Halmbarte

Yes, all the time. I want those tank commanders buttoned up as much as possible. If I get hits on the tanks that are close enough to disable subsystems or immobilize them all the better. And sometimes you'll get lucky. It is always nice to drop a 120mm mortar round into the top of a M901 or a 25pr into the top of a Stug, even if those don't happen all that often. H

They (like all the half tracks) are hideously vulnerable to everything bigger than a rifle caliber MG. Hapless has a video on the 251: H

Observer is calling fire on a TRP that he doesn't have LOS to, which is as expected. The part I wasn't expecting is the longer non-TRP call in time and the use of spotting rounds. Link to savegame: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mcvjc6yxr0i4y762a79jp/Abatis-USA-2nd-002.bts?rlkey=ti5wb0eqg9nydllrvec2jcpyp&dl=0 H

The posters they didn't make show unhappy tank crews whose tanks have run out of gas or suffered a mechanical breakdown and are now being rounded up as emergency infantry because there are no more tanks... H

At least the Chieftain doesn't have a turret on a turret so it's a bit lower silhouette than an M60... Do we have any info on T55 HEAT performance vs Chieftain? I notice that in game, T55s frequently use HEAT against the American tanks to great effect. It can be kinda disheartening that a T55 with the laser RF upgrade can get 1st round hits & kills while my M60s are plugging away with 1 round high, 1 round low, 3rd round hits... H

Not WWII, but I just had a BTR do a drive by on some American troops in Cold War. I had the BTR opened up since we're advancing to contact and I wanted the extra eyeballs out. The crunches in the back not only spotted the Americans, they opened up on them. After getting one of the guys in the back sniped & taking a hit from what was probably a 40mm HEDP grenade, the troops in the reversing BTR opened up from inside through the firing ports. No firing orders were given. I didn't have spots when the turn started and wanted to leave them open to whatever they found. H

Do you have a save file? H

It's the dictator's dilemma: Efficient military leaders are needed to win* the war but they are the biggest threat to Putin's continued hold on power. H *Russia has already lost the war at this point. Even if they hold the territory they have now the cost/benefit ratio is totally upside down.

My usual response to new units I haven't used before is to set up a quick battle with them and give them a go. Better to get a quick shakedown in with them than to discover things during a scenario. H

The German way of war is the audacious attack, even when it doesn't make the most sense. It works sometimes, especially when an opponent isn't expecting speed & ferocity (France, initial attack into Russia, Kasserine Pass). It fails when the enemy had time to prepare (Kursk) or when the Germans didn't have the logistics to support exploitation (Bulge, failure to reach Moscow). H

Really good talk about how Active Defense came to be & why it was replaced with Air Land Battle. H

My notes on playing the SOV in RT & CW: 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 dictates the maneuver plan. The maneuver plan dictates the fire plan. These must be mutually supportive. A company of Sov tanks spots better than any single German/NATO tank. Take away the better spotting offered by the German/NATO 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. If you're playing the Sov: Your man portable ATGMs (>AT3s) are 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 you 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.

I imagine it involves the tank commander yelling a lot at the driver

Upon taking damage to the BV crew moral is 'shaken'. H

I was hoping for Centurions but Leopard 1s will be interesting. Kind of the polar opposite to the design philosophy of the Chieftain. H

What MBTs & APCs were the Canadians using in the game time period? H

Brit tank goodness. And thank the Maker that WoT has quit playing that garbage music over the narration. H

I mostly split Sov squads to get scout teams so I don't lose the lot or if I anticipate mortars or artillery to keep the causalities down. H

Crown Copyright 1983, so you know it's the good stuff. H

It's also a lot of fun on the attack, as long as you use Soviet norms to get the best use out of your troops. You can substitute BMP or BTR company for the tank company. Last time I played it was with a BTR company with an attached T62 platoon and some battalion AT-4s. H

How long does the Chinese economy survive w/o being able to import oil and other raw materials by sea? How long does the Chinese economy survive w/o being able to export goods? The USN might get into trouble contesting the sea of Japan and the south China sea. The USN can interdict all the naval cargo going to and coming from China. The overland pipelines delivering gas & oil are sitting targets for precision strikes. Blowing up pipeline pumping stations is easy and the equipment takes a long time to replace. H

If you're playing the Sov and you put your tanks in a situation where they are getting into 1:1 duels with the Americans you're doing something wrong. Bring a platoon or a company of tanks along instead. Or, even better, infiltrate infantry ATGM teams forward and kill them the way. The Sov has very competent infantry luggable ATGMs that will absolutely wreck pre-M1 armor. H

Brit AT weapons: H

I've had friendly fire hit my troops at 200m+ in the modern titles. The round(155mm) hit where I was aiming at but a splinter went out and got him nonetheless. Made me respect danger distance more, particularly from the big guns. H

I usually have the opposite problem when the troopies gladly use all their AT weapons against enemy infantry and are down to throwing grenades at tanks when those show up... The target command will generally have the soldiers open up with everything they have, including AT weapons, on the targeted unit. H