Drifter Man vs CDavid DAR

Drifter Man said:
Very, VERY good to know.
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I was pained to release that secret :) But in the spirit of cooperation and since you also tested so much...

Disclaimer: My experience is based on CMBN 3.12. In theory, it COULD have been changed in recent versions. But based on BFC's track record of finding and fixing issues like this, I'd be highly surprised.

An easy way to test if it still works like this is simply to hide a team behind tall bocage and then see if you can still draw a target line to the other side. Then try the same with hedge, low bocage, etc.
 
Bulletpoint said:
I was pained to release that secret :) But in the spirit of cooperation and since you also tested so much...

Disclaimer: My experience is based on CMBN 3.12. In theory, it COULD have been changed in recent versions. But based on BFC's track record of finding and fixing issues like this, I'd be highly surprised.

An easy way to test if it still works like this is simply to hide a team behind tall bocage and then see if you can still draw a target line to the other side. Then try the same with hedge, low bocage, etc.
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Doesn't one of the team members stand up occasionaly for a quick spot?
 
Lethaface said:
Doesn't one of the team members stand up occasionaly for a quick spot?
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It looks like he does, but either it's just a graphical effect, or the odds of him actually spotting anything is so low that it's not reliable. I found out because I was trying to defend in a game (against the computer), and the enemies just ran straight up to the hedge unspotted (even though they were clearly heard, giving sound contacts) and gunned down my ambushing defenders.

Drifter Man said:
Thanks for sharing this nugget of CM science! Many pixeltruppen will die as a result.
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I like to focus on the pixeltroops that will be saved as a result.
 
Bulletpoint said:
I like to focus on the pixeltroops that will be saved as a result.
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Many opponent pixeltruppen will die in my ambushes :)
I made the same experience when opponent's troops approached close to my troops hiding on the other side of a hedgerow with cover arcs and were not spotted, only heard. Fortunately I had MG42s covering the place so my guys didn't die. My conclusion was at the time that hide+cover arc is not a good combination for an ambush.
 
Turn 12 ... and to prove this point, he sends me a turn in which two men of my frontline mortar crews are hit (one with a long-range Thompson burst) and the rest of the panicked ATG crew get massacred. The last men of Kanonenfuttergruppe West die for the Pixelführer.

Turn12_DeadATGjpg.jpg

In the image above, the M10 is seen repositioning towards the edge of the map, after it had tried to lay down smoke (ineffective, the winds are way too strong). Nevertheless, this maneuvering proves beyond any doubt that my third ATG has been spotted. The priority is to keep it alive, which may be a problem. The 60mm mortar - I've now moved its assumed position back into the woods, apparently it is firing an indirect mission - has landed its second spotting round near the ATG and, at the end of the turn, can be heard firing for effect. The gun crew will therefore continue to hide.

A second mortar is heard far in the rear, apparently firing a spotting round. Its target is unknown, but I have some ideas. I saw the mortars moving there early in the battle. I will try to attack this position with my own mortar from my unengaged right flank, but it will take a few minutes before this can happen.

Confirmed casualties 22 U.S. / 15 German.

Turn12_endjpg.jpg
 
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Turn 13. My opponent is beginning to hit harder and can be seen deploying additional support weapons. My AT gun is, as expected, receiving 60mm mortar fire in this turn, and suffers heavy casualties - 3 men are taken out. More mortar shells are on the way. The crew has not abandoned the gun for now, but I don't count on them from now on.

Turn13_ATGjpg.jpg

My opponent is plotting another mortar mission against my center left, this time 81mm - spotting rounds are falling in places where they should not be visible to the spotter, but I wouldn't bet on the mission to be inaccurate. More 60mm mortars and HMGs can be seen deploying in rather exposed places - I'll see if I can hit them before they can do any damage. The M10, now unopposed, opens fire at the end of the turn, causing light wound to one of my mortar crews.

Turn13_M10jpg.jpg

My MG crew performance is unsatisfactory. Even with target arcs they spend too much time turning the weapon against infantry that keeps popping up in one corner, then another. A third MG that I moved in as reinforcement refuses to deploy, the gunner remains far from the hedgerow and does not join the action - only the rifles and the MP40 do.

With my opponent increasing the pressure against my right LEFT flank, I am starting to build an ad hoc second line of defense and think about a pullback. Reinforcements from the left RIGHT flank are still far away... let's see how long I can hold.

Confirmed casualties 23 U.S. / 18 German.

Turn13_endJPG.jpg
 
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Turn 14. Some interesting developments, generally not in my favor. My opponents has regrouped his forces and is pushing stronger and stronger against my left.
  1. The enemy 60mm mortar ends its fire mission against my PaK40, apparently running out of ammo. One man survives and stays with the gun. He won't probably do much, but at least I want to keep my opponent guessing about the status of this ATG.
  2. The M10 area fires at my mortar position, putting in 9 shells. Subjectively, it has a very fast reload cycle, indicating an experienced crew. That's good - my opponent spent points on an experienced M10 and then uses it for close support. What is bad: the mortar is pretty much out of action with one man left. On the good side, they have already spent almost all their ammo (including the ammo of both ammo bearers of this mortar section)
  3. The fourth AFV can be heard moving towards my hard-pressed left flank. My opponent senses the opportunity and doubles down on his chosen direction of attack.
  4. 81mm spotting shells keep falling on my left center. The last one may have been sighted by the HQ unit that probably directs the fire.
  5. In the same sector, my HMG area firing into the woods may have destroyed a 60mm mortar: the enemy contact icon vanished in the middle of one of the bursts. They were quite exposed there, but still the effect surprises me. Maybe I should do more area firing? Or am I just wrong and the mortar is still alive?
  6. I exposed an ATG (with the intention to attack the same mortar in the next turn) and it is now receiving fire from the enemy HQ unit.
  7. Worryingly, a pioneer squad blasted a hole in a hedgerow near the crossroads and is now about to take the undefended "Cluster" at the center. I should be able to contain them, but the question is what forces will follow behind them in this first serious move that affects my right flank. For starters, I order a MG area fire at the opening, hoping that any infantry following these pioneers will have to go through a rain of bullets.
No confirmed U.S. casualties this turn - not that I'm not hitting, but the fog of war is dense. I lost five, so we are even at 23:23. I keep rebalancing my force towards the left to counter the increasing pressure against this side.

Turn14_BlastJPG.jpg

Turn14_endJPG.jpg
 
Bulletpoint said:
I think the gun is fully operational as long as just one guy survives... Not even sure reload, turning, or aiming are affected.
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I hope I'll get the chance to observe his efficiency... I suppose training the loaded gun at a close-range stationary target, then firing it, should be doable for one person. But rotating the whole piece of machinery by one person should be either impossible or too slow to be useful...
 
Drifter Man said:
I hope I'll get the chance to observe his efficiency... I suppose training the loaded gun at a close-range stationary target, then firing it, should be doable for one person. But rotating the whole piece of machinery by one person should be either impossible or too slow to be useful...
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I agree, but I don't think this is modelled in the game unfortunately.
 
Turn 15. Napoleonic warfare continues around our tiny village in France.
  1. The M10 finds a new position to engage another mortar on my left flank. It runs out of HE but continues with AP. As I already know, this can be very effective against infantry, but here the effect is subdued by the terrain cover of the targeted unit. Still, it is enough to suppress the mortar for most of the turn. A MG team leader nearby is cut down by a fragment from an AP shell. The fourth AFV is cautiously moving up. A Sherman, or another M10? My bet is a 76mm Sherman, it would give a nice symmetry to my opponent's purchase.
  2. A second 60mm mortar fires spotting rounds from the field, looks like it is targeting my first mortar (which has only one man left in action). I order him to pack up and get out of there, along with an ammo bearer team who still carry 7 HE rounds.
  3. At the center, my third mortar puts its last two shells accurately on an enemy HQ unit. The U.S. 81mm mortar in the rear stops its erratic spotting fire after this. May be related.
  4. At the crossroads, a U.S. rifle squad follows through the breach made by the pioneers. The area fire of my MG is mostly blocked by woods and is ineffective.
  5. I was moving a mortar team on the right to engage known U.S. mortar position, but they get caught in the open by a U.S. HMG team from the edge of the map ("something died here" about 10 turns ago; ironically, it is the same mortar that killed this "something"). Two men are hit by HMG fire at 35 350 meters. I order the remaining two men to stop in a safe (?) place to catch their breath. I'm not sure if I will be able to hit the enemy mortars with them.
This is them - the second guy looks like he's carrying an imaginary baby.
Turn15_MtrHitJPG.jpg

Turn15_endJPG.jpg

Confirmed casualties 24 U.S. vs 26 German. My opponent is determined but needs to hit harder to break through.

On my left flank I'm ordering an indirect mortar mission against the enemy line at the hedgerow. My C2 links are broken, the mortar team is a few action tiles away from the spotting HQ unit and they communicate directly. 7 minutes is a long time.

Turn15_MtrMissionJPG.jpg

At the center I'm trying to trap the approx. 20 U.S. infantrymen between ATG fire, HMG fire and an elite sniper. I'm curious how this is going to work. The sniper will be targeted by the 81mm mortar position in the enemy rear. They will have no more than 1 minute to do their job before I'll have to pull them out.

Turn15_trapJPG.jpg
 
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