Mines Mines Mines....

[deadeye3]

Ok so I'm diggin holes in the ground and burrying little bombs in them. Now if I can only not "paint myself into a corner". Anyway, what's the difference between anti-tank mines and daisy chain mines? Also would artillery fire sufficiently clear out a mine field to be walked through by troops?

deadeye3

Oh yeah, and one more thing... How is it that mines are or are not discovered?

[This message has been edited by deadeye3 (edited 03-05-2001).]

[Clubfoot]

Unfortunately, mine fields can not be cleared with artillery.

Daisy chain mines are a series of Anti-vehicular mines fashioned together by rope, cable or chain and dragged into place across roadways or choke-points. They are hastily prepared and quick to employ but rest on the surface of the ground or road and are thus easily spotted (and removed by engineers/pioneers).

Regular AT mines are prepared well before any engagement as a static defense. They are buried inches below the earth and much more difficult to spot, usually by hitting one.

Clubfoot.

[jasoncawley@ameritech.net]

Most of your questions have been addressed. But you also asked about how mines get discovered.

Daisy chain AT are discovered as soon as somebody has LOS to their location. Because of this, a good place for them is blocking a road (what they are best at doing), and just behind a dip in the road, or a ways beyond a crest. Of these the dip is the best, but either is decent. Anyone going fast enough can actually hit them.

If they are going slow, they crawl to a stop either #1 just before a dip, which means on a rise, which means everybody and his brother can see them and nobody behind them can see those see-ers in turn (mu-hu-ha ha ha), or, about the same, he just climbed a little hill, and your guys up on the same level can see him, while his trailing friends can't see through the hill to where you are. They you whack 'em.

Buried mines are discovered in two different ways. Your mines are discovered by other people when they walk in to them and blow up. Other people's mines, however... LOL. Can be spotted, if good quality infantry is standing next to the minefield and close to it, even if not actually in it. But this is pure chance, and not terribly common. High unit quality helps, and not moving helps, engineers help, and especially not running through a dense forest (aka the usual thing).

If a platoon of veterans just happens to stop 20 meters in front of one of your minefields, and stands there for 2-3 minutes, they stand some chance of spotting the mines without walking into them. But mostly, mines are found "the hard way", by taking 1-3 casualties and noticing the ground is what is angry at you.

Once found, engineers can remove minefields, *if* they still have their demo charges. They use them to blow lanes through the field. It takes them a few minutes, and is not easy for them to do if being shot at. Engineers can also remove daisy-chain AT mines without needing demo charges, and more quickly. To remove mines in either case, the engineers have to be within 25 yards of them, and not moving. (So it is a nice bonus if your defense set-up can kill anybody standing that close to them). Also, a minefield can be cleared by enough men passing through it - but this approach is not at all recommended, as usually a squad entering an AP field will take hits, be pinned, and often refuse to move further into them.

Mines are very useful in CM, in my experience. But there are some pitfalls to their use. The biggest of these is the lone isolated 20x20 field in the middle of po-dunk. It it is unlike to "hit" anyone, and if it does, it will cause a few casualties, then people will walk around it for the rest of the game. Not a big effect for 10 points a pop.

It is much better to use mines in longer chains, 80 meters wide to 200 meters wide. They are much more likely to "hit" someone. As a group, they are more likely to get a second or third set of "hits", when someone tries to go around them. And at least as important, they deny that ground and act as a "shield" for defenders behind them, in that area. Those defenders only have to worry about attack from 1-2 directions, not their whole front arc. And you can play all sorts of games with the attacker's response - whether he goes around to one side or splits, goes wide or makes a narrow hook, etc.

Last, one idea that is invaluable, is a purely conceptual point that opens up a whole array of mine-related tactics. Think of artillery barrages as ways to "extend" minefields in any direction you want, for brief periods. So, here is a minefield 100 yards wide, and there is another. But there is this big gap between them. "Easy enough", says the attacker, and goes in.

*Then* the mortars close the gap...

[This message has been edited by jasoncawley@ameritech.net (edited 03-06-2001).]

[deadeye3]

Thx guys!

[VonHeinrich]

As well as using minefields in long rows you can use them to prevent the enemy from exploit good cover in front of your position, this way forcing him out in the open. Basically, you deny the enemy terrain that he has planned on using in his advance.