Anyone else love the new lean battle hardened US army in FB?

[Sublime]

It feels like youre commanding different troops.

And my god. The m1919a6. Its just.. with the bipod mount to lay and fire with. Ahh..

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

Totally does.  The tanks still aren't quite like having a mess of Panthers on your side, but the HVAP makes German armor operations a lot riskier, and the Jumbos are more fun than they should be.  

It's one of the reasons why I was so excited for FB, the US Army of Fall 44-Spring 45 was an entirely different beast than the summer fighting.

[Bud Backer]

I tended to avoid the US in CMBN, now I actually prefer them.

 

[iluvmy88]

2 hours ago, Bud Backer said:

I tended to avoid the US in CMBN, now I actually prefer them.

 

I like the challenge, makes you think more rather than face panther that way and everything dies. you really find out what your infantry is capable of =D. also i like the 3 team model just cause it makes it easier to break of the AT team and still have a squad that can assault. also love throwing the love with ma deuce =D.

[Sublime]

Well also the US is your only Allied option now as well Bud.

Yes Pz the new combat experienced army is waay better. M1919a6s to reg leg infantry units. Hellcats. Jacksons. Sherman jumbos. VT etc. I also see way more greaseguns for infantry squads.

I also love straggler formations etc. Just the variety and difference through hard fought combat is very notable. 

Im interested if the inevireable.mod with Brit and CW forces will reflect such changes in their armies or if they didnt change as much.

The US armor.is also noticeable.in the near by now universal T21 turret.

I have to admit for the Brit side theres one and only one fantasy vehicle id like thrown into a vehicle pack. Thats the churchill black prince. 17lber variant of the mk x.  Besides the comet i cant think of another Allied tank better equipped to do some big cat hunting.

I really hope some.changes or modifications are made to MOUT as we near Berlin and theore urbanized Reich.

Plus on the Ost since we.re working backwards Stalingrad isnt really to far away. Even abstracting it so soldiers on the AS on a st corner had limited visibility around the corner would go along way. Of course fortifications and atg emplacements woild also need an overhaul as well as some other city fighting aspects. Regarding fighting emplacements or ATG nest for one I think we should have the ability to spend points.to fortify a building. You woild have fortify (AP or AT)  ap would mean its more resilient to small arms and blast damage.. just increase strength of bldg. AT would be similar except I envision the ground floor missing a wall of your choice and beinf able to put an ATG in said building. Im also a strong advocate of foxholees and trenches having variable quality based on their experience. Elite foxhples or trenches woild be hard to spot amd have overhead cover etc etc.  Conscript woulf be scrapes in the ground, and easy to spot. Finally I think combat mission needs to add field telephones to the mix. Applicable to defenders only they would be an alternate way of staying in command and control. Where the line runs  could be tracked yet invizible to players yet if the spot is overran by enemy force or hit with 81mm or above theres abt a 75 % chance the lines cut.

I wonder also if itd be possible to code tanks that if map = city they cannot fire above floor 3 on buildings within 50m.

Still the US Army from Dec 44 to end of war is the US Army at an all time.prime in strength and combat power.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Sublime

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

The commonwealth expansion will be interesting.  Late war CW forces:

1. Had gained a lot of combat experience, and were very well blooded.

2. Did not change as much in regards to equipment.  The Comet is a notable exception, but most of the stuff on hand will be familiar to CMBN players. 

3. While British forces were more experienced, there's some definite war wariness coming into play in various formations  the UK had less to give.  A lot of the Veteran formations were understandably burned out, and there was a major problem in finding replacement soldiers for combat losses.  

4. The late war campaigns will still be very interesting, expect to see a lot of flamethrowers and windmills.  Also with amphibious vehicles in the game I imagine there might be some Rhine crossing to do.  

[Sublime]

Im also very interested in thr scheldt and varsity.

Of course northern germany is appealing to but west fronts most interesting area in march aptil 45 for me is the US blitzkrieg in the South - Comannder Abrams style.

Still as far as interwst and I have quite a bit theend of war is really about Berlin and the Ost Front for me.

But Im loving FB im pbeming Baron de Fraiture (yes i prolly mangled the name) as the US and having a ball. The US of the reinforcement txt bar to simulate me as a CO gttn a radio msg was an inspired touch.

P.s. you guys were such a tease tho wile i admit adding a riesberg pbem map was an awesome gesture u did wiltz i mean i guess its out of time frame but i wanted a riesberg sp scenario to relive my first cmbo experiences in the beta demo again

Anyone wanting an fb game of any sort pm me or db me jeffreypclark86@yahoo.com

Id also like to thank.my.friemd whom doesnt wish to be named in helping me acquire FB. It means the world man.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Sublime

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

If there's a Panzersaurkrautwerfer "favorite wargaming period" for World War Two, it basically starts at Arracourt and ends at the Elbe, and rolls in Olive Drabby tanks.  Needless to say I'm loving CMFB, and will go nuts if/hopefully when they announce the "over the Rhine" expansion with Pershings and somesuch.

[Rinaldi]

13 hours ago, Bud Backer said:

I tended to avoid the US in CMBN, now I actually prefer them.

 

I'm surprised by this; I wonder how many share that opinion with you. I always liked the flexibility of the US and their equipment compared to the Commonwealth nations in Normandy, even if they tended to been relatively green troops. 

Edited April 9, 2016 by Rinaldi

[Sublime]

Well he may have been sayn he preferred German units to US then. 

The armor game is a lot different with Jumbos jacksons hellcats and whatnot all over. Nevermind 76mm is common now. I honestly cant be certain but i think the 76 l 52 we have in FB is longer than the earlier l/? Of June to -July?Aug? Or I could be completely wrong. Still the now commonplace t21 type turrets for US tanks is a noticeable difference and also the addition as Pz pointed out of HVAP ammo.

[iluvmy88]

1 minute ago, Sublime said:

Well he may have been sayn he preferred German units to US then. 

The armor game is a lot different with Jumbos jacksons hellcats and whatnot all over. Nevermind 76mm is common now. I honestly cant be certain but i think the 76 l 52 we have in FB is longer than the earlier l/? Of June to -July?Aug? Or I could be completely wrong. Still the now commonplace t21 type turrets for US tanks is a noticeable difference and also the addition as Pz pointed out of HVAP ammo.

Yeah im lovin the 76, it just shreads most tank and even gets good hits on tigers and panthers. only trick is platoons typically only have one so you have to use that one tank for long range engagements or stick with getting in as close as possible to engage the whole platoon

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

14 minutes ago, Sublime said:

Well he may have been sayn he preferred German units to US then. 

The armor game is a lot different with Jumbos jacksons hellcats and whatnot all over. Nevermind 76mm is common now. I honestly cant be certain but i think the 76 l 52 we have in FB is longer than the earlier l/? Of June to -July?Aug? Or I could be completely wrong. Still the now commonplace t21 type turrets for US tanks is a noticeable difference and also the addition as Pz pointed out of HVAP ammo.

From my recollection:

There were a few different models of Sherman 76 MM guns, but none of them were longer.  The big difference is the introduction of threads for a muzzle brake and then the muzzle brake itself.  

In regards to how common they were, it varied.  Going into the Bulge generally "older" units that had fought in Normandy had fairly few, with a large number of M4s, and M4A1s still floating around, while some of the newer divisions had nothing but M4A3 76 W type tanks.  As the Bulge and counter-offensive wore on it sort of averaged out.  Old units received major injections of new equipment, newer units received some reinforcements from old stock or even Commonwealth variants by some accounts, but it became increasingly common to see tank platoons with 2-3 76 MM tanks, or even completely 76 MM units again.



 

[iluvmy88]

Just now, panzersaurkrautwerfer said:

From my recollection:

There were a few different models of Sherman 76 MM guns, but none of them were longer.  The big difference is the introduction of threads for a muzzle brake and then the muzzle brake itself.  

In regards to how common they were, it varied.  Going into the Bulge generally "older" units that had fought in Normandy had fairly few, with a large number of M4s, and M4A1s still floating around, while some of the newer divisions had nothing but M4A3 76 W type tanks.  As the Bulge and counter-offensive wore on it sort of averaged out.  Old units received major injections of new equipment, newer units received some reinforcements from old stock or even Commonwealth variants by some accounts, but it became increasingly common to see tank platoons with 2-3 76 MM tanks, or even completely 76 MM units again.



 

im more talking what the game repesents in the campaigns and scenarios. i dont think i have had a mission with more that 1 76 in a platoon.

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

Oh I'm sure.  I'm just saying that it someone wants to build a few scenarios or a QB with more 76 MM Shermans per platoon it's not at all ahistorical.  

[Michael Emrys]

One thing I am noticing in a very brief acquaintance is that the marksmanship of the US soldier seems to have improved noticeably. That may be due to a higher percentage of them being Veterans, but in any event a welcome development.

Michael

[JoMac]

3 hours ago, panzersaurkrautwerfer said:

Oh I'm sure.  I'm just saying that it someone wants to build a few scenarios or a QB with more 76 MM Shermans per platoon it's not at all ahistorical.  

Yeap, and having up to 2x 76mm Shermans per Platoon isn't unheard of...Actually, it's about the standard this Time-Frame. 

Joe

[Bud Backer]

6 hours ago, Sublime said:

Well he may have been sayn he preferred German units to US then. 

Sublime read me right, I preferred the Germans far more over the US in CMBN. 

6 hours ago, Sublime said:

The armor game is a lot different with Jumbos jacksons hellcats and whatnot all over. Nevermind 76mm is common now. I honestly cant be certain but i think the 76 l 52 we have in FB is longer than the earlier l/? Of June to -July?Aug? Or I could be completely wrong. Still the now commonplace t21 type turrets for US tanks is a noticeable difference and also the addition as Pz pointed out of HVAP ammo.

What is more common in the CMFB time period is the special 76mm ammo is available to Shermans and not solely Tank Destroyers, which was more the case in the CMBN time period. No longer does one have to wait for a single unit to deal with a troublesome target; now almost any 76mm Sherman I tried will do. 

[geordietaf]

18 hours ago, Sublime said:

I have to admit for the Brit side theres one and only one fantasy vehicle id like thrown into a vehicle pack. Thats the churchill black prince. 17lber variant of the mk x.  Besides the comet i cant think of another Allied tank better equipped to do some big cat hunting.

On the subject of fantasy vehicles, I have a special place in my heart for the Tortoise

 

[Sublime]

Hmm iluvemy88, thats odd. Admittedly Ive played only like 2 or 3 SP scenarios before I went back to my tradition for CM which is PBEM only. I just cant revert to AI after people. Sorry nope. I tried I really did with the Aachen campaign and also one of the demo scenarios... (2nd Chaumont) BUT Ive seemed to notice A LOT more 76mms, whereas in BN your statement would have been spot on all the time every time Shermans were placed or bought as formations in Bulge I could swear Ive seen units that already came with more than one. And it seems seeing the old pre T21 turret is a much rarer experience one the battlefield

Anyqays BARAQUE de Fraiture is awesome. Great sense of urgency I commend the scenario designer of his clever use of the reinforcement txt line and squelch noise to replicate a radio msg frm my engineers saying " Sir we cant blow the bridge! The charges failed!" As i steel.my straggler US units to hold off the krauts. The atmosphere is right there.

[Anthony P.]

Speaking of the new equipment available, where on Earth do you find the MMG M1919A6 teams? I find the LMG A6 teams alright, but I can't for the life of me find the MMG teams in the scenario editor.

[ASL Veteran]

The air cooled MMGs should be in the weapons platoon for A, B, and C company while the water cooled MGs are typically found in the weapons company or 'D' company.

[Anthony P.]

Meant in the scenario editor, not the company. Couldn't find the A6 as an MMG with tripod and all. Just got it though, by setting quality to Excellent A4s you pick on paper are converted to A6s in game.