#2746277 - 06/19/09 04:30 PM
Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
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JC______
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Man schlägt jemanden mit der Faust und nicht mit gespreizten Fingern. (You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread.) Heinz Guderian Meaning that you should concentrate your Panzers for one mighty push in one direction and not distribute them over a large area. From WikiQuotes. The action described below is from a SBProPE custom-made scenario featuring a US Cavalry Plt tasked with filling a gap in a screen line. This scenario is loosely based in the actions of the 2nd Plt, A Troop, 1-4 US Cavalry near objective Norfolk during the Gulf War. During the early hours of 27 Feb 1991, 1-4 US Cav was conducting a screen mission for 1 ID. The S3 of the unit, Major John Burdan became aware that A and B Troops have been inadvertently moving away from each other while moving to establish the screen line. Thus, a gap in the screen line was generated. The 1st Squadron commander (LTC Robert Wilson) decided to inspect the screen line personally, taking along one M3 and an M113. This command group found a dug-in Iraqi T-72 and quickly dispatched it. Soon it became evident that BMPs and T-72s were behind the 1st Squadron's screen line. Lacking the firepower needed to clear this enemy group, the 2nd Plt of A Troop (2LT Adrian Lowndes) was called in to clear the enemy positions and to re-establish de screen line. More details can be found at "The Road to Safwan", by Bourque and Burdan (pages 151 to 153). Please keep in mind "loosely based". This scenario is not an historical recreation. Over time, I edited the scenario to get rid of the many difficulties the Troopers of 1-4 US Cav have encountered in real-life: navigation in an almost featurless desert, with few GPS units, with 1/500,000 maps and at night. How they did it, it escapes my comprehension. To make it up for my scenario's numerous excesses, I situated the action during a moderate sandstorm (low visibility), with no air support and no indirect fires availble for the US. I made the gap in the screen almost 4 km wide. I also reinforced the Iraqis with two plts of T-72s and three plt(-) of BMPs, all deployed in depth with infantry-manned OPs up front. I also gave the Iraqis random start positions and two crude plans of armored counter-attacks which are triggered based in the reports by the infantry OPs. The main purpose of editing and playing this scenario was to learn how to use hunter-killer teams in a hasty attack. M3/M1 hunter-killer teams have been widely used by US Cavalry formations during both Iraq wars. For this scenario, I have an US Cav Plt composed of 6 M3 CFVs and 2 M1 MBTs. I organized this Plt as described in an article that appeared in the Armor magazine, back in 1993. Without further ado, the mission. The blue units at the north and south extremes of the map, are part of the Squadron's screen line and they are out of my control. The gap between both of them is where enemy presence is suspected. The units is at the western extreme of the map are part of my Plt. You will have excuse me in that each of them show Plt symbols and nomenclature. For the purpose of this scenario, they are all just part of the same US Cav Plt. Also, Units 3-A and 2-A have a tank symbol but they are actually composed of 1 M1 MBT and 2 M3 CFVs. This is the first time I use the new mixed units feature of v2.146! The task is to execute a "clear" tactical mission and re-establish the screen line (dotted arrows located at the eastern edge). The "clear" tactical mission is ussualy executed after very careful planning and is supported with multiple assets. Clearly not the case for this scenario, but I'm claiming METTTC considerations. To be continued ...
Last edited by JC______; 06/19/09 04:34 PM.
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2746285 - 06/19/09 04:40 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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JC______
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The PlanWe are deep in the desert. Right in front of us there is a small valley, oddly scattered with palm trees. East of that valley, the hills we have to clear. Once we get inside this hilly terrain, long range engagements (in which we have such an awesome edge) will be impossible. Whatever happens in the hills, it will be a knife-fight. It's early in the morning and a moderate sandstorm has limited the visibility to 1 km. Based on the light resistance we found in the last hours and the lack of prepared enemy defenses, the enemy forces are likely conducting a mobile security mission. One hour ago, our Sqn command group has destroyed two PCs and one tank (see reference points in the map). At least 4 T-72s and 5 BMPs were seen hastily moving west. Our task is to clear the enemy from the sector indicated in the map and restore the screen line. Forces available for this mission are a US Cav Plt (6 M3 CFV, 2 M1 MBT) which I organized as a Hunter-Killer Plt (see previous post). The Squadron's aerial component is grounded until the climate conditions improve. We have no indirect fire support available for this mission. My scheme of maneuver is, sequentially: 1) Clear the valley with the whole Hunter-Killer (HK) Plt 2) Infiltrate or force a penetration of the hilly terrain via small valleys/low terrain at the north and southern extremes of the sector with HK teams 2A and 3A 3) Teams 2A and 3A conduct mutually supported HK missions to find and destroy the enemy forces. Team 4A (2 M3 CFVs) stays back in the small valley, alerts of any enemy movement in the west part of the sector and stays ready to reinforce HK operations of teams 2A and 3A H-K and HK: Hunter-Killer tacticsThe infiltration/penetration of the hilly terrain of 3A HK team (southern flank) could have been made a bit more down south, near the southern edge of the sector. I opted for a small low-terrain-valley entrance a bit north than that because I wanted to make sure that team 3A could support team 2A. Coming up next: the execution
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#2746293 - 06/19/09 04:53 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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JC______
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Around 6:51, all teams are at the edge of the palm trees, scanning east before moving on. An artillery barrage falls over team 4-A (center group, 2 M3 CFVs). Team 4-A pulls back to safety un-harmed. The enemy has seen us. There must be some infantry OPs somewhere. Team 4-A pulls back to avoid the artillery fire.With the certainty that the enemy has seen us, I order everybody to wait for a couple of minutes, and scan the terrain east. No victors out there. I am a bit scared of letting both teams 2-A and 3-A to start moving east. I choose team 2-A (north flank) as the one to move on first because its avenue of infiltration/penetration is closer to the north limit of our sector. If something nasty happens during their approach, they can move north to safety relatively fast. Team 2-A advances northwest through a small valley. Formation column, with the tank up front. Because the terrain now is a bit more closed, I want to make sure that if contact is to happen during the march, a tank is the first thing the enemy facesAnother artillery barrage, now on team 3-A (southern flank), produces the first loss. An M3 CFV falls prey to the fire from the sky. This is not a good start. Team 3-A suffers the first loss.Fortunately, team 2-A (northern flank) advances unopposed. Another view of the advance of team 2-A.It’s now 6:55 and the time of deploying the “hunters” of team 2-A has come. Situation at 6:55. Note team 2-A's advance.To be continued ...
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2746338 - 06/19/09 06:27 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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JC______
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6:55, Time to move the two M3 CFVs from team 2-A (north flank) out as "hunters". I want to find out where the enemy tanks are before moving forward the already mauled team 3-A (south flank). The two M3 CFVs from team 2-A leave the M1 tank behind and move cautiously in separate directions. All those trooper skills will come in handy right now. One M3 CFV (vehicle 2/2-A) moves some 500 meters south and finds no trace of the enemy. The other M3 CFV (vehicle 4/2-A) moves west. At 7:12, vehicle 4/2-A finds two Iraqi T-72s some 1.2 km south of its position. We finally found where the enemy armor is. Vehicle 4/2-A finds the enemy.Having accomplish the task (find the enemy and report) I should have pulled out this "hunter" out of harms way. I was in the commander's seat of this vehicle at this point and I have to tell you, the view shown in the previous screenshot chilled my spine. When the spotting of enemy armor happened I had this M3 CFV in an un-covered position, with a ridgeline behind me. Not the best of places to find out enemy armor with an M3 CFV. The view from vehicle 4/2-A when the enemy armor was spotted. The enemy tanks are somewhere far in the background.
I threw smoke in front and panicked. I could have pulled out moving to my right but I didn't have the guts to leave the safety of the smoke curtain. As usually I couldn't remember about the smoke generator. I was not going to retreat my M3 by moving backwards and cresting the small ridge behind. Sequentially showing the top and then the belly of the vehicle to a couple of enemy tanks is not a good idea. The it became obvious that the two tanks haven't seen my M3 CFV, so I engaged both tanks with TOWs. Two enemy tanks destroyed. So much for "hunter", this M3 CFV just became a "killer". Situation at 7:12. We found enemy armor ... and killed it. A view of the two Iraqi T-72s killed with TOWs.I bugged out from the area and returned back to the safety of the hills near the M1 tank. We found and killed two tanks already. The other enemy tanks should be nearby but cannot be spotted from our northern flank team. It's time to move forward team 3-A (south flank).
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2746343 - 06/19/09 06:39 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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JC______
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7:17, team 3-A (south flank) is moving east. Team 3-A moves up. Note how they stay on low terrain. Formation column, with the M1 tank ahead.
Once team 3-A arrives to the end of the small valley they used as the approach route, the only M3 CFV of the team is ordered north to hunt for the enemy armor. Situation at 7:23. Vehicle 4/3-A (M3 CFV) is hunting.I jumped into vehicle 4/3-A for some trooper fun. I went into the commander's hatch and, un-buttoned, I used the binoculars to look out for the enemy armor. Some tense moments searching for enemy armor. This thing turned out to be the burning wreck of a T-72 destroyed by the northern flank team.Then I found it ... I see it!
Last edited by JC______; 06/19/09 06:40 PM.
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2746350 - 06/19/09 06:53 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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JC______
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... and called up the killer ... The "killer" from team 3A moves upA brief firefight ensues ... The "killer", sending love down rangeWith predictable results Third enemy tank destroyed. The tanks in the background have been previously destroyed by a northern flank "hunter"It's now 7:41 and we have destroyed an Iraqi T-72 Plt. We need to find the rest of the enemy tanks. I order one vehicle from team 2-A (north flank) to move west and hope it can see the enemy tanks. An M3 CFV moves east (vehicle 4/2-A), very slowly. They can't see any enemy tanks, but it detects and destroys a couple of BMPs. So far, vehicle 4/2-A has destroyed two T-72s and two BMPs. Despite the success of vehicle 4/2-A, I'm a bit disappointed that they couldn't see the enemy tanks I'm looking for. The hunters of team 2-A (north flank) and team 3-A (southern flank) appear to be separated by a small elevation that runs east-west right at the center of our sector. This means that both north and south flank teams are not mutually supported. The task of finding the enemy tanks will have to go into team's 3-A (south flank) "hunter". I order vehicle 4/3-A to pull back south and use another north-bound approach to find the enemy tanks. Vehicle 4/3-A finds a semi-decent approach for its hunting, but the elevations covering its route are getting too small to cover an M3 CFV. I order the troopers to dismount and move forward. Time is 7:51.
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2746356 - 06/19/09 07:01 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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JC______
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It's now around 8:00. The enemy tanks destroyed, it's time to mop up the remaining BMPs. Team 3-A slowly creeps forward, with the M3 acting as a "hunter". The "hunter" of team 3-A passes through the scorched remains of two enemy T-72 plts.Team 4-A (2 M3 CFVs), which has been providing some sort of rear security, is ordered to advance east using the same avenue of approach team 3-A has used earlier. The tank and one M3 from team 2-A are ordered to move south one kilometer and then pivot east towards the screen line (see map below). The other M3 of team 2-A remains in position providing overwatch. At around 8:10, team 4-A finds a plt of enemy BMPs near our future screen line. They destroy them with cannon fire. Situation at 8:10At this point I'm growing worried about vehicle 4/3-A. There is this hill some 400 meters southeast of its position and I don't think that it would be possible for this vehicle to take a peek behind it without getting shot point-blank. I then order team 4-A (2 M3 CFVs) to advance northeast in order to see what's there. And there was death waiting behind that hill. An M3 CFV from team 4-A is destroyed by an enemy BMP. 8:14:25. It's cool to know the exact time at which I screwed up.One M3 from team 4-A gets it. I still don't know what two inches of dirt saved the vehicle in the forefront from being seen and engaged. Note the bad choice I made for an approach: terrain is almost flat there.
I jump into the remaining M3 of team 4-A (vehicle 4/4-A) and pull it back south in order to approach the enemy position from another angle.
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2746358 - 06/19/09 07:06 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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JC______
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http://[/img] In command of vehicle 4/4-A (M3), I move northeast to get into the flank of the enemy BMPs. There is a hill that covers my approach. While moving in, I get harassed by Iraqi infantry (survivors from the BMPs destroyed quite a while ago), but fortunately my vehicle doesn't suffer any damage. I manage to get into the enemy's flank and I open fire on them. They didn't have a chance ... Caught with their guns pointing to the wrong place.Even an M3 from another team (vehicle 4/3-A, the one who I didn't want to risk peeking towards the enemy-held side of the hill) joined the fun. Cleaning up for good. Vehicle 4/3-A (foreground) joins the party for an un-intended kill-sack. Can you see the M3 I was commanding, far in the background, near the base of the distant hill? Just kiddingTime now is 8:24 and we can finally move to re-establish the screen line. Family picture: Hunter-Killer Team 2-AEnd of mission. Sometime during the weekend I will post the "lessons learned" Your feedback will be appreciated. Cheers,
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2746761 - 06/20/09 03:24 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: enigma6584]
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JC______
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Thanks Mag and enigma! Much appreciated. Cheers,
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2747093 - 06/21/09 08:56 AM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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Stratos
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JC, great AAR, very inspiring. Wondering how you can "randomize" the aparition and location of the enemy??
-Sir in case of retreat, were we have to retreat?? -To the Graveyard!!
sandbagger.uk.com/stratos.html
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#2747138 - 06/21/09 02:45 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: Stratos]
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JC______
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Hi Stratos,
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
For this scenario, I just declared a random variable and added "spawn if" conditions for units placed in different places. Ssnake, back at the steelbeasts.com forum has rightly said to me that I'm better of with a "move to end" random condition. It's just way easier.
Cheers,
Real and Simulated Wars Stray thoughts on war and its representation by off-the-shelf computer games and simulations
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#2747298 - 06/21/09 08:43 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: JC______]
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Ssnake
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Germoney
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...the "jump, if..." condition, to be precise. If the condition depends exclusively on a random variable the jump (or a spawn condition) will be executed prior to the planning phase, so all units are at one of their starting locations. That way you can also randomize the starting location of the player's units, or, with the Spawn function, randomize the composition of the player's units. This is being demonstrated in one of SB Pro's stock scenarios, Desert Ambush if I remember it correctly, which has a total of more than 50 ways how it can play out - one of three different types of enemy taking one of three different routes, with the player being equipped with one of six or so different types of task forces - 3 x 3 x 6 = 54 variations.
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#2747354 - 06/21/09 11:08 PM
Re: Steel Beasts ProPE AAR: Learning to Punch with the Fingers Spread
[Re: Ssnake]
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Enven
4th Horseman of the Apocalypse...
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4th Horseman of the Apocalypse...
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Amazing AAR- Awesome mission!
RIP Kevin "Positive G" Speichts
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