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

[womble]

I guess "Adjust Mission" should really be called "tell them to change target, but don't expect them to do it"

It's really only any use if you turn down the intensity and set duration to "Maximum". With Long duration shoots, if you tell them to move targets the order phase after rounds start falling, you might get half the mission dropping on the second plotted location.

I get a time delay, but I don't see why telling the battery that the target has changed doesn't stop them from firing on the old co-ords.

Part of the time delay is getting through to the battery FC, the other part is rounds already fired; that's how I rationalise it anyway... A minute's flight time is an overestimate, but not a hair-tearing one.

[Baneman]

Ok, well the fortunes of war are swinging wildly at the moment.

On the far left, matters continue to deteriorate. The team was supposed to chuck a smoke grenade to stop the Stuarts LoS. In true Stooges fashion it flies out of the guys hand on the back stroke of his swing and lands 180 degrees from where it was supposed to go. A fatal mistake - the Stuart spends 2 or 3 rounds getting the spot dialled in just right, then kills 3 of the 4 men with one shot.

More enemy infantry are moving up from the rear line. We take them under fire, but they only go to ground and no casualties are seen.

I'm bringing up a schreck team to try and get LoS to the Stuart - they ran to within an AS of LoS and are even now crawling through the ( long, we hope ) grass.

Centre left, you may remember in Pic #2 of post 147, I was moving an HQ up to cover the hedgeline we vacated earlier in anticipation of an artillery strike that wasn't. Well, they arrive just in time to thwart "Charge to the Bocage Redux". They take out 3 of 4 enemy and the last guy runs then stops and throws up his hands ! I can only hope that this is an indication of American morale sagging across the board.

The worry is of course, the Verdammt Tank Stuart ( unseen, but it can be heard ), steadily moving down the main street.

[Baneman]

Over on the far right, the enemy start dropping what seems to be 60mm mortars. We are fortunate that no one is hurt - except for an enemy who has obviously been doing the long grass crawl himself. He popped up and started firing. We fired back, but am 90% sure we didn't get him then 2 mortar rounds landed on his side of the hedge and that was that.

Further back the groups that ran through the minefield and lost 1 guy are seen by my far right flank guard. They have suddenly fixed their sights and, mirabile dictu, take out 3 more guys. Consequently, I'm a lot less worried about that incursion - the tall grass may allow him to get close, but it's a loooong way to crawl. I'm moving my guys a couple of AS further right, just in case.

Centre right, the adjusted barrage actually comes good and drops about 6 or 8 rounds in the field. The linear barrage also lambasts the road. Results are unknown.

The Stuart reversed away from its position, so my schreck guys had no target and ducked back behind the wall. Before the barrage, firing actually took out one of the enemy behind the hedge and the lateral fire from centre left also hit one of the guys in the road.

[kohlenklau]

Blow up another shed to really pi$$ them off!!!

[Baneman]

Sorry about delay, my fault this time.

The fortunes of war which swung my way briefly last turn immediately swing back with a vengeance.

On the far right, things aren't too bad.

We see one team bugging out to the rear - possibly the one that lost a guy to the mines and took 3 other casualties. Four other teams are seen running back the way they came, possibly the enemy see the open field as impossible to cross - certainly with the centre buckling, he probably thinks they'll be better utilised there. A couple of (new?) spotting rounds fall, one of which causes a casualty on my extreme flank team, which also causes them to cancel their move further to the map edge. On the left of this area, I move 1 team forward to attempt to flank the field full of Americans. Sadly, although I don't think they were spotted, they only make a couple of AS before being Tired and so I've halted them to hide in the long grass. If the reinforcers from the right try to cross they'll get a rude shock.

On the far left, the Stuart, apparently satisfied, also heads off to (presumably) reinforce the centre or repeat the earlier Trundle o'Doom. My schreck guys must needs move back to cover the 2nd possibility.

The enemy sends more men down on the left, we fire at them but again cannot hit anyone.

As far as the "wonky HMG" goes, I couldn't resist the urge to tinker and pay the price of course. I thought ( hoped ) that with a good blue LoS/LoF line, I could move them back to the foxholes and keep area firing without using a Face ( which may or may not have caused the problem ). The move is executed perfectly and they do indeed continue to area fire on the target. All except the gunner who crawls away from the gun, reaches the end of the foxhole, crawls back to the gun, crawls away etc. Balls !

[mjkerner]

Baneman, I think you have a perfect storm of an AS convergence affecting the wonky HMG team. I have never had a team act like this one, ever, even before the latest patch that fixed the "wandering" syndrome. You have an entrenchment, a hedgerow, and a minefield all abutting one another. That's gotta be confusing the AI.

[Baneman]

In the centre, things are rapidly going pear-shaped.

Centre right, 2 or 3 teams move forward through the hedge to begin lining the low wall. Only one of them is hit. Then the Stuart backs up a bit till it can see over some low bocage and lets rip ! It kills 2 of the 3 HQ rifle guys and a bit later drops one of the guys from the team that replaced the Muppet HMG. They panic ( and who can blame them, they're lucky it wasn't more Canister ). Only 1 team is left and the Stuart will probably be shifting to take them under fire soon.

In this screenshot, you can see the flanking team shown in the Far Right pic above. I was hoping they'd reach the hedge and be within the magical 30m of the Stuart, but it's not close enough yet. And they're tired, so unfortunately the whole move will probably fail.

Centre left it's oh so very much worse.

Mr Trundle o'Doom trundles up to the bocage recently vacated by infantry, does the snouting thing and takes the HQ under fire. They take a casualty and are told to get out of there.

But by far the worst thing is that my schreck guys who were trying to get eyes on the field tank, take a canister shot from the "Destroyed" Stuart which has been remanned by the dastardly Americans. Considering that this tank took 2 (!!) schreck penetrations, I'm disgusted that nothing important has been damaged. Grrrrr. The centre looks pretty shaky now.

[Baneman]

Re. mjkerner - I don't see why the minefield or the hedge should be an issue - the foxholes are in their own discrete fullsize AS. It's pretty bizarre I have to say.

[mjkerner]

Yes, but there is a bit of a bleed-over as your Truppen stop, take position, and go into their next command. For example, in an average squad, and I think even in sections depending on size, one guy always drops back several AS to "cover the rear", then goes back to the AS where his buddies are. Also, when crawling, you'll often see a guy go into adjacent AS. Because your HMG team is SOOOOOOOOOO mucked up, I figure it has to be something unusual, like the three significant features in those 3 AS.

[Baneman]

Yes, but there is a bit of a bleed-over as your Truppen stop, take position, and go into their next command. For example, in an average squad, and I think even in sections depending on size, one guy always drops back several AS to "cover the rear", then goes back to the AS where his buddies are. Also, when crawling, you'll often see a guy go into adjacent AS. Because your HMG team is SOOOOOOOOOO mucked up, I figure it has to be something unusual, like the three significant features in those 3 AS.

Yeah, well, all I can do is ... grumble !

When I saw them setup and sit in the foxholes I thought "great, it's at least fixed for now". And then they went and invented a new way to screw around :eek:

[Vanir Ausf B]

You've been bitten by the Infinite Foxhole Crawl bug.

[Baneman]

You've been bitten by the Infinite Foxhole Crawl bug.

Damn, on top of the Muppet Hedge Deployment bug with the other team

That'll teach me to try get around the problem by not using the Face command. Busted.

Ho hum, when I get the next turn back, if they indeed infinitely crawling, I'll have to redeploy this lot a 3rd time. They'll probably be Tired by then too

Curses, it looks like world domination is going to have to be put on hold. We'll be lucky to hang onto any kind of map domination.

One thing I forgot to mention in my last posts is that the bulk of my 'A' squads ( who get the MP40 ) are running perilously low on 9mm ammunition. This will be a new problem for the defense. Most of those at the sharp end have enough for 2 turns of sporadic fire or 1 turn of intense fire. Then they'll become rifle squads. I'm not looking forward to that !

[mjkerner]

Lol, war is hell!

[Baneman]

Ok, the new turn shows that the pendulum is sticking on the American side for another turn.

My opponent displays his wily ways once more.

On the far right, the enemy teams who ran that way continue to move back. The team that hared for the hills appears to have rallied and is also moving back to the left. My extreme right flank guard spot another snake in the long grass, but calmly despatch him.

A new ( or just a continuation of previous ) barrage drops on the hedge line. My only team there is crawling away some more.

Centre right, more infantry pour through the hedgeline. We drop one, but the rest consolidate behind the wall. The Stuart moves away from the low bocage segment and adopts a new snouting position. My remaining team are now in LoS and are told to get the hell out asap. Whether they'll make it or get cut down by canister remains to be seen. The schreck team are ordered to pull back from the bocage since the Stuart is now effectively safe and I'd rather they're not seen.

The team "The Idiots" who were safe in the courtyard but who moved uncommanded back into the house last turn were ordered to run back to the courtyard since both Stuarts in the road can see them. They perform a headless chicken dance, running into the rightmost house, then decide not to exit, run back into the middle where a canister load drops one. They end the turn in the leftmost house. They're not even panicked, so I don't know why they are deliberately putting themselves in harms way. <sigh> I've ordered them back into the courtyard, this time on the left side. Hopefully they'll get it right before they all die.

[Baneman]

Centre left, most of my manoeuvers complete without interference. A couple of enemy infantry are moving to interdict my defence of the hedge corner. I hope we got there in time.

Note the Flank Guard - they have 3 MP40's between the 5 of them and are down to 34 rounds of 9mm. Their usefulness is about to end, so I'm bringing up their HQ to sit behind them and hopefully get some ammo sharing happening to increase the time they can stay there. They did cause another enemy casualty in the road to the centre right.

On the far left, all my guesses about the Stuart's movement are proved wrong by my opponent who brings it down on the extreme left. Gaaah !

Also, my far left team take a casualty even before the Stuart arrives and starts firing at them, as an apparently indestructible team of Americans who my team have been firing at for the last 2 turns fire back with a bazooka !

Two rounds fall short but the 3rd hits and that team loses their nerve.

I'm abandoning this location - as far as I know the Stuart can't get through the bocage here - unless he still has demo charges ( eep ! ), so I'm going to adopt a lateral defence.

The Wonky HMG did indeed spend another turn crawling back and forth, so I'm pulling them back to (hopefully) line the bocage facing the left flank. The Stuart can also see them, so they might not get out in time

[AlexUK]

How do you think you are doing at the moment Baneman? It would be good to get your thoughts of your position. Have you committed all your troops too, or is there any fallback position?

I think I saw a truck at the bottom of your setup - did you empty it of ammo or could there be some 9mm there?

Keep up the great work!

[Baneman]

Hmm, my position is not good, yet I still have hope. I thought the push through the centre right field was a big problem, I also don't know if my half-hearted barrage there cut the numbers down, but when I've seen guys coming through the hedge, it's usually between 1 and 3 guys, so I'm hopeful that most of his teams here are brittle.

The left is a worry but since I don't think he can get the tank through there, I feel I should be able to hold pure infantry off there - once he moves up into the area I'm vacating, he's got a lot of open ground around him.

I've got 8 rounds of 81mm mortar and 10 rounds of 120mm left, which I'm holding back for now. If the teams running from the far right head for the centre right field, I still have the TRP there and can make it hot for them. I'll probably plot the 120mm there next turn - the 3 minute delay should bring it down on time if they are heading there.

The ammunition is a worry, the truck has 7.92 left, but no 9mm. I overdid it with the scout teams and they both died before firing more than half their ammo. Only got myself to blame for that one. One HQ went back to the truck for the last 200 rounds of 9mm a while back.

Overall, there are no reserves left, everything has been committed - I'm even bringing up the FO since he's not likely to have much to do and it's all going to TRP's. But they have an MP40, so could make a difference.

Normally I would trade space for attrition, but I really feel short of men and you often lose some when pulling back.

The tanks snouting are the biggest problem, they're effectively immune to the schrecks so all I can do is try to avoid them. The one that survived 2 penetrations to be remanned is also a helluva thorn in my side as it commands the main road for a fair distance. Getting a schreck team back to get eyes on it is unlikely now with another one covering that position from its own snouting location.

The HMG problems are disappointing, I was looking forward to putting some serious hurt on the enemy when they showed up ( this is my first battle with the 2.01 'fixed' MG's ) - the Muppet one particularly should have been able to hit the men hugging the wall in that field and failed to get off a shot, so I'm a bit bummed about that. The other one did get some good shooting in from its deployment position, but both have failed miserably to deploy properly since moving. I hope that can be looked at some time. I'll dig up the relevant savegames for BFC soon.

I've seen a couple of enemy running away - can't tell if it's commanded or routing, but I'm hopeful that their global morale is low. The tank against the hedge forward of the remanned one actually had a 2nd guy surrendering right next to it. I feel that a bit more damage and they may be unable to push further into my position. OTOH, my line is also pretty thin and stretched and a devastating arty drop or push might break through.

What the enemy does with his Stuarts will have a big impact. If he's too cautious with them, I should be able to hold - I feel - but major aggression a la c3k at this point would walk through me.

I think when defending the key is often to convince the enemy that you could hold off a serious push in any sector which stops them from trying it

Eg. a dispersed platoon running at me across the open field on the far right accompanied by 3 Stuarts spitting fire at any defensive response would probably succeed even if he lost one tank. But the enemy doesn't know that

My most serious mistake has been to allow artillery drops to continue even when I thought they were off target - which has wasted precious ammo. I should have cancelled and made sure they were landing on good concentrations of enemy. Impatience. Almost always a bad idea.

[kohlenklau]

1944, that was an election year back in the states. Lots of GI's KIA for some 2 bit Macisle French village didn't muster up the votes.

Try and increase his casualty count and maybe he'll crack.

Get back farther with the MG's and lay it on 'em.

If the shrecks don't knock out the tanks then have them fire at the bunched up squads.

I played this map and had the same problem with 9mm ammo. But if you have scouts in the right place with the ammo, then they can rack up the kills quickly.

GO BIG GREY!!

[Baneman]

Ok, not the most exciting turn - both sides consolidating their next push/defenceline.

On the far right, the barrage continues until the middle of the turn. Enemy infantry continue to stream down the road to the left. They may be planning to push across the field closer to the centre ( otherwise the barrage makes no sense ). But the defence is still being probed as yet another "snake in the grass" is seen and taken out.

Centre right, "the idiots" get away without taking any more casualties from his tanks. The remaining cover team also get away from the snouting Stuart's LoS. 4 rounds of my cancelled strike fall. Probably no one there to hit at the moment as at least 1 more man is seen coming through the hedge. We have no eyes on the Stuart, but the sound may indicate it moving back a bit - possibly re-relocating.

[Baneman]

Centre left is a puzzle. The snouting Stuart pulls away and performs some typical Combat Mission "turn into the road" dance. My schreck ( survivor of the canister ) who was crawling to cover, sees it and fires an opportunistic shot. How I wish it had hit, but it goes high and hits the house behind.

The flank guard whose ammo situation has me worried take an enormous amount of area fire and lose a man. They panic and pull back, but the presence of their HQ rallies them by the end of the turn. I'm going to leave them back in hiding for a turn, the HQ can cover infantry moving up towards their hedgeline.

The covering schreck team arrive - I'm glad I brought them up since the movement of the tank in the road may indicate a Trundle o'Doom Redux which they are positioned to thwart.

On the far left, one team pulls out according to instructions. The other pours a hail of fire at the many infantry moving down from the hills, across the road and into the new field. Despite the target-rich environment, they cover themselves with glory by managing to miss everyone. No change for them then. The Stuart pulls back and charges through the fence and hedge, kills one of the crosseyed team and pulls into a new snouting position.

Further to the right, the area fire manages to drive off at least one of the teams opposite my 2 teams. More infantry head their way, but are taken by fire from the Company HQ no less who are in the old HMG position. No hits were seen, but a body was visible. Some of these men are hugging the ground and may stay there long enough for the HMG to get back ( they're about 4 AS's away ). One of those hugging the ground is holding what looks like a .30 calibre MG, so hopefully we can eliminate them.

[Baneman]

Good news everyone ! Of course, the release of GL probably means no one will ever see this Nevertheless, the tireless defenders of this little patch of France have some success this turn.

First, the mundane - over on the far right where little is happening. Enemy infantry continue their movement to the left under (ineffectual) fire.

Centre right, I failed to move my infantry team away from possible Stuart relocation Los with predictable results. One dose of canister kills a man and the rest panic and cower. The Muppet HMG is being brought up to try to cover this hedgeline. Now that the Stuart is back behind only low bocage, I'm crawling my schreck team up to have a go. The other infantry with them also move up, they should be out of LoS for a turn and can cover some of the front. This team and the one that took the canister are both brittle, so this area is a worry. The infantry I moved up to the hedge on the right take a casualty from a random spotting round in my backfield. Damn !

[Baneman]

Centre left is where the good happens. I moved the schreck team up to the position from whence the original "kill" on the remanned Stuart was fired. They get off a shot and HIT !

The Stuart goes up in flames ! Finally ! Hopefully tank crew will be less keen to reoccupy their battered ride in the future.

A short time later, one of the team is hit. This fire presumably came from whatever has been area firing on my flank guard - possibly an MMG. Since the schreck team only had 2 rounds left, I've ordered the survivor ( who does not have the schreck ) to get out of there - buddy aid isn't worth it.

Then, further left, the road tank does indeed try the Trundle o'Doom Redux, but my panting schreck team covering the route also fire and hit. There's an anxious wait of about 15 seconds with desperate reloading going on, but just as the turn ends, the tank is shown as Destroyed ! Result !

On the far left, the Stuart shells the Wonky HMG's foxhole position - it must be area fire, luckily I got them out of there. The infantry that were near my 2 teams continue to pull back/scatter. At least 1 more enemy team heads down towards the extreme left, but lose a man to my covering Coy HQ. The Wonky HMG arrives next to them towards the end of the turn. Enemy infantry are also seen beginning to move up the hedge-gully. My survivor panics and runs from area firing on his position before completing any buddy-aid, so another MG42 is lost.

[Baneman]

And finally, just because it's been such a thorn in my side ...

[Baneman]

Of course, the destruction of two of the Allied death machines has not saved me from the problems the Americans are causing, merely saved me from new ones.

Far right little is happening. One enemy team is firing on my hedge sniper team and I begin to suspect that they are merely trying to stop me from moving to reinforce the centre left.

I'm moving my extreme far right team across and also the next furthest one up. I think ( hope ) that the enemy have given up on trying the far map edge.

Centre right, more infantry move into the field before the churchyard. I've plotted the last of the 120mm to cover this area. Still 3 minutes though. An enemy barrage falls, but it appears to be too far back. Luckily I moved the HMG forward. The team that lost a man last turn rallies because the Stuart gives up shooting at them and moves again. More on this below.

[Baneman]

Centre left is now shown looking to the right since little is happening to their front. The flank guard team I'm moving around into the building to cover the churchyard in case enemy move up to cover behind the church. I moved the HMG HQ into the building in the bottom of the U, but just before they enter, another spotting round falls and kills one. Bad luck ! They can see and shoot at the enemy infantry crossing the field, but the Stuart's new position is also a problem for them, so they're running back downstairs.

The schreck guy is tasked to crawl from the building he's behind to the courtyard. Hopefully he'll see and shoot at the Stuart. That's a 50-50.

And on the far left, that Stuart also pulls back and looks like it's going to head along the road. More infantry are moving out of the furthest field. I have little to cover this area, but remarkably, the sole survivor of the team the bazooka and Stuart annihilated recovers the MG42 and has been ordered to the hedgeline enemy infantry are approaching. Another 50-50, since the sound contacts lag a little. He may be the one caught moving up, but I can't realistically get him away, so best he tries.

More surprises as an enemy truck attempts to get through the gap into the old Irresistible Gully. Unfortunately ( for it ), the Coy HQ and Wonky HMG can both see it as it does a bit of a "chicken dance" after getting through the fence. Two bursts of fire hit, but it's busy backing away, so no serious damage done.