John Kettler vs. CMBN--The Learning Curve!

[John Kettler]

I could kiss the cook, er, Cook! PFC Cook is my hero, having pulled off an extremely audacious combat gambit. A two round direct fire engagement on a Puma--from which he emerged the victor! I have the pics.

Granted, the M8 HMC is called an Assault Gun, but who would dare use it that way in a high velocity cannon environment? Cook would! First, he gave the deadly feline a nice Ma Deuce bath, followed by a 75mm howitzer shell, which missed, but apparently landed on Germans farther behind. Then he rinsed the Puma with more Ma Deuce, punctuated by a direct hit in the kisser with a 75mm howitzer shell. One less cat! This one's most definitely done, since the crew left in all haste.

I've seriously hurt the Germans, but my force, even with reinforcements, is in shreds. I have a few armored cars left, some jeeps, a few mortars, two M8 HMCs, a command halftrack, and that's it. I finally control the crossroads, but behind the next hill lies a still undefined antitank gun and a screening halftrack. I think there's still a Puma to my left front, too. Worse, he's moving AFVs south down the road from Domfront.

Am debating on the appropriateness of a Cease Fire vs. what I may yet be able to do to the defending Germans. Options are severely limited by the complete lack of U.S. infantry. Believe I have 14 minutes left.

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Every Greyhound on that hill is dead, but thanks to yet more derring do by Cook the extraordinary, the defense seems to have finally been broken. Yes, you read that correctly! Cook rolled up the hill, together with his section mate, and managed to do it just as the Puma from Perdition decided to advance. Two beautiful shots later (doubtless killed with first), the Puma exploded! The pair of 60s contrived somehow to join the war and proceeded to pound an armored halftrack formation with considerable effect and simplifying hitting the 251s with direct fire. Even so the mortars racked up a kill and hurt some occupants too, one from a considerable distance. One of my two surviving Greyhounds nailed a gun halftrack, killing it outright.

For real excitement, though, try stalking an unknown antitank gun without having ever seen it. Bad things happened to those who did, so got no report at all, other than a general location. The first move against said gun was aborted by the Puma's appearance, plus halftracks on the move and shooting. After Cook wiped out what I believed to be the last real flank threat to my armor, I put blinders on Cook (Cover Arc forward) and had him Hunt forward. This time, it worked. He got the drop on the gun and nailed it before the crew could even react. It was dead on the first shot, but really dead from the next two. With the gun out the picture, the Puma dead and the halftracks badly cut up by mortar fire and direct fire (Stummel 251 got shot off at M8 Greyhound and missed high; M8 didn't), it was finally possible to conduct a high speed advance. Out of the chaos of war came an Greyhound which got lost in a traffic jam, doubling my Greyhound count.

The mortars have ceased fire and are packing up. My two MG jeeps are racing for the road, and my armored cars are moving smartly forward, as are my two Assault Guns. The halftrack is waiting for the HQ unit to rejoin. I think I may manage to get six units off the map edge before the clock runs out. Here's hoping there's no infantry!

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

The M8 HMCs make the dash for the exit point, under fire as they leave. Sadly, they're the last, save one lucky M8 Greyhound. Seems the gun has a brother, and both have LMGs for local defense, as the Assault Gun HQ found out the hard way earlier when it tried to knock out the second gun via dismounted attack through the woods. The second M8 armored car tries to fight its way through and dies spectacularly, despite the gallant last stand of an immobilized MG jeep. Its partner was blown apart. The flaming wreck of my last M8 jams up traffic on the road, making every vehicle behind it vulnerable while trying to get around it. Bad enough, but how about two MGs and a gun on one side and a halftrack blazing away from the other? The M8 is joined by a blasted jeep, then the last one, a funeral pyre of twisted flaming metal, sundered bodies and shattered hopes. When faced with such a charnel house and having only one halftrack, what's the school solution? Lay low, make no noise and wait for relief, right? Wrong!

Attack! After reloading what's left of the HQ, a whole two men, I send the halftrack whipping around the hill, taking fire from seemingly everywhere, scaring the tormenting halftrack so badly it reverses out of the line of fire and somehow survives being fired upon from above and hit a bunch of times. My forlorn hope catches that deadly second gun flatfooted and lays waste to the crew before all that lead knocks out the Ma Deuce gunner.

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Assailed from all angles, the driver backs hastily from the treeline, with the last actively fighting soldier incongruously manning the .30 cal. MG on the skate rail (means it's movable). And so, the battle ends, after two minutes of overtime in which I can do nothing.

The End Screen tells the tale...Draw 340 U.S. 316 Germans

The lethality of this fight may be gauged by examining who's left with what and who lost what.

At battle's end, I have 33 Effectives. Losses are terrible: 43 KIA, 10 WIA, plus 7 Greyhounds and 14 jeeps.

The Germans have 19 Effectives and have 34 KIA, 15 WIA and have lost 10 AFVs, to include all the Pumas and some halftracks, among them, a Stummel.

The Germans also lost, outright, one of those cursed guns, for which I received no points, and the one hosed with .50 cal. MG fire, somehow was still functional when the battle was over, albeit with one crew member!

This was a grueling fight in every sense of the word. So intense was it that I felt wrung out and drained. In this way, I doubtless mirrored my once impressive force. The way has now been cleared enough that follow on forces can readily remove that last gun, which itself claimed 3 M8 armored cars and five jeeps. Two platoons of Armored Cavalry have been effectively wiped out. The toll could've been worse, but I was fortunate in that many crews, including command units, got out of their downed mounts largely intact.

I played this on Veteran level and was fortunate to get the result I got and to not have taken even worse losses. PFC Cook should be personally decorated by Patton himself, for it was he who made it possible to finally advance, bloody as that was. Cook killed two Pumas and obliterated one of those guns and crew, much to my satisfaction.

Regards,

John Kettler

P.S.

Hats off to the diabolical scenario designer! I know the idea was to build up combat power over time, but by the time the next increment arrived, what I had already was shot to pieces. Reinforcements thus pretty much were the force.

[John Kettler]

Regarding my #225, should read "my extreme right." I blame the mistake on combat stress!

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Color me surprised! Hard to believe there hasn't been a single comment on my considerable AAR for "Cats Chasing Dogs."

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Oh, almost forgot. I know I didn't get the river name right, but I figure if GIs think every German tank's a Tiger, every gun an 88, how than those poor GIs be expected to get an obscure river name correct?

Regards,

John Kettler

[A Canadian Cat]

Color me surprised! Hard to believe there hasn't been a single comment on my considerable AAR for "Cats Chasing Dogs.

I am playing it right now, as the cats. So, I have deliberately avoided reading it - and therefore commenting on it.

Might I suggest that for something like that it would be appropriate to start another thread just for that topic?

[John Kettler]

ian.leslie,

An exceedingly apt argument! As for your suggestion, I find myself more than a bit conflicted. I did start this whole exercise with big SPOILER ALERT warnings, with the idea of detailing what happened as the battle unfolded almost as soon as it happened. Thus, getting feedback after the battle's done is a natural part of the process. I certainly understand your take, too. Presently, though, it all seems moot, since my readers seem to have decamped.

Regards,

John Kettler

[General Jack Ripper]

Presently, though, it all seems moot, since my readers seem to have decamped.

Your readers haven't decamped, (well, I'm still here anyway) it just seemed to me that you enjoyed that battle, and you have already learned the lessons you needed to from it. It appears to me, based upon that AAR, that the learning curve has begun to level off for you. Well, maybe a little

I look foward to more reports.

[John Kettler]

SLIM,

I almost can't believe I finally broke the German defense and got part of my force off the map, but I did. Now, if I can ever figure out how to run infantry in the attack, who knows what may be possible? It's so much harder, though. Lots and lots of parts, you might say. The learning curve doesn't seem altogether vertical now, but that doesn't offset being zero for two with infantry on the attack.

Regards,

John Kettler

[LukeFF]

[Paulverisor64]

Color me surprised! Hard to believe there hasn't been a single comment on my considerable AAR for "Cats Chasing Dogs."

Regards,

John Kettler

You've done a good job of describing the battle but if someone hasn't played the specific scenario it's hard to piece things together from the receiving end. Pictures of specific events would help some. That is a good idea about perhaps having a seperate forum thread talking about a specific battle you are playing. Many people do like discussing specific battles; there is nothing in this thread's title that gravitate these people.

I am on a learning curve of my own. I initially started reading this thread because I was looking for some tactic or implimentation type advice as learned by you or shared by others in the know. There is some very valuable information in here. I do think specific battles deserve a thread of their own.

[John Kettler]

Paulervisor64,

I do have pictures, not the cool annotated kind, but they do show various aspects of the fight. Some of them do this quite well. Guess I need to shift gears and finally sort out this picture posting stuff. My last attempt failed, and I have no idea why. Maybe it will go better when I'm not concentrating on surviving for the next minute!

Regards,

John Kettler

[Rokko]

I played 18 Platoon after what I read here, and boy, what great scenario!

Very realistic and very thrilling.

I managed to achieve total victory, but took some quite heavy casualties. 10 WIA and 1 KIA plus the platoon commander was lightly wounded. All Germans wiped out, none surrendered. I guess 18 Platoon did not participate in the attack that they made possible. One squad was broken (although they were the ones with the fewest casualties), one rattled and one nervous. Ironically my only squad that wasn't made up of green men was the first one to get mauled and get rattled, probably because I couldn't keep them in contact to their platoon HQ. The Germans even ordered a violent Broken Arrow style mortar strike on their own positions as they were about to be overrun which pretty much wiped out my assault section. I've definately never seen anything like that before in CMBN!

What took my by suprise was how brittle my British troops were. That in combination with some very close combat and a determined enemy with many many automatic weapons made for a really entertaining and also scary scenario.

I looked at it afterwards in the editor and now I wonder: How did the platoon get an assault section? It's not in the standart TOE and there is no such specialist team.

Could it be that this is some pre-game-release sorcery?

[Wodin]

John you really need pics to do a great AAR...

[John Kettler]

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

Barkmann's Corner (German--Veteran setting) Version 1.11 (I know, I know!)

Finally! My TDE (Tactical Decision Engine) has managed to reboot, allowing me to play CMBN. I've had the time, but that TDE part of my brain's been offline for quite some time. Unfortunately, I've been away from CMBN for so long I seem to have forgotten most of the commands and shall need a refresher course before resuming. Couldn't recall how to do so much as take a screenshot and had to go to the Menu to figure out how to kill the icons so I could take some screenshots. Talk about perishable skills!

In order to get into the game faster, I elected to use the German default setup.

Barkmann resolutely ignored my Open Up orders, but that in no way affected his combat performance. Critics have challenged what Barkmann's supposed to have done, starting with wiping out the two lead Shermans in the American attack. What was actually there is a separate discussion! In terms of military capability, though, I have no doubts.

In well under a minute, 24 minutes in, Barkmann nailed the trail Sherman with a Hull Penetration, killing it, but not Ronson style, then flailed the bailing out crew with coax MG fire, before addressing the lead Sherman. K-Kill through the Weapon Mount, Sherman burns, MG fire and one round of HE on abandoning crew. Two observed casualties in road. They're either heavily wounded or dead. It's now 25: 00, and I'd say Barkmann's well on his way to that Knight's Cross. Both Sherman's were first round kills.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Lanzfeld]

Welcome back John.

A little factoid on that battle. The map is not correct. The actual battle (if it ever really happened (whole other thread)) occured 1 to 2 km west (I can't reemember exactly) of the place the map in game represents.

I first learned of Barkman when I was invited to Elvis house for a CMBN pre-release demo. I had never heard of Barkman before that. Strange. Anyway, I became very interested in him (until I learned the truth......maybe) and researched his interviews and found one where he shows a friend the exact road turnoff and area he was at. I located the same area and found out it was significantly west of our battle map (which is also a real place....kind of).

Anyway.....enjoy the slaughter...just dont play a real human on that map or you willl get schooled.

[Erwin]

Glad you are feeling better, John. I know how awful it is to have injury and have to suffer thru recovery/rehab.

[LUCASWILLEN05]

Batttles did not always happen where we think they did. Bosworth being a case in point

[John Kettler]

Lanzfeld,

I dearly love reconstructive military history, the going out and doing what Ardant du Picq, who pioneered the technique, called a terrain walk, to see what was really the ground truth. Adore AFTER THE BATTLE and wish I owned all of them, instead of two! Recently, on YT I saw some segments of a show with Weapon Master Nick Rhoads called "Weapons That Saved England." The analysis of the situation at Crecy was brilliant, but I have issues with his rate of closure argument and other considerations. Sadly, the onrush of so-called civilization has overwhelmed many battlefields here, notably Gettysburg, where KFCs and such blight the battleground. Am also very fond of living archaeology. All the reading in the world won't replace, say, wearing a lorica segmentata while attacking uphill and with a wind from behind blowing your shield practically parallel with the ground. the only thing more fun than that is having the find blow toward you while trying to attack. Wonder I didn't trip!

Erwin,

Thanks! It was both weird and frustrating, for I had time, could write and do other stuff, yet found even setup for the game to be overwhelming. Repeatedly. Who knows? Maybe I'll complete a game.

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Lanzfeld,

Time for an update. Two more minutes have elapsed, during which my separately tasked and Cover Arced antitank team in my lead squad missed hugely against the last tank, drawing enough MG counterfire (fortunately, no 75mm HE) that the squad is now cowering. Somebody, not sure who, killed the fourth tank in the string, leaving the third tank boxed in. In maneuvering to get clear, it lashed my squad with MG fire then came into Barkmann's (belatedly unbuttoned) LOS and took two rounds through the glacis plate, killing it and setting it ablaze. The road is now almost blocked, save for the lefthand side as seen from my perspective.

Were my lead squad functional, I'd move it into the house before it, so as to get some eyeballs up front, but that's not going to happen for a bit. Also, I am not sure which side of the hedge the squad should be on, either. Given the angle, both sides seem exposed. I shall await further developments.

And, yes, human opponents wouldn't blindly keep rolling into the Road Segment of Death™ but would do something far harder to counter. That said, Barkmann got two kills in about 40 seconds once he opened fire, so two tanks would be dead in a PBEM game before anything could be done about it. Naturally, this assumes an armored advance up the road.

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Lanzfeld,

'Twould appear I've stepped in it, hard! In an effort to get some eyes forward, I detailed 1st Squad to enter the building to my immediate front, only to once again be bitten by the where the troops go through the bocage problem. In this case, they skittered to to the low front end, stepped into the road and got shot by a probable Sherman. The squad leader and someone else are heavy casualties from MG and 75mm He, but the rest of the unfortunates got across the road, through a GAP in the hedgerow and, though Pinned, are now in a building with their fellow Landser. My right flank HMG-42 opened fire on something way down the field, but the main event other than the blasting of my forward squad is the attempt to bypass the flaming roadblock, go around the houses to my immediate front and envelop my left. There is at least one Sherman which has done this, passed behind and beyond the buildings, then disappeared.

Am not quite sure what's happening, but I won't be essaying any such bold moves forward when coming from bocage anytime soon.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Lanzfeld]

John,

Have you tried to use the wide open fields on your left with the bocage wall in the center to get in some flanking shots?

[John Kettler]

Lanzfeld,

Minute 20 to 19 is quiet, barring exciting explosions dead front (thought it was combat but was really impressive ammo cookoff), though the enveloping move is now known to be at least three Shermans.

In 19 going to 18, things become suddenly exciting. I'd thought of manually targeting Barkmann to deal with the flanking threat, but discovered I had no LOS, so gave up on the idea. Blazing away with MG fire, here come the Shermans. The move apparently did put them in Barkmann's LOS, and Barkmann, one cool customer under fire (MG bullets hit his turret front!) continued to fight head out. Got a penetrating hit lower left hull on the lead Sherman (dangerous 76mm version), followed by a weapon mount hit. The Sherman behind, having turned to face Barkmann, was rewarded with one through the hull front, while the last one visible found one immediately above the turret and was saved by smoke thrown up from one of its hit siblings. Should also add that Barkmann's tank seemed to do minor position adjustment and small facing changes. Doubt it moved even one AS.

In Minute 18 going to 17, the one that narrowly escaped last time went even wider left, while pounding the bocage direct front with 75mm HE and also MG fire. HMG-42 took a casualty. Barkmann noticed it--and killed it! Three rounds. All solid hits. Seems like overkill to me.

Minute 17. The AI tried to fork me! Action has been furious, starting with an unexpected frontal attack past the flaming near roadblock. Barkmann's tank was lashed with MG fire, then out of the smoke emerged yet another Sherman. Barkmann, still fighting unbuttoned, put two rounds into the weapon mount and one penetrating hit into the turret as the driver maneuvered in vain to get out the line of fire. That funeral pyre is now to my left of the road between the bocage and the front. What I believe to be the last tank in a complete platoon tries going even wider, takes three hits and may or may not be dead. If Schrodinger's cat were a tank!

Barkmann's tank either had some issues initially (been fighting the battle, not monitoring systems) but somehow seems to be not so well off on power and speed. Am unaware of taking even one direct hit from a tank gun, but it's possible, I suppose. Power is showing red, and speed's showing three yellow/gold. Also, Barkmann's going through ammo at quite a clip. Down to 19 rounds of AP, but still has 37 HE. The latter, unfortunately, don't do much to tanks. Am hoping the enemy runs out of tanks before Barkmann runs out of PzGr39!

Regards,

John Kettler