dixon_el

The small, round thing looks like a sub-caliber training device. It probably fires ball ammunition to simulate the noise of firing and the round itself helps the gunner to properly aim the weapon by seeing where the round strikes the target. Just a thought. The US Army uses similar devices on some of its weapons to reduce training costs. A few cents vs. a hundred or several thousand dollar special purpose round. A tanker should be familiar with the Hoffman device.

The whole French company should surrender if confronted by more than two squads of Germans. Otherwise, CMAK should be considered "gamey", because it wouldn't be following "historical" norms.

Corridors of attack are better sealed off with a limited static defense composed of lower cost assets than are commonly found manevering in an overwatch. An overwatch is a moving maneuver designed to cover terrain with minimum loss of men and materials. The overwatch element is not static, it's a moving element, not to be confused with a supported attack. You will note that JasonC correctly states that the overwatch converts into a supported defense, attack or withdrawal, upon enemy contact. The purpose of the bounding or alternate overwatch is to avoid or limit early contact with the enemy by making contact forward of the FEBA (forward edge of the battle/battlefield) too costly for the enemy. It's also different, but often confused with, a recon by force. A recon by force is designed to fix the enemy by threat of attack and hamper the enemies ability to gather information on the main element's intent, forces and lager. The purpose is to blind and confuse the enemy. The present CM serie's scope is generally too limited to effectively allow for effective counter-intelligence tactics.

Overwatch has been used ever since the invention of the firearm. Tactical studies always lag a generation or two behind the tactics used in the field. A bounding overwatch is a series of alternating positions. One unit moves forward while the other (remains stationary and guards against an enemy ambush or rolling attack) overwatches. When the moving (bounding) element reaches its destination (ahead of the overwatching unit) it takes up the overwatching position and overwatches the other element's bound forward (past the overwatcher). Looks a bit like leap-frog: (unit A)----------bounding------------>X ............(unit overwatching next phase: .............................................(unit A) overwatching ..............(unit -----------------------bounding----------------------->X An alternating overwatch is a little different. Again one moves, the other overwatches. The moving (bounding) element starts at the same position as the overwatcher (stationary) unit and bounds forward. They trade duties, the forward unit overwatching while the rear element bounds forward to the lead elements position. Again, one element overwatches while the other bounds forward. They trade duties. The rear element bounds now bounds forward (catches up to the overwatcher's position) while the leading unit becomes the overwatcher. Repeat. The same unit doesn't have to bound forward everytime. The alternating overwatches looks more like a skipping maneuver: (unit A)----bounding -->X (unit guarding next phase: ..............guarding (unit A) (unit ----bounding --->X Usually the least experienced unit bounds forward while the more experienced unit overwatches. The more experienced unit being better able to deal with a sudden unexpected threat to the moving less experienced unit. The bound forward is easily the most dangerous part of either type overwatch. Hope this helps.

Maybe I'm all wet, and I've seen a couple of real battles. But we never set down at the beginning and made sure both sides had the same number of (points). The object is to attack the enemy when he's the weakest or you have the greatest advantage. Equal points is gamey, unless you just like losing.

The M3 was junk. You expended half a magazine to get a couple of rounds on target, unless you were close enough to smack the target with the barrel. Of course it was solid enough to be used as an effective club.