hcrof
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Posts posted by hcrof
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Very good post Bigduke. Still, I wish we could get more Ghurkas over there!
(Havn't watched the vid yet)
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My guess is some sort of man made 'wadi'. They are quite common in Syria as far as I can gather from google earth and often extend for hundreds of km.
I can't make head nor tail of them though, they often have concrete stuctures in them that look like pipes or walls but they don't go anywhere.
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John - My guys are using Sagger-B's which are MCLOS, so yeah, someones been hard at work in the simulator van! Honestly, given the tiny size of the exposed area of the turret and the fact that he brought the missile down onto the engine deck, I think the only way you could get that shot is with a joystick or a javelin!
I notice an FO way up on the right side - was that deliberate? Seems like he's all alone and vulnerable near the action.Well there was a recon squad in front of him and he was supposed to stay hidden.
tbh the reason why I didn't move him after the recon squad got splatted was that he was trying to order mortar fire onto the southern hill and needed LOS to avoid hitting my own guys. In the end I canceled the mission in order to save shells for my counter attack but it was too late
. At least he wasn't an important FO (thank you v1.21!)Apologies for the slowdown everyone, work and illness have got in the way of gaming time unfortunately. I hope to have my next 2 turns up tomorrow evening.
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I would have thought that 24 hour operations are more important than pure night time assaults. Why let the enemy recover during the day?
I think both eastern and western thinkers believe that if you can push the tempo of operations fast enough, someone is going to break. And with decent equipment and training it will be the enemy that does so.
I believe that in an Afghan situation, night raids would be the way to go though.
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As the platoon leader settles down into his position he can see the men moving towards him and takes a few shots. To the right however there seems to be chaos, the BMP is firing but there are screams coming from the infantry.
My BMP about to fire at tanks advancing over the ridge while my RPG team is mown down on the left
A huge boom of a tank gun sends a shockwave through the trees and a massive explosion rises above the forest. Small arms fire begins and the men can hear enemy officers shouting orders. No time to waste, the right flank has fallen!
Everyone fall back!
At HILLFARM the Sagger operators have just finished getting ready and they choose their targets – a pair of BMP's in the village. The platoon HQ watches a team fire and guide the missile high, fighting the crosswind, to bring it down onto the engine deck of a carrier partially hidden by houses.
Images taken at 20x zoom show just how difficult that shot was!
They have no time to admire their shot however. A runner arrives from the hill in a panic, breathlessly telling the details. Enemy tanks and more infantry have broken through!
Everyone out! Get in the jeeps!
The Lt fails to keep the panic out of his voice and there is sudden movement around the farm as everyone prepares to flee.
Ah, overconfidence. The ability to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory
I failed to read the signs even though they were right in front of me (recon platoon stumbles into a platoon of the enemy – yes, it is a different platoon, not just the rest of the first) and now a fresh platoon of Mikes infantry is advancing over the hill, supported by tanks.He is not rushing it this time and is using his grunts to find and pin my infantry before letting the big guns do the work. He has caught me completely on the back foot and destroyed both the RPG teams I have on that side of the hill (Why did one team have to stop to throw grenades when I told them to run very quickly in the other direction!? :mad:) and now I am completely exposed.
I have ordered a general retreat. Hopefully, Mike won't advance too quickly so I will get 1-2 minutes getting my guys out of there.
Now I can't do anything until I counter attack so I will keep my guys in cover while I set it up. Damn, I didn't want to show my hand this early.
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Thanks for the replies everyone. For those that are interested, here is a view straight up the middle of the map.
Unfortunately, we might have to stop talking about sweeping offensives until I sort out the latest mess I am in. Lets just say I should not have said this:
I think that his attack is pretty much finished with that blow. Unless he gets reinforcements (Bring 'em on!
) I have won this bloody little skirmish. It was tempting fate too much!
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This fight on the hill is an interesting one - it is all very short range due to the trees. Imagine a paintball game with AK's! I watched the replay one more time (this game is really encouraging me to take in the details!) and it looks like his platoon HQ squad has taken a lot of casualties, so much so that I think there are no officers left. This is very bad for Mike and I think that his attack is pretty much finished with that blow. Unless he gets reinforcements (Bring 'em on!
) I have won this bloody little skirmish. All in all, I think Mikes attack was somewhat rushed.So, could any forum members have done it better? How would they have conducted an attack like that given the terrain and forces involved? Answers on the back of a postcard please...
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Lol, only one turn a day I'm afraid. Glad you are enjoying it though!
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The men in the north only have a moment to recover before enemy infantry comes pouring through the trees, their BMPs closely following. The platoon leader can't see very much as his men take pot shots at fleeting shapes but suddenly there is an explosion as a carrier is hit. A shout from the RPG team further up the woodline:
We got one!
Just before the pair retreats, they let off another shot, hitting a second BMP in its engine compartment. They don't bother to check damage as they turn to run back through the trees...
Enemy infantry advance past a their knocked out BMP in the foreground
On the other side of the hill, the FO spots 4 men running towards him from the left. He turns and fires, hitting one in the shoulder. The others keep going for a few feet before they realise what is happening and another is cut down. The artillery officer watches in horror as a man raises his rifle, only for it to click...
He lets off another burst, cutting down the enemy as he desperately tries to reload and then spots the last man crawling away. That man is shot too.
The FO realised he hasn't taken a breath throughout the whole encounter and the intake of breath is like an explosion. That was too close! He checks his ammo – one mag left...
As the recon team creeps forward there is a sudden burst of gunfire. They realise in horror they have just walked into a platoon of enemy infantry but it is too late, there are no survivors.
Well, Mike is being aggressive again! He obviously wants me off this hill
, things are not going well for him though. On one side, his scouts have been stopped by a single FO while on the other side he is rapidly losing armour to RPG fire. I don't know whether that last BMP is KO'd but my carrier has now spotted it and is about to fire. All in all, I think he now has no BMPs left able to fight. This wouldn't be such a problem had he got a significant numbers advantage but infantry wise we are about equal and he has already taken a bit of a mauling.It is a pity my hero recon squad had to get destroyed but they did pick up valuable information in the process. On the other hand, I think I have fallen in love with my FO who will now be known as John McClane
No real orders this turn, I will just shuffle my forces around a bit now I know the real direction of his attack.
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The recon squad watched in horror as the turret swung towards them, the commander shouting something into the radio. But the tank only fires one MG round before the commander is riddled by bullets from the west and slumps down, back into the hatch. The turret slews in the direction of fire just as an RPG roars out of the trees and strikes the appliqué armour on the front.
The team leader doesn't need any further encouragement and hurls a smoke grenade, shouting at his men to pull back! The man next to him doesn't get up – his helmet has been blown off and what is left of his head is now a bloody mess on the ground. He forces his eyes away and gets up, running to safety.
The last thing he sees before disappearing over the ridge is a friendly squad pulling back in good order through the smoke. The tank gunner has recovered and fires a round blind but it hits a burning carrier and no one is hurt.
The squad leader throws a smoke grenade while the rest of the squad fire at the tank.
...and retreat under cover of the smoke
In the south everyone fires at once, excitedly at first and the rounds go high. The enemy dives for cover but are too slow. Every man is loaded with tracer and they quickly correct their aim, wiping the squad out in seconds.
Well, I've got my own back now after wiping out his southern recon squad and taking out another tank commander for only one loss of my own. My troops are doing exactly what I want them to – harrassing the enemy while avoiding losses themselves. Mike has already pulled back his gunnerless BMP, will he do the same with his shot up tanks? I don't mind either way to be honest. If he presses forward he will get shot up badly, if he retreats he loses the hill! He seems to be using his infantry badly right now – even though they are near his tanks, they are poorly coordinated so they have had no effect at suppressing my troops who are able to attack his armour with impunity.
Now that my hero recon squad has pulled back out of the fight, I have decided to order them forward. I want to get eyes onto the other side of the hill so I can assess this attack properly.
In the south, my plan continues unaltered, I will sneak my RPG and FO teams forward and let them take a look at Mikes setup...
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I think mass is key to this battle. Sagger-B's are not accurate so I need to cooncentrate them to be effective. In terms of my attack, as Other Means says, I want to use everything at once especially as Mike seems to be using his tanks piecemeal.
It occurs to me that I don't need to hold North hill, I just need to keep Mike off it so I will try to tie down his forces there.
Here is a map of the battle as it stands now. It seems I can push Mike off the south hill with little problems. I just don't want to lose men while doing it.
Mike definately has the advantage on the north hill but hopefully I can bog him down and destroy him piece by piece.
What do people think of infiltrating infantry towards the bridge from the south? The terrain is fields, hedglines and light forest. I would bypass the village but would probably have to go through that platoon of empty BMP's. Do you think that would work to draw in Mikes reserves?
John - I do admire Soviet kit! I am still waiting for a 'Fulda Gap' game from BFC
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You are certainly right about the northern skirmish - that is why I sent in the BMPs!
I like your point about counterattacking somewhere weaker but I have to retake that hill somehow otherwise Mike will will have a big terrain advantage over me.
It seems to me though that I can artificially created the situation you describe. If necessary I can order my southern troops forward in a feignt to draw in his reserves. That would draw his forces away from the hill and then I can attack where he is is weak
The only other option would be a push through the centre but the terrain is very unforgiving for tanks and I think I would get cut up if I tried.
I have 7 tanks in total - 2 squads of 3 and the company CO
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2nd recon team turn in the direction of the shot and watched in horror as the commander of an enemy tank ordered the metal beast forward. Advancing with him were more armoured vehicles with infantry rushing forward from cover to cover. The team fires a couple of shots, killing the commander before switching targets and an unbuttoned BMP gunner is hit. In reply the tanks fire again, knocking out a second carrier.
'This is hopeless, we have to retreat!'
Too late – a tank starts to traverse its turret towards them...
1st recon team are watching the other side of the hill when suddenly a flurry of grenades arc out of the trees. There is no time to move and the men disappear in a cloud of tiny flying fragments. As the enemy advance to take the position, the sharp eyed FO once again fires and the enemy dive back into cover. Recon HQ moves around to flank them and take aim as they spot the enemy...
In the south, the platoon leader arrives and finds the squad sergeant – why haven't you advanced? The sergeant points. More movement in the trees!
Well, I don't know if this is the full attack but I was certainly right about Mike coming from the north! What I didn't expect was the speed and aggressiveness of his move.
Still, I hope I can teach him a lesson or two about why you don't drive tanks through constricted terrain! I will pop smoke and retreat my remaining infantry under the overwatch of my last BMP which is positioned to catch enemy armour coming over the ridge. I will then place my squads and RPG teams in some half decent cover and let rip as soon as he arrives again. I have 2 BMPs in reserve and these right now will prevent a flanking manoeuvre around the hill.
The only positive thing to say about the whole episode is that one of his BMPs now can't use its main weapon and that I killed a tank commander, reducing its effectiveness. That recon team deserves medals but it doesn't look as if they will survive to accept them.
The farm itself has a few defenders and hasn't come under fire from that tank so they can carry on the fight if I lose the platoon but it looks like I might have to counter attack sooner than I thought – especially if Mike has more troops coming that way.
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c3k - Its a 93mm warhead
The crosswind doesn't seem that slight as vegitation is being blown around and smoke disperses quickly. More importantly he seems to be firing from iron sights so any wind correction would be a guess at best. The optical sights help with firing in crosswinds even if they require more training to use.
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To the south, the RPG team hunts forwards, eyes straining for movement. Shots are fired and they hit the deck – where are they!? To their right, friendly troops open fire at their unseen attackers and they start crawling back into cover. As the infantry squad arrives they describe the situation as best they can, maybe 9 men can do the job that 2 couldn't?
The recon platoons AT-4 finally sets up and the gunner peers down his sight, selecting a BMP pulling back into a woodline in the centre. Calmly he launches the missile and guides it to the target... and misses! The missile crashes into the ground, the driver needs no further encouragement and disappears into the trees.
The skirmish continues in the north with brief exchanges of fire on both sides, my recon troops are keeping the enemies heads down. Suddenly one of them shouts! Two enemy casualties are being dragged out of the fight by their squadmates.
The rumble of engines signals the arrival of the armour and the scouts breath a sigh of relief – the fight is over. Suddenly, a BMP explodes in front of them! Men tumble out of the back as the vehicle catches fire. The scouts steel themselves, this is going to be tougher than they thought...
Three ATGM misses!? My luck is not good right now as I have now lost 2 IFV's to 2 men in response. Maybe I am being paranoid but it seems Mike has placed a lot of vehicles just in LOS using trees to 'catch' my missiles. The HQ BMP is empty and that tank that I thought was hiding is in fact facing HILLFARM (Thanks Gpig for making me take a second look at it!) and I have a funny feeling that it will open fire next turn! I order non-essential personnel and my AT-4 out of the building just in case. He probably knows I have ATGMs here now from the explosion in front of his BMP so I doubt he will armour rush me until he has destroyed them.
It seems I was a bit rash sending in the cavalry in the north – Mike has beefed up his scout platoon with some kind of AT asset and is probably laughing as my troops go up in smoke. If they had thier BMP's nearby it would explain why they moved straight through the mortar barrage.
I shall have to do this the old fashioned way – pin and flank with infantry, my BMPs will provide overwatch. Unfortunately his guys are behind a small fold in the ground so it will be difficult to suppress them. Because he might have BMPs I am being cautious. I have a spare RPG team and they will make their way forwards to hunt down enemy vehicles.
In the south there is nothing conclusive, hopefully the arrival of an infantry squad will tip the balance in my favour.
Right now we are fighting for information. I had hoped to set up a defence before he sent his scouts forward but it seems that he is being a bit more aggressive than expected. I have ordered second barrage on the front slope of the southern hill, heavier this time and contact detonated. It will arrive in 9 minutes if everything goes to plan and it should discourage Mike from moving through that area.
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On the north hill, the recon platoon runs headlong into their enemy counterparts. They may have been surprised at the enemy working their way through mortar fire but they were faster on the draw!
The attached FO fires a single shot and shouts to alert the others. Troops on both sides hit the deck, and search furiously for another sign of the enemy, radioing the contact in to HQ.
Elsewhere the enemy seems to have halted, all under the watchful eye of D company HQ who swears at his ATGM teams to hurry up and deploy! It looks like the recon boys are going to win the race though as they finalise preparations for launch...
It looks like Mike has completely ignored HILLFARM seeing as he has stopped his units within LOS of the complex and didn't bother to hit it with artillery. Hopefully he will pay for that mistake as my quick deploying AT-4 (Spigot) gets ready. The Sagger teams will take a long time to finish setting up but when they are ready I will have a solid anti tank position.
I am being cautious with my recon platoon. I don't want to slug it out with his guys as I have no advantage in numbers or firepower. On the other hand, I have a mounted infantry platoon ready to go
I doubt he has RPG's attached so time to give them a surprise! Once the HE has done its work I will continue to move my scouts forward and pull back the BMP's.In the south, my defenders are nearly ready. The enemy BMP is still the other side of the hill but I have an RPG team hunting forward, the slope of the hill should mean they should be safe from return fire if they hit the deck. I have also sent a infantry squad to mop up the survivors so I am crossing my fingers...
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Oh yeah, I should have mentioned - Thanks for all the responses guys!
Gpig - I believe that Mike is trying to hide the tank and the HQ but some sharp eyed soldiers spotted them though the trees. It look like they did the same to spot that BMP too, it was actually one of the furthest down the hill when it got hit! I looked at LOS from it and just got a blank row of trees and the ridge 100m away from it so I have no idea where that shot came from!
Anyway, because he hit a BMP in the centre of the group I can only conclude that Mike has spotted at least 4 vehicles unloading troops
Still, my ATGMs at HILLFARM have lots of his BMPs in their sights so as soon as they set up I can repay him with interest
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I used one eye to check at the end which made it a bit easier for me. Still, an interesting test!
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Suddenly the radio bursts into life – enemy coming through the village! BMP's advancing in the centre! As the picture emerges, it appears that the enemy is sending platoon columns forward, feeling their way through the centre and south.
Enemy BMP's moving along a road
The recon platoon sends an urgent message – an enemy BMP is less than 200m away from the southern defenders. They are still running to their positions on the other side of the hill!
Without warning, a carrier in the 'dead ground' explodes. No one is hurt but only the gunner gets out, the drivers leg is trapped and he panics, unable to move.
This is not good. No doubt Mike can see that I have 2 platoons of BMP's just behind the southern hill and can plan his attack knowing my positions. On top of that, I have just realised that my old fashioned BMP's cannot pop smoke. Without a smokescreen from their engines I might lose another one before they reverse further down the slope! I watched the BMP get hit on replay – it was a sagger that came from the southern edge of the map. BMP or ATGM? Who knows?
As well as this, elements of his force are already quite far forward, having ignored the obvious defensive potential of the village. It is probably just a probe – I can't form conclusions at this stage so my plan will not change.
My spotters seem very good. I have spotted both the Btn HQ and a tank 2km away and both of them are partially obscured by trees! Whether I can destroy them is another matter. I have already wasted 2 sagger rounds on the Btn HQ so I will order my team to hold fire until those mortars stop – apparently loud bangs and the threat of death can throw your aim a bit. Who would have thought?
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I do chuckle when I see the occassional "uber" comments. They're usually next to the thread about having to restart 'scenario X' 3 times before getting it right, and the complaint about how lethal MOUT battles are.
Marine and Brit modules have something like 80(?) new standalone and campaign scenarios between them. And the scenario designers had considerable practice since the original release. Haven't iphone apps improved since the original 'Hello Universe' app was first released?
See my comments on being annoyed at ridiculous battles where no sane BLUFOR commander would continue advancing without support. I prefer a strait fight and the US Army is too good at them
Each to their own though - some people like the 'puzzle'.I agree about scenarios improving though. The Marines and Brit modules have some excellent ones. 'Edge of darkness' for example was both balenced in terms of force numbers and challenging for the Blue player, lots of fun! (More ammo would be nice though!)
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i dont know when you joined the CMSF "club" but version 1.01 and 1.02...thats where blue was "über"! you could do TF thunder mission 1 without ever disembarking anyone from the strykers.
thats much harder now...i think i is quiet fine.
I think I started with 1.08 because of reading all the bad reviews. I kind of wanted to mess around with modern systems to see what they could do. If the US army was stronger than that they must have been pretty über! (Thanks for letting me copy/paste the ü
) To be fair I havn't really played with them since Marines came out so I can't really form a good opinion on them recently. Still a javelin is a javelin and they massively unbalence H2H play.
I'll stick with the other, less javelin heavy armies thanks!
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Well the game has been pretty solid from v1.10 IMO and has only improved since. There are still minor niggles like excactly how long it takes to set up an ATGM
but the bugs are pretty much ironed out to a degree that would satisfy any big name title.The expansions themselves are worth getting. The US Army is a bit too uber for my taste, play with the Marines or better still with the Brits and you have a proper fight on your hands! My preference is still Red v Red though, an old school RvR fight feels a bit like CMBB and a more modern one like in my AAR is a balenced, bloody fight!
Or, as Steve would say - Play the Demo!
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What you see is what you get really - brush, trees and long grass block LOS whereas walls etc are better at providing actual cover.
Remember though that unlike CMx1, a 'tree tile' might not have any underbrush which makes your guys pretty visible.
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Great, another AAR - and this one couldn't be more different to mine!
I will be following this closely, I may pick up some tips for my game against Mike Churchmoor
A question. Will you be putting in suppressive fires on the village as you start to assault or are you going to try and sneak in quietly and only fire if the enemy opens fire on you?
. At least he wasn't an important FO (thank you v1.21!)
I failed to read the signs even though they were right in front of me (recon platoon stumbles into a platoon of the enemy – yes, it is a different platoon, not just the rest of the first) and now a fresh platoon of Mikes infantry is advancing over the hill, supported by tanks.
) I have won this bloody little skirmish.
During Action Report - hcrof vs Mike Churchmoor!
in Combat Mission Shock Force 1
Posted
No one needs to be told twice and everyone immediately begins to sprint to safety. The platoon on the north hill ducks as a huge quantity of small arms fire cracks over their heads but amazingly, no one is hit. HE explodes amongst the trees as they spot a pair of carriers waiting for them – nearly safe!
The BMPs are moving even before the last man is in and they swing their turrets around, firing long bursts of machine gun fire to discourage pursuit. As they descend into the road they join a small convoy of Jeeps full of men and missiles and they race down the hill to safety.
Back at Btn HQ, the reports have come back and orders are issued. Company commander to the command post - a counter attack is to be prepared immediately!
Well I had my heart in my mouth in this one but Mike has slowed down a lot, using plenty of HE and small arms fire on suspected positions! I think he doesn't want to get burned again by a fighting retreat
. Whatever his reasons, his new found hesitency has bought me enough time to disengage and race out of sight!
Already I am preparing my counter attack, moving an FO into position, ready to call down mortar fire onto the tree line. I might even be able to do this without tanks and make it look like I called in a single reserve platoon to reinforce the retreating one! All I lost in the retreat was a command squad that made my line look occupied so I think that overall I was fairly successful in this rather ignominious phase of the battle.
Total Known Losses on North Hill:
Mike --------------------------------------------------- Me
1 Platoon Combat ineffective (Destroyed CO squad) ------ 1 squad
Most of a recon platoon -------------------------------- Most of a recon platoon
3 BMPs ------------------------------------------------ 3 BMPs
Command Squad --------------------------------------- Command Squad
2 Tanks Damaged (One commander dead,
possible damage to sights/gun)