IronCat60

Wow Mord, great post. Man does that bring back memories. CMBO still a classic game. Christopher Mech.Gato

P.S. I am glad to hear you are enjoying the game! The more that you become familiar with the game and play it you will realize how much thought and detail went into this production. My real point of this addendum is don't be afraid to ask questions. The ony stupid question is the one you don't ask. Now for a side note on how much detail went into this game. In the Red Thunder forum one member talks about how a T-34 was nose down in a ditch or shell hole, became disabled and the crew jumped out. Now with the drivers hatch open on the front slope of the tank, a German M.G. opened up on the tank and a few rounds went into the open hatch and set off the internal ammo destroying the tank! How's that for realisim! Also if you ever desire to try taking on a live opponent please feel free to contact me here. It would be my first time playing a live person also. Christopher Mech.Gato

As Mord mentioned about people stepping up to take command when a leader is killed the same goes for the heavy crew served weapons in this game. Just becausethe gunner gets waxed it doesn't mean the entire gun crew goes stupid on you and you have a useless hunk of steel sitting there. Now though I will confess that with the two man teams on the medium machine gun if the gunner gets killed then the gun is out of action. Too bad we couldn't just take a guy off of the nearest squad the gun is working with and get a full crew so one can carry the gun and the other can carry the tripod and ammo box. In real combat you always keep the the automatic support weapons operational as they provide cover for maneuver and the most casualities

What a excellent way to put it all into perspective. And it really clarifies the Russian strategic thinking during the cold war. They never wanted a invasion of the motherland to ever happen again. And the numbers show why. During the recent May Day parade Putin made remarks about how the Western powers have trivialized the efforts of the Russian's to defeat the Nazis. Yes the Western Allied powers contributed greatly to the defeat of the Nazis, but the Russians bore the brunt of the effort. And came back from devastating losses to do so. Christopher Mech.Gato

As far as the Grey AFV uniform for the Germans that should be the StuG crews. They never considered themselves tankers, they always thought of themselves as artillery men answering the call of the infantry to "bring up the guns" in support. Sure they had a ad-hoc role as anti-tank but artillery in direct fire is a sort of AT gun in a sense. Christopher Mech.Gato

Boy do I have a real life story about spaced armor to tell you about! As a Bradley M2A2 IFV Commander in Desert Storm I took a 100mm AT gun HEAT round hit to the hull at the point where the work platform for engine maintenance stows on the left upper hull right under the TOW launcher. The round struck the curved over lip of the platform which is the outboard side and detonated. It cut the platform in two and the hollow space below the platform dissipatied the full energy. It buckeld in the hull below the site and the hull internal kevlar panels lining the overhead and walls in the troop compartment prevented spalling. The worst damage was that the blast penetrated the armor of the TOW launcher and detonated the propellent of the two missiles inside which caused the launcher to disengrate into a spray of shrapnel that killed one of the dismounted infantry men and wounded four others. The combination HEAT round blast and TOW blast bent the Bradley turret upwards tearing open about a inch space between the turret and the turret race (the ball bearing track the turret rides on) from about the blast site to almost under the 25mm main gun. My gunner was burned and received shrapnel wounds as he sits on the left side of the turret. I was outside of the vehicle assisting in the evacuation of the X.O.'s vehicle crew as the Infantry dismounts were busy engaging the enemy. The X.O.'s vehicle had just gotten hit by the AT gun killing the gunner who was a friend. My vehicle was using the X.O.'s vehicle as a shield and the gunner on my vehicle was engaging a machine gun that opened up on our Infantry as it presented a real threat and we thought we were safe behind the other vehicle. But the gun crew on the AT gun were lucky or damn well skilled as they skimmed that round right over the radiator deck on the X.O.'s vehicle (it actually left scorch marks on the grill) and hit mine. If I had been inside the Bradley turret directing the gunner I would be not sitting here today as two ball bearings from the race, each about a 1/2 inch in diameter, flew out and embeded themselves in the commanders back rest hard enough to dent the solid metal pillar the cushion is attached to. The pillars attache the turret floor to the turret. It would have gone right under the lower edge of my crewmans kevlar vest due to the level I normaly sit at when in a engagement. So thanks to "ad-hoc" spaced armor my vehicle didn't become a catastrophic kill and we were able to evacuate the wounded. Christopher Mech.Gato

Hello there, glad your enjoying the game! To answer your question, just "left click" with the mouse button to select the unit and then press the "G" key on the key board. A small circular icon will appear with a crosshair in it and a tick mark about 10 o'clock on its edge. Now you can move the icon with the mouse in the direction you want unit to face and then "left click" the mouse to get it to respond to your command. The tick mark has nothing to do with lining up the unit. It is just part of the graphics. A trick to getting a unit to face a desired direction is to put the icon out aways from the unit and line the icon up on a distant spot then "left clicking". This prevents the unit from whipping around to a undesired facing because your point of view might be different from what the unit is using as reference. This command is called the "Face Command" which is also found in the Combat Mode (Target, Target Light, etc) of the Command Panel. The M, C, S, A selection buttons on the Comand Panel. The one labled "C" brings up the entire Combat Mode selection, but just using the "G" key is a short-cut and brings up the mode also. Also just a side note. Congratualtions on your purchase! You will not be disappointed with your purchase. As a actual combat veteran I can say this game is the closest thing to real combat that I have ever seen. As a amature historian and WW2 fan, this is living history. To watch an accurately protrayed Panther roll out of a wood line and rotate the turret towards your troops is just spectacular. Just to have your troops react intelligently to changing conditions is a amazing part of the game also. Here is a link to Armchair General series of how-to videos to help you maximize your tactical skills in Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy. Lt. Col. (ret) Jeffrey Paulding, longtime gaming editor for Armchair General magazine, draws upon his 11 years as an active-duty infantry officer in the U.S. Army and a quarter-century of experience with computer wargames to show you how it's done. As a 20 year Infantry NCO, I can say this guy is good and teaches the right way to do things. In this game as in real life you have to take your objectives. But treating your troops (pixel-truppen) as cannon fodder will lead to defeat. Just as in real life conservation of forces during the mission pays dividends in having troops to maintain the effort and most important of all troop morale. That is one of the aspects of this game that fascinates me. The morale plus command and control aspect. As a Platoon Sergeant, "where the rubber meets the road" command level, morale and command-control is all important. With out it you just have a uncontroled mob of nervous and angry young men with potentional but they will not respond to your commands to shoot or doing anything constructive enmass. It is these factors that the game strives to represent quite well. Respectfully, Christopher Mech.Gato

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force. Who embarked upon the Great Crusade this day, seventy one years ago. God bless you for your courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty. "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." Abraham Lincoln November 19, 1863 Thank you with much respect, from one combat veteran to another, Christopher Mech.Gato

Ah the rare Sdkfz Acht Kugel Halbspur Lastwagen (Special Ordnance Vehicle 8 Ball Half-track Truck) or Sdkfz 8 KHL! Designed by the Fuhrer himself. And yes it was designed to operate just as Womble described. When der Fuhrer was told of the shortage of materials and had to chose between building trucks for supply or half-tracks to re-equip the Pazer Grenadier forces he thought why not just build both in one vehicle. Historical side note just a few days after this brilliant decision he found out about the StG 44. But because he was in a good mood from his Sdkfz 8 KHL decision he embraced the new weapon. Instead of having the people who went against his orders and developed the rifle rounded up and shot.

Great find! I love it when someone finds these little gems. It informs me of the training doctrine used back then and motivates me to use the information in playing the game.

Alright a Python fan! Yep all antsy waiting to see how well they do with presenting the war. Lot's of good WW2 flicks lately, they have to live up to the standards to succeed. I like the fact that Brad Pitt's Staff Sergeant Stripes are hand sewed on. Showing he's been at it awhile and has been promoted during the conflict or has drawn a new jacket from supply and had to sew it on himself as fancy tailor shops are not handy in a combat environment. I remember having a sewing class that I taught to my troops so they could mend their uniforms in a presentable manner and in a way so the stitching would last.

I agree about the "even "honest" ones often contain factual inaccuracies" from my own combat experiences. I have my own opinion on what took place based on what I experienced and perceived was going on. Then reading the Units After Action Report it is like "Wow I had no idea that was going on while I was fighting my own little piece of the battle" or "Holy Crap! So that is what was shooting at me! I knew it was big, but not that big!"

Wow, great idea on the pause and target thing. Usually I just pause the squad outside to ensure all members are present before going in as "the more weapons, the greater the flying lead mass is" equation usually works.

Here is a blog site run by some World of Tanks gamers with the intent of introducing historical information on Soviet Equipment translated from Soviet documents. Word of caution, no idea what expertise these gentlemen have in this field. http://tankarchives.blogspot.com/ Mech.Gato

Noticed the same effect with AT guns deployed by the AI too close to a building. They track their targets through the building with their "Wonder Weapon" Quantum Phase Shift AT Gun that allows the barrel to "phase" through wall atoms and lets them see through solid objects using the same technology! Them Germans, crafty little bastards!

Thanks buddy, I always like a good read with a different view on the conflict. Thanks for taking point on this one! Mech.Gato

Thank you all for participating in my little test to prove a point to a fellow veteran. This unnamed veteran said that the forum was a bunch of uninformed civilians who didn't know what they were talking about. I told him that the forum has some very intelligent, well informed members. Whether or not they served in the military does not matter, I am proud to know people who take interest in history and are much more aware of it's impact than your local apathetic high school students. So when I ran across this article I knew it was great bait. I wanted you to pick this thing apart with your knowledgeable comments so I could prove my point. It worked very well and this guy apologized for his comments and was surprised by the knowledge of the forum members. So I also apologize if any one thinks I have been deceitful, but I just wanted to show what a great group of gamers there are on this site! Much Respect to all! Mech.Gato

Here is a remarkable glimpse in to the past at this apartment. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2323297/Inside-Paris-apartment-untouched-70-years-Treasure-trove-finally-revealed-owner-locked-fled-outbreak-WWII.html

Hey Doodlebug, I would like this so units could look in the direction I want them to observe instead of sticking a covered arc off to one side where their attention is really focused or having a tiny covered arc to their front and having something stumble through it triggering fire from the unit and giving their position away. Yes I know HQ units can sit quietly and observe but if I use the units under that command in a similar fashion then I can use them observe a larger area. Mech.gato

I am very grateful for your railcar work Umlaut. As a train sim modder I appreciate the genius work it took to make this mod. I have been trying to make a railcar mod with no success. Therefore your work is a much desired scenery item for my rail lines. Best Regards, Mech.Gato

I have a quote from Wikipedia: There were 800,000 women who served in the Soviet Armed Forces during the war. Nearly 200,000 were decorated and 89 eventually received the Soviet Union’s highest award, the Hero of the Soviet Union. Some served as pilots, snipers, machine gunners, tank crew members and partisans, as well as in auxiliary roles. Manshuk Mametova was a machine gunner from Kazakhstan and was the first Soviet Asian woman to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union for acts of bravery. Mariya Oktyabrskaya and Ukrainian Alexandra Samusenko were tank commanders decorated with the same award. My two cents, Mech.Gato

I would like to see a rule/control that determines at what range the units start to engage targets. It would be graded from max effective range of the weapon to zero. That way units will not be wasting ammo popping off rounds at too long a range or when range is set low the unit will quietly sit and observe until something is danger close. This helps with ambush situations of troops or tanks also! My two cents, Mech.Gato

As a Bradley IFV Mech Infantry Platoon Sergeant I can state that when we did dismounted training as possible deployment as a straight infantry we practiced digging in if we were expected to be in one area for over one hour. Anything else was just a waste of effort. It takes about a forty five minutes to an hour just to scrape out a "2 by 2 by you" (2 feet deep, 2 feet wide, the length of your body). As far as security during the process, from each flank squad one man out front and one out on the flanks. The middle squad has 2 men out for rear security. As soon as the squad finishes their hasty fighting positions the security is switched out. The men relieved from the security detail and their battle buddies proceed to prep a position for them and with two men it takes half the time to finish. So under ideal conditions it takes roughly a hour and a half to dig in a whole platoon of men. Not including interruptions like enemy fire either direct or indirect. My two cents, Mech.Gato

Here is a great link to a page that has interesting information and a myriad of other links on all kinds of WW2 information. http://ftr.wot-news.com/2013/09/05/common-myths-about-wwii/ Enjoy Mech.Gato

Just checking in to see if your question is resolved. Had that happen to me in a large map, real time QB, where a flanking unit was going in as soon as the mortar fire hit and was lifted. Was busy on the other side of the map and started to wonder why I didn't hear the mortar fire. Checked the area out and found that the barrage had come and went and the assault force was just twiddling their thumbs waiting for the go word.:eek: Blind in one eye and can't see outta the other Mech.Gato