Jump to content

A Quick Battle AAR: Shermans vs Pz IVs, Not Your Fathers Combat Mission


Recommended Posts

One thing I really like about this relative spotting jigamazag, apart from the obvious lack of Borg spotting is how chaotic the feedback from your units gets. The overlapping contact reports mean you pretty much never have a clear picture of how many enemies are where. Keeps you on your toes nicely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Minute 13

Another fairly quiet turn. I start to push forward a little bit in this turn, still I am a tad conservative as I haven’t seen Warren’s M-10 that was with the Sherman Platoon for quite a while and I don’t want any surprises.

I order 1st platoon and the Company HQ element to make the following moves. Note that HQ 1 I am placing behind a knocked out tank in the hopes that it can provide some cover.

5574849302_84df8edcd0_b.jpg

In 2nd Platoon the only moves are for Tank 3 to push in towards the tree line where the M4A1 was knocked out last turn and take up a hulldown position across the road. Tank 4’s crew is going to re-man their tank and get ready for movement next turn.

5574263703_ea0630da43_b.jpg

Towards the end of the turn an M-10 moving quickly across the ground away from AA3 fires on the move from about 520m at 2nd Platoon’s HQ Tank. The round falls well short.

5574849482_839977625d_b.jpg

With the close of the 13th minute Warren’s M4A3(76)W is also spotted retreating from the engagement area. As you can see in the following image its rear will be facing the gun of the newly repositioned HQ 1 tank of the Company HQ element next turn.

5574263781_cac1c18e53_b.jpg

As a bonus this turn I wanted to show you an image of the road wheels deforming over rough terrain. As cool as this image is tanks are even more beautiful in motion:

5574849534_488544ca1f_b.jpg

Next: Minute 14

Link to comment
Share on other sites

German tank going through trees (1:20 in)

Mind you this is from propaganda footage but still gives an idea.

Modern tanks are BEASTS when it comes to navigating woodland terrain.

I liked the bit at 2:05ish where the Panzer IV hides behind the little evergreen sapling. Trees do indeed provide good cover, but the Very Important Lesson taught by the great Monty Python on "How not to be seen" springs to mind.

Minute 13

As a bonus this turn I wanted to show you an image of the road wheels deforming over rough terrain. As cool as this image is tanks are even more beautiful in motion:

5574849534_488544ca1f_b.jpg

Next: Minute 14

That is so very, very cool. I thought the tanks rocking on their bogies when they fired was cool, but that's completely sub-zero.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every time I refresh and see a new post it's like unwrapping an early Christmas present - excitement, joy and then a bit of disappointment from the knowledge that I'll have to wait for the next bit xD

No, it's more like watching someone else unwrap theirs and realize that THEY got what YOU wished for. :mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting .... which kind of plays in to the tank vulnerability thread ... part of the discussion there is if it is advantageous for MKIV tank to be in a hull down position because they leave their weak turret armor exposed.

Of course if the MKIV is that much harder to spot in a hull down position then it doesn't really matter does it?

Also I never really thought of armor using woods as cover. I always assumed that all but the thinnest trees would be impassable to most medium and heavy armor ...

Great use of terrain !!!

The light trees that were the thickest passable in CMx1 were OK for concealment (especially on defense if you hadn't moved) but the chances of bogging went up a lot so tended to be avoided by tanks with high ground pressure.

The massive difference is relative spotting. Now tanks in these sorts of concealed positions can fire and have a better chance of not being spotted and targetted by every single enemy unit that has LOS to that position.

I am starting to form the impression that favourable terrain and using tanks correctly will result in more lopside results for the player doing it best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The light trees that were the thickest passable in CMx1 were OK for concealment (especially on defense if you hadn't moved) but the chances of bogging went up a lot so tended to be avoided by tanks with high ground pressure.

The massive difference is relative spotting. Now tanks in these sorts of concealed positions can fire and have a better chance of not being spotted and targetted by every single enemy unit that has LOS to that position.

I am starting to form the impression that favourable terrain and using tanks correctly will result in more lopside results for the player doing it best.

The old wargaming tactic: If there's wood, put artillery shells on it. If there's a hill, put artillery shells on it. If there's a wooded hill, put double the artillery shells on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A question for the Capt:

Is there any reason why you turned around your sherman rather than simply reversing him out of there?

As I recall in CMX1 I'd always reverse because it was fast and you kept your thickest armor to the enemy.

I once tried it with a Jackel in CMSF and was shocked at how slowly it reversed. Result: one dead canine.

So, how does reverse compare with fast forward in CMBN?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...