pnzrldr

Quick request - my current boss is an old member of the Speed & Power crew, and the Company and BN callsigns I'm using reflect his input. However I know that especially at Company level these tend to change from time to time and aren't always kept up for historical purpose. Can anyone provide me with definitive, right now, 3-69 AR callsigns? I tried googling but could not penetrate the miasma of Army web ineptitude.

FWIW, Bil sent me back the turn in which my US reinforcements arrive last night. I will take some time catching my turns up before returning it to him so that we can try to release the 'mayhem turns' fairly simultaneously. I really owe "The Teacher" one on this though, as my reinforcements arrive on-map undeployed, in beautiful Red Square'esque Parade Formation, hubcap to hubcap. Should be interesting to see if I can get them uncoiled without major losses. Looks like a mech-heavy team in the North and a tank heavy one in the south, along with BN CDR, XO/S3, rest of the scouts, 2 ravens, 1 Gray Eagle, Mortar PLT, 2 firing PLTs of Paladins, an Apache and a couple Jets. Will be interested to see if Bil gets reinforcements as well. Could make TG 22 highly vulnerable, if they have entrance locations like mine. If he does not get substantially more stuff, I am feeling pretty confidant. I have 3 PLTs of Abrams on map now, and stand to get a fourth if needed. Seems almost like overkill, but I don't want to be over arrogant about it. Current decisions facing Power 6: - His tank is the single most exposed of the entire force. Pop smoke now as initial action or wait for the APS to launch upon getting lased? Back up to map edge, or bound forward fast for covered position (and potentially eat a T90 round or two enroute)? - Burn an arty fire mission on southern MRC? Starting mortars on hill 347 is a no-brainer, although the stuff on that hill may not last long enough for them to hit. FA on the south will take 5 or 6 minutes by which time Bil will likely have adjusted, but if I go slow/deliberate it could still fall on some of his stuff. - Launch a raven now, or wait to see if I can zap both Tunguskas first? I am pretty sure the one on Hill 347 is too far forward to live long, but the one in the south could back out, haul ass into the hinterlands and take substantial hunting to find and extinguish. - Suppress Southern MRC, maneuver north and over hill 347 to swing everyone across the northern fields, and seize the river crossings? Or seize 347 from the North, base of fire oriented SSE and bound the tank heavy team through the close terrain to overwhelm the enemy in the south? I am leaning towards the former, as I don't relish the fight through the heavy draws in the south, but might go that way if I think crossing the northern fields would be too costly. In either case, I am placing tank and Jav fires all over the north/south side of 347 w/in 3 turns. - How much of the Infantry to dismount immediately against the possibility of Brads eating tank fire? Don't want to lose any more Javs than I have to, though I have a LOT of them. They actually represent a bit more lethality than the Brads they are riding in. (Micro-spoiler: SPC O'Brian is going to NAIL a T-90 soon!) - Do I need any immediate screening smoke anywhere to cover initial moves? Note that his decisions combine personal interaction with the battlefield with decisions affecting his entire force. This is typical of a front-line tactical commander, and something fascinating that CM is able to present in perspective. Looking forward to this, and I'll post out of content discussion of the decisions ongoing as I get the story caught up over the next few days.

John, Acknowledge that it was independently developed, Note that the comments state: "Even before the AT4 had been adopted by Sweden, it was entered into a US Army competition for a new anti-tank weapon..." Without the (enormous) resultant contract, I believe it is unlikely the weapon would have been developed further or broadly adopted. Perhaps by the Swedes, but perhaps not. In any case, while the test vids are impressive, so are all HEAT hits. But there is a big difference between hitting a 5 ton armored car and a 47 ton tank. If hit in the rear/side hull it is probably 50/50 whether the jet and resultant spall hits anything vital in the engine compartment. Depending on the hit location, a Russian tank might be able to continue for quite some time. Many Abrams hit and penetrated in the engine compartment by RPGs have continued the mission unscathed. Pierced cooling systems, punctured lines or reservoirs might take quite awhile to result in engine failure. Lots of big, solid, energy-absorbing objects in a tank engine compartment. Lots of more delicate items too, but they tend to be smaller. I was at the body shop with my wife last week and a lady came in with a .44 magnum round through her hood and lodged in her car battery - her car would still start! Of course, a tank taking an engine hit from an AT-4 could also explode into flame, but it wouldn't likely happen that way all or even most of the time. I'd say most likely outcome = engine stops, followed by a marginal or gradual loss of power/performance, nothing at all, then fire, and finally (least likely) outright explosion.

Thermal sights in CMBS will give everyone fits. INF can be seen through fairly heavy trees, and what can be seen can be killed. I'm sure we'll hear holy cain about it, but I think it is a fairly good model of reality. You need LOTS of trees, or better yet, buildings in the way. But I digress... Perhaps Bil will dust off his tactics blog - it is pretty good, and you can link to it at the bottom of his signature last I looked.

No, you are right. The Bradley is routinely selecting TOW for BMP-3s, when 25mm would be more appropriate, as I have seen both against Bil and in other playtesting. I have posted this for the game design crew lead's attention (which may or may not result in a fix - if you have a case of South African wine, I can give you a PO box to ship it to. Might help). Ken, feel free to jump on my mantis. This may be due to a near undermatch of 25mm against BMP3 front with reactive armor, but I tend to think the solution is simply fire more 25mm. I've got friends who killed T-72s (with crews in them!) from the front with 25mm in 03. Older export models, but still MBTs through the front. Mostly turret top/slope and hatches, driver hatch, turret ring, gun mount, and actual gun penetrations. Just hold down the triggers until the thing burns. 20 rounds in six seconds. I suspect that the BMP-3 would have a hard time taking the pounding. FWIW though, his T-90 that will (in a few turns on my thread) eat LT Upham's lunch, is indeed inside the TOW's min range. Also, the issue with beta builds that had us working behind the current product got fixed. Our posts are using the Beta16 build, which is the latest right now.

Can't wait to see!

I have a 4100m kill already in beta testing "Bridgehead at Kharylyk" - a soon-to-be-favorite scenario for all you guys, by our high-climbing Scottish Mountaineer, George MC. Got a pair of Abrams into a dual with two Krizentema at ~ 4100m. They merrily pounded us with missiles, and we merrily sent Sabot rounds back (I hope, more accurate at that range, though the AI may have selected HEAT or AMP for light skinned). I think we took two or three hits in the exchange, which had me very nervous, but they managed to shrug them off with moderate damage. Took I think nearly a dozen rounds between the two tanks to finally get a hit. But it was lethal. Game does model long range engagements, and oh yes, the Abrams can hit at that range in real life.

To give scope, I am four turns behind on posts, and believe that my reinforcements likely arrive next turn. So, on the fifth or so post following this one we should see some real mayhem. Bil appears to be moving slowly post-Xmas, so I will try to get caught up. May make another post tonight/tomorrow, if I don't go fishing. ;-) Per previous request I am limiting my pix to 1024 wide. If you folks want them bigger - 1200 or 1600 - let me know. Might stretch some monitors, but I know I don't see the details on my (fairly good) monitor at 1024.

As the Russian forces relentlessly move forward over Hill 347, they keep the remnants of the Ukrainian 3d Company in a deadly crossfire. Overwhelming firepower, accurate gunnery and the amazing spotting advantage of their more modern vehicles complete the destruction of their Ukrainian enemies. The southern Mechanized Rifle Company (MRC) keeps up a devastating long range suppressive fire on the orchard, pinning LT Upham and SSG Svendson’ Javelin Team. To the south side of the hill, a Russian T-90 dispatches the last 3d Company command BMP-2 with a casual point-blank shot, as one of his southern MRC comrades does the same to the final 1st PLT BMP-2, completing the destruction of the company. The only surviving combat effective Soldiers are the 1st Platoon Leader and his dismounted squads, now preparing for a desperate last stand in the Starov Village. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJHvg64eaGY PdPK Borys Levchenko was bleeding. He felt along his lower back, and brought his hand back to see the blood. His RTO pulled out another dressing and lifted his tunic to apply it as the senior officer knelt behind a tree. “Sir.” SGT Lerner approached quickly through the trees, crouching low. He dropped to a knee next to the haggard Ukrainian. “Sorry Sir. Our intel had no idea the Russians would attack into us like this. I’m not sure if they updated or not – I’m out of comms now. The Russians must be jamming us. I’d like to tell you they’ll be here soon, but I just don’t know.” “Yes, we both should have known better, eh?” Borys replied. “Now we have no troops left, but we have stung a Russian or two, and we know exactly where they are. Can you not get the information to your forces? If you can kill these devils with your precision weapons my men will not have died for nothing!” Lerner took off his sunglasses and looked straight into the older man’s eyes. “Believe me Sir, I am trying, and so are the scouts up north. I see about a company down there to the south, and estimate another company coming over 347. They must have left something back to keep Krichek bottled up. I’ve seen two Russian Tunguska, one to the south, and one right over there on 347. If we want air support to help, those have to go down.” Borys raised a pained eyebrow: “What exactly do you expect us to bring them down with?” “Not sure Sir. Try to keep everyone that’s left down and keep eyes on them. If we can hang on until Battalion gets here we can send them our feed and get this thing turned around.” “This is our homeland.” Borys replied, “we aren’t going anywhere, alive or dead. Now keep moving your team back, and stay dispersed. The airbursts are hell.” As this conversation passed in the treeline near Starov, the lone Ukrainian team at the government grain storage site prepared themselves. The four men could hear Russian motors whining, and the unmistakable squeeking clatter of steel-shod tracks. Situated in the second story of the building, their orders were to observe and report, unless the facility came under direct attack. In that case they were expected to defend it – to the best of their ability. As a Russian T-90 suddenly loomed out of the forest, the squad leader directed his teammate to hit it with the older rocket first. He was unsure if it would even fire, but wanted to see if he could take out one with this expendable munition to save his RPG rounds for the second tank moving to its flank. The young man’s aim with the old folding rocket was admirable, as it flew straight and true, but it detonated against a reactive armor tile specifically designed for this very task. The explosive charge sandwiched between two metal plates exploded when the tip of the shaped charge jet touched it, blasting the outer plate into the path of the forming jet, and causing it to spend its energy cutting the plate laterally, rather than penetrating straight into the tank’s armor. The tank rolled forward oblivious, but the team held its collective breath as they watched its path. They had been supplied with all the anti-tank mines the home guard unit had to spare – six mines. They had placed them in a 2 x 3 grid along the road to the south, and they recognized that through some miracle, despite all the other terrain available, the tank was headed directly for them. The first Russian tank fired its cannon, and the team leader knew the air defense team hidden in the woods was having a bad day. Then suddenly, the second tank rolled directly over one of the mines actually lying in the road. The detonation of the AT mine was stunning at such close range, but the team leader had scant time to cheer. His RPG gunner lined up on the other tank and unleashed a rocket. Unfortunately, these men had none of the newer PG-7VR tandem warheads which were designed to defeat reactive armor, and this round like the one before it, exploded harmlessly, spending its energy on an ERA tile. “Hurry – reload!” the team leader cried, as the tank suddenly pivoted towards their building. The gunner complied, moving swiftly through his drill, snapping in the rocket, cocking it, lining up again on the target a scant 30 meters away and slamming another rocket towards it, hoping for a luckier hit. But he didn’t even get a hit. The ARENA APS radar was now looking directly at the team, and it tracked the rocket’s flight almost from the instant of launch. Though close in shots like this are challenging for APS, the slight up angle gave the radar just the edge it needed to get a countermeasure cassette into the air and detonate it just above the winging rocket. The gunner, grabbed for another reload, but the team leader just hung his head and covered his eyes as the tank cannon rose towards their position. http://youtu.be/iEWxIl8NALc Congrats to Bil for finding the lonely minefield. I think I only got 6 or 8 for the whole thing, and this is one of just two I placed outside of Krichek. Him finding this one was a friendly miracle in a sea of badness. 'If you build it he will come..." On the north side of Hill 347 LT Upham knew he was in deep. “C’mon driver keep us coming back.” Their Bradley reversed behind the building smoke screen. “Keep scanning,” Upham told his gunner, although they were unlikely to see through the dense smoke that kept them alive. As they backed into the gulley and swung south to find a better firing spot, the Russian MRC commander to the south gave a curt firing order. The orchard that sheltered them exploded into smoke and buzzed with whirring fragments, as first the tanks and BMPs, and then the air defense Tunguska laid down a withering searching fire. SSG Svendson and his team were caught as they moved forward, diving to the ground and hugging mother earth, they prayed for the fire to cease, while expecting a fatal blast at any second. “23 you okay?” SSG Svendson could not even hear his LT’s radio call over the world exploding around him, and did not respond. “Driver, pull us back up. Let’s see if we can find one.” The Bradley rolled back up out of the gully, to find its own smoke still screening hit, having drifted south on the mild breeze. “Okay, give it a second.” Neither LT Upham nor SSG Svendson heard the Russian platoon now angling towards their left and closing the distance at a sprint. Alone in the gully at the foot of 347, PFC Haskel hesitated. The smoke launched by the dying 3rd Platoon BMP to his rear gave him some cover, and he was loath to go running panicked down the gully, just to get cut down by an overwatching vehicle on the hill above. He needed to get back up and check on SSG Venar, and maybe pull him down to cover. Suddenly Haskel heard an engine growling closer – he unslung the AT-4 from his back and flipped the small firing lever to arm it. The AT-4 is a US Army initiative built to replace the aging M-72 LAW. Unlike most other Armies, the US forces felt the need to put anti-armor munitions in the hands of soldiers across the battlefield outweighed the requirement for a more capable munition that would require training and a crew of 2 or more. The M-72 initially fulfilled this need, as it provided a fairly light, easy to use single-shot rocket which was capable of defeating most tanks… of the 1970s. The AT-4 replaced it in the late 80s, essentially a single shot variant of the Swedish Carl Gustaf 84mm rocket launcher. Though even simpler to operate than the LAW, and more accurate with dramatically improved penetration, the AT-4 is much heavier and does not fold up, so it is bulk and difficult to carry. Not popular with troops, it is nevertheless a capable weapon and Haskel figured he was owed some payback. The T-90 clattered into view above Haskels hide in the gully, never seeing him and angling off to the north. The PFC waited a second to be sure, aiming low to try and come in under the ERA, and then squeezed hard on the firing lever. The rocket zipped out of the gully, never more than a foot from the ground, totally evading the ARENA’s radar view and detonated against the rear hull. The powerful unitary warhead easily penetrated the thinner rear hull armor, but with no apparent effect on the roaring tank. The engine never missed a beat, and the tank rolled away to the north to play havoc with the PFC’s Platoon Leader. “Well,” thought Haskel, “maybe it did some damage.” Then he looked up the gully slope to where his SSG lay and steeled himself to go forward to check rather than back the way he so wanted to go. “Vovk, this is Brytva 21. We are taking fire, and have pulled back. I think 21 Mike is down. Something exploded over there. They are hunting us. We must move.” KPT Kovtun acknowledged – he did not want to lose the Tunguska after it had done so much, but its armor was like paper to a main battle tank’s. “Brytva 21 – yes, pull back. Move to the bridge. The Americans say it is clear. Their missile team is moving up and can cover you. Don’t shoot them, whatever you do!” “Yes, this is Brytva 21, moving.” The excitable commander of TG21 knew he had been lucky to back up just as the Russian tank to the south fired. He would shift north and wait for another opportunity. He didn’t know that only the actions of the team at the grain storage facility had saved him from the same fate as his Strela wingman, now burning from the destructive fires of the two hunting T90s.

Apologies - the "annoying sound" is Bil's air support. Not sure why the noise prior to their arrival. I'm about 4 turns ahead playing, from what I have posted, and my boys just launched a bevy of SAMs at his aircraft. Should make a really cool vid in a couple turns. Actually, last night I sent to him what I believe to be the turn prior to the US showing up. Yeah!

Steve, hate to break it to you but the Bradley is armed with a 25mm, not a 30mm. The M242 Bushmaster Chaingun, to be specific, from Lest you think it undergunned, it actually has a good bit more APFSDS performance than the Russian 30mm, but the HE is smaller. The Bushmaster II is a 30mm, with faster, meaner rounds than the Russian 30mm, but we haven't bought that (yet!). Don't worry, with the Gray Wolf and the Bradley 30mm on your side, you'll be invincible! P.S. I may be showing my age on fire commands. I grew up on A1s and A2s, not Brads (did have a Brad scout PLT for 6 months, but only fired one gunnery) but anything mobile not a tank and not a truck was a "PC." Yes, it stands for personnel carrier. The oversimplification is intended to help with ammo selection. Tanks got Sabot - anything else armored but not a tank got HEAT. You still specify the ammo of course, in peacetime fire commands, but in the heat of the moment in combat... well, Ol' LT Upham should have popped of with a full fire command and then his gunner couldn't have dorked it up and launched a TOW at a vehicle he would have eaten for breakfast with his 25.

Outlaw 16 knew he was in trouble. He could hear the engine noises ahead of him, whining and roaring as the Russians moved up on him. His quick instructions to SSG Svendson were to get forward into position and put a Jav on a tank or BMP up on 347 to give them something to think about. That wouldn’t be enough. He had to get some fires of his own going. “Driver, ramp up - back up.” He usually called his crew by name, but in times of stress, training kicked in and he reverted to their duty positions. “Okay, now forward right. Head down the draw a bit, then ease us up for a look. Gunner, missile up as soon as we crest, and scan the hill only. I’ll cover everywhere else.” As they moved up, Upham looked carfully around trying to see everywhere but up on the hill, but a sudden burst of fire ripped his eyes back. The last 3d Platoon BMP-2 was backing desperately and was spiked on bursts of 30mm fire from two completely different directions. The steel vehicle shuddered under the impacts and Upham watched in momentary awe as hunks of steel flew into the air, the armor plate buckling and shattering as the heavy armor piercing rounds ripped through both sides. Then the hatches burst open, not from the occupants trying to escape, but from pressure as something inside exploded. Fire and smoke built quickly and the LT knew that none of the Ukrainian crew had escaped. “Identify PC!” his gunner screamed, tearing Upham’s attention back to his mission. “Fire!” he shouted back, not even bothering to check what they were shooting. “On the way!” the gunner replied, but in their excitement, neither had checked their weapon selector. The TOWII leapt from its launcher and streaked towards the BMP-3 that was now clearly visible on the hill haloed in the dust from its fire on the Ukrainian vehicle. The missile sped straight and true, detonating in midair several meters short of the BMP, blown from the sky by the ARENA APS system. Upham dropped down inside the turret. “Holy ****, why’d you shoot the TOW? Quick, go to AP!” “I can’t see him now through the dust.” His gunner replied. Upham popped his head back up, rapidly scanning the hillside, his excitement warring with his training, verging on panic. He had seen fire from at least two directions hit the Ukrainian vehicle, but could not find the second enemy vehicle. At that instant, Upham’s concern melted into fear. To his right he could actually see one of his scout HMMWVs – it took him a second to realize it was Outlaw 12, SFC Bagby’s truck. The truck was backing up fast, 30mm fire peppering the ground around it. As the LT watched, the deadly autocannon rounds found their mark, blasting into the front of the lightly armored vehicle, powdering the armored glass windshield. He saw PFC Purtle slump down over his spade grips, an instant before a final round detonated the Mk19’s ammo box. http://youtu.be/15fJXy-V7H8 “Popping smoke, driver back up. Too much heat up here, too close. We need to get some space.” Keying his mike: “Outlaw 23, you find a target for that Jav yet?” “16 this is 23, nothing yet. We’re looking. Gonna keep creeping up. Hard to see out of this orchard.” Suddenly, another voice broke in on the net, speaking low. “16 this is 13 delta. My actual is down. They rolled right up on us. I’m back down in the gully. I’m gonna wait here to see if I can get back up to him.” SSG Venar was one of the LT’s better scouts, and he had learned a lot from him. “Roger, is he KIA?” “Sir, I don’t know. I couldn’t stick around to check. I know I have to find out, but you have to give me a minute.” “Roger that, keep your head down. Plenty busy here. Keep me informed. 16 out.” http://youtu.be/QCypvpfubqA Ukrainian infantry and SSG Venar fall to Russian fire as artillery pounding Krichek causes casualties in the background.. The last Ukrainian 3rd Platoon BMP-2 is blasted from two directions simultaneously, as LT Upham's TOW shot whips towards a Russian BMP-3.

Mord, Despite the 'CMSF beta tester' hung on my profile once, I never played it. Of course, I am not going to buy CMBS, but I am certainly going to play the hell out of it once it is released. I did a lot of playtesting in the Alpha and early Beta phase and have contributed a lot to working balance/realism issues, but have had limited time to actually play the thing now that many of the scenarios are approaching finished. Scenario build (only one) and AAR have consumed my game time. I did play CMBN w/ all packs (paid for one I think, and base game), CMFI/GL (paid for base game - my first CM), and CMRT. Were I not helping build CMBS I would certainly buy it. The focus is entirely different (as I understand it) from CMSF. It is full-bore high intensity near-peer armored combat at its finest. I fully intend to recommend it to Army friends and leaders for training value and to showcase it to everyone I can for the valuable peek it gives at the implications of the lethal stuff that defense firms are cranking out world-wide these days.

Thanks Dan. Perhaps I will. I'm already a grade ahead of Harold Coyle I think - didn't he get out as a Major? I actually read Team Yankee as a pre-release review copy when I was in high school, hence, Armor officer today. I was already well on the way though. My Dad was the Regimental SIGO for the 2nd ACR in Nuremburg back in the day. Took me to Graf to watch the Regiment shoot a Combined Arms Live Fire exercise. When I saw the tanks shoot I was hooked! If I ever do write I might be crazy enough to try Sci-fi. I corresponded with David Drake once upon a time. If anyone out there hasn't read "Hammer's Slammers," let me make a shameless plug for it. Best tanker Sci-Fi ever written, and top 10% in military sci-fi in general. Someone had a 'reading list' thread floating in here somewhere if I recall. Perhaps I should go lurk on it a bit.

LOL. Well, I cannot address Harry Potter invisibility cloaks. I'd say that either that is what the Soldier in your video has, or else the vid is simply doctored. Scene is obviously an older, early war one, as the US response makes no allowance for secondary devices. I know of no working, practical 'invisibility cloaks' that are effective against naked eye. However, there are several fairly easy passive ways to offset thermal detection. Much more feasible for men, rather than vehicles, although modern design does take thermal signature reduction into account. Simple 'reverse polarity' tape that we use for target ranges affords fairly good outline disruption if cut into strips. Doesn't mask ambient heat that soaks around it, but effective at moderate to longer ranges. I quite literally assumed that our sniper teams (who have thermals of their own) are cognizant of this and have created suits that allow them to remain hidden. However, such things are not in the game. Maybe in a module. I think there should be some sort of icon or UI indicator for thermal equipped units in game as well, but again, maybe in the module.

P.S. Please do keep voting up the posts. If I cannot defeat Bil on the battlefield, perhaps I can amass more 'forum reputation points' than him! Ha!

On the north side of the hill, the remnants of 3rd Platoon were still being ground down by the advancing Russian BMP-3s and infantry. The Platoon leader came staggering back through the forest and collapsed by a tree, falling next to the last two surviving dismounted infantrymen from his small command, both bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds to their faces and upper torsos. “Sir, are you okay?” one asked. The Lieutenant’s haggard face told the story as he just stared at the man in obvious shock. In that instant, another burst of lethal 30mm cannon fire struck, directed by the thermal sights on an unseen enemy vehicle, and the officer fell forward on his face and was still. The two infantrymen cried out in panic, then both began crawling away from the source of the fire, one whimpering in fear and the other snarling in impotent rage. Note: BMP in background is destroyed Ukrainian 3d Platoon vehicle. In Krichek, KPT Kovtun knew that the Russians were up to something. The artillery continued to hammer down, but there was simply not enough fire or probing coming from the far side of the river, especially given the destruction of one of an enemy BMP over there by his ATGM team several minutes ago. Someone or something should have been hunting, searching, trying to pin down the missile team or flush out its comrades. He called the BMP2 section which had moved up and taken position along the row of houses on the west, facing the river. “Borsuk 11, have you seen anything? Any activity from the far side?” “Nothing Viktor, hang on, I’ll move up and take a quick look.” “Borsuk 11, this is Vovk, Hang on 11, don’t do anything stupid.” “Trust me Viktor – we are good on this.” An instant later a Kovtun heard the unmistakable hammering of outgoing 30mm fire, over the shriek of another incoming artillery shell. As his ears were still ringing from the tremendous detonation, he gradually heard the voice calling again on his radio. “Vovk, this is Borsuk 21… Vovk this is Borsuk 21…” with a heavy heart, already knowing Kovtun took a deep breath and replied. “Go ahead 21.” “11 is destroyed. We never saw what did it. His track is burning. No one got out.” “21 this is Vovk, do me a favor and don’t DIE in the next five minutes. Keep scanning but keep YOUR heads down. We need your track, your cannon, and your missiles! Stay under cover and respect the enemy’s abilities. Vovk out.” He passed the handset back to his RTO, making a deliberate effort not to throw it against the wall, and carefully peeling his white-clenched fingers from the black plastic. An instant later, he took it back and spoke again. “Brytva 22, this is Vovk. Move to checkpoint 2 and observe.” “This is Brytva 22, understood. Moving. I have permission to shoot?” Podpulkovnyk Tymoshenko stepped into the room. “You are committing the Tunguska?” “Brytva 22, destroy anything you see. Out” Kovtun gave his Air Defense Commander a hard look. “Yes Sir. It is needed. We have lost too many combat vehicles, and now 11 has stupidly gotten himself and his crew obliterated. I need a check on the south, and it must be fast, and lethal if anything is there. Brytva 21 on the other side has done quite well, although he said he saw nothing from his new position.” “Absolutely. Good, I approve. I trust you Viktor. Keep the fight going. Levchenko will get here with the Americans.” http://youtu.be/cKvN6JINyaw Outside, Major Harris drew the same conclusion from both the sounds of cooking off ammo from the recently destroyed BMP up the street, as well as the radio traffic which he and Beach were monitoring. He too drew out his handset: “Guiness, this is five, over.” As a small team, the SFAT had adopted informal call signs. SPC O’Brian was well known for his heritage, and his favorite beverage. “Five this is Guiness.” “Need you to get over to TRP 2 like we discussed. Seen anything? Figure you can make it?” “Roger. We can make it. The green boyos over here saw a couple dismounts earlier, but they laid into them with their AGS and we haven’t seen any movement since. I think our move is still masked. Same mission?” “Roger, just like we rehearsed, over.” “Guiness moving. We’ll be back in a bit with notches on our CLU. Out.” One hundred meters away, the SPC O’Brian picked up the Javelin launcher, tapped PVT Metcalf on the shoulder, and headed quickly down towards the river bridge, carefully skirting the anti-tank mines laid on either side of the road. At the Ukepor Power Plant, LT Lysenko grinned as he spoke into his mike. “Yes, that is in there. Fire for effect.” The infantry in the field had dropped from view, discouraged by a few bursts from his squad in the entry building, and the mortar spotting rounds had bracketed the position where he had last seen the Russian truck and troops. He hoped the mortar boys would fire fast so he could shift them closer into the field. He doubted his few men could hold off a platoon of determined Russians. Starshiy Kostenko knew he was a dead man. The 2nd Platoon private was on the ground, crawling past the body of one of his comrades, trying to follow his section leader back down the hill to the west, away from the murderous fire from inside the trees. It was like a horrible story to tell little children. From dark shadows beyond sight inside the trees, the forest had suddenly belched fire and flame, and all around him men had fallen. His own thighs and cheek burned with shrapnel, and he felt the warm sticky wetness of his own blood on his pant legs as he crawled. Suddenly, right behind him, he heard a crashing roaring clatter of sound. He turned his head and saw the Russian beast, a BMP-3, a mere stones throw behind him. He swung his rocket launcher around, and thought to himself how sad his mother would be…

SSG Venar wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but he knew it wasn’t good. The Ukrainian infantry up the slope from him seemed to be having a bad time of it, and the shrapnel from the airburst they continued to receive rattled the trees above his head. He turned to his teammate. “We need to get the hell out of here. Lets go. I’ll call the LT as we move.” The two scouts began slithering back down the hill towards the gully they had infiltrated along. As they moved, Venar keyed his mike and spoke into his headset. “Fernandez, you there? I don’t see you. Where did you go?” His driver responded almost immediately, gasping loudly, “Outlaw 13, this is 13 Delta! We had to pull back. We got hit – no idea where it came from, we were just sitting there and BAM! The right fender is all blown to ****! I think the run flat is still okay, but I don’t know if it hurt the engine, or…” “Delta, are you in cover?” “Roger, I backed further up the gully. I’m pretty sure no one can see us from here. Michaels is checking the right side.” “Okay, hang tight. We’re gonna try and get back to you. Too hot up here. Switching higher, so just hang on. 13 out.” Venar switched his radio over by feel, and immediately keyed on the platoon net. “One Six, this is One Tree, over.” “This is One Six, send it.” “One Tree, it is way hot here. Green boys on the hill are getting their ass handed to them by our friends in red. Could not stay. Displacing back. My Delta says our truck took a hit. Seems to still run, but will have to assess when I get back.” “Roger, bound back and stay under cover. Let me know when you are remounted.” “Wilco, out.” The two scouts began working their way down into the ravine. The veteran NCO turned to his teammate. “Get that AT-4 ready. I don’t like those engine noises, and that green BMP over there is backing up.” On the south side of the hill, SGT Cox continued his crawl, cursing all the way. He could not believe that his team had not worn their anti-thermal Ghillie suits. He would never be sure, but he felt those might have hidden them from view. His crawl was slow and deliberate, as he had been taught, and as he had done numerous times in training and in Afghanistan. He gradually worked his way back towards his torn teammates, focused on at least recovering their dog tags, and double checking to ensure they were both actually dead. Unfortunately, his premonition on vulnerability to thermal sights was well founded. A Russian tank gunner on the south side of the wheat field, equipped with solid second-generation thermal imaging sights, courtesy of the French company Thales, caught a hint of movement from within the treeline. The commander told his gunner to fire if he thought he saw troops, and a 125mm high explosive fragmentation round screamed across the intervening kilometer in less than a second. Though it missed him by over 20 meters, the shell exploded at a height of nearly 5 meters off the ground, blasting steel shards at lethal velocity in all directions. SGT Cox felt his body struck by half a dozen splinters. Three drove into his body armor and stopped, bruising him, but doing little harm. Two tore into his right arm and shoulder, piercing his muscle but doing recoverable damage. The last was a strip that failed to fully fragment, nearly 20 cm long and razor sharp, peeled from the length of the bursting shell, still flying at nearly 600m per second when it struck him in the left leg just below the knee. Dazed but still conscious, SGT Cox clamped his left hand down on his gushing leg while his right groped for his Combat Application Tourniquet, conveniently rigged, per training, for single handed application. As the Russian forces decimated KPT Antonyuk’s company, the first two BMP-2s to die had been 1st Platoon vehicles. Now the sole surviving vehicle hunkered down in the gully and watched fate bearing down on him. The commander could not quite spot the enemy vehicles, but he could see their antennas moving towards him as he peered over the lip of the gully embankment that shielded his track. He looked behind him, and was gratified to see his squad of infantrymen moving up into the trees to his rear. The LT was dismounted and ordered to keep his men in and around the village of Starov. Obviously he had decided to interpret the village borders somewhat loosely. Perhaps they could still manage to hit a few of the Russian dogs as they came hunting for him.

At the edge of Krickek, a 30 year old Ukrainian private was smoking a cigarette. He was a rough looking character, with a light beard over heavy acne scars, and the tobacco stains on his teeth hid the poor dental repairs. But despite his ragamuffin appearance, he was alert and was keeping his smoke low in the hole he shared with a young high school kid from Kiev. “There, look…” he said, carefully setting his smoking cigarette against a sandbag. “It is a Russian – you see him Bubi?” “Don’t call me that, you derelict. Of course I see him. Are you going to shoot him, or just admire him?” The veteran grinned, never taking his eyes from the Russian trooper, creeping along a hedgeline in the little ville on the far side of the river. For such a young punk, this kid had spirit! He gave the AGS-17 grenade launcher a nudge to the left, and triggered a burst without even rechecking his aim. The machinegun chuckled, and spat out a short stream of deadly little balls – like black little golf balls he thought, as he followed their short flight. The rounds bracketed the hedge, detonating close around the Russian soldier, who quickly dropped from sight. The private fired three more bursts for good measure, precisely dropping the grenades onto both sides of the hedge. No more could be seen, but a shout in Russian seemed to promise that at least some of their fire had done some damage. He smiled a crooked grin, and tucked his cigarette back into the corner of his mouth. With the dust raised by their firing, it could hardly give away their position now. Behind him another volley of artillery slammed down on Krichek, shattering street cobbles, bricks and roof tiles, as it detonated against the streets. http://youtu.be/jyIP2M3Av3s LT Lysenko was wondering exactly who had his range. He wasn’t certain, but his little post had taken nearly 20 rounds of something, and though he thought initially they had been seen by a tank, now he feared someone had zeroed in on his little band with a deadly large mortar, perhaps two. The rounds came it at fairly regular intervals, and though he couldn’t get a direction from inside, they certainly seemed to be falling from above rather than below. He popped his head up long enough to see a Russian infantryman plowing through the wheat, heading towards him from the north, then ducked as another bomb whistled in before detonating against the roof of the power plant stack to his east. He strained to catch the fall of shot against the truck he had targeted with his own mortars, but could not see anything but a cloud of dust in that direction. They must be on though, and he carefully pulled the radio set from his dead RTO’s back to raise the antenna so he could make the call.

PFC Purtle hollered down to the armored truck’s driver to stop. “Hold up here. We don’t want to get too far back from Sergeant Bagby.” “What are you talking about?” the young Private responded, “He said to leave him. The whole world is blowing up on that hillside!” “Just hang here a few minutes,” Purtle ordered, “I’ll see what I can do.” He finished clipping the lead round from a new box of 40mm HEDP onto the dangling belt from his Mk19, swung the weapon around, and adjusted the traverse and elevation mechanism to lay the heavy gun on the hillside a scant 300m away. All he could see were trees, with smoke sifting up through the leaves. “Well, what the hell, they won’t like these grenades going off over their heads,” he thought, and loosed a quick burst, followed by another. He had no solid target, but shooting back at anything felt good, and soothed his jangling nerves. On the other side of the hill, KPT Antonyuk spoke emphatically into his handset, his tone imperative. “No, you must pull back. There are too many, and they are on the south side too. Get your men back to the gully! Now!” “Is that LT Kolomiyets, with Second?” his RTO asked. “Yes, but he is not himself. He must lead his men back….” As the Kapeytan spoke, the “TCHANK, TCHANK, TCHANK!” hammer on anvil sound came again from behind the 2nd Platoon Positions. Moments later yet another column of smoke rose into the sky, marking the destruction of yet another Ukrainian BMP-2, this one belonging to PdPK Levchenko himself. Antonyuk looked to his rear for his commander, and saw him with his team headed back down towards the gully to their rear. Cannon shells from up on the hillside and across the valley kept whipping across, each one detonating above the surviving infantrymen of 2nd Platoon, each with a fearful “Craccckk!” Antonyuk watched in helpless agony as yet another team of dismounts hit the ground and lay still. Then another round zipped past from the south, this one seemingly close enough to reach up and grab as it passed. It detonated closer, and tight behind. The Ukrainian officer gasped in shock as he recognized that it had found its mark, directly over his commander’s team. He saw the haze of smoke in the air, and the dust thrown up on the ground from the shrapnel’s impact, all around his trusted mentor. He said a brief prayer, and as it cleared he saw PdPK Levchenko still moving forward, though one of his party now lay still. “This is a disaster,” Antonyuk thought, “We must save what we can. I wonder if the mortars can retreat in time.” He grabbed the handset again and began speaking. North of PFC Purtle’s position, LT Upham assessed the situation. He was desperately working his way through his PACE plan, trying first his primary – his MNVR radio, then his alternate – his Blue Force Tracker 2, then his contingency – TACSAT (couldn’t find the bird) and finally his emergency communications systems. His emergency system was a locally procured GSM cell phone he had picked up in Lviv, but to operate it he had to shut off his Bradley’s on board electronic warfare set. While he was frantically working his way through this, his crew was helping SSG Svendson’s team cross loading the Javelin rounds. It took less than a minute, but time seemed precious. Upham hated his position – as soon as Purtle and Svendson had pulled back he had lost his eyes up front, and now had no idea how close the Russian elements had drawn. “Sir, we’re good to go.” “Dammit – frickin’ phone. Good Sergeant, I need you to move back up so you can see what’s coming. Move carefully up about 50m that way, where I came from, and get eyes on the hillside. I’m pretty sure you should get a Jav shot in short order. Don’t hang for two, just shoot and scoot like we practiced. Haul ass back here. I’ll send your truck back another terrain feature.” “Roger that Sir. Anything from Battalion at all?” “Not a damn thing. Go kill a tank and I’ll bet I’ve got them up before you get back.” The grim look in the NCO’s eyes struck the young collegian like a brick. But he took the hit and nodded. “Good luck. We’ll back you up.” He tucked the apparently useless phone back in his cargo pocket, and clambered up the side of the Bradle, hooking up his headset as he dropped into the BC’s hatch. Without usable comms the scouts had no access to covering artillery, attack aviation, Air Force close air support or any other help, including MEDEVAC. Nor could they do their actual job of communicating the enemy’s disposition to their Battalion leadership. Upham hoped that comms would clear as the rapid columns of heavy armor drew nearer.

John - Unsure what vid you are describing - please provide link. If I am not posting AAR, it is unlikely I'm doing any other CM browsing, aside from very occasional response to question on the beta board. Is it part of Chris' latest 2 part full CMBS scenario on Youtube? If so, give time stamp. Pnzr

RW ATK = Rotary Wing Attack, ie. AH-64s (or OH-58D's until we finish getting rid of them). Sorry to all - epic fail getting another turn up. My Mom showed up early for Xmas. Maybe by tomorrow night.

Raptor - like your quote. Good film/book. I concur on the issue of finding actual full turret/hull defilade to enable elevated optics. However, the powers that be have assured me that: a. This is not a new issue. Even applies to some WWII types and their LOS model currently does not support. Think 'new engine' not overhauled. Like, not CM 4.0, but CM Future. b. There is some mitigation in that you can find true hull down for vehicles. Its just hard to do. See Bil's instructions on his Blog. Guess what? Its hard in real life too, if not quite as hard as in the game. c. I cannot believe I forgot to push for improved vehicle positions! Wow! Given all the time I've spent digging in tanks at NTC you would have thought that a no-brainer. I will push that immediately. Unreal. Next post out sometime tonight/tomorrow. Will run the latest turn tonight at least and see what's left. 0815 cannot come soon enough. For scenario designers, I did the US campaign mission # 2. It features US Scout PLT, a couple JTACs, a Stryker PLT w/ MGS and ATGM reinforcement, against about a Mech BDE of Russians. ;-) But, the US guys have CAS, RW ATK, UAS, and plenty of artillery. A very interesting mission. Scout PLT has a couple TOW HMMWVs which actually did some decent killing in my run-throughs. Would not abandon ATGM vehicles yet. While Krizhentema can't really fire from full defilade, it is not easy to spot. I fought a couple back in Beta 8 on a beautiful GeorgeMC created scenario you guys will love, and had a real shoot out against them at like 4200m with a couple of Abrams. Took about 4 hits on the Abrams if I recall, before I spotted the damn thing, and I think it took a dozen rounds or so before we scored on the Kriz. Only took one hit of course. A Kriz with the proper fire discipline to look for flanks or Bradleys would do some very heinous damage, and surviving the four hits may have been an anomaly too, as the Kriz fires a pretty capable missile that likely does have some degree of PK on Abrams front. Back in Beta 8ish the Abrams was fairly invulnerable, and I think that has been toned down a bit going forward.

All - yes, there is currently no 'optics/remotes up' position in CM. Best you can do is 'hull down' which is extremely hard to get and very perspective relative. 'Partial hull down' mitigates a little bit, but not enough. I've brought the magnitude of this problem up to the powers that be, but until we can get to a true new engine, it is unlikely to change. I will reference your comments for further support in my reports though. Thanks again for the encouragement on the writing. When this thing is all done, I'll package it up and post as a stand-alone. You can all snag it and say you were reading my stuff before I hit the NY Times best seller list! ;-)

“Sweet Jesus, we have got to get there.” LTC Falkner said to no one in particular as he stared at the Netwarrior feed. SGT Lerner had uploaded a disposition report that showed two Russian MRCs smashing to dust the Ukrainian mech company that TF 3-69 was supposed to support. “Outlaw 16, this is Power 6” He paused, hoping to hear something from the radio. “Outlaw 16, this is Power 6, over!” “Power 6, this is Power 3. Sir, we’ll keep trying to raise him. All the messages I’ve sent in BFT show undelivered. The jamming up there must be worse than here.” MAJ Abrams replied. “Roger, allright, lets keep rolling. We need to get there in time to make a difference.”