Any advice on the NTC Training Campaign (first mission)

[Sprocketman]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for some advice on the NTC campaign. I'm actually stuck on the first mission (hasty attack). I learned to basically camp out in my start location and ambush the Soviet armored/mechanized push, and I can accomplish that pretty well. Enough to get a 'tactical victory' if I ceasefire. Anything beyond that and things start to fall apart.

My main issue is that I can't find a way to maneuver effectively in this wide open terrain. Since the enemies' surviving BMPs are dotted around, any time I try to push up with my armor (peaking over ridges in hull down positions) I get ATGM'd with almost uncanny accuracy (in 5 attempts at this mission, I haven't noticed a single Soviet ATGM miss!) What's more, I try to get infantry eyes on the nearby mountains, but they get spotted pretty easily and aren't able to stick around.

I just feel like I'm missing some important lesson. As is, I'm basically stuck in my deployment zone and unable to take initiative outside of calling in air attack missions.

Any advice?

[The_MonkeyKing]

- The ATGM vehicles in hulldown positions on the high ground on the right side of the deployment zone. As far away from the enemy as possible. Prefer limited line of sight. (keyhole)
- Terrain is stepped. This creates dead ground at the base of each step. Find a good one (big step in good location) and put your infantry in defense there (place the Dragon in a way it can cover the two other squads) And hide the M113 near by so you can mount up fast in case of artillery or reposition.
- Use your fire support in front of your defense lines. So your infantry platoon stops the enemy and the fire support destroys the enemy.
- Use your tanks in close range combat. These steps in the terrain enable this. Rush between steps with minimal exposure. (Infantry should make sure the base of the next step is safe for the tanks.)
- Optimal range to engage BMP seems to be around 200-300m with M60A1. Here you can hit with each shot and it is to most awkward range for BMPs weapons.
 

[domfluff]

The NTC campaign might now genuinely be my favourite campaign in all of Combat Mission.

NTC campaign is supposed to be brutal, like the real NTC. Don't believe their lies. The enemy are all better than you - Elite and Crack experience, and they outnumber you. They're also hellishly aggressive and have some very sneaky AI plans going on. They will surprise you - the designers, Bil and Warren, are better than you.

In terms of tips:

You're playing the doctrinal infantry heavy mixed mech inf/tank company of the period, which I've grown to kinda love over this launch weekend. This is a combined arms formation, and its strength is gained through that combination - each element individually will fall apart. Field manual 71-1 (1977) is really the best guide to "how to do the NTC", since that does a really good job outlining how this works, and how to carry out the various missions you find in the campaign.

The terrain is really hard to read at the NTC - you can't line up on a hedgerow or take a building, so it's a fascinating puzzle of reading folds in the ground, using reverse slopes, etc. The campaign gives you choices, and it's probably a good idea to try the other paths (although the last decision point seems to be broken right now).

The two most important elements of that formation ("centre of mass" if you like) are learning to use your off-map support correctly, and how to manage a tank platoon. It's been common to be able to run up your tanks into a forward defensive position in most CM games, but here you're outranged, outgunned, and you can't really afford to take losses, since you'll need to use all of this company later on. A large part of using the off-map assets is that you need to read the terrain and the enemy lines of approach. The enemy emphasises speed and aggression, specifically to counter the threat of your off-map assets. This kind of experience is pretty much new for CM, it's rare to be faced with this kind of problem in the other titles.

The other arms support these two core elements. Learning how to make the most of your light mortars in this context is important, and how best to site your TOW launchers - the TOWs will outrange a BMP's ATGM one on one, but again if you're in forward defensive positions you'll never be one on one.

Infantry have a secondary role. I mostly used them to secure or deny the flanks of my armour, often in complex terrain. The Dragon and LAWs can be useful, but aren't dominant or in large numbers, but they provide the spotting and flank security that the armour desperately needs. The .50 cals of the M113s aren't something I want to be going on the offensive with, but (given how aggressive the enemy are), they certainly had their uses.

[chuckdyke]

6 hours ago, Sprocketman said:

Any advice?

I spent ⅓ of my time on recon. It doesn't matter which game I play. Infantry can spot enemy armor at around 1km find their armor first. 

[The_MonkeyKing]

Good post @domfluff

Also now in desert environment the ranges between tanks and infantry can get pretty far. Infantry and tanks might be separated by a kilometer but they are still participating in the same killzone an working together.

When in other environments like forest tanks cannot really go farter than couple of hundred meters most of time.

[SeinfeldRules]

So I've replayed this one multiple times and I'm puzzled... I chose this variation to utilize the openness of the terrain and attempt to surprise the Russian FSE, as was stated in the mission briefing. However, your starting force is so lackluster, and the enemy so numerous and deployed so far forward to start with, you basically have no chance of leaving Brown Pass or your starting area before the rest of the company arrives. In fact, I found the best strategy was to cluster my forces into the lowest ground possible and then wait for the rest of my company to arrive. By that point the enemy is only a minute or two from reaching your starting area and you can setup a reverse slope defense with your tanks. Anything else is almost guaranteed to lose you the majority of your starting force to either artillery or BMPs. The enemy's head long rush into your starting area is enough to attrit about half of them, then it's a game of cat and mouse with your TOW launchers and tanks to take out the rest of the BMPs that sit right outside the pass (with my all seeing FSO sitting on the side of the mountain pointing them out)... basically leaving the rest of the map undefended for the "hasty attack". I feel like I gained none of the advantages of choosing the "hasty attack" option as I was forced to defend from the pass anyway. Perhaps I misunderstood the briefing or the intent of the scenario, but the enemy seems too numerous and too far forward to match the text.

Edited May 3, 2021 by SeinfeldRules

[chuckdyke]

6 minutes ago, SeinfeldRules said:

So I've replayed this one multiple times and I'm puzzled..

Sometimes defense is the best form of attack. It is what I like about this game. If you play the AI, discover the 'Trigger' somewhere on the terrain. Then you have an opportunity to set up an ambush. Warning: suddenly, you get plenty of sound contacts. It is a sign you set off a trigger.