German accuracy fix!

Close Combat: Gateway to Caen is the latest release in the critically-acclaimed Close Combat series and focuses on the largest, concentrated British offensive since the Normandy landings in an attempt to penetrate the German lines west of Caen and cross the Odon River to get the stalled advance moving again.
sepp3gd
Posts: 35
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 3:31 pm

RE: German accuracy fix!

Post by sepp3gd »

If you failed to influence your crew to victory, I say that according to the German doctrine of combat during WWII, which states any good commander will defend his subordinate soldiers' reputations to the death by instead blaming only himself, only the commander in charge are to blame. Therefore I point the finger at YOU!
I have had several dozen one shot "kills" with German LWs. Some scored on Shermans with LWs as small as 20mm in caliber.
I found that crew experience and morale have always had everything to do with this; given that I placed them in a good position of ambush. After placing a great crew into a great ambush position, all I had to do was wait and leave it up to them to fire, and they always fired with the correct range set and placed the shot in an effective place to kill or incapacitate the enemy.
However, I have gotten "frightened" myself and ordered a crew to fire prematurely and miss, resulting in their death. But when I re-played the same scenario over again, and allowed the crew to fire at will, they were successful and lived. The same goes for panzerfausts. Furthermore, given a less experienced crew with lower morale, they almost always tend to fire prematurely and miss, even when given the ambush order.
I find that LWs work best when you are able to deploy them in groups of at least 5. Under other circumstances where 5 are not available, a combination of LWs, panzerfausts, mortar smoke, and infantry support all deployed well behind the front works well.
Another tactic, though grotesque: When I am aware that the enemy is certain to target and destroy my LWs with heavy mortar fire, I provide them with a less important target that will draw their fire and expend their ammunition (20mm LW are certain to draw fire, as well as an MG42 in an elevated position 3 stories or higher). Both are in high supply, relatively easy to replace, and don't pose much of an AT threat at all, but if you place these in a position to open fire first, where they are relatively concealed and covered, they tend to almost always draw the enemy mortar fire for an indefinite duration that is usually sufficient to expend a good portion, if not all, of their ammunition. With the mortars taken care of, the greatest threat in my opinion is eliminated. Strong infantry support well forward of the LW works to hold up enemy infantry and spare your ambush from spoil. These enemy infantry almost always will move ahead of their tanks for the specific purpose of spotting any AT weapons and threats, and you can use this against them if you both deploy the right amount of infantry as well engage the right amount of your infantry into combat to initially hold up the enemy forward recon long enough while simultaneously convincing them that your actual strength is low enough in this particular area so that they commit their infantry to this area of attack, and then subsequently you now, having deployed a strong enough force in this area and thus far have managed to not engage them so that their presence has not been given away, manage to repel the enemy infantry long enough that they now commit their tanks into battle, and you have taken into account, all of this beforehand with the very consideration that your primary goal is the destruction of the enemy armor with your LW(s) once the enemy commits, then you have placed your infantry in a position that the enemy armor will, when attacking your infantry in support of it's own infantry, present itself as a perfect target for your LW(s), you can achieve the destruction of the enemy armor in this manner, and if not win the battle, cause enough timidity amongst the enemy that a truce is accepted and or offered, and the enemy does not advance any further for fear of losing any more armor. If you have 5 or only 1 LW, this tactic will work if employed properly. The key is to never allow the enemy to know your actual strength by intentionally misleading them with bold patrols and counterattacks combined with sound deployment of your troops.
Housies
Posts: 55
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:50 pm

RE: German accuracy fix!

Post by Housies »

On that note, tactics are indeed superior to troop quality.

I played a multiplayer match last week against an experienced player. Tiger BG against a standard 15 inf Div.
Result: 6 Tigers killed, 0 losses on Allies side.
Map: first map when doing op Epsom, can't recall the name but lots of open space.
Time: at night.

German player was cornered in the left bottom of the map. I had 2 AT in the north on the elevated road and 3 churchill tanks in the right bottom corner of the map.
At first, neither of us could see anything under the cover of darkness. However I deployed my flare and spotted 4 tigers in the open. Ordered my AT guns to open fire and was able to take each tiger out with 2-3 shots per tiger. The german player however could not spot my AT guns so had no idea what was happening.

Epic battle!
madmatx
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:54 pm

RE: German accuracy fix!

Post by madmatx »

Ran into this train while looking for advice on another topic, but here's my two-cents. Playing a Odin's Anvil campaign as the Axis with a couple infantry groups and a couple pak 75s as support, I moved onto a map at the same time a British group with a couple of tank platoons. I ran around gathering victory locations until the Tommy Tanks started showing up, and since I had entered the map this turn my paks weren't very well located. One of them was able to engage a SP 10 at extreme range as it was crossing a hedge, and after several shots knocked it out. I'm not sure Tommy ever got a line on my 75, which makes me glad, because while they call them field guns, the don't have much protection in the middle of a field.... But the battle goes on. I'm pulling what's left of my forward infantry units back, and I hear BONG "Bailing out!" as my other pak 75, which had been sitting, ignored, on ambush, does a medium range one-shot on a Firefly.
Maybe the key to accuracy with a field gun is the same as with a rifle. Take your time, sight in, adjust for windage and movement, and BONG.
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Digs
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:21 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

RE: German accuracy fix!

Post by Digs »

I find the accuracy as it is in Gateway to Caen makes for nerve wracking battles, and are more appealing to me. They give you a chance to maneuver your vehicles without being aim-botted along the route.
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