Destruction of the Maps

[NameUsedBefore]

I've started playing the 'Blitzkrieg' operation as the Soviets. I just finished the second battle and have taken out a good number of tanks and infantry. Anyway, I don't think I've seen so much destruction in this game till now.

I had entire sections just lighting up with gunfire, guys getting cut down, whole 12-man squads of conscripts trying to run away but getting blown apart by an artillery round. There were a few forest fires from the ampulents (sp) whose molotovs actually knocked out quite a few light-tanks. A good deal of the German tanks had caught fire due to 7.62mm shots (I had strengthened one flank with ATG's and had predicted the German actions right: they swarmed the area with tanks which cut down in a massive cross-fire).

An artillery barrage destroyed two houses and, in one tree-burst, killed one of my HQ's completely. There were multiple situations of opposing squads fighting at 5m-and less. On occasion they'd be at 1m/2m apart just blasting away.

By the end of the second battle the field was in total ruin. One side had a forest-fire going with quite a handful of dead German and Soviet soldiers plus some knocked out light-tanks and half-tracks. A patch of a forest was covered in artillery-craters where an intensive infantry battle had commenced; I think there were 8-eliminated squads in the area and a burnt-out half-track. In the middle there was a large forest-section which had it's bordering lit-aflame. The battle in that particular forest was confusing for both sides. On two occasions we each had squads way past the rest of our main contingents. I had to pull troops from other sectors to help out in fear that the middle of my battle-line would collapse (and that my ATGs would be flanked).

To the left was nothing but mortar craters. In an attempt to keep a wave of troops from rolling over my weak defence there I had four-mortars and spot-mortars just bombard the entire area. It worked: only two known squads were seen in the area. However, this is the spot where a multitude of unfortunate tanks were caught in a killer-crossfire. The air was clogged with smoke and the ground astrewn with dead crewmen.

I'm so used to doing just quick battles and regular-scenarios, destruction like this I have never seen before --- and I still have three battles to go!

[junk2drive]

Welcome to the addiction.

Have you done any modding yet? Juju's craters and explosions would be a good start.

[stoat]

Originally posted by NameUsedBefore:

A good deal of the German tanks had caught fire due to 7.62mm shots

Truly fascinating. I think a 7.62mm ATG is really a rifle...

[NameUsedBefore]

http://www.carlstumpf.com/combat%20mission/Aberdeen/More_Aberdeen_Equipment.htm

The 76mm is what I was talking about.

[stoat]

I figured you meant the 7.62cm gun, but I couldn't resist the jibe.

[juan_gigante]

If I may continue to pimp BigDuke6's "Across Moltke Bridge" AAR, there are some great pics of totally wrecked city in there. I made a op of my own a while back that was set in a factory city, and by the 5th battle, at least 50% of the buildings were rubble. I personally enjoy it whenever a fire is set.

[junk2drive]

If you want to see some rubble this thread has some shots.

The next to last post by Carl has a link to his site with shots of a block leveling bomb.

[Lucas -FIN-]

"I'm so used to doing just quick battles and regular-scenarios, destruction like this I have never seen before --- and I still have three battles to go!"

Well, if your computer can handle it (my comp can and I'm glad of it ) then try the massive operation 'To The Volga'. It's so massive you don't even care about your casualties. You just push forward and clear the stubborn pockets of resistance in every pile of rubble in front of you. This was the best game in CMBB I've ever played. It really gave me the feeling of the brutal fighting in Stalingrad. I played it as germans and i suffered 60 - 80 % casualties in the spearhead companies and lost many vehicles which most were knocked out by artillery or AT guns.

The intensity of the game was incredible. There wasn't a single quiet moment in the whole operation. Buildings were being annihilated in nearly every turn of the 1st battle and there were constant firing everywhere. Inside the factory the battle was mostly fought with flamers, bayonets and knives.

[NameUsedBefore]

Do you guys remember the Close Combat games?

Well, the second one was set during Operation Market Garden. In my first play of the game I had pushed the British into Arnhem but could not actually take and hole the bridge. So I holed up my pocket of troops in the eastern side of the city occasionally taking ground all in wait for the Allies to show up. Except I failed to get the Allies there before almost the entire British force was anniahlated.

From what I remember the entire center of the city-area was just these little "pixel" rubbles. You could no longer distinguish where an actual building lay as they began overlapping. Mortar holes took place of actual ground and grass. One certain alley way had three tanks, victims of sneak-PIAT attacks (which I maneuvered brilliantly till the end; they ran out of ammo).

The troops? When evacuated there was one MG left, no ammo. A handful of half-squads/ad-hocs, very few of the men in those had ammo, usually something like two or three shots. PIAT was empty, and one operator was incacipated.

That was the last time I'd seen such destruction in a war/strategy-game. This reminds me of that, except less city and more burning forests and tanks. And a whole of lot more casualties...

There was a certain moment of drama and excitement, though, when I had to plug that middle-sector. The fear of losing my precious ATG's was huge, and I actually moved a platoon that I had positioned way-far away into the forest, coming up just in the knick of time as my initial defences became utterly used-up. One squad of 12 was down to one man, in fact, and he ended up surviving the battle, holding down the eastern-side of the forest with the help of surrounding MG's.

The molotov-heaving ampulets, and a few actual throws from the troops, resulted in numerous forest fires. I'm not sure, but can those actually get out of hand? I was a little afraid they'd just burst out and just take the whole forest with 'em (and my ATGs); but for the most part they were contained.

Also, for those who were reading about my troops taking out tanks. Well, it happened numerous times with the ampulents (sp?)... but, never with a squad. However I actually had two squads of 10 get 10m away from a tank and keep it tied up for three or four minutes. In one instance the tank lowered its barrel and fired a shot into one squad, instantly killing two; but after a brief panic they were right back in it.

It seemed that the men were so close the tank could not get off a proper shot. The tank itself was a PzIV, so those grenades they threw didn't do any damage that I know of. Eventually, as the squads lingered just meters away from the treads, the tanks started to reverse where it immediately came into the view of an ATG and was blown away by two successive hits (also giving me the best explosion of the battle yet!).