kevinkin

Russian mobilization viewed by reconnaissance satellite in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-1aVVEKep0
 

Not suggesting there  is is any one to one comparison, but as I read this thread and incoming reports, I can't stop thinking about past operations:
"Once again, as in his march on Atlanta, Sherman took a deceptive line between alternative objectives so that, time after time, his opponents could not concentrate their forces effectively to stop him.
Sherman’s flexible organization of his army contributed almost as much as his variability of direction to his continuous progress. Moving on a wide and irregular front—with four, five, or six columns, each covered by a cloud of foragers (today it's recon?) —if one was blocked, others would be pushing on. The opposing forces became so jumpy that they repeatedly gave way to the psychological pressure and fell back before they felt any serious physical pressure. The mere shout, “We’re Bill Sherman’s raiders (today's thunder run?), you’d better git,” sometimes sufficed to make opposing detachments retreat."
- Sir Liddell Hart in "Sherman - Modern Warrior (AMERICAN HERITAGE, August 1962 Volume 13 , Issue 5 August 1962)
The best of Hart's ideas have been incorporated into a broader concept of maneuver warfare that is used today. 
 
 

The great operational thinker and proponent of maneuver warfare once called this:
"rope-a-dope" - Muhammad Ali 

A couple of interesting links in this article today:
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/08/russias-defense-industry-is-in-serious-trouble-due-to-sanctions/

Thanks to those who filled me in on the current thinking re: broad vs. narrow front operations in the tank country that is Ukraine. The short answer is that Russia can not field forces capable of off road maneuver even though they have numerous fully tracked vehicles. To do so they would need more light infantry operating untethered and the ability to maintain momentum, avoid getting pinned down, observed, and attacked by drones and artillery. They can't pull off large scale flanking attacks like they did in the Ukraine during WW2 without hordes of supporting infantry. Also, there is probably psychological comfort for the grunt Russian being on top of a main supply line, under a roof or hiding in their AFV behind a solid structure. This has become an informal agreement with officers just to keep troops in the field. So if not mud and mines, just plain fear of fighting out in the enemy's countryside.  

Given that  Ukraine has either won or is winning this war, will they take massive retribution inside Russia proper? Russia turned their country into toast from what I have seen of urban areas since the spring. And if Ukraine does seek retribution, when and in what form will it take? Perhaps if Putin goes away forever, Ukraine might take mercy on a westernized Russia when the carnage stops. Will hunting down war criminals and hanging them be enough to satisfy the displaced or otherwise shellshocked Ukrainian? If the country is as damaged, displaced and raped as  has been reported,  it would take the most benevolent society to turn the other cheek and just focus on rebuilding even if the West foots the bill.  Many Ukrainians will believe the west owes them. Maybe the strings attached to rebuilding will keep them from continuing the war into Russian - even if they are tempted years from now. 

While comparing Kamikaze Drones to machine guns is interesting, I think they are more like World War mortars and arty. I believe those systems caused more losses than machine guns since troops had little warning and the systems could be displaced to fire again and again. This might be more true in WW2 than WW1. Early WW1 had some pretty bad tacticians who disregarded interlocking MG fire. But a swarm hovering precision "mortar rounds" are very scary.  

Ok, again, if the PLA establishes a foothold on Taiwan with ground forces the war is over. So there is no need for a Combat Mission commercial product of the situation. The defense of Taiwan will be based on air and naval assets. Period. Combat Mission does not do air or naval. 

Six pages of posts in <48 hours, is that a record?
 

Hi once again ... 
 This is my scenario design. But the back story for this video involves a few more hard working players. The video is perhaps the best within CM. Very well done and I cant take credit for it at all. 

Hi once again ... 
 This is my scenario design. But the back story for this video involves a few more hard working players. The video is perhaps the best within CM. Very well done and I cant take credit for it at all. 

Hi once again ... 
 This is my scenario design. But the back story for this video involves a few more hard working players. The video is perhaps the best within CM. Very well done and I cant take credit for it at all. 

Hi once again ... 
 This is my scenario design. But the back story for this video involves a few more hard working players. The video is perhaps the best within CM. Very well done and I cant take credit for it at all. 

Not an expert on TO&E, but if a designer thinks a bit out of the box, an early war battle could be created. But the designer's tools will be limited. Just trying to design such a battle will be educational for those new to this hobby. Like I said above, a German motorized infantry truck attack across a long map ending in a infantry attack on a crossroad village might be fun to design and at least give get a sense of what it was like operationally in the summer of 1941. 

There is the Stalingrad mod that goes back to late 1942 and early 1943. I think trying 1941 would be limited to just infantry battles since most - if not all - 1941 AFVs will not be available in a sim of 1944. There could be a few carry over units as you mentioned so as to create hypothetical battles. However, anything historical is going to be a though one.  Off the top of my head, a motorized attack on a village in the Ukraine (August 1941) using a very long map might be fun to design even with some compromises.  

The point of my original post was that CM was sort being thrown under the bus for a year or two due to less than state of art graphics and little news of any new content. Now wargamers can not have CM Fire and Rubble and Cold War fast enough. Ironic.  I have never seen such excitement over a wargame like CM Cold War in many years. I cant gauge Fire and Rubble, but Cold War might just be the biggest seller for Battlefront in their history. And I hope so. 

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38876/putin-has-created-the-ultimate-bond-villain-lair

The Wargamer changed its look overnight and has a article on the entire 20 years. 
https://www.wargamer.com/combat-mission/games

The Wargamer changed its look overnight and has a article on the entire 20 years. 
https://www.wargamer.com/combat-mission/games

The Wargamer changed its look overnight and has a article on the entire 20 years. 
https://www.wargamer.com/combat-mission/games

The Wargamer changed its look overnight and has a article on the entire 20 years. 
https://www.wargamer.com/combat-mission/games

The Wargamer changed its look overnight and has a article on the entire 20 years. 
https://www.wargamer.com/combat-mission/games

Almac, there are plenty of youtube videos on the entire Combat Mission series. They will give you a good sense for the game's scale and gameplay. What applies for one game generally applies to all the others as far as making a purchase decision. 

TP ... if you have played the demos and can't hit the buy button, I wonder if the game is really for you? The demos are a good intro into the game play. Yes, it's an upper tier game pricewise. But you get what you pay for. BTW, BF committed to being as apolicial with as little gore as possible right for the start 20 years ago. However, if you read the forums, you will all of that anyway. 😀

I wonder how many guys play World of Tanks and Combat Mission on any given night? Any review of CMSF2 is dated. It is what it is .... and what it is is great.