pnzrldr

Pretty sure per above the Longbow Apache just does a little BLOS alignment, and overlays radar target that is on line of bearing for Tunguska radar emissions at head of queue for radar Hellfire. Poof! No more Tunguska. Doesn't work in our game, but IMHO the air and UAS is the least important part of the game. They are significant abstractions of the real world capabilities they represent, whereas the ground forces are an actual simulation. What is more fun and challenging is putting TG's into a scenario w/ no air at all and using them in a ground role. They are serious whoop, and carry a lot of ammo. Paper thin armor, but don't get one shooting at you. See the 'robocop' vid in my AAR. While this is not their primary role (nod to other comments above) it is what the ZSU-23-4 wound up doing in Grozny, and I would bet that it is part of a designated and prioritized role for TG's in latest Russian doctrine. Now, try imagining what this thing could do if all those shells were 'precision airburst.' ;-)

I am in fact here, but have been tied up with a variety of tasks. Have taken time to do some posts on other topics, but just could not compile the energy to keep after this. I will make the effort to finish but not immediately. As reported on Bil's side, we were forced to call the scenario due to technical difficulties with the older beta build we were using. Bil conceded defeat, though after inflicting more casualties. Think I am down 3 Brads from where I left off. However, Bil is down several more BMPs including one that Brytva 21 took out at near point-blank range! Will have to post vid from Russian side, because he couldn't save that turn and send it back to me! Thanks for your attention here, and the encouragement. Will make the effort to compile as a .pdf, and may do something similar front to back. Was toying with the ID of doing this sort of write up for a scenario against the AI, as it would turn faster. We'll see. While this scenario does not appear in the release, look for it in modified form on the 'new' repository, coming soon to a BFC.com near you!

Thanks much. Passionate about making this game as good as it can be. To all who gripe about features not present or in need of adjustment, please believe me that the Beta Team's strident noise has in almost all cases preceded yours. We fight a continuous battle to convince the designers what issues need to be addressed. They have to prioritize what they CAN actually change, against the time/effort required to get it done. Their priority is to get an 80% great simulation of modern warfare into your hands as quickly as possible, and then to refine as time permits. They make their livings (a few at least) doing this, so it is hard to argue with their decisions. If you want to pay us back, every scenario designer LOVES feedback, even negative feedback. Hit us up by PM, post a scenario-specific thread, get dialogue going on actual scenario features, maps, force mixes, balance issues, etc.... Building our experience in crafting scenarios is definitely in your collective best interests. Glad you are enjoying the game and look forward to hearing more.

To bring it back down onto the street, a little elaboration on the plight of the Shia woman who apparently started this whole discussion. I didn't actually relate the entire story. So, her father was a Shia doctor, who helped people in Baghdad, regardless of their sect or issue. The Sunni insurgents had presented him with 'get out of town' warnings which he chose to ignore. They abducted him, drove him around for a bit. Stopped in the middle of a busy main street and put him out of the car. They put a revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger until it was empty. We showed up about ten minutes later. She arrived a minute or two after us. She was hysterical - who wouldn't be? Her father had just been murdered. She spoke fluent English, which was a bit unfortunate. Hysterical behaviour in a foreign language is much easier to remain aloof from. No one is immune to their emotions when seeing the results of such a killing. Combat experience encourages keeping a lid on these emotions in order to remain focused on the job. Deal with the emotion later in a safer environment. Every member of our patrol felt a degree of compassion for this woman. It would have been much easier for us to treat it as just another part of the job ("Best job I ever had...") if we could have treated her grief as background noise. Not possible when she addresses you in your native tongue. We did what we could to help and console her. Her remarks to us were all over the map. Her main accusation was that we had invaded her country, assumed responsibility for its stability and we were doing a piss poor job. Why were we allowing things like this to happen? Where was the security that was needed in order to truly rebuild? I really cannot defend against this; she was correct. Even the following year when we began the "surge" we only had perhaps 1/3 of the personnel necessary to actually stabilize a place like that with a simmering ethnic hatred beginning to boil over. We literally needed to have a squad on every street corner, learning the language, knowing the names and faces of everyone who lived there, and knowing who was actually doing what. Driving around in heavy armored vehicles based out of mega-FOBs specifically designed to insulate us from the (hostile) population was sort of the exact opposite of what was needed. However, I also have no desire to see the US commit the truly necessary 750,000 or so Soldiers that were truly needed for US forces to stabilize Iraq. Had we done so, we would still be there, and our 5k KIA would seem paltry in comparison to how many would have died actually doing the job right. America didn't create the instability; we just catalyzed it by removing the oppressive regime that was keeping a lid on it. The problem is the Iraqis themselves, not us. Once we had respectfully placed her father's remains in a body bag, and loaded him (at my direction) in the back of HMMWV, I asked her what she would like us to do. At her request, we took him to the local Iraqi hospital. After some hesitation ('can I likely survive being seen riding in a US HMMWV') she accepted our offer to ride with us. When we finally left her at the hospital, she was thankful for the little we had done for her. My guys really were a bit miffed that I had created a gory mess that they would have to clean up in the back of the truck. Their casual bitching about it was part of them trying to cope, to make it seem less tragic than it really was. In my minds eye, I can still see her eyes flash when she spoke to me, and the way she alternated between impotent rage and overwhelming grief. I feel for her to this day, and hope that she survived. If she stayed, and if she survived, I am confidant that she is doing something to help the situation, not further hinder it. No real basis for this, just a feeling.

I am a believer. Our political leadership is not. The official US Military policy, from our CiC is that we will comply with the stipulations of the Ottawa treaty, and will phase out all stocks of munitions not in compliance. The fact that this relegates us to fighting with our hands tied behind our backs against militaries which choose non-compliance is... regrettable. While we are seeking alternative munitions which may be acceptable, they are quite likely to be cost-prohibitive in our current fiscal environment and will take a very long time to develop, field, develop doctrine and integrate into our tactical capabilities set. 2017 happens to fall fairly nicely into the seam between discarding DPICM and development of a replacement. Not entirely certain why we didn't include CBMs for Russia though, as you are correct that they would dramatically enhance IDF lethality against armored vehicles. However, Russian artillery doctrine still does not utilize the level of direct response to tactical targeting that we use, so is more abstracted in CM. Perhaps we can adjust in a future patch/ module. Worth continued discussion, as it would provide further balance to US direct fire superiority and protection.

As the guy who built Mission 2 for the US Campaign, my advice is, don't use them. They are battlefield taxis until we can get remote/elevated sights from hulldown into the game engine. Looked at hard, but engine limitations are what they are right now, and it just was not possible. Maybe in a future upgrade, or next gen engine. You can use them against adversaries not equipped with thermal sights from a reasonable distance, but against Russians (ie. in the US Campaign) you will need to be extremely cautious with them. However, their Mk19s and .50 Cals are quite useful for suppressing any infantry that your scouts run into. I keep them full vehicle down and let the dismounts do the looking. Have even dismounted their crews and used them for spotting before. They are full up scouts, not chump truck drivers. Would be interested in any feedback on second mission. It pits your scout platoon, with some minor reinforcements, against the better part of a Russian mech BDE. Have fun!

Ha! We'll see. I have to take the rascal to wrestling tomorrow at 1200, but can maybe hit a post in the morning. Been too mentally exhausted this week, sorry. My boss's boss's boss is a very demanding guy.

Present. What do you want me to say? You don't want your tanks to back up? Don't get lased! US Army has no relevant doctrine for this yet, as we don't currently have LWRs on our vehicles. Like the APS, the LWR is a postulated add-on that is commercially available and we can reasonably assume would be added to front line US units if we had say six months of warning to spool up prior to actual hostilities. If it was 'come as you are, right *** now!' we would not (currently) have this kit. At current defense budget levels we will likely field an APS sometime in mid 20s and a new tank long after I am dead <sad face!> Though our acquaintances in the IDF do have LWRs (I think I recall) on their systems, their threat is vastly different and so any doctrine they have hashed out against Hez/Ham threats would not apply to an adversary with MBTs and numerous different precision anti-armor threats. In the absence of extensive use at our combat training centers (which would require a very substantial overhaul of our training equipment, as well as the LWRs applied) we must assume that we would be determining tactics/techniques/procedures through combat Darwinism/evolution. If I was on a tank and the LWR so much as twitched, I would take immediate action. While that might not include launching smoke, it would almost certainly include seeking cover. Only difference is that I think running for cover forwards would be more frequent, as the crew is usually oriented that way on the offense, and it would be easier than trying to stop then reverse. However, would be tougher on the TAC AI to get this behavior, so we've got what we've got. My advice is... Low ground is your friend. Just because your Abrams is a rolling deathwagon does not mean you are invulnerable. Move tactically. If you cannot avoid it, consider using indirect-delivered smoke. It doesn't stop thermals, but does a job on lasers. Lack of direct-fire emplaced obscuration is a major gap in US capabilities. One that I am literally hoping to rectify. Use overwatching vehicles. Don't move if you don't have a friend covering you. Keep bounds short enough for mutual support, but don't become overly robotic. Flow like water over the terrain. On the defense, look to array forces in depth, but focused into a defined killing zone (engagement area) with overlapping coverage. Try to not allow the temporary withdrawal of a single platform unhinge your whole plan. Just my $0.02 Enjoy the game.

John.... Why are you posting? You said you had downloaded and installed the game. Go play it!

Steve - thanks. Was formulating a retort I will now keep to myself. Appreciated. Sincerely, 'a (fairly sharp edged) tool.'

You keep the game designers well supplied with cash, and they will keep us well supplied with stuff to beta test... for you!

Speaking as a former Bradley commander, I'm not sure a Sherman wouldn't be a better deal anyway. I think you lost out by reinstalling!

To the original comment on 'terrorists.' Don't care what you call them, when someone is shooting at you you should not feel any particular remorse at shooting back.

Active-duty 24 year US Army Armor Lieutenant Colonel. 55ish total months deployed to combat zone, Kuwait, Iraq, AFG, since 9-11. 7 months in Bosnia (near Tuzla) as Tank Company CDR in 1st CAV in 1999 during Kosovo crisis. 200+ combat patrols in Baghdad in 2006 as Cav Squadron S-3. Been hit by multiple IEDs on my vehicle, just missed getting SVESTed in Kunar AFG, shelled, mortared and RPG'ed on FOB and off, shot at, shot, rocks thrown at me, cursed, flipped off and given the evil eye on more than one occasion. To the best of my knowledge no one has ever thrown a grenade at me or dropped a bomb on me. Got to shoot my rifle at bad guys on exactly one instance in Kunduz, N. AFG in 2010. Pretty sure I missed (got off about a half mag with my M-4 at 800ish meters at unseen enemy) but you never know. Got shot in the chest by an IIS Iraqi Sniper with an SVD in Baghdad in 2006. Bullet hit above my ESAPI and struck an aluminum rock climbing carabiner that was holding my M-4 on my vest. Shattered that, and then penetrated 7 of 9 layers of flexible Kevlar in the vest. Came in at a nice shallow angle so it didn't quite penetrate. Knocked me A** over tea-kettle, and hurt me pretty bad. 3d degree burn on my chest from the impact, but 3 days recovery and good to go. 3mm left or right and I'm Maus tot (dead as a mouse). Scary part is I know guys who got closer to dead than me. Most fear I ever felt in combat was getting out of the armored HMMWV on first daylight patrol out after I got hit. Never scared when getting shot at, although apprehensive on a few instances. Got in an ambush once - 'idiots' shooting at us in our uparmored trucks (baiting us into IED ambush - worked too!). I saw a guy shooting at us, and my gunner was missing him. I wanted so bad to open the door of the truck and snap one into his head with my M-4. But I knew there were other guys shooting at us from other angles that I had not identified, and I decided (correctly) that my job was to lead the patrol, not get zapped shooting at the one damn insurgent I could see. So I stayed where I was and bravely and brilliantly led the patrol straight into the IEDs! My gunner got knocked unconscious (again) but thankfully no one else got hurt. Extraordinarily frustrating to get hit with IEDs or shelled and be completely incapable of fighting back. We were glad afterwards (including my gunner) that we at least got to shoot at them. On gore; slipped and fell on a chunk of fat blown out of a civilian guy's abdomen once at a VBIED scene. If I hadn't fallen, I would have been out from behind cover when the 60mm round landed a dozen or so meters away a couple seconds later. Fretted for months over the stain it left on my boot. Nothing would get it out. We had to pick up an assasinated shia doctor once in Baghdad, whose body the insurgents left lying in the road. Put him in a bag, just as his 20ish nurse daughter arrived on scene, going understandably nuts. Naturally, she spoke fluent English and wasn't shy about laying blame for her father's death on the Yankee thugs who had invaded her country in the first place (as opposed to the Sunni insurgents who killed her dad just for being a shia). Remember my troops became quite unhappy when I told them they had to put the body bag inside the HMMWV out of respect so we could take him to the morgue at the Iraqi hospital. Doubly pissed at me when the bag leaked inside the HMMWV. In Kunar, watched a guy pick up SVEST bomber's boot, leg still attached, and put in an ambulance. War is gory. Biggest fear - seeing kids get hurt. I've dealt with seeing US troops hurt and killed - we all volunteered at some point, so it is bad but not unbearable for me. Admittedly, never had a close friend killed while I was around, though an Afghan Army LT murdered my former company XO in AFG last year - I was pretty upset when I heard, but I was stateside at the time. Adults getting hurt, well we all take our chances right? It is a war. Kids getting hurt sucks. I have two kids. I love them, and I just can't wrap my head around the idea of them or others like them getting hurt by us adult's messes. My boss in Baghdad had a lady come up and ask him to get his medic to 'fix' her 1 year old son who got winged in the head by the AK round the insurgents used to assassinate her husband. No, one year old kids don't survive getting 'winged' by an AK round. He wound up gently holding this poor child's lifeless body for way too long, while trying to console her and explain that our medics could not bring him back. I missed being there by about two minutes. Have thanked God for that mercy ever since. Spookiest moment - clearing one of Saddam's command and control bunkers in Ameriyah. Was very much like a scene out of Half-Life. Big, dark concrete bunker that just looked like it belonged in a 1P shooter. Most vivid memory - locking and loading and doing last minute PCC's before rolling out the entry control point for patrols. I remember the very distinct smells of diesel exhaust, Baghdad dust, FOB + local environment, the heat, the feel of the M4 in my hands, the 'tough' feel of my combat gloves, the weight of the HMMWV door, the taste of stale bottled water, the tone of the radio speaker and the transition from casual Soldier banter to ready reports from the patrol and my crew. The mental transition from relaxed and 'safe' on the FOB, to alert and singularly focused as we roll through the gate, accepting the grinding fatigue that we know is to come. Concur with much of PzSauer's overall comments on US combat experience, leadership and psyche. Love many aspects of the Army, hate others. Best and worst leaders I've ever known were all US Army. Constantly torn between the desire to go 'over' again and the love and opportunity of enjoying my life with my family. Family is winning so far...

All - apologies up front, but I was on travel to FT Benning last two days, and am taking my fam on vacation this weekend, so likely no further update until next week. SPC O'Brian is in the hurt locker, as the Russians appear to be trying for a desperation push on Krichek. KPT Kovtun and MAJ Harris react, as Speed and Power continue their reduction of Russians trapped in / on Hill 347 and fight their way out of the restrictive terrain in the south.

“Blackknight Six, this is Blackknight Five, over.” LT Romero, the XO of B CO, called his commander. His Bradley, along with B CO’s first PLT, was driving hard for hill 347 and helped in decimating the Russian mech PLT in the field where Outlaw 16 had died. “This is Six, send it.” “Just linked up on ground with Outlaw elements. Confirm that 16 actual is down and will work a nine-line MEDEVAC for their personnel. They state that the Russians right in front of us have at least two T-90s hull-down at the base of the hill. I say again, there are tanks to our direct front, close range!” CPT Fuller ponders this for several seconds. He had planned to send his tank PLT to sweep wide to the left, reducing remain in resistance in the small copses of trees between fields and orienting fires to the south, around and behind 347. He shifted gears in an instant. “Roger, break, Blue 1 this is six, over.” “Six, this Blue One, I monitored.” LT Trevor Stanley from Pittsburgh responded with clipped precision, indicating he heard the report from Blackknight Five as well. Although just a second lieutenant, Stanley was a graduate of Officer Candidate School. A former 11B sergeant, he had fought two deployments in Afghanistan, both to RC-East in Khost, during which time he had earned both an Army Commendation Medal and a Bronze Star, each with a “V” device, for valor. After OCS he amazed his instructors by requesting to branch Armor, rather than Infantry. He like to joke that it was too much work to fight dismounted, and his inherent laziness combined with his penchant for muscle cars made tanks a natural fit. He was easily the most competent platoon leader in Farmer’s company, and his tanks were drilled to a razor’s edge. Farmer could hear the turret hydraulics of Stanley’s tank in the background – the turret never stopped scanning as the LT replied to his commander. He had just completed a quick spot report in BFT2 indicating his wingman had engaged and destroyed a BMP far to the south, and was preparing to bound his platoon sergeant’s section forward to begin sweeping left. “Blue One, change of plans. Red continues towards 347 and provides overwatch with Javelins and TOWs to deny anyone getting back up on the hill. Need you to shift from left to center and find those tanks. Work to get them focused in two directions at once.” “Blue one roger.” “Red one roger!” “White, you take over the left side and clear those treelines. Power Six posts a BMP and Flak tank also at the base of the hill. Red, ensure you keep those pinned down so they don’t distract Blue. We’ll flush them with arty if we have to. Take it slow and don’t rush to failure, over.” Even as CPT Farmer spoke, he watched his platoons respond. Red one was just to his front, and looked back. Farmer waved and then pointed directly towards the BMP and Tunguska the Battalion Commander had posted in BFT2. The lieutenant gave a thumbs up, and Farmer saw his right hand go to his right ear, keying his radio and speaking. Farmer could not hear him as he was talking on his platoon internal net, but he could see the Soldiers responding. Infantrymen loaded back onto their Bradleys, and the platoon began bounding forward, as stationary elements kept up a strong fire on the remaining Russian dismounts in the field ahead. http://youtu.be/-PeFDwEGIe8 Power 3 finishing the Russian infantry from the BMP-3 Power 6 destroyed previously. Both are holding position in the center waiting for Blackknight to flush or destroy the remaining BMP-3 and Tunguska to their front. “Tactical patience,” Farmer thought, “we really need to develop this situation and see what is really out here.” White 1, Lieutenant Murphy, was charged with getting a Raven UAS up to observe 347 itself. Telling him to hustle would not help. Farmer checked the BFT2 again, and then pulled up his binoculars to watch the company advance. As he watched, a Blue tank fired again, the AMP round hammering more of the Russian infantry in front of Red. Then he saw his FST’ers work, as a short quick fire mission of 155mm rounds crashed directly onto a farm complex to the company’s front. “Conducting the Symphony of Destruction!” Farmer grinned to himself and continued to watch his company at work. http://youtu.be/9CGgSUtV6l4 Symphony of Destruction, first chord... “Steel Five, this is White One, over.” “Send it!” LT Sheridan was moving, thinking and reacting faster than he ever had in his life. He was still desperately fighting to find any remaining Russian infantry in close proximity to his tank, urging his gunner and loader to try and get the 120mm cannon back into operation and trying to consolidate some control over the disrupted company. “This is White One, we have reached the road. Spotted enemy victors pulling back east down it. Think we killed two and are continuing to engage, break.” “Also have good eyes on south slope of Hill 347. Engaged and destroyed one BMP3 up there for sure. Continuing to scan, over.” “This is Steel Five, roger, hold what you got until we can get this Russian outpost sorted out.” Even as he spoke, Steel’s first platoon was indeed getting it sorted out. The tanks pulled forward, reoriented to their right and began tearing into Russian infantry with their .50 caliber machineguns. “Blue one, Steel Five, have your FO start working up the mortars to hammer the gully to our front. I want that thing plastered!” “Roger, over!” “Vovk, this is Brytva 22. We are at our position at the north end of the town. Borsuk 21 is destroyed. We didn’t see what did it. We have fired at some infantry to our front, and believe there is an element on our east flank, but we are secure here. Believe the enemy has a foothold in Krichek, but with infantry to help we can probably push them back out, over.” KPT Kovtun winced at the news of another destroyed BMP-2 – his last remaining – but was heartened by the optimism of the Flakpanzer commander. Serzhant Levitsky was usually far from optimistic, and if he was acting so positively it must mean he felt the situation was well in control. He turned to MAJ Harris who was working diligently on his PDA. “Is it done?” “Roger that, Kapitain. We are tied into the Task Force fires net now. Couple of minutes and the top of that hill should get flattened. But make sure he knows that SFC Bagby is headed up that way on his left” Kovtun turned back to the radio. “Brytva 22, American artillery will hit the hilltop to support you. If you need it adjusted let us know. You retain control of my command truck and the squad and machinegun team with them. Continue to hold the north end of the town. Be alert for the American Team Sergeant – he is moving up to recon on your left.” MAJ Harris paused before heading out the door back to his HMMWV. “Oh, and SPC O’Brian on the far bank managed to destroy an enemy T-90. With the first two company-teams in range now, the Russians should have a very hard time. Kovtun nodded to the American, without a smile. “Good.” He said.

LOL. Your wish is my command.

It is not. However, it might violate US / Coalition ROE under certain circumstances or at certain time periods. ROE are frequently more restrictive than international law of war. Technically, it is a capital crime under the law of land warfare to resist (through armed resistance or providing intelligence, etc...) uniformed service members of an occupying force, if you yourself are not a uniformed service member. Punishable by death, which can be enforced by an occupying force using acceptable expedient tribunal procedures, as long as the rule of law is still applied universally. Would theoretically justify non-summary, but expedient with fair hearing, execution of every insurgent captured since 1967 or so. Not strategically desirable if you buy into COIN doctrine, but perfectly legal. Point is just that law of land warfare is not unilaterally applied, enforced or interpreted, and current public/social opinion about what is acceptable level of violence is the actual 'law' in use - CNN factor wins every time.

You guys have me chuckling, because from my perspective it seems like most of the characters are fairly shallow, and the only modestly developed one, died. Not wounded, dead <sniff!>. I guess that you have a pretty good sense for PdPK Borys and KPT Kovtun, and I'm having fun with O'Brian. LT Sheridan is now riding a mobile bunker (flash idea: ask for leaders jumping tanks in 4.0. Should be easy, since INF leaders already can!) but perhaps we can have some fun with him yet. All excited leading the big attack, and then... oops! Olf, kein problem. You can AAR along these lines to your hearts content. Never been to Bremen, but maybe my next trip over. Only problem w/ doing the NATO/US campaign this way is that the scenarios don't have one common core set of units. They are all drawn from common core, but several use smaller slices that don't necessarily appear in the next scenario. I'll have to look at UKR an RUS campaigns to see if they are more contiguous.

Almost forgot... "V-Pack Clogged" light. I think it actually says "Air Filter" on the panel, but the bottom line is that the Abrams, having a turbine engine, requires substantially more air to run than a conventionally engined tank. The air filtration system is based around 3 large, V-shaped filters that fit into slots in the left side of the forward portion of the back deck. Each is built inside an aluminum frame and weighs ~ 45lbs IIRC. We used to weigh them to see if they were still any good, but I cannot for the life of me remember the clean/dirty weight range. Maybe a current tanker can update. If they clog up, you don't go... at least, not very well. Tank unhappy. Expedient fix used to be to either just pull them out and bang the dust out (quick and easy) or they put a compressed air takeoff on the engine which came with wand attachment for actually blowing them out. Takes a bit longer, but not over-lengthy. Actually, I was just reaching to provide some reasoning behind why the Steel Commander showed up on map out there w/ Blackknight, rather than with the rest of his formation. This is my hastily invented excuse!

1. Recuperator failure might or might not result in breech out of battery, but most tank crewman would not want to risk firing once they know their recoil system is jacked, especially war-shot ammo. 2. Both of the Abrams hit hard by 30mm are now expensive machinegun platforms. Will look over the rest of the damage to see what else, and will post. 3. Yes, driving through the woods was risky, and in retrospect, foolhardy. I failed to anticipate how far forward Bil had pushed his INF. However, based on where my reinforcements teleported in, I had little choice in the matter. If I had an inkling, I could have led with dismounts, but it would have much slower and you guys would have roasted me for excess caution in any event. 4. Trophy's reset time is marginally slower than ARENA - on the order of 1.x seconds I think, maybe a bit less. Biggest drawback is, Trophy only has 2 shots per side, but those shots have complete coverage. If I understand ARENA properly, it has LOTS more segments (21? 23?) but once one of those segments is gone, it has a gap someone could (with luck) hit, say with consecutive rounds on the same azimuth. I could be in error on this - will have to go back and see if the system does some sort of automatic rotation to cover gaps. Next post will be a day or two. I owe next turn back to Bil. I am exactly one behind on posts right now, and hope to stay nice and tight for the duration. Next turn will feature gradual recovery from the ambush you witnessed, along with some nifty long range Abrams execution.

LT Tim Sheridan couldn’t believe it. He was the XO of C Company, “Steel,” of 3-69 AR, and he was leading his Company on the attack through broken woods and gullies. “What lunatic thought of this approach,” he wondered again, “I just want out of here, so we can get after the Russians.” He knew it his team was near the edge of the woods, and that Russian forces were reportedly just beyond. Leading the Company was exciting. CPT Darland’s tank, “Stone Cold,” had fallen out a half hour prior with a V-Pack clog light, but the crew had fixed it in less than ten minutes, so the commander had not jumped tanks. However, he had gotten separated from the company, and instructed Tim to lead them into the attack. Tim couldn’t believe his luck – he was both excited and trepidatious. He had not been in combat since Afghanistan in 2013, and he knew that barely counted alongside what 3ID was into now, but he was confident that he and the company would do well. The forest, however, had other ideas. It had taken them nearly 20 minutes to break through a couple measly klicks of forest! They kept running into impassable gullies and having to work around them. Frequently they had to dismount and recon on foot to find a way for the tanks, and all so they could avoid coming into contact right up the road. Now though, it was a little more broken and they could see daylight. Tim gave his orders to the PLs and watched as they all moved up, but now that contact was imminent they lost some of their discipline and the bounds he had ordered looked more like a herd of cats moving forwards, some rushing some crawling. Suddenly, all hell broke loose. Tim found himself down inside the turret of his tank – he had been up in the hatch and looking towards the break in the forest ahead, when… The Laser Warning screaming at him, and the driving hitting the brakes had thrown him down inside. Then even more sudden, sound, shock, a tremendous hammering, smoke, and it all seemed to happen at once. “Steel, this is Steel 5, contact infantry and BMPs right!” Even as he spoke he heard another burst of 30mm fire trip-hammering against the heavy tank turret. Suddenly his APS fired and he realized that it was the second shot. "Driver get us out of here, gunner traverse right!" “Sir, the gun won’t elevate!” his gunner sang out. “The hell you say! Fix it, we sort of need it!” he replied, scanning with his low profile CROWs system. The CROWs was perhaps the least popular thing with tankers that the Army ever put on a tank. It was incredibly bulky on top of the turret, restricting the commander’s view and ability to maneuver the tank, and sticking out like a sore thumb. The controls and screens were poorly integrated, and it made the TC’s job harder instead of easier. But after ‘ruining’ a couple hundred Abrams, the Army stopped and figured out a new scheme for a ‘low profile’ CROWs that was properly integrated and worked with the systems on the tank. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was infinitely improved over the original. LT Sheridan was still trying to figure out which direction his CROWs was pointed, but he noted that it was now pointed at a pair of Russian infantrymen with a wicked looking RPG, so he squeezed the trigger. "Sir, the recuperator has a fricking hole in it. Something came through the turret armor. I think the gun is toast! If we fire it, it will probably come out of battery." "Hang on, now where did they go... Okay traverse around and see if you can still shoot the coax. We just became the world's heaviest machinegun carrier." Around him, the tanks and Bradleys of his new command dealt with the unexpected contact as each saw fit. Most reacted by turning and backing trying to place the heavier armor towards the BMPs and assuming they would find the infantry and suppress them momentarily. The fire support officer, LT Matt Tanner in the Bradley Fire Support Track (BFST) was not so lucky. Struck twice by crippling rounds, it ground to a halt with its turret askew and a gaping hole in the front slope. http://youtu.be/MlRB9V22ias Sorry for having to run this with Alt-T on, but you would never have been able to see it otherwise. C Company stumbles upon a Mech infantry platoon in the woods. “Power Six, this is Blackknight Six.” “This is Power Six, send it.” LTC Falkner never took his eyes from his screen as he scanned, answering the radio call. “This is Blackknight Six, engaged and destroyed two AT vehicles and three BMP-3s, north of hill 347. Continuing to engage dismounted infantry and other targets as they appear, Break.” “We are bounding towards Phase Line Green and should turn the corner on Hill 347 in 2-3 minutes.” “We have established contact with Outlaw 16 element, and his Brad is gone, as are several scout teams. Blackknight Seven will get a full nine-line when we’re done, over.” “This is Power Six, roger, complete seizure of Hill 347, turn the corner and establish overwatch of Krichek and the Power Plant, over.” “Blackknight Six, wilco, over.” “This is Power Six, be swift but deliberate and don’t let anyone get too eager. Get’r done. Six out.” As the flat crack-boom of tank cannons reverberated across the fields, PkPK Borys Levchenko looked up with his mouth open. Moments later, they saw smoke rising and it was clearly coming from places they had seen Russian vehicles moments before. SGT Lerner approached the shaking man slowly. “Sir, I’m so sorry they are late. I know it is no help now for your men, but the Russians are going to wish they hadn’t come all the way out here to get at you, I promise.” Breathing hard, and shaking, but with a growl not a sob, Levchenko replied. “I too am sorry, that you Americans must come so far to fight and die for our country. Thank you. Thank you for your help. Believe me, my men and my country appreciate it.” Both knew the day’s fight was far from finished. “Sir, let’s go see if we can help somehow, okay?” SPC O’Brian cursed, “C’mon you bastard, stick your head up again.” He fired another controlled pair with his M4, then dropped prone, calling out, “Reloading!” PFC Metcalf fired another shot a moment later. Neither knew the nature of the troops they saw moving in the treeline, but they knew they weren’t Ukrainian. “We should have brought Tom’s team out here with us for security. Did you hit any?” “Nah, I think they ducked down too quick. We need to bug out. Lets get back over to our last firing spot. We’ll have more standoff if they try to come out of the woods, and maybe we can find a home for this heavy-ass missile!”

It bears remembering that even the front of an Abrams can be penetrated over some small portion of lucky hit locations by fairly modest AT weapons. The MT-12 will knock a hole in the side of, well... anything. It will knock a hole in the front of anything that is not an MBT. Advantages over an ATGM are ROF, TOF, flexibility and cost. Disadvantages are weight/mobility, range, precision and penetration. Optimum tactics for ATGs on modern battlefield against opponents with MBTs are to position for 'keyhole' shots. Look for highly complex terrain - urban streets, heavy woods, gullies/wadis, etc... where you can position the gun to shoot along an extremely narrow arc. Ensure you have at least one nearby observer team to let your crew know when something is approaching so they can be truly ready. Have a preplanned escape route, because you might only get one shot! However, at NTC, I've seen an MT-12 equivalent (Towed 2A45M) take out more than 10 vehicles w/o being detected. Against formations w/o MBTs, we shift to more normal considerations of cover/concealment and fields of fire. Still vulnerable to suppressive and precision fires, but nothing in LOS should live long against you. Brads/Strykers are vulnerable over their entire 360 degrees. If placed in teams of two for mutual support, and firing against formations from ambush ("Wait for the Whites of their Eyes!") they should do butchery. However, thermal optics may make ambush positioning impractical in some instances. If so, revert to keyhole ops.

Hey, it sure looked to me like that was the problem. I will literally go back and relook the tape on this, but I would have sworn that seemed to be what happened. Either that, or perhaps both HE rounds have a min range? Don't know. What happened: Vehicle started backing up. Leader TM threw a grenade which exploded short, and I think fired a burst or two (duh, like that's going to do anything). Vehicle mucked about a bit. I thought I literally saw the turret and/or hull waggle side to side and the guns 'hunt.' Leader TM morale goes to hell and they cower. Dudes jumped out the back and shot crap out of Leader TM

We'll see. In the next write up you will discover that Steel has blundered upon an element of completely undetected Russian mech INF backed up by their BMP's in the next gully forward. The results are not pretty. They are the ones templated for sweeping the south side of 347, so now it may be awhile before those particular Russians receive their just desserts.