Cheese

Regarding super secret russian military technology:
 

 
I honestly have no idea how they do that.

That made my day. Thank you

Personal favorite:
https://youtu.be/rCrG6TzG-nw

Edit: The embed game is weak in this one

Alexey K,
 
(begin puckish humor)
 
GRU FSB is really on the ball, for the video has been removed. This is what happens  when you lead with "Super secret" in reference to the Russian military. It causes even the most lethargic waiting-to-retire types at the "Aquarium" to pick up the phone and make the problem go away. Equally, the annotation indicates there's no pleasing some women. After all, she's already got a hit song named after her. Maybe she's bent out of shape that her name was misspelled?
 

 
(end puckish humor)
 
Codename Duchess,
 
Bravo Zulu. Repeat. Bravo Zulu. I thought it was tremendous, but nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the view count. Now I'm going to have to see what else they've done. Wonder what Mom would've made of this? She was a Marine SSGT at FMFPAC.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Jeez guys...when trying to sell bikinis, always put a hot bodied babe in them when you publish an ad!

or at least one with pearly white teeth...

acctingman1969,
 
I know of no other games which have the virtually unlimited gaming even a single CM title provides. Did you know we've still got people who've been playing CMx1 CMBO since it became available 2000 and that the game is still selling to this day? Not that I'm encouraging such behavior, but you theoretically could get any CM title and play it for years, living in CM bliss thereafter. Of course, you'd probably want to rethink that plan when miniature holodeck tech becomes available and BFC begins releasing CM (You are there and bring fresh undies!) titles to take full advantage of the True 3-D™ Combat Engine and amazingly popular Combat Environment Adjunct™, which supplies authentic battlefield experiences by such means as ice water dumped down your collar, searing heat, unforgettable smells, immersion foot, as well as hunger and thirst tabs. Still, you have to start somewhere, and I feel safe in asserting the only buyer's remorse you'll experience is knowing you might've been playing sooner and not having all the titles you want!
 
(Kieme(ITA),
 
That BA2 screenshot reminds me of a pic of one of those FOW battles with miniatures, except the vehicles are vastly worse, and the infantry significantly so. Not even close to TOW (and I don't mean the missile), which had all sort of great features and looked fun, but had no Mac version, so I couldn't try it out. That StuG III isn't much bigger than a clown car. The CMRT assault shot is great, though I believe the SU-76s would be trailing the infantry by around 200 meters, doctrinally speaking. In any event, a telling comparison!
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

http://www.katushagirlsoldier.com/
 

JonS,
 
Thank you for this. Those simple words struck a deep chord within me, and my eyes welled, too. IRemember.ru has some accounts by Russian female soldiers, and not just snipers. There is, for example, an interview with the leader of the famous Night Witches. There is one from a tanker, another from a medic, and I forget what else. The site is now quite pretty visually, but site functionality has suffered. The all-important soldier category headers are very much there while on the primary Russian side, but gone from the English side, making finding things tough. I found this vid quite some time back, and between the pics and "Kalinka," it moved me almost to tears. 
 
http://www.military.com/video/forces/military-foreign-forces/russian-female-soldiers-wwii/3270910232001/
 
Elena's War, a prize-winning scholarly essay on Russian female soldiers in combat in the GPW. A story, I think, very much in need of telling. Along the same lines, here's  another scholarly study, this one from The Journal of Military History.  It looks at the WW II role of women in the US, Great Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union. There is quite a lot of material online, including a brief bio of seven Russian female tankers of the GPW. 
 
rocketman,
 
Definitely something I'd be interested in seeing. The author of this photo-story book on Russian women soldiers of the GPW now living in Belarus was directly inspired by the work you named.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

I'm not sure what's going on here but I hope this thread will help someone produce models like this -
 

acctingman1969,
 
Welcome aboard!
 
We have been trying since CMx1's CMBO came out in 2000 to get BFC to do the PTO, only to be resoundingly turned down then and every time since by Steve. He seems to be totally oipposed to doing the PTO. LongLeftFlank worked his butt off doing his amazing Makin CMSF mod, and there are things which could theoretically be done in the new games since. Unfortunately, we've got needed kit scattered all over the place. The proper mountains are in CMFI, as are the palm trees. Anyone wishing to play Kohima or Imphal will need CMFI, for it has the Grants and other goodies. The Allied flamethrower tanks (reasonable stand-in for the PTO varieties) are in the CMBN Vehicle Pack, as are the all-important manpack flamethrowers. There's supposed to be a second Vehicle Pack released so we can do Scheldt Estuary stuff, a pack which will have LVTs and some sort/s of landing craft. Needless to say, the CMFI (which could readily use much of the Vehicle Pack) and CMRT players would be quite vocal if CMBN got two Vehicle Packs while they had none. CMRT doesn't have so much as a Module yet, either. I wish BFC would provide us a way to port weapon files, not just skins, from one game to another. That would make many things doable we simply can't at present. 
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

In 2012 I put a bunch of time into a CMBN PTO beach landing scenario (Makin Atoll with fanatic Brits modded as rikusentai), with some pretty reasonable looking jungle and IJA mods chipped in by others. But I dont think it got more than a hundred downloads (partly because engine 2.0 made engine 1.0 mods unusable a few months later). So based on that bland reception, it seems PTO is probably too 'niche', but it's readily doable as a mod for those with time (not me these days, alas).

BLSTK,
 
I appreciate the compliment, but I'm, alas, missing arguably the single most important attribute of an archivist: all-encompassing knowledge of what's held and where, or at least, where to start looking, however unlikely the beginning point. This is very hard to do when the wetware is not performing up to spec. Or even coming close!
 
agusto,
 
I don't know how I missed the CMSF troop types you listed. Somehow, all I recall were the UNCONs. From what little I know of the CMSF, I believe you'd have most of the weapons needed to do UNITA vs MPLA and whatnot, though for some types of conflict you'd need to be able to shuffle off to Buffel, wreak havoc with Rooikat, give 'em the guns with the G6. Vehicle Pack!
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Initial situation
My orders are simple – capture the farm. To accomplish that task, I have a company of infantry supported by a platoon of four Stuart light tanks and a platoon of Engineers. Also available is some 81mm mortars. The Stuarts do not have smoke rounds and neither do the organic 60mm mortars. So if I need smoke it will have to come from the 81mm mortars or the infantry them selves.
 
There are three main avenues of approach:
A1: Go from field to field across the northern field
A2: Go down the central road
A3: Go through the Southern forest and then cross the open area to the farm.
 

Figure 1 The map

A3: Go through the Southern forest and then cross the open area to the farm.
For the first part of the trip to the farm there is good cover in the wood thicket and some low bocage to use as cover at the forest edge. The open space is not a wide open field. There are plenty of dips and rises and bushes scattered around.
 

Figure 2 View into the Southern woods – A3

A2: Go down the central road
This is the most obvious route. There are numerous ambush locations along the road plus the narrow space makes it difficult to bring more fire power to bear when you run into trouble. On the other hand you can move along the road without being seen at the farm and there is cover for your men too.
 

Figure 3 View down the central road A2

A1: Go from field to field across the northern fields
In my opinion this is the worst route because there is two back to back open spaces to cross. I am not sure it has any advantages.
 

Figure 4 View across the Northern Field A1
 
The road is my favourite route but only if there is support from the flanks. What I mean by that is if there are units along the other two routes that can prevent ambushes from outside the road area then the units on the road itself can handle any ambushes that are in front of them. By having units on the outside of the road over watching the bocage that lines the road many possible ambush sites can be made useless.
 
Personally I do not like to take just one route on the attack. I would rather put units down two paths that support each other and have reinforcements that can move up to press the advance that is succeeding.
 
My draft plan:
Send 1 platoon with a mortar team and two tanks along A3 into the woods. Send 2 platoon with a mortar team and two tanks along A2 down the road. A MG team or two will go across the road to setup to cover the open field at A1. This will prevent or a least warn of any flanking counter attacks The engineers and 3 platoon will be held back except for a squad that will make sure the trees along the bocage at the beginning of A1 are actually clear so the MG team can setup safely along the bocage. I will also call for 10 minute delayed linear barrage along the defenders side of the bocage between the bocage and the barns next to the road.  




 

IanL,
 
This thread is a great idea. Long ago, in the misty past wherein dwelled the first officially sanctioned CM tournament, the fabled CMBO Invitational Tourney, I got handed my head by Fionn. While I was completely outclassed when it came to force selection and optimization, I really did myself in when it came to effective deployment and troop handling. Specifically, my recon screen was laughable in its tininess, and he bled me white because of it. Okay. Annihilated me. Here's what I'd do.
 
A1 is not only frightfully exposed from the front, but it looks like you have to go through a hedgerow (or is it a hedge?) and are vulnerable to enfilade fire coming from several places, with a particularly scary field of fire from the far side of the road via a keyhole. Pass.
 
A2 is a deathtrap. Before the bend. I can say from bitter experience that even a couple of guys with MPs and grenades, working from their side of the bocage, can chop a platoon to bits near instantly. I had exactly this happen to me once just when I thought I was winning in a certain scenario. Pass again.
 
A3 is the only route which makes any military sense to me. It offers cover, concealment and limits the amount of fire the defenders can bring to bear. Further, it offers plenty of room for a recon screen, as well as the potential to attack from behind near side defenders deployed to gut an American force coming up the road. As you close on the farm proper, the outbuilding offers some protection, and the hedgerow offers great cover from which to hammer the defenders at practically spitting distance. A3. Definitely A3!
 
I shall be most interested to see how this shakes out.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

LOL great idea. With the way I play they would make a fortune. I'll make sure I pitch the idea to Steve - maybe he will give ma cut

kuri,
 
Thanks for this. Am just finishing Tigers in the Mud,  a book I first encountered in the early 1990s at friend's house, in the original superb (priced accordingly) oversize Fedorowicz hardcover edition. Believe that one had lots more pics, but it may also be defective recall. He also had one on a heavy tank hunter unit, too. Good thing I'm honest (and he's sharp), else his library might've been decremented by a couple of volumes. Or would it have been? He had walls covered with collectible signed by famous WW II warriors military art, too.
 
jon_j_rambo,
 
I have no idea what to make of what you said. You make it sound like you met him in the US, judging by the description you provided of your purchases. My take on Carius is that he wasn't the type to go about bragging about his wounds. More confusion here. On balance, it reads like some sort of cross between Joseph Conrad and Hunter S. Thompson. Things may've happened exactly as you say, but I find the entire account pretty bizarre.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

This photo album contains 12,648 photographs, many taken on the frontlines, it is really worth checking out some of the albums that were posted a few months back.
 
http://vk.com/id205292010?z=albums205292010

CiberAlex,
 
Welcome aboard!
 
With so much having been said about Armata and pics posted all over the place in a number of threads, never mind the pics of all the various Objects, coming up with a duplicate picture is really no big deal. We are interested in your thoughts regarding this tank and other Armata family members, and if the pic you found helps you express yourself, perhaps illustrates some point you wish to convey, then no one will say a word. If you happen to conjure up an Armata pic we haven't seen yet, then many (good) words shall be uttered, and great shall be your name throughout the land. Even better, you'll get grog points and we'll marvel at how you got that amazing pic.
 
MikeyD,
 
What a droll characterization. Reminds me of some of the shorthand used to sell (dim) studio execs on film projects. I always thought the MGS was stupid. We would've been much better off with Italian the Centauro. If you're going to have an eggshell with a hammer, to use JasonC's wonderful characterization, then make sure it can really hit and really move, as in ~60 mph top road speed. It's tougher frontally than the Stryker and can be made tougher still. Also, its lethal 120 mm gun makes it ammo compatible with NATO tanks.
 

 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Just add him to your ignore list guys - reading that stuff is a waste of your time.  He made the second spot on my ignore list two days ago.  I already have oodles of spare time to read more valuable posts.

Zveroboy1,
 
US strategy was to turn Afghanistan into Russia's Vietnam--especially after what Russia did to the US in terms of arming and supplying a foe which otherwise would never have been as formidable and likely would not have been able to mount the main force attacks which ultimately conquered South Vietnam after the VC had been carefully fed through the American wood chipper to remove resistance to NVN plans. 
 
There are some remarkable parallels, despite the enormous differences. A modern highly mechanized military vs an elusive low tech guerrilla force, except that this one, from what I can tell, had far greater popular support than the VC ever did. Controlling the cities, but not the countryside. Critical nature of air power, especially CAS and helicopters. Fire bases. High military value of Spec Ops troops. Lack of societal and cultural understanding, worse in Afghanistan because Communism and Islam were pretty much polar opposites. Undependable main ally. Logistics. Huge outlays. Casualties and aftermath as unravelers of domestic support and stability. PTSD. DRUGS. Crime. Men of prime reproductive age killed or maimed, (in a nation still demographically reeling from the GPW. Bellamy, in his brilliant Absolute War, presents a solid case that GPW population losses were so severe they ultimately doomed the SU. Afghanistan only made things worse). Enormous productive potential lost to the society. This is by no means a complete list.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler
 

This is a great story illustrative, I think, of human potential. Stan Lee himself would be impressed, and he's got a show full
of incredible unique people who can do things so amazing they're hard to think about, never mind see happen and have to deal with those shocks. Let me put this mind boggling deadlift into perspective for you. Arnold Schwarzenegger's deadlift record in his prime was over 300 pounds less, and that's straight from Arnold. Watch Eddie Hall kill it, with Arnold Schwarzenegger totally focused on motivating him all the way.
 

 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

While looking at a book review on 7th panzers leadership procedures in the battle for France and the first few weeks of Barbarossa I found the document is actually on the Internet archive. While looking for it I found 3 other interesting reads

Go to Internet archive and search on Richard H. S. Stolfi. You should find 22 items among them are the following

The paper on 7th panzer
A paper on German disruption of Soviet C2 in the opening stages of Barabarossa
A paper on Manstein's Backblow and the implications for doing more with less in a strategic perspective
A very interesting bit of research on a mutiny aboard a Soviet Krivak class vessel and an attempt to seek asylum in Sweden in 1975.

sburke,
 
That wasn't for your benefit, but for those who knew nothing of the incident.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

sburke,
 
Sounds like some great stuff. The Krivak FFG was the Storozhevoy, and the mutiny leader was, of all things, the man charged with  preventing exactly such a thing, the zampolit or political officer.  He almost got to Sweden, too. The incident is supposed to be part of the basis for The Hunt for Red October. Another part of it appears to be from aspects of the terrifying once you know of it Red Star Rogue (K-129) story. Nothing quite like a run amok Russian boomer skipper with three megaton-range SLBMs at his disposal and no PAL to stop him!
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

SLIM,
 
I'll have a look, but I was under the impression there was already a great deal of coverage of US military strength. Don't know whether you know it or not, but the DOD trailblazing Cold War pub SOVIET MILITARY POWER engendered a backblast from Russia's MoD. That pub was called Whence the Threat to Peace? While obviously propagandistic, as was to some degree the first pub, what was most useful about it was the radically different way Russia saw (and sees) the whole geo-strategic picture. We would see those perceptions as paranoid, but they, coming from a long history of invasions and such, not to mention a significant amount of treachery on their end, thus, wary of it from others, were far more concerned with capabilities, for as far as they're concerned, capability was (and is) intent to attack. Indeed, they expended enormous time, money and scarce intel resources (even theirs was finite and constantly overworked) watching for a Western nuclear surprise attack under the acronym RYAN.
 
In other news, I have GaJ's marvel DLed, and it seems to work. It shows the turn is there, but it appears I need to somehow select a foe or something. Please E-mail me and tell me what to do next.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

Cheese,
 
You're welcome. Ever seen the German drill with 18 ton FAMOs to unbog a Tiger 1? This one's not bogged, meaning the task is far more manageable, but just imagine trying to pull one out with all three HTs pulling like mad and disaster but a snapped towline away? Not as bad or outright dangerous as the Troika Schlepp below, but still fraught.


 
agusto,
 
Believe it or not, I've seen one worse than that. Mike Rowe on "Dirty Jobs" was invited out to do a tank recovery as part of an M88A1 Hercules crew. An M60A3 was bogged clear to its turret in some very nasty soupy mud. No extrication possible absent tow cable connection, so he had to do play human mud puppy and totally immerse himself to a depth of several feet to hook up the cable. Was down there long enough that I started to worry about his return, but he got the job done. Redefined "filthy" in the process! As for tank cleanup, I believe at any one time the Army has plenty of privates and such not in the good graces of their sergeants. I know you can power wash the outside, having seen exactly that done on the T-90 doc I found, but I'm pretty sure nobody's tank optronics and vetronics would be happy with such a deluge inside the tank.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler