Halmbarte

Backup for the CO and/or liaison with the forward deployed company commanders if needed. H

The original Bradley could swim after erecting a swimming screen. H

I don't know if the Tac AI deliberately targets lower front if that's the only place they can reliably get a pen, but I suspect not. Right now I'm playing CW vs Sov T64s w/M60A1s. My tankers bounce shells all day long off the turret front and upper hull, even when the lower hull is visible. I swear I'm shooting all the subsystems off the outside of the T64s because I can't get a pen. H

Were the only hits on the lower front or just the kills shots? I suspect it's the latter. Panther is proof against a whole bunch of pokey things on the turret front and upper hull, which means (barring shot trap shots) your tanks are going to die from lower hull hits from the front. H

As their general issue support weapon or for reserve troops? H

I think the best answer to the debate is that the MG42 is still being manufactured and in service (as the MG3). Plus the whole GPMG class of weapon introduced by the MG34 and MG42 is used by every army in the world while mag loaded LSWs are not. H

Wikipedia says "Spaced laminate armor offering 14.5 mm all around protection. " link Citation says "Also know as M2A0/M3A0 Bradley, it was amphibious and was capable of protection against 14.5 mm AP." but doesn't say over what arcs.link H

On the Sov side NBC protection goes back to the T55. One of the major changes from the T54 to the 55 is the addition of the NBC equipment. H

That's about what I figured but it's nice to have confirmation. It would be nice to get the dismountable weapons sorted out. BMPs, Marder, and I'm sure some other vehicles all had ATGMs that could be dismounted and used separately on ground mounts. H

The other factor regarding buttoned vs unbuttoned is that the Sov trained a lot assuming a NBC environment. What was Western tank doctrine for fighting in NBC conditions? Fight closed down or heads out in MOPP4? H

I didn't try to get them to mount up again in the scenario. H

Playing the very enjoyable Defense at Checkpoint 23 scenario and it's the 1st time I've had to depend on TOW jeeps. I'm seeing some odd behavior. The jeeps start with 5x TOW, and when those are done the team won't fire any more TOWs. They do, however, still show 3x TOW in their personal inventory. When dismounted the team brings their launcher and now they have access to the 3 TOWs that they were carrying? Link to save file - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/acjoo6v431gucvo306357/Defense-at-Checkpoint-024-007.bts?rlkey=t3gobows8xprcbrzo30wkjl4u&dl=0 H

It helps to be a collection of islands. H

In CW I ran BTR vs M2 at 25m on a flat range and was unable to get pens from the front, sides, or rear. RPG7 & AT7 get pens from the front. H

When I have T64s I think most of the gunners & TCs are suffering from methanol induced blindness. And don't get me started about the BMP gunners. H

Right, but the commander is still limited to seeing what the gunner sees, so the screen doesn't help with situational awareness. H

The problem* I mostly have with CM CW is the Americans in '79 & '80 vs the T64 or better Sov tanks. It's like the M4 Sherman vs Panther all over again, except the Soviets made a whole bunch of T64s & T72s. It can be pretty disheartening to get multiple solid hits on the from of a T64 just to have it shrug off hits from sabot & TOW. H *And by problem I don't refer to a problem with how the game works, I mean that the US Army (and NATO) would have been in for a total shock when they found out about the composite armor on the T64 & T72 the hard way.

Regarding dismounting tank crews, game mechanics wise you dismount the entire crew and they move was a unit. Put them on a short fire arc so they don't start busting caps at the enemy with their AK. Dismounting the crews isn't w/o risk, but neither is charging out blindly w/o having a clue where the enemy is. H

My notes for using Sov tactics to beat the Germans/NATO in RT/CW: Time spent on recon is never wasted. Time and resources spent killing enemy recon is never wasted. Have a plan and execute it. The artillery fire plan supports the maneuver plan. The maneuver plan dictates the fire plan and these must be mutually supportive. A company of Sov tanks spots better than any single German/NATO tank. If you're fighting a 1:1 tank duel you're doing it wrong. Take away the better spotting offered by the German/NATO tanker habit of fighting unbuttoned. Get them heads down to decrease their situational awareness. When you attack, attack! Don't poke him with one finger at a time. Make a fist and crush the enemy with overwhelming force. Use a platoon to crush a squad > use a company to crush a platoon >> use a battalion to crush a squad. Fair fights are for suckers. Keep pressing attacks until they aren't feasible anymore, but don't reinforce failure. The Germans/Americans never have enough troops/tanks. Just because you have mass doesn't mean the only way forwards is a frontal assault. There are other ways to win that don't involve sticking your dick into the meat grinder until it jams. Recon routes that bypass the enemy, the Germans/NATO never have enough troops/tanks to cover every avenue of approach. Infantry infiltration is a thing. AT if you're playing the Sov: RT: Your best AT weapon is your tanks. Your infantry doesn't have any good AT weapons outside of close assault. Use your infantry to get spots on enemy tanks and relay that info to the tanks. Don't be afraid to dismount tank crews so they can push forward and get their own spots. On the attack push AT guns forward to support the enemy. CW: RPGs will knock out a M60 from the front. Your man portable ATGMs (>AT3s) are even more scary. Use infiltration tactics to get the ATGMs forward into range to support attacks. Make sure to protect the carriers since they are stuffed with reloads and make big boom if hit. Take your time, don't be in a rush to die. You'll probably run out of people, tanks, and/or ammo before you run out of time. Urban warfare: Don't move in the streets. Mouseholing is optimum, then back gardens, then alleyways. Stay out of the streets. Use supporting weapons to create mouseholes and gaps in walls. Don't go in through the front door. If you can arrange it start at the top and clear down. Suppress every building that has line of sight to your maneuvering force. If you can't suppress or smoke it don't move that way. H

Stross is one of my favorites. Maybe if we get CM Cthulhu war unicorns will be available as DLC. H

If you're going there, make it Lovecraft south pole shenanigans: giant albino penguins, shoggoths, and Elder Things vs intrepid antarctic explorers. H

I usually link to imgur. H

I've never actually seen this happen before. A M150 got taken out by my 9p149 Shturm: Just caught the commanders cupola and didn't do the gunner or mount any good. I always just figured the missile coolant was methanol based and the gunners were hardcore alcoholics based on their spotting performance. Maybe these ones are teetotal? H

Baseless speculation here for modern titles: India - Pakistan war China - Russia H

Not shocking considering the tendency for ICM munitions to turn into minefields due to UXO problems... H