Lt. Smash

I just finished the British Campaign for the first time. I think I learned more during this campaign than I have the entire time I've played CMSF. Today, my battlegroup sits along the border of Jordan enjoying a well deserved rest. I won with a Total Victory on Elite. My stats were 140 men killed, 103 wounded, 13 missing, 2 tanks lost, 28 armored vehicles lost and 6 other vehicles lost. The Red Force stats were 1,411 men killed, 694 men wounded, 547 men missing, 60 tanks lost, 107 armored vehicles lost and 75 other vehicles lost. I had to replace Counter Attack after being handed a Major Defeat the first time through. I won all other scenarios as Total Victories except Os Sayqal - Recce (Minor Victory - I struggle with recon scenarios), Os Sayqal - Assault (Major Victory) and Dumayr Riot (Major Victory). At Courses of Action, I took the rural route. My favorite scenarios were Ambush in the Lava Fields and Ash Shaykh Miskin. I could have done with the Dumayr Riot or Sab'Abar. I loved the idea of the convoy crossing with Sab'Abar but the design was flawed which took the fun out of it. Overall, I really enjoyed the campaign. I felt that the missions gave a good amount of variety, and several were quite challenging. As for the Brits: I loved having the light mortar as part of the C2 units. I like how the effective range of their infantry firearms (L85) was greater than the US Army (M4). It helped. The Chally was an impressive tank which I enjoyed as much or more than the Abrams. It's ability to fire smoke was fantastic and its survivability was very, very good. The Warrior is a good IFV although maybe too susceptible to RPGs. I was thinking it was going to be like a Bradley and it felt more like a tracked Stryker. And the Scimitar is just about my favorite "new" weapon in this module. Sure, an RPG will knock it out fast but I had fun zipping around the desert with them. I would have like to have had more Javelin teams. The ILAW is okay but nothing beats a Javelin. On that note, I much prefer to have that weapon embedded in the squad, as per the US Army, than as separate teams per the USMC and British. I would have also enjoyed more artillery and air support...but what commander hasn't said that! Bob

I'd be interested in participating. Bob

So, the answer to my own question is that I do not get any points for the lost trucks and the Syrians get credit for destroying them. As a result, I restarted the battle, advanced the Scimitar and Warriors to high ground to pick-off the Syrians that I could see until all packets arrived. Then, I moved the Warrior to the small compound and the Scimitars down the road. After clearing the initial resistance, I advanced the trucks and parked them in the exit zone with about 7 minutes left. The Syrians surrendered the next turn. I lost one Scimitar to an IED an one truck was immobilized. A total victory and gamey out of necessity. Bob

(Digging up an old thread while looking for insight into this one.) I've about 2/3rds of the way through this scenario. I got three of the first four trucks across. I've lost a Scimitar, but flanked Sab'Abar Nihaya (the little compound north of the road) which exposed a number of hiding Syrians and allowed me to take out two recoiless rifles, an RPG team, a few snipers and a heavy machine gun team! However, the three trucks I got across (and were sitting in the green "convoy exit" zone since I can't actually exit units in CMSF). Shortly after the second team of LMTVs arrive, a bunch of technicals and fighters come cruising out of the exit, attack and kill my three trucks which I thought were safe. Do you know if I've gotten points for the three trucks and/or will I be penalized the KIAs/WIAs and lost trucks? I'd prefer to avoid quitting and restarting the scenario. So, any insight is appreciated. Bob

MikeyD, are you sayiing that this game will be released in a few weeks?!? Bob

Funny, I'm playing it for the first time right now. For some reason I skipped it although I've had the module and played several of the scenarios previously. I'm really enjoying it too. Bob

Ian - click on Menus -> Conditions to pull up the scenario conditions. This lists weather, temperature, ground conditions and wind. What type of road were you driving on? I've seen my vehicles (tanks, armored cars, jeeps, etc.) get bogged and then immobilized in wet conditions on dirt and gravel roads many times. Bob

Fuser, when are you going to get to the Shermans!?! I thought you were a German-a-holic until I saw the Stuart and the Jeep. Now, I can't wait to see the well-loved, well-used M4s. Bob

Just in time for be to buy it! Huzzah! Bob

Looks great. For reference, what video card are you using? Bob

Fantastic.

I love CMBN but a lot of the fun gets lost on me when the scenario gets big. To me, "big" are anything close to battalion-size. These are generally "Large" or "Huge" scenarios in CMBN parlance. Too many units, too much going on, too much time, etc. all contribute to too little enjoyment. I want to change and I need your help. I want to find fun in these bigger battles. I have to be missing something. So, that leads me to the title of my post: What are your tips for managing large scenarios? Bob

I couldn't agree more. It appears that once you're direct HQ gets killed then you loose all command support. Not my favorite design decision. Bob

ss1195 - I find that I can go around the hedgehogs...slowly. Bob

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the kind words. Bob

Crossroads is the mission you're talking about. The problem with it is that it was/is buggy. I took the direct route but was still give the cross country route. I expect more casualties in this campaign than any of the CMSF campaigns due to timeframe. However, I agree with the comments about the scenarios being "over baked". Bob

I've neem enjoying "Tonight We Die as Men PB: The Untold Story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Toccoa to D-Day" by Ian Gardner and Roger Day. http://www.amazon.com/Tonight-Die-Men-Batallion-ebook/dp/B0058Z9CYW/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_ke?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312639883&sr=1-1 Bob

No and no. The best you can do is save individual turns (in WEGO only) and watch the playback later. BTW, this is a frequently asked question that has been answered many times in the CMx2 forums. Search is your friend. Using it can get you answers faster than posting and waiting for someone to reply. Bob

These are really nice shots. Wolfseven, what mods are you using the Syrian uniforms and equipment and the environment look almost photo realistic. Bob

Well said. I couldn't agree more. Bob

I finally got past the marathon School/University of Hard Knocks (I'm happy not to be looking at a single bridge over a river) and got to Crossroads. I decided to take the Main Road (N803) rather than the Cross Country Route (D336). So, I scooted through la Pellerine, smacked down the few Germans I ran across and exited all my forces through the Main Road exit. Thus, I was surprised when I found myself on D336, playing Bumper Cars. Has anybody else encoutered this problem? What did I do wrong? Bob

The key thing in your advance is to shoot while moving. Whether you use "Assault" with whole squad(s) or break them into into teams using "Quick" or "Normal", target places that you think or know the enemy is going to be. This was standard operating procedure for all sides in WWII. I didn't get this concept until recently. I was advancing, trying to stay hidden or quickly moving and then shooting. However, like you, I was getting slaughtered. I read this Osprey book on Squad and Platoon Tactics and they discussed how training taugh the squads of all nations to be aggressive using this approach. It suppresses the enemy and allows your men to advance better than any other technique I've tried. Don't get me wrong. I'm not disgreeing with the group. The best way to approach this is -- as discussed -- bounding squads. The missing ingredient -- at least for me -- was having the squad(s) "shoot from the hip" as they advance. Bob

Agreed. Thanks, guys! Bob

I love RT in a small scenario, but anything larger than a platoon+, I feel like I'm in a clickfest...not so much fun. Bob

Wow, Paper Tiger. That's an awesome map. Bob