how to spot mines

[foamy]

After all these years of playing I can't believe I am asking this question!!

Engineers can destroy mines by just sitting near them, but how the heck do you find mines.

By playing the Computer I found mines when a tank went over them and was knocked out, so now I know excatly where the mines are.

Went back a turn, halted the tank and had a bunch of engineers walk the area to look for them - nothing found !!

I walked the area with just about every unit possible - no-one finds the mines ??

Does this mean that we have to have mines blow up on our units before we know where they are.

If that's the case whats the point of engineers having the ability to kill mines - damage has already been done.

[Kingfish]

Originally posted by foamy:

Does this mean that we have to have mines blow up on our units before we know where they are.

Yes, but look at the bright side, an AT or AP minefield in CM covers an area 20m x 20m. Once found a single demo charge from an Engineer unit will clear the entire field. That goes a long way towards balancing the effect of the "invisible" field.

[JasonC]

The point, of course, is to allow movement through a barrier once it is detected.

Imagine an AT mine tile on the only road through a forest e.g.

If you can readily go around, you can try that of course. But you might just hit another if it is a linear field. Whereas, a cleared tile you know is free of mines.

If you suspect mines you can send a scout first - an infantry half squad for AP, a jeep or cheap AC for AT. You don't need to lose a whole medium tank to find one. If you move in column with a one minute lead for the first vehicle, you limit the risk.

[Aco4bn187inf]

There is a small but frustrating possibility, though, of a vehicle passing through a mine tile without setting off any mines. (Frustrating for the next vehicle.)

[Other Means]

IIRC I've found mines AT in the past with engineers, they were there for a couple of minutes though.

So if you suspect a mine tile, have the time and the correct units, you can find them.

Of course, 99% of the time this won't work - it was pure accident it worked for me. In fact, I only found it because I was wondering what the noise was and found the engineer throwing the charge.

Also, again IIRC, the engineers threw the charge in the same turn they found the mines, and without explicit orders.

[von Lucke]

There's a small chance any stationary unit in an adjacent tile will spot a minefield. Don't think the % is cumulative over time --- just recalculated every turn. Not sure if Engineers have a higher % chance than other units.

[McIvan]

Originally posted by Aco4bn187inf:

There is a small but frustrating possibility, though, of a vehicle passing through a mine tile without setting off any mines. (Frustrating for the next vehicle.)

It's actually quite a large possibility, in the order of 50-60%. Lower for AP tiles.

[Dandelion]

Not familiar with hardcoded statistics concerning the spotting of mines, I seem to achieve satisfying success spotting mines using infantry scouting ahead, making a point of having them stationary every once in a while. Stationary meaning lingering for at least one minute, or they will not spot properly. Ordinary infantry, not engineers. Unfailingly doing this, I have actually only once ever (!) driven a vehicle into any minefield in the game. And in that scenario, there was no infantry, only tanks and desert.

Then again, I have marched scouts into minefields, and more importantly perhaps I have lost scenarios beceause of elapsing timelimits. Some scenarios press the attacker for time to such an extent that he is compelled, coerced even, to victimise his armour, having no other real option but to charge full speed along roads, using tanks as point. They wil linevitably hit mines, and charge straight into various other ambushes otherwise easily brushed aside by scout infantry, such as single Panzerschreck teams or snipers taking out unbuttoned commanders. While my foes frequently suffer this, I usually scout ahead instead, avoiding the ambushes but not reaching the objective in time.

Can't recall ever having spotted any minefield with a tank. Once spotted, I cannot recall a minefield ever disappearing from view again (unless of course there is nobody around with a LOS to it).

Cheers

D

[RockinHarry]

Originally posted by Dandelion:

Some scenarios press the attacker for time to such an extent that he is compelled, coerced even, to victimise his armour, having no other real option but to charge full speed along roads, using tanks as point. They wil linevitably hit mines, and charge straight into various other ambushes otherwise easily brushed aside by scout infantry, such as single Panzerschreck teams or snipers taking out unbuttoned commanders. While my foes frequently suffer this, I usually scout ahead instead, avoiding the ambushes but not reaching the objective in time.

D

Bad scenario design, simply!

RE mines detection, no problem when infantry is around, otherwise looking for obvious mine field spots and scoutiung ahead with a slow moving vehicle, with the rest in column mode behind helps to avoid too many losses.

Scenario designers can help by stacking daisy chain mines on top of buried ones.

[Sgt AA]

Originally posted by Dandelion:

... I seem to achieve satisfying success spotting mines using infantry scouting ahead, making a point of having them stationary every once in a while. Stationary meaning lingering for at least one minute, or they will not spot properly. Ordinary infantry, not engineers. ...

Can this really be correct? I've run some test and my infantery never discovered any minefield (except D-C).