laminar

I believe Gundolf is thinking of Uranium-depleted ammunition, whereas Lightning War is referring to running out of (all kinds of) ammunition in a battle. I might be able to help. I have had a couple of these battles. If the enemy tank runs out of ammunition, I think it is counted as "dead". It might have to run entirely out of ammo, which is difficult with the machine guns. Then again they might have been immobilized. Sometimes with early HE ammo you can get lucky and knock out the tracks on an enemy tank. Then I am sure it will count as "dead", and you will be able to win if enough of their infantry are gone. Just wait until you have a clear shot, don't give your tanks free reign on their fire. Of course, if your gun's caliber is big enough, you can obliterate their tanks with HE rounds, but that only happens later in the war.

1. Yes, infantry become increasingly dangerous with anti-tank grenades in the Russian campaign and bazookas, panzerfausts, panzerschreks, and the PIAT in the other campaigns. The panzerschrek is very deadly. The Russians and Germans also use anti-tank rifles, the Russian one being far superior, which explains why the Germans used many captured ones. Make sure to command your anti-tank rifle men to hold fire until they have a very good shot, or the enemy will target them first. Don't forget to check the enemy for loot, if you can. The German PWM anti-tank grenade is an especially good find. I haven't played the Polish or French campaigns in a while. I thought maybe the Polish had anti-tank rifles. Might be wrong though. 2. Nothing too dense. The "forest" foliage is dense enough to block line-of-sight and, to a lesser degree line-of-fire. I remember a British mission where you defend this little village. The forest was so thick that their Tigers were knocking down trees ~100m away and I couldn't see them yet. I am told that the French rural areas really do look like their real-life counterparts. Not sure about the others. The winter missions of the Eastern Front seem appropriately miserable and cold. 3. Like eniced73 said, there are some villages, and that's about it. These villages can often be ignored entirely. They can also be extremely useful, if you like micromanaging your American paratroopers around an old French cathedral, for example. Also, learn how to use your grenades and machine guns for quick wall removals. Make sure to provide cover, as there could easily be an enemy squad behind that wall. In defensive missions, I love putting anti-tank guns in villages. Nothing catches their tanks off-guard like a shot in the rear from 20m. I remember having the same thought about the infantry when I started playing. If you use your artillery/anti-tank crews carefully, you shouldn't have to replace them often. Get to know your German tanks. Some shoot a heavier explosive round than others and should be destroyed first. The others will only hurt your crew if they are very lucky, or get too close. Also, if a tank's shells are getting a little too close for comfort, have your men ditch the gun for a couple seconds, the tank will choose another target, and you should be able to jump back in and catch it off-guard. Also, if you can make them alternate from firing at a tank to firing at your gun, it is likely that they will load the wrong kind of ammunition for that critical first shot. Finally, to save half of your crew, only attach your gunner and reloader. The commander and soldier tend to die from explosions, bullets, shrapnel and loud noises:eek:, so have them hide in some bushes or behind a hill. If your gunner and loader die, have the other two jump in to continue shooting. Another hint for gunner usefulness, is to watch the enemy tank carefully and only fire when it has slowed down, stopped, or showed a weak side to you. Most enemy tanks will stop just prior to shooting, so (I believe) you have a slightly better chance of hitting them if you shoot as they are putting the brakes on. They slow down when they run over trees and buildings and become an easier target, especially for grenades and rpgs. Now that your other men are spared the gruesome fate of your gun crews, use them for distraction. Have them hold fire until several obvious targets present themselves. Dispense with enemy infantry and return to hiding in foxholes or bushes. Sending a squad against a tank might mean certain death for them, but if it distracts the tank from you 75mm field gun for a long enough time, then consider their brave sacrifice justified. Just make sure they approach from its flanks, unless it doesn't have a bow machine gun like some of the earlier tanks. Finally, two or three men sneaking up on an enemy anti-tank gun usually do better than a full squad, and usually will save you a tank being destroyed or immobilized. Have them target the ground and toss grenades to take out the unsuspecting crew. I found that when I started paying very close attention to the lay of the land, the buildings, and the sight obstructing foliage (I use the 'enter' key alot), I saved more of my men for the next mission and had more fun doing it. I got to know and use some terms like "defilade" and "hull-down":cool:. I have even read some WWII stories from the men on the front lines, gleaning them for new tactics, and, of course, understanding what really happened. Lately, I have been using the JSH mod, which among myriad changes, makes it harder for tanks to see infantry, prolonging your troops' lives, but also making the enemy that much more dangerous. To finish my book, my advice is to continue with the game. The Polish and French campaigns give you a feel for the game mechanics (and perhaps some of the reasons why the Blitzkrieg worked so well ), but the other campaigns are much longer and satisfying.

Hello, I play Theatre of War on my laptop and my newer desktop. I have a Geforce 6800 ultra with 175.8 drivers and XP 32bit in my laptop. I have an ATI 4850 with 9.2 drivers and Vista 64bit in my desktop. While my laptop struggles to keep up with most battles, my desktop cruises through everything. It is awesome except for one area: the leaves on the plants. For some reason, during spring and winter battles, the trees on my desktop all look like bare telephone poles until I zoom in very close. The bushes are practically invisible. This seems to occur at distances of ~50 meters from the camera. I might never have noticed this problem, if I had never played the game first on my laptop, which displays the foliage much better. Here are a few screen shots: Desktop: winter spring See how the deciduous trees thin out at a distance? Then they look like toothpicks far away, while shrubs disappear entirely. Laptop: winter spring Isn't that much better? I'm hoping the answer is something simple that I overlooked (I'm not really planning on buying another video card). I'm willing to wade into something technical to enjoy this great game a bit more. Any help is appreciated.