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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. 
 

Initial situation
This AAR is being played using a custom scenario borrowing a map from one of the scenarios that will be in the final game. Bud and I replaced the forces with some specific choices to show off new formations and gear.
It is now March 1945 the Germans have been pushed far to the North in Italy. The area is defended by some low experience Luftwaffe ground forces and very tough Gebirgsjaegers. The forces available to push the Germans back in this area are South African and Indian. A force of a squadron plus of tanks from 1 Battalion Pretoria Regiment of the 6th South African armour division and two companies of the 24th Battalion Sikh Regiment supported by the elements of 2nd Independent Field Squadron of Indian Engineers.
The weather is clear but with the snow having recently melted the ground is wet.
Comandant Litson climbed back into his tank reflecting on his first meeting with the CO of the infantry he was tasked with supporting. The whole thing went better than expected. Lt. Col Ram Singh spoke better English that he did. Turns out the Indian officer had spent years in England before the war. His concerns about communications problems were curtailed. While there might still be problems, he now felt that he and is 2IC could contact Lt. Col Ram Singh and his staff and they would be able to straightening things out. In fact, since they were not under a time crunch, they had spent a little time over tea. The Indians seemed genuinely pleased to be working with he and his men. He got the feeling that they had similar uncomfortable experiences in the past working with British officers.
Comandant Litson, like everyone else, knew the war was in its final days but until hostilities actually ended his men were not out of danger. The best way to protect his men and those of his allies was to prevent the Germans from regrouping and causing havoc on their terms. This was the time for his men to take the fight into their control.
 

Planning
METT-T: Mission
The real mission is to show off the Rome to Victory Beta and give you guys something to drool over;-)
The mission of the SA and Indian armies is the keep up the pressure on the German forces in the area and take away the high ground in the area to prevent any possible German counter attacks into the valley below.
Objectives:
The main objective is the high ground with its multi story building that has an excellent view of a wide area. To succeed in capturing that objective we need to cross a small river and capture a bridge as well as the town below the high point and another small village near by.
Bridge – There is a single bridge and three fords over the river. Given the wet ground conditions using the fords will be risky. We will need to capture this bridge.
Hamlet – This is probably the least important objective but it is on the route from the fords and attacking the down without nutralizing forces in this village will be foolish.
Lower Town, Mid Town, Upper Town – With three separate equally important objectives in the down for the scenario this is the most important area of the map.
Hill Top – The true objective of the scenario. All other objectives service taking the observation post on this hill top.
Tasks:
The Germans have been fortifying the area and are likely to have AT guns in the area along with some armour elements as well. The first task will be to get observation on the ridge line and village near our jumping off point.
After which we will need to capture a river crossing and gain a view onto the plateau and the hill beyond.
Cross the river – We will need to cross the river at KT1 (fords) and or KT2 (bridge)
Gain the ridge line – In order to assault the town and the hill above we will next need to take the ridge line between KT3 and KT4.
Neutralize forces in the Hamlet – assaulting the town will be difficult if my forces are taking fire across the plateau KT5.
Assault the town KT6 – To make it to the hill top we will not be able to ignore the town
Take the hill top KT7 – With the above tasks accomplished this will be the last step to Victory

METT-T: Terrain
The map is about a km squared. There are some flat plateaus but also a lot of hill and valleys as well. My forces start off in the South East corner near KT1. The path to the hill top KT7 will be over the river at KT1 and KT2 adn then over the ridge line between KT3 and KT4. There is a road from the bridge KT2 leading to town KT6 and a trail leading from KT1 to KT5 just East of KT3.

 
Some views of the terrain follow as indicated by the green triangles.

 
Map View #1

 
Map View #2

 
Map View #3

 
Map View #4

 
Map View #5

 
Map View #6

 
Map View #7

 

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. 

The history of AAR goes back quite some ways, following the complicated and challenging path that Rome To Victory development took, as explained by Steve in various places in the past few months. The good news is that stuff we wanted but didn’t have back in 2018 is in the game now, and from a personal standpoint, it’s something Ian and I felt HAD to be in this addition to what is already my favourite of the CM series, CMFI. Like the song about the D-Day Dodgers, there are a lot of assumptions about CMFI that people make and people share. I made them, when it came out. What good was another Western Front variant? We had CMBN, and what would CMFI offer aside from Italians ? 
Boy was I wrong... 
The maps alone are worth the price. Terrain so different from anything we see in CMBN, and subsequently, CMFB. A time period that went back to the exciting days in 1943, when the Axis were first struck on their home territory - along with suitable equipment like Panzer IIIs and Elefants. I bought it with some hesitation, and it did not take long to see this game could carry half the war for me. Three years, with Rome To Victory thrown in. 
What you are about to see and read is the culmination of some historical analysis, a bit of fiction, and artistic licence. Yes, there really was a general Wolff who was negotiating with General Clark for the surrender of axis forces in Italy, at the secret authorization of Smiling Al Kesselring. This much is true. 
Just after the events in this AAR, in April 1945, the Allies began the final offensive to liberate northern Italy. Among the forces there were some represented in this AAR, the 8th Indian division, and the South African 6th armoured division. The lines in the west were south of the Apennines, and in the east, North, touching the Adriatic. Near Bologna, close to the Apennines, ran highway 8, a vital link for advance and supply. This much is also true.
And now, the story: In March, shortly before the great allied offensive, tucked in a cleft in the Apennines near Imola, a German combat group is threatening allied supply lines if bypassed. They need to be removed before April. A combined South African and Indian force is dispatched to dislodge the Germans from their cul-de-sac. 
What follows is what happened when they tried...
PS: I apologize in advance. Some documents are a bit crumpled or bloodstained. There is a war on, you know...
PPS: As always, the images are a lot larger than they display on the forum, so click on them for more detail.
PPPS: Remember the game is still in development, so flaws/errors/weirdness are because it’s WIP!

Being able to plan more than one embark/disembark per turn.

Revamp the way direct fire mortars work. Currently, they either fire very fast for a full minute, wasting many shells. Or they fire very slowly (target light), which takes forever to knock out the target.
Instead, they could work like in real life: The mortar is given a target order; it then then fires a couple of rounds to get the range; then it rapidly fires three shells on target. The officer evaluates the effect and can then order another salvo. This time without the spotting rounds, as the mortar already has the range.
Alternatively, it could work like this: Giving a Target Brief order, the timer would only start to count down once the mortar was done aiming and finding range, and had begun the fire for effect phase.

The Kampfgruppe lacks the strength for another frontal assault. The plan is to seize the hill on the right flank, and advance through the wooded valley. As the first part of the Kampfgruppe arrives, the Panthers take the hills -- as the infantry probes American defenses in the area.

The Americans have dug-in their infantry in the wooded areas. These dogged defenders are ready to delay my breakthrough, as they call in their heavy artillery. They are eager to engage, despite the overwatching panthers.

Time is of the essence, and the mixed elements cannot afford to be zeroed in by American batteries on stand by. They must push forward, and break through the wooded areas. Luckily the Panthers managed to neutralize all of the apartment cannons at the northern objective.
 
Despite being on the receiving end of fire superiority, the American defenders hold their ground and attempt to suppress and delay the advance. The foxholes in the woods provide heavy cover, as well as concealment for their infantry.

There is little time to methodically clear the wooded areas. American heavy artillery has already obliterated the hill. The maneuver must continue to step one step ahead of the artillery. The panthers break through the clearings, and begin to engage the northern town's defenders.


As one troop suppresses the defenders. Another troop makes their way from the right flank, and up the valley, towards the town. Once they have coverage of all buildings and foxholes, the halftracks and infantry will follow. So far, the assault is going according to plan. The infantry has sustained light casualties, and the Americans were expecting a frontal assault along the highway.

BOOM!
The troop command tank bursts in flame, as a solid slug smashes through its mantlet. There are no survivors. The rest of the troop quickly hurry to return fire at the hidden American tank destroyer.

A high velocity armour piercing round goes straight through the 90mm tank destroyer's hull, and hits the ground behind it. The american crew bails out. It is tragic to lose a panther HQ to this tin can.

As the infantry catches up with the Panther troops, they encounter fanatical American resistance. Unlike previous battles, there are no surrenders. After the slaughter of POWs and Belgian civilians, by the Kampfgruppe -- they expect no quarter and give none. Yet, they are overwhelmed by superior numbers and firepower.

The infantry catches up, and the the Kampfgruppe closes the distance. So far, the assault is going according to schedule. All the heavy elements in the northern part of the town have been cleared. The objective is within firing range. The next phase of the operation will be to exploit this flank and secure the exit. The final objective is to attack the center of the town, no doubt the American's strongest position, from the rear.
 

To the Meuse!
After weeks of heavy fighting, the state of the Kampfgruppe is dire. Infantry companies are at half strength, and the panthers are suffering from a lack of repair. The retaking of Stavelot proved to be a costly affair. American resistance has greatly strengthened since the start of the operation. Their men fight to the last, with new equipment that evens out the playing field. The time is now. The Kampfgruppe must break through to the Meuse now -- or lose the opportunity forever!

Beta team, I think.  Its very hard to tell who is official who is beta team, and who is just a fan.  Beta team members also seem to contribute scenarios and other stuff, so, to me, its a very gray area.  Though Steve does come in and throw shade at customer demands now and then.  The gaming forums I visit tend to view these boards as a place not welcoming to even the slightest criticism.  I don't wholly subscribe to that, but the over-sensitivity like the above just reinforces the perception without any context.

Great news! Thanks.
The product page for Rome to Victory says that it has 2 campaigns and 8 standalone battles. I assume that should be 18 standalone battles, to bring it in line with the other similarly priced modules? (Even the $10 battle packs have had a campaign and 10+ battles....)

Very cool thanks for sharing.
For a split second looking at your first image I thought that sign (nearly dead centre of the image) was a German Infantry icon form the game. Just for a moment...