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Not another AAR!? Tux Vs. Juste


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I am ashamed to admit that I have not yet been able to decide what to do with it. Every time I sit down to try and knock out a post-graduation plan of action I feel guilty because I always have work that needs to be done instead! What did you do once you got yours, Lanzfeld?

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Turn 20

Here we go... Juste is executing multiple plans of action now. His three surviving T-34s as well as his SU-152 have reversed to safer positions amongst the trees, possibly with a mind to retreating for the defence of C:

Turn20-2.jpg

The two infantry-type units in the middle are Maxims Area firing at an empty building.

Juste's bunched-up troops near A completed the rout of my Jager platoon and then sent two of their number to advance towards the town. As they approached the buildings my HMG 42, the two appropriate ambushing squads and even my reversing Tiger opened devastating close range fire. As the minute draws to a close one SMG squad is broken and crawling back the way he came, whilst a second is about to be engaged at less than 20m range.

Turn20a-1.jpg

Neither of my engaging squads take a single casualty from the overwatching SMG fire, so I am more than happy with this initial encounter. The ambushes are now worthless as far as surprise is concerned however, so I will consider adjusting the squads' positions during the next orders phase.

My Tiger completes half of the manoeuvre I ordered last turn, and my StuG HQ arrives, ready to provide further HE and AP support to the troops at A.

Finally, as my troops in the woods along the Road to C advance cautiously back towards A, a pair of tank sound contacts are detected in Juste's rear area:

Turn20b-1.jpg

I have killed two T-34s, and I have three more within LOS of my troops. That makes five, which is just under two platoons. Two more contacts (which I am assuming cannot be SU-152s) don't fit very neatly with those numbers, so my scouts are going to be crucial in the near future. Either way it looks as though Juste is seeking to shore up his defences at A. I may well need a Tiger in support if I choose to advance that way in future.

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I've used the SU-152 against the Tiger before and, while it can kill the beast, it is by no means an easy task. The SU's slow reload time, crew's inexperience coupled with the gun's inaccuracy make the Tiger a clear favorite in any encounter. The only way you loose the Tiger is by moving rashly and presenting an easy target or he gets lucky with a shoot and scoot. I'd say his tanks are moving to warmer climes.

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Tux,

Thank heavens for that timely report! Was just about out of SAN from the agonizing wait. Looks like it went pretty well that turn. Best to you and Juste on completing your degrees. Got mine while working full time and carrying 30 semester units over 35 weeks, so know the drill. Don't recommend it!

Regards,

John Kettler

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Wow, your position is looking a lot better.

He probably lost less, and avoided disaster, by making such a half-hearted attack on A. But now any of his remaining SMG units on your left flank are essentially out of play--can't attack forward, and difficult to redeploy.

You have that strong position in the woods in front of C--sort of like having the center squares in chess. (I think I keep thinking about chess, because an ME has a lot of similarities, since the sides are, in some sense, equal at the begining of the struggle).

It is hard for me to discern the exact elevations, but it appears to me as though you will be able to spot across the whole center of the map from your positions there(?)--giving you a real intelligence advantage.

The problem that I see for both of you is that, though supposedly a close proximity fight, the areas around the key towns seem empty, and difficult for infantry to cross.

So, what is/are your choice of direction?

1. Destroy/route his remaining units in front of A? Perhaps with some HE shells, figuring that if no one makes progress on flags, casualties might be decisive.

2. Scout toward the front of those center woods, to determine if there is an attack coming there, or to watch his retreat?

3. Blast the buildings in C with AFV HE? That is the type of thing which is hard for an opponent to watch without resorting to rash countermeasures.

Again, unless he is moving immediatedly toward an attack on the woods in front of C, it would seem you have the initiative.

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I think I do have the initiative now, or at least the chance to snatch it...

Turn 21

The two SMG squads are annihilated apart from a lone survivor who is last seen sprinting back towards his own lines. The NKVD will take care of him:

Turn21-1.jpg

During the last orders phase I got my 'blind' StuG to smoke the two Maxims Juste was using as overwatch in case they switched to the buildings my squads were in. They didn't, but the smoke did a good job of shutting them up regardless. Surprisingly, Juste also pushed his SU-152 forwards towards the town; perhaps taking confidence from the withdrawal of my Tiger? At one point the hulking great thing bogged, and I held my breath for a stroke of amazing good luck. Unfortunately the sod got out of trouble and advanced to a point right in the centre of my little smoke cloud. I'm chuffed with that because I don't think Juste will be able to give it an Area Fire order if it doesn't have LOS through the cloud:

Turn21a-1.jpg

My HQ StuG is all but in position to shoot at the SU within a few seconds, and my Tiger is 30s away from contact as well.

Turn21b-1.jpg

During the last orders phase I ordered one of my platoons in the woods along the road to C to move quickly through them and sit on the edges at the other side. I did this because, as I mentioned last time, Juste's T-34s had reversed and looked as though they may be preparing to pull back to C. By the end of Turn 21 they are here:

Turn21c.jpg

Unfortunately I don't think my men will be in position in time. It's going to be touch and go though, so watch this space.

Finally, the sound contacts are last detected here:

Turn21d.jpg

I think Juste just may be planning to attempt a fast flanking manoeuvre with a couple of tanks through Hamlet B. If he does my StuG and Flammpanzer will be waiting.

All told I think Juste might be a bit rattled by the loss of his two T-34s and the abject failure of his SMGers to find a way into A. I want to wrap things up near A asap (that means killing the SU), and then I'll attack C with the Tiger amongst my AFV support.

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My orders for 22 have seen me risk sprinting a squad and a half into position to lob grenade bundles at the passing T-34s. With luck I may kill one.

Apart from that they are all minor adjustments to previous orders - I now have two HMGs area firing on Juste's bunched up SMG squads to keep them worried and the platoon moving back through the woods towards A are two minutes from clearing them completely. After that, if necessary, they'll be in position to attempt to assault Juste's Maxim/ SU overwatch.

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Originally posted by Rankorian:

It is hard for me to discern the exact elevations, but it appears to me as though you will be able to spot across the whole center of the map from your positions there(?)--giving you a real intelligence advantage.

The problem that I see for both of you is that, though supposedly a close proximity fight, the areas around the key towns seem empty, and difficult for infantry to cross.

So, what is/are your choice of direction?

1. Destroy/route his remaining units in front of A? Perhaps with some HE shells, figuring that if no one makes progress on flags, casualties might be decisive.

2. Scout toward the front of those center woods, to determine if there is an attack coming there, or to watch his retreat?

3. Blast the buildings in C with AFV HE? That is the type of thing which is hard for an opponent to watch without resorting to rash countermeasures.

By electing to take the most covered route along the extreme left flank Juste has, indeed, conceded possession of the majority of the open spaces to my own forces. I am quite confident that I have a far better range of LOS to the map as a whole and that it will be hard for Juste to surprise me.

The open spaces do present problems when it comes to assaulting either of the two main objectives, but I think armoured support is the key. If I can kill his SU then my Tiger is the most important 'piece' on the board. It will be able to hammer C, cover my attacking infantry from armoured intervention and protect my Flammpanzers as they move in to torch the defenders.

At least that's the plan; I have to remember that the SU isn't dead yet. If I'm unlucky it could still send a bloody great barrel-sized shell through my Tiger, and Juste would then hold all the aces.

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Rankorian, the close ranges at which I expected to encounter his infantry on this map would strongly have favoured the SMG troops he bought over my Jagers. The only chance my men would have if they encountered SMG troops in the same body of cover (e.g. the woods along the road to C) would be to immediately rout or destroy them, since return SMG fire at that range would be lethal. HE can do this, as can patient, well laid ambushes, but HE takes time and ambushes are static. Flamethrowers can instantly remove any infantry threat and flame tanks add mobility and robustness to this (highly desirable) capability.

This means I keep them near cover, with infantry nearby to support them, thus banishing Juste's SMGs from the edges of the forest nearest my men.

I also see the Flammpanzers as my chance at a 'headshot' at Juste's forces nearer the end of the game. Assuming I kill the SU in the next few turns, I will move my Tiger up towards C and, in short, use it to clear the area of Juste's tanks, and possibly to kill the gun too. Once all HE threats are down I'll launch my own direct-fire HE + HMG barrage for a minute or so to pin the outermost of his defenders. If I think I have time I may even decide to level a few buildings and leave the dust to settle to extend my Panzers' LOS once they're in the town. Then I'll advance, using tank riders on Flammpanzers to get within flame range, and then moving infantry and Flammpanzers through the town in tandem. Enemy infantry will then have minimal opportunity to hurt my Jagers before the FPz IIIs return fire with instant effect.

That's the plan, at least. ;)

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Yes, you have the initiative, but remember that it is basically because you were defending against an attack. Coupled with the fact that your opponent lost his nerve, well, you have a decent position right now. If he had forced the issue? Well, he would probably have suffered great casualties, but taken your village. Of course, that would have left you free to take his town, lol.

Anyhow, what I am saying is that attacking is harder than defending, all other things being equal, as we know. So when you switch to the offense in the coming rounds (which of course you will even though you would likely "win" as things stand, because it is much more fun! smile.gif ), remember this and either go for it whole hog or do not, IMHO.

Its the problem with equally divided flags on a map - since both start equal, the one who attacks first risks much.

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That is quite true Yushal, which is why I'm trying not to make too much of his failure to break two SMG squads into my village. I am slowly adjusting my 'stance', however.

Turn 22

The T-34s survive. A half-squad of mine doesn't build up the courage to attack while a tank is within range, and it ends up sat painfully close to assault range (33m away). I will sneak a few metres next turn and hope to catch the tanks before they move. As it is it looks like they want to catch any of my units which emerge from the road to C in the flank:

Turn22.jpg

My platoon in the trees along the roadside uncover and wipe out a lone Rifle 44H squad, but otherwise encounter no resistance:

Turn22a.jpg

The Su-152 does, as it turns out, manage to take an area shot at the nearest house containing one of my squads, but it does nothing more than to shake them up a little. As soon as the shot has come it reverses out of LOS again. I think I may end up having to kill it by close assault at this rate:

Turn22b.jpg

Finally, the two sound contacts apparently heading towards B disappear completely.

Sorry, that's all I have time for atm. I will try and post my orders/ thinking behind Turn 23 before it happens if I get time. smile.gif

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Tux,

So far, so good. Too bad about that lone survivor...he'd done better falling in glorious battle for Mother Russia than dealing with the NKVD. If he's lucky, he'll be assigned to minefield clearing, with his boots.

I sense the SU is getting antsy. Nice move with the troops in the trees. That's what I'd have done, for both recon and a shot at blasting a tank. If anything does happen along those lines, he may blunder them into lines of sight trying to get away from the infantry. Perhaps a little schnaps will give them the artificial courage to toss their grenade bundles. Damn, where is the quartermaster when you need him?

If/when you rush the village, smoking is a really good idea, whether by actual smoke rounds or by blasting buildings to create a giant cloud of debris and smoke. You might not get volunteers to ride the flame tanks in the rush though. I'd be hesitant to take a seat on a gas can rushing into battle. One round and WHOOSH. That's why no one stays close to the flamethrower teams. Besides, those guys have to be a bit loopy to carry the flame tanks on their backs. And they all smoke cigarettes - what is with that, anyway? Probably from Bavaria...

Really cool battle. Enjoying it immensly.

Heinrich505

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Originally posted by Lanzfeld:

oh....and I went on to be a pilot Tux.

Really? I'm thinking that's the way I probably want to head now. I've done a few hours a year or two ago but I had to pack it in to concentrate on academic work. How did you get into the profession/ who did you fly with?

Originally posted by Heinrich505:

If/when you rush the village, smoking is a really good idea, whether by actual smoke rounds or by blasting buildings to create a giant cloud of debris and smoke. You might not get volunteers to ride the flame tanks in the rush though. I'd be hesitant to take a seat on a gas can rushing into battle. One round and WHOOSH. That's why no one stays close to the flamethrower teams. Besides, those guys have to be a bit loopy to carry the flame tanks on their backs. And they all smoke cigarettes - what is with that, anyway? Probably from Bavaria...

I have my 75mm smoke FO waiting to cover a second axis of attack on C across a nearby ford. I still have a platoon of troops ready to assault from a point near the middle of the map, as they have been for the last 15 minutes. I thought I might need the smoke to get across the ford itself without taking prohibitive casualties, in the event that it is being covered.

I may rubble a few buildings to cover the main assault, but if I judge my overwatch group to be powerful enough that could well prove to be counter-productive. I'll make that decision when I come to it.

As for flame throwers, I'm pretty sure that the man-portable packs weren't explosive at all. A bullet in the fuel tank would simply cause a leak, not a huge fireball as suggested by films such as Saving Private Ryan...

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Interesting, I'll have to read up more about it.

Turn 23

The attack on A is no more, as far as I can tell. My area firing HMGs have sent two or three infantry figures scarpering back into the deeper cover behind them, and are only down to ~70 ammo. My two StuGs and my Tiger all pushed forwards this turn as part of the general 'SU hunt', but the machine has, once again, vanished.

Turn23b.jpg

In the trees towards C my sweeping platoon chase a lone SMG man out into the open, without finishing him off. My close assault platoon fire off a couple of rifle grenades to no effect, and fail to throw any grenade bundles before the T-34s pull away. This is slightly annoying, but my men are still in a perfect position to observe the tanks as they set up to defend C:

Turn23a.jpg

Finally, a sound contact is heard approaching Hamlet B:

Turn23.jpg

It looks like Juste is going to try and slip some armoured units through here, so I have alerted my units to their imminent arrival and readied them in their ambush positions etc.

My other orders for Turn 24 involve pushing my three AFVs near A still further forwards. I have decided to try and advance two of them (the Tigher and the HQ StuG) through this gap between the two forested areas:

Turn23c.jpg

With this in mind my 'sweeping' platoon are being diverted to the edges of the gap to cover the tanks from one flank. I think that should be enough - Soviet infantry at this point in the war are less than lethal against AFVs, especially if I keep them moving. The remaining StuG will hold back near A, to be deployed as I see fit in the next few rounds.

Hopefully the direct nature of this route of advance (along a corridor which he may have, until now, considered to be 'his') will catch Juste out and allow me to take the defences at C on from two separate directions.

I am also pulling my best platoon out of the second line of defences at A to move forwards and join in the assault on C.

My overall strategy now is one of pressing Juste as hard as can be considered prudent. I think he made a mistake in launching such a half-hearted assault on A; it cost him the best part of a full SMG platoon and he only learned the nature of the very tip of my defences in return.

Admittedly I may have got lucky with my armour, but if he wasn't going to go 'balls out' for the prize I think he'd have been better off maintaining a harassing presence near A and withdrawing most to help defend C. With any luck my central two platoons are now preventing the orderly withdrawal of most of his men.

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I lile the plan.

However, have you considered the thought that perhaps his attack upon A was merely a feint? And that the real assault will be launched upon B?

I'm just thinking that, considering you have probably identified no more than 2-3 platoons of infantry, and possibly less than that, in the area of A, along with the mobile AFVs, and that he apparently launched merely a tiny probe against A with those forces....

Further, you have seen a couple of mgs, a sniper and a gun in B, nothing more?

Now you find him advancing upon your right, which supposes that he had some forces pre-disposed to this action. The sound contact could be the ones from his rear crossing over, but are they that fast.

Where is his other company-plus of infantry?

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Originally posted by Dark Knight:

This is probably a dumb question, but how do you get those lines on the ground that give you an impression of where hills and dips in the ground are? I can't find it in the hotkeys menu...

You have to install a mod. Rocketman's high contrast gridded series will do the trick. The mod(s) can be found at cmmods.

CMMODS

[ May 01, 2008, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: Leprechaun ]

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Heh, what he ^ said! ;)

Yushal, I had considered it, yes. The only thing is that the original force that moved towards A was supported by two HMGs and a very strong armoured force. I know that there is one more HMG and a gun, along with a platoon+ of troops, in the town at C. I'm hoping that all this doesn't leave him with huge amounts to have amassed near D/B.

The two sound contacts I detected three minutes ago racing across the back of the map took exactly as long as I expected to arrive near B. For this reason I am assuming, for now, that the sound contact most recently detected is from the same units and that the push towards B is being made with a light armoured force, with a view to opening a second 'angle' on my Tiger etc near A.

Either way, we shall soon find out! smile.gif

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Superb writing, excellent pics.

I agree that I think he has exposed enough unit points that I doubt the push to A was a feint.

Gee, I like everything about your move except....hold on...you probably guessed it....pushing the Tiger and Stug up through that gap.

Given the turn situation, I think you could have waited at least one more turn, will your infantry continues to nudge to your left. Wouldn't it be better if you knew where the SU was before you advanced. And if he has some residual squads near A, your tanks could be easily IDed gowing through that gap.

(An alternate plan would be to swing under the woods with those units, start blasting C, and hopes that draws his armor forward to try to stop you--meanwhile, you are watching every move from the woods.)

But.....I am perhaps too cautious. You will, we hope, nail the SU-152, machine gun straggling Russian infantry, and roll into the backs of those T-34s!

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