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ALLIED : Gustav Line BETA AAR Round Two - Eye of the Elefant


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I didn't describe the middle-green lines in the Observation picture. These show that:

- From Hill 109, I can cover the West Slope of Left Tit and have another view on any forces straying west on the main road. Unfortunately, the view into Bil's back right corner from there isn't so great. That's what Left Tit is so important for.

- From Sunken Road I can see into the deep approach valley I've been talking about, and also onto the slopes of Right Tit. I'm thinking this will be important for supporting the scout on Right Tit hold out for as long as possible.

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A few 20mm rounds or almost anything else on those Elephant tracks is all it's going to take to turn that Elephant into a dinosaur.

I just checked out the 'Overhauling Tanks' cited above with the Elephant episode on YouTube at

This was captured at Anzio and had been immobilized (and abandoned) after getting a 75 mm round on it's tracks.

I think GaJ should take that sucker out just to show he can

What's the point of having one if he can't use it - haha!

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The next thing to consider is "Key Territory".

This picture shows early/mid game key territory:

A2KeyTerritory.png

As already mentioned, The Tits will be an important site until they are wiped out :)

After that, the two diagonal ridgelines (172-153 and 126-109) hold the key to defense.

In the West, if Bill can take that ridge, then the can push up in a way that's hard to oppose into Santa Maria.

In the East, the diagonal ridge is not only a VL, but also a site that can control the Spur and Centre attacks by him.

I haven't marked the Spur as Key because I don't think I can hold it. Rather, as forces swarm over it victoriously, I'm hoping the reverse side of it can be a kill zone.

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Or maybe it's because I got whupped but was lucky enough to have record of what the Bad Guy was thinking while he whupped me to learn from :)

That too. In addition to the morale benefits of fighting for home, mom, and apple pie, the Allies usually were well ahead in the intelligence war.

Michael

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OK. The last two things are Obstacles and Cover/Concealement.

Bil doesn't have any significant obstacles in his way. Darn it. Initially I was thinking about obstacling up the main road, but its just too expensive. I'd rather spend the money on an ATG to kill a tank that comes up the centre line, and can maybe kill some other stuff too, than on HedgeHogs (400pts for 10 of them!) or Mines that Bil can easily drive around.

Cover: well, there's again stuff all natural cover. The whole map is covered by waving grasses and scattered trees. Of course, the buildings are cover, but not the sort I want to be thinking about in the early game.

Sunken road is actually a natural sort of trench:

A3SunkenRoad.png

If I had spare men to pop in there and try to hold off Bil's assault on this VL, it would be fun. But (although I am yet to finalise setup) I think this is not going to be the case.

It's a "forward slope", so any guys in there are subject to fire from Bil's early aquired territory ... I think I'd rather save them for when he pops over the top.

In terms of concealment, the combination of scattered trees and grass might serve me OK ... not as good as some thick undergrowth or forests, but not "worthless".

GaJ

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Cool. A reaction force. When you unleash it, will the tactical manuever be called a "GaJ jab"? Of course, calling it "the reaction force" lacks style. Every offensive force needs to be imbued with a certain elan. It takes high morale to be assured of victory. One thing that will be sure to get those men to take the fight to the enemy would be the right name. I suggest "Kenforce". :) Bayonets will always be fixed, of course.

Nice writeup on your thought process. Thanks.

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It's now my turn to setup. I thought you might like to see my marshalled forces:

A3Force.png

I have to say it doesn't look like a lot to hold off up to a company of tanks plus assorted infantry.

There are a few aspects of these guys worth pointing out.

Perhaps the first is that I've been most worried about the sheer bulk of armour that Bil can bring. I don't have any intel about the makeup of his force in terms of armour vs infantry. Therefore, I've "erred" on the side of "try to make sure you can deal with as much armour as possible, and if he's inf-heavy instead, just cope with it".

Being worried about armour led me to buy 76mm ATGs and M10s. I was looking for any edge in "gaining some certainty about a tank kill" that I could. The ATGs have the benefit of having a bunch of HE in case I end up being swarmed with infantry instead of tanks.

M10's: a very interesting dilemma to choose them instead of Sherms. Because there were no 76mm Sherms available, I felt should go with the edge in gun despite the lack of MG and top armour. I need to be aware of keeping them moving out of artillery's way.

The Rangers were attractive because they come with very cheap MMGs and bazookas... and they have Tommy Guns as well. This "ready for anything" kit looks good for handling approaching infantry at range, and dealing with either armour or infantry close in.

The HMG bunkers were another very interesting dilemma. Of course, if I could have had ATG bunkers, I'd have loved that, but for some reason they are not available. The intention is to have something that is

- interdicting infantry advance

- being a real nuisance to get rid of, forcing tanks to have to come to a location

where I have a good shot at them

In the cold light of morning, looking at this, I think I would go for a Stuart instead of one of these, but there's no looking back now. Stuarts felt like expensive tank-fodder, knowing that Elefants, JpZs and goodness knows what is coming..

It's amazing how little fortification I could afford. That wire will go to the Tit's, mostly. The foxholes are intended for the Tit's and also random MG locations.

Later...

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Since I first saw that map, I thought "what a b#$%^ to defend" given the possible routes of advance, and it doesn't look like the points available went that far...

All I can say is that if you've read up on any Soviet tactics, now would be the time to try to employ some "maskirova / masirovka / aw hell, deception" tactics to try and suss out Bill's intent before committing anything in force. That's a lot of undulating terrain to try and cover.

I'll keep my coulda/shoulda/woulda to myself, and just enjoy the DAR. Thank you (and Bill) for providing us all such great entertainment while we wait for our chance to play CM:GL.

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Nice analysis. I look forward to your battle. On the fortification cost, I feel your pain. I've never been happy with the cost of fortifications for QBs. In particular, the cost of wire or mines is crazy unless you have a very clear kill zone the enemy has to come through.

Give em hell!

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Hi Gang,

I'm having a lot of fun zooming around the place at ground level spotting all the LOS and LOFs and keyholes.

OK, I'm not done yet, and I'm not "wasting time" with screenies as I go - I'll fill you in on the details after I'm done. But I'll just make this offering for the Uniform Grogs, to hold you at bay till tomorrow...

A3Ranger.png

GaJ

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Patch? Uniform? Hell, I'm trying to see if that soldier has the glint of steel in his eye! I stare each of my men in the eye before each battle, so I can pick the true fighters and put them in the best position to show their brethren how they scoff at death! Aye, the pre-battle eye to eye is, vis a vis anything else, the single most important step a commander can take.

Well done, GaJ.

:)

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LOL, none of that what so ever.

c3k nailed it this time: this guy is staring down the Eye of the Elefant with steely resolve.

He can hear the sounds of his fellow defenders slowly (yes I know, but geez give a guy a break ;) ) but surely taking the perfect positions on the field, ready to do their best to hold off the onslaught that is to come...

GaJ

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