nedlam Posted November 27, 2000 Share Posted November 27, 2000 I like to think I know a thing or three about infantry tactics. When it comes to armor I can hold my own but I'm a little confused. So when you combine the two, hehehe it all falls apart for me. My question is this: When scouting ahead into unknown terrain, do you send your armor up first or your infantry? Or a combination of both? Sending infantry ahead to recon takes more time but when you send your tiger up into unknown hostile territory your just begging it to be ambushed and destroyed and a infantry squad can "get outta dodge" a lot quicker than a tank can. Thanks in advance for the help. Nedlam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pillar Posted November 28, 2000 Share Posted November 28, 2000 In open terrain lead with armoured vehicles (not jeeps) and have mechanized infantry in the second echelon of the attack supported by more tanks. Get your men as close as possible to the enemy positions before dismount. In tank-hostile terrain, lead with infantry and take it slow. It may even be a good idea to put your tanks in reserve entirely. If you MUST cross open terrain with regular infantry (non-mechanized), mount them on the back of the tanks for speed. [This message has been edited by Pillar (edited 11-27-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted November 28, 2000 Share Posted November 28, 2000 This question will be answered many different ways by different people, but my personal preference is to scout with infantry or light AFV's like halftracks or armored cars. Sending your armor into harm's way without knowing what's around is only something to be done when you have no choice. Historically, the western front was dominated by infantry recon, while the eastern front was more likely to use mounted recon elements, often due to the distances involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhdeerslayer Posted November 28, 2000 Share Posted November 28, 2000 As you noted, sending armor first is a form of tank suicide in my experience. Without the eyes and ears of your infantry, your armor is vulnerable to all kind of nasty surprises. My preference is to scout ahead, and especially the flanks, with infantry or cheap vehicles like AC, HT, etc.. to protect and scout my armors flanks. In a 1500-2000 QB, the loss of a a tank or two can be devasting to your victory chances and consequently protecing them until the moment of use is key. To lose one due to poor scouting or a poor understanding of possible enemy contacts is a pure waste. Once I have a reasonable idea of where the enemy AT threats are, then I can move my own armor into the best possible attack position based on reasonable enemy intentions and not guess work. Of course, this doesn't always work in theory... I'm sure you'll get all kinds of good advise and replies on this one. And keep your armor 100m plus from any cover if you are not sure if it contains infantry AT like Zooks, Fausts, etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pillar Posted November 28, 2000 Share Posted November 28, 2000 If you advance with infantry first over OPEN terrain: A) The enemy MG's will open up on your men and cut them to pieces, revealing the enemy MG positions but nothing more You'll be left with less infantry for the final attack C) You'll STILL have to commit your tanks without knowing where the enemy guns are D) His arty will attrit you from long range So the usual rule of leading with infantry doesn't really work in very open terrain. If there are some tree clumps or whatever for your men, you can have a platoon escort the forward mechanized recon and jump from place to place. This is what Fionn accomplished in his Open Terrain AAR. But notice that he kept most of his infantry reserve hidden until the time for decisive commitment, and he had them mounted. Also, there are many threads on recon in general you should have a look at. Search in the general forum for "ScoutPL debate continues" "Doctrine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedlam Posted November 28, 2000 Author Share Posted November 28, 2000 Thanks guys for all the input. I experimented with using Ht's to do my recon for me. Seemed to work pretty good. It's pretty hard to get the HT's out of harms way after making contact with the enemy but war is hell I guess. Nedlam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banshee Posted November 28, 2000 Share Posted November 28, 2000 In open terrain with suitable overwatch I use vehicles jumping from cover to cover in order to scout ahead, if vehicles arent available I will use infantry, In close terrain (< 100m between cover) I will use infantry in bounding overwatch with tanks right behind. I never will use armor as scouts. Use armor in overwatch positions for the scouts. ------------------ Veni, vidi, panzerschrecki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 Keep in mind that with CM 1.1, wheeled vehicles aren't as good for scouting. They don't move as fast over open ground and can't see the enemy as well when they're moving fast. They're also more likely to bog down in bad terrain, and more likely to run for shelter when fired upon. ------------------ No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. -Ender's Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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