verulam

I'll second that.  Super piece of work.

I'll second that.  Super piece of work.

Absolutely. I've been in monasteries where there is more communication.
 
Love BF really 

I'm not going to pre-order again.

Absolutely. I've been in monasteries where there is more communication.
 
Love BF really 

or  🙂

Thanks very much for this, your work is much appreciated.

Yes John,
 
Very droll.
 

Thanks for this John, just ordered.

And there I was, saying it was never going to happen, but it's almost there: TweakedUI v5 is just about finished. For CM:BN users there's but a single new Bren gun icon, but CM:FI users can soon enjoy a fully compatible version of TweakedUI! Here are the new (WIP!) previews:
 

 

His point about "it's complex" is spot on. Some things to bear in mind:

1) UK/CW faced the bulk and the best of the German forces in Normandy, by whatever metric you care to use.
2) For the first month of the campaign there were more UK/CW forces ashore than US.
3) After that the US pulled ahead in terms of total numbers, but fairly slowly. It wasn’t till later in the year that the US forces became really preponderant
4) The size of armoured forces ashore was even more lopsidedly British for longer.
5) Despite all that, US casualties (excl airforces) up to the end of August were 124,394
6) UK/CW casualties (again, excl airforces) up to the end of August were 83,045
7) Zaloga writes some good books buuut … he’s kinda populist, and is here speaking to a US audience
8) In this particular article, he’s talking informally and responding off the cuff to questions rather than writing something considered

It’s a good article. I enjoyed it – in particular his comments about Fury – but I think it needs to be taken with a few grains of salt, especially some of his more contentious opinions.

from content i meant missions and pretty much that.. quick battle missions, maps and campaign.... units will be more offcourse .. but the play time that is.. i havent done any user created content thought (i have combat mission black ea already)
 
 
 
going for all three modules is very difficult for me as i already am stretching my budget with $90.. for some reason i dont like the common wealth countries so i wont be playing them (unless the CW module gives more US and german units)

I always thought that was a feature of CMBS ?

About a  third of the way through and this is a Tour De Force George.  Very well done and absolutely atmospheric.  Thanks for your work on this.
 
Verulam.

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!

John has nailed it, good job (can't be bothered to type more)

Here are my initial impressions. The load screen's armed MTLB was stunning, leading me to hope for better graphics (have only 256 MB VRAM on Intel 3.06 Core 2 Duo iMac w/4 GB HD, OS X 10.7.5) than I have in CMBN. Was I ever right. Tremendous difference verging on miraculous. Thank you, BFC! The rendering, considering, say, what Barkmann's Panther looks like, even CMBN 3.11, is almost jaw dropping. Before that happened, though, I ran into repeated sound glitches, interruptions and hangs while loading, which made me wonder what was going on, together with what seemed to be abrupt jumps in the score. Loading was much faster than full on CMBN lacking only the Vehicle Pack, but this may be from interactions involving coding, file size and other matters, alone or in combination. In-game sound was bell like in clarity, thunderous, reverberating. And I was listening to it through my internal speakers. Am going to have to really be careful when wearing headphones and encourage everyone here to do the same. 
 
Selected QB and picked Armor on Armor--Auto Select. Hit button and waited several seconds to be taken to Briefing. Same thing when going from Briefing to game. With very few forces on the board, there was a significant delay before the turn began. But when it did...Let's just say the Americans got the drop on me, raining 25 mm fire on the rears of several BMD-3s pointing the wrong direction. Boom! Boom! Boom! M1A3SEPs went racing up the hill (and I do mean racing), knocking out one T-90 frontally while running and gunning, but at least it didn't explode. The AMP round did, though, right over the crew which had gotten out. Nasty business, war. But it wasn't all in favor of the Americans, for my other T-90s lased two Abrams perpedicular to and in front of them and hit and penetrated at least one. Was very hard to tell because of two tanks' worth of broadband obscurants in the way. With the tanks all behind the smoke, the presumptive Bradleys had another go at my BMD-3s, which had had no time to react, so were still mainly headed for the village while executing Move orders. More explosions. In one minute of combat, half my force was destroyed. Those used to WW II gunnery, movement and OpTempo are in for quite a terrible shock from this game. It was blazingly fast, but having analyzed such modern combat dynamics for many years, I was prepared for the speed and the carnage, at least to some degree.
 
BFC, you guys have outdone yourselves! Even with my anemic video card, the game looks great. The vehicles are spectacular, and the men (was too busy to do anything with them, so spared only a glance) looked good. Terrain's very nice, particularly after being stuck in the bocage. What I especially loved is that the UI is now crisp, clear and easily readable--a huge contrast to the bitmapped awful eye test of yore. Bravo Zulu. Well done. I would suggest, though, you return the Go button to bright red. I almost missed it because my brain's programmed to look for that. While I do know the basic UI and controls, I still find it impressive I was able to bang out commands and be in battle in under two minutes. This has huge implications for people who wish to play but are time constrained, for CMBS is a near instant game when played with QBs and force Auto Select once core parameters are decided. I had the forces set faster than the time it took to get to the Briefing after that.
 
All in all, I'm hugely impressed, and will, of course, share my excitement with my brother and others who may be interested (or whom I waylay). I believe you have not merely a real winner, but more like a, if not the (my bet), top computer wargame for 2015. As far as I'm concerned, this game is a category killer at minimum and ought to win a Charles Roberts Award. I almost feel sorry for your so-called competition. I hope you've got room there for all the awards--I expect a slew to come. This is how I'm responding with a total of less than ten minutes spent, beginning with loading the game. You know I'm no sycophant. I call them as I see them, and as they say in comedy, this game kills! 
 
Regards,
 
John Kettker

John has nailed it, good job (can't be bothered to type more)

Na Vaske, the first rule about responding to anything Kettler writes is to view what he says with a huge grain of salt. 

That is what they are actually doing.  There is an inevitable cycle of announcing a tentative date, hemming and hawing madly, then backing it up as far as necessary.  This may be an inevitable product of their business model and the realities of software development.  You have to view the whole process as a  loveable eccentricity.  Its sort of like how my wife puts up with my gaming habit.  The one they did have to rush didn't improve anyone's month.

“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.
 

The Nineteenth Minute
 
1st and 2nd MRCs goal now is to delay Scott's US Companies as long as possible.. at least until my air support arrives.. that's six more minutes.  With the slow rate of his advance I am hoping that should be doable.  
 
2nd MRC - I eliminated the final Ukrainian soldier and the last US Scout that were near my forces.  Scott is still moving very slowly, but his Northern Company Team has picked up the pace a little.. he still needs to dig my BMPs and Tunguska out of those gullies though... and I think at this point he is wary of them.

 
1st MRC - remember that my platoon in the gullies is just a screen.. well Scott seems to be mired down in this terrain as his Southern Company Team moved very little, almost like he's taken up a defensive stance.  The M1 on the road caught a fist full of 30mm, I can only hope it caused some damage.. at least I didn't lose anything else on that main highway.

 
Alas, an unseen M1 destroyed one of the two BMPs I have in the gully... the other did manage to withdraw in time.

 
Power Plant
 
The attack on the Power Plant is underway.. a new breach was finally opened near the long buildings.  No enemy contact yet.. I don't even know how many troops Scott has in this compound.. can't be many.

 
Krichek
 
Scott continues to push his forces towards my recon elements and away from my Assault Company... I am closing in on his Javelin team, which appears to be on its own in that area.  A tank, a BTR, and a BMP will be joining this effort over the next turn or two.  Another turn before my Assault Company is in position to put fire on the Town Hall objective.
 
One more thing, I have moved my recon BMP-3 across the river and it, now with an infantry screen   , will be taking the town under fire from yet another direction.. when attacking an enemy, spread him as thin as possible.. then hit him with a concentrated force to break through.
 

The HMMWV in the image above moved to the outskirts of town and took an RPG round which eliminated this threat.  Keep pushing them in that direction Scott!!  
 

 
Blood Board

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!”
 

 

The Eighteenth Minute - Part 2
 
Krichek
 
the assault on the two objectives in Krichek are under way... on the East side of the river is 1st Platoon/3rd MRC plus a few recon teams.  The T90 in this view is the immobilized tank.  
 
The 3rd MRC platoon's task is to clear the East side of the river, including attempting to destroy the Tunguska (#1) that is known to be in this area.
 
The Assault Company will seize the Town Hall objective first and then move through the town.. I am not feeling easy about this assault as I still do not have a lot of firm information about what Scott has in the town.. remember I am expecting a full Ukrainian Company with US recon support.
 
Note in the bottom of this image that there is another destroyed BMP (from 1st MRC). .another victim of the M1 Scott has overwatching this highway.  The Assault Company wil have to complete its task with the four tanks and three BMP-3s that have successfully crossed and that are already on the move.  The rest of the vehicles still moving forward will join the 1st Platoon/3rd MRC to clear the East side of the river.

 
The most forward recon team with 1st Platoon/3rd MRC spots a Javelin team about 300 meters away.  It is facing East towards 2nd MRC,  This is awesome.. Scott has Javelins in the pocket too?  Damn you Teacher!!

 
In the town itself.. Scott appears to be orienting on my recon teams on the outskirts of the town... this is exactly what i want him to do so I can move my Assault Company into attack position with the least amount of interruption.. my main worry is ATGM teams though, not vehicles.
 
On the outskirts of town Scott moves a BMP-2 perfectly in the sights of one of my recon teams.. it has a beautiful keyhole view through the gap between two buildings at the vehicle...

 
It took three rounds but eventually it does the job:

 
Here is the view looking East... note that the Tunguska (#2) is now well forward behind the building as shown.. you can also see the position of the BMP-2 that was just destroyed, a BTR command vehicle that just moved into position.. and my crawling recon team which will attempt to take out the BTR.  I just want to keep him busy and feeding troops into this area.

 
Blood Board

As a member of the post war generation I can tell you that the American attempts to get rid of both national socialism and nationalism in Germany were more than succesfull. As an example, the german NPD, a party that follows the tradition of the NSDAP (Even though they call themselve National democrats, opposed to national socialists. Otherwise they would be prohibited) only received 1.3 percent in the last federal election (You have to get at least five percent to enter parliament). Something like military parades doesn't exist in the Bundeswehr. Other militarys try to build up a fighting spirit, by promoting a long and successfull history. If you'd try to place the Bundeswehr in line with the Germand Army of WW1 or worse the Reichswehr you'd be called a Nazi. You are not allowed to show Nazi-symbols without educational effect. Denying the holocaust can lead to a prison sentence of up to five years, etc.
 
 
Yeah. After WW2 west Germany followed a policy of only hunting the "big fish". Policemen, judges, etc. put on a new uniform and kept working unless they actively promoted national socialism- otherwise you'd have to imprison most germans, and that's not how you build a nation.
 
However, while the older generation didn't start shouting "this is what I did in WW2 and it was bad", the next generation asked "what did you do". It became a major problem when students realised that many of the old national socialists were still working, and they actively protested against the, in their opinion authoritarian, state. Western Germany saw and sees itself as the nation that is responsible for everything that happened and acts upon that knowledge. As an example you can look at the German-Israeli relations.
 
In eastern Germany things were a little bit different. Since eastern germany itself was a dictature they often followed nazi traditions (which is something they would never have admitted). The Stasi (short for Staatssicherheit, which translates to federal security. It was the east- german intelligence service.) is often seen as a spiritual successor to the GeStaPo (Geheime Staatspolizei, translates to secret federal police. One of the intelligence services of Nazi germany), and was even more powerful. And since eastern germany didn't see itself as a followup to the Reich but as something completely new and detatched there never was a major workup in society. In the east one authoritarian regime was destroyed and a new one was build up.
 
That link you provided was interesting. If you look at the description
"Winner of the prestigious peace award at the Film festival of the independent film in Osnabrück Germany,"
you can see how the German society handles its past.