Bil Hardenberger

Thanks guys. Ken, if my "analysis" proves correct, in a turn or two you might get your wish. I am already pre-positioning some troops for a major move.

Wow.. I don't think I've been able to put four different turn reports on the same page in an AAR thread before. Awful quiet in here.. either I'm doing alright or I'm so off base with this battle that everyone is snickering about it in the peanut gallery thread.

The Eleventh Turn It is very quiet.. very little activity from GaJ's side. I think it is coming to the point where I need to make something happen.. I have something in the works right now that I don't want to share yet.. I'd like it to be a surprise In the center my HMG has chased the enemy scout team off the ridge.. so now I can maneuver my recce squad again and drive deeper into the center. Here is the current intel situation in the center and right.. the contact at the top middle of this image is the team that was chased back behind the ridge by my HMG. GaJ's forces have to be somewhere.. with the recon activity I have seen on the left across from my Shermans and on the right facing my Stuarts along with the dearth of activity in the center I believe GaJ has split his command up into two halves. I know he has armor.. but how much? And where could it be? He is being awful careful with it as I have had no clue to it's location.. however I know it must be behind a ridge somewhere... maybe he split that up too and both forces have armor components. I need to find out. That is what is behind the move I am planning. The first part of that is to re-position one of my Stuarts... my HMG on the right has great visibility over all of the heights and some of the low ares on this flank, however there is one area they cannot see into.. this are is of interest because if the contacts I have so far on my right are flank scouting teams then this should be the location of his main body on this flank... So I am moving a Stuart over to take up a hull down position looking into this area of interest:

The Tenth Turn On my right, this man's slow crawl could only end one way... On my left there is one more contact, but no activity. Using the terrain as much as possible I am moving a team down into the valley to see what kind of reaction I can get from GaJ I wonder if he is being indecisive at all right now.. I have all avenues covered by fire.. it looks like he has heavy activity on my right (his left) with light activity on my left.. but his units on my left do seem keen to keep an eye on my tanks.. I might have to shuffle them around a bit from time to time to keep him guessing.

The Ninth Minute I'll take it.. first blood to me. Nothing else showed itself on my left. Maybe I was wrong.. maybe GaJ's main effort is coming on my right... or maybe these new contacts are only because this flank is more open. My HMG team seems to be in a very good position from which to interdict GaJ's movement in this sector. Based on the direction this guy was crawling GaJ might have a sound contact on my Stuarts.. looked like he was trying to get eyes on their ridge. Who is this guy trying to sneak past, eh? My other HMG team also has a few new contacts in the center.. but this might be the flank guard for GaJ's left flank force. Seems odd that I have seen nothing else in the center.

The Eighth Turn The only action this turn was from my Sherman spraying some MG lovin' at the contact identified last turn. GaJ's team quickly went to ground. I am most worried on my left, of GaJ bringing something anti-armor over the saddle directly to my front.. to counter this eventuality I am pulling the HQ tank over to the right some to cover both the saddle and the slope in front of GaJ's team. If he means to come this way then he will have a fight on his hands with two Shermans covering the saddlle and all three covering the slope. Also on the left, 1 Cruiser is almost in position as is the Bren team from my forward squad. I am also going to ferry over an HMG team on a truck and shore up this side's defense. For some reason this flank worries me more than the left... or the center for that matter. Probably because of the very short distances (250-350 meters) and thus short warning time I will have of anything he intends to spring on me. Speaking of the center. it is still proving free of enemy troops. I hope that continues to be the case as I have something up my sleeve if it does... my squad continues to push ever deeper and by the end of next turn I should have eyes on most of the center valley. On my right I now have three weapon systems overwatching (two Stuarts and the HMG team) as the squad in that sector starts to drive into the valleys.

Thanks Michael, there's a picture nobody needed in their head..

Thanks Vinnart.. don't worry I will not do anything rash to wow the masses.. or will I? Bil

The Seventh Turn Contact Left! As expected GaJ has poked his head around the corner on my left side.. that is a good place to come through as the distance that he would be exposed is shortest. However with a Sherman in overwatch he will have a hard time unless he has armor here... and even then I like my chances as my Sherman is hull down. My tank was targeting at the very end of the turn.. expect some fireworks next turn. At this point I would like to disrupt GaJ's plan as much as possible.. to do that I am moving the HQ tank off the summit as I didn't really like where it stopped.. way too exposed... I am also moving Cruiser 1 around to the left to take up a hulldown position. this will place the HQ tank in reserve. With any luck he will think this route too well guarded and be forced to re-deploy... that would have repercussions on the fitness of his units.. I'd like nothing better than to fight his FJ as tired or exhausted troops with my fresh Red Devils. On my right I now have an HMG Team deploying behind a little ridge that will keep them protected from anything GaJ has on my left yet provides a wonderful opportunity to sweep the forward slopes of the hills and the valleys that lie in front of my Stuarts.

Steve, sorry I meant to include this at the beginning of the senario: Weather: CLEAR Temp: HOT Ground: VERY DRY Wind: None

Broadsword56.. --first of all I have to not jump to conclusions... --secondly I will wait until the situation develops so I can make an educated guess as to where his main body is... --third, I intend to attack where he is weakest and only defend where he is strong I am not at a decision point yet.. once I see some evidence of how he is deploying then I will issue the appropriate movement orders to my forces. I do have some regrets that I didn't send a truck with a squad to each of the three main valley entrances so I could start my recon earlier.

Sorry I forgot to add... When checking LOS with the target command it will say either "Spotter is hulldown" or "Spotter is partially hulldown".. either is acceptable.. if it does not say this move the waypoint until it does.

Here is how it's done: 1. Understand that hulldown only applies to a spcific target or direction.. you might be hulldown to one enemy, but exposed to another. 2. Add your movement waypoints up to the hill/ridge you want to deploy on 3. Select the last waypoint and, using the targeting command, check to see if you can "see" into the target area.. 4. If you can "see" into the target area, move your waypoint back until line of sight is just blocked 5. One spot at a time move the waypoint forward until the target first becomes visible... 6. Change the last waypoint to Hunt and your tank should stop to fire immediately upon sighting an enemy unit.. you will then be in a nice hulldown position That's my process anyway (see my CMBN BETA AAR, link below for more on hulldown). Good luck!

The Sixth Minute Another quiet turn.. other than the one contact on my right I have seen nothing. My squad (called a section by the Brits) is already getting tired from their little movements in the center valley... movement is going to be very taxing on both sides. I thought that this would be a good time for a situation overview... ...you can see how I have kept most of my force in the center where they can quickly (relatively) react to either side of the map. Using these interior lines (google it) I hope to get and maintain an advantage on GaJ's force. Just because I have only had an enemy contact on my right does not mean that is where his main body is located. Unfortunately for the watchers this is taking some time to develop.. I apologize if it's getting boring for you who are looking on. I do not want to commit my forces down one or two avenues of approach at this early stage in the battle.. once committed it is going to be very difficult to then reorient them.. especially as most of my force is on foot. I also want to keep my force together and react as a body, not as multiple components... The map as it stands at this point:

The Fifth Minute At the beginning of the turn my right side Sherman spotted something moving on the back ridge of one of the hills to the Stuart's front. He was moving in reverse at the time... ...but once he stopped and switched to Hunt mode he opened fire putting three rounds in the middle of this team. I didn't see any casualties but it was cowering on the hillside at the end of the turn. So GaJ does have something advancing on my right... still nothing else has been located. I do wonder about the decision to go over the top of these ridges with infantry.. they will be awfully exposed up there. This Sherman will pause in place for a bit next turn then go ahead and move into the position I illustrated last turn. My para section in the center will have two detachments in overwatch while the third moves carefully forward. So far there does not appear to be anything in the center valley.

The Fourth Minute Very quiet again this turn.. I have a feeling that GaJ is maneuvering on foot.. else I would have seen some movement down the valleys on my right and center... either that or he's holding back waiting for me to come to him... Looking at the map GaJ can come through the saddle on my left and around the right of point 502 pretty close to my Shermans. Hmmm... try and turn my flank? It's a possibility.. have to wait to see what the next turn tells us, but with no activity on my right and the center I am starting to get suspicious. The paras in the center are pulling into their AO to begin their reccce mission next turn. Here is that close up shot I promised of their uniform.. almost as nice as the FJ, yes? I am re-deploying my right hand Sherman to get better visibility... I also wanted to show you my third Sherman and the options he has to react: Elsewhere some of my trucks have arrived back at HQ and will load next turn to deploy another Platoon, although I am thinking of keeping a mobile reaction force in the trucks, one para Platoon and the other HMG section (two HMGs). I have started moving another Platoon to the right to help the Stuarts, and another to the left to back up the Shermans. The rest will stay towards the center, resting and ready to deploy either left, right, or up the middle as required.

Hey Ken. The HMG Section is standard infantry thus the helmet style. I'll get a better screenshot of the para uniform and helmet in the next installment. Bil

Third Minute With my Stuarts in position they continue to be on the lookout for any movement in their sectors. Still no sign of movement.. I am expecting some truck or armor to be moving forward in these valleys... I will be bringing up some infantry in the next few turns to recon into them. That with my Stuart OP should unmask something. Through the magic of Photoshop this image illustrates the main areas of interest. Still no movement on my left either... there are some really good avenues of advance for GaJ here as well.. and in the following images you can see how I have them covered. My third Sherman I have dropped back down below the crest so it can reinforce either side as required. Left side Sherman: Right side Sherman: I think those four tanks can now see into all of the main avenues of approach. They should easily spot any motorized traffic on those routes... infantry might be tougher to spot. Time will tell. In the center my infantry starts to unload from their rides and move forward.. in this example the HMG section moves out and forward into their overwatch positions. The first para section on the ground has been broken down into three detachments and is being sent forward to reconnoiter the center valley. This is the only infantry I will send in at this time.. I don't want to decisively engage.. I want information.

Nah.. I would rather they be kept nice and snug within their steel enclosures. If a tank gets killed then I'll send that crew against GaJ's hordes! But I'd hate for them to be dismounted and get hit with artillery or spotted by an HMG... that would really be a shame. I don't mind the pre anything to be honest... the more chatter the better IMO.

c3k.. sorry I thought you were starting up another BETA QB AAR and entered your thread. Totally missed the "Peanut gallery" thing.. I thought you were basically saying, "Here is an AAR without that blowhard Bil or that lout GaJ.." I un-assed the AO as soon as I saw your explanation in the first post (good thing you started it like that). Heh.. good idea.. I look forward to reading it after the game is complete, I hope we give you guys plenty of fodder to fuel good deep discussions. Bil

A few quotes on the subject Broadsword56 and I have been discussing: ...and finally, Expanding Torrent:

Exactly.. called the "Expanding Torrent" by B.H. Liddell Hart.

The Second Minute Okay, still quiet. My forces are on the move still. The Shermans have yet to crest their mountain. I have learned in these first two turns how tough it is to maneuver on this terrain... especially on the mountains. It might be a few more turns until any contact is even made.. so you will have to be patient. My trucks laden with paras and the MG section are still moving to their jump off positions. I am so glad I brought four trucks to this fight... I actually wish I had four more. They are laden with ammunition and it is going to be the only way I can quickly move troops to the line. Once positioned, I will split off a few recce teams and scout the center valley. Remember I said up front where I expected this to be a key to the battle? I want to get eyes on the ground in there as quickly as possible and see if GaJ is pushing anything into it. I also want to control the center.. that will allow me to maneuver to either flank as required. I am tweaking the Stuart's positions some, rotating one, moving the other forward slightly, in order to get better visibility into the main maneuver zones (the valleys between the hills and ridges).

Broadsword you are exactly right. I think scouting, or even doing reconnaissance before committing your main body is something that is not done much in CM games. I try to always scout, patrol, recon (recce to you Brits, Aussies, and Canadians) call it what you will, before I decide what to do with my main force. The goal is to put yourself in a position to hit weakness with strength.. how can you do that if you don't know where the enemy is? I come from the Recon Pull school as opposed to Command Push (if you don't know what those are Google them and let's have a tactics discussion). Read my CMBN AAR for an example.. I scouted, or tried to with just a few tanks.. sure I lost several of them.. but I was able to get a lot of intelligence from those encounters and my opponent (The_Capt) didn't even know what I had fielded or how I was maneuvering until it was too late. Bil

Hey Wodin good to see you in here. Well for me I was very unhappy about missing out on the first Gulf War. I was stationed in Korea at the time, volunteered to go, but the war ended before I could deploy. So in my case, yes I do have regrets. However I would not like the present situation either with multiple deployments. That must be a nightmare for our boys and girls that are forced to return over and over. Bil