CMx2 tactical notes and observations

[PoorOldSpike]

SPOTTING ANALYSIS
(I did these tests in Red Thunder which I assume has the same CMx2 game engine as CMBN and FI, and were done on Veteran difficulty level because that's the level Bfront recommend as having the best balance between realism and fun)
The main thing to remember is that even though many enemy units might be visible on screen, only some of your units might be able to see them, so don't waste time screaming at the screen "WHY DON'T YOU BLOODY FIRE?"

1- The Germans are facing a Light Forest..



2- and in there I've placed this Russian 76mm ATG and a 2-man observer team. (Incidentally ATG's can't be placed in Heavy Forest)
Notice that the 3 German PzIV's are visible on screen (red circles).
Also notice that I haven't selected any of the Russian units yet, as the blank data panel at the bottom of the screen proves.



3- I now select the ATG and surprise surprise, 2 of the Pz IV's disappear because he can only see the one on the left!

[PoorOldSpike]

4- but when I select the observer team, the other 2 Panzers re-appear as if by magic because he's much nearer the edge of the woods and can therefore see much better because there are not so many treetrunks and shrubs blocking his view.



5- I select the ATG again and sweep his targetting line around to get some idea of what he can see. He sees one Panzer clear as a bell..



6- but as I sweep the target line around to the right, it's blocked by trunks and shrubs, preventing him seeing the other two Panzers.

[PoorOldSpike]

7- I select the Observer team and we see their field of view is much better than the ATG's, but I took a risk by placing them so near the edge of the woods because they might be spotted.




8- the ATG has got the shot against the Panzer so I take it. This is where his restricted field of view is to his advantage because none of the other Germans can see him and won't be able to fire back.




9- The German view; the Panzer brews on the second shot, it never knew what hit it, and the rest of the Germans are wondering where the shot came from too-

[PoorOldSpike]

10- A minute or two later the Russians luck begins running out as the Germans spot the Observer team (the solid green binocular icon) and also get a 'partial spot' (faded green icon) on the ATG, no doubt they heard it firing and might even have seen the muzzle flash and smoke too, but as yet they haven't spotted its exact position-



11- A closer look at the icons as seen by the Germans, the 2 men of the Observer team are well and truly spotted huddling prone behind a tree, but the ATG is still invisible because it's only partially spotted-




12- the Germans blow away the Observers (note incoming tracer).
(The red line is the ATG firing at the bailed Pz crew)

[PoorOldSpike]

13- although the Germans can't get a solid gun lock on the ATG, they can still area-fire into it's position, so I order the two Panzers to do exactly that-



14- and it's "adios ATG"..:)


Summary- If an enemy gun toasts one of your tanks but your other tanks don't fire back, it simply means they haven't spotted it yet. Meanwhile don't sit around waiting for it's icon to appear, just plaster the whole edge of the woods with area-fire by tanks and infantry to at least suppress it!
Also, at the start of your turns, click a blank area of the map to de-select all your units and get a clean slate overview of the situation, then begin selecting each of your units one by one to see what they can see through their eyes..:)

[PoorOldSpike]

COVER and CONCEALMENT
This test answers the question- "At what range will the enemy spot my infantry in different types of cover?"
It's Red Thunder but if the game engine is the same as CMBN and CMFI the test should hold good for them too. Veteran level, bright sunny day.

1- I place Russian squads in and behind the various types of cover at the far end of the map on 'Hide' with minimum arcs. They all go prone and I start a German infantry line walking towards them on 'Move'.
Already the two Russian squads on the far left are spotted at about 250 metres even though they're lying prone because I placed them in open ground to see what would happen.-
However the Germans DON'T open fire on them because the range must be too great for small arms-



2- A closer look at the defenders positions.


(The Rural stone wall and Brick wall look identical from a distance, the Rural is like a dry stone wall)-
Rural-


Brick-



3- the other end of the line-

[PoorOldSpike]

4- The two clumps of forest, note the different thickness of shrubbery between 'Light' (left) and 'Heavy' (right). There's a squad prone in the middle of each clump-



5- As the German line walks forward the squad on left (circled) begins firing on the Russian squads in the open-



6- It was the machinegunner who opened fire first, then half a minute later the riflemen joined in-

[PoorOldSpike]

7- the Germans continue walking and spot a squad in the Light Forest (circled) at about 150 metres-



8- and the German squads in the centre begin firing at him shortly afterwards-



9- Two more Russian squads (circled) are spotted behind the Low Bocage at about 60 metres by the leading German squad-

[PoorOldSpike]

11- The German line continues advancing and three more Russian squads are spotted at around 80 metres (circled from left to right) behind the Hedge, in the Heavy Forest, and behind the Rural stone wall.
Meanwhile the units in the open and behind Low bocage are cracking up (X) and beginning to rout-



12- At pointblank range (about 15 metres) the Germans begin to spot squads behind the Brick wall and Tall stone wall-



13- I order the Germans to move over the walls and a close-quarter battle erupts-



14- It's all over bar the shouting, but the Russian squad beind the Tall stone wall is not even scratched because the Germans couldn't see them and couldn't climb the wall-

[PoorOldSpike]

15-I ran this separate test to see if houses give good cover by deploying an 11-man Russki squad in each house on Hide with minimum arcs.
The Germans spotted the squad in the house on the left at about 30 metres and opened fire, routing the Russians out the back door-



16- I then ordered the Germans to move into the other house, and amazingly they still hadn't spotted the Russians even though they'd closed to about 10m. Here the Russians fire first and blow away the point man as he enters the 10m arc..




17- And a pointblank firefight erupts, some Germans ran in the front door and were cut down, and others got it among the brussel sprouts..



18- But the Russians quickly call it a day and flee out the back door despite only suffering 2 casualties. They were out of command to their platoon HQ white arrow) like the other squad which may explain their shakiness.



SUMMARY- Here are the range figures from the above tests, bear in mind it was a bright sunny day, and all ranges would be less at dusk/dawn/night or in bad weather.
Also it was a pure spotting test, not a combat test, so I basically ordered the Russians to hold their fire throughout so they wouldn't blow their cover.
Approx ranges at which squads were spotted in-
Open ground= 250m
Light Forest= 150m
In Heavy forest, behind Hedge, behind Rural wall= 80m
Behind Low bocage= 60m
Behind Brick wall and Tall stone wall= 15m
In House= 10 to 30m