Dawn patrol

[Patgarret]

Well this seems to me pretty straightforward...no cover, some hills...I wonder if splitting the initial forces on the far sides is going to be beneficial. Maybe less enemy firepower? And the when you receive the three mechanjzed going right in front of enemy positions?

Any hint?

[c3k]

Hints?!?! Not one step back! The time to retreat is past! Etc.

Have you tried to play it yet?

[Patgarret]

Actually yes, I'm advancin on the first line but Im a little scared about the complete absence of cover...so I was considering restarting and using the far sides approach.

I do hate to take casualties and I was thinking that assaulting the flanks could minimize them

[Squallion]

Actually yes, I'm advancin on the first line but Im a little scared about the complete absence of cover...so I was considering restarting and using the far sides approach.

I do hate to take casualties and I was thinking that assaulting the flanks could minimize them

Don't feel bad. I found that particular scenario to be immensely difficult.

I would give advice, but I still haven't completed it.

[Degsy]

Get the camera down to ground level and check the terrain, because there are small undulations that will you give some cover. You are going to take casualties though.

[Patgarret]

To tell you the truth guys Im pretty new at cm...just few scenarios under my belt...so Im looking for kinda easy battles...but till now I guessed wrong...picked only difficult ones.

Id like an approachable one with not too many units.

Hints?

[Squallion]

To tell you the truth guys Im pretty new at cm...just few scenarios under my belt...so Im looking for kinda easy battles...but till now I guessed wrong...picked only difficult ones.

Id like an approachable one with not too many units.

Hints?

While the soviet campaign is mostly huge battles on huge maps, I found it to be a solid introduction. It wasn't to difficult, either. (In my opinion).

The german campaign will make you scratch your eyes out, hardcore.

[DavidFields]

I don't think he will find the Soviet Campaign as "a few units".

Try "Dead of the Night"--with or without reading the guide I just posted. It truly has only a few units.

[Squallion]

I don't think he will find the Soviet Campaign as "a few units".

Try "Dead of the Night"--with or without reading the guide I just posted. It truly has only a few units.

While it doesn't have a few units, it's still a strong introduction, I think.

I could literally complete a mission with two of the three companies I was granted to complete it with. Essentially kept one in reserve the entire time.

[Vinnart]

I just won this with the German's surrendering. I used a three pronged attack, but concentrated mainly on each flank rolling them up toward the center. The best advice is to recon, then kill the positions you find with the SU-76's. Any terrain mods with grid lines are helpful too in reading the "stepped" terrain. Use the dead areas for cover, and use some low crawling in advancing through the tall grass. This was my approach, but am sure it can be won other ways too.

[John Kettler]

Vinnart,

Russian armor crews are taught to flow like water, making use of every possible low point in the ground. This is the direct result of the topography of the steppe, where LOS otherwise can be enormous. And fatal. Also, it's the reason Russian tanks are so low to the ground, for they're optimized for steppe warfare, where vertical profile is a life and death matter.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Wicky]

Also, it's the reason Russian tanks are so low to the ground, for they're optimized for steppe warfare, where vertical profile is a life and death matter.

[Talespin Jim]

The height of Soviet tanks in WW2 being low to the ground got me interested, especially after seeing Wiki's picture of a KV2 monstrosity.

I looked up a comparison chart and the Russian tanks overall, are very close to the same height as German tanks early on. So when comparing a T-34 to a Panzer IV, they are pretty similar. It's not until the Panther and the Tiger that the German tanks are significantly taller--with the exception of the Soviet KV line, the KV-2 being some sort of whacky mutation on the turret, which was as high as the hull. So if you consider the latter war tanks, the preferred tanks, Panthers VS. T-85s, the Russians are maybe a little shorter.

But then I was looking at a comparison chart diagramming each of the tanks and when you look at the Soviets compared to the Germans, it looks to me like the Soviets had lower hulls, but I couldn't say definitively, because I couldn't find stats on just the hull height. If you think about it, if you are trying to use dips in the terrain, it would be advantageous to have a low hull, but have the turret stick up a bit above the ground. So I think if you compare the hull height, you'll find that what he is saying is probably true, even with that mutated KV-2--for a heavy tank, the hull was still reasonably low--and there weren't a lot of heavy tanks at that stage of the war, were there? So the KV line is sort of a noteworthy aberration, especially the KV-2.

[Michael Emrys]

The KV-2 was a special case. I confess I don't tend to think of it as a tank at all, but as a well-armored mobile artillery piece built on tank chassis. The oddly gargantuan turret was necessitated by the gun's need to achieve maximum elevation and still have room to recoil. But it really was a poor design solution to the problem, which is why it remained a special case. It will be noted that the later big gun designs—SU-122, SU-152, and ISU-152—maximum elevation was simply dispensed with. Whatever extreme high angle fire was required was provided by traditional towed artillery.

Michael

[c3k]

Use the ADMIN command and split off some Scout Teams. Check the "soft factors" stats for your squads, as well. Experienced and + leadership squads will be your better ones.

The Scouts: move 'em up with 360^ covered arc commands set to about 50m. Their job is to look without being seen. As they approach crest lines, SLOW them to the ridge, with a HIDE at the end. (You want them to stay low.)

It'll take them a little bit, but you should start spotting German fortifications and, depending on noise discipline, German units.

Use your HQ's to spot for indirect fire assets. (I forget if the Sov's have them in this battle.) Beat up the Germans with mortars. It's fun!

Watch for antitank weapons/German vehicles. When it's clear, move your SU-76's up. Their HE shells are effective at hundreds of meters. German MG's, etc., can mess up SU-76's if you get too close.

Infantry should be the eyes; armor the jabbing stick. Artillery? Hmm, the clobbering weight?

WWII infantry had learned all the lessons of WWI on defense. It's VERY hard to use infantry against infantry if there are open fields of fire (like this battle) and the defenders are dug in (like this battle).

Rock, paper, scissors...

Read some of Bil Hardenberger's AAR's: notice how he never moves his main force until he's used recce to clear a zone, or found the enemy.

Scouts, patience, and High Explosive.

If all else fails, a glorious charge is at least fun to watch.

Ken

[Patgarret]

Thanks Ken, nice hints.

What does exactly the hide command? I used the slow for reconnaissance but I noticed the troops get tired pretty fast.

The inf vs inf problem is somethhing I've notoced too. I did not like at all the shootout in open field that this scenario tend to generate...

So in the end I guess I have to use snipers as scouts and keep my inf squqds and machime guns in the back...move them up when the SU have softened the german positions.

[Patgarret]

Well, as a matter of fact, sovs only have one mortar...so this leaves the hard work to the suvs...and thats umfortunate cause mg and antitank weapons are on the lookout and a good los is hard to get with these mechanized units.

If I set up my mgs they tend to be trounched by entrenched infantry.

I find this scenario a very tough nut to crack indeed.

[c3k]

Slow is only good for one or two action spors...8 or 16m. More than that, without a minute or two to rest, and they're going to be exhausted.

Hide keeps their heads down and restricts most fire.

Covered arc is a hold fire command.

Isolate sections of the defense and focus on them.

As in real life, tbis is a tough one.

[LukeFF]

armor the jabbing stick

...and the Mosin-Nagant bayonet. :eek: Seriously, that thing is like a giant tent stake.

[Publius]

I did very poorly on this one.  My plan was to move to contact, hit the Germans with mortar fire and wait for the SU-76s before pressing forward.  Instead, I took too many casualties moving to contact and then lost all my SU-76s to mines before they did much of anything.  The outcome was already a foregone conclusion with 30 minutes left.