0811

I third it.

Will they be modeled in CMx2 ? I know we cant control when/where/ordnance from air support but, will it be in the game for TAC/AI to choose from ?

Yeah, I know what a crash action is. I'm a gunner too ... remember? TBH, 5 mins doesn't sound all that flash to me. I mean, it is good, but it's not great, y'know? One of the btys of 56 Hy Regt were doing crash actions in 25 seconds. In 1942. Granted it was in training, not action. Still. Regards JonS </font>

I guess in your Army the FO didnt have the training to make that happen. In the USMC, the FO does have a role in the pattern. If the battery is layed correctly, the patterns will be tight. Thats why the battery fire's a round or 2 for spotting and its corrected till its on target. maybe your experience and method for laying a battery is different ??? I can only testify to the USMC and its equipment from the 80's 90's which is far supperior to that of WWII. In my opnion, I'd say the patetrns for CMxx are fairly correct. Maybe they could be a little bit tighter in some instances. In Desert Storm in 1991, we did Hasty emplacements, and had rounds down range in support of the grunts in under 5 minutes. Out of 7 guns in out battery, 1 gun was down for repair, we fired over 500 rounds and threw one round out in 2 1/2 days. The FO's consistently commended us for tight patterns which were dead on. thats why I take exception to your comment. Not bad for a bunch of Jarheads huh ? "It's hard to be humble when your the finest...USMC" 0811 OUT [ August 27, 2005, 12:25 AM: Message edited by: 0811 ]

JonS was referring to the name given to anyone in the MOS of Artillery. I'm aware the the US Army doesnt have gunner for a rank. I'm assuming in the army they call anyone on a gun crew a "Gunner". In the USMC anyone with the Artillery MOS is a CANNONEER. Yes the USMC has gunners as a rank which they did away with back in the late 80's however, they brought back that rank as of 2 yrs ago (2003). Regarding the 105MM, I was the A-chief for my gun and we conducted many direct fire missions using Line of Sight. As posted previously by the battery Commander, an experienced crew is invaluable. My experience using the gun sights for direct fire is, after the 3rd or 4th time having done this type of firing, you become very effective at it. Combat Mission needs to model the command for the number of rounds you can fire for a fire mission. i.e. "Fire mission, 6 rounds, shell HE" or "expend all remaining" when the situation gets desperate. As far as the patterns modeled in CMxx, I suspect the WWII gun crews fired rather sloppy patterns due to the conditions they operated in. However, with a forward observer present, I think the patterns should get tighter the more they fire based upon the corections radioed in by the FO. My 2cents worth. 0811

Well, actually 'Gunner', but I'll forgive you We had the M101A1 for a while too. Nice gun ... were you around to see it replaced by the M119? You don't know Jim Weller by any chance, do you? </font>

I was USMC Cannoneer 1984 to 1992. 105's and 155's. Cannoneer is the correct term, not artilleryman We had a couple M114A1's (155) and M101A1's (105)WWII vintage howitzers in out battery. I wasn't Fire Direction Control (FDC) or Forward Observer (FO), I manned the gun my entire tour. The sights on the M114A1 and M101A1 were original WWII issue with new lenses inserted. These guns are very accurate as long as the aiming points remain steady. The liability lies in the gun crew itself. I'll help provide as much info as I can. I await your reply. :cool: 0811

using zooks as recon, letting them run out to see if they draw fire (besides being suicidal) and getting away with it is called "Gaming the Game". Even in WWII they had pointmen for that purpose. Theres other tactic's to use to probe an area besides wasting a zook. 0811

Very impressive. Sounds like you should be teaching at a War College somewhere. Your description of battle with your friend brings up a good point. Sound tactics lost to sheer madness is sounds like. From your post I take it you know how to deploy your forces. I find it hard to believe you cant beat that tactic though. Unless, you didnt have any tanks and very few AT teams to counter with. Your friend is just "Gaming the game". From what I know, tactics like your friend employs have worked in the past in real life but, not very often. I would like to take a stab at you and your buddy in a quick game and see what happens. I'm by no means a Gen. Patton or Schwarztkopf (spelling ?) but I did learn a few things in the military. I've been dicking around with the tutorial for the past 2 weeks and have managed to beat every scenario playing both sides several times. I just received the full versions of CMBB and AK today and cant wait to play the full version. Give me a shout if your friend is up to it. CYA

I just read your post on the very basic of tactics. I'm just curious, where did you receive your training on military tactics? I get the impression you've done this before somehwhere else. Me thinks me smells a ringer here?