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Macisle's Map - Axis AAR - *** Here be SPOILERS ***


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Gentlemen. A video AAR experience from my match with Lt Bull from the other month. Macisle's has given permission for it to be uploaded now. Let's just say I didn't last as long as Baneman's opponent. :D

Just remember folks, it shows the Allied side's forces.

Thanks again, Ithikial!

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Mines immobilise the Stuart ? Only if my luck changes ! ;)

Since you mention it, I'll start on that side. It seems that although I've never spotted mines in a game myself before stepping on one ( is it possible ? ), he knows they're there and kaboom, makes a new hole. Maybe one of his engineers stepped on one after making the hole, but I can't see any casualties there.

What's worse is that he moves up to the flank of the field before my guys are halfway away. Those moving and those who were staying all take fire and panic even though only one casualty was caused. The HQ survivor in fact shoots one himself, but he'll probably be obliterated next turn. Only the HMG relocated successfully and the Company HQ is told to run behind the next hedge pronto.

aar208farleft1.jpg

He hasn't given up pushing up along the main road either and my HQ unit there is suddenly engaged in a firefight. Their grenade doesn't seem to have hurt the enemy, hopefully next turn. If he flanks the entire left, things will be much worse.

aar207centreleft1.jpg

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Centre right, things are better. I push the unengaged team back to their earlier position further up the main road. From their new position they see and eliminate the lone rifleman in the churchyard. I'm pulling another team off here as the left is collapsing too fast.

aar206centreright1.jpg

On the far right, the Stuart area fires my old position, reaffirming in my mind that there are some snakes in the grass likely to attempt to gain that hedgeline. Luckily I'm to the left of that. My Schreck team finds LoS to the Stuart, but fire high ! Way high. The turn ends with them reloaded and aiming .......

aar205farrightcomposite.jpg

Regarding ammo - I have 2 schreck teams on the left who each have 3 rounds. That's plenty since they're unlikely to get more than one shot if that. 9mm is practically gone. The Company HQ team has about 100 rounds and the Platoon HQ in the firefight has about 50. Everyone else carrying an MP40 is just for show. The team from centre right I'm starting to move across and one of the teams in the truck have about 70-90 rounds for their MP40's. One team on the left has a PF30k, can't see it likely to do any good.

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You need to make those Pzshreks count. Covered armour arcs at short range (50yds?). Ammo preservation. Let him come to you. And when the moment is right "smite him down! Make him pay for his folly!" (in the style of c3k....!)

:)

c3k will SHOW you his style!!! I've finished playing this, v2 of the battle, pbem as the Allies. My AAR, as a summary, will be forthcoming. You can be assured, there was no pussyfooting around!!! Forward men, towards the machinegun nests!!

;)

Ken

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Great! I can't wait to read it. I haven't received much feedback from the US side yet. I really need to get some as I plan changes for the next update.

c3k will SHOW you his style!!! I've finished playing this, v2 of the battle, pbem as the Allies. My AAR, as a summary, will be forthcoming. You can be assured, there was no pussyfooting around!!! Forward men, towards the machinegun nests!!

;)

Ken

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You do like taking some LOOOOOONG shreck shots, Baneman!

You need to make those Pzshreks count. Covered armour arcs at short range (50yds?). Ammo preservation. Let him come to you. And when the moment is right "smite him down! Make him pay for his folly!" (in the style of c3k....!)

:)

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Hey, guys--someone just PM'd me to see if they had guessed the real world location for this map correctly. It occurred to me that folks following Baneman's AAR and playing the map might get a kick out of taking a Google Map Street View stroll around the place.

So, if you do a search for "Carentan, France" in Google Maps, then look to the East of it for a place called "Catz," you'll find it. The satellite photos have been updated since I made the map, though. They're kinda ugly now. The place has changed as well. There are some new buildings and altered landscaping. However, Street View might still have the same pics I used.

So, take a "walk" around and see what you think. Say hello to the French lady at the Marchall Farm!

(BTW, I collapsed some open ground in that area to facilitate the dog's leg in the CM road there. So, my map differs a bit from the real world around there. Also, the inner grounds of the White Manor are out of my head. In the real world, all you can see is a lot of trees!)

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You do like taking some LOOOOOONG shreck shots, Baneman!

Um, the distance to that Stuart is 122m - which for me isn't Loooooong for a schreck ( for a bazooka maybe ). Over 150m I'd be thinking that a hit would be lucky ( although I have in the past had one or two opponent-rage-inducing-200m hits :) - against this very opponent in fact - probably why he's trying so hard to crush me like a bug ;) ), but less than 150m it's not unlikely.

After all, we will eventually have Fausts reaching out 100m... :eek:

In any case, given the Stuarts' incredible spotting in this battle ( they've never been unbuttoned, but have seen everything ), much closer ie. not behind the bocage, would be suicide.

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Ok, another delay, but we're back in business. Just in time too, I see c3k has started a thread showing how it's done for the Yanks.

Firstly, it appears that Macisle should be a cricket commentator - no sooner does he suggest that the range is long for a schreck and they miss - 1 short, then 1 long. Then they panic from the Stuart's incoming fire.

In other news, Davy Crocket is behind the hedge near the Stuart - he kills 1 of my guys trying to escape the field, then calmly panics the other team who've been firing on them the whole time. The flank is weak and I'm weakening it more ( see below ). Hopefully the Sniper Team on the far right will be a nasty shock to anyone he has left trying to come from the map edge.

aar210farrightcomposite.jpg

Centre right, the team in the house can see the bulk of the formerly-American-occupied field. The stubborn resistor and his friend run for it, but one is cut down. The other goes to ground. A third American we didn't even know was still in the churchyard also makes a bolt for it. The HQ survivor completes buddy-aid and ( to torture some Latin ) "misirabile dictu" - there is no shiny MG42 at the end of it all :(

The single rifleman by him gets the mission to go have a look inside the church. The long term goal for his movement is to cross back into the field and try to loot his buddies for their MG42. Assuming there's no one in the church and he doesn't get killed for looking. A schreckless AT guy is now also trying to buddy-aid the MG34 from the fallen AT ammo bearer.

The other HMG is using a Target Briefly area fire where it's been shooting all this time to try and keep up the pretence that they are covering this area, but really they're also heading to the left after those 15 seconds of firing.

Yet another random mortar round landed ( top left of picture ) so I have to assume a few more are trying to get them.

aar211centrerightcompos.jpg

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Centre left, my HQ wins the firefight - a grenade kills one of the opposition, another then runs and a third is shot down as he cowers. c3k would be proud ! The supporting team arrive and gun down 2 more enemy from a different team who are also running. One guy is left plinking away from behind the hedge. The HQ is moving down to cover the left and the team are going to move 1 AS left - hopefully out of LoS of the Problem Plinker, but still able to cover this front.

Further left, the panicked squads really have no option but to throw up their hands. 2 guys of one team are still trying to make a run for it. I'll take anyone who gets away, every rifle counts. The HMG is firing on the guys flanking the field, so if they duck, my men might get away.

Amazingly, the HQ survivor did not die and even defended his position, but the Stuart is through the bocage now so his time is limited.

aar212centreleftcomposi.jpg

Far left, not much new - the panting schreck guy arrives and will move up to cover part of the field from the Terror Stuart. You can see the men running from my Hero HQ guy.

aar213farleftcomposite.jpg

And finally, a larger view of the entire left, showing my reinforcing moves. Ideally the second HMG will move to where the covering schreck is holding position.

aar214largeleft.jpg

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CharlieMike, you are a far better commentator than Macisle :)

But first, on the far right. The Thorn-in-the-side Stuart decides to lambast a slightly different piece of hedge than the one my schreck team are hiding behind. This allows them to recover and finally put a(nother!) round where it counts. This time the damn thing goes redbase and the crew ( only 2 guys seen ! ) climb out again.

Further down the line, Davy Crocket fires at and panics the other team, allowing the original targets to recover and fire at him/them again. Firing line Ping-Pong. Another apparently spotting round falls. I have so few men left on the line here that I can't see a mortar strike taking out more than one at most.

aar215farrightcomposite.jpg

Centre right, the luckless Landser gets to the church and sees no one inside. He's ordered inside, just in case. Also it is a good spot to lurk in with good views of the neighbouring field.

One of the enemy that was running away last turn makes a last stand in a shellhole and loses the firefight with the team reoccupying the building. One of the two "Persistant Bastards" is still exchanging fire from the field.

Good news is that my schreckless man loots the MG34 ! :)

The last survivor of the team that died in the far field is ordered to crawl back. He's got an Stg44 and more importantly, about 120 rounds for it !!!

aar216centrerightcompos.jpg

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Centre left, the HMG fires on the enemy behind the hedge. They follow as the enemy run up the road, probably heading for the one gap in the hedge. Fortunately they go to ground short of the gap - just before the HMG takes fire from the now-snouting Stuart and hit the deck. I'm moving my repositioning HQ team across to cover the gap. The HMG HQ section moved up, but can only partially cover it.

Astonishingly, the surrendering American actually goes through with it !

aar217centreleftcomposi.jpg

On the far left, the Stuart kills one of the non-surrendering panicked guys with a whole Canister round. But then it does indeed move up to the zigzag hedge as predicted by CharlieMike - and my countermeasures pay off ! :)

The range was about 80m, hopefully that will make Macisle feel better :D The base hadn't turned red by the end of the turn, so in the words of Hans Gruber - "Hit it again !"

My surrendering guys take heart from the loss of the Stuart and put down their hands. This gets one killed from the enemy in the road. Whether any will escape is still in doubt.

The enemy units on the extreme left are seen moving up - and not a moment too soon for them as another totally wayward spotting round lands near their old position. That enemy FO has tied on an EPIC drunk ! It does mean that it is totally impossible for me to guess where he's intending the barrage... best guess is the spot where my schreck is. In another turn, the guys from the truck should be able to cover the enemy side of the hedge and I can pull them out.

aar218farleftcomposite.jpg

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I think you might be starting to enjoy this!

Have been all along :)

It's why we play isn't it ? Battle of wits and so forth.

I was initially mostly concerned with receiving a barrage of Peanut-Galleriness and Second-Guessery - especially when it all goes wrong and you start losing and it looks like it's all your fault - I wasn't sure I had the thick skin to take that and keep posting if it all fell apart.

But luckily I think many Peanutters were/are distracted by Bil&GAJ's AAR and the GL release in general. And GAJ is the one demonstrating the thick skin requirement.

This battle is fun and in some ways it's still fun because it's still in doubt - most of my men are "Broken", ammo is low, half the leaders are dead. But the enemy don't know that and may be in the same boat. So a couple of sudden losses could still swing it away from me or enemy losses swing it in my favour.

Plus I've enjoyed - more than I thought I would - putting together the screenshots to show what has occurred and so on. And of course it's all thanks to Macisle who kicked off the whole thing. My hat is always off to scenario/map makers :) I hope he's enjoyed watching everyone get blown up on his map !

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I hope he's enjoyed watching everyone get blown up on his map !

That's the spirit!! Actually love reading other's AARs as long there are lots of screenshots. I don't really like to comment as we all have our own play styles and it isn't one size fits all. Great entertainment Baneman, thx!

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And of course it's all thanks to Macisle who kicked off the whole thing. My hat is always off to scenario/map makers :) I hope he's enjoyed watching everyone get blown up on his map !

Thanks, Baneman! Yes, indeed, I am greatly enjoying reading these AARs and watching the duel of wits and carnage unfold in my little hamlet (kind of like Woody Allen's father's "piece of land" in Love and Death). It makes the hours and hours of work very much worth it.

And again, thanks to you for doing such a fantasic job. Your excellent pics and superb, witty commentary make your AAR quite a pleasure to follow and though folks are not commenting much (prolly for similar reasons as sburke), you are getting plenty of views, so lots of people are following it.

Yes, because your battle is still in doubt, it makes it quite interesting. (Don't take anything for granted. Stay sharp!)

I've started working on v3.0 of the scenario, but will wait until you finish your battle to ask readers of this thread for input. When a given AAR finishes, I'll pop in to open discussions on how to improve the scenario. (So, folks, don't start posting that stuff here yet. But feel free to PM me).

Oh, and congrats on your shreck hits. The Force was with you!

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The sad and sorry tale of my steadily disintegrating defence continues.

The far right is relatively quiet. The tank crew run away, which is a relief, as we all know that they could probably take the whole flank ! Two or three guys are seen running up to the hedge to assist their pinned-down mate. Luckily my edge-guard hit one despite being down to rifles only, so they may be a bit rattled.

A new spotting round ( seriously ? He STILL has artillery left ? ) falls near my 2 MG42 team guys, so I'm moving them ( also in the hope of getting LoS on the new enemy ). Another larger round falls in my back area, but I can't worry about it, there's no telling where the strike is actually aimed, whether it will even land where it's aimed and I have very little to hit :)

8vnu.jpg

Centre right my explorer enters the church and finds it empty of Americans ( we hope - he's not the brightest ). The team in the house exchange fire with the theoretically pinned American. Sole survivor or not, he's still shooting back and the results can be seen in the Centre Left pic below. The MG34 looter, chortling over his good fortune, heads to the left for a rendezvous with the truck - he needs more than 112 rounds to be useful.

t3o.jpg

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On the left, things are continuing to deteriorate. The team covering the north hit one enemy that tried to occupy the house across the way. Then the HQ that moved up to cover the gap lose a man and the team break and run from a grenade that must have come from enemy in the road lobbing it diagonally. I have no LoS on these guys and can only give an area fire command myself. Unfortunately, the HQ only have 2 grenades left - the routers have 8 ! Damn !

Bottom right you can see the MG34 guy's end position. The other team shown were in the top storey of the house firing across the road at the lone American in the field. Somehow he panics them and they run out and down the main road.

Double Damn !

The HMG fires at the guys in the road, but doesn't appear to do any damage.

g811.jpg

Far left, the panickers in the field take 2 more casualties. Too dumb to run, too scared to fight. At least the tank goes redbase KO'd and the crew run away. Of course, my HQ team waste a ton of precious ammo shooting at them as they go, yet hit no one. They take a casualty late in the turn from the fire of enemy in the road across the field. The hero schreck guy also takes a bullet :(

The enemy accumulate 3-4 teams on the far left - rifle fire takes one down, then return fire panics my 2 riflemen ( 1 is hit ) and some of those infantry are moving up the hedge.

My only hope is that the truck reinforcement squad get into position next turn from where they should have good LoS covering most of this hedge ( shown in blue ).

A lot of if's on this flank.

dc.jpg

At this point, I'm still contesting the 2nd VL ( 2nd from the top and 2nd highest value ). It's possible that I can pull back ( some guys are trapped and wont get away ), let the enemy have it and offer a Ceasefire. The casualties I've caused ( esp. all 5 tanks ) and the rest of the VL's may still add up enough for me to come out (fractionally) on top.

A lot depends on the truck reinforcement guys causing more casualties. Also I have the last 4 rounds of 120mm dropping in a N-S line where the word "Several" is on the picture above. Hopefully a couple on each side of the hedge - and 120mm has a decently far lethal radius. 2 minutes to that, so incoming fire to pin some enemy there is crucial.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Apologies for the slowness of the AAR, my opponent and I keep missing each other.

The next exciting instalment is here. This is the detail of how I'm falling apart.

First, on the far right, it appears as if the enemy have also given up attempting further pushes and what remains of his infantry are seen heading to the left, presumably to reinforce the attack that IS succeeding. Unfortunately, the one team that can see all this are a 2 MP40 and 2 Rifle team ... with no 9mm. So a few shots are fired, but nothing effective. The team with the MG42 who relocated ran slowly and arrived too late to put useful amount of fire on the enemy. Bah humbug !

Random mortar rounds are still falling, I'm beginning to suspect the enemy have given a massively wide target area and are using Harassing fire.

3fmx.jpg

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On the left is where it's all happening. Centre left has my forward guys break and flee their position. Area fire ? It's hard to tell, they're so brittle they may just have spooked at nothing. My brave MG34 looter is still heading for the truck which is heading his way ... slowly. More on the truck later.

Of interest is the brief appearance of the American's truck, last seen far left rear. It looks like it's resupplying the suspected Ami MG position.

My panicked men in the main road stay that way, not helped by another seemingly random enemy mortar round.

dyy2.jpg

And on the far left, my other panicked men completely fluff their escape. Panicked and running away from the danger zone, they recover and stop running ... in the middle of the field where they promptly have 2 men cut down. Freshly repanicked they run again, but now they're unlikely to recover. Grrrr. And at the end of the round, a better aimed mortar round totally obliterates the 2nd last member of the Company HQ.

An enemy mortar round lands on the enemy side of the hedge, but Sgt Rock is there who is totally unfazed.

Is it just me or does HE seem a LOT less deadly lately ???

isk8.jpg

He doesn't even duck !

3jzc.jpg

pkt8.jpg

The truck arrival is also delayed as it does that hugely annoying "Turn away from the way it's supposed to go" thing.

You can see that at the end of the previous turn it did that. Then this turn as it reached the point where it should turn left into the road, it stops, swivels 30 degrees right before "remembering" that it's going left. It's not as if it's moving to the right to widen the turn, it just swivels the wrong way then swivels back. Not a game-breaker by any means, but it IS pretty annoying.

lg2o.jpg

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