PBEM Rhino

[Alex1812]

The battle is over right now. I operate quick and can take almost all VPs without combat, but then lost a lot of troops during quick battles with British tanks. My opponent (Katukov) used smoke really well to hide his units and it was the great surprise for me.

Using a smoke screen to hide own troops and thermal imaging sight to target an enemy provide the good tactical advantage for NATO player

The final situation:

[Alex1812]

- British Forces:
2" Mortar (Infantry Support Unit) - 6 starting.
Abbot (Self Propelled Artillery) - 8 starting.
Challenger 1 (Main Battle Tank) - 29 starting, 4 fallen out and 9 destroyed.
Chieftain Mk 11 (Main Battle Tank) - 14 starting, 3 fallen out and 1 destroyed.
Ferret AOP (Recon Unit) - 3 starting and 1 destroyed.
FV432 (Tracked APC) - 5 starting.
FV432 Mortar (Self Propelled Mortar) - 8 starting, 2 fallen out and 1 destroyed.
Headquarters (Command Unit) - 7 starting.
Heavy MG (Infantry Support Unit) - 4 starting and 1 destroyed.
Mechanized Rifle (Infantry Unit) - 24 starting, 4 fallen out and 6 destroyed.
Milan (Anti-Tank Infantry Unit) - 5 starting and 1 destroyed.
Scorpion (Recon Tank) - 8 starting and 6 destroyed.
Scout (Infantry Unit) - 2 starting.
Spartan (Tracked APC) - 4 starting and 1 destroyed.
Spartan AOP (Recon Unit) - 2 starting.
Spartan MCT (Self Propelled Anti-Tank) - 4 starting.
Sultan (Command Vehicle) - 2 starting.
Tornado (CAS Aircraft-Gun/IB) - 2 starting, 1 withdrawn or exited and 1 fallen out.
Tracked Rapier (Self Propelled SAM) - 6 starting and 1 destroyed.
Warrior (Tracked APC) - 39 starting, 2 fallen out and 7 destroyed.

- Soviet Forces:
2S6 Tunguska (Self Propelled Flak) - 4 starting.
30mm AGS GL (Grenade Launcher Unit) - 3 starting and 1 fallen out.
BMP-2D (Tracked APC) - 33 starting, 5 fallen out and 9 destroyed.
BMP-Ksh (Command Vehicle) - 14 starting and 1 fallen out.
BRDM-2 [g] (Recon Unit) - 6 starting, 1 withdrawn or exited and 3 destroyed.
BRM-1K Korshun (Recon Unit) - 3 starting, 2 fallen out and 1 destroyed.
GAZ-66 (Wheeled Utility Vehicle) - 4 starting.
Headquarters (Command Unit) - 5 starting and 2 fallen out.
Mechanized Rifle (Infantry Unit) - 27 starting, 9 fallen out and 2 destroyed.
Mi-24P Hind (Attack Helicopter-Gun/Rkt) - 12 starting, 10 fallen out and 1 destroyed.
SA-11 Gadfly (Self Propelled SAM) - 4 starting.
SA-14 Gremlin (SAM Infantry Unit) - 3 starting and 1 destroyed.
T-80BV [m] (Main Battle Tank) - 95 starting, 43 fallen out and 19 destroyed.

[ivanov]

What a fight:) This was my first PBEM game and the experience was great.

It turned out that my plan was doomed from the beginning. The main problem for the British player, is that his forces enter to action piecemeal and at the beginning of the scenario he starts with about 30% of the total strength. Another problem pose the Soviet Mi-24's. They are fast and deadly, so I didn't want to get caught by them in the open, while on the move. Due to that, I decided to place my initial task force within a confined area, under the protective umbrella of the only Rapier battery. My initial plan was to place all of my units around the valuable victory locations in Gesmold. Then I changed my mind and decided to risk a little. I ordered to my units to move to the hill overlooking Eicken, across the river from Melle. Gesmold was supposed to be occupied by my second echelon. I was hoping that it will get there well ahead of the advancing Soviets. This turned out to be a major miscalculation. I tasked my recon units to blow up the two bridges west of Melle and if they succeeded, the plan could actually work well. Unfortunately my Scorpion platoons got quickly overrun by the advancing Soviet armor. This was a nasty surprise that cost me dearly. I've no idea how Alex could move so quickly, but he had to use the hasty movement. I ran my tests as Soviets using the assault order. So in a due course Melle was in Soviet hands and the result of the game was already decided, as I couldn't hope to recapture the location. To Alex credit, he could just sit on the victory locations but instead he tried to advance towards Westernhousen and Oldendorf. Initially both attacks surprised me, because Alex managed to move his units undetected just under my nose, using skillfully the terrain cover. Some proper Maskirovka skills! But my Scots were well dug in and managed to inflict some heavy loses on the attackers. At some stage I was hoping, that I could actually win after Soviets suffer 70% loses, but it probably doesn't work that way in PBEM games.

As to the use of smoke - Alexs is right, the thermal imaging is the single clear tactical advantage of the NATO tanks. Soviet T80's are tough, fast and there is a lot of them. However looking at this issue realistically, as much as I understand, the thermal imaging provides an advantage in the night or during poor weather conditions. The smoke cover is used mostly for evacuating damaged vehicles. Currently in the game, it is turned into single most important tactical asset of the NATO forces. Is that realistic? A food for thought.

[governato]

how should the WP player use smoke? Will it provide cover at all if dropped on a WP defender? Or will it actually make firing from a smoked hex more difficult, while NATO can see through it? Any suggestions?

[ivanov]

My guess it that it would protect him from the NATO units not equipped with thermal imaging system but it should also obscure the view of the defender.

[Tazak]

A lot of scenarios are based in the late 80's where proliferation of TI amongst NATO units is quite high so limiting the usefulness of smoke to WP forces, play a scenario set in the late 70's or early 80's and its a different ballgame for both sides.