Campaign: Airfield Mission

[21sec]

Is it me or would a company never be tasked to take a complex the size of the airfield in the campaign's second mission?

For the record I really enjoy the game, and have faith it will be thoroughly patched.

[rune]

It's you, :0 people have completed the mission with only wounded.

Rune

[Cpl Steiner]

Here's two things to the contrary.

In a news report I watched again recently about the US Marines in Fallujah, an entire company was used to attack the position of a single suspected sniper.

In a BBC program about the Battle of Hue in Vietnam they did a training exercise involving British soldiers in which an entire company was required to clear just 4 buildings.

I suspect that real military planners would not consider attacking such a large objective as the airbase in mission 2 of the campaign with so few troops. The fact that players of CM:SF can get away with it is interesting in and of itself.

One of the possible problems I think there might be with CM:SF is that enemy spotted in buildings are too easy to eliminate.

The book "No True Glory", about the Battle of Fallujah, describes urban fighting as a boxing match in which the two sides are constantly moving, popping up, hiding again, never revealing themselves for more than a few seconds at a time. Such fighting can last for hours, not the seconds that it lasts in CM:SF

In another part of the report on the Battle of Fallujah, it describes how it took about an hour to reduce a single minaret using tank support. The fact that a tank can level a structure in CM:SF in a matter of seconds is probably also inaccurate.

I appreciate that for a fun game we can't have absolute realism but it is interesting to compare reality with the game.

BBC Report

Hue Battle Documentary

[ August 24, 2007, 02:19 PM: Message edited by: Cpl Steiner ]

[weasel75]

Well, agreed, reality is (most of the time) way too boring to be considered "entertaining" in a game ("It's about endless hours of boredom punctuated by eternal moments of sheer terror.").

So yes, it's unrealistic, and sure, while the airfield (with no airforce) might not be worth it, the SpecOps-HQ alone should ring some bells ....

.. but man, without that deviation it would not be the challenge it is ...

Salute!

[OG_Gleep]

Ya I noticed the AI doesn't displace much. If I were part of the AT team at the gates, in the face of a column of vehicles bearing down on me, I'd be running away as soon as we pulled the trigger. Wouldn't wait to see where the shot landed, main priority would be to get my arse anywhere but there.

That said, given the amount of units within the complex, one company with little arty support and no armor seems lacking. Bad intel?

[Subcomandante]

I finally nailed this mission, 6 dead, 28 wounded, not so bad at all. But then again it was only a draw. I had both the airport HQ and the barracks secured, and destroyed the specops hq, had people present there when the time ran out, but still this last objective was not met. It's completely rubble and nobody is left alive there. I have tried everything, but I just can't get the bugger.

[snake_eye]

Playing R.T - Veteran since I started the campaign in order to get more acquainted with the short cuts and the new ergonomy of the orders (different from CM1, 2 & 3), the Ash Shammas mission was the 3rd for me. After a minor defeat for the 1st, a Total victory for the 2nd. I went into the assault with full confidence and without too much care. The result : a Major Defeat 23 KIA, 18 WIA & 3 armored vehicules down. I only got the Airbase HQ secured, got to the edge of the barracks (practising wall demolition & getting through it with strykers), at the end of the time and did not approach at all the SP Forces HQ. The syrian sustained 52 KIA, 64 WIA & 21 vehicules out of action.

I got the lesson and since then, up to the 12 th mission, I managed to get 6 Total Victories, 1 Minor Victory,1 draw & and "shame" a Total Defeat in the screen (Got to confident with the bradley's TOW on overwatch).

To get the filling of the way fights are not alaso going the way they should, read "AMBUSH ALLEY" Nasyriah 2003 assault, from Tim PRITCHARD, the best of the ones I read lately.

[Subcomandante]

It only worked for me when I blasted my way through the wall at the barracks (with MGS), as per the mission briefing. Then it was possible to take the barracks with surprisingly low casualties, and it provided me with a relatively secure firebase on the other side of the map, from where I could fire at lots of locations.

Btw, if you have Google Earth, Ash Shammas is at

34° 22' N

40° 09' E

I surely looks like it (note the open area in the west, and the angle of the road), resolution is rather low though at that place.

[ August 25, 2007, 03:44 AM: Message edited by: Subcomandante ]

[snake_eye]

Through the walls, on the left area, being blasted, that's the way. I found it too late, while being heavily engaged at the Airbase HQ, loosing one track, then two, and missing by inches to have more casualties, when an IED blew up in the middle of the road, in front of the HQ. Anyhow, I had not enough time being left to exploit the breach at the barracks and being rather cautious, after the IED, and a third track on that road to the barracks.

[whaco]

I have finished the campaign on vet and that mission is the only one where I have not scored a total victory. It was a draw. I'm almost thinking of going back and starting the whole campaign over again just to play that one again. Very tough mission.

[SgtMuhammed]

An interesting thing happened to me in that mission, which I am still playing actually. I identified a VIED and fired on it with an MGS. After a couple shots (area fire) the vehicle started to burn and then exploded leaving a huge crater with the vehicle in the middle of it. So while I am moving my guys up to exploit the blast it explodes again. Same place, same crater.

Anyone else see something like this?

[OG_Gleep]

It was an IED loaded in a vehicle.

I had one blow up trying to leave the barraks through the main gate, and took it out right next to the first buiding. Took out the entire north wall of the first floor. Was awesome.

As someone mentioned in another thread, going through the airfield has benifits. I first tried getting my sniper in the tower, and it worked for about 5 minutes until half of the syrian army revealed themselves and opened up. So I tried it again, with a lot of backup.

I took 1 squad from 1st platoon, HQ and both MG sqauds, the sniper and their strykers along with a MGS. With that fire base, they stayed there for for an hour. The vehicles moved up as they eliminated oppositon, coming back to the tower and popping smoke as squads ran down to re-supply.

While this was going on, the the remainng MGSs took up flanking positons to get LOS on the buildngs inside the main gate. The left MGS opened up a gap just to the left of the left bunker in the wall. This revealed RPG and infantry which was suppressed. When 2nd Platoon showed up, they ran through the gap and deployed into the buldings on the left while 1st platoon and MGS covered them. Once that happened, it was just a matter of time. RPG threats were taken down, and 3rd platoon and the remaining vehicles came through the main gate and slowly eliminated all resistance from the hq to the gates of the barraks. By that time, the force attacking the airfield had made it to the line of buildngs and the square building. Everyone but 1 MG squad piled into their strykers and assulted enemy positins in those buildngs.

When the resistance there had been silenced, the Syrian force surrendered.

Having a HQ unit in the tower was key. They called down accurate mortar strikes, destroying units with one barrage (quick). Having all those units in the tower on different floors also hel

ed a lot. If you don't do that, the enemy can pour too much fire early on and will quickly kill your boys.

The key on the other side of the map (main gate) is to move slow. Use one platoon to get into buildngs and spot enemy units and lay down fire. Then move up your MGS and empty strykers to put in the hurt. When you have fire superiority, move in the other platoon, dismount and rush the enemy positions in teh buildings. Once those boys clear the building, they become your new fire base, and your other platoon mounts up. Rinse, repeat.

Ended with 4 wouneded, 0 killed and all vehicles were safe. Total victory due to surrender.

[ August 26, 2007, 07:18 AM: Message edited by: OG_Gleep ]

[whaco]

Originally posted by OG_Gleep:

Ended with 4 wouneded, 0 killed and all vehicles were safe. Total victory due to surrender.

OG_Gleep I think I generally dislike you at the moment. B/c of this little jab at my inferior tactics you have now forced me to start the whole campaign over again just to beat this one mission using your exact same strat.

Cheers

[Subcomandante]

I have a feeling that your exact performance is also very much dependent on luck. A lucky M4 shot by Sarge John M. Stryker might have happened to take out that RPD gunner in building 64 in your game, but in my game the gunner was still there and was able to mow down half a squad because the Sarge was knocked out by an IED 2 minutes before, by pure bad luck. This is part of the chaos of battle that the game tries to repilcate.

[thelmia]

Go for Syrian surrender. Kill them all so you don't have to fool with storming buildings. Arty + Javelins = win. Just blow up whatever building they are hiding in. I got by with 4 killed I think.

[Broken]

Originally posted by thelmia:

Go for Syrian surrender. Kill them all so you don't have to fool with storming buildings. Arty + Javelins = win. Just blow up whatever building they are hiding in. I got by with 4 killed I think.

This mission has gotten tougher with patch 2 & 3. Defenders are more aggressive. RPG 7s now fire out to 200m+ , are harder to suppress, and hit with alarming frequency at these ranges. In Elite play, RPGs will get off at least one round before being spotted, even with good overwatch.

On the plus side, infantry is now less vulnerable. This makes dismounts useful for more than hauling Javelins or drawing fire.

I like it.

[Trooper]

Originally posted by Subcomandante:

I finally nailed this mission, 6 dead, 28 wounded, not so bad at all. But then again it was only a draw. I had both the airport HQ and the barracks secured, and destroyed the specops hq, had people present there when the time ran out, but still this last objective was not met. It's completely rubble and nobody is left alive there. I have tried everything, but I just can't get the bugger.

Just finished it myself, with almost identical results.

Took the airfield HQ first, but never noticed a popup saying "Objective taken". So I ended up sending troops to walk every floor of every 'block' of the building. Registered in the AAR as taken, but a more noticeable visual indicator would be nice. (Or a 'victory status' screen). Then took the barracks, as soon as I hit the centre building, I got the "Objective taken" message. Hmm..

So off to SFHQ. Captured it, walked into every 'block', but no message. Figured it might have been like the airfield HQ, so I pulled back, and blew half of it up. (Centre block to the ground, and two next to it).

Ended up a minor defeat, and the SFHQ did not register as completed.

NTM

[bardosy]

http://www.wargamer.com/articles/combatmissionshockforce/

[Raptor 2101]

imho this is the difficult mission in the whole campaign.

It's the only map who the US Forces are force to argue on both ground, urban and open ground, while the enemy sitting everytime in the better position. no place to hide and not enough ammo th blow up the whole map...

i make my one door near the tower (or wahtever it should be) and advanced directly to the SpecOpsHQ. this is the heavyst problem on this map. The bulding infront of the map (dies quadrat) need to much ammo to be destroyed and give effective cover to the enemy while thy can shot from upstars at you... my way was to take the buildings at the NorthWest of the Map. if you advanced there, you can be shot from only one corner of the HQ building and only one side of the "quarter building" your Arty and the MGS should solve thise problem until you get troups in this building botter them down. once taken the buidling an cleare, i advanced in the backyard and clear the whole building first and then (not earlier) enter the quadrat building to a smal talk with the troops within... yeah what to tell... this guyes wan't realy pleased

once you cleare this point of the map its get simple. from the backyard direction every objective gives enough cover to enter without loses...

[bigmac1281]

Originally posted by Broken:

RPG 7s now fire out to 200m+ , are harder to suppress, and hit with alarming frequency at these ranges. In Elite play, RPGs will get off at least one round before being spotted, even with good overwatch.[/QB]

I noticed RPG's fire more often at longer ranges too. I don't know if it was just my sheer luck, but I also noticed the RPG's didn't do as much damage. I think it may have just been my dumb luck though. In a failed attempt at taking over the SF HQ on the 2nd mission, I moved a whole whack of my Strykers up to soften up the area (I was almost out of infantry). One of my MGS took no less than 7 direct RPG hits at ranges from 200-300m. Not a scratch, as far as I could tell (never actually went in and checked it's internal systems to see exactly what damage it sustained) It was still able to fire, and move, and wasn't burning. Very suprised with that, after 7 RPG hits.

[Raptor 2101]

ok any idea or i'am just stupid?

[Juergen2SSDR]

Well I was watching my BF play that one... He is not done yet.. "Juergen get in here and respond!"

He started out with 1st platoon racing towards the Airfield. Secured the Tower and the building sort of behind the tower(near map exit) he stormed in with the sniper team, (extra ammo) and a full squad with Javilins,also the Spotter person went in the tower as well... he popped smoke all over the place and assaulted the tower and the other building. He brought 2 of the 120mm cannon strykers for support.

As soon as he was in the tower... called in morter rounds... anti-personell on alot of bad guys.

2nd Platoon came to assist 1st platoon... with the exception od some support peeps!

3rd platoon arrives and is accross the street.. taking the backway to the Airbase HQ.. lost 1 stryker

He has the Airbase fully under control.. at least the huge clearing area, javilins have decimated where the Syrians have run for cover.. every vehicle attempting to move in..has been anhilated. 2nd platoon is close to the SP Forces barracks... 1st platton is re-equiping... there have been few casualties...

He uses a leapfrog sort of technique... deploying smoke.. and cover fire. Also some more artillery would be helpfull.. or a nice Apache!

Well if he gets a total Victory... I have a Victoria Secret suprise waiting for him..

Veronica!

[__Yossarian0815[jby]]

Playing it right now in 1.03. RT

I decided to split my forces roughly in the order they appear during the map.

airbase HQ: advance slowlay and blast everything in sight with the 2 big gun strykers. messy, but doable

barracks: breech the wall of the compound, thus avoiding the ambush alley from the compound entrance. easy

special forces HQ...i´m advancing from the tower. ive tried to position mgs on the houses to supress the enemy but they supressed my soldiers instead. also the ultra-gung-ho-RPG wielder in the SF HQ is really diffilcult to supress without losing several strykers in 1 min....will try smoke cover and apaches, [stubborn]but I want to take the building intact[/stubborn].

[Juergen2SSDR]

Well Juergen completed last night.. after he took control of the Control Tower.. which was easy. (get there real fast) He targeted the enemy with his FO and called down anti-personell artillery.

When 2nd platoon showed up.. they reinforced 1st platoon, I think at this time the only casualties came from RPG fire. 1 Stryker gun platform totaly destroyed, and another stryker KO, and abandoned.

3rd Platoon, showed up, and in a couple of fire fights and assaults took the Airbase HQ and two building to the left, 1 casualty. 3rd platoon was supported also by the 3rd stryker gun platform, which took out an IED truck... HUGE explosion that took out some of there own troops. 1st Platoon reinforced by 2nd platoon took the Special forces HQ with no casualties. There were not many of them left. The next 6 minutes JTAC called in the apaches and laid waste to the barracks area. 3rd platoon assaulted one more building with no casualties. 1st platoon had command of the Air Traffic control Tower, and the Special forces building. 2nd Platoon -1 squad (which was mopping up the tarmac area) was held back ready to assualt the barracks. After all rounds from the 120mm mortar were exhausted, they moved in and took the barracks.

Total losses were 1 KIA, 5 WIA, 2 AFV lost, in which one could be repaired.

The enemy... completly destroyed.

All Juergen and I need know is a bigger monitor... like a 32inch.