressing the enemy give your MGs the time to set up in your pre-planned positions, and the shared spotting contacts allow them to find the targets most effectively. You're stacking the deck in your favour. Once the MGs are deployed then you should have sufficient firepower to allow the supporting rifle squads to move up, and eventually to give the manoeuvre elements freedom to move.

MGs are important in the attack as well as the defence, but they do require some more thought. 

Training film, with some useful things, including a depiction of this kind of leader recon at the six-ish minute mark.
 

That is some logic.  If everyone gets the virus at once, the hospitals get inundated, respirators are already in short supply - result LOTS more people die.  Health care workers that would be needed to treat folks are sick.  The mortality rate for Corona virus is well above that of the flu even by conservative estimates.  In Italy the mortality rate for older folks is close to 19% (overall rate is estimated at around 8%)  Flu rate is around .1%.  Might want to spend a little more time reading up on real facts.  The panic etc is in good part due to our leaders spreading false information and our response coming so late.  
The social distancing that is being encouraged has one major goal - to spread the infection rate over time to allow the health care community to manage the influx - that's it.  It won't stop the virus, but it might keep our healthcare system from collapsing and therefore keep more people alive.  The alternative and the result of what you are proposing is every country becomes Italy - the comparable death rate in the US if we go though that is about 18,000 people in the space of 6 weeks. (had to correct that, googled the wrong info)

To me, cover does not really seem to matter that much in the CM games. It matters a bit, but it's more about fire superiority. Squads in good cover will often get blown to bits very quickly if the enemy has fire superiority. A single tank shell hitting a foxhole position or the side of a building is sometimes all it takes to wipe out the squad inside. On the other hand, you can also advance across a gigantic open field against enemies in good cover and still take zero casualties as long as you have fire superiority.
Sometimes I think players get too focused on sticking to cover as much as possible. I see people do it in videos and I often catch myself doing it. I become obsessed with cramming all my troops into what little cover is available and then I end up hurting myself because not all of my troops can form a good firing line from inside the cover. My troops become too constricted when I try to only follow what cover is available. And then it gets even worse when an enemy artillery barrage lands on all my troops bunched up in the cover. If I just move some of the troops out into the open and spread them out a bit more, I can get more angles of fire going against the enemy positions, more firepower can get focused outward, and things get easier. Even troops lying prone on open ground can still be hard to hit, especially at a distance.
Units are also the most vulnerable in CM when they're moving. Stationary troops seem to be harder to hit for some reason. It all depends on the situation of course, but I've had success when crossing open fields not by trying to charge across it as quickly as possible, but by taking it slow, stopping frequently (but not for too long), and shooting at everything in sight. CM seems to be a game less about whatever terrain you're in, and more about firepower and angles of fire. It's about getting more of your guns to bear against the enemy than they can, so that the moment they open fire they will get blasted instantly by overwhelming return fire. You wanna think about terrain not in terms of "how open is this?" but more in terms of "can I get a good shot at them from here?" At least that's how I see it.

Hello guys it's me again !
In this post I aim to present the grounds for a French campaign fitting into the story line of CM:BS.
Let's first look at the 2013French defence white paper (link in english) : https://www.defense.gouv.fr/english/dgris/defence-policy/white-paper-2013/white-paper-2013.
In it you can find the operationnal contract of French armed forces which will be our guideline to build a credible French Orbat for the CM:BS campaign.
In this document its stated p88 that French forces must be able to deploy their forces in three different context, in addition to soverignity and abroad permanent deployment:
A National emergency force of 5000 troops on standby allowing the deployment of 2300 troops in 7 days in a radius of 3000km. This immediate reaction force is made of: A combined land group of 1500 men (rougly 2 GTIA) with armoured vehicles and helicopters A naval group made of one LHD and its escorts, and one SSN An air group of 10 fighter jets as well as supporting transport, refuelling and maritime patrol aircrafts. Three foreign long term non permanent operations of crisis managment (such as Mali or Iraq) with 1 as main contributor. All those operations together represents A combined arms brigade (7000 men), special forces, one LHD and its escorts, approximately 12 jet fighters and appropriate support planes A Major coercitive operation against a peer ennemy in coalition in with "first entry" capability where France would assume partial or full command. With a notice of approximately 6 month and for a limited period of time, France is able to deploy the following components: Two comined arms brigades (approx 15 000 mens), reinforceable by allied brigades to form a NATO type division under French command Up to 45 fighter jets ans supporting aicrafts A naval group made of the Aircraft carrier, 2 LHDs, escorts and SSN resources needed to guarantee the functions of command, intelligence and logistics for the operation (transport, health, fuel, munitions, spare parts). On completion of this engagement,  a remaining force capable of participating in a crisis management operation
over a long period. Those 3 contexts add up together, which means French armed forces are supposed to be able to engage in the 3 at once. As you can see, the third context fits perfectly the Ukraine scenario of CMBS. 
I also used the RAND study on the European generation capabilities posted just above: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1629.html
With this in mind here is my proposal for the deployment of French forces in the fictionnal CM:BS scenario found in the game user book :
Early 2017
In light of the recent developments in Ukraine, the rise of tensions with Russia and the possbility of a conflict, France reduces its footprint the overseas operations to the minimal requirred and cancels the homeland anti-terror operations which overburdens the forces. Armed forces are intensively prepared for the possibility of a conflict with Russia.
France, as the main European military power, also decides to take part in the NATO Task Force in Poland and sends an armoured GTIA  (combined arms battalion approx 800 mens) [represents the 3rd abroad comitment of France as of 2017 with Sahel and Iraq, within the contract]
June 2017
When learning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the new French president, elected on a "strong EU" promess, decides to uphold his engagements and to send the immediate reaction force.
Within 48 hours an Airborne GTIA (800 mens) is air deployed to reinforce Kiev defenses [Airborne troops part of national emergency force are able to pe deployed at 6000km in 48H, they constitute the QRF of this force :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3q-fh-V3gY]. Air strikes are conducted from mainland France [see operation Hamilton or opening of the Libya campaign] and special forces are inserted. French battalion part of the NATO task force moves into Ukraine and engage combat with first Russian elements.
Within a week, an Amphibious GTIA is assembled and embarks onboard 2 LHDs to sail towards Odessa with the NATO Marine fleet. An Air element of a dozen of Rafale and Mirage fighter jets and support planes are deployed in Polish airbases neighbouring Ukraine [second component of the immediate reaction force, and part of the fleet of the major coercition force].
A French combined arms brigade starts to be assembled to be sent to Ukraine and reinforce the already deployed troops. While plans are drawn for the mobilisation of a second [major corecition scenario]
July 2017
The 1st French Brigade arrives in Ukraine just in time to relieved pressure from Russian offensive on Kiev and takes part in the NATO counter-attack towards central Ukraine [in line with RAND estimated deployment timeline]. Around 45 fighters are now deployd in the AO. French airborne battalion in the North and Amphibious Battalion in the South keep defending Kiev and Odessa respectively.
The 2nd Brigade is assembled and gets ready to be sent to Ukraine under short notice. Reserve vehicles are sent to the front to replace losses.
August 2017
The 2nd French Brigade arrives in Ukraine joins 1st Brigade to form a NATO division under French command with some extra European battalions. The newly formed division take part in the central offensive and races towards Luhansk to cut Russian escape routes. [Maximum French effort planned in the operationnal contract]
Airborne and Amphibious Battalions take part in the general offensive. Amphibious battalion takes Sebastopol again 162 years after the first time.
September 2017
After the cease-fire, most of the French forces are disingaged but a remaining forces stays in the country as a stabilisation force [in line with te white paper].
Here is my realstic scenario, aren't you thrilled ?
EDIT : Post is now complete.

There is no detailed research of battle for Lohvynobe even in Ukrainian sources. Several good articles written by different authots, as well as soldiers memoris, but all they light up only separate episodes. but not all battle in whole. 
There were three clashes around Lohvynove, which was key point for conrol of M103 road - the single proper supply line of Debaltsevo bulge. Initially UKR platoon group. of 30th mech.brigade, positioned on the hill behind the village  gave order to leave own positions for rest. But command of Sector C didn't substitute them and separatists group (recon company, really half-company), which accidently in the same night had the order to assult Lohvynove, has taken the village without any fight. The UKR observation post directly in the village (four troopers of 54th recon battalion) just retreated and left for separs own BRM-1K, which could'nt move. Only close to  11-00 Sector C command turned back that platoon group with order to take back Lohvynove, but they even didn't know where the enemy and what its forces. Separs had time to set AT-mines and bringh ATGMs - they destroyed in ambush almost all UKR armor. Untill this time separs shot out dozens UKR soldiers, which drove by this road - the Sector C command didn't warn own troops that the road already cutted! 
Next attempt was only on next day - there was heavy 120 mm and arty strike on Lohvynove, but this striкe was conducted without any adjustment - all shells hit ground in 200-300 m in front of separs positions, when UKR forces approached they again met heavy resistance and retreated. 
Most heavy fight was on next day - both forces bring more reinforcements. UKR had the company of 79th air-assault brigade, company of National Guard battalion "Donbas",  per one companies of 24th and 30th mech.brigade. They have support of tank platoons of 30th, 92th mech.brigades (T-64BV) anf 1st tank brigades (BM Bulat). To the separs side the tank company of Russian 5th tank brigade has arrived (from Buriatia, T-72B mod.1989). UKR troopers could take the part of village, but all units were entering in the battle on own mind without coordination in different time from diffrent directions. In the early darkness nobody couldn't understand what's going on, where the enemy and where own troops. Further advance failed because separs tanks were shooting from the hills around. Suddenly our tanks have retreated for reloading and in this time Buriatian tankers counter-attacked. Light armor BMP-2 and BTR-80 couldn't resist and  withdrew. On next day there was next attempt and several tank duels "platoon vs. platoon". In one of them UKR crew, turned out one against three, could hit all Russian tanks, evading from their fire between hulls of knoked out vehicles (one Russian tank blew out on own minefield). Next day UKR forces conducted strike with heavy arty and even ballistic missiles Tochka-U, the decisive assault would be started, but Poroshenko canceled operation - they had hope negotiations in Minsk, will dtop the fight and diplomacy agreements will force enemy to withdraw. Naive man... 
So, as you see, without new module there is impossible to make "historiacl battle". 
Destroyed Russian T-72B mod 1989 near Lohvynove and separs T-72B further. Looks like AT-mines work. 

True. I mostly like mapping, coming up with scenario ideas and setting up defensive positions. The balancing and victory conditions part it is not my fav part. (obviously)
Quick preview of Lohvynove/Logvinovo. 3500 X 2600 m. There is quite a long approach march.

And the hybrid Olkhon group ready to attack, mix of DNR GRU, Russian volunteers and low quality separatists troops. Sgt.Squarehead you're going to love this, their soft factors are even worse than the Karapulka scenario. I even added a conscript for fun lol. Well except it will be at dawn, 5 am or so.

I am going to post the first scenario I made about Lohvynove in its own separate thread but here is the full map. I plan on making two scenarios based on it but neither of them will use the full map. Both of them will be slightly cropped.
 
This is a raw map with no units, setup zones or AI plans.
Lohvynove or Logvinovo in Russian.
Located 7 km north of Debaltseve, Donbas, Ukraine. This is the place where the pro-Russian separatists closed the encirclement of the Ukrainian forces in Debaltseve in february 2015. As far as I understand it, the gist of it is that the encirclement was never totally complete however and most of the units involved managed to withdraw, lots of vehicles had to be left behind but the Ukrainian forces in the bulge or pocket managed to escape more or less intact albeit in a lot of confusion, either running the gauntlet on the semi closed main road or using small country roads to escape.
map size : 3472 X 3152 m
type : open/village
Scroll up for a preview of the map. This one is slightly bigger than in the previous picture.
Download :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ngrc9dlf8w2wvl8/CMBS map Logvinovo full raw.rar?dl=0
 
 
 

Romanivka
 

30 km north of Donetsk, Donbas Ukraine


map size : 3500 X 4200 m
It is hard to take a good picture of it because it is so large.

Included in the download :
A  raw version with nothing in it, no setup zones, objectives, AI plans or anything, only landmarks. a redfor and a bluefor attack, both attacking from the south side. This one is going to be fun for treadheads, people who want to test ATGM's in "real" conditions and also a treat for people who are confused about when it is they need to debus. 😂
I don't know if any fighting took place in this area. I just liked the layout of the terrain and the balka on the east side.
 
I am not entirely sure how useful it is for people to have me include a version of these maps with already set up objectives, be it meeting engagements or attacks. This is probably too large for a PBEM. There is no AI plans so these are probably only good if you want to set up a defence yourself and then attack it against the AI or even in hotseat mode to test various force compositions or tactics.
Download :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/36kzi4vmq0fjb8s/CMBS map Romanivka.rar?dl=0
 

A picture of the balka :

Lovely!  Now I must have two remaining.

Ah, so that is why Charlie Stewart got Tony Dyke to paint him with three heads. I can't imagine Steve doing the same thing.

Indeed. Its important to keep one's head when around this fellow.

Okay here is the last and hopefully final version of Nikishyne.

I added a winter version, changed the cultural centre building, fixed a bunch of small details all over the place and in particular re-designed tons of interior walls/doors in buildings like the secondary school and the warehouses in the industrial area of the map and elsewhere that were not connected.
There is one small quirk that players should be aware of.

The map is full of houses like this with a shed attached to a house. Some of them are connected and you can go from one to the other even though you can only see a door in the house, not the shed, but they work both ways. In some cases there is a window and you can shoot from the shed to the house and vice versa. So pay attention. It is on purpose because in some cases you can't have a window just on one side of the house and I didn't like having this particular house with a blind side there and for some other reasons that are too long to explain.
Download :
Here or in the first post, both links point to the same file.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j5vfid5og72t0c7/CMBS map Nikishyne.rar?dl=0
 
 
 

So I have been toying with the map editor in Combat Mission ever since I got Black Sea a couple of years ago and I have half a dozen maps that I am fairly happy with, pretty much all of them 90% complete. Most of them are maps of the Donbas region where fighting actually took place but there are also a couple that I simply picked because the topography looked interesting. I have downloaded tons of stuff over the years from other people, scenarios, campaigns, maps and loads of mods so I thought I'd post what I have here. Is not purely unselfish because I also hope it might encourage other people like me to share their work with the community.
All these maps are based on real terrain and topography, using google earth, tons of photos and a bit of creative license from time to time. But I tried to stick as much as possible to the real terrain. I am going to provide a couple of satellite pictures for each one because some people might find it interesting to know where they are located. But obviously you're free to use them for whatever purpose you like and pretend it is a place in Greenland or Kentucky if you feel like it.
I decided to post them all in a single thread and plan on releasing them in the next weeks as I put the finishing touches to them. I got one of Nikishyno and Logvynovo in the Debaltseve area in particular that people might like.
Again feel free to use these for whatever you want. All I ask is that you link to this thread if you end up using them to create a scenario with one of them for instance. Also if you are some sort of genius or mastermind who knows how to create an AI plan for quick battles and make one for one of these maps, please post it here.
 
 

I did not take it as a joke
tank killer (3j2m7) wants a zip
he will have a zip

Progress, but I will dump the turban.  (I whipped these ones up years back when I first tried to mod Goums, but was going to replace them with photo-real ones.) Trouble is, those damn officers!  Their skins (faces) use the same textures as the troops, so as you can see, they would have a turban as well. Also thinking of dumping the sandals (they'd be an option to use or not as you see fit anyway) but I need to find some photo-real sandals and puttees, then will have to chop them up into the texture file, so we'll see.  Besides, I love the game's default boots and leggings.
Also, might have to tediously go back and redo all the striping on the djellaba because of the way the the textures stretch when the pixeltruppen are moving.  And, djebalas don't have collars, but do have hoods,  so I don't know exactly how I am going to address those issues, if at all.  Now I remember why I dropped the ball on this mod back when, lol!

Sure - they do in grammar so we can apply it here.

Hi, came to say the same. It's a dream come true to have Indian troops to play with. It sounds like this was a lot of hard work on the part of BFC so thank you, thank you!