Sgt.Squarehead

There is charging in blind and there is audacity. From what I've read the Sov perspective is that audacity shortens the fighting by seizing chances that a more cautious approach would lose. The corollary is that the overall shortening of the main conflict is better than a more cautious approach in money and manpower. Maintaining momentum is the key to how the Sov wanted to fight. 
 
It's easy to see how they came to that perspective. Early in the GPW(Great Patriotic War) the Germans were audacious and brushed aside Sov troops that were just barely not in position yet, grabbing huge advances and capturing millions of Ivans. Late GPW was a meat grinder for both sides. The meat grinder was better than losing, but the Sov thought hard and long on how to avoid a repetition of the late war attrition tactics. Audacity and echelons was the answer they came up with. 
 
How well that would work at the pointy end of the stick is one of the reasons for a game like CMCW. 
 
H

Area target with a HE weapon.....Problem solved! 

@Ultradave  The Save Game files posted by @Halmbarte load & run on my PC and the scenario itself does not crash when run on my PC.
After @Halmbarte's intital difficulties I checked the scenario and uploaded a fresh copy. 
When he downloaded that version, it too crashed at the 30 minute point.....I couldn't see anything in the editor and the crash does not occur on my PC.
 

Ok … so let’s start with what ChuckDyke said:
“Here is something for house fighting and the difficulty of maintaining command and control during MOUT operations.”
He posted a video about the Battle for Binh Ba in South Vietnam 
Let’s see what I said in response:
“Binh Ba was hardly Hue, Fallujah, Berlin or Stalingrad though was it?  This was a skirmish over a non-descript village which didn't even fill a grid square in Vietnam involving no more than 500 combatants on both sides and 100 casualties. The Australian Army lacks the size and experience to do offensive operations against a well-prepared enemy in anything larger than a village so MOUT is certainly not the appropriate descriptor here.”
For those not familiar with Binh Ba, this is a contemporary map.  The grid squares are 1km so the total mapped area is 4km². 

Note that it does not fill that area.
Moving on then to the Australian Army’s own doctrinal publications as an example:
According to Land Warfare Publication-G 3-9-6, Operations in Urban Environments,
The urban environment is classified into the following zones:
a. the city core,
b. the core periphery,
c. commercial ribbons,
d. residential sprawl,
e. industrial areas,
f. outlying high-rise areas, and
g. shanty towns
This is just one reason I stated that Binh Ba was not an urban environment as it only has one of those characteristics.  The same publication cites the battles for Fallujah, Grozny, Hue and Stalingrad in its examples of urban combat.  That publication makes one reference to Binh Ba as the preface to Chapter 7 – Building Clearance as follows (my bold):
The battle was triggered shortly after 8.00am when a Centurion tank travelling through the village was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Initial intelligence suggested there were two Viet Cong platoons in the village. From the strength of the fire met by the company sent to deal with them, however, it was apparent that the enemy presence was much greater. There followed several hours of devastatingly fierce fighting. Twice tanks swept through the village, returning enemy fire by blowing open the walls of the houses. Then each house was cleared room by room by the infantry. By nightfall the village was still not secure and fighting continued in the area the following day. When the battle was finally over the enemy toll was 91 – at a cost of just one Australian life and eight wounded.
The battle of Binh Ba posed the perennial problem of the war in Vietnam – how to separate the enemy from innocent civilians. The occupation of towns and villages by the Viet Cong was a deliberate tactic designed either to ambush the relieving troops or to cause the Australians to use an excess of force.
Now ChuckDyke initially said (my bold):  “Here is something for house fighting and the difficulty of maintaining command and control during MOUT operations.”  My response said:  “MOUT is certainly not the appropriate descriptor here.”
Taking my argument that the Australian Army lacks the capability to do offensive operations against a well-prepared enemy in anything larger than a village let’s go back to LWP-G 3-9-6, Operations in Urban Environments.  Its Combined Arms Scenarios section (Chapter 8 refers) shows a Company Team attack in the context of a Battlegroup.  The example imagery map for that scenario has the Battlegroup boundary covering three streets and 22 buildings.  Hold that thought …
The Australian Army is basically capable of deploying a division of three combat brigades.  This would be war of national survival stuff as its more recent deployments where the usual premise of ‘to deploy one, you need three’ comes into effect has been to deploy nothing bigger than a brigade.  Australian Army brigades sit in the three to four battalion range.  Being generous let’s say four battalions which gives you four battlegroups.  Keeping one in reserve, because it is good practice to have one then according to the example in the Australian Army’s official doctrine on urban operations, a brigade can conduct an offensive operation comprising nine streets with 66 buildings.  If we go for the war of national survival then, assuming one brigade is the divisional commander’s reserve, then that is 18 streets and 132 buildings.
Here is a map of Hue where some of the calculations above have been applied to illustrate the point:

The image below is the zoomed area that I have marked as a green rectangle in the overall city map.

So in simple terms, according to the Australian Army's own doctrine, a brigade can conduct an attack on a small corner of a city.
My point about the capabilities of the Australian Army is based on having served in it and knowing what it can and cannot do which I think the argument presented above demonstrates.  It is no more an insult than saying the Australian Army cannot deploy a parachute battalion.  Why?  It doesn’t have one.  Facing up to reality and knowing your strengths and weaknesses is an important discussion to have.  Nations/militaries that overestimate their own capabilities and don’t challenge them generally end up coming second in wars.  I recall that the British Army claimed (and bored everyone to death) that they were the masters of limited war/COIN because of Borneo, Malaya, Northern Ireland and the killer tactic of wearing berets/soft hats only to end up having to eat humble pie in Basra.  There are few people in British military circles and veterans who served there who disagree with the assertion that Basra was an utterly miserable performance on the part of the British Army.  One of my friends was killed there by the way so I have little interest in denigrating the sacrifice of those whose lives were changed there.
On then to impugning the courage and sacrifice of veterans … Recalling that ChuckDyke said that my comments would not be welcome in an RSL (Returned Services League – a veteran’s association) I pointed out that I have been a member of it for 10 years.  Later ChuckDyke changes his position on the RSL and decides that it is not such a good thing after all because of the way it treated Vietnam Veterans.  A claim I don’t dispute, it is well documented, and it was not the organization’s finest hour.  Anyway – I think we can agree that his position on the RSL is inconsistent.  Whatever the argument, my membership subs help Australian veterans and while serving in the Australian Army I collected in Brisbane and Sydney for Legacy ... a veteran’s charity.
For my part, I have been and continue to be a member of the RSL.  I am also a member of the Royal British Legion … you’ve guessed it … another veteran’s association.  This month I have given the equivalent of three full working days (in addition to my day job and my hobby ‘job’ for Battlefront) collecting for the Poppy Appeal plus assisting with the organization of, and attending, a cross laying ceremony at the town church as well of course as attending Remembrance Day itself and participated in the RBL committee meeting at which this most important appeal and other issues affecting veterans were discussed.
One of those issues was our disgust that the County level RBL have decided that organizing the ANZAC service at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on Cannock Chase is ‘too difficult.’  My branch is now taking it on and I am one of the lead members in this initiative.  The majority of the Commonwealth dead there are New Zealanders.  A country whose army I have never served in but the people commemorated there are fellow ANZACs.  Most of them died of Spanish Flu which the more ungenerous might say wasn’t a war death.  However, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission rightly designates them as war deaths and, incidentally, many of them had fought some hard actions on the Western Front before being brought back to the UK.  Hardly the behaviour of someone with no respect for the fallen.
Nowhere in the phrase "this was a skirmish over a non-descript village which didn't even fill a grid square in Vietnam involving no more than 500 combatants on both sides and 100 casualties," do I denigrate veterans.  Non-descript village is a fact is the number of casualties and participants on both sides. 
Anyway, I think I’ve made my point.

Area target with a HE weapon.....Problem solved! 

Under promise and over deliver

Keep diggin' that hole.

Calls a long serving member of the British armed forces a keyboard warrior. Combatintman was literally defending Western Europe in the BAOR while someone here was eating his homemade mushrooms that has given him the brain we all know and love today. 
Oh no, god forbid someone break out a legitimate, objective statement about a military's capabilities, on a forum about a sim that features various militaries and their capabilities. 
Don't slip on your drool on the way out! I'm sure there is someone here that would be slightly less entertained by the nursing home posts. 

But keep in mind that if you are playing against the AI you will probably have just completely undermined the scenario designer's intent, and possibly f**ked up all his triggers etc. etc.
So no, not as easy as that. 

'A30 Challenger Normandy' IIRC.

You might want to un-ignore him and read what he wrote.....Because you probably have no idea just what a fool you are making of yourself right now! 
 

That was actually a much more interesting read than your comments suggested. 
 

You might want to un-ignore him and read what he wrote.....Because you probably have no idea just what a fool you are making of yourself right now! 
 

You really could not be more wrong if you tried. 
I tried to tell you before that some of the folk on the forum really know what they are on about.....And not just in the editor. 

It's a decent read, typical Niven & Pournelle (the world gets blown up), but the aliens are extremely novel.....The book attempts to explore the possiblities of an encounter with 'nuts & bolts' aliens who are comprehensible to us but very different from us (evolved from herd beasts).  Likewise their technology is comprehensible to us, no FTL or super-science (it was only discovered that Bussard Ramjets won't actually work after the book was published).
My main reason for posting it was that I thought the chapter 'Jayhawk War' would appeal to CM:CW players:
“I agree with Colonel Halverson’s reasoning,” Morgan said. “The invaders are hiding something to the east. We’re a cavalry outfit. It’s our duty to explore-but carefully. In particular, we have to be certain that any information we get will be useful. That won’t be easy. They’re jamming all communications and the phones don’t work.”
Joe Halverson nodded thoughtfully. “Suggestions, Major?”
“We’ll have to string things out. Use the Bradley vehicles as communications links.” He sketched rapidly on the table cloth. “Corporal Lewis” — Morgan nodded to Evan Lewis; everyone knew that Evan’s son Jimmy was an electronic genius — “Jimmy rigged up those shield things that let the tanks talk to each other, as long as the antennas are aimed straight at each other. Fine. We send the choppers forward as scouts and flankers, making sure they stay in line of sight to the tanks. Tanks in the middle, concentrated enough to have some firepower, spread out enough to not make such a good target. Then string the Bradleys and the LAVs out behind as connecting links.”
“What do they connect to?” Mason asked.
“We leave two troopers here with my wife and a radio. Juana writes down everything, if we don’t come back, she gets the hell out.”
“Not much chance she’d have to do that,” Halverson said. “Hell, we’re not an army, but we’ve got a fair amount of strength here.” He looked out the window at his command. Six helicopters, with missiles. A dozen tanks, with guns and missiles. The communications weren’t any good because the Invaders were broadcasting static from space. But even without communications a troop of armored cavalry was nothing to laugh at.
“Sounds all right to me,” Lewis said. “At least we’ll be doing something.”
“I’d rather wait for orders,” George Mason said. “But what the hell, I’m ready if you are.”
Joe Halverson stood. “Right. Let’s go.”
“I’m Jimmy Lewis,” the corporal said. He climbed through the attic window to join Harry on the roof of the big frame house.
Harry nodded greeting. “Hi. They tell me you invented this.” He hefted the hand-talkie radio whose antenna was wrapped in a tinfoil cone stiffened with coat-hanger wire.
“Yeah,” Jimmy Lewis said. His tone was serious. “It’s the only way I’ve figured to keep communications. You have to point it pretty tight, though, or you’ll lose the signal
Harry regarded the device, then the similar but larger tinfoil monstrosity on one of the Bradley Fighting Vehicles in the yard down below. “Yeah. So I point this at the Bradley, and maybe I can hear. What then?”
“Use this,” Jimmy Lewis said. He handed Harry a Sony tape recorder. “There’s three hours of tape on there. More than enough. Just plug it into the radio, here, like that, and turn it on when we move out. Listen in the earphones, and you’ll hear a tone if you’re pointed close to the tank, and nothing at all when you’re dead on, except when they’re talking; then you’ll hear them talk, of course. It sounds hard, but it’s pretty easy, really.”
“Sure.”
Major Morgan was in the front yard. Harry couldn’t hear what he was saying, but Juana Morgan didn’t like it. Their housekeeper sat in the front seat of the four-wheel-drive Jimmy, but Juana Morgan didn’t want to drive it.
Finally, though, she got in, and the blue Jimmy drove off. And now it’s just Carlotta and me. David Morgan stood very straight as he went to his tank and climbed in.
Colonel Halverson came over to stand below them. “Bout time, Jimmy,” he shouted up at them.
“Yes, sir.” Corporal Lewis waved to Harry and crawled back inside through the window.
“Thanks, Mr. Reddington,” Halverson shouted. “I need all my troopers. Good of you to fill in. I doubt you’ll be needed, but—”
“Yeah. No problem, Colonel.” Of course Carlotta’s goin’ nuts, wanting to go get that elephant. Maybe it’s safer up here!
“Thanks, then,” Halverson said. He walked briskly up the line to the lead tank and climbed in. He stood in the turret for a moment, then waved dramatically. “Wagons-hoooo!” he shouted.
The helicopters rose in a cloud of dust and swept forward and off to each side in groups of three The tanks fanned out and moved ahead, leaving the Bradleys behind.
“Watcher, this is Jayhawk One. Do you read?”
Harry keyed the mike. “Roger, Jayhawk One, this is Watcher.”
“Course is 100 degrees, moving forward at 1220 hours,” the tanker’s voice said in Harry’s ear. Harry started guiltily and switched on the tape recorder.
When the Bradley began to move eastward, it was much harder to keep the radio aimed properly. Harry braced it against the chimney. The rooftop was steep and it wasn’t easy to keep his footing.
The helicopters wove in complex patterns ahead of the tanks. “Moving, ahead at twenty klicks,” the voice said.
About ten miles an hour, Harry thought. He could still remember kilometer signs on highways, although he hadn’t seen one in years.
A half-hour went by. The helicopters and lead tanks were nearly invisible. The others were strung out behind them. Harry’s radio contact was a good five miles ahead, and it took all his attention to keep the antenna aimed properly. He was about to key the mike to tell them that.
“Light overhead,” the tanker’s voice shouted.
Harry could see it. A bright green flash, more visible high up than near the ground.
“It’s moving in a circle-Number Three Helicopter reports the beam is moving around them in a circle, it’s tightening in on them—” There was a pause. “No contact with the choppers. Colonel Halverson reports they’ve all been attacked by some kind of beam—”
 

Oi! 
Some of us try:

Thanks for the kind words - much appreciated. No pressure though!
So a farming/field rabbit hole....
Thanks to my CM field creation activity in the editor, I was intrigued re the shapes of the field systems I was seeing on the aerial images. Minded me a wee bit of runrig field and croft field systems used in Scotland (you can still see geophys echoes of the former in the Highlands).
Long story short - yup similar history and development and resultant outcomes for the population.
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~pollubel/rural/farmlife.htm

I read everything I can, from Al Masdar to XInhua.

Villainy! 

I still have it and occasionally work on it but other CM and RL stuff doesn't leave much time.  I'll move it back to the top of the list someday. 

No, not much.  Was busy with CMCW, Alarmeinheiten etc. 

 

It's a decent read, typical Niven & Pournelle (the world gets blown up), but the aliens are extremely novel.....The book attempts to explore the possiblities of an encounter with 'nuts & bolts' aliens who are comprehensible to us but very different from us (evolved from herd beasts).  Likewise their technology is comprehensible to us, no FTL or super-science (it was only discovered that Bussard Ramjets won't actually work after the book was published).
My main reason for posting it was that I thought the chapter 'Jayhawk War' would appeal to CM:CW players:
“I agree with Colonel Halverson’s reasoning,” Morgan said. “The invaders are hiding something to the east. We’re a cavalry outfit. It’s our duty to explore-but carefully. In particular, we have to be certain that any information we get will be useful. That won’t be easy. They’re jamming all communications and the phones don’t work.”
Joe Halverson nodded thoughtfully. “Suggestions, Major?”
“We’ll have to string things out. Use the Bradley vehicles as communications links.” He sketched rapidly on the table cloth. “Corporal Lewis” — Morgan nodded to Evan Lewis; everyone knew that Evan’s son Jimmy was an electronic genius — “Jimmy rigged up those shield things that let the tanks talk to each other, as long as the antennas are aimed straight at each other. Fine. We send the choppers forward as scouts and flankers, making sure they stay in line of sight to the tanks. Tanks in the middle, concentrated enough to have some firepower, spread out enough to not make such a good target. Then string the Bradleys and the LAVs out behind as connecting links.”
“What do they connect to?” Mason asked.
“We leave two troopers here with my wife and a radio. Juana writes down everything, if we don’t come back, she gets the hell out.”
“Not much chance she’d have to do that,” Halverson said. “Hell, we’re not an army, but we’ve got a fair amount of strength here.” He looked out the window at his command. Six helicopters, with missiles. A dozen tanks, with guns and missiles. The communications weren’t any good because the Invaders were broadcasting static from space. But even without communications a troop of armored cavalry was nothing to laugh at.
“Sounds all right to me,” Lewis said. “At least we’ll be doing something.”
“I’d rather wait for orders,” George Mason said. “But what the hell, I’m ready if you are.”
Joe Halverson stood. “Right. Let’s go.”
“I’m Jimmy Lewis,” the corporal said. He climbed through the attic window to join Harry on the roof of the big frame house.
Harry nodded greeting. “Hi. They tell me you invented this.” He hefted the hand-talkie radio whose antenna was wrapped in a tinfoil cone stiffened with coat-hanger wire.
“Yeah,” Jimmy Lewis said. His tone was serious. “It’s the only way I’ve figured to keep communications. You have to point it pretty tight, though, or you’ll lose the signal
Harry regarded the device, then the similar but larger tinfoil monstrosity on one of the Bradley Fighting Vehicles in the yard down below. “Yeah. So I point this at the Bradley, and maybe I can hear. What then?”
“Use this,” Jimmy Lewis said. He handed Harry a Sony tape recorder. “There’s three hours of tape on there. More than enough. Just plug it into the radio, here, like that, and turn it on when we move out. Listen in the earphones, and you’ll hear a tone if you’re pointed close to the tank, and nothing at all when you’re dead on, except when they’re talking; then you’ll hear them talk, of course. It sounds hard, but it’s pretty easy, really.”
“Sure.”
Major Morgan was in the front yard. Harry couldn’t hear what he was saying, but Juana Morgan didn’t like it. Their housekeeper sat in the front seat of the four-wheel-drive Jimmy, but Juana Morgan didn’t want to drive it.
Finally, though, she got in, and the blue Jimmy drove off. And now it’s just Carlotta and me. David Morgan stood very straight as he went to his tank and climbed in.
Colonel Halverson came over to stand below them. “Bout time, Jimmy,” he shouted up at them.
“Yes, sir.” Corporal Lewis waved to Harry and crawled back inside through the window.
“Thanks, Mr. Reddington,” Halverson shouted. “I need all my troopers. Good of you to fill in. I doubt you’ll be needed, but—”
“Yeah. No problem, Colonel.” Of course Carlotta’s goin’ nuts, wanting to go get that elephant. Maybe it’s safer up here!
“Thanks, then,” Halverson said. He walked briskly up the line to the lead tank and climbed in. He stood in the turret for a moment, then waved dramatically. “Wagons-hoooo!” he shouted.
The helicopters rose in a cloud of dust and swept forward and off to each side in groups of three The tanks fanned out and moved ahead, leaving the Bradleys behind.
“Watcher, this is Jayhawk One. Do you read?”
Harry keyed the mike. “Roger, Jayhawk One, this is Watcher.”
“Course is 100 degrees, moving forward at 1220 hours,” the tanker’s voice said in Harry’s ear. Harry started guiltily and switched on the tape recorder.
When the Bradley began to move eastward, it was much harder to keep the radio aimed properly. Harry braced it against the chimney. The rooftop was steep and it wasn’t easy to keep his footing.
The helicopters wove in complex patterns ahead of the tanks. “Moving, ahead at twenty klicks,” the voice said.
About ten miles an hour, Harry thought. He could still remember kilometer signs on highways, although he hadn’t seen one in years.
A half-hour went by. The helicopters and lead tanks were nearly invisible. The others were strung out behind them. Harry’s radio contact was a good five miles ahead, and it took all his attention to keep the antenna aimed properly. He was about to key the mike to tell them that.
“Light overhead,” the tanker’s voice shouted.
Harry could see it. A bright green flash, more visible high up than near the ground.
“It’s moving in a circle-Number Three Helicopter reports the beam is moving around them in a circle, it’s tightening in on them—” There was a pause. “No contact with the choppers. Colonel Halverson reports they’ve all been attacked by some kind of beam—”
 

I have been a member of the RSL for 10 years and was in the ARA for eight with two tours of Afghanistan and one of Iraq under my belt champ.  I know what I am talking about and have had numerous discussions of a similar ilk with members of my profession and veterans in the RSL.

This has been sat on my hard drive in an 'almost finished' state for a couple of years now.  Prompted by this thread:
I decided to finish it off.
Some tasters ...
Scenario Image:

Strategic Map:

Operational Map:

Tactical Map:

Overhead Comparison CM and Google Earth

Eye Level Comparison CM and Google Earth:

The basic premise is that Russia attacks the Suwalki Gap after a period of tension on the Russian and Belarusian borders with NATO (sound familiar anyone ...).  This mission is set in Lithuania's western border with the Kaliningrad Oblast where a US force has hurriedly deployed in response to a threat of a thrust east out of Kaliningrad in support of the Suwalki Gap attack.
The map is 3,328m x 1,920m ...
Watch this space ...

There is a risk of repetition for sure, kind of would only work in a campaign setting (introduce SSE and even cyber).  As to the DA, there is a bit more to it than that, particularly in a near-peer environment.  Which raises the point that a SOF module would work better in a conventional conflict setting against harder targets.  Would have to think about stealth and spotting/sound.  It could work if done right as a DLC, particularly if you escalate GWOT into strategic competition.  
Definitely would need new mechanics. But there are Special Recon and Special Recovery options on the table, ya it might make for an interesting set of small/tiny campaigns.