Dear Mr Battlefront...

[kensal]

If you guys are a Cult or a Sect, you suck at it. Why? Because we all know that Cult/Sect leaders have sex with your wives/girlfriends

i've just splurted coffee coffee all over my computer....

[Michael Emrys]

True, in the archival photos they always seem to be moving up Indian style.

Part of the reason for that is possibly that most of the archived photos are taken well behind the lines.

I have also been looking at about a hundred photos of troops riding on tanks. That's a discussion we have had at length more than once in these pages, and the body language of the riders clearly says to me that they don't believe any living and armed enemies are anywhere nearby.

But getting back to the point at hand, I have also seen troops in contact with the enemy or anticipating contact who were moving in files, maybe loose and open files with a flank guard or two, but still recognizably in files. Not line abreast or a skirmish line, but following the point man.

Michael

[Pak40]

You Bastards Cancelled Firefly And Will Burn In Hell.

LOL, Steve, I knew that I liked you for a reason. However, Firefly was cancelled by Fox which is free to anybody with rabbit ears. But I get your point, it was probably replaced by a crap reality show.

[Battlefront.com]

There's about a million and a half YouTube videos showing small engagements to large ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The folks who insist soldiers don't cluster need to watch at least a few of them. Soldiers do cluster and they do that for very sound tactical reasons.

Everything in battle, as is in anything else, is a balance of pros and cons. Rarely is there any one specific course of action that is applicable equally well in more than a few situations. More often the optimal course of action is debatable and often in real life the wrong choice is made. Then you get into things like personal preferences. The history of warfare is full of examples of some leaders doing things "by the book" and others "breaking the rules". Sometimes it works better one way, sometimes it doesn't.

Which is why CM can be frustrating at times. There is NO one right way to do things AND realistically things should be done incorrectly some times. This gets at the heart of "do you want a robotic game, or do you want a realistic simulation" debate.

Alas, there is no way for us to program everything that can happen on a battlefield. It is also impractical, for a variety of reasons, to give players direct control of the things we can't code AI behaviors for. That gets us into a different sort of balance of choices from a development standpoint.

Fun stuff

Steve

[Battlefront.com]

LOL, Steve, I knew that I liked you for a reason.

Arrested Development maybe a second one

However, Firefly was cancelled by Fox which is free to anybody with rabbit ears.

But they are subjected to advertising, which is a cost to the viewer (even if it is just an annoyance). Plus, by being "free" the viewer gives up any sense of ownership of the product which, in turn, means theoretically less influence over outcome. But this gets into bigger issues than what I intended with my jab at Fox.

But I get your point, it was probably replaced by a crap reality show.

It was, in fact! But I don't recall which one.

Steve

[Lt Belenko]

Hell, I go back even further than that: I remember "The Pusher" (great song). That was when the band called itself The Sparrow.

Michael

My parents sure wanted parental controls on that LP.

Putting the earbuds now . "You know I smoked a lot of... I said God...God (Dang). "

[Childress]

But getting back to the point at hand, I have also seen troops in contact with the enemy or anticipating contact who were moving in files, maybe loose and open files with a flank guard or two, but still recognizably in files. Not line abreast or a skirmish line, but following the point man.

Wikipedia:

The German squad had two main formations while moving on the battlefield. When advancing in the Reihe, or single file, formation, the commander took the lead, followed by the machine gunner and his assistants, then riflemen, with the assistant squad commander moving on the rear. The Reihe moved mostly on tracks and it presented a small target on the front. In some cases, the machinegun could be deployed while the rest of the squad held back. In most cases, the soldiers took advantage of the terrain, keeping behind contours and cover, and running out into the open when there were none to be found.

A Reihe could easily be formed into Schützenkette, or skirmish line. The machinegun deployed on the spot, while riflemen came up on the right, left or both sides. The result was a ragged line with men about five paces apart, taking cover whenever available. In areas where resistance was serious, the squad executed "fire and movement". This was used either with the entire squad, or the machinegun team down while riflemen advanced. Commanders were often cautioned not to fire the machinegun until forced to do so by enemy fire. The object of the firefight was to not necessarily to destroy the enemy, but Niederkämpfen - to beat down, silence, or neutralize them.

[Broadsword56]

I thought with the Germans the doctrine was the other way around -- i.e., that it was built around the LMG, which kept displacing and tried to flank the enemy while the riflemen supported it?

[Childress]

Wikipedia never lies.

[Blazing 88's]

...And on the other hand people who play for example EA Sports NHL series are happy to pay a full game price each year even though the improvements are mostly very small ones.

Not me, I refuse to buy a console just to play hockey. I am still modding my PC NHL 09, with updated rosters (when the real NHL gets going again) and using that. With realistic AI sliders it is a great game.

Not a console guy at all.

[Michael Emrys]

Wikipedia:

The German squad had two main formations while moving on the battlefield. When advancing in the Reihe, or single file, formation, the commander took the lead, followed by the machine gunner and his assistants, then riflemen, with the assistant squad commander moving on the rear. The Reihe moved mostly on tracks and it presented a small target on the front. In some cases, the machinegun could be deployed while the rest of the squad held back. In most cases, the soldiers took advantage of the terrain, keeping behind contours and cover, and running out into the open when there were none to be found.

A Reihe could easily be formed into Schützenkette, or skirmish line. The machinegun deployed on the spot, while riflemen came up on the right, left or both sides. The result was a ragged line with men about five paces apart, taking cover whenever available. In areas where resistance was serious, the squad executed "fire and movement". This was used either with the entire squad, or the machinegun team down while riflemen advanced. Commanders were often cautioned not to fire the machinegun until forced to do so by enemy fire. The object of the firefight was to not necessarily to destroy the enemy, but Niederkämpfen - to beat down, silence, or neutralize them.

That's pretty much straight out of the book and I have seen substantially the same quote with illustrations recently. Give me some time and I may even be able to produce the illustration.

But the thing to keep in mind is that book doctrine (and even what is taught in basic and advanced training) and what is actually practiced on the battlefield in any given situation may not be the same thing at all, for a number of reasons. Not the least among those reasons is that at the moment textbook doctrine might not be a good way to go. A good platoon leader will recognize that fact and make adjustments.

Michael