jtcm2

Well, in my scenario, you set up a base of fire with the HMG and the Stug, rain 105mm down, and try to bound into the position. Or if you're the AI, you rush.

I've got a rough version. Anyone interesting in giving it a spin ?

Good questions from Vark. Should the German rapid reaction come via one of the sunken lanes ? Should i padlock the Soviet assault Co. remnants, or do I leave them free and just assume that their positions represent the consolidated elements which have been hustled into hasty defensive positions ? When do the German elements arrive ?

I think infy fights are the way to go. What's the size of a German counter attack group ? Co or above ?

I'm thinking of making a scenario (or operation ??). Suitable for solo play as well as h2h. The situation: say late war (June 1944 ?), Soviet attack. A Battn (?) has managed to break the German line of defence (i.e. a Co. sized strongpoint ? I assume the German line is not a continuous line of trenches, but a string of such strongpoints, mutually supporting and in depth, which can call on arty fires. And, of course, "fire brigades" for quick reaction counter-attacks). The map must show the German strong point (a web of trenches and bunkers and wire ?). perhaps mostly in reverse slope. Perhaps, at the edge of the map, a German bunker with keyhole LOS to part of the strongpoint (representing a neighbouring strongpoint providing supporting fires). Perhaps the remnants of the reinforced co. (Co+ 2 HMGs + 2 ATGs + 82mm ? + FO ?) that held the strongpoint: a few panicked, depleted squads cowering in woods, maybe one diehard fanatic squad in a strong house. All padlocked. Craters, the remnants of a hurricane barrage, over selected points of the strongpoint. The Soviet attacking force (pure infy ? Infy with T-34 ? with SU-76 ?), is padlocked across the map in positions that reflect the fight that's just finished: heavy weapons in firebase, point assault company still in positions that reflect the hard brawling once the other companies shot and suppressed defenders to allow the assaulting plts to swarm the place. Everyone with casualties reflecting the fight, and ammo depletion to match. At what point does the German counter attack hit ? What does it have ? What are the chances of the Soviets to hold ? Should the scenario start with e.g. 20 minutes of just moving everyone to defensible positions within the captured strong point ? Should the Soviet breakthrough elements join in the fun ?

Or perhaps a Maus ?

Sorry for being woozy-- but some more thoughts. is the remedy not letting the local commander some degree of command freedom ? With examples-- 1. Vet. Co. in defence. As JasonC wrote: small enough that one pair of eyes has good sense of what everyone is doing, command net integrated, etc. Attacked by e.g. a Battn, which is part of a "lumbering beast"-- i.e. not well enough integrated that the higher ups know what's going on locally, but dependant enough on orders from higher up to react sluggishly to events at the sharp end. Result: the attacking battn "comes on in the old way, and is driven off in the old way". 2. Vet Co in defence, same set up. Attacking Battn is part of larger beast, but, upon contact, is given enough freedom (or decides on the spot to seize the freedom) to take its own measures-- i.e. transforms into the equivalent of the Vet Co. in defence (tight control net, immediate answers and responses, etc), only with attacker odds. Result: good set piece attack by calm and well integrated attacker which takes apart the defence. Does this make sense ? NB in CMBB it will always be (well, ideally) situation 2 that prevails-- unless the CMBB commander play acts in ways JasonC outlined above (when you make contact, phone your mother in law to ask for instructions and wait; while you wait, let your wife decide what to do with one Co. and ask your dog to make a decision concerning a couple of random platoons; also let a dice throw decide if a Co. goes to ground and stays there, etc).

Interesting that, on this line of interpretation, (e.g.) a Co. fighting as part of a small, integrated force on the defensive is more effective, on the ground, than the Co. fighting as part of a lumbering, un-integrated, larger force on the offensive. I mean, at the sharp end, you're still seeing the same number of elements fighting against each other (barring any massive difference in equipment quality and performance); but the "lumberers" are embedded into a larger beast, and simply respond more slowly or have their fighting power degraded in myriad ways just by being integrated within a less effective system (the attacking Brigade or whatever). Does this make sense ?

At the risk of being a wikibore, I remember reading this, off wikipedia http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/maida/c_maida.html -- which makes the point that Oman's account of Maida, so central for "col. vs line", was in fact mistaken: the French at Maida deployed I note that JasonC's account above seems to apply to black powder warfare the same principle that underpins e.g. his primers on how to attack in CMBB-- it's not the case that 1 Battn in line receives 1 Battn in column, but that the attacking force is superior in numbers (1 Reg attacks 1 Battn ?), so that e.g. everyone in the defending Battn line is shooting at someone, but only a small portion of the defending Battn line is shooting at the "column" portion o the attacking formation. Have i got JasonC right, and is he correct ?

What I mean: in a Peninsular battle, when the French column marches up to a reverse-slope protected British line, and the firefight takes place: without indulging in Oman style visions of meatgrinder-like slaughter of the column, what happens ? Is it that JasonC's "crust" moment is amplified (because on 3 sides ?), and the column breaks almost instantly ? Is there a real firefight, resolved after a while because the "killables" in front are down and the back of the column (which is, what, 9 deep) has retreated back to safer distance ?

is this also true for the "column versus line" engagements which Oman made so much of, and which migrated into popular fiction ? ( I mean the, in my view dreadful, Sharpe series, where Frenchmen are mowed down in heaps by heroic Brits).

Have you tried this one ? Not bad, though not hugely balanced, I think.

Thanks, Joachim. i can't find who designed this. Was it you ? What if armour decides to flank the positions ?

The right way to cross the reverse-slope held crest is to overload one point with infantry and swarm through ? The counter to that, I suppose, is reactive and registered arty; or failing that, concentrated 122mm arty from the IS-2. The point of the HMGs firing long range is probably to make the opponents offload 150mm arty early. The AI did, in fact, smoke the woods before assaulting them, which made for a terrible mess with infantry swapping fire at close range. supporting armour got into the melee too.

Thanks, will try this. This sounds like a good setup for an AI defence, too-- except that the AI will probably play its IS-2s forward to duel the Tigers. Maybe I'll dig them in

Has anyone played this scenario ? Spoilers below. (Part of the CSDT series) * * * * * * * * * I write by memory, after playing it and tinkering with it in the editor-- against the AI. 1944, German assault against a Soviet held ridge, Hungary. German forces, v. heavy. Tiger plt. Assault gun plt (which I tweaked, changing it to PzIVs, mindful of the 80mm front). Assault guns with 105mm guns, 2x. I think a Co of Pz Grenadiers in HTs, with support HTs (75mm guns) and support weapons (HMGs, 81mm mortars). 150 mm arty registered on enemy positions. Everyone elite or crack. Soviet forces, on the ridge, in two positions, namely two wooded patches on the ridge, on either side of a road that leads up the ridge; the two postions are not parallel or aligned, but angled so that they support each other. Each position is held by 2-3 HMGs, 1 Co. of Guards infantry, 1-2 SU-76s, 1 T-34/76, 1 T34/85, 1-2 ATG (76mm). One of the positions (after my tweaking) also has 3 IS-2s (2 Green, one Regular). The Germans attack over 700+ of open ground (some patches of brush and scattered trees). Heavy weapons emplace; the Tigers lead, one pair overwatching and one pair advancing, the rest of the armour overwatches. AI, of course, plays its armour terribly, so the Tigers win the armour war; the HTs get within range while 150mm plasters the woods, infantry debuses, hits the round, tanks and support HTs fire at anything that moves in the woods, infantry gets in and brawls with the Guardsmen while tanks get closer. OK, I now try as the Soviets against the Germans. Infantry in the woods, in back positions. ATGs with crossed fields of fire, armour just off the ridge. German armoured fist bears down; HMGs plink at Tigers to make them button. Now comes the tricky bit. How do you fight off 4 Tigers ? If I open up long range (with shooting and scooting tanks), a lot of stuff bounces off, and the return fire devastates my shooters. So should I wait until I see the white of their eyes ? At that point, the enemy armour is already rooting out my infantry; and the return fire is even more destructive at that range. In the abstract-- I would imagine all infy in back positions in scattered trees, with SU-76s in LOS to be able to support, but not with LOS outside the trees, to avoid German armour. Somehow, the vulnerable German armour has to be whittled down, to leave only the Tigers-- who have to be engaged close up by the IS-2s. But can't get it to work

Lately my daughter put some watercress seeds to sprout. After 2 days, the tangled jungle of slender trunks and mini tufts of foliage looked familiar. Then I remembered: it looked exactly like CMBO forest

How does the tactical equation work ? I advance. Immediate eyeballing, then scouting reveals patches with wire, and patches without wire. Here starts the mind game element: why is there wire ? Three possibilities: 1. He wants me to go into areas where he can bring lots of firepower to bear: the wire steers me into it. Question: what does he have to cover the wire ? Answer: probably enough to make life unpleasant, but the main assets must be deployed elsewhere, in the wire-free main killing zone. Solution: cross wire with smoke routine and overwatch. 2. The wire is the main killing zone: it must be within shooting distances of heavy hitting stuff, e.g. infy in trenches. Question: where are those assets deployed, for maximum damage ? (what if it's a TRP on wire ?) Solution ? Avoid, or set up for major slug fest "at the wire". 3. Wire is undefended obstacle. Question: why is this ? Solution: cross. Some thoughts, while eating birthday cake alone in my office.

Brilliant ! Like in real life armies-- SOP and patience does it. What a life lesson.

I've played CM (CMBO, CMBB) since 1999-- and I still HATE wire-- either it forces me into enemy fire, or (even if I've silenced whatever covers it), I have to push infantry to exhaustion to struggle its way through the mess. I know, you can load infantry on tanks and cross this way. I still wish there were wire cutters or bangalore torpedoes in CM.

Would anyone like to play me in "Eight is Enough", in PBEM ? I play steadily, but not, alas (work and family obligations) terribly fast. But I keep turns coming, even as I lose.

Ha ha ! Excellent

Tangentially, but quite nicely: http://www.avclub.com/articles/combat-survival,40361/