CMCW: Tank Training 1982 is out for Patrons!
Added 2025-08-01 08:39:27 +0000 UTCAnd a lot of fun it was too! Not only was the mission solid (aside from one element that failed to fire) but it scripted up and took footage like a champ. Some AARs are slogs because there's lots of back and forth loading up individual turns for five second clips, others flow really well and it's actually quite hard to find a natural place to stop working. It's a bit like the video creation equivalent of the addictive Civilisation 'Just One More Turn...' effect.
Also, obviously, great stuff blasting T80s as well, a good armoured palate cleanser after all the infantry centric content since... well, the start of Foiling Fustian I guess.
That means the War Room has gotten pushed back to next week, where we'll be closing off the first stage of operations in the Peninsula with Napoleon's invasion and Moore's Retreat to Corunna.
And of course, it is the start of a new month (already?!) so there is a bonus video in the pipe for the Supertruppen. Something that I think will be a lot of fun for everyone...
Comments
The more I read Soviet doctrine (at least as interpreted in the West!) the more it seems to fall into the category of "we'll hit them really hard, someone will break through somewhere and the enemy will collapse", which... works really well right up until the moment it doesn't
Matthew Redfearn
2025-08-04 07:47:16 +0000 UTCI think that underscores the fact that Soviet armor in the 80s had serious issues with spotting. If you can't spot your target, be assured you will be the target. On the other hand the Soviets had good armor and good weapons systems. So, the weakness from a systems perspective was situational awareness. Incidentally, the means of mitigating this weakness is to level the playing field through the use of artillery of roughly 120mm or heavier on enemy armor. A US Army test in 1988 confirmed Soviet models for the effectiveness of artillery on armor. I mean in an indirect capacity too. BFC was presented a doc of this test way back in the 2000s and I'm pretty sure adjustments were made in the CM engine afterward. This is more of a digression of what was essentially an impromptu gunfight, but the more I think about the Soviets, the more I realize they were a combined arms force by absolute necessity. It wasn't so much about the elevated value of the sum of their parts, but that those parts were inadequate individually.
GLG
2025-08-02 22:15:55 +0000 UTCWell, all pixeltruppen are eager for glory... but I suspect that if 3-1's TC was human he would have developed some sudden and inexplicable radio malfunction.
Matthew Redfearn
2025-08-02 21:05:51 +0000 UTCExcellent AAR, explaining the decisions made and perceived risks in real time. 2nd Soviet company failed to advance to cover 1st company’s flank, and bad luck for them that the Americans did their deadly flanking maneuver right where 2nd Soviet company probably should have been. Oh well, Ivan. Curious: What do you think the TC of 3-1 thought to himself when he got the order to peek over the ridge? What about the rest of the crew?
Ray L
2025-08-02 20:54:16 +0000 UTCPretty cool tank slugfest!
Matthew Zaleski
2025-08-01 23:45:54 +0000 UTC
