Bud Backer

Thanks. I don’t usually “step out” of the comic format in my AARs but for clarity’s sake I have done so here, as I know people will be looking at both Ian’s and this AAR and will want to compare the situation from each perspective. Yes, you should see new (although WIP) artwork in the AAR. And some new German kit too! I hope I can keep him from even getting into the town!

Right! Left!

Finally, we get to the town, the main objective, and the last section to explore. This is in the northwest/bottom left corner of the map. On the right you see the ridgeline running up from the bottom of the image to the top. There is a decoy position in there, which may see real use, depending on the how the battle unfolds. Two TRPs should allow quick response to the enemy advance. I can't see them being on the open fields so they are placed where the allies may attempt to use cover, the woods to the left and right of the town. Not showing an icon is an HMG unit in the houses that are just up and right of the word "TRP", to cover the woods and give the enemy some trouble. Two bunkers on the right side of the village have HMGs and should hopefully provide some decent suppression. Scattered among the buildings is the better part of a Gebirgsjäger company, with mortars, HMGs and 75mm infantry guns for support. Near the road at the east (top) end of town is the last 20mm flakvierling, and the Pantherturm is to the left. It has excellent LOS across the map as do many of the forward units. In town, tucked in alleys, are two Stug IIIGs and two StuH42s. Behind the town at the very bottom is a tower with the overall commander, a Gerbirgs battalion CO and some supporting units including a dedicated artillery spotter. This tower gives a view over most of the map, in some places even across the ridgeline onto the south side of the river near the village.

In the upper-left/northeastern quadrant of the map, we find the hamlet. If you recall from the overview, due south (right) of this is the ridgeline, and beyond that, the river, fords and the allied deploy zone. Down/west is the larger town, and the ground begins to rise just below the end of this image. You'll note that while there are several sandbag, trench and foxhole positions, but with the exception of one foxhole position at the top centre, in the woods adjacent to the hamlet, they are all occupied. Like in the village across the river in the previous map segment, the flak 88 is in a trench, and adjacent is an ammo bunker. The 20mm flakvierling is in the clearing between the woods and the row of buildings, in a trench as well. Scattered among the buildings is the second Fallschirmjäger platoon. One Nashorn is in the farmer's field near the hamlet, waiting for Kurt's orders. The other is tucked behind a house on the left, half of it completely hidden and the gun pointing toward the ridgeline. A third (unmarked) vehicle is near the houses. There are some trucks available to move infantry, but they are vulnerable and are just there if an opportunity presents itself. The whole force is largely a static one, and the defences are geared toward grinding the enemy down, not outmaneuvering them. Near the bottom-right, again in a trench, is a parachute 75mm recoilless gun, just like in the village. On the bottom-left is an officer who is a good spotter as he is the mortar platoon commander, as well as one of the Luftwaffe's lighter mortars. There are heavier ones in the town itself. The enemy is going to approach from off the right side of the map. To move toward the main objective, the town, they can attempt to bypass the hamlet, but leaving a force like this on their flanks is unlikely. So they will have to fight here first. As you will see in the next post, some of the defences of the town can help in this fight, because the town is substantially higher than the hamlet.

Thanks! So that brief return to the comic was just to set the stage for the next two posts, which explain the situation on the northern side of the river.

My own unofficial experience is this: I placed ATGs in trenches in a battle in CMFB. My opponent lost multiple tanks to just one ATG because it was a devil to spot. I’m hoping that isn’t accidental. We will see...

As we move along the right bank of the river from the allied deploy area, we get to the bottom-right/south-west quardrant. You already know what some of these are, and the little psychological game I’m playing with them. The one TRP is near the bridge. If the allies do move this way I won’t have the resources in the village to stop them, but the TRP will let me hurt them as they occupy the village and try to cross. Next to the bridge is a flak 88, set in a trench, and a bunker with its ammo team. A pantherturm is positioned to cover the road, and the nearer fields, and is assisted with a 20mm flakvierling. None of these weapons have LOS beyond the near fields. This is good, because when Ian comes to them they will be a surprise, and within rifle support range. provided by the Fallschrimjäger platoon. Both 88 and the pantherturm have excellent LOS along the ridgeline.

Let’s break down this map into four quadrants. Starting with the upper right/south-east corner, where the allies will start the encounter. As already mentioned, the river is impassable. Three of the four crossings are right near the allied deploy area. In that general region, I am not going to drop artillery during the first several minutes as it is - from a game standpoint - profoundly unfair. There are no units in the area that have line of sight to the fords, nor the allied deploy zone. Likely the first thing that catches the eye are the “Decoy Positions.” What are decoy positions, you ask? When I purchased my fortifications, I had some left over that I did not see a suitable location for where I’d fill them with infantry etc. So some foxholes, sandbag walls and one bunker were put to a different purpose: I know Ian can see them, even without LOS, and I want him to. I want him to wonder if the positions are occupied or not. And I want him to eventually get used to the fact that the ones he encountered are not, because the ones that are may surprise him. They are there to slow him down, eat at the clock, and give me a chance to survive. The bunker on the ridge is a doozy, as he can see that right from his start position. It is unoccupied and gives me no information, but I do hope it is discomfiting. I’ve placed TRPs at locations where I hope he will pause in his advance, either because he wants to see if he can spot my units or because he is held up by my ground fire. Artillery is going to fire preplanned bombardments at +10 minutes at the woods on the ridge northwest of the decoy bunker, and near the houses you see on the southern side of the river. The hedgehogs are placed from my side of the westernmost ford, to the woods on the ridge. This is meant to prevent a straight advance in force along the open side of the ridge, between my defences in the town and the village. Where the hedgehogs end, mines begin, all the way down the wooded slope of the ridge until it reaches the clear fields near the hamlet. They are there to prevent him moving west in the woods and clearing the barbed wire that runs across the ridge. None of this is an impenetrable defence, but my goal here is to buy time and generally make his free movement more inconvenient, hopefully making attacking my strong points the simpler option.

Thanks, Dave. The stock scenario is really well done. I can't recommend it enough, when the game comes out. Its called: End of the Line. This battle with Ian will be very different from the scenario. I'll be posting my forces shortly and I am sure you will see that this is not quite the force you fought.

Thanks, herr Kommissar! I'm pretty sure I'm in deep kimchi here. This battle is based on a lovely scenario by our own Nik Mond. It is his map, and what I decided was to change it as it was originally designed for Allied vs AI play. It needed some adjustment to make it more suitable for heat to head play. Ian has about 3.5 the force allocation I do. Gonna be ugly here...

The server space for external users to host pictures is limited on the site. I recommend Flickr (which gives you 1000 pictures capacity for free) or imgur, which does not impose limits but does compress pictures causing a moderate reduction in quality, or google photos, which if you follow their size limits will not restrict how many you can upload.

Here is what I think the Allied commander’s options are: Plan A: Use the fords to cross the river and go north, cross the ridgeline and pivot west to take the town. This plan requires the enemy to either defeat the hamlet defenders, or to try to use the woods as cover and close on the town, bypassing the hamlet defenders. I don’t think the latter is likely. The woods offer only a narrow band of good cover. My guns can hit units some distance into them so that would be asking for an artillery barrage on the woods. I have TRPs on the ridgeline in any case as this either way, he will initially be paused in the woods dealing with the hamlet, or crawling through them. Plan B: Head across the flat, open plains on the south side of the river to the village, defeat the defenders there, cross the bridge, and then cross the ridge to attack the flank of the town. Despite the flatness of the southern plain, sightlines are not as ideal as one would expect due to crops, low walls and cultivated fields. Plan C Cross the fords Near the allied zone, climb the ridge and use it bypass the defenders in the hamlet, and avoid contesting the bridge, then enter the town as in Plan B. I see this as the least likely approach. It is exposed to fire from the village defenders, and I have some defences that will make it a bit more cumbersome to move there. As we start looking at plans and deployment, I must remind you that this battle has started and so there is no alteration possible to what you see. Coming up: breakdown of defences and the psychology of play

So let’s hop out of the comic for a bit and present certain information you will find helpful to follow along in the story. The map is about 1 square kilometre. Side to side and front to back dimensions are just over 1km each. The allies start in a clearing in the upper right corner, the Germans are everywhere else. Time allotted for the battle is one hour. A ridgeline divides the map, and it borders an impassable river that has 4 crossings - the three fords near the allied zone, and the bridge at the village lower right. The river side of the ridgeline is open, rough ground. It is exposed to fire from units in the village almost to the nearest ford. The inland (north) side of the ridge is densely wooded. The ground is almost perfectly flat south of the river, from the village to the allied zone. On the other side of the ridge, the land starts flat at the far (east) end, and eventually slopes somewhat steeply in the town, and beyond, to the hilltop. The hamlet in the upper left (northeast) corner is the completely flat plains area, facing the ridge that rises just at its periphery. It’s March, so spring melt and rain has left the ground a bit damp.

Seriously recommend you click the pic to read the fine landmark print.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I knew it was going to be a hit or miss proposition. It gets less bloody later.

All offending material has been reworked.The proofreaders have been sacked. The people sacking the proofreaders have also been sacked. And Kurt has been colourized, because Kurt is not an old photo. Kurt is a person and he doesn’t feel quite so colourless.

Ah, yes, I see now.

Sadly, only this: