Sgt.Squarehead

Here's the highlight reel:
While the AFoP had access to enabling technologies and supporting arms such as indirect fire, close air support and armoured fighting vehicles, the battle was ultimately won by room-to-room, house-to-house fighting. No amount of firepower can substitute this intimate, discriminate, and precise application of force. Combat shooting, battlefield fitness, small team TTPs and battle craft are more important than any other skill. 
 
INGENIOUS AFP TACTICS
Both the AFoP and the enemy used drones extensively. Both forces employed inexpensive, off-the-shelf varieties, as each side would prioritise shooting down one-another’s aerial surveillance assets. The AFoP used a rudimentary marking system to identify friendly UAVs. 
In Marawi the enemy used covered withdrawal routes, or ‘ratlines’ (holes dug through walls or floors, or concealed passageways through basements etc), to enable movement to and from battle positions, or to move to depth if a battle position was at risk of being overrun.  
When these were discovered, the AFoP would either have combat engineers collapse the tunnels on top of the enemy, or use smoke to flush the lines out. If using smoke, they would concurrently send a drone above the entrance, as they could often find the other end of the ratline by watching for the smoke escaping from the far end. [This expedient] mitigates risky and time-consuming subterranean, or ‘tunnel rat,’ clearances.
Insurgent marksmen or sharpshooters engaging at short- to medium-ranges exacted a heavy toll on friendly forces and often imposed significant delay on manoeuvre. Most of the enemy sniper weapons utilised iron sights. Many snipers were local to the city. Their hides and firing positions were well  planned, often using tall buildings to dominate all approaches. Enemy snipers utilized loophole shooting (often called ‘murder holes’) to a deadly effect. The insurgents would also utilize hostages as human shields. 
PMC scout snipers would enter counter-sniping battles with insurgent snipers across roads, city blocks and bridges with the average engagement distance being 150 to 200m. Often one team would act as a ‘tethered goat’ to draw enemy sniper fire, whilst a separate team waited in a concealed hide waiting to engage.  The PMC normally work as pairs with mutual support from a regular infantry platoon, however at Marawi they deployed as a sniper platoon to support major clearance tasks. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some individuals personally killed dozens of insurgents, to the point where some were psychologically unfit to continue fighting.
Marines of the PMC had little to no access to smoke grenades. This posed a significant problem for mobility, primarily due to the sniper threat down firelanes (streets and alleys in particular). To conduct crossings, the marines of MBLT10 would carry a long piece of fabric, the height of a marine. They attached one end of the fabric to one side of the obstacle, and had a runner sprint across the fire lane, trailing the sheet behind him. He would then tie it off, taut, to the other side of the obstacle. This then enabled the entire platoon team or combat team to cross with relative impunity, especially as the resource-poor enemy wouldn’t risk wasting ammunition by ‘drake-shooting’ at the sheet.
For the AFoP, the most valuable equipment were related to individuals (body armour, load carriage equipment etc), personal protective equipment (helmets, ballistic eye protection and fire retardant clothing etc) and night fighting equipment, weapon ancillaries such as thermal sights and enhanced optics. 
HOUSE TO HOUSE
During Marawi there was an extraordinary requirement for explosive breaching to support infantry platoon movement. IEDs were incorporated into rubble obstacles along AFoP Avenues of Approach (AoA), and covered with sniper fire in order to deny access without sustaining casualties. The AFoP response was to generate new AoAs through buildings. 
Many of the buildings within the city were constructed of thick, heavily reinforced concrete. As such, breaches were often required to be conducted in two stages; the first stage was an explosive breach to strip away concrete, leaving thick reinforcement bars to be reduced in a second stage. Hydraulic cutters were then used. 
In Marawi, structural integrity varied greatly from building to building. Where in one building a given charge type would produce a mouse hole, in another it could cause significant damage or completely level the structure. Charge selection was described as a dark art due to the unpredictable nature of the structures. 
In the classic ‘hugging the belt’ technique used by many insurgents, the enemy continually pushed forward [so AFP heavy weapons could not be used without putting friendlies at risk]. 
AFP Role 2 and Role 3 equivalent medical facilities were not accustomed to the very high volume of casualties  during urban fighting—a significant number of which were non-battle injuries which rapidly became infected.  
COMBINED ARMS TACTICS 
The Marawi experience suggests that in such a contested, formidable and lethal environment, armour saves lives. Wherever possible, infantry platoons would advance with armour in intimate support; bounding forward to clear the way and allowing the AFV to move forward to a support by fire (SBF) position. Engineers would breach with armour in close support wherever possible, and the AFVs were also used to support casualty extraction.
[But] even in undamaged areas, the narrow, labyrinthine streets found in most Indo-Pacific cities pose significant limitations for AFV employment. Particularly given the overwhelming destruction in Marawi, there was limited option to employ AFVs in many areas until bulldozers could clear corridors and fire positions for them. The enemy placed obstacles in streets, such as parked cars, rubble and of course IEDs.
Combat engineers adopted a mounted clearance technique where an M113 would move to the FLOT and occupy an overwatch position. An up-armoured bulldozer and guide would then move up and clear a bound of 10 – 50 metres dependant on terrain. The bulldozer would then reverse out and allow the M113 to move forward into the newly cleared area and adopt overwatch for the next bound. This method was described as leap frogging.
One Company from the 2nd Infantry Division employed over 10,000 mortar rounds in three months. 
The enemy became aware of the CAS schedule. Once they identified a CAS platform in the air [they hid] and, waited for the asset to retire and refuel. They employed dummy marker panels, smoke, and likely had the benefit of being able to monitor the air-to-ground communication being conducted over un-encrypted Motorola radios. 
The Filipino Gunners used their 105mm guns in a direct fire role to penetrate the thick concrete walls prevalent in Marawi, or used HMG .50 cal to ‘bore’ a point of entry. 
COMMAND AND CONTROL
Because urban fighting was new to the AFoP, rapid operational tempo and simultaneous action were nearly impossible to achieve.
For example, walking suppressive fire up, or across, a building in support of the break-in is much more effective than cutting fire completely.
NIGHT FIGHTING
The majority of forces were static at night, and would occupy urban defensive positions until dawn. Early warning devices would be improvised, by placing tins and cans on lines of string, or by shattering fluorescent globes on likely enemy approaches—the clanging of the tins, or the crunch of the broken glass, would compromise any would-be attacker.
Filipino special forces and scout snipers with access to NFE were extremely effective when operating at night. They were able to cross obstacles considered risky during daylight and could conduct assaults on enemy positions to take advantage of the overwhelming overmatch in night fighting ability. They could then pathfind for conventional forces, who had little to no NFE, to secure new battle positions.  Insurgents often spent much of the night taking drugs such as ‘shabu’ (methamphetamine).

I have been following modern conflicts for years...started this mod as soon as SF2 came out. It's been sidetracked for several others, but i fully intend to finish it.
(Sorry, not the best pic.)

Wow, terrific and rich content here, cheers mate!  I am underwater in work for the time being, but this is red meat for a MOUT campaign series! 


 

Analysis of the fighting in Marawi:
https://www.cove.org.au/adaptation/article-the-battle-of-marawi-small-team-lessons-learned-for-the-close-fight/?fbclid=IwAR00iT4SbAfrverB9wjFC6jhOd7GESGvddsYVOAUaYpJ5S6L5IeGfn1i_QU
Possibly of interest to @LongLeftFlank

We really need these:
Presumbly they can be ported over from CM:SF2?  How about Uragan & Smerch while we're at it? 

We really need these:
Presumbly they can be ported over from CM:SF2?  How about Uragan & Smerch while we're at it? 

Well, new haircuts or importing a hat (CMA doesn't have separate model skeletons for headgear), lose the gloves, we might be getting somewhere, Combatintman. 😉
 

You can build your own scenarios using QB maps as a base (just remember to rename and save them in the Scenarios folder).
These have the advantage of having EVERYTHING available for purchase and there's no points limit to worry about. If you want you can have your uncons backed up by massive 130mm artillery barrages or BM-21 artillery rockets. You can also go into the generic QB AI orders and tinker with the timing and movement to suit your needs. Its a simple starting point for anyone who someday wants to generate his own original scenarios. Playing the game is just the tip of the iceberg.
 

There have been instances where BFC couldn't locate so much as a rough set of scale plan of a vehicle (a very rare occurrence these days). So what's a guy to do? I sat down and drew up a proper set from-scratch myself, then submitted the art to 3-d artist Webwing to make a model from. I was a scale plans makin' maniac back-in-the-day. Its funny hunting the internet for references and stumbling on my own artwork from 20 years ago.
Here's something you won't find anywhere else. A V100 Commando armored car configured for domestic police duties. If Steve ever needs it I've got scale plans for it! 
 

Yes.  It works in CMSF2 also.  It was made by @LongLeftFlank.  Ramadi Buildings mod
Store fronts, closed with graffiti.  

The Mosque look.

Sadly in the process of discovering the above, I discovered that my AV hates CM:SF2, just like it hates every other BfC product and patch!  It's been told it can't do anything about them, so it can't delete any files, instead it throws a tantrum and locks my PC up until I hit (and hold) the power! 
My multi-year conversation with Webroot tech-support resumes.....Sad because they thought they'd found a fix (other than whitelisting). 
On a brighter note, here's ISIS, in Humvees, in CM:SF2 (they were put there in CM:SF1):

The file's here if you want to look at it:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/jdaj5m6qclvicud/ISIS Patrol Test.btt?dl=0
It's exactly the same one I created before, imported and apparently functional in CM:SF2.....But you can only create it in the OLD editor.   
If you try in the new editor you are (apparently based on experiments so far) stuck with the US Supply Platoon HQ in Vehicle 1, he can't be dismounted with the editor toggle and thus cannot be separately set to a non-appearing reinforcement slot, as seen above (Unused US Unit is the Supply Platoon HQ). 
Like I said elsewhere, it's all a bit odd, but odd's good!   

For once Luke, we are in total agreement. 

Bashar al Squarehead stands ready! 
I've said it before & I'll say it again.....We do think very similarly! 
Can't wait to see your implementation TBH, I'm still struggling with the intricacies of the more advanced engine.

I think you should have a new forum name.
I vote for, 'Professor Emeritus of Scenario Design'.

Thanks for showing an interest.  This is a WIP fictional red vs red AI only scenario of a Coup d’etat set on a 1072 meter by 592 meter urban map.  The map is a modified version of @LongLeftFlank Ramadi-Government-Center map.  The scenario has a variable end time.  The optimal scenario length is two hours however it can be played to three hours.  If the scenario is played longer than two hours the AI is awarded an extra 200 Victory Points.  
The player leads an early morning (0400hrs) Coup d’etat.  The player starts with a small force and attempts to recruit additional units while weakening the regime until ultimately the balance of power flips allowing the player to take control of the city. To achieve this "flip of power" the player can choose a combination of methods: ambushes, street fighting, bribery, assassination, IEDs, VBIEDs, mercenary units, HUMINT, TSE, foreign assistance (in the form of Intelligence, operatives, money, supplies, & SF unit) and radio propaganda.  Wise tactical employment of infantry units in a MOUT environment will also be necessary.  If the player fails in the coup attempt his coup leader HQ team can flee to the US consulate (which contains an exit zone).  The scenario would still be lost but making it to the consulate might be the difference between a major defeat and a tactical defeat depending on the situation etc.  
Waiting on the CMSF2 patch and beta testing.     In a week or two I'll start a forum thread on it like I did with CMBS Tactical Operations Center (TOC).   Below is a screenshot of an IED as viewed by US Marines from the roof of the US consulate (looking northeast).
 

I only mentioned it because as much as everyone knows I lovvvveee all of Sgts posts that one kinda looked like it was trying to seriously portray that as the state of US MREs.  Which are most notorious for making going number 2 a birthing like experience

The roof mortar was a Sherman (or German) thing and not all Shermans had them.....The usual British smoke launcher for a large part of the war was essentially a tin can and the workings of a .303 rifle.....Here's a pair on a Firefly (the turrets were probably allocated for conversion prior to the introduction of the mortar on the US assembly lines):

The gubbins:

I believe this is the ammo:

Here's the Sherman's turret mortar:

Merry Xmas! (or Bah!  Humbug!).....Whichever suits you better. 

Welcome aboard Rafterman, and Merry Christmas. 
When I started the CMSF1, it was just with the base game on PC because it wasn't ported to the Mac. As soon as BFC released Marines for PC, I snatched it up. I bought the "Big Bundle" when they released CMSF1 for the Mac.
if you intend to continue playing CMSF2 for a long time, I recommend that you purchase the "Big Bundle" that doesn't include the base game since you already have that. If I may make a suggestion, download the Demo. That way you can play each of the supplied missions that relate to each of the modules, and determine which of the three modules you like the best. Don't be misled by both the Stryker formations and the Marines being U.S. Forces, the formation, and most of the vehicles are very different. For example, a Stryker squad is nine soldiers; a Marine squad is 12 or 13 Marines. Their rifles are different, and with the exception of basically just the HMMV, most all of their vehicles are different also. Marine AAVs are amphibious, and Javs and heavy weapons are at the Company or Battallion level.
Now some here on the forum might suggest that I might be a bit biased (0369 is a USMC military occupational specialty code (MOS) for Infantry, Small Unit Leader), I would suggest that unless you have a hankering for a specific nation, and you can afford only one module at a time, that you pick up the Marines module as the play style is very different from the Stryker Infantry.
My two cents, I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever module you chose.

I'm working on a mod for the soviet winter uniform.
I'm no uniform expert but I have always been under the impression that the uniform represented in the game is a great coat, but now I think it might be the more common jacket with woolly neck called Afghanka, although a bit too long. So, Afghanka or Long Coat?


Long coat or Afghanka?

NATO.....You get several new nations, a plethora of new vehicles & even a couple of toys for the Syrians.  

NATO.....You get several new nations, a plethora of new vehicles & even a couple of toys for the Syrians.  

As @Ultradave said in a fully staffed team that is the kind of thing that we would do. I bolded that part so it may burn a hole in space time.
When I started I brought a little of my software development experience - and from hanging around with testers - and try to attack this with a systematic approach. But we are volunteers and there are limits. I like testing and creating but I'm not a fan of installing and uninstalling evey which way. I want some time to play too. So, I'll continue to do my best but there will be limits

Although you didn't need to mention it, my pleasure!  Merry Christmas everybody!