Major Tom Posted January 24, 2000 Share Posted January 24, 2000 One thread that this board seems to be missing is one on basic military tactics. The Panzer Tactics thread is a good start. It deals a lot on what you should do as a tank commander. However, there are more military arms to consider here. Infantry, Artillery, Light AFV's, Troop Carriers, etc... Many individuals who play CM do not have the squad level military tactics experience that many other people have. People do learn a wack load from AAR's PBEM's and even against the AI, but, not every strategy is encountered. I know that there are many good examples at Fionn's and Maddmatt's CMHQ, but, how about some of us mention our successful, and even unsuccessful strategies. Having ambushes made up of a varried number of troops to counter multiple enemy threats. HQ's to give the unit good leadership, Zook's or Schrecks in case of AFV's, squads against a close enemy attack, and HMG's to keep infantry at bay. How to successfuly attack with AFV's and or Infantry with and without artillery. How to defend a postition, do you recommend having a long connected line of troops, large and independent groups of troops, or, smaller yet mutually supporting groups. Things such as these many CMers have been fussing over. I guess I will start it off by mentioning one of my tactics, which I believe is a military practice. Wherever I can, either at the edge of a forest, or in a high structure I usually put some sort of unit (A HQ unit, or Squad) to keep an eye on the entire length of front. This is defensive and offensive recon, as, you can spot out any enemy movements as well as some enemy positions that would have otherwize been blind to you. Use HQ's, as, they have their own command rating and can vacate out of an area ASAP, or quickly move to a better vantage point. Also, keep them hidden, or, so that they won't fire on the enemy, you want to see him, you don't want him to see you. Now, none of these will really give away something imperative for PBEM games, as, many people already are aware of such tactics. If we all are aware of these military do's and don't's games of CM will end up being more challenging, and therefore more fun. One of my don't's is to NEVER get cocky with your troops. If you wipe out the enemy AFV's in a few turns don't go charging up with your tanks and infantry thinking you have won the day. Many times have I done this, and seen this happen resulting in a reverse of fortune. Infantry AT is just as deadly, sometimes even moreso than a tank or tank destroyer. You can hide a zook, schrek, or faust in a small patch of forest, a church, or even a shell hole, and just one shot can end the life of a AFV. Do your attack with the same caution you would if you knew that there were 4 Shermans or StuGs waiting for you. Sometimes a well positioned Squad can wipe out a careless Platoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kb9sog Posted January 24, 2000 Share Posted January 24, 2000 I agree with you whole heartedly Major Tom. Here's my two cents: Playing a game of LD with my pal from work. We are using "gamey" tactics but I saw strategy that really shocked me as a General--working in his favor too. (The "gamey" part of it is no problem for me since we've been putting a lot of road miles on the demo. ) I am American. He is the Germans. I set up ambushes with the rifle squads in the forests to attrit (both flanks, American perspective) the rush of HT's and panzer squads. My ambush on the left flank is fubar (still learning what works and what doesn't) after 3 turns has been wiped out. Oh well. The armor is concentrating fire on the town buildings to shock my troops. The right flank ambush is successful with one HT knocked out and working for my second kill. This is where it gets good. He made a break with one HT right down the middle of the road, through the town, across the bridge in 60 seconds flat..unscathed. Wow! Bravado? Or luck? We will see. Has me crapping my pants with my defenseless mortar guys on the hill. You can imagine what might happen in turn 5 if he can get the truck under the minimum range requirement before I can knock it out. That HT made it past my 50 cal and my ambush bazooka team...spirited away in the town somewhere. (Just in case, you're reading this Phil. Gamey, yes, but if it was double blind, I think that he might have done it the same way anyhow. He is semper agressus. hehe cheers ------------------ 73 de kb9sog Support Amateur Radio http://www.arrl.org Home page of the Amateur Radio Relay League. Ask me about ham radio: kb9sog@arrl.net BJ Simpson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Beman Posted January 24, 2000 Share Posted January 24, 2000 Hey guys, there's something being sold right here at BTS that has this kind of stuff. It's MajorH's CD of military stuff. If you want to take a look just click http://www.battlefront.com/products/modern/mrl/index.html It looks like a really good resource for people who are serious about their military hobbies. As soon as my health insurance coughs up their part of the cash for a dentist visit I made before Xmas, I'm gonna order this thing. Looks cool. DjB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Beman Posted January 24, 2000 Share Posted January 24, 2000 kb, check out the Alpha Battle AAR elsewhere on this site; Fionn fought Moon for control of a town and the high ground around it. Fionn did the same sort of thing with a halftrack (I can't even remember if it worked) and that sparked a discussion on "gamey or bold" that lasted about as long as the McKinley administration. DjB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 24, 2000 Share Posted January 24, 2000 That reminds me of a little something I did for fun in LD. I drove the Tiger straight down the road through the town and up to the top of the hill. Come turn 11 I had taken out all of his Hellcats, a platoon of infantry and three mortars. And he was dropping some deadly HE fire on the back of the town. Unfortunatly the demo messed up and I couldn't take the screenshot. I cursed for a week or two. ------------------ Visit my Combat Mission for Mac page! With all off CCJ's tweaked textures for Mac! cm4mac.tripod.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Tom Posted January 24, 2000 Author Share Posted January 24, 2000 Actually, there were many patrols made by light skinned vehicles. I have a picture of a British patrol passing by a previously unsuccessful patrol of a halftrack. Using light forces, such as Halftracks and Scout Cars was a tactic. After the enemy was found in the area a more sensible scouting operation was conducted. Another CM tactic which I have come to discover is that in combat in close quarters it pays to be on higher ground. They tend to have higher kills than those at the bottom of the slope, even if it is a small one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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