Trasher

Good day everyone. Today I will be playing through the 'Abu Susah' scenario of CMSF2.


The mission is simple - my two Stryker rifle platoons must bypass the village of Abu Susah, known to be held by hostile irregulars, and destroy any enemy anti-tank weapons. I have 45 minutes to accomplish my task.
I know little about my enemy, only that Abu Susah is home to an infamous radicalised madrassa and that there are 'many bad men' with 'many weapons'. The briefing warns me of RPGs and ATGMs. There could also be recoilless rifles. As I am facing irregulars I will also have to be on the lookout for IEDs covering the roads and other chokepoints. Civilian density is moderate, so I will have to be vigilant. The enemy could be hiding in plain sight.

The AO is about 900 x 600m across. Abu Susah sits roughly in the centre, north of my start line and stretches to the west, nestling in some rolling hills and straddling a crossroads. The ground is very dry and the weather is hazy and warm, with a light wind blowing from the northeast. Sightlines are relatively open, the AO being dominated by the few multi-storey buildings dotted about the place.


Atop hills to the northwest and northeast of my start line are some small farm buildings. Their elevation will provide me with vital observation posts over the AO and into part of the village.

The highest building in the AO is a three-storey just on the eastern edge of the village, which I have dubbed the Savoy.

The other high point of the AO is a two-storey atop a hill north of the village, which I have dubbed the Ritz. These buildings would make for excellent observation posts and good (if obvious) positions for heavy weapons.

There are two routes that I could take to bypass the village. The first is the safest and most obvious route, a simple run along the eastern edge of the AO. This keeps the village at a relative arm's length.

This route has two sticking points, these sheep pens and a ditch along the north-south road. The ditch has only three crossing points: one at my start line, one where it is bisected by the east-west road and one at the northern edge of the AO. The sheep pens constrict my manoeuvre space at the north-eastern edge of the AO, forcing me into a chokepoint and providing a position for the enemy. The ditch then forces me into another chokepoint at the crossing.

The second route is less obvious but far riskier: a run along the western edge of the AO, along a dirt road that loops around Abu Susah to the North. This route takes me very close to the village and leads through a small hamlet or farm on the reverse slope of the hill in the northwest corner of the AO.

An advance along this route would be exposed to fire from the village and would then have to fight through the hamlet/farm (if they are occupied). The one advantage this route provides is that it is far less obvious than the first.

I command the 1st and 2nd Platoons of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. My platoons are slightly understrength, lacking their weapons squads and I am short one Stryker, forcing my pair of platoon HQs to travel together. This will complicate command and control slightly.

We are supported by two sections of 81mm mortars. My men are veterans and are all well-led and well-rested. I have three grenade machine gun equipped Strykers and four heavy machine gun equipped Strykers. All in all, a nice little combat package, with fire support that should be adequate for the mission.

Right, analysis complete, now to put my force into action. My first move will be to fan out and get some observation posts up on the hills to the left and right of my start line.

To be as clear as possible:
Cold War will release through Battlefront (BFC) in April as a completed game. All features, assets, and normal playability and functions will be present. This includes the PBEM/multiplayer functionality as it is with every other CM game. 
In June, Slitherine will release Cold War on Steam. That release will come with a new mulitplayer feature, the Slitherine PBEM system.
Between April and June, the Slitherine PBEM feature will be developed by Slitherine and added to Cold War. Players who own the game from BFC will have the opportunity to try out the new PBEM features and report back on any bugs they encounter.

Glorious March to Victory, Final Post - "Like Tears in Rain"
Well big thank you to all who watched.  I figure I should stop leaving you all hanging, so we cease fired on the last turn (33 I believe).  Now take the end-screen with a grain of salt:

So first off there was a dumb double-accounting error for the Soviet side.  Basically the parameters were:
En Cas 50% = 50 VPs
En Condition 50% = 50 VPs
Dollbach Village = 100 VPs.
The error was the Soviets had another 100 VPs for having fewer than/better than 50% cas/cond, so I subtracted that because if we had paid attention Bil was above 50% too.  So the score was really 100 because I held the town.  (Note, also a small error in that his M150s were counted as tanks...a bug we noted for fixing)
The outstanding question is "could Bil have reduced me to 50% without going there himself"...that one is tougher.   So for Soviets:
215 men: lost 71 = 33%
17 Tanks: lost 10 = 58%
17 AFVs: lost 9 = 53%
For the US:
138 men: lost 56 = 40.5%
12 Tanks: lost 6 = 50%
17 AFVs (also counting his mortar carriers): Lost 6 = 35%
So this was by no stretch a "Total Victory", that was straight up on us for not checking the victory parameters.  I hold the village but given the drubbing I received in taking it, I am not sure I can put a statue up in Red Square for this either.  Add to this the fact I started with a lot more men and tanks, it starts to push the whole thing into Draw territory to my mind.  
Now Bil had much better arty, had air (I had none) and EW which made my arty next to useless without TRPs (which I did not have) so there is that.  And my starting position was not the best but it is a poor craftsman that blames the workbench.  
I will let you all judge for yourselves.  Regardless, was a helluva fight, the kind that comes around only every so often,  and we are all working to get you guys a chance at it yourselves soon enough.
 

Reminder for everyone to and get their friends to buy CMCW on battlefront.com, BFC gets more of a cut + like stated earlier; day 1 access.

I know everybody is excited and would like to know what is next after the Base Game... believe me we are all excited too!
As far as follow-on modules go.. yes several are planned, but what they are specifically we will keep to ourselves until after the game is released.  For now the focus must stay on the base-game for us, but feel free to conjecture and dream, I enjoy those threads, but we won't be confirming or denying anything until after this one is on the street.
Just so you guys know that we aren't ignoring you in those discussions, we are trying to stay focused and not get sidetracked so we can deliver this thing in time.
Cheers, Bil

Oh hell yeah!
 

A few fun screenshots for everyone:





 

All I'm saying is 1979 - 1982 is during the war in Afghanistan..

This is something I threw together in my own time. Please remember that this is from a beta build of the game and is subject to change. 

Last night, I discovered a new piece of software called Parsec. For those of you familiar with Steam's 'Remote Play' feature, Parsec will be familiar to you. For those of you who do not know, Parsec allows a host to stream their computer to a friend (or friends) in real time, full resolution, and the person being shared with also has full access to controls. As in, you can stream your computer to a friend, and they can use their keyboard and mouse on your computer. All in real time. 
The best part is, not only is this software free, but it works with Combat Mission. I've tested it out today, and it works almost seamlessly. I say almost, because the person I was sharing with did notice some artifacting occurring while the camera is panned around. But otherwise, the experience was seamless. 
In practice this means that, as long as your computer can handle hosting (they list system specs on their website, and it is not overly demanding) you can stream Combat Mission to a friend and play it Co-Op together. 
From what I can tell, Parsec is relatively new and is being actively developed and improved. Consider it to be imperfect, but if anything this just means that one can expect it to get better as time goes on. 
Here is a link to the website where you can create an account and download the app:
https://parsecgaming.com/
Happy Co-Oping!

Meet to Volkssturm
While we wait for the action to kick off let's play a game. Who can guess all the small arms in this UI screenshot? I've cobbled together a few UI elements here so no, this doesn't all belong to the one squad. Middle column are just more K98's.

 

(Budbaker has his comics… but I’m not an artist so expect memes)
Welcome to the Fire and Rubble German DAR as I take on BFCElvis and his pesky Soviets in a very late war May 1945 urban engagement in Berlin… and it’s somehow snowing. The war has effectively ended but my guys didn’t get the memo, so our adhoc combined arms force is going to push forward into no man’s land one last time.
The mission is a simple meeting engagement. Secure Objective Jägermeister and Objective Berliner Weisse, while holding our own starting Objective, codenamed Vodka. The Soviets deploy around Jägermeister.
The map is a very small slice of Benpark’s absolute monster 2x master maps covering the centre of Berlin. Honestly each master map with no units took my PC around 25 mins just to load in 3D preview mode. The part of Berlin we’ll be fighting over is towards the north east corner of the eastern map. If I’ve got my bearings right, I think we’re close to Alexander Platz and a hostel I stayed at back in 2017… I digress.

The map from above. Well... the right way up because I'm from Australia... (I took the picture looking south <facepalm>)

 
The forces…
To show off the variety of new kit I’ve done away with forming a coherent force for a little bit of everything. Command and control is going to suck.
These small forces are organised into small kampfgruppes of between a platoon to a company in strength.
KG @benpark – In honour of the mapmaker himself, he commands the central force which is a company of Waffen SS Pioneers with enough demolition charges to level a few of his meticulously placed buildings. Part of his force will however need to remain behind to cover Obj Vodka if it all falls apart. The bulk of the force will advance. (Benpark's force highlighted in the picture below).
KG @mjkerner – Commands the Fallschirmjager who will be the main infantry force trying to take and hold Obj Berliner Weisse. (Picture of the KG that will take the beer objective).
 

KG @Hapless – Will be working in tandem with KG Mjkerner to secure the beer. This adhoc Panzer Platoon (more on that later) includes a Panther, PzIV’s and a PzIII. Yep a PzIII. For all the grief I gave poor Steve I had to include at least one in the DAR.
KG @DoubleD – The other adhoc Panzer Platoon is kitted out with 2x JzPz IV/70’s (including one of the ugly versions), a Panther and a Panzer IV. They will be initially responsible to heading up my left flank to get into a good position to effectively cut the map in half. Oh and something new...
 

KG @Bootie – The local Volkssturm unit. Initially will be responsible to provide security to KG DoubleD who will be exposed in an urban environment.
KG @Josey Wales – The adhoc Armoured Car unit. Will be holding back for the moment but will be used as a mobile reserve depending on the situation. Oh and some weird ones...

And I’ve just noticed a bug. Every single unit is set to typical/default ‘Green’ experience. The joys of betas.
 
The Enemy
We’ve picked forces in the editor and not the quick battle generator so some variety can be included in the DAR – particularly on this side. Benpark has ensured it’s roughly balanced. I’m expecting a solid Battalion (+) of Soviet infantry coming at me and probably a company or more of tanks. Probably Lend Lease heavy….
We’ve sort of agreed to avoid major spending on off board assets and focus more on the visible units.
 
Da Plan
KG Mjkerner and Hapless have the initial glory as they race to secure Obj Berliner Weisse, (Green and blue). If Hapless can get his tanks into position first it will be a big help as we wait for the foot slogging infantry to catch up.
KG DoubleD probably has the most crucial task of trying to cut the map in two, (Red). That major street running through the centre of the map will be key. It’s closer to BFCElvis’ deployment zone so I’m expecting Soviet tanks to roll past it or already be on that road by the time I arrive. But if I can split up to Soviet armoured force or I’m real lucky and BFCElvis plays cautious and leads with his infantry DoubleD’s JzPzIV’s will have a field day.
KG Bootie (white) and his Volkssturm will cover KG DoubleD, while KG Benpark (orange) will advance with the intent of pressuring Jagermeister. KG Josey Wales will remain behind in the deployment zone ready to move to where he and his armoured cars are required. Either helping Benpark around Obj Jagermeister, or to backup Hapless and Mjkerner around Obj Berliner Weisse.
The map….

That’s about it for now. Feel free to post any queries below but obviously no promises that I’m allowed to answer anything. Also, the usual caveat that all screenshots you see here are taken from a beta so everything you see is subject to change. I’ll try to avoid the placeholder art where I can but who knows, maybe we’ll have purple Panzer IV’s in the final build.

Well, it took longer than expected to put this together, but better late than never, right?

My basic plan at this stage is to initially make an attack by fire from the berm, driving them up the ramps into positions where they will be hull down and able to engage the enemy static tanks and fortifications. Meanwhile, the breach team will move to the berm opening and begin looking for mines. 1st Platoon of A Company will be first through the breach.

My Fire Support Team calls in the Shadow UAV. Hopefully, this will enable us to ID enemy tanks and strongpoints before my tanks go up the berm. Even against an inferior force, every advantage helps.

Worryingly, one of my tanks bogs down in the sand. Fortunately, it eventually frees itself. The Strykers are not faring any better, the soft sand reducing their speed.

Already my UAV bears fruit, spotting two static tanks and enemy infantry in their trenches.

3rd tank of 1st Platoon makes a daring dash across the berm opening, beelining for the furthermost berm ramp.

The MGS platoon begins moving up. I intend to use them to shoot up the fort through the berm opening as I make my attack.

The UAV spots some destroyed bunker tanks, victims of the aerial campaign.

Shifting its attention to the enemy positions straddling the highway, a few minutes of observation reveals enemy bunkers.

3rd Platoon of A Company arrives, and I order them to join the queue of vehicles forming up behind the breach. It's time for the tanks to go over the top.




The carnage is wonderful to behold. The tanks of 1st Platoon methodically engage and destroy the tanks and bunkers that they spot.

Astoundingly, enemy troops are already fleeing into the desert.

The breach team moves up, sniffing for mines.

My tanks are having trouble spotting the static tanks in their battle positions, so I call in precision fire missions from my artillery to do the job instead.


With the tanks and bunkers that are spotted being destroyed, my tanks now engage the enemy infantry in their trenches, bombarding them with HE and hosing them down with their co-axial machine guns.





What I expected soon transpires: Syrian T-55s (mobile ones) are spotted moving up at the far end of the wadi. However, they fail to make use of the concealment offered by the wadi and are quickly knocked out by the tanks on the berm.


To try and spot the remaining enemy static tanks, I unbutton my tanks. This swiftly draws a hail of machine gun fire from the trenches, and two heavy DShK machine guns also open up from the watchtowers of the fort. I immediately task one tank each to the offending HMGs.

2nd Platoon of A Company arrives, along with the last of my artillery support.


More T-55s trickle along the wadi, meeting the same fate as their comrades. One almost makes it to the trenches.

Almost.


Precision 155mm rounds come in, frustratingly landing in a perfect straddle around the southernmost static tank. Meanwhile, Syrian troops continue to flee in twos and threes into the desert.

I call a harassing fire from the 155s down on the trenches either side of the highway, keeping the pressure on.

My precision rounds are finally able to hit something, achieving a perfect double tap on one of the static tanks.

At long last, the breach team spots a patch of mines and begins clearing.

Yet more T-55s filter in and are wiped out.

An entire tank company now lies in twisted, burning ruins.




While this is going on, Syrians continue to flee their trenches in ones and twos, which unfortunately sends them out of the frying pan and into the fire

The next precision shoot once again performs a perfect straddle of the southernmost static tank. I need to kill this tank, and my tanks are seemingly unable to spot it.

The patch of mines is partially cleared.


Airburst rounds begin to burst over the Syrian trenches, for now coming in at a slow, steady pace. Just enough to keep the infantry that hasn't already fled nice and rattled.

The last of my precision rounds are once again defeated by this blasted (or rather, un-blasted) static tank. I have no choice now but to lead the assault with my tanks, instead of leaving them on the berm as I had previously planned. The tanks will go through the breach first, as I am confident that they will be able to safely engage any static enemy tanks that decide to open fire. The Strykers will follow shortly after and make their assault on the fort.

More intact static tanks lie in wait on the north side of the fort too, their deep fighting positions allowing them to escape the ire of my Abrams.

Moving up to the berm opening, 3rd tank spots one of the dug-in tanks and engages it.

As the tanks line up, the MGS' move into position. Bunching up like this dangerous, but I'm confident that for now, we are safe.



Meanwhile, I am putting my fire plan into action. I will be pounding the fort with two 155mm sections, one section placing its fire across the whole fort complex and the second section targeting the barracks building. Judging from the amount of Syrians that I've seen fleeing into the desert, I am confident that there aren't many men left in the trenches astride the highway. Consequently, those trenches will only receive fire from the remaining 155mm section. When my units can get eyes on, I will be hitting the trenches north of the fort with the 120mm mortars.



155mm shells rain on the fort and trenches.


Syrian conscripts flee the terrifying barrage and are mown down.

The time has come, 1st Platoon of B Company inching their way through the minefield.

Amazingly, no mines are set off and the tanks are safely through.

As the tanks spread out and push towards the trenches, the breach team makes one last effort to spot more mines.

The fort continues to suffer.

There is a nearly catastrophic friendly fire incident, as an MGS spots enemy infantry and in his zeal, shoots an Abrams in the back. Luckily, it only fires a HE shell and the damage to the Abrams is minor.

It is now 1st Platoon of A Company's turn to risk the minefield. Two Strykers manage to squeeze through . . .



While all of this is going on, the 120mm battalion mortars pepper the trenches north of the fort. Chaos ensues as Syrians flee the field and are mown down.

The other half of 1st Platoon traverse the minefield safely.


Their fields of fire now safely clear, the MGS platoon starts firing on the fort HQ.


The two Abrams attacking down the highway continue to hunt for the southern static enemy tank, inching ever closer. The other two Abrams take up position in front of the fort HQ, watching the northern trenches just in case any of the other static tanks try to be heroic.


1st Platoon begins their assault on the fort. I have decided that I do not want to push my luck with the minefield any more. Thus, I will assault the fort with only 1st Platoon. This is risky, but throughout the battle, the enemy troops have been fleeing at the slightest provocation. I judge that the enemy is severely rattled. As long as I handle 1st Platoon carefully, they should be able to take the fort.

At long last, the Abrams spot the dug-in enemy tank, and it is obliterated at virtually point-blank range.

The commander and loader unbutton and mow down more fleeing Syrians.

Fireteams of 1st Platoon hurl themselves forward, as the rest of the platoon lay down suppressive fire on suspected enemy positions. Fire from enemy RPG and machine gun teams within the fort is taken as the fireteams close with the trenches.


The rest of the platoon closes in.


The platoon occupies the trenches, trampling over mangled corpse piles that are all that remains of the previous occupants.



The tanks close in and begin blazing away with their machine guns.

A DShK HMG in the middle of the fort tries to take a crack at one of my tank commanders but is quickly taken out.

A Syrian squad attempts to flee and is swiftly cut to pieces.


3rd Squad of 1st Platoon tries to flank around through a hole blasted in the fortress wall, but are stopped by a squad of Syrians hunkered down in the fort HQ. However, the return fire of my troops is effective and the Syrians either run or surrender.



A fireteam from 2nd Squad dashes through the gate into the fort, making for one of the gatehouses, taking heavy fire all the way. A Syrian team in the gatehouse tries to spring a point-blank ambush but are immediately gunned down by the intrepid team. The team begin to take heavy fire from all angles and are pinned down.

The question of how to save this fireteam is swiftly answered, as the Syrians surrender. I am rewarded with a total victory! Despite some mistakes and missteps, this is probably the best outcome that I could have wished for, with no casualties or vehicle losses whatsoever.
There are actually a surprising amount of Syrian units still left in the field, with several teams in the fort and a few left in the northern trenches. Some of the static tanks have also survived the carnage, their deep fighting positions shielding them from the ire of the Abrams on the berm. However, this cuts both ways as their contribution to the battle was . . . minimal, to say the least. Not a single enemy tank, static or otherwise, did so much as fire a shot throughout the entire battle. But then, I can't say that I didn't expect that. The optics of the T-54/T-55 series aren't fantastic at the best of times, and at night, against the most modern, most powerful main battle tanks in the world? The outcome never really was in doubt.
So, as mentioned this is the absolute best outcome that I could possibly have got. However, some mistakes were made. For starters, I failed to adequately sweep the minefield. Fortuna was kind to me in this instance, and the few vehicles that I risked got through unscathed. But the minefield prevented the ingress of my remaining Stryker platoons. If the enemy in the fort had been less badly shaken, the one platoon that did go through would likely have had a very bad time of it. Unfortunately there was very little I could actually do about this, as my breach team were sitting on the minefield for virtually the entire battle, and still only managed to spot one measly patch of mines.
Secondly, the timing of my fire support left something to be desired. Ideally, my men should have been dismounting from their Strykers just as the last shells were impacting the fort and trenches. However, due to the slow passage through the minefield, the barrage ended long before that. This accounts for the surprisingly stiff resistance that I received from the Syrians still inside the fort.
I failed to keep track of the enemy infantry. What I should have done was keep a tally of the enemy infantry fleeing the trenches and spotted within the fort. This way, I would have known that the trenches astride the highway were unoccupied when the time came to make my assault, and the 155mm battery could have been used elsewhere. I also would have had a decent estimate of enemy troops within the fort itself, as opposed to the big fat question mark that was the answer to that question as I closed in.
Lastly, timing in general. I had one hour with which to complete this mission, and I used up every minute. I spent too long trying to clear the minefield, spent too long sitting on the berm shooting up fleeing Syrians and spent too long waiting for fire support to come in. The end result was that my final assault was made with dangerous haste. I'm not sure what I could have done to improve this, beyond simply more experience with the game and more thorough planning.
I'll try to keep some of these lessons in mind as I go forward. For now though, on to mission two! Stay tuned!

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone. This will be an AAR series, covering my playthrough of the US Army campaign of Shock Force 2: 'TF Thunder'. I briefly dipped my toe into this campaign in Shock Force 1, but only as far as the first mission. This will be my first proper playthrough of a Combat Mission campaign, and I'm sharing it all with you! So, without further ado, let's get into the campaign briefing.




The ground invasion of Syria has begun. After a three-day-long aerial bombardment, NATO forces are pouring into the country from all sides; The US Army from the East, the British Army from the North and South, NATO forces from the North and the US Marines from the coast. I am commanding a battalion of Task Force Thunder, a Stryker Brigade reinforced with armoured units. I have under my command two Stryker rifle companies (A and C), an armoured company of M1A2 Abrams tanks (B), an armoured infantry company in Bradley IFVs (D) and an armoured engineer company also in Bradleys (E). This is a fast and powerful combat force, equipped with the best fighting equipment on Earth and manned by some of the best soldiers on Earth. And in the finest American tradition, the battalion is liberally supported by artillery and airpower. Our brigades mission is to slice Syria in half, striking from East to West along a route designated 'Route Lightning', with our limit of advance being the important Syrian city of Hims (also known as Homs).
My enemy will initially consist of Syrian reservists and militia holding the border. These units are poorly trained, poorly led and poorly equipped. As we push into the interior of the country resistance will stiffen, varying from the still poorly equipped but slightly better led and trained regular units, to the elite, well-equipped units of the Republican Guards currently around Hims. Also, scattered throughout the country there will be pockets of paramilitary, special forces and other irregulars, many of which are well trained, motivated and equipped. There will be tough fighting ahead.
Speed and force protection is the name of the game for this campaign. Our mission is to neatly snip Syria in half as quickly as possible, but our last objective is a tough urban target. Replacement of casualties and destroyed vehicles will not be happening. Taking too many casualties early on will make our mission exponentially more difficult. I will have to carefully balance aggression and caution to complete this campaign successfully.
In the next instalment, we'll take on the first mission. Stay tuned!

No.

Right, let's get cracking.

Our first mission is a nice simple one. The invasion of Syria is beginning and TF Thunder is leading the charge. Our target is an old fortress watching the Syria-Iraq border. My forces for this mission are a mech-heavy company team from my battlegroup.

Our mission is to occupy the barracks and HQ building of the border fort and to secure the border crossing by destroying the Syrian forces garrisoning the crossing point.
The enemy is a reserve infantry battalion, dug in and supported by static T-55/T-54 tanks. The enemy positions have little to no depth, companies in line and platoons in line. They have mined the only crossing point. The battalion is lightly armed and likely to be poorly trained and led. Their tanks are a serious threat to my Strykers but pose little threat to my tanks. The mines will need to be cleared and the Syrian tanks will need to be eliminated or neutralised before I make my assault on the fort.

The AO is roughly 1km x 1km and the terrain is not complex, a flat desert dominated by a few key terrain features.

Most important is the border berm, running north-south. This completely blocks movement and (obviously) provides concealment. The only opening lies south of my start line where a highway cuts through the berm and as previously mentioned, has been mined by the Syrians. Luckily for me, however, some kind souls have built ramps sloping up my side of the berm. This turns a previously onerous obstacle into a ready-made hull-down firing position with excellent sightlines and fields of fire. This is an advantage that I will be making great use of.

The fort dominates the Syrian position. The buildings provide cover and concealment for infantry and provide clear sightlines across the entirety of the Syrian half of the AO. The buildings are likely to be occupied by Syrian HQ units and rifle squads. Care will have to be taken when occupying this objective, as while the Syrian reservists are no match for my riflemen in a firefight, they may be able to inflict casualties by lying in wait inside the buildings and setting point-blank ambushes. Much of my fire will have to be concentrated on this objective.

Behind the Syrian positions, a dry Wadi leads north-west to south-east. This could provide shelter from observation and direct fires. The Wadi would be a decent place for a quick reaction force to reinforce the Syrian positions. It will have to be placed under observation as I make my attack.

The conditions are fine, with clear weather, warm temperature, dry ground and a light wind coming from the west. Helpfully, the Syrians are also being hit by a moderate E-warfare effort.

My troops consist of A Company (a Stryker rifle company), reinforced by an armoured platoon from B Company. On the field at deployment, I have 1st Platoon of A Company, 1st Platoon of B Company, the Mobile Gun System Platoon and the Company HQ Platoon. The Company HQ Platoon has a breach team of engineers for clearing the mines at the berm opening. The 2nd and 3rd Platoons of A Company will gradually reinforce, arriving in approximately ten and twenty minutes, respectively. Our fire support is extensive. Along with the two 120mm mortar sections (two tubes to a section) of the battalion artillery, we will have an entire 155mm howitzer battery (three two-gun sections) available when they have completed their counter-battery missions. Also available to me is an RQ-7B Shadow UAV for observation.
I have a powerful force, my fire support is extensive, the terrain gives me a great advantage and my enemy is of poor quality. If I keep things simple and sensible, there should be no question of victory.
The next instalment will be much sooner than this one was, as I have already played the mission, taken my screenshots and made my notes. Watch this space!

I'm sure its fairly easy to avoid, especially because the Sherman only travels at 5mph with the flail in operation

Here ya go. This illustrates what I mean.

 
I mean, it is what is at this point. Been that way for at least 7 years, but more likely 11. I never bothered to try it in SF.
 
Mord.

Sorry, trying not to troll here, but in RL can't men scramble out of the way of those devices pretty easily? I mean, a 280mm AVRE spigot mortar, sure, concussion alone would cause lethal hemorrhaging. But death by steamroller?
 

It probably has to do with path finding issues and abstractions, tanks can't even crush infantry or anything else for that matter. It's probably a logistical nightmare coding wise when you have a couple hundred guys surrounded by vehicles all on the move. If you noticed, dead vehicles don't block vehicle traffic either. It's either a limitation of the engine or a design decision, either way it's not ideal. Unfortunately we still have to live with abstractions, just much, much less than the old days.
 
Mord.

In honor of the imminent release of CMSF2, I figured I would get a heads start on the time honored tradition of complaining about every new release by making it into a fun game!
I give you, CMSF2 BINGO!

All in good fun of course.

I can recall you doing this in a few of our matches 😉

It is absolutely unrealistic, no army on the face of the earth trains soldiers to displace out of fighting positions, or to run around like headless chickens when they take indirect fire.

Brave Rinaldi, Miller and others have long battled against those who think the lack of communication and fixes is acceptable!  Fortunately many others have come to their aid as more forum posters grow restless after months and months of nothing.
I didn't put anyone specific for the orcs but they represent the people who think the current situation is reasonable (of course they can believe what they wish but in this video they're shown to be wrong) and in general represent steve's lack of communication and fixes.

I'll have to disagree, infantry become absolutely useless once they start taking indirect fire.
 
Its not hard to give us an update on the progress of the patch, even a simple "its taking longer than expected to fix" would be fine