Module Related Question

[beardiebloke]

How is the gameplay going to be different between CMSF and the later modules? I'm thinking USMC, Brits and NATO will add different equipment and uniforms but how much will they actually affect the fighting? Are there significant differences in the way they are organised? I expect the answer is "yes" but I'm really interested what the specifics are. CMx2 seems to model a lot of command, control & comms so it would be cool if this was noticeable when playing different armies.

The CMx1 games all played differently, but they were set in totally different parts of the world during a war that saw a lot of technological changes. Will the CMx2 modules be able to provide as much variety?

[Sequoia]

I'm not an expert on the subject but I know that even the USMC is organised differently at all echelons than the US Army Styker or Mech Infantry Battalion, and while morale is set by the scenario designer USMC morale presumably will be higher than US Army line infantry in most cases.

[Cpl Steiner]

I've been reading "Ambush Alley" about the USMC in Naziriah, and have just started "No True Glory" about the USMC in Fallujah. The impression I get from these works is that USMC formations have a lot more manpower compared to their regular army counterparts. Expect a USMC company to pack a bigger punch than a regular one in terms of sheer weight of numbers. As for weapons and equipment, if anything they seem to be the "Cindarella" arm of the U.S. Military, with less of the latest kit. It will be interesting to see how the game handles their Amtrack APCs. In the books I'm reading these seemed to have been crammed with up to 30 marines a piece when the marines had to move out and the number of vehicles available was reduced due to losses.

Historically, the British Army had trained its men to regard marksmanship as the paramount skill of a soldier. British troops didn't get a true assault rifle until as late as 1985, relying up until then on the single shot SLR rifle. The SA80 that replaced it is apparently extremely accurate, to the extent that army shooting ranges and scoring systems had to be upgraded after its introduction to cope with its greater accuracy. The emphasis on marksmanship plus the inherent accuracy of the SA80 should make quite a difference I would have thought.

[hellfish]

The Marines, at least, are significantly different.

Marines operate in light-infantry centric roles. They have thirteen man squads, vice nine men in the Army. They have a lot of diverse support weaponry available to them - SMAWs, Javelins, M240Gs - plus LAV-25s, AAV-7s and M1A1 tanks.

The vehicles are especially different compared to the Army. While LAVs are related to Strykers, they are not the same vehicle and have very different capabilties and roles. AAV-7s are thin skinned behemoths capable of carrying 25 Marines at a time. Even the M1A1s are different, as Marines have made a few tweaks (including ATGM decoys).

Marines are a much more integrated force than the Army is too - each MEU trains together and operates as one, unlike Army units which are often patched together ad hoc. They have very tight integration with naval gunfire and close air support elements as well.

[flamingknives]

The British armed forces don't have company heavy weapons, these are held at the Battalion level, so there's a difference there.

Warrior has a 30mm gun, but it isn't stabilised, so that's a fair difference from the Bradley.

SA80 is capable of full automatic and every one in an infantry unit has a 4x scope.

Challenger 2 has HESH as a secondary ammunition - instant mousehole.

Armed landrovers for the ultimate gamey jeep rush.

Light recce vehicles of the CVR(T) family.

Organisation of the British infantry is a bit different, as more responsibility devolves to the junior NCOs (LCpl can easily end up leading a section)

There seems to be a trend towards operating in 'multiples', which are half-platoon units, one under the Officer and one under the sergeant. In mechanised units, this means two vehicles each.

[beardiebloke]

Thanks folks. That's what I was after. Now all we need is the game. 56 Days, 12 Hours, 4 Minutes . . . TICK TOCK TICK TOCK

[flamingknives]

The British have also been using individual radios for quite a while, so communications within the sections ought to be pretty good. higher level comms, by contrast, are pretty awful and the new Bowman kit is on the recieving end of some pretty harsh criticism. That said, much of that is due to procurement cock-ups. Rumour has it that the kit isn't that bad.

Air support would include CRV-7 rockets, which have a variety of warheads, including 20g flechettes, which are a very nasty kind of evil to anyone not behind heavy cover. There would also be Brimstone salvoes, which are a whole lot of unpleasantness for an armoured column.

NLAW might be in service by the appropriate time-frame, which, along with residual AT4s (ILAW) would make for a very prickly anti-tank defence, and Bulldog (upgraded FV430, like an M113 but with really heavy protection) and Mastiff (uparmoured Cougar) would be well in service.

The Anti-Structure Munition would arrive too late, but a UOR could sort that out.

[Fugazzi]

Are Royal Marines going to be included in the British Module or are they a completly different organizations (like the USMC) that would need their own module ?

And I was curious: what are the main differences between Royal Marines and the (regular) Britsh Army. Do they have the same focus as the USMC ?

[flamingknives]

I don't know if the RM are included, but their organisation is broadly similar at section to company level, although platoon-sized elements are called troops. Above that, it gets a bit different, Each commando (equivalent to a battalion) has four companies, two close combat companies arranged like an infantry company and two support companies with heavy machine guns, AT weaponry and a spare infantry troop.

There are also support units in the same manner as a British army infantry battalion - snipers, mortars, machine guns, AT assets and recce units.

They also have unique vehicles like the BV210 Viking and BV206.

The RM are very well trained, so would always come in at a good skill level. Unlike the USMC, they are light infantry, and have very little in the way of organic armour and heavy support.