The 2024 Combat Mission Olympiad

Due to budget cuts, the 2024 CM Olympiad will consist of just one event – team play-by-comment Combat Mission: Afrika Korps – and involve just two teams – 2020 finalists France and Great Britain. Over the next fourteen weeks, said teams, each orchestrated by a quartet of comment commanders, will fight identical AI-marshalled Axis forces on identical North African maps, the ultimate winner being determined by a points formula detailed below.

Recently relaxed IOCMC rules mean you don’t need to possess a British or French passport or grandparent to participate in the event. Interested parties merely need to identify as their team nationality for the duration of the contest, or convince the Committee that they have “lived as their chosen nationality for at least ten minutes”.

The two teams will field very similar forces:

  • One rifle platoon (three infantry squads and an HQ)
  • One mortar team
  • One Bren Carrier
  • One AT rifle team
  • One Crusader Mk III tank
  • One downed pilot

(All units are ‘regular’. Please read the rest of the article before enlisting! Players are expected to command multiple units this year.)

CMAK’s realistic TOEs mean perfect mirroring isn’t possible, but the organisers have endeavoured to balance-out inequality where it occurs. While the British field three more grunts than the French and are slightly more capable in CQB due to the Thompson submachine gunner present in each squad (French squads are armed with rifles and LMGs only), their mortar is less capable and less well supplied (60mm (25HE, 10S) vs. 2 inch (16HE, 10S)), and their on-field leader marginally less useful when it comes to bestowing a combat bonus.

As is usual in the CM Olympiad, prior to hostilities, both teams are given a full list of the enemy units they will face. That list:

  • One rifle platoon (four infantry squads and an HQ)
  • One 50mm mortar team
  • One AT rifle team
  • One Panzer IIIJ (short) tank
  • One PSW 232 8-rad armoured car
  • One SPW 251/1 halftrack

(All units are regular)

Expect the DAK (who will deploy in squares A2 to K2) to advance purposefully and go after VLs with determination. The silicon CO is aware that time is scarce and the stakes high.

^ The view north from the deployment area – the lowest part of the map – showing the four VLs and the rising terrain. Slopes are indicated with green lines.

The desiccated venue sports four victory locations and four distinct height levels. Apart from the narrow brush-topped slopes that separate these height levels, the battlefield is totally flat, and apart from the areas of palm trees (which are impassible to vehicles) all non-building squares are accessible to all units.

If you own CMAK you can scout the battlefield for yourself and examine Allied units using these two files:

https://filebin.net/023n25bbmqok91u7

(Place the two cmg files in your Scenarios folder, then open them in the editor)

French and British units begin the battle deployed in roughly the same positions on their respective maps. The AT rifle teams are mounted on the Crusaders, and the mortar teams are aboard the carriers.

A quick tour of the battlefield…

^ View north from ground level, square G40. The villa VL is top-right 

^ View north, ground level, G30. Straight ahead is the village VL.

^ Looking NW over the village. Green line marks slope of Mosque Mount. Red line shows enemy deployment area. The British hold the village VL at the start because their pilot (see on) is hiding in a nearby building.

^ Looking SE from Mosque Mount. Green lines = slopes. 

The winner of the 2024 Combat Mission Olympiad will be the team that has amassed the most points at the end of turn 14. Points are awarded for the following.

  • Each VL held at the close = 100
  • Panzer KOed = 50 (25 points for a disabled main gun)
  • PSW KOed = 30 (15 for a disabled main gun)
  • Halftrack KOed = 20
  • Each enemy casualty = 5

And points are deducted for the following:

  • Crusader KOed = -50 (-25 points for a disabled main gun)
  • Bren carrier KOed = -25
  • Each friendly casualty = -5

Each team possesses a downed pilot who starts the battle hiding in a house (H20) close to the village VL. A cousin of Winston Churchill in the case of the British, and a pal of Charles de Gaulle in the case of the French, this individual is unarmed, and oblivious to orders until the end of Turn 4. If he survives the battle he earns the relevant team a useful 25 points.

Units will be assigned to commenters on a first-come, first-served basis, and remain the responsibility of the same commenter for the duration of the battle. In your enlistment comment, please state which team you are volunteering for, and which role you wish to play.

F1 = French infantry squads + HQ
F2 = French Bren Carrier and mortar team
F3 = French Crusader tank and AT Rifle team (Role available to THC subscribers/donors only!)
F4 = French pilot

GB1 = British infantry squads + HQ
GB2 = British Bren Carrier and mortar team
GB3 = British Crusader tank and AT Rifle team (Role available to THC subscribers/donors only!)
GB4 = British pilot

If one of the main three comment commanders in a team is unable to issue orders at any point, or is forced to retire for any reason, the pilot-shepherding team member in the ‘4’ slot can assume their role.

As I plan to process orders on Sundays and post the resulting turn accounts the following Monday morning, orders will need to be submitted by midnight Saturday GMT to be implemented. Keeping those orders simple and clear, and starting them with either ‘FRENCH ORDER’ or ‘BRITISH ORDER’ will aid me greatly.

As a rough guide to movement speeds, at top speed the Crusader can move about twenty squares by road, a rifle squad about ten squares off-road, in a single turn. Specify less rapid order types (move, hunt etc.), or route through difficult terrain, and obviously travel distances will be much less.

I’m hoping a venue painstakingly annotated with map coordinates will make position assessing and order issuing a little easier than it was in previous PBC CM games!

As usual, you don’t need to be a CM veteran to play. Provide a unit destination and a general idea of how cautiously you want your unit to move or behave, and I’ll do my best to turn that instruction into an effective order.

52 Comments

  1. I believe -Cross events have been quite popular at this year’s Olympics, yesterday’s Kayak Slalom Cross was decent entertainment, and might work for a future CM:
    four (or more) teams start at one end of a map and must fight to be the first to the other end
    tasks must be completed along the way, eg. end a turn with all troops indoors in a designated village
    faults for causing friendly casualties.

    Also @Tim
    “more grunts than the French and a slightly more capable in CQB”
    should be ‘are slightly more capable’

  2. I would love to claim an F2 spot! I just have to try and do better than last year.

    Tim, can you please explain how mortar aiming and fire control works in this engine? Do I just designate a square to send my gifts to or are there an observer and communication systems in play?

  5. While I decline to command, on the grounds more competent commentators will wish to participate, one small favour please.

    Can the British command target and kill De Gaulle’s relative? The swifter we eliminate that poisonous bloodline from the Earth the sooner humanity can progress to a new more accepting world.

    No, I haven’t forgiven the racist buffoon’s actions during and since WW2.

    • I might’ve been tempted to “accidentally” deliver the eggs (with a gold bar or two like Mulligan in Kelly’s Heroes) crossed with Fox’s Jackal and suitcase of “pyjamas” (Force 10 from Navarone) but sadly the French and Brits are not on the same map, so a Frenchie would have to do it 😀

  6. If it’s one turn a week, then I’d like to join as GB4 (I’m off to the scandinavian woods from friday on for three weeks, so I should be back on time to pilot the pilot)

  8. I like this format—a bit of competition with other humans to spice things up, without being quite so tense as last year. There were times between finalizing orders and seeing the posted results when the suspense literally kept me up at night.

    I’d be happy to jump in as GB3. (If there’s another supporter who wants the tank on the British side, I’d also be happy to swap to GB2.)

  9. Assuming volunteers come forward and take the F3, F4, and GB2 roles (the three remaining unclaimed roles) over the weekend, players can start pondering and issuing Turn 1 orders next week. Those orders will be processed on the 18th.

    • Orders here, please. I’m hoping the two remaining slots in the French team will be filled shortly, and that both teams will manage to get their first lot of orders in by Saturday night, so that both games can commence simultaneously on Sunday.

  12. @Tim F1 ORDERS (TURN 1)
    Move towards N41 then follow through forrest towards N37.

    Question does the infantry squad keep line of command if it is in the next forrest tile from platoon commander (for example N41 & L41)?

    • I will try to set-up our mortar just south of K30 villa’s outer wall, so we are going to depend on your HQ’s line of sight as I hope to use him as a fire observer. So, lieutenant, call in strikes and smoke as needed.

      If you spot any hostiles any time soon, I would advice to employ our smoke capabilities to break away from long range infantry combat – I think if our infantry gets pinned at long range we could slow down significantly.

      I also want to ask you to detach a single rifle squad to occupy the K30 villa’s second floor. This could provide a neat field of fire for an LMG and can potentially deter a lot of enemy movement, as well as cover my guys a little. Especially since my guys would be a very poor choice as a main defense for an objective.

      • I was thinking about leaving only a half squad I objective (if Tim allows me) but if we fear enemy counterattack, full squad will be better option.
        I’ll do my best to position platoon HQ in proper position when hostiles will be spotted.

        • Understood. Be careful about crossing the map laterally once the shooting starts. There are both dangers of being intercepted by enemy fire and of being locked in a firefight and losing tactical mobility.

          Half squad will suffice, I think, as far as it has an LMG. An LMG will be more handy in controlling a wide zone and will help this position to be effective in not letting the enemy troops close enough to allow the enemy employ their close combat weapons that we lack. It is not a problem that we will encounter any time soon, but we might and it will be harder to maneuver once the shooting starts.

          But I am just a heavy weapons guy, so take it all as food for thought, commander.

    • On open ground, approximately 70 metres (three terrain squares) seems to be the in-command/not-in-command threshold. If both the HQ and the infantry squad is in the same strip of palm trees, then that distance is reduced to around 40m.

      HQs and squads in adjacent tiles should always be in command.

  13. If no-one else is going to take F3, I’ll throw my beret into the ring. I think loafing about the Parc des Buttes Chaumont for a few hours eating croque monsieurs and smoking Gauloises is enough to qualify me as a Frenchman. Apologies in advance to Team France for being a wargaming Eric the Eel, but I’ll try my best!

    • Mon ami, are you sure you want to advance so far and so fast ahead of infantry and, hence, the recon? It seems that if anything is hiding behind or near the villa at k30 you are likely to receive a side shot, even if you move fast. And, remembering that the Crusader’s armor is nothing to write home about even at the front, a blind rush may result it an untimely demise of our sole tank even from a well hidden AT rifle team.

      Maybe let’s leapfrog from objective to objective? We cannot capture or hold anything as separate units, and each of us is vulnerable without support. There are at least 3 separate enemy units that can potentially defeat your armor and the ambushes are to be expected.

      May I recommend a cautious flanking maneuver to the right of the k30 villa? This avenue will let you present your front armour to the most of the map and also will help you obscure the Crusader’s movement from the would-be long range shots by the same building we are trying to take.

      • Especially since our area of operations is remarkably flat. Not enough features to provide good cover for us, but just enough for the enemy to try and spring cheap ambushes.

        Remember, comrade, the layers of defense of a tank in combat:

        Not being spotted -> maneuver -> cover -> speed -> armor

        As we have no idea where the enemy is, we should assume that every line of sight is dangerous, until proven otherwise.

      • I probably should have made this clearer in the above article, but all Axis units begin the game on row 2 – their deployment area is A2 to K2 IIRC – so there is no danger of ambushes from the villa.

      • Thanks Gobser, this is a fair concern and your points are well taken.

        My rationale was, as Tim says, that the enemy units all start on the very north end of the map. They are also expected “to advance purposefully and go after VLs with determination. The silicon CO is aware that time is scarce and the stakes high.”

        So my conclusion from this was that there are no ambushes in waiting at present, and that the enemy forces would perhaps, at least in the opening turns, not waste time in setting up ambushes. So my idea was to hot foot it as far as possible at the start and get myself into a good position before they do.

        I would also argue that coming east around the villa leaves the tank at a lower elevation (relative to mosque / village) than the western palm trees do (the slope up is at around C25, I believe), and therefore more vulnerable.

        • Another thought I had was that the AT Rifle team need to dismount from the Crusuader as soon as possible and get set up, preferably from an elevated position (like A20-C23, say). Cover is a problem, definitely. But from around the villa they really have no good LOS to the main road or the village (see the image above with the view north from G30)

          • My apologies, I just assumed that this was an assault and not a meeting engagement. I will have to change my orders now that I know that I am about to rain lead on a vacated piece of civilian property, lol. I think that this villa may suit my mortar team well as a concealed position then.

            Your plan seems good enough and the reasoning seems solid. And if this bold attempt at forward deployment works you might be in position to interdict enemy’s advance and possibly bag some prize.

          • @Gobser
            Absolutely no need to apologise, mon ami.

            I really am not very good at all of this war business, and am probably likely to try and do something very stupid over the next few turns. I genuinely appreciate the sanity check, any and all recommendations, and the more collaborative approach. After all, on est une équipe!

          • Got it!

            In case you need a few pointers about you tank vs what the enemy has, I have a few points to share.

            Your gun is fairly quick-firing and can make quick work of the enemy armor, at least irl. It is also quite precise. But you should not expect to be able to hit anything on the move. You can, but it is not to be expected. It is also quite questionable in anti-infantry role. I’d say vs infantry your best bet is relying on your MGs.

            With MGs vs infantry, I’d say you would be most effective at medium range, at around 200m, so that you are not that vulnerable to their AT capabilities. If I were you, I’d just forget about “overrun” tactics for this mission.

            Pz III is kind of inaccurate at long range, but can critically damage your vehicle with relative ease, especially if they have HEAT ammunition, but even standard AT rounds to the front are very problematic. So the situation is that you are at advantage vs Pz III at range, but not safe. I’d say you should go for face to face 1v1 shootouts against it only if there is absolutely no other way.

            PSW 232 8-rad is a problem, arguably a bigger one. 20mm autogun can cripple you quite easily by hitting a lot of times in quick succession. This volume of fire can easily find a weak spot and can also shake the crew quite effectively. It can also easily chew up your commander if he is unbuttoned.

            Most likely you are better off unbuttoned while at range and should, I think, button up if you expect to be under fire or are close enough to infantry cover.

            So, Tl;DR, against enemy vehicles – I’d go for shoot and scoot, aiming for catching foes on the move. Against infantry – I’d go for suppressing the enemy at considerable range.

  15. In the absence of any volunteers, I’d like to claim F4, please.

    Given the instructions, that means the French side is in play and I’ll see you amis in a few weeks when me lone boy (name pending) makes his move.

  16. Okay, Team GB, the French are making plans, so we should too—how do we want to approach this?

    My brief history in communal Combat Mission is roughly equal parts reckless and lucky, but given the score penalties for losing the tank in this edition, maybe that isn’t the right approach. Getting out of our patch of low ground seems like a good early objective, and the eastern side of the map, toward the villa, seems to provide some cover for an advance.

    What do you think?

    • I think we need to get behind the buildings and stone walls ASAP. Fast movement to get in position followed by careful, overwatch bounds seems wise.

      I’m making a sprint through the trees on the right. Can you cover us from the road? If you are immobile we’re in real trouble, so let’s avoid rough terrain as much as possible.

  17. ORDER

    THE GB infantry moves in between the trees, aiming to get to the stone wall next turn before the Jerry reach the mosque.

    FAST to 40 K and M, then MOVE to 38 K and M, the HQ and one squad in the right file, the other two squads to the left.

  18. @Tim BRITISH ORDER GB2 Bren Carrier FAST MOVE to K33. Thank you!

    Note: I want to unload our mortar and set it up behind the stone wall at K32, but I don’t think we can cue-up and chain future orders like that in the same phase in CMx1 (like we can in CMx2?) If I’m missing something and we actually can (and have time to), then when the Bren Carrier reaches K33, please unload and run the mortar crew to behind the stone wall just before K32 (not too close that the mortar shells hit the wall haha). I’m sure all I can do for now is just fast move Bren Carrier to K33 though, so please carry on.

    PS: I will of course accept future orders from HQ; my idea is just to get in place ASAP. Tally-ho lads and I wish you all a lovely weekend!

  19. Tim, I just wanted to say how much I appreciated you adding all the SHIFT-L map coordinates. Painstakingly done indeed, brilliant! 😀

    (Hopefully this might invigorate Battlefront to do CMx2 North Africa at long last).

  20. GB ORDER

    In keeping with Oneknown’s strategy, advance cautiously to around G35 by road, covering the northern arc. The tank riders will stay mounted for the moment.

    Sorry for my tardiness, I was unexpectedly on the road yesterday.

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