Gefechtsaufklarung - German Reconnaissance Units in Achtung Panzer Kharkov 43

I regard reconnaissance units as military elite. In WWII they went ahead of everybody, in nimble vehicles, armed with just a stick and skill ...  looking for trouble.

In Achtung Panzer Kharkov 1943 (APK43), reconnaissance units are important assets during the 2D turn-based phase. They will spot enemy units at a larger range than other regular units. The moves and spotting done by reconnaissance units during the 2D turn based phase are the last throws of what the Germans called tactical reconnaissance (link opens a pdf written by me and stored at Matrix Games). Any type of reconnaissance done during the 3D phase would have been called "battle reconnaissance" by WWII German doctrine .Battle reconnaissance came in different flavors and sizes, being more of communal endeavor of line and reconnaissance troops. With a wise mixture of armored car patrols, 4 men battle patrols and squad-sized combat patrols, the objective was to gain detailed information in order to plan the battle accordingly.

It all depends on your commanding skills!

"While scouting a woods, a favorite German ruse is to drive the leading car toward its edge, halt briefly to observe, and then drive off rapidly, hoping to draw fire that will disclose the enemy positions." Quote from this book.

Fight the good fight, but bug out if the odds are against you.

By the way, why is this guy's wingman not providing mutual support?

Don't be shy and mix your platoons!

Cheers,

Now that ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead is out, who will care about VBS2 Lite US Army?

Last word I know about VBS2 Lite US Army is that the US Army legal counsel is holding up its release to civilians.

If VBS2 Lite US Army ever gets released to civilians, I wonder who is going to care anyway. With Operation Arrowhead you get a similar geography (a mountainous country side, a desert and a middle-eastern looking city), more equipment, more factions and likely better AI.

US soldiers push towards an Afghan village in VBS2 US Army Lite.

Yet, if ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead would run as smooth as any of the VBS2 "Lites" ... I would be in heaven.

Cheers,

WWII Eastern Front Book/Game Combo

I'm anxiously awaiting the next book series by David Glantz about the battle for Smolensk. First volume was supposed to come out in June, yet it has been delayed a couple of times.

On the meantime, I'm playing Matrix/SSG's "Across the Dnepr Second Edition".

I still remember when I reluctantly picked up a boxed copy of "Korsun Pocket" from the local CompUSA. At that time the only other wargame I had was Close Combat 3 and the idea of a computer wargame featuring dice seemed strange to me. I know, I was like Zoolander in this scene ...

This game series never deviated from its original board game roots. Yet the engine has evolved into a unique gaming experience with exquisite and intricate rules. Playing this on cardboard would be almost impossible.

I still have the first edition of "Across the Dnepr", maybe I should re-install it for comparison.

Cheers,

ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead - Counter IED Hunter Killer Tactics

Well that was the idea anyway ...

In this fictional scenario, me and my virtual men are trying to capture insurgents that according to HUMINT plan to emplace mines/IEDs in a road span near the village of Sakhe. The objective is to capture them alive for interrogation.

I wanted to experiment with the so-called "hunter-killer" tactics for counter-IED operations. A detailed explanation of these tactics can be found in the January-February 2008 issue of the Armor magazine (Hunter-Killer Teams, by Mjr. Mark Aitken, page 18). Of course this scenario features far less troops than in real life.

The "hunter" team is composed of a squad leader and a marksman. They are emplaced in a vintage vantage point up in the hills.

A full squad of infantry is the "killer" team. They are down the valley, hidden until the last moment.

The thermal sights of the squad leader from the "hunter" team picked up a group of insurgents down the road (white shapes in the third quadrant of the aiming cross).

Warned by the "hunter" team and in command of the "killer" team, I maneuvered the squad as two separate fire teams. Under the concealment of terrain and vegetation, one fire team approached the insurgent group from the north and the other team (closer to me) from the south. I wanted to force these insurgents to surrender.

Unfortunately, even when I ordered my troops to hold fire until the last possible moment, the insurgents took the first shot and we were forced to open up on them. Two insurgents fell prey to the well-aimed fire from the north fire team. Two other insurgents fled south using the road, right into where I was waiting with the south fire team. They aimed their rifles at us, but we got them before they could fire.

The two first enemy casualties, in the background.

These two were fleeing ...

The thermals in ArmA 2 are fantastic

I know we are not the police department, but I would like to see the enemy to surrender in this scenario. :)

Cheers,

ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead - Kommando Spezialkrafte

One of the many new units in ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead: the kick-ass German special forces. Here shown in two specialties (scout and rifleman).

Cheers,

ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead - Bohemia Interactive messes up the sleep of thousands of gamers... again

Today I picked up a copy of the stand alone expansion to ArmA 2, Operation Arrowhead.

Bohemia Interactive now takes us to Takistan, a country that for all practical purposes looks pretty much like the other "stan". The past story of the country of Takistan is pretty much generic: a civil war in 1988 (the US backing the royalist faction and the USSR backing the socialists), the royalist faction prevailing after some fighting, all leading up to the uprising of the royalist tribesmen during April of 2012. On June 1st, 2012, Alliance forces deploy to Takistan after the socialist government of Takistan threatens to attack Karzeghistan ... blah, blah, blah. In case you are wondering, Borat is not playable.

Operation Arrowhead packs more factions and units than in previous iterations of the franchise. The US Army, the Czech Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Takistani Army, the Takistani Republican Militia, the Chernarussian Defense Force as UN forces and the Takistani people.

The village of Shamali is suspiciously quiet this afternoon.

I'm going to have lots of fun with this thing.

Cheers,

Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge - Tutorial Scenario - The Plan

Finally … the bloody plan.


I like to start my plans from the desired end state (the troops deployment, stance and actions at the end of the scenario).

By the end of the scenario I want to (A, B and C refer to the next screenshot):

A) Have seized St. Vith with a brigade sized formation and have these troops oriented towards the southwest from where we are expecting an enemy armor attack

B) Have other brigade sized formation ready to attack in order to counter the enemy armor threat from the west.
C) Have a brigade sized formation attacking or harassing the Breitfeld crossroads objective from both sides of the railroad in order to relieve pressure on both the troops at St. Vith and the troops attacking west

D) Have a screen line in place on our right flank

I intentionally don’t list the Breitfeld crossroads objective as taken in this desired end state. A closer look at the terrain nearby this objective reveals a mobility bottleneck shaped by a river and forests. Definitively not tank friendly terrain. Although I know I have all the assets to brush almost any opposition aside, I just don’t want to bog down precious assets or loose precious time in this hell hole. In my desired end state, any enemy troops lingering at Breitfeld crossroads will be almost surrounded.

The Breitfeld Crossroads Objective. Not the best tank terrain.

In order to achieve this desired end state, I need to secure the Steinebruck bridge and Lommerweiler so troops can move north, northeast and northwest. Remember that at the scenario start, movement towards our flanks is restricted by an impassable river and the only way out is through the bridge right in front of my troops.

At this point I will not plan beyond the first day of operations. There is a lot of tactical reconnaissance to be made yet.

My plan is to secure the Steinebruck bridge and Lommerweiller during day 1. As soon as crossing the bridge is possible I will move reconnaissance troops to our left flank.

Cheers,

Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge - Tutorial Scenario - Planning - Time

Time is the always forgotten dimension of warfare. In Battles from the Bulge it deserves a level of attention that likely matches the one real operation planners pay to it. Not only time flows seamless in this game (no turns) but also the orders you give to your units will take some time to be executed (orders delay).

The terrain objectives of this scenario are timed: we need to take them at a certain time to get the most victory points. I usually don't take these timings like I'm running a train line that needs to be at a certain station by certain time. Yet, I keep an attentive watch at those timings. Pun intended.

The next screenshot shows the terrain objectives and the times where they become active.

The other timed events are reinforcements. As you may remember from my previous post, we will get reinforced with a brigade at day 2 and another brigade at day 3.

 Now, onto the plan ... for goodness sake!

Cheers,

Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge - Tutorial Scenario - Planning - Own Troops

During planning, it is very important to have a clear picture of your own troops composition. In a game like BftB, in which the command structure has very little left to abstraction, it is of upmost importance.

The order of battle tab allows you to browse and locate each formation under your command.

The 35th Tank Battalion. When the HQ unit of the battalion is selected in the map, the command structure is shown as a series of lines (green lines connecting to subordinates, blue lines connecting to units up in the command structure).

 This is the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion.

This is the 1st Battalion, from the 318th Infantry Regiment. These are foot troops with limited mobility but with great ability to infiltrate behind enemy lines.

Indirect fire support ... don't forget the important role of artillery in the battlefield. We have two battalions of self-propelled artillery (around 28 guns each). I have clicked on the unit icon to see a picture of the actual vehicle.

Last but not least, reinforcements. This information is available from the reinforcements tab ("Reinf"). We will be reinforced on day 2 by one armored brigade and on day 3 by another armored brigade.

Cheers,

Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge - Tutorial Scenario - Planning - Terrain

During terrain analysis, the planner should consider observation and fields of fire, cover and concealment, obstacles, key terrain and avenues of approach. Fear not, we will not go into a full blown terrain analysis but rather make just a few considerations.

For this scenario, and besides the paramount objective St. Vith, I want to make sure that I can observe and block the enemy reinforcements from the west. To achieve that, I will need clear route to our left flank. The right flank is no less important. I wonder if the routes southeast of St. Vith are controlled by the enemy.

Although the maps in the game are as informative and seamless as real ones, I sometimes miss-read them (i.e. fail to perceive a natural obstacle). Thank goodness we have a tool available in the game that allows to evaluate the movement between two points of choice.

The "path" tool (yellow box) will calculate a route between two points of your choice. In this case, I asked for a calculation of the shortest  path for motorized units moving from our line of departure to objective St. Vith (green line).

A similar path calculation. Movement to our left flank will be only possible after controlling the bridge to our north.

Movement towards our right flank, only after we control the bridge to our north.

In conclusion, we can't bypass the enemy in front of us and we will need to take out those enemy units  before going for any other objective.

Coming next, our own troops.

Cheers,