Larry Holt
Posts: 1969
Joined: 3/31/2000 From: Atlanta, GA 30068 Status: offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Scipio Africanus:
This whole issue of whether to micro manage tanks and allow them to reverse was dealt with months ago
- no one produced any evidence of a tank actually reversing 50 meters across terrain while under fire in combat and surviving.
If a hex is 50 ACROSS, the average reversing is only 25 meters, not such a long distance.
quote:
- U.S. operations manuals of the time do not condone such a manuever (we're talking 50 meters here people- go try to back your car down the driveway without looking- backing a tank through terrain while it is filling with smoke is infinitely harder).
Current manuals don't condone it either but I will tell you that while I was in 2/66 Armor (2nd Armor Division) "Driver back" was used a lot in training to back out of a tight situation. What do other tankers think?
quote:
- Backing routines had to be done unbuttoned. Show me a tank commander who will do this while under fire and I'll show you a dead tank commander.
The Israelis lost a lot of tank commanders who went into battle unbuttoned (name tag defilade). Just because I can show you a lot of dead Israeli tank commanders does not make their doctrine of fighting unbuttoned invalid. Quite the opposite, the situation called for it so they did the tactically correct thing even if it gave more casualities.
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- Just because a tank has a reverse gear does not mean it is used in combat- P-51's have landing gear, do they use it to shoot down Focke Wulfs?
As I have said, it is used. See more below.
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- If you are in a position in which you need to back a tank 50 meters, you have made a serious tactical error and what you get is probably much closer to what you deserve than if you were allowed to back up.
IMHO, the game should simulate real world mechanics, not judgemental issues of what one deserves.
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- The whole argument is based on what a bunch of people think a tank should be able to do and not what it actually can do (hey the speedometer on my father's old Benz goes up to 185mph- that doesn't mean that it either goes that fast or that it is easily survivable on a public road at that speed).
Well, as I have said, it is used so its not just what some people think. Perhaps your military experience is different than mine. Perhaps my military experience (US Army, 80s & 90s) is not valid for WWII armor combat. Can someone enlighten me?
quote:
- No tactical tradeoff is ever suggested for such a manuever- If your immobilization chance were ~80% while backing blind would people be so thrilled by it? If your tank commander had to make a morale check (at penalty) to unbutton to reverse and failed, sending the tank into a panic, would it then seem a worthwhile manuever? If the tank commander unbuttoned to reverse and was subsequently killed, would it then seem worthwhile? ...
Cheers,
I did a report of survey for an M1 main gun that was damaged when one M1 REVERSED into another while buttoned during a REFORGER. So perhaps your suggestion of increased damage is more approprate than just not allowing it at all.
Thanks for your input!
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An old soldier but not yet a faded one.
OK, maybe just a bit faded.
[This message has been edited by Larry Holt (edited January 08, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Larry Holt (edited January 08, 2001).]
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Never take counsel of your fears.
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