DerKommissar

It's like you got a bunch of fussy grannies waiting at the bus stop. 
"Oh, it's those bus drivers, again. They're always late."
"It's not their fault! The traffic here is always bad."
"Oh? You're in love with them, then? You always defend them."
"No. You're just putting blame on something they can't control."
"Oh, the bus company should at least give us better schedules."
"No, no... Then you would complain about that schedule when the bus is inadvertently late or early."
"Well, I have a right to complain if the bus is late!"
"If it isn't convenient to you, learn to drive!"
"How about /you/ learn to drive! I expect these bus drivers to do that, that's why I buy the tickets."
"It's a busy road, even if you're the best driver you couldn't always be on time."
"Oh, so you're defending them, again?"
Other people waiting for the bus have heard these grannies argue the same points yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...
If you want to amuse yourself, read these discussions in the voices of John Cleese and Eric Idle.

"So, for our school science fair project we're going to compare how video game genres affect success in life. For this we will be playing various games through out the school year. Then we shall record the success rate of our existence out of a 100 percent."
You're a genius, Erwin.

It's like you got a bunch of fussy grannies waiting at the bus stop. 
"Oh, it's those bus drivers, again. They're always late."
"It's not their fault! The traffic here is always bad."
"Oh? You're in love with them, then? You always defend them."
"No. You're just putting blame on something they can't control."
"Oh, the bus company should at least give us better schedules."
"No, no... Then you would complain about that schedule when the bus is inadvertently late or early."
"Well, I have a right to complain if the bus is late!"
"If it isn't convenient to you, learn to drive!"
"How about /you/ learn to drive! I expect these bus drivers to do that, that's why I buy the tickets."
"It's a busy road, even if you're the best driver you couldn't always be on time."
"Oh, so you're defending them, again?"
Other people waiting for the bus have heard these grannies argue the same points yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...
If you want to amuse yourself, read these discussions in the voices of John Cleese and Eric Idle.

It's like you got a bunch of fussy grannies waiting at the bus stop. 
"Oh, it's those bus drivers, again. They're always late."
"It's not their fault! The traffic here is always bad."
"Oh? You're in love with them, then? You always defend them."
"No. You're just putting blame on something they can't control."
"Oh, the bus company should at least give us better schedules."
"No, no... Then you would complain about that schedule when the bus is inadvertently late or early."
"Well, I have a right to complain if the bus is late!"
"If it isn't convenient to you, learn to drive!"
"How about /you/ learn to drive! I expect these bus drivers to do that, that's why I buy the tickets."
"It's a busy road, even if you're the best driver you couldn't always be on time."
"Oh, so you're defending them, again?"
Other people waiting for the bus have heard these grannies argue the same points yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...
If you want to amuse yourself, read these discussions in the voices of John Cleese and Eric Idle.

Yeah, it's not a simple scenario. I lost myself more than one Sherman too. I think the Germans are using the Pak 40 in that scenario, could be the Pak 38. Those are really good AT guns, arguably the best. The Pak 40 can turn your Sherman into a smoldering trash can with one shot.
The bocage stunned me, at first, as well. I could not believe some hedges could be a serious obstacles until I started reading some Normandy memoirs. These bulwarks of thick dirt, rocks and wood are a force of nature. Your success in Normandy depends on if you can use it better than the Huns.
How were they dealt with? Well, nothing short of a demolition charge can break it -- do not waste valuable HE ammo on it (I've tried). Specialized Sherman variants were created that had giant metal teeth on their front that could cut through. They were a much needed solution to the bocage problem. The sappers/engineers/pioneers are invaluable and carry demo charges, you need to command them to BLAST through the bocage. This will open a path for your tank through the hedge and let you go where the enemy does not expect.
Remember tanks are useless without infantry. Even with today's technology the situational awareness of an infantry man is better. The bocage is infantry's best friend. Not only does it provide serious resistance to bullets and shrapnel -- but it also conceals its tenants (Paks aren't the only ones that can benefit). Bring up your rifle squads to take cover behind the hedgerows and they will look beyond. Only move up a tank where you are 80% certain that there are no AT weaponry deployed (including panzerfausts).
Much like you need infantry to cover your tanks. You need tanks to cover your infantry. Germans rely on their excellent GPMGs to keep your squads pinned, snipers to murder your NCOs and grenades to blast any GI that gets too close. Your tanks are immune to all these. Their HE can destroy enemy strong points and do not be afraid to use it at suspected enemy positions. With a tank nearby, your infantry can rest easy -- as it will outgun anything shooting at them. Move up your infantry when a tank is watching their intended destination.
LOS is indeed a valuable commodity in Normandy. Look for better elevated positions or positions overlooking fields unobstructed by the bocage. Put HQs with radios there, so you can spot and report any enemy contacts.
Last piece of advice: try to think like a German. I'd even suggest watching documentaries to really understand their goals in Normandy. More practically, think where they would deploy an AT gun, or an MG. The Fritz thinks of force multipliers (most of their power is tied up in the East), and has the choice of terrain -- which means he need to optimize his assets. What does this mean for you?
a. Roads are either mined or have AT guns pointed at them.
b. They have spotters overlooking any entrances/exits from/into the bocage.
c. They do not have enough AT assets or men to secure every possible angle of attack.
d. All they need is 1 AT gun to suppress 3 tanks, or 1 MG to suppress 3 squads.
e. Do not pool your assets into a single path of attack.
f. You need to sneak up on them from the least obvious angles. Take your time to position your forces well.
g. To maximize effectiveness launch simultaneous attacks from different directions.
h. Your tanks have weapons an ammo up the wazoo. Sometimes sending copious amounts of HE and MG fire at shadows can flush out, suppress, demoralize or destroy unsuspecting enemies. 

It's like you got a bunch of fussy grannies waiting at the bus stop. 
"Oh, it's those bus drivers, again. They're always late."
"It's not their fault! The traffic here is always bad."
"Oh? You're in love with them, then? You always defend them."
"No. You're just putting blame on something they can't control."
"Oh, the bus company should at least give us better schedules."
"No, no... Then you would complain about that schedule when the bus is inadvertently late or early."
"Well, I have a right to complain if the bus is late!"
"If it isn't convenient to you, learn to drive!"
"How about /you/ learn to drive! I expect these bus drivers to do that, that's why I buy the tickets."
"It's a busy road, even if you're the best driver you couldn't always be on time."
"Oh, so you're defending them, again?"
Other people waiting for the bus have heard these grannies argue the same points yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...
If you want to amuse yourself, read these discussions in the voices of John Cleese and Eric Idle.

It's like you got a bunch of fussy grannies waiting at the bus stop. 
"Oh, it's those bus drivers, again. They're always late."
"It's not their fault! The traffic here is always bad."
"Oh? You're in love with them, then? You always defend them."
"No. You're just putting blame on something they can't control."
"Oh, the bus company should at least give us better schedules."
"No, no... Then you would complain about that schedule when the bus is inadvertently late or early."
"Well, I have a right to complain if the bus is late!"
"If it isn't convenient to you, learn to drive!"
"How about /you/ learn to drive! I expect these bus drivers to do that, that's why I buy the tickets."
"It's a busy road, even if you're the best driver you couldn't always be on time."
"Oh, so you're defending them, again?"
Other people waiting for the bus have heard these grannies argue the same points yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...
If you want to amuse yourself, read these discussions in the voices of John Cleese and Eric Idle.

It's like you got a bunch of fussy grannies waiting at the bus stop. 
"Oh, it's those bus drivers, again. They're always late."
"It's not their fault! The traffic here is always bad."
"Oh? You're in love with them, then? You always defend them."
"No. You're just putting blame on something they can't control."
"Oh, the bus company should at least give us better schedules."
"No, no... Then you would complain about that schedule when the bus is inadvertently late or early."
"Well, I have a right to complain if the bus is late!"
"If it isn't convenient to you, learn to drive!"
"How about /you/ learn to drive! I expect these bus drivers to do that, that's why I buy the tickets."
"It's a busy road, even if you're the best driver you couldn't always be on time."
"Oh, so you're defending them, again?"
Other people waiting for the bus have heard these grannies argue the same points yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...
If you want to amuse yourself, read these discussions in the voices of John Cleese and Eric Idle.

Lots of good advice here.  One thing you will notice is that most experienced users will play turn-based, not real time.  I thought I wanted real time, but turn based is actually way more fun because you can replay from anywhere.  That will also help you with time management.  And remember that if there's a nice, easy path to you objective then the enemy knows that too and is waiting for you.  That's a big part of these scenarios -- the enemy is set up in pretty clever ways, striking you suddenly as you move into some restricted field of fire they've set up. 

So, I've been trying to learn how to play on the tutorial mission, and I've realized something: The armor given to you is completely useless.Let me explain my situation
So, my plan is to attack through the north field. This would allow me to avoid their anti tank gun with concealment, and a few of their regiments thanks to the bushes along the road. Here's the biggest problem: *Armor can't run over hedges*. For whatever reaeson the tanks can't go through gaps in hedges or or fences something, but they must always drive along the road and then come back off of it.
I don't know what gun Germany is using in this scenario, but one hit from it leaves the tank combat ineffective, and I can't issue any more orders to it, which means they'll just keep attacking it until it's destroyed. This gun has overwatch across half of the map, so the moment a tank has gone on the road, they are in extreme danger.
 
So, I guess my question is, what's your advice on using these things? I haven't been able to find a "fire on the move" button, and opening up seems to do absolutely nothing for your line of sight sadly, when that was a huge part of of going hull down, your commander directing the gunner so he ecould fire at what he couldn't see from that position. I really could us some advice.

I can't think of any other PC wargame out there that has the authenticity of Combat Mission.  I have to confess I still haven't played all the content thats already been provided in these titles, so I'm going to have to concentrate on that while I agonise about the next titles (the Russian Front to 1945 is the one I'm drooling for).
I've seen a lot of debate on game forums and one thing I know for sure is the more the game is loved the more anger is generated about developer communications.....

Fulda Gap!

I wouldn't mind a Combat Mission Encyclopedia, like in ToW or Graviteam. So, you can read and learn about the equipment as it is presented in-game, compare them and maybe even just mess around. Or maybe give every unit in the game a more verbose unit card, like in Wargame. Where it tells you what the viewing angles and spotting modifiers you get. Maybe a cross-section of the vehicle with all its components specified?
I usually look these things up on google and expect them to work the same way in-game. So it's no biggie. Would be helpful for newer players though, especially those unfamiliar with certain equipment. There's always this:
http://combatmission.wikia.com
Really recommend this site, if any of you guys post there: thank you!

Should I start whining about people whining about people whining about people whining?
I think all of us want to get our hands on CMSF 2, or at least get an update.
I even want an update on Rome to Victory, but what can just one of us do?

I know I'm gonna get yelled at for suggesting this, but:
OrBat creator/editor for quick battles, and maybe even campaigns.
Make your own battalions, companies, etc. per point count and then use them -- like tabletop.

Should I start whining about people whining about people whining about people whining?
I think all of us want to get our hands on CMSF 2, or at least get an update.
I even want an update on Rome to Victory, but what can just one of us do?

Should I start whining about people whining about people whining about people whining?
I think all of us want to get our hands on CMSF 2, or at least get an update.
I even want an update on Rome to Victory, but what can just one of us do?

Yeah, and it's not only exclusive to language, either. Every time a French francophone (xD) visits Quebec and complains about the dialect of the Quebecois. They complain that the Quebecois's use of both, outdated phrases along with Canadian English slang, is disorienting. It's crazy how languages and dialects effect/reflect the people that use them.
I think we all make it infinitely worse by using as many initialisms, contractions and acronyms as we use. Something like:
"Those PPS-43s would be good in MOUT. The SAF UNCONs should get them in CM:SF 2. TL;DR." 
Even when talking to someone over discord, while playing a game:
"I got no LOS on that BMP, but I know OPFOR's on LZ and it's lit AF."
Even if you're an English speaker, you sometimes require a datasheet to figure out all these technical terms.

Elvis has left the building.

Only problem is that there is nothing new to say, so people get bored, minds wander etc.

wake me up when september ends.

I think with CM, it's the other way around. When I first started playing it, I considered it a rather simple tactics game. There's not meta campaign to worry about, the UI is well refined. The AI can accomplish things without serious micromanagement. All you got to do is just get your dudes to shoot the bad dudes and take positions.
Then, when I got more into it, I realized all the details. As you play, you learn that the game is infinitely more complex. Every little part matters, and in campaigns, it doesn't only matter if you win -- but how you win. You need to learn how to keep your dudes alive. Need to learn what to expect and how to use each piece correctly.
It's not a difficult game. But the more immersed you get in it, the more challenges you have to face. That's the beauty of it, it's like chess.

Leadership quality suffers as the intake becomes more homogeneous. Based on a couple anecdotal comments I've come across over the years that stuck with me. One was a 3 tour senior sergeant (marines I believe) from Vietnam, He said his worst experience was in his first tour when the officers were trying to be John Wayne, and the majority of his fellow troops were volunteers trying to be Audie Murphy. By his third tour he was senior NCO for a company comprised of "hippies" as he put it. Smarter officers and best damn troops he served with. 
The old generation is always doubtful of the new leaders. As long as the new candidates are stripped of their sense of entitlement they can be just as capable. Even better. Another thing is to keep the intake socially diverse, this is important. 

The controls are very very easy, the complexity is in placing your units correctly.