Defending in CMSF

[Ardem]

With a Stryker force you have mobility , suprise and normally your back up with a supreme amount of on call firepower (AKA Air support)

How would a syrian attack look like, the only thing that comes to mind is an ambush. Already we not talking about level terms here as seen in the gulf war, the Iraq was in a defensive mode from the outset, without air cover any attack is impossible.

Also with the typical communications level and intel advantage the US have, they would coordinate overwhelming support to intercept or would make the unit bug out before the syrians arrived

So I am interested in people opinions on how you would see the syrians actually gainng any initative to attack.

[ParaBellum]

Actually my biggest problem with CMSF currently is how the BFC guys will manage to give the US player some sort of challenge without artificially gimping their forces and/or the availability of support.

I just can't see a battailon-sized syrian force attack any kind of US force without getting obliterared by the airforce or superior artillery.

How many sandstorms that ground the airfoce can you stomache before things start to get ridiculous?

The only plausible way for any kind of 'fair' battles I can see at the moment would be a scenario where US forces were weakened by political decisions, like no heavy weapons/armour and no air support available due to lack of bases etc...

So much for the sceptic in me.

On the other hand, when I saw the first screenshots of a turn-based 3d-WW2-tactical simulation with the somewhat lame name of "Combat Mission" I thought it would probably suck, too.

[Peter Cairns]

One obvious possible is running in to something by effectively outstripping your support.

Sure you can have air cover in minutes, but even in CMBO if you got caught in the open you could lose a lot in a couple of minutes.

Peter.

[YankeeDog]

Try reading some of the stuff that's coming out now about OIF. There were a number of occasions when the more advanced spearheads of American forces found themselves overstretched and in challenging defensive situations.

At least for me, it's easy to see how similar stuff could happen in a hypothetical against Syria, *especially* if the Syrian military is doing its homework, and learning from Saddam's mistakes. . .

[undead reindeer cavalry]

we know so little about the scenario BFC has visioned that it's quite hard to speculate about it. we don't even know where it takes place or what the scale is.

it would be fun if the scenario would take place along the border with Lebanon, or around the Orontes river valley, but i suspect it's an invasion from Iraq. so most likely it contains battles in the Syrian desert, and then more interesting battles once the US forces get closer to Damascus.

i suppose individual battles would consist of missions on the scale of "take hold of the eastern edge of the Damascus international airport". here your company or two would have two eliminate a local defending infantry force. on the next battle you would defend your positions against a Syrian counterattack consisting of a platoon of T-72s and a couple platoons of BMP-1s (plus some arty). then you would advance and take hold of a nearby village, which is defended by a company of infantry + some guns & a tank or two. something like that i would imagine.

but it's hard to tell without knowing more about the scenario created by BFC.

[Cpl Steiner]

The biggest threat to the US commander might be his own side, if recent history is anything to go by. Every time you call in an airstrike there should be a greater than 1% chance of it being inadvertently called in on your own men.

[Los]

Given the thousands of sorties I think it would be a lot lower.

Los