LOMAC Flaming Cliffs 2.0: Battlefield Air Interdiction at Gudauta (Part 1)

Side note: I'm having a hell of a time at work and thus the lack of entries. Thanks for checking the blog anyway, folks. Much appreciated! :)

This is a debrief of a custom-made mission. I suck at geopolitics so I will not even attempt to think about a "big picture" type of background for this mission. The mission portrays the tip of the spear of US Army forces hastily advancing towards Gagra, Abkhazia. Irregular forces, equipped with hardware seized from the Georgian Army, are slowly retreating west and attempting to stand firm at every town they get into. The US westward push has been halted after a US Cavalry troop stops to rearm. Human intelligence (HUMINT) teams behind enemy lines have spotted irregular forces in a civilian truck shop near Gagra getting busy on a platoon of T-80s. These tanks will likely be moved 28 kilometers to the front lines within this hour.

Tactical situation. Note that couple of SA-11 launchers still active after the day of battle.

The day is coming to an end and it is imperative to destroy those tanks before they reach the front lines. After heavy fighting, the only air assets available at this time are a couple of A-10s. A team of special operation forces (SOF) located in the slopes of the Caucasus mountains has a panoramic view of the battlefield can provide fire coordination.

A brief remark on the mission we are to fly. If we would be flying US Army Apaches this mission would be simply called a "spoiling attack". Now that we are flying for the US Air Force, this type of mission would open a hell of a discussion. This is not close air support (CAS) because the enemy T-80s are not in contact with friendly troops (that's what we will try to avoid!). In old times (up to the Gulf War) this mission would be called "battlefield air interdiction" (BAI). But the US Air Force, in all its wisdom has slashed this type of missions from its doctrine and now calls it simply "air interdiction". There is more than wording behind all this. The elimination of BAI from the USAF doctrine has some spins that are more like a soap opera. The US Army/USAF inter service friction at the level of command that deals with funds procurement and doctrine writing is still alive and well.  If the map above would be made up to military standards, a line called "fire support coordination line" (FSCL) would be drawn somewhere west of the "forward line of own troops" (FLOT, the line located west of the US Cavalry troop in the map above). The FSCL is a magic line: in the space between the FLOT the FSCL, the Army commander in the ground has the control of fires coming out from any gun from anybody. Control is the keyword here. Control shapes tactics, tactics shape doctrine and doctrine shapes procurement. Put some clueless senator into the mix and the very future of the aircraft you are flying is at risk.

Enough digression. Let's take a look at the battlefield. The picture below shows the enemy troops disposition as seen from their point of view.

In the foreground, the position of the enemy tanks. These will soon move towards the frontline (in the background of the picture) using the small valley located between the Caucasus mountains (left) and the small hills in the right. The approximate positions of enemy infantry teams are also indicated. Enemy infantry is known to have portable, IR guided missiles. Finally, two SA-11 launchers (one located near the mountains, the other one near the coast) provide a moderate umbrella of defense against air attack. A very dominant terrain feature, the "Death Canyon" is also indicated.


Coming up next: mission planning.

Cheers,

VBS2 Lite US Army, Access to Civilians Still in Legal Limbo

According to Bob Dalton and this announcement, VBS2 Lite US Army was to be available to anybody without restrictions. It was later recognized that the EULA contains language that restricts access to non-DoD personnel. A new version of VBS2 Lite US Army, with a corrected EULA was to be released ... still waiting.

Besides US Army units, VBS2 Lite US Army included an Afghanistan map.

If you know anything about VBS2 Lite US Army, please comment using the link below.

Cheers,

P/S:  Nothing gives me more pleasure than filing this entry under an "ArmA 2" tag. I don't know what the hell is wrong with the overzealous, Spanish-inquisition moderators at Bohemia Interactive forums who continuously shun people for posting about this simulator under excuses of topic (this is not ArmA 2) and now legality (apparently is not legal to even talk about this). It feels good to be both right and in control.

HistWar Les Grognards: Friendly Fog of War Delight

Friendly fog of war (FFoW) is the ultimate challenge for simulations of command. It's not easy to implement and it's not easy to present to the player.

I was playing a quick scenario of HistWar Les Grognards (HWLG) and I thought of showing here how FFoW looks in this war game.

This is good ole 2D map showing the situation of my troops (little squares highlighted blue) at the beginning of the scenario. Of particular interest is the strongest formation in my Army, V Corps commanded by Mortier. Before the start of the scenario, Mortier was ordered to deploy in the center (see figure). He received and understood his orders.

It is now 8:35. Note how I started moving towards the center of the battlefield ("Me" in the figure above). The units that are within my sight are displayed lighter than the ones I can't see. The icons of V Corps have not changed position. Also note the little explosion icons in the center. Some units are fighting there, but since I neither received situation reports from those nor I can see them from my position the only thing displayed is explosions. Some of my reconnaissance detachments have reported the Austrian battle line (squares highlighted white).

8:51 and a lot has changed in the battlefield. Some of my units have updated me on their positions. Not V Corps, who is represented as if it were at the start point. I'm approaching a hill and hopefully that will give me a vantage view of my own troops.

Three minutes later I just reached the top of a hill and now I can see that VCorps has been moving all the time. I just wasn't informed about that.

Mortier and his staff supervising the approach march of V Corps. Merde, Mortier! Drop me a line sometime!

If this doesn't teach me that I have to command from the front, nothing will!

Cheers,

Tank-Infantry Teams in ARMA 2: Protecting an immobile tank (Part 2)

This is a continuation from Part 1. A stationary tank has to be protected from close assault with RPGs or other AT portable weapons. In this entry, the USMC rifle squad deploys for its mission.

Across the Dnepr Second Edition

I remember playing for hours with the first edition of this game. Boy this game engine has made some astonishing changes from then!

Across the Dnepr Second Edition is an add-on for Kharkov Disaster in the Donets. This second edition of Across the Dnepr uses all the tricks of SSG's new game engine.

One thing that immediately hooked me in this second edition is how the mobility of motorized/armored groups has been improved. Now I'm able to use my reconnaissance units deep into enemy territory.

The 10th Panzer Division (10PzD, blue icons with the "Y" yellow symbols) and the 4th Panzer Division (4PzD, blue icons with the inverted Y white symbols) approach Mogilev from the north and the south respectively. Note how the reconnaissance battalions have successfully bypassed the Russsian infantry (light brown counters).

Just because SSG cares about old farts like me,  the magnifying glass will never be dropped from their games. Ever. On a serious note, the reconnaissance party has bumped into the Russians. Time to call the tanks up.

The 4PzD is running circles around the Russian infantry. 

I'm going to review this game sometime in the near future (the backlog of reviews is not getting any smaller, yikes!).

Cheers,

Achtung Panzer Kharkov 1943: Get Off that Road!

I'm enjoying the relatively slow pace of WWII tank battles in Achtung Panzer Kharkov 1943 (APK43). Compared to the fast and furious pace of modern armor combat (as shown in Steel Beasts ProPE), in APK43 I have a chance to screw it and fix it. Sometimes it's hard not to be overconfident and forget "good manners".

In one instance I was moving a German tank platoon down a road. There was a small patch of woods ahead and as soon as the point tank emerged from the tree line it was welcomed by a well placed Russian AT gun.

AT ambush, 10 meters ahead.

Take a look at the figure below, taken from the "Training Directives for the Light and Medium Tank Companies, March 1939".

The square inside a circle represents a tank and the other symbol an AT gun (you may recognize from APK43). Left side (wrong), the tank at the edge of the trees gets nailed by an AT gun. Right side (correct), the tank steps aside the road and spots the AT gun from the cover of the foliage.

Put those trees to work for you. Russian AT gunners don't have IR imaging. A German tank takes a peek at the open terrain ahead from the concealment offered by the trees.

Cheers,

LOMAC Flaming Cliffs 2.0: Grooming All My Cockpit Vices

Ideally, a pilot should have some visual routines (when and where to look at) that became so ingrained into him he doesn't need to think about them. Checking the "six pack" is one of those.

With DCS A-10 in the horizon, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the A-10 by flying it in LOMAC Flaming Cliffs 2.0 (FC2). Alas, I'm finding out that besides learning, I have to get rid of many vices/habits. The operation of the A-10 in FC2 is quite simplified and I wonder what's going to be of me when I sit my butt in the detailed virtual cockpit of DCS A-10. :)

Anyway, let's talk a bit about weapons delivery, specifically the AGM-65D. For the time being let's forget about low-high/high-low tactical approaches to the target area. I edited a mission just for practice: a couple of Shilkas near a bridge. I will just fly high out of their reach and try to find and destroy them.

The visual routine for finding the target, locking and firing an AGM-65 is quite different than what I thought. I am supposed to spend most of the time looking out, not staring at the TV monitor to the right. Ideally, acquire the target visually, ground stabilize the EO-aiming reticle near the target and make final adjustments by looking at the TV monitor. In this case I couldn't acquire the Shilkas visually, so I just ground stabilized the EO-aiming reticle in the general target area and made the final adjustments with the TV monitor.

Look up more. Note the tiny little white speckles in the cross-hairs of the TV monitor. Two Shilkas are about to be bagged.

The problem with fixing one's attention in the TV monitor while flying into a hot area is that one develops tunnel vision, looses situational awareness to threats, tends to fly straight (a sure treat for AAA gunners) and (in severe cases) stops flying.

 During night missions, you have an extra enemy: the lack of external visual cues. The temptation of using the IR seeker of the AGM-65D as a FLIR is just too much.

Survivor to all the surrounding destruction, a Shilka takes aim at our flight.

Gah! In top of all this crap I'm supposed to perform approach tactics ...

Cheers,

Scourge of War: A Good and Extended Fire Line Is Just a Click Away

Well, compared to Take Command 2nd Manassas (TC2M) there is new stuff in Scourge of War. Beyond the graphics haul, that is.

Take a look at the screenshots below (taken from "Sandbox" mode of play).

The regiment in the foreground (97th New York) can't shoot to the rebels because is blocked by another federal regiment. In TC2M, to put the 97th New York into a good firing position one would need to move the regiment in column formation to a new firing position. That was cumbersome.

There is a new command in Scourge of War: lateral move. Just one click and the regiment will move to the right or left without loosing their line formation. Much better! Note how some trees have lost their foliage.

There is no doubt that from certain angles, Scourge of War looks great.

Cheers,

Tank-Infantry Teams in ARMA 2: Protecting an immobile tank (Part 1)

Continuing with my USMC tank-infantry teams series, the next topic is protecting an immobile tank in open terrain.

Although the M1 Abrams is an all-around solid and reliable tank, off course sometimes problems will show up. In this entry, an M1 has been immobilized because of a broken torsion bar. The tank can still fire. Help to move this tank to the rear area is on its way and a USMC rifle squad is tasked with protecting it until then ...

Out for a couple of days

I'm taking some time off and going somewhere with the family. Back in a couple of days.

Cheers,