Common CMBB mistake

[jwxspoon]

Hey Gents. Just wanted to mention this, I have played several of you guys that just got the game. One common thing I am noticing is that almost all of them used the "ADVANCE" command to move their infantry forward. Soon, (2-3 turns) their men were exhausted and the players were frustrated.

If contact has not been made yet, you should use the MOVE command or the MOVE TO CONTACT. Note that the MOVE TO CONTACT will stop all members of the same platoon as soon as contact has been made, so don't use that exclusively or you will find odd members of platoons stuck in the middle of roads or other open areas.

Once contact is made I try to let at least one squad lay a base of fire to allow the rest of the platoon to get under cover. Taking fire is a good time to use the ADVANCE command because your men will be moving forward in little rushes, etc (standard infantry IMT). Keep in mind this will tire your men greatly.

Be wary of the SNEAK command because your men will literally be low crawling like snakes.

When ready to attack the strongpoint use the ASSAULT command. Your men will rush forward, firing as they go, and assault the objective. You probably don't want to use this for more than a 30 meter assault or so. Be careful to keep your men under command and to keep your platoon leader back far enough that your squads do the bulk of the fighting.

Hope this helps!

jw

[Panzer Leader]

Good point about "Advance!" I looked at my men during a game last night, and every one of them was "exhausted." Turns out I had 'advanced' them half-way across the map, through rubble, woods, and buildings. Advance Does tire units.

[Barrold]

Thanks for the tips

I think that I am going to need more help than this though. I have been finding many more ways to snatch crushing defeat from the jaws of victory.

More than likely, I need to be much more careful.

BDH

[Stixx]

Stix <--- Looks at his signature

Why thank you Jeff...

[jwxspoon]

hehe - Who said that?

Actually, the main reason for my post was the ADVANCE issue.

jw

[Dirtweasle]

Since SNEAK now wears your troops out like CRAWL used to, what command is good for moving through cover and remaining undected to spring a suprise attack or ambush?

Say I've got a couple hundred meters to go, of mostly trees, steppe, and some open ground. In CMBO I would use a combintation of MOVE, RUN, and SNEAK. Relying on SNEAK with paths of about 5-7 meters with a ~1 meter MOVE breaking them up to cross the covered tree/forest sections, and FAST to dash through the open.

Now SNEAK is not going to work, as I said because the troops will get tired in no time flat, so how can I move stealthy through trees and get close to the enemy before being detected too soon?

Is MOVE now more stealthy than it was in CMBO?

[ September 26, 2002, 10:35 AM: Message edited by: Dirtweasle ]

[jwxspoon]

I would use move to contact and then advance the last 50 meters or so. But keep in mind your crew served weapons (HMG) will be easy to spot if they are moving with the infantry and might blow your surprise.

jw

[ September 26, 2002, 11:32 AM: Message edited by: jwxspoon ]

[Redwolf]

I find this command structure to be less than perfect.

And that is that the move-to-contact command will stop on any enemy contact. So a single visible unit halfway across the map will make your advance stop. In my games I have been pretty much unable to use move-to-contact because there was always some -for me- uninteresting enemy unit halting my guys. And the fact that the whole platoon stops is pretty bad, too, because it means that most likely all but one squad will halt out of LOS.

I won't even start on deliberately exploiting this, like using some random unit as an on/off switch to halt any enemy approch at will. Just pop up for a second and standing still is the opponent's force.

Can we have move-to-contact stop on on units within the cover arc? That would be pretty useful.

[IronChef4]

Pffffa!!! Who is dumb enough to do that?

[Tuomas]

Originally posted by redwolf:

Can we have move-to-contact stop on on units within the cover arc? That would be pretty useful.

Hey good idea Redwolf! If no cover arc move to contact would work as now, but if a squad would have a cover arc assigned he would stop only if the enemy unit was within the arc.

-TNT-

[M. Bates]

CMBB feels like it has one movement command too many. We have:

Run, Move, Move to contact, Advance, Assault, Human Wave, Sneak, Withdraw.

Is there any point in using Move any more?

[Thomm]

Originally posted by redwolf:

So a single visible unit halfway across the map will make your advance stop ...

Can we have move-to-contact stop on on units within the cover arc? That would be pretty useful.

Exactly why I considered Move to Contact a useless command! And a good suggestion to change it for the better!!

Also, I vote for a Move to LOS command for infantry, similar to the Move to Hull Down command for tanks! Death to micro-management of MGs, mortars and FOs!

Regards,

Thomm

[Cameroon]

Originally posted by Rollstoy:

Exactly why I considered Move to Contact a useless command! And a good suggestion to change it for the better!!

Move to Contact useless? Are you mad?

Seriously though, I use move to contact to great effect all over the place. Guess that's my vote for not changing it. Though I was unaware that the whole platoon stops, that bears watching.

[K_Tiger]

A extra command for guns, if you want it to bring in a back-hill position (where the gun hase a small range of LOS over the hilltop), like the search-for-hull-down, would also be nice.

[Dirtweasle]

I think we need a command that is somewhat stealthy but not crawling like a snake.

Am I wrong to think that WWII infantry could craftily (sp?) through the woods keeping quiet and sneaking close to the enemy? The current SNEAK command is just to exhausting to use now. And my immpresion is that the other commands offer little or no stealth.

[Wilhammer]

Guys, you can't forget to consider that you can combine these moves in order to make the system work for you.

Move, Move to Contact, Advance, Assault; seems like a natural progression to me.

Then, take and combine a platoon with others, and you get the old one-two movement and fire combo.

One MOVEs, the other MTCs, the MTCs halt and exchange fire, and the Ms go through them, for example.

[Robohn]

You mean Advance tires your guys out, just like the manual states!!?? Cool!

I've had no problem utilizing all of the types of movement. I usually use "Move to Contact" when going through woods. As soon as my guys spot the enemy they stop and engage, instead of wandering past them like the "Move" order sometimes did.

[Vergeltungswaffe]

Move to contact is far from useless. Unless you think its a good thing to have the entire platoon get hosed down in the ambush instead of just the lead unit.

[Andrew H.]

I find move to contact very useful, and I use it all the time, especially in factories and woods, where I want to stop, return fire, and evaluate before continuing on.

Having said that, though, I do agree with some of redwolf's points - I'd like to be able to send a platoon on a MtC sweep through, say, a grainfield without having the troops stop (or never start) because of an enemy unit 600 meters away on the other side of the board.

I disagree that this makes the command useless, but it might be made more useful if it were tweaked - as people suggested - so that infantry only stopped for units in their covered arc.

[L.Tankersley]

Want to sneak up on someone in the woods? Use move to contact with a hide command at the end of the move. The manual states that if a unit that is "moving to contact" spots an enemy unit and has a hide command at the end of its move, it will stop and hide immediately.

Move to contact isn't for marching through open ground, IMO; it's intended more to keep you from moving up to (and often past) enemy forces that are hidden in woods or what-have-you. (This was a problem with the old sneak command, too - if no one fired on you, you would keep right on "sneaking" even if you ended up in the middle of a whole company of hiding enemy troops. Come the start of the next turn, lights out.)

[Chad Harrison]

Originally posted by M. Bates:

CMBB feels like it has one movement command too many. We have:

Run, Move, Move to contact, Advance, Assault, Human Wave, Sneak, Withdraw.

Is there any point in using Move any more?

Actually, move is the most common movement order that I give. When you are not around combat, and are not expecting it (happens a LOT in TCP and PBEM games) I give the move command. Move to Contact is not a favorite of mine and I hardly use it. Why? Here I have a platoon with the move to contact order. They are moving across an open field and no shots have been fired. Suddenly, a far off MG opens up and two squads stop in the open and sit there. Its a real pain to go back and wait for the extra firepower to show up!

But, I am still learning the tricks of CMBB, so I am sure that I will change my mind in a few days!

Chad

[Frunze]

I've had the same problem Redwolf describes, even when trying to move into large patches of trees. If an enemy unit is visible way off to the side...sometimes I'm not even sure why the troops stopped.

[Pak40]

I have the same concerns about the "new" sneak command. I think I'll post it as a new topic and maybe we can get an answer from Madmatt or one of the other BFC guys.

[Eric Alkema]

Originally posted by Chad Harrison:

Here I have a platoon with the move to contact order. They are moving across an open field...

Chad[/QB]

You're right, the middle of an open field is not the place for a move-to-contact order. Don't use it to cross any terrain that you wouldn't want to stop in. The purpose is to keep you from continuing to march after you have been surprised at close range.

[tiborhead]

As mentioned, Move to Contact is not for open ground situations. I learned this little lesson rather quickly. It is VERY useful in woods, pines, and other situations where LOS is severely limited. Using MtC will drastically reduce the chances of walking into an ambush.