The effect of flames and smoke

[Brodieman]

A few times now, during combat, i have caused fires to occur around enemy positions. While the smoke cloud does lower the ability to site things does anyone know if it inflicts casualties upon the enemy i have pinned near the fire, furthermore can the fire spread if left long enough. I haven't had on ehappen in a long scenario yet except in a wheat field near the end of a session of All or Nothing (God i love that mission. I ask because the few times i have seen i the enemy have run through the flames to escape! So are the flames just for show or do they actually inflict damage?

(I searched for this topic but was given a hgue amount of posts not evenly remotely related to the subject).

Thanks for any help - Brodieman

[ December 10, 2002, 04:38 PM: Message edited by: Brodieman ]

[Silvio Manuel]

It can't spread in CMBO, though in CMBB they can start smaller (less than 1 tile?) and grow and the rate of growth is increased by wind.

AFAIK, a unit pinned in flames should eventually die, but that should be pretty hard to do, as a routed unit will run through most anything. If you cut off their escape route, the unit might just barely get out of the burning tile, then surrender. Flamethrower streams on their own cause casualties, of course.

[Wally's World]

Flames cause casualties. In a recent PBEM, I've had to 'skedaddle' my troops out of the fire as fast as I could. Flamethrowers can be a pain in the neck if allowed to get in close.

[ December 10, 2002, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Wally's World ]

[Mud]

To clarify -- the unit has to be /in/ the flames, not just near, to take cas if memory serves. Hence, units in a building that just caught fire will flee, but they can safely (er, it would be safe if everybody stopped firing...) stop running as soon as they're outside, unless it's CMBB and the entire tile decides to catch fire.

Oh, and if you like fire, there's incendiary rockets and a Molotov launcher in CMBB.

[Commander]

I did notice in a recent CMBB QB when I plotted infantry moves too close to a burning building that the TacAI took over and moved the units away from the fire. Also, a squad on the back of a tank jumped off when the tank traveled too close to the burning building.

[KG ThorsHammer]

from my experience, flames do not cause nearly as many casualties as they should. It is hard enough to get them into position too use, but when you do they inflict little damage. The only real benefits they have are driving enemy infantry from buildings, at which point they are vulnerable to being gunned down, and causing panic (once again leaving them vulnerable to being gunned down).

[CombinedArms]

Originally posted by KG ThorsHammer:

from my experience, flames do not cause nearly as many casualties as they should. It is hard enough to get them into position too use, but when you do they inflict little damage. The only real benefits they have are driving enemy infantry from buildings, at which point they are vulnerable to being gunned down, and causing panic (once again leaving them vulnerable to being gunned down).

That's the way it works. Ideally FTs will work in combo with infantry who do the real killing once the flames cause panic.

In CMBB I recently wiped out a whole platoon via a preset ambush. My own Russian platoon was hiding in a heavy building, across a courtyard from an Axis platoon in another building just within FT range. FT area fired the enemy-held building and the hiding infantry, using cover arcs, cut down the enemy squads as they ran out in panic. It was sweet and almost made up for a game that I lost because of errors elsewhere.