Kommissar

That's so much more difficult than loading up Gog and Magog, playing as Germans, and watching as those T34-76s run in fear when your King Tigers crest the hill. Not finished the scenario, but I imagine some IS2s are probably on the way, at which point I suppose I could actually try using some of those "tactics" you seem so fond of.

It sort of seems to be the flagship scenario. I think it was previewed for Rock Paper Shotgun IIRC. It will be probably be the first one I play when I start to get into the bigger Soviet scenarios. It's a nice change of pace. Reminds me of some of those frantic German escape scenarios set around Stalingrad from CMBB.

I hear you man. I've played a lot of the scenarios as Germans, and nothing gives me more grief than clearing forests full of SMGers. Even three or four can devastate a whole platoon. There's often no way to call arty on them if they're deep in the forest, and no way to get other supports. The other comments are helpful. I've found that target light is invaluable for mopping up. It keeps the enemy suppressed, and often gets them to break and run at which point your other squads should be able to pick them off. Also, be patient. You want the Soviets to be the ones walking into your hidden troops who open with LMGs. Finally, sometimes you can get tanks in through the forest further than you think. In the forest clearing scenario for the Germans (Augustow Boil or something like that), you can often get a tank several tiles into the forest. It's a little risky, but Soviet's have very little infantry AT aside from grenades, so as long you has infantry nearby, you're generally safe.

I had the same experience as OP. I suppose this map was a good learning experience, in that it is helping me unlearn CMBN tactics of keeping German armoured untis as far away from opposing tanks as possible and letting the powerful gun and good optics take care of the lightly armoured Shermans. It's still frustrating though, to get the jump on a T34-85 with two panzers in hull down, and still end up smashing the mouse as your shots ping off the turret (and the one shot that penetrates the armour only damages the radio), and the two shots from the T34 take out both your tanks and all of their crew. I suppose I should have moved my tanks around more aggressively and got in close, but it just felt like this was another scenario that teaches the player how outclassed the Germans were in a standard meeting engagement. Out in the open? Get blasted by superior tanks. Hide in the woods, get blasted by SMG squads.

I've been playing mostly the German-focused scenarios, and have quite enjoyed most of them so far. Definite SPOILER alert. I'd be curious to hear other people's experiences so far as well. I'll post my thoughts on the larger scenarios in due course. Dead of Night - Germans From author of Kiwi Soldiers (a battle I did not do well on). Good for teaching squad tactics, fire and maneuver, etc. There always seems to be an element of luck with the firefights, which fortunately I had in this battle. I know there must have been a great deal of fine tuning and play testing, and the result is a very well done micro battle. Assault - Soviets Probably the first battle many of us played. Standard combined arms of infantry, artillery and T34-85s. Fun, dynamic battle. Only quibble is that when reinforcements for the Germans showed up, they continued to charge rather foolishly into what was a complete kill zone at that point. Life on the Eastern front I suppose. Dawn Patrol - Soviets This was one of those battles where IRL I would have probably called off the attack almost immediately once the strength of the German position became apparent. Although my troops took out the forward line scouts without much difficulty, by the time the HMGs on the flanks opened up, I knew it was going to be a meat grinder. It reminded me of a battle from CMBB where you played a Soviet cavalry company in 1941 and charged a forested position and were essentially obliterated by a couple of HMGs. I would probably try smoke if I played this one again, and commit to a full-on assault. It's one of my frustrations with the game in terms of every battle essentially being a fierce fight that rarely ever occurred IRL, as has been commented on extensively in the forums in the context of casualty figures. It's annoying to play probe battles since they are basically an assault with fewer troops and support, yet you are expected to capture enemy positions as compared to feel them out. I felt that when I had determined the German positions, I would have called off the attack and radioed HQ that "we're going to need some tanks or heavy artillery" rather than charge in the open into accurate MG42 fire. Angriff - Germans The trouble with having played CMBN is that you are left with the impression that Panthers are generally safe and able to kill anything so long as you keep the front pointed at the enemy - not true on the Eastern front apparently. The battle basically progressed as follows: 1. German recon gets obliterated. 2. German armour reinforcements obliterate Soviet defenders. 3. Russian armour reinforcements obliterate Germans. Still ended up with a victory on this one because the soviet armour (which was all that was left) never moved on the objectives. Beutzugg - Germans I could tell from the description that this was going to be an unconventional battle. When the author warns you to watch your flank, he isn't kidding. I had some real difficulty knocking out the lone T34-85 which did a number on some of my lighter vehicles. I was able to destroy the objectives fairly easily without having to get too close, and caught a lot of the retreating Soviets in the open. It was very intense in that I was always watching the clock, saying to myself, "common, hurry up and get back in those in half-tracks so we can get the hell out of here." Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough and was caught with my pants down. I took some nasty losses in the form of fully loaded half-track in the process of retreating. I was able to call in smoke and was gripping the keyboard as the last of my troops made it off the map in what turned into a highly disorganized scramble. This scenario was timed well and was a lot of fun. I think my experience was exactly what was intended by the author. Again, a very ambitious and unorthodox scenario that delivered. Red Hordes - Germans I was expecting more Soviet infantry in this map. As it was, there seemed to be about one T34 for every squad of attacking infantry. I think "Green hordes" would have been a more accurate title. One of my AT guns racked up about 12 kills before running out of ammunition. My assault guns performed well, although also had ammunition problems and had to withdraw. The village was completely overrun although I managed to kill what turned out to be most of the infantry in a viscious artillery barrrage on the village. In the end, I sat somewhat helpless as the unsupported Soviet tanks rolled in, although when they came near the objectives some brave pixeltruppen managed to take them out with grenades and panzerfausts. It reminded me of the last battles in the British Campaign from CMBN where you would face brutal assaults from the 2nd SS Panzer Division and destroy all the attacking infantry with 25 pounders but then tell your men to lie low as the Panthers moved in. Woroblin Bridgehead - Germans In my experience in previous CM titles, I've found that you generally don't want to be the one attacking in a forest battle. Oh, and you want a lot of SMGs. Unfortunately, the Soviets had me beat on both fronts. I sent most of my forces through the woods and they fared decently considering the above. Ended up with 44 KIA and 44 WIA and taking the Eastern objective, but was nowhere close to taking the Western one. I sent the Stugs and a reinforced platoon to try for the West, but that ended badly. They captured the trenches, but the Stugs had their optics taken out by AT rifles and long range shots from the ATGs, and didn't contribute much. Plus, they don't have a lot of HE rounds. As with ATGs, I've found that arty does a great job of killing all but one crew member on the MG, who continues to operate the weapon at full capacity. Frustrating scenario, but that was what I was expecting. Tactical victory in the end, although the beloved Regimental HQ was killed by a very random piece of shrapnel, so I'm sure morale will be low in the regiment That, and the fact that 40% of the troops did not make it out of the forest.

I hear you ricroma. During the campaign I find I obliterate an area with artillery, and the only survivor is a guy with an mg who rips up my advancing infantry. I suspect part of the reason is that when the survivors perform buddy aid on their fallen comrades, they tend to take their mgs as well.

I find that the AI is almost better at attacking than it is at defending (quite the opposite from CMx1). I think the reason is, as has been noted by many previous posts, the AI doesn't have the ability to adapt, which creates more of a problem for a defense than an offense. I took my first major loss to the AI in the CW Linking Up mission. Sticking to the scripted attack plan (and three times my numbers!) was enough to beat me.

sigop22, I think you're referring to the mission prior to the last one, where you essentially ambush an armoured convoy.

Yeah my infantry numbers were badly depleted by the beginning last mission (mostly as a result of casualties sustained in the bloody second battle). A lack of manpower was a problem the Germans had to deal with frequently. John's right in that the battle basically comes down to the armour clash. I didn't win the armour battle and lost, but given that the remaining enemy were mostly the aforementioned armour units, I probably would have won otherwise.

If German units throw more grenades, I suspect the reason is because they are defending, and defenders usually have a better grasp of the location of the attackers than vice versa. Also, I agree with YankeeDog. Try to avoid close quarters if possible. It's very difficult to control the outcome. Good strategy if you've got a lot of Russian peasants with PPSH 41s; not so good if you've got troops with rifles and an apparent aversion to tossing grenades.

If the vehicle is physically blocking the shots, then yes. Be careful though, as in my experience (I don't know if this actually modelled in the game), I find that guys seem to get hit more often by ricochets when they're near a vehicle. I don't think the vehicle damage matters.

Solid advice. I've learned most of it the hard way throughout the campaign. I definitely agree with your observation about the Bren gun comprising a majority of a squad's firepower. I've tried the tactic that worked well with the US infantry - rushing the entire platoon into a firing position and unloading - but as the British I still find I take a lot of casualties in firefights even where I have the numerical advantage. I might take your suggestion and give the PIAT a chance in the AP role.

I've had that happen too. I'm not really sure what you can do about it.

Argh, I was afraid that was the answer. Thanks.

I downloaded the 1.06 patch yesterday and, like all the other patches, the readme informed me that this version was not compatible with previous versions of the game - i.e. I would need to finish up my 1.05 games before installing the patch. I'm wondering, however, if this means I have to start the campaign over? I am at about mission 6 in the TFT campaign in version 1.05. Will I still be able to continue the campaign with the 1.06 features? Or do I have to start all over again? I'd appreciate any information on the issue.

Why does someone always have to resurrect old posts!

Casting Bridget Moynahan was about the only thing the I Robot movie did right.

"vapourware" - always nice to spot a fellow Canadian (or perhaps Englishman?).

I wonder if the BF guys even read the forum at all anymore? Does Hunter look over the posts and wish he could comment and let us know how (if) it's coming, but can't for whatever reason? I don't understand. I know my concerns aren't exactly original, but it's kind of frustrating to have ppl post about these things five months ago and still get no word to this day. On a somewhat unrelated note... who is actually making CMC? Is it BF or are they contracting it out? I never understood how that aspect of things or how it factored into the absence of information on the forums.

They'd better get it out well before that new total war game comes out.

Wow, 27050 posts is a lot.

Wow! A forum topic that doesn't have to do with the release date.

"Friday, October 7th, 2005 Official Combat Mission Campaigns Website Opens" Two years and counting...

I was wondering when someone was going to post. No posts for a week! The silence was getting awkward.

Yeah what Nathan said. The real-time mode gives you the WEGO option at any time you desire. Just pause and it's the same thing as the give orders phase in WEGO. Also, as of the most recent patch, you can give orders while paused playing at the elite difficulty.