Tiresias Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 Turn 42 Well, that's definitely it at the road junction now! My contact with the Priest trundles infuriatingly close to my man with the AT grenade, but he's spotted by infantry sweeping the village before it gets into range. This man came from 2 plt and after two intense bursts of combat, as well as the execution of the rest of his squad buddies (they were the guys who dispatched the GIs with the potato masher a few turns back), his nerves must be shot to pieces. He breaks and makes for the hill, gets about 15 yards, and is shot down. So much for that. On the hill, everyone is of course in position and awaiting the final assault. Here's the arrangement of the teams from 1 plt: The assault will come over the top of the hill, past the windmills, and from the junction, to the left. You can probably just make out that in both cases I can lure infantry into an exposed position before hopefully walloping them with the MG34s. Even the Priest is unlikely to be able to see my men to get a shot before it's dangerously close. So the one thing that would really spoil my day here would be a mortar strike. Yet, given that the Americans are only able to see as far as the summit, they would either have to (a) pinpoint a spot - likely the windmills themselves, which means they would miss most of my guys, or ( area fire using a location they can see. In the latter case, I think the bombardment would be widely dispersed and unlikely to be devastating. So artillery at this stage looks most likely to be annoying and a weakening factor that I could do without, rather than decisive. Of course, I've no doubt that I have very little waiting to do indeed before I can test this theory to find out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Tiresias, Not even one HMG-42 in this reverse slope defense? What a pity! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Tiresias, Not even one HMG-42 in this reverse slope defense? What a pity! Regards, John Kettler Yep, all gone I'm afraid. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Turns 43 & 44 The next couple of minutes see the commencement of what will be the final, decisive action of this battle. As predicted, a few spotting rounds start falling around the hill. One lands perilously close to one of my forward MG teams. How on earth they didn't get a scratch after this is beyond me: At about the same time, what can only be the Priest starts firing at the left-most windmill on the summit. The gunner blasts a nice hole in the side of the building, but none of my men are in there. This is a tell-tale sign, I think, that the Americans can't actually see my men. And that means that the imminent mortar bombardment is likely to be directed either at what they can see (ie: positions where I have no men stationed), or an area far too wide for it to be worth repositioning my infantry to avoid it. This is even more the case because we are against the edge of the map. There is limited room for us to move around without exposing ourselves to enemy fire. Moment later, these thoughts are proved largely correct. A ferocious, intensive bombardment commences but most of it is directed against the top of the hill. One man right at the far end of the map is killed by a stray bit of shrapnel - and he's in a spot to which I would have moved the forward teams if I had wanted to avoid the artillery fire. Otherwise, there are a few minor wounds and a bit of shaken morale. That said, it's not over yet. As the clock stops I can hear more rounds screaming through the air and there is the possibility that at any second one such round, perhaps falling shy of the intended target, could have the unanticipated effect of wiping out a cluster of my men who are cowering on the hill. It's a nerve-wracking experience not knowing if these positions, in which we have been hiding in silence for so long, will be obliterated without us having so much as a chance to fire at the enemy. But I can't see the Americans keeping this up for too long. And so far, it's not been as devastating as they might expect. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Tiresias, I am cringing watching your troops enduring the barrage. The tension mounts as things ratchet up to a finale. How will they fight? Will they fight like lions to avenge the loss of so many of their fellow landsers, or will they wearily throw their hands up knowing they cannot stand against such heavy odds? Good luck in the final moments of the battle. Positioning as you did has surely saved you many casualties. If the lads had been hiding in the windmills......... Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Tiresias, I am cringing watching your troops enduring the barrage. The tension mounts as things ratchet up to a finale. How will they fight? Will they fight like lions to avenge the loss of so many of their fellow landsers, or will they wearily throw their hands up knowing they cannot stand against such heavy odds? Good luck in the final moments of the battle. Positioning as you did has surely saved you many casualties. If the lads had been hiding in the windmills......... Heinrich505 Cheers Heinrich. I'm afraid my plans in terms of keeping them away from the windmills turn out in the next turn to have been less well thought-out than I had hoped! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Turn 45 In summary, disaster, pretty much. Notwithstanding the focus of the barrage on the hilltop last turn, the next minute sees rounds falling amongst my men. I think I count eight casualties in all. This could well be game over. I'm pretty gutted about this. I had really hoped that I would be able to keep most of my guys behind the ridge intact but despite the fact that they are spread out two of the squads have taken a real hit. I can't quite work out why the Americans were able to area fire with this level of precision either. Were they closer than I had imagined? If so, why didn't I spot them? Analysis will have to wait for the post-mortem, which at this rate could be very, very soon. As the bombardment finally ceases, we pick up a couple of contacts approaching the windmills. What's left of 1 Plt are ordered to prepare themselves for the final fight. My immediate concern is that the forward-most squads have lost their two MG34 gunners. I don't know if their comrades in arms will have time to grab the weapons before they are fully engaged. To the credit of my men, no-one has broken despite the terrifying bombardment of the last two minutes. All units are in contact with the Platoon Commander, who is mercifully alive. The Company commander is also nearby. The only way we might stand a chance here is if we have seriously weakened the Americans in the preceding fight. But to be honest, it looks like the end of the battle is a few moments away. This is really disappointing - I honestly think I should have at least forced a draw here and instead it's going to be a humiliating defeat! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Turn 45 In summary, disaster, pretty much. Notwithstanding the focus of the barrage on the hilltop last turn, the next minute sees rounds falling amongst my men. I think I count eight casualties in all. This could well be game over. I'm pretty gutted about this. I had really hoped that I would be able to keep most of my guys behind the ridge intact but despite the fact that they are spread out two of the squads have taken a real hit. I can't quite work out why the Americans were able to area fire with this level of precision either. Were they closer than I had imagined? If so, why didn't I spot them? Analysis will have to wait for the post-mortem, which at this rate could be very, very soon. As the bombardment finally ceases, we pick up a couple of contacts approaching the windmills. What's left of 1 Plt are ordered to prepare themselves for the final fight. My immediate concern is that the forward-most squads have lost their two MG34 gunners. I don't know if their comrades in arms will have time to grab the weapons before they are fully engaged. To the credit of my men, no-one has broken despite the terrifying bombardment of the last two minutes. All units are in contact with the Platoon Commander, who is mercifully alive. The Company commander is also nearby. The only way we might stand a chance here is if we have seriously weakened the Americans in the preceding fight. But to be honest, it looks like the end of the battle is a few moments away. This is really disappointing - I honestly think I should have at least forced a draw here and instead it's going to be a humiliating defeat! No far from it, you put up a good fight. As to the artillery he could just have a wide area on it and you got the short end of the stick. Still regardless, he paid dearly for this objective and it isn't quite over yet. Sometimes your pixeltruppen will surprise the hell out of you, never count them out until it is over. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eltorrente Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Advancing troops are vulnerable to just a few guys that are laying down in cover, waiting for them. I think it'll be a good fight at the end and am looking forward to lots of screenshots. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Tiresias, That screen shot was painful. I know you hadn't counted on that possibility. Hang in there and see what happens. I haven't heard the fat lady singing yet. If your morale is still good your boys can put the hurt on the advancing enemy. I'd guess he is pretty brittle by now from the punishment he took earlier. Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Wow, thanks for the encouragement everybody! I agree: It's not quite over yet. I'll see what I can do. Haven't had chance to do the next turn but more will follow shortly... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 You KNOW what I will advise... You are down. You men are shredded. The enemy is overlapping your defenses. You are on your heels. Bah. Typical defensive mindset. You started this battle thinking, "I must defend". It is a contest of wills. If you curl up in the fetal position, hoping your feeble defense will keep the enemy from stomping on you, you will be pummeled. NOW is the time to attack!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Turn 46 Seconds after the end of the mortar barrage my men are attacked from three sides at once. American infantry appears on the ridge at the windmills, to our left, arriving from the road junction and - most surprisingly - on our right, having made its way round the hill altogether. What's more surprising still is the fact that despite having been subjected to a ferocious pounding moments earlier, 1 Plt are still up for the fight, at least for now. As the first Americans appear the men of the forward-most squad open fire, immediately causing a couple of casualties and sending men scattering for cover. These are the guys who we fought earlier as they made their way up through the treeline, and it's clear once again that their morale is pretty low. They were probably also hit by our mortars about 45 minutes ago; after that and a gruelling fight up the slopes, it wouldn't surprise me if they were close to cracking completely. The Americans probably have most strength on our left flank, which is the direction of the road junction. Fortunately, my teams to the rear, who are covering a possible advance from this direction, didn't lose their MG34s during the mortar bombardment. As the enemy make for the damaged windmill they find themselves under fire and are forced back behind a nearby wall, save for a couple of guys who are dangerously exposed in the open as the turn concludes. With this first attempted assault pretty much reversed, the minute ends with contacts surrounding my position. Somehow a small group of American troops have managed to sneak up on the right flank, close to my Co. HQ and another MG34 team. I've got their position covered - what worries me is that this a platoon HQ and therefore presumably accompanied by a radio operator capable of calling in more mortar fire from above. Hopefully they weren't expecting us to be positioned on this flank at all and will be taken out pretty quickly. As some members of 1 Plt continue to fire on any Americans who appear, particularly on the left, others use a brief gap in the action to tend to the wounded and recover those vital MGs from the remains of fellow team members. It's imperative that this happens as fast as possible. The forward teams have done a good job but may be in action again any second. Overall, it's been a more successful turn than I had dared hope. At least three Americans have been taken out at a cost of no casualties on my side. It's some small revenge for what happened earlier and 1 Plt have been impressively calm and composed under intense fire. But if they are to save our position at the windmills - which still seems unlikely at this stage - then they are going to have to keep this up for considerably longer. As for the Americans, this turn will have signalled that a straightforward infantry attack may not be enough if they want to bring this battle to a close. My assessment, on the strength of what's happened so far, is that they can now choose all or some of three options: First, they could move on the junction in greater numbers and try to use the full weight of whatever infantry they have at their disposal to seize the windmills. Second, they could send in the Priest. Or, third, they could call in more mortar fire - presuming they have some left. The last option seems the most likely. Many of my teams have AT grenades and at close range the Priest could cause damage, but might also find the going pretty tough. And the American infantry seems pretty demoralised in places. Assuming that they do therefore go for another artillery attack, it's essential that I get rid of that Platoon HQ on my right. In addition, I'll need to watch for any sudden withdrawal by the enemy, which would signal incoming artillery fire. The problem, positioned as we are with our backs to the wall, is that there is nowhere to run to get out of the way of an artillery strike, except forwards. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 The problem, positioned as we are with our backs to the wall, is that there is nowhere to run to get out of the way of an artillery strike, except forwards. So you are planning on following c3k's advice? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Which menu has the "fix bayonets" order? I can't seem to find it..... c3k can be very persuasive. Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 Hi everyone. Thanks for the posts! Yes, I think in answer to c3k's point I'm going to have to make some sort of aggressive move if I don't want to passively sit there and wait for mortar rounds to drop. The question is, how with so few men? I think I may have come up with a solution. Back as soon as I can with more on this from the next turn. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Turns 47 & 48 After a huge amount of thought on what to do next, I've come up with the closest thing I can offer to a workable plan using what limited resources remain. The bottom line is that sitting behind the ridge, passively awaiting a decision from the enemy about how best to attack us, is unlikely to do me any favours. Clearly the biggest threat is coming from our left, and here I think we should sit tight and try to hold the line. 1 Plt's 2nd squad, to the rear of our position, have 2 MG34s and several supporting troops trained on the wall behind the damaged windmill, which is where any approaching infantry is likely to appear. They also have AT grenades to cope with the potential approach of the Priest. Straight ahead 3rd squad are still licking their wounds but have fended off the Americans coming over the top of the ridge and should be able to do the same again, given their brittle morale. In short, the enemy are weakest to my right, where they seem to have an HQ team and possibly one other, but little else. I am almost certain these guys were trying to creep round to get LOS on my position and arrange a mortar bombardment. At the start of turn 47 I see some ominous spotting going on. The relatively unscathed 1st squad are therefore going to try to eliminate this team, supported by our nearby Co. HQ, and then move round the hill to attack the brittle American teams in the centre from their left flank. This pic shows the basic plan. One team from 1st squad will move against the enemy HQ team with the Co. HQ providing suppressing fire as indicated by the dotted line. Seconds later, 1st squad's other two teams will begin a manoeuvre around the base of the ridge, which will allow them to further pin down the enemy HQ team, but then move round the flank of the central American teams that currently appear to be trying to attack by coming between the windmills. They're not going to move too fast, in case there are more Americans in their path, but they will move steadily. Once they have LOS on the Americans' flank, the MG34 will open up and hopefully force those men to panic and run. That will release 3rd squad, in the centre, to cope with an attack on the left. 1st squad's rough firing position in this regard is indicated with the dotted line. The next turn I begin to put this plan into effect. There is no sign of spotting rounds so far, although some indication that the Priest may be moving up the hill from the left. There is some steady firing on this flank, where more American infantry has appeared behind the wall. My MG34 teams from 2nd squad are doing a good job of forcing them to keep their heads down and they are also inflicting one or two casualties in the process. 1st squad and my Co. HQ successfully pin down the enemy HQ team on the right and a few moments later they are running for cover. Frustratingly, we don't seem to have taken them out yet, but it's enough suppression for me to start my flanking move. Within a few seconds, the forward team from 1st squad are close enough to start hurling their potato mashers in the HQ unit's general direction. As the other two teams start to move around them, there are no indications of other Americans amassing on my right. I am optimistic of surrounding this platoon HQ and perhaps forcing it to surrender. Hopefully this has disrupted any mortar attack before they had chance to call it in. Turn 48 ends with another attempted push through the centre. 3rd squad's efforts to recover their MG's are thwarted by the sight of GI's creeping past the central windmill. My men open fire and successfully send the attacking Americans running again. I don't think that they are in decent shape up there, so if I can get the men from 1st squad round fast enough and unopposed, I might just have a chance of pushing them out completely. Overall, my prospects of succeeding in this battle are still faint, but we are at least giving them a decent fight. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I like your plan - bold but not insane. I am looking forward to how it will turn out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I like your plan - bold but not insane. I am looking forward to how it will turn out. +1 on that. If you can unravel him from the flank, it'll definitely get him reacting to you which if nothing else will buy you a little more time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thanks guys. Not sure how my AT grenades will stand up to the Priest should it emerge over the ridge on the left. That could be pretty decisive. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Well if you are close enough, do your teams have any smoke? You can always cloud the hell out of it and close assault the darn thing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Well if you are close enough, do your teams have any smoke? You can always cloud the hell out of it and close assault the darn thing. Ah, yes, of course. It may have to come to that! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Tiresias, Hit the bloody thing anywhere but the lower hull front, 2-4". Why? Because the thickest armor anywhere else is only 1.5." Most of it is only 0.5"--if you can hit the upper portion of the fighting compartment. It's all there on page 38. http://www.scribd.com/doc/13810463/Standard-Ordnance-Items-Catalog-1944-Vol-1 I like your attack plan. It reminds of me of 10th Maine's wheeling bayonet charge at Little Round Top, though I'm pretty sure Chamberlain wheeled going the other direction. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Tiresias, Hit the bloody thing anywhere but the lower hull front, 2-4". Why? Because the thickest armor anywhere else is only 1.5." Most of it is only 0.5"--if you can hit the upper portion of the fighting compartment. It's all there on page 38. Awesome, thank-you John. My more cursory research (hello, Wikipedia) had suggested 2" armour in general. A grenade chucked over the top and into the compartment would work just as well! Hopefully I'll get a decent crack at it if necessary. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 "Hit" it? Bah, more defensive mindset. Act like a man! Your pixeltruppen will be disgraced if they die while fighting a war of material! Attack like a warrior! Have your SMG armed men ENTER the Priest! 40 rounds of 9mm parabellum delivered at arm's reach, passing through the enemy only to ricochet around and hit them back again! Tracers, sparks, cordite, screams, confusion! Glorious... Finally to end when a stray round finds a 105mm shell and sends your warriors to the Great Hall of Valhalla. An act like that will unman your opponent. He will beg for the chance to surrender. Your men await... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.