SchnelleMeyer

There were no humanitarians on the Eastern Front. 

Aquila-CM's excellent work motivated me to release the metadata update. The infantry file format is different than static objects, and though I made some progress reverse engineering it I would like to finish up mdr first. 

Just found this link with thousands of amazing photos from the war. Most were shot by US trained Mujahideen from 1987 to 1989.
https://archive.org/details/afghanmediaresourcecenter?&sort=-downloads&page=6

Just found this link with thousands of amazing photos from the war. Most were shot by US trained Mujahideen from 1987 to 1989.
https://archive.org/details/afghanmediaresourcecenter?&sort=-downloads&page=6

I put some of MikeyD's plain skins here: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/itey35y36be8r/Plain_skins

Remember it's easier to ask for forgiveness than receive permission so just post something Mike.

So I finally finished the DRA skin mod after seeing that a new request was posted today.
They are not perfect, but they are a lot better than the originals. The mapping on these skins is not the best and that makes modding them to a good result more challenging. 

You should be able to download it from here:  http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/?wpfb_filepage=dra-skins_2-zip

Disgruntled posts about Finnish dates? I'd tell them to move to Sweden.

Man, I am stupid. I forgot that the above pic isn't how it will appear in the game. There is no plain version for the Pz Abts.  DUH! The left strap won't even be seen in game, it's covered by a shield, so it's a non-problem. I showed it like this to keep focus on the unit. Anyway, I went ahead and removed the middle strap, widened the collar, shrank the collar tabs and added folds at the breast to better look like the uniform jacket above.

Thanks for bringing it up, I think it looks more like a Pz uni now. At least I hope so, this about the fifth time I have worked on this dude.
 
Mord.
 
 

Thanks, man! I spent the last three hours dicking with him. It took about 7 iterations to get everything adjusted. Thank god for templates! LOL.
 
Mord.

Portrait mod is also done:
 

http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/CMA-portrait-mod.zip

So I finally finished the DRA skin mod after seeing that a new request was posted today.
They are not perfect, but they are a lot better than the originals. The mapping on these skins is not the best and that makes modding them to a good result more challenging. 

You should be able to download it from here:  http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/?wpfb_filepage=dra-skins_2-zip

Thank you!  That is a big improvement.  The odd thing is that there are good skin mods for the Russians.  But they don't work for the DRA - so were the DRA skins made to different specs?

QUESTION 2 – WHAT HAVE I BEEN TOLD TO DO AND WHY?
 
Recall that in this step, the focus was very much on our own forces and what we needed to do to succeed. As Sun Tzu said ‘If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the results of a 100 battles’.
 
This was broken down into 5 sub-steps:
 
Mission Analysis Step 1 – Review the situation.
Mission Analysis Step 2 – Analyse superior commander’s intent and own mission.
Mission Analysis Step 3 – Analyse tasks.
Mission Analysis Step 4 – Determine freedom of action.
Mission Analysis Step 5 – Identify critical facts, judgements and assumptions.
 
While all steps are important in the real world, their application in CM varies. Steps 1, 3 and 5 can be applied in their entirety to any CM problem while Step 2 generally can only be done in part depending on the amount of information available in the briefing. Most of Step 4 has only limited applicability to CM although if your victory conditions imply or state combat effectiveness (or similar) parameters then there is value in applying the step.
 
I was pretty happy with the way this went and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of comments I saw from you about finally realising the importance of analysing your own forces in detail and it comes back to the essence of the Sun Tzu quote.
 
In terms of tasks, I probably went a bit over the top but I did this consciously in order to demonstrate the process and to show what tasks could be teased out the problem and the mission I was given. That said, all of the tasks were relevant to the mission and they were achievable with the force that I had and in the time available. The fact that I didn’t achieve them was a fail in execute on my part, not that they were unrealistic.

This pdf can provide some great ideas for modern day scenarios. https://history.army.mil/html/books/iraq/TotS/Tip_Spear.pdf

Anyone interested in testing a special version of the mdr plugins that supports vehicles?

After Zaitzev requested something be done to DRA-heads I have
tried my hand at re-texturing them. Texture size increased to 512 x 512. 
 
 

JSj,
My understanding is that in battle, troops seldom actually see the foe. Rather, they are taking fire from some area and responding to that. A Vietnam era infantry manual I once had clearly showed an SL directing fire and defining the left and right limits of what's to be suppressed in order to do so. Things may've changed since then, chiefly on the US end because of widely proliferated telescopic sights, but unless there's a visible foe, it's back to aiming at muzzle flashes, dirt puffs, flying grass and the like as indicators of where fire is coming from before the reports from that fire are heard. Common sense would suggest that if a target can be seen well enough to put a round within a meter of it, perhaps the better course would simply be to shoot that particular individual foe or put a burst into a team or weapon crew. As for the question someone raised about whether 9 mm can suppress, let me provide a direct and nearly fatal personal example.

Many moons ago, decades before 9/11, I was on a plinking outing with Dad's Marine buddy, Dad and some friends on some isolated patch of a sprawling Marine base. We'd been shooting at targets and decided to try something more interesting after someone got the idea of shooting emptpty cartridge boxes as they floated down a small stream.We deployed midway down along the steep bank, and I settled into position with I forget what weapon. In went  the boxes one after another as the one before was destroyed, and firing began. My focus was solely on the target, and as far as I knew, I was on the same firing line as everyone else. Wrong. Dad was farther up the bank, a fact unknown to me until I started to stand up up to reload--at the instant he let fly a round from his monster Steyr GB08! That bullet did part my hair, I went down hard and instantly, and I turned aound to see Dad, jaw fully dropped, aghast and white as the proverbial sheet. This incident traumatized everyone so greatly that it completely ended the shooting outing. Though I've never been in anything like that casual shooting environment since, you'd best believe I always check now where all the other shooters are relative to me. Also, a dear friend of mine who was a SEAL going back to the Vietnam War has told me details of firefights I'd not encountered before. The pertinent one here (and Hollywood doesn't seem to know about it, nor has been in any documentary I've seen or book I've read) is, as he put it, if bullets get close enough to you "Those suckers burn." Mind, this may apply only to AR and MG fire, in his case, AK-47 fire from the Viet Cong he fought in the Rung Sat Special Area of South Vietnam. I was about a meter in front of Dad, and though I felt the wind, I happily didn't get a burn to go with my hair parting. Yes, 9 mm can suppress!
Regards,
John Kettler

I can only speak to Afghanistan, but much more time was spent hunkered down because of mortar fire or pot shots disrupting a patrol than pitched battles with the Taliban. In my own experience it was less pinned-down hugging the earth for dear life (most of the time!) and more that, okay we now have to deploy, find cover, form into a section attack and so on. That kind of suppression is modeled pretty well in CM, as you can't carry out a routine move under fire.

e: Quick question since a dev has responded - in CM1, how did Human Wave, Assault and Advance work?  Did units move differently under fire before?

I disagree on this being the point of the article. See my 2. point - Seems more like the guy is selling something to me. - I agree that full-auto fire will not ensure success in suppressing, but it has a hell of a lot better chance of being successfull in a COMBAT situation than using so called "well aimed single shots". The reason being,  - And this is documented by every soldier that has ever been in a fire-fight at some range, that the enemy is INVISIBLE and when he is spotted he will be visible for a fraction of a second or at best, a couple of seconds. - This is the reality of infantry combat. And with this lies the main problem with the idea that single shots or magazine fed rifles can win fire superiority. - Its that of observing the enemy. Try finding a combat film from Afghanistan, Syria  or Iraq were the enemy is observed on the camera or the grunts reports accurate targeting commands. - You will find very few of that kind. - Snipers have been mentioned by Steve to have an enourmous impact on suppression and I there is no disagreeing to that. - But snipers operate in a different way than the regular grunts. - They are a lot more flexible in their deployment and will lie in wait for the right target to show up and then fire at an officer or other key person to have a disproportional effect on suppression and morale. Here comes the surprise and shock effect to full play as the writer mentions briefly as kind of a site note in the beginning of the article.

I disagree on this being the point of the article. See my 2. point - Seems more like the guy is selling something to me. - I agree that full-auto fire will not ensure success in suppressing, but it has a hell of a lot better chance of being successfull in a COMBAT situation than using so called "well aimed single shots". The reason being,  - And this is documented by every soldier that has ever been in a fire-fight at some range, that the enemy is INVISIBLE and when he is spotted he will be visible for a fraction of a second or at best, a couple of seconds. - This is the reality of infantry combat. And with this lies the main problem with the idea that single shots or magazine fed rifles can win fire superiority. - Its that of observing the enemy. Try finding a combat film from Afghanistan, Syria  or Iraq were the enemy is observed on the camera or the grunts reports accurate targeting commands. - You will find very few of that kind. - Snipers have been mentioned by Steve to have an enourmous impact on suppression and I there is no disagreeing to that. - But snipers operate in a different way than the regular grunts. - They are a lot more flexible in their deployment and will lie in wait for the right target to show up and then fire at an officer or other key person to have a disproportional effect on suppression and morale. Here comes the surprise and shock effect to full play as the writer mentions briefly as kind of a site note in the beginning of the article.

That article do have some holes and doesnt really hold to any kind of scrutiny JSj. 
1. I find it very strange if ONE UK study finds a truth that has escaped all modern armies on the deployment and use of LMGs since their adoption.
2. I ask myself what is the AIM of the article? - First a "problem" is presented. This is the need for, and lack of ability to train suppression. After this the writer presents the solution to the "problem". The solution is a new "gadget" made by some company. - I get a real commercial feeling from this.
3. The criticism of the Minimi LMG for not being able to suppress effectively because of poor accuracy is probably right,  but this is a really weak argument that doesnt stand up to scrutiny because this LMG in particular has an enourmous spread built into it, compared to almost any other LMG. - With a minimi its very hard to get anything better than a 50cm group for a 5-8 rnd burst on 300m. - This being on a peacefull shootingrange. - To draw the massive conclution that belt fed LMGs and automatic fires does less supression than single shot or magazin fed semi-automatics on the basis of testing just 1 weapon is ridicullous.
It seems the UK army might be unhappy with the precision of their relatively new LMG, but this doesnt mean all LMGs are created equal.  - It means they should have done some more testing before buying.
Another point - What was the trainining standards of the shooters, were there differences in the training of the LMG vs the SA-80 shooters? were there differences in conditions? Wheather, time of day etc? - None of this is mentioned.

Yes, that is correct and no one is denying that.  - You will not get the desired effect that way of course, so nobody teaches that. And if there is wild spraying that is normally a good indication of the lack of training or experience or leadership level for that individual or unit. There is a term called fire-dicipline that involves a whole range of stuff from rate of fire to target indication and fire commands that is supposed to be adhered to and it is in well trained and led units. This is primarily a leader responsibility. 
There is however a proper way of firing at an enemy of unknown exact location, but its not wasting ammunition or wild. This is often applied in the initial contact with an enemy and here automatic fire is irreplacable! - If your up against an enemy with belt fed machine guns you can not win fire superiority with just semi-automatics! This is the way it is modelled in Combat Mission as well and I find that quite realistic.

@SchnelleMeyer: I don't know if this topic is still relevant, but here are some forgotten assets that may come in handy, and save lots of time.
 
PAK38
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1108
PAK40
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1200
PAK36
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1144
Dreaded 88 (<---Anybody remember that name?)
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1107
Kubelwagen
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1081
Marder IIIM
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1085
Puma
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1105
Sd kfz 222
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1112
Sd kfz 234/1
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1090
sIG 33
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1106
Grille
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=2208
 
 
GRAY SCALE Mods (Florian Schroeder)
StuG IIIG (Early)
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=2041
StuG IIIG (Late)
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1466
StuG IIIG (Mid)
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1465
StuH (Early)
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1467
StuH (Mid)
http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=select&id=45&orderby=2&page=8
 
 
Drop MikeyD a PM, he may have more plain vehicles on his HD that he never released.
 
Mord.