I finally finished La haye du puits !!

[dakuth]

Courage and Fortitude spoilers:

What and epic, epic campaign. I have fortunately read that most people found it brutal so I'm looking forward to "relaxing" on more enjoyable campaigns.

I played through it on elite, and have been slogging away on it since day 1 release. I have *just* finished it. After School of Hard Knocks I put it down for some time. La haye du puits ... I took one look at this map and put it down for months.

I did reload several times in School of Hard Knocks, because I didn't think to call for a cease fire. I'm too used to more generic games where it is "complete objectives, or repeat the scenario" so every time TRP arty dropped on my men, wiping out an entire company, I'd reload. I forced I and L companies UP THAT DAMN HILL until they could go on no longer. We got there, but the toll was terrible. I then had to slog through the rest of this nasty campaign with basically shattered companies. I had no CO, most Platoon HQs were dead, many squads consisted of one or two guys. None were at full strength.

Then La haye du puits loads... a large map with a hundred buildings lining narrow roads like medieval kill-zones. At first it looks as though all you get is I and L companies, with W (weapons) company in support and the entire town is a large green "occupy" objective. Before you can even worry about flushing the Krauts out of each and every building you first have to cross a minefield that at first glance appears to stretch the entire map like a deadly moat.

I spent weeks of real-life time (doing one or two turns here and there when I could bring myself to do it) poking slowly, slowly through that mine field. I dropped arty on it in a vain hope it would "pop" the mines. I edged some pioneers into the field and left them there for turn after turn in the hope they'd spot and mark the mines.

It was such slow going, in fact, that reinforcements started to roll in. Nothing useful for crossing minefields of course... more support platoons. A Halftrack. Then a tank platoon. Just as I had developed a plan of sneaking each squad through the minefield in column formation one at a time, a full platoon of engineers shows up (or was it a company?) Along with good old K company - the only company I hadn't had a chance to tear to shreds in this campaign.

Oh yeah, and I had another wrecked infantry battalion (made up of C and D companies) coming from another angle. They took their simple objective, but were destroyed in the process. Enough men to claim an "occupy" objective, but otherwise just single riflemen by that point.

By this stage I had 3 nearly-complete tank platoons as well. So, I re-developed my plans. Now I had 3 tank platoons, 2 shattered infantry companies, 1 solid infantry company, and support platoons coming out my ears. I could have dug a tunnel to the town square with 60mm mortars and machine guns - medium and heavy abounded. On top of all that 105mm howies and 80mm off-map mortars. I had plenty of HE, my problem was the urban environment calling for lots of infantry to clear out building after building. If I could just SPOT the enemy, I could definitely drop things on his head.

So using the copious amounts of explosive (engineer satchels for this job) I busted up the bocage in spots that weren't marked with minefields and just prayed the intel was correct. I sent I and L companies ahead more as a scouting, screening force. Their job was to spot the enemy so they could be blown to pieces by HE or assaulted by full-strength K company.

Once through the minefield - which was trivial once I had blown open some bocage (when I think of the real life hours I spent trying to bust that nut!) - the entrance to town started to roll-up fairly easily. A few german HMGs scattered around the place - but with the number of shermans and 60mm mortars I had on hand, opening fire was a death sentence for them. One or two panzershrek teams did their job knocking out two shermans despite being spotted first (2 200m shots in a row for instant knock out. Very skilled teams... I guess? Maybe lucky? In any case shockingly deadly. To see a shrek fly true across that distance was quite the surprise.)

I and L proved themselves useful yet again, though, even though they had almost zero leadership. As they rounded the street corner that lead to the main square, they spotted an AT gun and a cleverly placed Panther tank. This tank was parked right at the far end of this main road, behind sandbags, and flanks protected by these wall-to-wall buildings that ran the length of each street. Rolling Shermans around that corner would have been like shooting ducks in a gallery for him.

My forward observers who I knew would be key (what with all the arty I had on call) were called up. They snuck into a building, and called in the howitzers. So satisfying. I was a little lucky perhaps - the second shell fired hit the Panther directly on the roof and blew it up, then all subsequent shells were off target by about 20-50m - but the plan worked. Some 60mm called in to dispatch the AT gun, and the shermans could round the corner.

Heavy and medium MGs leap frogged from building to building as the shermans and infantry (mostly engineers) rolled down the main road.

I was expecting it, so I wasn't terribly surprised when my scouts moved ahead and looked down a side-alley to see an Assault gun parked down the end. More arty!

The StuG reacted though, and decided to come forward. "Fine," I thought, "Let's see what happens when you come out from your side-alley into 4 waiting shermans." I don't really trust a Sherman in a frontal-duel with a StuG - but 4-on-1 surely he wouldn't live. My only concern was taking loses first.

Fortunately it went my way - the first sherman's shell deflected harmlessly away, but the second penetrated the superstructure, and it was knocked out.

With the way cleared my little I and L company remnants scattered ahead and found a second assault gun (I knew there had to be more than 1) but it was on the wrong side of the buildings - out of town. Not far from my tanks in a straight line, but neither side would be able to fire on the other without first leveling a few buildings.

I went searching for the nearest AT team - I also had plenty of AT. I turned many of the scrappy squads into AT teams by sending them to a nearby truck or jeep and grabbing the 'zook and rockets.

I ordered the first ones I found to head through the first floor of the nearest building, and out into the backyard. There the large yard was surrounded by a high, brick wall so I gave them a way point at the gate, and then through the gate where they should find the rear armour of the StuG that just drove past.

They did just fine getting through that building and to the gate in 1 turn. They ran out the rear gate, and were greeted point blank by a panzershrek team and the StuG's rear armour a short distance away. The turn ended.

I gave a few orders here and there, but there really wasn't much I could tell my AT team to do. It was AT team vs AT team ... I didn't know what was going to happen.

I hit the "start turn" button. The tube guy whipped out his garand, shot the Kraut AT enemy in one shot, then quick as a flash switched to his bazooka and blew the StuG away in a single shot. All in the space of 60 seconds. What a guy!

After that, it was mostly a case of mopping up. There was a brief and extremely frenzied fire fight at one stage when I committed K company. 2 full Ami platoons took up residence in a few large houses (complete with MG support of course) revealing a full platoon of germans just across a houseyard in the 2-story building opposite. Some of the germans were caught in the open, some ran for the building, but most were already set up with multiple LMGs. The fight lasted about 30seconds with the Ami's routing the enemy fairly handily, but for that brief time the tracer fire licking between that short gap was just incredible.

I called in my remaining Howie guns over the last objective point towards the rear of the town and my shermans rolled ahead sending HE through the windows of any building that housed a german (supported by the remnants of I, L, and engineers clearing out the buildings.)

As the arty fell, the remaining Germans lost the will and surrendered.

And that's how I finished Courage and Fortitude. PHEW!

[JonS]

Congratulations - well done those men!

I bet you know a lot more about the theory and practice of combined arms warfare than you did last May

[Erwin]

Congratulations. I enjoyed that final scenario in the campaign as one was able to put everything one had learned thru blood into practice. It's stil one of my favorite CMBN scenarios because of the sufficient fire power and tactical-strategic choices one must make.

[phil stanbridge]

Congrats indeed. I have yet to 'properly' finish that particular mission in the campaign. I find it too damn frustrating. But what were your overall losses? If I recall I suffered around 220 KIA with pretty much the same WIA. I didn't lose that much armour to be honest, but then it's not the easiest campaign for armour is it.

[dakuth]

Congrats indeed. I have yet to 'properly' finish that particular mission in the campaign. I find it too damn frustrating. But what were your overall losses? If I recall I suffered around 220 KIA with pretty much the same WIA. I didn't lose that much armour to be honest, but then it's not the easiest campaign for armour is it.

I looked at my losses, and noted them. But I didn't record them and I knew I'd live to regret it.

I believe, from memory, I had approximately 300KIA - something like 295? I do know for sure it was very close to what Germany had to. So we had similar losses over this campaign (despite me getting awarded a "total victory.")

My armour losses weren't too bad. A smidge high, but acceptable. I can't recall the number though If I remember I'll fire up my last save and add here.