CMBB CD scenarios [Archive] - Battlefront Forum

Andrew H.

09-25-2002, 12:27 AM

Gefechtsaufklaerung

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That should be enough space.

I played this scenario as German vs. AI. I like small scenarios a lot (I'm happy that CMBB included a lot on the disk), and I prefer historical scenarios, too.

I very much enjoyed what this scenario asked me to do - it's easy to imagine myself as the platoon commander with a smallish batch of units who's been sent to see what's in these villages. The map was also very good.

Everything was great about this scenario except that I found it a little too easy, at least vs. the AI.

Here's my plan, and here's how it played out:

I wasn't sure what to expect, so I spread my infantry out in the scattered woods, left my HT on the road, and put my IG and Arty spotter in the woods, but close to the road, in a position where they could look down the road and have a clear LOS to the large building with the flag. (I wasn't sure what I'd run into, but I figured it couldn't hurt having LOS to the VL). My plan was to move around slowly, try to identify enemy units, and try to kill the with long range fire from the IG, the StuG, or artillery.

On the first turn, Russian units in foxholes on the far left side of the map opened up at my men, who were not difficult to spot in the scattered woods, apparently. I fired back with the IG and MG fire, and this basically silenced the far-left guys.

I noticed some units running from the left, in front of the village, in the direction of the church. Once again, MG fire plus direct fire IG silenced these guys, although I did take a couple of casualties from an air burst mortar round, causing a casualty to my FO and causing him to lose the fire mission he had planned for that area.

I moved forward a little more, close to the roadblock but still in the scattered trees, and I saw a lot more men milling about around the large building. We exchanged small arms fire, which didn't do much harm to either of us, although a MG kept one of my squads pinned. When I tried to run a squad across the road, a MG opened up, caught the guy in the road, and sent him panicked back to the side he started on. Other units were able to observe the trench near the building.

Because I saw the trench near the building, was fired on from near the building, saw a lot of contacts by the building, as saw the large flag above the building smile.gif , I decided that it was important enough to area fire on it with my IG.

There was a MG in a stone building near the main building that was causing me some problems, so I sent the StuG up slowly to deal with it. Because of a hill and LOS, I had to send my StuG around the wire and approach within about 45m of the stone building to get a shot. But I did this and it was uneventful. Occasionally units would try to rush the StuG from the main building, but they had to cross open area where they could be shot at by two squads, the MG 34, and the MG in the HT. After my FO recovered, I started dropping Arty around the village, too.

And so for several turns, probably half of the game, I pounded the Russians and they couldn't really reply. Eventually, the main building collapsed from the IG, the building with the MG collapsed from the STuG, another building collapsed from the Arty, and most of the survivors were hit by Arty as well.

About the time the three buildings blew up (Turn 13?) I sent two squads and a leader to cross the road block and approach the main building. They shot up a lot of suppressed squads lying around, but the building remained a "?" by the end of the game.

Axis Major Victory, 87-13, I think. I had 6 casualties, one of whom was KIA.

In retrospect, it was too easy for me to just bombard the russians without fear of retaliation. My troops were very sensitive to being fired on (which is good), but I really didn't have to put them in harm's way until the end of the game, when there were very few good order Russians left.

I did discover a 45mm AT gun on the other side of the village when I looked at the map after the game. It wasn't in a location that would have hurt me, though, unless I had charged across the grainfield.

I think that he IG was by far the most effective weapon I had - it could turn pretty quickly to face developing Russian threats - including men just charging across the field.

I'm not sure the best way to make the scenario more balanced - I don't think that it would work to completely remove the IG from the Germans - the infantry units are pretty fragile and do need to be able to fight from long distance with HE and arty. The Germans really would have been in trouble if the Sovs. had been able to muster a real counterattack, too - they had trouble just keeping their heads up when the occasional MG fire or stray mortar round landed nearby.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful, as they say.

russellmz

09-25-2002, 03:02 AM

bridgeheads spoiler
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small 10+ turn battle.

nice tight battle. i tried it using only level 1 view. made for some tense early moments as i hear firing and can't tell what anyone is shooting at.

lost quite a few officers, but i got revenge when my guys got close enough to human wave. my third human wave arrived too late to do any damage to retreating enemy but it looked cool at least. sounded like victory hollers.

new behavior from the ai? guys would drop down and SNEAK after the first shots (or is that because sneak replaced crawl?).

can't say that much for the map cause of its tiny size (looks like a postage stamp at 9 view) but it made for a few nice engagements.

i like speedy engagements against the ai so a 8.5 for this scenario.

[ September 25, 2002, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: russellmz ]

Vergeltungswaffe

09-25-2002, 03:43 PM

Andreas,

After some fiddling around with quick battles (to look and investigate, etc), the first two scenarios I played were Cemetary Hill and Gefechtsaufklaerungs. I like to do things chronologically, and yours were the two earliest scenarios (though there is a Soviet attack on 41-06-27, I believe).

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My experience with Gefechtsaufklaerungs was very similiar to what Andrew Hedges posted, though I did not have the HT on the road (from fear) but rather in the scattered trees on the left, to be able to fire on the left side of the village if need be. Late in the game, I brought it a little farther forward in the trees to gain LOS a bit further and the, until that moment, hidden 45mm ATG promptly popped it. Very nice placement of that evil little sucker.

I think if the arty spotter is removed, it will make the German player a little less likely to sit back and pound away. All in all, an excellent scenario, like your Byte Battles.

Now then, Cemetary Hill, which was the first scenario I played, since it has the earliest date, was a different matter. I realize that you designed it for TCP/IP but it looked good so I played it against the AI. I didn't even play by FTC rules (which I usually do vs. the AI) since I was just getting started and wanted to watch everything and learn about all the differences from CMBO firsthand.

I thought, with the low light conditions (which was a great inclusion, btw) that I would set one platoon and the two MG34's up in a position that would allow me to suppress any threats that popped up while I sent the other platoon to the far right to lead the way for all the Pioneers and the flamethrowers to make the real assault.

That turned out to be a bad plan. My demonstration drew some fire but not a whole lot. I became aware of the pillbox on the corner of the church but had a hard time getting any serious fire on it.

Meanwhile, the platoon on the right had no difficulty getting into the woods but when I worked them toward the village, I could only get into the first house, and there was so much mortar fire (several 82's back there, as I found afterwards) that I could not get the Pioneers forward far enough to kick the defenders out and take possession of the flag location. Final result was a minor defeat! To the AI! While embarassing, it was very enjoyable as the CMBO AI only managed a couple of draws over the years, and those were while playing FTC style.

It might prove pretty tough for the German player in TCP/IP, but I don't see any reason to change anything in this one. It played beautifully.

Thanks for your continued good work, Andreas.

David

[ September 26, 2002, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: Vergeltungswaffe ]

imported_Hiram Sedai

09-26-2002, 04:03 PM

Andreas, you already know that you are my hero. So, we won't get into that right now.

I played "Bridgeheads" (the titles are fuzzy in my mind by now - I've played for 4 days straight)

I really enjoyed the immediate combat. Since I am a simple fellow, I cherished the simplicity of the scenario. I have no spoilers because I know that many others will be sampling your scenario delicacies.

The sight of many Russians attacking does catch the breath. It was awe inspiring.

Hakko Ichiu

09-26-2002, 07:49 PM

Berisovka Station:

I have played this one four times, mainly as a proving ground for various combined arms tactics. I have tried several different strategies against the AI, and have never done better than a draw. The reason for this is something I have mentioned on the main forum, to whit:
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The Luftwaffe. Even when I have used approaches that shielded me from the big Paks, the Jabos destroy my armor with abandon. I wonder whether this is a problem with AA targetting or a combination of bad luck/lack of full understanding of AA. Of course, in my last, and arguably best planned attack, one of my M17s got bogged in the stream bed (possibly putting it out of range of many of the Jabo's runs) and the other got plinked by a well-placed 20mm Flak. So I was without effective AA for that particular go.

In my final run, I sent all my armor w/mounted infantry along the stream bed and arranged them in battle order behind the cover of the woods. As I mentioned, I lost one M17 to bogging and one T-34 when it skylined and was nailed by an 88. I timed my assault to coincide with the Katyusha barrage, which I aimed at far half of the map. The goal was to charge one platoon of infantry to the first row of buildings where they would then be able to regroup and assault the crossroads; the other group would take the patch of woods w/the VL; then reform to assault the factory. A third platoon of tanks and infantry would remain in reserve.
The second half of my inital assault went well -- I took the forest VL with little effort, but the first screwed the pooch when the infantry got separated from command: the only unit to make the first house in good order was the HQ, which got shot up pretty badly. It took several turns to regroup that part of the effort, which is probably why I didn't get a victory in that run. Once the MG squads got organized, the German infantry couldn't stand against them. Only MG 34s at range and HE from the guns could stop them. They are awesome once they get to close quarters, i.e., under 100 yards.

W/o AA, it was only a matter of time before the Jabos made themselves felt. By the end of the game, I had lost all my armored vehicles, 11 to jabos and 3 to Flak. The heroic Red Air Army finally showed up on turn 30 to lay an egg on what remained of the Pakfront, but the scenario ended just as I was about to assault the station VL, which remained in enemy hands. If I had managed to keep my AA alive, I might have managed a minor victory.

I tried other strategies, including frontal assault (not recommended); a flanking maneuver, sending a platoon of tanks and infantry around the cluster of houses on the left side of the map, but that just separated my forces and the flanking units got eaten by the Pakfront and the Luftwaffe. The new optics algorithms mean that even a platoon of T-34s cannot hope to slug it out with an 88 at 1000 yds. The odds are just not in their favor as far as I could tell. Leave it to the arty and the flyboys.

All in all, a great little scenario. Very manageable, lots of fun.

Michael Emrys

09-28-2002, 01:57 AM

Hornets' Nest spoiler
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It took me a while to figure out how to use my Hornissen without getting them shot up right at the start of the game. At first I was placing them in hulldown postions on the ridge, but they weren't getting any hits and I was losing one on every turn. I must admit that I was rather disappointed that this much-vaunted weapon was performing so poorly, though that may have just been luck. I was really surprised that the Sov tanks were doing so well at 1700 meters or so, but that too may have been a mixture of luck and numbers (when you have three or four tanks, and sometimes more, firing back at you somebody is bound to get lucky given enough time).

So I decided to modify my tactics. The first thing was to bring my 81mm mortar batteries into action as quickly as possible. This got the Sov tanks buttoned up, making it harder for them to spot. Probably zapped a few crewmen too, as it seemed to cause some of them to break. Seemed to clean the infantry riders off their backs too.

Then, only after my mortar barrage was underway and showing effects, did I bring the Hornissen forward to hulldown positions using Shoot 'n' Scoot so as to expose them for the minimum amount of time. I've gotten two kills with them, including a KV, and haven't lost one yet. It really isn't shooting fish in a barrel the way I thought it would be, but it seems to have caused the Sov tanks, or at least some of them, to hesitate and mill around. So at least it has stalled the attack for several precious turns. smile.gif I just wish I were getting more kills. :(

I find myself wishing I had about three more mortar batteries. The one I've got has spent all its ammo.

Might be interesting to fight this scenario with Elephants instead of Hornissen...

Michael

Kalar

09-29-2002, 01:28 AM

Some feedback for Andreas on Gefechtsaufklaerung (sp? :rolleyes: )

I enjoyed this small scenario, probably because I too am a 'byte battle' fan. I love a 30 minute (in real time) battle and enjoy the simplicity of a finite number of units. Gf-rung delivers, and I got beat, 35-65 in my first attempt. (As Axis attacker vs AI) but I have to believe...there's got to be a way...!.

I certainly didn't think it's too easy; the game mechanics chopped the scenario even shorter than 15 turns; I got the morale enforced cease fire cut off I believe about turn 12. I inflicted 44 casualties and suffered 4. I was just getting ready to send in the 'student body right' play when the battle ended.

Well drawn map, good placement of Soviets, great historical framework, and a serious challenge in 15 turns (or 12!). I like the paradox--you can beat on the soviets w/ firepower and arty-but can you get up the hill in time?

Very replayable too. Keep up the good work in small packages!

Now, BTS, about the early ceasefire, can I turn that option off??? :confused:

jwxspoon

09-29-2002, 02:35 AM

Hey Mike,

Re HORNET's NEST
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IIRC, in the actual engagement that this scenario is based on Ernst's platoon of Hornets KO'd at least 8 of the attacking soviet tanks, losing one of their number as a total loss and having another damaged. The support from the Hornets allowed the infantry to hold and repel the attack. The Russians were quite unhappy to encounter this new tank destroyer.

In playtesting we saw wins on both sides for this one, but a shoot and scoot tactic was definitely necessary for the Hornets. Leaving them hull down seemed to attract targeting lines left and right. We added the second platoon of Hornets and they seemed to arrive and turn the tide just at the right time.

Good luck!

Jeff

Michael Emrys

09-29-2002, 05:12 AM

Originally posted by jwxspoon:
...a shoot and scoot tactic was definitely necessary for the Hornets. Leaving them hull down seemed to attract targeting lines left and right.No ****! :D

As I posted above, I was surprised at first at the quick and accurate gunnery by the Sov tanks.

We added the second platoon of Hornets and they seemed to arrive and turn the tide just at the right time.Oh good! I am definitely looking forward to that part.

:D

Thanks for a really good scenario, Jeff. I had thought of doing a fictional one on the Citadel map that would be somewhat along the same lines, and may yet, but I need to figure out how to get the map oriented to suit what I have in mind (I've never designed a scenario before, so all this stuff is new to me).

Michael

Solomo

09-29-2002, 08:11 PM

Great game, but mixed reviews so far from my point of view on the CD scenarios. I loved Golzow and Borisovka Station - very challenging and exciting! Spooky when a German tank-killer plane shows up in B. Station and starts shooting up my T-34's! But I always play the Soviet side, and some of the setups seem so blatantly unbalanced from the start (with heavy German tanks positiond overlooking spawn points, exit routes or objectives)so as to be laughable. I just alt-a out of them....But these are mere quibbles, and CMBO is wonderfully good game. All concerned deserve congratulations. I'm sure the scenario designers out there will fill in any gaps.
Cheers,
Solo

pathfinder

09-30-2002, 01:35 AM

Hornet's Nest:

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Shoot and scoot is a definite must as I lost all but one doing hunt/hull down. That one (elite rated, officer?) ended up out of ammo. The German infantry was hardly touched due to the 75 mm gun on the far right and the mgs on the hill next to the Nashorn's ridge....

Had me wondering what I was doing wrong but on thinking..shoot and scoot a definite better tactic for their relative thin skins, thought they did exact a terrible price on the Red vehicles..

[ September 29, 2002, 10:35 PM: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

JonS

09-30-2002, 01:53 AM

Andreas,
one thing I particularly like about all your scens on the CD (or at least, the ones I've seen so far...) is the indication in the general briefing about which side to play, and tips on balancing vs the AI or a better opponent. Saves a lot of frustration and false starts.

As a matter of fact, I find your briefings to be very good all round. (and the scens themselves of course ... its just that I was talking about the briefings ... ;) )

All Designers,
This is something I've mentioned to the designers of the ROWII scens: don't be afraid to use landmarks - the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned smile.gif

Regards
JonS

Michael Emrys

09-30-2002, 02:30 AM

Originally posted by pathfinder:
...shoot and scoot a definite better tactic for their relative thin skins, thought they did exact a terrible price on the Red vehicles..I've mostly been keeping my guys alive with S&S okay. My big gripe is that they can't seem to hit the broad side of a barn. After 12 turns they've killed exactly two tanks. That may just be bad luck, but I had hoped for better performance out of them.

Still, they may be doing the necessary job of keeping the Sovs at bay. Every time one of my guys pops up, several tanks halt to return fire. That means they aren't advancing. And between getting popped at by my Hornets and the early mortar attacks, the tank riding infantry has decided that it was healthier to hoof it. That means they will either be late to the party or get there tired, either of which would be good news.

Michael

second amendment

09-30-2002, 02:38 AM

Andrew Hedges
In comment to the Gefechtsaufklaerung
thread....I keep getting toasted by the damn commies in that one. With all the firepower that I have laid on you would think they would have cracked but noooo. Well I am new to this game so that must be why...yea thats the ticket.

pathfinder

09-30-2002, 02:51 AM

Borisovka Station:
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Me being a lousy handler of infantry in the attack, I took the Germans and crossed my fingers. I about had to change my depends when the rocket barrage hit, luck enough it only lasted 1 turn! Kinda tense as the AT guns got picked off 1 by 1... then the last 2 T-34s and lone SU-122 hit the left edge of town with a few infantry....I tried maneuvering 2 infantry squads from the a building to the tobbacco factory, which they did but the SU-122 pasted one and it routed (to return later). The squad that stayed back assulted and took out one T-34 while the last 1 was KO'd by a strafing plane.

Good scenario!

BTW Unt Faustle is the squad leader of the squad that took out the T-34. They did that while under AI control. not mine... Unfortunately Unt Faustele didn't survive his wounds from the assult...

[ September 29, 2002, 11:52 PM: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

antawar

09-30-2002, 05:54 AM

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Hi, I played the Cemetary Hill scenario four times (yeah, I'm obsessed) and the last time I managed "only" a tactical defeat as the germans: my best result. :mad: I had the 75mm gun and the two mg-34 in the woods providing covering fire for my recon platoon and the 3 skd-222 and the spw-251-10 advancing right in the middle. Lot's of heavy infantry fire came in immediately and the recon platoon fell back in disarray with heavy casualties. Meanwhile, I had the other recon platoon making a flanking maneuver to the far right and it worked. it wiped out the mortars and the guns (since it was the fourth time I played, the free to deploy option was on). Then I decided on the main attack after my mg-34 and my armored units had softened up the defenders in the central part of the town. The pionners made good progress at first under the cover of smoke. But when they came close to the first demolished house (I had the 75mm gun destroy many houses) a maxim MG that I thought dead (1 men left) opened up for the far left and pinned down my men. Then all hell broke loose and the one AFV left alive (2 other were destroyed and one had it's gun torn off) withdrew. The MG-34's were not enough to provide effective suppression and the russian infantry massacred my pioners in view of their objective (the trench). Meanwhile, the platoon doing the flanking maneuver managed to get into the first building but soon found itself unable to advance (too small) and that was it.

Next time I will do the following, the AFV's will keep some distance and supress the infantry in the middle of the town. The Mg-34 will suppress the same area. The two recon platoon will BOTH be providing supressive fire in addition to the vehicules, the 75mm gun and the MG's. After a 5-6 turns of hellish fire, I will lay smoke with the 75mm gun to the left and right of an assault corridor smack in the middle. The pioners will then proceed with an assault that will hopefully overwhelm the defenders already pinned down and supressed by unrelenting heavy fire. I think the key is: win the firepower battle then insert the infantry. I just wasn't laying enough supressive firepower and was splitting my force for no benefit. Concentration of firepower, isolation of an assault corridor with smoke then an assault. I hope it works. :rolleyes:

[ September 30, 2002, 03:00 AM: Message edited by: antawar ]

Mannheim Tanker

09-30-2002, 11:52 AM

Three words, Antawar: Avoid the middle.

I found in Cemetery Hill (against the AI), that a frontal attack is very costly, as it puts you in range and LOS of the majority of the Russian units. If you attack one of the flanks (I chose the right) and put all of your main effort there, you'll be able to move as far as the Russian trenches, then turn 90 degrees and advance down the trenchline/road axis and take out the enemy positions a few at a time. This way you're only facing the wrath of a few of his units at a time. You might still want a small force to stay in the woods directly opposite the front of the Russian lines to pin down any reinforcements he sends towards your flanking troops, however.

It's just too hard (impossible) to suppress enough enemy units at once to make a frontal assault possible in this scenario, so it's not even worth trying.

Phoenix

09-30-2002, 07:10 PM

I got frustrated very quickly with Borisovka. Why? I am terrible and trying to manuever my tanks without the never ending @!#$@!# traffic jam, pile up, loss of contact. Then as soon as I bring a tank up to hull down, bang, it's dead. Then the next one dead. Screw it, I quit.

antawar

09-30-2002, 07:33 PM

Mannhein tanker, you're right.. it's impossible to suppress enough soviets to reach the line to make a frontal assault even supported by meager smoke. I tried my plan. Another disaster. I'll go with my first idea all along... and yours.. which is a flanking maneuver with the tanks, one platoon of recon and the pioners on the right.

antawar

09-30-2002, 08:42 PM

Winning cemetary hill as the germans is impossible.. I tried your stratedy mannhein .. it failed like all the other plans.. your win was probably a stroke of luck.. this scenario is too difficult.. the game is so much more difficult I think it will hit casual players so hard they will not want to play it again. This is a game for grogs and professionnal military officers. Maybe I'm too dumb to play it or do not want to invest time in learning the "art" id war.. some have it.. some don't..

Totally frustrated armchair officer

WWB

09-30-2002, 10:51 PM

Originally posted by antawar:
Winning cemetary hill as the germans is impossible.. I tried your stratedy mannhein .. it failed like all the other plans.. your win was probably a stroke of luck.. this scenario is too difficult.. the game is so much more difficult I think it will hit casual players so hard they will not want to play it again. This is a game for grogs and professionnal military officers. Maybe I'm too dumb to play it or do not want to invest time in learning the "art" id war.. some have it.. some don't..

Totally frustrated armchair officerHmm, I got a minor first time I tested it. Which is very close to the final version, IIRC. It is not impossible, you just have to use good tactics.

WWB

Affentitten

10-01-2002, 12:11 AM

I played Night Raid yestreday. As reccomended in the briefing, I played the Russkis against the Germans as AI.
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I found it pretty easy, and I'm a crap player. Part of it was luck. I sneaked my troops all the way up to the wire simultaneously in three places, and was in the trenches before the Germans knew what was going on. The flamethrowers caused some panic, and a couple of squads routed off the map, but because the ranges were so close, I was onto the FT crews and bitch-slapping them to death after a round or two.

I never encountered the MG bunker. Didn't even know it was there until the surrender map. My route in just never came near it.

Never had to use my tanks and got a total victory in 9 rounds. I was amazed by how few defenders there were. I guess most of the points had been spent on mines, which incidnetally caused me zero casualties, except for the routed squads who ran straight through them!

Phoenix

10-01-2002, 12:21 AM

Originally posted by antawar:
Winning cemetary hill as the germans is impossible..
Well...go figure.

I am getting my ass beat routinely in Quick Battles where I have to attack. Over and over again I loose. Doesn't matter what side I play.

But on this scenerio, I scored a major victory.

antawar

10-02-2002, 06:44 AM

I finally managed to win that damn scenario hurray !!

demoss

10-04-2002, 05:16 PM

Gefechtsaufklaerung R00LS!

Solomo

10-05-2002, 05:30 AM

Boriskova Station:
Hiya all.
I managed to win this scenario first time as Soviet by dumping my prep barrage rockets on the German positions (estimated location) facing the woods on my far right flank. I moved all my tanks in line along the ditch that leads off to the same right flank woods. Keep them in the ditch to avoid observation. Then I had the tanks drop their infantry riders and assault across the open field towards the woods on the Hun far left flank, with tanks in support. Assault in line (as much as possible) into the woods, then extend the assault into the factories; and then to the objectives from behind.
Watch out for the tank-killer planes; avoid them by getting in close to the factories. Let your tired troops rest in stages as you advance them forward. smile.gif That's it!
Cheers,
Solo

kenfedoroff

10-05-2002, 05:12 PM

"The (Dream) Seam"

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Played as Allies vs Axis A.I.(as is, no bonus, etc.)

Seemed to give a realistic re-creation of actions I have read about of East Front.

T-34's strike fear in enemy.

Lack of flexible soviet, (or perhaps my own), command forces pre-planned assualts/arty, sometimes w/un-happy results.

Axis cavalry shows up and kicks butt.

Hit cease-fire button after turn #40 for draw.

I may have flunked combined arms class but I still think this is a great scenario.

I would like to see more big scens like this.

Sincerely,
Ken

[ October 11, 2002, 11:05 AM: Message edited by: kenfedoroff ]

mobear

10-06-2002, 05:06 AM

The Move Back

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I played this as the Sovs against the (Finns) AI, as recommended in the briefing. Problem is, the recommendation is almost certainly wrong. This is especially true since the briefing also says that in a two-player game, the more experienced person should play the Finns (which is probably true).
As the Sov, I had no problem exiting my four early-model tanks off the opposite edge of the map. I had 3 truck-mounted infantry platoons to help me, as well as 3 armored cars. Not much more to say, as the outcome was never in doubt. I didn't even have to use one of the platoons. The Finn AI surrendered - total victory.
Side note: First time I saw ski troops in action, which is actually the reason I played this scenario in the first place. They sure move fast.

LongTom

10-08-2002, 12:40 AM

Thanks for the great Scenario (Gefechtsaufklaerung).
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I decided to blow up most of the town before advancing anything. Set my arty strike on the town as a pre-bombard, and systematically used my stug and infantry gun to blow up most of the buildings. Thought to myself...ok, that ought to soften them up.

Then I tried to advance my infantry, a squad at a time, in command, through the scattered trees by the road....and got pinned down by guys in both fields, as well as some guys shooting from rubble. Ack! I hit them with the stug, the infantry gun, the halftrack, the MG, the 50mm mortar...ran out of HE on almost everything, finally tried to advance again...and there were STILL too many Russians left and they crushed me. Argh! Definitely going to play this one again :)

LongTom tongue.gif

Dschugaschwili

10-09-2002, 09:34 AM

Gefechtsaufklaerung spoiler:
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Played this scenario last night (against the AI) as my first non-tutorial CMBB scenario. I managed to get a decisive victory as the Axis player (79-21 I think), although the game was much closer than that. At the end I had lost about half my infantry, the remainder of all three squads being brittle, and the StuG that I had sent over to the left flank to silence the remaining enemy troops in the field died to a tank hunter team and the gun, but only after the enemy there was dead or routed off the map.

All my troops except the MG were low on ammo by turn 18, when the Russians auto-surrendered.

I really like these small scenarios. Great work!

Dschugaschwili

Andreas

10-09-2002, 02:47 PM

All, thanks a lot for the feedback. Keep it coming!

Andreas

10-09-2002, 02:47 PM

Also - all of Berli's CD scenarios are now open for review at the Depot! Hint, hint! ;)

kenfedoroff

10-09-2002, 08:50 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hakko Ichiu:
[QB]Berisovka Station:

I have played this one four times, mainly as a proving ground for various combined arms tactics. I have tried several different strategies against the AI, and have never done better than a draw. The reason for this is something I have mentioned on the main forum, to whit:
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The Luftwaffe [QUOTE]
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Don't forget the Red Airfarce!

I had one of my own planes (Pe-2) wipe-out an entire smg platoon (all three squads plus HQ)
-and-shock/immobilize two T-34's in one pass!

A frustrating situation fer sure.

Sincerely,
Ken

markgame

11-03-2002, 12:52 AM

Originally posted by Dschugaschwili:
Gefechtsaufklaerung spoiler:
All my troops except the MG were low on ammo by turn 18, when the Russians auto-surrendered.

I really like these small scenarios. Great work!

DschugaschwiliI've tried this scenario a couple of times as Axis, the second time after reading the spoilers in this thread, and I still suffered a Tactical Defeat :(

I've lost my StuG both times, I think I'm moving it forward too much.

Anyone have suggestions on specific tactics?

demoss

11-07-2002, 03:28 PM

[SPOILERS for Borisovka Station]
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I'm enjoying Borisovka Station too (from the Russian side). I don't think I'll want to play it too many times (I think the air support is probably frustrating for BOTH sides in this one - you just never know when the hand of God is going to reach down and smite thee mightily, no matter how well you're doing otherwise).

At least both sides have AA capability too. Or had. I think we're both out at about the turn 18 mark. ;) Unfortunately, I don't think the Germans have run out of air attacks, while I think I have :( - but I think I'll still have some armor left by the time they're done - at 50% now - and I did shoot down one plane. But mine made bigger booms (Tobacco Factory ripped to shreds with PART of the Pe-2's drop), so I can't complain too much. :D :D

At least the one definite mistaken attack I saw didn't inflict any damage - Il-2 bomb (or was it rocket? I forget) attack on a buttoned-up T-34 was surprisingly on-target with two or three little explosions within 10 m of the tank but still did nothing.

Tarquelne

11-07-2002, 03:36 PM

Originally posted by Andreas:
All, thanks a lot for the feedback. Keep it coming!I posted a review at the SD yesterday (The Bridgeheads)... or two days ago? Well, "in the past."

I realized, btw, that if I can be sarcastic in a review I'm more likely to post one.

And remember Andreas, re: the review - you owe me one. ;)

flamingknives

11-08-2002, 07:32 PM

Gefechtsaufklaerungs AAR
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Interesting one this, I tackled it by setting up a firebase (IG, HMG, Mortar) on the left flank in the scattered trees, and sent my infantry up through the woods on the left, as I could see a roadblock and wire blocking the direct route. The HT and the Stug hunted forward in the trees to either side of the road, as this was quite a nice keyhole to the clump of buildings. Killed the AT gun before it got my HT - lucky, then dropped the 105 arty on the near edge of the village, intending to use the dust raised by collapsing building to cover the infantry crossing the wheatfields.
The Soviet infantry in the furthest wheatfield messed my timing up though, and I only managed to get to the foxholes mid-field (along with a couple of 105 craters) before getting pinned by stiffening resistance.
I managed to gain a victory by breaking the deadlock with my armour rolling up to the village without inf. support. Fortunately the Ruskies were too busy being very scared to do anything bad.

markgame

11-13-2002, 08:04 PM

OK, I'm not the greatest tactician around, but I think I have picked up a few things about CMBB. Then why can't I figure out how to beat "The Bridgeheads"? :(

I've played it five times now. On my latest attempt...

POSSIBLE SPOILER
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... I split my two companies, "A" taking the right flag, "B" the left. I used a couple of split squads as scouts to draw fire. I moved my platoons using "Move to Contact" then once they were close enough, I assigned suppressive fire on a ratio of two squads surpressing to one moving. On the (Russian) right, the Germans were defeated fairly easily. At about turn five I was able to dispatch about five healthy squads to go help out on the left.

On the left flank there was more enemy fire, so I assigned arcs and laid on fire. I did move one platoon forward at a "sneak". By about turn six however one platoon was out of action and another pretty ragged. I left the other platoon in a supressive fire mode and waited till the "A" squads moved into position. Then I advanced them from the center woods while maintaining supressive fire from the survivors of "B" company. At about turn eleven the "A" company squads had advanced and destroyed the Axis defenders of the left flag. I had eliminated all the German squads I could see and both flags were mine. Unfortunately I suffered a Minor Defeat because of excess casualities.

Can someone give me some pointers on what I'm doing wrong in this scenario? I'd love it if someone has a few saved games for show-and-tell :D

Zakalwe

11-13-2002, 11:29 PM

I managed to win the Bridgeheads quite easily with the use of the new human wave command. Basically I moved carefully forward on the first turn and then gave every single unit a human wave command. End result: lots of dead soldiers, but all the alive ones were Russian. The next time I tried it, everything went pear shaped really fast, so it may have been just dumb luck...

Zak

markgame

11-14-2002, 01:36 AM

Originally posted by Zakalwe:
I managed to win the Bridgeheads quite easily with the use of the new human wave command. Basically I moved carefully forward on the first turn and then gave every single unit a human wave command. End result: lots of dead soldiers, but all the alive ones were Russian. The next time I tried it, everything went pear shaped really fast, so it may have been just dumb luck...

ZakZak, did you split your forces and attack both flags at once?

Thin Red Line

11-14-2002, 02:42 PM

Borisovska Station SPOILER
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I'm currently finishing this good little it as German in PBEM.
My opponent choose to attack from the left end of the village (my left wing, seen from the german point of view). It is apparently a clever tactical choice for human opponents from what i read above.
Unfortunately all my set-up was prepared for a frontal assaut...
So my defense was taken 'in enfilade' from the start.

The Luftwaffe did quite a good job destroying 3 russian tanks, immobilizing a couple others.

Then, one by one, the flags fell because i tried to reorganize my assets to face the danger but i couldn't move my squads without them being immediately slaughtered by the heavy assault guns overwatching the slow progress of soviet infantry that was coming from left and behind my lines.

2 of my ATGs killed 1 tank each in a suicidal unhide.
Another 88 turned 180 degrees and took out 2 T34 in the field behind the main street. (i think this one will deprive the Ruskis to reach the station itself and the big flag because it cannot be targeted, they don't have the good angle).

The russians have captured first the small wood patch, the factory, and are approaching the Church. We are in the + turns and it could end anytime.

I didn't give many orders in the all game, just cancelling covered arcs when i wanted my ATG to enter action and unhide some infantry, only to see them immedialtly suppressed and killed.
Because all action from german troops was suicidal for them. (even a section HQ who tried to sneak acrooss the road at the other end of the map).
Opening fire meant be immediately targeted by half a dozen guns including 122mm !

Lately, an attack from a russian dive bomber destroyed many houses with 1 bomb, taking out one of my 75.

I find the scenario fun and entertaining, but maybe slighly frustrating for the german player if he likes to plot many orders. I don't really mind so that is not a problem for me.
But i guess it also depends from the tactic choosen by the attacker, in my case it was a massed map edge careful approach.
And i still don't know who will win ! ( most probably a allied minor). So it is interesting until the end. Thanks for that one ! (i didn't play the others yet)

[ November 14, 2002, 11:57 AM: Message edited by: Thin Red Line ]

Zakalwe

11-14-2002, 06:40 PM

Originally posted by markgame:
Zak, did you split your forces and attack both flags at once?Some spoilers
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Yes, about evenly. The assault on the right (from the Soviet perspective) had very good success, while the other attack was initially repulsed, but the pressure from the flank swung it in my favour.

Like I said, I tried it again, and this time my troops got nowhere fast, so the first victory may have been just dumb luck. Two squads managed to take out the German MG on the right on the third turn, so that helped a lot.

Zak

demoss

11-14-2002, 09:05 PM

Borisovka station minor SPOILER:

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Lately, an attack from a russian dive bomber destroyed many houses with 1 bomb, taking out one of my 75. That may have been the Pe-2, not a dive bomber. I believe it actually drops about 10 or 12 bombs - in my playing, there were two definite clusters of hits (the, um, urban renewal was serious).

Stug30

11-14-2002, 10:11 PM

Hells Bells is "Cemetary Hill" hard!!

Possible Spoiler: But I doubt it. . .

Whoever pulled a minor as the Germans on his first attempt certainly has some skills as a CMBB commander.

My new short term goal, BLOW THOSE DAM RUSSIANS OUT OF THAT CONFOUNDED TRENCH!!!!! smile.gif

OGSF

11-29-2002, 02:52 AM

"The Bridgeheads"....I have absolutley no idea what the correct tactic is to use with this scenario. I have tried human waving, moving to contact and sneaking. Each time the result is the same. The Germans' open up then the Russians go into auto-sneak and die where they wriggle or runoff the map.

There is no suppression, because any Russian who gets into a position to fire on the German foxholes goes into auto-sneak when the Germans fire back and they then either die where they wriggle or run off the map.

Unsupported infantry attacking over a ridge against a reverse slope defence are supposed to get the crap shot out of them, and they do. It amazes me how anyone has managed to win this scenario, yet apparently they have. Half the time I only had "sound contacts" to return fire against.

Has anyone beaten it more than once?

Now "Cemetary Hill" was a no brainer, after the first couple of tries...... smile.gif

OGSF

11-29-2002, 03:07 AM

"The Bridgeheads"...*SPOILERS*
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Okay, I just tried again. I assaulted / sneaked one Russian squad forward on the right. This squad was fired upon, went into auto-sneak and died at the hands of "sound contacts". I assaulted the other two squads and the platoon leader forward to help and also to try and spot where the fire was coming from, and they came under fire from "sound contacts" and went into auto-sneak. So an entire platoon trashed for no intel other than there are dangeroues "sound contacts" out there.

Obviously I am a tactical cretin, and I don't want the game engine "fixed" or anything. What I want to know is, what are the uber tactics available within the constrainst of the game engine that will let me advance my troops and engage the enemy in this scenario? The problem seems to be chicken and egg: in order to lay suppression fire on the enemy, I have to know where they are. When I try and find out where they are, my Russians are either trashed by "sound contacts" or by actual troops. In either case, they are not suppressing but being suppressed / eliminated.

So, what are the correct tactics which should, on balance, produce a successful outcome for the Russians?

OGSF

11-29-2002, 03:55 AM

"The Bridgehead"

I have tried six more times to make some headway in this scenario.

I advance a platoon on the right and hide without appearing over the crest of the ridge. I follow with another two platoons, trying to concentrate my troops for a Human Wave assault.

The AI can see what I cannot see (my troops hiding in the grass beyond the ridgeline) because the graphics are "abstracted". But it doesn't open fire on the turn it sees the enemy. It waits until the very start of the next turn to fire. My troops go into auto-sneak, down the hill towards the enemy. I understand it is very realistic for "rested" troops to behave this way the instant they take fire, and obviously not BFCs' fault. I understand it's my faulty tactics that are making them do it.

So I order the rest of the company to human wave. I take up camera position down by the river to watch the spectacle. I can only see the occasional head appear in the grass on the ridgeline, which then drops or moves sideways off the map. I hear a blood curdling "Oooorrraahhh!!" and see a single squad appear on the ridge line and be eliminated instantly. The turn ends. A check of the company reveals that it has moved about 10 yards, and is entirely panicked, pinned, routed, eliminated or auto-sneaking.

So....I try yet again, this time assaulting the entire two companies against the left hand flag. Success!! Over-ran the position. I will now give them a couple of turns to get it back together, then move along the river bank and clean up the other location from the flank.

This tells me that this scenario is a bit of a crap-shoot. If the player attacks on the right, they get their butt handed to them. If they attack on the left, they have a chance. So the uber-tactic is to be lucky enough to pick the correct flag to attack first.

Ten turns does not really allow enough time for scouting and probing to determine the weakest section of the defence. Nor is there sufficient infantry to even do that.

PS I got a minor defeat in the end. I took too many casualties. There were 5 Germans left, a HMG team in fact and they still held the second flag - I ran out of time. However, even if I had taken the second flag and killed the last five Germans, I still would have not won because of the way the points are calculated. I suffered less than 50% casualties, but too many guys died running down the open hillside into small arms fire.

[ November 29, 2002, 01:36 AM: Message edited by: OGSF ]

Martin Rapier

11-29-2002, 10:52 AM

Originally posted by OGSF:
[QB]"The Bridgehead"
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This tells me that this scenario is a bit of a crap-shoot. If the player attacks on the right, they get their butt handed to them. If they attack on the left, they have a chance. So the uber-tactic is to be lucky enough to pick the correct flag to attack first.
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As I recall this one wasn't too difficult although I did better on the second attempt.

I just divided up the troops, one company to each flag, identified the sections which had LMGs and reserved those for fire support then moved the entire lot to contact over the ridge, keeping the fire support sections back a bit so they weren't shot at immediately.

The Germans opened up, my guys stopped and fired back, then the assault sections 'advanced' their way forwards covered by the LMGs and providing their own suppressive fire. First time I got the right flag but not the left, the second time I got both. A few sections were shot down, but there were plenty more guys where they came from - once the Russians got into the woods it was reasonably easy to mop up the Germans piecemeal.

Embarrasingly I did manage to lose to the AI whilst defending! Same problem, once the Russians got into the woods they managed to overwhelm the German split squads fairly easily.

Not tried it with 1.01 though.

Cheers
Martin