istari Posted October 24, 2000 Share Posted October 24, 2000 I'm currently playing "Night at Cheneux." This is a scenario at night, in fog and mud, with visibility degraded to ~50m. I'm leading a force of 82nd Airborne troops against dug-in SS Veterans from Kampgruppe Peiper in a Belgian village (stone buildings, etc.) So far, I've been APPALLED at the casualties I'm suffering. An entire squad of 10 men annihilated in 2 seconds. I sent forward 2 5-man recon squads of "Crack" skill in Sneak mode, and they were decimated by an HMG they stumbled across without returning effective fire. I'm working my way into the town, but I'm paying a horrible price, because at <50m, the initial burst from SS troops just massacres my GIs. I don't know how to decrease my casualties in a night/fog attack. The SS almost always get the first burst, and my troops are annihilated before I can fire. I can't use prep fire from heavy weapons or ARTY to pin the opposition so I can advance since they can't see for spotting purposes until <50m. I don't want any spoilers about the SS forces, but just any general techniques for attacking into such reduced visibility and actually retaining a chance of having a unit to walk off the battlefield with? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Petersson Posted October 24, 2000 Share Posted October 24, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by istari: I can't use prep fire from heavy weapons or ARTY to pin the opposition...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Why not? I haven't tried the scenario, but if you have a general idea of what area is covered by the enemy, then blind map fire in that area would help you suppress the enemy to some extent. Cheers Olle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istari Posted October 24, 2000 Author Share Posted October 24, 2000 Olle, Against an opponent dug-in to foxholes and heavy stone buildings, the only effect of indirect fire is suppressive, and I need to be right there with my infantry to take advantage of the suppression before the enemy recovers. Well, the problem is that blind fire with mortars or ARTY is very inaccurate. Sufficiently so that I don't dare move my infantry into a wide zone around the target point. So I can't be there without taking alot of friendly fire casualties advancing through blind fire. As for traditional direct-fire weapons like tank cannon or HMGs, again a 50m vision limit precludes those unless I want to get my armor into Panzerfaust range of unsuppressed and Veteran SS units. CJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralsaw Posted October 24, 2000 Share Posted October 24, 2000 Couple of pointers that might help. - Do not use sneak, especially in the open, as your squads will only return fire once they receive (you know the results) and then will hit the dirt. - Crawl in the open, using many waypoints for spotting purposes. Your troops are crack so they can hide well, especially if their leader has a stealth command bonus. - Position your teams after initial suppression to assault at the same time from multiple directions if possible. - Run your units to assault. they are crack so they have a good chance of seeing the enemy before the enemy does. - Tackle one strongpoint at a time, maximising local fire superiority. Try a combination of these techniques and see what works best. I learn a lot when I experiment. ------------------ My squads are regular, must be the fibre in the musli... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istari Posted October 25, 2000 Author Share Posted October 25, 2000 Coralsaw, Excellent post - thank you. I was moving some of my recon squads across open ground on Sneak orders in the night and fog in the hopes it would give them the edge on spotting the enemy first, at which point they would duck and cover. Instead it worked just as you said, with a barrage of MG-42 to the chest, followed by duck and no move anymore, ever. Thanks! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike the bike Posted October 25, 2000 Share Posted October 25, 2000 Can you do unsighted "direct" area fire from tanks? Another alternative I can think of is smoke your approach the position from outside visibility range, move troops up, then when the smoke clears you're there ready for the firefight with tanks and infantry. Lastly, give him too many targets to handle all at once - advance a couple of squads and a tank all at the same time against 1 enemy. Then hope you win! Lastly, artillery can demolish buildings if it's heavy enough anfd gets the hits - it doesn't matter how the shells arrive. Sounds like a hell of a game - must try it some time!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralsaw Posted October 25, 2000 Share Posted October 25, 2000 Istari, glad I helped. Played the scen last night, and got quite lucky, Axis surrendered to a total victory!!!I am sure against a human opponent I would get my *ss kicked in this scen though... A few other pointers, after having played it (no spoilers). - Bomb the heck out of the buildings, especially where flags are. Your Jacksons can demolish everything inside in a turn. - Use those MMG. Keep one back for firebase and move another forward with the troops, letting the second MMG catchup next round. They can make the difference. - You have a lot of time. Use it, and don't rush. - Use those bazookas. They can run, they are crack, and they can flank whatever comes up ( ). - Use your company leader to follow the main advance point. He will help rally troops that have panicked (and you'll get these). - Flank using the woods. When in the woods hide and set ambushes. If SS try to flank you they are dead meat. - Expect the possibility of counterattacks. Secure each objective and move forward fresh troops for the next one. - Try to assault with at least 2 squads and a leader at the same time. Nice scen, Wild Bill Wilder did it again. Regards ------------------ My squads are regular, must be the fibre in the musli... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterNZer Posted October 25, 2000 Share Posted October 25, 2000 I also, in low vis, really like to 'blitz' them. I have just found using halftracks and lightly armored vehicles very worthwhile, anything with a gun really. Recently I had some good success by moving a platoon with three m20 armored car type things. They would generally spot the enemy at about the same time as the enemy spotted them, but with a couple of armored cars the MG definately keeps their heads down. Furthermore, the infantry can pretty safely make it to their positions and then join in. Sure, you may loose a car or two, but they are cheap and you can keep heavier stuff nearby and out of sight if they get ambushed by anything big. I thoroughly recommend trying this technique. Also, if you're attacking and the enemy is defending, pick up some 105mm VT if you're allies, this stuff is damn lethal. I advanced behind it and found quite a few cowering infantry on a hill I assulated. Anyway, try that combined arms approach, I found it worked well. PeterNZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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