DougPhresh

I'm thinking since the HG Division was in CMFI, we might reasonably expect them in the next module?

I know this is a little nit-picky but would it be possible to have the HG troops have the white flash? The SS Camo smocks were not issued in large numbers, but rather to special troops so it might be better if they added those on their end as an option like shorts or greatcoats. I also know I'm late to the party, so if you've moved on to bigger and better things I'll ask around when the next expansion comes out!

Will HG finally get the proper collar flashes and the option to have Waffen SS smocks?

Just wanted to bring this back from the dead to thank everyone! It is very hard to find resources on the Panthers of I./4 / I./26 in Italy. Now that Gustav Line is out, we can see that while Panthers are in the game, they are exceedingly rare. Weirdly enough, I'm really pleased by that, knowing that there might have been 6 working Panthers in Italy at one point! With SS on the horizon for the next module, would it be within the realm of possibility to have the Panthers of the LSSAH in late 1943? The unit was only in Italy for R&R and to receive Panthers, buy you never know.

Actually I was wondering if the rarity is based on this. I./4 arrived in Italy with 62 (?) Panthers, and was supposed to have around 48. However, in the Winter-Spring of '44 they often had as few as 6 and seldom more than 20 working Panthers.

Do the Italian scout squads have more SMGs than rifle squads? I know Guastatori are much better equipped than MSVN or regular infantry. It would be also nice if the Italian scout platoon could split squads. I doubt the Italians would send 8 guys to probe ahead rather than breaking down into teams.

So if I have an Italian company, would it be better to attach scout teams to the platoons, or try to use that scout platoon? Keep the scout platoon but swap out squads for teams?

Italian Recon Platoons also have full size (8?) scout squads. Can anyone explain their role?

I thought I was going crazy, glad someone else noticed this.

A little late to the party but the Marder II driver has his legs poking out under the vehicle and appears to be seated in the transmission, would that make a difference?

If I recall Panthers did not see much action in Italy. The only Panther-equipped army unit to see action was I. Panzer Regiment 4, detached from the 13. to the 26. Panzer Division.

I can only speak for myself but it's a pretty big OPSEC violation around here to discuss exactly when individual units go on rotation. The local paper got in trouble for printing when a battery was coming back from OP ATHENA.

Does this seem about right to everyone? What kind of damage are we looking at?

That's fair, but what's the alternative? I don't remember verbatim but for a variety of reasons moving to Steam would be bad for business. Better to delay a release slightly by running your own website than have revenue cut. If Battlefront was on Steam right now they'd be part of the Chinese New Year Sale. I'd rather wait for them to handle this issue on their own.

Just perusing Boardgame Geek, North Africa is consistently one of the top settings for wargames. The most famous grognard game of all The Campaign for North Africa (1000 hours, 10 players) is set there. I think also that World of Tanks and War Thunder have generated a lot of interested in Early-to-Mid War tanks.

I agree with this. It's more of a problem in Red Thunder when the Soviets need numbers and there are only two or three huge maps.

Of course invading Iraq in the first place was also a miscalculation... What would you say was the biggest surprise on a tactical level from the Donbass War that you had to model in CMBS after the fact?

I'm playing necromancer here just to chime in a little bit! Since the 2015 Christmas Bones for CMFI indicate Italian Partisans being included in the Italian Module, I hope to see Soviet Partisans at some point here as well!

Everything looks so great! Thanks for the update! Will the scheduling setbacks also have an impact on the content mentioned in the Christmas Bone? Crossing my fingers for CMFI and CMRT content in Q2!

While I appreciate the discussion, in the broader sense who would "win" at some strategic or political level is kind of irrelevant. To quote the CMRT manual: I see a parallel here. Even though NATO would undoubtedly "win" for economic, political, industrial and (yes) military reasons - the fact is that an overconfident US Rifle Platoon can still have a very bad day.

I can see some similarities between the VDV and Morskaya Pekhota. There is the doctrine established pre-war, the reality of that falling short of expectations during the reforms and purges leading up the 1941, units being entirely destroyed during Barbarossa and rebuilt, and wild variations in the performance of individual units and to an extent their role and TO&E for the duration of the war. Some Naval Infantry and VDV units were experienced and capable combat formations that were skillfully used in their intended role, but many were not.

Osprey has just put out a title on Artillery Tactics in the First World War. While there were significant advances in the intervening years (Especially by the Americans) it does give a very good overview of fire control techniques and how corps and higher assets would be employed. It also goes into detail about fire plans and types of barrage. It is important to remember that British officers in the Second World War would have learned their trade in the First War and the lessons learned were deeply ingrained into how they conducted operations. Operation Cobra and Goodwood both had elaborate fire plans, and famously so did the Second Battle of El Alamein. https://ospreypublishing.com/world-war-i-battlefield-artillery-tactics

Glantz also talks about the VDV in Stumbling Colossus and Colossus Reborn. His book on the subject, Soviet Airborne Forces, is a classic and expands on his earlier work, talking about pre-war doctrine, wartime experience, and the Cold War shift to include mechanized and air-mobile forces.

BTR, this is a little off topic but - I'm a huge fan of Wargame Airland Battle, and model all of my Warsaw Pact decks after a Steam Guide titled "Beginners Guide to Authentic USSR Decks" . Did you write that!?

Iraq invasion with Iranian intervention would be something though...