LUCASWILLEN05

Apparently he Obama Administration may be considering sending defensive weapons systems to Ukraine which is somethig to keep an eye on as regards possible BF upgrades. Javelin equipped Ukranias may be an interesting 2017 possibility.amng other things. . http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-31104979 And, who knows, if policy develops further maybe offensive systems such as the M1A2 might be part of the Ukranian TOE by June 2017

I would love to see a Combat Mission Fulda Gap game. In the meantime however we can take iinspiration from hypothetical 1980s scenarios and transplant them to 2017 Ukraine. There are a number of very interesting scenarios in Red Storm Rising for instance

One could do a post Ukraine War scenario where a defeated Russia collapses into a civil war. NATO commits forces to secure WMD sites Within the scope of the war situation outlined by BF there would be scope for limited offensive operations into Rusdsia itself. The Ukranian city of Belgorod is only around 5 kilometers from the border with ussia which means the battlefields fought over by IISS Panzer Corps are very close. NATO's counter offensive might very well reach the area towards the middle of August or late August. Which would allow for the possibility of our Second Battle of Kursk scenario. As in 1943 NATO would be assumed to be conducting operations aimed at capturing an important Russian city and destroying Russian forces. As yu say his is alternate (r more accurately future) history so we can pretty much come up with any scenrio we like. Even a Barbarossa II "March on Moscow" situation. Maybe someone could do a Red Square map so we can do some "Moscowgrad" scenarios. Or have the glory of parking our M1A2s in front of the Kremlin and hoisting the Stars and Stripes (the iconic phtograph of the war) Yes, I know there is a strong argument that Putin goes nuclear (alhough one could argue that sane Russian generals who do not wish to see the destruction of the Rodina know the war is lost and overthrow Putin in a coup before the l;aunch codes are issued (similar to the end of Red Storm Rising for instance)

Regarding thermal capabilities it might be very hard to know whether what you are looking at is friendly, hostile, civillian, animal or something else generating heat.

If I have a situation such that the enemy surrenders but, in game terms I lose the I rationalise that as a phyrric victory, depending on how severe my level of defeat actually is. If things are really bad then it might be rationalised as an enemy victory (but I just don't tend to lose THAT BADLY!

I managed to lose 7 aircraft (including a couple of UAVs) to the Tunguskas despite the warnings given in the scenario about Russia AA capabilities and so quickly learned a healthy respect. Speaking of AA the US seem quite weak in this area.

Thanks for al the feedback. I suspect the Syriamn regulars in CMSF and defintely the unconventionals did not get the body armour however.

True. Though he could probably "arrange" the votes Anyway, getting back on topic it could be interesting to see how the WW2 actions turn out with modern forces. he summer 1943 are the obvious candidates for this, hence Kursk and the Mius. Then there is 3rd/4th Fourth Kharkov (though we cannot currently do winter warfare) and the battles on the Dnieper in the autumn of 1943

I am curious as to whether Black Sea and, for that matter Shock Force takes moder body armour into account. Soldiers seem to be wearing it but how effective is it in game terms?

However Tunguskas and other AA are often to be found skulking well to the rear which makes the direct fire aproach a little tricky. UAVs can at least find them under these conditions. And it probably won't matter to much if you lose UAV compared to a multi mmillion dollar manned jet/helicopter with an expensively trained flight crew

You want to bathe in Russian blood for a week! :-)

There might be good reasons to push into Russia, certainly to take limited objectives like Kursk (political negotiaing chips) To advance on Moscow would be a big political decision, perhaps only implemented if Putin escalated to use of chemical weapons, but, if we wanted a reason to extend the warr for longer we could say somethng like this happens. The use of nuclear weapons is also a political decision and it could be argued that both sides would be well aware of the consequences of initating nuclear warfare and so think very carefully about using such weapons. Assuming both sides are terrified about nuclear war it is entirely possible the conflict stays conventional..If Putin loses it at some point maybe more rational Russian generals overthrw him in a coup and seek a ceasefire with NATO. Should the war go nuclear then the war ends in Nuclear Armgeddon

Would a UAV/precision artillery strike work? You might lose the UAV but if it can spot the Tunguska long enough to get the artillery on target....

Be glad I am not doing the job for real because I got lots of people killed. Think of all those graphical widows and orphans

Isn't Stalingrad called Volgagrad these days. Of course Putin could change the name back again If BF extend the time period covered then a modern day Battle of Moscow in tjhe NATO win branch would be interesting, and could well be a Stalingrad like meat grinder continuing into the winter. In the meantime there are pssibilities for big city fights in urban centres such as Kharkov, Kiev, Mariapol etc. Lots of different types of battle that might be gamed within the context of this campaign.

In mid August as the NATO counter offensive continues two main prongs of the operation are formed. In the south NATO forces attack to eliminate a strong Soviet bridgehead in very much the same place as the 1943 battle. The Russins resist strongly behind well dug in positins and extensive minefelds. Further north NATO forces begin to advance into Russia proper in much the same place as the Southern Wing of Operation Citadel. Again the intention is the capture of the strategic city of Kursk. As i 1943 Russian forces are well dug in with extesive minefields. As in 1943 weather conditions are poor with frequent rain. NATO units fight their way forward agains heavy Russian resistence. Several days before the ceasefire the Russians launch a magor counter attack at Prokhorovka Afer this battle the remaining few days of August are spent with minor operations before the ceasefire comes into effect.

Scope for an interesting "Second Front" to the war in Ukraine hereSometime in mid to late June 2017there is a coup attempt/revolution in Minsk resulting in civil war. .Putin orders Russian forces to intervene. Fearing an atempt to turn the flank of theiir position in Ukraine NATO forces are sent into Bellorussia. This force might well contain strong European elements such as Polsh and German.. Putin escalates further by invading the Baltic States i early July to "assist" the Russian minorities there (in reality of course he is looking to occupy some NATO territory to use as negotiating chips) More European NATO forces with some US units are deployed to defend the Baltic States. In the south, if Russian forces get so far, there might be an invasion of Moldova or even Romania, again as a wayfor Moscow to pile on the political and military pressure (this variant s very much part of the Russian Win branch)

Going up against a T90 (or any other MBT) with a Stryker is not a very good plan! You need to dismount the infantyr somewhere very safe and don't forget to bring your ATGMs!

More moderns please BF. After adding NATO and insurgent/militia types etyc to BS perhaps 1 Combat Mission Fulda Gap 1988 2 Combat Mission Merkava 2018 This could be a general war in the Middle East, nt just Arab-Israeli 3 Combat Mission Arjun 2018 India and US versus China and Pakistan 4 Combat Mission Korea 2019 US and South Korea versus North Korea and China

An interesting development in Belarus that may have ramifications for the conflict in Ukraine. Depending on what Moscow makes of this a neighbouring country could become embroiled. BF might well want to consider looking at the Belorussian army as a possible belligerant in 2017.... http://www.ibtimes.com/scared-ukraine-war-belarus-strongman-lukashenko-mulls-ditching-russia-1801070

I play Real Time on Iron. You can stop the game at any point to assess the situation and issue new orders. Stoppng every minute whether you need to or not irritates me alhough there are benefits to ths mode of play as others say. Realtime puts you more under pressure in a realistic way from the commander's perspective. On the other hand WEGO is a good learning tool.

I definately like the AAA capabilities. Or not when I am at the wrong end of them. In he US Campaign game I ignored the warnings about Russian Anti Aircraft capabilities and lived to regret it! Note to self. You are not fighting Second Division Arabs now. This is CMBS and you are fighting the Russian Bear. First Divsion with top end gear. Don't underestimate Mr Bear. Face him once and live and he is SIR BEAR1