Jump to content

Combat Mission AAR: A Gift for Guderian


FullAuto

Recommended Posts

Alrighty, Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin is a simultaneous turn-based tactical war game, covering the eponymous period of World War II in Europe. Both sides issue orders to their units, one minute of play commences, then you get to issue orders again, another minute of war, rinse and repeat. It's a fantastic system, not the least because you can rewind the current turn to see your tanks blow up the enemy again and again and again. It's a very detailed game, with proper stats and ballistics and everything. Lots of stuff goes wrong, all the time.

 

A Gift For Guderian is an Axis attack in central Roosha. I vill be controllink ze Axis, in zis case Germany. I've never played this scenario before. My job is to biff the enemy in the face, and capture as many flags as possible.

 

My force consists of:

 

*Three platoons of infantry in halftracks. Each platoon is made up of five squads, four infantry rifle squads and the platoon HQ.

*Three PSW (I always feel it stands for Panzer Shit Wagon after seeing them blow up oh so easily) sort-of-armoured cars.

*1 platoon of Sturmgeschutz assault guns (3 Stugs, to me 'n you).

*One 150mm self-propelled gun.

*One Company HQ in a Kubelwagen.

 

Here is ze map:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgsetup.jpg

Thickly wooded, which is great news for the ambushers and terrible news for the ambushee (moi). There are only two bridges across each river, no fords, which means they'll be covered by multiple machine guns and anti-tank guns or I am a Bavarian. I have 23+ turns, which isn't really a lot of time, but will be more than enough if I can get in some big moves on the road with my vehicles.

 

Did I mention Russians like to mine roads? Bastards.

 

The town to the north-east, where the three flags are, is going to be the centre of enemy resistance, and I bet they're dug in like an Alabama tick.

 

Roads with woods on each side are a nightmare for vehicle columns, so I debus two platoons of infantry and get them to sweep the woods. I've got a PSW at the head of each column, because they're rubbish and expendable.

 

I'm going to get greedy, and attempt to capture all four flags. Group D (Diversion) will head east, attempt to capture the single flag, and if successful, speed round to the north and assist with the main objective:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgegrp.jpg

Group D: 1 PSW, 1 platoon of infantry and their halftracks, the 150mm SP gun, and the company HQ. I've turned trees off, so we can actually see what's going on.

 

Group G for Glory (or possibly Gory) will be heading NE/N:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgngrp.jpg

Group G: 2 PSWs, 2 platoons of infantry & halftracks, and the three Stugs. This is my main punch.

 

If Group D meet fierce resistance, I'll leave some troops to engage the enemy, pull back, and have them reinforce G. Easy peasy.

 

Even simple movement isn't easy in CM games. There are lots of different movement types, and each time a waypoint is issued, it takes the unit seconds to process the new orders. The more waypoints, the bigger the wait.

 

I've picked 'move to contact' for my inf as they comb the woods, which means they'll stop and engage any enemy they spot in their field of fire, but retaining unit cohesion is tricky. Note the red lines connecting Rau to the other squads of his platoon. That means they're within his command range, so they will fight better, boosted by Rau's command bonuses, and they won't take long to process new orders.

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgltrauplt.jpg

Unlike Ruckner, who's done it wrong:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgltruckplt.jpg

The squads with black lines will become demoralised more quickly in combat, and will take about twice as long to work out new orders while they try to distinguish left from right.

 

My platoons work their way through the woods, with the snap of twigs and the pffluuurt of army-ration-sponsored farts barely audible over the rain.

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgt2.jpg

Turn 2. No Rooskies in the woods on this side of the river, and none spotted on the opposite bank. The tension mounts.

 

D PSW moving up:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgvehmovopt.jpg

OH GOD THE OPTIONS. THE OPTIONS. WILL THEY NEVER END. The PSW MtC as well, ready to chuck it in reverse at the first whiff of trouble. Being an armoured car, PSWs are vulnerable to basically everything except small arms fire, and even then, the vehicle commander can catch a round in the face if he's got his head out. A real anti-tank gun can gut one with a single shot.

 

G will cross infantry first, with a PSW watching over them. Surely its mighty 20mm cannon can ensure their safety?:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgngrpbrdgcrossinf.jpg

 

D cross with a PSW first, the SPG and infantry supporting:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgegrpbrdgcrs.jpg

If Ivan shows his pasty Slavic face, that 150mm has a blast bigger than Goering's arse.

 

Turn 7:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgt7.jpg

Well, I am a Bavarian after all. Bridges are natural chokepoints, and great places to cover with MGs and AT guns. And mortars. And artillery.

 

D's PSW, MtCing onwards, spots the flag up ahead go red. Red red.

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgenhflg.jpg

So there are definitely Russian units holding it.

 

The PSW continues on, the commander with his head out of the hatch. Visibility is piss-poor due to the bad weather, so he needs to keep his eyes peeled for enemy:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgpolakobliv.jpg

And, inevitably:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/aagfgpolaksptd.jpg

Polak takes a bullet. That means that PSW won't fight as well in future, and its vision will be compromised, leaving it much more vulnerable to assaulting infantry, slower to spot AT guns shooting at it, etc. Not that it spotted where that shot came from anyway.

 

Coming to the end of its move, the PSW comes under further fire:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgfirstenctct.jpg

Note that, due to poor visibility, the location is not exact. The sound (and bullets) is coming from that direction, but the PSW hasn't actually spotted the enemy unit. Think it might be an MG.

 

I've got to be careful with my SPG:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgspgmvup.jpg

It's just a big arty gun on a tracked chassis, with armour to the front, but the top and rear left open. Even small arms fire from the rear can clear these boys out, and a grenade lobbed in it would be nasty. No MG for self-defence either. I get them to button down. In a tank, this means everyone inside, hatches closed tight. In this SPG, it means the crew crouching a little lower and crossing their fingers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turn 9:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgt9.jpg

With my PSW now panicking (and yet you wonder why you're leading...), I order the SPG to give a bit of fire, targeting the general area of the enemy MG. Rau's platoon will work their way up through the woods to the right. All quiet for Group G, but they've just reached some houses, bound to be enemy in there.

 

Bit of fire? Bit of overkill:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg22boom.jpg

Blast rating of 248, compared to the usual 50-60 from a 75mm gun. Goodbye infantry. Have to be more careful though, the SPG's only got 7 HE rounds, and I just used three of them.

 

SPG moving up to the (morale status: Broken) PSW, see if it can actually spot any enemy units. Rau's platoon still moving up through the woods, steely glares unfazed.

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg23infct.jpg

Another infantry contact, off to the right of the first. Hmm.

 

Time for G to grab some ground:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg24grp.jpg

It's a ballsy move that may very well end in tears, but I don't care, I have another PSW following behind it. Infantry flanking the column as it moves up, with the Stugs not far behind. They'll make short work of any enemy-occupied buildings. Turned the trees back on just to remind you it is woods.

 

G's PSW isn't falling for that one:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg25butnd.jpg

The crew button up, and grin smugly as bullets clang against the armour. The PSW cruises past without a pause. Supporting fire hits the Ivan infantry, and he ducks back out of sight. G's second PSW ordered to shoot up the building, while Ruckner's platoon flanks it.

 

PSW pours on the fire, 20mm HE rounds, whoop-de-do:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg26pswb4.jpg

Blast rating? 4. Troops in the building probably think one of them has wind.

 

At the end of the turn:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg27molotov.jpg

Time to move. Won't be that lucky if a second Molotov hits, I feel. Quick reverse, driver...

 

SPG checklist:

Casualties? None!

Incoming MG fire? Ineffective!

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg28bospg.jpg

Bailing out anyway? Yes!

 

Seconds later, the leading squad of Rau's platoon spots the MG, in the building.

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg28mgspot.jpg

Gutted.

 

Time for a classic bit of fire and movement:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfginfass29.jpg

The two squads on the left will be blasting the building with suppressive fire. The two squads on the right are going to run like buggery through the woods until they get next to the building, then assault it and kill everyone inside.

 

Russian troops make a run for it:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg30infesc.jpg

They took a hammering from Ruckner's platoon before making it into the trees.

 

And as an enemy unit reappears, they come under heavy fire too:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg31housebomb.jpg

Soon turf them out.

 

G hits firm resistance:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg32sqowdwrk.jpg

Ruckner's platoon takes half a dozen casualties in seconds, but the halftracks rock up and start spraying.

 

D spots more enemy:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgggrpfight.jpg

Some of them are dug into shellscrapes, some are legging it for the building. Halftracks are coming up and lacing them with MG fire though.

 

Turn 14:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg33t14.jpg

D's PSW has finally stopped blubbing, and I order it to give supporting fire. Like it'll take any notice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

D's assault goes Pete Tong:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg34assgw.jpg

So much for stormtroopers.

 

G drives off two units with MG fire:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgggrpff35.jpg

Flee back across the bridge all you like, you can run but you can't hide!

 

The others seem to be pretty firmly pinned, so Ruckner's platoon is going to be carrying out an assault shortly.

 

D's assault well and truly repulsed:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg36assrep.jpg

There's at least a platoon of infantry in that bloody building.

 

G's bogged down (literally, in the case of some of the halftracks):

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg37gbgdn.jpg

Time for Wolff's platoon, who haven't fired a shot yet, to debus and get cracking!

 

Wolff's platoon debussed directly amongst the buildings, firing from the hip:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg40wfdb.jpg

They're going to have this side clear in 1-2 turns, and then push over the bridge. It's going to be glorious.

 

Rau, pinned down, hears the Company HQ is coming up to see what all the shouting is about:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg41npbh.jpg

"I feel safer already." Sobs the PSW crew.

 

Ruckner's platoon has taken a bit of a beating, but provides a solid base of fire while Wolff's platoon advances from building to building, taking only a single casualty:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg42wpdb1c.jpg

 

D's halftracks drive off most of the infantry outside the building, digging them out with MGs:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg43htdoi.jpg

Still plenty of enemy in the building though. No way to get them out except assault.

 

A G PSW takes advantage of the confusion to cross the bridge, and a newly-arrived Stug blows up a nearby house:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg45hbu.jpg

Could have had someone's eye out...

 

Basking in the glory of being the first across the bridge, the PSW doesn't notice the enemy unit to his left, with predictable results:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg46o2gf.jpg

Damn flammenwerfers!

 

While moving up to the bridge through a channel cleared by infantry and halftracks, one of the Stugs takes a casualty:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfg46stglc.jpg

Because his commander thought he'd be clever and stick is head out to goggle at the firefight. Brilliant.

 

D puts in another assault after approximately 6,000,000,000 rounds of MG ammo have been used to hose the place down.

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgsuccessfulass47.jpg

Success! Now all I have to do is not lose it.

 

Turn 20:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/agfgt20.jpg

Bit of a tall order to get my infantry across that bridge and take the town in 3-odd turns. Still, shall give it a go. Have to suppress that flamethrower, roar my halftracks across and debus the infantry amongst the buildings again.

 

The Stug speahead does its job, blasting HE and canister into the houses, clearing them out, and taking a Molotov in return:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/stugspearhead.jpg

Now the infantry, riding whatever vehicles were closest:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/inffollowup.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While they debus and get running, bullets cracking around their ears, the Stugs get a bit too enthusiastic:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/stugenthusiasm.jpg

 

The PSW, free of its infantry burden, screams forward and captures a flag:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/pswstorming.jpg

 

Turn 27, end of scenario:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/end.jpg

And the results:

https://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/FullAuto_2006/CM/result.jpg

Not too shabby, though I took far more casualties than I needed to. The loss of that SPG was a real Picard moment.

 

-----------------------------

 

Thanks to Rudy, the scenario designer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find the AI to be decent to good. It sometimes makes some odd choices, but these often work in ways I hadn't forseen.

 

Units engage targets at will (the less experienced units will engage targets when you don't want them to, sometimes) unless you've specified otherwise by hiding them, or giving them a particular type of unit to aim for (AT guns, for instance, can be told only to target armour, and will ignore infantry and unarmoured vehicles) or by designating a particular field of fire (e.g. range 250 metres, 180 degrees, 500 metres, 90 degrees and so on, so that anything inside it is targeted, and anything outside it is not, unless it's an emergency).

 

Your unit AI is good, tanks will attempt to get out of Molotov range of nearby infantry, and hide from superior AT/tank guns, your infantry automatically seek cover if they come under heavy fire, and so on. You can issue group orders easily enough, but they only work in a limited fashion. Targeting orders are no problemo, but group movement orders are limited to one waypoint only, so can only really be used when you've got your units in the right formation to moves (e.g. in a column on a road, spread out over open ground, spearhead, etc) and then you usually have to alter them so they don't end up going through rough terrain or other geography.

 

The AI route finding is quite good. For instance, if you click for a tank to go to the other side of a wood, so the route goes directly through thick trees where the tank cannot go, it will find its way to the other side, circling round, with no trouble. You can also tell tanks to find 'hull down' spots, good cover for them, and they do that quite efficiently (though of course they can only find cover versus targets they currently know about, a hidden AT gun might have their next hull down spot in its sights and the tank won't know until it spots the AT).

 

It's very involved, and the more attention you pay to the set up, movement and firing of each individual unit, the better you'll do. It's nothing like Gratuitous Space Battles, for instance, where you determine a force and its orders and then it's all automated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The shortest scenarios (10-15 turns) you can put away in 30-45 minutes if you're familiar with the game. The longest scenarios are operations, which means multiple battles, so you might fight six 50+ turn battles. Which can take up days. A fair piece of this time is taken up by the set up each time you start a new battle. Because your forces will have (probably) moved back or forward a good distance, you obviously need to set them up anew thanks to the different geography, reposition your AT guns to cover the roads, move your mortars to watch that patch of trees and bombard the enemy infantry who are bound to make an attack there, shift your tanks from the right flank to the left, move seriously damaged units to the rear, generally shift around etc.

 

You can save on any turn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No problem SV, interrogate away.

 

There's no experience/levelling up, sadly. Units do have an experience level, which determines how well they fight, how long it takes them to process orders, etc, which ranges from Conscript up to Elite, but they're stuck with it.

 

The lack of campaigns is the greatest weakness. Considering the amount of time and geography the game covers, and the amount of scenarios available (I have 1,300-odd) it's a shame they can't be chronologically or geographically linked.

 

People have created campaigns, but they're just listed in numerical order as scenarios in the game, e.g. Helmut's War 1, 2, and 3. So you have to play 1, then edit your surviving forces into scenario 2, etc. It's not hard but it is a pain.

 

A measure of continuity is provided by operations, which tend to take ages to do, and as units that have taken casualties are reinforced and ammo is resupplied, you can continue using the same units in battle after battle of that operation and develop favourites easily, even in the really large scale ones with hundreds of units, you remember Dieter's AT gun as the one that took out three tanks with three shots, Gregoriy's infantry unit was the one that took that MG position, and so on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's the occasional bit deserving of unchecked bowel movements on the part of your Germanic assets there, but I'm pleased to see you remaining in top shape, Herr FA! :D

 

I can only wish you'll manage to get around to Combat Mission: Shock Force sometime next year mein freund.

 

The M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks alone, with the latest upgrade packs (digital battle command information systems, eyesafe laser rangefinders, thermal imaging gunner's sight with increased range, driver's integrated display and thermal management system, 120mm M256 smoothbore gun developed by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH of Germany, TUSK kits to provide add-on reactive armour tiles, etc) are fully deserving of inclusion on your New Year's Resolutions list! ;)

 

*hmm, this all puts me in the mood of watching 'The Beast' again*

 

And with the CMSF British Forces module you shall have the privilege to be commandeering your own braves, by George!

 

Forward - die m

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, great work with the AAR. You are a good story-teller!

 

FWIW: I remember reading that BMP's, APC's and other small vehicles like your PSW^ need infantry to protect them once a real enemy shows up. And by "real" I mean everything bigger than a standard rifle. So your experiences in the game are realistic: They are big guns on a lightly armoured chassis, nothing more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
  • Create New...