Bil Hardenberger

Scott, there are many things the AI will not and cannot do: use the movement technique applicable to the situation, use any sort of Battle Drill, use recon effectively, ascertain the enemy intent from a few scattered sound and visual contacts, etc. Its why I rarely play the AI and almost always play H2H. Bil

On Gelb With the Hetzer sitting in the field approaching Gelb as I noticed last turn, I needed to make some quick adjustments to best meet it. Top Image - at the turn start you can see that T34-1 had his ass hanging out, rear facing the Hetzer.. if he gets spotted, he'd get killed. The woods on Gelb are not passable to vehicles so I had to drive him as fast as possible around the corner of the objective to get into a better more covered position. I made the following movements: 1) I am sending an SMG squad over to the treeline in front of the Hetzer to get some eyes on this area.. information is a combat multiplier in CM. 2) T34-1 is moving FAST as possible around the corner to T34-2's position 3) T-34-2 and T-34-3 are both moving into huldown positions covering the location this Hetzer is in 4) I fired with both T34-1 and T-34-2 into the trees to the front of the Hetzer to add some obscuration and to make spotting difficult for the enemy tank destroyer (see the bottom image) Second Image - safely behind cover at turn end T34-1 had a good solid spot on Elvis's Hetzer.. which you can see in the bottom image is buttoned.. it does not appear to have any spots on any of my tanks. The second Hetzer was identified as being up near this one this turn... not the Panther however. Blau Some very interesting developments on Blau, Elvis seems to be abandoning the objective, not a bad choice considering what I have arraying against it... note the spotting round location that fell this turn. That is interesting... I'll keep an eye on that. I am going to send a squad or two into Blau to investigate, no more until I know for sure that he hasn't left any Easter eggs for me to find. Squad Attack Drill - the finish The survivors of the enemy HMG team that I was attacking last turn surrendered as the squad's rifle team closed on the position... the SMG Team was back in support for this move and the LMG Team moved forward as well.

Thanks Vin! You know, I thought long and hard about making this move... after 40 minutes of Elvis seeing me slowly and relentlessly advance and stick to the woods, I suspected that he would not expect a quick rush through the open into the rear. Yes it was a roll of the dice, but I think I was playing with loaded dice.

Scenes from the conquest of Gelb... one enemy unit on the objective, an HMG was wiped out by tank and finally SMG fire got the last guy. At least one Hetzer (the previously unlocated Hetzer) has moved fast to try to catch my T34s.. I think he is going to find that engaging T34/85s is not like engaging the ISU-122s.. these are very capable tanks. I need to consolidate and reorient to meet this new threat.. I cannot tell if the second Hetzer and the Panther are also coming up here, but it looks like they might be. In other news, it appears like he might be abandoning Blau as I saw a full squad running down the road away from the village. My ISUs will start shelling the buildings next turn. If they find it empty, then they will be able to engage the enemy armor from the rear as they try to attack my T34s. I like having options. Squad Attack Drill If you have read my blog then you know what a squad attack drill is.. this is an example of one in action, in a real game. 3rd Squad/1st Plt./4th Company that was formerly scouting for 5th company was given the task of taking out the HMG team that has been sitting on the approaches to Blau for several turns now... The LMG Team and the Rifle Team made up my base of fire while the SMG Team was my maneuver element... Elvis tried to extricate the HMG team but they ran right in front of the SMG team which cut down at least three of them (bottom image). Next I close and finish any survivors.

Apologies.. I intended to get another turn report up this morning, but my computer was acting up (Windows update screwed something up and I didn't have time to dissect it), I won't be able to get to it until tonight I'm afraid. Bil

So no images this turn, my T34s are almost, but not quite to Gelb.. still pummeling it.. no new contacts. Other news.. it looks like the Hetzers are moving North.. so Elvis appears to be splitting his armor (which is good news)... the Panther is still sitting in the same exact spot its been in for several turns now.. the ISU-122s are very close to being able to unleash on Blau. Wonder what that will do to his mindset. Oh.. and I poked out the last of the eyes Elvis had on my far left... the scout team that was sitting on Axis Red. Moving up toward Blau again with my infantry.. no spotting rounds in several turns now. Not sure what that means, maybe he is shifting fire? Next turn should be interesting, don't go anywhere.

5th Company 1st Platoon passes through the remains of the enemy German platoon... the enemy dead and captured now numbers around 21 in this area. Oh, and the Platoon leader lies dead with his men, his pistol lying next to him. The Assault on Gelb The T34s and SMG platoon will be on Gelb next turn. On the drive up one enemy contact has been spotted.. type unknown. I expect one or two more on the objective so will continue to spread my fire around the objective. My assault force has received no incoming fire. At Blau I am very curious as to the reaction of the enemy armor at Blau.. the Panther stayed pretty much where it was.. as far as I could tell, but the Hetzer spun around, drove down the road and knocked down the hedge.. obviously taking position to cover the fields to the North in case my T34s next drive to Rot maybe... The second Hetzer has not been spotted in any fashion in a few turns now.. my hope is that Elvis is splitting his armor.

I don't know.. it took some small arms hits when it initially backed out and maybe it was trying to get away from that.. totally could happen in reality too so I can't blame the game... C'est la guerre! You can only get so upset at stuff like this.. and really it might be an opportunity.. if Elvis thinks my assault on Blau is stalled because that piece of equipment is gone, he might go after my T34s up North.. if that happens I am so attacking Blau with 4th and 5th companies and all my support assets (other than the T34s) as the only reason I backed off from Blau was the presence of those tanks (and the impending artillery). Does he even wonder what became of my ISU's? He can't leave them out of his planning.. and he cannot be everywhere.

Thomm, I wouldn't say "walked over".. I took about a half dozen to ten or so casualties spread among 5th company (mainly from 1st platoon) and my support units... and two of those were from friendly fire (in 1st Squad/1st Plt., the flanking force from tank area fire shrapnel). To be honest, I would have accepted higher losses for this result. I think it is a more important result for me, than the OT34 kill will be for him.

Sadly, the screw up with my OT34 movement costs me this asset. The Panther had a bead on him and I couldn't get back in cover in time. I hated to lose that thing, but this is war, stuff happens. 5th Company In 1st Platoon's front there are now the equivalent of at least two complete German squads either killed, or captured, as shown in this image.. all those dark heaps are enemy bodies. The three soldiers shown surrendering, are part of one complete squad, the other members all lay dead or wounded around them. So if this was indeed a complete platoon then the HQ and around one squad of survivors is all that got away. At the end of the turn the lead T34 is getting ready to turn the corner into the open on the way to Gelb.. this is where it should get interesting. Situation The current situation... Notes: I spotted a PzSchreck this turn.. luckily way out of position, and obviously defending the road to Blau, of course I was never going that way. I am slowing the movement of 5th Company until I know how the T34/SMG platoon Deep Strike goes. IF Elvis decides to act against my T34s at Gelb with his armor, then I will conduct a full two company attack against Blau.. In a few turns my ISU-122s should be in positions and firing on the buildings in Blau. Am I stretching the defenses enough?

I believe what he was referring to is the same situation the Germans were in in France 1940, where you are moving so fast that the flanks are never really in danger... In a fast fluid fight, like what I am trying to do with the T34s and SMG platoon towards Objective Gelb, flanks are secondary, speed is the most important thing. I want to get there before he can react, if it is unexpected I doubt my flanks are in much danger. However you are correct Steve, in most cases ignoring your flanks can easily get your force killed. In my case I am attempting to fire in the woodline on the way up, in case some sneaky faust or schreck armed soldier is in an ambush position... and I have eyes on Elvis's armor, which is the real danger in this game. They are seriously out of position to stop my strike on Gelb.

All I have to say about that: I guess if Gelb is mined, well protected with ATGs, a platoon of HMGs etc then I could be in trouble... but I am prepping the area as I drive in at full speed and hope to suppress anything sitting in that little patch of woods before I disgorge my SMG platoon. Actually I am more worried about AT mines across the road. Here is my swing for the fences:

5th Company Elvis's platoon (and I have confirmed that it is indeed a full platoon) in front of 5th Company's 1st Platoon is now in full flight. Some teams will probably escape, but many will and have fallen... at least seven dead between the dead in the hedgelined field and in the trees ahead.. from what I can see right now. I will chase them some, but will let them escape to the trees.. they will be trapped in there and pretty much out of the fight. At Blau I intended my OT34 to move back into the woods as shown... instead they backed into the position shown.. oops... hopefully that won't cost me.

That did run through my mind Miquel. However, I want him concentrated on my forces at Blau so I can take Gelb without interference from his armor. Remember all along the attack on Blau was never intended to be a real attack.. it was intended as a distraction from my main attack, which is on Objective Gelb. I will take whatever Elvis gives me and I will try my damndest to hurt him as much as possible and I want that attack to feel real to him... but I will not get decisively engaged on Blau just yet. I think as long as I have three tanks in the vicinity of Blau he may just keep his armor in that area. I will not be bringing my T34/85s over to Blau just yet. They are just starting their deep strike on Gelb... when that is secure I will be free to use them to hunt enemy tanks and concentrate my full power against Blau.

Elvis is playing cat and mouse with his Panther.. (HAHAHA, get it?! ..sigh...).. anyway, note that it is moving around in very close proximity to my OT34, and it is buttoned.. I might have an opportunity here... the Hetzers (as far as I can tell) are still far in the background and moving up. My OT34 moved into a tucked in position next to the barn (do NOT let there be any tank hunter teams nearby!) and it fired up a building on Blau that had an enemy contact in it. My good ISU fired on the location where the enemy scout team was sitting.. I have no clue whether that team is still there or not.. but I wanted to let Elvis know that my ISUs still live, and are capable of hurting him. The wounded ISU remounted, and will start moving toward Blau next turn.

5th Company This turn I sent both squads that were in KT 5 forward to overwhelm the lone team in the hedgelined field (I only ever saw this as a lone team, never more than one contact).. however as I closed on the hedge I noticed that this team had already been killed.. a few turns ago I had dropped some mortar fire at the end of the field to cut off any retreat... must have worked. As my 1st platoon moves forward I notice that the enemy in the trees down the slope has bolted and is starting to run frantically for the KT6 trees. I am hoping I can pin them and eliminate them before they can escape. They have a long way to go and I am closing the noose with 3rd squad over the ridge making its way around the flank and 1st and 2nd squads will start to push the enemy into the open where my T34s can better deal with them. 4th Company On the outskirts of Blau the body count becomes clearer... there are 4 enemy dead in the barn (that I can see) and I can now tell that there are 4 enemy dead in the collapsed shed... two members of the team that was in the barn last turn surrendered this turn. There is a dead HQ team in the barn, so that's good, and a few more teams ran from this area to the left back to the other buildings in Blau. Also there is an enemy HMG team in a building covering this area that I need to take care of, and a flamethrower team in another building that I need to keep an eye on. Zooming out you can see that I have pulled several squads back in anticipation of the incoming enemy artillery.. I am going to keep slight pressure on Blau from the right edge.. though I will not advance too hard as long as those three pieces of armor are driving around this area. My ISU-122 crew has recovered and will re-mount their tank next turn.. then I will drive these two vehicles towards Blau.. if nothing but to keep Elvis's armor busy and interested in this front. Casualties A quick comment on casualties.. I have taken quite a few, but really one or two from a team at a time, I have yet to lose a full team while Elvis has lost around seven full teams that I can think of (the two scout teams in KT3 early in the game) + one more that ran into my SMG team in the southern end of KT3 + the three teams (one HQ and two infantry teams in the buildings at Blau) + the one full team in the hedgelined field... he MUST have taken more casualties in the platoon that I am trying to cut off... plus? I am satisfied with this exchange rate so far... his casualties must be at least equal in men to mine.. though mine are spread out amongst my teams, while his have been total team losses. My big concern is the armor disparity... lose that and Elvis can indeed make my infantry suffer, which is why I want it concentrated around Objective Blau and not interfering with the happenings in the 5th company area.

I have a theory.. remember last turn the OT34 did not fire its flamethrower.. only its main gun.. this turn it fired the flamethrower with very few main gun rounds, I think only one or two were fired. My theory, and I have not tested this, is that the tactical AI knows to use whatever weapon is most effective for the target... the building last turn was masonry... this time wood... seems like it chose correctly both times.

The ISU-122 v Panzer action was a side show.. the real action was elsewhere. However regarding the enemy panzers, all three of them have left the area now and are re-deploying. Gee, I wonder where they might be going.. the thing is.. that with them leaving the area.. Axis Red becomes a viable avenue of approach again... I need to think about that for a bit. My OT34 opened up on the barn with its flamethrower with devastating effect. Watch The Video of the action! At least two known dead in that barn, but several more screams were heard throughout the turn. Note that I am now crossing several teams to Objective Blue.. another spotting round fell about in the same place as the previous one.. this one causing one casualty. Let me know what you think of the new flame effects. The cost of war... these three dead German soldiers were the casualties from last turn's OT34 main gun action. 5th Company In the 5th Company sector I am considering the deep strike as outlined in the following image. This would entail me driving the T34 platoon with the SMG platoon straight to Objective Gelb (yellow). I wonder.. does he have anything on Gelb or is he planning on defending the route to Gelb? I don't know.. might be worth the risk. I have not finished the turn but am considering it. Note where the enemy grouping is located.. I am area firing with a couple T34s in to the trees as shown to cut off any retreat.. I would love to bag this German unit which I think must be Platoon in size. Meanwhile my other 5th Company platoons continue to bypass this area. I am only using 1st platoon to hold this German platoon in place.

So my right side ISU was not far enough back in the woods.. Elvis's Hetzer still had him in view and puts another hole in its front.. this one, though a partial penetration did more damage.. two casualties, and they bail later in the turn. Elvis pulled hi Panther out at the beginning of the turn thinking, rightly IMO, that the Hetzers alone can handle these ISU-122s. In the 4th Company sector a few things occurred... 1) A spotting round fell between KT7 and KT8 2) My OT34 fired (main gun only) at the shack that had contained an enemy team a few turns ago.. he might have moved that team out by now, I don't know... 3) I now have an HQ unit and an enemy team spotted in the barn next to that shack.. this will be the OT34s next target.. though I expect Elvis will evacuate it now that he knows my OT34 has it in range. This might give me an opportunity to rush across the dead zone between KT7 and the village to get a toe-hold on the objective... and to get some of my units out from under whatever artillery is getting ready to fall on them. The Panther could be going one of two places.. either to support the Objective Blau defense, or to take on my T-34/85s.. I don't think it would be wise to split his armor so I expect it is going to Blau.

Jason you are right if course. Ideally more than 1000m and hull down is how these should be used. I was trying to increase their accuracy by moving closer, but I don't think I am getting the expected performance.

Jeepster88, thanks for the first post! Glad you are enjoying the AAR and will be purchasing the game.. you will not regret it. Bil

4th Company Sector Russian armor is challenging.. the OT34 was in its firing position early in the turn, but never fired... perhaps it had something to do with the HMG team to its front? Maybe it didn't have a clear view through the trees? I'll keep trying to get into a good firing position that is not too close as I don't know what hand held AT assets Elvis's troops are carrying. 5th Company Sector In this sector my attacks against the enemy units in the fields north of KT5 are intended to pin them and perhaps bottle them up so they will be out of the main fight that is going to go through KT6.. with this in mind: 1- I have one T34 area firing on known enemy positions 2- I have one squad maneuvering around the enemy flank, in the hopes of cutting off any retreat through the open area to the north 3- The other two T34s are moving into KT6 and will provide some more firepower into the enemy while the infantry continues to pass through (two platoons will be passing through on to KT6) It looks like Elvis has around a platoon of troops in this area... the units in the trees are withdrawing under the T34 and other support fire, the enemy in the hedgelined field are major pains in my ass. Soviet Split Teams I wanted to highlight this aspect of controlling Soviet rifle squads... During this turn I laid a lot of suppression fire on the hedgelined field with the intent of bringing up an SMG squad to hose down the occupants... this team was obviously out of C2 to its platoon leader.. and this is what happened.. Top- moving into position, suppression did not keep the enemy's heads down as they took one casualty moving in... Middle- they were only in position for few seconds, never fired, never threw a grenade... Bottom- ...before breaking and running back to their start positions, leaving another casualty in their wake Be very careful when using Soviet rifle squads.. they are not Germans and are very fragile when split... too clustered when not split... and need to have a platoon leader nearby to get them back under control. I wanted to say one more thing.. Elvis's strategy in this battle has been well thought out... he gave me the woods sure, but what that did was force me to work my way through them as I didn't know where he was.. and he is using his infantry as they should be used, at longer ranges. Its going to be challenging getting into Objective Blau with the current positioning. 4th Company, the longer they are in position in the wood line will eventually be in danger of an artillery strike... I need to keep reminding myself that a static force is in danger... I need to keep moving so I don't become arty bait.

Tank Duel - Round One So it begins... Elvis must have gotten an inkling of my ISUs moving through the trees.. the first thing he did was move the Panther and Hetzer 1 back to slightly better positions.. this also spread his armor out a bit. Smart move on his part. Hetzer 1 dropped out of view shortly after this move, so I suspect it went hull down. With my ISUs both in position, neither had a spot on anything.. then almost immediately my right side ISU took a penetrating hit from Hetzer 1: Note the neat hole, and the slight damage: My left ISU did in fact get a couple spots during the turn... unfortunately.. it fired at neither the Panther (spotted first) nor Hetzer 2 (spotted second), though it had 14 seconds to send a round down range before reversing. With my right ISU already reversed out of danger, and my left ISU just starting its backward movement, Elvis's Panther fires at the left ISU hitting the trees, though causing a casualty to the SMG Squad nearby. As turn ended my ISU still had spots to both the Panther and Hetzer 2.. now I need to decide whether to order him to stop and fire or to continue moving away and to safety. The second hit in the trees came from Hetzer 1 I think. I need to really think about engaging this German armor at this range (around 600m).. I give Elvis that first round, will there be a second? You'll have to stay tuned to find out. By the way I am cursing the bastard that suggested I bring these behemoths to the battle instead of a second T34/85 Platoon. I would never have brought them willingly, but this is a show and I did want to illustrate the issues that Russian armor faces when confronted by the far superior German panzers. If I had six of these things then I would be more comfortable taking on three panzers.. but two against three? Maybe not such a good idea. Hopefully I have illustrated my point well enough.

That may be, but it usually works for me so I continue to use it as a way to focus my tanks on a suspected piece of ground.

Ted, two things.. I want them to focus on armor only.. if an infantry team ran across their path I do not want them to engage it, but look for armor. Also, and some may have different experiences, but I find that a focused target arc like this really helps with spotting.