antaress73

Certainly individual components of the data system and even entire subsystems can be jammed/hacked/destroyed, but the entire data sharing system? Unlikely. Degraded maybe.

My two cents (and probably worth as much)
 
One standard operating procedure to minimize the javelin threat is to manually pop IR blocking smoke when the first tank is hit and reposition yourself under cover of smoke .. Use overwatch positions so you have a chance to get a spot on the launcher when that happens.. And then use arty or direct fire  from your overwatch force (better) to suppress or destroy them. Also move from overhead cover to overhead cover like tree patches in bounds using fast mouvement orders to cross open terrain. Javelin will use the direct fire mode if the target has overhead cover like tree branches and is much less effective and is vulnerable to APS in that mode. The AAR has a good example of this happening because Bill's tank was in a patch of trees. Its warhead is only able to penetrate 600mm which is weak if used in direct fire mode but deadly in the top attack mode. A frontal hit on a T-90 without ERA with a javelin is innefective. The skillful use of these three SOP combined should minimize the effect (but not eliminate it) of "cheating with Javelin"   

If you are the US, fire them in salvoes once the enemy is in the open as to kill as many targets as possible before it can react by popping IR smoke or bring overwatch area fire on your positions. You can also use them to fix the enemy or prevent avenues of approach and use other assets to flank or bypass. Move them fast once they fire to make it difficult for the enemy to locate and destroy them with arty.
 
And yeah, fear the M1A2.. use air assets on them (the anti-armor ones have lot's (16) of effective ATGM, some even with top attack capabilities like the AT-9 ataka). If your opponent use them on defense in static positions, you can use precision guided arty on them but dont count too much on that. Engage them close and with local numerical superiority and from different directions. Use long-range Krysanthemas AT LONG-RANGE if the map permits it to take flank pot shots at them so you can attrit their numbers before engaging them with your main force. 
 
I give more advice to the Russian player because you in a less forgiving position compared to the US player.

Hello, I've joined this website after watching a live stream of this game and thought I would join and could provide some information.  I served in the Russian Airborne Forces during the 2008-2011.  You are in a tight situation and knowing that M1A2 is overpowered in most games I think you are in a tight situation.  It really does annoy me that M1A2 surpasses the T-90A even the AM variant.   Go defensive use RPG-7 with VR rocket and flank tanks from the sides.  No need to risk any tanks.  Tanks should be a layer of defense for now once you thin out his forces go for a push on the weakest flanks.  Artillery tree lines that you fear enemies are and use infantry on his  flanks and take out recon teams and anti tank teams. This should provide you more easy maneuvers.  Artillery is key if you want to thin out enemy forces never over think if you should use it or not.  If there is a anti-tank unit there is bound to be its support team nearby bomb the location this is an example though. 

When approaching infantry transport:
 
Anything that has four wheels is functionally the same as a jeep.  The exceptions to this are the american HMMWVs that fit MK-19s, TOW missiles, or what looks like a big box.
 
   Tangent: MK-19 has already been discussed.  Its murderous against infantry, unarmored vehicles, and some of the APC type targets can be knocked out by it with some luck
                  Treat the TOW version a lot like a 17 pound gun that's somehow merged with a speedy prime mover.  You don't want to place it somewhere it can be shot at at all, but it will reap a terrible toll on tanks if you give it a chance.
                  The Big box is the LRAS3, which is one of the most powerful sensor systems in the US Army.  The upside is it is a great tool for calling for support, or keeping sneaky things away from your flank.  The downside is it is not especially better at either of those than an Abrams, and is knocked out by anything more than small arms fire.  This sensor is also mounted on the Stryker scout vehicle.
 
 
Anything with 6-8 wheels/tracks and a machine gun: Treat like a halftrack.  They're really not that well armored, but are great for getting infantry forward fast.  Semi-exceptions to this:
 
    The BTR/MTLBs with 30 mm guns are great against not-tank type vehicles, and very good at suppressing or killing enemy infantry.  
    The Stryker with MK19 is just good enough to use forward, great at digging out infantry from buildings, or suppressing trenchlines.  
 
IFVs (tracked things with troops, some sort of autocannon, and ATGMs)
 
Imagine if your halftracks, light tanks, and AT vehicles all had a beautiful baby!
 
    Treat them like halftracks until they get to the point where they can deposit troops, once the troops are kicked out, then feel less nervous about using them as the mini-tanks they can be.  In a lot of ways, think of them like the M5 tanks from World War Two, they're great against other light vehicles, they're amazing against infantry, but you do not want it anywhere near something that can be called "anti-tank" or a real tank for that matter. 
 
Re: ATGMs
 
Here's the important caveats to remember when operating ATGMs from any platform (except the Javelin)
1. Bullets are faster than missile. The longer you fire the missile from, the longer it takes to impact, the more time the enemy has to react to missile.  It takes a TOW missile about 30 seconds to reach its max range around 3750 meters, that's enough time for the enemy to pop smoke, or return fire with a tank gun, which could very well kill the launching crew before the missile is even close to the target.  To this end it can be wise to ignore max range shots in favor of letting the enemy close in a bit (or it takes a tank shell 2ish seconds to go to 4 KM, it's flight time is fairly constant, while your missile fired at 2000 meters will only take 15ish seconds, which is a much harder thing to react to than 30 seconds)
 
2. ERA is built to ruin your ATGM.  APS also will wreck your day.  With that said, both systems degrade the more missiles they have to deal with.  To that end firing more missiles is often a good solution, so rather than spreading out your fires, massing 2-3 missiles on one tank will often overwhelm the APS (or deplete it's ammunition), and strip away a lot of the ERA protection.  
 
Also when playing against other players, it's much more likely they'll reverse out of an engagement if one of their tanks gets piled on by a few missiles, vs the fire being more spread out.
 
3. Reloading takes a bit.  This is especially true with vehicles like the Bradley or BMP series that have their launchers external to the vehicle.  When engaging with ATGMs, don't be afraid to mass like I said earlier, but hold a few launchers in reserve to continue to engage while your first salvo is being reloaded.
 
4. Mass your missiles.  If you've got two or even three different flavors of missiles, find their average optimal engagement area, and plan to hit the enemy in that range.  Using the Americans as an example the max effective range on the Javelin is 2500 meters or so.  To that end, holding off on firing off your TOWs until the enemy is 2000-2500 meters out ensures that target area is saturated with missiles, and rather than returning fire effectively, the enemy is evading and trying to leave the kill zone.
 
5. Trees give bad vibes.  Anything that is described as "wire guided" needs to be kept away from trees and similar obstructions to ensure the missile's guidance wire doesn't get snagged and cause the missile to rather dramatically miss the target.
 
Random errata:
 
1. Q. Which American units are spotters for artillery and aviation?
 
    A. All of them. Some are better at it than others, but if it's a team with a radio or digital communications it can call for a fire mission.  Plan accordingly from both ends for that one.
 
2. Borg spotting actually does kind of exist now.  Given the advances in battle tracking, all US, and many higher tech Russian units can share situational awareness to varying degrees.  They may still not be able to engage, but if the scouts up front spot your dudes sneaking along, odds are the rest of the force now has at least a very strong idea where your forces are at vs vaguely there's enemy somewhere up front.  
 
3. Fear the Abrams.  No.  Really.  Fear it.  It is the apex predator in this game.  If the enemy has them, you really need to have a plan on how and where to kill them vs simply having some AT assets on hand.  The APS and ERA ones appear especially dangerous at this point.

What's the old saying "any publicity is good publicity".

i've been in a T-72.. pretty awful and cramped.. wouldnt fight in one for anything but look at videos of the inside of theT-90A and T-90AM (with a separate bustle for ammo and CRT and touchscreens all over the place which is easier on the mind and for situational awareness and air conditioning) and it's much  much better!
 
You can have a nice look here, yeah they like to boast but who doesnt, the beginning is actually overcompensation and shows more about their lack of confidence than anything else  
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeMVApuN2gE

Ehhhh, 30% of 600mm is 180mm. Just for the record.
 
Michael

they are breeding like rabbits.  Pink Rabbits.  Pink Rabbits about human size.

Lesson is: Modern combat seems unforgiving. The slightest advantage can turn into a tipping point. Meaning, it doesn't matter is you're 50% inferior or 10%, you are going to get plastered by the superior force in a lopsided way.  The difference between countries like Syria and Russia is what it can do to you BEFORE your main force can engage their main force. Evening the odds somewhat. Syria would face intact US forces with all their force multipliers working 100%, Russia can seriously degrade a force before it enters battle (but that's outside the scope of the game), evening the odds somewhat. That's what scenario designers must take into account with this game. The first week would be hell for any nation fighting Russia. It all depends on how much force the US can retain so it can accomplish its war objectives after it gets things under control, and that's a bif IF. That's why I believe such a conflict is highly unlikely unless there is serious miscalculation on either side. But a game is fun !

John,
 
I agree that the professionalism in the american army is superb and i'm not saying the contrary. It reinforces what I'm saying. What i'm saying here is whichever army you are, fighting an intact and numerically superior US army unit is a losing proposition and in a big way, Whether you are syrian, russian, chinese, german. You need to work it up first and strip it of its fighting power before engaging it with your main units. It has a tech edge and very often a  profiency edge. However little that edge is, it will be multiplied if it outnumbers you and is at 100% combat power.
 
In this scenario, maybe the russians have been given an equal experience rating, but you need at least a 2-1 numerical superiority to have any chance of succeeding considering the equipment involved. The Russian stuff is good, but not good enough to fight on equal terms against a HUMAN US army opponent. As an example, the russian infantry has a low chance of destroying no more than 2-3 abrams out of the 14 involved. The american infantry, on its own, with the javelin could devastate that russian force almost entirely. The T-90, as Bill said, cannot fight the M1s on equal terms and have problems even with perfect ambush. You need to engage them from multiple directions. You cannot do that when you are fighting to avoid numerous Javelin fire and M1A2s that outnumbers you, even more so on a small map.
 
Now, if you put all the US force at conscript level and the Russians at crack or elite, they would have a chance. Shows what you were saying, training is everything. But like I said, in real life, there are many things the Russians could do that could seriously erode that serious US edge before the two armies meet in the field, at least in the first week of any war. They do have some powerful and numerous long range stuff and the ability to use it effectively, especially so close to their backward. Who would have thought they could pull such an operation in Crimea under the nose of the West, quick and effective. They are supposed to be slow and lumbering. Dont underestimate them. They are much less corrupt than they were in the nineties, the huge money spent on modernizing mostly goes where it should and they learned from the Georgian war a lot and applied those lessons. They train way more regularly and in a realistic way. Things have changed. Even Breedlove (SACEUR) admitted so. There is a lot of waste of money in the US department of defense too and the US military budget represents the budget for a global force with the money needed to maintain such a huge infrastructure around the world.
 
The US could mop the floor with the Iraqis because it was a perfect situation for the US, everything was in favor of the US. WAY superior training, maintenance and equipment. Total air supremacy and a big flat pool table (desert) where all our fancy stuff could be used with utmost effectiveness. It was like pitting an NFL team against a high school team (an I'm sorry for offending all high school teams out there). Even the Russian army of the nineties would not have had much trouble soundly defeating them. Their ammo was crap, their tanks and equipment were old monkey models and were abysmally maintained. They couldnt hit the side of a barn even at close range. They were demoralized and their commanders in most cases amazingly inept. It was so lopsided you have trouble believing the reports. Even when they took the US by surprise tactically (Fright night), they couldnt do much with it but disable one of two M1s.

John,
 
I agree that the professionalism in the american army is superb and i'm not saying the contrary. It reinforces what I'm saying. What i'm saying here is whichever army you are, fighting an intact and numerically superior US army unit is a losing proposition and in a big way, Whether you are syrian, russian, chinese, german. You need to work it up first and strip it of its fighting power before engaging it with your main units. It has a tech edge and very often a  profiency edge. However little that edge is, it will be multiplied if it outnumbers you and is at 100% combat power.
 
In this scenario, maybe the russians have been given an equal experience rating, but you need at least a 2-1 numerical superiority to have any chance of succeeding considering the equipment involved. The Russian stuff is good, but not good enough to fight on equal terms against a HUMAN US army opponent. As an example, the russian infantry has a low chance of destroying no more than 2-3 abrams out of the 14 involved. The american infantry, on its own, with the javelin could devastate that russian force almost entirely. The T-90, as Bill said, cannot fight the M1s on equal terms and have problems even with perfect ambush. You need to engage them from multiple directions. You cannot do that when you are fighting to avoid numerous Javelin fire and M1A2s that outnumbers you, even more so on a small map.
 
Now, if you put all the US force at conscript level and the Russians at crack or elite, they would have a chance. Shows what you were saying, training is everything. But like I said, in real life, there are many things the Russians could do that could seriously erode that serious US edge before the two armies meet in the field, at least in the first week of any war. They do have some powerful and numerous long range stuff and the ability to use it effectively, especially so close to their backward. Who would have thought they could pull such an operation in Crimea under the nose of the West, quick and effective. They are supposed to be slow and lumbering. Dont underestimate them. They are much less corrupt than they were in the nineties, the huge money spent on modernizing mostly goes where it should and they learned from the Georgian war a lot and applied those lessons. They train way more regularly and in a realistic way. Things have changed. Even Breedlove (SACEUR) admitted so. There is a lot of waste of money in the US department of defense too and the US military budget represents the budget for a global force with the money needed to maintain such a huge infrastructure around the world.
 
The US could mop the floor with the Iraqis because it was a perfect situation for the US, everything was in favor of the US. WAY superior training, maintenance and equipment. Total air supremacy and a big flat pool table (desert) where all our fancy stuff could be used with utmost effectiveness. It was like pitting an NFL team against a high school team (an I'm sorry for offending all high school teams out there). Even the Russian army of the nineties would not have had much trouble soundly defeating them. Their ammo was crap, their tanks and equipment were old monkey models and were abysmally maintained. They couldnt hit the side of a barn even at close range. They were demoralized and their commanders in most cases amazingly inept. It was so lopsided you have trouble believing the reports. Even when they took the US by surprise tactically (Fright night), they couldnt do much with it but disable one of two M1s.

SSG Venar wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but he knew it wasn’t good.  The Ukrainian infantry up the slope from him seemed to be having a bad time of it, and the shrapnel from the airburst they continued to receive rattled the trees above his head.  He turned to his teammate.
“We need to get the hell out of here.  Lets go.  I’ll call the LT as we move.”
 The two scouts began slithering back down the hill towards the gully they had infiltrated along.  As they moved, Venar keyed his mike and spoke into his headset.
“Fernandez, you there?  I don’t see you.  Where did you go?”
His driver responded almost immediately, gasping loudly,
“Outlaw 13, this is 13 Delta!  We had to pull back.  We got hit – no idea where it came from, we were just sitting there and BAM!  The right fender is all blown to ****!  I think the run flat is still okay, but I don’t know if it hurt the engine, or…”
“Delta, are you in cover?”
“Roger, I backed further up the gully.  I’m pretty sure no one can see us from here.  Michaels is checking the right side.”
“Okay, hang tight.  We’re gonna try and get back to you.  Too hot up here.  Switching higher, so just hang on.  13 out.”  Venar switched his radio over by feel, and immediately keyed on the platoon net.
“One Six, this is One Tree, over.” 
“This is One Six, send it.”
“One Tree, it is way hot here.  Green boys on the hill are getting their ass handed to them by our friends in red.  Could not stay.  Displacing back.  My Delta says our truck took a hit.  Seems to still run, but will have to assess when I get back.”
“Roger, bound back and stay under cover.  Let me know when you are remounted.”
“Wilco, out.”  The two scouts began working their way down into the ravine. The veteran NCO turned to his teammate.
“Get that AT-4 ready.  I don’t like those engine noises, and that green BMP over there is backing up.” 
 

 

 
On the south side of the hill, SGT Cox continued his crawl, cursing all the way.  He could not believe that his team had not worn their anti-thermal Ghillie suits.  He would never be sure, but he felt those might have hidden them from view.  His crawl was slow and deliberate, as he had been taught, and as he had done numerous times in training and in Afghanistan.  He gradually worked his way back towards his torn teammates, focused on at least recovering their dog tags, and double checking to ensure they were both actually dead.  Unfortunately, his premonition on vulnerability to thermal sights was well founded.  A Russian tank gunner on the south side of the wheat field, equipped with solid second-generation thermal imaging sights, courtesy of the French company Thales, caught a hint of movement from within the treeline.  The commander told his gunner to fire if he thought he saw troops, and a 125mm high explosive fragmentation round screamed across the intervening kilometer in less than a second.  Though it missed him by over 20 meters, the shell exploded at a height of nearly 5 meters off the ground, blasting steel shards at lethal velocity in all directions.  SGT Cox felt his body struck by half a dozen splinters.  Three drove into his body armor and stopped, bruising him, but doing little harm.  Two tore into his right arm and shoulder, piercing his muscle but doing recoverable damage.  The last was a strip that failed to fully fragment, nearly 20 cm long and razor sharp, peeled from the length of the bursting shell, still flying at nearly 600m per second when it struck him in the left leg just below the knee.  Dazed but still conscious, SGT Cox clamped his left hand down on his gushing leg while his right groped for his Combat Application Tourniquet, conveniently rigged, per training, for single handed application. 
 

 
As the Russian forces decimated KPT Antonyuk’s company, the first two BMP-2s to die had been 1st Platoon vehicles.  Now the sole surviving vehicle hunkered down in the gully and watched fate bearing down on him.  The commander could not quite spot the enemy vehicles, but he could see their antennas moving towards him as he peered over the lip of the gully embankment that shielded his track.  He looked behind him, and was gratified to see his squad of infantrymen moving up into the trees to his rear.  The LT was dismounted and ordered to keep his men in and around the village of Starov.  Obviously he had decided to interpret the village borders somewhat loosely.  Perhaps they could still manage to hit a few of the Russian dogs as they came hunting for him.
 

 

On the north side of the hill, the remnants of 3rd Platoon were still being ground down by the advancing Russian BMP-3s and infantry.  The Platoon leader came staggering back through the forest and collapsed by a tree, falling next to the last two surviving dismounted infantrymen from his small command, both bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds to their faces and upper torsos. 
“Sir, are you okay?”  one asked.  The Lieutenant’s haggard face told the story as he just stared at the man in obvious shock.  In that instant, another burst of lethal 30mm cannon fire struck, directed by the thermal sights on an unseen enemy vehicle, and the officer fell forward on his face and was still.  The two infantrymen cried out in panic, then both began crawling away from the source of the fire, one whimpering in fear and the other snarling in impotent rage.
 

 
Note:  BMP in background is destroyed Ukrainian 3d Platoon vehicle.  
 
 
In Krichek, KPT Kovtun knew that the Russians were up to something.  The artillery  continued to hammer down, but there was simply not enough fire or probing coming from the far side of the river, especially given the destruction of one of an enemy BMP over there by his ATGM team several minutes ago.  Someone or something should have been hunting, searching, trying to pin down the missile team or flush out its comrades.  He called the BMP2 section which had moved up and taken position along the row of houses on the west, facing the river. 
“Borsuk 11, have you seen anything?  Any activity from the far side?”
“Nothing Viktor, hang on, I’ll move up and take a quick look.”
“Borsuk 11, this is Vovk, Hang on 11, don’t do anything stupid.”
“Trust me Viktor – we are good on this.”
An instant later a Kovtun heard the unmistakable hammering of outgoing 30mm fire, over the shriek of another incoming artillery shell.  As his ears were still ringing from the tremendous detonation, he gradually heard the voice calling again on his radio.
“Vovk, this is Borsuk 21…  Vovk this is Borsuk 21…”  with a heavy heart, already knowing Kovtun took a deep breath and replied.
“Go ahead 21.” 
“11 is destroyed.  We never saw what did it.  His track is burning.  No one got out.” 
“21 this is Vovk, do me a favor and don’t DIE in the next five minutes.  Keep scanning but keep YOUR heads down.  We need your track, your cannon, and your missiles!  Stay under cover and respect the enemy’s abilities.  Vovk out.”  He passed the handset back to his RTO, making a deliberate effort not to throw it against the wall, and carefully peeling his white-clenched fingers from the black plastic.  An instant later, he took it back and spoke again.
“Brytva 22, this is Vovk.  Move to checkpoint 2 and observe.”
“This is Brytva 22, understood.  Moving.  I have permission to shoot?”
Podpulkovnyk Tymoshenko stepped into the room.
“You are committing the Tunguska?”
“Brytva 22, destroy anything you see.  Out”  Kovtun gave his Air Defense Commander a hard look. 
“Yes Sir.  It is needed.  We have lost too many combat vehicles, and now 11 has stupidly gotten himself and his crew obliterated.  I need a check on the south, and it must be fast, and lethal if anything is there.  Brytva 21 on the other side has done quite well, although he said he saw nothing from his new position.”
“Absolutely.  Good, I approve.  I trust you Viktor.  Keep the fight going.  Levchenko will get here with the Americans.” 
 
http://youtu.be/cKvN6JINyaw
 
Outside, Major Harris drew the same conclusion from both the sounds of cooking off ammo from the recently destroyed BMP up the street, as well as the radio traffic which he and Beach were monitoring.  He too drew out his handset:
“Guiness, this is five, over.”  As a small team, the SFAT had adopted informal call signs.  SPC O’Brian was well known for his heritage, and his favorite beverage.
“Five this is Guiness.”
“Need you to get over to TRP 2 like we discussed.  Seen anything? Figure you can make it?”
“Roger.  We can make it.  The green boyos over here saw a couple dismounts earlier, but they laid into them with their AGS and we haven’t seen any movement since.  I think our move is still masked.  Same mission?”
“Roger, just like we rehearsed, over.”
“Guiness moving.  We’ll be back in a bit with notches on our CLU.  Out.”
One hundred meters away, the SPC O’Brian picked up the Javelin launcher, tapped PVT Metcalf on the shoulder, and headed quickly down towards the river bridge, carefully skirting the anti-tank mines laid on either side of the road.
 

 
At the Ukepor Power Plant, LT Lysenko grinned as he spoke into his mike. 
“Yes, that is in there.  Fire for effect.”
The infantry in the field had dropped from view, discouraged by a few bursts from his squad in the entry building, and the mortar spotting rounds had bracketed the position where he had last seen the Russian truck and troops.  He hoped the mortar boys would fire fast so he could shift them closer into the field.  He doubted his few men could hold off a platoon of determined Russians. 
 
Starshiy Kostenko knew he was a dead man.  The 2nd Platoon private was on the ground, crawling past the body of one of his comrades, trying to follow his section leader back down the hill to the west, away from the murderous fire from inside the trees.  It was like a horrible story to tell little children.  From dark shadows beyond sight inside the trees, the forest had suddenly belched fire and flame, and all around him men had fallen.  His own thighs and cheek burned with shrapnel, and he felt the warm sticky wetness of his own blood on his pant legs as he crawled.  Suddenly, right behind him, he heard a crashing roaring clatter of sound.  He turned his head and saw the Russian beast, a BMP-3, a mere stones throw behind him.  He swung his rocket launcher around, and thought to himself how sad his mother would be…
 

taking no prisoners is a surefire way of increasing one's own casualties as the enemy will fight to the death instead of giving up