Brille

Mounted assault



 


 


 
(Close) Encounter in the dark


 
Just as he was about to throw a frag grenade, the rifleman got hit. This were some bad news for his leader cowering next to him.

 
 
A halftrack formation gets blown to bits by one well positioned US 57mm AT gun.

 
Remember: Enemy artillery can be your worst enemy but can provide good cover too.
Without the previously created crater of the enemy artillery, this fire team would have been blown to bits.

 
"Herr Leutnant...wouldn´t it be wiser to spread the weapons of our fallen comrades around the squads ? They all just have those old bolt action rifles and...."
"God damn it, Feldwebel Heinrich ! When I say that you give the sniper rifle to the machine gunner, I mean it.
Don´t you dare question my leadership !"


 
 
Advance through the smoke.


 
A bit of posing for the Wochenschau.

 
"Hans, you said we should go the right path but I haven´t seen no friend nor foe for hours. Where is the front ?"
"Shut up Klaus and let me think !"

 

I'm finally getting to grips with Five Days One Summer after mostly playing CW for the last few months.
 

Hope that it fits this thread, since it is no foto:
My video AAR for the "Operation Konrad" Tournament at "the Few good Men" forums :
 

 

Hope that it fits this thread, since it is no foto:
My video AAR for the "Operation Konrad" Tournament at "the Few good Men" forums :
 

 

I believe I had a similar experience in a very snowy map. 
My truck got stuck and all passengers and the driver bailed as soon as the vehicle was declared "immobile". 
So I guess it is maybe intended to work like this?! 
I mean it is understandable... somewhat...
"Better bail out before an enemy MG starts shredding the passengers." 
But it would be nice if you could at least aquire the ammo that is loaded in mass. 
Will have to test this one if this is applied to all unarmored vehicles. 

Well but since CM decides to actually switch positions inside a tank it surely could do it as realistical as it could in this situation. 
In Cmx1 you often got the state "shocked" if one crewmember got hit, which often was the commander, looking out his cupola. 
 
This left the tank motionless for a few seconds before he either fired back or hit the reverse. 
That felt at least more realistic indeed. 
 
I had this instance with a tank gunner: He got shot (and luckily only him), was replaced immediately and the replacement fired back in the same second on the threat that caused that one casualty. He didn't hit due to panic and the rumbling of the tank as he drew backwards but loosing crewmember feel less impactful in this situations, as rare as they be. 
 
A somewhat similar occasion is with heavy weapons teams, especially with German hmg. 
If the gunner is hit, the weapon automatically and instantly transitions to the next dude in the team. 
And yeah I understand it that it would be the priority for all the team members to retrieve the weapon but it could be with a little few "shock" seconds ("oh no Karl got hit! Wait, better get the gun working again! " in a abstracted fashion) 
This way however I had one very odd occasion in a battle: In a night brawl my us forces stumbled upon an oddly spread out (semi deployed) hmg team. They started shooting, and quickly hit the machine gunner. But the MG warped instantly to the next guy 10m away and in another direction to my us squad. He shot immediately and hit a few guys, before got taken out. But again the MG warped to the next one in another direction and as his buddy before him he started shooting as well. I got pretty much the same situation with another HMG team in the same battle, which felt like a mad "whack the mole" game of some sort.
 
I'm not really complaining and I canceled it of as engine limitations. It was quite entertaining though.

Can't say that I dislike it but it can be very time consuming if you micromanage everything through. 
Other than That I like overlapping movement of fire teams, blasting my way through walls, using smoke grenades to cover my approach/retreat. 
The whole motto here should be "shoot first, ask later". Keep known and  suspected enemy positions under fire otherwise the casualty count may rise up very quickly. And take an extra ammo truck with you... or maybe 2 or 3.
I just got to know that high caliber sniper rifles CAN make a difference in this urban environment. They slice through walls like nothing. So if a sniper team is able to cover your *** from further away: use it! 😁 

I split soviet squads Iike I do with western squads and haven't witnessed that much of an impact until now. 
However in my last game I got quite more POW than usual. 
My opponent split all of his squads too. Even whole fireteams surrendered which I rarely got. They were all of regular experience with mixed morale - some good, some bad. 
Maybe my Sturmpanzers got a lucky hit on the platoon hq and tipped them over this way. 
I will keep an eye on that. 
 
Sounds like you are dueling with tanks. 
And while I do this from time to time too you are far better of to rise your numbers. Better fight with 2 (or more) of your tanks against 1 of the enemy. So even if one of yours gets destroyed, the other one may pick up the muzzle flash and spot the enemy tank and finish him. 
You really only can afford to send in one tank if he has the armor to... well.... tank incoming shots. 
Otherwise you need to put the odds against your enemy (attack from the side, make him close the hatches/kill his commander) or you are more of a gambling person.
But luck works both ways. 

I really would like to have an alternative move command like in the older games which was "move to contact". This way you can decide how troops under fire would react: either speed up the pace to get to the destination (probably cover) faster or abort all movement and hit the ground/fight the enemy where they stand. 
This would not tire squads out on a distance, while giving the player more options. The hunt command could stand as it is with a bit tweaking of course. 
Something like a higher situational awareness/shorter reaction time in comparison to the normal move command, since it is more of a "sweep the area" command.
So enemy contacts are expected close by, while the move commands would be mainly for getting from A to B with different sets of behavior to enemy fire. 

It helped in multiple instances now.
Any chance of making it sticky in the forums ? I guess there come more in the furture having this problem.

Problem solved on my Computer!
What did I do? I installed game drivers: Microsoft XNA Framework redistributable 4.0
                                                                  OpenAL (Open Audio Library)
                                                                  Microsoft Visual C++ 2015- 2022 Redistributable (x86)
All Slitherine-infected games are running smoothly, including Cold War

When in history did bombing major cities stop a war? Not counting in Hiroshima and Nagasaki because of the scale it had. 
Germany has suffered tremendously because of the bombing but despite all that it didn't surrender because of it. Nor were there any uprisings of the population against their government though probably more growing hate against the actual bombers. 
 
Was it right to bomb Germany? As a German myself I say no. Bombing on civilians in general is a war crime, regardless of who performs it. 
It might help the own military effort because it will hinder the economy (less (motivated) workers, damage to the infrastructure) and so hinder the military options for the "enemy". 
But it stays a war crime non the less. 
 
Assuming that the russian population have at least decent information on what's going on in the war they might also have the opinion that "their" war is a rightious one, due to propaganda and such. 
So I doubt that they would revolt internally  against the war if ukraine massively launches it's drones against Russians cities. The opposite could even be possible.
Standing together against the external threat and even rising the war effort. 
In Germany we call that "Burgfrieden" (peace in the castle). 

When in history did bombing major cities stop a war? Not counting in Hiroshima and Nagasaki because of the scale it had. 
Germany has suffered tremendously because of the bombing but despite all that it didn't surrender because of it. Nor were there any uprisings of the population against their government though probably more growing hate against the actual bombers. 
 
Was it right to bomb Germany? As a German myself I say no. Bombing on civilians in general is a war crime, regardless of who performs it. 
It might help the own military effort because it will hinder the economy (less (motivated) workers, damage to the infrastructure) and so hinder the military options for the "enemy". 
But it stays a war crime non the less. 
 
Assuming that the russian population have at least decent information on what's going on in the war they might also have the opinion that "their" war is a rightious one, due to propaganda and such. 
So I doubt that they would revolt internally  against the war if ukraine massively launches it's drones against Russians cities. The opposite could even be possible.
Standing together against the external threat and even rising the war effort. 
In Germany we call that "Burgfrieden" (peace in the castle). 

When in history did bombing major cities stop a war? Not counting in Hiroshima and Nagasaki because of the scale it had. 
Germany has suffered tremendously because of the bombing but despite all that it didn't surrender because of it. Nor were there any uprisings of the population against their government though probably more growing hate against the actual bombers. 
 
Was it right to bomb Germany? As a German myself I say no. Bombing on civilians in general is a war crime, regardless of who performs it. 
It might help the own military effort because it will hinder the economy (less (motivated) workers, damage to the infrastructure) and so hinder the military options for the "enemy". 
But it stays a war crime non the less. 
 
Assuming that the russian population have at least decent information on what's going on in the war they might also have the opinion that "their" war is a rightious one, due to propaganda and such. 
So I doubt that they would revolt internally  against the war if ukraine massively launches it's drones against Russians cities. The opposite could even be possible.
Standing together against the external threat and even rising the war effort. 
In Germany we call that "Burgfrieden" (peace in the castle). 

@PEB14 Here for comparison: One picture with the trees (mostly) intact and 12 minutes later they are gone.
 

 
 

By the way: has someone a good source (or multiple) that specifically focuses on optics of the various vehicles, including commanders sight? Maybe even with some pictures through the actual things to get an understanding as a non-tanker. 
I often read that soviet style optics have a poor field of view while they may have some decent magnification.
I had found some technical data on T55 and T72 commanders sights which would confirm this. 
Haven't found anything (despite the gunners sight) on a T34/85 to compare them and see the evolution of optics there. 
So magnification is good and all but if you are looking through a toilet paper roll it might be hard to actually spot something because you have to be right on point. 
And this shows in CMCW I guess. 

So I believe the term you are looking for is superfluous: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superfluous
Not “redundant”; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundancy_(linguistics)
You are also pivoting on your premise to simply be argumentative, or at least that is how it appears.  I thought I was “redundant” because you were all discussing spotting between different vehicles.  Now it is buttoned/unbuttoned.  This is an old-school Internet forum ploy of niggling as opposed to actually presenting any facts to support your position - attack everyone else’s without any real logical framework.
So the OP, sounding like a new guy, came on the forum and declared “CM spotting is broken!”  We have seen this post perhaps a thousand times in 20+ years.  The post is an emotional one and that is fair.  Invariably some old timers jump in and try to help out.  VAB just did and posted some controlled test results that show what we have also known for years - CM spotting has pretty reasonable means but wide outliers.  The outliers represent the effects of warfare on human cognition and perception.  I have done dozens of these tests myself, as have many others.
And then we get old timers who just want to grind some old axes and be rude.  They are not here to solve anything, nor do they put in the actual work to demonstrate their position, because if they did they would get the same results as VAB.  They invariably play Reddit games etc until things peter out.
But you are correct, we were talking about unbuttoned…even worse for spotting in some circumstances.  You see here in the back room of CM we have more than few combat veterans that know exactly what it is like to have someone try and kill them on a daily basis.  If one is unbuttoned, unlike the Sunday driver, you are exposed to the environment and specifically to having severe trauma projected onto your head and upper body.  The human reflex to this is to look around quickly…furtively and anxiously.  This means that one’s concentration is not great and depending on the situation a spotting outlier is likely going to happen.  Ivan missed the big tank in the field because he was too busy looking for the sniper in the trees.
So here is what you can do to be helpful beyond simply being rude and attacking everyone in some weird strategy to make your point.  Go run a series of controlled tests - different vehicles, buttoned/unbuttoned etc and them come back and we can look at them.  I would suggest you start with trying to replicate the conditions the OP posted at the start and see where they take you.  
Less noise, more work (I should put that on coffee mugs).  

Ah well then clearly this is nothing more than a bitter-drive by.  You are not really here to help, just resurrect old gripes. 
As to "old tanker" if you could point that one out?  As you can see, I was heavily involved in both of those posts - dbsapps (may he rest in piece) pretty much tried a lot of weird stuff to try and prove "CM spotting is broken!" and really did not get anywhere with it.  A lot of us ran extensive tests (again) and found the spotting was pretty much in line with reasonable expectation for the equipment and era - not perfect but there you go.
The major difference between you and me is that I am one of three game leads for this title and actually has a chance to get things changed, if it is merited. And I am totally open to this, we have a list of fixes and outstanding tweaks.  However, it has to based on solid data, not anecdotal drive bys.  Why?  Well because the fastest way to get caught in a CM-Karen loop is to correct one way and then be yelled at by the next person that we are doing it wrong and to go the other way.  That is a fools errand and incredible waste of time. 
I personally think that if BFC scrubbed the outliers from the game they would pull the life right out of the simulation.  War is outliers, a lot of weird stuff that everyone remembers.  They not only enhance the experience, they add to combat friction - war is chaos and a lot of the fun in playing is embracing that.
Back on topic.  VAB results are a solid representation of what we should be seeing.  A T72 did not have the same spotting abilities as an M60 - technical, ergonomic or even training and doctrine.  Given even ground an M60 should see a T72 first, they were designed to do this because the Soviets had a lot more T72s.

If you're playing the Sov and you put your tanks in a situation where they are getting into 1:1 duels with the Americans you're doing something wrong. 
Bring a platoon or a company of tanks along instead. Or, even better, infiltrate infantry ATGM teams forward and kill them the way. The Sov has very competent infantry luggable ATGMs that will absolutely wreck pre-M1 armor. 
H

These are excellent!  Thanks!
Love the ventilated Pfaust conversation!

I'm fairly sure Artkin is right. This stuff was discussed back in 2008/2009 pretty extensively and you could probably track down forum threads from that time period. Steve and Charles participated more in technical discussions so the few years around the CM:BN launch is a treasure trove. Now this is from my memory so I'll have to double check later if I can find the threads again but....

CM calculates LOS from 5 calculated heights. Essentially its a big look up table saying "From this action square what other squares can be seen and at what heights". So while spotting is done on the fly LOS drawing isn't. Those 5 height levels are:
Prone Kneeling Standing/Small Vehicle Tall Vehicle Very Tall Vehicle Prone and Kneeling are only for infantry obviously while vehicles have access to the remaining three. So for an Abrams it would be

Driver: Small vehicle
Gunner, TC: tall vehicle

And this means that the CITV can't spot from its Very Tall Vehicle slot and gets rolled into Tall Vehicle where the TC is. Since spotting is tied to a person and a person can't be within two different heights.

A note for clarity. The content in blue is my working theory for what is going on here. So once you get to that I'm not 100%. I'm putting stuff together from some notes and memory.

Well my experience is totally pro soviet in that regard. I had instances where american forces are as blind as them. In one a team of bmp smoked almost an entire platoon of M60 in a forest without those ever seeing them. In another an T80 platoon ambushed my M60 TTS platoon and almost wiped them out completely. Only my M901 and some close infantry attacks could stop them.
So I cannot confirm those frustrations, only that I have them on both sides equally. The big game changer here however is the introduction of thermal imagers. So if the americans have those (and I suppose they did in your games, as you were talking about M1´s) you will have a hard time because they give them a huge leap in spotting ability.
If you try a head on attack with a 1on1 you will often loose. The M60 TTS might not be able to penetrate (if you have an T64 or higher) but he will certainly damage your tank till he is an immobile steelbox, while the soviet tank only sees dust and smoke.
So I say that soviet tanks are at least on par with their US counterparts in spotting ability BEFORE they get their thermal upgrades.
 
Maybe try to adapt your tactics: Try to flank american tanks more, because their thermals are only looking forward or keep their commanders in the tanks and your commanders out and looking. Though that last one might be against soviet doctrine.
And don´t go in for 1on1 engagements. Overwhelm the enemy and get local superiority.
You see it now in Ukraine how the russians struggle because (at least partially) the lack of thermal imagers, while ukraine gets more and more of them.
The exact same "problem" is there in CMSF2 and CMBS.

I can confirm this. 
Had it in multiple occasions until I now plan my movements like you do. 
Had it once that my Sherman firefly should rotate somewhat to a 90 degree angle after he reached his last way point. Unfortunately a Panther was in full view of the site. 
The crack sherman crew spotted the panther right away and swung it's turret in his direction but the tank kept turning and turning never firing... 
Fortunately the Panther had a similar problem: My opponent seemingly wanted to switch to another position and got stuck, leaving the panthers side and part of his back open to the front. His turret was not faster than my rotating tank so he got blown away. Lucky in an unlucky situation I guess.
 

I can confirm this. 
Had it in multiple occasions until I now plan my movements like you do. 
Had it once that my Sherman firefly should rotate somewhat to a 90 degree angle after he reached his last way point. Unfortunately a Panther was in full view of the site. 
The crack sherman crew spotted the panther right away and swung it's turret in his direction but the tank kept turning and turning never firing... 
Fortunately the Panther had a similar problem: My opponent seemingly wanted to switch to another position and got stuck, leaving the panthers side and part of his back open to the front. His turret was not faster than my rotating tank so he got blown away. Lucky in an unlucky situation I guess.
 

27th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusiliers) clash with the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend around Authie.
 

12th SS Panzer IV's knocked out by shermans of the 27th Sherbrooke Fusiliers of B Squadron.
 

27th Sherbrooke Fusiliers B Squadron firing on advancing Panzer IV's in Authie.
 

Two shermans of 27th Sherbrooke Fusiliers B Squadron knocked out in the field outside of Authie.
 

Sherman tank has taken multiple shots to the front armour until it was knocked out, crew bailed out to find safety.
 

2 seconds later when the crew bailed out their sherman got struck on the left side by a Panzer IV and exploded, the crew did to survive.
 

12th SS Panzer IV moves into the town of Authie, gets knocked out by shermans of the 27th Sherbrooke Fusiliers.
 

Two shermans of 27th Sherbrooke Fusiliers B Squadron knocked out in the fields.
 

Sherman VC  Firefly of the 27th Sherbrooke Fusiliers B Squadron knocked out inside of Authie, the crew member is bailing out of the burning tank.
 

Heavy fighting in and around Authie, aftermath of the battle.
 
Special bonus shots trying to make them look like old WWII photos.



 
Sherman skins are my upcoming 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade mod.
I hope you like the battle shots!
Damian45