A novice

[Juutilainen]

Hi! everyone,

I'm a complete novice at this game. Last year, I bought the combat mission anthology as the customers at amazon.com gave good remarks about it. It is up to now - the summer time, I manage to have some time to play it. I picked the scenario: a battle at the zoo, and played as the German side. The AI asked me to set up first. However, I could not move the two Panzer IVGs, no matter what buttons I clicked. Then, I ordered the the two tanks to move through the woods towards the Reptile House and Aviary. However, the AI directed them to manoeuvre along the roads, ignoring my orders. Do the tanks could not penetrate woods? I wondered. Later, the tanks were ambushed and were destroyed, one of them was by flamethrower, while the other I was not sure.

"Some people cannot bow their heads in modesty, because they keep turning around to look at past achievements." Master Cheng Yen

[tankibanki]

Tanks cannot go through wood terrain. However they can go through "scattered trees". In some scenarios scattered trees are used to simulate wooded areas tanks can go drive through (although pretty slowly).

Flamethrowers can destroy tanks. Your second tank was possibly destroyed by an enemy unit it could not see or by an infantry squad in close assault.

To prevent those close assaults you should always keep some dismounted infantry in front of your tanks. Moreover infantry is much better at spotting enemy units, so you do not walk into a trap as easily as if you scout with your tanks.

[Juutilainen]

To tankibanki,

Many thanks.

"The basic work of moral cultivation is to have patience and to give." Master Cheng Yen

[tankibanki]

You're welcome. BTW, forgot to say welcome to the forums and welcome to Combat Mission. Others are better at welcoming new members

My advice on use of infantry in combination with tanks is less than the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of excellent threads on this forum which explain combined arms tactics at length. Using them makes a hell of a difference. Moreover there are some excellent tutorial missions by JasonC. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the scenarios and where to get them. But I bet there's someone around who does.

[Cuirassier]

Juutilainen,

I would suggest you search the forums for posts by JasonC on tactics. His posts are very informative and contain lots of information on how to use combined arms effectively. Once you master these techniques, beating the AI regularly will be easy. His training scenarios depict the use of various Soviet force types in numerous settings. They are simply called the Russian training scenarios and are numbered (eg 100 110 etc). These scenarios can be found at blowtorchscenarios.com or probably the proving grounds. Just google either site and you should find them quickly.

[tankibanki]

Ok, here they are:

http://www.blowtorchscenarios.com/Jason%20Soviet%20Training%20Scenarios/Jason%20C%20Russian%20Training%20Exercises%20Details.html

I didn't find them on Scenario Depot II and The Proving Grounds, which are great sites with an abundance of scenarios in case you are bored with the ones included in the game.

EDIT: Should have added the URLs:

http://www.the-proving-grounds.com/

http://www.the-scenario-depot.com/

[Juutilainen]

To Cuirassier & tankibanki,

Truly grateful for the useful information.

"Always getting up early in the morning is a good way to train oneself in the art of perseverance." Master Cheng Yen

[Hornpiper]

I, too, want to thank you for the links. I've had CMBB for a while but have done precious little with it as yet due to the learning curve.

[Der Alte Fritz]

I think the secret to learning to play CMBB while enjoying yourself is to start small and simple. So pick a side, find a number of small battles at the Scenario Depot in your favourite period and play them through again and again until you can beat the ai. Then add in bigger battles with more complex units.

The main question is "Do you want to fight as Germans or Russians first of all"

[JoMac]

Hello Juut, and Horn,

Welcome to the Combat Mission Community. All the above info is very supportive in helping you achieve your CM experience. If either of you need any help or questions regarding the game mechanics, or want me to guide you thru some small test games just email me.

Thanx

Joe