Mad Russian
Posts: 10394
Joined: 3/16/2008 From: Texas Status: offline
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It's always something that gamers want. To be in control and micromanage all aspects of a game. In reality there are things a battlefield commander can't always control. Close Air Support and mines are the two most notable. Both of these functions have extremely limited control aspects. Unless a unit has been in the area previously the way they find mines is to step on them or drive over them. Sweeping with engineer units is very tedious work and extremely slow. Infantry moving forward has no advantage to finding anti-tank mines unless they are jumping up and down as they move forward and generating about 300 pounds of pressure on the ground as they move. Again, the way they would find them is to set some off. Resulting in infantry casualties for those previously mentioned that were jumping up and down. There were box mines used that were an above ground mine and at Kursk the Soviets placed minefields in the grass, on top of the ground, in front of the German advances. There is no historical data supporting that these minefields were avoided or cleared by the Germans simply because they were laid in the grass. A huge myth in tactical wargames is that engineers can clear obstacles in just a few minutes. A single identified mine? Certainly. An entire minefield under observation and fire? Not in real life by anyone who plays these games. That's a recipe for disaster and a great way to lose your engineers for no return value. Engineers are not a tactical tool for clearing minefields, building bridges, creating tank traps, creating abitis or road craters. In a tactical level game they are glorified assault troops where you find the demo charges, flamethrowers and elite morale ratings. Good Hunting. MR
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