Vark

At last, total victory! The secret, due to the borg spotting and the ability the ability to concentrate an unfeasible amount of return fire on identified units, was an artillery barrage,sans smoke, on the church folllowed by a standard company advance. My Maxims, platoon fire power and tank shot me onto the objective, and by turn 10, I had secured the church, the crest line trench and was advancing into the graveyard from two directions. The Super Co and DP boy were buried under a company assault, though some of the defending troops, often green or conscript fought fanatically. One green squad, down to three men, fought off a multi-directional platoon assault, killing the platoon commander and a section of veteran infantry! Still, by turn 25 the objective hex was attacked by three platoons plus tank and taken. As a Russian in an early war scenario I would have thought the most realistic tactic was to lead with tanks. When I finally got my trucks sorted out a Stuka put paid to my careful organisational and sequential efforts and I then had to spend more time collecting my panicked and shocked troops! How do you reduce the KB of a screenshot so it can be downloaded, the limit is 19 and mine is 225!!

Final attempt (I think), got a major victory with only 50 friendly casualties, the company commander was the usual pain but a more coordinated approach and better attack tempo shattered the Russian defences. Rankorian, the key is right then centre, MG's as base of fire, smoke at the start and the T-26 switching to the right flank. Once the initial breakthrough has been made, switch, go centre, with tank, then right flank. The Kalinin scenario suffers from the depredations of borg spotting, sure the trees allow the German infantry a chance to fight but against salvos of 76.2mm, guided by supporting infantry they don't last long. The big problem for the Russians is the god almighty traffic jam, that can occur, when your truck mounted reinforcements arrive!!

Heinrich, a good way to stop the counter attack is to form a base of fire with the three LMG teams and place them on the left flank in the scattered woods under short arcs. When they have sneaked into position then redraw their firing arcs so they cover the likely counter attack routes. The platoon in the 'racetrack' building should again be given short arcs and moved to the first floor, when in position redraw the arcs again. It was this set up that stopped the AT gun from relocating (even though the crew stuck to their guns for far too long) and helped the T-26 shoot up the attacking infantry. When you are talking about the crest line trench don't forget the platoon commander situated behind, that little sod took caused most of my men to panic in the first platoon. I think the scenario is tough because it exploits the shortcomings of the system, the troops atacking up hill gain no cover adavantage from the slope and cannot area fire with grenades. The troops attacking the church face its transparent shield, unable to get close to the walls for cover and stuff grenades through the windows, finally the lets all panic because we are dashing rule which means the approach lingers too long in the defenders kill zone. Still, thanks for the heads up, I'd never tried the scenario before, it was an interesting puzzle to crack and I'm still occasionally trying to develop the best approach.

Rankorian, you were lucky! when I tried leading with armour, too aggressively, the AI redeployed an AT rifle. First shot shocked, second KO'd the gun on the fourth the crew bailed. The poor modeling of Molotovs means the T-26 is king (what other scenario can you say that about them), in reality if it wandered into a BUA without infantry it would be a blazing hulk. Remember, MIA1's in Fallujah were temporarily out of action because of petrol bombs, often when burning petrol went into fighting compartments or injured exposed crew. The smoke is tricky, I played last night and dropped a pre-planned smoke mission on the church then moved my assaulting troops fast to the base of the hill, in defilade. I then used the tank to clear the Super captain, moving behind the trench had no discernable effect on morale and wasted time (this time fourteen units engaged the Co commander and he still managed to inflict 7 casualties!!) The troops, hiding halfway up the hill, waited until the tank had cleared crest line tench, supported by the right flank, then they mounted an assault on the church. Lost 25% to the defending troops, includng a previously panicked Maxim, who regained morale and set up on the ground floor, even the ATR joined in. The counter attack was shredded by the T-26 and supporting infantry, I even relocated a MG to support, but it jammed after one turn! Once the reinforcing platoon had arrived in the church the Russians defences, surrounding the church, folded unter the fire power. Final point, when assaulting the super captain I put all my attacking troops on short arcs, and only allowed them to engage when within grenade range. In previous games, although they helped clear the trench most used up most of their ammo and were relegated to secondary roles in the right flank assault on the objective. This time the grenades were depleted but they had 30% of their ammo. Ah, the Kalinin/Moscow highway, a very atmospheric scenario, liked playing that one as the Russian. Still cannot show any screenshots, shame, had some good ones showing moves around Viipuri.

Ok, I resized the image but now a security token is missing!! Can anyone tell me whats wrong, I'd like to show my screenshot.

I really do wonder about the efficacy of the HQ ratings, for that matter I wonder about the troop ratings. The first time I played this scenario my green platoon (no stealth bonus) managed to move fast to the group of trees on the right and there they did sterling work helping provide flank protection for their company. That attempt resulted in a draw as my timetable was shredded by Super Captain and his trusty side-kick, DP Boy! Attempt two, remembering the initial success of the green platoon, I replaced it with a regular platoon and a +1 combat/stealth HQ. Result, units were engaged as soon as they broke cover, and when they reached the trees and engaged in exactly the same action against the two trenches, they fell apart! Similarly, in the final assault, a platoon attacking the last line of resistance had its veteran squad sent packing by a conscript unit but the green unit took on a regular and sent it fleeing. I think it's all to do with the crude mechanic used to simulate these actions, just a virtual die roll, and as anyone who has played with dice know some bizzare results occur. As for the right flank move, my first ever screenshot in CM shows that at the start of the 15th turn, Company A (orange ellipses) are consolidating their success at the church and the crest line trench and Company B (red ellipses) are beginning to move out on the right. The tank (yellow ellipse) moved from the right flank and now commands the centre (it was firing at rallied units attempting to counter attack).

Aha! I will have a play during my holidays and see if I can come up with some half-way decent AAR's. Rankorian, it will be interesting to see tagge's final assault. I used the T-26 to suppress the maxims in the objective building, but had to make sure it was outside of throwing range! A platoon supported it and the main attack came from the righthand slope, via the factory and the buildings facing the objective. I seem to remember a super-unit lurking in one house that was a pain (it caused 10 casualties), and going via the flank used up valuable minutes. The church was the start line for a company assault, less the tank supporting platoon, its mission to prevent relocation of enemy defences and to fix the defenders in the objective building. I might fire two smoke missions next time, the first as per the original, centred on the hill, the second to support the final assault, though this will mean the timetable will be stretched. Tagge, I guess 30 turns makes it too easy, Joachim, yes the tank was invaluable in the morale role, units who might regroup and delay the attack surrendered. I did not use it to go behind the dynamic duo though, they probably would have close assaulted it, using their teeth!! Anymore difficult scenarios I can look at, I had fun with this one.

Joachim, sorry, I'm being really dumb here, how do I take a screenshot in the first place? Normally a right click brings up the option, not in CM1 though, the search option gave me a way for CMSF but that seemed to have an option not available to CMBB. Be gentle, I am a neophyte in these matters!

First question, how do you get a screen shot posted? Spolier below******Spoiler below********* Spoiler below********** Rankorian: I used the FO to fire a pre-plotted smoke mission to the right of the church, after it had matured the tank used the roads to move quickly to the house/hut infront of the church. It then moved behind the building and used the slope of the hill to terrain mask. The hill is deceptively sloped as my assaulting troops found out, as they only had LOS to the middle trench, when they were too close, and supporting fire was blocked. Result 7 casualties in seemingly as many seconds! Once the tank has safely completed its redeployment (achieved three times in a row) the right flank trench and the defences in the graveyard are easily cracked, as the presence of the tank impinged on avenues for counter-attack and often precipitated the surrender of nearby units. I made sure it was always buttoned so as not to risk casualties, though once ,after destroying the 35mm AT gun, it advanced precipitously and suffered a shocked result from AT rifle no 2. The church is also key as it allows a steady infiltration of forces into the centre mass of the defence, whilst offering good protection for the overwatch force. Even with the smoke it still was a bloody fight, as advancing uphill rapidly tired my forces, the maxims were arranged in a platoon and fired en-masse at located targets, concentrating initially on the church. Tagge, excellent AAR, yes the CO is a complete pain, even with a T-26 parked 25 metres away a crack sniper engaging and two supporting platoons covering, the super-captain and his DP sidekick staved off two seperate assaults from veteran/average troops. The Russian infantry squad legged it quickly, but it was only when the three maxims joined in that better progress was made against the heroic duo. I'd love to show you a screen shot of the grenade battle when the first assault was repulsed, I counted three seperate 'grenades' hovering and two exploding, looking at the plotting screen no less than nine lines of fire were plotted on the CO unit and four on the DP and on two occasions the CO seemed to fight to the last man!!

Taliban maintenance procedures 1. Wait for the vehicle to break down 2. Get out and shout Allah' u' Akbar three times 3. Get back in and try engine again, if it refuses to start, then either 4. Jump out, kick vehicle whilst blaming Zionist conspiracies or 5. Shrug and say insh'Allah! 6. Wait for nice man from the RG to give you a shiny new vehicle. Can you imagine Taliban bore sighting procedures! "Commander we need to make an adjustment" "What! Are you saying I am wrong, my calculations are divinely blessed by he who knows everything" Um, yes but perhaps we could just check again WHAT, you are a traitor and a Zionist agent, where is my big sharp knife.

My first attempt to use two flanking moves failed with a tactical defeat, I got sucked into a never-ending series of firefigts on the left flank and then the 76mm FO added even more pain. Far more successful was the right flank move, but clearing the defences caused too much of a delay. Second attempt saw the left flank stripped of most men, the tank barrel across to the right and Viipuri fell quite easily. As with most scenarios you just have to find the right approach, I do think a 25 turn limit forces is far too short for the operation, but it was fun solving it!

Hmmm, you give me hope, I'll play some more tonight and see what happens. My strategy is the basic Zulu two horns with the inner most platoons, of each horn extended into a pseudo head. Company A and B do not meet in the middle but can mutually support each other, against a human opponent the tactic is risky as a counter attack in the centre could expose the flanks of both horns. The tanks is only going to move when infantry have cleared likely firing positions, though a PTRD will no doubt be a pain somewhere down the road. So its slowly slowly capture hilley at the moment, oh for a mortar FO and a decent piece of armoured support!

Never really bothered with that scenario, but your post got me to play it. Have not finished yet but I have had success in moving two platoons (of A company) down the two lanes of brush flanking the railtrack on the right hand map edge, with the third platoons following with a minutes delay. Equal success with one platoon rushing from the woods to the small clumps of trees facing the graveyard, with the sniper covering. It is game turn 4, I have one casualty, have pinned a squad in a trench and the hill top house and located three different firing positions, which will come under sustained suppressive fire next turn. Of course the brush might be a trap but I intend to move my troops until I hit the MLR and then use the FO to conceal as they launch a drive for the hill. Company B have moved via the scattered trees and are attempting to launch an assault on the left hand buildings, with the racetrack platoon leading the way. I will keep you posted as to the results.

As my students seem to be suffering from heat exhaustion and flu let me grab this opportunity to say THANK YOU for many a happy hour spent with your AAR's, they should be used as a template for how to do it. I found the clearly marked maps made it so much easier to follow the action and you always seemed to end most of your posts on a cliff hanger!!

Perhaps a chance for moders to strike as soon as the British Module is released!! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8115327.stm

Was it a German planned attack or a deployment caught moving that then transitioned into an offensive action following the attack is the best form of..dictum? I'm still surprised at the way the Tigers have been used, the KO'd Tiger seemed to attack without any coordination between infantry and armour. I thought a sneaking half squad/tank hunter could at least have preceded the behemoths charge. Still it's only when we hear from Myglas will we get the true picture, so I will sit back and watch the game unfold.

Jason C, from the account on the Russian Battlefield website, about the engagement. "At midnight on August 13th, a growing noise of tank engines was heard coming from the German side. Before dawn, the commander of the 53rd GTBn returned from the headquarters to his tank, which was employed as an observation post between the tanks of the 1st Tank Battalion, which were hidden between low sand dunes. In the front and on the right side of the Soviet positions, there was a valley with a road to Staszów. On the left hand side, there was a field with stacks of hay, where Ivushkin's tanks were camouflaged. Near the entry of the valley stood Lieutenant A. P. Oskin's "thirty-four" (T-34). A. Stetzenko was the driver, A. Merkhaidarov was the gunner, A. Grushin was the radio operator, and A. Khalychev was the loader. Colonel Arkhipov and Ivushkin hid the tank in the haystacks, and ordered Oskin to hold his fire until given a special order." Later on when Oskin starts to engage the King Tigers "I saw a part of the haystack over Oskin's tank move, and the gun barrel appeared. It fired, and then again and again: Oskin had commenced the battle. Through my binoculars, I could see black holes in the sides of the German tanks. At first I saw only smoke, but then I saw flames. The third tank turned to Oskin, but it was immobilized after it received a hit in its tracks, and then it was hit again for good." The whole account is found here http://www.battlefield.ru/content/view/167/88/lang,en/ Just to show how one account is always suspect, another claims Oskin's two other T-34's also fired, the chasing the King Tiger, from the original posters account, smacks a bit too much like like Soviet spin, heroic tankers chase cowardly Germans etc. It could also refer to a separate, but similar account which has been merged into one single narative. So yes, standing in a cornfield would be spectacularly stupid, but alas CM has no haystacks, hiding the T-34 in scattered woods, my haystack simulation, brought instant destruction in CMBB but allowed an ambush in CMAK's more refined simulation. I believe in Normandy or Italy (can't remember if I read it in "Caen: Anvil of Victory" or "The Gothic Line") where the SOP was to spray haystacks with tracer and watch for ricochets! I'm not a computer person so this might be a naive question, but surely Battlefront could have simulated some sort of haystack improved cover tile. DT, how could I have forgotten the Archer, the new test, results in at least three dead Tigers, often four.

Buq-Buq, read my post carefully, I cannot simulate the engagement using CMBB, sure I can carve up the AI, who cannot, sure I can exploit its zombie like tenacity and basic pathfinding but I cannot ambush three Tigers in my T-34, whilst it is sitting in a cornfield. As for the comment about the target aspect I positioned the T-34 at right angles to the King Tigers, one of the first ahistorical things you learn about CMBB is the invulnerability of the beasts to frontal engagements. As for the realism, even you have said "I get the feeling that Mad Russian didn't re-post it when The Scenario Depot II came out because he says that it is not historical, with regard to the map/terrain". Yes, give me forests and houses to hide behind and I can engage in a tank-stalking thriller, and probably kill three King Tigers, but try to create a 'historical' and see the result. It's a good job I don't have a computer with smelly-vision otherwise it would have taken a week to rid the house of the stench of burnt rubber, diesel and flesh!!

T'was an interesting suggestion DT so I fired up a CMAK scenario, four Tigers v's one Wolverine (could not select a Firefly). The scenario worked when the Wolverine had a little tile of scattered woods in which to hide in, the parameters were July, very dry and dirt ground. The results were impressive, the Tigers churned up dust clouds the Wolverine was unspotted and KO'd the first Tiger, the second collided with the first and was dispatched, the third spotted and fired back..but missed and had a damaged gun. Alas, number four had woken up and blew the Wolverine into pieces. The 3 inch gun on the Wolverine needed several hits to kill the Tigers, even side on and a 17 pounder would kill quicker, perhaps allowing all four Tigers to be KO'd. More satisfactory a result, so once again CMAK shows its superiority, especially with the representation of dust and its effects on accuracy.

That's great, because when I positioned a hidden T-34, parallel to a road-bound, buttoned column of fast moving King Tigers the following happened. Although the King Tigers had 50 metre arcs to the front and the T-34 was in a cornfield (later a patch of scattered trees) at 200m, the King Tigers automatically spotted the T-34, then the dance began. The KT's start to turn towards the T-34, who, although a veteran crew, paused to fire, obviously for effect! By the time the gunner had fired the 85m APCR round the angle was too acute and the round would invariably go skyward (one out of ten resulted in a damaged or, shock horror a destroyed tank) The final movement, the T-34 is blown to pieces by at least three 88mm L71 rounds. Ken Tout, in his excellent "Tank" book, recalls a similar piece of big cat execution, with a Firefly replacing the T-34-85 and Tigers replacing King Tigers. All the same conditions apply, an ambush conducted at close range, the Tigers, unable to spot their tormentor due to the smoke and dust, caused by the engagement, dying. So, given CM is incapable of properly simulating camouflaged AFV's, or dust/debris thrown up from impacts or has only a rudimentary simulation of smoke obscuration, and given these were crucial factors in the successful ambush how can the encounter be recreated. Sure, designing a map that allows keyhole shooting might result in a similar result but that was not my point, you cannot simulate the encounter with the CM engine, without radically changing the parameters of the encounter. Now, as seems obligatory with posters to this forum, I must now issue the standard caveat that this is not an explicit criticism of the game but a reflection on the age of the product and limitations of the operating system that powers the simulation. Lets hope in CM2 we can have accurate representations of all these factors that made the encounter possible.

This article suggests that the King Tiger was a mobile (just) pillbox with flawed armour. http://www.battlefield.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=282&Itemid=123〈=en To add to Jason's points, about the operating liabilities of the tank's under-powered power-pack and weak drive train, one also has to add the fact that it's 860 litre fuel tank would give it a road range of some 110km and a cross country range of 80km. Just what you want when you are suffering crippling fuel shortages. Finally add to the poor reliability and operational mobility a weight that threatened to collapse bridges and a time consuming train/detrain procedure and you really have a complete porker of a weapons system. In fact the fearsome reputation of the King Tiger is a triumph of the post-war, politically motivated revisionist historians, a purse from a sow's ear indeed!

Try replicating that little encounter in CM, result one very dead T-34 and the paint a little bit chipped on one of the King Tigers. I really do hope the spotting in CM2 will highlight the difficulty of locating stationary targets whilst in a moving vehicle. Please can we have realistic depictions of dust from shell bursts/impacts, muzzle blasts and moving vehicles. I never bought Shockforce, not really interested enough, but how are these issues modelled? Just to show you what I mean Is this in anyway reproduced?

Reminds me of the US after action reports in 44 regarding the Panthers steering system, because the beast could throw one track in reverse and the other forward, in a neutral turn, it could spin quickly. The, lets flank the Panther whilst the rest of the platoon is engaging/hiding from it often fell apart as the Panther rotated, on the spot so quickly the flanking Sherman was often KO'd as well. Of course such an ability comes from a more complex drive system which results in greater chances of breakdown. Youtube is buggering about at the moment but I will watch the remaining clips. Final point, I wonder if CM 2 Normandy will reproduce the 30-60 ft turning circles of the M4?

Did my eyes deceive me, or was that a 'living', 'breathing' KV-1? The first film had some pretty dodgy MP-44 mock ups, though the online LOTR film shows how technology is allowing amateurs a real chance at making professional looking films. I predict a growing group of people will be making movies like this:

Should read buy not but!!