Guest *Captain Foobar* Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 NOT!!!!!!!! Oh geez, I just had to say this. For any of you that are new to the game, I have a few words of advice. The absolutely hardest thing for me to do in CM is to do nothing. There are times in a game where a unit might not be terribly effective for you(bad los, hard defenses), and in many of those instances the WORST thing you can do is try to force it. If you have a tactical doctrine/practice/routine that is sound, don't break from it out of frustration. Just look at the situation rationally, chill out, and try to find a better way out of the stuation. I am more convinced than ever that the true slogan in tactical situations is "He who is patient wins..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 Glad to hear it. I've noticed that in playing CM, my instinct has been to play fairly cautiously. I was winning (mostly) but I was also getting worried that maybe with advancing age my testosterone count was dropping off. Michael [This message has been edited by Michael emrys (edited 07-27-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KarlXII Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 I know what your talking about. I've lost one Panther and a Hummel just because I overdid it. Had I left them without orders, they would at least have had a decent chance. Just keep it cool and wait him out. ------------------ Fire for effect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadepm Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 I couldn't agree more. When I first started reading battle specific books on WWII I was a little confused by how much waiting in place was done during a battle, and this by the troops engaged not just the reserves. CM is going to "explain" to us why this was so. I am ready to be instructed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisl Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 It takes a real effort sometimes, but even when I think I can see a bunch of nice targets I try to leave at least one of the defenders without an assigned target. I've been burned a few times by target stickiness, where if I had left them alone they would have switched from target to target in an appropriate way and done a better job of defense. Even knowing this, it's really hard. Another thing that's hard is refraining from popping a tank up over a hill, firing a few shots, and reversing. Often it's better to wait until the enemy walks into an ambush (Enemy tanks always seem to have radar and get off a lot of shots when I pop up, frequently brewing up my tanks). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 There is a fine line between blitzkrieg tactics and cautious tactics. Too fast and you could fall into a trap with too few assets to cover your ass. Too slow and your enemy could use that time to solidify his position and fields of fire. Generally, I err on the blitzkrieg style but definitely need to move more towards the cautious style (eww, I'm sounding like Gen. Montgomery here ). However, like I said, it's a fine line. So yes, he who dares may not win, but he who hesitates mya also lose. ------------------ Jeff Abbott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragoon44 Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Captain Foobar, Im with you, Id did the "screw if colonel, have the bugler sound the charge" stuff and got my ass handed to me! But had fun at the same time this game is awesome! Im glad BTS included the Stuart, I hate to reveal my age here, but the old DC Comic "The Haunted Tank" spawned a 21 year cavalry career for me and of course the Stuart was my fav! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henri Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Amateurs generally don't like unresolved situations;strong chessplayers exploit this by creating unstable situations, which the amateur feels obliged to resolve by making bad moves. The same is true in war. Of course, it works better against humans... So it's not usually a question of caution versus audacity, but rather a question of knowing when to call and knowing when to run Henri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Captain Foobar* Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Juardis, That is an excellent point... I guess the patience concept is easier to apply to defensive situations.....And my biggest example of impatience is when I often move too quickly into unexplored terrain. I often get into too much of a hurry going for the jugular, and end up cutting my own throat... Or getting shot from behind by a Hellcat. (right SS wussy?) Finding that balance between hesitation and impulsiveness is difficult to say the least... Q. How do you get good judgement? A. From experience Q. And how do you get experience? A. From bad judgement... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 There are cases where a bold course is also the safest course. General Patton told his troops that when they were in proximity to the enemy and started receiving artillery fire, their best chance was to get in even closer. The Germans, being no dummies, were not going to call down artillery on their own positions. Of course, this only works if the enemy doesn't have a ****load of riflemen and MGs waiting for you to get close enough before they open fire. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadepm Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 One of the German's favorite tactics in Normandy early was to have MG teams set to cover an area that was pretargetted by mortars. When the Americans came through the area the MG would open up and the Amis would go to ground then the mortars would start falling. MG team falls back and sets up again somewhere else. But it didn't take (too) long for the Amis to figure that one out though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorak Posted July 29, 2000 Share Posted July 29, 2000 The worst MG traps were when the germans would open fire at the allies in a field at waist level, just enough to get them to go to ground. Then open up with a lot of MG42's at about 6 inches to a foot of the ground to wax them while they were down. Lorak ------------------ "someone you trust is one of us"..........the illuminati * http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/combatmissionclub Lorak's FTX for CM <--Proud member of the Combat Mission Webring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kb9sog Posted July 29, 2000 Share Posted July 29, 2000 I am guilty of pushing a bad situation as well in many of my games. I just wrote an AAR for Heinz's new website for AAR's. I think it will get published in the near future. I suffered consquences as a result. But I also learned quite a bit as well. (They're only pixels, right?) ------------------ BJ Simpson Visit www.arrl.org for information about Ham Radio. IN HOC SIGNO VINCES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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