mjkerner

Minutes 54 - 53 The situation has changed and I am better able to discern what the hell Chappy is up to. (The post above I thought was on the Private Conversation site we have for the Axis Team, so you, Dear Reader, already know what I'm thinking...but ve must make formal report, in triplicate, to ze OB West, no?) First off, for once we apparently have a strong enough force to give the Allies a real scare. They took Dommelen with Blood and Guts, hard to imagine they would abandon it, unless there was a bigger, Op Level pay off. That could be the chance to grab a foothold into Valkenswaard. I'm not certain if that portion of the city that is shown on this battlefield is in the 30 point VP hex, or the 10(?) point one, but grabbing it by a coup de main would be worth giving up Dommelen. You can see that he continues to pull his armor back, and there is a sound contact of a light armor vehicle, most likely a bren carrier, that is on my side of the river in that little burg east of the destroyed Dommel bridge. I thought he may be moving over to my left flank to grab a foothold in Valkenswaard, but he seems to just be sitting in place for the last few turns. Covering for his infantry? Planning on taking potshots as opportunity arises? Reinforcements Arrive! Now we're talking! The first Jadg, a platoon of the FJ Kp, and two 75mm light infantry guns. I decided to move the reinforcements to Valkenswaard. They can either cover any move into it by Chappy, or withdraw off the map to be in position for the next Op move. The Jadg will move into a position to fire on the Shermans near the Dommel Bridge.

Will do. Two Paks are repositioning to better cover the destroyed Dommel Bridge area. A lot of repositioning going on, actually. Will be shown soon.

I still haven't caught up the AAR with with the turns...I was going to buddy aid the sniper team, then forgot! Lots of movement going on in my ever-developing plan. I can't believe Chappy is going to run away off the board, but it doesn't look like he's going to attack, either. I noticed that his armor across the map behind the woods is turning to face me, so I figured he's going to stick around and take potshots at me. Anyway, when the rest of my Jadgs get here, I'm going for the group of armor at that destroyed bridge (should have, but didn't, recognize it as a portion of the earlier battle terrain), then those across the way. I still haven't spotted his 2nd Firefly...I'm sure he had two at the end off the last battle. (No hints from you, lol). I figure he left some infantry at Dommelen. He had 2 platoons there at least, and I haven't spotted any moving back, although they could just be too far away or perhaps retreating behind the north-south oriented row houses. Although it will take forever, I'm going to continue to move to and into Dommelen.

Minutes 55 - 54 The Last House on the Left ...of Kromme Straat had a nasty surprise for me. Despite having more then a platoon of infantry and several vehicles passing nearby, Chappy had a section of 2 Tommies successfully lying doggo in the house at the end of the street, no doubt the 3rd section from the squad that was caught there at the start. Not only have the other 2 sections made it to the river unscathed, this hidden section managed to wipe out my Veteran sniper team! They were nonchalantly heading to the house in question to take up positions to deal with those earlier escapees, their comrades also moving up to the vicinity of that house, when...

You know, that double entendre completely, and I mean completely, went past me. And I never miss those! Time to take Old Yeller back behind the barn. Good to see you're still in top form, Phil.

Sit Rep His armor south of Dommelen continues to move back. He's not withdrawing from the hex, is he? Nah, not Chappy. Hmmm...

Minutes 56-55 Shermans at the Farm pop smoke and withdraw. Shermans at Ford #2 continue to withdraw as well. My Light mortars near the RA come under fire, but again, no one is hurt. FO watches as the mortars are targeted. 1 & 2 Platoons of 10 Kp decide to move north before turning west due to the tanks at Ford #2, then. 3rd Platoon 10 Kp move out of town toward the bridge under the watchful gun of a flakwagon. Elements of the FJ Schule Kp move through town, parallel to Kromme Straat. Oberst Kerner heads to his mount.

Minute 59 Was ist los?!?!? The opening turn of the battle revealed the Brits in unusual positions; one armored platoon on my side of the river, moving south toward Ford #2, a couple of sections of infantry skedaddling frantically from the edge of the Kromme Straat toward Ford #1, and another armored platoon sitting on the eastern edge of Dommelen. That didn't look like a set-up my very erstwhile opponent, Chappy, would choose. It took me a few minutes to figure out that these units were near their ending positions in the first battle for Dommelen. Which changes everything. He now has a force of at least 2--maybe 3--Sherman 75s and a Firefly, with some infantry sections, on my left flank that could cause havoc to my troops heading for Ford #1 and the bridge. My plan was very general to begin with, so it will be a work-in-progress from now on, I think. Here's the situation at the end of the turn: Few of my troops had a bead on the infantry running to the river, nor could my AT guns actually spot any of Chappy's armor...no Britains were harmed in the making of this picture. Minutes 58 & 57 I continue to move the 10th Kp toward the bridge/ford area, and the Schule Kp moves up Kromme Straat. Various shots are taken at the fleeing Brits but none go down. His armor starts to crossFord #2, and those on the eastern edge of Dommelen begin pulling back to the Farm Buildings. My AT guns still can't spot any Shermans (grrrr), so I have them area fire as close as possible to them. Close, but not good enough, even with a Sherman sitting on top of a TRP!. A duel ensues with 2 Shermans at the Farm. Several near misses, but no damage to either side. This Sherman's shell is moving at such a high velocity that it literally cuts through the smoke of my AT shell. The Sherman then does a disappearing act just in time...this shell went just to the right and a little high. The Sherman come close too, but ultimately no one was injured.

There is a small silver lining of sorts. There is an HQ out there that was de-horsed crossing the stream. Perhaps they have a radio to call in the Luftwaffe when/if it arrives.

Game over, Man! Should have nuked them from orbit. His assault guns move much faster than I realized. Several on my left flank, where I was reversing all of my A/Cs, came within range way too soon, and wiped out every one of them! It's a pistol to the head for this commander. Flying high in April, shot down in May. A halftrack almost makes to sanctuary, but gets blasted on the last second of the turn. You can see the armored car..nage in the background. DONE means done.

My Plan ...is simple. Get to and across the river with as few casualties as possible, take the south woods and get lodgement into the eastern edge of Dommelen. Then roll through it and then turn to the south and take the Farm Buildings. The Jadgpanthers and ATGs will support, and take out as much of his armor as possible, starting with the Fireflies! I have 2 FO tems in high buildings in the Residential Area, which with the open terrain, should be able to supply good intel on the location of any armor not hidden behind buildings or woods. The 10Kp/Fliegers are split with 1 & 2 platoons and the 2 50mm mortars in the RA, with 3rd platoon in the northern part of Valkenswaard at the end of Kromme Straat. All three platoons will begin leapfrogging forward to points near the Bridge and Ford #1. One or both of 1 and 2 platoon may opt for Ford #2 if there is an opportunity or need for a potential flank into the Farm or Warehouse areas. If not taken out or at least distracted by my AT/Jadgs elements, though, his armor will prevent any such opportunities. The FJs of FJ Schule Kp.1, the support elements of 1./Flak and Kerner's HQ will also leapfrog to the bridge and ford behind the 3rd platoon/Fliegers. I will try to work my infantry over the ford and spread them out along the opposite river bank. The plan is to then assault into the easternmost buildings of Dommelen and the eastern edge of the South Woods, under cover of smoke. The 3 AT guns in and around the RA can fire in direct support at all those points, and hopefully I can get some of the AA wagons to assist as well. But first I need the Jadgs to work over any visible enemy armor that will threaten the assault over open fields. The first Jadg and a platoon of the 1Kp FJ Abt. Kerner arrive at 1105, and more of each arrive every 5 minutes after that. I should have time to work these on-map forces into position. The Jadgs will hang back and find positions to spot and engage the Shermans, and the FJ Kp will be in support of the main attack, following up through the South Woods and then into Dommelen, or directly into Dommelen, depending on circumstances. The veteran Schule Stab platoon will hang back along the Kromme Straat and load into 2 trucks, the SPW 251, and Kubelwagon borrowed from the AT battery and KG Kerner HQ for a mad dash (covered by smoke) across the bridge if the opportunity arises or necessity requires it. I have a lot of artillery and mortars to call on, and I will certainly be using their smoke capabilities. I hope I can uncover a decent concentration of enemy infantry to make a nasty barrage worth while. Like I said, simple!

Enemy Forces and Terrain The Allied force should be roughly those that booted me out of Dommelen in the first place, about a company of carrier-borne infantry and 2 platoons of armor, and possibly a platoon of engineers. From intelligence gained in that battle, his armor this battle should include 2 Fireflies and 6 or 7 75mm Sherman IIIs. I have no idea how much artillery he has, but the Allies have a lot of it, and he hit me last time with a boatload of what seemed to be 25 pounders. Although there aren't specific objectives set, operationally I'm fighting to take back the Dommelen village hex, which I assume means I need to take, at a minimum, Dommelen itself. I have to assume that Chappy's intent is to hold on to it. If so, his armor is probably in and around the village, the Farm Buildings to the southeast, and the Warehouse two fields south of the village. His infantry will likely be in the village and in (or with outposts in) the South Woods, and/or the Farm Buildings. He probably has Arty spotters in the church tower. The terrain is very open and flat, with only some buildings and tree-lined roads to break up LOS. The river runs through the map, which I have to cross to get toi the objective. There are only 3 decent crossing points, the Bridge and Fords #1 & 2, the 3rd ford is too far south. Recon shows that there aren't any other hidden or unmarked crossing points, which means my approach is limited with little ability to pull any fancy maneuvers. Dommelen.txt

I forgot to add my artillery/mortar assets: 1 battery of 105s (112 HE/32 Smoke), 2 off-map 81mm mortars (100 HE/8 Smoke each), and 3 TRPs. I also have a remnant MG Section HQ without any machine guns which I plan to use as scouts.

I'm looking forward to the challenge for sure, Phil. Thanks for clarifying the Canadian issue, lol! So many of them around here, they confused me! No doubt part of their master plan to take over the world. I have pics to take and upload to continue the AAR later today.

Oh Man, sorry to hear that RepsolCBR. I've done that before with some uniform mods I made and some interesting Saved Games. But this is worse...no campaign for us! I would love to get the scenarios you still have. Others will too, no doubt. You should upload them to the Scenario Depot III.

This is the Axis AAR thread (well, DAR, actually) for the counterattack into Dommelen by Kampfgruppe Kerner, which is attempting to stop, or at least slow down, the Allied XXX Corps' thrust into and through Valkenswaard on its way to relieve the British 1st Abn at Arnhem. I unsuccessfully tried to stop the Canadian forces led by Ian Leslie from taking Dommelen in the last battle...RL prevented me from doing an AAR for that battle. I lost 3 AT guns, and about a platoon of Kriegsmarine infantry, while inflicting some infantry losses on the Canadians, as well as destroying 3 bren carriers and 3 Shermans (all 75mm versions). My opponent this time is Chappy, a Canuck with whom I share an affinity for Rush, Trailer Park Boys, and the Great White North, but who does not cut me any slack when going H-2-H on the battlefield! He absolutely destroyed my Penal Kompanie in the earlier battle for the approaches to the Dommel River. I now have two Canadian scores to settle! Force Review Kampfgruppe Kerner is a typical hodge-podge of German forces scraped together from forces streaming in disorder from the Allied breakout in France, local training schools, and rear area defense and logisitic units. After being ejected from Dommelen, Oberst Kerner (no relation, lol), with some not-so-subtle prodding from OB West and Armee Gruppe B, has decided to counterattack Dommelen, and eject those brash Canucks. This was not an easy decision on his part; although some rather hefty reinforcements have reached the Valkenswaard area--with much better morale and equipment for a change--those forces would be extremely effective, and better used, on the defense. However, these reinforcements include some top quality Fallschirmjagers, a platoon of SdKfz 10/5-mounted 20mm flak guns, and a platoon of 4 Jadgpanthers! The possibility of knocking the Allies on the head for once and slowing them down operationally was too much to resist. (Did I mention the prodding from Kohlen....er, OB West?) One problem though, which I will discuss more fully later...hey, the Packers are playing in a few hours!...is that coming from varying distances from the battlefield, my forces will arrive piecemeal, making the timing of the approach to the Line of Departure by my on map/at start truppen difficult, as well as the timing of my arty barrages, made even more difficult by the need for a smoke barrage at some point to help my poor infantry cross all that the open ground around Dommelen. Located on the outskirts of Valkenswaard Oberst Kerner is in direct command of the following troops: KG Kerner HQ Stab (HQ + Three 75mm Pak 40 ATGs; 4 Jadgpanthers, several trucks and an SPW 251) [Quality, mostly Regular and Veteran, but Jadgpanthers are unknown until arrival] 10 Ko. Fliegerhorst Abteilung 119 (HQ + 3 platoons @ ~18-20 men each, plus 2 50mm mortars) [Quality: mostly Green] 1./FJ Flak Platoon (HQ + 4 mobile 20mm AA; and one team each panzerschreck, sniper, lmg, scout and tank hunter) [Quality: Veteran] FJ Pionier Schule Stab (HQ + 3 Flamethrower and 2 HMG teams; 1 Platoon @ HQ + 4 squads of 5 men each) [Quality: Crack] FJ Pionier Schule Kompanie (HQ + 2 flamethrower and one HMG teams; SPW 251 Flamethrower*; 3 platoons--2 with 2 squads, one with 4 squads--@ ~18-20 men each) [Quality: Green] *Added bonus: Former Demolition expert and survivor of several early battles and skirmishes, Guyver, is back and now commands the flamethrower HT! 1/FJ Abteilung Kerner (Unknown composition until arrival, but approximately 80 men and 2 infantry guns) [Quality: probably Veteran or Crack] The accompanying picture shows the initial troop deployments (and first moves); the Jadgpanthers and the 1/FJ Kompanie will arrive in platoon waves with one or two Jadgs, beginning at 1105 and every 5 minutes thereafter. (Battle begins at 1100.) Enemy assessment, terrain discussion, and battle plans to follow soon.

Italy, 1944.

It's a rout! I was taking screenshots for a hoped-for series of Sit Reps, but this battle started bad and got worse. I had positioned my A/C's and HTs in a semi circular pattern in front of the large hill in the center, but his assault guns and other troops showed up immediately and starting gunning straight at my vehicles. I've been back peddling like crazy, and heading hell bent for leather to the exit zones since. His Sturmoviks have nailed a HT and a 20mm A/C, and his AGs have nailed 2 HTs with troops in them. One HT with a 20mm and one infantry section are making a bit of a stand in trees on my side of the river to hopefully sweep off tank riders on one AG and slow his pursuit down a tad. We'll see. An example of one of his Sturmovik attacks:

Hi Phil, all is well. Thanks! File 003 sent to the DB for Chappy. I will be putting together a DAR and maybe vids as the battle progresses. Can't get to that for a day or two though.

I'll try again...I had already done that, though! On one HT/gun. The crew came out, but there was no gun towed and one didn't't appear when the crew dismounted. Some kind of bug, maybe?

I'll make it work, but I forgot to mention that there are no AT guns, just the crews and the HTs. Is that intended?

I had a chance to check it out, Phil. There are a number of units and fortifications lying outside of the set-up zone in a sort of random manner, and so I can't move them around. Is that what you meant?

"Some units, just a few squads, cannot be set up...sorry." ? a glitch, or units not available per delayed entry?

SLIM, you fair-weather fan, you! Welcome to the Dark Side. Phil, I'd like to delay the Jadgs and Guyver for 20 minutes. I'm concerned they will be spotted immediately from the town's church tower as soon as they enter. Unless they appear behind the woods north of town, but even then, they're far enough away that spotters in the tower will probably see them.

Yes, the first one I saved came up as 036, and renumbered it to 004. This next one came up as 038. I assume Marco got a 037 and renumbered it to 05 (probably forgetting the extra 0 when he renumbered). So I just decided to continue that convention and numbered 038 as 06. Also, I have an HT rider sitting about 6' in the air all by his lonesome, about 4 action squares away from his ride!