Bil Hardenberger

Bud, you have to identify alternate positions that will give you similar coverage. For my BP1 position, I have three or four positions around and on that hillock that provide good hull-down positions that I alternate my vehicles through. Now that the Javelin Team is on the hill, my vehicles are kept in keyholed hulldown positions behind the crest. Each position provides coverage over a different area.. and for me that's okay. Finding and using alternate firing positions should be SOP for any armored force. They will not all provide equal coverage... but just pulling your vehicle out of the line for a bit will be superior to letting it sit in the same position for a long time. Bil

An Important Matter: I really don't know where this battle goes from here. I have not heard from Baneman since July 1st when we exchanged emails. I have not received a turn in two weeks and the turn I just posted (turn 18) is the last turn I received from him, so I am caught up. I suspect he has had real-life interfere in a major way.. I haven't seen him post online in a few weeks now, but I may have missed something. I'll let you know if the turns start flowing again... in the meantime if anybody is in direct contact with Baneman please get in touch with him and make sure he's okay. It isn't like him to not respond to emails and PMs. Bil

Exactly... a couple Javelin teams can decimate my force, so mustn't get too cocky yet. Yes I do plan on letting things develop some, and the units at BP1 will continue to harrass and take out what they can. I am in no hurry to act, but when I do I wouldn't mind Baneman's force being strung out in EA1 in non-mutually supporting positions. I really can't say what his intention is.. he was on the right track with the movement toward OBJ DIAMOND, but only sent two vehicles that way, so he didn't capitalize on my impotence to stop that movement. I HOPE his Javelins are with the forward teams... that would make them easier to deal with. I do have my on map mortars firing at his rear SBF line where his tanks were set up... that might be keeping them under cover. I am shifting that fire forward though to get closer to his infantry teams.

MINUTE 18 Let this be a warning to you.., if you are playing a modern game and keep your armored assets in the same position for more than a turn or two this is what will happen. Death can come from anywhere... it was only a matter of time before I got those two tanks. They hadn’t moved really since they came in as reinforcements, eight turns ago for the Challenger and 13! Turns for the Leopard. Even in WW2 if you position your vehicles in non-hulldown positions and leave them there, you will have to pay the price eventually. First to fall to a Javelin, his remaining Challenger… …then another Jav Team took out his last remaining tank, the Leopard 2A4. As time expired, another Javelin had just started its downward plunge on a Marder. Baneman is pushing several infantry teams and another Warrior towards my ridgeline. Also in view is a Scimitar that has been in that position since very early in the game. This move seems kind of desperate to me, it’s too weak to be able to do anything really worthwhile. It is however, the correct solution, too little too late though... he needs to push as much combat power as he can muster as close to me as he can.. one or two vehicles and a few teams will not be able to do much against what I have in the area. The Bradley at BP1 is taking the infantry under fire, but the Warrior IFV drove by without incident. Shown in this image on the reverse slope of HILL 41.1 and HILL 42 are four Bradleys and their dismounts… There are another three Bradleys in this area as well, plus a BMP-3 and two BMP-2s. They can all reorient as required, I have the interior lines. Here is an overview of the situation in the north. NOTES: The BMP-3 Platoon is taking up overwatch positions on OBJ DIAMOND.. I suspect he has a Fennek and a Warrior IFV in this objective, or nearby. The LAVs are gathering all of the dismounts, Syrian and USMC and then will move to the Assembly Area for an attack on FARM 011 and 012. Two Scimitars were last seen in this area. They will be supported by the T-90 section. My reserve is starting to move forward to get into jump off positions for their eventual attack into EA1... but this has yet to be decided, and I may push them on another axis, toward FARM 002 perhaps. BP-1 and the Javelin teams on the ridgeline will be a support by fire position for any attacks. As can be seen in the Blood Board, he has a lot of combat power remaining.. I am not taking anything for granted:

Thanks Ian.

I think I would have noticed. What turn is he on over there?

You guys are a riot. I am back from Jamaica, weather and the water was gorgeous of course. I will post the next turn report tonight... probably on the later side though, so don't wait up How is Baneman's thread going? I had expected it to have another thousand views and another 100 posts by today.. but alas, doesn't seem to be much happening over there.

Thank you, all fixed now.

MINUTE 17 First up, some mortar porn: Another action filled minute… sadly I think this will be the last turn report post from me until next Wednesday. Sorry, heading to the Caribbean. That being said, I think I am leaving you with another very exciting and action packed turn. There were two Javelin kills this turn; a Warrior IFV… …and a Marder. I had a Bradley near HILL 42.0 loading two Javelin teams that were close to falling under the artillery hitting that hill. While in the midst of loading this Bradley spotted one of the Warrior IFVs from the platoon that crossed the river and is very close to my ridgeline. Not only did they knock out the IFV, they also spotted an AT team shortly after and took them out as well. The Abrams pulled into a new position in BP1 and almost instantly spotted another Marder… Note in the background, the Javelin team that knocked out the Challenger two minutes ago now has spots on both of Baneman’s remaining tanks, the Challenger and the Leopard 2A4. Time ran out before it could launch... next turn could be interesting! In the T-90 platoon battle position, the T-90 HQ vehicle received a laser warning and pulled out of the line... unfortunately, right into the guns of Baneman’s Challenger… why, oh why couldn’t it simply have reversed a little bit?

Hope you don't mind, I quoted you on my Blog page for this AAR.

Hopefully my post above answered some of your questions. As for combating Javelin teams.. not a lot you can do except deny the enemy the use of key terrain with smoke, artillery, direct fire, or better by capturing it and closing with them. You have to get within about 150 meters of an enemy Javelin team before you are inside their minimum range... that can be a very hard thing to do.

I think this is a good place to stop for a bit and discuss my tactics and approach to this fight. From the beginning I had a two phase plan (not including recon), and it hinged on my Javelin teams. The Reconnaissance Phase was just supposed to tie the enemy down, and entice him into moving as much combat power as possible into Engagement Area 1 (EA1). During this phase of the action I intended to gather as much information as possible and recover the enemy order of battle, identify his intent, etc. I only really engaged the enemy with my two LAV-ATs (which I subsequently lost), the Syrian ATGM team (a failure so far), and a couple LAVs I was hoping they would attrit the enemy recon elements but at this they failed, only being able to destroy one Fennek The enemy did feel comfortable enough to move a lot of his combat power into EA1, and did not seem to hold back a reserve. PHASE I - the first phase of the actual battle proper started when I received my Main Body reinforcements. The intent was to move two platoons of Bradleys into KT2, dismount Javelin teams and kill as many enemy vehicles as possible, mainly with dismounted Javelin teams. Note, once inside EA1, it is going to be very tough for Baneman to extricate his armor and IFVs, especially as more and more Javelin teams come on line I actually have four Javelin teams in overwatch positions at this stage in the battle with a few more still to deploy. Baneman continues to move vehicles into EA1 and especially toward the Ruined Farm Battle Position 1 (BP1) has been an unexpected boon for me, and really is turning out to be the most important terrain in the AO so far. A good majority of the enemy vehicles killed came from this position The Bradleys that are on the reverse slope of KT2 (two platoons) are a local reserve, and will join in any attack I make with my main reserve, but on a different axis to spread the enemy and keep him from shifting elements The intent is to engage the enemy with as few units as possible and still cause serious harm, most of my combat power will be husbanded for PHASE II. I want him rocking back on his heels when I hit him with my main combat power. PHASE II - this is the Main Attack phase of the action. I have identified a few key avenues of attack but have yet to decide how I am going to attack The elements in EA1 are the main target Isolating and eliminating the enemy units at OBJ DIAMOND, FARM 002, and the FARM 011-012 complex are lower priorities All elements not in the KT2 and BP1 positions will join in this effort, including: USMC Recon dismounts and LAVs x2 BMP-3 Mech Infantry platoons x1 Syrian dismounted infantry platoon x1 Bradley platoon and Bradley Company HQ element (five vehicles with dismounts, the BFIST will be kept in the rear area) T-90 Platoon Ultimate goal is to eliminate or mitigate the enemy armor threat to such an extent that I can start to clear DUMAYR and all of the red colored objectives (see image above) of all enemy irregular elements I am currently still in PHASE I, but am starting to plan for PHASE II. More to come as I complete my analysis and decide on a course of action.

There are also two more Bradley platoons on the rear side of my ridgeline. All dismounts, except those that have been split off for Javelin duty are in their tracks at this point in the battle. By the way, in this next turn one of my Bradleys will get involved in the action, I'll get that turn report up tonight, you will want to watch for it...

We are 16 minutes into a two hour scenario... so.. quite a while. It will never go that long though.

MINUTE 16 REINFORCEMENTS The Rear Guard troops arrived in the AO after this turn, these are the final reinforcements. Following is an overview of what just arrived: Two platoons of BMP-3s. I have found the missing Warrior platoon. At least two of the IFVs are on my side of the river near Point 35.9… interesting. They can cause some mischief from there. I am moving a few assets that way and will wait to see what he plans to do with them. I suspect he will dismount his infantry and attempt to infiltrate my position. Here is an overview of movements this turn... I have pulled the four LAVs from BP1, I think the Jav team, the Abrams and the Bradley there can handle that position. The LAV's are driving quickly to join the dismounted infantry platoons, the USMC recon and the dismounted BMP-3 platoon.. I underestimated the distances involved and I need to mount the Syrian infantry and move them to the center position with the marines and the T-90s. The LAVs, Marine recon troops, and Syrian infantry will assemble and start to move toward FARM 11 and 12. I sent one BMP-3 platoon deep and they will turn the corner and attempt to get eyes on OBJ DIAMOND, where I suspect I will eventually find a Fennek and a Warrior IFV. I do think this is where the artillery hitting the rear slopes of HILL 42 is being called in from. Oh, and T-90s (and Russian tanks in general) appear to be the pretty good armor to use against infantry, as can be seen by this event (It does appear that Baneman has not read the Masked Movement post on my Blog): So at least the T-90 platoon is a capable Syrian formation... that is good to see and makes me feel a little better. Thought you would appreciate what I have in reserve, these units are waiting for events to develop a bit further before I commit them.

Thanks Vin. No air in this game, decided against it at the beginning to make it more about maneuver and tactical finesse. Air has a way of skewing the results... much like Javs. A properly commanded platoon with Javelins could indeed stop an enemy formation in its tracks. It is important to take away the most obvious firing positions with smoke, artillery fire, or better, by quickly closing and disgorging dismounted infantry to clear them (which is why I am so concerned with the missing Warrior platoon that was last seen quickly closing on my ridge). Also using some finesse with your armor to minimize their exposure and reduce any spotting chances a unit armed with a Javelin has is ideal. The Challenger that was taken out this turn had not moved far from where my Abrams put a round into its turret. And it definitely was not hulldown. Can't put that loss for Baneman down solely to me using a "super weapon". Also in this last turn six vehicles were destroyed, and only two of those lost were from Javs. So they are hardly dominating the battlefield at this point.. of course I only have two teams in action at the moment... I have MANY more in reserve. So they may dominate the battlefield eventually.

Indeed.. but you know, I am old school and I have not used the "seek hulldown" command at all in this game, I am doing it manually. Maybe I need to explore that order more eh? It is impossible to be hulldown to every threat or to every spot of enemy held terrain though... so care is required no matter how you get a vehicle hulldown. Hulldown and keyholed is the ideal, like my M1 was in the Marder and Leo encounter over the past two turns. My other M1 that was killed by the Challenger, was hull down to the threats it was engaging, but I think it was exposed to his SBF position.. I got lazy with that one and it cost me. In contrast, most of Baneman's tanks and IFVs have not been hulldown to my shooters.

Thanks Sly. Always appreciate when you drop by.

I was wondering when someone would pick up on that. Baneman should also have Javelins according to the Order of Battle template. I am trying to limit my vehicle exposure not only because of the Jav threat but because in this environment a missile or an APFSDS round can come from anywhere. So I’m trying to peek and shoot, then withdraw and come out somewhere different Bil

MINUTE 15 Okay this was a VERY busy turn… and sorry once again for the amount of media. I hope it isn’t too hard on your internet connection. I ordered my Abrams to immediately start to reverse while it was reloading. I did not want it to get into a gun duel if it wasn’t ready… when the gunner yelled “SABOT UP!” and while still moving in reverse the tank fired and killed the Leopard... killed him dead and was never spotted in return. I had also ordered one of the LAVs nearby to pop smoke in front of the M1 to cover it… turns out that wasn’t needed. T90 #2 fired and killed the Warrior near the Water Tower... so hey, yeah, the Syrians are capable of killing stuff. One British dismounted team is in the field between the now dead Warrior IFV and the T-90s… that means the second Warrior arrived at its unloading point unseen, but now I know about where it is. 1st Mech Infantry Platoon’s HQ team dismounted and armed with a Javelin, crawled into position hoping to get a spot on the Challenger that my Abrams hit last turn… towards the end of the turn he took aim and let the Javelin loose... it flew true and killed the enemy tank with a top hit. Up near Hill 41.1 another team armed with a Javelin spotted a Scimitar and quickly destroyed it. By the way, it takes about 20 seconds to reload the launcher and be ready for another shot. Both of these teams will be reloaded and ready for action early next turn. It didn’t go all my way though… the BMP-3 platoon moved forward, remember I was hoping to spot the Warrior platoon which should be to their front (and probably very close)… well, they moved forward just fine, then quickly lost two of the three BMPs, the first to an unknown shooter... I believe to one of the Warriors I was looking for... …the second fell to the remaining Leopard tank. Damn… I should have sent a dismounted team over the ridge to find those IFVs. The BMP-3s never spotted a thing… yikes. I am worried about those Warriors and I need to find them ASAP. Still two enemy tanks, one light tank, and an IFV knocked out for the loss of two BMP-3s... I’ll take that exchange ratio every time. I also received my final reinforcements. I will post about them in another installment.

Sorry, I don't think I added a facing command at the end of this movement... in fact I'm pretty sure it was on Hunt orders and stopped and faced the enemy threat on its own when it spotted it. By the way, rotating the hull front to the enemy is a survival instinct as it places the best protected portion of the tank toward the threat. They do not always do that by the way.. in the 12th minute post the Abrams spotted and fired on a Warrior IFV, in this case it kept the hull aligned with the covered arc and rotated the turret to fire.

This is a lovely and well written AAR. Screenshots are amazing.. please share the overlay you are using, if you don't mind. Bil

I got that range from Wikipedia but I'm sure that isn't right.. the PF3 Team is about 400 meters from BP1... I'll find out soon I think how effective they are.

MINUTE 14 M1 #2 moved into the hollow next to the little hill in BP1 in order to overwatch the Gate to Valhalla with the hopes that the Leopard that was moving in that direction would come under its guns. What it spotted instead was a Marder moving next to the farm ahead of the tank. The Marder spotted the Abrams first and opened fire with its cannon taking out the turret mounted MG, but it was not a fair fight… The M1 then immediately spotted the Leopard, which does not look like it sees the Abrams… the turn ended before my tank could reload. I hate when that happens. (see item 1 below) Some artillery spotting rounds are falling next to Hill 42.0 so I have moved my M3 platoon back a bit and loaded any infantry nearby. As time expired one of the Warriors moving through the field came into view near the Water Tower, it started to fire cannon rounds at T-90 #2 which was elevating its gun and taking aim as time expired! (see item 2 below) The Warrior rear door opened as the clock ran out... hopefully, if the T-90 can actually make the kill, it will also take out most of the infantry in the back. The Warrior platoon that was last spotted moving past HILL 32.9 has dropped off my radar completely… I have no contacts at all for this formation. (see item 3 below) Looks like it could be a very interesting next turn, coming up are the following highlights: The M1A1SA #2 versus Leopard 2A4 faceoff. The T-90 #2 versus Warrior IFV faceoff Plus, I am moving the BMP-3s 1st Platoon forward in the hopes of spotting that Warrior platoon that disappeared past Point 32.9 A couple Javelin teams will arrive in their firing positions looking to kill something Oh, and after next turn, the final reinforcements arrive! Don’t go anywhere! 1st Platoon BMP-3s getting ready to move to hulldown positions: (see item 3 above) BP1: (see item 1 and 4 above)

Two are regular and one is veteran. The way we did training levels for this game was to have George select "Typical" from the training level drop down list in the editor.. that way neither of us would be tempted to fill his formations with crack crews.