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Not another AAR!? Tux Vs. Juste


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Gutsy.

Possible results:

A. SU-15 and T34 are knocked out. You successfully machine-gun the Soviet close-assaulters.

B. Disaster.

The wonderful thing about CM is that, though one can speculate on the relative probabilities, either result is, I think, possible.

Personally, I like better your move of the infantry into the forest, moving slightly left. He has to be worried about being caught between your center forces (spotting, hitting him from the flank) and your Tiger/Stug. If he has short-range SMGs, he would have to make a difficult decision, including whether to split his forces. He would also likely have to hold up his T-34s to meet this threat--indeed, he is probably doing so at this time.

But.....I can see your urge to do as you did, because his choice of a heavy-HE chucker has complicated the defense of your left flank. An alternative choice would be to pull the infantry back, let him level the buildings, then return into the rubble. (I don't think those SU-152s have much ammo?) Indeed, right now he is either heavily gambling you have units in those houses, or he already has a heavy infantry presence in the woods in front of them. (Which would mean he has committed to the attack!--and his SU-152 is prep fire.)

Unfortunately for you, he is gambling correctly--which is why I can understand your urge to shut that SU-152 up.--thus breaking the usual rules not to move AFVs up to unknown tree-lines.

(I presume also you are buttoning your T/C? Or are we taking a further gamble?)

Great, great story. Thanks for continuing it.

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He is indeed gambling correctly. I tend to believe that he also has a build up of men in the nearby forest. Those are the reasons, as you correctly deduced, that I decided to try and kill the SU rather than withdraw my men through open ground which, I fear, is under close-range observation.

I would be vaguely surprised if Juste has close assault trrops ready in the scattered trees towards which my AFVs are moving. It is possible but would have required a move over open ground to reach them, which I would have expected to detect.

As for my StuG's TC, my attitude was of the 'all or nothing' variety. I didn't want two blind AFVs to roll into LOS of an SU-152 and not spot it in time to kill the bloody thing. That would have been infinitely frustrating. For that reason he's staying unbuttoned until bullets persuade him otherwise.

All we have to do now is wait...

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I bloody hope not, lol! I've just received and e-mail from Juste who has, it seems, been on holiday for a few days. Assuming we manage to sort out the corrupted file issues an update mey be expected within the next 24 hours.

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Interesting read Tux! It's a shame we don't see more of these from the community as they are great learning aids also I feel.

I can just imagine you saying "Sods bloody law" when you lost your Tiger Commander. ;)

Looking forward to more and the continuation of the other AAR also.

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Here it is folks, after much dallying.

Turn 20

It was a trap.

The SU sits still as the turn begins, the crew bashing heads and trapping fingers as they race to reload the monstrous gun that is their friend, their salvation, their raison d'être.

240m away, a second before my StuG moves out, a burst from a nearby DP light machine gun spatters bullets across the superstructure and the commander curses and ducks inside, locking himself in and squinting out of the cupola openings. An instant later the engine revs and the little SPG races forwards to engage the unseen enemy AFV. Behind them, the Tiger rotates slowly to follow, simultaneously delivering a dose of 'same to you' to the exposed Russian infantry squad:

Turn20i.jpg

It's no use. The DP burst wasn't without effect and no matter how hard he tries the StuG's commander cannot see clearly out of the vehicle's cracked forward vision blocks. A shell whistles in and ricochets off the StuG's front, and a second later another sends splinters and shell fragments spewing in through a tiny hole in the hull. The driver grits his teeth and follows orders, racing into position.

Behind them the Tiger's crew are more fortunate, and they catch site of their comrades' tormentors. The big tank grinds to a halt and the heavy 88mm gun levels at a T-34 in the distance:

Turn20a.jpg

It's no good; the gunner loses his cool as he forces himself to select a single T-34 out of the pack, the fog thickens and swirls momentarily across his sights and he sends his first round skimming agonisingly high above the enemy tank's turret. In the next split second three Soviet tanks open fire. Two rounds crash into the earth around the StuG but the third hits the base of the commander's cupola, hard:

Turn20b.jpg

Fragments of burning steel and a thick, heavy glass vision block fly back into the cramped cupola. The StuG's gunner hears the partial penetration and nearly loses his concentration as his commander slumps downwards, landing across his shoulders. He doesn't though. As the radio operator leaps to his commander's aid the gunner has sight of a T-34 and is not about to let it escape. For all he knows his dear friend and commander may be dead, and the Reds will pay. As the T-34s crunch into reverse gear the gunner's StuK 40 barks, and a 75mm round rips through a Soviet tank, wrecking its transmission gear and bringing its escape bid to a premature end:

Turn20c.jpg

As the minute's action draws to a close the Tiger's 88mm speaks once more, to no avail, but its threat alone is enough to buy the StuG's crew a few precious seconds to gather themselves and tend to their wounded commander.

Along the road to C, men duck from cover to cover as they attempt to get into position to observe Village C from the nearby scattered trees. Another trap has, however, been set, and it is sprung by the one squad who had been ordered to the very edge of the available cover by the roadside:

Turn20d.jpg

A hail of fire issues forth from the buildings 150m away, led by a heavy machine gun nest in the top floor of the nearest large house. My Jager squad take cover, gather themselves and return fire, instantly forcing the MG and another unit on the lower floor to seek cover. No sooner have they done so however, than the air hums with the report of a hidden gun and a high velocity shell shrieks low over their heads. The squad instantly hit the dirt, but their platoon HQ isn't so lucky; The errant shell careers through the trees and detonates at their feet, instantly killing two of their number. The remaining pair are brave ('double' brave, if you catch my drift ;) ), and continue to their assigned position without hesitation:

Turn20e.jpg

The frontline squad scramble to their feet and peer outwards, searching for the gun. They do not have to wait long. A second loud bang echoes through the fog and, even as the second shell fizzes towards them, the squad members note the location of the tell-tale muzzle flash with ruthless efficiency. It comes at a cost however; fully four of them leave it too late to take cover and are eliminated from the fight.

Turn20f.jpg

For the next 20 seconds the single Jager squad withstand the full fury of C's first line of defenders, at the eventual cost of another man wounded.

Turn 20 is over. The trap has been sprung, twice, and I am satisfied with the results:

One of my Jager squads has been hit hard and will be withdrawn in the best possible condition during the next minute of play. In return I have identified what I believe to be a 76mm gun position as well as several other units in the surrounding buildings.

I am slightly aggravated that Juste's luck has seen two of his most poorly aimed HE shells miss their targets (bothless than 200m away) and continue past to hit one of my HQ units. Perhaps you could argue that I was lucky not to lose any AFVs this turn, but still...

One T-34 has been immobilised. It now can, and will, be engaged by the Tiger at my leisure, assuming it isn't finished off by my StuG in the next few seconds. I deem this ample compensation for the loss of my StuG commander, given how badly things could, potentially, have gone this turn.

I have completed the relocation of a Jager squad into the building ahead of which my Tiger and StuG were previously positioned. When I pull them back next turn they will be spotted for by these men.

After it was last seen on about 5s, contact with the SU was completely lost. I cannot afford to hang around looking for it any longer though, so I am, as I have said, retreating my armour to their old, less precarious position.

During the next orders phase I am seriously considering moving a second StuG in to assist on the left flank. The vulnerability of my lone SPG when confronted by four T-34s at once worried me. The only doubts I have concern leaving B so lightly defended. A single StuG would just barely be able to hold B in the face of a light armoured attack. It may turn out to be a simple matter to outflank it however, given two or three units with which to do it.

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Not bad at all. A bit unfortunate in the center, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you can approach the town center out of sight of his gun, then you may very well capture this area.

I would be wary, however. He may be bringing his SU around that way. Regardless, his infantry is sharing the same woods as your flame-tanks, isn't it? You have much to contemplate.

I would ask why bother retreating the tiger, unless it is a matter of it being too close to infantry that may be in the woods there.

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There is more than one route into the town that avoids LOS with the gun's current position. I am slightly confused though; he has revealed it very early - at the first infantry unit to appear within LOS, and which is in cover too. I am thinking he is either planning to relocate it to a fall back position in the next couple of turns, or that he has another gun that he is keeping hidden - perhaps in the woods on the extreme left flank, covering the open ground ahead of C from the side. I suppose a third option is that the gun has little to no AT capability, and so he is simply using it as an HE chucker. In any case I bought no mortars, due to the short ranges I expected to be fighting at, so I'll take my time overcoming this obstacle. For now I think I'm going to move a couple of scouts forwards to observe C, and leave the rest well back in cover.

Thinking on it even further, the eagerness of his forces to open up on my men could well be a delaying move. What do you reckon the odds are on his having a high-value FO counting down on my scattered tree cover?

I do indeed have my two flame tanks covering the woods up to a point ~25m deep. Obviously I can't move them in to engage any deeper, so I am not contesting the forest beyond that. I may move a platoon back along the same flank as I swept on the way up, with the FPz IIIs in support, to give his infantry something to think about and maybe persuade him to try and 'ram' his armour through the gap currently controlled by my StuG and Tiger. I'd leave a platoon back near C to stop the sweeping force from being outflanked.

As for the StuG-Tiger team, I still want to move them both back. The reason is there is now a ready-loaded SU-152 somewhere nearby. It may well be shuffling across to engage my men, but I'd be surprised if Juste considers them a greater threat than the existence of my Tiger. Since I only have two buttoned AFVs in the area, both of which are being occupied by T-34s and one of which is still in a state of shock, I am haunted by the idea that the SU could, even now, be levelling its gun at my Tiger without having been spotted in return. I am determined to get off the first shot whenever I engage that bugger, and I can't guarantee that will happen in the current situation. If you remember, the whole idea behind this miniature armoured thrust was to catch out an SU that I knew the location of, and which I knew would be reloading for the next 30s.

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I have just sent my orders for Turn 21. I retreated both my AFVs - the StuG instantly and the Tiger with a 7s delay. He may be lucky enough to get off one more shot, in fact.

I have ordered my green StuG HQ tank over to help his subordinate and the Tiger. I chose the HQ because my other StuG will perform better with the morale bonus and shorter command delays. I have ordered him into position near the far left of Village A, to engage the Reds from an angle, so it's probably going to take him 3 minutes+ to arrive... :rolleyes:

I also withdrew my men from the line of fire in the trees. I felt 'Withdraw' would be catastrophic in its effects, so it'll be 42s before they get it together to retreat. I don't hold out high hopes for there being many left...

My other orders are issued with a view to gaining LOS to C for a platoon HQ without his being noticed, and to assembling my second platoon in the forest on the left of the road.

Results will be posted presently.

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I agree that he revealed the gun early, and he is very fortunate you don't have a little mortar somewhere.

I think it is now time for your opponent to make a mistake smile.gif . Both of you have fairly strong defensive positions, and it is unclear (to me--not being able to visualize the unit positions exactly) where either of you can move forward without encountering murderous fire.

Unless you see an opening, or unless he is very strong on your left flank, it could be the person most patient will have the highest chance of victory.

[And, yes, I would have pulled the Tiger/Stug back also]

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Tux,

The turn wasn't at all what I expected, but man, was it exciting! Am surprised the hulking SU-152 has vanished. Not like the thing's exactly speedy or quiet! If there's any way to locate it again without getting clobbered in the process, please do so. Too bad about your StuG's commander, but knowing where that gun is is important info. Don't whether your foe had a Cover Arc too far out, or whether the problem was the morale check went against him causing a premature firing. Either way, you got a valuable piece of intel.

Regards,

John Kettler

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Turn 21 has been played:

In the opening seconds a significant development occurs; the squad that I had sneaked out of their building cover when the SU began shelling it, and which I had hidden in open ground which I thought was out of LOS to possible enemy positions, take a hail of incoming SMG fire from Soviet infantry adept at judging the muzzle elevation required to arch their bullets into dead ground:

Turn21.jpg

After a minute's play two casualties have been suffered and the squad is crawling away from the house. They panicked on 59s so now I can't order them anywhere safe. I'm quite annoyed at all this, lol.

On the plus side, these are the culprits:

Turn21a.jpg

Spot any flaws? What looks like two full platoons within a single 20m square. How I wish I'd purchased a 150mm IG! I'll come back to this re: my orders for Turn 22.

My StuG and Tiger are both safely back on the road, or if not very nearly so. When halfway back a sneaky T-34, as heard intermittently over the last few turns, emerges from the woods on my AFVs' right flank. I assume this was an attempt to get a tank behind my Tiger at point blank range. As it is my Tiger spots him first and puts two 88mm shells through his hull front in quick succession.

Turn21b.jpg

Unfortunately, last turn I decided to replace the 'spotter' squad in the house behind my AFVs with an HQ (for his binoculars). When this unit was 3m away from the house the above T-34 emerged and his hull MGer took out two men in the HQ unit. Yes, again he's hit an HQ unit where it hurts! The HQ should be ok to get to cover next turn though.

Elsewhere my StuG HQ begins the 3min race from B to A, and the fire from C ceases completely, allowing my squad to rally and retreat without suffering futher losses. Confusing...

Right, orders.

I shuffle a couple of HQs near C a bit closer so that they can keep watch on the defences therein. I also order my second platoon in the forest to start sweeping back towards A.

I can't decide whether Juste is again providing me with a nice, juicy target in order to set up a trap of some sort; That infantry concentration is insane! I have an HMG 42 which has LOS to the concentration, and he has a combat bonus HQ commanding him who also has LOS, making the HMG a potent weapon at this range. I have two plans of action in my head:

First, take the rap from his infantry and lull him into a false sense of security whilst concentrating on winning the armour battle. The danger here is that Juste annihilates my squad and then disperses his men - He may never again present such a juicy target.

Second, I could hit those troops with the HMG, hoping to pin them all down, being within 26m of each other as they are. I can simultaneously rush a Tiger around to meet them at 50m range and have 88mm HE landing amongst them within 90s. What could go wrong? He could anticipate this and overwhelm the StuG I have left on the road. I'm sure it has occurred to him that these men may take heavy fire from the Village, and also that I can move my Tiger to engage in short order.

I'm not doing it. I've adjusted cover arcs to hit his men as soon as they exit the trees, but I'm not going to snatch at this one. If he is truly making a mistake by grouping them together then he'll do it again. If he doesn't know not to bunch them then I don't want to 'teach him' without making it a very hard lesson indeed, which means more firepower than I can currently bring to bear.

Instead I want to grab an iota of initiative in the armour fight. My commander-less StuG is retreating right back to the house which will soon shelter a binocular-equipped HQ to spot for him. My StuG HQ unit is racing to take up position on the far left, as before. My Tiger is going to retreat. A long way. I'm reversing him right out of contact with Juste's forces and I'm then going to have him hunt along the main road through A to re-establish contact from a different angle. With any luck Juste will have ventured forwards and my Tiger will catch several AFVs unawares.

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I like your thinking on this turn.

Your opponent's pushing of the T-34 through the woods was not, in my opinion, a good gamble. That is the biggest clear mistake I think he has made.

Without, hopefully, seeming too obvious: Can you feel your forces being drawn over to A. With any luck, he has been just a step too slow developing the attack on that flank.

At this point, if he pounds A with the SU-152, and then takes it with his infantry, it is not clear to me he could withstand the counter-pounding back from your AFVs. And those SMGs burn their ammo fast.

Ideally (for you) he launches his attack on A, and...barely, but decisively, misses. Several burning T-34s, an ammo-expended SU-152, and a several fractured/empty SMG platoons later, you regain the initiative, and re-deploy toward C.

Sound nice?

But I am concerned about how you are getting dinged up. Those lost T/Cs, and damaged HQs are only annoying now, but they make you more fragile.

Great, great stuff.

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Could be one platoon of split squads: HQ-A1-B1-C1-A2-B2-C2-LMG/Mortar. That's not to say he hasn't got more back there, though.

I hesitate to give any advice, considering the game like poker: one player to a hand. But, damn, it's fun to speculate, lol.

By all means, carry on with your plans, and disregard my meanderings, which are that it was likely a mistake that his SMGs opened fire. I expect that he meant to creep that t34 up in the woods without being discovered and next turn would have assaulted the town in a pincer. His troops into the bldgs from your left flank, and his troops and t34 from the wood in front of your armor assaulting your stug and tiger. Meanwhile, his other remaining armor in the field rushes forward.

NOW, however, he may call it off. Nevertheless, were it me, I would hold steady as things stand, cancel the orders to the HQ stug, sending him down the main road instead of the tiger if anywhere.

BTW, what are your flamers up to?

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That's fine; I try not to take anyone's advice here for its own sake, which is why I always send my orders before I post my thought processes about them here.

Erm, my flamers are still helping keep possession of the woods on the left of the road to C. I have a plan in hand to race one back into A if Juste's infantry assault and out-run their armoured support, which I'm hoping the StuGs and Tiger will keep at bay. To be fair, only the SU can reliably hurt any of them at all, and even the StuGs only suffer the odd partial penetration by T-34 rounds at ~100m ranges, so the three of them should be enough to ensure my men aren't harassed by too much HE.

I had the precise same thought about the units I can see. In fact I think they probably are a single squad set up to look like more - I'm not sure if it's possible to position full squads that close to each other.

Rankorian, I like the term 'dinged up', and it describes perfectly what I don't like about the little hits I keep taking. My total casualties so far number 15, of which one has been a sniper, seven have been Jager squad members, four have been platoon HQs and three have been tank commanders. I feel like he's wearing me down by hitting me in important places, even though most of the HQ kills he's made have been flukes.

Which is why I want to take some initiative now. I feel I know enough about his force selection and disposition to start pressing him where I think it'll hurt. My troops in the woods near the road are coming back as swiftly as is prudent to clear them of enemy infantry and relocate all of his armour, if it hasn't moved by the time they get there. As soon as the SU is dealt with it will take no more than a single StuG to keep T-34s from supporting an attack on A. I will then be able to launch an attack on C with a reinforced company of men, one StuG, a Tiger and two FPz IIIs.

For now, though, my primary focus remains the same as it has been since Turn 10; Namely, the hunting down and destruction of Juste's SU-152.

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Tux,

Your post reads like the Russian unit reports in Hackett's THIRD WORLD WAR: August 1985 in which NATO's carefully trained antitank and tank crews to ID and kill HQ vehicles. Offhand, I can't recall reading a DAR or AAR in which TCs and HQ units took so much gas, so fast.

Your plan intrigues me, and if it works, could be exciting indeed for the recipient. Glad you dished out some pain this turn, rather than just consuming same!

Regards,

John Kettler

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Tux,

Wow, I had a bad week at work and wasn't able to get back to your battle until now. The action is heating up.

I agree with John K, that gun opening up was likely due to no covered arc being set, or the quality of the gun troops. I loved your comment about the Soviet troops "adept at judging the muzzle elevation required to arch their bullets into dead ground." Figures that HQ units are getting hit. What are the odds.

Sorry about the StuG commander. Your style of writing is quite riveting, and I enjoy reading it. Very nicely done. I didn't see your advance as wrong, and might have done something similar. I would have pushed through the woods too, on a semi-flanking move. All things being said, I concur with your tactical move back to the village, or as the Marines would say, Hell we're just advancing in a rearward direction. I'd also pull another StuG over, as you are doing.

You are being "nickeled and dimed" on casualties, but you've gotten some retribution too, with several T-34s bagged and tagged. I'd say you are still doing well, and also agree with your clearind the woods to get a look-see on the other side. Maybe someone can get a good read on that pesky SU, and toss a grenade bundle on his rear deck. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing gouts of flame routing enemy troops from your flame tanks. I wouldn't want to be in that village when that happens, heh heh.

By all means, keep this up. I agree with Rankorian, we need more of these AAR's posted. If I could figure out how to post pictures, I might be tempted. I like to post reviews on the Scenario Depot II, and they read more like action stories. Good fun. We are enjoying this greatly, and I, for one, am learning from it.

Heinrich505

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Thanks guys, all responses much appreciated. smile.gif

Heinrich, to post images is quite simple:

1. When in game simply pause the action, frame your shot and hit the "Print Screen" button immediately to the right of F12 on your keyboard.

2. Use the Windows button or Alt-Tab to return to your desktop.

3. Open a graphics package of some sort (I use Jasc Paintshop Pro) and paste the image onto the workspace.

4. Save the image as a .jpg file and close it afterwards.

5. Go to http://smg.photobucket.com/ and sign up for a free account.

6. Upload the .jpg to your album.

7. Copy the "IMG Code" underneath the thumbnail in your album.

8. Paste the code into your DAR/ AAR where appropriate.

9. Rinse and repeat.

Once you've done it once or twice it becomes very quick and easy, I promise. ;) You can also delete the images from your Hard Drive once they're stored on Photobucket, to save space and avoid getting confused between them.

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Lol, I'm afraid you'll have to be patient, my friend; both Juste and I are currently ploughing towards the end of University degrees in History and Aerospace Engineering respectively. CM turns are, as a result, slightly lower on the priority list than they would otherwise find themselves.

Don't worry though, Juste is giving us both time; as soon as I get a turn I'll play it and post the report.

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