Combat Mission Battle for Normandy 14/06/19: Multiplayer quick battle 08/04/19

France July 1944 12:00hrs
A multiplayer meeting engagement H2H PBEM with HauptmannKyle from The Few Good Men. German panzergrenadiers move to counter a US rifle company crossing the river.
Multiplayer, WeGo, PBEM, Elite
www.thefewgoodm...
Music;
Cataclysmic Molten Core by Jingle Punks

[@voakk4062]

Another day where Josey decends from the heavens, drops a video on us and ascends again. Love your work.

[@fatdelinquent85]

"first round is WAY off" - nearly gets DIRECTLY hit by the shell

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Observer: **pikachu face**

[@BrownfuzzyRICVids]

Hey man, I love how you narrate this like its a documentary its so interesting and immersive! I think im gonna buy the game because of your videos, thanks dude, and I hope your channel stays with the awesome content!

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks Kris, you should definitely buy this game if you enjoy deep tactics.

[@bazeye]

A Puma, a Puma, my kingdom for a Puma !!!

[@joseywales3848]

After this battle I did some tests in the editor with a platoon of Greyhounds vs platoons of various German armoured cars and half tracks including a platoon of Pumas. In almost every instance the Greyhounds came out on top. I thought the Pumas would annihilate the Greyhounds but not so. As soon as the Pumas buttoned up they were effectively blind whilst the Greyhounds were still able to spot them. This was tested with CMBN 4.0

[@Marth667]

@@joseywales3848 So effectively they're OP. Nice.

[@joseywales3848]

@Marth667 well that's a discussion for the BF forums

[@EZBAKE97]

Great game and thanks again for having me! Been looking forward to the video and it's weird to be on the other side of it! Great work!

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks Patrick, would you be willing to explain some of your thoughts on how you approached this battle? Force selection, deployment, concerns etc..

[@EZBAKE97]

Of course! So when we set up there was no map preview, I went fairly basic with 3 armoured rifle platoons each with a bazooka team but chose not to bring any transports. After some debate I added the 3 trucks to get some mobility, then the 2 greyhounds for some AT and mobile fire support. As far as battle plan, I rushed 1st platoon across the river in the trucks to objective Tango and they were followed up by 2nd platoon on foot. 3rd platoon made their way to objective Oscar and I figured they would face less resistance. 1 greyhound went to each objective to support. As the battle unfolded I just tried to slowly feed troops into the woods but held back enough that if needed, I could counter attack onto Tango. When I saw the chance for the greyhound to take out the stummels I had to hop on it. After the extreme luck of killing both, I figured it best to harass the rear but was being very weary of panzerfausts. When I saw the soldier with the peaked cap (Battalion Co) I went for blood. Honestly it was crazy watching how lucky I got with my greyhound taking 2 very odd hits from the panzerfausts. I rotated the 'Intact' greyhound over to KT 1 to provide flanking fire into Tango, I didn't feel as though having them both in close proximity was a sound strategy because you likely only had infantry anti-tank weapons remaining. All in all I just tried to react to what I saw and got many lucky breaks. The plane not being one of them! @@joseywales3848

[@nathangun2261]

Ouch, that was a nasty one.

[@St3lz3r]

Usually Hapless and Josey Wales uploading a video on the same day - seems like Christmas to me

[@Philhamm]

Don't forget Double uploading the third mission of the Monte Cassino campaign earlier this week. A veritable bonanza from the british-accented niche pixeltruppen gang.

[@ottofin3178]

I'm going to finally buy a Combat Mission game after watching so many of your vids, it's just so cool and immersive. I'll wait with anticipation for your next multiplayer quick battle AAR

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks Otto, you won't regret the purchase

[@bwcmakro]

@@joseywales3848 Are you going to be making more videos? You haven't posted one in a while.

[@joseywales3848]

@@bwcmakro I've taken a break from CM and making video AAR's. They tend to take up all of my gaming time and I've missed out on some other great games which I am now catching up on. The channel is not dead but you could say it's in hibernation at the moment.

[@laipplst]

Wow! Josey, just found your channel the other day and oh what a treat it is. Thank you. I have been a fan of Combat Mission for 20 years. Have all three of the original games, Beyond Overlord, Barbossa to Berlin and the Mediterranean Campaign one. Great game! Regarding this specific scenario/mission, agreed that once your two Stummels were neutralized it was the beginning of the end, but… it seems like the Allies points seemed a bit at an advantage with the AirPower. It was purely a miracle for you that they didn’t strafe your forces twice, instead of the Allies by mistake. If that had happened, I can’t image how much more worse it would have been for the Axis forces. Either way, fantastic game and presentation of it. Thanks again Josey.

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks a lot. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Yeah I also used to play the original CM games back in the day, I thought they were great.

[@wartsnall7332]

Brilliant video. And a brutally honest assessment of your defeat.

[@Kanovskiy]

spoilers ahead

[@IHateYoutubeHandlesVeryMuch]

Noticed that the Combat Mission ui is gone. I also like the more narrow aspect ratio, makes the shots of the open areas and inside the woods complement the feeling. I think to myself at times that despite that this is kind of niche, more people should watch stuff like this. I actually made a few of my friends watch several minutes of a few of your other videos, but I didn't get why they thought it was "boring." I could understand in regards to the more tactical discussions of your videos and probably how the game looks, but the action in your videos is top notch and cinematic quality.

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks for your praise. I have started using Cyberlink PowerDirector to edit the video and it gives me more options than my previous program which is why the UI is gone and there is now the narrower aspect that you see in other CM KZbin vids. I make videos that I would like to watch. I am a big fan of war films and love big battle scenes, not just WW2 stuff but anything from Spartacus (the 1960 film not the TV series) to Waterloo. I have sat in a room with other people and watched Braveheart and whilst I find the battles and the build up to the battles exhilarating, other people in the room have found them boring. It's just horses for courses and I suspect your friends either don't like war films, battle scenes or don't like the graphics. They may of course just not like my vids, which of course is fine.

[@Dusty7460]

great video as always. I watch it 360 p until YT is finishing the rendering and was quite enjoyable. If possible bring more videos like this. With respect from, Romania.

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks Daniel, yeah first time it's uploaded in 360p which is annoying. It'll hopefully resolve itself within the hour.

[@SAarumDoK]

I love your work. Keep it up, cheers from France !

[@RobbYarber]

Can you imagine what the American Civil War would have been like if they had weapons and vehicles like that? That's something that fascinates me; imagining what battles from the past would be like if they had modern weapons and motor vehicles.

[@noahprince4109]

He’s back!

[@grzegorzp2314]

Watching your movies is like watching documentaries from the Second World War. Great job!

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks for the high praise, glad you're enjoying the vids.

[@blong2134]

Thanks for the upload Josey Wales. Very interesting as usual!

[@davidjohnston1866]

Very entertaining. A loss like this is what keeps it real! Great work as always.

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks David, yeah I'm happy to post my losses as well as my wins. I never wanted to be one of those gamers who looks like they win all the time.

[@sproge2142]

Thank you! Great vid as always. It's funny, I was just thinking about leaving a comment before you spoke about it, how the M8 has been over-preforming in a lot of battles on KZbin lately, I guess it's becoming "meta". I'm happy that the dirt cheap US 50 cal air support didn't get you! How do you feel the balance is in smaller battles like this? The US seem to be coming out on top a lot, even if the MG42s of the Germans are quite strong.

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks, you ask an excellent question. It's a bit difficult to give a definite answer. I have played 2 games recently including this one where more or less similar forces have gone up against each other, one in a dense urban environment and the one here and both times I was up against savvy players and both times I lost. As well as my opponents skill, terrain has also played a large part in both battles. What I can say with a bit more certainty is that the Greyhound outclasses practically every German armoured car and halftrack including the Puma and the US forces get pretty cheap air cover. Whilst you could make a case here that this makes these smaller battles easier to play as the US than the Germans, I am reluctant at this point to make that conclusion. I have learned a lot in this battle and have a few things I'd like to try in the next battle I play on this scale as the Germans, particularly with regards to force selection. If my hunch is right, it may tip the balance back in the Germans favour.

[@sproge2142]

@@joseywales3848 thank you for your answer! I smell some AT guns in the future! Or maybe more recoilless rifles! As for the m8, maybe it gets some bonus to spotting enemies as it's a "scout car" and that's how it's consistently able to get the first shot in? Looking forward to your next video!

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

@@joseywales3848 Seems a bit accurate to the real-world situation in France '44. The Greyhound is one of those unsung vehicles of the war in terms of its utility for recon, reliability, and surprisingly-good infantry support capabilities. Of course everyone knows of the infamous account of a Greyhound out-maneuvering a king-tiger and putting a few rounds up its tailpipe. Not sure how much credence I'd give it but the Greyhound is a solid vehicle - and of course the air support was plentiful for the Allies in France. I would go as far as to say these battles initially favor the Yanks because France in 1944 - especially after the breakout - tended to favor the Yanks. That's why I like studying the Italian front so much, the terrain and the strategic situation seems to feature much more parity amongst the capabilities of the belligerents.

[@MrHyde-wv8wi]

My comment to show support for your Video is as follows. -Big Thumbs Up

[@lasse8290]

the sound is pretty gritty, what mod(s) do you use?

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks its HQS mod

[@pipsqueaks_home]

Thank you, for yet another really entertaining AAR. Wonderful work again! And your presentation, and CM, show how effective lightly armoured vehicles were in WW2. Something CM does very well and other titles like, Steel Division, not so much. Because in reality they were very effective.

[@miniaturesandstuff5209]

just discovered your channel today! excellent battle report; very gripping and I was never lost on where the action was and which units were where. Subbed!

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks buddy, I hope you enjoy the channel

[@miniaturesandstuff5209]

@@joseywales3848 i'm binge watching your stuff now! great stuff!! It's just like tabletop wargaming, only animated! 🙂

[@xvyperxx1]

Great video as always Josey.

[@WarbandGamingOfficial]

The production quality of this battle report is fantastic. My god, I'm so glad I just got into CM games when I did. BTW, what mods, if any, are you using? I feel like my terrain and stuff doesn't look nearly as high quality as your models. Great work.

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks for the praise, glad you’re enjoying the game. I use mostly Aris mods for vehicles and terrain.

[@mymneisadj]

Josey Wales the highest praise I can give your videos is this ….. I am not sure which one to watch first yours or Usually Hapless

[@joseywales3848]

Ha thanks man, I'm also a fan of UH

[@Shim267]

Hey Josey, Just discovered your channel. It's all great stuff. What mods are you using? They enhance the quality of the experience so much I'm willing to consider them essential.

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks man. I mostly use the Aris set of mods for the vehicles, terrain and effects.

[@pdogone1]

love this game system

[@badipaddress]

Very nice video AAR! Channel subscribed.

[@austintatious7209]

A real CQB meat grinder. great vid, i thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@michaelhansen5662]

I have a request, would you be willing to play what is probably the hardest combat mission, mission, “School of Hard Knocks”? And then post it to show us how you would tackle it? Tried to tackle it 5 times already, to no success. Best I could do was a ceasefire after I have capped the bridge.

[@joseywales3848]

I'll probably have a go at it at somepoint, I'm playing a Red Thunder single player game at the moment, then need to get some games in with my regular opponents so perhaps after that.

[@olivertv6175]

Nicely done video!

[@spellcaster39ify]

Nice AAR - were you just unlucky with the Stummels or is there a solid reason why neither fired on the Greyhound before getting taken out?

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks, the idea was to move the 2 Stummels into hull down positions simultaneously covering the ford as I knew the Greyhound was crossing. The Greyhound and the first Stummel spotted each other at the same time, but the Greyhound got the round off first and destroyed the Stummel. I thought then that the 2nd Stummel would just take out the Greyhound but it didn't get a spot. Unfortunately the Greyhound did spot it and so number 2 went with a bang.

[@spellcaster39ify]

@@joseywales3848 Interesting. Hull-down with a Stummel should result in a very small target for the Greyhound and it's quite exceptional for a gunner to be able to change ranges and elevations and land consecutive kill shots first time. The Stummel will definitely have a harder time spotting due to the rather ad hoc design of the gun and its role as fire support vs the dedicated AT halftracks the Germans fielded. In any case the loss of your 2 x Queens so early in the chess match was of course fatal and it would have taken a near miracle to overcome that loss.

[@SSS-pn9ex]

Late to the party, but a Superb AAR Josey 👏. Which sound mod is being used? Just getting back into Combat Mission after a loonnngg 2014 ish absence.

[@joseywales3848]

Hi Shane, its the HQS mod.

[@SSS-pn9ex]

Thank you sir!

[@MP6150]

That was a brutal fight, especially the grenade duels. Oh, and losing your BC to that Greyhound. Ouch. I also liked the bit where the Germans had to dash to cover due to enemy aircraft. It felt very fitting for the Germans in Normandy. Luckily for you the pilot was cross-eyed!

[@joseywales3848]

Yeah, I started to feel a bit sorry for HauptmannKyle when his aircraft kept strafing his own positions, however that soon evaporated once I lost my 2 Stummels!

[@MP6150]

It’s pretty fascinating (and terrifying) to see how quickly the fortunes of war change. One of the many things I think CM does really well. Great stuff as usual, and as always I’m looking forward to the next vid! (After a visit to the replacement depots of course 😃)

[@kevinyoung9053]

Used to be a Josey Wales that flew in old Air Warrior online game back in late 90's was that you by any chance?

[@joseywales3848]

Ha, no afraid not.

[@kevinyoung9053]

@@joseywales3848 it's kind of a distinctive handle, the actor that used to play beaver in leave it to beaver tv series from 50's- 60's flew in AW hehe well thnxs for the reply m8

[@CharlesvanDijk-ir6bl]

Not enough manpower to start with. Yes there was no AT-Guns on your side and the Greyhound has his 37 mm more than adequate to deal with German light AFV's.

[@joseywales3848]

Yep, if I hadn't gone with panzergrenadiers I would have had more men per squad. I've had some good success with AT guns in the past.

[@CharlesvanDijk-ir6bl]

@@joseywales3848 I see this game as. Attrition vs Maneuver and use the analogy of a combat sport vs a ball game. Boxing, wrestling etc are attrition sports soccer, footy, rugby sports of maneuver. See which weapon is the ball that's the key to victory. The allies their artillery most of the time. If you play attrition vs the computer you often come out second best and maneuver superior firepower to your advantage is where the player has his advantage over the computer. I have a lot to learn by the way.

[@fortress2270]

It’s like watching a film :D

[@joseywales3848]

Thanks buddy.

[@vonduck1]

Hello amigo! May i ask what mods you sue in your game or if any reshade settings? Looks great!

[@joseywales3848]

Hi Doug, I mostly use all of the Aris mods. I don't use any reshade settings. Cheers.

[@thespfgirl]

This is brilliant!

[@caleb7922]

That pilot is definitely getting court martialed. Lol

[@joseywales3848]

Ha, or awarded the Iron Cross!

[@noshurviverse8388]

To be honest, I could see him getting off. Discerning exactly which mass of infantry under tree cover he was supposed to be engaging is probably not easy, especially when they're within grenade lobbing range of one another.

[@jonshive5482]

Great stuff as always. BTW easy to be a critic but how come you didn't occupy those woods flanking the objective on your side of the river by rushing up 3rd Platoon in their HTs? Or am I missing something?

[@joseywales3848]

It's a valid question Jon. There were 2 reasons I didn't decide to take that route; 1. 1st & 2nd Plt were taking a worrying amount of casualties moving through the woodlands and I was concerned that their advance would get bogged down without more resources poured in. 2. I had decided to try and avoid exposing the troops to KT1 which I was able to do by moving on the far left and moving through the woods. As far as I knew he could have had is armour up on KT1 or at least just behind the ridge ready to jump onto the firestep as soon as his infantry got wind of an attack along that approach. I did expose my troops at the end of the battle to the troops on KT1 but that was a desperate last ditch attempt and my opponent saw it coming because he could hear the halftracks at their jump off positions. What you suggest may have worked, it would have certainly widened the front. However it's just as likely that he would have heard the halftracks before the final assault and moved his Greyhounds to counter. Somtimes after I lose a battle and I have some time for reflection I can come up with a different approach that may have worked better, however with this battle I'm really struggling to see how I could have won with the forces I had.

[@joseywales3848]

Unless I have misunderstood you. Did you mean occupying those woods with 3rd Plt at the very start?

[@jonshive5482]

@@joseywales3848 Yes. Although as you mentioned above it's hard to see how you could've won, not only (or maybe, since your gun HTs were unlucky) 'cuz of force selection but also closer proximity of objectives to the enemy. The Amis got into those woods really quick, even though they had to cross a ford to do so. C'est la guerre.

[@joseywales3848]

Yeah that's basically it, I had reasoned out that my opponent would reach both objectives and the woods you mentioned before me even though he had to cross a ford to get to Obj Tango. I suppose I could have risked a dash in the HT, but if he had managed to get a Greyhound up onto KT1 in time then it would have ended badly.

[@danbuter]

That US pilot should have been sent a german medal for his work. lol!

[@joseywales3848]

Ha, Flight Lieutenant Dave von Gottlieb

[@kevinl.o.torres8962]

Helo Josey, firts time seeing this game and i liked very mutch. I googled to see if could find a pirate version to test the game, but i coundt find one, i saw on the game website that the base game price is 60 dolars. Can you tell me if an another cheep option is available? Or can you give me a link to download the game in a pirate version? I promisse if i like the game i will end up buying, but i cant pay so mutch for a game that i dont even know if im going to like it for real

[@joseywales3848]

On the game website are multiple free demos of each of the games. I am fairly close to Battlefront so wouldn't approve of pirating!!

[@kevinl.o.torres8962]

@@joseywales3848 Thanks for the awnser, i just downloaded and played the demo, i like it very much ! Im gona see if i can make some money to buy the game. You do a fine work onyour channel, keep doing sucesse !!! (sorry for my bad english i'm not american)

[@draj8590]

Awesome

[@JagdT34]

Wow what terrain mod are you using? It looks like CMFI.

[@joseywales3848]

Yeah I thought that aswell. I've just looked through my mods and it doesn't look like I have any terrain mods installed for CMBN.

[@ehold6877]

I thought the encounter between the Greyhound and the german armor was a regular tiger, not a king tiger.

[@joseywales3848]

According to Mark Felton Productions which I used as the source, it was a King Tiger.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Haven't had one of your videos come up in my feed for quite some time. This one had and it's good to see it seems your channel's grown a good bit since last I'd seen it. Can't believe how much the shit hits the fan at about 25:35 - I suppose that's the morale mechanic biting you in the ass more than anything (and your opponent's prodigious placement and usage of the greyhound) - it seems a bit off for men to just lose their wits and start running out into the open and abandoning vehicle full of infantry, mostly when men break they shelter in place and it's difficult to get them to move again (more-so than usually, imo) - but what can you do?

[@joseywales3848]

Yeah it's a game mechanic that you just can't get around. It'd be better if the driver just reversed when panicked and the infantry orders were cancelled.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

@@joseywales3848 Definitely, though that might not engender the same sense of "oh shit" that can make things very exciting, like watching a train wreck. lol

[@michaelhansen5662]

I love this channel and I enjoy Combat Mission even though it is super expensive, does anyone here have a good reference for setting up a multiplayer battle? I’ve played against the A.I. too many times and have only manage to play against a friend of mine twice, he has since not enjoyed playing it against me. I own only the base packs of Final Blitzkrieg, and the Russian one.

[@joseywales3848]

Glad you enjoy the channel. If you want a great multiplayer experience then join The Few Good Men www.thefewgoodmen.com/

[@michaelhansen5662]

Josey Wales thank you sir I’ll head there and join this afternoon!

[@ellwill5709]

The classic versions of the game are very cheap second hand, I've got both the first and second game in the series.

[@g.55centaurosimp18]

I never played this game, but watched a few videos of it. I really don’t like the spotting system, I don’t see how that greyhound spotted both Tank destroyers and engaged them without the TDs firing back, despite the TDs being in a superior hull-down position and waiting to ambush the greyhound. If I were playing I would call BS. And considering how decisive those greyhounds were, I don’t think this was a balanced match, your opponent had a better spot and a better force. The AI could use improvement so that bot make better decisions in general.

[@GenBuBlu]

@6:52 LoL! I bet this platoon leader is rather unpopular with his soldiers.

[@joseywales3848]

Ha yeah, first time I've had one land so close to the observer.

[@littlearvin1641]

Hey love your content! Did you try to replicate real life scenario's? With some good story telling and real life pictures etc... it would attract a lot of viewers & possibily subs!

[@joseywales3848]

It's a good idea. I just wonder how much more time and effort each video would take, they already take quite a lot.

[@littlearvin1641]

@@joseywales3848 I can only imagine. started playing the demo of BN & Captured some video clips myself.. it's difficult to get it right. The scenario would be of big help. If you would try to tell a real life story. You already do a great job with what you do right now! Anyway good luck!

[@joseywales3848]

@@littlearvin1641 Another good idea, I'll think about covering the demo scenario

[@littlearvin1641]

@@joseywales3848 I'm trying to bring the whole CM comunity back together in one place. With the help of "The few good men" I overhauled their discord. You're always welcome! discord.gg/hD4n2t2