Monty's Mighty Moustache
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Posts posted by Monty's Mighty Moustache
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Even the beeb has picked up on the buildup: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64551937
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Use Target Light and it will only fire its machine guns.
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I've seen the opposite, stationary T-34 with experienced crew shooting at the flank of a retreating Jadgpanzer and it almost hit the moon the shot went that high. You just have to shrug and smile
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@Ithikial_AUthanks to for the update and this looks great, can't wait to play it!
38 minutes ago, The Steppenwulf said:it cannot be that difficult for the BF programmer/s to develop
Must..resist.....
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Every time is my understanding if they are not due as reinforcements
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Found the thread
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1 hour ago, Simcoe said:
Let me know if this is wrong but my understanding is if two companies have the same battalion HQ but if the higher HQ is not on the map then the higher HQ can’t relay the communication between the two companies.
rather than sticking the two company HQ’s next to each other so they can talk, shouldn’t we urge Battlefront to make offmap HQ’s work as intended?
Yes. I had this exact issue in a CW game a while back and started at thread about it as I assumed they would be in contact with Bn HQ as the light was green even though they were not on the map. It’s by design that they are out of contact apparently to simulate being cut off
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Even if there were any codes I doubt anyone would be sharing them on the official forum run by and moderated by Battlefront
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On 1/6/2023 at 5:12 AM, gamemode said:
Are there cheat codes for these parts?
For what? To unlock them?
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1 hour ago, domfluff said:
I generally feel like your typical cold war QBs should be Attack/Defend.
Even what would be referred to as a Soviet "meeting engagement" isn't the same thing as a "meeting engagement" in CM/wargaming terms, which typically means "an even fight" or something similar. Instead the term refers to an attack from the march.
With the points from an Attack, a Large qb has enough points for a full BTR MRB, with sufficient artillery support, and a huge qb has enough points for a full BMP MRB with some change.
This force was a little cut down from what would be ideal - an entire BMP company was left behind, and I had lass artillery than I'd like.
Priorities though:
I start with the combined arms, task group formation.
It's important to have a mixture of infantry, armour and air defence. The pair of Shilkas I had here were very important, because the US had some significant air assets which weren't discussed in the video. You always want two.
Dropping a company as "off-map reserve" is fine doctrinally, sinve that force can exploit your success, so that's a reasonable option.
Dropping armour is suspect, you don't get a ton in an MRB, and you need them to do work.
Artillery then is the interesting bit. I've said before that I don't know how to attack with a red battalion with less than three batteries (a battalion, if you like) of artillery (that is 18 tubes of something).
The reason for this is that the battalion should be accepting three tasks, and each task needs to be enabled by artillery support.
Each battery should have a single FO.
The 120mm mortars are organics to the battalion, so should be taken - since the call-in times for those are reasonable, in my fires plan I often leave those as a "reserve", ready to be reactive, rather than proactive.
Next up are your standard regimental artillery, the 122mm self propelled gun battalion, and divisional artillery, the 152mm self propelled gun battalion and the battalion of rocket artillery.
The lower level assets will have less boom, greater rate of fire, and faster call-ins.
122mm should be your default in CMCW (in cmbs this is now the 152mm). A medium mission on max duration lasts something like 12-15 minutes, which is a lot of rounds going downrange, and a lot of denial.
The 152s have significantly more boom, and a mission there can last 30 minutes total, so is ideal for denying key terrain, or digging out handprints.
Rocket artillery is a specialised tool, and it's hard to use well in a cm context. Ideally it's doing counter-battery fire, or it's targeting fixed positions and hoping to actually kill things, where the other two can aim to suppress or deny. The best generic use-case I've found for it is to target an urban area - Soviets tend to find urban combat especially difficult, so a couple of BM-21 barrage can help a lot.
All of the other artillery is more highly specialised (the big mortars are bunker-busters, for example), so should mostly be ignored.
Ideally, I'd take the battalion mortars, and three batteries of artillery, possibly in a mixed load, with their intended tasks defined well in advance.
Artillery have four jobs - suppression, denial, destruction and obscuration, and each of those assets is good at different things.
In the above QB I have battalion mortars and two batteries of 122mm - less than I'd like, but still hitting that minimum of three groups of artillery.
One nice thing about thinking in threes is that you can continuously adjust and move around these fires having two hitting things, whilst a third adjusts in on to the next step.
One thing that you do see in the video is this continual adjustment of fires - the tempo gains that I'd made allowed the fires to be adjusting whilst free whisky was reacting, so they were able to start landing when he was just getting into position.
Likewise, the same advantages in tempo meant that I was frequently ahead of where his artillery was falling - he was forced to react to things that were by now firmly in the past.
Some great food for thought, thanks.
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Great video once again guys, the one time in my current tournament as the Soviets I actually managed to do something like this I actually had reasonable success and felt I could have done better, but still learning.
Quick question for @domfluff, that looked like a MRB you had to play with is that correct? In CM in QBs I very rarely have enough points to buy a MRB or even a MRC with the appropriate allocation of arty (and optional TRPs) to make the doctrine and fire plans work. How would you approach it with a “more limited” force and what should we be prioritising when purchasing Soviet equipment?
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The One Hundred and Ninth Minute
KG Leino - Die Mitte
2 Zug continue to move forward. It's gone very quiet.
Did I say Kein Kontact last time? Well we get contact from the farm area in the form of my scouts blowing up. Looks like he hasn't taken his panzers guarding the road off to attack KG Perala in the rear. This is good. Of course he may well do so now. Who knows.
KG Koskela - die Links
The experiment draws some conclusions. I'm moving the mobile Panther and a SPW through the trees, and there's a reaction.
One of his T34s backs off, I imagine it's moving to over off the open ground on the left. This confirms that he most likely has an infantry screen in the woods and I do not have enough guys to clear it out. Likely he has at least a platoon in there. I may have to give up on advancing on BLAU from this approach and try and take GRAU and then push through instead.
Something...interesting...happens over near SCHWARZ. I have a SPW overwatching, they're just chillin'. Kinda bored and trying to stay warm.
Suddenly the gunner, Heinz, notices something out of the corner of his eye. He is a veteran of the Eastern front so not much the Reds do surprise him, but this baffles even this grizzled veteran. "Heiliger Strohsack!" he mutters to himself, followed by "Alarm Rechts!" to his crewmate, who quickly catches on and and starts turning the vehicle toward his quarry.
KG Perala - das Rechts
The attack on GRAU begins, infantry supported by SPWs start to push forward. Several things happen in this turn so I've split them up.
Nummer 1
The attack starts. The men push forward, only to be met by more firepower than we were expecting. Casualties start to tick up.
The SPWs push up to support, they are area firing the buildings.
But I continue to take casualties. Then some big booms.
The culprit is spotted sitting at the crossroads, this is a problem.
Then from the treeline on the left a shell rips through the 251//17 supporting the infantry. There are no survivors.
Nummer 2
My armour is overwatching where the armour contacts appeared in the treeline.
The Tiger spots the 251/17's killer seconds after the shot was fired. It's a T34-85 and interestingly the commander's hatch is open, but no commander. I think this is the remains of the platoon that was on ROT as suspected, the commander was obviously taken out when they were in the trees and I was area firing HE into them.
It only ends one way, one dead T34.
SITMAP
I've updated the blood board.
The contact that walked out of the fog over on the left is strange, I'll be moving two SPWs over to deal with that next turn. It may be a team, it may be a company, I'm going to assume it's at least a platoon for now. I can only assume it was the one that was guarding the road that he's moved back to maybe try and take SCHWARZ?
In the middle now I know that the T34s are not in the way I'm going to push the two Tigers over the bridge with a SPW leading the way to try and hit them in the rear. If I can deal with the remaining T34 then I can attack GRAU from that angle too.
The right is interesting. GRAU is very heavily defended by the looks of it, I haven't spotted any but I assume there is infantry in the buildings. I have to assume where there is 1 tank there are more but if there's a platoon at the farm, 2 on the left and 1 left in the middle then that T34 at the crossroads could be the only one, perhaps even a company or battalion HQ? I have taken a lot of casualties, I can't really afford to take much more so I will pull them back while I try and take care of the T34.
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5 hours ago, Da_General420 said:
So it’s nearly 2023 are we ever going to see any additional factions for CMCW? I feel it would make the game a lot more appealing on steam for steep $60 price tag.
You must be new round here, things don’t move that quickly.
For reference here is what Steve has said they are working on, some of which has only just been delivered
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7 minutes ago, George MC said:
Excellent
The two campaigns are very different and no need to do one prior to other. So aye free for all re campaign order. The Tigers one will be a quicker through and through. Five Days would be a larger time involvement.
Cheery!
Great stuff, thanks. Now to find the time...
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All installed and been through the first SPW lesson, wiped the floor with em. Quick question @George MC, of the new campaigns is it best to start with one over the other (a la the CW campaigns) or is it a free for all?
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20 hours ago, Rinaldi said:
Have just caught up. Really glad this is still going on, and enjoying the aggressive use of the SPWs in supporting the dismounts.
Those two destroyed Soviet infantry guns are in an...intriguing position. I think your opponent has been suffering from buck fever all game and moving a lot of assets forward prematurely to engage. More of the same perhaps with these new armoured contacts.Thanks, I have had some delays but determined to finish it now.
I too was confused by the position of those guns, the only thing I could think was that he had to move them from somewhere else and knowing how slow they move he must have only just got them in place when I turned up. Maybe.
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41 minutes ago, Aussiegrit said:
The second hesitation was installing CM games via Steam and perhaps not supporting Battlefront in the best way possible by purchasing from their own website.
If you buy from Battlefront you get the Steam key so they get the money and you still get access. So you can continue to buy on the site and then download on Steam.
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The One Hundred and Seventh and One Hundred and Eighth Minutes
KG Leino - Die Mitte
2 Zug continue to probe forward.
I've not seen anything for a while so I risk bringing one of the Tigers forward to support 2 Zug in their endeavours. Jean is still on the engine deck of THQ but the spotting info still hasn't passed on, hmmm.
My intrepid scouts move cautiously towards the farm off to the north. Es gibt noch nicht kein Kontact.
KG Koskela - die Links
We spot a cheeky wee monkey with a mortar in the treeline and take him under fire. He quickly goes to ground.
My experiment kicks off as I move a Panther with an engine deck crammed with some infantry off to the left. He should hear this if he has any infantry screening his panzers.
KG Perala - das Rechts
I start brining up some supporting assets, the blizzard means I have to keep them closer than I'd like to the skirmish line out front.
The skirmishers get eyes on a HMG team behind a wall on the objective and let loose a volley as time expires. If he didn't know I was here yet, he does now!
They also pick up another contact behind another wall covering the open ground, likely to be another HMG team?
Over at the crossroads I have my fingers crossed that the infantry we saw last turn hasn't spotted my AT team. Just in case I bring up a couple of SPWs, just out of range of the trees, to react if need be.
I quickly get the answer, my AT team are taken under fire from the treeline and we get even more infantry contacts popping up.
The SPWs move up to provide supporting fires.
They take some fire in return.
Then something very interesting happens. Two armour contacts appear moving toward the treeline.
SITMAP
Things are hotting up. The armour contacts intrigue me. There are only two and they are moving away from KG Leino and toward KG Perala. Is this the remains of the platoon that were on objective ROT? I'm going to assume so for the time being, unless he had more tanks stashed in that area, but we may know before too long. If he has indeed pulled them back then it's go-time for the Tigers as they will be free to push over the bridge and attack them in the rear, but I need more info before committing to something like that!
What will be interesting is how he reacts to the attack on GRAU. He knows I'm there now, has probably realised I'm there in force and will be formulating plans. Does he sit tight? Pull any forces from the farm to the west to attack me in the side? Reinforce from BLAU? We shall see.
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8 hours ago, chuckdyke said:
Thanks for the clarification. With towns I just put a waypoint on each side of the town and leave the pathfinding to the TacAI vehicles won't try to move through houses. But I won't comment here anymore as I never play defender against the AI. I really enjoyed this scenario playing German as I think it is meant to be played. Regards and happy gaming.
I dread to think what the AI would do if I just plotted a waypoint outside of the town and let it do its own thing, I had enough trouble with trucks trying to drive between building as it was when plotting detailed moves with delays
I played it H2H and it was a tough slog, managed a draw which considering how little I started with to defend against that combined arms force I thought was pretty good. I agree about playing as the defender against the AI, it's not something I routinely do unless it's part of a campaign.
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56 minutes ago, chuckdyke said:
I didn't play this scenario as US but Imo not much to be gained by sticking to the roads too much. Conditions freezing and patchy snow. The US 2½ trucks excellent off road performance. I wouldn't worry too much about roads. Doesn't mean you must drive through mud.
I did play this as the US and more or less all the reinforcements start at the back of the town in the roads (I think only one of the tank platoons appears on the right) so you have no choice but to navigate the streets in order to get them out in the open.
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Hearing all this nonsense about the west and its values makes me wonder if Putin is actually stupid enough to attack a NATO country? Perhaps the Baltics? This feels like he is laying the groundwork for something like he did before he made his last mistake by invading Ukraine, but then I'm no expert. Would he really be that dumb? And if so, how would they attack given their army is being chewed to bits in Ukraine?
Might be me overthinking things, he could just be laying the groundwork for a long hard slog in the current "special military operation" and perhaps full mobilisation?
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Re Rhinos: the manual will tell you when they are available and what formations have them too.
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The One Hundred and Fifth and One Hundred and Sixth Minutes
KG Leino - Die Mitte
Jean makes it back and climbs onto the engine deck of THQ. Strangely the contact info does not seem to be passed to the panzer, I'll check it again next turn. Must be noisy what with the weather and the engine noise.
The rest of his Zug advance under covering fire from the MGs and the Tigers.
On the right I send a team forward to see if the can determine if that T34 is still guarding the approach.
KG Koskela - die Links
I move my infantry back to the road as mortars are still falling near to their location.
I get a full spot on the guns on the right, they are both knocked out.
I'm sending a SPW to the left through the trees. I want to see if his tanks move, this will tell me if he has an infantry screen or not.
KG Perala - das Rechts
It's go-time. The scout teams start advancing toward the objective, overwatched by the IFVs and the rest of the Kompanie.
All except that two man AT team. Now the way is clear they advance towards the road junction...
..and they get a spot on infantry walking away from ROT towards GRAU. My guys hit the deck (they were on HUNT).
Shortly after an AT rifle team is seen advancing in the same direction.
I think this is the remnants of the squadron that was guarding ROT. I could of course be wrong but given the direction they are coming from it makes sense that he would drop them back to reinforce GRAU, what I don't know is if he knows KG Perala are where they are or if this was a chance encounter. Has he moved the supporting panzers back over the bridge as I suspected and is sending them up to reinforce the objective too? If so then I could have started this attack at a bad time.
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Nervous about the right. It might be time to push the Tigers up the centre to see if he has indeed moved his armour back over the stream. Interesting times.
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On 9/16/2022 at 8:21 PM, SS_soldier said:
Please don't start raddling off variables as if that makes up for the fact the crew cant see a massive IFV on the road firing its main gun. Give me a break
Ah but there in lies the problem, it's a simulator that relies on variables to produce results much like real life. What you don't mention in the post is what experience level the relative crews are, what morale state they are in, if they are in C2 then what experience, leadership and morale state are their immediate superiors in? All of this matters and even then it's no guarantee of anything, it just improves the chances of the contact being resolved into a full spot. In the meantime if you know it's there then there's always area-fire.
Is it frustrating sometimes? Yes. Does it mean the LOS is broken? Dunno as I don't know how you quantify what it should do in real life under such conditions taking all the variables into account. At the end of the day if it's ruining your enjoyment of the game and getting you that wound up then don't play it. Or don't play as a nation with Soviet equipment as it tends to suffer from poor spotting.
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Help on 15 minute off-board artillery please.
in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy
Posted
One of the forum members did a video on Youtube about how best to use such things in CM.
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