Josey Wales

Next post!  A little bit more casualties but a good amount for the enemy too along along with a weakening defensive position.

My enemy moved his sherman up, either underestimating the Brummbar or overestimating his sherman.  Surprising line of sight through the trees.  His sherman fired and missed then my Brummbar fired and penetrated the turret.  Only one sherman left out of the three.

The rest of this post will be at 24 minutes.  My men have made progress helped by the dead sherman and Brummbar fire.  In the top the 3rd platoon of the 10th company will try to destroy the last enemy sherman.  This is important and while I hope the panzerschreck succeeds if it doesn't I'll launch a panzerfaust charge with the platoon.  The 11th company with platoons from the 9th and 10th companies will enter from the bottom right corner and right side of the town.  Elements of the 9th company will destroy the last AT gun and possible spotters on the ridge.  After that they will secure the last minor objective and flank the rear of the town.

Major and first entry by my units into the town.  Almost no resistance has been met.  From what I have spotted my enemy units are further back in the town.  Going to move my squads from house to house under cover fire from the Brummbars and HMGs.  I have heavy mortars dropping in the further back part of town in 5 minutes which will provide an excellent opportunity to take the second half of the town where a lot of his units are.

Second entry point into the last major objective from the right side of town.  Not properly in the town yet but they're about to be.  They will provide flanking fire.  Really should have brought pioneers.  Lots of buildings right next to each other in the second major objective instead of separated like in the first major objective.  

I am having some annoying los issues with my Brummbars and HMGs.  Fortunately I am still managing to get good shots.
 
Some Brummbar shots I took at retreating infantry.  For my Brummbars I set to either 30 or 45 seconds for target briefly.  30 For 1 shot and 45 for two shots at normal crew skill.  I use target briefly just in case they identify their own targets in the second half of the minute.
The match is going well and the enemy position is rapidly weakening.  The only difficulty is his last Sherman which can kill a lot of infantry and stop an advance through the town.  Ideally my infantry will kill it.  As usual next post will be soon!

Nice commentary/analysis of WEGO vs RT. 

TIK is excellent. I originally found his channel from watching his lets plays of the old Close Combat videos. He has since moved on to making his own well researched historical documentaries on various battles and subjects. A lot of what he is working on now is all part of his research for a monster Stalingrad documentary. 
His channel really is fantastic. I find his content to be highly educational and well presented/researched. Would highly recommend checking out the posted video to this thread as well as the rest of his channel. Great stuff!

For the accuracy test I did multiple runs with first a rifle squad and then a sniper team firing at an infantry targets at various test ranges. Each test condition was repeated 5 times. The tests were broken up as follows;
Fatigued vs Rested at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Leadership vs -2 Leadership at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Motivation vs -2 Motivation at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Fitness vs -2 Fitness at 100m ,200m, 300m
Elite vs Conscript at 100m ,200m, 300m
 
The only soft factor which consistently affects accuracy is experience.
Similar results were found when testing for spotting.

For the accuracy test I did multiple runs with first a rifle squad and then a sniper team firing at an infantry targets at various test ranges. Each test condition was repeated 5 times. The tests were broken up as follows;
Fatigued vs Rested at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Leadership vs -2 Leadership at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Motivation vs -2 Motivation at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Fitness vs -2 Fitness at 100m ,200m, 300m
Elite vs Conscript at 100m ,200m, 300m
 
The only soft factor which consistently affects accuracy is experience.
Similar results were found when testing for spotting.

If a scenario designer or campaign overseer wanted to model the effects of genuine fatigue then selecting troops of a lower experience would seem the best way to simulate this. Units that were historically regular or veteran that were set in game to green or conscript will have compromised their spotting ability, accuracy, susceptibility to the effects upon morale of being suppressed & taking casualties, their ability to recover from suppression and their ability to pass on information.

Fatigue has no effect on a units accuracy or on its morale state regardless if the current morale state is as a result from either Combat Stress or Combat Shock or a combination of both.
Fatigue will only affect your movement options;
Tired troops cannot Fast Move.

Fatigued troops cannot Fast, Assault or Hunt Move.

Exhausted troops cannot Fast, Assault, Hunt or Quick Move.
 
Maintaining a C2 link with a Plt HQ for example provides that squad with a resistance to Combat Shock  i.e. its morale state will not drop as low under incoming fire as it would if it was out of C2 link.
Whether you want to maintain the C2 link is up to you as a player. Well trained, led and motivated units have a built in resistance to Combat Shock  whereas poorly trained, led and motivated units are more susceptible to its effects. You could make a case that its more important to keep the C2 link with lower quality troops when they are in contact, however even good quality troops get worn down and will benefit from maintaining the link when taking incoming fire especially if they have taken casualties and are suffering an additional impact on their morale state from Combat Stress.

If a scenario designer or campaign overseer wanted to model the effects of genuine fatigue then selecting troops of a lower experience would seem the best way to simulate this. Units that were historically regular or veteran that were set in game to green or conscript will have compromised their spotting ability, accuracy, susceptibility to the effects upon morale of being suppressed & taking casualties, their ability to recover from suppression and their ability to pass on information.

Here's what I am thinking now. BFC has chosen not to model the effects of long-term sleep deprivation. They just didn't try to go there. Instead, what they are modeling is the more or less temporary effect of greater than normal exertion. They are winded after running up a hillside in hot weather while perhaps carrying heavy equipment or something of the sort. Recovering from that only takes a few or many minutes, depending on how deep that weariness extends, but it does not effect judgement and perception the way that sleep deprivation does.
Sleep deprivation, especially if prolonged, is a different animal. It does effect performance and is not much effected by just taking a breather. In short, troops are not apt to show any recovery during the course of a CM game. For better or worse, it simply is not modeled in CM. We can argue over whether or not it should be present, but as usual, I expect BFC to keep its own council on this issue.
Michael

For the accuracy test I did multiple runs with first a rifle squad and then a sniper team firing at an infantry targets at various test ranges. Each test condition was repeated 5 times. The tests were broken up as follows;
Fatigued vs Rested at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Leadership vs -2 Leadership at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Motivation vs -2 Motivation at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Fitness vs -2 Fitness at 100m ,200m, 300m
Elite vs Conscript at 100m ,200m, 300m
 
The only soft factor which consistently affects accuracy is experience.
Similar results were found when testing for spotting.

For the accuracy test I did multiple runs with first a rifle squad and then a sniper team firing at an infantry targets at various test ranges. Each test condition was repeated 5 times. The tests were broken up as follows;
Fatigued vs Rested at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Leadership vs -2 Leadership at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Motivation vs -2 Motivation at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Fitness vs -2 Fitness at 100m ,200m, 300m
Elite vs Conscript at 100m ,200m, 300m
 
The only soft factor which consistently affects accuracy is experience.
Similar results were found when testing for spotting.

For the accuracy test I did multiple runs with first a rifle squad and then a sniper team firing at an infantry targets at various test ranges. Each test condition was repeated 5 times. The tests were broken up as follows;
Fatigued vs Rested at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Leadership vs -2 Leadership at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Motivation vs -2 Motivation at 100m ,200m, 300m
+2 Fitness vs -2 Fitness at 100m ,200m, 300m
Elite vs Conscript at 100m ,200m, 300m
 
The only soft factor which consistently affects accuracy is experience.
Similar results were found when testing for spotting.

Yep. Before I got into CMBO, I had a rudimentary (if that) knowledge of WWII weapons and armor and such. And man, I just went apes*** after I started playing. But a big part of the fun, part of what makes it so engrossing, is the discovery; learning about all the weapon systems, vehicles, and troop types. Having all these things that are alien to you open up a new world of curiosity, and send you seeking knowledge in directions you'd never thought you'd go. It's a blast, and one of the reasons you'll never hear me say I am bored. There's just too much to learn about, to get bored.
And I stopped a long time ago, thinking certain theaters or time periods wouldn't interest me. CMBB cured me of that. I wasn't interested at all in Soviet era WWII when they announced the game. And then wham! it was CMBO all over again, this time with stuff that was really alien to me. Damn, man, now I am not sure there isn't any military history that WON'T interest me. From Shogun Japan, to the Eastern Front,  to Carthage vs Rome, to Napoleon, there's something for every mood. My biggest problem is I have too many interests pulling me. I picked up Pike & Shot last night for 10 bucks on Steam, so now I have another area to explore. Love it, man. LOVE IT!
 
Okay, I'll shut up now!
 
 
Mord.
 

Me too, I couldn't tell the difference between a Panzer III and a Tiger when I first started playing CMFI.. I know embarrassing right?
Now every moment of spare time which is not spent either playing (or editing) CM, is invested in either watching WW2 documentaries or reading about WW2 history & unit tactics.
 
 

LOL. Yep, we are all basically still 10-years-old, playing in the backyard with a pack of army men, 'cept now we don't get grass stains on our knees and have to pick up a hundred figures and vehicles when it's time for dinner. I don't know how old you are but I grew up in the 70's and early 80's when Marx play sets reigned supreme. I had three different ones over the years, the last one being Navarone. So, I definitely get it!
 
Mord.

CM turned me into a WWII freak. I'd played Steel Panthers, Close Combat, Men At War, and a few others, but CM grabbed me like nobody's business and never let go. I'll have been coming here 18 years this October so that's gotta tell ya something. There's no other WWII/modern tactical games like it. The scope, the play styles, and the fidelity nail it. The game is very deep without breaking your brain. And with WEGO, there's just nothing out there that can touch it. WEGO kills it! WEGO has provided me with as much excitement, entertainment, and immersion as any movie ever could.
 
Mord.

Next post!  Now the casualties are starting to come in but they're still fairly light.  

My advance is still continuing with good gains.  I am dropping smoke on the major objective to help my entry but it's mortar smoke and not very effective, probably not going to affect entry much.  I am calling in heavy mortars which will start landing soon which should be useful.  My opponent dropped AP artillery in the open field around the Brummbars and machine guns but fortunately most of it was to far to the left so casualties were small.

The most important gain so far.  My panzerschreck managed to sneak up and ammo rack one of my opponent's three shermans.  The only enemy infantry in the forest was an enemy bazooka team which got killed by the other parts of the platoon.  This also allows my Brummbars to move much more freely as the other two shermans are in the town and not covering the field.

Well the other field.  Unfortunately on the right flank I didn't check los and a sherman killed 90% of two squads.  Annoying but these losses are acceptable.  The enemy AT gun (which these units were heading towards) isn't really an issue because it doesn't have enough los.  I will send another squad and a machine gun team or two to kill them anyway.  The rest of the 9th company is moving in with the 11th company to push into the major objectives.

One of my two Brummbars has pushed up and an enemy bazooka team ran up but got suppressed.  Telling the Brummbar to target it and am telling some infantry to target and move.  After that it will start to bombard buildings and infantry.

While I haven't encountered any units in the forest a machine gun in one of the buildings killed a squads worth of infantry.  Annoying but like the casualties for my companies, the casualties are light.  Force cohesion and my attack plans haven't been affected.
Next post will be soon!

Nah, I was very new and still very bad at this game when this match was happening. A lot of sulomon and I’s games consist of people who don’t know what they are doing throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. 

Hello this is my first AAR.  This is an AAR of a quick battle I fought against @sid_burn  I have fought more recent battles against Sid but this is one of the more fitting battles for an AAR.  I am attacking as Germans against Americans in a medium size attack.

The map is well forested with all the objectives being accessible by forest from my right and there is some forest on my left.  The map for the most part slowly declines but trees in front of the town obscure some los from the hill.  This is my first time attacking Sid in a QB so I am unsure of what to expect.  I expect infantry and artillery but am unsure of how much armor he will take.  I am only sure he will put AT guns on a ridge that overlook a good portion of the hill.  

My own forces consist of a battalion of Grenadiers and three Brummbars.  This is one of my first time using Brummbars and I'm curious how they will perform.  If Sid takes a lot of armor that could be problematic since Brummbars only carry 3 HEAT rounds and aren't very accurate.  Probably would have better to replace 1-2 of the Brummbars with a stug but oh well.  Given the terrain I should be able to get infantry AT close enough against armor if he has any.  For artillery I have four on map 81mm mortars and two off map.  I also have 2 heavy mortars and a forward observer to spot for them.  Unfortunately I didn't bring any trps this battle. 

My base of fire is the hill using my Brummbars and HMGs to fire into the town.  The 10th company will also move here.  One platoon will secure the minor objectives (where I expect only a token or nonexistent defence), another platoon will be with the Brummbars and HMGs to protect and assist with fire into the town, and the third platoon along with the panzerschreck will move into the forest to secure it and flank the town.  The 11th company will move along the forest to flank the major objectives and will be the main force pushing into the objectives.  The 9th company will push along the far right to neutralize whatever forces he has on the ridge and to support the 11th company in their attack on the town.
Will make more posts soon!

General "Mill" tactics. 
While working with tanks it is iportant to change position often. But sometimes you find yourself such a nice spot on a map that you dont want to change it. Well in that case you will need to look for 2 additional positions near by. Put one tank into position by giving him movement order +plus add up to 30 seconds pause on his position and give him "reverse" order. During those 30 seconds your tank will be able to located and fire on target at least once, then he will retreat. After he moved back use the same technic to your "replacement" tank - let him take exactly the same position as your first tank and also give him 30 seconds to work on target before reverse move. By doing that you will make it nearly impossible for your enemy to take out your tank. You need to set your "Mill of death" in a random place on a map, while doing raiding with your tank unit - you should not apply this tactics while hitting your enemy directly in the face. Because in that case "reversing" will benefit your enemy. Sometimes while playing against skilled opponent you can be hunted for doing this, and this is where the "Covering" tank will work. "Covering" tank should be located under the certain angle towards your enemy position. That tank should not be exposed to enemy positions yet, it should control area in front of your target. If your "Mill" tanks will be hunted during those sneaky rotations your "covering" tank will simply execute those who will go after you. So the logic is simple - destroying your enemy shot after shot without giving him time to lock on your units. If your enemy will dare to move some armor forward your covering tank will punish that armor right away. This technique will take some time and practice before you will master it but if you will it will come in handy. It is important to remember that controling areas where your enemy is is always nice but thinking one step ahead will make you even more effective. 
 

Yeah don’t get me wrong  I get that some folks really want to know that data. I am not sure the answer is necessarily cut and dried, but maybe it is.
How much you care depends a lot on how you play the game. I am one those immersion freaks.  My units should be in c&c because that is how troops behave. Whether it makes a difference in capabilities is for me kind of irrelevant, but I would hope it does.  In real life the advantages or not is also not necessarily quantifiable. So much goes into whether a leader is effective or not. I kind of prefer the ambiguity. On the other hand I absolutely understand that many folks don’t. 

Fatigue has no effect on a units accuracy or on its morale state regardless if the current morale state is as a result from either Combat Stress or Combat Shock or a combination of both.
Fatigue will only affect your movement options;
Tired troops cannot Fast Move.

Fatigued troops cannot Fast, Assault or Hunt Move.

Exhausted troops cannot Fast, Assault, Hunt or Quick Move.
 
Maintaining a C2 link with a Plt HQ for example provides that squad with a resistance to Combat Shock  i.e. its morale state will not drop as low under incoming fire as it would if it was out of C2 link.
Whether you want to maintain the C2 link is up to you as a player. Well trained, led and motivated units have a built in resistance to Combat Shock  whereas poorly trained, led and motivated units are more susceptible to its effects. You could make a case that its more important to keep the C2 link with lower quality troops when they are in contact, however even good quality troops get worn down and will benefit from maintaining the link when taking incoming fire especially if they have taken casualties and are suffering an additional impact on their morale state from Combat Stress.

Fatigue has no effect on a units accuracy or on its morale state regardless if the current morale state is as a result from either Combat Stress or Combat Shock or a combination of both.
Fatigue will only affect your movement options;
Tired troops cannot Fast Move.

Fatigued troops cannot Fast, Assault or Hunt Move.

Exhausted troops cannot Fast, Assault, Hunt or Quick Move.
 
Maintaining a C2 link with a Plt HQ for example provides that squad with a resistance to Combat Shock  i.e. its morale state will not drop as low under incoming fire as it would if it was out of C2 link.
Whether you want to maintain the C2 link is up to you as a player. Well trained, led and motivated units have a built in resistance to Combat Shock  whereas poorly trained, led and motivated units are more susceptible to its effects. You could make a case that its more important to keep the C2 link with lower quality troops when they are in contact, however even good quality troops get worn down and will benefit from maintaining the link when taking incoming fire especially if they have taken casualties and are suffering an additional impact on their morale state from Combat Stress.

Fatigue has no effect on a units accuracy or on its morale state regardless if the current morale state is as a result from either Combat Stress or Combat Shock or a combination of both.
Fatigue will only affect your movement options;
Tired troops cannot Fast Move.

Fatigued troops cannot Fast, Assault or Hunt Move.

Exhausted troops cannot Fast, Assault, Hunt or Quick Move.
 
Maintaining a C2 link with a Plt HQ for example provides that squad with a resistance to Combat Shock  i.e. its morale state will not drop as low under incoming fire as it would if it was out of C2 link.
Whether you want to maintain the C2 link is up to you as a player. Well trained, led and motivated units have a built in resistance to Combat Shock  whereas poorly trained, led and motivated units are more susceptible to its effects. You could make a case that its more important to keep the C2 link with lower quality troops when they are in contact, however even good quality troops get worn down and will benefit from maintaining the link when taking incoming fire especially if they have taken casualties and are suffering an additional impact on their morale state from Combat Stress.

Fatigue has no effect on a units accuracy or on its morale state regardless if the current morale state is as a result from either Combat Stress or Combat Shock or a combination of both.
Fatigue will only affect your movement options;
Tired troops cannot Fast Move.

Fatigued troops cannot Fast, Assault or Hunt Move.

Exhausted troops cannot Fast, Assault, Hunt or Quick Move.
 
Maintaining a C2 link with a Plt HQ for example provides that squad with a resistance to Combat Shock  i.e. its morale state will not drop as low under incoming fire as it would if it was out of C2 link.
Whether you want to maintain the C2 link is up to you as a player. Well trained, led and motivated units have a built in resistance to Combat Shock  whereas poorly trained, led and motivated units are more susceptible to its effects. You could make a case that its more important to keep the C2 link with lower quality troops when they are in contact, however even good quality troops get worn down and will benefit from maintaining the link when taking incoming fire especially if they have taken casualties and are suffering an additional impact on their morale state from Combat Stress.