BrotherSurplice

Although I also think that certain applications of artillery against AFVs (especially in CMBS) seems underwhelming at times, imo Soviet tactics / doctrine does 'work' or have application in CM.
But imo Soviet doctrine / tactics aren't to brainlessly rush into the enemy objective command & conquer style. Imo would the war actually have played out according to CMCWs backstory, I don't think many Soviet commanders will try to push a MRR blindly into a route where the whole recon / forward security element (or both) have become smoldering wrecks.
In my experience in CMCW the USA forces shine when used as one would use a scalpel or similar precision tools, which can be neatly used to cut away the strongest enemy assets while bounding forward under overwatch. Scout, smoke, shoot & scoot, suppress, flank, etc.. (aka recon pull). Engage enemy at distance with TOWs etc, cut off their head than move in for the kill.
The Soviet forces work better with the 'sledgehammer' approach. Choose a place for a main effort (imo ideally after your recon/forward security got a feel for the composition of enemy defenses), bombard the crap out of any potential strongpoints / defenses threatening your main effort. Setup strong firesupport positions (ATGMs, AGL, etc), isolate the main effort / objective by smoking off other parts of the battle field. Than fully commit to the push, move boldly from fire position to fire position and keep shooting anything vaguely suspicious. Continue shooting for good measure. (aka more like a command push).
The sledgehammer approach does usually produce casualties faster. But that's a different issue than the question of whether it 'works' in CM imo. It certainly works better for USSR forces than trying to play them like they are US forces (at least for me).

Of course all battles are different but some things are universal, which don't care about doctrines. Don't rush all your tanks into the open if there's a bunch of potent ATGMs / enemy tanks in good positions waiting for your to do exactly that. Whether your playing USSR, USA, modern or WW2; it will remain true.
Maybe you can get away with it if it if your rolling with a bunch of M1A2SEP against AT-3 Malyutka's or T-55s. But than you're not getting results because of good tactics anyway. 

Ratio lmao

1800-1801
The OP established by the crew from the immobilised armoured car continues to show itself valuable. They have identified yet another Panther moving east (my left), near point 205.2. Undoubtedly, this cat is moving to take up a battle position in anticipation of parrying a thrust on that flank. I believe it is not too great a leap of logic that the Cromwell I lost last turn has prompted this movement. I am happy for him to run his assets all over his interior lines in penny-packets in reaction to every move I make - asides from providing me with great intel it may provide me with some opportunities as the distance closes. 
This same OP (and, more alarmingly, a tank!) spot...the monster.

A Pak-43, a dedicated 88mm anti-tank gun, a rare beastie. It's sat in a trench right on the forward edge of Obj "TOM", near a hedge. I am not sure what allowed us to spot it, I hadn't taken any fire this turn from that location. My best guess is that this was the culprit opening fire a few turns ago on the cruiser tanks snaking their way forward on the right. If so, that was a very costly break in fire discipline on Draper's part. Sadly, the OP doesn't have permission to call for fires; but one of the platoon leaders from the trailing vehicles will likely be aware of this gun soon and will set up an observation post to direct fires. 
The cruiser tank who spotted it is, I presume, in mortal peril and is ordered to fall back into better cover during the command phase. 
1801-1802
More Panthers this turn - 3, all moving behind point 205.2. 

They are tracked for some time before sight is lost of them in some trees. They are clearly heading towards Obj "TOM." What their final position will be is, at this time, a mystery to me. 

The carrier section's dismounts have waded the first tributary with nary a shot fired. Farm 001 and its environs remains silent.

On the right, No. 6 Platoon's commander from B Coy has gotten word of the Pak43 and has dismounted to call for some fires on it. He should be in position next turn. 

Comments:
It's taking a while for this superb intel being gathered by the dismounted armoured car crew to disseminate across the formation. This isn't surprising given how tenuous their C2 links is presently with their section leader and platoon leader. I desperately want to firm up that C2 link, but cannot risk moving the section or troop leader, or really spare them as they are covering the movement of the vulnerable Dingoes are present time. I'd love to start using my intel advantage to start nipping at the Panther's heels, or trying to organise co-ordinated direct fires on the known AT positions, but patience is the by-word for now. 
Draper's fire discipline has, so far in my view, been pretty poor. I know that target arcs can be a double-edged sword, as @IanL is fond of saying, but I really can't stress their importance enough. He's given away a lot for, so far, very little return. All as a result of dicey engagements at extended range. 
1802-1803
C Company, on the left, begins motoring up to the woods (the same one the carrier leader set an OP up in) to debus and begin fording the river. I keep them light and do not take any further ammo or the PIATs, confident that the remaining three tanks can effectively protect them for now. 

The column is a bit strung out so there are still half tracks filing in even now. 
The Panthers continue their laborious movements up towards Obj TOM, and we catch fleeting glimpses of them as they move through and behind a small tree line. 
On the right, a Cruiser in cover near point 193.1 suddenly spots a Puma in the West village. It takes a shot and misses, low. The Puma appears unaware. As the turn ends, it is aiming a follow-up shot; range is 675m. 

Further behind, near point 207.8, No. 6 Platoon's leader has called for fire on the Pak43's position - ETA 8 minutes. Notice he does, in fact, have the ? contact on the position - once word reaches the regimental HQ it rapidly spreads out to both the tankers and infantrymen, as the Colonels are grouped together presently in a command post. 

 
***
Bahahaha

Let's continue.
1756-1757
Nothing terribly exciting to report this turn. So lets fill some white space with my comments. Here's a general overview of things. 

Been a bit of a creeping start, hasn't it? The deliberate pace has netted me some decent intel though  - for example the dismounted carrier HQ has already reported light vehicle contact on OBJ Tom, likely audio, from his position. Perhaps a prime over for an ATG, or a supply vehicle?
We're reaching on both routes the approach of final cover and it's time to begin transitioning to a bounding overwatch. With the Cromwells closing up behind the recce even now this will provide some much needed 'oomph' to the tactic. 
1757-1758
The dismounted armoured car crew spot yet another Panther motoring past point 192.4 towards W Village. He's pouring quite a few forces into this area. Amazingly this OP is still in C2 range (visual/long) of its HQs so it will be able to relay this info, albeit slowly, without having to displace as I first feared.
Unfortunately despite the wall of steel deploying in front of this thrust I need to continue to probe it if only to obscure my final intentions. I am already accepting that I am going to suffer the loss of the recce section and at least half the tank platoon - not willingly, but we must be realistic about the price of these interim objectives. 

On the left the carrier section dismounts and move forward with two teams while the Troop 2IC and the 2 inch mortar follow shortly behind. 

The cruisers have coiled up behind the carriers and can fan out along small hull-down positions, or take up firing positions in the woods where the OP/LP currently is, if the need arises. 
Still far too early to commit yet to either course of action, however just based on the intel currently gathered, it still looks like the left is best. Draper is reacting fairly strongly on the right thus far and I am, admittedly, moving into the teeth of it. 
1758-1759

The carriers of B Coy begin moving forward in the trail of the carrier section and cruiser tanks. 
1759-1800
A Kubelwagen is spotted trying to cross a muddy ravine, around the same area the Panthers earlier crossed. Not sure what, if anything, to make of that. Hope the bastards bog. 

On the left, two sharp cracks of a high velocity gun ring out. The recce 2IC rapidly spots the culprit - a Pak gun - but what the hell is he shooting at? It appears to have spotted a Cromwell coiled up in the ravine and is firing at a very high angle. The first shot misses but before I can give any orders, as its only halfway through the turn, it manages to get a second shot on target, killing or wounding the turret crew and KOing the tank. 



A bitter pill to swallow. The 2IC calls for fire from a 3 inch mortar section to redress the balance. Something tells me this was not a deliberate fire order from Draper, as while the loss of the Cromwell is annoying its not as devastating as a more disciplined wait could have been. C Coy, moving up behind, will dismount and fan out into the woods. They will probe forward across the water obstacles dismounted since its clear the roads and vehicle approaches to Farm 001 are covered. I doubt highly this Pak is the only weapon aiming here. 
Well, first blood to Draper, and this will (spoilers!) unfortunately set the tone for quite a few turns yet. A lot of good intel is about to be earned at far too high a cost in my mind, and I will be playing Johnny-come-lately in response. I don't like being the one having to constantly react on the attack. Not a good sign. 

Apologies, this one is text heavy - I didn't believe it was worth taking too many screens for what occurs. Let me know if you'd prefer otherwise. 
1751-1752
On the right
A second Panther is soon spotted. As the rest of the armoured car section crests the hill and makes its move to cover, they all report in succession the movement of this section of Panthers in the general direction of the East village and Objective "HARRY." 

On the left
The carrier section leader has dismounted and is hoofing it to a nearby wooded area to establish an OP. Since the troop 2IC remains mounted with the rest of the carriers (he doesn't have binoculars, sigh) it is hoped the rest of the carrier teams will still benefit from his leadership. The carriers remain at a brief halt while they give the Sarge a few minutes to reach his intended position. 
The OP will, it is hoped:
a. Provide some BDA on the barrage on hill 204.1; and
b. Ascertain if the troop movement spotted earlier was incidental, or a deliberate reaction to my movement - namely to cover the exit from the draw I am using to mask my movement as much as possible.
1752-1753
The lead armoured car on the right axis of advance bogs and promptly immobilizes. The crew will dismount and move to establish an OP on a nearby high ground and keep their eyes in the fight. The fellows obviously do not have any form of man-portable radio and will either have to run any intel to another unit or head back to their stuck car to get on the net and report.

1753-1754
The armoured car that now finds itself in the lead sees, but fails to positively identify (or, less likely, can hear) an armoured contact moving in the wheat field behind OBJ "HARRY". 
The platoon of cruiser tanks operating in close support with the B Company team begin rounding Hill 207.8 and crossing the dangerous bit of open ground traversed earlier by the armoured cars. By the end of the turn the lead tank has crossed back into dead ground- unscathed .
Comments:
I'm fairly sure at this point that Draper is fully aware of the armoured car's approach, or is strongly suspicious of it. Surely, he must have caught some fleeting glimpses as they crossed between dead ground. Nevertheless, the recce is past the most dangerous point on this potential course of action. So, unless the Panther's now unduly expose themselves with very forward battle positions I should be fine. Draper is not that gung-ho. Way back in the mists of time he once handed me my burned ass on a platter with a single well-positioned, carefully husbanded Panther; he remembers that lesson very well, it's better to play it safe and let the attacker come to you with such assets. 
What I do hope is happening is that he is starting to focus, unduly, on what he can see. Moving up Panthers so quickly does smack of a bit of an overreaction - and I'm seeing a lot of movement generally. 
1754-1755
He is definitely aware of movement on the right - as the second cruiser in the file traversing the "danger zone" takes fire. 

At the time and despite my painstaking efforts to get a good screenie of the incoming round I was legitimately unsure of whether I was taking direct fire or indirect fire. I am fairly sure now, as I type, that it is a direct fire weapon of some kind. The salient point of course is that, whatever it is, it misses.
If this isn't proof-positive that paying attention to terrain and taking pains to reduce your exposure as much as possible pays off, I don't know what is. The unseen assailant chances again on the third tank in file and likewise misses, badly. The troop's Firefly, a more sluggish and conspicuous vehicle, is ordered not to chance it and takes a rough turret-down position near the crest of Hill 207.8. From here it can join in from afar and inch forward into a battle position if the need and opportunity arises.
At this point I am confident the fire is coming directly from Obj "TOM."
1755-1756
I'm well pleased thus far with the recce's progress on both axes of advance. Not only have they drawn ineffective fire - which ultimately does help build an intelligence picture - but they've positively identified key enemy assets and have allowed me to anticipate their likely final positions. 
More importantly, they haven't taken any casualties yet and have managed to establish some decent forward OPs. On that note, the carrier section leader has taken an excellent concealed position that still provides good line of sight to Obj "TOM" and 204.1. Can you see them?

On the right, the armoured recce is now within effective firing range of the North Village and has guided three Cromwells up to excellent positions in which they can provide overwatch. We'll slow our pace here and conduct a series of bounding overwatches as we try to ford the river on this side and pierce his MLR or slip past some outposts. 

 

Apologies for not posting yesterday, by the time I got on top of everything yesterday evening Draper and I were both free so we chose to do more turns. 
It is now 1745h and the BG has now coiled up behind a ridge and joined hands with the forward elements from the Hussars. Despite the advanced hour its a muggy, dry August day. Diminishing light is not a worry, nightfall can be as late as 2100h in August. C Squadron, less its two loaned platoons, take up positions on the reverse slopes of several prominent ridges, ready to provide a base of fire.

1745-1746
The first minute is spent, perhaps anticlimactically, in idleness as we paste several forward positions. Particular attention is given to Hill 204.1, which has a suspected anti-tank gun position. The north village also receives a stonk, our apologies to the property owners.


The forward elements are coiled up in a file in some gullies and ravines that they'll use to move forward next turn.  The order of march for both the B and C company teams is Recce, Tank Troop, 1 x Rifle Platoon, CO, 2 x Rifle Platoons, 2 IC. 

Comments: 
I've been burned very recently by what I thought was an effective and on target barrage from indirect fires. I'm therefore trying my best to will myself to assume that anti-tank gun on 204.1 has not suffered any loss. May my cynicism spare me heartbreak later on. 
Overall I was really shocked at the amount of intel I got, and it makes me even more confident about my infiltration (as much as one can do that with armoured vehicles) on the left. The first "danger zone" the left company team must cross is very far forward and this will mean deploying the armour in support will be a bit easier. On the right the first danger zone is basically just beyond the line of departure and I'm hoping the speedy Daimlers can cross it before any enemy waiting to strike can get a real solution. I'm even going to be a brief optimist and say if Draper is hasty enough to open up at that range on my scouts all he may do is give away concealed positions wastefully. 
I'm less confident about developing any gap in Draper's defence or masked terrain on the left into favourable conditions for an attack. I won't revisit the terrain analyses in detail but suffice to say exiting a bottleneck to cross two water obstacles does not fill me with a warrior's confidence. 
I'm husbanding the FOO - who remains attached to the Colonels' hip in the HQ(F)'s assembly area. I will wait until the intelligence picture is built up a bit more before getting him to an OP. I've lost too many FOOs to wily foes who know me too well - and are blessed with common sense -  putting down searching fires.
1746-1747
LD Fable is crossed as the company teams get moving. The stonk continues but I've ordered ceasefires on the mortars to preserve their ammunition. The Sexton battery is allowed to continue souring Anglo-Franco relations in the North Village. 
A look at the planned movement that started this turn, first on the right: 


Note that I'm going around rather than over ridges. This is bread and butter movement but it will spare you a ballache in CM.
The left:


Note the intel on enemy positions. We got to be very careful about how we move here. 
1747-1748
The columns continue to coil forward - maintaining spacing is becoming difficult in this close terrain and I've had to use quite a few pause commands during the command cycle. 

This is particularly problematic on the right flank where the armoured cars are struggling through a rocky gully. 

1749-1750
The lead armoured car units begin to wrap around Hill 207.8, crossing the first "danger zone" where they are exposed, particularly to the heights around OBJ "DICK." They step on the gas, trading the risk of being spotted by dust for a higher chance of survival. 
No shots fired. No sparks flying from a burning hulk, no men screaming and entombed in self-same. So far, so good. 
1750-1751
Hullo, Mother calling.
Roger Mother, Hullo Father. Go ahead. 
Roger Father, Hullo Mother calling, tell the children the cat's loose in the garden again, Mother out.

1st section lead spots a Panther manoeuvring through a wheatfield - an amazing bit of spotting given the range and movement . Where it is going precisely is, right now, anyone's guess but needless to say we know Panthers are on the prowl. In what number remains to be see. Early intel earned bloodlessly, I will take it. The Panther soon  disappears from sight as it moves into its own dead ground created by a fold in the field.  In any event, the section leader is completing his own dash over the potential kill zone and his thoughts stray from the Panther soon after,  I am sure. 
But wait, there's more. On the left, the Carrier section reports its own contact, a brief glimpse of feldgrau among the shrubbery near Farm 002. All that is spotted is a single infantryman, and no other intel is gleaned as the UCs dip carefully back into the ravine as they snake forward. Is Draper reacting to our movement? Or is he merely shifting a unit to a position he believes is better, on second thought? 
 

That would be a brain fart, because I was typing "command push" initially. Which leads me to a decent point of minor contention. While I ultimately decided to classify this scheme as a recon pull I think quite a few people here would call this as a command push along two identified axes. A lot of people, with merit, would argue a recon pull provides even more latitude to the lead recce to select a path and find a gap. This scheme is more the Colonel telling the troop leader "I want you to find out which of these two templated routes is more secure" - which is a level of centralization much more akin to a command push ("I want you to secure this route for the follow-on forces and report contact"). 

I'll have the next part posted sometime today, dealing with a few last minute panic e-mails at work. 

Good stuff here - these are always the best threads.  The pedant in me though has to point out that the abbreviations for the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards is 5 INNIS DG and 1st Battalion the Rifle Brigade is 1 RIF BDE.

Granddad Paddy's ghost taps me on the shoulder. "not a fan of an Irishman." Tell the fecker that you saw Georgie Best score for the Reds at Fulham back '67.
In the meantime, let's see how the Rats are getting on.

Yes, I expect a very bitter fight for it regardless of how the rest of the battle pans out. 
Hmmm...Cromwell profile picture...not a fan of an Irishman. I'm seeing a theme...
***
Friendly Forces
My battlegroup is primarily drawn from units of the 22nd Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division. The heavy hitter of a British Armoured Division, in reality by August '44 most Commonwealth armoured divisions rarely fought in their typical brigade formats, the BHQs acting more as tactical headquarters for mixed BGs of 1 armour, 1 infantry battalion + misc. elements. The 22nd is no different, but the stresses of keeping a cross-channel supply line up to snuff, plus nonstop combat since early June, makes the BG a bit more shambolic than its paper ideal.
For example, the entirety of A Squadron, 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards (the junior armoured regiment) is currently struck from the order of battle due to material and manpower losses. Surviving crews and 'runners' have been absorbed by B and C squadrons, who are near full strength as a result. We are borrowing "A" Squadron from the 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars (the armoured recce regiment) to fill out our combat strength. While this expedient solves the power of combat strength, it complicates greatly the horizontal transfer of timely information between fighting elements. 
The balance of the battlegroup is filled out by the divisional motor regiment, the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. A halftrack mounted regiment, they are hovering around 70 percent strength and most of the rifle coys have disbanded their scout and anti-tank troops to make up the strength. The sole exception to this is A Coy, who have managed to hang onto these elements, for what worth that may prove. The support company provides us with two heavy machine gun platoons plus a mortar platoon (off map) with 4 x excellent 3 inch mortars. 
A single troop from the 11th Hussars (confusingly, yet another recce regiment, but more traditionally organised) provides a point element for the entire force. They are divided into an armoured car section and a carrier section. Alongside "A" of the 8th Hussars, they have long been in contact with the enemy and we are joining them. 
Fires are provided at the higher level by an entire battery of Sexton self-propelled 25lb guns. They possess a prodigious amount of ammunition in excess of 800 rounds, plus ample smoke - perhaps the single greatest asset in WWII titles, imo. A platoon of 4.2 inch "chemical" mortars round out the fire support, notable for their high amount of white phosphorous rounds - again allowing for prodigious and near-instantaneous obscuration fires. 

Enemy Forces
The balance of the enemy forces in Normandy are nearly surrounded further to the south. The shoulders are being held, in the main, by shattered remnants of enemy infantry formations of earlier set-piece attacks (e.g.: Op Totalize, Tractable) who now find themselves on the outside of the forming pocket. Additionally, battle-group sized elements from an SS-PanzerCorps are in the area, trying to punch a hole in the perimeter, or holding open hacked-open escape routes. Smartest thing is to assume I will fight an all-arms force, not greatly dissimilar to my own. Having been in contact with the enemy for some time now, forward elements have produced a fairly comprehensive intelligence picture: 

Not surprisingly, enemy concentrations of infantry appear to be all along the river itself, and concentrated primarily in the East village. Farm 001 and 002 (Obj "TOM") are also clearly occupied, and are supported by some type of anti-tank gun. The lone infantry contact in between Hill 202. and Pt. 201.7 is almost certainly an OP or LP. Nothing in this disposition appears to be reinventing the wheel, its a competent deployment at a glance with ATGs on, perhaps, obvious positions, but with dominating fields of fire over the centre rolling terrain.
Courses of Action
What to do? What to do, indeed. The rather milquetoast enemy deployment doesn't immediately proffer a dynamic solution, there's no smoking gun or yawning gap that I can see. Any movement down the middle is going to invite disaster, even with the many small hills and valleys I could probably use for cover. I'm going to have to go up one of the flanks, which means potentially putting a strong force in a complex bottleneck. 
To minimize that risk I will be conducting a command pull. I've identified two potential courses of action:
 

1. Moving in the dead ground formed by KT1, assault or infiltrate across the water obstacles in the vicinity of Farm 001 and attack to seize OBJ "TOM", then use the ridge formed by Hills 205.2, 204.1 and 202.7 as a springboard for a general attack; or


2. Maximising use of dead ground on the right, skirt around hill 207.8 and close up towards Obj "OAK", attacking either towards the East Village or punching deep towards Obj "DICK" before rolling up the enemy flank. 
Either route will have to be probed and recce'd to see which one is held in greater force and is easier to force. This brings me to...
Unit Tasking
Either COA, being generally variations of the same plan, can therefore result in somewhat uniform tasking and organisation. I will divide my battlegroup into three distinct elements. A forward element drawn from the 5th Troop of the 11th Hussars, an infantry-heavy company team following in close support and a heavy reserve which can be 'pulled' to whatever route I decide is the most viable. 

The recce will be deployed in their organic sections, UCs on the left, as the terrain is more complex and closed-in and dismounted recce will be more necessary. The troop 2IC moves with them. On the right, the armoured car section, with the troop leader in tow, will probe on the right, which is generally more open and will likely need more firepower and survivability (a relative term) to probe forward. 
Moving  behind either of them will be a company team from B and C Coy of The Rifles, supported by an intimate-support troop from C Squadron of the 5th RIDG. This will allow these forward elements to fight for information and overcome minor resistance encountered, and equally fight for room to deploy my main element on whatever route I deem the most feasible. Equally, the company team that does not identify the main effort will remain a useful screening force and perhaps confuse Draper as to my actual intent and main effort. I've made them infantry heavy as either route ultimately favours a boots-on-the-ground approach to overcome initial complex terrain, mainly the river.

Finally in reserve or in long-range support is the balance of the battle group, seen below:

The balance of C Squadron will deploy in battle positions on the many hills and points near my line of departure and can provide direct fires on the high ground on the far side of the river. In the event the enemy has a lot of heavy metal of their own, this fire may be of dubious value beyond keeping the enemy interested and under fire. Their HE, however, will be useful at any range against soft targets and built-up areas. I can also, if the opportunity arises, add to this firepower with the anti-tank troop organic to A Coy of The Rifles. Likewise, how I employ the MG platoons will be decided in the moment, either massed as a pseudo-indirect fire weapon at longer range, or broken up into intimate support of the platoons. The point here is to be flexible.
I got to be honest here, I got a gut feeling I'm reading the situation wrong and I'm already feeling like the first course of action will be the most viable.

It's 1525h on August 18th, in some village near the river Dives, just northwest of Falaise. Further to the south, Canadians (and the Polish) are launching a decisive effort across the "neck" of an emerging pocket, fighting equally ferocious actions on the hills overlooking the river valley as they are in the small towns that dot the valley floor itself. 
It's clear to everyone, even if no one is acting like it: Jerry is finished in Normandy. Word has now come from on high that our division is to 'get ahead of the game' and begin pushing to the river Seine. This will mean smashing into German units fighting to hold open the escape route as they latterly also try to expand it. 
So the battlegroup conducts a hurried O group in a tiny cluster of command vehicles...
 

Whilst throughout the village, in laager, the squadrons resupply even as the COs conduct their troop level o groups. In two hours' time the whole lot will be moving forward to join units already in contact with the enemy for a late-afternoon effort. 
 
***
I've been inspired by MMM and Bud's own DARs to begin one of my own, and in any event, it's been a long while since I've done one, having mainly dedicated AAR efforts to single player.
My opponent, James (goes by the handle Draper) is an old buddy of mine and I filmed a few of our slapfight PBEMs wayyyyy back in the day when we were both teenagers and had no idea what the hell we were doing. We've played steadily ever since and know one another quite well, so I figured this would make for a particularly interesting DAR. We've had a handful of medium matches against one another recently, mainly infantry-centric affairs, and both wanted to open up with winter break providing us with more time. Draper's a teacher and I currently run a pro-bono advice centre at a University in the UK, so we have the luxury of being beholden to student's schedules. 
The scenario we're playing is "forging steel", a side-swapped variant of GeorgeMC's "Schmiedestahl" my little group has had bouncing around for a bit. I am playing as the British attackers, and it will be interesting to see how the tactics I use will naturally have to differ from the default German-attacking scenario. 
For the time being here's a look at the map and objectives. 

 

Elizabeth rolls her eyes and mutters, "That's a bit like Noddle Head and my G-spot".

Short and sweet, nice AAR King.

Very, very nice. Looking forward to the next entry!

The Battle Begins for Delta

It is go time! The first minute of the battle begins. My forces are deployed in the manner shown above. My company team is holding, waiting for the AT-14s to be suppressed before they advance past the muddy stream bed. Meanwhile, Bravo Team fights for their life in a bloody firefight. Only 14 Men are not casualties. Meanwhile, 3rd platoon of Bravo Team is pulling security outside of Brandenburg. Unfortunately, 3rd platoon has no Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV). I will likely keep them in a reserve, the last thing I need is to divert forces to rescue another cutoff platoon.

(Bravo Team's fight for their life)
Immediately, the kill zone inside Brandenburg erupts into a symphony of automatic rifle fire and grenades. Within 15 seconds the first enemy casualty is caused when a burst of 5.56 from a SAW zips through an SLA Sniper.

Suddenly, a BMP-3 appears in the street in front of the survivors of 3rd and 1st squad. This is a serious threat, fortunately the BMP's gunner misses before the commander orders them to reverse. Bravo only has a single AT-4 between their 14 men. This means Bravo will likely be engaging the BMPs with HEDP rounds from their 203s, or die trying. 

Shortly after, Bravo-6's fire mission splashes down on the SLA side of the street. The 107mm mortar rounds are landing within 70 meters from friendly forces, almost right on top of them. Thankfully, the buildings mostly protect my men from shrapnel. Hundreds of rounds have already been fired in the first minute alone.

(Rounds impacting while both sides engage fire)
Unfortunately, Bravo's first casualty inside the buildings is sustained when a SAW gunner (carrying the only AT4) is seriously wounded by AK74 fire. Bravo has now lost their only real anti tank asset.

Meanwhile, my company has spotted one AT-14 team on the southern hill, obviously the first of many. Shortly after, my preparatory fire begins landing on their head. Unfortunately, he is not mulched into ground beef, but at least the gunner is suppressed for now. My company will hold until I can identify more AT-14 positions on the hill. Suppressing one AT-14 does not guarantee the safety of my men, and those AT-14s are more then capable of destroying my tanks while crossing the muddy stream.

(107mm airburst shells impacting around an AT-14 position)
With that, the first minute of action has been concluded. Stick around, there will be plenty of killing. In the meantime, here are some pictures taken by a couple of reporters attached to the battalion.

(SFC Bobbitt's M1A2 SEP, PSG of 2nd Platoon, Delta Team)

(SSG Raney's men fight for their lives outside of the Brandenburg kill zone)

(Bravo's 4th BFV burns in the kill zone)

Combat Mission: Shock Force 2 AAR
Attack in Brandenburg
By: beeron

Introduction
I decided to create this AAR after being inspired by my wargaming heroes, Bil Hardenberger, Jeffrey Paulding, IICptMillerII, Domfluff and several more on the CM discord and forums. You will see their influence in this AAR. For this battle, I chose GeorgeMC's excellent scenario "Tactical Vignette 98-3 Attack in Brandenburg SF2". The battle is an intense one, with the remnants of a company team fighting for it's life against a competent near peer threat, while a QRF rushes to save them and finish the mission. I have modified many aspects of my game visually, including BLUFOR and OPFOR skins. Feel free to ask if you'd like them. 
Mission
TF 1-8 INF is to push through the town of "Brandenburg" in order to secure the bridge that crosses the "Ohio" River. Bravo Team was ambushed while rushing to set up a SBF position, and must be rescued before they are annihilated. Brigade has ordered me to take over their mission to secure the bridge and rescue their survivors.
Objectives
Neutralize Sahrani Liberation Army resistance in the town of "Brandenburg" Occupy Objective White Rescue surviving elements of 1st platoon, Bravo Team Reach Route MOE, the MSR Desired End State
Resistance in the town suppressed Bridge across the Ohio River secured Surviving elements of Bravo Team rescued and casualties MEDEVACED Tactical Map

Enemy Forces
S-2 had limited intelligence on the enemy, they suspected veteran SLA mechanized airborne units reinforced by Crack Special Forces elements. Unfortunately, they were right. Bravo-6 radioed they were ambushed by a company sized element of SLA mechanized airborne, reinforced by a few BMP 3s. To add insult to injury, my Delta Team has spotted several SLA Special Forces AT-14 teams by the Mosque, a serious threat to the well being of any human being in an armored vehicle. These forces are no joke, an overconfident commander could easily take heavy casualties before reaching the town. The AT-14 does a good job at killing any American armor put in the wrong hands. The are the biggest threat to my company right now, located on the southern part of "Brandenburg" by the mosque. These AT-14s occupy the high ground, which gives them the ability to overlook any avenue of approach my company team can take. They must be neutralized before I can execute my maneuver plan.

(SLA SF Operator)

(SLA Airborne Trooper)

(SLA Airborne BMP-3)

(A Knocked Out Special Forces AT-14 Team)
Terrain & Weather
The weather is good, if hotter then hell. There is a gentle breeze from the west to cool off the troops just a tad. This town hasn't seen rain in about 2 weeks, leaving the sky clear and the ground very dry. Off road driving should not be too complicated. 
The terrain surrounding Brandenburg is hilly, with both the north side and south sides of the town containing high ground. I expect plenty of ATGM teams from both sides. The town of Brandenburg itself is pretty small, with tiny communities on the outskirts. Civilians have evacuated the area, and only a few remain leaving the ROE extremely flexible.  However, before my company team can reach Brandenburg, they either must cross two streams, or take the MSR that Bravo was ambushed on. I decide I don't want to suffer a similar fate to Bravo and opt to cross the streams.
Troops
I am in command of D/1-8 INF attached to 3rd BCT, 4th ID. Delta team consists of two tank platoons of a mix of M1A1HCs and M1A2SEPs and a platoon of mechanized infantry riding in M2A3 Bradleys. None of my vehicles are equipped with ERA or any extra protection against shaped charges. Supporting fires consist of a platoon of 120mm mortars, with the addition of a 120mm mortar carrier riding into battle with my company.

(A Squad Leader from my mechanized platoon engaged with the enemy)
Initial Scheme of Maneuver

The time is 11:10 and I have 1 hour and 20 minutes to achieve my mission. Delta will move to the high ground at Hill 37.9 and then into the town to rescue the remnants of Bravo and destroy the enemy. Delta's preparatory fires will be with a section of 107mm mortars firing airburst on the AT-14s down south. Bravo has called for danger close mortar fire across the street onto enemy positions, practically on top of themselves out of desperation. They are fighting for their lives and must be rescued as soon as possible. 

https://imgur.com/a/Sv3OEjk
 
Currently playing around with different AAR formats, pleased with imgur so far since it allows a lot of flexibility with file sizes and videos.

John give it up will you - 'would note that it is extremely dangerous to ...' is just shunting the argument around as is bringing in Soviet aircraft design vs NATO aircraft design.  I go back to Suvorov is a big fat fibber and has been proven to be so yet you stubbornly refuse to admit this despite the evidence presented here and elsewhere to the contrary.  You lack the same degree of knowledge of BAOR/1 (BR) Corps that I have, having served in both but felt that you were qualified to comment about them and refuse to back down when challenged on it.  Your initial assertion about Matsimus being a Cold War veteran was absurd based on the evidence presented - did you even look at how old he looks in his video of a 2011 tour to Afghanistan and think ... too young to have joined the Army in 1989 ... or establish whether 7 Armoured Division was in 1 (BR) Corps ... or compare the relative strengths of 1 (BR) Corps and 3 Shock/Combined Arms Army before talking about mightiness and fear ...  Do I have to post the map of Lvov to Bielefeld again?  Do I need to give you the details of every single Chieftain that was delivered to the British Army up until the Czechoslovakia invasion in 1968 - because I have them (see image for the 1968 ones) - although that again was a shifting of you argument away from your initial position.  Your credentials are the only ones being challenged here ... That alone should tell you something.  Or put another way - no-one believes what you are saying in this thread.  You're in a hole - stop digging.

Right this is getting silly.  Bottom line is that John made a couple of sweeping statements about the Matsimus video.  The first was that Matsimus had claimed to be in 7 Armoured Division during the Cold War.  That was debunked by @IICptMillerIIand acknowledged by John.  I then pointed out various things about BAOR/1 (BR) Corps in relation to comments that John had made which has now resulted in the frame of the debate being shifted around a bit.  From my perspective, this is not a personal attack on John, it is an attempt to frame this discussion on the basis of facts.
The lesson here is that when you're in hole, you stop digging.  That point was reached when @IICptMillerIImade his observation.

Prove any of this, please. The issue is that you just claim these things. You have never backed them up once.

Suvorov, as I have pointed out, is not a credible source.  With regard to Chieftain, if we subtract the 66 prototype/development tanks issued in 1962 we end up with a figure of 230 in service.  According to the UK's own vehicle database, 107 of those were issued in 1964, 86 in 1967 and 37 in 1968.  According to a UK Defence Parliamentary debate in 1967 - the 11th Hussars in BAOR had reequipped with Chieftain that year with 17/21 Lancers due to be the next regiment in BAOR to receive it.  It is also reported that a significant slice of the 107 issued in 1964 went to training regiments in Bovington and Catterick.  So, at best three BAOR Regiments, which in US parlance = three battalions, could conceivably have been Chieftain-equipped by the Czechoslovakia Invasion of 1968 with the third probably having just received Chieftain and thus in the process of working up to a full operational capability in that year.  For clarity, the UK Staff Officer's Handbook for 1968 has the tank strength of an armoured regiment as 51 tanks.  I doubt very much; therefore, that Chieftain movements featured highly in the Carpathian Military District's collection deck, which as I have already pointed out, would unlikely have had the capability to collect that sort of data in that area.  To use tradecraft terminology - 1 (BR) Corps would likely have been, and I'm being generous here, an Area of Intelligence Interest (AII) rather than an Area of Intelligence Responsibility (AOR) for the Carpathian Military District.  Now I have no idea what your experience is with collection and collecting in an AII versus an AOR is - my experience is that you focus on your AOR and, if you're lucky, you might have something to cover the AII.  In reality - the assets of the organization whose AOR in which 1 (BR) Corps sat (i.e., GSFG) - would provide this information/intelligence.  So ... further evidence that Suvorov was a big fat fibber.

I have been on this forum for a while now and one thing that has been crossing my mind a lot after reading more and more of John Kettlers posts is how many times he has claimed to be a Soviet Threat Analysist, yet he has never backed up the claim with any credentials. I would normally not randomly ask someone for their credentials but,  there has been many times where Kettler has said something, or claimed something, then falls back on his claimed experience as evidence when presented with sources that contradict him instead of providing sources himself. This is obviously potentially very harmful to the collective integrity of Combat Mission itself, considering the amount of input this forum has. So @John Kettlerplease provide credentials as to your experience please.

Its ok, its more for the benefit of the passers by and new forum members who do not understand the full context. Wouldn't want them led astray!

The Soviets did not rate 1 (BR) Corps at all before the Falklands War, in fact 1 (BR) Corps was deemed weak by the Soviets up until then.  In the early to mid 1970s it only had three Armoured Divisions (1, 2 and 4) with only two brigades each.  In 1978 a third division (3) came across to Germany and each of the brigades were renamed Task Forces (1 Armoured Division as an example Task Force A and B - 2 Armoured Division Task Force C and D etc).  In the whole 1 (BR) Corps AO, which incidentally did not include Hannover, there were eight so-called armoured/mechanised task forces and one non-mechanised infantry task force (5 Field Force).  In 1982, the 2nd Armoured Division was moved back to the UK and became an Infantry Division with one regular and two reserve brigades with a 1 (BR) Corps rear area security role.  The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armoured Divisions remained in Germany and by now the title brigade vice task force was back in favour.  The 7th Armoured Division, for what its worth, ceased to exist in 1958 so it missed most of the Cold War.
Don't start me on the 'mighty' 3 Shock Army because it wasn't.  It only had three divisions for most of its existence which is nothing compared to the tasks that were envisaged for it.
Apart from that, you're absolutely right.