mini-AAR on MOUT

[Chelco]

I need to get a grip on CMSF's MOUT. I assembled this tiny and quick scenario to help me with that and I wanted to share with you how it went.

The fictional story behind the scenario goes like this:

Two hours ago, battalion level reconnaissance assets were advancing along a fictional highway (route red) when their left flank was attacked by irregular troops. The enemy harassed the reconnaissance column with machine gun, RPG and even ATGM fire. One vehicle was lost, but as per its SOP the reconnaissance column avoided becoming decisively engaged and continued moving along its route.

An UAV reconnaissance picture of the ambush area. The smoke column in the highway comes from a destroyed US reconnaissance vehicle. Irregular troops are suspected to be hiding in the road that runs perpendicular to the highway (diagonally from right to left in the picture).

[ August 11, 2007, 11:57 PM: Message edited by: Chelco ]

[Chelco]

1st Plt is on point for Alpha's Co and receives a warning order to clear the irregulars from their positions north of the intersection . Enemy strenght is suspected to be platoon level. UAV surveilance has been kept on that area and no further movement was detected. Indirect fires are prohibited until new orders.

1st Plt is composed of 3 squads of Bradley IFV mounted infantry.

Graphics overlay for the upcoming action. The boundaries for the platoon are indicated by lines. Buildings 11 and 21 are clear of enemy troops. (Note how I screwed the building numbering, should have used counter-clockwise numbering, doh!)

[Chelco]

A bit more detailed view of the battlefield.

The US platoon waits orders in a small park to the lower left. The suspected enemy positions are painted red. The numbering of buildings is the same as before, but for clarity only a few buildings are labelled.

[Splinty]

Nicely done! Can't wait to see more!

[Aloko Mac]

Atmosphere's great !

Cant wait to see the operation.

[theFightingSeabee]

The UAV picture is a cool idea

[kipanderson]

Hi,

Looks great… congratulations…

All the best,

Kip.

[Chelco]

Thanks to all of you for reading!

The Plt commander moves to the roof of building 11 to get a better view of the battlefield.

As soon as the Plt HQ team reaches the rooftop, it receives fire from across the street. Enemy spotted in buildings 31 (AK47 fire) and 46 (RPG team).

[jomni]

OPFOR seems to be doing the "crawl of death" if i'm not mistaken.

A phenomenon that other US troops are reporting in this AAR:

http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/showthread.php?tid=41753

Please confirm.

[Chelco]

Hi Jomni,

Your AAR is awesome, kudos my friend.

The stuff you see along the road in the previous screenshot are actually various kinds of debris and junk. Sorry for the confusion.

At the north extreme of the road, an ATGM team was also spotted. As you can see in the following screenshot, they have an excellent field of fire on the intersection.

This ATGM team may have an odd facing, but their field of fire is gonna be tough to move through. The two story building in the far background is building 11, where the Plt HQ is located at this very moment.

[ August 12, 2007, 08:11 PM: Message edited by: Chelco ]

[jomni]

I see... so it was debris.

So they're really outside in prone position. For a minute there I thought they were crawling across the street.

My AAR is based on v1.01.

[Chelco]

The following two pics don't have any particular value. Just for kicks!

Seeing the elefant. A soldier from the Plt HQ team gets a glimpse of the dangers ahead. Screenshot edited with Photoshop

Enemy contact! RPG! 46, white, A1!

[ August 12, 2007, 09:03 PM: Message edited by: Chelco ]

[Chelco]

In my very limited gameplay experience with CMSF, RPGs have a devastating effect on infantry located in buildings. With an RPG team across the street and an ATGM team overwatching, I am not in a good position. PltHQ must get out of building 11!

Now here is something in what I systematically fail: planning routes of escape. Moving PltHQ down the stairs of building 11 could expose them to RPG fire and to the literally demolishing effect of a lucky ATGM shot. The only solution I find feasible is to move the PltHQ team out of building 11 via the neighbor structure.

I cannot confirm exactly how many enemy teams have seen the PltHQ team, but tracers are flying everywhere. That's entirely my fault: I kept the PltHQ team too much time exposed in the hope that they would spot more enemy units. In addition, I didn't direct the PltHQ team's fires accordingly and with the shootout that ensued, I may have gained the awareness of enemy units I didn't even spot.

The PltHQ team withdraws via the roof of the neighbor building under heavy fire. Sure enough, two RPGs impact in building 11, one of them taking out the radioman.

[Chelco]

Originally posted by jomni:

I see... so it was debris.

So they're really outside in prone position. For a minute there I thought they were crawling across the street.

My AAR is based on v1.01.

Hi jomni,

All enemy units but the ATGM unit in the north extreme of the map are so-far inside buildings. I think that the angle of my screenie combined with the floating icons are a bit confusing.

[Chelco]

Well, coming back to the action.

Mission is to clear the irregular forces from their positions along the road.

Enemy: confirmed RPG teams at buildings 46 and 31 and an ATGM team north of building 63 (see screenie below for buildings numbering). Enemy force is Plt. sized, likely positioned along the road that leads north.

Terrain: RPGs/ATGM teams have great field of fire over main avenue of approach (see labels "kill zone" in screenie below). North of the highway, a built-up area offers great cover to the enemy and limited mobility to friendly IFVs. Important to avoid compromising IFVs in open sewers at the NW.

Time: 30 minutes.

Troops: Bradley Infantry Platoon, no heavy weapons or indirect fire support.

Civilian involvement is sparse.

The plan

Dismounted infantry clears buildings along the northbound road while IFVs provide fire support.

Phase One:

Under the cover of smoke, a Bradley IFV attacks by fire enemy positions north of building 63 (ATGM) and at buildings 46 & 31 (RPGs). (See ABF icon in the screenie above)

Dismounted attack on buildings 46 & 31 to eliminate RPG threat not a good option because main avenue of approach would be still under enemy ATGM fires from position north of building 63.

Phase two:

Bradley IFV moves north across the highway to permit rapid deployment of the main attack forces and to provide fire support (see SBF, support by fire, icon in the screenie above).

2nd Sqd dismounts south of building 46 and moves north clearing buildings west of the road.

3rd Sqd dismounts south of building 31 and moves north clearing buildings east of the road.

[Chelco]

As ordered, a single Bradley IFV moves into position, and under the cover of a smoke screen spots and engages not one, but two ATGM teams in the opposite end of the battlefield. The enemy teams fall prey to the terrible storm of lead coming from the Bradley.

Two enemy ATGM teams (foreground) didn't get a chance to fire against the Bradley IFV (far background, behind smoke screen)

[Chelco]

As the smoke screen starts to dissipate, the IFV crew frantically switches targets. The RPG teams across the street may be already aiming.

Yes! One of the building's wall collapses under the heavy fire from the Bradley.

[Chelco]

This a bit unnerving: nothing spotted in the building on the right. Area fire! Reverse!

And then, out of the blue, the Bradley's crew launches an ATGM at this building. And down it goes!

Phase one complete, sir.

[Chelco]

Phase two starts. Mounted infantry moves into position for the assault.

[Guest Guest]

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[Cpl Steiner]

I second that. I keep checking this forum for the latest installment of your gripping AAR. The UAV shots done in Photoshop are brilliant and something I will definitely consider copying for Tactical Maps in scenario briefings.

[JohnO]

Originally posted by Chelco:

I'm enjoying the AAR but what did you use to make the graphics in this screenshot?

JohnO

[Chelco]

Thanks everyone for reading!

@CplSteiner: I am glad you liked the UAV display idea. Looking forward to play your scenarios!

@JohnO: I used Photoshop. The operational graphics I used are a mixed bag of real ones and made up ones (to make the story a bit more clear).

Phase two is already on its way. 3rd Sqd (foreground in the screenie below) and 2nd Sqd (background) dismount and move towards the built up area. These are moments of extreme danger for the grunts. One rifleman from 3rd Sqd is shot while secures a foothold in the block.

There is not such a thing as too much overwatch. At this moment every single unit (even dismounts) has an assigned target arc. Given the overwhelming amount of potential enemy hideouts and the limited firepower of the platoon I preferred the target arcs over area fires. The dismounts were given an assault order combined with a target arc. This tip comes from CMSF's manual and I will post a screenie of it later. On the meantime, note how the sqds orient accordingly and move by bounds.

[Cpl Steiner]

Originally posted by JohnO:

I'm enjoying the AAR but what did you use to make the graphics in this screenshot?

JohnO,

I think it is "Adobe PhotoShop" but you might want to check out the following as I have found this to be almost as powerful and it's free:

Paint.NET

[Chelco]

2nd Sqd assaults building 45. A combination of "target arc" (yellow shading) and "assault" (red line) orders was used. Note how a three men team moves forward while the rest of the squad provides overwatch. One thing I learnt the hard way before playing this scenario is to pay dear attention to the location of building's doors. Nothing more costly than when your grunts use "that other door" (the one within an enemy kill zone you didn't expect).

[ August 19, 2007, 03:34 PM: Message edited by: Chelco ]