IICptMillerII

This is just your perception. You notice it when a squad leader/platoon leader goes down more because it is more damaging to your immediate combat effectiveness. Same goes for the automatic gunner in a squad/platoon. These things provide you with a distinct advantage that you rely upon (either leadership from the leaders or firepower from the machine guns) and when you lose them, you lose that advantage. Thus, you notice it a lot more. You aren't alone in this perception either. Its very common in many war memoirs and anecdotal stories for it to be constantly pointed out that the leaders are always the first to die. Especially the good ones. Vietnam was infamous for having a high platoon leader fatality rate, and bocage fighting during the Normandy campaign seemed to claim all the good squad leaders at alarmingly high rates. Again, this is mostly because these assets really hurt when you lost them, in Vietnam because the platoon leader with his radio was the link to the outside world and greater support, and the squad leader in the bocage because due to the nature of the fighting, small unit leadership was extremely important. Again, its all just a perception. In reality, you aren't losing a high number of leaders. You're losing a proportional number of leaders along with the rest of the casualties you take. If you can show me a battle where you only lose leaders and machine gunners, and then can reproduce it 100 times consistently, then I'll start to think something is wrong.

Well if you do manage to dig it out be sure to let me know the book! One of the benefits of the current situation we all find ourselves in is that I've been making some good progress at chipping away at the massive backlog I have. Might as well add another to the list now that there is a bit more room!

Thanks to both Bil and George for posting these maps! The NTC has always seemed to me like it would make for good map templates, but has been overlooked for the most part. I tried my hand at recreating some of the terrain in the editor for CMSF2, but the efforts were sub par to say the least. Its not a reference to Hill 781 is it?

Yup, those are the ones I was thinking about! Thanks for clarifying that for me. Apologies for the confusion.

Ahh oh well. I don't have CMBN installed on this computer right now as I'm away from my desktop, but I thought there was an airborne scenario that covered parts of Operation Varsity. Anyone know the scenario I'm talking about? It's large and there are a few different variations of it that come in the battlepack.

If I'm not mistaken, I think Operation Varsity is covered in the battlepack for CMBN, though I would always welcome an additional campaign or set of scenarios. Personally I really hope we see some coverage of the crossing of the Rhine. Having a scenario/campaign that covers both the Rangers amphibious assault across the Rhine would be great, especially now that CM simulates amphibious vehicles. DUKW's anyone? That and some coverage of the Bridge at Remagen would be cool as well.

I haven't played the USMC campagn in a while, but I am 99% sure that there are core units. In campaigns you can have core units and you can also have attached units. The attached units are additional units for a specific mission that are not part of your core force set up. For example, if you have a campaign following an infantry battalion one of the missions could have a tank company attached, but they are not part of your core force. It could be what you are seeing are missions that involve a lot of attached units, or it could also be that you are using core units, but each mission is a different group of core units and you have yet to see the carry over yet.

The internet does more harm than good. Combat footage from the Syrian civil war of people hipping and hopping through streets, wildly blind firing their weapons all over the place and spraying machine gun fire down random side roads is not indicative of firefights in any way. I can assure you that most disciplined armies do not act like that while under fire. There are a ton of modern examples of a disciplined army fighting against what you see in those combat footage vidoes, and the results are extremely one sided. I will definitely agree that the animations in CM do not allow for an accurate representation of all of the various movements humans (disciplined or not) do perform while in combat, though I think most games/simulators are guilty of this as well. This is actually exactly what CM does. Microterrain is not visually simulated, but it is calculated when determining if a pixeltruppen takes fire that actually wounds him or not. CM simulates that humans are, like you have pointed out, not always so easy to hit even when moving through or taking cover in "open" terrain. See above as to why this is.

Hang in there man! I'm sure you have more longevity than you give yourself credit for. On the bright side, now that the CMFI module is done, BFC has been freed up to develop Fire and Rubble and the other things they're working on. The CMFI module did quite a lot to hog development time and attention and slowed other projects down. In other words, the bottleneck on development has been cleared. As to the partisans, they will definitely be included in the Fire and Rubble module, though I have no idea how their availability will be handled yet. Could be that after a set date, or a location, they are not available for purchase/use, but that is just speculation on my part. Its important to remember that while the new module will focus on the end of the war, a lot of the assets being added were present during the Bagration timeframe as well. Just like how CMFB covers more than the Battle of the Bulge, even though that is its primary focus.

I second this. Imgur is quite good.

Yeah... no. There isn’t a single doctrine, SOP, ATP, or TTP out there that assumes anything is invincible, especially when it comes to hardware. In fact, every single one of those governing documents/doctrines/procedures assumes (correctly) that the hardware is not only capable of failure/destruction, but most likely will even under ideal circumstances. Just because something is considered survivable or hard to kill dies not mean it’s ok for that thing to take damage or be in a compromising position. Humans can survive direct hots from .50 caliber rounds and even 25mm HE. Does that mean everyone disregards these things as threats though? No, of course not. The whole “muh murican” memes are old and boring and definitely shouldn’t be used as an example of anything, especially survivability against ATGMs or RPGs.

Yeah I have to parrot @DerKommissar on this one. Citino is very highly regarded by the US Army among others, and his book titled “Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm” is in fact a fantastic overview of modern maneuver warfare. I would say Citino is quite well versed in the nuance of at least operational warfare in a WWII and post WWII world. While I’ve read his maneuver warfare book, I have not read any of his books that cover in depth German military operations, strategy and operational art during WWII, but I also know that these works are highly regarded by sources I trust. So again I have to disagree with your claim that he lacks the needed knowledge to discuss/analyze these topics.

Agree completely. The more content the better.

Big fan of that first screenshot of the fighters moving along the mountain trail at night, very cool!

Those skins look great! I think they would fit in very well in @Combatintman's 'Op Baras' Scenario. Looking forward to the release!

The only way for this to be tested and verified as an issue is for savegames to be posted/submitted for testing and review. If you notice this behavior, save the turn and submit it.

Winter on the Eastern Front, in CM, finally! Thanks for the bones! Especially glad to see that Black Sea will be getting some love in the (hopefully) near future. Looking forward to the new content. Happy New Years!

No military is going to advertise its losses, to the enemy it is fighting, during the conflict. “Hey Adolf, you knocked out xx Sherman’s this month! Just wanted to let you know so you know that us allies are the good guys because we disclose everything immediately!” -Eisenhower, showing the world that being a war fighter is no excuse not to disclose the truth at all times. The vast majority are wear and tear. Sorry to shatter the sexy image, but after 2003-2004 tanks simply weren’t heavily used all over the place (or really at all in Afghanistan) because they were the wrong tool for the job. On top of that, no one was driving these things down city streets to be lit up by RPGs from every possible angle. So do most heavy units that rotate through NTC. No joke, this happens. A unit slated for a deployment will go to NTC for a train up and break all of their equipment, rendering them unable to deploy. Granted that isn’t the norm, but it has happened a few times. Point is, combat conditions and just general field operations are hard on vehicles. They require constant maintenance to keep in the field. And there are different levels of maintenance as well. All those Bradley’s at a depot in TX? Those are deadlined vehicles that have to be repaired by the company that makes the Bradley. Not from combat damage, but regular wear and tear. These vehicles are 30-40 years old, and are handled by 18-20 year olds who are tired, hopped up on caffeine, and pissed off at everything. And they’re essentially driving a big rental vehicle that they perceive to be invincible. How long do you think your car would last in the hands of a 19 year old with a fetish for amateur off-roading? Again, the point is that regular wear and tear does far more damage to vehicles than people realize. Not to mention the desert is not a friendly environment to vehicles. As you correctly point out, a US Abrams does not equal an Iraqi Abrams. And the fact that the Iraqis lost so many tanks to ISIS is no surprise. You know who the Iraqis also lost a lot of tanks to? Literal human wave attacks in the Iran-Iraq war. As in Iraqi tanks in fighting positions were overrun by Iranian human wave attacks, across open terrain. Yeah... I think it’s safe to say that Iraq could use some remedial training in the art of armored warfare. I certainly agree on both points here. I don’t think RPGs are undermodeled, and I also think that the wounded to killed ratio in general, but specifically with vehicle crews favors killed over wounded far too much. But I suppose that’s a different discussion.

Thanks for the screenshots MOS. Perfect time of year to play some CMFB. I think your screenshots really help to show how atmospheric CMFB is. Looks like a great scenario too!

Well, there’s a lot going on here... First and foremost, anecdotal evidence is not evidence. Not saying this to belittle, just state a fact. There’s an anecdote of a B-17 crew member falling over 10k feet and surviving, but I won’t be using that as an example of why parachutes are not needed. As to RPG vs armor, I frankly have no idea what you’re talking about here. I’ve never seen an RPG-7 do more than scratch the paint on an Abrams in game, and there are a whole multitude of AARs and other documented examples of this here on the forum. Further, most ATGMs, to include the AT-14 are largely ineffective against the frontal armor of the M1. This is all realistic and very well modeled. I have two ideas of what it may be that you’re seeing. The first is that for whatever reason you are putting your vehicles in highly vulnerable positions. Driving a stryker or a tank down a narrow alleyway where it can be engaged from the sides and rear at point blank range by anti-tank weapons is never healthy, even if the anti-tank weapons being used against them are generally ineffective under ideal circumstances. If you allow the enemy a chance to get that lucky shot off, chances are it'll happen. Second, its possible that you were up against RPG-29s. Not sure how much you know about the RPG-29, but in a nutshell its got a monster HEAT warhead that is capable of cutting through all kinds of armor, including the Abrams, from most aspects. It could have been that whatever scenario you were playing, OpFor were equipped with a large number of RPG-29s and you were on the receiving end of it. Both Syrian special ops and fighter formations come with the RPG-29. As to "reducing RPG accuracy" that mostly comes down to the skill of the operator. Conscript soldiers will be much less accurate with an RPG than Veteran or Elite soldiers will be. Motivation will affect how much fire they're willing to brave to get off a shot. As for reducing the "killing power" of an RPG by "90" I would strongly disagree here. CM does an exceptional job of simulating armor and the weapons made to defeat armor. RPG warheads are well modeled in this respect, and I highly doubt that their hard coded "stats" are going to be changed anytime soon. (Unless of course you can prevent Steve and the BFC crew with credible sources showing that the RPG is in fact over-modeled, though I think this would be a fools errand.) I will give you this however, I do think that if CM modeled weapon failure rates more, then the base RPG-7 available to the Syrians would be much less effective. In Iraq 2003 a large number of RPG-7 warheads fired at US forces failed to detonate. There were Bradley's that got hit dozens of times but the RPG's literally just bounced off the armor because they had bad fuses and such. This was mostly due to the Iraqi's having large amounts of cheap knockoff Chinese warheads that even under ideal circumstances would have failed to perform more often than not. Add into that equation less than ideal storage and maintenance by the Iraqi's and the high failure rates of the warheads makes a lot of sense. The Syrians (at least the fighters/combatants) would very likely suffer from the same affliction in game, so I do think there is an argument for increasing the rate of weapons failure in game. .

I'll definitely be using a different font for future AAR projects for the picture captions. I've gotten a number of comments about them being hard to read and I definitely intend to take the advice and change it. Thanks for the feedback!

Just wanted to pop in and give a quick update. This AAR isn't dead. I'm back among the living though I have very little free time at the moment, and I currently don't have the files for this AAR with me. I may be able to get them next month, but if not the AAR will not resume until the Spring. Apologies to those who are eagerly awaiting the next update. I hope that knowing the AAR is not dead and just on hiatus is some consolation. I'm excited to get back to this when I get the chance, especially now that C:MO has been released.

Ha very true. Though I'm not sure I can hold a candle to those authors. Can't wait for the next book in the series!

An update for those of you following along: Unfortunately, I will not be able to finish this AAR until later this year. I'm going to be away for the next few months. I did my damnedest to get this finished before I had to leave, but in the end there just wasn't enough time. However, I fully plan on finishing this AAR when I return. The good news is that there shouldn't be too many more updates until we reach the conclusion, so when I get back I should be able to bang out the last few parts. Apologies for the unexpected mid-AAR cliffhanger.

THE CANADIAN CONSULATE Elements of 1st platoon, B Company cautiously advance to the outer wall of the Canadian consulate. The surrendering MP’s are captured and processed, brought to an EPW (enemy prisoner of war) collection point on the beach and held under armed guard by some of the combat engineers. Local security is established along the West wall, and the Marine assaulters are called up to breach a hole in the wall. The assaulters are equipped with demolition charges that can be used to breach walls and structures and are also equipped with thermobaric warheads for the two SMAW launchers. The breach is made in the wall, revealing a doorway leading into the compound. The Marines prepare to breach and clear the Canadian consulate. Note: the explosion from the breaching charge looks like it should be fatal to the Marines. The explosion effect is merely cosmetic. The Marines suffer no casualties or ill effects from their own breaching charges. The Marines stack up at the doorway through the wall breach. Immediately they can hear commotion inside, indicating the complex is occupied. Moments later Regime MP’s being running right past one of the Marine security elements on the South West corner, oblivious to the Marines location. They appear to be trying to escape from the consulate before the Marines enter it. When they stumble into the Marine security position, their withdrawal turns into a panicked rout. What follows is nothing short of a slaughter. The Marines engage at point blank range with rifle fire and hand grenades. There is no return fire. The fleeing MPs are overcome with terror and don’t bother shooting back. Theyre quickly put out of their misery. At the same time the slaughter on the street is happening, a team of Marines enter the consulate. For a few moments, all is quiet. Then there is an explosion of gunfire. A Marine is immediately wounded, but the fire is quickly returned. With both of his comrades killed, the surviving MP decides to throw down his rifle and surrender. Moments later, the Marines rush the room and take down the prisoner. The prisoner turns out to be the radio operator for a MP company command element. The corpse of the MP captain is lying on just nearby. The radio operator is processed and brought to the EPW collection point and noted to be a possible intel asset. The bodies of the company command element are searched for any important documents/intel. The entire consulate is searched for survivors, as well as to secure any sensitive items that remain. After a thorough search, CPT Pulido passes up the disconcerting situation report: none of the consulate workers are in the consulate. They must have been moved to a new location by the Regime. Evidence in the form of bullet holes and a few blood stains are found as well, indicating that there may have been some kind of struggle when Regime forces stormed the consulate. That, or there was indiscriminate killing. Sensitive items such as documents, hard drives and portable electronics such as laptops are recovered. All other electronics (printers, scanners, shredders, etc) are destroyed in place, and the consulate is officially declared secured and sanitized. All of this information is passed up to higher headquarters. The fate of the Canadian consulate workers is unknown, though they are now presumed to be in Regime captivity. Theater intelligence assets are given the additional task to search for any sign of the captured consulate workers. It is unclear what the Regime intends to do. The fate of the consulate personnel is concerning, but no longer a concern of the Marines. B Company is instructed to hold firm at the Canadian consulate while A Company continues to make its way to the US consulate. When the US consulate is secured and evacuated, all forces will collapse back to the beach at the same time. Its up to CPT Amato’s A Company to reach the US consulate so everyone can ‘get the hell out of dodge.’ Thus far that has proven easier said than done, and that trend appears to be continuing. Both the Global Hawk and U-2 sensors show more Regime infantry slowly massing in the neighborhoods adjacent to the US consulate. Time is of the essence.