Question - Amiens Tonight, Prelude on the Seine

[BluecherForward]

Thanks danfrodo,

The Cromwell troop has three vehicles. I am continuing moving on my three axes of advance - dealing now with two (might be three) counterattacks. An infantry platoon with arty support on Obj DON (Sawmill), Arty fire on my small occupying force on Obj BEER (Chateau), and an infantry force (suspect platoon strength) attempting to infiltrate along the right flank of D Company heading towards the Chateau - I think. My "center force" - A Company - is almost at Obj CHARLIE (no enemy contact so far) and supporting mortar fire is about to fall on an enemy MG position protecting Obj ACK from Company B's attack at the far side of the field (where the German icon is). 

My scheme of maneuver is to try to draw German reserves toward my A Company push at CHARLIE. I hope this will clear the way for an armored push on ACK by B Company and the Cromwells. Next step is to link-up with D Company in Bois Jerome, then back-track to clean up the Germans in the pocket (CHARLIE and JELLALABAD). At this phase, C Company will begin to pressure its front to try to keep the Panzer IVs where they are (JELLALABAD), so they can be taken out from behind.  Complex plan, I know, but this is like fighting three battles at once.

[danfrodo]

oh, three cromwells.  I thought that's what would be in a troop.  Not much for the task at hand.  You are making this battle sound fun!  I am thinking about unpacking this battle from the campaign and giving myself more cromwells and armored cars.

Good luck and thanks for the continuing updates

[BluecherForward]

Thanks danfrodo,

It is a little bit like being in the army, all the wiz-bang stuff usually takes place when you are too tired (wet, cold/hot and hungry) to enjoy it!

Cheers!

[BluecherForward]

Just now, BluecherForward said:

Thanks danfrodo,

It is a little bit like being in the army, all the wiz-bang stuff usually takes place when you are too tired (wet, cold/hot and hungry) to enjoy it!

Cheers!

...but isn't that what a military simulation should be like?

[Warts 'n' all]

On 1/20/2020 at 4:16 AM, danfrodo said:

AMIENS SPOILERS AHEAD:  ... but a campaign starting w a sure loss is not much fun. Oh well, there's plenty of better stuff to play in CM.  I am just unhappy at wasting so much time on this.  

I remember from two years ago when I first tried it that every battle is tough. Although unlike some campaign you can take a few defeats without it terminating early. I think that it is the fourth battle that is a must win.

[danfrodo]

Well, then, I do stand corrected.  If I'm not punished for not winning that first one I'll definitely go on.  I was a tad hasty in my earlier comments I think.  I was mostly just tweaked about having used up my weekend playing time on it.  

[BluecherForward]

 

On 1/21/2020 at 3:22 PM, danfrodo said:

Good luck Bluecher.  I actually had my main force moving to the center left, where on your picture it says "phase line goose".  I was bypassing the german armor.  It's a long walk but was pretty easy up to the point where I quit.  Maybe there was stiff opposition ahead, maybe not?  I got to the open field w very minimal casualties (where your map shows "(30 pts)"

Hello danfrodo, I ended up stopping the game early after running into hellacious German resistance on the final objectives. I believe that the Germans have more combat power in this scenario than the British - a lot of capability on last objectives; in addition to having the terrain advantage and operating from prepared fortifications. Have to check this out, but I am betting the British did not succeed in this endeavor in the real thing. Then I had to keep restarting the next scenario in the campaign until I got a full platoon - with platoon HQ and mortar. There is some kind of randomness that gives you less than a complete platoon most times when you go to the second scenario in this campaign. To tell you the truth, I am a disappointed (and a little frustrated) at how things ended up, but I did have some fun. Might switch to a different campaign now - thinking it over. Always thought the British attacked with overwhelming superiority in firepower and numbers - definitely not the case here. What would Monty say?

[Warts 'n' all]

3 hours ago, BluecherForward said:

 

Have to check this out, but I am betting the British did not succeed in this endeavor in the real thing. 

I'm not sure why the campaign designer has made this mission quite so tough as he has. From what I've read although the British had to fight in the streets of Vernon, and faced some dug in forces during the river crossing. But in clearing the forest they only met scattered resistance. Also, I think at least part of this map was taken by the Worcesters.

[danfrodo]

12 hours ago, BluecherForward said:

 

Hello danfrodo, I ended up stopping the game early after running into hellacious German resistance on the final objectives. I believe that the Germans have more combat power in this scenario than the British - a lot of capability on last objectives; in addition to having the terrain advantage and operating from prepared fortifications. Have to check this out, but I am betting the British did not succeed in this endeavor in the real thing. Then I had to keep restarting the next scenario in the campaign until I got a full platoon - with platoon HQ and mortar. There is some kind of randomness that gives you less than a complete platoon most times when you go to the second scenario in this campaign. To tell you the truth, I am a disappointed (and a little frustrated) at how things ended up, but I did have some fun. Might switch to a different campaign now - thinking it over. Always thought the British attacked with overwhelming superiority in firepower and numbers - definitely not the case here. What would Monty say?

That was my experience also.  And at the end it showed that we were even in men.  But the germans were in stout buildings w MG 42s and artillery support.  Would be great fun with more armor & men, though the casualties would be high.

[BluecherForward]

On 1/19/2020 at 7:22 PM, Myles Keogh said:

Sadly, there were other niggling issues with that campaign: a scenario in which the OOB for an infantry platoon can change every time you play it.  Sometimes it will have an attached 51mm mortar team and other times it won't.  (It was as tough scenario that I restarted several times in order to win it, but also had to restart numerous other times just to get that mortar which I found to be very important to having any chance to win.)  And another scenario that has flamethrower teams without flamethrowers.  When I saw that I threw in the towel.   That was four years ago.  Maybe those issues have been fixed in one of the patches/upgrades.

Going back to Myles Keogh's comment earlier in this thread. Deciding not to proceed with the campaign as I suspect that the issues he identified years ago have never been addressed - too bad. I was really looking forward to playing a British campaign after not playing this game in a number of years. Is there any reason to expect that these issues could be fixed in the future?

Well, there is always the South African campaign in R2V...

[Warts 'n' all]

1 hour ago, BluecherForward said:

Going back to Myles Keogh's comment earlier in this thread. Deciding not to proceed with the campaign as I suspect that the issues he identified years ago have never been addressed - too bad. I was really looking forward to playing a British campaign after not playing this game in a number of years. Is there any reason to expect that these issues could be fixed in the future?

I haven't seen any posts from the designer Jon Sowden in a long time. He put a lot of work into the Battle Pack, just a shame that the glitches in the campaign didn't get sorted. And it would be nice if he was still around to chip in to this thread.

[BluecherForward]

2 hours ago, Warts 'n' all said:

I haven't seen any posts from the designer Jon Sowden in a long time. He put a lot of work into the Battle Pack, just a shame that the glitches in the campaign didn't get sorted. And it would be nice if he was still around to chip in to this thread.

I agree. It would be nice if somebody could re-look this campaign, remaster it, maybe even add another. I would certainly purchase it, if it were not buggy.

Edited January 25, 2020 by BluecherForward
typo

[Warts 'n' all]

I think that the Battle Pack was great idea in principle. Especially considering how few new battles stemmed from the Vehicle Pack. I think that where Jon fell down was putting so much effort into the six fictional Linnet battles, and the Waterloo one. I'd have preferred a top notch campaign, and fewer, but more closely historical battles. 

[BluecherForward]

Great points Warts 'n' all, I would love a campaign or at least some historical battles where we could actually use Hobart's funnies in action.

[Warts 'n' all]

There is a battle included in the pack called "Hobart's Funnies" which makes use of the Churchill flame throwers. If you want more "funnies" to play with you might want to take a look at a player made campaign called "For King and Country" if you've not already tried it.

[BluecherForward]

Thanks Warts 'n' all, I will check that out.

[Myles Keogh]

16 hours ago, BluecherForward said:

Great points Warts 'n' all, I would love a campaign or at least some historical battles where we could actually use Hobart's funnies in action.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-lions-of-carpiquet/

This is a terrifically made player made campaign featuring historic missions about the Canadians attacking dug-in SS positions at Carpriquet airfield.  It does feature some of Hobart's funnies most notably flail tanks in its 2nd scenario.

[BluecherForward]

Thanks Myles Keogh! I will download that one. I will definitely be looking into that campaign. Right now I am playing the first battle (alphabetically) in CMFI - Alvano Anvil. Having some fun with this one.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

You'll enjoy 'B' (for Biazzo). 

[BluecherForward]

40 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

You'll enjoy 'B' (for Biazzo). 

Thanks Sgt. Squarehead, I checked it out. I think that might be my next scenario. I don't know who designed that one, but I love the historical background that was provided. This is really what I enjoy about the Combat Mission series and this scenario developer has hit the nail right on the head.

[Warts 'n' all]

On 1/20/2020 at 12:22 AM, Myles Keogh said:As shown by the attached thread, I reported this issue nearly four years ago.  The campaign creator acknowledged it and said he'd upload a fixed version.

Sadly, there were other niggling issues with that campaign: a scenario in which the OOB for an infantry platoon can change every time you play it.  Sometimes it will have an attached 51mm mortar team and other times it won't.  (It was as tough scenario that I restarted several times in order to win it, but also had to restart numerous other times just to get that mortar which I found to be very important to having any chance to win.)  And another scenario that has flamethrower teams without flamethrowers.  When I saw that I threw in the towel.   That was four years ago.  Maybe those issues have been fixed in one of the patches/upgrades.

I've now thrown in the towel on my re-run of this campaign. When I fired up the 3rd mission I encountered the missing flame thrower problem. I re-started a couple of times and eventually got my flamethrowers. But then I noticed that the pioneers were a couple of men light. And when I looked at C Company none of it's Platoons were at full strength. Either the HQ's or mortars were missing, Or they were there, but the number of riflemen had dropped.

It has finally dawned on me why this is happening. It isn't that the OOB is changing per se. It is down to a lack of vehicles to carry your troops. There aren't enough trucks, jeeps, and carriers for your units if they are at full strength. Or put another way, not enough seats for bums.

I don't have the skill design wise to prove this. But my hunch is that if your infantry arrived on foot they would be at full strength. 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

That doesn't sound right to me.....Normally if mechanised/motorised troops lose their transport they are auto-deployed on foot, in the location that their (occupied) vehicle would have been placed by the designer.

[Warts 'n' all]

52 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

That doesn't sound right to me.....Normally if mechanised/motorised troops lose their transport they are auto-deployed on foot, in the location that their (occupied) vehicle would have been placed by the designer.

They haven't lost any transport. The infantry platoon in the 2nd mission are making their first appearance in the campaign, and I think the same applies to the company featured in the 3rd mission. You can't fit a whole platoon in one Bedford if you want a full headcount. And I don't know why the missing men aren't showing up on foot.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Warts 'n' all

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I'm pretty confident this is patch/update related.

[Warts 'n' all]

Nah, 'fraid not. The first time I played it a couple of years back I was running Engine 3. And if you read the post that Myles made above you'll see that the problem existed when the Battle Pack was released, and that he was hoping that it had been fixed by now.