AAR: Rinaldi v. Emory

[Rinaldi]

That orchard looks like a pain but in my experience it doesn't offer a lot of cover to an armoured opponent. Hopefully you'll be able to clear it without major losses.

 

Given how the last few turns have played out, I'd agree

 

Turns 35-38:

 

Picking up where we left off, the firefight at the Orchard is winding down, with a rifle squad in a good firing position and a tank and a machinegun moving up next to them, there is very little the enemy Grenadiers can do except offer themselves as targets for HE. You can see the effectiveness of said HE in the inset.

 

 

My opponent has one last gasp of success though, another annoyance. The enemy that had been trapped in the forest along the riverbank decides to make a suicidal gesture, MGing a parked Halftrack and knocking it out:

 

 

The perpetrator is immediately killed by the Sherman babysitting the rear:

 

 

Losing the halftrack would've been a devastating blow at this stage had a squad not suffered casualties, I've done the quick math and I can actually still cross-mount the platoon between the surviving four halftracks. This is very good news as far as keeping sufficient amounts of infantry forward to protect the tanks is concerned, as well as getting them to the town in a reasonable time. A post-mortem of this little firefight (hands down the longest lasting affair in the battle so far) will come shortly, after I clear my 5 casualties and push a team through the orchard to make sure the Germans are in fact all KIA/WIA.

 

Back on the left, the engineer platoon is making what I hope will be the last offensive effort I demand of it this battle; silencing that isolated HMG for good. Under cover fire from the two HMGs and two tanks, an assault team breaks across the street and works its way up to grenade distance. There's only 2 enemy crewmen alive, and the flanking assault team doesn't take so much as a potshot from the cowering crew:

 

 

 

With that bit done, the Engineers will go firm, establish observation on the bypassed Farm objectives, and prevent any threats emerging from these locations. If the enemy decides to vacate the farms to counterattack the bridge, he'll hit the two HMGs and the remaining members of the Engineers. Hopefully that will be enough, but I doubt my enemy is keen to counterattack over such a distance with unsupported infantry.

 

The rest of the forces still on the opposite side of the river are beginning to cross:

 

 

 

Soon I'll have a powerful force of 3 Tank platoons, the tank destroyers and 2 full strength infantry platoons with FOOB on the high ground, poised to hit the town. As the Battalion command begins moving to the bridge to cross however, they come under fire - are you kidding me!?

 

 

The AT round thankfully impacts harmlessly in the trees that mask the roads I selected to move upon, sparing me what would've been another embarrassing loss. The XO of the Armored Infantry company, who had been moving with the Taskforce commander, gets a spot on the PAK gun, and an 81mm mission will be coming downrange on it shortly.

 

 

Speaking of artillery, on the high ground, what are undoubtedly spotting rounds land near my dismounted platoon:

 

 

I've marked what I think the fire mission will be, something tells me it won't be an accurate call-in, but I'm going to remount the weapons teams and move them a bit further right for good measure none the less.

[Heinrich505]

Rinaldi,

  Talk about frustrating.  As soon as you think the area is reasonably clear and start moving the boys forward, more AT rounds start coming in from somewhere. 

 

  It is a good thing you staged those anti-AT assets [disguised as trees] at just the right place.  Ever the cautious one, eh? 

 

  Great job.  You are keeping us right in the thick of things. 

 

 

Heinrich505

[General Jack Ripper]

 

 

 

That's good shooting soldier! Keep pasting them!

[PhilM]

Thanks for this AAR: just found it, and eagerly read from beginning to latest post.

 

IMHO it's a great mix of narrative (your thoughts / plans, and descriptions of the action) and really good screenshots, including the zoomed in insets.

 

Just the right level of detail: enough to follow what's going on, without covering every step and second.

 

Really good!

[Combatintman]

Some belting screenshots in this AAR - good work.

[Rinaldi]

Thanks for this AAR: just found it, and eagerly read from beginning to latest post.

 

IMHO it's a great mix of narrative (your thoughts / plans, and descriptions of the action) and really good screenshots, including the zoomed in insets.

 

Just the right level of detail: enough to follow what's going on, without covering every step and second.

 

Really good!

 

Thanks Phil, that's what I was shooting for and I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. I hope to have an update soon.

 

Some belting screenshots in this AAR - good work.

 

Cheers, thank you.

 

Rinaldi,

  Talk about frustrating.  As soon as you think the area is reasonably clear and start moving the boys forward, more AT rounds start coming in from somewhere. 

 

  It is a good thing you staged those anti-AT assets [disguised as trees] at just the right place.  Ever the cautious one, eh? 

 

  Great job.  You are keeping us right in the thick of things. 

 

 

Heinrich505

 

Yes, I think I was due for a lucky break after losing two COs back-to-back, but I'll gladly take credit for the tree's hard work

[Rinaldi]

Only a quick update this morning, but I may be able to update again tonight, as we have quite a few turns between what we're actually on and what I've yet to report.

 

---

 

Turns 39-41

 

The only interesting thing that occurs in this time-frame is that the enemy artillery I identified previous report begins to fall. Off-target, excellent. 

 

 

With the High Ground in my hands, I can now strike essentially at will, and under friendly observation, towards any of the objectives. Since there's not much going on this report, I think its a good time to ask myself 'how well did my original plan survive?'

 

 

Quite well, I think, despite hiccups. The main tenet of the plan; secure crossings on either flank of the high ground and be in a position to strike deeply towards the rear, has largely been accomplished. My losses in Officers is going to become a problem late game if I continue to take 4-6 casualties every time I get into a dust up with enemy infantry, but so far the main striking forces are still in good spirits. I'll leave it up to the peanut gallery to decide if my losses are acceptable

 

The situation at the end of turn 41 shows my reserves finalizing their crossings on my left, whereas the XO is spotting for artillery on the previously spotted ATG. My engineers have eliminated the HMG position and are now deploying to set up a blocking position in that tree line. The two farm objectives are off map. The post-mortem on the right-side orchard confirms that I had quite the fight on my hand, for the loss of a Halftrack (sigh...) and 5 infantrymen, I was able to confirm that 22 Germans were killed or wounded  in those foxholes and the orchard. Had I let such an intact force escape, or worse harass my flanks as I moved through the wheat fields I would've had a disaster on my hand. 

 

Hopefully an update later tonight.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Rinaldi

[Rinaldi]

Turns 42-45

 

This set of turns begins with my 81mm barrage coming down on the last known position of the ATG that hit my tank on the high ground:

 

 

 

 

That about sums up the action that occurs on the high ground, as the rest of the turn set is dominated by getting everyone in position and mounted up to attack.  On the right however, its busy, and here's the situation:

 

 

I've decided that the engineer platoon doesn't need the Tank Platoon to cover my exposed left, and have sent them back to their parent company, their job is to set up overwatch and make sure the main thrust off the high ground doesn't deal with any bypassed infantry trying to filter out of their positions. The idea is that with the 3 tanks over watching the most obvious route, they will filter instead towards my company team on the right...

 

 

 

...and that they do, but unfortunately for me, my enemy filters through the wood faster than I anticipated, and I take a Panzerschreck shot from the woods that narrowly misses and lands among the trees. I'm willing to change the plan and allow the right-side company team to root out the bypassed enemy while I attack with 2 platoons of tanks and infantry off the high ground towards the town instead, so here's what I came up with:

 

 

The Platoon HQ is now in position to observe the last-known ATG position, but doesn't re-establish contact with it, meanwhile a MMG squad and a rifle squad should be enough to push back or kill the Panzerschreck team, and they dismount and begin moving towards the woods (inset). In the distance you can see the main striking force now. I'd like to try and stick with the idea of pincering the town but with the right-side company team having been delayed greatly by the firefight with the Germans along the river-bank and the orchard I'm not sure that can happen now. 

 

 

 

[Heinrich505]

Rinaldi,

  More AT Tree Defense assets.  Masterful placement... 

 

  Stunning screenshot of the 81mm barrage lighting up the forest...trees shrouded with ghostly smoke in fading moonlight. 

 

 

Heinrich505

[Rinaldi]

Rinaldi,

  More AT Tree Defense assets.  Masterful placement... 

 

  Stunning screenshot of the 81mm barrage lighting up the forest...trees shrouded with ghostly smoke in fading moonlight. 

 

 

Heinrich505

 

You're quite the artist Heinrich, most often what I do is jam on the screenshot button and hope one of them is worth putting up!

[Rinaldi]

Turns 46 - 53 (Part One):

 

I'm going to post a large chunk of the battle, as the action is rather fluid as the once separate Company teams of the Battalion begin to be able to maneuver closer together. My thought process for modifying from the original pincer of the town is based on just how much I know him to have well forward, I'm hoping that he has very little in depth, and would like to (1) link up with the bogged-down company-team and (2) help outflank the suspected PaK gun keeping them bottled up. I'm hoping that once the balance of the task force is advancing together I can overwhelm whatever he has in the town, if anything. I can't imagine it being greater than a company....and wold be shocked if it was less than a platoon. 

 

We left off on my right, where I had just taken a panzerschreck. Despite me clearly being one with nature and the tree absorbing the shot, I decide that until I get a fix on the origin of fire I'm too exposed, and decide to pull back the tank. Bad move:

 

 

A second shot hits the tank as it begins to back up, knocking it out, the entire crew bails out completely unscathed however. If I have to lose a tank I'd rather lose it with no crew casualties, so I'll gracefully accept the loss my 4th tank. 

 

 

 

The Panzerschreck exposes itself momentarily to my advancing infantry after its second shot, but to my chagrin is able to displace. My opponent has been able to be locally mobile to great effect this battle and this is yet another example. The two fireteams giving chase follow the AT team about 30m into the woods, hunting in regular intervals, but my cautious pace in the woods allows it to slip away. I doubt he'll risk a second shot, and I'm about to outpace those woods; so I refuse to allow him to tie down any forces.

 

 

As for the suspected PaK gun, despite its last known position being under observation for quite some time, I haven't been able to confirm that its been knocked out or that it has moved - which I greatly suspect it has. I've decided that between the treeline and the hill I can risk pushing an entire tank platoon up in line to try and find and engage it.

 

As the tank platoon (1/A by the by, I've been spotty with actual subunits thus far - apologies) comes into their firing positions, they take an incoming round, which harmlessly impacts once again into trees:

 

 

The culprit is spotted, and I immediately feel a sharp headache developing. I'm not sure if this was by blind accident by my opponent, or by design, but his PAK has displaced into an infuriatingly good position:

 

 

From my tank commander's eyes, they can just barely see the top of the gunshield, but evidently it has line of sight to be able to fire on my own tanks. I can only engage with the commander's .50s - I'm fighting a losing battle with a gun in the textbook definition of defilade, and wisely choose to pull back. Even with smoke, mindlessly moving forward even in sections to get into HE range is going to cost me probably two tanks, and lord knows what else he might have there. 

Edited September 10, 2015 by Rinaldi

[Rinaldi]

Turns 46 - 53 (Part Two):

 

I have a second option, however. Forward and to the left of this tank platoon, the first echelon has deployed on the high ground and is in a prime position to out flank this AT gun.

 

 

Just off to the right you can see the smoke popped from my tank's emergency mortars to mask their retreat; I don't think my opponent can stop this much firepower suddenly appearing onto his flank, and its a much better option than mindlessly trying to charge the ATG frontally. So with two platoons (2/B, 3/B) in a sort-of wedge, I advance in platoons.

 

 

As they rumble out of the tree-line the lead Sherman bounces a shot from a different location. Multiple guns, great. Luckily the rest of the Shermans who had been alternatively hunting and moving, take up firing positions in the treeline.

 

 

As a second and third strike force the exposed Sherman to dismount (1 crew casualty, tank intact), the remaining Shermans immediately engage the two identified PaK guns (insets) to good effect from excellent cover.

 

 

They quickly knock out both, and I'm able to have the dismounted crew remounted safe and sound (only minor damage to tracks and optics) by the end of the 53rd turn.

 

 

It wasn't pretty but it worked, and I plan on filling the vacuum with the entirety of the second company team. The plan now is to continue to move 2/B and 3/B in line with the two attached platoons of Armored Infantry moving a good 150m back towards the town. The remainder of Company A and their attached 3rd platoon of infantry will form the reserve to either strike past the town and into the enemy rear (if resistance is light), or react to further flank threats. With the Engineers back at the center bridgehead watching the farms, I should be able to sweep right up his rear and capture the majority of objectives as well as destroy the majority of his forces. 

 

A video of the "Pak Attack" was filmed so you could see the above set of turns play out fluidly, enjoy:

 

Edited September 10, 2015 by Rinaldi

[General Jack Ripper]

I'm not surprised that crew bailed out. That second shot hit directly on the star in the center of the glacis plate! Talk about good shooting!

[Rinaldi]

Yeah, the hit on the rivet line is probably what caused the crew casualty too. I'll take 2 PaKs for a single loss any day though.

[Bud Backer]

Nice handling of both PAKs! It was touch and go there for a while. Your opponent us doing a good job of making you pay for every step forward. Challenging is good

[Rinaldi]

Nice handling of both PAKs! It was touch and go there for a while. Your opponent us doing a good job of making you pay for every step forward. Challenging is good

 

Thanks, I think with those PAKs destroyed I'll have freedom to maneuver in his rear now, which was always the goal. Challenging is good, I'd be upset if I was reporting a cake-walk. Hopefully though I can move faster than he can intercept with surviving AT teams now though.

[Rinaldi]

Turns 54 - 64

 

 

Another large update; the advance is on!

 

The taskforce has largely been concentrated - save for a few units (the M18 platoon remains on the hill, a single tank and a squad remains on the first objective to score OCCUPY points) - and is now advancing on either side of the road leading towards my enemy's rear.

 

 

As I stated before, the plan is to hit the town from the high ground over-looking it and try to force past it at least a platoon of tanks and infantry. How much more I choose to bypass is dependent on how much resistance there is. For the sake of a fight and your entertainment, I'm sincerely hoping my opponent didn't just deploy on a broad front and has something in depth here. 

 

 

 

"B" Company team, personally led by the TF CO is in the best position to get into the town, and while "A" Company team hammers the town wildly with HE the 1st platoon dismounts and move in bounds through the tree-line.

 

 

A platoon of tanks operates with them, while 2nd Platoon, with the FOOB and a tank platoon, strike past the town. The third platoon (A company team) is moving along a secondary road to conduct a right-hook. This platoon was the one that just finished hammering the enemy in the orchard, and is down a Halftrack and has taken moderate losses. If they have to fight hard to get a toe-hold they will end up being combat ineffective by the end of the match. They will not be in position to hit the town immediately. You can see the evolution of the movement here:

 

 

Several things happen near the end of these minutes of play; firstly as I cross the road with the intent to bypass, my tanks move through unscathed, the FOOB (moving in the middle of the column) isn't so lucky. A farm a few hundred meters from the town erupts in MG fire, and the Jeep doesn't survive the ambush.

 

 

I'm able, thankfully, to cancel the following Infantry's movement orders. They, along with the TF CO's command tank (which is all that I can spare) will crush this little pocket of resistance. I'm not turning around the other tank platoon, I'm going to push them into the enemy rear unsupported and try to cause some confusion; infantry will link up soon I hope.

 

The right-hook hits resistance as well:

 

 

As they turn off the dirt road to get to their dismount position, the lead halftrack is enfiladed and a single casualty is caused before the infantry dismount into the high grass and cower. I'm going to lose this half track, almost certainly, but the squad will escape. The rest of the platoon dismounts further back and begins heading right to find that HMG and silence it. A reserve platoon of tanks following in the rear of the A company team will move right to co-operate with this flank. 

 

Obviously my enemy is holding the town, though I am not sure in what strength. Firepower will still be lobbed into the town as I pick my way through the village from either end. I also expect the next few turns to be loud, as well as a neat little platoon action to develop around that farm, should be an exciting set of turns coming up

 

The initial movements on video:

 

Edited September 12, 2015 by Rinaldi

[MOS:96B2P]

A lot of interesting maneuvering.  I hope your unsupported tanks don't get into trouble.  Cool video too.    

[Rinaldi]

Thanks. Yes I hope the maneuvering actually serves a purpose in the end...Emory is one of the staunchest defenders I've played against, and almost always mangles me in urban environments. I suspect he has nothing in the exposed buildings and is defending from the ground floors, two simple steps you can take to minimize support fire. Which means I'll have to drive tanks into the city to support the lightly armed rifle squads.

[General Jack Ripper]

Do you have any artillery worth mentioning?

[Rinaldi]

I do yes, a platoon of 81mms (off map) and two sections of 105 M7s. Both have seen moderate use, and observers on the high ground have been hitting the farms on the left with 105mm. If the fight in the town stalls out I'm going to pull back and create a killbox with all batteries. 

 

EDIT: All my artillery usage captured on camera: Posts 6, 34, 51, and 58

Edited September 14, 2015 by Rinaldi

[General Jack Ripper]

I was just wondering if you had any left, and if giving the town a once-over with your arty might help pre-stage an attack.

[Rinaldi]

Ah yeah, guess who got impatient and roared into town without indirect prep fire? I smelled the blood in the water so to speak, but as my next report will show he's got some sting left.

[General Jack Ripper]

Looks like I was a bit late:

 

SLIM: "Wait, we haven't given the town a preparatory barrage yet!"

Rinaldi: "Ahh, don't worry about it, it'll be fine!"

 

*Sounds of explosions and gunfire*

[Rinaldi]

 

Looks like I was a bit late:

 

SLIM: "Wait, we haven't given the town a preparatory barrage yet!"

Rinaldi: "Ahh, don't worry about it, it'll be fine!"

 

*Sounds of explosions and gunfire* 

 

 

That...about sums it up, actually. I'm going to break down the action around the town into three parts, the attack on the manor (my left), the attack towards the town center, and the right-hook.:

 

 

Turns 65- 71 (Part One):

 

The platoon and its supporting armor is attacking the left-edge of town, using these treelines to move laterally. Base of fire is the MG squad and a rifle squad. I intend to strike towards the circled corner, as that's roughly the center of town.

 

 

As the movement is made, small arms fire opens up on my shifting MG squad, and I get a spot on enemies firing from the Barn. As I suspected, Emory is defending away from the edge of town and from ground floors. 

 

 

The two rifle squads are creeping up on this barn from the flank, checking every building ("pausing" for 5 seconds outside each building) and picking their way up the street:

 

 

Unfortunately as this is happening, a second position opens up on my MG squad. Although one team is able to get set up and return fire (to no great effect), the other team takes a casualty from MG42 fire. At the end of the turn, they actually begin to panic and crawl away, and suffer 3 more casualties, effectively making that team CI. I'm already off to a bad start, but I'm loathe to pull out of town now when I can outflank this position soon.

 

 

As my squads push up the streets, I am able to get into a position to trade fire with what I believe is an HQ unit in the barn. It looks like he has a platoon spread out in these cluster of houses. Unfortunately, this firefight barely goes my way as well, although I'm able to eventually kill everyone in the barn, the entire Platoon HQ is killed or wounded by yet another position. Oh boy....what a headache. Now that I have an entire German platoon ID'd and trapped in these houses, I'm going to bring up Shermans and hit them at point-blank. Its time to end this nonsense before I waste a platoon in house-to-house fighting.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Rinaldi