Section Leaders:
Fionn Kelly & Madmatt

Fog of War & Anti-Tank Guns
Page 4 of 5

Well, I noticed some posts on the Combat Mission forum about anti-tank guns and fog of war issues and decided that the best way to try to explain them was to actually set up a simple scenario myself to illustrate how anti-tank guns are virtually invisible until they start firing (unless, of course, you site them in the open or something equally insane).

So, what I did was make a quick map which features woods on either side of a road. The map has a hill in the centre to act as a LOS obstructor but apart from that is very simple.. It took me approximately 40 minutes to make the 1km by 1km map, set the elevations, choose and place the units etc..

So that's 14 tanks versus 3 AT guns and 1 King Tiger. In this scenario I've placed the AT guns within 200 metres to 400 metres of the road to demonstrate that they can't be spotted. It should be noted that doing so ensures that once they are spotted they will be quickly knocked out by massed HE fire but this is a LOS, FOW example and not intended to explore optimal ambush dispositions.

I have played both sides of this scenario via hotseating so that I could ensure getting the exact shots I wanted of the various views to illustrate the nature of FOW in CM.

I decide to order the Pak 88 directly in front of the tanks and the one which was co-located with the King Tiger to open fire but to keep this one in reserve a short time longer.

This shot is taken during a German Perspective Action Phase Replay. One minute after I give the order to open fire the American formation is wracked with dead and confused tanks. Three more enemy tanks have brewed up and at least one more has been knocked out but hasn't brewed up. At least four of the ten enemy tanks in view have been knocked out in the first minute of fire from two Pak88s.

Note the amount of SMOKE that was fired by the tanks upon being engaged by the 88 directly in front of them. When they realised they were being ambushed several tanks fired smoke and withdrew behind their own smokescreen. Did I order this? No, the tactical AI did. Would I have done the same in their shoes? You bet. Anything else would have been suicide.

This shot is taken during a German Perspective Action Phase Replay. This zoomed in shot (so forget the apparently skewed perspective) shows a lovely scene for any German commander. An entire plain full of Shermans is on fire. Friendly and, as yet, undetected minefields lie in between their positions and yours and you still have one AT gun in reserve. Note the shellholes in front of the PaK88. After it had fired several rounds it was spotted and the Shermans are actively shelling it now with a view to suppressing it.

This shot is taken during a German Perspective Action Phase Replay. I feel it is time to activate my flanking fire PaK88. Here we can see its first shell on its way to its target. You can actually see the sell dip slightly over the course of its flight which is a nice touch.

This shot is taken during a German Perspective Action Phase Replay. At this range Pak88s don't miss and another Sherman crew meets its maker. As you can see only two of the tanks on-screen are positively identified as Shermans but I'm being jubilant here. This AT ambush has already claimed close to 2 platoons of tanks which is pretty good for an unsupported ambush.

This shot is taken during an American Perspective Action Phase Replay. This is the reverse view of the above shot. The red circle shows the location of the German PaK88. Of course, the panicked American tankers haven't spotted it yet so its free to go about its work in peace and quiet for another shot or two at least.

This shot is taken during a German Perspective Action Phase Replay. Under his own authority Gojowy aligns his gun with another Sherman and prepares to dispatch it also.

This shot is taken during an American Perspective Action Phase Replay. As Gojowy's next shot misses the Shermans spot his position and begin to engage him.

This shot is taken during a German Perspective Action Phase Replay. An entire platoon seems to have stopped to shell him. Mere seconds later his AT gun is knocked out and for the loss of only one more tank my PaK88 is knocked out.

This shot is taken during an American Perspective Action Phase Replay. Of the eleven American tanks in this shot only four are still functional. It is notable that three of those four have taken the opportunity to hide behind self-generated smokescreen or burning comrades. They did this under the control of tactical AIs . I have selected Gojowy's PaK88 and, as you can see at the bottom of the screen, it has just been knocked out. If you look into the far left of the picture you can see yet more explosions around the location of the other active PaK88.