[snake]

DRG,
I apologize. Let me add some info.
2. I did look for barge carriers and couldn't find any. I am familiar with them. I was Germany playing in a campaign and this was the first battle chosen against the French after several with the Poles. It was a river crossing (about 10 hexes wide, no bridges.) Since I couldn't buy any barge carriers (and I looked under every catagory except "allies."), I thought they might be provided like a beach assault. My men would reach the river and get into boats but the tanks just stopped. I wasn't surprised and just went back to the original save and got a different battle.
3. Well, my German guys suppressed very heavily (usually 5 with each shot.) That's quite a bit even for stress especially when the enemy is routed and not returning fire. Again, it was a campaign and has occurred any time I do it in any mission - easy to duplicate.
4. Fair enough but I've only seen it 2 or 3 times in about 6 missions. These were '39 missions against Poles in a campaign - I was German. In one mission, I moved about 15 armored vehicles against unsupported and pinned to routed infantry. I fired and fired and fired and just killed a few. So I moved into the hexes the next turn and fired and fired (now I was all suppressed and the Poles lost a few guys.) Next turn I moved back a hex or two and fired and fired and fired. Not much happening. Finally, about turn 6, the Polish Army hit it's morale and everybody started running. So I moved up and fired and fired and fired - no panic, some casualties and even some return fire. Finally, the next turn a few units began to surrender so I stopped firing altogether and just drove into the hexes each turn and let more and more surrender.
Sorry, but this doesn't seem realistic.
Note that throughout the mission my infantry fire, even at several hexes, was way more devestating killing 3 or 4 at a time while tanks firing every 6 shots of all weapons at 1 hex might match one long range rifle burst. This persisted until the Polish Army routed.
5. Even highly surpressed men will fight when cornered if they don't surrender. This 'event' seems to indicate that everyone in every squad surrenders and never fights back or kills an attacker. Close combat, surpressed or not, is not that one sided. IMHO.
6. I know the preference screen options but if you set an option like infantry easier to kill then EVERTHING kills them easily and I believe the artillery vrs infantry and infantry vrs infantry is about right at 100%. Only tanks can't seem to kill them and at range one blazing away as you said I should see effect.
7. I checked this and indeed it was a zero leader who had failed a check. Next turn he had a value.
8. Campaign game of Germans in '39. At least ten missions against Poles, French and Brits. The AI bought mines on one river crossing (I checked later) I couldn't play without barges. 3 other assaults and not a single obstacle. My campaign buy was 2500 points (later about 2800 with core increases) on a medium map about 80 by 80.
Twice the Poles had over 20 75mm howitzers (not counting several mortars) and never less than 15 total indirect fire weapons in even the non-defend missions. The other assault against France had them with 12 75mms, 8 81mm mortars, 6 105's and 6 attack aircraft.
The balance of forces seemd correct except for zero obstacles and a preponderance of artillery. Oddly, almost all the purchased art was on-board. Off-board amount seemed right with 3-6 batteries - what I am normally able to buy as the German if I spend 75% of my support points on art.
9. I would suggest that the skewed art vrs tank results are from way too many top hits which would kill a tank but I'm sure the majority of shells land around AFV's which would cause suppression. Don't get me wrong - AFV's should suffer lots of suppression in a barrage but the kill #'s are way too high. Immobilizations are about right, suppression seems correct. It's the outright top hit kills. It's so bad that if art lands near my formations, I always expect a kill with every barrage and I usually see it.
I actually think that the art vrs infantry routine is correct. I rarely see a lot of kills even moving in the open but I see lots of suppression which is good!