Chibot Mk IX

Quick reminder to my fellow CMRT players, you can’t save a game and return to it later. So for the German defender with lots of fortifications and freedom to make their own defense setup. This can take awhile. So if you need a break, dinners ready, baby’s crying, etc, either leave the game running or alt-tab to minimize the game.
Also completely ignore any tourney files that show up in your saved games & PBEM list. These will not get sent to your opponent. Only play the ones under PBEM ++ in Progress list. 

It is completely broken. Just look at this they get within 50 meters of each other in broad daylight and be doesn't even see it. It's laughable that anybody would consider this to be realistic behaviour.
Completely unplayable, I want a refund.
 

Classic “why is spotting in CM so broken?” situation:
 

Rybar had this interesting telegram post about Ukraine's tactics for launching storm shadow missiles against Crimea:
https://t.me/rybar/52150
 
 

"Leaked" 🤣   Well, I am an expert with 38 years of submarine construction and testing, and as a subject matter expert I can say that that submarine is truly f-ed, FUBAR, SNAFU, scrap metal. 
Aren't you glad I'm here to provide you with my expert opinions?   😀
And kudos to Ukraine. Nice shot. 
Dave

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Some more impressions from WIP:

What air defenses? ;D
Apperently, there's less and less of them. BBC was pretty quick to report the local (my hometown) events, so you may wanna check that out.
No air raid warnings, no nothing. Nothing is happening, as always. Just bavovna and smoke. Even the announcer at the train station skips the usual "be observant and careful, careful and observant" this morning. How come, I wonder?
 
ps: I'm okay, and the windows are fine, for now.

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😎

I don't think it is Russian intentionally get old tanks blew up first. It's just these T-55 happen to be in a good storage condition. They might have less than dozen engine hours on the training ground before been put into a warehouse.
Soviets built a lot of T-55 until 1981 to use them build up the strength of category C and D divisions in Far East. It's quite ironically these T-55 have low engine hours; good storage condition compares to the worn-out T-80/72s retired from category A divisions (and many of these T-80/72 were put in outside storage).

I don't think it is Russian intentionally get old tanks blew up first. It's just these T-55 happen to be in a good storage condition. They might have less than dozen engine hours on the training ground before been put into a warehouse.
Soviets built a lot of T-55 until 1981 to use them build up the strength of category C and D divisions in Far East. It's quite ironically these T-55 have low engine hours; good storage condition compares to the worn-out T-80/72s retired from category A divisions (and many of these T-80/72 were put in outside storage).

No. Each UKR soldier will tell you, that BTR-70 is a piece of sh...t in comarison with M-113/YPR-765
BTR-60/70/80 have too weak side hull armor, which can't maintain proper protection from 7.62 and often against 5.45 AP from close range, when M113 protects. Inner compartment of BTRs is too narrow for soldiers in modern equipment and body armor, because both and BTR and BMP series were designed in ColdWar era, when soldiers haven't such equipment and in design was put an avarage height of Soviet soldier in 1960-1970 as about 160-165 sm, this is one more answer, why RUS and UKR soldiers ride on the top of armor. Not only because if it hit, all will burn alive (it's enough exaggregation if it not 125 mm HE), but because of full squad of troops will waste value time, trying to disembark from narrow compartment under fire. So, UKR soldiers always ride inside M113 to enemy positions, because it much safer, and disembark time is much shorter, than from inside BTR-70
Enclosed turret of BTRs doesn't give enough protection, but instead strict natural LOS of gunner. M113/HMMMWV guneer can better to observe battlefield, when he gets targeting from comamnder or spot the target himself. 
One guy from "Azov" NG brigade wrote brigade try to get at least several dozens of M113 and he amazed, why it so hard. Even 3rd assault briagade "Azov", using M113/YPR, as he told indeed have very small of them and all M113, which you can see in their videos are the same several APC. 

On the training post: a lot of what is in that story rings true.  The issue, which we have pointed out here before, is that western troops have no frame of reference for this war.  The more I hear descriptions of company operations in this war, the more they sound like a SOF action as far as C4ISR goes.  A GF Comd does pretty much what they are describing as a Company Comds role in this war - pulls back and manages the engagement from a pan C4ISR node.  Conventional military experience does not do this.  Tactical commanders get more feeds but pretty much fill the same roles as they did 30-40 years ago.  The Battalion TOC has changed a lot but the mass use of UAS for ISR is still not at the forefront.
The offensive focus also rings true.  I got into an argument a long while back on modern war and the offensive doctrine of most western militaries.  A lot of doctrine was built during the Cold War and then adapted to the insurgency wars we fought over the last 30 years.  The few times we went conventional, the opponent was so overmatched that we kind of confirmed a false positive - offensive primacy.  This war is showing the holes in that theory.  This is a war of Denial - drones and artillery.  That takes a fundamentally different training approach.
We all “yay’ed” when western troops began training support, and we still add a lot of value in some skill areas.  However, we may very well be teaching  bad lessons.  For example, that well documented and broadcasted failed minefield breach back in Jun. To my eyes it was a textbook western mechanized breach.  It looks like it got stopped by enemy UAS, a couple helicopters, a few ATGM teams and some pretty tepid artillery.  Our minefield breaching doctrine has not been refreshed since the Cold War and it ran headlong into 2023 reality.  Our impulse is to declare “well the UA is doing it wrong,”. Of course this assumes we actually know how to do it right in the first place.
I can only hope the AAR process is firmly in place and is capturing these observations.  However, in most cases the AAR guys are cut from the same corporate cloth as the training delivery guys so there are going to be biases to overcome.  We likely need to adapt the training significantly.  SOF may need to take over infantry tactics training because the reality is closer to their environment than our conventional experience.  However, SOF are pretty low density.  Conventional can focus on equipment (eg “night driving”), it still does this better than anyone else.
I have brought up the point on this war being as much about competitive learning as much as about actual warfare before.  The UA learns very fast, Russians slower…but they do learn.  The question is, “how fast are western militaries learning?”  They are part of this war too, they make up a significant portion of the Ukrainian force generation stream.  As such they should be in a direct feedback loop from the front line. We need to be learning at a better pace than the Russians - “EOD is taboo” (likely because we have framed them as exclusively a COIN thing).  This will mean breaking out of our own boxes, which is a damned hard thing to do at the best of times.  In reality we should be getting then UA to train us on how to train them.

Wake me up when it happens. I'd love to take credit for this idea.  
 
 
 

Wake me up when it happens. I'd love to take credit for this idea.  
 
 
 

Posted footage of the drone that carries AT-mines with 7kg payload some days ago that “DefMon3” reported on. This is claimed to be that same system in action.
Russians left plenty of these buried and Ukrainians will now kindly return them, from above. One has to acknowledge the massive blast that these AT-mines cause in relation to RPG drones and grenades. Just waiting for videos of Russian counterattacks being ambushed by AT-mines falling down all around them.
Longer thread that offers perspectives on the shortcomings, inexperience and lack of situational awareness that 32nd has faced since deployed. Of course extrapolating to other NATO trained units and assuming they all suffer the same problems. As always, it’s good to see perspectives that call out BS before it becomes accepted as truth.
Not suggesting it’s all sunshine and lollipops but well balanced reply to the KI article referenced.
 

Wake me up when it happens. I'd love to take credit for this idea.  
 
 
 

It's gonna happen one day. I can't see KA-52s being close to the front, especially behaving so apparently nonchalantly, so this is a really good illustration of just how deep drones are getting.