Real world tactics

[Koldobika]

Hi Guys,

My primary reason for getting in to Wargames was to try to recreate 'real world tactics' as you find in military manuals and training films. I've got a couple of questions that i hope you guys have a view on:

1. Is Combat Mission still the best representation of 'tactical' level warfare? (and a sub question, is it even really possible to recreate this level of warfare semi-accurately?)

2. Do the tactics that are contained within the various US manuals for instance actually applied in the real world? When i see combat footage from Iraq/Afghan etc it doesn't appear to relate in terms of setting up an assault in a 'textbook' way - more fire back at the baddies and call in fast air to deal with the potential threat.

Bonus point - are there any veterans on here that would be happy to share some insight in terms of what tactical training you actually get in the military at various levels and how that played out in action?

Nick

 

[Nathangun]

I don't think you can do any better than reading @Bil Hardenberger Battle Drills, link.

 

[Nemesis]

Hi Guys,

My primary reason for getting in to Wargames was to try to recreate 'real world tactics' as you find in military manuals and training films. I've got a couple of questions that i hope you guys have a view on:

1. Is Combat Mission still the best representation of 'tactical' level warfare? (and a sub question, is it even really possible to recreate this level of warfare semi-accurately?)

2. Do the tactics that are contained within the various US manuals for instance actually applied in the real world? When i see combat footage from Iraq/Afghan etc it doesn't appear to relate in terms of setting up an assault in a 'textbook' way - more fire back at the baddies and call in fast air to deal with the potential threat.

Bonus point - are there any veterans on here that would be happy to share some insight in terms of what tactical training you actually get in the military at various levels and how that played out in action?

Nick

I don't know of a game that does as much to accurately model real world, battalion-level combat as CM does.

But it is a game, not a simulation. A real battalion commander would obviously not have a God's Eye view of everything and could not micromanage the way we do. He would some maps, radios, and a lot of confusion about what is actually going on.

 

[Koldobika]

I don't know of a game that does as much to accurately model real world, battalion-level combat as CM does.

But it is a game, not a simulation. A real battalion commander would obviously not have a God's Eye view of everything and could not micromanage the way we do. He would some maps, radios, and a lot of confusion about what is actually going on.

That's the key balancing act right there.

I really want to like the Graviteam games, however I can't get rid of the desire to want to position my MGs exactly where I want them etc rather than leaving that up to friendly AI!

 

[Koldobika]

I've been reading a book on the Soviet War in Afghanistan this morning which sort of answers my own question to an extent. In modern conflicts the numbers of infantry dont seem to have been there to conduct true attacks...

I recommend the book too!

 

[Cathrynn]

One of the things that stands out about Combat Mission is the WEGO turn based system.

The reason I say that is because in RTS games like Assault Squad, Graviteam, Steel Division, Close Combat, etc. they tend to end up turning into isometric floating icon wars with alot of the game play being directed from a god's eye view; which is unrealistic. It's a management issue.

Combat Missions turn based system, on the other hand, lets you give orders to your units in a way that more realistically resembles real life because your able to take on the responsibilities and actions of individual commanders on the ground, minute by minute, instead of trying to manage multiple units at the same time, in real time. It's the planning that the WEGO system brings that makes Combat Mission stand out.