Peregrine

I don't think is reasonable to compare nation building in Afghanistan / Iraq to Ukraine.
In the middle east at every level of society from the bottom to top their was always be going significant resistance or ambivalence due to either self-interest, ignorance or flat out cultural aversion to change. And it doesn't matter how hard you try as soon as you use airpower to a significant degree there is mistakes. The longer troops are on the ground more mistakes. Lots of mistakes over a long period of time slowly but surely adds up to looking like you simply don't care - fail. Cultural change isn't especially fast and to suggest that Iraq / Afghanistan are only 60?! or so years away from organically morphing into modern democracies so lets fight a war and do it in 20 is ludicrous. 
The Ukrainians on the other hand were already clearly starting to walk the walk to be a functioning part of the Western world which is probably not an insignificant reason they were invaded in the first place. I have not even bothered checking Zelensky's Ukrainian popularity but Western leaders trust them enough to give them stupendous amounts of weapons and an indeterminable look at our Intel capabilities. There is a clear and obvious enemy to be beaten. Partisan style warfare after major hostilities seems unlikely unless of course criminal gangs being criminals count as freedom fighters. Ukraine will have their own trouble with corruption and waste when the war finishes but their start point prior to invasion isn't anything remotely like Afghanistan/Iraq.

I don't think is reasonable to compare nation building in Afghanistan / Iraq to Ukraine.
In the middle east at every level of society from the bottom to top their was always be going significant resistance or ambivalence due to either self-interest, ignorance or flat out cultural aversion to change. And it doesn't matter how hard you try as soon as you use airpower to a significant degree there is mistakes. The longer troops are on the ground more mistakes. Lots of mistakes over a long period of time slowly but surely adds up to looking like you simply don't care - fail. Cultural change isn't especially fast and to suggest that Iraq / Afghanistan are only 60?! or so years away from organically morphing into modern democracies so lets fight a war and do it in 20 is ludicrous. 
The Ukrainians on the other hand were already clearly starting to walk the walk to be a functioning part of the Western world which is probably not an insignificant reason they were invaded in the first place. I have not even bothered checking Zelensky's Ukrainian popularity but Western leaders trust them enough to give them stupendous amounts of weapons and an indeterminable look at our Intel capabilities. There is a clear and obvious enemy to be beaten. Partisan style warfare after major hostilities seems unlikely unless of course criminal gangs being criminals count as freedom fighters. Ukraine will have their own trouble with corruption and waste when the war finishes but their start point prior to invasion isn't anything remotely like Afghanistan/Iraq.

Not the place for this at all.
 

It's anti-tractor defense. You stick your tank in the mud then surround it with a large moat.

Reinforcements arriving in the Ukraine...😀

Every time I see a tractor in any situation I instantly hear Ride of Valkyries in my head.

The conclusion would have been pure jealously. I could steal 1/2 as much and be 5 times as rich.

"The GUR reported that the Russian military ordered its base in Hmeimim, Syria to send up to 300 fighters from Syria to Ukraine daily. The GUR additionally reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has promised to recruit 40,000 Syrian fighters to deploy to Ukraine. The GUR reported Russian authorities are promising Syrian recruits that they will exclusively act as police in occupied territories."
The above was from the understanding war summary that several people linked too. If largely true what bigger sign could there be that Russian forces are failing at every level and they are already at the stage of fighting where they are prolonging a war hoping that the something is going to magically change and everything work out.
As a country Russia has been looking at Ukraine for 8 years+ in some form of military invasion/active combat sense and 3 weeks after openly invading the recruiting of 40000 Syrians to be police is necessary. The thought of the "liberated" areas of Ukraine being policed by a Syrians would seem to be a wonderfully terrible idea in every sense. How desperate must they be for manpower if this is even remotely being considered.
 

Pretty sure a Putin government could argue the drive to Kyiv is 95 or even 100% successful so it's going better than MG.
Any chance of schwimmwagen tractors making into CMBS based on their anecdotal but seemingly extensive use.
 

Tractors got some serious drift happening. Not quite sim enough for me.
Great music. Can we still customize our loading/splash screen music?
 

I had grew a bit dissatisfied with aspects of co-coordinating my forces when playing the AI so now I follow these self imposed rules. Now that I have written them out they seem much more complicated than I would have thought but if you are at all interested in practice they are not as difficult to play with as they look below. I do not use anything outside the game interface, no writing stuff down etc.

This started one day playing in a campaign where I was area firing at stuff that a unit hadn't spotted, felt really dumb doing it and vowed that I would never do it again. But then situations presented themselves when it didn't seem dumb so I made some exceptions. Over the next many months the following guidelines grew exponentially from there.


I played real-time for a long time but nowadays play turn based in Iron mode. I have only ever followed these rules while playing turn based and I am not sure how following these rules would work in realtime. Battles feel more real and so much less gamey for me now in that my forces are no longer a giant amoeba with the right units always in the right spot. The rules rely heavily on the information sharing model that Battlefront built in and some blinkered vision from myself as I play. These rules attempt to separate out the roles of different units and place limitations on how responsive and co-ordinated your entire force is. C2 becomes more important as units that are in C2 tend to move faster and get help quicker.

I typically play campaigns but the rules should play out reasonably for any size battle. The model basically assumes there is a Company Commander overseeing the battle who broadly issues a plan and changes the plan as he goes along. The subordinate Plt Leaders then implement the plan and are viewed as the leaders specifically issuing the move orders to the rifle SQDs.

---------------ATTACKING
----------SET-UP
Artillery - Prebarrage no limitations. I do normally try and prebarrage, especially if I have suspected positions already marked out.
Infantry - A plan is given to each platoon and a rally point is designated. Depending on the plan the unit is either moving:
* "In formation" with an "assault" attitude
* "In formation" with an "move to contact" attitude
* "In formation" with an "recon" attitude
* "subformation" with a "move to contact" attitude
* "subformation" with a "recon" attitude
An "in formation" move is when Sqds are moving together as part of a platoon at a single objective and is expecting to be in command constantly/frequently with the Ptl Leader.
A "subformation" move is when a unit or smaller group of units is sent off by itself and will not be in contact with it's parent unit as combat mission sees C2. This would be typically be something such as a Sqd or scout team sent off solo to investigate flanks or a HMG team planted somewhere to provide covering fire.
Armour - A plan is formed. Sometimes this is for a platoon of tanks and at other times individual tanks get there own plan. A rally point is given. I do not deal with armour like infantry above. Nothing feels right to me as the more detailed rules for infantry above so they get their basic plan and off they go.
Support (HMG, mortars, trucks, jeeps) - A plan is formed. No rally point is given. What on earth are you doing that these guys needs a rally point?!. Just joking. They get a rally point too. You never know.

-----Attaching Support Units to a different formation.
Most commonly this is incorporating support units into a rifle Plt. For example attaching the HMGs from a weapons company to individual rifle platoons and leaving the mortars in a safer rear area. In these situations I make a mental note of this. Typically these units will never be "in command" as per the "green light" in the user interface as they are leaving their parent formation behind. For the purposes of these rules they are in command if they are within 50m or have a 70m LOS to the CO of the unit they are attached too. I am not sure if this is gamey or not but as I try and play Campaigns I am loathe to risk my mortars near a frontline so this often leaves me in a situations where HMGs are never in a position to fight unless they are attached to another unit. I still try and not do this. Another similar use for this is splitting pioneer SQDs and have them trail tanks or infantry platoons.

----------Combat Turns
The mission commences and each unit follows it's plan. Plotting long groups of orders assists with remembering plans but after playing this way for a long time it is automatic for me now. I have never written anything down to keep track. The initial plan gets followed until one of the change/completion/abandon plan criteria below kicks in.

-----Company Commanders Orders Change of Plan.
As long as a Plt Leader is in command with the higher unit a new plan can be issued at any time but both the Coy Co and the sub-ordinate getting the new plan do nothing for 1:15 minute. There is no restriction on the number of sub-ordinates that a can get a new plan at the same time. To keep within the spirit of the rules it is important that the new plan is in the realms of what the Cpy Co understands is happening. Selecting the Cpy Co and zooming out to the highest level is a nice indication of this. For example if a Plt that is in command and is advancing nicely down the right you may want to stop Plts advancing left and redirect them to follow the unit on the right. Conversely there will be situations where you can see a formation heading into trouble (often tanks unaware of AT guns that infantry have spotted). In these situations the tanks follow their plan until the unit itself becomes aware enough to change it's own plan.

-----Giving Units Orders.
These are actual quick/move/slow/hunt etc orders.
Infantry moving "In Formation"
- Withdraw button can be hit anytime/any situation.
- Withdraw button can be hit anytime/any situation then "dragged" 2 actions squares with a 10 second pause.
- HQ units can give themselves orders at anytime/any situation.
- A unit can always move one action square anytime/any situation.
- A unit that is in C2 can be issued new move orders at any time, although the orders should be based on their current plan and what the unit/Plt leader is seeing.
- A split SQD that is not in C2 may be issued new orders if the other half of the SQD is in command and within 50m. Both units suffer a 30 second delay (the out of C2 split sqd is being yelled at by the in C2 sqd).
- A unit that is not in command cannot get new orders except to preserve itself. This means the unit remains stationary, moves a single square or retreats to preserve themselves or declares themselves "lost" see below. This remains the case until C2 is re-established.

Infantry moving "Subformation". A subformation is a unit or group of units that are operating independent of their leader. As the in-game C2 system becomes irrelevant in these situations I attempt to keep groups that are operating as a subformation within a 70m LOS or 50m distance of each other.
- Withdraw button can be hit anytime/any situation.
- May be issued new orders at any time, the orders should be based on their current plan and what the unit/Plt leader is seeing.

-----Units Abandon their plan.
Infantry
Units will abandon their plan if any of the following criteria are met.
- An infantry unit with a "recon" attitude will abandon it's plan after spotting an enemy unit with 200m of it's objective or taking fire that changes it's morale state past nervous. It will observe the position (varies based on situation) then fall back from it's current position and take cover. If it is in command it will await a new plan. If it is not in command it will either rejoin it's parent unit/company commander or send a runner back to it's parent unit to obtain new orders.
- An infantry unit with a "move to contact" attitude will abandon it's plan after coming within 200m of an enemy (or thereabouts). The unit will attempt to stay in it's current position, destroy the enemy contacted and send runners back to it's parent unit if it is not in command.
- 3 casualties in a rifle sqd or 6 casualties in a platoon. Maintain position and obtain a new plan. This can be hard to monitor, especially with SQDs that are understrength. I DO NOT micromanage or track this closely. Basically if a sqd gets really hurt or two SQDs get dinged this kicks in. NOTE - at one point I tried using the CM user interface morale states but could never find a happy medium. Platoons either were too tentative or I was feeling compelled to follow bad plans that wiped out SQDs. This seems to work best. Also most of these rules were set before the 2.0 MG suppression upgrade.
- Spotting a threat it can't effectively deal with. (eg Infantry can see a tank on it's objective). Withdraw to a safe distance or maintain position then request a new plan.

After reading these you can see that only units attacking "in formation" can be relied upon to push home attacks hard. As the most aggresive posture a subformation can adopt is "move to contact". This results in tentative moves as even though they will attempt to hold position and defeat the enemy in front of them they will have to spend more time reporting back to their CO and getting plans than an "in formation" unit "assaulting".

NOTE - when I play there is nothing wrong with reissuing the same or similar plan after one gets cancelled. The above criteria are just a forced pause. For example a Rifle Plt "assault"ing a position would only have it's plan cancelled by either casualties or discovering a cluster of tanks on their objective. If a unit takes casualties it will undergo the enforced pause of 1:15 but the Cpy Co can still direct the Plt to attack anyway. The casualty count gets reset at this point and off they go again.

Armour
- Any high calibre rounds hits or near misses a tank (not smalls arms) or there is a crew casualty. My understanding from several memoirs is that AP shot had a very specific sound when passing and that tanks get to take defensive action even if they do not know where the shot originated from.
I found it difficult implementing a structure as detailed as the infantry model that was workable so for armour it is very simple. No restrictions on orders. Form a plan then plot a long string of orders and try not to deviate from the orders unless the unit(s) in question has spotting contacts that would alter their behaviour.

-----Runners
Runners are a method I use to share information or establish a command link outside the CM game interface. They typically are used when you use subformations that aren't in the normal chain of command or radios get smashed. If a unit wishes to contact it's parent and radio isn't an option then you must move a unit. This runner is typically a scout team running back to the Cpy Co. A runner simply moves to where ever the Cpy Co is and spends 1:15 in the same or adjacent square. Getting back close enough (ie 80 metres away) for long visual contact isn't sufficient enough to convery a new plan for me therefore moving in close is required. NOTE also that this time is typically long enough for the Combat Mission information sharing model to kick in so the Cpy Co would now typically have contacts for everything the runner knew. Conversely the Cpy Co can also send out runners to subordinates that it cannot contact. The runners going out and coming in follow the same movement method for "lost" units detailed below.


-----Lost Units
Sooner or later you will find a unit that got left behind or has fallen out of command and doesn't have a realistic chance of establishing it again as it can't move and the CO is too busy doing other things to chase them up. I decided that I can declare a unit "lost" at anytime. Once you decide that a unit is lost it can do the following:
- Withdraw button can be hit anytime/any situation.
- It can always move to preserve itself with a 10 second delay but cannot be given orders that will increase it's immediate danger.
- It will try and re-establish contact by moving either to it's rally point, the last known square of it's CO, or the last known square of the Cpy Co. This can sometimes be difficult to remember (the UI will show "?" for friedlies in the video phase but not currently in the orders phase as all friendlies are specifically marked) but not knowing exactly isn't critical as anything loosely close will serve the purpose. A command delay of 1:15 is given at the start* and at the last waypoint of the orders. *Exception would be if the unit is in danger and needs to go straight away. Then as soon as possible the "first" 1:15 delay is given.
- Each turn the unit is not in C2 it plots a new string of orders to their CO, each time ending with a 1:15 delay. This will lead to units taking longer to find COs that are moving around. As I cycle through every unit each orders phase lost ones are obvious.
- If the unit arrives at the rally point and is not in command then it can set out to either the current/adjacent square of the CO or Cpy CO again with a 1:15 delay.
NOTE - if the leader is moving around you find that most of the lost units journey is done in the last couple hundred metres which does feel a bit odd. This is an oddity I accept as it is the easist to manage and still serves it's purpose.

-----Requesting Support
Having Pioneers run from hundreds metres away to blow a hole in bocage for a unit not directly in it's chain of command and who it most likely was completely unaware of always felt dumb to me. If it was always planned then the Pioneers should have already been on their way. This can still happen of course but with these rules there is a slight delay. I treat this as a change of plan for the support unit. If a Plt is in command with the CO it can ask for support. After 1:15 of the CO unit establishing contact with the support unit (if it wasn't already in contact) the help sets out. Exception - if the CPY Co isn't in command is doesn't necessarily have to move itself. It can send a runner such as an XO to do this task. As per runners above moving to the same/adjacent square of the supprting unit then pausing both for 1:15 delay signifying the new orders is expected. This support request broadly covers requesting HMGs/mortars to come up and direct fire on an AT gun, an FFO come up to put down artillery on contacts it isn't necessarily aware of, trucks moving for resupply, pioneers to do their thing etc.


-----In Command
I have already mentioned a couple of excpetions but this just restating when a unit is in C2
- Using the game interface a unit is in C2 if is has a "green light" to it's immediate superior.
- Using the game interface a unit is in C2 if any of the "voice", "visual" or "radio" icons are present in the display. This is typically support units being near an officer of some sort or any unit not already in command being near a Cpy CO. As this is not an ideal chain of command so a 30 second delay is imposed on orders issued.
- A unit is in 50m of it's immediate superior. Battlefront have given a 50m radius for voice contact (very generic, fine in some situations, impossible in others) but some units such as jeeps/trucks don't establish voice contact and units that are hidden have the voice contact range reduced to 20m therefore for the purposes of these rules the unit is still deemed in C2 if within the 50m. The thinking here is if a PLT leader can be heard 50m away then I don't think a hiding SQD that gets yelled at from 30m away to advance is allowed to whisper back "Ssh we are hiding".
- A unit is in command if any other part of the unit is both in command and within 50m of the unit. A 30 second delay applies for both units. This rule usually applies to a split SQD with one half in command and the other half not. Another situation where this rule commonly kicks in is for some motorised units. A CO is sitting in a halftrack and has radio contact to several subordinate halftracks so everyone is green in command. In these halftracks there is often split SQDs. If a SQD alights from the halftrack the CM command structure will go to a red cross which doesn't feel right. This sort of behaviour also occurs when towed AT guns set-up. Again the 50m rule applies with a 30 second delay.
- Support Units (jeeps, trucks, ammo carrying halftracks). I have found these units are a little chronic for never being in command. I typically try to follow the above rule but be more generous. If anyone anywhere near them has any idea what is going on they may move with purpose. This is usually covers clusters of jeep or trucks relocating.


-----Information Sharing
With these rules using the information sharing model built into CM becomes a much more integral and fun part of the game for me. Plt Leaders under these rules find themselves running around a lot more to establish contact to kick their SQDs along, particularly if you spread your SQDs out. A unit that can see many more contacts gets to make better decisions also.
Units automatically share information with nearby units and also up and down their chain of command as part of any normal CM game. Playing with these extra rules encourages you to force this to happen. The classic example is infantry spotting AT Guns and everyone else being oblivious. With no command layer rules such as these the most likely end is artillery (from an FO who may not have spotted it) falling on the AT Gun while tanks (who are oblivious to the AT guns location or even presence) actively hide from it. In these types of situations if a unit is aware of both (ie is aware of the AT gun and can see the friendly tanks) I move the unit to the tank platoon leader. It takes time but eventually this knowledge will be shared and the tank platoon can operate with this knowledge. This also highlights the advantages of having tanks come under the same C2 structure as the information is normally shared quite a bit quicker (thinking the Kampfgruppe Engal campaign here).


-----Resupply
For scenarios that have trucks, jeeps or halftracks that can supply ammo I have some fairly basic rules similar to lost units that I follow.
- The CPY Co always knows where the resupply units are. Anything else was too awkward.
- If a unit is in command to the CPY Co they may move to wherever the supply units are and get more ammunition.
- If a unit is not in command to the CPY Co they may move to either the rally point or the last know position of a CO as per a lost unit.
- If a unit is at it's rally point it can then move off to get resupplied (this is working on the assumption that there are support staff etc not represented in game that can direct them to the resupply). I often have my rally point and the resupply in the same location so this is usually a moot point.


----------No-no Commands.
These are things that I do not do mainly to reduce gameyness and to even up what should be more even fights against the AI.
-----Hiding
Infantry do not get to use the hide command to avoid rifle/MG fire from enemy infantry after a firefight has started. If you wish to maintain a low profile issue a short covered arc or move. This is mainly to prevent using the hide command to avoid incoming fire in the middle of a firefight. The AI simply does not area fire enough so in some situations it is too easy to hide for a turn then start fighting again when the situation improves. Hiding to protect from tanks or artillery is fine. Exception is casualties. If a unit has two casualties then it may hide for buddy aid purposes.

-----Area Fire
Unless you can specifically see a unit or contact marker you cannot area fire at a square. Also if there are multiple contacts in an area you cannot fire first at the one you know is the greater threat if there are other contacts that are more recent for the unit in question (the spotting contact is a darker shade of green (allies) or grey (axis)). The first area fire must be directed at the most recent contact.
Exception 1) Immediate superior has spotted something and is in voice/close visual. In these situations the commander is essentially telling a unit to fire at a spot.
Exception 2) Everyone else is shooting why can't I join in. This is basically when adjacent units are firing but a unit still hasn't spotted anything. The most common example that pops up for me is a Plt of infantry shooting at opposite bocage with a tank in support that has not a single spotting contract. In these situations I use a 2 to 1 rule. You can area fire but the first shot cannot be on a target that is known to other units and not to the firing unit. The second and subsequent area fires can be wherever you please. This way you still get to shoot but it isn't unerringly accurate, ultra-timely or quite as ammo efficient support that would normally be produced. Exception to the exception, a tank can never ever area fire at an AT Gun that it does not have a contact icon for.

-----Artillery
Similar to area fire the FFO needs to be aware of the situation before calling in a strike. Also I incredibly rarely cease fire unless the spotting unit can see friendlies moving close. Never ceasing fire also rules out gamey behaviour such as calling in long duration, low rate of fire strikes in on targets such as AT guns and ceasing fire the second it is destroyed.

-----Firing From Waypoint as an LOS TOOL.
I don't do it. I happily move around the map looking at things but don't do this. If I want to get specific LOS from a location I move a unit there. Furthermore if I plot a shoot and scoot to fire at a spot then find I can't see the intended target I still move there and give myself a 10 second pause and either don't fire at all or target somewhere else.

-----Dodging Artillery
I suspect most players with experience see a spotting round fall and know who most likely got spotted and is about to have arty drop on their head. I don't have any sort of feel for how this played out in real life but I feel very gamey sprinting the unit in question to safety and everyone else staying put.
What I decided was allowable is-
- the unit threatened AND everyone that is part of that formation (eg. entire platoon) gets to Hide.
- the unit threatened AND everyone that is part of that formation (eg. entire platoon) gets to move then Hide. Typically by hitting the withdraw button unless it is an awfully silly result.
I grappled with this and the above typically feels better than doing nothing and at the other end doesn't feel as gamey as doing the ideal activity for the threatened unit and nearby units continue on unaffected.



---------------DEFENDING
As these rules are specifically versus the AI and it is not really possible to design scenarios where the AI attacks well with anything but overwhelming force the defense options are very basic. From experience in the game you are very strung out when on defense so basically command is usually chucked out the window.

----------SET-UP
Artillery Prebarrage no limitations.
Infantry - A plan is given to each platoon and a rally point is designated. Depending on the plan the unit is either "last stand", "casualties", "fighting withdrawal".
Armour - A plan is given to each platoon and a rally point is designated.
Support - A plan is given to each platoon and a rally point is designated.

----------Combat Turns
The mission commences and each unit follows it's plan. Typically this involves sitting still and retreating after contact is made depending on their posture.
"Last stand" units attempt to hold the position and repel everything and only move back when running low on Ammo or morale becomes broken.
"Casualties" units attempt to hold position and only move back after 20% casualties are taken.
"Fight Withdrawal" units will constantly fall back. Typically spend 30 seconds in contact fighting then shift.
If a unit is ever broken it must observe "Fighting Withdrawal" behaviour.

The rest of the rules are the same except the time limits are reduced. The 1:15 delays are all reduced to 45 seconds and the 30 second delays are reduced to 15 seconds.

Units in C2 can be issued aggresive orders such as moving forward.

Units not in C2 may not fall back if they are ignorant of being flanked. This means if enemy units are coming around their sides and the unit is not aware of this they do not to get fallback. Exception - Combat sounds within 200m. There are situations when combat can be taking place quite close to troops but they do not get a spotting contact. When very close (ie within 200m) you can assume they have spotting icons and act appropriately.

Built the "rules" (I prefer to call them guidelines) up over a long time and still use them. Haven't changed them for quite a time now.
The game engine does a better job than ever of punishing out of command units taking casualties.
Original post is over 5 years old now and the guidelines developed for at least 2 before that.

This was Panzer Marsch. Accumulated points but spotting enemy infantry. If you spot enough to get victory conditions I think the next scenario you start with many enemy as spotting icons for easier artying.
Don't have it on my hard drive so I can't double check but the packaged campaign for CMSF Marines Module also had a similar mission to start with. Small group of marines moving through an urban area on the right and farmland on the left.
CMSF also had a few other scenarios where you only had a small contingent to creep forward for spotting and arty purposes for about 30 minutes before the main force arrived. These for me were always better than the stand alone recon missions.
The problem with the outright recon scenarios is that they are really hard to do well and have virtually no replay value. If the map is large enough that you can't really guess where you hit the opposition then you need to move really slowly for a long distance. This can give the mission an excruciatingly slow feel. And when you eventually find them you aren't expected to do anything else other the withdraw.
Alternatively if the distance isn't that big then it feels more like you basically already know where the enemy is so why not be pounding that area with something more potent than a couple of infantry squads / light vehicles.

Area firing in the general direction of contacts is often enough to get suppression and cause casualties.
This doesn't mean you need LOS to the target either. If a target is 100 to 120m away and your LOS is well short of this you still have excellent results simply shooting in that direction even if you are 70m short of your actual target.
Your hail of bullets travel a lot further than you eyes can see.
Clearing a forest is extremely ammunition intensive and you will take casualties.

Area firing in the general direction of contacts is often enough to get suppression and cause casualties.
This doesn't mean you need LOS to the target either. If a target is 100 to 120m away and your LOS is well short of this you still have excellent results simply shooting in that direction even if you are 70m short of your actual target.
Your hail of bullets travel a lot further than you eyes can see.
Clearing a forest is extremely ammunition intensive and you will take casualties.