Bil Hardenberger

TURN 4 (1:27-1:26) Baneman's infantry continues to move forward, the platoon in the L Shaped Wood (Platoon-02) is still moving through the wood, and I picked up a few new contacts in that wood this turn. Another squad sized element started to rush across the open space to the right of the L Shaped Wood (marked as Squad on the map). The halftrack (Half-2) did not continue to fire on my team and did not move this entire turn. The other platoon (Platoon-01) continues to rush to the wood to their front. Also a PanzerShreck team was identified in the woodline to Platoon-01's rear. The other halftrack in this area (Half-1) has not moved since I first identified it three turns ago. Time for me to creep a 50 Cal jeep forward to and to see if I can wake it up. I have to wonder what shape his infantry is going to be in rushing forward like this.. I have only seen them move at fast speed. He has about a Company's worth of troops moving forward dismounted, perhaps this is his reconnaissance and he has a mounted force behind just waiting for some information... that's what I would do. Situation:

Yes 30m covered arcs. I would rather withdraw before I am spotted.. I don't think exchanging fire with enemy infantry would work out too well with these small teams.

yeah the screenshots can be very misleading. I am sure he heard my team as they were moving last turn. Re: the EA, I Had expected AA1 would be his main avenue of advance so I set up to deny the area outlined as EA from the start.

Phil, I can do that but it'll be tomorrow before I can get to it.

TURN 3 (1:28-1:27) I have now seen a platoon sized element entering the L Shaped Wood, more on that in a bit... the other infantry platoon continues to cross the open space to the north of Cogne... obviously orienting on the woods to their front. Seems like Baneman's idea is to keep his dismounts to the wooded terrain, but there are a few problems with that as you shall see. Situation: L Shaped Wood - Part 1. With elements of a dismounted platoon entering this wood I now suspect his intent is as follows (see the Projected 1 and Projected 2 arrows. To do this he will have to cross the area I have marked in blue (EA = Engagement Area). This area is covered by two HMG jeeps and four (soon to be five) Hellcats. If that is his intent it should be a costly, at least without armor support. L Shaped Wood - Part 2. The light armor contact I had next to the L Shaped Wood last turn resolved into a halftrack, a command variant. So, Baneman had a spot on this scout team and opened fire with this halftrack.. it sounded like area fire (sporadic bursts) so perhaps he did not have a firm contact. I did take one casualty from this fire and this team is now shaken. First blood to Baneman!

TURN 2 (1:29-1:28) Baneman is definitely on the move. I start getting several contacts this turn as will be seen and explained below... Situation (refer to this map when reading the following details): Enemy Halftrack. This halftrack was spotted towards the start of the turn as my recon team dismounted. This halftrack is facing the East edge of the map and never moved. It doesn't appear to be carrying a payload, but it was crewed. Enemy Infantry (suspected Platoon). These infantry teams (at least two squads) were spotted, dismounted and running across the field. They stopped at a hedge on the west end of the field. I was very surprised to see dismounted infantry. Enemy Armor (Sound Contacts). My recon team on KT1 got a few sound contacts, one of which is a tank of some sort, the other could be either a light tank, halftrack, or an armored car. I will keep a close eye on these contacts.. though neither indicated movement, I might not have been hearing them long enough to notice movement. Analysis: Its a little too early to be certain, but it sure looks like Baneman might be moving down AA2 and AA3. Another few turns I should have a good idea of what he is up to.. at least initially.

TURN 1 (1:30-1:29) No enemy contacts yet.. my recon platoon is scattered across the front and are moving into their OP/LP positions. I am not going too deep, only far enough to get an idea of how my opponent is maneuvering and to hopefully ID a few units. Situation: Recon team moves onto KT1: Hellcats (trees in the center on the ridge are on KT1): Team Pain:

This is an interesting read (and free): A Study of the Combat Effectiveness of the US. 4th Armored Division and the German PanzerLehr Division Also, find attached another interesting doc on the 4th Armored Division. Armor_versus_mud_and_mines.pdf

Combat-Man - heh, yeah well if he purchased a couple of Panther platoons plus the JagdTiger I could be in trouble and he could probably walk over me.. 90 minutes is a long time.. it'll be interesting for sure to see this one unfold.

FYI my setup and first orders are complete. Next post should be the first turn. I'm curious how aggressive Baneman is planning on being.

Thanks Combat-man. The objectives are composite, so the first line of four separate objectives are in fact one "game" objective, Phase Line Cobru (objective 1) (four locations) = 153 points, Phase Line 2 Objective (3 locations) = 153 points, Phase Line Objective 3 (2 locations) = 115 points), Phase Line Objective 4 (2 locations) = 76 points Distances: 1 km from the German map edge to the Phase Line 1 objectives.. he could close on that fairly quickly, my goal is to make him tentative to move forward.. I have not done an analysis of travelling in these conditions, but the terrain is very open so there will be few obstacles other than my troops to hinder him... From Phase Line 1 to Phase Line 2 it is 1.2 km.. I am hoping that this area between these two phase lines will be a killing ground for me.. From Phase Line 2 to Phase Line 3 is around 725m From Phase Line 3 to Phase Line 4 is around 300m. To be honest if he gets past Phase Line 2 the terrain gets closer, and the fighting should be brutal, but to be honest I do not have the force for a fight like that, so I hope to keep him in front of Phase Line 2. Sorry I don't have the travel times on hand between these objective lines.

For now I am keeping all five together, centrally located so they can react where needed. Team Hunt and Kill's platoons will be in reserve, located on each wing but ready to converge as the situation dictates.

Except for the HMG mounted vehicles, yep that's the idea.

METT-T Analysis - Part 2 TROOPS: I picked this force to do one main thing, to kill enemy armor and to limit my enemy's mobility. My main worry with this battle was how to successfully engage the heavy enemy armor I expect to face. I wanted to make sure I was very capable in that aspect of the battle and with any luck I could hopefully outnumber the enemy armor and be able to project more anti-armor combat power at least in a few restricted zones at a time than my opponent. I knew I wanted an infantry force to scout for me, so I chose the Recon Platoon with its 12 jeeps, as it is a good size, can be spread across the entire width of the map, is fast and hopefully can be survivable. But this force needed some teeth, so I decided to beef it up with some TDs in support. These TDs will not only be there to protect the scouts, but will be used in an offensive manner as the situation allows. The Tank force, made up of two mixed tank platoons will be my main quick action force, and I hope that it will be able to take on anything Baneman brings to the show. OUTPOST SECTOR - TEAM HIT & FADE Recon platoon on jeeps with 5 Hellcats in support.Mission Overview: identify, disrupt, harass, and channelize enemy formations into kill sacks, concentrating on killing armor and personnel carriers, preferably by concentration of fire from more than one vehicle/team at a time. Main task is identification of enemy formations and avenues of approach. Secondary task is attrition of enemy combat power. Unit survivability trumps killing enemy units, If enemy cannot be engaged in an advantageous and confident manner then do not engage. Withdraw when threatened by enemy movement or fire. Need to identify and setup positions along several lines through the battle space with covered routes from one line to the next. MAIN DEFENSE SECTOR - TEAM HUNT & KILL Two mixed tank platoons – One Jumbo (76mm), one Easy 8 (76mm), and two M-36 Jacksons (90mm) Mission Overview: work with Team Hit & Fade to kill as many enemy combat assets as possible. Main goal is to kill the enemy armored vehiclesSlowly withdraw if the pressure gets too great or the enemy starts to concentrate on one of the Hunter-Killer platoons. Keep the tanks and TDs alive as long as possible, trade space for time and DO NOT allow a breakthrough!Priority of fires: armorpersonnel carriersmortars or gunssupport weapons (HMGs, AT teams, engineers)infantry. The intent is to eliminate his mobility first then concentrate on the dismounts. TIME: Scenario lasts 1.5 hours.

UNIT PURCHASES Okay, I went with Option B, some tweaking of the values allowed me to get five Hellcats for a total of 13 tanks. My Order of Battle for this AAR follows: TEAM HIT & FADE - Recon Platoon HQ element withbazookaHQ Support Teamx2 jeepsx2 Recon Sectionsx3 Recon Teamsx3 jeepsx2 HMG jeepsx5 M18 Hellcats TEAM HUNT & KILL TEAM PAIN Sherman 76 Jumbo - HQSherman 76 Easy 8x2 M36TEAM PUNISHMENTSherman 76 Jumbo - HQSherman 76 Easy 8x2 M36NOTE: All of the following images were taken in the war movie mode, they simply looked better. This force looks awful small on this map. It's going to be interesting to see how this one develops.. still 13 tanks are not to be taken lightly. Team Hunt & Kill is made up of two platoons, called Team Pain and Team Punishment, both look like this: Team Hit & Fade: There are two teams with this organization:

I hope weird in a good way Absolutely, that has been standard operating procedure for most BETA AARs and those threads are always a lot of fun to read after fact.

Looks like you are getting overrun Bud!! Try firing back, might slow the Germans down some.

Good point Bud, to be honest I'm not concerned with this... if Baneman brings a lot of infantry they will have to be mounted, either on tanks or in halftracks (I doubt he'd mount them on trucks in this terrain), in that case stripping them from the tanks or killing their tracks would be a priority, and this is a long map which would not be an easy thing for him to walk his infantry down the length of. To be honest I hope he bought A LOT of infantry.

I can bring some VT artillery along.. but to be effective in a moving battle which I expect this to be I would also need TRPs... the cheapest artillery is a Howitzer section (missed that one before) at around 250 points, add another 150 for TRPs and I think you can see that would require some major sacrifices from somewhere else. I'm sure Chris will be showcasing VT fuzed arty in one of his broadcasts so hopefully you'll still be able to see it in action.

Thanks Sly.. FWIW I have yet to make a determination.. I see advantages to both force compositions. Option A I can even squeak out at least one more Hellcat if I get rid of the TD Platoon HQ and M20s.. those things will be worthless in this battle. I agree the more guns the better, however... Option B provides more capable firepower with the two extra M36s, and the Shermans are more survivable than any of the TDs, especially the Jumbos... I could push to 4 Jumbos (instead of two Jumbos and two Easy 8s) but I would have to sacrifice something else to do that and I am already pretty thin.

Bud, yes very light teams with no AT capability (thus the Hellcats in support).. they are meant to look-listen and run away when threatened. If I end up getting into firefights with these recon teams I will lose them quickly. I am placing a lot of emphasis on recon in this battle obviously.. with the size of the map and the open terrain I need to know where he is and in what strength. I will get into some detail of what I plan on doing with this force hopefully later today.

UNIT FORCE PURCHASE OPTIONS For this fight I plan on being very active, which means I need an all mobile force. I cannot have leg infantry that could get pinned and bypassed, I need an infantry component that is light, mobile, fast, that can take on the expected German heavy tanks on relatively even (or close to even) terms, by firepower, superior mobility and superior numbers. I HOPE Baneman did not go with an all tank force.. I expect he purchased at least two PzG companies and a battery or two of artillery. If so that will keep the number of enemy tanks to about 8-10 (hopefully). My core unit in this battle is the Recon Platoon. I want to be clear that I do not intend to stand toe to toe with Baneman's infantry. I intend this force to have an information gathering task only. However I do not want this formation to be totally toothless so I intend to back it up with some Hellcat Tank Destroyers. They will be backed up by a strong and capable armored formation that will provide long range overwatch and be my quick action force. I have two force pick options. Option A has 10 Hellcats and a total of 14 tanks (2 Shermans and 2 M36s). Option B is the way I am leaning and it has 12 tanks, 4 Hellcats supporting the Recon Platoon and 8 additional tanks, 4 Shermans and 4 M36s. I have a feeling I will need the additional Sherman and M36 support this option provides. Please examine my suggested picks and let me know what you think!! By the way I had wanted to bring a battery of VT fuze artillery but they are VERY expensive so opted to go with more tanks instead (the cheapest VT fuze arty battery costs as much as two Jumbos). Option A: Option B:

I don't think they are an insult at all.. fair game for sure. I just don't like the cost.

OCOKA TERRAIN ANALYSIS - PART 3 AVENUES of APPROACH - the main enemy avenues of approach (AA) as I foresee them follows. I expect a tentative approach march followed by a rapid movement down one,a couple, several, or all of the following avenues. Personally I expect him to spread his attack across the entire front in order to stretch my defenses and make a penetration easier to achieve. AA1 will allow him to bypass a large part of my defenses by skirting the edge of the L shaped wood and driving for the two left most objective 1 locations. AA2 and AA3 could see him attacking through the center with the ability to move either left or right depending on the situation. I expect that Cobru is a major objective for him and he will want to envelop the town before clearing it, and really he does not need to clear it at all so I expect a movement down AA3 so he can bypass the main part of the town. AA2 in combination with AA1 would give him the left side objectives, probably rather easily and allow him to position long range fire assets on KT1 and KT2. AA4 is the least likely route as he will not want to slog through the town, but he could bypass it to the right (from my perspective) and like AA3 envelop the town avoiding the built up area.

Good idea, but they are very expensive and I'd rather purchase another tank or infantry platoon for that amount...