ncc1701e

I am anxious to do something good indeed. That is why my first scenario is so long to exit. I have changed my CMSF1 map to include bridge, water. I am playing with AI triggers and play testing the AI plans right now. This is a Red vs Red CMSF2 scenario. But, yes, I would like to do something good and I am anxious about your feedbacks.

MINUTE 28
Looks like the last objective is hot. Several enemy moves were spotted.

Seems they are retreating.

But no, others are fighting hard...

I am advancing more squads under fire protection of the others. I am missing a smoke screen here but my halftrack offsets that.

The tank crew is finally back. Tank will move but I am worried about those optics. At least, the machine gun works and it does not need optics, right?

Progression came to a halt.

A panicking guy just found a mine I think. Ouch!

This is not over yet clearly.

But, I have a little surprise for next turn.

You are welcome.  An incredible amount of heart goes into the crafting of this game.

LOL - I did not say this is easy and this is to be done for the current patches. This is just an investment going forward. The more modules or new games introduced, the more problems the beta testers will have to cover everything. And it will harder and harder to deliver patches that won't break game 1 or 3 to refer to Elvis' post.
Sure, this will impact the developers to create the API / CLI needed. But, the developers don't necessarily have to write the tests. The super individuals with the positronic memories (sorry Star Trek 🤣) may write them inside a common framework for testing automatically each changes on each games.
Based on my own experience, the time gain is prodigious and allow to concentrate on the future instead of repeating over and over the same tests of the existing.
But, yeah, you are completely right. I do not know the complexity behind TO&E database or the rest of all the CM software. You are the experts and you know what you are doing. This is just my experience and I can tell you that my testers are very happy of the automation framework we have built.
Anyhow, a big THANK YOU for all the beta testers working hard to deliver those patches.

LOL - I did not say this is easy and this is to be done for the current patches. This is just an investment going forward. The more modules or new games introduced, the more problems the beta testers will have to cover everything. And it will harder and harder to deliver patches that won't break game 1 or 3 to refer to Elvis' post.
Sure, this will impact the developers to create the API / CLI needed. But, the developers don't necessarily have to write the tests. The super individuals with the positronic memories (sorry Star Trek 🤣) may write them inside a common framework for testing automatically each changes on each games.
Based on my own experience, the time gain is prodigious and allow to concentrate on the future instead of repeating over and over the same tests of the existing.
But, yeah, you are completely right. I do not know the complexity behind TO&E database or the rest of all the CM software. You are the experts and you know what you are doing. This is just my experience and I can tell you that my testers are very happy of the automation framework we have built.
Anyhow, a big THANK YOU for all the beta testers working hard to deliver those patches.

LOL - I did not say this is easy and this is to be done for the current patches. This is just an investment going forward. The more modules or new games introduced, the more problems the beta testers will have to cover everything. And it will harder and harder to deliver patches that won't break game 1 or 3 to refer to Elvis' post.
Sure, this will impact the developers to create the API / CLI needed. But, the developers don't necessarily have to write the tests. The super individuals with the positronic memories (sorry Star Trek 🤣) may write them inside a common framework for testing automatically each changes on each games.
Based on my own experience, the time gain is prodigious and allow to concentrate on the future instead of repeating over and over the same tests of the existing.
But, yeah, you are completely right. I do not know the complexity behind TO&E database or the rest of all the CM software. You are the experts and you know what you are doing. This is just my experience and I can tell you that my testers are very happy of the automation framework we have built.
Anyhow, a big THANK YOU for all the beta testers working hard to deliver those patches.

From a current PBEM as the Syrians defending against the Dutch. Veteran Syrian troops with lots of ATGMs have proven themselves to be quite capable.



Canadian armour unleashes on fleeing insurgents.

I bailed my Coy HQ tank and used the crew to observe enemy movement (harder to spot a man that lies in prone position, than it is to spot a T62 turret). I parked one of the Plt HQ tanks near my company commander, who then shared his spots with platoon commander. The information got passed through the platoon network. Next step was choosing hull down positions. With contacts already passed through platoon network, the job was already half done. Having my tanks unbuttoned/opened up and with previous knowledge of enemy positions and movements, has made my tanks spot M1's almost instantly. I was lucky to catch one platoon on the move. Movement reduced their spotting ability, which I fully used to my advantage. The second platoon of M1's was destroyed by combining efforts of my Company commander observing, 9M14 Malyutka's blinding the M1's and T62's finishing the jobs with flanking shots.

Here's a lucky shot. I was just playing the U.S. Army, trying to be extra careful, advancing very slowly and cautiously, using dead ground to move troops forward and hull down positions for every vehicle and then everything went horribly wrong.
I parked an M1 tank in a hull down position along the side of a road when a Kornet opened fire on it. Here's the view from the ATGM position at maximum zoom:

 
The missile missed the tank, flying right over the top of it. It continued to fly for another 40 meters through the woods behind it until it just so happened to slam into a tree RIGHT in the middle of an infantry squad moving through the woods.


 
The infantry were in dead ground behind that road embankment and were not even visible from the ATGM position, and I thought they would be safe moving through the woods. The missile miraculously flew past several other trees just so it could hit the one right in the center of the squad. One man was killed, another incapacitated, and every other member of the squad was wounded except for two.

The next turn I tried to pull the tank back and hide it behind some trees, but part of its turret was still visible and it was knocked out from the front by a second missile. I guess you really don't wanna mess around with those Kornets. 

MINUTE 27
By chance, the artillery barrage is touching almost nothing.

My assault on the last objective is on going.


Not much opposition so far, my bet was good.

If one enemy team is firing or is detected, it is treated the right way... 🙂

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Churchill

After months in the making, I have finally completed my campaign Valleys of Death. It turned our to be quite an ambitious project, with 11 missions!
The campaign revolves around a US Army light infantry company, manning a remote combat outpost in an Afghanistan inspired terrain.
Unlike classic CMSF, which highly favors shock and awe and maneuver warfare, Valleys of Death deals with the issues of small units operating in a clearly defined AO. This means that, like in real life, you will conduct operations on the same map many times, with each mission focusing on different areas and objectives. By the end you will come to know the area very well, and this knowledge is key to defeat the enemy.
Features:
    11 missions     A large 2X2 km map and 2 additional maps     Modern counter-insurgency infantry combat     Heavily inspired by Afghanistan related media (Restrepo, Taking Fire, etc.)     Base game, no modules needed



 
Download from Dropbox
Please let me know ASAP if this link doesn't work! I'm not exactly a Dropbox wizz  

I'm messing around with a LNA core file at the moment; 50+ Toyotas & Technicals, 5 T-62 tanks and about a couple of companies worth of men:

Their C3 structure is rather complex (borderline tribal even)! 
These are the guys who will be trying to take Bishr:

Don't worry, that's an old picture, it looks a bit sexier these days! 

Year 1943/1944 on the eastern front:
 

Year 1941 on the eastern front:
Year 1942 on the eastern front:
Looking forward to 1943, 1944 and 1945... 🙂

MINUTE 27
By chance, the artillery barrage is touching almost nothing.

My assault on the last objective is on going.


Not much opposition so far, my bet was good.

If one enemy team is firing or is detected, it is treated the right way... 🙂

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Churchill

So I was thinking of making a little presentation of the French concept of SGTIA and GTIAs, but first, let's look at the French Army OOB :

Bulk of the French army is made of 2 divisions each one encompassing specialisd arty and egineer units, 1 armoured brigade, 1 mechanised brigade and 1 light brigade (moutain or airborne). Each brigade is made of 2 tank regiments, 3 infantry regiments, one artilley regiment and one engineer regiment. The light brigades only have 1 cavalry regiment (but the airborne brigade has 1 more infantry regiment).
Regiments however, are not an operationnal unit, they're not meant to be deployed as a whole. Instead they're the administrative and training echellon. By the way they're called regiment even if they're battalion size, that's tradition. In French army, the first echellon to be deployed organically is the compagny.
Those compagnies once deployed will constitute a SGTIA (combined arms  task force of the size of a big company). Those SGTIAs are made of combination of 4/5 melee units such as infantry, cavalry and light aviation in variable proportions supported by elements from the support arms : engineering, artillery, logistics. The core of a SGTIA is a company from a melee arm, supported by 1/2 platoons from the other melee arms. So you can generate SGTIAs with a cavalry, infantry or airmobile emphasis. However, SGTIA are fisrt and foremost a flexible structure adapted to the needs of the mission. Hence, they can have a mixed emphasis with cavalry and infantry in equal proportions for example. Support arms can also generate specialised SGTIAs to operate at a higher level. For example, an Artillery SGTIA based on an artillery battery of 8 guns and an artilley radar, with attachments of a cavalry recon platoon, infantry protection platoon and engineer road recon and clearance element. SGTIAs are the smallest autonomous element, but are not meant to fight alone. Instead, several SGTIAs make a GTIA (combined arms battalion size task force).
A GTIA is the elementary unit of the french army in a combat zone. It's the same concept as the SGTIA but bigger and can be operated independatly. It's made out of minimum 4 and maximum 6 melee elements, usually SGTIAs of infantry, cavalry or airmobile emphasis and support elements such as an artillery battry, an engineer company, logistics, drones, etc. Those support elements can be deployed as an organic compagny or have the form of a SGTIA if extra support is needed to protect them. GTIAs will also have a dominant arm although they can be mixed. GTIAs don't have to use their melee component as SGTIAs, they can use them as organic compagnies as well if a low level of combined arms is not necessary. A typical infantry focused GTIA will be made out of 3 infantry companies, 1 cavalry company, 1 artillery battery, 1 engineer company, logistic element, and other support elements such as Manpads, Drones, Commando recon platoon, etc. It can be reinforced by additional elements such as an ATGM platoon, a CIMIC or a Gendarmerie element depending of the context it is used in.
SGTIAs and GTIAs can also have different types of equipment, for example a cavalry focuses SGTIA can be equipped with Leclerc or AMX10RCR tanks, while an infantry focused SGTIA can be equipped with VCBI, VAB or BvS10 transports. It can also have a mix of those, for example, 1 Leclerc platoon, 1 AMX 10 platoon, 1 VBCI platoon and 3 VAB platoons.
Combined arms elements at the platoon level can also be assembled in the form of a DIA (Détachement inter-armes), often used as a liaison and support unit to mentor allied elements of a lesser military capabilities.
Several GTIAs will make a Combined Arms Brigade with dedicated support GTIAs (artillery, long range recon) and reinforcements. Each Divsion of the French army is supposed to be able to generate one Combined Arms brigade for an high intensity engagement within a coalition such as Ukraine.
This decentralisation is permitted by the digitalisation of the battlespace that occured in the French army since the 2000s, that basically allows blue on blue tracking and brings a comprehensive C2 and transmission system.
This battlegrouping strategy allows the French army to deploy tailor made units to suit the needs of the mission and to dipose of autonomous units up to the platoon level if needed. Furthermore, it simplify training and maintenance when not deployed as it allows pools of specialty. It also allow to have true specialist that have mastered their craft.However, the downside of such a modular system is that soldiers of the different units pulled together don't know themselves very much, they might not know how the other arms work, similarly, there is not a strong esprit de corps because those are ad-hoc units. This issue is adressed with the Brigade system, units are pulled from the same Brigade and will train themselves at SGTIA and GTIA level regularly. Similarly, if the deployment is planned ahead, the units that will be deployed together will prepare their projection together. This system allows those disparate task force to work well together and give the military leader a great adaptability and responsiveness.
However, it is not the only reason. French army thanks to its colonial history and the wars it fought the last 60 years has acquirred tradition of combined arms at the lower echellon and an emphasis on mission command and lower echellon initiative, thats is since the proffesionalisation shared among all the army. The capability of all the arms and corps to work together on the fly comes from this history and allows the battlegrouping system. However, if such a system is often used to spread a small amount of forces on great distances to suit counter-insurrection needs in remote place, in the event of a conventionnal war such as depicted in the game, the battlegroups would operate much more closely, with more support, and sometimes with a more direct command. This is planned in the doctrine.
So, how does this system translates into the game ? Well the SGTIA is the perfect echellon for the scale of the game, and this plug and play approach fits what players effectively do in game editor. When creating their battlegroup, players should be able to choose among the typical battlegroups depictable in the game : SGTIA Infantry, Cavalry and mixed, but should also have at their disposal the main organic companies to pick the individual platoons they need to reinforce their core.
I've joint a powerpoint that presents different examples of what a SGTIA, GTIA, BIA and DIA looks like.
I really hope French army will be depicted in CM:BS to try those organisations and interesting kits. It's very rare to be able to play France in a video game. I hope other nations will be added too of course, such as UK, Great Britain and Poland. And maybe also smaller armies such as Canada and Netherlands
GTIA.pptx

@FoxZz keep fighting the fight mon brave - I'd love to see the French in modern titles.

Hello guys,
Just a quick update, French army has just used for the first time the Bonus shell (I wrote about it in the OP) in operations. On the 3rd of December, French Artillery received the order to destroy a column of ISIS vehicles on the move, they fired 4 bonus shells from their CAESAR howizers and destroyed 8 technicals.
This happened near the town of Hajin in Syria (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hajin,+Syrie/@34.4214663,40.7112374,10z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x154625b5eac1ec3f:0x7afb8d08c6f735f!8m2!3d34.6866678!4d40.8348715) French gun are only operating in Irak which means they fired over the border, which is at around 30kms of Irak. This means that it was quite a long range shot ! Maximum range of CAESAR guns is around 40kms.
Here is the French report :
 
I was wondering if such a shell could be modelled in CM:BS.

I'd love to have the French army in CM but personally I think it would make more sense if it was in SF2.

Hello guys,
So I figured that the main difficulty devs would get trying to implement the French is language barrier and finding sources especially considering French army organisation was quite significantly tweaked in 2014-2016.
So I've managed to build a quite precise Order of Battle from online ressources, and magazines. I've not taken into account units out of the scope of the game such as logistic and non-combat support elements and command elements are greatly simplify (as a result command element are the least accurate I think). This may not be 100% accurate, especially regarding support elements, but main combat formations should be exact.
The document presents the main formations from which are drawn the GTIAs and SGTIAs as well as off-map assets that would make it in the game scope.
Except when specified otherwise, all soldiers are carrying a Famas assault rifle.
Doctrine wise, when it comes to fire suport, French army is quite close from the US army. For Artillery Fires, Squad Leader and Platoon Leaders can order simple artillery fires, while Foward Observers will provide more advanced fires (danger close fires, predicted fires, special effect shells, large bombardments). When directed by foward observers and their observation vehicles, fires don't require ranging shot.
For CAS, Foward Observers and TACP teams are allowed to guide an airstrike, but also a Platoon Leader in certain circonstances. The main difference (at least from how US army is depicted ingame) is for helicopters and CCS. In French doctrine, Helicopters will enter in direct radio contact with the supported units and are responsible for the fires they make, all units from Squad Leaders and upwards can guide helicopters. They will also provide them recon and intel directly.
Next time I'll try to present the different vehicles and armaments with "stats" similarly as how US, Ukrainian and Russian weapons are presented in the Game Manual.
ToE France CMBS2.docx

Currently reading this... Just imagine the TacAI learning game after game how to destroy you !!! 🙂

MINUTE 26
Given the caliber, what an horrible death...

On the left, I am assaulting again the woods and I hope to succeed now.

Same in the main objective, more troops are coming to secure the place.

In the woods, on my left wing, I am now discovering the enemy...


Suddenly, another artillery barrage is restarting. This is like if Germans have nothing more to do to stop me!?


Here, I am a bit puzzled. The tank crew can now go back in their Sherman. Do you think I can move it again with three guys instead of five?

My plan for next turn is a bet. All in to the last objective.

Yes.  As long as the tank is not damaged to badly to drive.  IIRC a three man crew on a Sherman will no longer unbutton the tank.  However they will drive and fight it as best they can.    

MINUTE 26
Given the caliber, what an horrible death...

On the left, I am assaulting again the woods and I hope to succeed now.

Same in the main objective, more troops are coming to secure the place.

In the woods, on my left wing, I am now discovering the enemy...


Suddenly, another artillery barrage is restarting. This is like if Germans have nothing more to do to stop me!?


Here, I am a bit puzzled. The tank crew can now go back in their Sherman. Do you think I can move it again with three guys instead of five?

My plan for next turn is a bet. All in to the last objective.

Currently reading this... Just imagine the TacAI learning game after game how to destroy you !!! 🙂