Artemis258

That's the way to take a town.... piece by tiny, matchstick sized piece

ok, pm'ing step now

I'm in - Nato would be cool but I'm easy.

Hi all, I'm interested! I don't have much to contribute as to the game design aspect, but if a commander is needed, sign me up!!!

Got a rocking song. Perhaps a mod idea for new title music?

CM: Fulda Gap? I'd pay for that, for sure! Early leopards, challengers! That'd be fun! I think Korea's a pretty logical next step sometime - after all it uses lots of the existing kit, it's wild enough to draw people's attention without being irrelevant, it involves US forces (always a selling point), it's not about to soothsay some future conflict (Black sea!)... In time, perhaps... Oh, and it's another war in a land of fermented cabbage. Seriously. That stuff is delicious.

I really enjoyed reading that AAR Bane, I'm thinking of trying one of those out on the Italian front (best one for armoured vehicles for me as I don't have BN)... unless FB drops before I get it organised! It'd also be interesting to see an environment where the Germans are operating on the offensive... After all, they started it! Perhaps, but it would definitely be possible... And it wouldn't be the first time 'balance' took a hit for realism (as it should for this sort of game I might add- but for clear examples see the American tanks in the modern titles). A new element to change the pace might be fun... Also, in France at least it isn't the Germans with the impervious tanks, but the British Expeditionary force (7th RTR) with their Matilda 2's. I think I read somewhere that the Brits thought it unsporting that the Germans turned their 88's on them... Anyone done any thinking into the extent of "tank Fright' at the start of ww2? I know there was an element of 'tiger fright' present in Afrika... but how much of an effect did it have tactically? Again we see the germans face the highly formidable t-34 in 41, but the crew training and 2 man turret severely hinder it's operational efficiency... But perhaps these are operational concerns, and for war game purposes 'tank fright' could be an interesting element to bring to the table...? We'd also probably see far more use of AT guns! Manchuria '45 might be interesting, but again it's a bit of a curb stomp. That said, it introduces a new army to the game, and a new theatre *shrug* wild card for sure! Anyone else? Also a side note, this is just a fun 'what if' discussion that comes with the launch of any game... no-one's forcing anyone to speculate nor shunning those who won't, so if it's not your gig that's fine... please afford those of us who enjoy speculating about this the same courtesy.

I think you might well be right on that. Kursk still has some shiny stuff to play with, and fits closer to the current gen of TO&E, so if it's WW2 that's the most likely next 'game'. That said it would be nice to have some early-mid war stuff... I'd hold out for a CM: Stalingrad for sure, but it'd be much less likely... Either way I'd love to see KV tanks in game. Dunno what I love about them but I do.

Because even though I own a great motorcycle, it's still fun to browse the new season's offerings from BMW and think/wish/dream! Also, because at this point the traditional avenues of Combat Mission 2(Europe, be it east west and south) have pretty much been exhausted.... so there is speculation to be had! Like I said, it's never too soon to start begging mummy and daddy for a pony. Also I have no turns to return. Also the demo isn't out yet. Surely you've got some fun fantasies of your own?

What would need converting? We've got amphib coding with Black Sea (russian vehicles) so I wouldn't think it that much of a stretch... flamethrowers too... Could be a possibility? @TGarner I think there was some discussion about this in CM:SF thread, and the conclusion was it'd not be an upgrade but a rebuild, and the current state of affairs means you'd need a new setting (because there isn't much of a Syria right now...) but it could be interesting to see another modern title... But then again, the question is do Battlefront see themselves as primarily making World War 2 combat sims, or combat sims in general?

Congratz boys! The Wurst of the war is over! Berlin by Christmas and all that! With the impending release of Final Blitzkrieg, we'v pretty much got it covered... the Western advance across Europe's done, except for a few bits in sausage town. Bagration means that the Eastern front is well covered, and while there may well be another module in the Russian advance into Germany and the Battle of Berlin... I'm not sure there'd be much left in that. Also it'd be a colossal curb stomping for team sauerkraut. Still do-able, certainly, but next? I'm not so sure. My thoughts; -We know (Going back to the roadmap given in the CM:FI thread) that there are more eastern front themed modules coming, I suspect they will be backwards in time not forwards (RT being expanded forward through expansions), so perhaps we'll see CM: Kursk or CM: Meatgrinder (my suggested title for stalingrad-themed releases!). I would LOVE to see -That said we've reached the end of that roadmap (and past it with FB!), so it could be something new is in the 'big' works while expansions are fleshed out. I'm talking early planning/drafting for early dev over the next 24 months while the main effort goes into expansion/s for RT or BS, again this would probably be early war stuff. There's a desire from some (myself included!) to see some Afrika action, but I seem to recall seeing discussion that CM:AK (way back when) burned BF on that theater a little with poor sales... possible perhaps? I doubt it would be CM: Poland '39 or CM:France '40... Poland probably wouldn't be fun, France is a possibility, but I'm wondering if the lack of shinies (big cats, easy 8's, the mighty T-34 ect) might put people off... -The wild Card; given CM's engine progression to date, the exhaustion of the end war stuff, and a predication to fermented cabbage, maybe we'll storm forward in time, not backwards. Swap sauerkraut for Kimchi. We've got lots of the 'bits' already (smallarms, al lot of the armour, ect) so it wouldn't be a hugestretch to expand the series in this direction, if BF were willing to step outside WW2 once again. It's the difference between being a WW2 wargame/sim with some fun flair outside (BS, CF), or a wargaming Sim which started in WW2. Modules -RT needs some. I would love to see a Tali-Ihantala module myself. Fins with a mix of Russian and German equipment fighting the desperate defense against the Russians! Classic battle, underdog wins, again all our toys are pretty much there and... it's also the subject of my fave. ww2 film! If you've not seen it, go see it - Tali-ihantala 1944 - the best tank combat scenes of any World War 2 film. Knocks Fury out of the water, even with the candid Tiger shots. -Black Sea: Remove Kebab? Been a bit of a discussion of Turkish involvement in our modern theater from the peanut gallery. Certainly not impossible, but perhaps it's more likely to see CM:Barbarossa 2 (European units in BS) or CM: We used to be on Boats (Marines). Though the latter wouldn't add much I feel :S I think most likely is, in order; - RT expansion of some kind, probably not my beloved fins -CM:Kimchi (It's an outside chance but you always pick one to pack out the trifector!) -CM: Curb Stomp. Advance into Germany/Battle of Berlin kind of stuff. I sort of hope they don't go this direction as I think there are more interesting places to go but... *shrug* So, given we're about to get the next installment of our favorite tactical sim, what do you think we'll see next? What would you want to see next? After all, it's never too early to ask mummy and daddy for a pony...

Are we there yet?

bah! Foiled!

Hi guys! No turn update yet as I've not processed enough turns, however; @Kinophile sadly the terrain doesn't favor a decent distance side ambush However I'm counting on the fact that my opponent should still only have minimal knowledge of my forces... he knows I have some tanks... but none have been terribly exposed and it's possible he doesn't know what I have, nor exactly how many... Likewise he knows I have ATGMS, and he knows he's popped at least 3... He shouldn't have any idea as to my infantry disposition, save my recon force... @Haiduk BLASPHEMY! This is your missile launcher! There are many like it, but this one is yours! WITHOUT YOUR MISSILE LAUNCHER, YOU ARE NOTHING! Remote control is for pansies like drone operators and artillery officers! On another note, my redeployment of my infantry platoons seems to be going well... they should be in place before the enemy re-enforces that point. There is a BMP nosing around there somewhere, but close enough for an RPG to knock it out.... indeed my recon troops nearly did (shot high), so that might give him pause for thought. There are also some new heavy sound contacts popping up near the road running towards my right... I might have to see if I can sneak some armour up too...

There most definitely is one around, as I've seen it. Don't give up hope! Check amazon perhaps?

Forests. If there's any substantial wooded area, particularly one that might be defended by those tank-riding pepeshe rooski illegitimate sons of goats, I want at least 3 minutes of high intensity HE fire on the whole bloody thing before advancing. A platoon of med mortars per 100msq, minimum. Basically I don't clear forests, I clear matchstick factories!

Next you'll want folksy accordion music on mtv...

Sorry for the delay folks, uni got a bit on top of me over the weekend! As a reward, pictures! LOTS OF PICTURES! Turns 8-12 The next few turns have nothing special worth mentioning except... Ukranians can't shoot straight! I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again. Guided missiles my arse. Let's step back a bit. Remember those -72's? Well, I was able to edge a corsair team up to take revenge... These guys The AT team quickly gain a spot, and take aim with their nice shiny modern pretty man portable laser guided state-of-the-art weapons of the glorious Ukranian army... Ambush! This is how my strategy should unfold! However, it seems my operator got distracted by a butterfly or something... Incompetency! In hindsight, I figure that the rain is playing merry havoc with the laser guidance system. However it was a perfect opportunity gone terribly wrong, and the response is swift. After 2 minutes of heavy shelling the team looks more like this... Do or do not. There is no try. However, this distraction allowed me to move my surviving skiff on FURY to get an angle... the lads sprint up, drop the tripod, take aim... There he is... plinking our lads! Clearly these gentlemen paid attention in training! However, as they say, no good deed goes unpunished... shi... The earth shattering kaboom. Wrong side. Other than that, the turns this round have been pretty standard. The situation at the end of turn 12...

hmm... that seems to be the consensus... I might put this idea on hold and have a bit more of a tinker...

mmm that's what I'm thinking too... I hope it's the latter, I have manpads

Turns 3-7 And it's off with a bang! Spitfire and I had a very good back and forth last night so this is going to combine a few turns into one. What I'm going to do is divide it by event, so each section will account for 4 minutes of life of the events described. On my right, my recon force moved into contact with a sizable enemy force, about a platoon of mechanised infantry. However, the vehicle contact disappointingly turned out to only be a missile-toting truck, not the glorious tank I supposed it to be. My Skiff team popped a few shots, eventually destroying it, while the recon platoon tried to pivot around the base of the hill. Sadly, this is where I discovered the BMP3s, and airburst rounds knocked out two of my teams, though they took some of the enemy with them!. The SKiff and the recoiless rifle also made a good showing for themselves, bagging a BMP each! Don't see one of those often. This was the first veicle contact my recon team unearthered. It didn't hit anything nor last long - it's shooting at a BTR. Map Point 1 Buhbye! Map Point 2 A Russian tends to a wounded comrade, bagged by my recon team. Above him, the dust of the missile from the previous shot can be seen drifting away. Meanwhile, apparently preplanned bombardments of the first major treeline NE of my deployment zone began a few minutes in, killing the mg team and most of the mortar platoon HQ there. Thankfully, it's not near any of my ATGM positions. I might have to relocate though, and importantly, I've lost one of my experienced spotters for my mortars. Artillery rains down on the Mortar Hq. The mg team's already bought it. Notice the SKiff and GMG just below, lucky!! Map Point 4 The center town was the scene of first blood, a Kornet team popped up right where i expected them in Sherwood forrest, and I stupidly had left a BTR (the Recoiless rifle transport) exposed. Not a huge loss but a stupid one. The ammunition that went up is of a greater loss than the vehicle though, so on balance it's not a real blow. 5 minutes in my mortars came down and I've not heard from him since, and a truck was seen retreating from the forrest. Hopefully the airburst rounds knocked out the launcher - they tend to be delicate to that sort of thing. Towards the end of the trun some small explosives started to rain on the town and another BTR, doing minimal damage... I suspect there's a Grenade Machine Gun somewhere up on the hill, but be damned if I can find it. Ffffirst Blood! Map Point 5 Grenades! Mp point 6 On the far left one of my ATGM teams trying to make Fury rise came under fire from small arms and a tank, forcing them back with one casualty, though launcher intact. Guess that's a no-go then. Quickly the culprits began to pop up on thermals... T-72s? At least four of them too. Now that's a surprise, but a pleasant one. Old school. Map Point 7 Ouch. SKiff team cops HE Map point 8 Behind them my FO tries to manouver to get a lase on one of the tanks, but is spotted. Thankfully they too are able to pull back without significant losses. I'm pushing 2nd plt from my armoured company up under defilade to see if I can get an angle on that armour, but I really want to pop one with my infantry first so they're not expecting it.... I don't want to add a tank to my losses. The Butchers Bill Turn 7; Losses: 1 BTR 1 MT-LBU arty obs vehicle (no clue what killed this, I missed it) men; 1st and 3rd teams from the recon platoon KIA - including my RPG toting section. Damn. 1 casualty from small arms on the left. 3 from Mortar HQ 1 MG team total killed: 12. 4 teams rendered combat ineffective. Kills 1 BRDM ATGM Vehicle 2 BMP-3s men; 1 MG team probable 1 Kornet Team possible light casualties inflicted on eastern mech platoon confirmed light causalities on western infantry possible Assessment: The destruction of the BMPs outweighs my infantry on the right flank, but I've got to be careful here. I'm going to act on your idea @kinophile try and move two platoons up to the east from the town to help, but it's going to be tricky getting them there. A loss of a vehicle could kill a whole squad, while moving on foot is too slow. I'm going to try and fix that enemy force on the east with my recon while I do this - to that end my grenade machine guns are repositioning. Thankfully my tanks give pretty good overwatch too... The grenades flying into town are a bother, but I'll suppress probable positions with the btrs and ignore them for now. I'm also surprised at my opponents choice of vehicles... T-72s, non-era BMP3's, and some whacky missle-toting trucks are not quite what I expected... but seem to be playing in my favour. I wonder what he's got hiding back there...? Map. The numers indicate positions of each of the screenshots above. Red indicates possible movement of my mechanised QRF, though I don't want a transport popped en route. Green indicates my tank repositioning, the dotted their holding point.

I hadn't imagined any immediately, though perhaps it might be worth discussing before sides are determined... I also didn't want to make too many restrictions from the get-go! Are you interested Chudacabra?

TFGM xpost. Hi all, Been hankering for a big project in Black Sea to make up for the long time between turns (and as study procrastination!) and @Anschlag was able to provide me with an (unintentional?) lead! Thus I present the Gauntlet: An Attack/Defend on the map "Crossing the Dnieper" between Ukranian (defenders) and Russian (attackers) forces. A titanic clash of men and metal for control of the river! Sgt Vovk turned to the assembled squad. Mostly boys looking for a wage. Babies. "The Ruskis have been seen approaching the opposite bank. Seems the rumours were true - their little self-seeded uprising failed so now they're coming in force. They seem to think they could bypass our main defenses by coming through our little patch of paradise here. Luckily some little birdies warned command before they got here. They won't be expecting us. Let's send Putin's bullies a message, and drown them in the river!" The "rules" -I want this to be a community event, so I will be providing a DAR and I would hope that my opponent will as well! Writing skill or confidence need not bother you, DARs are easy and I find, really slow down my play so my thoughts can catch up! They're a great thing to do so don't worry if you've never done it before! Nor does it need to be blow-by-blow - in fact an update every 5 or so turns (or more, if nothing exciting happens) would be fine. -Force levels will be set to "large" to keep force levels as somewhat sane, and to give the attacker and defender both more tactical flexibility -25% APS rule. Only one in four vehicles max may field APS. -Both sides are strongly encouraged to provide DARs. -Given the size of the map and forces, a relaxed time between turns is fine, there'll be no expectation for turn-a-day play, though 2 turns a week would be the goal minimum. -Time limit: I'm fuzzy on this one and I'm open to suggestions, given I've not played something of this scale before. Probably long, just to facilitate movement; it's a big map. -Given the massive geographical barrier for the attacker (A huge river!) I'm inclined to use the less popular attack/defend mode rather than probe. However I'm open to discussing an attacker handicap (force adjustment) or other alternative arrangements with my opponent. -Sides will be determined by a ice roll from https://www.random.org/ - highest number will pick their side. This won't be too onerous - simply copy and paste your first and only result, on an honesty system. There is a timestamp so if you do it as a single reply and the times match up closely no further worries will be had. -The Russian attack is expected, but we don't know when! Send a reconnasiance force to locate them! The defenders will have deployment zones on the 'Russian' side of the map, however these may only be occupied by fortifications and 'recon' units. Additionally, only vehicles that may have been transported by barge (the size of a small car- so gaz's basically) or are themselves amphibious are allowed in this zone. The idea is that this is a recon force from the Ukranian player's force deployed to try and locate the Russians. The Ukranian player is not required to deploy this force, however some minor Ukranian objectives are located on the opposite bank. These objectives are worth only a handful of points and can be ignored. -The defender may use preplanned strikes, however no more than 2 HE strikes with a minimum time delay of 5 minutes. Unlimited smoke. -There is no restriction on Attacker pre-planned artillery. However the defender has a HUGE set up zone on their side - so stonking everything shouldn't be possible. Also it will take the attacker a while to get to the river. Like the missus always reminds me, it's better not to *cough* expend all the ordnance too early. -There are no restrictions on air support or drone use on either side. -Time of day and weather: I'd like a dawn assault but to be negotiated. -If you're a Few Good Men member this could be played as a ladder game Some map pics to get people going;

Day 2. The Amerikanis do not suspect a thing.

Hmmm, I'll take that on board Kinohile, but my concern there is technological superiority; The Ukranians don't stand up too well in a balls to the wall charge on the Russians. I want to artit his forces in an ambush first if possible, and at the very least asertain what it is I'm up against. However, I have left a 2nd platoon mounted for the QRF, they could carry out that attack if the opportunity arises! Turn 1-2 It was a fairly quiet start, with some minor traffic jams (moving nearly two companies into a small town! but everyone seems to be where they need to be, more or less... At the end of the first turn one of my ATGMs made out a lone russian wandering along the northern road, not really in cover, nor moving very fast... Over the next turn he popped in and out of LOS... a scout? the far end of an infantry squad? A diversion? I need more information! First Contact To this end I've pushed the 2nd platoon up into the western northern forests, as well as their BTR-4 to cover anything that might pop out from the north road vp. 2 Plt Advance I've also kept the 1st platoon mounted as well for now, just in case I need to be more mobile. They're in cover behind the village, and the first few moments of real battle will probably be ranged armour/AT fire anyway, so they're safer there. Also, if arty comes down on the town, they're a bit more covered. Meanwhile, on the other side of the map, my recon forces have dismounted and potentially found their first quarry; a tank sound contact, just on the other side of the valley, and right next to my RPG team! Hopefully the hill will shield them from the tank's sight, which will almost certainly be directed towards my own lines. If all goes well, they can hunt around to flank. Popping a tank in ambush this early into the game will certainly give Spitty a pause for thought, and may convince him that his southern flank is under threat... Hunting Armour My thoughts here are that at this point, Spitfire and I are performing almost exactly the same movements! Pushing the bulk of our forces to the left while probing with recon on the right... however it seems (and I don't have much intel at all right now!) that his advance has been much more caution than mine. Hopefully that infantry contact is the most forward he has his forces... which means his intel on my disposition will be even less than mine on his. Maybe. Or, he could have a drone in the air and know exactly where I am. sod. Oh well, time will tell. Hopefully Sergeant Honcharenko and his boys can gain first blood on an enemy tank next turn! The board, turn 2