ChrisND Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 TURN 26 The lull in the battle continues as my reinforcements move to their positions as outlined above. I notice increased Luftwaffe dismount activity on the hill, probably as Bil moves into his attack positions. Another German artillery spotting round lands near my defenses. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 Turn 27 Well, my T30 luck has finally run out. The T30 I sent to move up and replace the one that ran out of HEAT ammo gets immediately nailed this turn by what I think is Bil's last Renault, lurking in the trees across the map. With two coaxial MG bursts it fires bursts between the hood and the gunshield (my crew had the view panels down), killing the commander and gunner. It follows up with a 47mm shell into the engine of the T30. Then just for good measure a Brixia mortar starts pounding the T30 as well. That vehicle is toast, and Bil is now free to move up the highway. I'll have to send a Sherman from my reserves to shore that position up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Normal Dude, Thrilled to see this AAR resume. Have been practically chewing my nails over what appeared to be that resumption. Love the camouflage jobs on your armor! So much more interesting than OD. First saw these in that fabulous, and still not mine, George Bradford book, ARMOR CAMOUFLAGE AND MARKINGS NORTH AFRICA. Is the T19 in CMFI? Used to have a model of it as a kid and thought it was really cool looking. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 Normal Dude, Thrilled to see this AAR resume. Have been practically chewing my nails over what appeared to be that resumption. Love the camouflage jobs on your armor! So much more interesting than OD. First saw these in that fabulous, and still not mine, George Bradford book, ARMOR CAMOUFLAGE AND MARKINGS NORTH AFRICA. Is the T19 in CMFI? Used to have a model of it as a kid and thought it was really cool looking. Regards, John Kettler Nope, no T19, by Sicily it had been replaced by the M7 HMC. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 TURN 28 Major infantry activity on the hill. I think Bil's second attack has started in earnest. My artillery strike is still in spotting phase, and it looks like he may already have passed the barrage target. I'm calling in an adjustment that is a line stretching from the Orchards objective to the dense woods in the west. It'll take four more minutes to arrive, but it will hopefully catch his advance and hit them. I'm also calling in 60mm mortar fire on the wooded areas in an attempt to disrupt any bases of fire he is developing. I've also spotted the previous hit Pz III, it is alive and moving along the gully at the edge of the map. There is a Sherman moving to a position where it will see over it, and then it will be toast. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lokik Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 So happy to see this AAR continuing again. Excited to see what happens next. Have to get some time on my schedule to try this scenario myself as it looks like a lot of fun. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 TURNS 29-30 The assault continues to heat up. Although I've called in an adjustment on my artillery strike, a good minute of artillery hits in the area of his advancing troops, so I've hopefully done some damage. Two of my Shermans have taken up positions on either side of the villa, and started firing on more of Bil's infantry moving down the hill. They haven't spotted any of his tanks yet. The one in the gulley is being surprisingly stealthy. Near the end of Turn 30 I get a nasty surprise when one of Bil's Grilles delivers a 150mm candygram to the villa - BOOM! My .50cal HMG team is vaporized in one hit, and an MMG almost wiped out, and the rest of the villa defenders are suppressed. With one shot. Those suckers HURT! I haven't spotted the Grille, no idea where the shot came from. So far all infantry movement on the hill has been Italian infantry. Obviously he has managed to regroup them, but I find it suspicious that all of them are Italian, and no Luftwaffe. What IS he doing with them? Are the Italians bait? I have spotted some German MG teams setting up by the gully, but they are pretty far away and don't have enough firepower to be a real threat to defenders in the villa. That stealth Grille on the other hand... one of those could single-handily dismantle my defense if positioned and defended correctly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 TURN 31 I shall sum up this turn thusly: OW OW OW OW. Lot's of action this turn. We'll split the action this turn into three segments: west of the villa, the villa itself and east of the villa. East of the Villa My newly stationed Sherman, taking the place of the KO'd T30 HMC is set upon by two of Bil's tanks: the Pz IIIM that was skulking in the gully has moved up in hull down, and at least one of Bil's Pz IVGs has shown itself in hull down in the low ground running east of the highway. I think they're gunning for my Sherman, since I see a shell hit a tree in front of my tank. The Sherman, having not spotted them yet, blithely continues firing on infantry moving down the hill. The Pz IIIM bravely takes aim, fires... and skips a round off of the right-front turret. It gets another round, pinging off my Shermans mantlet before the Sherman spots him, slews his turret over, and connects with a solid hit to the front turret. This hit kills the commander and stuns the crew. The Sherman gets off another shot, which luckily for the Pz IIIM glances off of its mantlet. At two points in the turn, a Grille hits the villa nearby. The nearby massive explosion causes a major distraction for the Sherman crew, forcing them to button and suppressing them. This may be the reason they do not spot the Pz IVs and cannot react to them. Near the end of the turn the Sherman comes under intense fire, with two Pz IVGs attacking it. One scores a hit and partial penetration that causes only minor damage, but rattles the crew who begin to reverse to safety. So far my Sherman hasn't spotted the Pz IVs yet, only my infantry in the villa upper floors can see them. The Villa I had given my Villa defenders orders to get out of the front part of the villa, but it doesn't happen in time. The Grille pumps two more shots into the Villa this turn, causing massive casualties. The first shot knocks out another MMG, and cripples my FO team. The FO himself is wounded by still alive, but the radioman is dead. The second shot takes out about ten men, including some men in the para battalion HQ (although not the commander). It also collapses the second floor exterior walls. At this rate his Grille can dismantle the entire building if left alone. The Grille is extremely well positioned, with lots of trees and undergrowth masking it from any location other than the villa. Bil probably has his Italians to thank for this, as he discovered the security of this location way back at the beginning of the game when his Bersaglieri came under and he came here for cover. With a vehicle as vulnerable as the Grille, it is extremely important to find good covered spots for them. West of the Villa In the western dense patch of woods (back where my paras killed two renaults in close quarters), I have spotted a Pz IVG. Like the Grille, it is an excellent position, well shielded by trees. My Sherman sitting on the west side of the Villa then spots a second Pz IVG in that location and gets a round off, but it hits a tree and then loses sight again. Although his forces in that woods have a very protected position, their combat utility is greatly lowered because my two Shermans in overwatch on the southern hill can trounce anything that moves too far forward and exposes itself. My Reaction I'm going to continue trying to get my men out of the front of the villa and hide them in the back, although now that the Grille is firing in earnest they've done a pretty good job of that themselves. All of my Shermans are still fully operational, although on the east side of the map Bil has concentrated his Panzers, so exposing a Sherman to try and attack the Grille is a risky proposition at best. What I can do is back up my eastern Sherman, and carefully move him around the edge of the hill, where the T30 was. This way the Sherman will at most ever only be exposed to one enemy tank, and he will be in hull down as well. Although the infantry losses this turn really hurt, I still have two full strength infantry platoons in reserve. Since I still have no idea where Bil is sending his Luftwaffe infantry to attack, I'm going to avoid showing them at all and keep them out of the fight. Right now this is primarily a tank duel. I also want to try ordering mortar fire on the Grille, but my only decent FO position has just been destroyed. I've already got a 60mm mortar fire mission starting on the Grille's general location though, so hopefully I get really lucky and land a round inside it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Looks like things are really heating up now. Great action in the tank duel. Your Sherman seems to be holding up well. A few more hits from the Grille and the villa might be flat. Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Normal Dude, You and Bil Hardenberger do terrific tactical analyses. I tend to operate more by feel than you two, whose combat approach seems almost chess like. Would say that Sherman was lucky to survive that kind of attack, and I love that Grille in the shade pic. I think what both of you are doing, in terms of graphics, bode well for the coming graphic overlay. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hister Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 This is really one kick ass AAR for sure! One can really learn how to play this game simply by watching these two splendid gentleman hitting each other in a controlled manner. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 TURN 32 Bil is trying something ballsy. This turn is pretty quiet since my Sherman and troops at the front of the villa have withdrawn. However, a Fiat truck laden with Luftwaffe infantry comes racing down the highway! Obviously he means to take advantage of his local fire superiority along the highway to quickly insert a squad of infantry in the woods objective. My only troops left to oppose them in the woods is a pack howitzer and their ammo bearer teams. I'm turning the howitzer to point in their direction, but any firing will be point-blank as the howitzer is in the back of the woods. I could race one of my Shermans to intercept, but the risk of it being nailed by a Pz IVG is unacceptable. For now I'll have to wait for my eastern Sherman to finish repositioning. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword56 Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 OMG -- can't wait to see the ground-level shots of how the pack-vs-troop truck action turns out. Sometimes a rapid truck/jeep dash like that can catch an opponent napping and pay dividends -- like a QB sneak in football. In my Hamel Vallee battle with sburke, I had a HMG crew in their jeep do a quick-and-crazy dash around the end of a hedgerow into a wheatfield, and they came in with guns blazing from the jeep like Al Capone's mob. Totally surprised and gunned down a German or two, and greatly speeded up the advance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javaslinger Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 If someone would make live video's of their turns and planning with commentary I think I could watch it all day long.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Point-blank howitzer fire over open sights at charging truck. Yep, waiting with anticipation. Break out the nerves of steel. Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 The old "race to the flag" gambit. CM1 nostalgia... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake_eye Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Reading that AAR with a lot of interests, since it is very well done and illustrated by both opponents, I naturally played that battle on the German side quite a few times despites crashes happening 30% of the time, mostly within the AAR. It is a difficult task to take the villa. So, I am amazed that Bil is taking a bus ticket to get some storm troops to the villa objective. The only bus stop I can forebode is the cemetery one! If they gets along unscathed, I shall use next time the Fiat truck alongside the panzers. LOL Can’t wait to see the outcome! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 TURN 33 Bil's rush turns out to be slightly bigger than a truck. The lead Fiat packed with Luftwaffe reaches the reserve slope of the hill, and, shielded by the woods, vanishes from sight at the end of the turn. My pack howitzer is now in position and turned towards them, as you can see in the pictures below. If they push further into the woods it's going to be a point-blank fight. Following far behind the Fiat is a Protz 70 with more Luftwaffe troops, and the Renault. They appear to be rushing for the hill as well. Infantry movement along the rural rock walls in the valley has increased as well (highlighted in sitrep pic below). The Grille fires another shot this turn, but the round hits a tree only 40 meters ahead of it, wasting a round. My artillery strike has hit, although I appear to misunderstood his intentions as the rounds seem to be hitting nothing. The FO, having pulled back to hide, cannot adjust the mission now, so I'll have to abort it and start over with someone else spotting. My 60mm mortar has begun hitting the area around the Grille, but unless something explodes, I'll never know what effect they have. My Sherman has pushed forward, but cannot spot anything yet. I'm going to continue to push him forward and try to threaten the highway so that Bil can't continue running troops down it. I'm also pushing some of my infantry and remaining MG teams into the northwestern corner of the Villa, along with cover arcs covering the woods, so that when Bil's Luftwaffe comes through the woods they can hit them. This will expose them to fire from the Pz IVGs (I don't think the Grille can hit that corner), so I'm keeping them on the bottom two floors to hopefully limit their visibility. I'm doing something else, slightly risky. the Sherman at the east end of the villa is going to make short run up to the woods at the villa hill. Before I wasn't willing to do this since his flank would be exposed, but the artillery strike has kicked up dust that might mask his movement from Bil's panzers way to the west. Fingers crossed... I need my Shermans forward to kill that Grille, or I can't effectively defend the objective. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 one way or the other it looks like it is about to hit the fan. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Time to pop more corn. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baneman Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Yep, that pack howitzer/infantry duel is going to be interesting - either you'll obliterate them, or you'll hit a tree 2 feet in front of you and obliterate yourself ! Crossed fingers either way. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Yep, that pack howitzer/infantry duel is going to be interesting - either you'll obliterate them, or you'll hit a tree 2 feet in front of you and obliterate yourself ! Crossed fingers either way. Yeah you gotta love trees - can't live with them can't live without them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 TURN 34 Both good and bad happens this turn for me! My eastern Sherman, moving up along the eastern side of the villa, does not find German Panzers, but he does find something even juicier: trucks loaded with infantry! Bil was trying to sneak Fiat trucks loaded with Luftwaffe troops along the side of the gully where the Panzer III had been hit. Why he decided to do that after the bloody things that happened to the Panzer III, I don't know, but I had fun here. The Sherman gunner shoots two 75mm shells into the Fiat's cabin while the commander pumps .50 caliber rounds into it (picture below). The truck starts burning. In the dust and smoke I see only one Luftwaffe soldier escaping, running for cover into the gully. Near the end of the turn two Protz trucks are spotted in the same area, hurriedly offloading Luftwaffe troops. However, they are lower in elevation and are not spotted by my tank, just some observers in the villa. Speaking of which, it's time to mention the unsung heroes of this battle: Major Rand and the Operations team of 2/505 PIR (it was actually supposed to be 504 PIR, but this scenario file is from before the typo was fixed). Sequestered on the third floor of the northeastern corner of the villa, they have been passively spotting the entire battle. All of the spotting data I see, tank movements, most of the hill movements, etc, have come from this team. Even after everyone else got hammered by the Grille and evacuated, they have stayed in place and continued relaying information. I'd completely blind without them. Luckily Bil hasn't thought to hit this corner of the villa with fire yet, and so they continue their vigil (picture below). Elsewhere, Bil's 105mm artillery battery has begun its barrage of the villa, apparently centered on the west wing. One round misses the western Sherman by about five feet, and while most miss, there are a few direct hits on the villa that cause casualties to the poor buggers who just escaped from the Grille. The villa is also being raked with fire from Italian and German machine gun teams set up on the hill and at rural stone walls. My Sherman completes its mad dash to the woods in front of the villa, where it is promptly hit and penetrated by a Pz IV from the front. One crewmember is killed, but no major systems are damaged. However, the tank stays in the fight, although I've lost control of them as they pop smoke and start reversing madly at the end of the turn. (Picture below) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Good show nailing the Fiat. Those trucks were just too juicy a target not to bleed some. Too bad about the other Sherman though. Hope it gets back into the fight. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake_eye Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I wrote earlier: "If they gets along unscathed, I shall use next time the Fiat truck alongside the panzers. LOL" Looks like, I don't have to worry about that anymore 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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