Kaunitz

Here is the heavy weapons company's field manual from 1942 ( https://archive.org/details/Fm7-15/page/n69 ); Take special note of chapter 5 & 6. [If you're unfamiliar with the map symbols required to understand the diagrams, take a look at the US map symbols here: http://lesliesoftware.com/mods/CatTacticalIconsCMBN/index.html; Basically, MGs are black dots - without a short line at the 11 o'clock  position; these are ATguns -  with long, protruding arrows that indicate their fire line - light Mgs have a "L" on their fire line? Obviously, each MG has two fire lines - one main (the bold line/arrow) and a secondary one (dotted line/arrow)]
I also found a few interesting mentions related to machine gun fire in some eyewitness accounts. Of course MG fire is mentioned all the time, as the basic experience for the attacking infantryman in WWII was to face MG fire and artillery. But I found these extracts interesting as they provide a bit more details:  
 
This account is interesting. It describes an attack that was supported by Vickers machine guns. But also, it seems as if the attackers could never determine the source of the incoming enemy fire. Apparently, it is MG fire.  
 

I think this is the right topic to share some thoughts about how the heavy machine gun can be used in Combat Mission. Maybe I will create a small tactical video on it once I get some adequate footage from my actual H2H games as the explanations below would certainly benefit form some form of visualisation. I think that in some circumstances, the HMG is the most misunderstood, underrated but also most difficult to employ weapon in Combat Mission. Judging from AARs, I think that many players are unaware of its great potential!*
So why do I think the heavy machine gun can be the infantry's defensive weapon number one? And how to employ the heavy machine gun for good effect?
1. Lines of fire / control of space: I can't stress enough that HMGs should make maximum use of oblique grazing fire. You always need to fire at your opponent from an angle. This way, you create a line of fire that crosses the axis of his approach, rather than running paralell to it. After all the defender's main goal is to stop the attacker's advance. Instead of locking down individual spotted enemy teams for 2 seconds with every burst, our aim is to lock down lines of 400+ meters' length permanently and (almost) blindly. For this to work, you need to find adequate fire lines in the terrain, which is admittedly extremely fiddly and requires you to make "test runs" on the map before you start the actual battle. Your "fire lines" should be as long as possible - the longer they are, the more ground your HMG can control. Also, wherever possible, the HMGs gun's bullets must travel close to the ground (--> "grazing fire"). The HMG must be positioned roughly at the same height as its intended beaten zone. So you have to consider the muzzle height** of the machine gun in and the height of the tile that you're aiming at. The line in between the muzzle and the aimpoint will determine the elevation of the fire. Even though they're conspicious and likely targets for the enemy, multi storey houses can be usefull to achieve an even line between the HMG and the intended beaten zone. 
Also be aware that shifting your aimpoint forward and backward affects the "spread" of your fire. 
2. Reliability: The good thing about HMGs is that they come with plenty of ammo. While the ordinary HMG units are still somewhat limited (2k ammo) and might require some extra supply asset (trucks, wooden bunker),  wooden HMG bunkers offer plenty of ammo (5k). This means that your HMGs can and should be firing non-stop. This way, they are really able to lock down the enemy. LMG units cannot achieve this as their volume of fire decreases very quickly with range. HMG units, by contrast, keep up a high volume of fire even at ranges of 600m+ (their "aiming" task is much shorter than that of LMGs and they fire longer bursts).
Also note that smoke screens don't help against your HMGs. That's because you're relying on area fire and the LOS between your muzzle and your aimpoint (e.g. at 80m distance) will be clear and unaffected by the smoke screen at the beaten zone (e.g. at 600m).
3. Protection: The heavy mg's best protection is distance in combination with concealment. If enemy squads can get eyes on your hmg within 300 meters, your hmg is not well positioned. At ranges under 300 meters, you risk getting suppressed by ordinary riflemen and LMGs. by contrast, if you employ the HMG at proper ranges and in some concealment, it can stay concealed for a very long time even when firing. I really had some eye-opening moments (testing in hotseat mode) when my HMGs were able to pepper the opponent who had no clue where it was coming from. Therefore, HMGs are extremely usefull to scare away a tank's infantry support. When a mixed column enters the beaten zone of HMGs, the infantry gets suppressed, bullets hit the tanks (gradually damaging tracks and optics) but neither the tanks nor the infantry can see where it's coming from (note, however, that tanks could "block" the fire lines of your HMGs to build a "bridge" over the fire line for the infantry..!). The greater distance between the HMG and the opponent also helps against artillery and speculative fire, as the number of potential positions increases with range. It will be harder for your opponent to "guess" where the HMG is. [There is still the problem of sound-locating the HMG though, which I personally consider cheating/a bug].
4. Exploitation: The lines of fire described above are very effective at suppressing and pinning enemy infantry. This alone can be extremely usefull as it disrupts and slows down enemy advances. The lines of fire will not wrap up many kills for you though. Therefore, the standard WWII procedure works very well in Combat Mission: HMGs anonymously pin the infantry, mortars and arty do the killing. 
So, with these 4 points, HMGs can be deployed for great effect iif the circumstances are right. I don't consider any of this particularly "gamey". Rather, it's just another example that you can recreate proper WWII tactics in Combat Mission (although in this particular case it is very fiddly). I've even tried to apply some indirect machine gun fire - firing from a reverse slope - , but found that the maps were not large enough for it ;).  Of course the HMG can also be applied in the attack, but just like in the defense, you'd need to test your positions before the battle in order to prevent ugly surprises (the beaten zone is not where you want it to be, or the bullets go high alltogether). 
 
----------
* Even though I might come across as a lunatic, I also want to point out that the way that many quickbattle maps are designed severely handicap HMGs (and other support weapons and tanks). In my opinion, they often cut lines of sight unrealistically short. The maps are often too "bumpy" (the slopes are not soft enough, hills are too "small", ridges too sharp) and/or they are not deep enough to position support weapons at their proper ranges (support positions are simply "cut off").
**Note that medium machine guns are usually fired from the prone position (--> difficult to achieve good angles), heavy machine guns from the "sitting" position (-->better), and HMG bunkers are fired standing (-->best). 

I think this is the right topic to share some thoughts about how the heavy machine gun can be used in Combat Mission. Maybe I will create a small tactical video on it once I get some adequate footage from my actual H2H games as the explanations below would certainly benefit form some form of visualisation. I think that in some circumstances, the HMG is the most misunderstood, underrated but also most difficult to employ weapon in Combat Mission. Judging from AARs, I think that many players are unaware of its great potential!*
So why do I think the heavy machine gun can be the infantry's defensive weapon number one? And how to employ the heavy machine gun for good effect?
1. Lines of fire / control of space: I can't stress enough that HMGs should make maximum use of oblique grazing fire. You always need to fire at your opponent from an angle. This way, you create a line of fire that crosses the axis of his approach, rather than running paralell to it. After all the defender's main goal is to stop the attacker's advance. Instead of locking down individual spotted enemy teams for 2 seconds with every burst, our aim is to lock down lines of 400+ meters' length permanently and (almost) blindly. For this to work, you need to find adequate fire lines in the terrain, which is admittedly extremely fiddly and requires you to make "test runs" on the map before you start the actual battle. Your "fire lines" should be as long as possible - the longer they are, the more ground your HMG can control. Also, wherever possible, the HMGs gun's bullets must travel close to the ground (--> "grazing fire"). The HMG must be positioned roughly at the same height as its intended beaten zone. So you have to consider the muzzle height** of the machine gun in and the height of the tile that you're aiming at. The line in between the muzzle and the aimpoint will determine the elevation of the fire. Even though they're conspicious and likely targets for the enemy, multi storey houses can be usefull to achieve an even line between the HMG and the intended beaten zone. 
Also be aware that shifting your aimpoint forward and backward affects the "spread" of your fire. 
2. Reliability: The good thing about HMGs is that they come with plenty of ammo. While the ordinary HMG units are still somewhat limited (2k ammo) and might require some extra supply asset (trucks, wooden bunker),  wooden HMG bunkers offer plenty of ammo (5k). This means that your HMGs can and should be firing non-stop. This way, they are really able to lock down the enemy. LMG units cannot achieve this as their volume of fire decreases very quickly with range. HMG units, by contrast, keep up a high volume of fire even at ranges of 600m+ (their "aiming" task is much shorter than that of LMGs and they fire longer bursts).
Also note that smoke screens don't help against your HMGs. That's because you're relying on area fire and the LOS between your muzzle and your aimpoint (e.g. at 80m distance) will be clear and unaffected by the smoke screen at the beaten zone (e.g. at 600m).
3. Protection: The heavy mg's best protection is distance in combination with concealment. If enemy squads can get eyes on your hmg within 300 meters, your hmg is not well positioned. At ranges under 300 meters, you risk getting suppressed by ordinary riflemen and LMGs. by contrast, if you employ the HMG at proper ranges and in some concealment, it can stay concealed for a very long time even when firing. I really had some eye-opening moments (testing in hotseat mode) when my HMGs were able to pepper the opponent who had no clue where it was coming from. Therefore, HMGs are extremely usefull to scare away a tank's infantry support. When a mixed column enters the beaten zone of HMGs, the infantry gets suppressed, bullets hit the tanks (gradually damaging tracks and optics) but neither the tanks nor the infantry can see where it's coming from (note, however, that tanks could "block" the fire lines of your HMGs to build a "bridge" over the fire line for the infantry..!). The greater distance between the HMG and the opponent also helps against artillery and speculative fire, as the number of potential positions increases with range. It will be harder for your opponent to "guess" where the HMG is. [There is still the problem of sound-locating the HMG though, which I personally consider cheating/a bug].
4. Exploitation: The lines of fire described above are very effective at suppressing and pinning enemy infantry. This alone can be extremely usefull as it disrupts and slows down enemy advances. The lines of fire will not wrap up many kills for you though. Therefore, the standard WWII procedure works very well in Combat Mission: HMGs anonymously pin the infantry, mortars and arty do the killing. 
So, with these 4 points, HMGs can be deployed for great effect iif the circumstances are right. I don't consider any of this particularly "gamey". Rather, it's just another example that you can recreate proper WWII tactics in Combat Mission (although in this particular case it is very fiddly). I've even tried to apply some indirect machine gun fire - firing from a reverse slope - , but found that the maps were not large enough for it ;).  Of course the HMG can also be applied in the attack, but just like in the defense, you'd need to test your positions before the battle in order to prevent ugly surprises (the beaten zone is not where you want it to be, or the bullets go high alltogether). 
 
----------
* Even though I might come across as a lunatic, I also want to point out that the way that many quickbattle maps are designed severely handicap HMGs (and other support weapons and tanks). In my opinion, they often cut lines of sight unrealistically short. The maps are often too "bumpy" (the slopes are not soft enough, hills are too "small", ridges too sharp) and/or they are not deep enough to position support weapons at their proper ranges (support positions are simply "cut off").
**Note that medium machine guns are usually fired from the prone position (--> difficult to achieve good angles), heavy machine guns from the "sitting" position (-->better), and HMG bunkers are fired standing (-->best). 

I know that a target order at short range also triggers the use of grenade. The grenade throwing is quite staggered and unreliable though. When you assault a house or a pillbox or whatever, it really counts. You don't want your guys to wait, or even worse, fire their rifles than to throw their grenades. 
Yes, seriously. The sound effects in combat mission games are disappointing. 

Sound improvements. This is pretty obvious as I think almost every CM player uses some kind of sound mod. Even if the devs don't want to invest in some proper sounds (hire that guy from Post Scriptum!  ), it would be nice to have at least two sounds per weapon. One to be played at short range to the listener/camera, with more "pop" and higher frequencies, one for long range with the higher fequencies died-out and more echo. Also, sounds should keep their maximum volume longer/in a larger area. This should help against unwanted sound-recon by the players (you can almost pin-point a firing unit just by tracking its sounds). Also, it gives weapons their proper volume - you should hear a rifle shot pretty loud over the whole map, not just within 30 meters (theoretically depending on terrain, of course). Right now, you amplify sounds a lot (--> noise) to make them loud enough.  This veteran (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTE9BPmiZNo, ca. at 18:30, if I remember correctly) gives an account of his attempt to blow up a german pillbox. Reminded me that it would be nice to actually have those shutters for pilboxes (and fortifications in general). I don't know how common they were, but they certainly make sense? They could work like button up/open up for vehicles. [Also interesting, he mentions that he considered it to be a big disadvantage to have to fire into the dark of the pillbox's back door, while the germans in the pillbox would be able to see him in full light --> "flashlight" lol. Somewhere in the video, he mentions a whistle as a starting signal for an assault] I also wondered whether it would be good to add some additional psychological factors. For example: A morale "buff" for intact friendly tanks close by. A "debuff" for hearing enemy MGs (close by? / inflicting at least a bit of suppression?)

Not directly on topic, but close! You might be interested in taking a look at the (west-german) videos on "fighting in built-up areas" linked in this thread: 
 
 
Even if you don't understand german, there are many examples that show how buildings were fortified. 

Not directly related to the game itself, but a small collection of youtube links that might be pretty usefull for people like me who are not very familiar with warfare after WWII. There are probably many more videos out there in the vast spaces of the world wide web, so this list is far from complete. 
 
British instructional videos (1980s)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1qgSrv1emo (recon patrol, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB7cKWK5nH0 (recon patrol, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuQJTLv2jV0& (fighting patrol, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJoshHLU4v8 (fighting patrol, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy0zu1oXRro& (field craft)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMDdsXmkshA& (fighting in the woods)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgV5LY7oBpU (An unthinking moment)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24LRnE6HwVo (snipers, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbq9NMoZv2c (snipers, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEKOku3jxmM (finding the enemy, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBmz3zhzqms (finding the enemy, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrubDDcygb4 (effect of artillery fire)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zo5f6l-ZP4 (troop platoon tactics [tank + mech inf], part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDAQV4fMaUk (troop platoon tactics [tank + mech inf], part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciFnTiacaDU (section fire and manoeuvre, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0mIm50Od8U (section fire and manoeuvre, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvB9LzziqfA (section fire and manoeuvre, part 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW5Qem8AHsk (map reading)
 
 
(West-)German videos 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3OB7sfGTEM (camouflage, 1993, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2i1tkd_qaE (camouflage, 1993, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hof5V126f3U (camouflage, 1993, part 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQaFyxNxZm8 (camouflage, 1993, part 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHicBQFFHIQ (anti tank team, 1988, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhdK6V9Wn6k (anti tank team, 1988, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UZT-Y0Ziog (anti tank team, 1988, part 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlMZZMxMqxc (anti tank team, 1988, part 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEdbK3K2ctk (fighting in built-up areas, date?, chapter A, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqY1C0zW30Q (fighting in built-up areas, date?, chapter A, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wicsKnklv9A (fighting in built-up areas, date?, chapter C, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bugWXzfjUo (fighting in built-up areas, date?, chapter D, part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_XJrNGKglk (fighting in built-up areas, date?, chapter D, part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6bvlDNrqGA (fighting in built-up areas, date?, chapter D, part 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdqClaVV_Uc (fighting in built-up areas, 1980s?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj2bjhgDlIU (tactics for the individual tank, 1957 - slightly out of our timeframe )
 
USA
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpCmJcw6W5Y (individual camouflage, 1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUTW4ktu798 (sniper employment, 1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF2wCUaLH8s (map symbols, 1966)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAK8h4mqFsM (map reading, 1966)
 

The buggy "leave cover and run to a crater in the middle of an artillery barrage" behaviour is still in the game. Only troops in shelters/bunkers and buildings (?) are unaffected by it. 
 

A Bren gun in a light machine gun role covers a 6pdr anti tank gun from enemy machine gun fire coming in from medium distance (ca. 350m). The incoming volume of fire being thus reduced, the 6pdr can resume its dirty work. BAM! 

By the way: Does anyone know why the (empty) "Lloyd carrier" is so expensive for quickbattles? It can transport fewer men than the "Bren carrier", provides less ammo and has no MG... Why would anyone pick a Lloyd carrier over a Bren carrier? Is this an oversight? 

I completed the dry tests with tanks - two speeds slow and fast

Here are the updated results (some of it repeats the first post data):
Percentage of operational vehicles when traveling 7km over the test course

[B]Vehicle Conditions / Speed Dry Fast Slow[/B] Sherman 22.67% 30.67% Panther 44.00% 37.33% PzIV 36.00% 29.33% Of the vehicles that became Immobilized; here is the break down between terrain types the immobilization occurred. Sherman [B] Fast Slow[/B] Mud 34.67% 26.67% Sand 2.67% 0% Rocky 2.67% 0% GrassXT 2.67% 0% Ford 34.67% 42.67% Panther [B] Fast Slow[/B] Mud 28.00% 26.67% Sand 1.33% 0% Rocky 0.00% 0% GrassXT 0.00% 2.67% Ford 26.67% 33.33% PzIV [B] Fast Slow[/B] Mud 38.67% 28.00% Sand 0.00% 0% Rocky 0.00% 0% GrassXT 0.00% 4.00% Ford 25.33% 38.67%

There has been some discussion recently about bogging / immobilization of tanks. I am currently playing Huzzar! and I ran into a real problem. I have a ford that is clogged with immobilized vehicles. I suppose theoretically it is still passable but given that 5 tanks and 5 HTs tried to cross it and now 3 tanks and one HT are immobilized I do not think I will risk it. I realize that crossing fords constitutes some risk so I was not expecting to get a free pass but just under 50% losses from a ford. Ouch!



I have re arranged my plans and will now be conducting a two pronged attack :-)

Given how bad that experience was I decided to conduct some tests. I am still working on them but I have created a cross country course for testing and conducted tests for Shermans, PzIVs and Panthers.

Here is the test course map: http://lesliesoftware.com/forforumposts/Bogging%20Test.btt

There is about 100m of each of the following terrain types:
Mud
Sand
Rocky
Cobble Stone
Plow NS
Crop 2
Grass XT
Grass
Hard
Dirt
Ford
Gravel

The ford itself is about 70m the rest of the 100m is taken up with banks. I put 15 tanks on the map and ran them back and forth three times for a total of 7km trip over those 12 terrain types. I created allied and axis setup areas in the gravel so if you want to do your own tests all you have to do is purchase your units (for one side at a time) and save under a different name then you can play 1 player WEGO and setup the initial moves from end to end of the map and press the big red button over and over until all your vehicles are either home or immobilized.

Here are the saved games with the back and forth movements already plotted for the test I have conducted already:
http://lesliesoftware.com/forforumposts/Bogging%20Test%20Dry%20Shermans%20001.bts this is 2Mb big because I saved after starting and not before - oops
http://lesliesoftware.com/forforumposts/Bogging%20Test%20Dry%20PzVs%20001.bts
http://lesliesoftware.com/forforumposts/Bogging%20Test%20Dry%20PzIV%20001.bts

Here are the results of running these test 5 times. With 15 tanks per trial this is like running 75 tanks for a 7km trip over my cross country course. I measured the percentage of vehicles that remained operational - all others were immobilized.

Vehicle Conditions
Dry
Sherman 22.67%
Panther 44.00%
PzIV 36.00%

Percentage of vehicles immobilized in which terrain type under dry conditions
Vehicle Terrain Type Immobilized
Sherman Mud 34.67%
Sand 2.67%
Rocky 2.67%
Grass XT 2.67%
Ford 34.67%

Panther Mud 28.00%
Sand 1.33%
Rocky 0.00%
Grass XT 0.00%
Ford 26.67%

PzIV Mud 38.67%
Sand 0.00%
Rocky 0.00%
Grass XT 0.00%
Ford 25.33%

Clearly there are lots of tests to do yet - other vehicles and other conditions and I plan to add them but I wanted to post the results I had.

I was surprised at poorly the Sherman's did. Actually I was surpised at how bad they all did. Remember this is dry conditions so only the mud and the ford are gooey. Is this really what should be expected?

I realize that given the testing on multiple terrain types is problematic for determining the true immobilization rate for a terrain type but I don't have time to create a 1000m map of each terrain type and run a test for each vehicle under each condition. This test cannot give you an immobilization rate for terrain but it can compare the performance of different vehicles.

How worth while is continuing with this test?

With much talk centering on CMFI and the upcoming (hopefully soon) release, I played out a scenario that had some great action.  I thought I would share it.
 

It is December 6, 1943, 2:15 PM local time, and Obersoldat Rolf Schenk peers through his binoculars at Villa Roggati.  His uniform is soaking wet, the cold rain running in rivulets down his neck and back.  It drums off his steel helmet with maddening consistency.  He wipes the smears of rainwater off the end of his binoculars, letting out a sigh of frustration.  Things are quiet now, way too quiet. 
He was in town when the Canadians attacked, and his unit had to retreat.  They took up positions just outside of town, and now he has his MG team set up where they can just barely see the town.  He has been tasked to support the coming counter-attack, but Hauptmann Esch has also given him the job of providing intelligence from his vantage point.  He has not been given a radio, so he will have to break away one of his ammo carriers for this task, leaving him a man down.  He is not pleased.
He quietly waves over one of his ammo carriers, gives him specific details, has the man repeat them, and then sends him to the rear with his observations.  Time is ticking inexorably towards the attack time of 2:30 PM.
 

The attack begins, slowly at first.  Artillery begins to fall on the town at precisely 2:30 PM.  Off to Rolf’s left is a PAK, set up to cover approaches into the town.  Suddenly two Sherman tanks are spotted by the PAK gunners.  The tanks ease out from behind a large white building – they are barely visible.  The PAK gun is pointed straight at their location, but a hail of MG fire from the tanks causes the gun crew to duck for cover.  Then they are slowly picked off by the deadly hail of lead, one at a time, until they are all dead or wounded.  Schenk can hear the wounded moaning in pain, but he dares not move from his position to help.  The tanks have that location zeroed in.
 

Rolf hears the distinctive squeal of tank treads as panzers move up to try and duel with the Canadian tanks.  The Germans didn’t have tanks earlier when they were thrown out of the town by the Canadian attack.  Now they do.  He wonders where HQ managed to scrape them up.  If they’d had them earlier, then they would still be in the damn village.  One of his crew mutters that the tankers will deal with those upstart Canadians.  The panzers roar and 7.5 cm shells launch towards the enemy tanks.
 

The lead tank trundles forward under cover of the following tanks.  Oberstleutnant Fuhrmann is trying to gain a flank shot on the enemy tanks.  He has his driver ease past a small shed, his turret already facing the right direction.  Fuhrmann is confident they will get the first shot off.  As his tank barely clears the shed, Fuhrmann stares in shocked horror down the barrel of one of the enemy tanks.  The tank spouts fire, and the first shell rips into the lower front of his tank.
Smoke instantly fills the interior.  He can hear screaming from the driver and radio man positions.  His gunner is already ripping at the side hatch, self-preservation overtaking any thoughts of return fire. 
Fuhrmann is counting down numbers in his head.  He knows a good tank crew can reload in about 5 seconds.  He yells “Everyone OUT!!!” as he reaches up for the…4…hatch.  The lever swings…3…and he throws his back against the hatch.  The hatch flies…2…open and he is looking up at grey sky that immediately bathes his face with cold rain.  He starts to…1…clamber up into the cold rain and he hears the roar of a tank gun.  He realizes that if he hears the gun, the round is already on the way…his last sight is a boiling roar of red flames…
 

View from the Canadian tank – a catastrophic explosion as the kill shot ignites the enemy tanks ammunition loadout.  There are no survivors.
 

In the space of a mere five minutes, the Canadian tank gunners knock out three German panzers.  This view is from the Canadian held town. 
Funeral pyres of the flaming steel coffins rise into the grey December sky.  Fuhrmann’s tank lies in a crater in the road, caused by the giant explosion.  Schenk sees some badly burned survivors run from the other tanks.  He immediately sends his runner back to Hauptmann Esch to inform him that the initial thrust up the center is being blocked expertly by the Canadians.
 

Hauptmann Esch slams his fist down on the hood of his Kubelwagen.  He didn’t rush the armor in.  He was cautious.  Still, the verdammt Canadians are putting on a show.  His right flank is getting blasted by very accurate artillery fire.  He sends out the orders – Left Flank, GO!
Several remaining panzers veer off to the left flank.  They take a circuitous route, bogging at times, but somehow managing to pull out of the sticky Italian mud.  They arrive in time to support the Landsers who are trying to overwhelm stubborn Canadian resistance.  The cowering ground-pounders find new courage with the arrival of the steel monsters, and they rise up to push through the warehouses on the left flank.
 

Pioniere Unteroffizier Hardenberger leads his squad up the same road as Fuhrmann.  He is confident they can work their way along an embankment, concealing their approach.  As they near the flaming wreck of Fuhrmann’s panzer, 7.5 cm shells and machine gun fire tear into his men.  He screams “VORWÄRTS” and sprints towards the shed that appears to be the only real cover available.  Two more of his men crash through the door and throw themselves on the floor, panting with exertion and adrenaline.  Hardenberger can just see the Sherman tank through a crack in the wall.  How the hell did it see us? he wonders.  “These Canadians are possessed by the Teufel,” he mutters out loud.
 

The unlucky Pioniere caught by the enemy tanks…
Fuhrmann’s tank still burns on the road. 
 

Hauptmann Esch receives reports that the left flank attack has broken through into the town.  He orders his command staff into their Kubelwagen and he heads around the left flank to see the progress.
Hauptmann Erwin Ruckdeschel leads the push into the town from the left flank.  His Mark IV Panzer takes a right turn on the first street and eases slowly towards the town center.  He is careful not to outpace the infantry.  Like all panzer men, he hates fighting in the close confines of any town.  Dead Canadian soldiers lay in the street as a reminder that nothing is safe here.
“Feind Panzer, Eins Uhr!” shouts his gunner.
Ruckdeschel’s eyes immediately snap to the one o’clock position.  His gunner had already pointed the turret in this direction moments before, as the driver slanted the tank at a slight angle to increase their front armor effectiveness.  He sees the barrel drop ever so slightly as his gunner lines up the shot.  He has a very good crew.
Following tanks are covering flanks with HE, and he had his loader keep AP in the breech.  He calls out “115 meters.”  This is knife fighting for panzers.  They are so close.  
Erwin sees the enemy Sherman tank starting to round the corner.  Their turret is already turning in his direction.  He smiles, knowing they will be too late.
“Fire!” he shouts, the roar of the cannon rocking the tank.  Smoke fills the interior and then begins to vent.  “Treffer!” shouts the driver.  Now Erwin can see the explosion.  Flank shot.  It is a kill!
Two more Sherman tanks will try to work around their flaming comrade and will meet the same hideous end, brewing up after taking one or two hits.  Ruckdeschel’s crew is putting on a clinic.
 

A forward MG crew has set up in a blown up gasoline station.  The pumps are still standing but the building is rubble.  They took casualties and one of the crew tries to stem the bleeding of his comrade.
In the distance to the right, another squad of Pioniere are also attending to casualties.  Smoke from the three Shermans brewed up by Ruckdeschel are ahead to the left. 
Ruckdeschel and the crew of a Wespe, commanded by Unteroffizier Thylin, systematically reduce the buildings that are sheltering the two Shermans that blunted the initial attack.  Their handiwork can be seen by the MG team, as a field of rubble that used to be buildings now stretch out before them. 
Stabsfeldwebel von Pannwitz tried to ease his Mark IV Panzer slightly past the bus station to get a flank shot on the enemy tanks.  Again the cursed Canadian tanker somehow was already watching.  Von Pannwitz took a shell in the turret, knocking out his main gun.  Obergefreiter Lorenko is now in command and Ruckdeschel does not know if his friend, von Pannwitz, is dead, dying, or merely wounded.  It tears at him but he keeps his focus on the dangers all around him.
 

There is some confusion now, as the battle grinds to a halt.  The two Canadian tanks at the front of the village are stopping the frontal assault and have now stopped the flank attack too.  They are perfectly placed to interdict any movement towards them from the front or from the side street where Ruckdeschel sits.  And, unfortunately, they are very good at their craft.
Hauptmann Ulrich is given hand signals by Unteroffizier Franz Witt.  They are at the front edge of a vineyard and can see the enemy tanks, maybe 100 meters to their front.  Ulrich sees that Witt wants a smoke screen dropped on the enemy tank position.  If that happens then perhaps the tanks in town can get the drop on them.
Franz has something more daring in mind.  He plans to lead his squad into the smoke for a close assault of the enemy tankers.  The Hauptmann doesn’t get that part of the message.
Ulrich calls in the smoke.  The FO is one of the best, and the smoke rounds start to fall in about 3 minutes.  The smoke is now building all over the enemy tanks.  They will be blind.  The tanks on the flank will now be able to advance and once the smoke dissipates, they will have the drop on the Canadians.
Ulrich sees Witt leap to his feet, and start sprinting towards the wall of smoke.  Witt’s squad instantly rises as one and they pound after their squad leader.
Hardenberger sees the smoke and immediately has the same idea as Witt, even though he has no idea what Witt is planning.  One of Hardenberger’s survivors has at least one satchel charge and they can use that on the blind tanks.  He roars to his two men to charge the tanks.  They leap to their feet and begin the crazy charge towards the wall of smoke and probably certain death.
 

Rolf Schenk and his men see the smoke dropping.  There is a silent Mark IV right next to their position, yet another panzer vexed by the skill of the Canadian tankers and knocked out with a single shot.  All the crew got out of this one though.  In front of the berm protecting his men are two dead soldiers from an earlier attempt to sneak through the vineyard.
They have no idea what is being planned, until Rolf sees Unteroffizier Hardenberger and his two men, greatcoats dark against the backdrop of white smoke, pounding across the wet field from the left, heading right for the smoke.  He catches his breath at the daring attack, and one of his men shouts “Sind Sie verrück?”  This echoes his own thoughts – they must, indeed, be crazy. 
They don’t see Witt and his men off to the right, as the smoke has already obscured their equally mad charge.
 

It is chaos and madness in the smoke.  Hardenberger can barely hear anything from the loud pounding of his blood through his head.  Machine gun fire rips the smoke, as the Canadians fire blindly.  He barely hears the screams of one of his men, and he finds himself running just under the barrel of the enemy Sherman.  He has no idea that Witt’s men are also rushing into the smoke.  Witt himself is crawling towards the misty bulk of the enemy steel monster that lashes out at the host of tormentors that mean to do it harm.
Hardenberger rues the fact that he didn’t take the satchel charge himself, as he is now in the perfect spot to attach it to the enemy tank.  But all he can do is run in the smoke, hoping the enemy tankers focus on him and don’t see his men trying to assault it with the satchel charge.  He now seeks some sort of cover as the tank flails the smoke with its machine guns.
 

Franz Witt’s men are among the two enemy tanks.  There is some slight cover from the rubble of a building and some craters from artillery fire.  The smoke is dissipating way too fast – the rain is settling it too quickly.  Dammit, Witt thinks, they only have seconds to live now.
Witt takes cover in a crater and hurls his grenade.  The man to his left – Max, he thinks but can’t be sure – is about to shove a grenade into the front tracks of the tank.  Karl, off to his right, is about to hurl yet another grenade.  All he can do is hold his breath now.  It occurs to him that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all.
 

Witt’s grenade goes off, a cascade of sparks and smoke lighting up the side of the tank.  Two more grenades are heading for the enemy monster.  It is time for them to get the hell out of this deathtrap.  He screams to his men to run.  The enemy tanks open up with their machine guns.  He hears some of his men scream as they are hit.  Everyone runs like frightened rabbits in every direction to confuse the enemy gunners.
 

Erwin Ruckdeschel sees a Feldwebel in the captured bus station to his right.  The man is waving through an open window, trying to get his attention.  He throws open his hatch and slightly pokes his head up to try and hear the man.  The Feldwebel shouts that Landsers are attacking the two Sherman tanks, running into the smoke screen.  Ruckdeschel had seen the smoke dropping, but in the absence of any instruction, he had remained in his position, covered by the wall of the bus station. 
As the smoke clears fast, the Feldwebel gives Erwin a running blow-by-blow as he describes Witt’s and Hardenberger’s men being cut down by the enemy tanks.  This is too much for Ruckdeschel.
He gives his orders fast.  He has the turret swung to the 2 o’clock position, and he orders his driver to move forward smoothly about 15 meters.  He tells the crew they are going to try and hit the two enemy tanks in the flank, just like von Pannwitz tried earlier, but his crew is going to succeed perfectly.  The men nod quietly and grimly.
“Now!” he orders, and the tank slides smoothly out from cover, gun turret already lined up in the right direction.  A soldier, incapacitated from his wound, lies helplessly in the street as the giant panzer rolls past him, missing him by centimeters.  He can only scream, knowing that no one will hear him over the roar of the panzer engine. 
He stops screaming when he realizes he has not been crushed.  Then new terror fills him.  What if the tank turns?  What if the tank is blown up?  Horrors flood through his mind but he is powerless to do anything.  Mercifully he passes out from blood loss and fear.
Erwin’s gunner has two perfect flank shots, just as predicted by his commander.  The Sherman on the left starts to turn its turret.  That makes the choice for the gunner.
 

The first shot is a hit.  Is it a kill?  No time to judge.  The second Sherman is now trying to turn the turret towards them.  Ruckdeschel lets his gunner turn the turret smoothly to address the 2nd target.
 

The second shot – this is a certain kill.  The second Sherman is torn apart in a massive explosion.  Still no time to breathe or think.  The gunner gently sweeps the turret back to the first Sherman.  They have to be sure.  Moments count.  Seconds tick off.  Erwin is not aware that he has stopped breathing. 
The tank is utter silence, save for the clang of the ejected shell casing on the floor of the tank and the schick of the new round being slammed home into the breech, then the slam of the breech as the shell is rammed into the gun.  The loader cries out that the gun is ready.
Unvented smoke is wafting through the interior and the heavy smell of burnt powder is tickling the back of Ruckdeschel’s throat.
 

The gun roars again, and sparks and flames gush from the 1st target.  It is a kill too!!!  Smoke is already pouring from the burning wreckage of the other Sherman.
“Damn fine job, Comrades, Damn fine job!” shouts Ruckdeschel.  The crewmen smile and bask in their commander’s praise, while still watching the enemy ahead.
 

A figure is seen leaping from the burning tank on the left.  His uniform is blackened and smoking.
 

A second man falls from the Sherman.  Then a third.  All are burned and covered in soot.  They are too far away to see any blood.  Ruckdeschel sees the faces of his men turning towards him, questions on their faces as they wait for orders.
“Let them go,” he says quietly.  “Don’t fire.”  He thinks he sees relief in the faces of his crewmen as they turn back to their stations.  He knows the Canadian tankers have fought with skill and bravery, just men doing a horrible job.  The survivors deserve a chance to escape.
 

With the destruction of the two enemy tanks in their crucial defensive position, the Canadian opposition wanes and they fall back to defensive positions outside of the town.
Oberleutnant’s Gloser’s command squad emerges from the vineyard and joins with Rolf’s MG team.  They are bloody and grim from attending to all the wounded in the vineyard.
Pioniere Harzer, the sole survivor of Hardenberger’s attack in the smoke, finds his squad leader bleeding in a shellhole, wounded as he fled the attack on the enemy tanks.  Harzer still has satchel charges that he didn’t use in the attack, as he faltered at the last minute when they entered the smoke and he found cover to hide.  Hardenberger is bleeding and unconscious.  Harzer shoves the charges under some nearby rubble and attends to dressing his squad leader’s wounds.  No one will know.
Witt and his entire squad are wiped out.  They will never know if they immobilized the one tank in their attack.  The two tanks are destroyed so it wouldn’t matter to anyone but Witt and his survivors if their attack was for nothing.
Witt is badly wounded, as are two others from his squad.  Three are dead and the attending Sanitäter remove identity discs from the fallen while others patch up Witt and move him and the rest of his wounded squad to the rear.
Ruckdeschel knows that the attackers in the smoke played a vital part.  He saw that the two enemy tanks were distracted by the brave Landsers in the smoke.  This was what gave his tank the edge, that and the skill of his crew.  He is so proud of them – the crew can see it in his eyes.    
Rolf Schenk sees a very different skyline of Villa Roggati now.  It is a scene of carnage and destruction.
He shakes his head at the stubborn Canadians.  They fought with skill and honor and they died when overwhelmed.  They have surely given his comrades a bad blooding this day.  He wonders why they didn’t just retreat out of the town.  Why did they stay and die?  Do they owe The Queen and England their lives?
One of his comrades gives the Canadians an off-handed compliment.  “I sure don’t want to come up against these bastards again,” he mutters.  Rolf quietly concurs.

The war goes on.
 
Heinrich505 

By the way, regarding fighting in woods, this might be interesting (the channel also features a video on us. rifle squad tactics which is highly recommendable): 
 

Below is a link to a similar topic reference dust and smoke.  The behavior of dust and smoke was changed with the 4.0 engine release. 
http://community.battlefront.com/topic/125914-smoke-as-a-force-field/
After 4.0 it seems you can no longer fire through smoke at all.  I have even had a case where some of my own vehicles were kicking up a lot of dust and the cloud of dust drifted in front of a shooting vehicle causing the vehicle to stop shooting.  The vehicle was on area target and should have fired until told to stop, ran out of ammo or had something really bad happen to it.  Another frustrating thing about this is that the status block (lower left screen, green text) will incorrectly advise that the vehicle is aiming, firing, aiming, firing etc when it is not.  I tested this in CMBS and one of the WWII titles (IIRC it was CMFB) about a month ago. 
 
The smoke / force field wasn't a huge deal as long as we had a work around for it.  However 4.0 seems to have removed the work around.  In theory if the conditions are right you could follow a smoke screen all the way into the OpFor main line of resistance.  I hope maybe this behavior can be tweaked with the other 4.0 stuff that BFC is tweaking. 

Nice surprise
 

By the way, regarding fighting in woods, this might be interesting (the channel also features a video on us. rifle squad tactics which is highly recommendable): 
 

I've done quite a lot of research on the Sicily campaign (mainly focused on the Commonwealth effort though). You can find a list of books in the second post in this thread (https://forums.lnlpublishing.com/threads/the-battle-for-catania-primosole-bridge-sicily-july-1943.5326/).
For tactical, "Combat Mission" purposes, the "Lessons learned from the campaign in Sicily" might be of particular interest: https://archive.org/details/LessonsFromTheSicilianCampaign/page/n21 (A similar thing exists for the campagin in mainland Italy, but I couldn't find it on the internet). I found p.13-14 particularly interesting (infantry failing to deliver a sufficient volume of fire because they would only fire at enemies they could see)

By the way, regarding fighting in woods, this might be interesting (the channel also features a video on us. rifle squad tactics which is highly recommendable): 
 

All kudos belongs to RockinHarry. I would never have looked into it without this thread.
These are interesting questions. Regarding your first question, I don't know and I don't know of a good setup to test it. Players have been playing Combat Mission for decades and don't really know with certainty if there is a "saving roll". How should I know? 🤔 Watching recorded scenes in slow motion, it's hard enough to determine if the game is really hitbox-detection based. It's hard to tell because not every bullet comes with a tracer, you can't get the camera down to ground level, and also some props are definitively permeous to bullets (I'm pretty sure that I've seen bullets go through foxhole-models). It's really hard to draw any conclusions here. 
Regarding the second question, I can say is that the troops using the animation exchange are NOT invincible. So no to your second question regarding Hollywoodienne survival powers. They still get hit. Whether they even survive much longer than without the animation exchange, I don't know for certain yet either. In theory yes. In praxis I have not developed a feeling for it yet.  

I know that a target order at short range also triggers the use of grenade. The grenade throwing is quite staggered and unreliable though. When you assault a house or a pillbox or whatever, it really counts. You don't want your guys to wait, or even worse, fire their rifles than to throw their grenades. 
Yes, seriously. The sound effects in combat mission games are disappointing. 

For CMx3: 
Crouched run. Some way of moving faster than the crawl while keeping a relatively low profile.  A new target order exclusively for throwing grenades (while staying prone/in cover, if possible). In close assault situations, you don't want your riflemen to stand up and go "peng, peng, peng!". You want them to go "boom!" An easier way (requiring fewer clicks) to make soldiers stay prone but NOT withhold their fire. Right now, the way to go is to use a "hide" command in combination with a 360° target arc (which in turn, means that you can't fine tune the facing/usage of cover). Also, the hide command reduces spotting capabilites (soldiers go through "hide" tasks, not just idle and spotting).

I am certain of it.
 
In a PBEM game one computer calculates the turn's action. Then both computers play it back. It is the same computer from the start of the game to the end. You will know if it is your machine becasue you will see the "Calculating" progress bar when you press the BRB. So, if your computer is the one generating the turn's action and you are the only one with the mod then the in game effects will be part of the action. In that case your opponen,t who does not have the mod, will still see the effect of the mod play out in terms of who lives and who dies but they will not see the different animations. If your opponent's computer is calculating the turn's action and only you have the mod then it will have no effect even though you see the different animations.
So, the advantage will *not* be that your soldiers get the advantage and your opponents do not, any unfair advantage would go to the player who's men spend more time in fortification or other cover where they get a larger advantage than your opponent's men.
 
The game will not break down. There is no mod checking done between the two computers. Remember the design intent of the mods is skinning only (not really a mod system by some definitions). There was no design intent by BFC to offer behaviour changing modding ability. The fact that the model and animation resources are loaded using the same mechanism as the skins is what allows this but I do not believe BFC actually intended that.

Sound improvements. This is pretty obvious as I think almost every CM player uses some kind of sound mod. Even if the devs don't want to invest in some proper sounds (hire that guy from Post Scriptum!  ), it would be nice to have at least two sounds per weapon. One to be played at short range to the listener/camera, with more "pop" and higher frequencies, one for long range with the higher fequencies died-out and more echo. Also, sounds should keep their maximum volume longer/in a larger area. This should help against unwanted sound-recon by the players (you can almost pin-point a firing unit just by tracking its sounds). Also, it gives weapons their proper volume - you should hear a rifle shot pretty loud over the whole map, not just within 30 meters (theoretically depending on terrain, of course). Right now, you amplify sounds a lot (--> noise) to make them loud enough.  This veteran (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTE9BPmiZNo, ca. at 18:30, if I remember correctly) gives an account of his attempt to blow up a german pillbox. Reminded me that it would be nice to actually have those shutters for pilboxes (and fortifications in general). I don't know how common they were, but they certainly make sense? They could work like button up/open up for vehicles. [Also interesting, he mentions that he considered it to be a big disadvantage to have to fire into the dark of the pillbox's back door, while the germans in the pillbox would be able to see him in full light --> "flashlight" lol. Somewhere in the video, he mentions a whistle as a starting signal for an assault] I also wondered whether it would be good to add some additional psychological factors. For example: A morale "buff" for intact friendly tanks close by. A "debuff" for hearing enemy MGs (close by? / inflicting at least a bit of suppression?)

For CMx3: 
Crouched run. Some way of moving faster than the crawl while keeping a relatively low profile.  A new target order exclusively for throwing grenades (while staying prone/in cover, if possible). In close assault situations, you don't want your riflemen to stand up and go "peng, peng, peng!". You want them to go "boom!" An easier way (requiring fewer clicks) to make soldiers stay prone but NOT withhold their fire. Right now, the way to go is to use a "hide" command in combination with a 360° target arc (which in turn, means that you can't fine tune the facing/usage of cover). Also, the hide command reduces spotting capabilites (soldiers go through "hide" tasks, not just idle and spotting).