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As seen in Operation DESERT STORM, the digital revolution has begun profoundly
to
affect the face of warfare. The result is a vast increase in what the military
calls “situational awareness,” or, for the layman, knowing where everybody is
and
what they are doing. iM1A2 Abrams, derived from the classic M1 Tank Platoon,
explores what this increased capability translates to on the modern battlefield.
In the game players have to maximize all the capabilities of their superior
equipment, situational awareness, and firepower to survive and win. By using
some
of the tried and true tools of military analysis, players can not only survive
but thrive.
Theater of pain
An aspiring company commander can choose from three theaters in the game: Iran,
Bosnia, and the Ukraine. The difficulty increases with each theater, as does the
difficulty of the terrain, enemy quality, and equipment. The enemies all use
variants of Russian equipment, from the T-72 in Iran to the T-95 (a hypothetical
design) in the Ukraine. Each scenario assumes that hostilities have broken out
and that the player’s unit, part of a US armored division, is inserted to
protect
national interests. There are single missions, but the meat of the game is the
campaign. Each has two starting options, the initial overwhelming enemy attack
through the US counterattack, or beginning at the US counteroffensive. The
initial attack campaign is more challenging and takes somewhat more “intestinal
fortitude” as you are responsible for holding off the swarming hordes until the
cavalry arrives. If you lose your base, the campaign is over and the US is
defeated. The final objective of each campaign is the enemy depot, which ends
the
war by cutting their supplies. As you progress through the campaign, you will be
given choices for routes of retreat or advance. Normally, not falling back
directly on your base helps keep the enemy at arm’s length while moving directly
on the enemy base should theoretically end the war sooner. Remember that the
indirect approach may get you around the stronger defenses and the quickest way
to victory may not be a straight line.
Once in a campaign, the player is faced with the first of numerous choices. In
a
manner similar to Panzer General, you pick a core force which is present in each
battle. Depending on the mission and broader situation, you will be given
additional points to purchase supporting units. The core force, since it is
often
forced to fight without significant outside assistance, needs to be a balanced
one. With the four M1s I suggest an infantry platoon, a tank destroyer section,
and a 120mm mortar platoon. The armor provides the striking power, while the
infantry’s Bradleys and Javelins provide additional anti-armor firepower. The
tank destroyer’s mission is to attrit the enemy during the approach, then give
supporting fire. The mortars can range the entire battlefield (only in this
game,
not in real life) and have the mission of suppressing tanks, and possibly
killing
infantry fighting vehicles and tank destroyers. There are, of course, numerous
possible variants of this force. Substituting a cavalry force for the tank
destroyers, or taking air defense instead of fire support are each viable
options. Players will have to experiment to find their “best mix.” Proper use of
combined arms is vital to the game, as it is on the real battlefield, so
the “gamer” who only takes tanks and uses support points to round out will
suffer
in the long run.
Proper support
Purchasing support units, based on the core force, is both a science and an art.
Your force requirements are driven by enemy capabilities, so intelligence is
critical. However, it will also be incomplete or incorrect. Therefore, studying
the enemy order of battle and theater capabilities will give you necessary
hints.
The threat drives which support forces you will need. For example, players will
most likely not need air defense artillery (ADA) in Iran, some is necessary in
Bosnia, and it’s almost always required in the Ukraine. The Iranians will not
have significant attack helicopter support (the Mi-24 Hind is the universal
enemy), while it shows up 40-500f the time in Bosnia. The Russians will have
both
Hinds and Su-25 Frogfoot attack jets in what will seem like overwhelming
numbers.
Also, if your intelligence informs you that you will be facing a motorized
infantry regiment rather than a tank regiment, there will be more IFVs and
missile carriers facing you. Choosing additional fire support may be wise in
this
situation.
Fire support (FS), in the form of FIST-Vs and artillery units, is also
extremely
useful. Mortars, by themselves, will not “kill” any armored vehicles, but will
force tanks to button up and become less effective; high explosive from
artillery
performs the same function. Improved Conventional Munitions (ICM), delivered by
155mm howitzers and Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), can indeed kill
tanks,
and will destroy IFVs easily. With the advent of the digital force, everyone is
a
forward observer (FO). However, FIST-Vs are designed and crewed to observe and
call for fire and are “cheap” in the game. They are more accurate and “better”
at
the FS business than the other units in your force. They are also slow and
vulnerable, so position them to on terrain that provides both observation and
cover from enemy fire. Another planning consideration with artillery is that
after it fires, it will move or “displace” to avoid enemy counter-battery fire;
it will therefore be unavailable for a period of time. Mortars are quickest,
followed by dedicated 155mm, 155mm howitzers, and MLRS, with MLRS taking the
longest to become available. Your fire support plan should be an integral and
complementary part of your maneuver plan – don’t spread your artillery around,
focus it on the parts of the battle that are critical to mission accomplishment.
The best laid plans…
Once you have chosen your forces, the computer deploys your units and assigns
each platoon a movement path. Jump to the tactical map and analyze the
situation.
Pause the game; this will stop the reconnaissance units, which will already be
moving out quickly. Use the check points button to display each unit’s movement
path. Many times, you will not need to change the computer’s initial plan, but
occasionally you may want to close in the flank security units. Once you have
prepared your starting plan, resume the game, but remember as Von Moltke the
elder said, “No plan survives initial contact with the enemy.”
On the offensive or defensive, there are a full range of missions, but they all
use essentially the same criteria to judge success. Taking or holding the
objective and friendly and enemy losses are the key to victory. Knowing the
ranges and capabilities of friendly and enemy weapons based on their observation
and fields of fire will help you plan your routes. The TOW2B and M1A2 have
ranges
of 3,750 and 4,000 meters respectively. Thus, the stages of the battle become
find the enemy, fix them, and flatten them.
Finding means sending out the recon, which hopefully will see the bad guys
before
drawing fire and usually dying. Aircraft are vulnerable, so do not, I repeat
not,
send your observation or attack choppers deep before locating and destroying the
enemy ADA. Once located, alter your routes as necessary to mass your forces.
This
is critical. Kill the enemy in bite sized pieces while using your force as a
whole to flatten the portions of the enemy. Fixing the enemy is where FS can
play
a key role. It out-ranges all enemy weapons and can blind, immobilize, or kill
those forces you want kept out of the battle. Normally, tanks lead the Bradleys
and other support as they are several times more survivable. If you use Bradleys
as tanks, they will die. Once the enemy’s anti-tank capability has been reduced,
keep moving. US forces can attack on the move, making a “rolling thunder”
offensive a reality. Watch for enemy forces redeploying to your flanks and rear.
This is an excellent mission for recon and FISTs once the direct fire battle
begins.
On the defense, use ambushes and mobility. Look deeply into the possible
avenues
of approach, and set up overlapping fields of fire with tanks and missiles. Plot
movement paths with eyes for getting shot while you run. Using the reverse
slopes
of hills to set up ambushes can devastate the initial waves of attackers.
However, the key is knowing when to maneuver. Do not let the enemy get within
main gun range of your missile carriers with his tanks. Start moving at about
3,000m range and cover them with your M1s and FS. Artillery delivered smoke can
also make the difference in a move to the next battle position and a rout.
Although it is possible to enter each tank and play gunner, driver, etc., I
found
this to be unusual. You’ll often be too busy allocating resources on the
tactical
map, plotting movement routes, etc., to “be” a crew member. This is not
surprising considering the player’s role in the game and how the simulation
works. Company commanders kill the enemy by using combined arms, and hopefully
not by pulling individual triggers on the battlefield. However, iM1A2 gives you
that capability if you want to try.
to
affect the face of warfare. The result is a vast increase in what the military
calls “situational awareness,” or, for the layman, knowing where everybody is
and
what they are doing. iM1A2 Abrams, derived from the classic M1 Tank Platoon,
explores what this increased capability translates to on the modern battlefield.
In the game players have to maximize all the capabilities of their superior
equipment, situational awareness, and firepower to survive and win. By using
some
of the tried and true tools of military analysis, players can not only survive
but thrive.
Theater of pain
An aspiring company commander can choose from three theaters in the game: Iran,
Bosnia, and the Ukraine. The difficulty increases with each theater, as does the
difficulty of the terrain, enemy quality, and equipment. The enemies all use
variants of Russian equipment, from the T-72 in Iran to the T-95 (a hypothetical
design) in the Ukraine. Each scenario assumes that hostilities have broken out
and that the player’s unit, part of a US armored division, is inserted to
protect
national interests. There are single missions, but the meat of the game is the
campaign. Each has two starting options, the initial overwhelming enemy attack
through the US counterattack, or beginning at the US counteroffensive. The
initial attack campaign is more challenging and takes somewhat more “intestinal
fortitude” as you are responsible for holding off the swarming hordes until the
cavalry arrives. If you lose your base, the campaign is over and the US is
defeated. The final objective of each campaign is the enemy depot, which ends
the
war by cutting their supplies. As you progress through the campaign, you will be
given choices for routes of retreat or advance. Normally, not falling back
directly on your base helps keep the enemy at arm’s length while moving directly
on the enemy base should theoretically end the war sooner. Remember that the
indirect approach may get you around the stronger defenses and the quickest way
to victory may not be a straight line.
Once in a campaign, the player is faced with the first of numerous choices. In
a
manner similar to Panzer General, you pick a core force which is present in each
battle. Depending on the mission and broader situation, you will be given
additional points to purchase supporting units. The core force, since it is
often
forced to fight without significant outside assistance, needs to be a balanced
one. With the four M1s I suggest an infantry platoon, a tank destroyer section,
and a 120mm mortar platoon. The armor provides the striking power, while the
infantry’s Bradleys and Javelins provide additional anti-armor firepower. The
tank destroyer’s mission is to attrit the enemy during the approach, then give
supporting fire. The mortars can range the entire battlefield (only in this
game,
not in real life) and have the mission of suppressing tanks, and possibly
killing
infantry fighting vehicles and tank destroyers. There are, of course, numerous
possible variants of this force. Substituting a cavalry force for the tank
destroyers, or taking air defense instead of fire support are each viable
options. Players will have to experiment to find their “best mix.” Proper use of
combined arms is vital to the game, as it is on the real battlefield, so
the “gamer” who only takes tanks and uses support points to round out will
suffer
in the long run.
Proper support
Purchasing support units, based on the core force, is both a science and an art.
Your force requirements are driven by enemy capabilities, so intelligence is
critical. However, it will also be incomplete or incorrect. Therefore, studying
the enemy order of battle and theater capabilities will give you necessary
hints.
The threat drives which support forces you will need. For example, players will
most likely not need air defense artillery (ADA) in Iran, some is necessary in
Bosnia, and it’s almost always required in the Ukraine. The Iranians will not
have significant attack helicopter support (the Mi-24 Hind is the universal
enemy), while it shows up 40-500f the time in Bosnia. The Russians will have
both
Hinds and Su-25 Frogfoot attack jets in what will seem like overwhelming
numbers.
Also, if your intelligence informs you that you will be facing a motorized
infantry regiment rather than a tank regiment, there will be more IFVs and
missile carriers facing you. Choosing additional fire support may be wise in
this
situation.
Fire support (FS), in the form of FIST-Vs and artillery units, is also
extremely
useful. Mortars, by themselves, will not “kill” any armored vehicles, but will
force tanks to button up and become less effective; high explosive from
artillery
performs the same function. Improved Conventional Munitions (ICM), delivered by
155mm howitzers and Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), can indeed kill
tanks,
and will destroy IFVs easily. With the advent of the digital force, everyone is
a
forward observer (FO). However, FIST-Vs are designed and crewed to observe and
call for fire and are “cheap” in the game. They are more accurate and “better”
at
the FS business than the other units in your force. They are also slow and
vulnerable, so position them to on terrain that provides both observation and
cover from enemy fire. Another planning consideration with artillery is that
after it fires, it will move or “displace” to avoid enemy counter-battery fire;
it will therefore be unavailable for a period of time. Mortars are quickest,
followed by dedicated 155mm, 155mm howitzers, and MLRS, with MLRS taking the
longest to become available. Your fire support plan should be an integral and
complementary part of your maneuver plan – don’t spread your artillery around,
focus it on the parts of the battle that are critical to mission accomplishment.
The best laid plans…
Once you have chosen your forces, the computer deploys your units and assigns
each platoon a movement path. Jump to the tactical map and analyze the
situation.
Pause the game; this will stop the reconnaissance units, which will already be
moving out quickly. Use the check points button to display each unit’s movement
path. Many times, you will not need to change the computer’s initial plan, but
occasionally you may want to close in the flank security units. Once you have
prepared your starting plan, resume the game, but remember as Von Moltke the
elder said, “No plan survives initial contact with the enemy.”
On the offensive or defensive, there are a full range of missions, but they all
use essentially the same criteria to judge success. Taking or holding the
objective and friendly and enemy losses are the key to victory. Knowing the
ranges and capabilities of friendly and enemy weapons based on their observation
and fields of fire will help you plan your routes. The TOW2B and M1A2 have
ranges
of 3,750 and 4,000 meters respectively. Thus, the stages of the battle become
find the enemy, fix them, and flatten them.
Finding means sending out the recon, which hopefully will see the bad guys
before
drawing fire and usually dying. Aircraft are vulnerable, so do not, I repeat
not,
send your observation or attack choppers deep before locating and destroying the
enemy ADA. Once located, alter your routes as necessary to mass your forces.
This
is critical. Kill the enemy in bite sized pieces while using your force as a
whole to flatten the portions of the enemy. Fixing the enemy is where FS can
play
a key role. It out-ranges all enemy weapons and can blind, immobilize, or kill
those forces you want kept out of the battle. Normally, tanks lead the Bradleys
and other support as they are several times more survivable. If you use Bradleys
as tanks, they will die. Once the enemy’s anti-tank capability has been reduced,
keep moving. US forces can attack on the move, making a “rolling thunder”
offensive a reality. Watch for enemy forces redeploying to your flanks and rear.
This is an excellent mission for recon and FISTs once the direct fire battle
begins.
On the defense, use ambushes and mobility. Look deeply into the possible
avenues
of approach, and set up overlapping fields of fire with tanks and missiles. Plot
movement paths with eyes for getting shot while you run. Using the reverse
slopes
of hills to set up ambushes can devastate the initial waves of attackers.
However, the key is knowing when to maneuver. Do not let the enemy get within
main gun range of your missile carriers with his tanks. Start moving at about
3,000m range and cover them with your M1s and FS. Artillery delivered smoke can
also make the difference in a move to the next battle position and a rout.
Although it is possible to enter each tank and play gunner, driver, etc., I
found
this to be unusual. You’ll often be too busy allocating resources on the
tactical
map, plotting movement routes, etc., to “be” a crew member. This is not
surprising considering the player’s role in the game and how the simulation
works. Company commanders kill the enemy by using combined arms, and hopefully
not by pulling individual triggers on the battlefield. However, iM1A2 gives you
that capability if you want to try.