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Newbie question about taking out bunkers with infantry


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*Warning* spoilers re: Santa Maria operation

Hello to everyone. I have been playing CMAK and CMBB for about a year, and have learned a tremendous amount of game info and historical info from these forums. Thanks! Now I have finally registered and have a newbie-type question: how do you take out concrete MG bunkers with only infantry?

I am playing the Santa Maria operation that comes with the CMAK CD (1st battle). I took out all of the wooden bunkers on the "tits" with my bazookas, using up most of my zookie ammunition. Now I have only the two concrete bunkers on the right hill. But I cant take them out! I have three squads on each bunker, targetting the back of it where the graphics show the door. Mostly they just sit there for the whole turn not doing anything; rarely, a grenade is thrown. I tried assaulting right on top of the bunker but the squad just ran straight through it and got machine gunned when they ran out the other side.

According to my search on the CMAK forum, I am supposed to place my squads 10m away from the bunker and let them do their thing. But they dont seem to be doing anything. I get a "kill: rare" message when I target the rear of the bunker with the bazookas, and in fact they ran out of ammo without getting a kill.

How many minutes does it take, on average, for one squad (or one platoon) to take out a bunker?

[ June 13, 2005, 08:33 PM: Message edited by: Pirx ]

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You should put a spoiler warning on your thread title since you talking about an operation spacificaly. Secondly, do you have any engineers? If so put them behind the bunker, thats your best bet. Regular infantry (for the allies) most likely wont have much luck against them.

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It's not the time, it is the equipment. If they have demo charges (engineers), they will do it in a matter of seconds. Grenade bundles (Germans have 1 per squad, typically) might work. Rifle grenades usually won't. Close assault (ordinary grenade seen to be thrown) have a poor chance.

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Oops..sorry forgot to put a spoiler warning.

BELATED SPOILER ALERTS!

So I guess I am screwed. No engineers and I have American troops with mostly hand grenades, I am not sure they even have any rifle grenades. Perhaps I should have saved my zookie rounds for the concrete bunkers and tried to grenade the wooden ones?

During set up for the second battle, two of my squads were teleported immediately in front of the firing slit of the two bunkers, and I cant place them anywhere else. They are going to get shot up pretty good in turn 1. I would love to just bypass the bunkers, and in fact the front has mostly moved beyond them, but that will leave an island of German-controlled territory right in the middle of my staging area. Operations have unique challenges compared to scenarios.

According to the briefing, I am supposed to get some tanks later, maybe they can blast away those bunkers.

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Any tank, even the lightest, can kill an MG bunker easily with complete impunity. Just button up, and park right in its covered arc at about 100m, and target the thing. A round will find the firing slit and knock it out, usually in the first minute and almost invariably by the end of the second.

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Forget what people above have said - this is the deal:

Using only infantry:

Bazookas aren't very effective at destroying bunkers. I suspect they don't have the blast effect neccessary.

If you have to use them, place them at less than 15 metres and greater than 25 metres BEHIND the bunker. After 1+ turn they will start firing automatically - don't instruct them to fire at the bunker manually. You hopefully should get a rear door hit - and there is a small chance of knocking out the bunker.

Generally, the standard US bazooka is not effective as an anti-bunker weapon in CMAK.

A MUCH better way is using infantry that is equipped with grenades. Place them out of the firing line of the bunker, again more than 15 metres and less than 25 metres. After 1+ turns they will start slinging grenades. Again don't use manual targetting. After 1-3 turns the bunker will surrender. Believe me, this is tried and tested!

VERY IMPORTANT : do NOT have any of your units within 15 metres of the bunker while attempting any of this - it will hamper the assault and your units will hold fire until they move out of the way.

As for using armour - well, anything will do to knock it out as long as it mounts a cannon - so 20mm upwards - the bunker is toast (as long as it is not mounting a gun to fire back with!).

[ June 14, 2005, 02:28 AM: Message edited by: blue division ]

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Remember also that a smart defender may protect the flanks and rear of his bunkers with mines or ambushing infantry.

I learned this while trying to destroy a bunker with 155mm artillery- I didn't kill the bunker, but I routed the hidden infantry dug in around it, who would have wasted my approaching assault element.

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Regular infantry will take down bunkers just fine. It will just take a while. Park 2 squads 10m behind the door and wait. The occasional grenade throwing will occur and sooner or later you'll get a kill from one of the hits. It will probably take 3-4 minutes. Remember, bunkers are 'vehicles' in the game. Think of it as assaulting a bogged King Tiger with no ammo. Your men will get the job done, be patient.

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From a winning-losing perspective, what would your points score look like if you just kept out of their way and let 'em sit? You might wind up losing more points assaulting the bunkers than the bunkers are worth. Its an acceptable military tactic to isolate/bypass if the bunkers are going to otherwise be impotent.

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