Scouting tips - PLS post suggestions!

[The Commissar]

Hey guys,

Recently, I fought in a PBEM which involved large numbers of infantry on each side, with the defender partaking in some guns and pillboxes. Well, being the defender, he hid and hid well.

Since this was a large map, and defenders are known for hiding platoons in tiny little crevices and bits of wood, I used a whole 3 platoons of infantry (each squad split in half teams) to scout out the enemy. The scouting bit worked - most of his ambushes were spotted before hand. The bad part was the way I lost most of the men out of those scuting platoons. 3 Platoons is a big thing to lose.

So I was wondering how YOU guys do your scouting. Do you designate special platoons esepcially for the task? Or do you use one squad out of a platoon to scout out your future positions?

Please, post your tips and suggestions if any.

Cheers!

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"...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..."

- Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

[IntelWeenie]

I will usually use a whole platoon (split squads) per company, but follow it with another platoon closely enough to dig it out of trouble if need be. Unless you have a lot higher quality troops than the other side (or are just plain lucky), you can usually count the scout platoon as losses.

Smaller than a Company, I'll normally split one squad per platoon as scouts.

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Cats aren't clean, they're covered with cat spit.

[Guest ciks]

But what is the right way to use scout cars (Jeeps, Greyhounds and White Cars), maybe someone can tell, how this was done ir WWII? I played "A Day in the Cavalry" and usually lost half of my jeeps and some Greyhound to mines and PanzerShrecks in the first battle.

[Olle Petersson]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ciks:

But what is the right way to use scout cars (Jeeps, Greyhounds and White Cars)?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jeeps are for transporting the recon unit up to where the recon starts (at least the ones in CM, and there are no recon units in CM...).

Armoured scout cars work in threes and go leapfrog from cover to cover. Halting every now and then to take a better look and perhaps dismount to sneak even better. This is done a couple of miles in front of the main force. (They can also be used to cover the flanks.)

For QBs the "correct" use is off map, either to the flanks or behind the enemy.

This does give me the idea to make a scenario or operation where the Allied force is three scout cars, that are to cross a large map trying to find any enemies and evaluate their force...

Cheers

Olle

[Maastrictian]

I'm going to be heretical here and say that I don't use "scouts" that often. By scouts I mean split squads. The only time I take large advantage of splittig squads is when I have a high proportion of tanks to infantry (say 1 company of each). Even then I prefer to use jeeps and or ACs or light tanks or even half-tracks to scout about 200-400m infront of my lines of advance (the number of colums I have is often limited to how many scout cars I can pull togeather). I vastly prefer to keep my infantry togeather in mutually suporting platoons rather than spreading them over the map.

In an infantry heavy battle when I don't have the luxury of scout cars I simply advance in alternating bounding overwatch by plattons with about 100-300m bounds. My tanks stay with or behind which ever platoon is trailing. The advancing platoon will be ordered through every piece of cover infront of it to its destination with a width of sweep of say 150m. I use recon by fire to "scout" my flanks for 'zooks and the like, but any that my advancing platoon missed will be at least 75m away. This strategy allows me to advance quickly and keep my infantry concentrated, not dispersing them over the map as recon. The lead platoon may get chewed up, but it is beter able to take and give casualties as it is coherent and not split. I do put my tanks at greater risk than with a concerted scouting effort, but I feel the speed and conservation of infantry this offers is a good balance. Additionally, I always maintain a reserve of tanks that can quickly leap up to replace the two platoon's escorting tank.

Reading this over, I realize that this is probably an Allies specific strategy as it relies on one's tanks being a bit expendable.

--Chris

[Henri]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ciks:

But what is the right way to use scout cars (Jeeps, Greyhounds and White Cars), maybe someone can tell, how this was done ir WWII? I played "A Day in the Cavalry" and usually lost half of my jeeps and some Greyhound to mines and PanzerShrecks in the first battle.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Man you don't know the can of worms that you open with this question. To avoid restarting a long discussion (check out the 500+ message thread on gamey tactics), let me just say that recon with vehicles in Combat Mission is suicide: if you go slow, because of the one-minute delay between orders your recon unit will be killed almost as soon as it spots enemy units because it usually does not react immediately and just sits there or keeps moving towards th enemy, and if you use fast-moving vehicles for recon you will be accused by some of using "gamey" tactics (and your vehicle will b e killed quickly anyway).

So basically recon vehicles are practically useless in the game, and I have never had one that survived the first few minutes of a scenario. This has been explained away by some who claim that in the game, it is assumed that the recon has already been done, which is ludicrous since at the outset one usually has no information at all about the location of enemy units.

In my view, the use of recon vehicles in the game is one of the most unrealistic aspects of this excellent game.

Henri

[Guest ciks]

Yeah, I too think it is a drawback. How can I possibly know where to put my armor and artilery on the map, if i donnou where enemy's fortifications is.... Sometimes I feel temptation to quickly go to first turn, and check out some stuff, and then restart scenario again.

[Maastrictian]

Henri --

I strongly disagree w/ you that vehicles are useless in a recon roll. I also disagree with the assertion that using fast vehicles as recon is gamey, but we'll leave that one alone for now (as you say, see the 500+ gamey thread ) As I said in my previous post, by keeping my recon vehicles about 300-500m infront of my main body I find they can be very effective. They serve to detect AT minefields (I try to drive my tanks in the treadsmarks of my recon) and my jumping from cover to cover they are only visible for 10-20 seconds at a time. That is generally not enough time for a AT gun to line up on them (except for 20mm... I hate 20mm ). A fast moving target is pretty hard to hit with a 'shrek too. And since I almost never use jeeps for recon (I love the Greyhound) small arms are not a problem. Do I loose recon vehicles? Yes! But considering the speed that this allows me to advance at and the fact that when I find the enemy I have not lost any tanks or infantry to "avoidable" factors (mines, AT teams) this is worth it too me. I also pride myself on the high rate of survival amoung my recon crews. They may have their horses shot out from under them, but the cavalry is there to protect them before they get too beat up.

--Chris