Offroad Movement in the Pouring Rain

[db_zero]

Its pouring rain in Italy and I have tanks. Conventional wisdom says it may be a good idea to move them off the trail, but in the pouring rain I think there is a risk of a tank or 2, perhaps more getting stuck off road. A stuck tank for all purposes is pretty useless.

Do I keep them on the trail-even if its tactically risky? Or take a chance and move them off the trail. The rain is coming down hard.

Does it matter in the game the type of tank it is?

Tiger-heavy tank, wide treads and wheel system that distributes the weight, but not sure about how it handles mud. Panther-same with lower weight.

MarkIV-thin treads. not so efficient wheel system?

[A Canadian Cat]

I do believe that the differences between tanks is modeled in this regard. Damp or wet ground in Italy certainly can cause bogging and immobilization. I have an on going QB in Italy right now with an immobilized tank and two others have been bogged temporarily in that same battle.

If the ground is damp or wet I would recommend keeping to the trails but of course you have to balance that with being able to get guns on target too. I am keeping my tanks on the trails as much as possible and then moving slightly off to engage targets if necessary.

[YankeeDog]

Yes, bogging chance is dependent on vehicle type, though I couldn't help you with exact info on the relative bogging chances of various types of tanks.

Note that it's the ground condition that actually matters, not current precipitation as such. It is possible for the scenario designer to set the scenario conditions such that the ground is only damp or even dry even though it's raining. This would simulate a situation where the rain has just started. Note that ground conditions do worsen over time in longer scenarios when it's raining.

So check the conditions. If the ground is only "Wet" or less, you're probably OK to risk at least some off-road movement. If it actually says "Mud", be very careful.

[Vanir Ausf B]

Does it matter in the game the type of tank it is?

Tiger-heavy tank, wide treads and wheel system that distributes the weight, but not sure about how it handles mud. Panther-same with lower weight.

MarkIV-thin treads. not so efficient wheel system?

I don't have CMFI, but if it works the same as in CMBN then the Panther is nearly twice as likely to bog as the Tiger I. This is wildly inaccurate, historically speaking, but the vehicle off-road ratings in CMx2 do not appear to be based on reality.

I've never tested the Pz IV, but from it's "3-bar" off-road rating I suspect it will perform more like the Panther than the Tiger.