Bocage fighting

[Imperial Sardaukar]

I'm a bit confused how to do this. I think I know what a bocage is; I've never seen one but I've seen some movies.

The scenario I am having trouble with is one that has a road with bocage on both sides. I have my guys Quick move to just before the bocage, then Slow or Hunt move to the bocage itself. Even if I let them stay on one side of the bocage for a minute, sometimes when I send some troops over to go to the bocage on the other side of the road, it turns out there are enemies there and my troops get gunned down. How do I "clear out" the opposite bocage before crossing the road? How do I even know if there are enemies on that side of the bocage?

Another problem is deploying MG teams at the bocage. When I set my waypoint, or even checking after the MG team has found their places, checking Target shows that the MG team can't "see" over/thru the bocage. The guys with rifles do shoot over/thru the bocage, but the MG guy doesn't

One annoying scenario had me move my tank up the road, and it turns out that there were enemy troops on the road-side of the bocage that my tank guys and my troops on both outer-sides of the bocage didn't see.

[Hister]

Split your squad - make 2 or 3 men scout team and send them over the bocage. If they are getting shot at, well, then this means enemy units are there. You could also area fire (briefly) and see if this makes any enemy respond to it.

If there is a flanking approach do use it. When enemy is identified suppress it with any weapons on hand and then send an assaulting team to finish them, preferably from the flanks and if flanking is not possible, then head on.

If you have smoke available use it if you don't have fire superiority over the enemy.

As for other two querries - well, **** happens. Luckily it doesn't so often.

[Seedorf81]

Welcome to the world of bocage-fighting.

It's an awful, slowgoing, and casualtycreating hell of horror. And then I'm just talking about the game, not about the real thing.

Trial and error is one way to learn.

Realising that a lot of casualties are a near 100% certainty is another.

Use area fire ("TARGET" an spot where you cannot see the enemy yet, but where you expect them) and if even remotely possible: use your mortars.

Use smoke (preferably from mortars or tanks, otherwise from your infantry).

Try to flank (I know, seldom possible without engineers to blow holes in the bocage).

Read earlier threads on this forum, a lot of them bare witness of players frustrations and have advice on how to proceed.

Search the internet for reports of real soldiers/units that fought in the bocage. They finally solved some of the problems and those tactics can be succesfull in the game.

And realise that if you would receive a dollarcent for every time I cursed about losing men and or battles in the bocage, you would be able to buy Combat Mission Forces of Italy where there are ain't no bocage at all!

Keep on trying and good luck.

[mjkerner]

And after you move the MG team right up to the bocage, make sure you give them a Face Order essentially perpendicular to the bocage row before you give the Deploy Order. I have never had a problem shooting through bocage doing it that way.

Oh, and it is a good idea when practical to stop your teams/squads/section one Action Square short of the bocage, then use Slow Order (they'll crawl) into the AS next to the bocage. it will be harder for the enemy to detect them. Then if you can afford the time, let them sit a turn or two without moving/firing (you'll need to have them Hide--not that best idea that close to potential enemy--or better yet give them a short Cover Arc), and they may detect any enemy in the bocage across the road.

[womble]

...Quick move to just before the bocage...

Is a good start.

...Slow or Hunt move to the bocage itself...

I'd use Slow exclusively here, for a couple of reasons. Hunt can't see any further than behind the row of bocage you're sneaking up to, and if there are any enemy there, they're probably scything your pTruppen down with squad automatics and SMGs by this point, so all it will achieve is additional fatigue. Moving Slow will have a chance that the enemy behind the next hedge (however far away it is; the chance just decreases as the separation does) won't see you the moment you start scuffling about in your new OP. It also has the advantage that they are prone behind the berm of the bocage, so will receive some cover from any incoming fire if they are spotted.

You also want to end up by Hiding at the bocage line, for similar reasons.

Even if I let them stay on one side of the bocage for a minute...

Firstly, I'd suggest you make sure that, until everyone that's going to be at that hedge line has arrived, the early arrivals Hide, as mentioned above, and have Cover Arcs that don't reach the next hedgerow. Now, your Hiding troops won't spot much, but they also won't get shot much. If anyone isn't Hiding, it should be any HQ that's present, or a Scout team. They may or may not see the enemy lying in wait behind the next hedge.

When your rifle line is established, have everyone pop up firing across the road using spread out Area Targets, even if you haven't seen anyone yet. This "reconnaisance by fire" should, if there are defenders in the next hedgerow, make them put their heads down, but also make them shuffle around and get spotted by all the eyes that are now looking that way. They may even make spotting them easier by getting a few shots off before your fire suppresses them.