Sulman

British use of US 75mm APCBC projectiles entailed removal of the HE burster and replacement with inert filler, which increased penetration capability by about 4% according to published ballistic test figures.
-- World War II Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery, pg 104
 
 

It was the US Halftrack on the Ardennes maps in CMFB that really taught me about battle taxis. Coming from CMSF2 and CMBS, you get used to protecting them only from anti-armour weapons, but the halftracks are vulnerable to a stiff breeze. They're great for moving squads quickly across safe  terrain corridors, but not much else. Their onboard 30cal guns, well, I use 400-500yds as a buffer zone or the gunners will go down fast. I treat them a bit like armed trucks, which I suppose is what they are.
The biggest exception to this is the Bren carrier, which when properly employed can slaughter infantry in surprising numbers. Stay out of 'schreck range and you've got a bulletproof mobile LMG with surprisingly good protection for the passengers. Very useful for surpressing difficult MG strongpoints that you can't get volume of fire on.

A knocked-out Panther burns merrily in the grounds of the Granville Church rectory during operation Epsom.

A knocked-out Panther burns merrily in the grounds of the Granville Church rectory during operation Epsom.

I had no idea of the characteristics of the small sunken tracks. Unreal.

I've heard it said that the Dead Puritan is a pedantic old codger. He even hurls abuse at the lovely Tony Robinson when he says "Ancient Brits" when talking about iron age Britons on Time Team. I'd ignore everything he says. 

Did you perhaps read it in two posts from our good friend @Warts 'n' all? 
I think someone once said of he and Elizabeth "what a nice pair of Brits" but he mis-heard and the resulting fracas only ended when the local constabulary arrived.

I had no idea of the characteristics of the small sunken tracks. Unreal.

Just as special forces deployed to Northern Iraq in 1991 had the wrong camo, no cold-weather gear, and inadequate maps. It snowed.

I had no idea of the characteristics of the small sunken tracks. Unreal.

I had no idea of the characteristics of the small sunken tracks. Unreal.

The spotting/cloaking thing is difficult to solve, and it's not just in CM2, I remember Steel Beasts being frustrating for this, and also the original M1 Tank Platoon had the most bizarre spotting at close range.  MBT crews (loader especially) should always be checking flanks in combat areas.
It isn't just CMBS either, just last night I had a Piat truppen standing 30' from a wooden bunker that intermittently flashed in and out of LOS, but he never actually got to shooting it.

A Flak 88 engages targets during the defense of Assenois, December 1944.
 

It's difficult to say. This topic - the obsolesence of the tank - came up again during the recent Azerbaijan/Armenia conflict, as there was a lot of video released of tanks getting droned. Nicholas Moran says this is an old failing - no anti-air measures whatsoever means dead tanks.
We're likewise familar with SAA T-72s getting shwacked by FSA RPG teams, and yet the Syrian army still had nothing else that can get into city areas and deliver HE on FSA positions. The losses were an accepted risk.  The infantry couldn't do it. The BMPs couldn't do it. The tanks could. They were basically being used as assault guns, but any army fights with what it has.
Tank war isn't glamorous and isn't easily propogandised. It's easy to put together a supercut of tanks getting smashed up by ATGMs but you won't find much footage of tanks killing other tanks or spearheading urban assaults because the danger's such nobody films those. Apart from the SAA, apparently.
I don't think the tank's done quite yet.

Basic fire and maneuver does work in isolated engagements. The bocage maps in CMBN offer plenty of it, and assaults against isolated strongpoints will be succesful too. However I'm guessing you've encountered the situation that your maneuver element very rapidly gets overwhelmed by multiple mutually supported enemy fireteams. It's very common, and you just need to find a bigger hammer. More firepower nearly always works. Sometimes your reward for assaulting a position is an immediate, urgent, and frightening defence. It's just the way it goes. Real warfare is similar - read about the Marines in Hue City during Tet 1968.
 
One of Bill Hardenberger's rules is 'establish local fire superiority'. This is gospel. If you don't do this, you're going to lose the suppression meta-game, and once that's lost, your attack will fail. One of my personal rules is 'don't leave combat power on the table'. If there's a unit that can help, make sure it's there or can get there quickly. A single tank or M2 Bradley can tip a fight very fast.

It's difficult to say. This topic - the obsolesence of the tank - came up again during the recent Azerbaijan/Armenia conflict, as there was a lot of video released of tanks getting droned. Nicholas Moran says this is an old failing - no anti-air measures whatsoever means dead tanks.
We're likewise familar with SAA T-72s getting shwacked by FSA RPG teams, and yet the Syrian army still had nothing else that can get into city areas and deliver HE on FSA positions. The losses were an accepted risk.  The infantry couldn't do it. The BMPs couldn't do it. The tanks could. They were basically being used as assault guns, but any army fights with what it has.
Tank war isn't glamorous and isn't easily propogandised. It's easy to put together a supercut of tanks getting smashed up by ATGMs but you won't find much footage of tanks killing other tanks or spearheading urban assaults because the danger's such nobody films those. Apart from the SAA, apparently.
I don't think the tank's done quite yet.

The commander walks up and starts by asking "Anyone in this platoon named Frank? If there is, you go and stand over there for a special duty". It turned out there were six of them and they all took their gear and walked away from the others not knowing what this special duty actually was.

A Flak 88 engages targets during the defense of Assenois, December 1944.
 

Playing through 'Bumper Cars' in the Courage and Fortitude campaign I was getting quite despondent. The clock was running and my left flank platoon had bitten off more than it could chew and I couldn't get anything to support them, such is the maze-like nature of the map.
My platoon HQ then spotted two Stugs. "Great", I thought as I have no medium or heavy tanks, just a handful of M8s and M5s. But I did manage to sneak a nearby m5 into a field with LOS to the two stugs. To my astonishment it nailed both of them, one with a single shot causing a catastrophic explosion, and the other other with a penetrating flank shot. The 2nd stug backed up and faced the little stuart and I thought 'Game over', but to my surprise the Stuart just kept up the fire, and to my astonishment scored several penetrating hits to the frontal armour, knocking out the Stug. A real lesson to me not to underestimate the light tank's 37mm gun. Then a third Stug emerged and the little Stuart drove it off with several shots, receiving no incoming fire the whole time.
 

 
Despite turning to face the threat, I do not believe the Stugs ever got a spot on the Stuart. Cheered me right up, i can tell you. What a great little tank.
 

The remnants of the sole German armor effort which counterattacked my infantry. I had two Sherman 75s on overwatch and they made fast work of both Stug IIIs, plus the Captured M4 seen on the left. The stugs started farther right, which afforded them defiladed approach and so they actually got pretty close to my truppen in the woods to the right. They did get my FO's jeep, the bastids!

yes it also seems more difficult to spot
I often often get excellent results with the Stuart
I do not know if it is faithfully modeled because I am always surprised by the version without turret adopted by the British which lets me think that it is little to be overvalued in the games
 
here on this photo at the front I see holes ...
  pierced right through ???

The remnants of the sole German armor effort which counterattacked my infantry. I had two Sherman 75s on overwatch and they made fast work of both Stug IIIs, plus the Captured M4 seen on the left. The stugs started farther right, which afforded them defiladed approach and so they actually got pretty close to my truppen in the woods to the right. They did get my FO's jeep, the bastids!

Playing through 'Bumper Cars' in the Courage and Fortitude campaign I was getting quite despondent. The clock was running and my left flank platoon had bitten off more than it could chew and I couldn't get anything to support them, such is the maze-like nature of the map.
My platoon HQ then spotted two Stugs. "Great", I thought as I have no medium or heavy tanks, just a handful of M8s and M5s. But I did manage to sneak a nearby m5 into a field with LOS to the two stugs. To my astonishment it nailed both of them, one with a single shot causing a catastrophic explosion, and the other other with a penetrating flank shot. The 2nd stug backed up and faced the little stuart and I thought 'Game over', but to my surprise the Stuart just kept up the fire, and to my astonishment scored several penetrating hits to the frontal armour, knocking out the Stug. A real lesson to me not to underestimate the light tank's 37mm gun. Then a third Stug emerged and the little Stuart drove it off with several shots, receiving no incoming fire the whole time.
 

 
Despite turning to face the threat, I do not believe the Stugs ever got a spot on the Stuart. Cheered me right up, i can tell you. What a great little tank.
 

Quite. He wasn't so lucky the next turn, though. The Stug disappeared from LOS momentarily and then reappeared to make a successful shot. I had worked two other M5s into a flank position though (figuring he didn't reorient himself) and crept them forward. It took a lot more AP this time. Many penetrating hits (over two turns) before the vehicle caught fire. It made no attempt to fight back this time. The late model Stug IIIG is a little tougher I guess. The points from getting all of them were vital for the victory though.
 

Note the 37mm AP holes. He actually rotated 180 degrees trying to run to safety (I'm not actually sure, maybe trying to spot the shooter, or perhaps some crew were dead by this point) and there were a couple in the other side too. Tough old thing. Coming from CMSF2/BS, i am still surprised when penetrating hits don't do much. In the modern titles they're nearly always an 'emotional event'.
 
 
 

Playing through 'Bumper Cars' in the Courage and Fortitude campaign I was getting quite despondent. The clock was running and my left flank platoon had bitten off more than it could chew and I couldn't get anything to support them, such is the maze-like nature of the map.
My platoon HQ then spotted two Stugs. "Great", I thought as I have no medium or heavy tanks, just a handful of M8s and M5s. But I did manage to sneak a nearby m5 into a field with LOS to the two stugs. To my astonishment it nailed both of them, one with a single shot causing a catastrophic explosion, and the other other with a penetrating flank shot. The 2nd stug backed up and faced the little stuart and I thought 'Game over', but to my surprise the Stuart just kept up the fire, and to my astonishment scored several penetrating hits to the frontal armour, knocking out the Stug. A real lesson to me not to underestimate the light tank's 37mm gun. Then a third Stug emerged and the little Stuart drove it off with several shots, receiving no incoming fire the whole time.
 

 
Despite turning to face the threat, I do not believe the Stugs ever got a spot on the Stuart. Cheered me right up, i can tell you. What a great little tank.