Darknight (DC)

The Villa Castelletti Area-of-Operations Aerial Reconnaissance with Landmarks Intel & Recce: The task force had made good progress along Route 122 on the approach to Enna but a halt to our forward progress was called at 1600 hrs, just outside of an area near the Villa Castelletti. Intel was received that German armor was spotted moving on a heading that would result in contact with Task Force ‘E’ near the villa. Apparently the enemy forces appear substantial enough that II Corps decided it was necessary to alter our mission from a quick advance to securing the Villa Castelletti and Route 122. At present it is 1700 hrs and Task Force ‘E’ has been gathered to the west of Hill S135 in order to deploy for operations. Hill S135 is the highest point in the region and overlooks the villa from the west; it also provides a good staging area for our forces, as the western approaches along Route 122 are hidden from enemy ground observation. There are various orchards on the hilltop which should help to conceal any of our observers as well. Route 122 snakes around Hill S135 and across the valley to the east before meeting up with Route 124 and then continuing northeast towards Enna. A forested ridge dominates the far side of the valley, just east of Route 124, and would provide ideal cover for enemy observers. There is an orchard situated at the far northeastern point of Hill S135 which dominates the roadway, the valley and the Villa Castelletti; this orchard (Objective #1) must be secured in order to continue with our operation. The Villa Castelletti is a central feature in this region. Portions of the Villa are several hundred years old and it is situated at the top of a generally concentric hill; it has a commanding position over the valley and the buildings/compound could easily conceal a company or more of troops, which would result in quite a few headaches for anyone hoping to travel along Route 122. Of particular note on ‘Castelletti Hill’, is a small forested area which dominates the narrow passage of Route 122 between the hills; this is a prime location (Objective #2) for ambushing travellers along the roadway and securing this location is necessary for our control of vehicle traffic. If operations proceed as planned, we will then be in a position to have troops secure the Villa Castelletti itself, which is our third and final objective (Objective #3) of the present operation. The Orchard (OBJ#1), the Hill (OBJ#2) and the Villa (OBJ#3) Intel indicates that enemy troops are expected to be approaching from northeast or east of the Villa. We do not have visual confirmation of enemy troops in the vicinity yet but will be wary of the forested ridge to the east and the area north east of the Route 124 junction, near the Villa Groves. It is expected that the enemy is moving this way in order to secure the Villa and it should be expected that any infantry would be directed towards this end. If the enemy force includes armor assets, these will likely be hidden near the forested ridge to the east, to allow for domination over the roadway junction….or possibly used in an armored advance aimed at securing Hill S135. Possible Enemy Deployments

Task Force ‘E’ 4th Ranger Battalion (US 7th Army) Task Force HQ [Lt Col Stewart] + 2x attached Sniper teams ‘Dog’ Company (Rangers) Company HQ [Capt Pine] + 2x 60mm Mortars + attached BAR team [Pvt Painter] 1st Platoon (24 men) [Lt Reece] 2nd Platoon (24 men) [Lt Contini] 1st Infantry Division (US II Corps, US 7th Army, 15th Army Group) II Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment ‘Easy’ Company (Infantry) [Capt Lorentzen] + 2x attached 81mm Mortars No1 Infantry Platoon (40 men) [2Lt Gage] No2 Infantry Platoon (40 men) [2Lt Bridge] No3 Infantry Platoon (40 men) [2Lt King] No4 Weapons Platoon (2x MMG, 3x 60mm mortar) [Lt Wade] Company ‘A’, 70th Tank Battalion (US 7th Army) Sherman M4 (Coy HQ) [Capt Gable] Sherman M4A1 [Sgt Miller] + attached No1 Section, No 2 Battery, 58th Armored Field Artillery Battalion M7 Priest [Sgt Cowen] M7 Priest [Sgt Egert] 1st Medium Tank Platoon Sherman M4 (Plt HQ) [Lt Neubert] Sherman M4 [S/Sgt Hess] Sherman M4A1 [Sgt Contini] Sherman M4A1 [Sgt Rogers] 2nd Medium Tank Platoon Sherman M4 (Plt HQ) [Lt Melo] Sherman M4 [S/Sgt Rexford] Sherman M4 [Sgt Mannering] Sherman M4 [Sgt Naranjo] 3rd Medium Tank Platoon Sherman M4A1 (Plt HQ) [Lt Sabo] Sherman M4A1 [S/Sgt Horner] Sherman M4A1 [Sgt Zieger] Sherman M4A1 [Sgt Bradford]

We just finished this ME, which has been on-going for a few weeks, and Mord mentioned to me that just a few days ago he recognized this map as the same one that was used for the 'Clearing the Niscemi Highway' battle. I had never read the AAR, so I had no idea. Anyway, I wrote a backstory before our battle to give it some meaning and a greater objective, which is how we tend our play our H2H games. This battle was frustrating and fun and informative, all at the same time...and I learned a few important things about handling armour in CMx2 which should help me in future games. Hopefully Mord will pop in and add his comments about the battle as I populate this thread, as I don't think he had the time to do a regular AAR; I, for one, would love to hear about how the events unfolded from his perspective. AAR - Mord vs DC - Villa Castelletti - An Afternoon in the Orchards July 19th, 1943 Situation: A week has passed since Operation Husky commenced with the invasion of Sicily by the Allied 15th Army Group and the situation on the ground remains very fluid. The entire Italian 54th Napoli Division surrendered just a few days ago, with the Americans having pushed beyond Canicatti and Niscemi, now driving towards Enna at the center of the island. On July 18th, Caltanissetta was secured by the US 7th Army, leaving the Allies agonizingly close to controlling Route 121, the main east-west lateral roadway in Sicily; Enna is the new strategic objective, as it represents a major inland road junction on Route 121 and essentially controls all significant traffic through the interior of the island. It is imperative that all haste be made in attempting to seize Enna and thereby bisecting the island and isolating the Axis forces in western Sicily. A combined arms task force (dubbed ‘E’) has been formed under operational command of Lt General Omar Bradley’s II Corps to make a strong push for Enna; Task Force ‘E’ will be placed under nominal command of 4th Rangers HQ (Lt Col Stewart). The approach towards Enna will lead the force past the quiet Villa Castelletti... Friendly Forces: Task Force ‘E’ combines various elements from: 1st Infantry Division 4th Ranger Battalion (attached from 7th Army) 70th Tank Battalion (attached from 7th Army) 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached from 7th Army) 58th Armored Field Artillery Battalion (attached from 7th Army) Opposing Forces: The Italian resistance along 7th Army’s front has been largely ineffective but the Germans have continued to fight very tenaciously in the defense. Intel indicates that the Germans have added additional divisions to the defence of Sicily in order to prop up their Italian allies and aerial recon has shown signs that several enemy formations are attempting to move eastwards, across the 7th Army’s front. The 7th Army has been facing the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division and Task Force ‘E’ is likely to encounter some elements of the 15th PzGr Division on its drive to Enna. Mission: Task Force ‘E’ is to attempt to clear the way to Enna for the rest of the 1st Infantry Division. The Canadian troops in the neighboring 8th Army are also making their own push for the town and General Patton would like to have American troops there first, in order to greet our northern cousins when they arrive. The Task Force will need to secure the route astride the Villa Castelletti and scatter any enemy resistance that is encountered along the way. Low Level Overview

CMFI is only the Americans (Allied) and Germans/Italians (Axis) in Sicily....so far. Additional modules will likely follow to cover the Commonwealth forces in Sicily/Italy and vehicles that were present in the mainland fighting (ie Panther, Sherman 105mm, Elephant, etc).

Hmm, Mord and I are in the later stages of a large PBEM game....maybe he'd be interested in playing this one for our next adventure. I have an AAR in process on the one we're playing that is now at 60+ pages (planning to post it after we finish). To get this straight, it's a H2H scenario, right? with the forces already set and some kind of back story? 'Cause that sounds right up our alley.

I didn't figure it was, because I'm pretty sure I know the answer. It was actually a private joke.

Now run your test using Shermans and Tigers at 1 km distance.

I don't think it was done before the hiatus....

You could have just said 'HUBRIS'.

Sure....(though I still see myself losing )...set up a game, state the purchase rules and send it along.

As pointed out in the link thread above (which I posted last month), I have experienced the exact polar opposite of the OP's problem....my Shermans can't spot for S#!* and my opponent's StuGs and PzIVs have murdered me due to spotting me first, shooting at me first and (almost) always hitting me and knocking my Shermans out on the first hit. I'm in the middle of a game right now where I've probably lost half a company of Shermans to slow or non-existent spotting of German armour....though infantry, and even snipers, are spotted regularly. I had originally posted because I was looking for tips to help improve my play wrt armour, as I figured it must be something I'm missing. What I've discovered since, is that the Shermans seem to be very good at acquiring targets while moving at speed, and even firing/hitting has been pretty effective while moving...StuGs seem to be much better at stalking/ambushing (maybe due to the lower profile?).

That seems a little passive aggressive. None of us are stopping you from doing whatever you'd like with the QB ME maps. I believe reclassifying some of the QB ME maps as Attack or Assault maps would solve the issue. We simply have differing perspectives (for various reasons) on how the maps should be fixed.

I agree completely....I love the map, just not its classification as an ME. It would make a very cool assault map.

Agreed to a point....the unit selections are always going to vary and have their own impact on balance, but the Map type itself should not be the factor causing the 'lopsided' situation. There are certain expectations with an ME in order to make a fair game of it. If the expectations for an ME have changed, then it should be something players are aware of up front. We already apparently have categories for assault/attack/defense maps, (and I have no problem playing any of these types)...I'd just like to know, in general, what I'm getting when I invest the time into a game.

This is amazingly close to my exact experience with the game I played on this map....Sherman lost to a StuG on turn 1 on the right flank; Tiger (and PzIV) show up on my extreme left flank a few turns in; one semi-concealed approach to town where a few mortar and tank rounds into the trees is really bad news; enemy MGs (and 2 StuGs) to cause havoc when trying to move towards the gully...I should post the AAR I did....it covers everything in detail and with some pictures.

You also don't know the number/size/layout/location of the setup zones at that point.

Scenario? I think you mean 'played an ME on the map', right? Maybe it depends on the size of the forces you're playing with...we had about 4250 pts each to work with. I see no possible way that you could have got your troops to a position to cross into the town easily from Turn 4 onwards...I would assume you raced from the right-hand setup zone to the Farmhouses and would put a smoke screen on the Gully...if that's the case, then your opponent did not cover that open ground very well, because there's no excuse to not see you coming. The way my game played out (from the Allied side), I tried to use the vineyard compound in the lefthand setup area as an observation area, as the sight-lines from there were pretty good. I sent two Coys of Inf from the back of that same setup zone to the tree grove on the centre hill, hoping to push through the gully and into the town. I also had some supporting weapons start from the righthand setup zone, but the is little cover on the right flank approach and none between the two compounds and the town. My Axis opponent was able to set up almost all of his units without me seeing them until later turns and began shooting at my forces on turn 1. He was even able to hide a Tiger in the Axis zone to my far left. I admit that I had made an assumption about where my opponent's setup zones would likely be (this supposedly being an ME map) and I was quite surprised therefore that his units were already at the farmhouses in the left-middle of the map by Turn 1. I had to focus on trying to neuter the Axis threat on my left flank, as well as moving other elements towards the town, then I started taking major casualties in the tree grove from enemy fire as my opponent moved into defensive positions around the town. For you, as the Allied side to basically not take casualties in advancing across that map means that your Axis opponent was doing something very wrong.

I'd say from experience that's a bit of an understatement, as this is supposed to be an ME. Several factors are important here: 1) the Axis setup zones are concealed 2) the Allied setup zones are at least half-viewable by the Axis (and easily covered) 3) there is only 1 viable approach to the OBJ for the Allied side 4) the VL is easily within the grip of the Axis For an ME, it fails miserably, as there is no actual Meeting Engagement. The Axis moves into the town and has 5-10 turns to set up a defence there while the Allied take significant attritional fire just trying to get close enough to attack the VL (town). Then, the depleted/demoralized Allies must dig the Axis out of the VL.

LOL This is the exact map that I was speaking about above. I had the Allied side in what we had intended to be an ME but this is truly an Attack or Assault map....I could post the AAR later tonight if you really want to see how it went. It was a beautiful map and I'd recommend it for an attack or assault but it was just ridiculous as an ME.

I have a recent partial AAR of a large ME that is right on point here. The map itself was pretty good, with fairly plausible terrain, but: - my opponent had the only VL, which was located 3/4 of the way towards his side; - with covered approaches for his units; - and 3 separate setup zones, all concealed; Meanwhile, I had: - 2 setup zones, mostly under enemy observation from the start; - very limited/obvious approaches for closing on the VL; - with limited concealment along the only covered approach. On seeing the map on the first turn, I predicted a slaughter, as I had to move my troops closer, under enemy observation, taking casualties all the way, then attack an entrenched enemy. We gave up after 10 turns so that we could start a ME that was more 'fair' to start.

I've tried 3-to-1 from various attack vectors and I just get shot down in succession, as my gd tanks don't all spot the enemy just because 1 might get a visual. It's back to the spotting problem. Maybe the StuGs are just super-good at spotting/not being spotted....I also find the speed at which a StuG seems to rotate its entire chassis very fast. Oh, and the platoon leaders are always with their platoons (until they die).

Giving your tank an area fire command will likely result in it firing off HE rather than AP rounds, will it not?

I appreciate the tips, though I do already know the standard tactics, having tried them and been frustrated by them. example1: I have Shermans behind a hill with infantry forward, on the crest and beyond; these tanks are stationary and unbuttoned. My opponent speeds a StuG over the crest, where it proceeds to spot my Sherman and blast it to hell....my tank never spots it, never gets a shot off, though several infantry did spot it. example2: I have three Shermans stalk a StuG...I race a Sherman along the flank...he gets very close and stops, spots the StuG and proceeds to open up with the MG, the StuG turns in my direction...I get a shot off (a minor miracle in itself), which sails high...StuG connects with me (no casualties, only the turret-mounted mg is damaged....but the crew bails...and dies)....the StuG turns back the other way and proceeds to duel another of the Shermans, knocking it out too. It seems to me that I can't advance to attack his armour because I don't spot it and proceed to die, and I can't sit still and wait for the armour to come to me because I don't spot it and proceed to die. So, my frustration becomes 'What the hell do I do to have a bloody chance if I can't move or sit still?' I was not aware that the German armour was that much better than the Shermans in Sicily. I seem to remember having more luck with them in Normandy, where I thought everything was more dangerous to Shermans.

I wasn't inferring that its a bug....I'm just looking for help to improve my gameplay (wrt spotting) so that its not so seemingly one-sided.

Okay, I'm going to swallow my pride and ask what the hell I'm doing wrong. I'm in a PBEM where I'm the Americans and my opponent has Germans. The game is fairly tactically matched but I have yet to see one of my Shermans spot the enemy PzIVs or StuG IIIs first, regardless if they are moving or stationary, buttoned/unbuttoned, etc. The game goes like this....I find a position that appear to me to be hull down, I slowly move into position, I'm there for a few seconds and I immediately get popped with the first shot from a German AFV, with my vehicle never spotting the enemy (even though I know where the vehicle is and have LoS to its location)...rinse and repeat 4 or 5 times. It got so frustrating that I charged a Sherman at a StuG's flank, stopping 30 ft from the buttoned enemy vehicle but he just sat there (along the way, my Sherman spotted infantry at 3x the distance and blasted them while moving). My Sherman continues to sit there while everyone else can see the StuG, and the StuG apparently sees me too because it turns 90 degrees and blasts my tank point blank....my guys never spotted it....then it turns 120 degrees to engage another of my tanks (which, you guessed it, can't see the gd StuG). Anyone care to share some insights /tips aimed at improving my ability to spot huge lumbering pieces of enemy armour in the future....before I pitch my laptop.