How to overcome/ clear barbed wire in CMBB?

[Zoppex]

I played several battles(CMBB) where the Russian lines were pretty hard fixed with barbed wire and trenches. I moved two pioneer squads close to the barbed wire in order to remove it so that my infantry could advance through this lane. But nothing happened. After the squads had thrown their demo charge the barbed wire was still there und still hard to overcome.

Is there any possibility to remove barbed wire with infantry, e.g. pioneer squads?

[Lucho]

No

[Slappy]

It cannot be removed in game. Either go around or make very sure anything with LOS to the wire is suppressed.

[JasonC]

You can also ride a tank across the stuff, if you have one...

[markl]

I have always hated trying to cross barbed wire and something so simple as putting a small group on top of a tank never occured to me.

Such a simple, but great solution.

No wonder I loose so many games!

[PiggDogg]

If one uses enough barbed wire, that is, one long connected strand in front of a defensive trench position, the attacker had better destroy or surpress nearly every single defender who can fire into that wire. Any infantry unit caught in the wire and fired upon will get slaughtered as was the real life use of wire.

If I am not mistaken, infantry in wire has a 100% exposure which is a death sentence for such exposed units when fired upon. :eek:

Thus, the short moral to the story with some slight exaggeration is: kill all of the defenders in LOS before attacking infantry goes into the wire. If not, the attacker will be sorry.

On defense, I just love wire and trenches. On attack, I just hate wire and trenches.

Maybe, I am wrong. However, such has been my experience.

Someone, everyone, please comment.

Cheers, Richard

[ October 08, 2004, 09:33 PM: Message edited by: PiggDogg ]

[Slappy]

No. You're right. See the long thread about the over effectiveness (or lack thereof) of trenches for comments on those bastards. I like wire on defense, but rarely put enough points into it for a real belt. I use it mainly to channel the attacker into equally or more unpleasant outcomes (mines, SMGs, TRPs).

[tabpub]

Here's a different use for wire, especially in the desert where there is a lack of cover:

Place the wire in areas of brush that are within view of your postitions. Don't use it to cover your lines, just the places that infantry will head to when taking fire.

It will go something like this: 1)enemy infantry appears; 2) you open fire on them; 3)they start hightailing it for the nearest cover, which contains barbed wire; 4)as they thrash around on the wire like a bass in the bottom of the boat, you mg and mortar them, cackling evilly as the movie replay goes on.

Actually, I was almost sick, watching this after about 3 minutes; I could almost hear wailing and crying in the background.

[yacinator]

i suck at attacking but 1 thing popped into my mind ; smoke. while tanks, mgs, mortars etc suppres the defenders, shell the area u wanna cross with smoke. they can't shoot at what they can't see.

[Tom Murphy]

yacinator..... Good point. Smoke works. I did a scenario called "Kursk-Recon in Force" where I provided the Germans with a 81mm Mortar Battery with Smoke only for the purpose of covering the infantry breeching the wire. Unfortunately, when playing the other way around the Al will not use it. It sends the smoke mortar teams through the wire as cannon fodder to get chopped up by the Soviet defenders.

You would also be surprised how well the "sneak" command works. Even in steppe grass or brush, you can often "sneak" your infantry over the terrain right up to the wire before they are spotted.

[coldmeter]

My last attack against an enemy that was in trenches and had the protection of barbed wire went off pretty well.

I set two good HMG positions with my Company CO in command of them. Alongside these was an artillery FO. Then out of view but commanded by the Company CO was three mortar units. (All HMG's CO & FO had LOS to Trenches).

First in was a good 3 minute artillery barrage. As the barrage started I advanced my platoons, squeezing through then smallest of gaps in the wire. Anyone popped there head up at any time I got the HMG's and the indirect mortars on them. Once the artillery dried up and my boys were gettting close I layed down some smoke.

I got the trench but it is tough going. That was my attempt at the trench and wire puzzle.

Mark

[eichenbaum]

Never tried it out but it's an idea;

Drive a tank in the barbed wire and stop. Then try to embark infantry squads/teams on one side and disembark to the other. Maybe you could guide a whole platoon within 10 minutes.

Nils

[Spotless]

Another minor use of wire: most wheeled vehicles and some half tracks cannot cross it. It makes an impromptu road block for many units. This enhances its channeling effect too.

[Spears]

Make sure men dont hop off when they come under fire straight into the wire i thought it was a cunning tactic till a unseen mg42 opened up on three shermans carrying most of a platoon, may i add most of that platoon never came home. Although i used smoke and everything i could as well, i dont like losing men, the horrors of war

[tar]

My best ever defense against the AI was in a QB where I was able to put wire on both sides of a lonely stand of trees about 40m or so in front of my forward defensive line. The trees (where the troops would scurry for cover) contained a minefield.

The poor AI-led Russians never made it to my forward screen, which IIRC had only about 1/4 of my defensive forces.

[mrpwase]

I love it when I see a field of dead soldiers.

Ok, I hate it when I see a field of dead soldiers, like any normal person, but on CMBB, having set up barbed wire and mines and fields of fire etc., and seeing a field of enemies on their backs, it's extremely gratifying. Still disturbing, of course.

I've been desensitised to violence too much...

Anyway...I used to use barbed wire directly in front of my trenches, but I found that doesn't work as well as it should, because enemies can rarely find the time to amble right up to my trench (unless I keep hidden). All it does there is slow down enemies which happen to be stupid enough to move into it. It's much better used blocking cover quite a way out from your line of defense, as pictured above, so the enemy has nowhere to take cover but where they started from.

[JasonC]

The best way is to kill the defenders on the other side of the wire by fire, before crossing.

Next best is to go around.

Next best is tricks to cross, like ride on a tank (fast, but you might get shot) or cover with smoke (has to last long enough though).

Another that occasionally works, but generally isn't worth trying to engineer deliberately, is large shellholes. You can go under wire if there is a shellhole there. If the shellhole isn't big enough, you still hit wire, since it has width. But a big enough hole in the ground, you can crawl under without being slowed by the wire.

It takes too much ammo to do this on purpose, generally speaking. But really big HE occasionally does it as a side effect. And if you have on map 150s or 152s, you can try doing it deliberately using "area target" at the wire. You can control the ammo expenditure and the shell placement.

Not worth it with offboard stuff, though. That is too expensive and lands all over. Target it at real enemy positions or it won't pay for itself. If a short round makes a big hole under some of the wire, though, you can use this.