BrotherSurplice

"Movement is easier to spot - this perturbs me greatly" and "talking out my behind on muzzle flashes"
Yawn. This is a heady mix of salt, hot takes, and stuff that's demonstrably incorrect. For example: if you think "moving objects being easier to spot" is somehow flawed or that "units that have a general idea of the location of an enemy spot faster and with greater ease" is also flawed, then there's really no cure for the hypertension this game has caused you. 

Hello,
This is going to be an AAR of the Combat Mission Scenario: Going To Town as the Ukranians. I'm playing against a personal friend who I don't believe is registered on the forums.
Before I start, thanks to @Rinaldi in particular for his advice with regards to making this AAR. I am new both to making AARs and playing as Ukraine, so I fully expect this to be rough around the edges, any advice would be appreciated.
 
The Briefing
I am a shattered Ukrainian Mountain Mechanized Unit who has been thrown into this town to halt an advance by a Russian Mechanized Unit. The time limit is 50 minutes and the skill level is set to elite. My own force (as you shall see from my OOB in a moment) is small, but relatively well trained and equipped. I have no ATGM units, nor do I have any artillery support. But command has managed to provide me with some vehicle support in the form of two BMP-2s, a T64, and a Tunguska to act as a fire support vehicle. I am also well equipped with machine guns and RPG of various models. My force ranges from veteran to regular in terms of experience, and all seem to be well off in terms of morale.
My OOB is as follows:
2 Sniper teams 5 dedicated Machine Gunner Squads (3 light teams with RPKs, 2 medium teams armed with PK MGs) 4  3 man rifle teams with RPGs 1 RPO team 2 dedicated RPG teams 2 Grenade Launcher squads with ASG-17 3 2 man rifle squads armed with RPKs Vehicles:
1 T-64 Bulat 2 BMP-2s 1 Tunguska Here is an overview of the map, as you can see its a fairly large town. But, its split between myself on one side and the Russians on the other.
 

 
There are two obvious routes into my side of the town. One along the main road and the other, smaller road on the right side.

 
My plan is to concentrate the bulk of my forces on major road down the center, with a secondary force holding the less obvious road on the right.
 


As you can see, I have concentrated the Bulat and Tunguska in the center to cover the main road. Joining them are various RPG and MG teams in the building. The idea behind my defense is to concentrate my forces in the forward buildings, which should allow me to gather good intelligence on the enemy force as well as hopefully engage any forces he sends forward. If things don't go my way, I have an easy line of retreat to the secondary buildings located at the southern end of the town square and at the department store. 
I doubt, given the state of my forces, that I can actually stop his entire force if he goes all in on a single attack axis. My hope is that he moves forward smaller groups that I can hopefully ambush from the buildings and overwhelm before retreating.
Along the secondary road on the right. I have 2 BMP2s along with some supporting RPG and MG teams. Again the same basic logic applies. The forward RPG team can hopefully get some kills, and if not, they have an easy line of retreat to the line of buildings in the apartment store.
Lets look at some close up screens of the defense I have set up.
The main road:

 

 
This is a minor tripwire force consisting of a light lmg team and a sniper squad that start locked in position.

 
The defense along the secondary road:

 
BMP2 in cover and RPG teams
 

 
As you can see, this is heavily skewed towards an advance down the main road. Although much of my assets can be easily shifted to deal with a full on advance down the right road if absolutely necessary.
 

Patience grasshopper... I have more than one iron in the fire these days.  

SPOILING ATTACK
AXIS ORANGE:
I have enough information now to know for certain that the enemy units on Axis Orange are a support by fire position.  My philosophy is to attack weakness, so I am going to concentrate at least a third of my available force against this formation in a spoiling attack. 
This will be led by 3rd Platoon and will also contain some of the 1st Platoon elements that have been, up to now, manning OPs and LPs forward of my main line.   

To prepare for this action my mortars and MGs are stepping up their fire to pin or attrit any enemy teams he has on the line.  For example in the following image my mortars converged fire to eliminate this (MG) team (not fully identified) on his extreme right flank.

I apologize for the delay on this AAR, I've been distracted recently... 
AXIS RED

We are now in the 8th minute of action.. not a lot has happened as my opponent is shuttling troops to his jump off positions.  On the back road he is running trucks back and forth,  each one dropping off a platoon of infantry with each load.  I guess he now must have close to two full companies of infantry with support arrayed against me on AXIS RED along with the two STuGs.
My three teams acting as my lead scouts in this sector are doing a wonderful job keeping the enemy at bay in this sector.  I doubt they are causing many casualties, but my opponent is being very cautious and has not advanced in the past several turns.  Once he does start his advance, and now that he is bringing more troops up, I expect it soon, my scouts will fall quickly.

AXIS ORANGE
AXIS ORANGE is definitely a Support By Fire (SBF) position, all of the units that have been identified have been MG or mortar units, along with the STuG of course.
In the image below is shown an artillery mission aimed at the corner of my ridgeline defense.  This did cause several casualties, but it was not as bad as it could have been as many of the rounds fell in front of my positions. 

AXIS ORANGE
I have another scout team, made up of a recon team and an HQ unit (from Dog Company) deep on Axis ORANGE.  Towards the end of this turn the STuG on this axis drove straight towards them...

However, I don't think these two teams have been spotted, as the STuG appears to have turned between two buildings, appearing like it was simply trying to get a better angle on my defenders.  I could be wrong as I lost sight of this vehicle right after this shot was taken, but it looked like it was starting to turn left.
 
AXIS RED
On Axis Red I decided to try to take a long range shot at one of the STuGs to my front.  It is literally a long shot, but taking out or damaging one of these things now could really help in the long run, right Captain Obvious?
My AT Team rushed across the danger area to the hedges on the other side...

Once in position they organized to take a shot...note in the following image that the STuG's flank is facing my team.

Unfortunately... the rocket hits the trees and the STuG keeps moving.. I don't think they ever knew they were threatened...

Both STuGs ended up facing Axis Yellow and appear to be guarding the flank of the Axis RED infantry, which can be seen linking up with the STuGs on the right edge of this image:

I built a grandiose display cabinet stocked with the finest liquors, then sealed it. On the glass, I applied a vinyl decal that reads "Break in case of 4.0 patch". I'm ready.

For those who want a summary of the conflict in this thread that has turned so hostile, so quick:
Sing, forum poster, of the rage of @Rinaldi. Black and murderous it cost the Battlefront devs incalculable pain, it pitched many countless forum posters and fanboys into the dark depths of Hell (otherwise known as graviteam tactics). 
Begin with the clash between squarehead-the most dedicated of forum frequenters and The mad Canuck-Rinaldi. 
Which issue set these two at each other’s throats this time? The 4.0 patch, the son of the immortal Steve. 

Tell me Squarehead, do you enjoy being wrong when you try to taunt others?
The last map published for Black Sea with an AI plan: just coming up to the 7 month mark.  The one before that, mid-summer 2017. That's just for BS: let's look at the latest uploads of finished, published scenarios:
An empty QB map;  A H2H for CMBN; A H2H for CMFB; 4 maps for CMSF, which do not suffer from the AI problems I'm noticing a stunning lack of singleplayer scenarios being published here. You sure showed me. Once again: if you're going to have a go at me, bring your A game, not this drek. I'd say that the sheer effort involved in publishing maps is among one of the reasons, but the futility of playing singleplayer is almost certainly a factor as well. As to those who are trucking on: my hats off to them, I do not share their patience for the broken state of SP play - and I'd wager they are in the minority.
Finally, how many maps have you published for the 4.0 version games, again? 
PS: the irony of being called a loon by a conspiracy peddling contrarian is, by the way, not lost on me. Trot on.

Apparently you are too busy being your contrarian self ("opinions that are not my own are rubbish, but do not take me to task for my rubbish opinions") to truly grasp the point being made:
AI is objectively broken, making even the most fine-tuned AI plan impossible to evaluate in testing. This is a direct result of AI cutting and running after the lightest of indirect fires; a botched, if well-meaning, implementation of additional self-preservation features. This guts singleplayer play, and trivializes it. Which brings me back to the salient point of: why bother wasting my time attempting to code AI plans in that environment? Which is a key part of single-player scenario design.
Note I didn't say I've stopped designing maps or indeed even scenarios for head to head; which if you spent more time walking around with your eyes open you'd have noticed: a map has been published and a second scenario based on another's map is currently being playtested. I don't make maps for the piss of it, I create them for a scenario, and the current singleplayer projects I was helping create are impossible to evaluate with 4.0 in its current form. Was the AI plan trash, or did the human tester fire some off-map 105 and make an entire platoon cartwheel into a MG? Do I need to draw a picture for you?
Yawn. Not when the issue is fundamentally beyond the scope of a scenario designer.
Next time you have a go at me, or decide to call something I say rubbish, make sure all your synapses are firing, your contrarian drivel is truly starting to bore me now. 

I assume you mean M60 and not M48, since the M48 entered service in 1953 and design work on T95 didn't even begin until 1955?
Anyway.
Abrams did not and has not ever, to my knowledge, used silica-cored armor. Silica-cored armor is the hottest armor tech of 195X, hence why you find it on things like T95, the prototypes for M60 (but not the production model, due to cost issues), and T-64. By the late 70s, the hot new thing on the block was special armor such as Chobham, and the derived versions that the Germans used for Leopard 2 and the Americans used for Abrams. We know Abrams used special armor, because some of the relevant documents have been declassified and are available online.
The main part of the Abrams' special armor array is steel/rubber/steel "sandwich" NERA tiles, and in some places (like the turret side armor, depicted below) behind the sandwiches there are backing plates of steel and some unknown, possibly ceramic, material. This might be silica, but it could just as well be some other ceramic material or even some form of plastic for all we know.

I also strongly doubt the idea that PT-76 could frontally defeat Abrams, since it was specifically designed to be proof against 5-inch HEAT warheads and Soviet 115mm APFSDS over the frontal arc: even MBT-70, its predecessor, had been protected against 3-inch HEAT warheads, such as the PT-76's BK-350M.
I am incredibly dubious of this claim.
The most common APFSDS round for M68-equipped US tanks in Germany is M833, and in M256-armed tanks is M829. Both of those two rounds would be able to reliably penetrate anything the Soviets can bring to bear at any point in 1985.
Going two years forward and backward for fun:
In 1983, the best round the US has is M774, which can kill anything the Soviets can put on the field, except possibly T-80A with its new turret. But those top-of-the line vehicles that might be able to survive M774 are still very much the minority: the bulk of the Soviet tank fleet remains older T-64s and T-72s, which are vulnerable to M774.
In 1987, things are somewhat different: M829 and M833 are still the main two US rounds in service. The new T-80U with Kontakt is basically impregnable to M833, and even M829 will have trouble with the ERA. Hence the development of M900 and M829A1.
However, as before, those vehicles are in the minority, and the bulk of the Soviet Army's armored forces are still trucking along in older T-64s and T-72s, which M829 and M833 are still fully adequate for dealing with.

"after he could finally function again; went white and had trouble breathing briefly".
....really? really? rrreeeaaaaaallllllyy?
John your stuff is almost always interesting, but this kind of hyperbole often taints your posts with breathless, pointless, clickbait level, contrived  "Deh-RAMAmaaaaahhh!!!". For me, it weakens and undercuts your info and sometimes your arguments. 
TBC, I don't want this to feel like a Lets All Pile On Kettler starting point - I do appreciate your explorations and findings. But...I highly doubt people were, say, vomiting in the aisles upon hearing about Russian anti-armor advances. In my mind's eye, all I see is a low-lit room full of middle aged analysts, bureaucrats, mid-level political functionaries, flat-eyed weapons scientists and massively-bored military officers listening to interesting, maybe worrisome information that everyone in that room knows will simply spur near-future counter-research and stop-gap compensatory tactics. Maybe I'm wrong....
I don't want to sound aggressive, mean or belittling...It just feels that adding Oprah/Ellen/Cosmopolitan/Ru Paul/Fox News levels of unrealistically OTT reactions doesn't make your info read any stronger...to this uninformed couch potato peasant-soldier, at least.

Very nice AAR @BrotherSurplice and well fought little action.  You are right to be proud of your performance.
@Rinaldi, I agree that it is often quite interesting to play a scenario that is a hard ask.. however in this one I saw the mismatch from the beginning and these types of actions are interesting, but really not much fun for the guy on the losing end.  I am not going to get into what you could have done differently, because the Apache strike was so devastating that it really took away all of your options and left you toothless and without any tactical options... I'm sure you would have given him a tough fight if not for that AH.  
This has been a very interesting and well written AAR and was a pleasure to read.  

First off, a good game to @BrotherSurplice - its always a pleasure doing a match with him. Suffice to say I think he has avenged our last PBEM quite well. I've taken the time to read through the AAR and everyone's responses:
I agree - you fight with what you're given, and in this instance it wasn't much. Nothing to be done about that but try one's best. Command and Control was fairly decent when the platoon leader was alive and I was able to run him about. Once he panicked however (two turns before the final attack), it was all over but for the crying. As for round two...watch this space. It's my turn for a picture + post AAR shortly.
I noticed there's a lot of people in the thread pointing out potential overmatch or difficulty for one side or the other - well, we like tactical problems, not ladder-style tournaments. A lot of people in our little group of PBEMers have no problem playing unbalanced matches. Our reasoning is straight forward (1) some tactical problems don't have breezy solutions in reality, (2) humans are always better opponents than an inflexible AI plan and (3) we're fine with winning or losing well, rather than the bottom line. I wouldn't take away from Surplice's victory.
I'm really impressed with his performance over all. He's relatively new to the series but he's already grasped how to develop a plan of action with consideration for terrain and how to keep courses of action open - in other words, he had if not articulated a decision matrix. My only criticism is that he didn't roam far enough with his rotary-wing support. In the end it didnt matter, as my BMPs were neutralized through other means, but the fact that I was able to dash two BMPs under his very nose to potentially a dangerous position should have caused a redirection of assets. 
As to my dispositions: The hill was tempting but I realized my forces weren't worth a whit and holding it would have been suicidal. Given that the handful of units I placed there had to displace and were on the verge of panic after some desultory fire, I stand by that decision. The berm was the single most useful piece of terrain and I regret not arraying all my ATGMs there as a battery (something I normally do with Eastern ATGMs). As it was, the usual tactic of potshotting with ATGMs in obscure positions only exacerbated their inexperienced crews and allowed for overmatch of return fire with the Scimitars. 
 

And now the end is near,
And so I face the final curtain . . .
 

The time has come for the final assault. The Scimitars trundle forward and start pelting the buildings of the East Yard with 30mm HE.
 

Unfortunately, there is some fratricide as a cannon shell bursts on a tree next to my Javelin men, wounding one. Another mistake, I should have pulled the Javelins back by this point.
 

The APCs of the Command Troop and the leader of the Support Troop zoom up and start hosing down the objective with their machine guns. The scouts charge forward in their Spartans, machine guns blazing as they go.
 

Sound the charge!
 

As my APCs close on the objective, an enemy MMG section rises from their trenches on Point 225 and begins shooting up my APCs.
 

The armour of my APCs is mostly proof against MMG fire, but one enemy team lands a hit that damages the optics and tracks of one of the Spartans. He is spooked and begins to pull back, but fortunately not before dropping off his dismounts. I retask some of my APCs and tanks to suppress the MMG teams.
 

The Support Troop spot a knocked out BMP-1 in a keyhole position. So that's what the Apache was shooting at! It is fortunate that the BMP is knocked out, as this would be a perfect position to ambush my scouts as they go in.
 

Two scout teams pour fire into the objective, while the other two teams hurl themselves across the bridge.
 

The amount of lead flying around is truly awesome, even this little attack making a brilliant spectacle. However, I am taking almost no fire. Where are Rinaldi's men?
 

The enemy weapons platoon HQ makes an appearance, taking potshots at my scouts as they cross the bridge. Fortunately, he misses all his shots and is taken under fire by the APCs.
 

The first evidence of the enemy positions is uncovered, as my scouts trample over the remains of a rifle squad.
 

In the next building, almost an entire rifle squad is found cowering on the floor, terrified and helpless.
 

The ensuing slaughter is horrifying to behold.
 

My scouts bound through the East Yard, pouring fire into every unsecured building before advancing. The base of fire continues to suppress the enemy machine guns on Point 225. But apart from the enemy rifle squad, all we find is empty buildings and bodies.
 

A brave little BMP-1 rolls forward from the reverse slope of Point 228 and puts a few 73mm shells into the ground before my scout teams. Fortunately, his fire is ineffective.
 

Honour thus satisfied, his fear overwhelms him and the BMP withdraws.
 

My opponent has known for a long time that the game is up and he requests a ceasefire. I accept and am rewarded with a Total Victory. Hurrah for the 9th/12th!
 

I am chatting with Rinaldi as I take these last few turns, and the reasons for the lack of opposition are revealed to me. Rinaldi's men have been routing from the field ever since the first Apache strike. As can be seen from the victory screen, almost half of his force has abandoned their positions and fled the battle. One of the BMPs that withdrew behind Point 228 was actually abandoned by the crew, as the panic spread through the enemy C2 network.
 

The only enemy troops still left on the field are one of the MMG teams on Point 225 (the other fled) and the brave takfiri of a BMP behind Point 228. Rinaldi had told me earlier that some of his men had routed from the Apache strikes, but I had no idea that his situation was this bad.
My elation at this victory is tempered by the knowledge that my opponent was essentially helpless to stop the near-total disintegration of his force from a single helicopter strike. Nevertheless, I am pleased that I managed to lose only one vehicle and take only three casualties. Things could have gone so much worse for me.
I plan on doing one more post after this one, where I shall make, in effect, an AAR of this AAR, analysing what went well, what went poorly, what I did correctly, what I did wrong, etc. I'll finish with observations gleaned from the battle. Also, now that it's all over @Rinaldi can come in and give some input from his perspective. Stay tuned!

@BrotherSurplice this was a good AAR. This was going to be a very difficult scenario and I’m surprised you did so well at it! 

Fantastic AAR. All around good things to say.

In the last entry, things were not going well for the 9th/12th. I suffered my first casualties and the enemy managed to escape unmolested (again). But over the next few turns, I feel the pendulum swinging in my favour once more . . .
 

My Javelin men take aim at the enemy ATGM team. The missile pops out of the tube and howls skyward like a bloodhound let off the leash. I believe in you, little missile!
 

I never asked for this.
 

The missile plops into the berm at the foot of Point 228. If the enemy doesn't kill the rest of my Javelins, I bloody well will when this is over. Fortunately, my Scimitars have spotted the ATGM team and a hail of 30mm HE bursts all around them. No casualties are caused, but the terrified gunners flee, leaving their weapon behind.
 

Suddenly, as the turn comes to a close, another enemy ATGM team takes a shot at my Scimitars! This time, however, the offending team is spotted. If you look closely, you can just about see the missile speeding towards my tanks.
 

Fortune is with me, as the enemy missile is fired short and crashes into the hill crest in front of my armoured troop. The turn ends a second later, and I rub my hands with glee as I mark the enemy weapons team with target orders from all three tanks.
 

I breathe a sigh of relief as the cannon shells evenly distribute the enemy gunners about the road and buildings. My Scimitars withdraw behind the slope of my hill, having at last avenged their troop HQ tank.
 

Time is ticking on, and I need to start prepping for my assault on the objective. Confident that the threat from enemy ATGMs is now minimal, I move the Scimitars forward again, to a position where they can overwatch the East Yard. I also move the APCs up to my withdrawing scouts. The exhausted sleuths eagerly embark their battle taxis, glad at the chance for some rest before the final effort.
 

I now begin to soften up the objective itself. Remember the building that the enemy platoon HQ team entered earlier? Well, so does my Javelin team . . .
 

This time, their aim is true and the roof of the small hut is stoved in. If anyone is in there, I would not want to be them right now.
 

I move my tactical air controller forward and call in my Apache once more. This time, I will focus his attention on the East Yard and Point 225. He has little ordnance left after the first attack run, so this strike will likely not be as devastating as the first. But any fire on the objective at this point is welcome. It will take four minutes for the strike to come in, and I estimate that it will take around two to four minutes to be completed, so I call the strike in with eighteen minutes left on the clock. This should leave me with ten to twelve minutes to make my assault. If the enemy has been suppressed, I am confident that this will be enough time to clear the yard. Now all I can do is wait . . .
 

As the turns tick by, one of my Scimitars picks up an unidentified contact in a trench on Point 228.
 

I am leaving nothing to chance, so I subject the contact to a twenty-second burst of HE from my tanks. There was something in that trench and whatever it is will now be severely discomfited.
 

The gunship arrives over the objective and subjects the western edge of the yard to a rocket strike.
 

It then follows that up with a burst of cannon fire . . .
 

. . . and then hits the eastern side of the yard with cannon fire too.
 

The gunship has hit those buildings with cannon fire twice now, so I reckon that there's something in there. I order my Javelin teams to hit the two buildings with missiles.
 

The gunship makes its last run a spectacular one, as it hits a spot in the western edge of the yard with a cannon burst. This spot promptly explodes and begins burning. I immediately guess that he has found and knocked out a concealed BMP-1.
 

The Apache returns to base, ammunition well and truly depleted. The dust begins to settle over the East Yard once more, and quiet descends across the AO. There is a pregnant pause. It is almost time . . .

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone. This is an AAR of a PBEM played with the British Forces module of Combat Mission: Shock Force. The scenario is "Sabres at Dawn" - I am attacking with a British light armoured reconnaissance force and @Rinaldi is defending with a Syrian reserve mechanised infantry force.

 
So, without further ado, let's do a quick analysis of the situation. My primary task is to attack and clear a compound known as the "East Yard" approximately 500m to the North-Northeast of my deployment zone. My secondary task is simply to destroy the enemy in the field. I must not suffer over 20% casualties and must have my force "arrayed for future operations", which presumably means I must keep ammunition expenditure to a reasonable level and have as little vehicles immobilised as possible. My force consists of light armour and mechanised reconnaissance infantry, supported by ATGM teams and rotary-wing assets.
 
My enemy is defending positions in and around the East Yard, north of a deep irrigation ditch running west-east across the Area of Operations (AO). Intelligence states that there are no enemy units South of the irrigation ditch. Presumably, given the low quality of my enemy's units, his intent is to hold his position for as long as possible and bleed my forces as much as he can before being eliminated. Enemy forces are estimated to be a platoon-sized force from a reserve mechanised infantry battalion equipped with BMP-1s. It is possible that they may be supported by ATGM teams. Due to my enemy commanding a reserve unit, it is likely that the equipment, training and leadership of his units are of a low quality. However, several things should encourage me to caution. Firstly, my own force is small and very light, designed for reconnaissance, not assaults on fortified positions. The BMP-1 is not a fearsome machine in Shock Force, but even its low-velocity 73mm cannon can easily pop any of my vehicles if it can land a hit. Secondly (and more importantly), Rinaldi is a highly skilled and experienced player of Combat Mission. I myself have very little experience, with only two other PBEMs under my belt (one of which ended prematurely because my opponent got bored, the other of which ended with Rinaldi kicking my teeth in). I can expect my opponent to quickly develop a very clear appraisal of the situation, with great knowledge of the capabilities of both his and my own units. He will likely try and engage me at as short a range as possible to try and offset the advantages that modern optics and firepower give me. He will be on the lookout for any weakness or mistake and will exploit such opportunity ruthlessly. I must be very careful if I am to avoid being severely embarrassed here (doubly so, as Rinaldi takes great pleasure in denigrating the fighting ability of my countrymen ).
 

Now for the terrain. The AO is small, only about 350x600m. To my immediate front and right, the ground is open and rises steeply, before gently falling off to the north. To my left, the ground rises more gently, with an MSR running North-South and a small Orchard running North along the edge of the map. The aforementioned irrigation ditch runs east-west, bisecting the AO. The briefing informs me that the ditch is unfordable, with only two crossing points, designated Tweedledum (to the north-west) and Tweedledee (to the north-east).
 

North of the irrigation ditch, the terrain becomes more complex. There is a small compound immediately North and to the left of Tweedledum, known as the "Tool Houses". North of the Tool Houses there is a gentle hill, designated "Point 228".
 

Immediately North of Tweedledee is my objective, the East Yard, a sprawling compound of one-storey buildings. North of the East Yard is another hill, designated "Point 225". Both Point 228 and 225 are covered in trenches. There is a thick haze covering the AO, the temperature is warm, the ground is very dry and there is a medium breeze blowing from the west.
 

Finally, a view of the AO through the eyes of my enemy. He has some excellent positions to take advantage of, with a large obstacle to his front, the complex semi-urban terrain on his left and right, and elevated fighting positions to his left-rear and right-rear.
 

Now to identify the key terrain (KT) of the AO. The first KT is the hill immediately to the front and right of my deployment zone. This is one of the highest points on the map and will provide excellent sight lines and fields of fire to the North.
 

The second KT is Tweedledum and the Tool Houses. Tweedledum is one of only two points where the irrigation ditch can be crossed and the Tool Houses could provide cover and concealment for forces defending the crossing point. The Tool Houses could be a good place for a forward observation post.
 

The third KT is Point 228. this hill provides sightlines and fields of fire across almost the entire AO, and the reverse slope offers an excellent place to conceal forces, for ambush or counterattack. Any advance towards the East Yard will be enfiladed by fire from Point 228.
 

The fourth and final KT is the East Yard and Point 225. The East Yard is my objective and must be cleared, but is also likely to be the toughest nut to crack. If he so wishes, Rinaldi could hide units deep in this compound as my units approach, before making a potentially devastating point-blank ambush. Point 225 provides good lines of sight over the open ground south of the irrigation ditch and would make another good location for an observation post.
 

Now for a detailed assessment of the force at my disposal. I command a small company-sized force from "A" Squadron of the 9th/12th Lancers. Firstly, we have the Command Troop with the Squadron Leader and Second in Command (2iC) mounted in Sultan APCs. A Tactical Air Controller team is mounted in a Spartan APC and will be directing the fires of a single Apache gunship.
 

Secondly, we have 1 Troop, consisting of four Scimitar light tanks. These little fellows are fast, agile and equipped with a hard-hitting 30mm autocannon. They wield the heaviest firepower of my force but are very lightly armoured, only really able to resist small arms fire.
 

Thirdly, we have the Support Troop, consisting of the command team and four four-man scout teams, all mounted in Spartan APCs. Each scout team has a SAW, a sniper rifle, an under-barrel grenade launcher and three light anti-tank weapons (LAW). These infantry teams will be needed to clear out the East Yard and conduct dismounted reconnaissance, but are all very fragile. This is undoubtedly the most vulnerable but also the most important part of my force.
 

Last, but definitely not least, we have the Guided Weapons Troop, consisting of two Javelin teams mounted in Spartan APCs. Each team has five missiles. The Javelin is an excellent weapon, accurate and very hard hitting. These teams will likely be the best option for knocking out AFVs and other hard targets.
 
Troops thus covered, all that remains is the time; it is currently 0530 and I have 50 minutes to complete my objectives. Phew, so much for a quick analysis! I still haven't really thought much about what my enemy might do or made a tentative plan yet. However, this post is getting rather long so I shall leave that for my next entry. Stay tuned!

We need satire after some of the "suggestions" people play straight here. 

I agree. All American units in Black Sea should be set to a minimum of green, if not conscript. Although I think Ukranian and Russian units need experience boosts as well. Your average Russian unit should be set to “elite” and your average Ukranian unit should be set to “Azov” (a new ranking that is above elite and only available to Ukranian forces). 

Good day everyone. This AAR is based on a PBEM of a quite interesting scenario created by @Rinaldi, "Action at Chervona Hirka", and based on the (quite well-made, I would say) master map by @H1nd.
 
SITUATION AND BRIEFING
It's the early hours of June 11th, 2017. I have command of the Ukrainian 15th Mechanized Battalion of the 58th Mechanized Brigade, deployed to hold up the brigade's northern shoulder around the town of Chervona Hirka.
My primary objective is to retain control of the town itself, as it sits adjacent to the enemy's MSR and controls access to side roads that could let the Russians bypass Krolevets. This is Objective Aleksej.
A roadblock positioned astride the road to the south is a secondary objective, designated Objective Vasilij. It is held by the battalion recon platoon occupying Battle Position 1. I do not expect to hold the position for very long against enemy attack, if it comes to that. However, forcing the enemy to deploy to destroy the roadblock will cost him precious time, and hopefully, the recon platoon will provide me early warning of enemy movement.
My third objective is to attrit and delay the enemy as much as possible: inflicting losses and forcing him to deploy a significant amount of forces to overcome my position will cost him time and weaken his ability to continue the thrust. In this case, the priority is to engage and destroy his infantry and their carriers, with armor and logistical vehicles to be engaged as targets of opportunity.
At my disposal is the aforementioned 15th Mechanized Battalion, reinforced by a platoon of armor (BM Bulats) from the Brigade and a platoon of MT-12 antitank guns.
The enemy force is a BTR-equipped motor rifle unit with armor support, and the incoming attack is likely going to be in battalion strength, though possibly somewhat diminished: a company-sized enemy force was repulsed yesterday, leaving behind several BTRs and T-72s.


PLAN
There are three probable routes for the enemy to attack down, by my estimation. Map is hopefully legible enough to interpret.


My intent is to cover all three probable axes of advance:
The field, Axis Alpha, is the fastest and most direct approach to the town.
However, it is covered from three sides, forming a fire sack to attrit the enemy as much as possible if they choose to advance there. The Bulats and antitank guns will engage from BP 3, ATGM teams of the battalion antitank platoon are situated in BP 2, and the right flank is covered by infantry with RPGs as well as their BMP-2s, occupying BP 4.
Axis Bravo, along the river on my left flank, would potentially allow the enemy to maneuver very close to Objective Aleksej while remaining out of my view. A rifle platoon is deployed on the north side of BP 2 to keep the area under observation. If the enemy chooses to focus his main effort down this axis of advance, that platoon is to act as a delaying obstacle so I can shift my forces accordingly.
Axis Charlie, the road on the south, is the third potential route for the enemy to take, and the one I judge to be least likely: it is constricted and forces the enemy to drive straight along a fairly narrow path, directly into any potential ambushes. Nevertheless, if the enemy chooses to move through here, my intent is, much like with Axis Bravo, to delay them with the limited forces I have at BP 6, to buy time for shifting around other forces to BP 9 at the south end of Chervona.
The artillery has pre-registered target points on positions on the east edge of the field: these are where I expect the enemy to position support by fire elements in case of an attack along Axis Alpha. Artillery fire on the TRPs will hopefully obscure the vision of and damage/disrupt any SBF elements on these positions.
Phase Line Forward is the first position where the enemy is likely to be engaged, by the battalion recon platoon at BP 1.
PL Midfield is the forward line of the battalion's main body.
PL Stop is the no-pass line.
 
If the enemy attacks along axis Alpha:
Forces at BP 2 and BP 4 are to put flanking fire on enemy forces as they move across the field, and then withdraw to contract the line when the enemy approaches PL Midfield: the forces at BP 2 will move to BP 8, and the units at BP 4 to BP 9. Alternatively, units at BP 2 and BP 4 will be kept in place to strike at the enemy's trailing elements, if he chooses to pass them by.
Forces in BP 3 just past PL Midfield will be the first to engage the enemy when he breaks into Chervona Hirka from the field, and will if necessary cede the edge of the town and attempt to conduct a fighting withdrawal to BP 12.
BP 8, 9, and 12 are the final fighting positions, being directly in front of PL Stop.

If the enemy attacks along axis Bravo:
Forces at BP 2 will engage the enemy first, and fight to delay the enemy as long as possible.
They may attempt to conduct a fighting withdrawal toward BP 10, and then either fight in position there or withdraw a second time to further strengthen BP 3.
Units at BP 3 and BP 8 will reorient to face a thrust from the northeast. If they can be safely pulled out of their position, forces from BP 4 will move to BP 12.
If necessary, forces at BP 8 will conduct a fighting withdrawal to BP 12.

If the enemy attacks along axis Charlie:
Forces at BP 6 will be the first to engage the enemy, to delay and attrit them.
Units at BP 4 will move south to strike at the enemy's flank where they are strung out along the road, and units at BP 8 will move to BP 9 to receive a thrust from the south.

In the event I fail to stop the enemy and lose control of Chervona Hirka, I am counting on inflicting enough losses to leave the enemy unable to effectively take advantage of the ground they have taken.
My briefing does not indicate that force preservation is a critical concern, but ideally, I want to keep losses below 30%, to ensure the battalion remains capable of further combat operations.
 
And well, that's it for the opening post.
The next update (and first actual AAR content!) should be along fairly soon.

You seem to be thinking I have some specific complaint about your data or your assertion, I don’t care enough about the non-issue to test it. I’m just saying, statistically speaking, complaints about equipment that aren’t clear bugs (I.e. that bug about ukranian tanks not firing properly), are almost always soapboxes for nationalistic grandstanding. 
And like I said, it’s a shame as I think it shifts focus away from actual bugs (like the 4.0 infantry bug). Non-issues like “Help I lost MTLBs to bricked Bradleys, pls fix” or “help my favourite toy doesn’t do x” sadly take away from more pressing matters like “my men run like lemmings from some bolt action rifle fire and spotting rounds.” Something members like @Rinaldi and others have mentioned 

Anyone who truly believes Russian forces are considered unplayable against the US needs to take a long hard look at whether it’s the game or whether they are just not as good as they think they are. 

@kraze states a fact - a unit using Russian equipment and doctrines got their ass whooped worse than I did as a kid for giving my mom lip, and you call him a troll. I'm sensing a disturbing pattern of 'hear no evil' with you when it comes to uncomfortable truths.  The alleged reaction to the leak is also eyebrow raising if it was 'mere disinformation' from the West.
Normally I'd say this is all off-topic - except its not. In addition to a subtle race going on between the two sides technologically to upgrade current systems, there's a doctrinal race happening as we speak: look no further than the ARMOR article I posted a few days ago. Its all well and good to show how the material they use performs but its equally valid discussion to show how Russian and US aligned countries use these materials to fight. Someone explores this and gets dismissed out of hand, poor show.