LUCASWILLEN05

Definitely agree. I was simply pointing out a couple of alternative possibilities. Some NATO countries might dither depending on the leaning of the government in power at the time. A more left leaning government might prefer to keep out. i would certainly agree that Poland would commit due to their long and unhappy history with Russia. I would be more concerned about Germany, France, Denmark, the Benelux nations. Possibly also Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Norway particularly if they see little direct threats to their national interests Again it could depend on whether there was a left or rigt wing government in power at the start of a conflict. if the Russians invaded the Baltic States it should be an Article 5. On tje other hand, i the pre war situation there might be doubt and debate regarding Russian intentions. Russia would seek to complete a fait accompli within a matter of days. NATO would then have to choose between accepting the loss of the Baltic States or mobilizing for a major war No doubt Putin would be encouraging the nti war movement

I think NATO would have to act in the event of a Russian invasion of the Baltic States or the very good reason that, if it did not, it would be seen as ineffective. However, in the CMBS scenario during which some NATO states ave joined an intervention in Ukraine (let's say the US, UK and Poland) but other NATO nations stay out and then Russia invades the Baltic States then the situation may be less clear. Then the Russian move into the Baltic States could be portrayed as something else such as relieving the Kaliningrad Oblast from the threat of a NATO attack. The question then is whether currently neutral NATO powers (say France, the Benelux nations, Denmark, Norway etc) would see this as an Article 5 issue or as part of a conflict begun by the US decision to intervene in Ukraine. In this situation a NATO split may be a possibility. This does not mean that the US could not defeat Russia. It could but if other NaTO nations closed their territory to Us logistics and troop movements if the Russian navy were able to interdict, if only for a short time he Russian army would have a chance o win the war before US reinforcements could deploy.This window would not be open long, a few days, perhaps a couple of weeks. Within that time Russia would aim for a battlefield military victory big enough to seek a favorable political solution perhaps with the threat of nuclear blackmail. I think Putin could be ruthless enough to try this strategy but what happens if his bluff is called. Does he back dow and look like a loser. Or does he try a demonstrtyion attack? There has never been a war between two nuclear powers. We don't know how such a scenario would play out - and we only get one run of the experiment....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HVlxmBIB6M&list=PL8CFF702EE534FE81

Going back to the original issue of a Russian occupation of the Baltic States. This would probably start a war between Russia and NATO (the North Atlantis Treaty provision coming into play) the question is how many NATO nations would be prepared to risk a full scale conventional war with Russia, a nuclear power, and therefore a possible escalation to nuclear exchange as we have discussed. On the other hand it could be both sides are too scared to go nuclear in which case you get he bloody conventional conflict portrayed in CMBS There is however a third possibility which is NATO decides to do nothing. In this case Russia gets away with occupying and annexing a three small NATO states. In this case NATO would be a dead letter and indeed might not survive as a security organisation. Furthermore Putin would be emboldened to attack Ukraine and possibly Poland and/or Romania assuming NATO broke up after the Baltic States strategic disaster. To avoid such a nightmare scenario NATO would have to defend the Baltic States

Hopefully we never get to find out but what is intended as a limited exchange could well escalate out f control. There ghas never been a war between two nuclear powers. My personal view is that the leaders of the two sides will be too scared of the consequences ever to uncork the nuclear genie and the conflict will remain a conventional one. possibly one extended through months and possibly even years.

It may depend on whichever NATO leader is LEAST stable. Is this a good time to mention Donald Trump? :-)

Watch the Day After and/or Threads and you will probably get the idea. Alternatively, as WOPR concluded "How about a nice game of Chess :-)

Combat Mission Flame in the Caucasus? According to the link John provided a conflict in that region could drag in Russia and Turkey (Turkey being a NATO member creates the possibility of dragging in the rest of NATO under certain circumstances. CMFIC might be produced as an expansion to CMBS albeit as a slightly different scenario from the original using some of the same forces. Great for those who want Turkish forces in the mix. Speaking of possibilities the 2008 Georgia War (or a future repeat) could generate a few scenarios)

Actually I would like a CM Blitzkrieg covering Poland, France and maybe Greece/Yugoslavia. I think it will be a very long time coming as, fairly or unfairly, it is a definite minority interest. Eventually we will likely see a CM Barbarossa in perhaps five or six yearrs if we are lucky and enough of us keep rattling BF"cages" loudly enough for long enough! :-) Realistically when it comes to BF Blitzkrieg the phrase "Cold Day in Hell" springs to mind! :-)

In the Middle East a general Middle East War based around the current situation which is essentially this scenario or close to it. Add to the mix a Western and Russian hypothetical intervention on the ground, maybe IDF involvement and definitely Iranian intervention. And thee you have the makings of a fine war game with a lot of flexibility for scenraio desigers from US vs Russian to IDF versus Hezbollah or Kurds versus ISIS

The action shown in the vicinity of the castle in the video might be a good one. You should be able to find Palmyra Castle quite easily on google earth i agree that issues like the lack of water features are an issue but not so much in the Palmyra area. The overlay feature makes life easier when it comes to map making although we are not looking for a 100% accurate map here, just a reasonable and playable facsimile of the area for a war game. Likewise we don't know the strength of forces in the vicinity. A platoon or two for ISIS and probably a company sized Syran force with tanks and mayb some irregulars. A couple of Syrian aircraft and very limited artillery in support given the requirement to preserve an important archaeological/heritage site

Apparently Combat Mission Shock Force was used as a US Army training tool. Perhaps the same might be done by your unit to help prepare for training (but hopefully not actual combat) in an Eastern Europe/Baltic/Ukraine environment. As you imply it could be a great tool for platoon, company and task force commanders taking tactical decisions and maybe understanding a little about what is going on a level or two above/below their command slot. For instance a platoon leader can occasionally take a Task Force slot while his task force commander plays a game as a platoon or company CO to be reminded of the problems of his real world subordinates. Of course, I am just a real world "civvie" hobbyist war gamer - through which I learn about some of the problems of thereal world military while playing a war game for the fun of it :-) I learn for example hat, if I make stupid decisions, I woul get a lot f real people killed if I were actually in command and fighting a real battle. And sometimes I have done dumb things like rushing a tank company or combined arms team out into the open without anti aircraft cover. A mistake that hopefully a commander either in the real world or in a war game will make no more than once. At least in a computer simulation you can make your mistakes without real world consequences and see something of what the real world results might be. And hopefully your rookie platoon or company CO (for example) would learn from the mistake he made in the computer simulation and avoid screwing up in combat when the fate of nations as well as the men and women might really depend on the decisions you make. I agree with you though. If this game is an accurate simulation of reality a modern war between the US and the reformed Russian military could well be a messy and bloody affair. As the WOPR computer concluded in Wargames "Sometimes it is better not to play"

Read the scenario briefing. That normally tells you! If it doesn't look in the scenario editor! :-)

Are you saying NUTS :-) Sorry I couldn't resist given your user name! :-)

If that is correct Kevin that sounds like a good omen for me although I run Windows Vista, However I will still try the demo first and likely check my system specs with the help desk firs particularly if there re any issues. However, if there are others with older OS it would be great if they could post feedback. I will do so as and when I test he demo. In so far as Black Sea etc are concerned I assume additional modules will continue to be compatible with at least Vista OS and hopefully BF will take the hint :-)

For the last few months I have been having this awful problem with my Steam Account. It just won't let me sign in at all. I have tried the usual approaches (changing password and trying he new password - multiple times) but nothing works. There is no way of contacting Steam for help because the problem is accessing my account and there is no phone number or email to let me contact their custome support people to get this resolved. Effectively I feel I have been ROBBED by Steam given the above circumstances and am minded NEVER to purchase anything from them again. Ever. :-/ I am at my wits end abou this one, Can anybody suggest how I can get this sorted out. :-( Thanks

I am pretty sure that the Heinz Gunther Guderian book you mentioned ia actually available in English as From Normandy to the Rhine. This book is indeed the divisional history of `116h Panzer Division,

Some combat footage. There must be a CMSF scenario idea or two from this

I do not like Whiting as an author. His research seems rather basic to me and there are better histories of the HuertgenForest battles.I suggest A Dark and Bloody Ground Edward G Miller Tjhe Bloody Forest Gerald Astor From Normandy to the Ruhr Heinz Gunther Guderian

There seem to be some free or low cost versions of Windows 7 which appears to be the minimum OS required. But I will have to check the rest of the specs against those required. However, the first thing to establish prior to spending any money is that the game will definitely not run on my PC as it is now. It may well be that is the case and, if so,, proceed as planned

Thanks for the input gents. OK what I think will be the best plan for me when FB becomes available is 1 Download the demo and see if I actually can run it on my OS 2 Speak to BF technical support to see if I can run with my current specs 3 Speak to my PC technical support to look in to getting a more recent OS. J Bennett's suggestion of partitioning sounds like it could be a good way to go for my needs. Luke FF for a home PC nothing particularly wrong with Vista. Until now that is. However as indicated above I mght look into Windows 7, 8 or 10

With apologies to any actual Germans who may be blitzkrieging their way through this game. Don't mention ze war. Oh hang on.... :-)

Should include the theme music to Patton. To make ze German die for his country! :-)

True. It would be great if my Vista OS can in fact run the game but I would want to be sure both by a successful demo run and by double checking my system spec with BF technical support before I part with any money for obvious reasons. Looking at the official specs I think it wise to be cautious here

Thanks. I suspected from the specs given that there might be an issue but, from what Kevin says it would be best for those with older OS like Vista to try any demo version first. Maybe also check with technical support as well if in doubt. It would b a she to have to part company with BF simply because their newest games have specs too high for my PC although I would still buy expansions to Red Thunder, Black Sea and Normandy. At least until such time that I can afford to upgrade my OS or purchase a new PC

Can I just check, will Final Blitzkrieg run with Windows Vista?