Bil Hardenberger

I think that has to do with the more intense color base terrain textures rather than any change to the shader. Bil

The models are awesome for sure. Tip of the hat to the modelers and texture artists, beautiful stuff. I neglected to mention that I am using movie mode again for this AAR. Bil

Okay this is the start of the AAR.. Ken is a much more entertaining writer than I am I'm sure.. so while you will no doubt enjoy his prose, my writings will be as direct and explanatory as ever. This map shows my initial Enemy Course of Action Analysis... the Enemy Avenues of Approach (EAA) are laid out.. also my initial moves. Note that the recon team on the left once in position should have a good view of EAA 1, which c3k could use to try to catch my force in the rear as it moves towards the main objective. Likewise, if he doesn't maneuver down this approach then I could use it against his force. Also note the HMG team moving towards the windmill.. from that position I should have eyes on EAA 2 and EAA 3. The 1 Plt/10 Ko. unit (only one halftrack moving right now) is rushing forwards to get as close to the town as possible... c3k's force starts closer to the town than mine does, so I thought this was necessary so I get some influence on that part of the field quickly. 1 Plt/10 Ko. is farthest forward and spots a couple enemy teams moving toward a small farm (visible soldiers have Stens).. I'm happy to see these guys are on foot. If that means Ken bought mainly a unit without transport then that will make me very happy as his units will be very slow to react and deploy. Way too early to tell about that though. I have no doubt that he has spotted my moving halftrack as well. This image shows my HMG team rushing towards the windmill.. this is a very obvious OP, but it is the highest point on the map and I am determined to get some eyes into it. They will climb to the top floor and should have visibility over most of c3k's side of the field. Hopefully they won't be seen making this movement. Current plan right now is to place one AA vehicle with each maneuver platoon.. in the Wirbelwind's case it is placed forward with 1 Plt/10 Ko. to provide fire support as required. The others are sitting in the rear and will deploy when the other platoons start moving.

Heh, yes I know he has Stens.. I spot a team toting them in the first turn (report coming up), but I have a few surprises myself. Bil

Baneman, he also has a set of objectives for intersections on his side of the map. I messed up when setting this map up for QB.. I actually meant the intersection objectives to be set in the enemy zone to force us to move into enemy territory. Oops The Town Center objective on my side of the map is also an errant mouse click (read error).. so I will avoid that so Ken doesn't have to fight all the way to my edge of the map to get credit for the town if he can secure it. Bil

We have received the green light and there will be at least a couple AARs to show off the new Market Garden module content. In this one, I will be playing against the dastardly c3k... yes you heard me right, Ken finally agreed to face me on the field of battle. To ease force creation we decided to do a Meeting Engagement Quick Battle. There will be another AAR where I will be on the defense as the Allies defending against a German attack from pnzrldr (who just happens to be a US Army armor officer)... watch for that one, coming your way soon and expect to see a lot of MOUT action. We are hoping to do a third AAR for you guys as well. this one will be put together by a couple of new faces and will be a set piece scenario... more on the second and third AARs as they develop. The intent of this particular battle is to show off some of the new units in this module. In the following image I have laid out my Order of Battle. Note that KG Schüte is a company (+) force, comprising: • The complete 9th PzG Company in support: • The 1st PzG Plt. from 10th company • 4th Pz Platoon comprising two sections each with a Panther and a Jpz-IV/70 • 2nd AA Platoon - this adhoc formation has the following vehicles: Wirbelwind, Möbelwagen, SPW 251/21, and a ZKW 8t (20mm) Seeing as this is an ME I wanted to stay mobile, thus went for a complete mounted PzG Company. I would rather have mobility over the number of rifles.. expect to also see the 251/17 as the mount of a few PzG Platoon leaders. Finally here is an overview of the map, objectives, and the start positions. So stay tuned, this should be a fun one! I am in the process of doing my initial setup, analysis, and orders.

The simple answer is this: if the team containing the BAR can suppress the enemy unit (keeping their heads down with little to no return fire) by itself, then use only the BAR team... if it cannot then use some rifles as well. Basically the idea is for the team in contact (hopefully containing the automatic weapon) to provide suppression while the other team(s) maneuver against the enemy and assault it from a covered direction. This can escalate... so if a squad is in contact and the lead team cannot suppress the enemy unit, then the entire squad goes on line to provide suppression fire... if that works then another squad(s) assaults the enemy.. if even that doesn't work (the suppression bit), then break contact and rethink your options before escalating and adding even more troops to the attack. Try not to assault an enemy position unless the defenders are suppressed and do it one bite at a time.. there is rarely a need to carry an entire Platoon or Company strongpoint in one single attack.

See this link where Charles does a comparison of the Pz-IV and the Sherman, he explains whats going on in these encounters: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1239443&postcount=303 That entire AAR might interest you if you have yet to read it: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=95456 Bil

Jason did state that these were averages... so most days a Division would take no casualties (while resting), while in heavy combat they would take much more than 25 a day.

I did think that Warren kept his initial line in position for a few turns too long.. they were effective at the start, but that effectiveness slowly petered out.. and it was clear when that was happening... he should have extricated his tanks at that point. The balance of that kind of operation is tough.. you have to be on the look out continuously for when to pull your force out of a position.. and it needs to be done before they lose the advantage, but just before. If he had counter-attacked like that while I was busy with the three Fireflies and other tanks on my left after I took the first objective instead of after those tanks had been dispatched then his attack might have worked. As it turned out I was able to shift my entire force to deal with the threat rather than being able to shift just a portion of it. I liked that he had a support by fire position of at least two platoons overwathcing the movement by the two that were maneuvering... that support by fire position cost me a few tanks and was ultimately tougher to eliminate than the maneuver element had been. Throughout, my main fear was just this sort of counter-attack, so it was the right decision.. however he performed the action too late for it to have much chance of success. The CW tanks were much more effective when they were in hide positions and could snipe at my tanks as I advanced... once he was out in the open his tanks didn't last long... so really in this battle as the CW player you really need to be performing a delay operation... cause some damage on the first line then fall back to the next line to do it all over again. With one big counter-attack in a flank to cause some real damage when the opportunity presented itself. Bil

What is the reason for this rule? It seems to me if you refuse a battle that represents a unit leaving the terrain to the advancing enemy and falling back perhaps one hex, but certainly not losing the unit, unless it is surrounded. Like a proper delay drill. Otherwise, why would you not just accept every battle and then play hide and seek until you could escape with minimal loss?

Snake_eye this looks terrific.

Nah, nor would I expect anything in return. These are my way of saying thanks to Battlefront for allowing me to BETA test for them all these years. I truly do feel lucky to be a part of it. Thank you for the words. If these AARs inspire a few people like you to purchase the games then all the effort was worth it. Bil

heh, small world eh? I work in Midlothian, live in the Museum District, and often walk to the Byrd. Next time you are in town let me know and I'll let you buy me a beer. Bil

You know, if you weren't so condescending Jason this might be fun to debate. Fire can dominate ground, it can never take ground. I don't care how many encyclopedic novellas you write to say otherwise it won't make it so.

A few quotes from FM 3-101-1 Smoke Squad/Platoon - Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures and:

Of course masking for movement is not the only use for smoke... more importantly than that I disagree with Jason on the importance of movement, I think its vital. Of course he is correct that the goal is to gain fire superiority, but fire alone cannot defeat most enemies. To say that movement is not important and its all about firepower is missing the most important team on the tactical battlefield, Fire and Movement. They work together, and you should be moving with the intent of gaining fire superiority on a portion of the enemy. If that means you use smoke to mask your movement so you can gather enough firepower to overwhelm an enemy held position, then that's what you do, if that means you use smoke to block enemy units on the shoulders of your intended target from being able to fire on your troops that could cost you fire superiority, then that's what you do. Regardless smoke is like placing a temporary (more effective in some cases than others) hill in front of the enemy you wish to mask, for whatever purpose you need it there for. It can help you move troops forward for a close assault, or it can block enemy units from being able to spot and thus place effective fire on your units, or it can simply provide additional security as you move units across a danger zone or to a different position, or even if you need it so you can extricate a defending unit from a fragile position in a defense or delay operation. It doesn't matter, the intent is the same, blind the enemy so you can perform some task. Back to fire and movement... when you are trying to reduce an enemy position, you want that position isolated. Whether you do that by placing smoke strategically, or whether you do that by using a clever direction of attack, or whatever, you still need two things: • Fire Support Element - this unit, of whatever size is necessary, has the assignment of suppressing the enemy unit. If it cannot do it alone, then more units are pulled into the support by fire position, or you use indirect fire to supplement the firepower from your support by fire element. • Maneuver Element - the job of this unit is to maneuver into a position from which it can assault the enemy position. It's goal is to capture and clear the enemy held position, it can't do that without maneuver. If the enemy unit is not suppressed then the assault will either fail or it will be costly. Therefore I agree with Jason on that point, placing fire on the enemy is extremely important... but I also believe that without movement you will never really be able to eliminate the enemy position, it is much harder, often impossible, to do it by firepower alone, which seems to be what Jason is suggesting in these comments: Firepower can suppress and kill, but only movement together with firepower can take ground.

Not that anybody noticed Jason, but I believe I said the same thing you did back on page 1, but in fewer words:

When I have it, I use it. You have to use a lot of it for it to be really effective, layering smoke barrages in depth is really effective. Use it as an additional way to mask movement and block the enemy's ability to fire and break up your movement. Note I said "mask movement".. don't drive through the smoke, but around it as you would use a terrain feature.

I think that setup favored BD's STuG... it had a few things going for it... 1. it was in the woods, this provides some concealment (and cover), and 2. he might be hull down, though I can't be sure looking at your screenshot, but the fact that he is on a hill looking down on your Sherman, that was sitting in the open, makes that a good possibility. Tanks are really tough to spot in those circumstances. What could you have done differently? You could have gotten your Sherman into a hull down position yourself, if that was possible, and make sure you always use your armor in teams so you rarely have one on one gun fights. Classic example of the problem with sending units out far in advance of their HQ unit. The value of the information they give you has to be weighed against the fragility that comes along with using them this way. This is a very tough scenario as the attacker, and I think you are doing quite well considering the circumstances. Bil

I would say it would depend on training level, original morale level, fatigue, fitness, and commander's rating. I can see it going both ways.. what you need noob is something that isn't so cut and dried one way or the other, you should create a table that takes into account all of these factors as modifiers one way or the other, and let a roll of the die determine the result, either a morale hit, or a morale increase, etc., with additional modifiers for casualties and accomplishing the mission.. I would say those two as described in your hypothetical situation would probably be a wash and other factor would have to be looked at. Nothing in war is so certain that it can be said to react one way or another. You need to account for this fuzziness a little better in my opinion. Bil

Game End - Cease Fire Warren finally agreed to a cease fire.. I was able to occupy the final objective in the last turn. Obviously I had a miscount on British tanks destroyed. Here is the final map.. note the infantry force Warren had available. Good thing I didn't press into that mess. The four circles highlight Warren's surviving tanks, all Sherman IIIs. There was a Sherman V near objective 2, which surprised me.. I had to drive right by that thing with my halftrack as it passed through. Gulp! Here is a comparison of the kill stats of Dollinger's and Wittmann's Tigers. Wittmann takes the prize with seven enemy tank kills, Dollinger has six, each killed three Fireflies. Finally, the winners of the Tiger kill sweepstakes are: Thanks for playing!

The Sixty Third Minute Dollinger fired and penetrated the abandoned Firefly a few more times until finally Wittmann joined in, both fire at about the same time, but Wittmann slightly before Dollinger's last shell... ...[bottom image] Wittmann's round just misses, hitting the trees behind the Firefly... however Dollinger's flies true, finally killing it.

The Sixty First and Sixty Second Minutes The only action that occurs in turn 61 is my last remaining halftrack getting taken out by an unidentified tank.. so the crew and occupants (those that survive) will have to proceed on foot to the final objective, which you can see in this image is not far away now. The next turn starts with the Panther that is traveling with the Tiger platoon getting a shot off at a Sherman III in the woods ahead. Dollinger's Tiger gets the drop on another Firefly.. it'll be interesting at the end of the game to examine the kills for this Tiger and Wittmann's as the two of them seem to have done the majority of the damage. The Firefly was penetrated and the crew bailed.. the tank is still showing as okay though, so I guess it is only unhorsed and will have the opportunity to recrew this vehicle when they recover.. my task now is to ensure they do not have that chance. For this reason this tank is not being counted in the kill stats yet. SITMAP Here is the situation as it currently stands... note that the Tiger Platoon will not be moving much further forward from here on out.. I actually offered Warren a cease fire about this time and he wanted to press on a bit longer.. so we did. Note the two avoidance areas.. there is no way I'm going into that terrain without infantry and my infantry is too far out of the picture to get there in time.

The Sixtieth Minute The Jpz fired one more round and this was enough to brew up that stubborn Sherman III in the trees. Up by objective 3 another Sherman III was attempting to get into a position to block my halftrack and Jpz from getting to that final objective. Unfortunately for him Wittmann spotted him, and knocked him out. Another kill ring for Wittmann's tank. At this point Warren cannot have too much left.. I know he has at least one tank (and I suspect a few more) in the south, but those have pulled out in the face of my advance there with a full Pz-IV platoon, a Marder and a Jpz. He might also have a few more near objective 3, and perhaps a few in the center. But I have control of the field now and anywhere he moves, if he acts aggressively I can spot him with something.