theforger

really appreciate the openness, will stop pressing F5 every waking moment . Keep up the gr8 work. Any AAR/Twitch greatly appreciated.

May provide some inspiration from Amazon £1.99......The Bear Marches West: 12 Scenarios for 1980s NATO vs Warsaw Pact Wargames [Kindle Edition]

EvilTwin posted this link on ChrisND's youtube stream at the weekend....thought it was a great read Just in case you haven't seen this, I think you might want to take a look at this. Very enlightening. http://www.scribd.com/doc/274009061/Lessons-Learned-From-the-Russo-Ukraine-War#scribd

got to be https://youtu.be/0z6fcd--354 Tour Of Duty Rolling Stones Paint It Black

Cheers LukeFF, hadn't picked up on that one.

Hi what's next on the roadmap for avaricious consumers of Combat Mission? NATO Module for Christmas or a change of tack and a return to late WW2.... Ardennes? BTW congratulations to Chris and the team for producing this utterly brilliant, all consuming game! Not sure WW2 is going to feel the same after all the bells and whistles I've got used to over the past few months. You may have set the bar too high. Hope Black Sea has had the commercial success to match all the endeavour.

Hi Astano appreciate your efforts in putting this together. It would make a great start to the opening moves of a campaign.

AAR ********SPOLIERS************ Wrong Turn Played IRON Really enjoyable, 5* from me Achieved a Major US victory US 11 casualties, 3 AFVs. Russians 76 casualties, 12 AFVs, 4 tanks Contact Front! As smoke rose from the destroyed BMP 500m distant, Sergeant Mayes new he had to act fast. He ordered his Javelin section under Specialist Elkins back 500m to the copse to provide cover if they had to bug out in case the Russians were moving in strength. And he ordered his driver, Sergeant Powers to back up the CFV to the church to setup his CP, with Kovacs sniper section. The rest of his small outfit, Crafts Engineers and Askew’s sniper section, were ordered to take up ambush positions in the outskirts of Albuquerque. Sergeant Craft’s team grabbed the 4 AT’s out of the Bradley and dispersed. Within 4 minutes the teams were in position scanning the eastern horizon, with the Raven being prepped to provide some eyes in the sky. All that could be seen or heard was the thick pall of smoke from the wrecked BMP. Mayes thought, “had he gone defensive to quickly?” He knew he was in trouble for getting his team in the wrong position, now would that be compounded by being overly cautious? He would know soon enough. Kovacs shouted down the church stair well “get that Javelin up here, we’ve got 3 BMP's 800m moving fast” The deadly missile was away and in seconds found its mark. Kovac’s sniper team started to pick off the dazed survivors. Two more Jav’s lit up defenceless BMP’s but now Mayes was out of missiles and had to wait for the Russians to get into a close quarter fight, if they still had the stomach for it. 08:28 Crafts Engineers cut down Russian Infantry exiting the woods on the outskirts of Albuquerque. Russian tank movement reported. With tanks on the prowl Mayes moved his team to the edge of the town to try and bring his AT4’s into play. From its ambush position Sergeant Daily’s Bradley took out another BMP as it advanced down the side road to Albuquerque. Mayes was buoyant with how his team had handled the infantry and BMP’s. His main concern was the platoon of tanks, which although had much depleted support, could still force him to displace. A Russian T90 brushed past Craft’s Engineers, Daily’s Bradley popped smoke and fired off a wildly inaccurate TOW. The T90 traversed its turret. Daily thought it was all over. Unexpectedly the T90 exploded in a huge ball of flame. Elkins with his Javelin in the copse had come to the rescue. Daily crossed himself. Recovered and pushed his Bradley forward behind a house to get a better position against any other armour pushing down the side road. A 2nd T90 came to grief, this time to a TOW from Sergeant Powers well placed CFV by the Church. Daily’s positive move proved its worth as another tank moved across his front. The tank didn’t stand a chance and was destroyed at point blank range. A BMP closely following the tank, took evasive action to avoid an AT from the Engineers, only to find itself in Daily’s deadly cross hairs. 08:35 Sergeant Pak’s Scout section arrived and was ordered to mop up the beaten Russians along the side road. Daily hadn’t finished yet as yet another BMP succumbed to his cannon. Still the Russians kept probing, 2 more BMP’s were taken out, one for Daily and another to Mayes AT team. Pak’s Humvee’s and Bradley swept north to the settlement 800m from Albuquerque. With the immediate threat diminished Sergeant Power’s CFV scouted along Route Dagger, only to be immediately lased. Power’s popped smoke and backed up. Mayes ordered Elkins with his Javelin to the Church and the Raven to start observing along Route Dagger. Pak’s team were the first US casualties of the morning as they cleared the buildings north of Albuquerque. Elkins Humvee was caught in the open as it raced towards the Church by another Russian tank and BMP push from Route Dagger. Daily added two more BMPs to his kill list. A third backed up and unleashed its cannon on the US troops in the Church tower. Kovac and his team were badly cut up. Pak having secured the northern settlement order his Bradley to loop behind the Russian column swinging off Route Dagger to hit them in the rear. Elkins fired off his last remaining Javelin from the copse at the lead Russian tank on Route Dagger. It stopped but didn’t brew up. Power’s CFV took out the BMP that had strafed the Church tower. Mayes ordered in the Helo’s for support. Unfortunately their ETA was 9 minutes. Could they survive this 2nd thrust? Pak’s Bradley spotted the immobilized lead Russian tank and finished it off. Pak and Daily’s Bradleys both got destroyed by the two remaining Russian T90’s. Daily was a huge loss, his well positioned vehicle had destroyed 1 x T90 and 6 x BMP’s. The Helo’s couldn’t arrive soon enough. The T90’s unsupported moved into Albuquerque and destroyed the last remaining US armour. Eventually the Helo’s arrived and took out a couple more BMP’s on Route Dagger but couldn’t get an angle on the 2 x T90’s stranded in the town. It would now be a race to see which side could support their forces fragile foothold in Albuquerque.

End of Campaign Tactical Victory My/UKR Casualties 132 KIA 134 Wounded 1 Tank 21 AFVs Separatists 474 KIA 272 Wounded 2 Tanks, 4 AFVs Thoroughly enjoyed the Campaign, thanks for letting me have a run at it.

Thoroughly enjoying the campaign, fantastic effort dragonwynn Mission 5 & 6 Woods or Urban? The Captain, briefed his Company and Platoon Leaders. We press where the enemy is weakest and keep them off balance by attacking through Ludansky wood. They split into 3 teams 3rd COY under Captain MeInychuk with attached Recon and Grenade Launcher with East Wood as its objective. 2nd COY under Captain Tkachenko with attached Recon and Grenade Launcher with the Crossroads as its Objective. 1st COY under Captain Koval with HQ, Recon and GL as Dminsky Farm as its objective. With the Recon on point, the 3 groups moved out. Almost immediately mortar fire began to land a few hundred metres in front of 2nd COY, had they’d been spotted? That was a surprise. It was smoke, thereby giving protection to the attacker, maybe the Separatists are withdrawing from the forest? 15 minutes in 1st COY made contact against a well prepared series of fox hole positions and suffered heavy casualties trying to dislodge the defenders. 2nd COY caught a Separatist patrol in the open and cut them down. 3rd COY made no contacts and marched straight through the forest. The route through the forest in the time available had been too tough a task for Koval’s battle weary troops and they suffered a tactical defeat. For the 1st time in the campaign the UKR suffered worse casualties than the Separatists. 22 KIA, all from 1st COY, compared to 14 Separatists.

Mission 4, Helping Hand. Played Iron. Quite tough, think it was in the balance for a while. Achieved a Total Victory after 43 minutes. AAR: The UKR troops were extremely confident after their run of successes against the Separatists and although tired were equally keen to prove themselves again and keep their foot on the throat of the enemy. The mood was optimistic and the troops had belief in the leadership team. 07:00 The COY reached the edge of Orikhove just in time to see the Separatists begin their assault on the beleaguered pinned Recon troops. 1st COY spilled out of their vehicles and the BMPs rumbled into action. The initial plan was to get a foothold in the town and over watch positions to ascertain the enemy strength. The main offensive move was 2nd Platoon on the right flank, to advance through the woodland and put some suppressive fire on the Separatists flank as they moved against the trapped Recon troops. All thoughts of pushing the Separatists back were soon put on hold. A direct frontal attack by an Infantry Company fell on 2nd Platoon’s woodland position and they grimly held on with support of an ever reducing number of BMPs. 1st Company’s position was soon becoming precarious as 2 tanks rolled in and began reducing the Recon troops in detail. After 20 minutes our friends from 2nd COY arrived with 2 xT64BV. But these only evened up the forces, as at least 1 more Company of Separatists joined in the fight in the North on the Recon forces. 2nd COY, with the armor swept around 2nd Platoons position to relieve the pressure on Babenko’s men. 07:28 Was a crucial period in the battle. Captain Yurchenko’s T64 got bogged down, it became an instant target for a hull down AFV on the northern edge of town. Within seconds its main gun and optics were disabled reducing it to a large machine gun platform. This was bad news for the UKR as the Separatists still had two very active tanks causing problems for Recon. It was now or never for Levchenko in the 2nd T64. His tank moved swiftly forward and slammed a 125mm shell into the first of the enemy tanks. He then quickly re-positioned to get a shooting angle on the 2nd tank. With relief, two shots 2 kills in under 2 minutes. That was a close call. Although the battle had swung in the favour of UKR, Koval, knew they needed caution when switching to the offensive. They were being given a spectacular light show. Rockets, missiles, and bullets, smashing into buildings on both sides over a 500m front. The next task was to get rid of that troublesome APC from its hull down position in the north. 3 x BMPs were destroyed in the attempt, the fourth managed to get the vehicle under its guns, the APC’s spotting capability was incredible. The 2 UKR Companies now closed in on the Separatist positions. The Separatists although on the back foot, still had plenty of fight. Just prior to the Separatist withdraw Captain Yurchenko’s T64 was caught by combined APC fire as it entered the warehouse complex and exploded in a ball of flame. The butchers bill for the battle was 11 x UKR AFVs, 50 KIA and 39 wounded. The Separatists lost 3 x AFV’s, 188 KIA, 150 wounded and captured.

Pic from mission 3

Mission 3. Played Iron. Felt uneasy about this one. Not done well on the defense with CMBS scenarios. Fortunately the lack of enemy Tanks and BMP’s made this a relatively simple task. Dig in and hang on. AAR: Koval was nervous, there had been so little time to prepare against a counter attack. With the initiative he felt confident and self-assured. On the defensive he had a sense of foreboding. The Captain deployed an AT section to the Church with a BMP in support. He thought it could offer a good strongpoint with a good field of fire down the valley. It could also offer some cover in case of hasty withdraw. The ever reliable, increasingly inspirational Babenko’s 2nd Platoon was given the task of holding on to the exposed Northern area of Traviska with BMP and Grenade Launcher sections, though they were very low on ammo. Kravchenko’s 1st platoon and Kolisnyk with 3rd platoon in the center, supported by AT units. HQ and Recon elements in the woods to the South along with 4 x BMPs. 11:00 a.m. Artillery shells began to fall harmlessly to the rear of their positions. Thank god, an accurate artillery stonk could have caused serious dissruption. The attack began in earnest as shadowy figures were spotted at 460m distant. Babenko’s teams opened up. The assault didn’t look particularly subtle but with that many troops maybe they didn’t have to be. It certainly looked like 3 companies. Babenko needed to inflict as many casualties as possible from long range. Koval’s Company were too few in number if it became a close quarter fight. Babenko came under deadly grenade launcher attack and so sent his two BMPs forward to deal with the threat. Kolisnyk in the centre did likewise. They had to beat up the assault whilst it still had to cover the open ground. PIC1 11:10 The hard pressed Separatists had started to close. 1 BMP was immobilized a 2nd brewed up. Artillery had begun to fall a few metres in front of Babenko, in a matter of moments they will have zero’d in. “INCOMING!” he screamed, but it was too late as a barrage fell directly overhead. At least a dozen were injured or killed. His AT team hurried to the reverse slope to get some cover. Babenko himself was wounded by the artillery shelling, fortunately not seriously. 11:17 With no armor support and with a lot of open terrain to cover the attack petered out. It had been an absolute slaughter, another Total victory for The Captain. Koval’s 1ST COY had suffered 13 KIA and 7 wounded. The Separatists had lost over 200 killed and wounded with 58 surviving unharmed. The Separatist artillery and grenade launchers had done the most damage but the rest of the forces had been squandered by poor leadership. The Captain was pleased and extremely relieved

Played Iron. Loved this one. With the mist and terrain it had a flavour of the Ardennes about it, which is great as that is an area I’m most interested in when it comes to war-gaming. Again nicely challenging although I took less risks and tried to show more patience to preserve Koval’s forces. With the number of forces on that size map I was able to use mobility, which I liked. AAR: Mission 2 A Whisper in the Mist Bulk of 1st COY to sweep round and attack from the Church in north. Detached 2nd Platoon to attack from the South. 1st Platoon located centrally to provide cover and add pressure from the front. In less than 72 hours Koval found himself back in action. The Captain addressed his men. “We lost too many brothers in Zhovten from ambush positions. I understand that these are our homes but we need to live to enjoy them. We are facing well supplied, trained and motivated killers. I want suspect positions recon’d by fire.” 06:03 The North: 1st COY arrive in force at the Traviska Church only for the lead BMP to succumb to an AT missile from the town 240m to the SE. Soldat Yurchenko scrambles clear. The Center: 1st Platoon under Kravchenko with BMP, BRD and grenade launcher support rake the tree-line behind the roadblock to clear out suspect RPG positions. “Mortar support would be useful”, the veteran Lieutenant thought. The South: Lieutenant’s Babenko’s 2nd Platoon disembark from the BMP’s and get in position on the reverse slope and await assault orders. 06:06 The North: Separatist forces bug out under the fire-power from ½ a dozen BMPs. (PIC1) 06:08 The North: No discernable movement from Traviska, looks like the Separatists have relocated to deeper into the village. Recon team sent in. The Center: Struggling to get good firing positions without exposing the AFV’s to RPG’s. “Patience boys”, Kravchenko barked, “even if we have to wait for The Captain or Babenko, from the flanks.” The South: Bakenko’s assault goes like clock work. The 4 BMP’s in line abreast drive over the crest of the hill and simultaneously unleash their destructive force on the enemy position as the infantry go in and mop up the stunned survivors. The North: A 2nd BMP gets hit from a well hidden RPG team as it inches its way through North Traviska. The South: Buoyed by their success Babenko’s BMP’s now turn their attention to the tree line, the next stage of their assault before they take on the crossroads. 06:12 The North: The Recon team come under rocket and small arms fire from Central Traviska and suffer the loss of yet another BMP. 06:18 The North: Resistance in North Traviska has stopped. Getting in position to fire from hull down into Central Traviska. The Center: Still observing the ambush positions behind the roadblock. The South: Rather than tackle the forest Babenko loads up his troops and sweeps around to attack the Crossroads first, to link up with Captain Koval’s thrust from the North. The center of the village is leveled in the assault by BMP fire from the North and South. [PIC3] All firing around Traviska has stopped. Koval sets up his HQ in North Traviska. Time for the Center group with support from the forces in the village to wipe out the road block from front and rear. 06:30 Total Victory for UKR comes swiftly though at a high price in AFV’s, 7 destroyed or immobilized. 20KIA and 11 wounded, relatively light number of casualties for the tough task and small number of UKR forces available. For a second time in 72 hours Koval had faced and beaten a determined enemy. Their dead numbered 83, with 66 wounded and captured.

********SPOILERS******* 1st Campaign Mission from Shadow of the Motherland. (Iron). MAC 10.10.2, 2.7Ghz 12GB Memory, Radeon HD6770M (512MB) CMBS 1.01 Excellent opening battle, achieved a Tactical VIctory. Had got used to using all the bells and whistles (drones, precision Arty) so it was nice to experience different challenges. As you say a few more flavor objects, forecourt flags etc, to be added maybe some fencing, just cosmetics. But these sort of things bring some horror and realization that this awful event could be happening on your own doorstep one day, and empathy for the poor people of Ukraine. There were some adjoining buildings that didn’t have connecting doors, which is great as its good to be challenged. Engineers would have made my job easier. But neither should be included as the object of the scenario is to make you think and adjust, which it does. Love the mods they look fantastic! Took some great screen grabs but can't paste in here directly . 5 stars from me, Thank You very much from Nigel (theforger) Extracts from my AAR 19:00 Plan Of Attack Making initial thrust to the north with the idea of then rolling them up from the flank. Sending 2nd COY with the armor to get established on their flank. Sending Lieutenant Ishchenko’s Recon platoon to building hop on 2nd Company’s right flank. 1st COY to support Recon once enemy positions identified. 19:21 North District subdued. All quiet. 19:22 All hell breaks lose. What a sting in the tail. Previously hidden Separatists in the Southern and Government buildings open up with everything they’ve got. The APC gets caught in the open and brews up. Advancing 1st COY troops suffer casualties. Within 60 seconds a situation that was under control deteriorated into a near disaster as the BMP that Koval was riding in became the 2nd AFV to fall. Koval clutched his leg in agony. Blood seeped from Koval’s wounded thigh as he stumbled half deaf, dazed and confused from the burning wreck. Under a hail of bullets he was dragged into the first building that offered temporary sanctuary. He felt sick, he’d let his people down. Ambushed, how stupid, he cursed himself….then drifted out of consciousness. After 15 minutes of intense action, firing ceased. 1st COY had achieved its objectives but at a considerable cost. This was street fighting at its worst. The defending had been fanatical, maniacal, sometimes suicidal. The Separatists had been nearly wiped out, over half lay dead, the rest captured. Both UKR Companies had taken some serious casualties 28KIA, 44 wounded and had lost both AFV’s. HQ would not be pleased, but Captain Koval lived to fight another day.

I'd love to play test. Black Sea is an exceptional game.

No doubt. Best game ever.

Bloody and brilliant. Download to UK Friday evening was fine. Runs like a dream. Landscape details fantastic, add to the realism. Tremendous job.

Me2 Dez Caught It

U r right. Could well be the end of western civilisation as NFL wonder why viewing figures so low

I'll answer my own question! Later today!

Does anyone know if this will be opened up to the none pre orderers this weekend?

https://twitter.com/wargamerchris/status/557695656354381825 Check out the Twitter feed. Waiting almost over!

Fair question. I hope not as it will really degrade the precision rounds v US, to a point where there only use will be to get them to back them up to where you need them to be. Interested to see if you get an official reply. That MGS episode was pretty ugly, spectacular but ugly. Showed off the effectiveness of US precision arty and the value of not letting a target know you are about to shoot. Defeating the US will require a fair bit of skill to hit them in the flank.

Hi 1. Dusted off Shock Force 2. Checking the Beta Battle Report daily 3. Installed a bit more RAM into my MAC 4. Watched ChrisND's videos 5. Will preorder today 6. Watching NFL Play-offs 7. Re-read Red Army by Ralph Peters Apart from a life am I missing anything?