Desired feature in CMx2 WW II

[John Kettler]

Just today, while reading INFANTRY IN BATTLE rough title), a collection of infantry combat vignettes used at Ft. Benning, I was reading about how an infantry regiment was specially equipped for the attack on Nuremberg. There was specific instruction given regarding ammo loads for both individual soldiers and for the platoon. Each man, over and above the normal issue of one bandolier of rifle ammo was to carry an additional half bandolier, plus 2 x frag and one x WP grenades. Further, each platoon was to carry 10 x bazooka rounds and 10 x antitank grenades, which presumably were M9A1 antitank rifle grenades.

A related feature I really want to see is ammo transfer within the squad and from arriving units to their depleted bretheren. I still vividly remember that CMBO scenario with the Hellcats in which reinforcements arrive but can't give a single cartridge to their ammo depleted colleagues. We know this occurred, and it's been depicted in war movies cum war docs, such as BoB.

This is a great bit of task organization chrome with meaning and effect on the battle in real life. In the case being described, those WP grenades were essential to quickly clearing a heavily defended major German 4-story building. Yes, I said WP, and I fervently hope we'll see them/it in the new game, along with smoke, thermite/thermate for Rangers and Airborne, flares of several sorts, etc. I have liked the ability to modify weapon loadouts ever since the old Omega Games Ranger map based game. There, you had to make tough decisions what weapons the squad would take into battle, based on the assigned combat tasking, bearing in mind the need to retain flexibility in the face of the unexpected, and there always was!

Likewise, but on a different time scale, I'd like to see armor units be able to do something simiar. Way back in the 1970s, I developed a diabolical Tractics scenario in which a small Kampfgruppe had to hastily defend a French village's approaches long enough for the rest of the counterattack formation to arrive. One of the major problems

the German commander faced was whether to take a chance and spend some turns balancing ammo in his weak Panther platoon or risking having several tanks leave the battle via ammo exhaustion, seeing as how I thoughtfully issued only a few rounds to some, with others having as many as 20 or so. Basically, I put real world constraints into the game and forced the players to make hard calls as to what to do, knowing full well the foe was pounding for the same objective. Even the Russians did this ammo leveling drill, for I clearly recall reading about it in an SU-85 ambush in Sialuai, Lithuania, in an account I read in AFV-G2 magazine.

Edited to add that I forgot to mention that in the Tractics scenario, which was a huge hit and went right down to the wire, with the Germans barely winning, not only did I mess with ammo totals but also type and severely limited German movement to simulate being almost out of fuel.

Regards,

John Kettler

[ May 06, 2008, 03:09 PM: Message edited by: John Kettler ]

[Stuka]

How much ammo do the reptiloids get?

[Secondbrooks]

Same for current CMSF. Expacely for AI's inabilty to use what it's vehicles have (Javelins in Stryker are ignored by AI, which takes quite big edge from it).

Ammosupplyposts where few guys are handing ammo and special equipment for arriving units is another idea i've been tossing around... Well not always there would be realitic space in map, but big maps would allow ammosupply to be there as well. In mechaniced units vehicles usually have sufficent amount of resupply, but infantry-on-foot would need other methonds of resupply, like ammosupplypost.

Or then making it possible to make some units carrying spare ammo+special equipment and give them to units which are doing the hard job, like leveling ammoloads for tanks. 'Elites are clearing the road and greens are the mules of elites' sort of thing.

[Guest Guest]

deleted per user request

[thewood]

Ooops!

A little of the general forum spilled over.

Gimme a minute and I'll clean that right up.

[Elmar Bijlsma]

Originally posted by thewood:

Ooops!

A little of the general forum spilled over.

Gimme a minute and I'll clean that right up.

You can get your hands on a flame-thrower inside a minute? :confused: