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Dougs June 2013 tank-battle event
June 21, 22, & 23 - Doug's Pro/Stock Competition 
( click the banner for more info's about the Museum and how to get there )
This event is much more historical, and competitive than the typical run events throughout the year.Doug , Jake and myself been discussing and working on all kind of battle-scenarios for this upcoming event .
It definitely will be different as most of you been to Danville know it from the past .
It sure will be an event you don’t want to miss .
Just to give some idea’s , we are talking about structured campaign battles ,
if anyway possible , doing true Axis vs. Allies ,
so we don’t have to use these stupid flags.
Working in real teams , Platoons , with real battle-plans , maps , different objectives ,
not just zone 1 against zone 3 .
It’s gone be a mix out of some easy and some extreme battles .
( extreme = lot’s of unknown factors thrown in to the mix as surprises , like in real life )
The recovery action ( trucks ) is plant to be used more often ,
and for most of you guys a new thing = 2-man-tank battles ,
means 1 will be the driver and the other will be the gunner ,
means 2 people operating 1 tank , that is some real cool action .
The battles we have done in the past have gotten just to lame ,
we need some real action in this !
A lot of this stuff was already done prior 2006 ,
but the majority of people coming to the Danville battle-days are mostly post 2006 ,
therefore they don’t know about this stuff .
But don’t be scared , its gone be awesome !
Willy
CustomRCmodels
ACE
The following are some rules for this upcoming June weekend.
This event is much more historical, and competitive than the typical run events throughout the year.
* WW2 vehicles only used on field-Prototypes allowed with some sort of proof.
* Inspections are mandatory and any vehicle that goes on field must pass inspection.
* The practice of no sweep shooting will be enforced.
* Vehicles that have "reset" or gone into "god mode" must be removed from battle ASAP.
* During battle you cannot remove vehicle from field until the current battle has completely finished.
* We are trying to stick with an axis vs allied theme for the weekend so please bring both types of vehicles so we can make teams.
* Flash and or recoil is required to battle and must be visible.
* Sound output will be adjusted by inspector. Sound shoud be easily heard but not overpowering other tank sounds.
* Led emitter must be mounted to mantlet or clipped on top barrel closest possible to mantlet.
* Stock strength tamiya emmiter required.
* Scale speed is mandatory forward and reverse.
The max speed limit plus the allowed 2 mph over the rcacn speed chart is the max allowance.
Vehicles that get on the battlefield and are too fast will not be tolerated and be removed immediately.
* No electronic devices to change TBU effectivness from stock.
* The correct classification for each vehicle is a must.
Captured vehicles must be put on the correct side either axis or allied-
for example, a German captured Sherman with markings is classified as a Axis vehicle.
* Nothing can obstruct the find on the TBU. Example hatches, guns, flags.
* No lowered TBUs.
* No painted fins on TBUs. Top and lower body is acceptable.
* Standard apple(TBU) applies to this event.
Self propelled vehicles are to only use the turned apple (TFA).
TFA ALLOWED VEHICLES ARE AS FOLLOWS
JagPanther
Stug 3/4
JagTiger
Ferdinand
Elefant
JagP4
Maus
Hetzer
Su series.
Douglas Gasser
AAF-Tank-Museum
Documents & info's prepared by Jake , ACE
RT (Rolling Thunder) -Level Campaign Battles Overview
I’m going to try to explain this as easily as possible. Understand that most people can’t
understand the written text, or when talking one on one, so they need drawings or demos to fully
comprehend the full scope of what you’re asking of them to execute. Normally at Danville,
participants only conduct coordinated battles on a platoon (approximately 4 members each)
level. They receive little direction other than ‘there’s the enemy, go get ‘em’. With RT-Level
Campaign Battling, participants are operating on a company level. This vastly increases the
involvement not only of the participants, but the level of excitement of the battle.
At the museum, I will brief with drawings, a demo,
and get everyone up to speed within about 20 minutes.
What Is RT-Level Campaign Battling?
RT-Level Campaign Battling is a vastly more in-depth way to conduct battles both in
time, complexity, and the organization of participants. It begins with a battlefield that connects
to other battlefields through sequential battles. Simply, one team will enter, conduct a battle, and
exit from initial field, and where they exit will be the entrance to their next battlefield. The
opponent teams are either axis or allied teams. They are the size and structure of a fluctuating
tank company. The tank company has: a CO, a XO, platoon leader(s), platoon(s), and supporting
units. Each of these components has responsibilities in their conduct of the battle and each
directly affects the battle. Kills are made not only by tank-on-tank warfare, but by artillery
strikes and minefields. Air strikes are conducted at times to limit certain avenues of the
battlefield while the battle is being conducted. The supporting units are made up of trucks that
recover certain tanks that have been knocked out through enemy action. So unlike contemporary
battles whether with stock TBU orientation or TFA, the excitement, stress, and time-frame of a
given battle is much lower in contrast to RT-Level Campaign Battling. With RT-Level
Campaign Battling, a team has a structure of a basic tank company, and how they utilize each
component (CO, XO-support units, platoon leader(s), and platoon(s)) of their team directly
affects the outcome of a battle.
RT-Level Campaign Battling Defined
The Battlefield
The axis and allies start on a given battlefield on their respective sides of a DMZ line,
then after the battle, the winner advances to the next sequential battlefield in the enemy’s sector.
Advancing into the enemy’s sector makes conditions and circumstances increasingly harder for
the advancing team, as they would be in real life. Some of these things are decreased accesses,
established minefields that limit the aggressor and assist the defender. Where the team enters a
battlefield is where their support unit operates the company’s repair facilities. During some
battles, air strikes will be utilized at timed intervals to reduce accesses to areas of the battlefield.
These are planned and timed events. Each team will enter a given battlefield at a certain location
and exit from a certain location which will be given to each team’s CO at the battle brief. At no
time will accesses such as bridges be allowed to be blocked by team players (dead tank). A
number of bridges will be knocked out prior to the battle, or during the battle, since one team has
to succeed, the persons conducting the battle solely control access.
The Team (Tank Company)
The individual opponent teams for each side comprise a tank company. They have a CO,
XO, platoon leaders, platoon members, and a support detachment. An unseen part of the support
detachment is the artillery supporting unit for the tank company. The battle is planned and led by
the CO through the direction he gives to the individual platoons. The platoon leaders direct their
platoons in accomplishing the tasks that the CO has given them prior to the battle starting, and
may give them updated directions during the course of the battle. Teams should start and end
with the same members. While some members may come and go from the museum, the ones that
are involved should be on one given team. The battling will be enhanced this way, as the team
will start working out its quirks and establish standardized practices. Battles will be rough at first
as the team learns how to operate, during subsequent battles, they learn and adapt. The battles
will also become more difficult. The CO should always be the same, as are all the others, but at
times, the XO and platoon leaders and members can change.
The CO
The CO is the head of the tank company. He first plans how he wants the team to execute
the battle, and gives further directions while the battle is going on as needed. He is also in charge
of directing the artillery strikes. Every 5 minutes he can call in an artillery strike to illuminate
any tank (with the exception of the opposite team’s CO or XO). He only can direct these artillery
strikes, conducted at not less than 5-minute intervals, or he lose that round of artillery strike and
has to wait an additional 5 minutes for the next interval. Being the team CO is difficult as there
are many things that they have to manage, just as in a real battle, you have to manage the battle,
as well as assets. The CO gives orders to platoon leader(s), then the platoon leaders plan their
platoon’s part of the mission. The CO will direct the XO where he wants the XO and support
unit to operate. The CO cannot be killed by an artillery strike.
The XO
The XO is in charge of directing vehicle recovery and taking the place of the CO in case
he’s knocked out. The XO needs to keep abreast over who’s been knocked out, and what the
priority is for recovering vehicles. The priority is not the same as in fluff battles, with RT-Level
Campaign Battling it’s what tank or tank aspect is needed the most, and the whole team is not
recoverable, only a portion. The XO cannot be killed by an artillery strike.
The Platoon Leader and Platoon Members
The platoon leader gets his direction from the CO and then directs his platoon in carrying
the direction out. The platoon may only have two members, the platoon leader and another, or it
may have up to 4 members. This was how it was in reality, and it is how you ‘flesh out’ a team
no matter how many people show up. Sometimes you’ll only have enough for 4 platoon
members, and at other times more. So instead of having one platoon of 4, it would be better to
have two platoons of two members.
Support Unit
The support unit is the tank recovery unit. The team’s XO is in charge of this unit, and
directs the driver of the recovery truck to recover the knocked out tank. The recovery truck takes
the tank back to the repair facility which is always located where the team entered the battle.
The recovery truck CAN BE CAPTURED. The recovery truck can only go into a zone while
there are friendly tanks in the zone. If all the friendly tanks in the zone are knocked out while the
recovery truck is present in that zone, if there is an enemy vehicle present it is captured. The
enemy vehicle has to get between the recovery truck and its direct path to its repair facility to
make it abundantly clear. Additionally, if a recovery truck advances into a zone where no
friendly vehicles are present and only enemy tanks, the recovery truck could be captured. The
Capture of a recovery unit lasts for the duration of that specific battle. The team’s XO is in
charge of the recovery unit, and directs the driver of the recovery truck to recover the knocked
out tank. The recovery truck takes the tank back to the repair facility which is always located
where the team entered the battle. The recovery truck can only go into a zone while there are
friendly tanks in the zone.
An Example of Battle Execution
The CO will receive the battle information from the person creating the battle, and he will
then formulate a plan. That plan he will then deliver to his team.
Below is an example of the battlefield.
The CO’s team is to enter the battlefield in zone 1 and the enemy is entering from zone 2. All
bridges have been knocked out except for the one in zone 4 and the middle bridge closer to the
town. The enemy already is located in zone 2. At time 10 minutes into the battle, zone 3 will
become a mined zone and off limits to vehicles. The CO has 3 platoons of 3 members each. He is
going to give each platoon a series of battlefield objectives designed to win the battle and exit the
field. He will also instruct the XO where he wants his support, in order to counter the anticipated
casualties.
The CO tells platoon 1 that it is responsible for fire support across the middle
bridge while platoon 2 assaults across. After platoon 2 assaults across it will follow
platoon 2 across the bridge and assault Westward (towards town, but on the enemy side
of the river) all the while providing additional fire support for the other two platoons.
Platoon 1’s final objective will be the entrance of the enemy stronghold in zone 2.
The CO tells platoon 2 to assault across the middle bridge and take up firing
positions on the enemy side of the river, but oriented towards the castle. When the
opportunity presents itself assault towards the corner of zone 2, oriented towards the
castle and stone bridge. The CO will be accompanying platoon 2. The XO will be
accompanying platoon 1 and 2 along with the supporting recovery. The CO will provide
artillery support at the enemy opposing platoon 2’s assault.
The CO tells platoon 3 to race down to the bridge in zone 4, cross immediately
and battle their way towards the castle, all the while ensuring that the railroad and tunnel
are secured. After reaching castle, they are to battle towards the corner of zone 2.
Platoons 1 and 2 will be providing fire support.
Once the battle is in play, the CO can make adjustments and give additional
direction, but his communication is with the platoon leaders solely, then the platoon
leaders adjust their team. If the 5-minute interval is up, the CO directs an artillery strike
at an opposing tank which knocks out the enemy tanker (note: artillery strikes cannot be
directed against the opposing teams CO or XO). If the time selection for a minefield to
be enacted, all vehicles within the affected zone are knocked out per the briefing both
teams received prior to the battle. Tanks knocked out by mines can still fight, but cannot
move. They also cannot be recovered, as if the truck enters the minefield, it too is a
casualty.
Battles, Battles, and More Battles
During the event, there are 5 main types of battles. They are:
Basic-Level Battles -Battles that are at face value easy to conduct and driver’s have a
more relaxing time. These are interspersed along the schedule for relief of the more
stressful Intermediate-Level Battles and RT-Level Campaign Battles. If you’ve been to
Danville, these are the staple.
Intermediate-Level Battles -Battles that utilize the organization of the RT-Level
Campaign Battles, but are only single battles, not the sequential inter-locking battlefields
of a campaign. These are utilized in part to get participants used to the more involved
RT-Level Campaign Battles.
RT-Level Campaign Battles -These are highly organized battles that utilize a tank
company, directed by command structure, and are conducted over a series of sequential
inter-locking battlefields. Tanks are put out of action by a variety of implements, not just
tank-on-tank.
Competition Battles -Platoon-level (4 tank) completion for awards.
Two-Man Tank Battles -Tanks that have electronics added or modified to support two
separate operators of the vehicle (one for driving, one for fire direction) organized into
basic battles.
Jake
ACE Member
a little history to the tank-battles 2003 - 2013
2003 , Danville battlefield is created at first everyone back then wanted there tanks speed reduced as much as possible to more realistic looking speeds .
Therefore the battles back then looked completely different as what we are seeing today .
Therefore it was also eye-candy for the visitors to the Museum. And believe me , it was a lot of fun for us .
sometimes in 2004-2005
we got more understanding on the Tamiya battle-system and found out all the little tricks .
Just the discovery that the IR-beam stays on for about 1 second ,
changed right away how battle was conducted , but at first it was more like turret-battles ,
guys used there turrets to take advantage of the 1second IR beam . shortly after that the spin-shooting started .
This was also the time-frame people wanted there tanks faster again ,
and the biggest mistake we did back then ( at least my opinion ) using on-road-speeds for our speed-charts for these tanks .
All of this changed dramatically how battles are done and what it looked like
lets just call it 2005/2006 ( cant remember exactly )
till 2010/2011 ( not sure here either )
spin-shooting was the normal game-play and nobody didn't used there turrets anymore ,
all tanks buzzed around like toy-race-cars .
then most recently 2011/2012 ?
the TFA setup was discussed and since then being used in Danville as the default battle-style .
participants for tank-battles coming to the Museum since the past few years don't even know how battles are done back in the days ,
therefore they do not have a comparison .
Sure , we have pulled in a lot of new people , and they do seam to like this type of game-play , but it is a game now these days ,
doesn't reflect even anything close to real realistic tank-combat .
Therefore some of us ( most likely just a smaller crew of people , mainly the "old-guys" from back then ) lost the fun on that .
Myself , I didn't had a tank on the field since years , I been doing the truck-recovery's .
Even Dana admitted that the battles in the recent years kind a gotten lame .
Randy disappeared from Danville ....
Doug lost the interested on this type of game-play .
since a couple years we been discussing how we could create more realistic and more intense battles .
A number of descriptions for that came to mind : elite-tankers , historical accurate , hard-core competition , what ever ....
in May 2006 ETO and ACE hosted the first non-RCACN event in Danville
the main-objective was getting people quicker on the field with less and more simplified rules and trying out some new , more realistic based battle scenarios .
this was followed with another non-RCACN event
"RollingThunder" hosted by ACE in September 2006
which included some really intense battle-scenarios .
Back then we did also the 2-man tank-battles , 2 guys controlling 1 tank , 1 guy is the gunner , the other is the driver , real cool !
bottom line ,
Dougs June event is mend to be something different from the most recent practiced shot-them-up-bang-bang bumper car battles .
Somewhat based on what we ( ACE ) had tried back in 2006
I would like to encourage EVERYONE , no matter if you are an old-timer or a newbie to R/C tank-battling ,
no matter if you are the crazy spin-shooter ,
no matter of your personal preference : original Tamiya setup or TFA battle-style
to come to this event and let us do , or at least let us try together to do something new / different !
Willy
CustomRCmodels
ACE-member , friends with HEAT , NEAT & Texas armor
AAF-tankmuseum member
6/2013