BrotherSurplice

Oh don't worry, I'm well aware of the fragility of my force. One good hit from the enemy could ruin my chances of winning any kind of victory.
I do like to keep people waiting 
Well, what I meant was that only the scout platoon and the light tanks would be taking part in the assault. The rest of the APCs can only lend their machine gun fire - which against trenches and buildings, leaves a great deal to be desired!
It is indeed interesting; in my second year, for example, I got to go on a field trip to Normandy for a week. That remains my favourite holiday ever. I've met some fascinating people as well. The career prospects, however, are somewhat limited. I could become an academic myself and go into teaching, I could work for a thinktank or journal, I could work for the government, I could go into the military, and er . . . that's about it - for places where my degree would be directly useful at least. Also, I will almost certainly have to do several post-graduate degrees for any sort of career in academia or the government.
No apology necessary Bil! Someone has to keep the people entertained while I warm up the next update!

Oh don't worry, I wasn't trying to sound gloomy, I was just trying to be realistic about how my degree is directly useful. I'm well aware of the general utility of a university degree. Even if it were useless, I'd still have no regrets, as I've had a great time studying for it.

That sounded a bit gloomy, mate.
Think of your Bachelor's as an enabler, rather than the thing you'll be doing for the next 50 years of your life. One thing is the specific knowledge you get on a particular field, and another thing are the skills you get to develop creative, analytic thinking, how to perform a formal inquiry into a particular topic, and so on. If you get the latter, you shouldn't have any trouble crossing over to other fields with more appeal to the labour market.

Always good to know.. thanks.  I am toying with starting another AAR in the next week or so... getting the bug again I guess.

Well, well, this is an honour  Thanks very much for the praise Bil! Your Battle Drill Blog has been a great help to me in playing CM, and this match has been no exception. Though I question your assessment of my odds. While my total strength is indeed a Company(-), the actual manoeuvre units amount to sixteen infantrymen, four APCs and four light tanks. Hardly what I'd call overwhelming! Still, it depends how much I'm hurting the enemy at the moment I suppose. I do not have a military background, though I am currently reading for a War Studies degree at university and have several internet friends who are military or ex-military.

I am happy to hear someone has taken my blog posts to heart and actually took something away from them.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm just pissing in the wind.   
I think your math skills might need some remediation... four light tanks and four APCs you say?  I count a total of 14 vehicles (Command group = 3; Light tank group = 4, Scouts = 5, and the ATGM team on 2).    Really the infantry in a battle like this over this open terrain probably won't come into much use until you finally assault the objective, but I expect you to reduce most of the resistance before that happens anyway.
Your line of study sounds interesting...  many jobs available for War Studies graduates these days outside of the military?

Well, well, this is an honour  Thanks very much for the praise Bil! Your Battle Drill Blog has been a great help to me in playing CM, and this match has been no exception. Though I question your assessment of my odds. While my total strength is indeed a Company(-), the actual manoeuvre units amount to sixteen infantrymen, four APCs and four light tanks. Hardly what I'd call overwhelming! Still, it depends how much I'm hurting the enemy at the moment I suppose. I do not have a military background, though I am currently reading for a War Studies degree at university and have several internet friends who are military or ex-military.

Having done an AAR or two in my time I understand the workload involved, especially when writing with this amount of detail.  Do you have a military background?
Very well done AAR so far, even if the odds are really stacked in your favor.     Seriously, a Company Team, plus your available artillery and air power against a platoon plus... that is an overwhelming force.  Please don't take that as a hit on you, we fight with the tools we are given.  I do admire how you are approaching this assault and it is a delight to read, so thanks for putting it together.
Bil

My apologies for the wait for this third entry. Making an AAR is a lot more time consuming than I had first imagined! On the plus side, I've progressed quite far since my last post, with far too much content for this one instalment alone, so entry four should be along shortly after this one.
I hadn't mentioned that the enemy might have medium or heavy machine guns in my first post, but I had been thinking about it, so this discovery of an MMG team comes as no surprise. Each Syrian mechanised infantry company comes with a weapons platoon made up of two sections, each of which is made up of two MMG teams. I can expect there to be at least one more team out there somewhere, and maybe two others if Rinaldi has the whole weapons platoon.
 

As mentioned, Scout Team 4 has pulled back rather than duke it out with an MMG team. The two Scimitars following them are actually unable to draw a line of sight to the enemy position, but the other two on the hill to my front are able, so I order them to open up on the enemy trench with their machine guns. Their supply of 30mm HE is embarrassingly small and I want to save it for harder targets (namely, the buildings in the East Yard), so I use the 'Target Light' command. Their fire is inaccurate, as word of the enemy contact hasn't yet filtered through the C2 network and thus they don't yet know that there is an MMG team occupying the trench. However, it should be enough to force the MMG to keep their heads down, at least for now.
 

Meanwhile, my Tactical Air Controller team has moved forward and is calling in support. I am hoping that the Apache will be able to sniff out some of the enemy BMPs, so I order a heavy strike to cover the entire enemy side of the map.
 

Scout Team 3 moves up out of the orchard to the edge of the road and spots another enemy unit, an ATGM team hiding in the cover of a berm running along the centre of the far side of the irrigation ditch. Another of my suspicions are confirmed!
 

A Syrian mechanised battalion has a single weapons company, which has a single platoon of ATGMs. This platoon, like the company-level weapons platoon, is made up of two sections, each made up of two teams. As with the MMGs, I can now expect at least one more ATGM team and up to two others if the whole AT platoon is present. Scout Team 3 begin firing at the enemy team, and although their line of sight is quite poor, they are able to make the enemy duck for cover.
 

However, as my scouts take potshots at the ATGM team, they come under fire from another MMG team, occupying a trench close to the other spotted MMG.
 

The Scimitars on the left, which had moved up and began firing at the first enemy team, are swiftly retasked to deal with this new threat. They are eventually able to suppress the second MMG.
 

As this is happening, my Apache is making his first attack run. The first missile he launches is unfortunately intercepted by a tree, but the second slams into a building in the objective.
 

Next up, a rocket barrage on the objective . . .
 

. . . followed by a rocket barrage on the Tool Houses and the berm.
 

The second rocket attack bears fruit, as I observe flames and smoke from a point behind the Tool Houses. A BMP knocked out, perhaps?
 

As a parting gift, the Apache subjects a building inside the objective to a burst of cannon fire, before finishing its mission.
 

As the match goes on, I am continually scanning the battlefield, analysing and re-analysing the terrain and my positions. I spot a couple of things; firstly, the hill to my front is not providing me with as good a line of sight as I had first thought it would. The slope on my side is very gentle towards the summit, and so my infantry teams are taking forever to get eyes on the objective. My vehicles are far too visible for my liking as well. Secondly, my first suggested axis of advance may have more cover than I realised. A spur of the hill juts out towards the objective, pictured here. The ground to the right of this spur is slightly covered from Point 228, at least initially. Perhaps Axis 1 is a better course of action that I first thought?
So far, things have been going mostly my way. Units are moving up, I've spotted an ATGM team before it could ambush my units, MMG teams have revealed themselves at no cost to me, and banter with my opponent reveals that the helicopter strike hurt him quite a bit.
However, I am soon to be reminded that the enemy always gets a vote . . .

Now that's a cliffhanger If I have ever seen  one...

Oh yeah, stay humble. No matter how good you are the other side is trying hard to out do you...

My apologies for the wait for this third entry. Making an AAR is a lot more time consuming than I had first imagined! On the plus side, I've progressed quite far since my last post, with far too much content for this one instalment alone, so entry four should be along shortly after this one.
I hadn't mentioned that the enemy might have medium or heavy machine guns in my first post, but I had been thinking about it, so this discovery of an MMG team comes as no surprise. Each Syrian mechanised infantry company comes with a weapons platoon made up of two sections, each of which is made up of two MMG teams. I can expect there to be at least one more team out there somewhere, and maybe two others if Rinaldi has the whole weapons platoon.
 

As mentioned, Scout Team 4 has pulled back rather than duke it out with an MMG team. The two Scimitars following them are actually unable to draw a line of sight to the enemy position, but the other two on the hill to my front are able, so I order them to open up on the enemy trench with their machine guns. Their supply of 30mm HE is embarrassingly small and I want to save it for harder targets (namely, the buildings in the East Yard), so I use the 'Target Light' command. Their fire is inaccurate, as word of the enemy contact hasn't yet filtered through the C2 network and thus they don't yet know that there is an MMG team occupying the trench. However, it should be enough to force the MMG to keep their heads down, at least for now.
 

Meanwhile, my Tactical Air Controller team has moved forward and is calling in support. I am hoping that the Apache will be able to sniff out some of the enemy BMPs, so I order a heavy strike to cover the entire enemy side of the map.
 

Scout Team 3 moves up out of the orchard to the edge of the road and spots another enemy unit, an ATGM team hiding in the cover of a berm running along the centre of the far side of the irrigation ditch. Another of my suspicions are confirmed!
 

A Syrian mechanised battalion has a single weapons company, which has a single platoon of ATGMs. This platoon, like the company-level weapons platoon, is made up of two sections, each made up of two teams. As with the MMGs, I can now expect at least one more ATGM team and up to two others if the whole AT platoon is present. Scout Team 3 begin firing at the enemy team, and although their line of sight is quite poor, they are able to make the enemy duck for cover.
 

However, as my scouts take potshots at the ATGM team, they come under fire from another MMG team, occupying a trench close to the other spotted MMG.
 

The Scimitars on the left, which had moved up and began firing at the first enemy team, are swiftly retasked to deal with this new threat. They are eventually able to suppress the second MMG.
 

As this is happening, my Apache is making his first attack run. The first missile he launches is unfortunately intercepted by a tree, but the second slams into a building in the objective.
 

Next up, a rocket barrage on the objective . . .
 

. . . followed by a rocket barrage on the Tool Houses and the berm.
 

The second rocket attack bears fruit, as I observe flames and smoke from a point behind the Tool Houses. A BMP knocked out, perhaps?
 

As a parting gift, the Apache subjects a building inside the objective to a burst of cannon fire, before finishing its mission.
 

As the match goes on, I am continually scanning the battlefield, analysing and re-analysing the terrain and my positions. I spot a couple of things; firstly, the hill to my front is not providing me with as good a line of sight as I had first thought it would. The slope on my side is very gentle towards the summit, and so my infantry teams are taking forever to get eyes on the objective. My vehicles are far too visible for my liking as well. Secondly, my first suggested axis of advance may have more cover than I realised. A spur of the hill juts out towards the objective, pictured here. The ground to the right of this spur is slightly covered from Point 228, at least initially. Perhaps Axis 1 is a better course of action that I first thought?
So far, things have been going mostly my way. Units are moving up, I've spotted an ATGM team before it could ambush my units, MMG teams have revealed themselves at no cost to me, and banter with my opponent reveals that the helicopter strike hurt him quite a bit.
However, I am soon to be reminded that the enemy always gets a vote . . .

My apologies for the wait for this third entry. Making an AAR is a lot more time consuming than I had first imagined! On the plus side, I've progressed quite far since my last post, with far too much content for this one instalment alone, so entry four should be along shortly after this one.
I hadn't mentioned that the enemy might have medium or heavy machine guns in my first post, but I had been thinking about it, so this discovery of an MMG team comes as no surprise. Each Syrian mechanised infantry company comes with a weapons platoon made up of two sections, each of which is made up of two MMG teams. I can expect there to be at least one more team out there somewhere, and maybe two others if Rinaldi has the whole weapons platoon.
 

As mentioned, Scout Team 4 has pulled back rather than duke it out with an MMG team. The two Scimitars following them are actually unable to draw a line of sight to the enemy position, but the other two on the hill to my front are able, so I order them to open up on the enemy trench with their machine guns. Their supply of 30mm HE is embarrassingly small and I want to save it for harder targets (namely, the buildings in the East Yard), so I use the 'Target Light' command. Their fire is inaccurate, as word of the enemy contact hasn't yet filtered through the C2 network and thus they don't yet know that there is an MMG team occupying the trench. However, it should be enough to force the MMG to keep their heads down, at least for now.
 

Meanwhile, my Tactical Air Controller team has moved forward and is calling in support. I am hoping that the Apache will be able to sniff out some of the enemy BMPs, so I order a heavy strike to cover the entire enemy side of the map.
 

Scout Team 3 moves up out of the orchard to the edge of the road and spots another enemy unit, an ATGM team hiding in the cover of a berm running along the centre of the far side of the irrigation ditch. Another of my suspicions are confirmed!
 

A Syrian mechanised battalion has a single weapons company, which has a single platoon of ATGMs. This platoon, like the company-level weapons platoon, is made up of two sections, each made up of two teams. As with the MMGs, I can now expect at least one more ATGM team and up to two others if the whole AT platoon is present. Scout Team 3 begin firing at the enemy team, and although their line of sight is quite poor, they are able to make the enemy duck for cover.
 

However, as my scouts take potshots at the ATGM team, they come under fire from another MMG team, occupying a trench close to the other spotted MMG.
 

The Scimitars on the left, which had moved up and began firing at the first enemy team, are swiftly retasked to deal with this new threat. They are eventually able to suppress the second MMG.
 

As this is happening, my Apache is making his first attack run. The first missile he launches is unfortunately intercepted by a tree, but the second slams into a building in the objective.
 

Next up, a rocket barrage on the objective . . .
 

. . . followed by a rocket barrage on the Tool Houses and the berm.
 

The second rocket attack bears fruit, as I observe flames and smoke from a point behind the Tool Houses. A BMP knocked out, perhaps?
 

As a parting gift, the Apache subjects a building inside the objective to a burst of cannon fire, before finishing its mission.
 

As the match goes on, I am continually scanning the battlefield, analysing and re-analysing the terrain and my positions. I spot a couple of things; firstly, the hill to my front is not providing me with as good a line of sight as I had first thought it would. The slope on my side is very gentle towards the summit, and so my infantry teams are taking forever to get eyes on the objective. My vehicles are far too visible for my liking as well. Secondly, my first suggested axis of advance may have more cover than I realised. A spur of the hill juts out towards the objective, pictured here. The ground to the right of this spur is slightly covered from Point 228, at least initially. Perhaps Axis 1 is a better course of action that I first thought?
So far, things have been going mostly my way. Units are moving up, I've spotted an ATGM team before it could ambush my units, MMG teams have revealed themselves at no cost to me, and banter with my opponent reveals that the helicopter strike hurt him quite a bit.
However, I am soon to be reminded that the enemy always gets a vote . . .

Yeah, exactly. The best way to think of a BMP is an assault raft that can carry right on and attack with the infantry; the range of a MRR or MRB that has a bridgehead is no further than their current load of fuel. A river-crossing by a BMP unit is no different than a typical cross-river attack with rafts in principal: to secure the far bank for bridging.  You got to get one across and keep it intact to continue any type of operational movement. 
American doctrine puts a lot more faith in the infantry's ability to deal with threats in a limited environment and lots of support, whereas a lot of Soviet/Russian literature (learning from Afghanistan and Chechnya) believe that Infantry suppress and mop up after the supporting vehicles do their job. Considering both approaches have been successfully borne out in conflicts I can't really slag either, its a difference in philosophy and TO&E. 
BTR-82As are swimmable yes. The BTR remains a remarkably light vehicle after slapping a 30mm on it. If I had to go off the top of my head it's only a 3-4 tons heavier than it was in its first configurations. 

One word: Ogre
Ogre and its sequel, G.E.V., are tactical ground combat games set in the late 21st century. In 2085 A.D., armored warfare is faster and deadlier than ever. Hovercraft, tanks and infantry slug it out with tactical nukes. But the most feared weapon of all needs no human guidance. It's the giant cybernetic tank called the Ogre
http://www.sjgames.com/ogre/
You can learn all about non-manned tanks, and how it is inevitable that they will turn on their human overlords. 
Unmanned tanks? No thanks.

More armor. LAV-III ain't swimmable either, and never has been. No idea about MOWAGs. The ability to ford rivers is secondary to the US, who's bridging abilities embarrass most other countries. 
In the same time it takes to prepare a BMP for a river crossing operation, we're as likely to just try and slap a few ribbons across. River crossings are deemed routine for both sides, but for different reasons.

I don't think you should block so many people if you don't hate them.

Some Ukrainian soldiers wearing steel pots.
A mod done at the request of @Rinaldi.

Makes me wonder where they would figure in on this scenario; even with the very clear expansion of the war being ruled out by Battlefront. Would they remain poised in the Baltic States to maintain the deterrent and prevent an expansion of the conflict, or be poured into the Ukraine through Poland? The saner option would be the former, I guess.
It would be interesting to see how they stack up, especially with the relative organizational mess the Army is in with the 2020 reforms underway. I recently purchased the UK module for Shock Force after the recommendation of @BrotherSurplice and don't regret it; they're far more interesting to play as then I was willing to give them credit for.

Thanks, it's rare for me to get such an infantry heavy battle going in Black Sea and I definitely was in the mood for one.


 
 

A PBEM game from about two months ago. Long overdue for release. Working subtitles as well if you have trouble understanding me on the mic. Enjoy.

Tough crowd nowadays.

Instructive in what sense? Rolling T72B3 platoons to their death? 

Trees and ATGMs are NOT a good combination...for the missile. A very effective counter-missile technique is to use the woods. Javelins tend to lose lock if the tank is covered by a canopy of foliage, due to the nature of their pop-up profile and seeker. Flat trajectory missiles tend to detonate on the trees if there are any in between the firer and the target.
It's very cool that the game simulates the effects of trees on modern missiles.
It's very sad when that simulation affects your missile.
It's very good that the simulation includes the effect of the missile detonation upon the tree. "Poof", it's gone.
All you need is to have more missiles than the enemy has trees.

I have already asked for a demonstration of Olek's tips 'in the wild' as it were and for my trouble have received nought but evasion and, to be frank, barely coherent gibberish that can be summed up as "my tactics are beyond criticism, how dare you ask me to put my money where my mouth is." But very well, I'll bite. I think that the use of 203mm heavy artillery not to suppress, mask or destroy the enemy, the raison d'etre of any artillery piece, but to make foxholes for the purpose of advancing over open terrain in the face of the enemy, is, to put it mildly, a gross misapplication of a rare and expensive asset. Let us consider the picture he presented back there: a mechanised infantry attack is made, but instead of using the cover available, the commander intends to make his attack across open ground. Now, if the artillery had been used to suppress the enemy, as any sane commander would have used it for, this type of attack might not be a bad idea. However, the artillery is instead used to make foxholes in the open ground in front of the enemy. The attack goes in and the battlegroup is flayed alive by the very much alive and unsuppressed enemy. The foxholes so thoughtfully provided by the artillery are a cold comfort surviving infantry, as whatever had the power to wipe out an advance by IFVs or APCs is presumably well able to eviscerate a force of decimated and demoralised dismounts. The infantry is now pinned in the field, unable to either advance or retreat. Now, if the enemy hadn't been present, or if they had been weak enough to be overcome by the mechanised attack alone, then congrats, you've just used a very rare and expensive asset for absolutely no gain whatsoever.
Is that a detailed enough analysis for you?