Jump to content

Gustav Line QB AAR Axis


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 314
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Mate... I'm no veteran, I'm green as jade!.

All advice, observations, lessons very welcome :)

GaJ

yeah right. I remember you being around as long as CMBO. After all you are the owner of the warehouse.

I will try and help out where I can though. My sig line speaks for itself though - I lose plenty of battles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you're right Steiner: with care, there's the potential to use P509 in the way that you're describing. It's the "with care" bit that had me bothered at the outset. Maybe I'm under-utilising that asset.

At the bottom line was my decision that I wasn't going to go for a "hold some terrain" game, but rather a "go find him,hopefully achieve an advantageous position to strike, and strike". This made me group all my forces pretty much together for that strike. I could have thought "but, I will set up my base of armoured fire from P509". This didn't seem like the right thing, because chances are the place that I need to make my strike from will be out of sight from P509, so the tanks end up not actually being able to support.

The way things have worked out, it turns out that P509 would have been great for hitting his exposed tank at the head of the P523 valley. In retrospect, given my right flank plans, I could have expeted him to set up blockers exactly there. I hadn't really expected a tank with it's side exposed though (hence the artillery cover of that location, but not AP). He must be pretty confident I do _not_ have tanks hiding behind P509, though I'm not sure yet how he _could_ be sure about that.

GaJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well well. _Another_ Shermie has showed up on P532.

T9.jpg

At first, this seemed like "Oh crap". But the silver lining on this cloud is that he must have quite limited supplied of artillery, if he's invested this much in tanks. I was getting pretty nervous about my whole force being stalled bunched up on the right just waiting to be bombed. Maybe that's a little less of a risk ...not that I can count on that.

So... it's definitely time for a Plan B. There's no way I can go rushing around there with 3 Shermies up on the ridge. Sherks might have dealt with one or maaaybe 2, but not 3.

Also, Bil is now started to try to find out really where I am ... he has scouts coming down the central valley, with the clear mission of looking around behind MonteG to see if I'm there. He's also apparently got them coming from P532 direct towards my right flank ridge: they seem to be shooting at me, though I can't see them.

So I need to do a couple of things:

- Set up to defend behind MonteG. This means spreading out (to not get bombed hopefully) and to be ready to counter probes from any direction.

- Increase my press up the left side. He looks really invested in P532, so maybe I can make some gains over on the left.

In fact, I was actually anticipating this a few turns ago, and already have Christoff and Braun heading over that way:

T9tanks.jpg

Basically, it seems like the back of MonteG will be defended by infantry, so rather than needing the tanks to support a press, they can go hunting. Maybe they will find that Stuart, or maybe they will help 6Co start making a real nuisance of itself up the left hand side. In a dream scenario, this will distract him from the P532 defence enough for the

right hand strike to be resumed....

GaJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You guys just want to see booms and bangs and stuff :D

You'll just have to be patient. The artillery is about 3 mins away.

What I think he has:

- 1500 pts of units chosen form an Airborne Battalion (because that was the deal)

IE basically infantry. I can see two HMGs, the same as I have - we agreed I should have brought more, so he probably has brought more. Some organic mortars as well, I presume.

- 1 Stuart, 3 Sherms (I've seen them)

Other than that, I don't know. So far, I'm too lazy to go look what the points balance is after 1500 of inf and 4 tanks. It can't be a whole lot...

GaJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see. Thanks for the explanation.

Could still be enough time:

I'd pause the advance on the right flank now and would move the tanks to 509. I think you need to get rid of the Sherman(s) at 523 first, if you don't want to attack with infantry over a ridge with enemy tank support on the reverse slope and maybe even more support from other high ground spots.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heh - we seem to be in agreement, what you have described is the action that's in progress right now :)

I have to say it's darn nice to have someone agreeing with what I'm doing, because right now I seem to have problems wherever I look.

One problem is that I've just fallen for the trap I was afraid of over on P509, but on P502.

Ooops:

T10Ooops.jpg

My HQ that was creeping up to try to spot out to the head of P523 valley has obviously been spotted from over somewhere on the right (I'm fairly sure that the actual head of P523 is out of LOS ... my guys certainly can't yet see down there). As a result, the tank at P532 head has started shelling the area:

T10Waste.jpg

Once again I have a silver lining though. That tank fired 4 or 5 shells this turn, all but one of them flying over head, and the last one landing as you can see. It pinned my guys, but didn't hurt them. I'm really quite tempted to leave those pinned guys there and see if Bil will keep expending his precious HE not-hurting them.

It's interesting to see the little pile of smoke that's appeared in the P502 saddle. I'm not sure whether this is an attempt to block spotting towards P511, or whether it's heralding a push from him up that slope to try to break into my stronghold behind MonteG.

It will be a bummer if a platoon of Inf suddenly appears there and wipes out my shrek

who's up there. I'm not sure really what I was thinking putting that guy there, other than he was close by a couple of turns ago, and I wanted a look over there. Some backup is on it's way.

Meanwhile, my overwatch of the central valley is precariously exposed:

T10exposed.jpg

As you can see, a nasty Shermie on P523 could pop up at any time and they would be in bad shape. So I have to make some adjustments there.

I've also started to get worried about my planned barrage on the MG at the head of P523. I can't see that MG anymore. Maybe it's because it's stopped firing, or maybe it's because it's moved away. Plus ... the LOS to there is really marginal. I'm not sure if I'll see the spotting rounds, and unfortunatly that position was just out of the radius of the TRP. Problems problems problems....

GaJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not much to report this turn.

I sacrificed the second man of the scout squad of 6Co on top of MonteP to confirm that the HMG over on P511 is still there - it is. Next turn the TRP'ed artillery is due to arrive on that guy's head.

The feared inf-attack on P502 saddle through the smoke did not eventuate, and the backup has arrived there, so this feels OK.

The Sherm continued shelling P502, and for some stupid reason the Radio Op of 8Co HQ decided this was a good moment to pop up and call home. Fatal. The first spotting round of the on-map arty called for the HMG on P532 barely landed on the map. I hope the second does better, this turn....

GaJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Faster, faster! :D

I have to say it's darn nice to have someone agreeing with what I'm doing, because right now I seem to have problems wherever I look.

So it seems. :D

But as long as you don't lose any of the tanks and 509 as pillar, I think nothing is lost yet. But probably lots of patience will be needed.

Even worse he could avoid any tank duels and use them only as support for his infantry while your infantry is naked.

The southern yellow part at Mt.Garabinesa can be seen well from 509?

The northern yellow part of Garabinesa is secured?

You don't have a HMG at 509 available, do you?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

T10exposed.jpg

Oh, didn't notice that. Could it be, that he is really thinking about trying to move along the street and attack Garabinesa from the SOUTH (argh, stupid me, i will never ever get used to CM's "compass")?! This would be too good to be true. :D

Where is the red carpet? :P

But be prepared, that this is only a trick, while he plans to go for your naked infantry at the edge from NE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ran another unit across the top of MonteP to draw the fire of the MG on P511, just to make sure that I can see if this sucker got hit by the artillery coming this turn:

T11MG.jpg

It cost about 10 shells to hit him, please please tell me he's dead now:

T11DeadMG.jpg

Overall, nothing much else happened. This turn with that MG theoretically out the way, 6Co1Pltn is running across behind MonteP. Hopefully soon the tanks will be there to support a push up the left instead of the right, to see how committed Bil is to defending the right.

T11.jpg

GaJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another Stuart!

It looks like Bil is a fan of tanks.

And so he has two Stuarts watching over the left hand side.

T12.jpg

He has also, it seems, taken "Shermie #3" from up on P523 and it's now moving down the middle of the central valley.

I have no idea whether he knows, or not, where Christoff and Braun are. I have been assuming he has sound contacts, at least, on them. I can't really tell though.

It's almost starting to look like the defense of the back of P523 is weakening - forces are being diverted to the middle. And 2 Stuarts are a tempting looking target for 2 PzIVHs. Be still, my heart ..., be patient!

GaJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh groan.

What a disappointing turn, with death all over the place due to silly little mistakes,and surprises :(

Over on the right flank, Bil pushed a scout up towards my waiting men. I don't know what weapon they are carrying, but it was lethal: one burst of fire from it killed 2 men in one sqaud, one in another, and one in yet another.

T13fire.jpg

T13deaths.jpg

My wretched HMG guards weren't deployed

T13deploy.jpg

All in all a balls up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(split due to too many inline images)

I got some insight now into what the smoke in the saddle might have been about. Perhaps Bil was trying to stop me from seeing his own thrust up this flank: what I've been interpretting as defense may actually be attack.

T13saddle.jpg

Interestingly, there was never really a prospect of overwatch by me from the saddle: that position is too exposed on the side from P523 top. Those guys you can see there do not have LOS down the valley.

Over on the left, I screwed up with a sloppy move order of the organic mortar of 6Co2Plt, and they paid the price, coming into view of the Stuart:

T13mortar.jpg

and Christoff and Braun are taking their sweet time in the steep rough ground behind P509.

T13PzIV.jpg

The one thing I might have celebrated is Bil's removal of another Shermie from P523 valley overwatch:

T13reverse.jpg

... I might have thought "woo hoo, he's coming over to the left to defend my feint there".

However, now I have to think "Argh, by right flank is under serious attack, maybe his pushing back the way I had meant to go, with armoured support".

All in all, a worst case outcome for this turn from what was a quietly hopeful turn last time.

I'm gonna have to lick my wounds for a while before sending the next turn - this is a definite morale blow.

GaJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...