K.A. Miles

I agree, keep those long posts coming! If it's not considered too off-topic, I have a question about trenches. Everyone seems to agree that they are modeled incorrectly, but I have a specific question regarding their effect in the game. Do trenches still provide 95% cover, even when the attacker is shooting down the trench (i.e. firing enfilade)?

I was wondering that too. I suspect that we are...

I played a CMBB operation, where my two Pak40s were abandoned, then remanned for the next battle. This happened three times for one gun, but only twice for the other. Eventually the guns got knocked out, but as long as I had the crew and enemy didn't overrun the abandoned gun-- the guns kept coming back. Anyway, just my experience.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is CEB? I started out with a +3 experience. Not because I'm a good player (far from it), but because I wanted it to be challenging. Try placing your T-34 between the two identical buildings on the right side of the road. The "right" side of the road, i.e. opposite the church. Position the T-34 so that you can see the twist in the road, but not the straight portion before the twist. Now start the game and wait for the prey. Sometimes, like Lane said, you have to hunt for the third, but the other two should unwittingly roll right into your line of fire. Perfect rear shot.

Thanks for the scenario, Panther Commander. It was fun experimenting to find a good position, and I learned a lot about ambushing armor. Thanks again!

OK, I ditched the SMG platoon. I then proceeded to lose game after game. The original position of the T-34 is not ideal, to say the least. For some reason, the T-34 sometimes just sits there while the KTs roll by. Not very impressive for an "elite" crew! Also, IMHO, I find the position too confining and inflexible. So, I changed the position of the T-34 during setup. The new position was much better, and afforded some very nice rear shots on the Tigers. In three out of four games, I have knocked out all three KTs, and my T-34 has lived to tell the tale. The other game was a total screw up. After giving the lead Tiger three rear richochets and an immobilizing hit, the bastard blew me up without a second thought. Was it cheating to change the T-34's position?

Ah, now it makes sense! Sorry for the confusion there. I'll try it again, using only the T-34. This ought to be fun... Thanks again!

I managed to knock out two of the Tigers, and immobilize the other, using only the SMG platoon. I tried doing this in the platoon's original position, but found it was too difficult. I accomplished the feat by running the platoon into an ambush position, occupying the three tall buildings to the left of the T-34's position. After that, it was all rather simple. Sit and wait for all three tanks to come clunking down the road, and start chucking grenades. The victory would have been perfect, if I hadn't got impatient. I got tired waiting for the platoon to finish off the last Tiger, so I went after it with the T-34... Bad idea. The Tiger had already been hit with three grenades, and immobilized, so I thought it was rather harmless. Ooops. Darn..... I tried adding a Grenadier platoon in the scenario editor, and that made the scenario much harder. Anyway, fun scenario! Thanks for posting it.

Well, I'm rather new to playing against human players, and the AI doesn't seem to require such elaborate tactics. Thanks, I'll try that out. Reverse... who would have thought???

Dschugachwili, that's a great idea! I'll have to try that out. I never even thought of that, thanks!

Thanks everyone for your great responses. This issue doesn't involve a specific scenario I'm playing right now, my question was of a more broad tactical nature. Thanks Redwolf, I didn't know that the light guns moved faster. I think your comments are correct. I especially dislike the fact that guns must rotate to move. Like you said, that's just not realistic. Thanks again!

I'm sorry, I didn't make myself quite clear. I meant using towed artillery in a pre-designed scenario, not a QB. You know what I mean, sometimes the scenario designer gets this idea that it would be great to have one or two towed guns in his "meeting engagement" type scenario. The trouble is, getting these guns to the fighting! Either I sacrifice a transport to tow the gun, or I send the gun on a game-long quest to the middle of the screen. Whether it's a huge 150mm gun, or 37mm AT, it will arrive in the last turn of the game to fire one inneffective round. IMHO, the light gun should move faster, and arrive sooner than the 150mm. I KNOW that I've seen pictures of German troops wheeling their 37mm AT guns down the road, and not seeming to stressed out about it either. Like I said in my original post, the gun should positively be subjected to ammo depletion upon moving.

Can anyone share any thoughts on towing artillery? Both on the attack, as a mobile direct-fire artillery battery--- and also on the defense, as a mobile reserve. Whenever I have tried this, the transports are spotted and good-bye guns. Also, why are light guns so "very slow"? I think the 37mm & 45mm AT gun should at least be given a "slow" speed. Of course, they should lose some ammo for moving, but these light guns should be able to move faster than a 105mm howitzer. Thanks for your suggestions/explanations.

Same here, I've never encountered this tactic in an opponent! If this did happen though... I wouldn't object, as long as splitting squads is used in a localized tactical maneuver, or an extremely spread out defence. However, I do object to the wholesale splitting of an enemy force. [ February 02, 2005, 02:44 PM: Message edited by: K.A. Miles ]

Sven, Wow, that's pretty impressive. I need drivers like that! Do you know which division they were from? Is there any chance of having a few transferred to my command??? My drivers do not display enough national patriotism. I'm just about ready to line up all my drivers and execute every last one of them... They were supposed to rush ahead and secure the town, but now that all the trucks are destroyed or in full reverse, my infantry must proceed on foot. More on topic: Does the experience rating for aircraft greatly increase/decrease their effectiveness? I've never played many games with aircraft, but I can't seem to notice a difference in their performance, no matter what the experience.

Yeah, the truck thing is pretty "cheesy". I hate trucks anyway, those dang drivers panic and run away from everything. The game I'm playing right now, if the stupid drivers would keep going they would be safe, instead they've thrown it into reverse and are being destroyed. It's a rather narrow window of death, and they just stopped right in the middle of it.

No, I didn't mean sober as in... I mean.... I meant, never mind... LOL

Yes, forgive me, War of Northern Aggression. I wasn't quite sure the international community would understand that term. That's funny, I lived in Illinois for seven years! It doesn't matter where you live or who you are, the truth can be found. Not quite sure I understand the repetitive history remark, but I think I agree. Esse Quam Videri! Deo Vindice!

Thanks for your detailed response, Dandelion. It is obvious that your knowledge and understanding far exceeds my own. Your English is so good, you are almost hard to understand. LOL To me, it is interesting to note the opinions of present-day German citizens. We hear our own "Allied" version over here in the US, but it tends to be somewhat- well, "Allied". I have no German ancestors that I know of, and I'm definitely no Nazi- but it is nice to hear both sides of the story. We have similiar issues over here in the US, emotionally charged issues, involving our civil war 1861-1865. I don't want to confuse the issue more (fellow Americans, don't get me going... LOL)

Sorry, I meant 45+ turns!

I'm 19, and I enjoy Combat Mission more than any other game. I play Battlefield 1942 to get my "action" kicks, but that's just for fun. I started playing CM when the Beyond Overlord demo was released. I also enjoy other wargames, both on the computer and in miniature. I guess the difference is, what state of mind you have. It takes a serious, patient person to play CM. Believe it or not, there are a few serious young people out there that can finish a serious wargame. Not many, but a few. In the miniature wargame group that I play with, I think I'm the only member below age 30. In summary, anyone can go run around firing an Stg44 on full auto, but it takes a sober, level-headed person to play a 45+ game of CM.

Just a little typo, but it appears that bboyle's quote above is missing the last word of Leopard's statement- "not" I'm not trying to nit-pick here, just didn't want anyone to be confused... What is a revisionist? That may seem like a stupid question, but I have never run into this term before. I would assume that it defines someone who "revises" history. Thanks for the help.