HerrTom

Glorious March to Victory, Final Post - "Like Tears in Rain"
Well big thank you to all who watched.  I figure I should stop leaving you all hanging, so we cease fired on the last turn (33 I believe).  Now take the end-screen with a grain of salt:

So first off there was a dumb double-accounting error for the Soviet side.  Basically the parameters were:
En Cas 50% = 50 VPs
En Condition 50% = 50 VPs
Dollbach Village = 100 VPs.
The error was the Soviets had another 100 VPs for having fewer than/better than 50% cas/cond, so I subtracted that because if we had paid attention Bil was above 50% too.  So the score was really 100 because I held the town.  (Note, also a small error in that his M150s were counted as tanks...a bug we noted for fixing)
The outstanding question is "could Bil have reduced me to 50% without going there himself"...that one is tougher.   So for Soviets:
215 men: lost 71 = 33%
17 Tanks: lost 10 = 58%
17 AFVs: lost 9 = 53%
For the US:
138 men: lost 56 = 40.5%
12 Tanks: lost 6 = 50%
17 AFVs (also counting his mortar carriers): Lost 6 = 35%
So this was by no stretch a "Total Victory", that was straight up on us for not checking the victory parameters.  I hold the village but given the drubbing I received in taking it, I am not sure I can put a statue up in Red Square for this either.  Add to this the fact I started with a lot more men and tanks, it starts to push the whole thing into Draw territory to my mind.  
Now Bil had much better arty, had air (I had none) and EW which made my arty next to useless without TRPs (which I did not have) so there is that.  And my starting position was not the best but it is a poor craftsman that blames the workbench.  
I will let you all judge for yourselves.  Regardless, was a helluva fight, the kind that comes around only every so often,  and we are all working to get you guys a chance at it yourselves soon enough.
 

This was a brilliant read and had me on the edge of my seat (quite uncomfortable being there for a month!) the whole time.  Congrats The_Capt for the victory, and I think you deserve an honourary medal in trash talk too

Wouldn't it then be better to make artillery less accurate, less precise, and less responsive? But make the damage modelling accurate as well.

Two man UK sniper team equipped with an AT launcher each, set to hide in an isolated farm far to my left flank. After taking out both tanks they effortlessly picked off the dazed crew trying to crawl away. I think someone has earned a medal in this particular engagement...

Figured this subforum would be best since these explosions aren't really family-specific.
The news of CM Cold War inspired me to dig back into making explosions.  I present to you my latest (and greatest) explosion!
Get it here (link)!
Animated demonstration here: https://i.imgur.com/hel1fau.mp4
The animation really sells it I think, since it doesn't look too great in stills yet, but I'm working on it!

Interesting question.  I guess it depends on the scenario.  We have a lot of force mixes in the TO&E as we grappled with the Team/TF/Group concepts that were happening on both sides.  So for right (and this is still Beta so keep that in mind) now it looks like:
US Tank Bn TF:  4:1 tanks-to-squads
US Mech Inf TF:  1.2: 1 squads-to-tanks (but this one is odd as there are sp weapons etc as well)
Soviet Tank Bn TF:  3.4 : 1 tanks-to-squads
Soviet MRB TF:  approx 2:1 squads-to-tanks (again support weapons)
But you also need to take into account that AFVs in the game are not simply armored wagons.  M113s and BTRs are probably the lowest on the totem pole but even the .50 on the M113 can be a threat at close range (played a scenario where a single M113 took out 2 x BMPs from the flank...gotta love APT rounds).  Then we move up to the BMPs, which are little monsters with those ATGMs and cannon.  Then AT systems M901, M150 and BRDMs, which can kill just about anything out to 3000m.  And finally, the mighty Bradley, which is what happens when a BMP and M901 have unholy congress in the back seat of an M1, rare in the game but when it shows up....
As to historical accuracy, well we tried to use actual Soviet and US time-period doctrine wherever possible.
 

No problem, I forgot we have a "square TF" on the US side as well called Balanced TF with a ratio of 1.67 : 1 tanks-to-squads, so right ion between the Tank Bn and Mech Bn TFs. [note: ratio changes slightly if you count the engineers as infantry]

In Kelly's Heroes, Clint Eastwood clearly states that the inf support for 3 Tiger tanks is a full platoon.  So, that is definitive.

Thank you all sincerely and you are very welcome.  I am very glad people got enjoyment out of this. 
Once the game is released I will post the scenario so you guys can take a run at your own stories (someone remind me if I forget).
We will do up a final post-game once Bil finishes up his final turns.  I see many congrats at "my victory", I am kinda split here because 1) Of course the glorious forces of the Soviet Union were victorious in crushing the corrupt capitalists, but 2) in reality...when the commissar is not looking, this was pretty much a Draw in my books.   You guys can be the judge when the numbers go up but neither side is doing much with what is left on the board, Soviets do hold the objective but we failed to achieve any real breakout, breakthroughs or overwhelm the US forces.  The only good news is that there is probably another dozen Soviet outfits like the one I just lost behind me.  
But does winning or losing really matter (*duh, of course it does, it is why they keep score*)?  A game well played between two old friends as we enter our autumn years (Bil is on the doorstep of winter) is the best reward in itself. 
 
 

This was a brilliant read and had me on the edge of my seat (quite uncomfortable being there for a month!) the whole time.  Congrats The_Capt for the victory, and I think you deserve an honourary medal in trash talk too

And this is where Bil shames me with how classy he is...damn him to a medium-quality old folks home.

Spotting is definitely an issue, the T62 is blind past about 1500m as far as I can see and totally helpless in heavy smoke or night conditions...big reason why I had to close the distance in this game.  As to the T55, good question, I have not really played that one much (it does show up in the US '79 Campaign) I am not sure how they stack up to the T55.

Glorious March to Victory Post #12 - "We Try Harder" (25-31)
So based on observation, I am seeing quite a few "likes" (thank you btw) but few comments, which tells me that I am probably telling you all something that Bil has already posted.  So for fear of getting left behind in the narrative I am just going to pull you all the way to where we are as of today.
I want to say up front that no matter how this ends, this is a really good game.  This is one for the books.  You can tell when everything feels so finely balanced and you and your opponent are fencing on a tightrope.  every PBEM turn gets the heartrate up!  
When I left you things were not looking so good for the brave soldiers of the Soviet Union.  But like the superior communist system, Soviets know how and when to pick themselves up and get back to it.

So not much but re-positioning in Turn 25 as I scramble to re-establish a parameter up on the ridge, Bil pulled back so that all proceeds.  The only interesting thing happens here near the end of the turn.  Looky here comrade the corrupt capitalist system thinks that they are so clever...looks like Bil is taking the deep left option after all.

The next turn I immediately start repositioning my remaining T64 on the left in order to form a blocking position on my left (that poor BMP got nailed by a second Cobra before I scared it off).  Bil could try and hide in the that wood line but we are past that now, he is going to try and roll me up (more on my logic later).  Meanwhile back on what is now called Red Knoll:

My intent here is to establish a hard point and pull Bils forces in, this time however, I am pushing infantry up front.  Note that an ATGM duel is forming up with that M150 and a BMP on the right here.

Which we win.  That should be about 4 out of 6 M150s killed.  Another sign of a really good game is the emergence of all the micro-dramas.  Here there are literally a hundred small stories all unfolding simultaneously, here is one:

So that brave little infantry squad breaks out of that tree line and sees a M60 monster...do they run and hide...nope they open up like it is the last thing they will ever do (and literally is).  Those are both the RPG 18 and RPG 7 firing simultaneously right at the turns end.  Finally on back on the Hwy:

So yep, pretty much as I expected this is an attempted roll up...oh Bil, you tired foolish old man, did you think I would leave the door open?  So here I am re-positioning another T64 and BMP to bottle up that Hwy ploy.  Onto Turn 28 and things start to turn:

My brave little squad misses, and then die in a hail of glory but they spook the crap out of those M60s, who promptly back off buying time for my T62s.  You can see here another T62 I snuck up from the village in the woods, so I have got a pretty good bead on this.

Meanwhile back on the Hwy, Bil's M60 here get spooked by a lone Recon Pl HQ and I start hunting that T64 forward.  I am starting to feel a bit like we are getting back up and then this happens:

Back in the center, Bil still has some armor with eyes on the objective (note: he is still pounding that nearly-empty suburb like it slept with his wife).  My poor immobilized T64 nails this M60 in a single blistering 125mm of bad-love.
Onto Turn 29.

 So on this turn is a positioning turn on the Red Knoll and Hwy, Bill has brought up at least one M60 to reinforce up here, so a lot of micro-drama potential.  And on the other side:

The bottleneck force is shaping up nicely..so the stage is set for another showdown.  
Turn 30 and things start to click:

It starts with this showdown at near-point-blank range.  The M60 fires first but (I like to think my little infantry squad (now all heroes of the Soviet Union) killed the crew commander and rattled that tank so badly that..) it misses.  My T62 does not, because cold steel runs in Soviet veins

Ok, now this is a Balls Game!  Back in the center:
 
DPICM, the last refuge of the desperate (seriously I think we may have overloaded on arty, and of course EW makes most of mine near useless).  But again Bil doubles down on that lone squad and MG team (who have taken a single casualty after all this)  A hint for anyone who plays Bil...he has problems with artillery.
But all is not good news:

This one hurt but it is a straight up "war happens moment so deal with it".  I start to push that T64 up a bit to try and snipe that M60 and he gets killed...gotta admit that one hurt.
Turn 31 and we are nearly caught up.

So up on the Red Knoll, Bil is stubbornly pushing with his 3 M60s (counting the dead one, that is a full third of his armor)  A second squad wins the Hero of the Soviet Union here by fearlessly opening up on two M60s and here they get an RPG 7 off before also being chopped up.

Which hits but I have no sight on the tank so I can only hope it at least rattled them up a bit.  The back on the Hwy:

My other T64, cooly drops that M60 like first period French (swear to god if I had all T64s this game would be over by now).  Back on Red Knoll the turn ends with this: 
Both barrels are lined up and loaded.  This screenshot pretty much captures this entire freakin game!
Ok, my assessment with 9 mins left on the clock.  So, Bil is seriously considering ceasefire right now cause even int guys can do math.  My force on the objective is still very solid with the better part of an infantry Coy and 2 x T62s (I sent the other one back), so the odds of him taking it (which were never great given his force) are low.  He could try a gamey sneak in the last minute of the game but I doubt it.  
So his problem here is one of points.  The US get points for cutting me down past 50% but they need to keep their own force above 50% and based on losses so far he has to be concerned about that buffer.  I am definitely closer (I may be below 50% right now) but even-losses at this point would be fatal to the US side.  And in the last 4 minutes I have lost a single T64 and BMP to at least 3 x M60s and an M150.   By my math Bils armor is precariously down to 50% (and I suspect at least one tank is gun-killed)...and I still have a lot of those nasty BMPs on the board who can all kill Bil's...well, anything.  
Regardless, even if we ended it now, I think this game is a Draw (at least right now).  In reality both forces are at a standstill (even if the US side has not realized it yet) in what has been a see-saw battle that has left me with scars and some therapy requirements.  The Blood-Red Dice still will roll, so we will see.
Capt's AAR Battle Theme Song
 

Decided to pull out all my relevant books in case any have been missed in this thread.

Since I realise now my picture isn't too great and I don't want to get them back out:, from top to bottom:
First Clash: Combat Close-Up in World War Three by Kenneth Macksey. World War 3 Canadian Style, shows a lot of nitty-gritty tactical detail that many other books find wanting.  Super detailed and a good ride too. The Third World War by Sir John Hackett. I honestly found it pretty dry and hawkish, which I guess fits Hackett's objectives in writing it. Lots of scenario ideas though I found a lot of stereotypes (and worse, mirror-imaging!) that I don't think survive a retrospective look.  I got it as one of the "must-reads" but honestly am not too big a fan. The Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis. The historiography is getting a little dated by now, but it's still a solid single-volume history of the cold war, a real credit to Gaddis and his editors. Red Thrust by Steven Zaloga.  Reads like a cross between Clancy's work and First Clash. A good read, showcases some of the major technical gaps between WP and NATO equipment in the 80s. The Offensive by A. A. Sidorenko (translated). I know I already mentioned this, it's a dry but very informative read. Can't get better than a primary source on Soviet military thought, though! Soviet AirLand Battle Tactics by William Baxter. Intentionally misnomered, it's a surprisingly easy read on the complicated subject.  Definitely a good way to get started looking at the other side of the Iron Curtain. The Soviet Conduct of Tactical Maneuver by David Glantz. Glantz is probably one of the best experts on the Soviet military in the west. Great historical context bringing the development of Soviet tactical manoeuvre to the modern day. The Bear Went Over the Mountain by Les Grau and David Glantz. Largely a translation of a Frunze Academy report, drills down into specific engagements in the Soviet-Afghan war and identifies problems and failures in the execution of operations. Interesting and detailed commentary by Grau and Glantz ,too. The Soviet-Afghan War by Les Grau.  Some duplication from above, includes information on other combat arms beyond tactical units like logistics and artillery. Armies of Nato's Central Front by David Isby and Charles Kamps, Jr.  Really just an encyclopaedia of militaries in Europe, good info on OOBs and the like. Kriegsschauplatz Deutschland by Siegfried Lautsch. Lautsch is a retired NVA Colonel, which allowed him some great insight into the Warsaw Pact side of the equation. Great diagrams, clear and detailed language. Honestly my favourite of the books.  Also showcases plans and wargames which aren't the much misunderstood Six Days to the River Rhine!

The Twenty-Third & Twenty-Fourth Minutes – Saga of Tank Section 1
“If the tanks succeed, then victory follows.”
Heinz Guderian
 
Tank Section 1... quite an exciting turn to watch actually... well, it was for me.   
As tank 1/8 came around the corner it immediately spotted a T-62 presenting its flank.  It appears that Warren did not see their approach!! 


Kill 1 - T-62 While the crew of 1/8 was exchanging high-fives a BMP-1 popped into shooting range and fired it's gun... which surprisingly hit 1/8 and penetrated! 
 


Though shocked and surprised 1/8's crew got its siht together, neatly pivoted its turret and destroyed the BMP.  Damage from the BMP's gun  round was minor, though the crew would remain shocked for the remainder of the turn and would start to withdraw in the next.

Kill 2 - BMP-1 Tank 1/9 drove up alongside 1/8 and while it was dealing with the BMP, 1/9 spotted and destroyed another T-62... these were almost simultaneous actions.


Kill - 3 T-62 So overall a successful foray.  Warren did have some infantry teams in this area by the way... luckily none were in position to attack my tanks and they were following his armor up the hill.  After these two turns some of these teams started skedaddling back to the woods.
Tank Section 1 will now withdraw a bit and wait to see what Warren's response is.
 
One of the Dragon teams joined in the fun launching a Dragon at another BMP.


 
After these turns Warren started to pull back on this approach. The following image shows his high-water mark...  if he had kept pushing he would have run into my three M-150's kill zones... Warren's foremost BMP was meters from entering the killing zone of the M-150 shown in this image when it started to retreat.
The three surviving Dragon teams are withdrawing to their next line, in case the Soviets decide to push their luck.

Glorious March to Victory Post # 9 - "7th Outing Stretching" (19-20)
Ok, when I last left you, we had taken out one M60 and had a bead on the second...and of course it missed:

Well it wouldn't be a CM game if the gods of war were not against me.
Anyway  Not much really happens more this turn as we continue to position:

A shot on my left flank where I thought Bil was going to keep pushing (more on this later):

My heavy mortars are finally landing along that ridge, just as my teeth are starting push up the ridge, I hope they are causing someone pain.

So by end turn it all looks good, I am solidifying the position in the town.  Forces are advancing up the ridge unmolested  and I am pretty confident of my cover on Bil's axis of advance....and then I noticed this:

So that is a TOW missile streaking towards one of my few remaining T64s....
Turn 20.
  Well it would not be a CM game if the gods of war were not with me:

The basic TOW (the M901s are firing ITOW) did not penetrate my T64 but did immobilize it.  The good news is that in its current position it can still cover the ridgeline...so lemonade!  (Oh, check out the interface, it is really starting to shape up)
Ok, so turn 20 and mid-game...and Bil is getting weird:

It looks like he is hooking that tank platoon towards the town...which kinda left me scratching my head a bit.  For the rest of the turn we traded a lot of steel across the valley (you can see that little BMP-that-could's last AT 3 streaking at those M60s...and of course it missed).  Besides me bagging a hapless M113 on the ridge, most of the rest of the turn is positioning:

You can see here that my teeth are up out of that tree line and are ready to start fanning out, I am about as good a position as I can get in the town as that second dismounted infl platoon has managed to get into the objective zone pretty much unmolested.  So time for a mid-game assessment:

So basically, I was worried that Bil was going to push a tank platoon, or more into A0.  This would have been very bad for me, as from that position they can  1) pound the town unmolested and 2) make life for my Teeth miserable as I would have to watch their back and front.  Instead Bil looks like he is taking A1 route, which is really kind of strange but I am sure there is a clever ploy here somewhere.  A1 is semi-covered.  My screen S1 cannot see it until it is right in the town, but S2 will get some clean shots.  I also repositioned both infantry and 2 x T62s to cover this approach.  So basically, I am not sure what Bil is hoping to do with 3 x M60s in closing terrain here.  My next biggest concern is him making a hard push on A2 with that second tank platoon.  I also have infantry and a single T62 in the town on this route but S1 can cover it very well.  A2 has more cover if he uses the wood line but again we are talking almost entirely tanks trying to take a built up area.  
If you look on the bottom left there is that worried looking blue guy, that is scouts and APCs that appear to be lining up for some sort of woods push but between my Teeth and that little det of recon, I am pretty sure I can keep them busy.  Again keeping in mind there is probably another troop of armor up on that ridge somewhere. 
So here at mid-game, I expect Bil to use whatever is left of his arty (which still has DPICM) to pound the town in a hope all my infantry die so he can drive in with tanks and few scouts.  I have laid down two arty lines perpendicular to A2 approach but they are around 15mins out.  I have spread my infantry out on ground floors, mostly hiding to weather the arty and will keep my screens S1 and S2 up to make life difficult in the approach.  
My Teeth are going to push towards those scouts and APCs, but I always have the option to swing them towards A2 if Bil makes a push.  Bils dilemma right now is that he cannot seem to get enough combat power into the town and cover my Teeth at the same time...let's see how long we can keep it up.

There's also the problem of M60 series 'rushing' across open terrain during an attack. T80 and Abrams 'rushes', M60A1 is like that old guy doing 35 mph on the interstate with his turn signal always on.

I love this game, by far the most playable game of its type I've seen. Only one I actually finished a game with (major Soviet victory, I trounced my opponent!). There's also The Next War: Modern Conflict in Europe (1978). Never finished a game of that one, though (the continuation of the series by GMT is much better IMO).  If you want to drill down to the corps level there's also Less than 60 Miles by Thin Red Line that came out recently with some really interesting C3 mechanics in it.
+1 to this. Dry, but immensely informative, and likely a lot more accurate to the time period of this game than the field manuals or other writings from much later.
There's also Dave Glantz's The Soviet Conduct of Operational Maneuver that covers the history and development of modern Soviet operational thought.  Soviet AirLand Battle Tactics by William Baxter is also a solid work (don't let the name fool you - he wrote it to be more "approachable" by western officers). Not as dry as many others, too.

Figured this subforum would be best since these explosions aren't really family-specific.
The news of CM Cold War inspired me to dig back into making explosions.  I present to you my latest (and greatest) explosion!
Get it here (link)!
Animated demonstration here: https://i.imgur.com/hel1fau.mp4
The animation really sells it I think, since it doesn't look too great in stills yet, but I'm working on it!

Figured this subforum would be best since these explosions aren't really family-specific.
The news of CM Cold War inspired me to dig back into making explosions.  I present to you my latest (and greatest) explosion!
Get it here (link)!
Animated demonstration here: https://i.imgur.com/hel1fau.mp4
The animation really sells it I think, since it doesn't look too great in stills yet, but I'm working on it!

This has to be one of the weirdest debates I've seen on this forum.

Just Heer. The Austrian Military is called Bundesheer, and Bundeswehr in Germany. Maybe missleading for foreign people.
Here a CH-53 by the Heer, in which you can see it:

That might be true, but "Wehr" does have more the mening of defense.
A "Wehr" can also be a technical building reducing the flow of water in a river.
"Brustwehr" is a parapet.
"Wehrhaft" means somebody is ready for defense.
"Sich wehren" means "to fight back"

the etymology might be related to war, but it be more like the english word of defense, which is also connected to fence or fencing, which in itself might be connected again to the German word "fechten" (fencing) or "Gefecht" (Battle)

it didn’t help that the screenshots they use (CMFB, SF2 and now CW) were terrible quality. 
 
FWIW I think the graphics in CM are good for a sim. If I wanted to overhaul the looks I would start with the terrain, then add some more animations in. Beyond that I think it’s functional and even looks pretty good sometimes. 

Incoming!!! 😱😜