REPOST: What if they gave a war and nobody came?

This blog has been around for a while. Some of the posts were and are more popular than others. It would be a pity for some of the new readers not to get a chance to read those posts. In that spirit, time by time, I'm going to be re-posting some of the oldies. Be advised, some of them are quite old and may contain inaccuracies, grammar and spelling errors.

I learnt the names of every wood and all the villages, I knew the contours of the hills and the shapes of the lakes in the valley. To see so much and to see nothing. We might have been the only men alive, my two signalers and I. And yet I knew there were thousands of hidden men in front of me ... but no one moved, and everyone was waiting for the safety of darkness.

P. J. Campbell. British artillery officer during World War I.

After 40 minutes of Combat Mission PBEM simulated combat against my friend Olav, I feel the quote above puts it very well.

This is all I knew about the enemy during good part of the battle. Red question marks are suspected enemy positions. The absence of enemy icons reflects that no contact has been made. Click the image for an expanded view.

The modern battlefield is a very empty one.

Cheers,

Combat Mission Afghanistan - Surprise! We are not dead ... we are just suppressed!

Although I'm not Battlefront's biggest fan, I am having a great time with Combat Mission Afghanistan.

This week I had a rude tactical awakening while storming a trench line with my Soviet paratroopers.

Men from the 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon, A Company move towards an enemy trench. No enemy has been seen in this trench after sustained suppression from the rest of the platoon.

Privates Sukhodolets and Nudler are the first ones to arrive to the edge of the trench and everything looks like the enemy fled. Note the facing of these two comrades. 

Two seconds later, the Mujahideen pop out and shoot our brave paratroopers.

Suppression is a must-do tactical task. But keep in mind that our mission is to kill the enemy, not just annoy him.

My tactical mistakes were multiple. Just to mention one, the 80's Soviet tactical atom was the platoon and I (kinda) tried to keep this in mind. The trench was technically being assaulted by the entire 1st Platoon, but the problem was that at the moment of truth (one squad arriving at the edge of the trench), the two other squads were providing over watch to something they couldn't see (the guts of the trench). Battlespaces, folks, is a concept that is hard to learn for the tactically challenged like me.

Other crucial mistake I made was not properly using the wide range of orders available to the player.When Sukhodolets and Nudler arrived to the edge of the trench, they were facing in the direction of the last movement order, not in the direction of the trench. In Combat Mission, it is sometimes advisable to issue a firing arc (or "target light" if you are in deep caca) order at every movement node. These "watch there" type of orders provide a tactical movement menu that is incredibly satisfying.

Cheers,

Combat Mission Afghanistan -Landing Zone from Hell: Forming Up in the Middle of an Enemy Kill Zone

This Combat Mission Scenario has me a bit puzzled.

Briefing says that I am in command of an airborne battalion (-) conducting an air assault on a fortified complex in some remote mountain area. When I saw the tactical map below I thought that somebody put the wrong picture in the briefing.

We are the red forces, right in the middle of the enemy. Are you sure this is not a Muji ambush?

 When I hit the OK button, I realized that the tactical map was correct. Whoah!

Our fearless battalion commander has skillfully landed us into an enemy kill zone. Click the picture for a better view.

Boy, that's a tough spot to have our desants!

First things first, I order massive suppressive fires on each hill top.

Combat Mission tip of the day: even when you can't see the enemy, area fire impacting nearby an enemy unit will have them suppressed. Click the image for a better view.

What to do next? Attack each hill simultaneously? I thought of extracting my troops from the kill zone, so I can attack the hills sequentially.

Would this work? Extract the battalion from the landing zone, move it into assault possition 1 and take Hill 2131. The leave some fire support detachments and FOs in Hill 2131 to support the attack from position 2. The third hill would fall by itself. Click the image for a better view.

Now, the stunner: this is a mini-version of an air assault that happened during the real war. During the early hours of April 12, 1987, the 1st Air Assault Battalion conducted this assault as part of a bigger operation by the Separate Air Assault Brigade. In real life, the Soviets succeeded attacked each hill simultaneously with one company and took all the real estate after a short firefight.


So, I better stop whining and keep it simple.

BTW, it has been a long time since I don't command a whole battalion in Combat Mission.

Wish me luck.

Cheers,

TacNuggets #3: If insurgents cross the street and there is no Marine aiming at them, is the town already lost?

I was a believer that defeat in tactical combat is always due to the cumulative effect of several small, apparently irrelevant failures ...

The game: Combat Mission Shock Force-US Marines Module
The Scenario: Circle the Wagons, by George McEwan
SITREP: A two tank section is bogged down in the middle of an insurgent-controlled town. One platoon of US Marines is on site and will protect the tanks until reinforcements arrive.

The star symbol is the position where the tank section is stranded. I moved one Plt. of Marines forward and I am trying to position them inside buildings, in a wide arch (blue line) located forward from the tank. A long time ago I played this scenario and deployed the Marines in an arch behind the tank section (dotted blue line). This was a mistake; infantry-tank cooperation in these situations needs the infantry ahead of the tank. For the most part, the Marines near the tanks are doing a great job. Now another Plt. has arrived (blue icons in the far background). Just in time, the insurgents are getting really nasty.

The plan is to have the reinforcement Plt to move into the town and move downtown in an axis perpendicular to the position of the Marines near the tanks.

The reinforcement Plt. moves its AAVs through the open using standard bounding overwatch technique. Lots of suppressive fire, these AAVs are surely thin skinned and I don't want to loose any of them to a lucky RPG shot. As planned the AAVs stop short of the town and the Marines disembark under the cover of smoke. The Marines occupy a narrow ditch and orient towards the town. After a few minutes, they move forward to take a foothold on the town. More suppressive fire. Things are going well, but an insurgent team appears on the left flank and draws the attention of everybody. 

In the foreground, an AAV and a two Marine fire teams take aim at an insurgent team that suddenly appeared on the left flank. Another Marine fire team moves forward into the town. In the far background, a mob of insurgents crosses the street towards the immobile tank section. A full Marine squad is in a building at mid-distance between the AAV and the insurgents, but they don't have an angle to shoot at them.

I counted the insurgents that crossed the street to feed the carnage downtown. 25 of them. If this AAV would have been aiming in the right direction, this battle would have ended in an early victory.

Cheers,

"Combat Mission: Afghanistan", an old video I found in YouTube

This one is from back in July 2009. Comparing this old video and the new screenshots at Battlefront.com, it looks like they worked very hard on the 3D models and skins. Bravo!

Cheers,

"Combat Mission: Afghanistan" Announced

These news I got from Wargamer.com. Please see the official announcement at Battlefront.com.
Not exactly "news" (the cat was out of the bag for a some time), but given how Battlefront manages this type of things (nothing is official until it hits the frontpage, no matter how much is discussed and acknowledged in their forums) we are now officially to get a new stand alone Combat Mission game set during the Russo-Afghan War.

According to Battlefront's announcement, this new game is a collaboration with an independent studio. The announcement also makes it clear that this is not a mission pack but rahter a stand-alone game that features new units and ... (are you ready for this?) ... a new "exit" objective type plus the sorely missed "water" terrain tiles. Utterly confused right now: are these two new features just modded objectives and newly skinned tiles? Or are they really new, hard coded new features?

At the time of this writing, Battlefront's official forums are down.

Disclaimer: Image above is property of Battlefront. Used here without their permission but assuming fair use. Please contact me at realandsimulatedwars @ gmail dot com for concerns or complains.

Cheers,

UPDATE: Battlefront's forums are back and CM Afghanistan has its own forum.

Wargaming the Urban Fight

I was watching "The Fight for Fallujah" (Military Channel stuff included in this DVD) and after seeing the real footage of the combat during Operation Phantom Fury (screenshot at the left) I am once again floored at the complexity of the urban terrain. Not that I didn't know it was complex, ...

Bellus interruptus, the ugly side of PBEM in Combat Mission Shock Force British Forces

As you know, I have been PBEM a Combat Mission Shock Force British Forces scenario with my friend Olav.

This screenshot from my PBEM battle with Olav. I'm commanding the British forces and we are advancing very slowly to secure a start position for the assault on the first objective. Click the image to expand it.

Sixty turns or so into the battle, my computer could not handle the scenario anymore and we had to call it a day. There were 60 turns left in this scenario. What a pity. This is not the first time that this happens to me. Other big scenarios have crashed on me in turn-based solo matches.

This section is patrolling the groves, making way for the armor. Click the image to expand it.

It was a great battle and I'm going to post more about it in the following days.

Cheers,

P/S: Olav, can you push the "Cease Fire" button? I would like to see the body count. I am affraid there are lots of virtual families that will need letters.

"Combat Mission Shock Force: British Forces", Review at Out of Eight

James Allen has a new review of "Combat Mission Shock Force: British Forces" in his fantastic "Out of Eight PC Games Reviews" blog.

His verdict is not very encouraging on the basis of the low new content vs price ratio. James even says that "you could interchange the British units with American ones and most people won't notice any alteration in performance or capabilities". I have a different opinion on this and perhaps I should have said it in a bit different way. But I see what he is trying to convey in that passage.

The review is spot on when it comes on problems that haven't been fixed, like path finding and others. Unfortunately, it looks like Battlefront is not going to make any significant changes on the engine.

Great review, James.

Cheers,

Free Tree Removal Service, Courtesy of the British Army (CMSF-British Forces)

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I'm having a CMSF-British-Forces PBEM match with my friend Olav.

After 10 minutes of unbearable battlefield silence (briefly interrupted by Syrian indirect fire) things are picking up.

Olav is defending as the Syrians and has placed a well-concealed, stationary T-55 tank in the outer perimeter of what I am guessing will be a defense in depth.

Contact, tank, front!

A Challenger British tank chickened out at the sight of the Syrian T-55 and reversed under the cover of smoke. A minute later or so, the British tank crew gained back enough composure to try again. A firefight between both tanks is still raging after some long 25 seconds. In tank warfare, 25 seconds is a very long time ...

A stationary Syrian T-55 under fire from a British Challenger. Expand the image by clicking on it.

Note the relatively big explosion in the picture above.

Does it mean that the British Challenger tank is using HEAT (High explosive anti-tank) instead of sabot rounds?

Same as above from another angle. Note how the explosion blew out the foliage of the tree in front of the tank. Expand the image by clicking on it.

The explosion was big enough to de-foliate a tree in front of the tank. Very likely a HEAT round would do.

Damn it, I never payed attention to tank ammo selection in CMSF. Is it automatically done by the AI?

That's great landscaping, lads! Would you fancy focusing in the tank now? :)

Cheers,

Combat Mission Shock Force: British Forces; PBEM for the Rusty Solo Player

After a long hiatus, I'm slowly starting to PBEM again. This one scenario I'm playing against a fellow wargamer from Europe features a British "armoured Coy" (getting used to British military terminology is another game within the game!) against a Syrian Republican Guard mech. inf. formation (possibly a company too?). I am playing as the British.

I was never good at PBEM with Combat Mission Shock Force (CMSF). I am just too spoiled by hundreds of hours of real-time, solo play. Moves I could do almost in my sleep during a real-time game require a thorough thought for a turn-based PBEM game. In addition, during real-time games against the computer, I am the only witness of my tactical ineptitude. This makes me overly cautious during PBEMs, particularly when I'm the one attacking. I am convinced that even General Montgomery would be astonished at my glacial tactical tempo.

So, fellow wargamer/PBEM opponent: that's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)

Seriously, I am enjoying the PBEM game. Is there something more exhilarating than the beginning of a Combat Mission PBEM game, when you send your combat patrols ahead?

A dismounted British armoured infantry section moves to contact in a combat patrol role. Image from the PBEM game I'm playing. Click the image for an expanded view.

And speaking of combat patrols, this scenario I'm playing by e-mail wiped out some concerns I had from the demo. The demo showed some light reconnaissance forces bumping at a murderous short range into the teeth of a heavily defended Syrian suburb. Light reconnaissance forces are only good for reconnaissance from the protection of long ranges. Light reconnaissance forces are not suitable for combat patrol, a tactical task that a formation performs when it is already commited into battle. In this scenario, I have the right tools (armoured infantry) for my combat patrols.

A Plt command team anxiously waits for the SITREPs from the combat patrols roaming ahead. I hope that mortar is not needed in the immediate future. Image from the PBEM scenario I'm playing. Click the image for an expanded view.

Also, I was very happy to read the word "templated" in the briefing. Kudos to designer George McEwan for a meticulously written briefing.

Let the real fighting begin ...

Cheers,

Combat Mission Shock Force: British Forces is Selling Well

According to this forum thread, in just 48 hours the module sold enough to calm the nerves of Battlefront. Congratulations!

Overview of what's included in the British Forces Module. Image is clickable.

A mechanized infantry section moves along with a FV432 MK3 "Bulldog" armoured personnel carrier. Image is clickeable.

The British Forces module includes the following formations:

• Light Infantry Battalion
• Light Gun Tactical Group
• Mechanized Infantry Battalion
• Mechanized Engineer Troop
• Armoured Infantry Battalion
• Armoured Engineer Troop
• Armoured Regiment 58
• Armoured Regiment 44
• Reconnaissance Regiment
• AS90 Tactical Group
• TacAir Control Party

... and others, including artillery units and air support units (Apache AH-1s, Harrier GR9s, Tornados GR4s and Typhoon F2s).

As you can see, no Paras ... :(

Cheers,

Combat Mission Shock Force: British Module Demo Released

Battlefront just announced the release of a v1.20 demo including contents from the British Forces and Marines modules.

... the all new v1.20 demo for Combat Mission Shock Force, including British Forces and Marines content, is out now!!! With an additional and completely new British mission, the demo showcases all the new features of the latest v1.20 of the series, includes full multiplayer functionality and a total of 5 (!) missions.

As for the British Forces module, the word is that they are working on the installers so the release won't be until the next week.

Link to the demo

Cheers,

The "Push Button War" Myth and Wargaming

The "Push Button War" myth is the wide-spread notion that NATO superpowers win wars with the ease of pushing a button just because their arsenal is so superior.

In this forum discussion, it is hinted that the lack of challenge in Combat Mission Shock Force is that it lacks a worthy opponent with the right tools of war.

The notion that modern superpowers can win wars with little effort may have started when the first Tomahawk missiles flew from the Persian Gulf to Iraq back in 1991. Ever since then, there is this pervasive view that if a NATO superpower goes to war, it should be a short and almost blood-less affair.

There is no doubt that NATO superpowers have awesome tools of destruction. The superiority of equipment is in our favor. Every branch of the US Armed forces (except for the US Marine Corps, whom our leaders have chosen to ignore at our own peril) has the fanciest tools a professional soldier can imagine. We have the biggest guns, case closed ...

... Not!

You don't have to be a military insider to grasp how hard, tactically challenging and blood-letting is to fight modern wars.

Battle of Fallujah, almost a casualty every block of urban combat

Big fight at An-Nasiriyah during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Even friendly fire incidents!










Battle of Fallujah again, it is heart breaking to see how you can loose half a platoon in just a few blocks of urban fighting





What it has driven our armed forces into victory is not having the biggest guns but the training and prowess of our servicemen.





In this book, Stephen Biddle argues that in an armed conflict, even when one side has an edge in technology, training is the determining factor for victory and the best indicator of military power. If you have a chance to read this book, take a special peek at his war gaming of the Battle of 73 Easting.

Back to Combat Mission Shock Force, in the same way that hastily thrown together trivia doesn't help to understand a particular topic, data worshiping is not a good way to understand modern conflict.

The argument that Combat Mission Shock Force is un-challenging because the Syrians have less than stellar arsenal is way off. In real life, a war with Syria would be not a cakewalk. Combat Mission Shock Force is un-challenging because poor scenario design and other flaws in the game engine.

Is the myth of unbeatable modern NATO forces going to make war game developers shy away from designing modern conflict war games and simulations?

I hope not.

Cheers,

Combat Mission Shock Force British Module, Release is Imminent

Making fun of the secrecy around the release of the British Forces module, Battlefront says "if people know our announcement pattern... at this point no news is very good news".


Taking into account their announcement pattern and the previous remark, the release of the British module should be early next week.

Cheers,

Combat Mission Shock Force: British Module, Manual Available

Battlefront has made available the manual for their upcoming their Combat Mission Shock Force British Module.

I briefly browsed the manual yesterday and it has a very good summary about on the British forces and equipment we will soon command into battle.

The British module will bring up the CMSF engine to its v1.2 version. Updates for the v1.2 version are available in an updated manual.

Taking gossip and previous posts by the developers at the official forums, it looks like the release of this module is imminent.

Cheers,

Combat Mission Shock Force: British Module Near Completion?

At least it looks like.

We have seen a variety of sources showcasing their previews of the upcoming module. Screenshot features are coming out more often.

And then, in the official forums, Moon says:

Yes, we're going to release the manual just ahead of the module. I've just about wrapped it up today actually and it goes into final proofreading now. There will be no pre-orders for the BF module, it's going to be a straight release.

Looks like almost everything is ready.

Cheers,

Combat Mission Shock Force: British Module Featured at "Rock, Paper, Shotgun"

The guys at "Rock, Paper, Shotgun" have published an after action report of "Combat Mission Shock Force: British Module".

I like the guys of RPS. They write very concise and full of humor articles. This after action report was no exception.

If the RPS guys got a review copy, does this mean that the module is near release?

Going through the article, I remembered one of the things I didn't like about Combat Mission Shock Force: scenarios are almost always a cake walk. Look how well the author of the AAR did. Sure, he got some men down, but have you seen the Syrian casualties? Is not only the abysmal casualty figures, is also about the silly ways virtual soldiers get killed. Like walking right into a kill zone, with the corpses of their comrades in plain sight.

I wouldn't know where to point regarding which is the critical thing missing or wrongly modeled in CMSF. Maybe is a combination of several things.

I am under the impression that the grogs waiting for the new CMx2 Normandy game are in for some utter disappointment.

Cheers,

What went wrong with Combat Mission Campaigns?

Well, the shocking news of Combat Mission Campaigns (CMC) cancellation almost a week behind, I was wondering what went wrong with this fantastic project.

Full disclosure: I haven't followed the development with the dedication of some fans out there. I just read very briefly about it upon its announcement and really liked the idea. I thought it would be a grand-tactical/operational (?) layer to Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin. Something like you move your battalion/regiment/brigade in a map, with a system that follows some abstract but clever rules and then when two opposite forces collide ... Battle!

Well, I was totally wrong. Take a look at this fragment from the team's developer leader (nickname Hunter):

CMC was designed to be a 'grognard's dream', with every aspect of WWII warfare included at some level. It has a very sophisticated supply model, air forces, weather and 9 different ground conditions with associated (2D!) graphics, artillery support, tactical reserves, entrenchment, etc, etc. There is a ridiculously large code base handling everything from medals to soldier promotions to strategic AI.

Quote above is from Battlefront's discussion forums.

In the same post, Hunter admits that he was "probably too ambitious" and I tend to agree. I don't think that all that level of detail was indispensable to have an enjoyable simulation of WWII warfare.

I don't want to sound like a clever in hindsight moron and let me tell this before any other paragraph: Hunter, your dedication and love for this hobby is commendable. From the bottom of my heart I wish you have succeeded. I mean it.

One forum discussion from Wargamer.com came to my mind. This discussion was about how the grumblings of the grognards affect the game industry. You can read it here.

Cheers,

Combat Mission Shock Force: British Module Screens!

... now at Battlefront.com!

See them here.

Cheers,