Al Huqf Engagement

[Javolenus]

Just played the Al Huqf Engagement as Red and had an illuminating experience. This scenario is an engagement between small infantry units plus vehicle support. The brief is to clear and occupy the city centre.

The city centre is dominated by a tall building: whoever occupies that will have the advantage re. LOS. And so I quickly get a squad into the upper storey of that building and set up a defensive arc of fire.

Next, I get my second squad into an adjacent building and set up another arc of fire.

Next, I get my AT and C2 units onto roofs of nearby buildings and set up arcs of fire. All my soldiers are 'hiding' and my vehicle is in reserve.

I now occupy the city centre, hold the 'high ground', have excellent LOS, with units able to give supporting fire. No sign of the enemy, so all I have to do is wait for him to show up.

But wait, what's happening? My vehicle just exploded. Meanwhile, all my soldiers are 'pinned' and 'panicking'. Yep, they're actually running out of their houses into the street, where they are gunned down by US troops who have walked right through my LOS/arcs of fire without a scratch. Game over. Major defeat.

Mmm, did I miss something???

[taccovert4]

It's due to relative spotting. Your guys might not be in the best floor to see the US troops moving in, depending on how they're moving. Remember, the top floor is for attacking tanks, the next to the top is for the Command post, and the basement, 1st, or 2nd floors are for fighting infantry.

I'd also look to where your second squad is placed. Think of where you can place that squad so that it can spot the enemy troops better. Remember, the odds are even, so spotting them first is the key to stopping them.

Next I'd look at your command assets. Again, place them so that you can see best. On top of a roof provides you with less cover and can reduce visibility. I use rooftops for moving or if I have a large AT asset or if I need to be on the roof of building A to see over shorter building B. Try placing your AT and C2 assets inside buildings rather than on them.

Lastly, look at the placement of your BMP. That little road that runs wayyyyy out of the way over to your Left (as Syrians). when I play against the computer, I win every time by sending a squad and my Bradley down that road. the squad dashes building to building to make sure it is clear for the Brad (I split into fire teams and run 1 each up each side of the road). I then wait until I have a visual on the BMP and can take it out with AT4 or other weapons before I move my Brad up to area fire the larger building with 25mm Bushmaster. If I were you, I'd move my BMP in a similar fashion. Maybe be more aggressive and dictate the terms of engagement? I've won the battle as Syrians by just defending, but it is not nearly as satisfying, and the casualties are high. If you can get a squad and the BMP on that other street, you should be able to envelop the Americans, get a side shot at the Brad, and the win will be much more satisfying.

[stikkypixie]

Remember that in this scenario the Syrian squads are very brittle (-1/-2 morale). Also giving your soldiers a "hide" order severely hampers their spotting abilities. Try to unhide at least a couple of them.

[Javolenus]

Hey, many thanks for these swift responses, which are very helpful. I learned a lot here - for example, I didn't realise that hiding could hamper visibility. Also, I now see how it make sense to have your riflemen on the lower floor. And finally, using the AV more aggressively makes good sense. I'll go back to the scenario and try these ideas. Thanks again for the pointers.

[taccovert4]

Just not too aggressively mind you. It won't help morale any if you lose your BMP to 25mm bushmaster fire or an AT4 two minutes into the fight. I'd get your BMP into a position where it is covered and covers the 90 degree curve to your left. Make sure an infantry squad or AT team is covering it.

Best advice of all time, from the actions of FieldMarshal Erwin Johannes Rommel during the desert war of 1941-42: Let your fixed AT assets kill armor. Use your own armor to exploit success or as a reserve for failure. The Brad's cannon can shred your BMP, the reverse is also true but the Brad is going to be faster about 2/3rds of the time. Not worthwhile odds. Get good fields of fire with RPGs and wait for the Brad to move up. Then kill it with RPG fire and send your BMP on a flanking maneuver with some infantry (it can be minimal infantry. The Syrian infantry in the scenario isn't good for assaulting anyway, so use it to simply protect the BMP against infantry getting within hand grenade range.). That should pretty well pincer (or hammer and anvil if you like) his infantry into that 1 block of buildings. Then it is a matter of some minor manuevers to get the cauldron fully closed, and area firing each building in turn with the cannon to drive the enemy infantry out into the open where your rifle squads can do their work.

Then you can jump into the editor and play the same mission as the Americans, only give the syrians a BRDM in addition to the BMP. :cool:

[melm]

Hey, you should know that Americans are not only veteran units, they even have some crack units, which is superior to Syrian(regular).

[Javolenus]

Thanks again for the replies. And that's a good and valid point about infantry quality. I did realise that US troops would be better quality than the Syrians, but I didn't realise just what a big difference this would make in combat. I assumed that, if in a good position, the Syrian troops would try to hold it. I am now thinking that, in order for the Syrians to defeat the US, they need to strike first, as they seem unlikely to survive the loss of morale incurred by casualties. I think this is fair enough and makes for a good challenge. I think CMSF is the best war game I've played so far in 10 years of PC gaming. Each side has its strengths and weaknesses. I hope that future modules will follow this pattern, so that each national force has its own characteristics.

[Javolenus]

OK, I am replaying this scenario and following the advice given above. So far, so good, and I'm on course for a victory. I really appreciate the help. Also, playing as RED as well as BLUE has helped me appreciate the game more.

[Clavicula_Nox]

Just played that scenario for the first time using Red and came out with some decent results. I deployed one squad into the "City Center", and deployed my other infantry in buildings behind it. The BMP I left poking out around another building and able to cover some ground. As soon as my OP spotted enemy forces, or was engaged, I would roll the BMP to the location and fire into the building, or open ground. This worked well until they took out the BMP, at which point, I pulled in my OP, waited for bad guys to appear, and hosed them with my rear security.

When I was sure noone else was moving into the center, I moved my, now weakened, squad into it, held against another attack, and called cease fire. The AI did not use it's Bradley against me, and I think that would have seriously ruined my day if they had.

[taccovert4]

you can win against the Brad and the infantry with only your infantry, but only if your RPG gunner gets a good shot off, and only if your defense plan works well. That and a little luck. I have left the BMP sitting at the start point and won the battle without ever bringing it into play, but it is far easier if you can suppress the enemy infantry with your squads, then bring up the BMP for telling shots.

[Javolenus]

Yeah, I like this scenario, now I've had some help. I ended up scoring a major victory when the US Brad pushed towards my position and was taken out with an RPG. Most of the US infantry got hosed in the street. Meanwhile, my BMP worked right around the US position and poured some fire into occupied buildings. For me, the key lessons here were speedy deployment to the key (i.e. highest) building, placing riflemen on the lower level, C2 and AT on the upper levels, not hiding troops, setting up arcs of fire, using the BMP to hunt around the flank. Thanks again for these tips. I think I was also lucky!

[souldierz]

I also played this scenario over as red.I set up an ambush spot in the buildings around the Center building.Kept my RPG team facing a road where i suspected the Bradley to come.The ambush worked great at first and the American forces pulled back.I then used my BMP to take out the bottom floor wall of the center building so when American troops ran into it, they were easy to see.Did the same with the building beside it.It became very tough when the Americans opened fire because my Syrian squads would pull back or panic.The BMP and Bradley had a good go at each other.They both turned a corner at the same time and were shooting each other at about 30 meters away.Lucky for me RPGs helped out the BMP and destroyed the Bradley,but after my bmp crew was shaken,he pulled back and would not obey orders.Not a bad little firefight.Won that one this time but at a heavy price.Those Syrian men were very brittle.

[taccovert4]

Yes the Syrians are both brittle, and not in possession of a lot of firepower compared to their American counterparts. It is even more obvious in Syrians vs. Marines, because the US has both the edge in 300m fire and in 30m fire, considering the large number of explosives used by the Marines.

In order for the Syrians to be effective against the US in combat, you must use them in much closer companionship with their armored vehicular assets. While you might take a US platoon and mount a MOUT attack, sending your Strykers around the town to take out the enemy with long-range enfilading fire, you'll probably need to keep your BTRs and BMPs close, unless they're armed for fighting vehicles at long range, in order to maximize both firepower and the morale effects of having an armored vehicle fighting beside you.

[Lanzfeld]

I love to play this battle over and over. Real challenge as Red. Loser is, indeed, the one who gets caught in the streets.

First rule of street fighting: Avoid the streets!

Also...avoid prolonged firefights building to building with US. They will own you.

One of my favorites. So simple. Lessons to be learned.

[Javolenus]

I agree totally. There's something compulsive about this scenario and it would make a great movie! I wonder how alternative versions would play out, with different units - has anyone tried this? That said, the brittle morale thing adds to the challenge for red, so the scenario is great as it is - definitely a favourite.

[taccovert4]

Like I said, I've added more units on the Red side before. I haven't redone the US side with a stryker or an Abrams, but the possibility is interesting. Definitely if you've only got minimal AT assets and an Abrams to take out. Maybe put an IED on the Syrian side to allow them to try to take out the Abrams before it totally owns their infantry and IFV?

[Javolenus]

That's a good idea about using an IED. I never used them before, so your idea would make a good try out. Thanks for the input.

[Wengart]

I recently made 4 separate Al Huqf scenarios. One with improved Syrians, another with Brits vs. Syrians, Brits vs. U.S. Army, and I final match up between Marines and Syrian Airborne. Although the Syrian Airborne have a hard time of it being outnumbered 2:1.

[Javolenus]

Hi Wengart,

Sounds good - I think I'll try the same thing. Lots of possibilities . . .