use of infantry

[jdevlin]

hi-

not sure if this should be under tips and tricks, but since ive been playing cmbo rather than cmbb for the time being, thought id ask it here.

so ive been playing for a couple of months now and im kind of disgusted by the way i use infantry. ive settled into a rut and id like to get out of it.

my major question is regarding command range. ive become obsessed with keeping my infantry within range of their platoon hq, which i understand is advisable for many situations. what this results in though is a rather large target for mortar fire, and when something goes wrong, it usually goes pretty horribly wrong.

so im wondering - how often do most of you keep your squads in command range? what sort of formations do you use, if at all? do you allow terrain to dictate such things?

thanks-

joe

[Screeny]

heya,

terrain dictates indeed.....terrain is one of the many "assets" that dictates the tactics and movements. Keep your men always in command of the HQ. Not only for the bonus of the HQ, under HQ command they will panic less, respond quicker to new orders (=decreases delay). And for the main reason: Keeping squads together concentrates firepower. And besides all other fancy and nifty tactics you can read at this forum concentration of firepower is still imho one of the most important issues.

On the matter of that keeping forces together makes a good arty/mortar target...well yes but then agan if terain dictates you should be hidden in woods/houses/tree area's etc and as long as you are hidden, the enemy can't see you and he can't target you. And trust me I never met an opponent who lays down "blind area fire", just to precious that arty

gr

Screeny

[jdevlin]

hi -

thanks for the response. i know it sounds like an elementary question. im just convinced im doing something wrong. perhaps what im getting in is the proper way to go about reconnaisance.

ive played grafenwohr, and thats set up rather nicely for infantry operations. now, my experiences with quickbattles havent always been so pretty. often times im given very little cover to work with. one of the most common situations ive seen is clumps of trees, maybe 40x40m, or 4 20m clumps arranged in a t, seperated by 60m or more of open space, or lesser cover. since stealth is key, i tend to keep to the woods. say you ran into a map like this and cover was limited to scattered groups like these small clumps of trees - would you pack your platoon into the woods, or would you try and find another way? would a more spread out advance be in order? ive heard stories of some people using one squad as recon as far as 100m ahead of the main body.

edit : as far as contacts go, does anyone know if close grouped infantry is more easily detected?

-joe

[ November 19, 2002, 09:17 PM: Message edited by: jdevlin ]

[Screeny]

Hey,

Mhh recon; nice subject has been discussed a lot!!

You are just afraid to be seen while moving your troops i guess that's your big question. And sorry to say there is no real answer to that. The great thing of this game is that it is not "binaire". It's not coded in rules like: when in scattered trees then not to be seen or wenn in scattered trees with more than so many units then to be seen. It all depends on many factors, also factors not under your control like distance from enenmy units etc. I guess it's all a matter of experience...after a while playing QB against AI and especially against human opponents you strat getting a feel for where you are pretty save and where not. Rule of thumb however: woods and tall pines are oke you can hide allmost any unit in any amount in there. Tough part are scattered trees this is where experience comes in ...houses are ok as well only there is a limited amount of space in those. Good practise is to make a test range in the QB generator. Just lay down soem patches with different tyupes of vegetation. Buy some infantery units from one side and soem sharpshoorters from th eother side.place the sharpshoters and start moving the units around but play it in HOT SEAT MODE!! So you can see both sides. Don't bother in killing or shooting just move around and try to get a feeling of how the hiding of units work. Good luck!

gr

Screeny

[Green Hornet]

Joe,

As much as possible, always keep your infantry in command and out of sight. Easier said than done.

Use the "hide" command as much as possible. Your units can still spot but they will be tougher for your enemy to spot and won't give up their position as easily by being trigger happy.

In limited terrian to hide in, use buildings, slopes, and smoke as much as possible to conceal your infantry's movements and intentions.

And yes... terrian always dictates my formations along with intent. In heavy woods or pines, you can safely keep your squads in a tighter formation to keep them in command. In the open, I spread my formations out as much as my "in command" radius will allow so they're not as easy of a target. Try using leaps and bounds when advancing to contact.

As far as avoiding arty and mortars, there are a few things you can do but don't expect to avoid it completely if your opponent has a lot of heavy artillery and knows how to use it.

Keep your squads in command but don't bunch them up. Try to use formations that allow good distance between your squads. Try not to group several platoons together, either. That way, your opponent may only be able to take out a squad or two with arty.

Finally, don't stay in one spot too long. Groups of units sitting in one spot for several turns are asking for a arty invitation. If you keep moving from cover to cover ( even if it's limited ) it will be tougher to get completely wiped out by artillery or mortar fire. Some folks think if your infantry units has been in the same place longer than two minutes, it's time to move (unless your dug in on defense).

If your map if flat and completely open then you've got a tricky challenge... but so does your opponent.