agusto

For those of you who dont know it yet: there is a complete CMSF conversion of US/USMC/UK/SAA to a european setting + an excellent campaign that is supposed to be played with this mod.
 
The mod is called Euroscape made by dpabrams:
 
http://community.battlefront.com/topic/106268-gentleman-introducing-euroscape-a-complete-cmsf-conversion/
 
 
The campaign is called Forging Steel made by George MC:
 
http://community.battlefront.com/topic/90107-new-scenarios-forging-steel-the-missions/
 
You can get both at the battlefront repository.
 
 
I am currently using both and it is awesome, it is the perfect warm up for CMBS. I hope there will be a remake of the campaign once CMBS is out.

You'd be excellent as a highly paid consultant: asked to come up with one solution, you suggest three things we already know ...

The ability to call up Battlefront and make irrational demands, and the power to dictate game settings.  Also being hired as a highly paid consultant.  

not quite, though most times you can get near.
 
Part of the appeal to me about CM is I can't control everything.  I really am more of a commander issuing orders and hoping my men will follow them rather than me being every guy.
 
If I could change one thing it would be to allow a save file to be opened in the editor and saved as a new scenario.

- US Army advanced night vision optics.
 
 
 
Everything can die very, very. VERY quickly, it is absolutely vital you find the enemy before he finds you. Tanks like the Abrams and T-90AM have sophisticated optics packages that include thermal and night vision, if you can see the enemy chances are he sees you! Infantry at night are also an entirely new ball game, US forces have fancy new night vision goggles that incorporate both NV and thermal, effectively turning them into predator (Creepy huh?) , Russian and Ukrainian forces sport night vision as well but mostly only on there rifle optics, darkness is no where near the obstacle it was back in World War 2.
 
Theres more of course, but I will let everyone else chime in so I don't have to write an essay, I think these are the most important though really!
 
Edit: Check out ChrisND's videos here, he does a great job explaining and showing stuff off- https://www.youtube.com/user/NormalDude1066

Yes, the AI player acquires equipment and ammo when dismounting.

Awesome. I could use some magic right about now.

Bil,
I think you are simply the victim of a scenario that has a serious force imbalance.  You are not fighting at just a disadvantage, you are facing overwhelming opposition.
 
Personally as someone who has loved your many beta battles, it would have been far more enjoyable to watch you from a position similar to C3K after you wiped out his tanks in Market Garden.  Watching the interplay between you two as he engaged in nearly wreaklous heroics which actually succeeded in thwarting you which was reminescent of the 1st Airborne amazing resistance to the German counterattack.
 
See saw battles are so much more enjoyable.
 
I truly appreciate all the effort that you put into making these battles so enjoyable to follow (and make us all want to buy the game).  Whatever the outcome, there is no shame in losing against a stacked deck.
 
Chris

Miquel, nope not over yet. I'm waiting for Scott again.

Mayhem
 
http://youtu.be/vTUkgFPs3Zo
 
B company, the mech-heavy team in the north rolls over the rise and is suddenly in direct contact with BMP-3s to their east and southeast.  Some Bradleys stop, drop ramps and dismount their squads as a hedge against losing both assets to sudden fire, and to get the Javelins into the fight if necessary.  The tanks make short work of a pair of Krizentemas to the northeast, then turn their sights on the BMP-3s trying desperately to back away in the field to the southeast.  Between the Bradley's multiple TOW-IIBs and the tank fire, the Russian vehicles are overwhelmed.  We are on our way to establishing unchallenged fire superiority across the north side of Hill 347.  
 
More on the story soon...  

Survivability depends from round enerhy. If is just enough to penetrate armor - it is different case than export Iraq T-72s.

1LT Glenn Upham from Rockingham, NC, otherwise known as “Outlaw 16,” trembled with excitement as he gazed down from the side of a bare hill past waving fields of wheat and barley to the distant rooftops of Krichek a mile and a half or so to his east. A veteran of the closing days of US involvement in Afghanistan, he new he was exposed, and should try to slither down the slope to his idling Bradley, but he needed to see and understand what lay to his front, so he accepted the risk a little longer. Upham had labored his whole military career to overcome the accident of his name – how was he at fault for the fact that the mousy clerk typist from “Saving Private Ryan” was also named Upham? Well, CPL Upham had survived to the end of that fight, and Glenn firmly intended to survive this one. BCT HQ had clearly shown the Russian mech battalion moving into sector the day prior. The Brigade S-2 still thought he had firm grids on several vehicles. Further, the reports from the Security Force Assistance Team (SFAT) that had hung on with the Home Guard force in Krichek confirmed the strength of the force to their front. Upham knew it was his PLT’s job to ferret out their specific locations and survive the effort, to pave the way for the other battalion elements that followed him. He could even now see his PLT SGT, SFC Bagby, working his HMMWV scout section forward to get better observation. His main concern was what to do if they found anything. Though he had solid comms to BN, the Battle CPT had told him that they would not have priority of fires for another quarter hour or so. He had called up SGT Lerner with the Ukrainian Battalion to his right and coordinated for mortar support, but had no real confidence in the speed, accuracy or ammunition supply of their allies, especially if both units were in contact simultaneously. Lerner had assured him that their friends had both ammo and competence, but admitted they were not too speedy. Upham spoke in a low voice, checked the text message in his tablet for accuracy, and hit ‘send’ requesting an update on A CO’s ETA, and then gathered up his binos to slip back down to his track.



In Krichek, Major Nathan Harris cursed as he hit another rock. He and his driver were digging a couple of quick foxholes, as Harris would not let the young PFC do both himself. Despite the fact that they were right next to a stone building, Harris routinely insisted on burrowing into the soil for cover. PFC Beach had silently bitched, whined and cussed him – communicating without vocalizing a word – every time they did, right up until the first time they were shelled by Russian 122mm Howitzers. Since then Beach had taken to simply asking Harris if he wanted the HMMWV’s shovel or pick first every time they stopped. Beach was also eager to scrounge up something to replace the three heavy railroad ties he had used for overhead cover and had been forced to abandon at their last hasty departure from Khirovorad ten days prior. Harris stopped for a moment and swigged some bottled water. PdPK Tymoshenko was a solid Soldier, for an air defender, and Harris was impressed that he had stayed with his remaining troops until further evacuation of the town became impossible. But their disposition in Krichek worried him. They had seen signs of the Russians’ advance, and Harris had followed along on his BFT2 and shared the scene with Tymo, laying out the Russian recon CO’s general frontline trace as they reconnoitered around the town, and now he looked at the solid red blobs that represented much more significant Russian Armor and Mech forces. Though they had some good support weapons and a fair amount of ammo, Harris feared they could not survive a determined assault. Their meager supply of mines was barely enough to provide harassing defense on a few intersections, and aside from some hastily strung wire they had no other fortifications. Harris helped Tymo plan for some deception with the wire, hoping to force the Russians to deploy and treat each obstacle as (doctrinally) overwatched by fire. The two of them had withdrawn their remaining forces to the corner of town nearest the bridge, their only potential means of escape, and had barricaded up the Town Hall as a mini fortress. ATGMs were sighted for short, quick shots and their ADA weapons had abandoned their primary role and were sighted now to provide quick, lethal automatic fires. After much debate, Tymo had pulled all but two of his five squads of infantry into the town and away from the critical power station and grain storage sites. They simply didn’t have enough men or support weapons to squander them all over the place, and Harris knew they would find ample challenge defending the town. He pulled up his BFT2 message screen to see if there was any update on 3-69 Armor – “Speed & Power” movement forward.

You mean a post-nuclear war campaign? Yeah, that could work (but i am telling you: it wont happen.). However using nuclear weapons in CM is just way beyond CM s scope, especially when we are talking about those high yield warheads that are mounted on ICBMs. A 500 kt warhead dropped in the middle and of a 2x2km CM map would always result in a draw - both sides forces would litterally be vapourized, and if it was a ground detonation the resulting crater would probably take most of what is remaining of the map. But even a warhead in the lower kiloton range would probably be so decisive that the battle would be over after its detonation.

Nothing to apologize for, i thought about opening an age-poll as well.

Your approach was fine given information available.  No matter what, people would inevitably play the "B-b-b-but Smerch!" etc card if Fulda Gap: RL Edition doesnt occur.
 
The scenario gives what unit it does.  For all we know, an Abrams brigade was nearly wiped out by a massive barrage two-battles over.  All we can do is focus on the fight as it pertains to us, and the units which we field.

Let me second Ian. Your move was the right one. Assaulting the town would have taken more than 15 mins, you'd probably have a more degraded force due to losses and still would the fricking Host of the Valar be coming right on your backside.

And if you were clearly winning right now we would be calling you a genius right now.  Heck we know you are but we'd be calling you that now.  I think your initial aggressive move was the right one based on the info you had at the time.  Fortune favours the bold.

That is a fair point Dan. Keep in mind that I did not have a good idea about what was in front of me when I made that move so wanted to ensure I could easily over power him. And I expected tanks in the Ukrainian company... I think the prebattle brief kind of misled me there.

I also expected 1st MRC to be the company with the initial fight as with that equipment disparity it's where I would have put most of the Ukrainian MRC.

Yes it's easy in hindsight to say what should have been done, but in the heat of the moment you have make a decision and deal with the consequences. Like I am doing now.

It's been the custom for some time now for us to inform new CM players the game is E-crack; to write off any relationships, sleep, eating (except gamer food) and to resign themselves to monastic devotion to CM. There is no 12-Step Program, but we all know how addictive the game is and the plaintive "Just one more turn" we find ourselves thinking or even uttering, right?
 
Guess what? if you're a reader and a Kindle (or similar) should enter your life, you're done. It's over. And if you don't watch yourself, so is your economy. Not only is the core idea worse than crack--give away the reader and make money on the E-books--but the temptation is everywhere you turn, starting with the full page ad which greets you when you open your new mistress. Add to that an entire row of other books waiting for your purchase. Now, in my case, I did my searches via my computer (didn't really know what I was doing yet on the Kindle) and bought a few things, using, so I thought, a relatively safe gift card. First warning: there is no relatively safe, especially if you're already an Amazon customer and the system has your credit card or debit card on file, not to mention a highly detailed list of every book you ever looked at. Mark this and mark it well.
 
Okay. One way or another you buy some E-books, probably some for 99 cents, others for a few bucks, maybe get some free ones while you're at it. Quite a few for minuscule outlay (unless you get some that unbelievably go for $200) No worries. Many of the E-books are short (70-80 pages), so if you're any sort of reader at all, you go through one in record time, but you're doomed from the first and don't know it. As soon as you finish a book, you're asked to rate it and are served up more books the AI thinks will be of further interest (heaven preserve you if you're interested in Spec Ops!). You've just come off a high and are now asked whether you'd like another fix? But how about this other drug? Not sure? No sweat. Here's a free sample. We'll even deliver! You'll just try it; what can it hurt? Famous last words! It just so happens the Sample button and the galvanizing Buy Now button are practically on top of one another, while the Undo link for the oops! purchase is buried in a paragraph of smallish type below the two prominent buttons. Human nature being what it is, how many oopses become actual purchases? I'd imagine many, for the temptation is great to say: "Screw it; it's only a few bucks" (did just that last night, so now have a Delta Operator's memoir I hadn't planned to get--really good book, though). 
 
And this is what confronts you every single time you open the Kindle or what have you! People who have no impulse control and love to read are going to self-immolate. Period. For others, it'll be more like a time bomb or death by inches. One E-book (or worse, several) at a time.  Amazon makes it oh so easy to kill yourself with a bunch of seemingly nitnoy purchases. Next thing you know, you discover your outlay rivals some credit card bills. That's if you're sufficiently coherent to notice. After all, your E-reader craves attention. Nay, demands it. It doesn't respond to chocolates or flowers. Only time and money!
 
NOTE
 
The above is somewhat tongue in cheek, but only somewhat. There is a very real financial danger here, and it is altogether too easy to buy and buy and buy. I managed to stop at only two unplanned book purchases (mercifully only $3.99 in aggregate, plus that additional quarter or fifty cents Amazon tacks on), but was offered 93 total since I was curious enough/foolish enough to ask for the complete list, rather than just the five on the main page. It goes without saying, but needs to be said, that this could have rather dire impact on getting the next CM, upgrade, vehicle pack, etc. Consider yourself warned!
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Pnzrldr, now that your reinforcements of tanks and mechanized infantry have arrived, could you give us a tactical analysis of how you are going to use them? I know there are many tutorials out there on how to do this and that in CM, but since you are a real life officer in an armoured unit, i would be very interested in how you are going to use your M1 mbts. Your story-telling is very entertaining and i like the way you are doing this AAR, but it is difficult to understand the tactics behind what you are doing if you are writing from the perspective of single soldiers on the ground.
 
EDIT:
btw your AAR kept me from dying of boredom yesterday. I had to travel by train for 5 hours and nothing to read with me but newspapers.

Sweeet.
 
Love the friendly fire bit. In a simulation/confusion sort of way. If you can see the muzzle, you're in danger.
 
That hit on the T-90 was nice. Certainly not a guaranteed result based on what I've seen.
 
More vids!

“Damn, this fricking jamming! – Outlaw 16, this is Power 6, over…”  LTC Shawn Falkner swore again in frustration over the whine of the M1A2SEPv3’s hydraulics, as he tried to reach his scout platoon leader on the Battalion Command Net.  The tank was sweeping forward, rolling smoothly over the broken terrain, its turbine engine whining and the rubber-shod steel tracks clattering on the occasional stone. 
“Three, this is Six, I’ve got nothing.  I can see the smoke plumes just like you can.  I assume they are in trouble, but unless the whole section was wiped out we should be able to reach somebody!”
MAJ Abrams in the Bradley to Falkner’s left responded tersely. 
“Roger.  I’ve got a smoke column to my front.  ****, it’s a HMMWV…”
Falkner keyed his mike: “Staff Victors, break for cover!” warning the lighter HMMWVs accompanying his command group to seek safety.
“Identify Tank!” his gunner suddenly screamed, followed an instant later by the loader: “Up!” indicating he had armed the 120mm cannon and was clear of the path of the recoil. 
“Jesus, Fire!”  the Colonel responded, and the smoothbore cannon roared, an instant before the speeding M1 dropped down a small rise.  Falkner just had a glimpse of the T-90 spitted on the sabot tracer, then a bright flash and suddenly spotted target dropped out of sight. 
“Infantry left,” the loader sang out, and Falkner grabbed the joystick for the roof mounted CROWs .50 cal, arming it, swinging it left and laying down a  stuttering lethal fire on the Russian mechanized troops.  The stabilized CROWs was deadly accurate at this short range.  As the Battalion Commander, he had more important things to do, but with communications so limited he had only managed a brief radio call with his company commanders 10 minutes earlier.  Suddenly a crystal clear call came over his headset, “Power Six, Blackknight Six, contact BMPs front, out!” 
Hot damn, at least I can hear CPT Farmer, he thought.  He’s in contact too.  Like an echo, the gunner sang out, “Contact, BMP, front!”
“Gunner, AMP, PC, point,” Falker ordered, directing a new ammunition.  It took a moment as the loader switched out the sabot he had automatically slammed into the breach after the first tank.  “Up!”
“Fire.”
“On the way!” 
A tremendous concussion rocked the tank the instant they fired.  Falkner thought for an instant they had been hit.  Normally, the 120mm cannon’s sound is greatly muffled inside the turret by the loud environment itself, along with the sheer  mass of the tank.  The ‘Cha-changk!’ of the breech cycling and dropping the spent aft-cap from the frangible shell casing to the turret floor is actually louder than the sound of the shot.  But not this time. 
“Crap! That thing frickin’ predetonated!  What…”
“Tree!” the gunner said. 
“I think we fragged the FSO!”  Falkner looked in horror at the up-armored HMMWV which had been leading their little gaggle.  He saw one of the armored windows was gone – blown inwards by the shock of the detonating round. 
“Up!”  the loader’s cry jerked him back to the fight, as the young PFC slammed another AMP into the cannon, and shoved himself into the corner of the turret, away from the heavy breech’s recoil. 
“Re-lase, to make sure, and check the GAS.” Falkner said into his mike, directing the gunner to double check the range and to ensure a clear gun-target path through the gunner’s auxiliary sight.  The GAS is essentially a rifle-scope, a simple telescopic sight fixed to the side of the cannon.  Since the main sights on the Abrams are offset above and to the right of the cannon, the GAS is used if there is any doubt to ensure the cannon is clear of obstructions (like the lips of berms or walls) and to check for a clear gun-target line.
“I got him,” the gunner responded.
“Do it.”
“On the way.”
“Cha-changk!”
 
http://youtu.be/6UHECovVSkA
 
Not done with the turn yet, but figured I owed you all a taste.  Power 6 rolls onto the map this turn.  The Russians are caught too far forward and too exposed.  More to follow, as the Battalion breaks out into the open and loses the hindrance of the jamming that has plagued them during their approach to the battlefield.  Apologize for trimming the trees in the vid, but it was the only way to glimpse the action.  The thermals see right through them, but we don't have a 'thermal image' option in CM yet.        

With a roar, the twin 30mm cannon spit huge bursts of lethal high-explosive shells up the street, slashing after the running infantry.  The enemy had ducked behind a hedge at the last instant, but the gunner walked the rounds along the area he thought they had gone to.  It looked as though they had run into a small shack.  Well, he would just…..
“Brytva elements, this is Orel Base, air alert, sector 7A, bearing 258 closing.  Illuminate!  Weapons free!” 
The commander instantly terminated the ground engagement, responding by training to the anti-air drill.  The search radar went from standby to narrow-beam search in less than a second, and an instant later the radar operator sang out that he had a target.  The gunner announced a lock and the whole crew heard the warble of the lock signal. The commander ordered “launch,” and the missile was away, all within mere seconds of the alert.  The 9M311 missile sped up and away, guided towards the target by commands from the launcher, which had to sustain the radar lock throughout the engagement.  This it did, and the unknown Russian aircraft jinked, but the missile’s laser-armed proximity fuze functioned.  The crew knew their missile had detonated, but none were certain they had scored a kill as they had all seen the smoke trail from their sister Strela launch from within Krichek at nearly the same instant.  But all saw the splash as the enemy aircraft hit the ground.
“Now where,” thought the commander of Brytva 21, “did those pesky infantrymen go?”
 
http://youtu.be/eFdA78fMz3A
 
As KPT Kovtun’s command BTR moves by ferrying an infantry squad to the north side of town, Brytva 22M, the surviving Strela launcher in the middle of town engages unknown Russian aircraft with two missile volley.   Note the splash of the downed aircraft beyond Starov village at the end of the clip.
 
In Krichek, Starshiy Bondarenko was exhausted.  He and his team had run up the street, going building to building, lugging the heavy Corsar ATGM all the way.  While a fairly light weapon given its capability, light is a relative term and they had run fast.  KPT Kovtun had directed them to reposition to face the threat of a Russian BMP coming across the river – they were amphibious, and could swim from a suitable bank, making the crossing in moments.  Bondarenko and the team climbed up to the second floor and began setting up, but instantly Sasha cried out. 
“Infantry coming!” punctuated by several short bursts as he cut loose with his AK-74. 
“Sasha, stop!  You’ll give away our position!  We have to wait for the BMP!”  too late he warned, as the very BMP itself, slid up from behind a fold in the ground actually in front of the infantry Sasha had engaged.  A large Russian shell, a stray perhaps, from the ongoing bombardment, slammed into the ground directly in front of the vehicle.  As the smoke cleared, the BMP gunner immediately pressed his triggers, slamming 30mm shells into the building where they sheltered.  Sasha fell with a cry, and an instant later Bondarenko mashed the firing stud on the Corsar and felt the tremendous whoosh and slap as the missile screamed from the launcher.  The range was just beyond arming range for the missile, and it detonated hard on the BMP, instantly setting off secondary explosions that consumed the Russian track.  Bondarenko knelt and cradled his arm as he realized it was torn by shrapnel.  But he realized it wasn’t bad, and quickly raised his head for another look at the blazing BMP.  In that instant the BMP’s platoon mate on the far bank loosed a quick burst that caught the young gunner square, shrapnel tearing into his chest, neck and shoulder.  Only his body armor saved him from instant death, and his life would now hang on the skills of the medics in town and the speed of their rescue by US forces. 
 
http://youtu.be/yc9RMo87KSQ

SPC O’Brian was good and ready. They had to reposition twice, but now he saw it clearly on the distant southern hill.  Through the thermal on his Command Launch Unit, he distinctly saw the outline of a T-90, the latest Russian tank.  He was pretty sure he saw others on the ridge behind hit, but could not see enough of them to be certain, but the vehicle closest was hull up and unmistakable. 
“Alright, Metcalf, we good?”
“Bit test was good.  We’re armed and ready,” he responded.
“Well then, here goes nothing.  Firing!”
With a dull pop, the missile left the tube, then seeming to sag in the air as its rocket motor ignited, it nosed up and flew up and away. 
“C’mon, we’re gone.”  Even before the missile had closed half the distance to the distant tank, O’Brian and Metcalf were sprinting from the launch point.  They ran a good 75 meters, then flung themselves down, snapping the empty canister from the CLU, and snapping a new heavy one in its place.  A distant ‘Boom!’ announced the arrival of their missile, but neither knew for sure how they had done.  They knew the Javelin was deadly, and trusted that they had spiked their target.  The carefully began to creep up to set up another shot.
 
http://youtu.be/YNN-FiTmyqE
 
SPC O’Brian and PVT Metcalf engage a T-90 of the Southern MRC.  They really wanted to engage the Tunguska, but could not get line of sight.  Expect this engagement, coming immediately prior to arrival of Speed and Power Main Body, should throw a nice wrench in the Russian plan.  End of video (note, I learned how to ‘pause’ though I still don’t have a video editor <sigh!>) is Brytva 21 showing what to do when your infantry target runs into a shack.  Will be curious after the match to see if this engagement caused any casualties…  or if there were any survivors!  A few end-of-turn snaps to wrap up.
 

 

 

 
At this point I am officially caught up, and am sending the main-body turn back to Bil in about an hour.  Thanks for bearing with me.

LT Lysenko watched with guarded caution.  Russian mortar fire continued to fall on the powerplant, making life difficult.  Continuous shelling, even if you are under cover, is unnerving.  Lysenko could see Russian armor traversing the field in front of the plant.  He had laid out careful firing lines for the squad at the gatehouse, but had no confidence they would follow his instructions.  They seemed eager, but also like they had not paid sufficient attention during their annual reserve training.  The LT believed they were fairly likely to point the RPG in the correct direction, and would probably not place the exhaust against their shoulder like a rifle – but he was not certain!  He could not see the team from his vantage point, but he was watching when they did choose to engage.  The T-90 had stopped dead in front of them in the field.  Lysenko estimated the range at about 150m, maybe a hair further.  He had laid out firing marks for them at this range, and the rocket actually did seem to be on target – until the tank’s APS system shot it down of course.  No one had apparently discussed this feature with the team themselves, and Lysenko could see them through a window apparently streaming towards the ground floor in panic.  He sighed, but noted that the 120mm mortars seemed to have the range for the truck and likely ATGM site he had called them on. 
 
http://youtu.be/qsOo9SToCwI
 
Kapitan Kovtun was working quickly, outlining a new plan to one of his squad leaders, when MAJ Harris slipped in the door of the Town Hall. 
“So, brief your men and the BTR crew and then get up to the North.  They have spotted a Russian truck on top of the hill, and we think perhaps it is responsible for all of this damned artillery!”  The KPT turned and saw the American Major.
“Da, Mayor?”  He lifted an eyebrow, respectful but obviously not in the mood for trivial small talk.
“Nice work getting the word out on our Jav team, Viktor.  I’m sending Sergeant Doty and his truck up to the north.  We think a Russian BMP just crossed the river, and can’t afford to get pinned over there.”
“Da, there is one of devils on our bank.  I have sent our Corsar team to deal with it.  Hopefully they manage.  If not, we have other defenses.  Is there any word on your countrymen?  Any support available?”
“Nothing so far.  Jamming is doing us in.  It should not be much longer, but I fear it may be too late for 3rd Company.” 
“Perhaps, yes.  So…  we fight until they decide to join us, no?”
Harris grinned.
“Yes, indeed we do.”
“Good, let us go see positions, you and I?”
“Lead the way!”
 

“There, you see?  I told you there was supposed to be a truck over there!”  Serzhant Levitsky told his gunner. 
“We just needed to get a better angle.  Gunner, ground burst, five-zero rounds, truck!”
Seconds later, the Russian Tiger recon truck a burning wreck, Brytva 22 turned and headed north back towards Krichek, its swift patrol of the southern fields complete.
 

 

 

 

 
Next to the bridge to Krichek, their comrade, the commander of Brytva 21 suddenly heard a loud, “tchnk!” followed moments later by several more, “tchnk, tchnk, tzzzeeee!”  He looked out of his commander’s cupola periscope in disbelief.  Right up the road perhaps 150m away crouched a Russian rifleman – and he was shooting at the armored vehicle with his assault rifle! 
Surely, thought the commander, your squad leader is smarter than that! 
“Gunner, traverse left….”