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IICptMillerII

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Posts posted by IICptMillerII

    How US Airborne🪂 would have been used?

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    It's important to remember that both the 101st (not actually an airborne unit) and the 82nd were part of XVIII Airborne Corps, which is a global rapid reaction force. As such, they could have ended up in any number of locations around the world. 

    One of the best uses for an airborne unit in this type of war is as a strategic plug, or counter. For example, if the Soviets had attacked through neutral Austria (they fully planned on it) an airborne division could be rapidly deployed in Austria to counter and slow the Soviet advance long enough for heavy forces to be shifted south. Dropping an airborne division in front of a Soviet breakthrough in northern Germany to slow it down is another example of use. 

    Airborne operations are not Normandy. Flying into a wall of flak and missiles is a great way to get an entire division destroyed without ever returning a shot in anger. These types of operations would likely land the division well enough away from enemy formations (up to 60km or more depending on the situation on the ground) which would keep the actual airborne forces safe while dropping and allow them to form up and dig in.

    Offensively they can be used in many ways as well. As other have noted, airfield seizures, bridges, infrastructure/logistics hubs, as well as landing on top of other strategically important areas and then awaiting relief by attacking heavy forces. 

    0

    Fire and Rubble

    in Combat Mission Red Thunder

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:

    Upgrade 5 will focus on performance improvements to take better advantage of newer hardware.  Some other things are planned as well, but no details yet.

    Steve

    Holy crap! This is big news! I’m surprised this managed to slip by unnoticed by many. Understandable with the FR frenzy. 
     

    A performance upgrade would be major in my opinion. To me, it seems like there is a lot more that would benefit from said improvement, beyond just a simple player quality of life FPS boost. 

    7

    Soviet use of ISU-152 assault guns during the CMCW timeframe

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    1 hour ago, The_Capt said:

    This beast could be fun in an urban infantry support fight but I think they would be dead meat outside of that.  ATGMs and tanks would make pretty quick work of them way outside their range to spot and hit back.

    Completely agree. I'm still not sure how much use it would have actually seen in anything resembling combat. Maybe as an engineering vehicle?

    Likely beyond the scope of CM battlefields, but could still be a fun addition later on. 

    0

    Soviet use of ISU-152 assault guns during the CMCW timeframe

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Amedeo said:

    Yes. The "liquidators" were the people (military and civil) tasked with "dealing with the consequences" of the 1986 nuclear accident. Among other things, it was deemed necessary to drill a large hole in a wall to let a large draining pipe pass. Using "normal" devices to drill the hole would have been too time consuming, given the level of radiations, hence they thought an ISU-152 could approach and rapidly "blow" a hole in the wall with a 152mm anti-concrete round, limiting crew exposure. They tested this concept with a wall distant from the contaminated site and it worked well. Unfortunately, they found that the hole was too small to let the pipe pass, and they dropped the idea althoghether. However the assault guns were not sent back but were used as bulldozers.

     

     

    Well, as far as I know, until the late '60s early '70s, ISU-152 were still to be found in frontline units in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. I mean tank and motorized rifle divisions, as one can see in this 1971 photo depicting an ISU-152 column of the 16th Guards Tank Division:

    6iAAAgDnlOA-1920.jpg

    I presume that their role was mainly direct-fire support. Indirect fire was possible (as it was already during WW2) but the peculiarities of the gun installation (closed top, relatively cramped space, limited elevation, few ammo etc.) clearly made this AFV suboptimal in the SPG role limiting range and sustained fire capacity, although one has to say that ammo capacity was increased already with the ISU-152K (from a 20 rounds to a 30 rounds loadout, IIRC).

    Later (from the mid '70s) ISU-152's in units near the German border, were typically found in separate tank and tank-destroyer regiments and training units, as can be seen here in this video from a GSGV veteran (1972-1974):

    Reading a few veteran's comments on the net, my understanding is that these independent units stationed near the Inner German Border equipped with obsolete or obsolescent AFVs were assigned the task of driving to nearby prepared positions, in case of a surprise NATO attack (!), and basically die in place there, buying time for the mobilization of their comrades. The explicit "not a step back attitude" was confirmed by a former company commander that said that in its unit, equipped with IS tanks, the machine were crewed by a three (and not four) man team, because, once in place, the driver simply had to stop the engine and go into the turret to act as loader. 

    And yes, there were still IS-2M tanks in Germany until the mid '70s in these "blocking" units. According to some veterans of the 119th Separate Tank Regiment, IS-2s were discontinued (i.e. shipped back to the USSR) in 1976 and the unit acquired T-55s that were, in turn, replaced by T-62s in 1979.

    I don't know whether during the 1979-1982 timeframe there still were ISU equipped units with the GSVG in East Germany. For sure, there were units in the Soviet Union still using them, as the previously posted photos show. It's confirmed also by a table contained in a 1982 CIA report:

    table.jpg.b12dd4eaf79d11e6b267928f5677e929.jpg
    I might add that I remember reading somewhere that the remaining ISU assault guns were intended to be used in special urban assault support units in the second echelon, tasked with reducing pocket of resistаnce in bypassed West German urban areas, but I can't give you a reliable source now.

    Speaking about the LCUs, yes they are "Tapir" (NATO: Alligator) class ships. One is the Aleksandr Tortsev (bort 399) the other is the Tomskii Komsomolets (bort 072).

     

     


     

    Great info! Thanks for posting this. Like I said ISUs are not currently in CW, but who knows, maybe they’ll be added in the future?

    1

    Pre-reading recommendations

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    1 hour ago, RescueToaster said:

    Been lurking for a while and decided to sign up for the forums and hopefully add to the discussion since I'm all hyped up for CM:CW!

    I was browsing the Googles and found this bibliography file of 10 Cold War related books and figured I should share. I believe almost all of these have already been mentioned, but I like the brief description for each book. 

    I'd like to make it clear that I did not make this list - I'm just sharing (and formatted and edited it a tiny bit to make it easier to read!).

    https://img.lib.msu.edu/general/events/contest/2006/2006GrevstadBib.pdf  written by Ted Grevstad-Nordbrock

    For those who don't want to click away: copy/paste below the break - book names are in bold, author names in italics.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    “Ten Literary Accounts of a War that Was Never Fought”

    Ted Grevstad-Nordbrock

    Bibliography List:

    - World War 3. Bidwell, Sheldon, ed. (1978).
    Though non-fictional, Sheldon's work takes on an air of fiction when it hypothesizes about how a third world war in Europe might realistically start, and how it would play out. Like other books in this collection, slogging but indecisive conventional warfare inevitably leads to the use of nuclear weapons.

    - Red Storm Rising. Clancy, Tom. (1986).
    Clancy is, of course, the best-known author of the group included here. This work, one of his earliest, describes a NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict on land and on the seas.

    - Armor at Fulda Gap: A Visual Novel of the War of Tomorrow. Cook, J. L. (1990).
    Cook's illustrated work is an unusual mix of fact and fiction-of real-world armaments that would have been used to fight a third world war as well as fantastic imaginings of what the near future might hold. The title of the book makes reference to two common themes in the theory and literature describing a NATO-Warsaw Pact confrontation in Europe: the Fulda Gap, a historical passage-a "gap" in the otherwise rough terrain-from eastern Europe to the west, named after the German city; and armor, the tanks and mechanized vehicles that would contend for this strategic region.

    - Team Yankee. Coyle, Harold. (1987).
    This best-selling work intimately chronicles the efforts of an American tank platoon in defending a small swath of West Germany during a Warsaw Pact invasion. The story is based on the Hackett's The Third World War: August 1985, which Coyle acknowledges in his introduction.

    - The Third World War: August 1985. Hackett, John, General Sir. (1978). 
    This influential account of World War III is told by a British general. The illustrated edition features images of the battles, including the two terminal moments of the short war: nuclear strikes on Birmingham, England and Minsk.

    - The Third World War: The Untold Story. Hackett, John, General Sir. (1982).
     Hackett's follow-up fleshes out and expands the narrative begun in "August 1985."

    - First Clash: Combat Close-Up in World War Three. Macksey, Kenneth (1984)
    First Clash offers a Canadian take on NATO's efforts to repulse the Red Army during its invasion of West Germany. That this fiction is based in fact is emphasized through the use of annotated maps, images, and text boxes that contain discursive notes on tactics, armament, military organization, etc.

    - The War That Never Was. Palmer, Michael A. (1994).
    Written after the Cold War ended, this book describes World War III on a global scale (a war that "never was"), as told by a fictional Russian character to his old enemy and new ally: an American.

    - Red Army. Peters, Ralph. (1989).
    Peters's book is unique in that it tells the story of a conflict in Europe from the perspective of soldiers in the Red Army. This is perhaps one of the best written of the books of this genre.

    - Red Thrust. Zaloga, S. J. (1989). 
    Though no less fictional than any of the other works included here, Zaloga's text reads almost like a casebook. He offers a series of hypothetical NATO-Warsaw Pact battle scenarios in Western Europe, each with an accompanying postmortem: tactical strengths, weaknesses, and what might have been done by military leaders to affect a different outcome.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Hope this helps some, and also thanks for all of the recommendations so far. I currently have a few of these on the way!

    -RT

    Great list! Welcome aboard!

    1

    Pre-orders for Combat Mission Cold War are now open.

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    To be as clear as possible:

    Cold War will release through Battlefront (BFC) in April as a completed game. All features, assets, and normal playability and functions will be present. This includes the PBEM/multiplayer functionality as it is with every other CM game. 

    In June, Slitherine will release Cold War on Steam. That release will come with a new mulitplayer feature, the Slitherine PBEM system.

    Between April and June, the Slitherine PBEM feature will be developed by Slitherine and added to Cold War. Players who own the game from BFC will have the opportunity to try out the new PBEM features and report back on any bugs they encounter.

    11

    Team Yankee Campaign

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    59 minutes ago, Col Rosenberger said:

    *(a great read and story minus the ridiculous number of big typos)

    Yeah, the editor really screwed up the re-release on kindle. The original book is not like that. It’s too bad really. 
     

    You can still get copies of the original online if you want an untainted version. Im amazed they haven’t fixed it. 

    1

    Pre-orders for Combat Mission Cold War are now open.

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Probus said:

    Once Cold War drops, what are some of the mods you guys Invision happening first?

    I already have a music mod ready to go. 

    I also added some numbering to the T-64 turrets, although as of right now it is only 1 number so it will need a few more for variety sake. 

    I'm excited to see what others come up with. Different camo patterns for both sides, reskins, maps... There is a ton of potential here. 

    2

    Team Yankee Campaign

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    1 hour ago, mjkerner said:

    You can still get one on Amazon for $902.00 if you’d like, Captain, but I went for $5 used one.😎

    Ha, you know what? I might just go for it! Better than putting it into the evaporating stock market 😂

    21 minutes ago, Von Richthofen said:

    Also, I never read TWW: August 1985. I have "The Untold Story". What is the difference if any between the two?

    I think, but don’t fully recall, that the latter version was updated with new information? Someone else (who actually owns the damn thing) can probably give you a better answer. 

    1

    Team Yankee Campaign

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    32 minutes ago, Von Richthofen said:

    I've still got Hackett's book

    Lucky! I still haven’t managed to get my hands on a copy. It’s not easy to get, unless one is willing to spend hundreds for a copy. 
     

    Mission making is a bit less daunting than modding. Everything you need is included in the scenario editor. All the scenarios for every CM game were and are made in that editor. For me, making the map is the hardest and most time consuming part. Though some here have developed it into a literal art. 

    0

    Team Yankee Campaign

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    8 hours ago, Von Richthofen said:

    As far as I remember, the novel Team Yankee takes place in the V Corps sector of Germany during the early 1980s (there's a large mix of old and new US kit in the novel if memory serves). Would it be possible to make a campaign based on the events of the novel from the POV of the CO of Team Yankee? I think a narrative style campaign that recreates the important missions the Team goes on in the book would be pretty fun to play.

    Also if you haven't read the book I highly recommend it!

    You could certainly do a Team Yankee campaign/mission set with the assets at hand. Most of the battles would be easy to do as they take place on scales that are possible in CM. For the polish troops, they could be simulated/replaced by second echelon Soviet forces in T-55s. 
     

    I had a preliminary plan to do up some of the maps from Team Yankee in CW and release it alongside/just after release, but I had to shelve the idea due to everything else that needed attention. 
     

    7 hours ago, Flibby said:

    Sounds like a great idea. Happy to help with it. The book is great. There's a similar one for the Russians we could look at too.

     

    6 hours ago, Von Richthofen said:

    Correct me if I'm wrong, are you speaking about Red Army by Ralph Peters?

    Yup, pretty sure Flibby is talking about Red Army. Fantastic book, but it is focused on the strategic/operational level for the most parts. There are some tactical anecdotes in the book, but not to the details of those in Team Yankee. Still, could provide a great backdrop to some Soviet scenarios. 

    0

    How USMC would have been used?

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    2 hours ago, markus544 said:

    Then with that said US naval units with gunfire support makes sense to me now.  I was somewhat taken aback by BF mentioning that CMCW would have naval gunfire support.

    Hapless is right. That was a typo. 

    39 minutes ago, TJT said:

    I'll just leave these here... 🙃

    clip_image002_003.jpg

    clip_image002_006.jpg

     

    Image source: http://www.kalla-kriget.se/

    Nice! Although it is important to point out that the Soviets likely would have gone out of their way to ensure Sweden remained neutral. Always remember that when looking at old war plans for the Cold War, one must remember that many of them had contingency planning built in. For example, if Sweden decided to join the war with NATO, then the Soviets needed a plan for that. Just because a plan exists does not mean it was destined to be used. 

    Finland would have been an interesting case, but I personally think that the Soviets would have deployed security forces to guard the lines of communication (MSRs, supply dumps, etc) but otherwise would have wanted to avoid any confrontation with the Fins. The less you have to fight through to get to the main objective, the better. Plus, there is always the worry of rear area attacks. The Soviets were not prepared (knowingly so) for in depth occupation duties during the war. That stuff comes later. 

    3

    How USMC would have been used?

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    As others have said, Norway. 

    Norway was extremely important to both sides in the prosecution of the war. Much of the Soviet strategy revolved around shutting down/delaying NATO (specifically the US) sea lines of communication (SLOCs) which is a fancy term for maritime resupply routes. To do that, the Soviets had a powerful combination of surface (fleet ships) sub surface (subs) and naval aviation, such as the infamous Backfire bomber. The goal was to prevent NATO from resupplying long enough to give the Soviet army the time it needed to complete its objectives in central Europe. 
    Norway, specifically the coast, would have given the Soviets much more control over the SLOCs through the Northern Atlantic had they occupied it. It would have given them air bases for their naval aviation, as well as ports and sanctuaries for their surface and sub surface forces. Plus, it would have effectively extended their effective interdiction range against NATO SLOCs. 

    NATO was quite aware of this, and the US Marines were assigned to the area. They had staged equipment in the country, much like the Army did in Germany with REFORGER. Norway was also considered their AO, which makes sense considering how hilly and mountainous Norway is, and how important amphibious operations would be there. Not even opposed amphibious operations, simple ones like redeploying or shifting forces around, and resupplying them. Both sides would have made use of naval infantry in Norway. As well as airborne and other specialized forces. 

    To this day the Marines maintain their partnership with Norway's military, and I think they still have equipment staged there as well. Every year (I think so at least) there is usually a major training exercise in Norway for the Marines, and a lot of the cool footage of Abrams drifting on snow and ice are (were) Marine tanks up there doing training. 

    5

    PT 76

    in Combat Mission Cold War

    Posted

    On 3/30/2021 at 7:39 PM, IICptMillerII said:

    because I am already not looking forward to the inevitable gobbledegook word salad response

    Heavy lies the crown. 
     

    For those actually curious right now, the T-64 was a well known tank. In fact, I’m literally looking at a CIA report from 1984 detailing the T-64B, which of course was an updated assessment coming after the T-64A. So the idea of it being completely unknown before 85 or whatever is, to quote myself, gobbledegook. 
    Interestingly, the CIA report on the T-64B got a lot of stuff right about the tank. It’s always cool to see how close intelligence estimates come to reality. 

    1
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