Bil Hardenberger

Sorry Ian. I was going to Hunt and changed it to Move, my edits failed to eliminate all the old text. Bil

I think the icons in these views are a tad misleading.. I am in fact trying to keep my infantry platoons in tighter formations so the platoon HQ can respond if any of the teams gets into trouble... out of C2 from teh Platoon HQ can lead to some brittle units if they take casualties. This is far different than I would handle my forces if they were German, US, or CW... then I would have no problems with spreading them out more and putting some of my teams out on a limb. But these Soviet platoons need to maintain some cohesion to maintain good order. Thanks... yeah Quick when moving into position... usually I would then Hunt forward (if going into a Hulldown position) but in a case like this where I don't want their movement to get interrupted, and when I want them to withdraw I am moving forward on Move, which should still allow them to spot better than fast or quick. We'll see how it works out.

The second Hetzer actually finally stopped a little in front of the Panther-Hetzer duo... ...pretty little thing isn't it? This is my plan of engagement (Photoshop composite): Bassically I want them to approach slightly staggered, the ISU on the left will pause for 10 seconds to allow the second ISU to pull closer into position.. then it will (1) Move forward to the spot that is furthest in the woods and still allows a possible spot on the piece of ground these enemy panzers are sitting on... (2) it will pause for 30 seconds.. hopefully get a spot and fire, but then (3) reverse to the start of the previous waypoint. The second ISU will do the same onece it reaches its Hunt location. Note that both tanks have tight covered arcs (armor) for both the start of the Hunt move, and the start of the reverse move and they are angled so they will not have to rotate their hulls if a spot occurs while they are hunting forward. One SMG team (with a spot on all three panzers) is staying in place to assist with spotting. I apologize, my OT-34 (with 4th Company) did not get into position to enable them to shoot some flame.. next turn perhaps. Meanwhile back at 5th Company I have grown weary of the enemy units in the field sniping at my units so have decided to chase them away or eliminate them... while the majority of the company bypasses this area, 1st platoon (with some assistance from other units) are maneuvering against the enemy teams located where the T34 area fire is indicated... in the hedge lined field I have started to lay some suppression fire while a couple SMG teams maneuver to assault and a mortar sets up.

I forgot to add... next turn I should be firing the flamethrower again... from what I understand there are new flame effects in this newest BETA (I haven't seen them yet) so stay tuned for that.

For the first time, here is some enemy tank porn: Elvis has packed this ad-hoc platoon into a tight grouping.. note the Hetzer coming up behind is moving and obviously is intending to come up on the other side of the Panther... so that should simplify targeting. I'll dance with this armor for a while.. just to show how inept the ISU-122s really are at AT combat.. though Elvis is making things easier with his tank placement. Now that Elvis has deployed that tank platoon to the far right edge of the map I am finally moving my T-34/85s up to the 5th Company area and into KT6... and hope that I don't run into another couple of Panthers on that side. Also on the move are my trucks carrying all of my reserve support assets, four 82mm mortars, and three HMGs. I kicked the Pioneers out of the trucks to make room for the heavy weapons.

In the 5th Company zone one of my teams in KT6 spot an enemy team watching my units move through the forest.. at least it was oriented that direction. A few rounds sent its way forces it to ground. This is interesting.. either this is the same team that fired on my scout in KT5, or its a new team.. doesn't matter.. as long as it is where it is and not in front of my route of advance I'm satisfied. In the 4th Company zone, as 2nd Platoon crosses the road separating KT7 and KT8 they come under fire from at least one team on the outskirts of Objective Blue (no casualties). I suspected as much. Looks like the next and more dangerous phase of the battle is about to begin. I hoped this would happen.. at least one tank is maneuvering down my left flank obviously hunting ISU. I will keep an eye on this contact with my SMG teams and after I know what it is, and if its alone or part of a team or platoon then I will decide how to respond to it. It's getting fun!

My other ISU-122 pivoted, like a ballerina ( ) and took a shot at Elvis's recon team.. the round fell just short and though I didn't see any casualties the one guy I can see took cover. The SMG Platoon HQ jumped off and will continue on foot.. I also dismounted the SMG Squad that took a casualty last turn.. these units will continue on foot.. and perhaps I will even send something over to take care of that enemy team. The current situation shows that my 4th Company is starting to converge on Objective Blue... I'll take whatever Elvis gives me.. and these woods seem totally abandoned. I expect the buildings on the objective are not.. but I do have an OT-34 to help with that. 5th Company continues to send units to KT6... a long way to go on this front. Note that there is still an entire infantry platoon in KT2 waiting for KT5 to thin out before passing over. No new information on the armor contact... in fact it is starting to fade so is very old now.

They are moving slow... but they are getting through.

Mighty fine shooting for an MP40 into the woods... damn.. another SMGer bites the dust. Damn you Elvis!! Seriously, this is very minor in the grand scheme of things.. and I do expect to suffer some casualties on this advance.. but this type of thing is my fault, and I know better. Time to take care of that damned recon team.

This turn was mostly maneuver.. no new contacts were identified. I keep moving closer and closer to Objective Blue with no sign of the enemy... I suspect he is holed up in the town and is planning on using the long range firepower of his squads to advantage.. of course he could be in the woods just in front of my units... but he hasn't done well in that environment so far so maybe not... ...my ISU-122s are now in the woods following up the SMG squad scouting the edge of the woods of KT3 (and soon KT7). By the way, I no longer think that the artillery that is falling (one to two rounds each turn) on the river/treeline between KT2 and KT4 (that took out 2/3rds of my LMG Team) are spotting rounds. The rounds have been falling too consistently in the same area for too long now.. so I suspect this is an artillery mission, perhaps on harass. That is an expensive expenditure of artillery for a total of three casualties (my T34/85 riders take one casualty this turn.. but are now free from the impact zone). All other units are free from the impact zone.

The enemy contact in front of 5 Company has not altered my plan.. I was never moving through that open terrain to the north of KT5.. it does mean that I need to keep 1st Platoon in a defensive posture while 2nd and 3rd platoons pass from KT5 to KT6... I am happy for Elvis to keep some combat power in that little hedge lined field... I do not need to go after him. Note that I already have a toehold in KT6... the lead team from 3rd squad/1 Plt./4th Company started moving across last turn and completed its movement to the outskirts of KT6 this turn. They will eventually move to KT9 after scouting a little further into KT6.. then 2nd and 3rd Platoons of 5th company will scout for themselves as they move north. 1st platoon will then pull out of KT5 and follow.. providing rear protection. I have mounted the SMG squad and the SMG platoon HQ unit as I plan on moving the ISU-122s up behind my scouting SMG squad that is moving through KT3... this should (hopefully) keep Elvis from sending his armor to my right... if he does then these guys will move aggressively north toward Objective Red, behind a good SMG screen.

At the top of KT5, my lead team comes under fire from close range automatic weapons taking one casualty.. note the round impacts in the trees.. those help pin point the direction the fire came from... ...zooming out we can connect the dots to determine where the fire originated. Now I do not need to advance through this area and I choose not to. I will halt this platoon's forward movement, take up positions and try to get more information. I had not planned on moving through that open terrain north of KT5 anyway. That isn't the most important event from this turn though.. more interesting was this UI tank icon that popped up with 4 seconds left in the turn... now I don't know if this tank is moving or not, nor can I tell much on type yet. Hopefully it will start to move and then I could get more information. This spot came from my SMG Company HQ scout unit.

The area between KT2 and KT4 continues to receive spotting rounds... about one per turn. This one lands on top of the hapless LMG Team from 2nd Squad... it's lone survivor is seen here running to safety. Part of 1st Squad can be seen making its passage to KT4 in the background. The movement to KT7 and KT8 is continuing without interference... see those open areas between the woods? With the long range firepower of the German squads Elvis should be covering those with fire and making them true "danger areas".. but none of them have been covered so far.. this is making my movement very fast. Where does he plan on making his stand, on the objectives? I will be fully in KT7 and KT 8 next turn and moving toward Objective Blue.. I expect I will see some Germans on the way.

This turn starts off with the ISU-122 moving forward and taking a shot at the clump of brush the enemy team is sitting in... ...it did miss and then spent the rest of the turn reloading. This is why I did not want to bring these things in this game.. in a tank v tank shootout they are sitting ducks, not very accurate, and the reload times are so slow that you really have to be very careful with them by using shoot and scoot to move forward, take a shot, move back, allow at least 30-45 seconds to reload, then move forward again... painful. Watch the Video of the Action As you can see in this image I continue to move 5th Company troops from KT2 to KT5, the two squads that I have in KT5 already are starting to scout forward, while 3/1/4 scouts the left side of KT5... there was an enemy unit in that are a few turns ago so I am taking it slow, alternating movement as is my SOP. The final 1 Plt./5 Co. squad will be moving across next turn. Note that the 1st squad from 1st Plat/4th Company in this area is moving to KT4 to support the 2nd Squad (-) already there... The other 5th Company Platoons are moving forward to jump off positions so they can move quickly forward to KT5 as well. Back in the KT3 area you can see that I am making a huge push with the two 4th Company Platoons and their support... ...I know that artillery is about to fall somewhere.. I really don't know where.. though I have my suspicions, so I am pushing forward across the board to get out from under where I think it could fall, mainly on my two major troop masses, this one in KT3 and the other in KT2.. though I think KT2 is unlikely as with Elvis pushing that one team across to KT2 I don't think he expected me to be that far forward. Regardless they too are moving quicker than they had been as the spotting rounds have all fallen in their general vicinity. I already have toe holds in KT7 and KT8 and most of the remainder of two Platoons will move across next turn. The T34/85 Platoon is moving towards KT5, not for any reason than I want to give Elvis something else to think about. It is too early to commit them so I am playing a Psyop war right now and will be moving them here and there to get his attention and hopefully make him second guess himself. The SMG Squad in the south end of KT3 will continue to scout forward and clear the edge of the wood mass.

I'm glad you are enjoying it.. I hope the information will be useful to you.

Hey Ted, I couldn't say... I expect there is only one aircraft sound, if there are more I doubt I could tell the difference anyway. I know Elvis didn't buy an aircraft though, because the idea was nixed by Battlefront because of a BETA issue.

I have created a contents menu for this AAR on my blog.. if interested you can find it here: CMRT BETA AAR-Contents Menu It contains links to all of the important posts in this thread.

I thought you would enjoy some tank porn this turn... ...I need to get these guys under cover too, as I heard my aircraft circling overhead during this turn and I don't want to lose my SMG squads to fratricide. So into the trees they will go!

My SMG Squad assault went in and finished off the enemy team they encountered last turn... ...one individual attempted to crawl to safety but was spotted and killed by the second team. A total of five enemy dead lay beneath the trees from this encounter. The cost to me: 150 rounds of SMG ammo and several grenades. This image shows the first team assaulting through the enemy position. The SMG Company HQ I have doing a leader's recon down Axis Red spotted this enemy scout team (two man each with MP40s) moving to some brush down range. They used their signal flags to call up an ISU-122 to chuck some HE into this enemy team. So you should be able to see the ISU-122 fire its gun for the first time next turn.. stand by, I'll see if I can't get a combat photographer to take a movie of the action. Back at the KT2 and KT5 crossing area... while the SMG team that took a casualty a few turns ago performs medic duties on their fallen comrade, a 5th Company squad passes through their position. I thought I had killed the only remaining member of the enemy team that was at the top of KT2 last turn, but it appears there was one more.. well he falls this turn. So hopefully that is the end of that team.. that was a waste of resources from Elvis's perspective.. he lost three soldiers and took down one of mine (from the SMG team).. he needs to turn that kill ratio around if he hopes to win this game. Here is an overview of the situation in this corner of the map... Note that the LMG team that was performing medic duties on its fallen comrade takes another artillery/mortar round this turn, which causes another casualty.. this team is for all intents and purposes out of action. I need to get the survivor under cover though.

Last turn I showed you the over all situation, with my SMG Squad in the southern end of KT3.. well this turn one of the SMG teams spots an enemy team crawling to, obviously, get some eyes on my ISU-122s... Bottom image.. a few seconds, 50 rounds, and a grenade later at least two of them are dead and the others must be suppressed... well, I'll find out about their status when I assault them next turn.

Thanks. It's nice to be appreciated... makes all the hard work worth while.

Ted, see: Squad Attack Drill

Elvis inflicts two casualties this turn on my troops... one is the LMG gunner from second squad while moving to KT4 from KT2... this from what appears to be a spotting round.... Overview in this sector that is starting to get busy... There are now up to three teams moving across the road from KT9 to KT6, they are walking across that road like they don't have a care in the world. Also note that I pushed an SMG team across from KT2 to KT5... they lose their rifleman to a burst from the remaining MP40 gunner in the team that crossed to KT2 a few turns ago. That lone MP40 gunner was immediately cut down by the Platoon HQ team as it maneuvered onto the enemy team's flank. Note the impact from what I suspect is a spotting round. Situation: Overall view of the map at this point... 1. SMG Company HQ unit maneuvering around the corner along what was Axis Red... note that I do not expect them to spot enemy infantry teams.. the range will be too ar for that.. but they could spot enemy armor if any is overwatching this open terrain approach. 2. SMG Squad is scouting the southern edge of KT3 3. Teams starting to cross into KT8 4. T34 Platoon with tank riders is moving to the gap between KT2 and KT4 5. Squad (minus LMG Team) scouts forward toward the village in KT4 6. Trucks with support and pioneer squads move up to KT1 Note that my general overall movement is to the left... if Elvis wants to move to the right to block my route to Objective Yellow, then that will give my force moving towards Objective Blue a better chance to succeed. If that happens then I might give them more resources to do just that.

As I start to maneuver to perform a Squad Attack Drill on the enemy team that crossed into KT2 last turn a third enemy contact pops up (labeled 3 in this image).. looks like Elvis might be moving units to my right and into the path of my main effort. I will keep an eye on this, but I had hoped to see units moving toward my secondary attack route. I will step up the pressure from the units moving through KT3 and KT4 and also bypass these enemy contacts with my squad that has crossed from KT2 into KT4 and start moving them down towards the village.

Before I get into the turn, I wanted to expand on the Key Terrain image.. I am starting to get close to moving into these other tree masses so needed to label them so I can use them for reference. I added KT7, KT8, and KT9, I also expanded KT6.. the open area in KT6 is the area I plan on moving through with 5th Company and my T34s. KT9 will act as a flank guard and I plan on placing an OP/LP or two in there. This turn I fired some mortar rounds into the path of the enemy teams I saw retreating last turn.. these rounds probably all missed perhaps falling behind where those teams are, but my hope is that Elvis will see this as confirmation that my main force is moving through this area. Note that the 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon unit identified in this image is the SMG Squad from the OT34 not from 4th Company. Elvis Blinked My rifle team that started the squad's movement from KT2 to KT4 stopped in its overwatch position to cover the SMG Team's movement across and spotted this enemy team moving from KT5 into KT2... note that the MP40 carrying soldier falls to their fire. I hope that was the team leader. The rest of the team (one more individual spotted) continued moving into the trees of KT2... directly into the path of the platoon's 1st Squad. This overview shows how crucial this piece of ground is.. four pieces of Key terrain come together in this corner.. the movement tells me that Elvis is getting desperate and probably does not have eyes on my incoming 5th Company which are following up behind this 4th Company Platoon that has been clearing KT2. Note the second UI infantry unit in KT5.. this spot came in as the turn ended.. and this tells me that another team is probably moving toward KT2 or into an overwatch position in KT5. The red X marks the spot of the enemy soldier killed this turn.