Badger73

You are heartless
recalled Waterloo in a topic opened by a french !!!                
More seriously, I live on the ground where the  kampfgruppe Engel campaign is happening
I can not help thinking  about the game  when i move on the ground !
Of it there is in particular a hedge where I lost my jagpanther or I sigh as soon as I pass there
it's there....

Robert Cameron's 'Mobility, Shock & Firepower - The Emergence Of The US Army's Armor Branch, 1917-1945' can be found for free download, here: 
https://history.army.mil/html/books/Mobility_Shock_and_Firepower/CMH_30-23-1.pdf

On the quick battle setup screen you can change the type in the top left:

In the scenario editor its on the mission tab under description at the top:

This will be the final analysis post, if these posts are the appetizer, then after this post I will be jumping into the main course.  I hope these aren't too boring for you.   
ENEMY AXIS OF APPROACH (AOA) ANALYSIS
After looking at the map I thought my opponent had three main options for his attack.  I think that he will use the road network for his armor, they allow longs fields of fire and he can clear the bocage lined shoulders with his infantry and armor.  Anyway, that is how I would attack on this map, and I would do it on more than one axis while maintaining at least a third of my combat power for a breakthrough attack, penetration and exploitation at the location he looks weakest: stretch him, identify weak point(s), penetrate weak point(s), exploit.  To find out whether that is what my opponent does or not, you will have to stay tuned!

AOA 1 (AXIS RED) - to me seemed the most likely AOA - it contains a good road network for his armor, and is the shortest route to my objectives. 
AOA 2 (AXIS ORANGE) - another highly likely AOA as it also contains a strong road network, however this route would be costly in time and ammo supply due to the length of road he would need to clear.
AOA 3 (AXIS YELLOW) - a very unlikely AOA in my opinion.  This route is not armor friendly, and it would mean clearing bocage field after bocage field on the way to my objectives.
The drawback for all of these AOAs is that I will see him coming and can take action to block his path.  
The following screenshots show the map from his perspective... thought they might help set the scene.
AXIS RED SECTOR:
AXIS ORANGE SECTOR: 
 

INITIAL MOVES
I moved a small portion of my units into picket positions, and a small scout force of two jeeps down what I identified as AOA RED.  The intention with my pickets, which are very small units made from splitting squads, is to get close if possible to the enemy's lines and setup listening and observation posts to identify movements.  My scout force is a bit stronger and the idea is for them to be my first defense along AOA RED, they have one bazooka on hand.  They are meant to be a speed bump and to slow, not stop, any enemy advance down this approach.

Scouts disembarking:

ENEMY CONTACTS
It didn't take long for me to start identifying enemy units, and with these contacts and subsequent movements I will put together an intelligence picture of my opponent's intent.  The intial enemy contacts were two STuGs and one UI infantry unit, which was moving, otherwise I doubt I would have seen it. 
One STuG (identified as STUG 01) is sitting on the AXIS ORANGE road and facing my ridge-line.  Right now it appears to be a support by fire asset, but more information is needed.  Also along AXIS ORANGE is the moving UI Infantry unit.  I can't make any assumptions about what he is intending on this axis yet.  I will await further information. 
On the AXIS RED road sits another STuG (STUG 02), this vehicle did not move this turn, but just sat facing up the road.  The white carrots in the following image indicates facing for the enemy armored vehicles.

STUG 01:

From my post above, when playing on the defense I always try to find opportunities for:
Counter-attacking with a force large enough to cause serious damage Conducting spoiling attacks on targets of opportunity whenever possible I am not saying whether or not an opportunity presents itself for either of the above in this battle, but yes, I am prepared to act if it does.  It is too early in this fight to start thinking that way right now.

You're right. Just tested it out. A much deeper field of XT grass and Tall grass starts to block LOS too, but the target line penetrates farther into the grass before it gets blocked.

You must lead with strength. At least two tanks must be forward, and the trail platoons must be held far enough forward to support the lead platoon. The more guns that fire in the first minute, the quicker the enemy will be defeated and the fewer losses you will suffer. When breaking cover, do it quickly and together. The more targets the enemy is shown simultaneously, the harder his fire control and distribution will be, and the more guns you will have in effect on the enemy. You must continually keep a broad interval between vehicles. This splits the enemy's defensive fire and complicates his fire control. Narrow intervals must be avoided at all costs, especially in critical situations, or it will cost you losses. Never split your combat power; that is to say, do not employ parts of the company in such a manner that they cannot support each other. When your attack has two objectives you should attack first one and then the other with all weapons. https://www.feldgrau.com/WW2-German-Panzer-Tank-Tactics-Training-Guide
 

A problem with realistic WW2 casting is that most of the private soldiers were very young men; 18-20 years old.  Company grade NCO's and officers might run as old as 25 or so.  Veteran actors are a decade older.  War fighting is a younger man's venue.  The Iraq War series "Generation Kill" captured that pretty well.

Yeah that is some good read.
Supplement that with Andy Holburns PhD Thesis about 56th Brigade and your picture will be even broader.
https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10026.1/1996/ANDREW HOLBORN.PDF?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
cheers

A Combat Mission game is never late, nor is it early, it is released precisely when Steve means to.

I completely agree that signs and wonders would be nice to see.  I completely disagree that "no screenshots equals no progress".  Given that Battlefront has a very small staff and must choose between developing the game or developing work in process marketing collateral, I prefer that they focus on developing the game first and then spend post development efforts to market the game when it is ready for sale. 
I don't mind that what I think doesn't matter though.  Battlefront knows better than me what's best for it's business.

I just did this,  dropped some benches and crates and placed a church on top. Pews and alter. Same for factories and warehouses you can drop sacks and barrels etc. I never used or saved what I did but here's a screen shot.

Found  this on a CoC FB. group  and  thought it would be of prime interest here. CGSC=Command. and General Staff  College for  those who   don't  know the acronym.   CGSC. is where the US incubates its future generals  and admirals.
 http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/…/filena…/1316.pdf/mapsto/pdf
Regards,
John   Kettler
 

Then after completing your initial hazing ritual, err, kind introduction to H2H play, check out The Few Good Men for other opponents to play as well - http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/

Steve has repeatedly said It ain't happening and the subject was done to death just recently:
 

CMNA - Combat Mission North Afrika!
 

Then after completing your initial hazing ritual, err, kind introduction to H2H play, check out The Few Good Men for other opponents to play as well - http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/

Not taken away in a straight jacket, I mean i committed to actually purchasing A combat mission game. 
After months of playing the various demos (except the Red Thunder Demo that insisted I use an activation key), and watching youtube AAR uploads.....comparing versions, reading multitudes of reviews...and sifting  the useful from the useless, and as we all know, there is a lot more of the latter to be found on the Interweb sites.
I Really like the look of the Normandy theatre, lots of interesting and familiar battles I can relate to.  But I had to put that on the back burner for now as the multiple addons and big pack offers were pushing the price up ...just one more...just one more.....just... 
Anyway I then looked at the latest offering Final Blitzkrieg, the Demo again gave an excellent feel of the game and theatre, but it was too cold and too many trees for my liking. 
So it was off to look at the Red Thunder (on youtube because of the activation key issue)  that became my favourite, and I see it is a very popular theatre for support....and it had all the features anyone could want, troops riding tanks (contentious subject) and the flame throwers....plus all the campaigns and missions had already been designed with the AI keys implemented. And it had no DLC, so out of the box it was ready to go with all the content in it.....that was very tempting, But I kept coming back to the Fortress Italy theatre...
 
Fortress Italy....The very much overlooked theatre of many wargames, and the Unique makeup of the Italian forces in the game really made manouvering as a cohesive force a special challenge. Spotters without radios, operating old French Tanks alongside the might of the German forces, A combination that gave me that extra dimension when ordering forces around....The Italians never had any reason to fight, Mussolini or Hitler in charge of the military forces .....talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.  With the varied terrain, different weather conditions in the campaign, changing forces depending on the timeframe.....it had just one thing missing....British forces...which is easily resolved with the Gustav line DLC that adds Commonwealth forces.  Looking at the Battlefront site there is the offer of the Bundle pack, And that is what sold it for me......Fortress Italy with Gustav line is the one I purchased today, and looking forward to getting some decent spare time for gaming. ...
Oh....and Hello everyone
 

I completely agree that signs and wonders would be nice to see.  I completely disagree that "no screenshots equals no progress".  Given that Battlefront has a very small staff and must choose between developing the game or developing work in process marketing collateral, I prefer that they focus on developing the game first and then spend post development efforts to market the game when it is ready for sale. 
I don't mind that what I think doesn't matter though.  Battlefront knows better than me what's best for it's business.

I think the reviewers get it right; 55% negative / 45% positive.  There are a host of anti-Sherman books and essays.  In 1943 it was considered a superior vehicle.  1944-45 saw it's weapon and armor passed by.  However, no one ever complained that it was unreliable mechanically.  The research and development for producing a better tank just took longer than the war lasted.  With regard to US Tank Destroyer doctrine, that too shares a host of detractors (myself included) but again, hindsight is 20/20.  That doctrine was on its way out before the war ended as well.

I completely agree that signs and wonders would be nice to see.  I completely disagree that "no screenshots equals no progress".  Given that Battlefront has a very small staff and must choose between developing the game or developing work in process marketing collateral, I prefer that they focus on developing the game first and then spend post development efforts to market the game when it is ready for sale. 
I don't mind that what I think doesn't matter though.  Battlefront knows better than me what's best for it's business.