Alsatian

Just today I had one of my Panthers knocked out in a very interesting way; almost like knocking itself out. The Panther was routing some infantry and had taken position wedged between a building and the edge of woods, with no room to spare. A bazooka (I heard it) immobilized my Panther, but the crew kept firing merrily away. In the next turn, and about three Panther shots later, the building it was next to caught fire. The Panther was immediately abandoned despite not taking any hits. I didn't hear any shots either. I'm fairly certain that the immobilized Panther crew abandoned because the building it was next to caught fire. Infantry can't be in a burning building, and vehicles can't be next to them. Not able to move because the tank was immobile, the crew abandoned. The remaining mystery is why did the building catch fire? It was undamaged and heavy. There were no flamethrowers in the scenario, and the heaviest calibre arty was 80mm mortar. My only clue is that the building caught fire immediately after the Panther fired. Could the building have caught fire because of the Panther's fire, much like buildings sometimes catch fire when a bazooka is fired from within a building. Is that realistic?

This is my first ever AAR. Any criticism (like length, style, detail, etc.) or suggestions (like to shut-up) would be appreciated. Email me at jbmnd93@hotmail.com Scenario: Snow Warriors Side: Americans Turns completed: 30 out of 30 Result: Allied Tactical Victory (62-38) Battle Plan: Ruppenvenn is a small village forming a rough Triangle. Flanks are not viable approaches towards company objectives. Near side of Triangle includes the Major Objective Flag (MOF) at church. Far side of Triangle is enemy’s most likely axis of approach. “Hypotenuse” is most likely threat to flank. Balance of the battle will rest in possession of the "Right Angle." Orders: “Rush to Defend.” Recon to jump off fast, advance past the MOF, and set up defense-line as far forward as possible along likely enemy axis of approach. Recon to perform delaying action until main body of Rifle Company sets up echelon defense behind recon. Late arriving armor to counter enemy armor assets and search for targets of opportunity. Turns 1-7: First Blood Recon platoon in halftracks flew over to off-load point; big house west of The Angle and railroad tracks. There they put an LOS on slag pile behind Ruppenvenn, and advanced into the village on foot. Two Greyhounds went left to Hypotenuse to feint towards enemy. Both Greyhounds knocked out by one Puma in two minutes. Recon platoon caught debarking by another Puma that rounded the slag pile. Puma was buttoned and targeted halftracks. Recon platoon bugged out across open ground and into Angle without loss. It was Open Season on halftracks so they scattered to take refuge in the alleys of Ruppenvenn. Along the way, their .50 cals knocked out both Pumas. One halftrack lost. GIs set up defense forward of Angle and halftracks stayed in alleys for fire support. One German recon squad caught as it advanced. Another enemy squad worked in close and killed one halftrack with his faust. Offending squad paid ultimate price, and was eliminated by cross fire of two squads of GIs and halftracks. No infantry casualties in exchange, but position revealed to enemy. Turns 6-19: Banzai AT Guns and Sacrificial Halftracks Recon platoon fell back. Lead squad bloodied during withdrawal. Reinforcements arrived: 3 infantry platoons (C, D and E), 2 AT guns, 3 MGs, 2 mortars, and 105mm artillery spotter. AT guns dumped in woods in favor of moving other heavy weapons forward; recalled some halftracks to rear to help. C Platoon sent left to Hypotenuse, D & E Platoons ordered to Angle directly. Transport plan worked well as all rifle and support units reached Ruppenvenn total on time. Upon arrival of C Platoon to left flank position, out of fog, German truck and towed AT gun charged down Hypotenuse. Halftracks and small arms fire destroyed said enemy assets. Pursuit of surviving crews resulted in heavy friendly infantry casualties due to unseen heavy weapons. Mixed results on left flank good compared to punishment of Recon Platoon on right flank. Enemy recovered from initial engagement and reinforced. Enemy directed heavy small arms fire on point recon squad. Friendly halftracks targeted by schrecks and fausts and knocked out one by one. D & E Platoons established defense positions in echelon behind Recon Platoon, latter rotated out of line of fire. 105 mm artillery established LOS on enemy rear and approaching assault squads. Turns 14-25: Turning Point in a Tinderbox C Platoon on left inoperable due to panic and regrouping, and right flank in excellent cover taking moderate casualties under heavy fire from superior numbers. Four Hellcat TDs arrived as last reinforcements. Three left to counter anticipated enemy armored force on Hypotenuse, and one Hellcat TD to right to support infantry in Angle. Last halftrack at Angle disabled and lead Hellcat TD on left knocked out by unseen gun. In woods on far right flank, bazooka team acting as FO spotted 2 Hetzers south of slag pile. Lone Hellcat TD on right established firing position and knocked out both Hetzers as they rounded slag pile. Enemy armor judged not to be moving down Hypotenuse, all armor thrown to right flank to press advantage at slag pile. Recon Platoon down to 50% strength and enemy infiltration into Angle. 105mm artillery called down on follow-up assault squads. Buildings heavily damaged. At 20 minutes, last Recon elements forward of Angle fall back to final positions. Ammo levels of all squads excellent due to withheld fire. Most squads at rear of buildings to engage enemy at close quarters. Conversely, enemy fire continuous. Enemy ammo levels expected to be low. Enemy reached point of furthest advance. Estimated remnants of two enemy platoons occupied large forward building as jump-off point for final assault on church. Friendly artillery directed at said forces. Building set afire. All enemies within forced to abandon burning structure into heavy small arms fire. Most killed; small numbers escaped to rear. Turns 23-30: Hellcat Finish One Hellcat TD knocked out by panzerschreck. Last two Hellcat TDs took advantage of turretless enemy armor, penetrated enemy rear. Two Hetzers, three SPW 251/1 halftracks, one truck, one jeep destroyed in quick order. One Hellcat TD lost. C Platoon on left flank regrouped and advanced in good order though woods at center of village into right flank of enemy advance. Enemy lead element cutoff from supporting troops and offered only sporadic fire. D & E Platoons captured remnants of enemy assault, including two officers. Enemy fire minimal. C, D & E Platoons linked and began advance along enemy axis of advance to eliminate gains. Secondary objective captured. Last Hellcat lost to Hetzer. After 30 minutes, enemy infantry routed, Ruppenvenn secure pending mopping up operations. Analysis: Establishing defense in depth, ammo conservation, and effective artillery fire were keys to breaking enemy assault. At conclusion, only two friendly rifle squads had been eliminated and all others had ammo to spare. Armor penetration to rear disrupted enemy’s supporting fire before final assault. Less aggressive use of halftracks may have reduced losses of these elements, but .50 cal fire support was invaluable to distracting and blunting enemy advance. TDs used well despite avoidable early losses. Dumping AT guns in woods saved them from damage and allowed quick forward movement of more effective forces. Allied Tactical Victory (62-38) Axis Losses: 173 casualties (55 KIA) 9 captured 1 mortar destroyed 2 guns destroyed 13 vehicles destroyed Men OK: 52 Allied Losses: 110 casualties (27 KIA) 12 vehicles destroyed Men OK: 154

I would pay for a watertower tile. A feature common to many sizable towns, especially ones with railyards. They were used as observation platforms, so they would have a tactical as well as aesthetic purpose.

If you ask me, Sgt. Kelly might have been a little crazy. How else do you explain this picture of him on the book "he wrote" in 1944? Edit: The link to the photo of Sgt. Kelly broke. Too bad, he looked particularly off kilter. [ September 24, 2002, 09:44 AM: Message edited by: Alsatian ]

I'm a newbie but I've seen this chart. Good tool for helping pick your forces. Is there a similar tool for helping to track units during a battle? I can't tell you how many times, at the most crucial moment, I'll call upon a unit that I had put aside many turns before only to find it's been wiped down to 2 guys and slingshot. I have no idea when it happened. Any pointers? Or am I on a slippery sloop to micromanagement? Is it a realism thing and I'm supposed to lose track of units in the heat of battle?

Tripps, Maybe when you tried to move the captured units they were broken, routed, etc. Just like your own units, you can't give orders to prisoners who are still freaking out (!). One time, my point unit was captured, but the follow-on units caught up and killed its captors, thus freeing him. The now liberated unit didn't have any ammo or weapons though, and his status bar said "Unarmed." Nice touch.

In a current game the .50 cal on my halftracks accounted for 2 (count 'em, 2) Pumas. Afterall the side armor of a Puma is only 8 mm or so.

One of the most significant exchanges between Axis members was of information. Japanese strategists visited and studied the results of the British raid on Taranto, Italy. In 1940, Swordfish torpedo planes were lauched against that Italian port and severely damaged 3 battleships. The Japanese picked up a few pointers and tricks to be used at Pearl Harbor. Materially, as said before, the exchanges were limited to what could be fit in submarines; both Germany and Japan building a few gigantic transport subs for this unique purpose. A few were used to get Indonesian raw materials to Germany, no? But not nearly enough to really be significant. And don't forget that Britain thought enough of Madagascar to not leave the issue to chance. They invaded the island to wrest control of it away from the Vichy French.

Can't find "Rallying Point" reference for WWII infantry, but I found use of the term regarding US armor attack tactics. From: Limpus, Lowell M., "How the Army Fights," (New York: Appleton Century) 1943: [This might be a long transcription. Skip to the end to find the "Rallying Point" bit. Keep in mind, this was written contemporary to WWII and meant for the general public. The italics are the author's.] "The fire fight takes place as soon as the enemy fire becomes heavy enough to endanger the advance. Then the tanks stop to shoot it out with the foe. They do so in sections--one group stopping behind the best cover available to fire at the enemy, while another charges forward to the next cover, there to pause and take up the fire fight in its turn. "The assault is launched when the first wave gets to within 200 to 400 yards of the enemy. Then, at a signal from the commander, the whole line thunders forward at top speed, firing every gun that can be brought to bear. The assault guns and mortars, it will be remembered, are right behind them. And now the tanks endeavor to ride right over the enemy and crush him. "The next move is the consolidation of positions, which is the task of the armored infantry and tank destroyer units. The infantry, which may have made the origianl attack, if it was against a prepared position, comes rolling up in armor-plated personnel carriers, springs out, and goes into action with rifles, machine-guns, mortars, and bayonets and grenades if necessary. Anti-tank guns my be brought forward, too. And they hold the captured ground while the tanks reorganize. "Under the protection of the other units, the tanks charge on to the rallying points, which have been indicated in advance. There the reorganization takes place--and it includes hasty repairs and refueling if there is sufficient time to do so. First aid is also rendered by the medical men, as described in a later chpater, and the seriously wounded are evacuated." Vintage is quaint, ain't it?

I'd like to take a shot at it too. I'm still a CMBO newlywed, but I'm one hell of a critic. People are always telling me to shut-up. Just tell me whether you want it tested against the AI, or maybe you want to set me up against Stoffel. Email in profile.

By March 5th, Hoth's 4th Panzer Army had gotten within 10 miles south of Kharkhov, but it took 4 days to cover those last miles to the city's outskirts. During that fighting, a company commander of the 1st Independent Czechoslovak Battalion became the first foreigner to receive the decoration of Hero of the Soviet Union. Hint hint scenario designers.

Is tank immobilisation always mechanical in CMBO? As unlikely as it is, can a .50 cal MG immobilise an unbuttoned KT when he mushes the tank commanders exposed head? I would imagine a crew would freak out when their commander's decapitated body flops down into the compartment. As far as the fighting abilities of HQ units, I find them more stubborn than regular squads to break, and more effective with their fire considering their small size. Is that true, or a misperception?

Thanks for the advice. Yes, bye-bye to other hobbies. World Cup vs. CMBO will be an interesting conflict for me. To be clear, my engineers have started a turn 30M from a bunker with two demo charges. I order them to target the bunker. They use their first charge to destroy the bunker, but before the end of the turn they engage the dislodged crew in a firefight and use their last demo charge on the crew. NOooooooooooo. On the other hand, I've had engineers use a demo charge to destroy the Panther reinforcement, which is quite satisfying. I even had a reg Inf squad using only grenades force the Panther crew to abandon. That was unexpected.

Patience please, I'm a newbie and this is my first post. I'm addicted to the demo scenarios and am patiently awaiting my order for CMBO. In the meantime I have a question about US Engineers and their use of demo satchel charges. In VOT I have no problem getting my engineers close in and using their charges to knock out the first pillbox. Problem is, there's that second pillbox I want my engineers to knock out too, but the engineers have a very limited supply of demo charges. Sometimes, after the first pillbox gets knocked out, and the crew abandons it, my engineer squad engages the crew and uses a demo charge on the pistol-packing crew. Quite an overkill and waste of a weapon. Is there any way to get my engineers NOT to waste their demo charges on soft targets?