IICptMillerII

INSIDE THE KILLSACK Two teams of tanks scramble up to either side of the enemy position, creating a killsack. The enemy tanks are stuck. They cannot maneuver or stay still without taking point blank fire from multiple directions. The next 20 or so seconds see a flurry of action. Number 1 tank is the first to fire, but miraculously the round is deflected by the T-72s ERA. That luck only lasts a few seconds however. Number 3 tank of first platoon fires from its position on the right, knocking out a T-72. This is quickly followed a moment later by Number 1 tank firing again. This time, luck is on his side. The sabot round rips through 1 T-72 before smashing into a second behind the first, destroying both of them in catastrophic fireballs. Half a second later, 1st platoons Lieutenant destroys another T-72 just behind the two tanks knocked out by one round. In the span of 15 or so seconds, 5 T-72s have been destroyed, bringing the total number of observed destroyed T-72s to 6. More than half a tank company has been destroyed in under a minute. However, due to the slight downslope the enemy tanks are on, and the smoke and chaos, there are at least 4 unaccounted for tanks likely still sitting right in front of me. There is also an ill omen. While the knife fight at the killsack is raging, an enemy man-portable ATGM is fired from Hill 113. A Bradley on overwatch is able to spot the gunner and lob a few 25mm rounds his way. Luckily, the ATGM fails to track and crashes harmlessly into the dirt, but its a prelude of something far greater yet to come.

Again, no spoilers, but CPT Miller is in fact featured in this AAR, and as you'll see he's soon to find himself in a rather precarious situation.

Thanks for the compliments! It would have been possible for me to send forces up on to Hill 113, but I decided not to do so for a few reasons. First and foremost, it would have divided my combat power. I figured that Hill 113 would not be left undefended, and I did not want to get into a position where I had 2 separate battles being fought (one for the MSR and another for the Hill). Further, the Hill has a lot of wooded terrain that would have to be cleared in order for whatever units were on the hill to advance/support the drive down the MSR on the far side. This could have led to another situation similar to NAI 1, entrenched infantry and vehicles in a wooded area that would require a great deal of time and combat power to properly dislodge. For these reasons, I decided against making any kind of push on to Hill 113, preferring to take the more direct route down the MSR. As everyone will soon see, Hill 113 plays a significant role in this fight. This makes sense, seeing as it is dominating key terrain. I won't spoil anything yet, but I will say that my initial plan is to screen the hill, keeping it under constant overwatch. If enemy threats begin to make themselves known on the hill, I'll be able to (ideally) quickly respond with direct fire as well as indirect fire. It's a good idea in theory, and luckily for those following along, that theory will get a test in reality quite soon.

Initially, I was expecting the enemy to do a forward defense. With the amount of assets OpFor had, that made the most sense to me. Blunt the attack before it has a chance to gain any momentum. But, as we've seen, this is not the course of action the OpFor commander decided to take. Thanks! The original scenario's are available to play, but remember that this scenario has had each sides forces and objectives completely reworked for this AAR. The only thing that is still 'vanilla' is the map terrain. Thanks! I'm a big fan of SF2. Squarehead pretty much hits the nail on the head. The game has so much content and can simulate so many different things, it's hard to pass up. From what I've gathered the main obstacle many have to buying it is that it is a modern setting as opposed to a WWII setting. Personally I enjoy both settings, but I can understand the hesitancy of those who only fancy WWII. Either way I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the AAR and that it has got you to consider purchasing SF2!

Ok, first off, posting out of context video's of 30 second snippets doesn't really help. Posting all in bold also doesn't do anything to further your point. Has anyone posted save games of any of this for other testers to check themselves? It's quite easy to do. Additionally, was this PBEM already in progress? As in, you were playing the PBEM on v4, then you patched the game and continued playing the PBEM on patched v4? It is well known that applying any type of patch/upgrade and then trying to resume a saved battle may result in some odd behavior. I have upgraded all of my games to patched v4, and I have not encountered this bug in any of them. My suggestion would be to take a breath, confirm if this is in fact a PBEM that was started pre-patch, and try to post save files for other testers to run and see if they can figure out what is going on.

CONTACT As soon as 1st platoon dismounts in front of NAI 3, they make contact. It appears to be a squad sized element split between two buildings. Bradley gunnery is up to a high standard, and rounds are immediately pumped into both buildings before the enemy has a chance to fire at my dismounting infantry. The enemy is suppressed, and friendly infantry begins to cautiously advance forward to clear the rest of the complex. Suddenly an enemy ATGM flies out from behind NAI 3 and slams into a Bradley, destroying it and killing the driver. Moments later, an Abrams in overwatch spots a BMP-2 hiding behind NAI 3 and destroys it with a HEAT round. Just as suddenly, more enemy infantry are spotted in the buildings, and a close range firefight breaks out. The firefight is short and violent. No friendly casualties are suffered. A lull in the fighting momentarily occurs, and I use the opportunity to push up a scout team armed with a javelin to try to get eyes on the second BMP-2 to the rear of NAI 3. As the scout team is moving up, they are suddenly engaged by the second BMP-2. 30mm HE rounds streak down the road and explode against trees and the ground, though miraculously none of my scouts are hit by the fire. One of the scouts is armed with an AT-4 and takes a shot at the BMP. Unfortunately the shot falls short, but the scouts are able to crawl out of the line of fire and suffer no casualties. The BMP poses a problem due to its positioning, but the encounter could have gone much worse. A survivor of the Bradley’s barrage pops up and fires a few bursts. This time, the enemy’s aim is good, and I suffer a casualty. My infantry, as well as an Abrams in overwatch, return fire with small arms and coax. Its enough to finish off the lone enemy soldier. The BMP-2 is in a good keyhole position, covering down a road that separates my infantry from the buildings on NAI 3. Crossing a road like this is already a very dangerous thing to do, and is known as a Linear Danger Area (LDA). In order to deal with this serious threat, I move Scout Team 3 off of their observation post and down into a position where they can get eyes on the BMP and engage it with their Javelin. The scout team is able to get into position and take aim. The scout fires moments later, and the missile hits its mark. On the right flank, 3rd platoon advances cautiously into the woods covering NAI 1. It doesn’t take long to find the enemy. A fire team takes fire from it’s front and suffers a minor casualty. Thankfully, the soldiers body armor prevents the wound from being serious. One of the scout teams helping to clear the woods pushes up and spots the enemy. They begin engaging with rifle fire and grenades. Having pinned down the enemy, the scout team capitalizes on the situation and rushes the fighting position. The scouts kill the remaining enemy soldier and occupy the fighting position for themselves. In this short but violent exchange, I was lucky. I only suffered one man lightly wounded, while killing 2 enemy soldiers and taking their fighting position. The last thing I want to do is get sucked into a costly close quarter fight in these woods. It’s not even my main objective. Moments later, another enemy position is discovered further into the woods, on a very slight reverse slope. My goal is to quickly sweep the edges of the forest for enemy assets that can pose a long range threat to my advance down the MSR, such as ATGM teams or artillery spotters. Once these threats have been found and neutralized, the infantry will fall back and let the armored vehicles strongpoint the position. That way, if the enemy decides to attack out of the woods, they will be cut down in the open by my vehicles. Here is an overhead view of the woods covering NAI 1: This should help to illustrate my intentions with NAI 1. I would need much more than a platoon of infantry to clear these woods, and even then it would be long and bloody. It simply isn’t worth the effort. The good news is, the terrain appears to be too dense for the enemy vehicles to emerge in any semblance of order or speed. As long as NAI 1 is strong pointed by friendly armor, I should be able to keep it bottled up and it will not pose a threat to my advance down the MSR. 2nd platoon (infantry) along with elements of 2nd platoon (armored) and the Task Force command element move forward to establish new overwatch positions along the right side of the MSR. A call comes over the radio informing the JTAC that the Apache called in on the possible enemy armor concentration behind NAI 1 is now on station. Moments later, a missile is seen streaking into the sky. The shot came so fast that the Apache pilot didn’t have time to pop flares in defense. The enemy missile hits the Apache, destroying it. This is an expensive lesson to learn. The airspace is not safe for aircraft. Half of my available fire support is now restricted until I can proof the airspace. However, there is hardly any time to contemplate this new dilemma. The two tanks from 2nd platoon (armored) advance to a berm and discover… What appears to be an entire enemy tank company in a reverse slope position, at point blank range. Before either of my tanks have a chance to react, one of the enemy tanks fires at Number 3 tank. The round impacts the berm, causing no damage. My tanks are quick to respond. In rapid succession, they pump 2 rounds into targets to their direct front, destroying them. The exchange is not one sided. Before either of my tanks have a chance to reload, number 3 tank takes a penetrating hit to its lower glacis plate. The Abrams is destroyed, but all 4 crewmen survive the hit and are able to bail out of the tank without suffering a casualty. While this is happening, the infantry from 2nd platoon dismount their Bradley’s and begin advancing on NAI 11. They are immediately greeted by a hail of gunfire from enemy infantry occupying the buildings on NAI 11. The fire causes no casualties, and is quickly returned and silenced by 25mm HE fired from the Bradley’s overwatching the infantry as they dismount. I’m now in a precarious position. I have deployed infantry and their Bradley’s dangerously close to enemy tanks in a reverse slope position. Further, I now only have 1 tank directly observing and engaging what appears to be a company of enemy T-72s. If the T-72s are able to maneuver out of the reverse slope position, they could destroy a significant number of Bradley’s and Abrams at point blank range with just a single volley. I have tanks in overwatch positions, but they would likely not be able to react in time to prevent a mini-catastrophe. In response, I quickly maneuver 2 teams of Abrams to either flank of the reverse slope position to keep the enemy engaged and hopefully pin him down/destroy him so the T-72s cannot threaten my IFVs and infantry in the open. What happens next is pure chaos.

@General Jack Ripper and I played Halt Hammerzeit a few years ago in SF1. I was the Syrians and Jack was the Germans. It was a really fun scenario to play through. I haven't tried it yet now that it's been revamped for SF2, but I did take a look at the map in the editor and it looks like a whole new beast. Hopefully soon I'll get a chance to take it out for another spin. More excellent work George!

I thought this map looked vaguely familiar. Another fantastic map/scenario by @George MC! It's been quite the week for his maps

The MTC phase is roughly 5 minutes or so. Throughout the AAR, there are a lot of turns where not much happens, and then there are some turns where a ton of things happen all at once, so for the sake of streamlining the presentation the battle isn't being recounted on a turn by turn basis. That said though, I will try to include more information on how much time elapses. I didn't even notice the lack of shadows until you mentioned it. At first I thought it might be due to the overcast conditions, but in the first few screenshots, such as the scout team's OP, there are shadows. I'll have to check my game settings. In the future I'll try to make sure they're on.

Thanks Bud! I've always liked your comicbook style AARs. They remind me a bit of the "Team Yankee" comicbook adaptation. It's a great concept, which CM is ideally suited for thanks to being able to pause and rewind. Hope to see more from you in the future!

This is something I am trying to get better at. I tend to only develop local OB's, such as "this position appears to be defended by a platoon/company" and then apply knowledge of a nations TO&E to template what I am immediately up against. If it's a Russian tank platoon in CMBS, I know that it is 3 tanks likely working directly with other platoons, or in CMBN if it's a US tank platoon I know it is 5 tanks likely working together in pairs, with the PL on overwatch, etc. The only time I'm able to fill out an OB more fully is when I'm playing a scenario and the briefing gives me some idea of what to expect. In my experience, the few QB PBEM's I've played tend to be a bit of a crapshoot. It's certainly a skill I need to improve on.

Glad you're enjoying it so far! Don't worry, most of the AAR images are shot from the up close and personal perspective, and there is a lot of picture in picture (again highly influenced by Bil). This first part of the AAR is a bit more big picture to help illustrate the overall plan in action and to set the scene. The next part has a lot of down and dirty images that you'll likely enjoy.

MOVEMENT TO CONTACT The battle begins and my task force starts deploying. 2nd platoon (tanks) moves forward to establish hull down positions on the rise in front of them. 3rd platoon (tanks) establishes hull down positions on the MSR. Artillery begins to fall on NAI 1. On the left flank, scout team 3 moves forward, dismounts and establishes an observation post. All is quiet on the left. Immediately after taking hull down positions, 2nd platoon encounters and engage enemy infantry moving in the open. Upon doing my terrain analysis, it became quickly apparent to me that NAI 1 would be an excellent defensive position due to it’s cover, concealment and dominating sightlines along MSR Titan. In short, it is an excellent place for infantry to dig in and engage my forces as they try to move down the MSR. It appears that the enemy is aware of the defensive advantages of this position as well. The enemy team my tanks engaged is proof that the enemy is on NAI 1 in some capacity, but to what degree? In order to find out, I dispatch 2nd platoon (infantry) to begin moving towards NAI 1. In addition, scout team 1 pushes up to get extra eyes on and help discover any hidden threats not yet uncovered by the tanks. As 2nd platoon and the scout teams begin their movement, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) indicates that there could be a concentration of armor in the vicinity of NAI 1. I waste no time getting the JTAC to call in an Apache to put eyes on the area, and missiles into anything spotted there. Scout team 1 dismounts and pushes up slightly to get better eyes on the tree line, but spot nothing. Covered by the tanks and scout team, 2nd platoon moves up on line and dismounts its infantry. Meanwhile on the left flank, 1st platoon (infantry) covered by 2nd platoon (tanks) move forward along MSR Titan to gain a position overlooking NAI 3. NAI 3 is close to the MSR and would be an ideal spot for the enemy to launch spoiling attacks against my task force moving down the MSR, such as firing RPGs into the flanks of my vehicles. Further emphasizing this point, SIGINT reports that there are potential contacts in the building complex farthest to the rear. Perhaps this is an enemy outpost watching the MSR? To prevent the enemy from launching any spoiling attacks against my task force and to deny him his (potential) observation post, 1st platoon (infantry) will establish a base of fire observing NAI 3, and then sweep and clear the buildings to ensure no threat is posed to the rest of the task force. As 1st platoon moves into position and establishes overwatch, the platoon fire support team calls in a fire mission on the suspected outpost. The mission is a single section (2 tubes) of 155mm and will be short but violent. Shortly after calling it in, the fire mission lands. The fire mission is short, only dropping a handful of rounds. As soon as it ends 1st platoon (infantry), covered by tanks on the MSR, advance and dismount in front of NAI 3. Back on the right flank, my infantry are now fully deployed and arrayed against NAI 1, supported by their Bradley mounts, some tanks, and a scout team. Despite being in the open, my men have not taken any fire. Further, despite having good direct observation of the NAI, I have not been able to uncover any enemy positions. It’s time to advance. I bring all my tanks in the area on line and begin bounding the infantry forward in teams towards the tree line. As this is happening, an enemy artillery barrage begins to land. It seems to be falling in the open field to the rear of most of my forces and poses no immediate threat to me.

Thanks Bil! You're a large part of the inspiration for the presentation style of this AAR. Glad to hear I'm doing something correctly! The graphics have certainly taken a long time. Couple that with some very action packed turns and the quick pace of modern warfare, and it really adds up. Its taken a few months to properly put this all together. Despite that, its still great fun putting it all together. The battle itself is a bit of a roller coaster. There are a few decent twists throughout, and it ends up being a well rounded all arms fight. I'm hoping it makes for exciting viewing. It was certainly exciting to play. I've left my opponent anonymous for now, though he is more than free to chime in on the discussion at any point. I thought it would help to streamline the presentation a bit, as I've also posted this AAR over at Grogheads. I'd love to do a game with you at some point! Though at the moment my plate is rather full with real life responsibilities. I'll reach out when I have more time to dedicate. At least that way I won't have any excuses! Thanks George! I'm a huge fan of your scenario's, both the map work and the types of scenario's you publish. In my opinion, the CM editor requires a certain touch in order to get the maps looking proper, a touch with thus far eludes me. You on the other hand seem to have invented the touch! I love your focus on mostly force on force engagements too. That is certainly my preferred scenario type, and your attention to detail and realism when it comes to force compositions is exceptional. Again, hats off to the outstanding work you do! I thought about adding water to the map now that we have the ability in SF2, but I found that I like the map more in its arid state. That, and adding water throws off some of the elevation. I think it works really well as it is.

Stay tuned, things get very intense! The sprites themselves come from the Matrix Games title "Armored Brigade." The NATO icons came from a (very wonky) program called Milsketch. All I used the program for was to create the NATO symbols with the modifiers on top. Everything else was done in photoshop. Thanks!

Apologies to everyone, but I was not able to finish this AAR. Between being on the move for the entire month of August and having to rebuild my computer, I just wasn’t able to finish this. I also can no longer locate the final turn files on any of my hard drives. Surplice and I were able to finish the battle just before I left for the rest of the summer. He was victorious. My attack on the airfield failed, though I do think I gave him a good fight there at the end. My vehicles and infantry were able to get onto the airfield, but had suffered too many casualties to be able to exploit and overrun the British defenses in the airfield buildings. Most of my BMPs and tanks were destroyed, and my infantry had taken too many casualties to remain combat effective. Further, Surplice's armored QRF was beginning to close in and finish off what forces I had left. Even if I had somehow managed to establish a foothold on the airfield, his QRF would have made short work of it. Hats off to Surplice for holding on till the bitter end and successfully holding the airfield. It was a good fight through and through, I only wish I could have captured the last battle to share with everyone. Apologies again. However, to make up for the lack of a proper ending to this (and because the battle turned out to be pretty exciting) I have started a new AAR. This time it’s a proper AAR, as the battle was concluded a few months ago. It follows an armored US Task Force engaging a dug in, well equipped OpFor along an MSR through temperate, rolling terrain, featuring a few villages as well. It can be found here:

Combat Mission Shock Force 2 PBEM AAR MSR Titan By IICptMillerII INTRODUCTION This is an after action report (AAR) of a play by email (PBEM) battle I recently concluded. The battle is in Combat Mission Shock Force 2 and features a combined arms task force attacking down a major highway against a near-peer opposing force (OpFor). The map is taken from the first mission of the excellent campaign “Forging Steel” by GeorgeMC. All credit goes to him for designing the superb map. I have modified the BluFor and OpFor, as well as their respective objectives, but otherwise the map remains untouched. This AAR features several mods. Chief among them are: Veins Smoke and Effects mod Drakenlords Fire mod Sahrani Liberation Army (SLA) by myself playing the OpFor US 3rd Infantry Division Multicam uniforms by myself A number of the graphics used in this AAR (mainly the maps and task force layout) are large image files and are best viewed in full size, with the ability to fully zoom in on them. All sprites of vehicles and soldier models used in the map and task force layout graphics are taken from the game “Armored Brigade” by Matrix Games and are slightly tweaked by me. All credit goes to the artists who created these sprites. MISSION Task Force Miller is ordered to assault down Highway 3, named Main Supply Route (MSR) Titan, in order to allow follow on forces to continue the attack. Mission Specific Tasks: Secure Bridges 31 and 32. Destroy any enemy forces in the vicinity of MSR Titan Do not suffer more than 30% casualties Desired End State: MSR Titan, to include Bridges 31 and 32 secured and not directly threatened by the enemy. Task Force Miller combat effective and capable of conducting follow-on operations. ENEMY S2 (Intel) indicates the enemy is present in battalion size and are made up of elements from the 16th Guards Tank Division. Specifically, elements of the 47th Guards Tank Regiment appear to be deployed to our front. S2 anticipates a mix of dismounted and mechanized infantry (mounted in BMP-2s) in battalion (-) strength supported by at least one company of T-72AV tanks. It is anticipated that at least one additional company of tanks, maybe more, could be present on the battlefield, possibly as a quick reaction force (QRF). The enemy is well equipped, well led, and well trained. They are expected to stand and fight and will not give ground easily. Entrenched enemy units not immediately threatening the MSR should be bypassed or be destroyed with indirect fires. The T-72AV is a very capable tank and is well crewed. It is capable of frontally penetrating our M1A1’s at combat ranges. It is not a threat to be taken lightly. Additionally, enemy infantry may be equipped with the AT-14 Kornet anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). This weapon can easily destroy our M2 and M3 Bradley/Cavalry fighting vehicles and can severely damage, disable, and even destroy our M1A1’s. TERRAIN AND WEATHER The weather is overcast, though rain is not expected. The Air Force has assured us that the weather will not impede their ability to support the task force. The landscape is a mildly arid temperate climate. The dominating terrain features are Hill 113, and the gorge that runs North-South, crossing under MSR Titan at Bridge 32. The gently hilled terrain is a mix of grassland, agriculture, and light forest. The forested areas are not expected to prohibit tracked vehicles, though caution should still be used if passing through. MSR Titan runs East-West along the 2240 Easting. It crosses two obstacles, unnamed gorges, at Bridges 31 and 32. Several settlements of varying size are scattered through the area of operations. Only one is named, Kronenburg. The rest are designated by named areas of interest (NAIs). The most significant of these are likely to be NAI’s 5, 8, 9 and 12. These are larger settlements located closest to the MSR. TROOPS Task Force Miller is a combined arms task force composed primarily of two companies, one mechanized infantry and one armored. The armor company is Alpha Company equipped with M1A1HC Abrams tanks. The mechanized infantry company is Charlie Company riding in M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV). Neither the tanks nor BFVs are equipped with explosive reactive armor (ERA) packages, so they are more vulnerable to HEAT rounds, specifically modern tandem HEAT warheads. These units come from 1st Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment. The parent division is the 3rd Infantry Division. Also attached is 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 5-7th Cavalry. The scouts operate the M3A3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV). Supporting Fires: The task force’s Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC) is assigned to the headquarters element of Alpha Company, and rides in a Humvee. Charlie Company has its Fire Support Officer (FSO) in its Bradley Fire Support vehicle (BFIST), part of C Company’s headquarters. We have been given priority fires for the following assets Battery A, 1-41st Field Artillery. x6 155mm Paladin self-propelled guns 1 flight of AH-64D Apache Gunships (2 helicopters) Armed with: 30mm HEDP x1000 70mm HE Rockets x38 AGM-114 Hellfire x8 1 flight of A-10C Thunderbolt II’s (2 fixed wing aircraft) Armed with: 30mm APDU x1350 500lb bomb x4 AGM-65 Maverick x4 TIME The time is 0830. Task Force Miller has 2 hours to accomplish its objectives. INITIAL SCHEME OF MANEUVER The initial scheme of maneuver, illustrated by this map, is as follows: Cavalry Scouts (White) Scout team 3 will advance to NAI 2 and establish overwatch positions North-East to screen the task force’s left flank. Scout team 1 (dismounted) will observe to it’s North-East to provide another set of eyes from a different location to spot any threats that immediately appear as the task force deploys. Tanks (Red) 3rd platoon will advance down the MSR and establish hull down overwatch positions that will allow observation down the entirety of the MSR and its immediate surroundings. 2nd platoon will advance forward into hull down positions and establish a base of fire position to cover the infantry 1st platoon will advance forward directly in front of NAI 1 in order to directly observe and engage any threats spotted there and allow the infantry to move up, dismount and begin sweeping the NAI. Infantry (Blue) For now, all infantry platoons will remain mounted and stationary in defilade as the tanks and scouts move forward to their initial positions. Once the tanks/scouts are in position, the platoons will fan out and deploy against their respective initial objectives. 1st platoon is tasked with clearing any discovered threats in the immediate vicinity of MSR Titan. 2nd platoon is effectively the reserve element and will respond to developing threats as needed. 3rd platoon is tasked with sweeping NAI 2 if the enemy is discovered there. Preparatory Fires 1 section of 155mms (2 guns) will fire a light mission against NAI 1 to suppress any enemy forces deployed there that could threaten the initial deployment of the task force. The remaining 2 sections of the battery will be on call for fires.

Always great to see another AAR on the forums, especially when it's from Bil! In the modern titles, specifically Shock Force, I actually think this makes a lot of sense. Maybe more so for the US/NATO side of things to better simulate strict ROE environments, but it has merits all around. Ha! Yup, pretty much. I tend to avoid playing Quick Battles for this reason. I also find that sometimes House Rules can be a little over the top (the 'no Abrams in BS for the US player' comes to mind) so I tend to avoid most house rules. However, all of your house rules seem to be aimed at increasing the C3/fog of war realities on the ground, which I think is a great idea. In general I think the C3 system in CM is very well done. In my opinion the only thing it lacks is that added layer of fog of war that can sometimes lead to fratricide and other types of miscommunication. For example, during a night battle if a friendly unit sees another unit but cannot identify it, so they engage it anyways and end up shooting up a friendly element. I know that on Iron difficulty this is theoretically possible, but during the orders phase you regain complete battlefield awareness as the player, so it still rarely happens. @Bil Hardenberger what soft factors did you set your men too? I've found that if the Syrian force is given good soft factors, they can be a very potent fighting force. Really excited to see how this plays out using these rules. I'll reserve judgement on the rules until the AAR is concluded so we can see how they affected the gameplay.

No, you don't have to pay again. I would suggest submitting a ticket at the help desk. As long as you fill out the information fields and give a good description of your specific issue, they should be able to sort you out quite quickly. I had an issue with activations a few years ago and submitted my ticket on Christmas Eve, not expecting to hear back till after New Years. The madmen got back to me the same day and sorted out my issue, on Christmas Eve. I've got nothing but high praise for the people working at the help desk. Try that out first, and good luck!

If I'm not mistaken, CMBS v2.10 was the update that came out with the Battle Pack. v2.11 is the new engine patch, so you should be running the most up to date version.

The patch notes have been released: PATCH NOTES: TO&E and Formations * Luftwaffe Jäger Battalion short of platoons * QB force selection US infantry the FO appears with the label "Glider" * British QB infantry-only Motor Battalion corrupted * Sturmartillerie Brigade Begleitgrenadier armament * Incorrect Stens in CMFI replaced with Thompsons * Use of SVTs now radically reduced in some cases (CMRT) *Ammo load outs for vehicles in CMFI corrected Bug Fixes * FIXED: Units are suppressed by small arms fire outside of range and directed 180 degrees away from them * FIXED: MG42 LMG is 258% more lethal than the Bren LMG and the B.A.R. * FIXED: Poor accuracy of SPG-9 and enormous PG-9 HEAT ammo dispersion *FIXED: SPG-9 deployment/pack time too big *FIXED: SPG-9 OG-9 HE ammo has incorrect (reduced) firing range *FIXED: US antitank teams always fire AT4 before using Javelin *FIXED: Unit Exit Bug in PBEM mode *FIXED: Major changes to the TacAI to better handle the use of cover when under heavy fire *FIXED: Units placement on the bridge bug *FIXED Soldier pathing badly off course *FIXED: Fixes from various different game releases consolidated and combined to be the same for all games * FIXED: Various crashes and other small bugs fixed Art/Model Fixes * M4A3 Sherman 105 (early) model issues corrected * M4A3 Sherman 105 (Mid) LOD issue * Small fix for Valentine turret * SPW 250/3 (Neu) distorted / wrong machine gun texture * Crewman's head pokes through hull when unbuttoning JpzIV * .30 cal MG firing location offset from the firer

During a nailbiter of a scenario, German Panther tanks are getting around my main line in a forest. If they break through, they'll wreak havoc in my rear. All I have to stop them are a few GIs with bazookas rushed to the area. Manage to pull off this great shot: Through the trees, at 75m, with the old M1A1 bazooka. Vaporized the tank. I don't get those kinds of shots in the modern titles, let alone CMFB. It was nice to see.

The 25mm on the Bradley firing its APFSDS DU rounds are more then adequate to penetrate a BMP-3 at combat ranges. The reason you are hearing talk about upgunning the next generation of IFVs to 30mm is similar to the reason why some are talking about increasing the cannon on an Abrams from 120mm to 130-140mm. The ballistics of current ammo and caliber sizes are essentially maxed out. As in, it will become harder and harder to squeeze more performance out of 25mm or 120mm ammunition, so some are proposing moving to higher calibers. Mind you, just because it is being considered, does not mean it's happening. The idea with the upgunned stryker is to give forward deployed units (2CR in Germany for example) more of a bite, so they can hold out longer on their own until heavier assets can get in theater. The short answer to your question here is that yes, the upgunned stryker is going to be misused and abused, badly. The main reason the upgun package was originally proposed was because Captains kept getting their stryker companies wiped out at NTC (using them like Bradleys, attacking out over open terrain against a dug in or unknown enemy) and writing reports on how the stryker is under-equipped for the "modern battlefield." Then, with the conflict in Ukraine in 2014, many used it as a real world example of how the stryker would under-perform. Exactly. The MGS was a great idea on paper. In practice however, it's pretty much a disaster all around. Though I will say that, when it is working, it is decent enough at destroying fortifications (like bunkers/hardened positions) and the 105mm round can actually do plenty of damage to contemporary adversary MBTs. But as you pointed out, it doesn't carry enough ammo and is a glass cannon, so in the end it really isn't worth much. Not really sure what you mean here but, 1) NATO uses both 5.56 (standard rifle cartridge, ex M-4/G-36/etc) and 7.62 (standard medium machine gun cartridge, ex M240/FN Mag/etc) 2) The 105mm round is good at what it is designed to do, punch holes in IFVs and some MBTs. The 30mm is designed to do what the 25mm does, which is engage infantry/fortifications/light armored vehicles/vehicles. 3) The US abandoned the MBT-70 project, it was the West Germans who stuck with it for a while trying to get it to work 4) The first iterations of the M1 Abrams were equipped with the British 105mm gun. It wasn't until 1985 that the M1A1 was equipped with the German 120mm 5) The MGS has seen light combat in Iraq (and I think Afghanistan too but not 100% on that) @MikeyD's summary is spot on

Excellent news! Can’t wait to download them this evening!

Good to hear! Thanks for the new update Elvis! Nothing will ever stop the real detractors from complaining, but I can assure you the more level headed individuals really appreciate the updates. Hoping for the new patches to release "very" soon!