Zatoichi

Turn 7:
An overview of the left side of the map. Leopards are moving into overwatch positions. Marked Marder is the Company HQ's vehicle.

As I've done with all the German infantry, I dismount the Company HQ before their vehicle moves off to its position.

It's well that I do, because Bil's keyholed "Wheeled Thingy" gets a brief spot and fires ( rearmost vehicle is firing at my Uncon B bakkies )

He gets hits as the Marder crosses some high ground

And again when it crests the next rise. Damage is severe.

I've been playing CMSF on and off for the last many years and thoroughly enjoying it, sure nothings perfect, whatever is, but I`m so happy to be able to immerse myself in the CMSF world  simulator, and I for one will buy CMSF2 for sure the minute its released........Disappoined?  I dont think so because I`ll be spending many hours,weeks,months and years like I have done with CMSF1 and all of its modules.
Bring it on with great joy I say....
Cheers.

I dismounted most of the German infantry from their Marders in case they could be seen early. Man, those Panzerfaust 3's are large !

But it is an impressive sight as the reinforcements move up

Further orders - since Bil is covering the Dig Site, he doesn't have anything looking down in the other direction due to his protective mound. So I think moving another Scimitar forward would be good

At least one Marder joins the Watcher in the Woods - that's a good position even if the range is a bit too great for useful area fire against Bil's uncons.

Final overview of the bulk of my position - Both Leopards have moved onto the highest tiny mound available.

Excellent you got him to use up a valuable TOW missile!

By the end of the turn, we can see several Wheeled Thingy's on the hill. He has a nasty little gully that he can use to interdict anything in the Dig Site area but which has a lump of earth protecting these vehicles from view from other directions.

The Uncons by the mosque are definitely moving fast towards my "A" group

Bakkie opens fire, but misses everyone.

The increasingly mis-named Sacrificial Lambs roar off towards their next objective. This camera level 1 shot shows how the ground is only slightly lower than the surrounds, but it makes a big difference.

They reach and duck into the irrigation ditch to hide. Their next objective is visible on the right.

Their orders for the next round(s) - dismount and head for the touch objective Ruby.

Turn 6:
The followup burst from Bil's "Wheeled Thingy" (E1) goes high, so there's hope as the Scimitar pops smoke and begins to reverse away. The problem is that something new pops up in view (E2).

The Fennek continues to lob grenades at the Wheeled Thingy

Unfortunately E2 resolves into a TOW-toting badguy ... who almost immediately fires...

Oh dear ... incoming ! ( that black smoke is from a BMP behind the hill which popped the smoke when I was firing on the infantry AT team )

It doesn't end well.  

The Scimitar, which I'd given up for dead, actually makes it away  The dig site and the destroyed Fennek ( no survivors ) are obscured by the smoke the Scimitar deployed.

But the best part is the end of the turn when the Advance Guard arrives - a platoon of Panzergrenadiers in Marders and some armour.

Uncons C move up, but slowly. Now that it seems their opposition is heading to try and sandwich Uncons A, I will be speeding up movement here.

A view of "What the Uncons saw" - this is how I have all the spots on Bil's vehicles behind the hill - this is what Uncons A can see. I have in fact left this RPG teams to watch that direction constantly.

Another shot ( looking the other way ) to show the scale - the range from the Infantry Recce team to the Uncon A area is 1500m+ and the Fennek HQ is chucking grenades at about 1900m.
Those unhappy with the size of maps need have no fears

Bil's uncons near the mosque appear to be changing direction and moving towards the Uncon A fight. I move up one of the bakkies to try to get between them

The Sacrificial Lambs head further - the road is raised, so they are trying to stay low by running inside the olive grove

Turn 5:
Praise be to shoddy Russian hardware ! It misses

We pour it on to the hillside, but apparently it's bigger than a barn door and we don't hit anything. The AT team calmly jog away.

Then, about 10 seconds from the end of the turn, the above Fennek spots an enemy vehicle to the right of Worry Ridge and switches target, lobbing a burst of grenades at it.

The first burst goes long, the second (shown in flight) actually bracket the target, but short of a direct hit, they have no effect. At the end of the turn, it fires back...

But it's firing at my Scimitar ( which, in an epic fail for a Recon vehicle, fails to spot the enemy firing at it )

The first rounds hit home and the main gun is immediately disabled

MINUTE 6
The Fennek near the old farm didn't really stand a chance:  

The LAV-AT will withdraw next turn. 
I’ll pull it back until the other LAV-AT can join it in this area, then I will push them forward together. 
Team 2’s BMP-2 will be withdrawing from this sector next turn to join the other BMP-2.  It should be spotting from this position, but can see nothing.

Sadly, the Scimitar that was penetrated last turn successfully withdrew under a smoke screen.  It was unlucky that my LAV only got a few rounds off last turn... it gave Baneman time to extricate the wounded Scimitar.
There is one more Scimitar in this area, though I have not seen it in several turns.  The contact icon has been stationary for a few minutes at least.  I am pushing a couple of LAVs into positions to try to get a spot.

Frustratingly Baneman was able to rush the Fennek he had at Farm 002 right under the eyes of the LAV-AT I have overwatching this area.  The LOS on this map is complicated and he found the perfect seam to move down that was out of my LAV-AT’s view.


The only Advance Guard reinforcement I spotted was this Leo 2A4.  So he will have two of those and he may be using them as a team, at least that’s what I would do, so the other one may be near this one.

Most of my spots are coming from the DRT on Hill 42.0.

Baneman’s technicals are starting to move towards my fighters near the Monastery.  It’s interesting that none of my units on KT2 can spot them... I’ll see if I can fix that next turn. 

The BMP-2 should be able to spot that area. 

Definitely not impressed with the Syrian vehicles or units (i.e ATGM Team) so far in this battle, they need to get their sh*t together.  Right now I am fighting with one arm tied behind my back... I expect that will change once the US Mech Company and tanks arrive with the main body, but for now I need to be careful with the forces I have on hand.  The Marines are doing the main punching right now… hopefully the Syrians will be able to contribute in a meaningful way soon.
This should be fun... two more LAV-25s join the LAV that shot up the Scimitar from last turn.  This is a sweet position, it is masked from the majority of Baneman's force and it closes off a major route to KT2.

I know I promised you a SITMAP this turn but I decided to hold off on that until I get more information about his Advance Force.  I hope the following suffices to give you an idea as to how the enemy positions stand:

Finally, we have our first entry in the Blood BoardTM!!

PIR:  Will the enemy Mechanized Force attempt to seize KT 2?  It does not appear Baneman is trying to attack KT2 yet, but he could be building a Support by Fire (SBF) position to support such an attack. PIR:  What is the force composition of the enemy Advance Guard?  Have only spotted one Leopard 2A4 so far.  PIR:  Where are the enemy tanks?  The spotted enemy Leopard 2A4 tank is in the KT1 line possibly providing fire support.

Turn 3:
Overview pic showing the situation in the non-Uncon area - I moved the Scimitar that was near Obj Gold further to the centre, elsewhere most of my movements have completed.

He keeps the buildings between him and the bad stuff up on the 2 hills, but should be able to see and hopefully interdict any movement towards the Uncon area.

Right Flank :
The uncon fight is furious, but sadly, Bil has fire superiority against my guys in the 2 houses.
At first we hold our own, causing 2 casualties to 1 of our own.

But then he scores a devastating hit with an RPG round...

And that takes the wind out of their sails...

I order the remaining men to Withdraw (crawling)

And try to move the rest of the force to get LoS to just the ditch and the one building to reduce Bil's force's fire superiority

The Watcher in the Woods has LoS to some of the buildings occupied by the enemy, so I order him to shoot them up a tad, hopefully this will get Bil's guys to duck for a bit.

I get one of my MG-bakkies close enough to see and take a few pot shots at some of Bil's guys near the centre mosque

And I move the German Fennek HQ to a position where it can see and hopefully lob some grenades on the same units which have been seen crossing open ground.
The range is close to maximum though. ( this picture doesn't show all my units because, unfortunately for me, we're playing on Iron which I personally dislike - mostly because I have to keep remembering to deselect units to see other units or take screenshots )

The Sacrificial Lambs and their backup Scimitar reached their destination - now I want them to grab the Touch objective - against Bil, I think it's wise to get as many "easy" points as possible   ( I originally drove up to the zone, but I obviously needed to be more "in it" than the vehicle could get without crushing the wall, so this is a dismount order )

The Puddlers reach and cross the irrigation canal - they will now lurk in this defile against any infantry incursion down from the heights

I also get the Orchard Scimitar to put some MG fire on the hills - note that the enemy icons shown are all spots from my Uncons who can largely see behind the hills

Turn 4:
Infantry movement is spotted on Apprehension Height and my Fennek fires a few bursts of grenades at them ( the shot is zoomed so appears a bit foreshortened - the range is about 600m )

We have good cause for this Apprehension...

Unfortunately, even at 600m, the GMG on the Fennek does not appear to be very accurate. Even the closest rounds aren't enough to make him duck


And at the end of the turn, he launches ...

The infantry Recce team reaches Obj Gold ( Occupy ). They ignore it for now and head for a position giving eyes on the enemy Uncons' movements.

The Sacrificial Lambs have done their job

So they're back in the saddle

And their backup Scimitar moves around to get some more fire on Bil's moving Centre Uncons.

The Centre Scimitar is going to help out with that as well.

The guys I ordered to crawl out of the "hot" houses take more casualties while crawling - in the end, only 1 makes it out of each house. Sad.  

 
Remaining orders primarily boil down to a lot of Target Light on the infantry AT position.

On the far side of the map, two more bakkies are spotted behind the one my Watcher in the Woods KO'd. They begin to move, but the rearmost one moves into a new position that can still be seen ( shown with arrow ).
My Scimitar is not very accurate ( I read up about the UK's Rarden cannon and it's supposed to be more accurate than most to make up for its low magazine and slow reload. Hmph, not here it seems. Mumble, mutter ) but eventually lands some rounds near the vehicle - at the end of the turn, the crew have jumped out.
I'm not sure if it's still a viable vehicle at this point.


 

Turn 2 :
Hahahaha, of course it turns out that assumptions made about Bil's options turn out to be wrong. This turn some of my Uncons get spots on units moving up just behind Apprehension Height and Worry Ridge ... because they're amphibious. I definitely did not see that coming, so "Bottleneck Bridge" immediately goes down as the most inappropriately named terrain feature on the map !

What appear to be 2 BMP-2's and one TOW-toting vehicle put in an appearance. At least one of the BMP's disgorges some men and the other probably does so too. So infantry are about to start peering over the crest next turn.

The good news is that none of these vehicles are poking their own noses over the crest, so I should be able to suppress their infantry with MG fire ( if I can spot them ).
Naturally, if they have any kind of AT weaponry with a range greater than 300m, I'm going to be sad panda.

MINUTE 4
Team 2’s AT team finished setting up its AT-7, aimed at the Scimitar near the ruined farm and let fly… the missile just skimmed the turret but hit the ground well beyond…

…immediately the accompanying Fennek spotted the team and fired a few volleys of grenades at this team.  None hit, but the grenades were churning up the ground as they moved closer and closer toward the end of the turn. 

The AT team fired a second missile that is still in the air at the end of the first turn.  I will be pulling them out of the line next turn... hopefully they get out okay… if not, that’s okay too as long as he loses the Scimitar.  I’m on the edge of my seat…

Neither of my vehicles in this team got a spot this turn... I will be pulling the BMP out of the line next turn in order to re-mount one of the scout teams as noted last turn.  The LAV-AT will stay where it is for now, I expect Baneman will move a vehicle or two next turn near the ruined farm, and that might help the LAV-AT spot one or both of them.
Team 1’s BMP did pull off the line this turn, and will now wait for the Recon Platoon leader team to remount next turn.

The Fennek at Farm 2 dismounted this turn and entered the buildings.  It does not look like he wants to push beyond the farm at this point... he is happy to sit in place and provide support fire with the Scimitar towards my UNCONs near the Monastery.

Two of the four LAVs in my reaction force will be moving forward into keyhole positions next turn, hoping to get a spot or two on a Scimitar or Fennek.  This movement is in preparation for my Advance Guard which is just one minute out. 

The dismounts from this platoon are starting to move out on a route reconnaissance toward OBJ GARNET.  The other two LAVs are being held back in reserve.

In DUMAYR, Baneman is pushing his irregulars hard toward mine and it continues to cost him.  My teams are going to get critical on ammo very soon though, so he might be able to get an advantage.  I am switching my teams in this area to control their own fire.  I should have noticed the small amount of ammo they carried from the start.  I’ll try to provide them some support by fire from my positions near KT2, but to be honest, the action in DUMAYR is a side-show right now and I am not intent on pushing forward at all there.
My final Technical did extricate itself, so that will help some and it is moving to the sound of guns in DUMAYR-North.

PIR:  Will the enemy militia/fighters attempt to seize DUMAYR?  His assault is picking up steam, but it has cost him a lot of casualties to this point. I estimate he has lost 9 or 10 fighters (maybe one or two more) to 3 of my own. PIR:  Where are the enemy Technicals?  I finally get some contacts on his technicals, they are presently located near the built up area at the western most bridge.

MINUTE 5
Team 2’s ATGM that was in flight last turn missed high again… I think all the incoming fire threw off their aim so they missed both of those shots and in my opinion that is a realistic result.  Baneman opened up on them with several Scimitars this turn, however the team was able to pull back over the ridge no worse for wear.  The AT-7 is still partially deployed, an advantage of moving just one action spot, resetting will take far less time.  They do have three missiles left... next time I use them I need to find a better, more keyholed position, preferably away from the prying eyes of those damned Fenneks.
One lucky SOB (composite image to show the missile's path):

The BMP 2 is now re-manned and I will be moving them toward a firing position next turn to attempt to engage a Scimitar further in depth.

LAV-25 4 moved into a keyhole position and at the end of the turn spotted, fired at and penetrated the Scimitar near the ruined farm (Weapon Mount penetration).  I don’t think it is knocked out yet, so next turn I will be pouring it on.  The Fennek right next to it spotted my hulldown LAV almost immediately and fired a salvo of grenades, but they went long.  Damn that thing has amazing optics.  Drives home that I need to take them out as quickly as I can.  The Scimitars in comparison do not seem to spot my units very well at all. 

At the end of the turn the LAV-AT attached to Team 2 got a firm spot on the Fennek near the ruined farm.  It was taking aim as the turn ended.  I doubt they will miss like the AT-7 team did, fingers crossed.  Killing the Fenneks is now a priority task.

The dismounted recon platoon is closing in on OBJ GARNET.  They are looking for a covered route to move towards the enemy positions.

At Farm 002 the Fennek that dismounted last turn remounts.  That vehicle is useless without its crew and loses all the advantages its optics give him, guess he realized that.
In DUMAYR, Baneman continues to throw his teams forward.  I am going to abandon my positions near the Monastery and move my fighters to South DUMAYR and let them join the fight for that objective. 
The Monastery and Village Charlie are not as important as DUMAYR and I’d like to concentrate against the unit he has engaged there and eliminate it.  With a little luck he could find himself squeezed between my two irregular forces.  Team 1’s BMP-2 will be providing some support fire into the enemy held buildings across from my teams in an attempt to reduce some of the pressure. 

In other news, my Advance Guard arrived in the AO.  I am actually wishing I had another five minutes for the recon battle... it is just now starting to develop and get interesting.  With my Advance Guard will also come his… and he can deploy his forward far faster than I, so could, in theory achieve fire superiority before I can get into position.  KT-2 does provide the highest ground in the AO so that is an advantage for me... but it will be tricky bringing my combat power to bear without exposing them.  I also expect a linear artillery barrage on KT2 in the near future... maybe before the main body arrives so I need to prepare for that as well.

Advance Guard
I have five turns before the main body arrives so I would like to commit the Advance Guard to action as soon as possible.  My intent is to attrit the enemy recon force and the enemy Advance Guard to such a degree that when the main bodies arrive I will have a leg up.  I feel like the battle in EA1 is the key to this battle.  Whoever wins that fight will have freedom of maneuver.

I will try to target my mortars on KT1 if possible.
The T-90SA platoon will be quickly moving over the bridge to support the LAVs that are engaging the enemy recon elements and to be in a central position in order to react to where they are needed.

The BMP-3 platoon will disembark their infantry and then the vehicles will move en-masse to the north edge of the KT2 ridgeline.  I want them to engage the enemy with their ATGMs, if possible one part of the enemy force at a time.  I would love to eventually get them down to the plain between KT1 and KT2 to take the fight to the enemy but that might have to wait for the main body to arrive.

The dismounted infantry platoon will move down the gully and move toward the river.  Once close they will await orders.  My intent with them is to drive as deep as possible under cover toward the river, and cross it if possible to support the irregulars in DUMAYR.  It will take a few turns for them to get moving as they need to disembark, split, remount one of the teams to allow the BMP-3s to operate at full efficiency, and only then can they head out.
Can't wait to play with these guys:

Once the BMP-3s arrive at the ridgeline I will pull the LAV-ATs from the teams they are supporting and attach them to the BMP-3s.  The Syrian Recon Platoon dismounted elements will remain where they are for now and continue their dismounted recon and harassment role.  The BMP-2 #2 will be moving to join its brother so they can cooperate as a team, mainly against the enemy DUMAYR irregular fighters. 
Next turn I will include a SITMAP to show all friendly and enemy unit positions (known and suspected).

At the end of the turn, the Puddlers have almost reached the stream/irrigation ditch/canal.

Not a lot else happened in this part of the map, so here's a close up of the "Something New" - knowing little about the various equipment ( like amphibious capabilities), it took me a long time in the editor to conclude that this is a BMP-2. If it's not ... be kind

Uncons A encounter the first enemy when they occupy a building. They see and target some desperate looking men charging across the open ground. Sadly, although they cause one casualty, their aim is atrocious and that's all they achieve ( you'd think that they'd do better at that range ). They are then taken under fire by a group that made it into a ditch and another lot in the opposite building. They take a casualty themselves and end the turn cowering. This area is going to be a tough fight and it's too far away for almost any support.

All I can say to Uncons A is, "Be Pure ! Be Vigilant ! Behave !"
( if anyone gets that quote, I will be utterly gobsmacked - and probably only long-term UK residents have a chance ).

Remember, your men's lives are pathetic. They know this; you know this. Their one hope? That you can give their poor existence some sort of meaning. They desire glory. They know their time is short. A glorious death is the best they could have. They only hope that they can somehow add to your reputation. They will be grateful if you allow them to die so that you can enhance your reputation.
I'd have you ask my men, but, well, there aren't too many left at the moment.

Or, you can do what the guys above me have suggested.

Brother Ed is happily making craters on a 3-D printer, and I unearthed this to help him. Turns out this is a blast from my past, in the form of a runway cratering study I used when doing a report on US rapid runway repair capability in my early days at Hughes. This is, in part, quite the tutorial on crater configuration from aerial bombs and addresses dimensions  for a range of bomb sizes against both a range of runway types and against bare soil. It's called BOMB CRATER DAMAGE TO RUNWAYS and was authored by Peter Westine of the Southwest Research Institute. 
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/907456.pdf

P.S.

I give up! This post won't delete. Tried doing that after realizing I put it in the wrong place. Should be in CM GDF, not CMFB. Mods, please move it. Thanks! 
Regards,
John Kettler