Fortified Map?

[DMS]

I made tests in CMRT. 122mm destroy wire, but can't fully clear a minefield. May be some mines are destroyed, as soldiers passed with few losses. You need to concentrate fire, just 2-3 near hits are not enough.

Modern Russian sappers have UR-77 vehicle for clearing minefields. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FZOu5TcQBo

 

 

[JyriErik]

On 7/19/2018 at 5:10 AM, IanL said:

Yes, absolutely. I have done all combinations of the above except direct tank fire vs mines. But I see no reason that it would not work, I just have not done it. As the old saying goes, if a little HE didn't work, add more.

It can be done.  But it's not easy.  There's a scenario in FI where you get several Brumbärs.  Found a minefield where I was trying to outflank so I decided to use a few to try to clear the minefield.    Don't remember how many shots it took, but I think about a dozen shells cleared the minefield (and left some NASTY shell holes). 

Just might be the 150mm howitzer armament...

 

Jyri

 

Edited July 21, 2018 by JyriErik

[H1nd]

On 7/19/2018 at 11:55 PM, H1nd said:

Well I am a trained combat engineer and a reserve officer. When it comes to breaching minefield to keep the assault going I do have a plenty of training. But it all really comes down to the specifics of the task. One can't simply state that demining is out of scope of CM. What do you guys really mean by that? Demining, mine removal, minefield breaching.. what ever you want to call it takes time proportional to the size of the task. Just like anything else. You need to clear a path through simple hastily laid AT-minefield with no AP-mines, minefield is 50 meters deep, has probably mines in about 5 rows, each mine about 5-10m apart (if using something likeTM62 or TM 65-77). If you can locate the mines which I asume the mark mines command in CM is about, then the hard part is already done. Getting rid of the found mines is easy. Now with AP-mines in the mix the whole thing gets much much harder but that is the thing.. that is entirely different task. 

In general the whole idea of combat engineers versus regular engineers is that these are the people who are there, right at the tip of the offensive and It is their only job to keep the offensive going forward at all cost. I don't claim it's easy or safe, but I am claiming that with proper training and equipment, you can breach small minefields, especially ones with only AT-mines in span of minutes. Well within the scope of combat mission. 

By unsing the the awesome powers of necroposting, I am resurrecting this thread from beyond the veil!

Just to link an nice video from international exercises conducted in Finland this summer, where a FDF combat engineers demonstrated minefield breaching using a long "bangalore torpedo" or putkiraivain (pipe deminer) as it is called in finnish. Whole affair is intensively trained and among the principal basic tasks of FDF combat engineer squads. I remember trying to explain this device on this forum several times in the past but alas we had no good examples of the device in use on youtube back in the day. But here it is at 5:01-6:20, This is why I would love to see CM engineer squads beign able to use the generic blast command to remove minefield tiles (in ww2 and modern CM). Similar devices are probably in use elsewhere, and these are only one of several explosive solutions for quick demining: well within the timeframe of Combat mission scenarios. 

Cheers!

-H1nd