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Axis Side - 20 000 point Quick Battle DAR


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The only lousy thing with Stugs, especially in normandy, is the low profile can make it hard to deal with a lot of the hedgerows. The lack of a turret obviously is a problem, but Sgt Schultz in particular is fantastic with maneuvering them and when facing him you'd never even know they didnt have turrets. I seriously would rush Shermans or Stuarts in for a flank or rear shot, knowing the tank would have to traverse it's whole body to get a shot. And Id lose. Every time. unbelievable.

Id almost think the high velocity 75s reputation for poor HE performance might just be that the round is so fast that it inevitably buries itself some before exploding... just a thought.

Thats straight up bizarre the HEAT round didnt penetrate. But in real life, you never know, it could happen and thats the beauty of the game. If it consistently didn't it'd be a bug, but nothings for sure..

You gotta love the Shreks and fausts. Surprisingly I noticed in playing as Germans against people (especially in the shadow of the hill) that I consistently got more kills with shreks and fausts that say, 75 PAK at. Its a definite art that takes time to cultivate, but those wheat fields provide excellent cover. Shreks you have to only sort of guess where the axis of advance will be, their range allows you leeway to reposition. But the faust teams, you really gotta hone your skills with. Repositioning usually wont work, you have to get so close and its rare a tank is on its own with no support at all to gun down the faust team, unless your opponent is a moron. Still, if you put them in fields that are most likely to have armor trundle through it's doable. If you slow move them they almost never get spotted till its too late. You just have to be extremely careful, slow exhausts troops in no time at all. When they hit not only is it extremely gratifying but it also is almost a definite KO everytime. The faust warhead is just gigantic. The Shrek isn't a slouch either, a penetration almost always does it. I wish I could say the same for zooks. =(

I envy you that you have an opponent you can meet in person to discuss the game.

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<snip>Thats straight up bizarre the HEAT round didnt penetrate. But in real life, you never know, it could happen and thats the beauty of the game. If it consistently didn't it'd be a bug, but nothings for sure..

Yeah s**t happens. Upon reflection for clarity we are talking about one HEAT round that hit and did not penetrate. One Stu42 was out of HEAT and the other one had 2 and its first round missed. I have had lots of good luck with 105 Sherman HEAT rounds - ironically against Stugs. So I am not down on HEAT in general - just frustrated that me perfect ambush did not work out.

You gotta love the Shreks and fausts. Surprisingly I noticed in playing as Germans against people (especially in the shadow of the hill) that I consistently got more kills with shreks and fausts that say, 75 PAK at. Its a definite art that takes time to cultivate, but those wheat fields provide excellent cover. <snip>

Agreed, and even though there is a current thread (that I added my 2 cents to) discussing the problems of urban combat, those Fausts and Shreks can be nasty in those environments too. In fact right now I am hoping that will save my face here. If I can get a significant force into the town and engage his tanks at close quarters with all the Shreks I have. I could make this interesting again.

I envy you that you have an opponent you can meet in person to discuss the game.

Yeah, it is pretty awesome. He often says he has more fun talking about it than playing. There are three of us that play CM and work here. Still working on the third guy to move him up to CM2x. We had a good laugh this morning because he was pointing out that in all our previous games I have kicked his butt; here we are in our first public game and he is the one taking names.

Yes, that was my lame attempt at feeling better for getting my butt handed to me. :D

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Over on my far right flank the ambushing of two Churchill tanks continues to go poorly. The enemy tanks take a pounding and still manage to take out a couple more Stugs.

The Shrek team seem to get a nice solid hit (with penetration) but the Churchill is still operational after the hit.

279Minute129-128-NiceShot.jpg

The Stugs continue to unleash a pounding with hit…

280Minute129-128-Nailed.jpg

…after hit, on the Churchill…

281Minute129-128-Again.jpg

… and yet another.

282Minute129-128-AndAgain.jpg

But it is still fighting and takes out another of the four ambushing Stugs.

283Minute129-128-ReturnFire.jpg

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And then it hits one of the Stu42s.

284Minute129-128-ReturnFireAgain.jpg

Turns out there is an unseen enemy nearby and they put a hole in the Stu42.

285Minute129-128-SupriseHit.jpg

Thankfully it survives that and shrugs off another hit from the uber Churchill.

286Minute129-128-ShruggedOff.jpg

This ambush has definitely not gone well at all.

In the centre near the bridge the Panther backs away from the Churchill. That enemy tank was much closer to the tree line than originally anticipated.

288Minute129-128-BackOff.jpg

Then the Panther starts moving forward again and takes a couple of shots at the Churchill. The trees save it once.

289Minute129-128-TreeAgain.jpg

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The Shrek team in the field scores a hit but it has little effect. Hopefully this hit will be like the other one where there was no visible damage but there are crew casualties.

290Minute129-128-ShrekHit.jpg

Meanwhile the Panther’s partner dispatches an armoured car as it tries to cross the field on the opposite side of the tree line.

291Minute129-128-NailedArmouredCar.jpg

Along the river a Stug pulls up to protect the other edge of the field above and a Stuart drives up right next to him. This happened right at the end of the turn. Oh man Stuart vs Stug. At this close range it will be close.

292Minute129-128-CrazyClose.jpg

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Over near the orchard a Stuart is approaching. I definitely do not want that tank to get close and start hurting the infantry. The nearest Stug gets a set of shoot and scoot orders to move up engage the Stuart and then pull back.

293Minute128Orders-GetTheStuart.jpg

The mortar team finally has eyes on the Churchill across the river.

294Minute128Orders-MortarTheChurchill.jpg

At the bridge head the infantry and the rest of the Stugs move up to secure the Panther’s flank.

295Minute128Orders-Advance.jpg

Over near the town I will send a few Stugs forward to try to catch that Stuart next to the barns.

296Minute128Orders-MoveCloserToTown.jpg

I am going all in on this ambush the two Stugs that I moved up last turn do not have LOS to the Churchills so I will move then in close – really close. Lets see if those Churchill tanks can shrug off hits at point blank range.

297Minute128Orders-BringItHome.jpg

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I am looking forward to the results of that test under fire.

It seems to me that anything under 200 meters or so may be trying to gild the lily in terms of penetration ability for the 75mm L/48. The STuHs probably had no business near the Churchills, but it seems you have found that out. :) I was caught by the 105mm HEAT trap too once. Churchill crew takes an aspirin for the ringing and continues on with the mission.

88mm and 75 L/70 have been the only reliable tools that I have found for use against those rolling blocks of steel. Schreks are iffy at best. I wish you luck.

The pics and story have been great. Thanks for taking the time to share.

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I am looking forward to the results of that test under fire.

I am writing it up now...

It seems to me that anything under 200 meters or so may be trying to gild the lily in terms of penetration ability for the 75mm L/48.

Well the results are a mixed bag. One Churchill that was side on was KO'ed at close range. But the other one that was at about 45 shrugged off several close range hits.

The STuHs probably had no business near the Churchills, but it seems you have found that out. :)

Yeah - note to self don't do that again.

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The ambush continues to go poorly at the start. That Achilles on the other side of the valley scores a dramatic kill shot.

298Minute128-127-SecondHitKills.jpg

And then another kill shot this time to the abandoned Stug. You can see the crew was just about to remount it and hopefully drive it out of harm’s way. To late.

299Minute128-127-FinishedOff.jpg

Meanwhile the two newly arrived Stugs (that crossed the field earlier) arrive at close quarters. And I mean close. The Churchill tank that took the Shrek round in the face earlier gets pounded at close range. Several hits bounce of the side of the tank (which is at a less than 45% angle to the Stug).

300Minute128-127-UpCloseRichocette.jpg

And again…

301Minute128-127-RichocetteAgain.jpg

The other Stug fairs better nailing the further Churchill squarely. In the picture below you can see the Stug and Churchill from the above shots and how close they are.

302Minute128-127-Nailed.jpg

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The third shot at close range has bite and finishes the job but the crew had just bailed – one managed to escape from view.

304Minute128-127-FinallySomeDamage.jpg

Finally my men have had some success against those two Churchills. But the turn ends badly once again. Those Achilles on over watch destroy another Stug. To make matters worse they seem to have a bead on the second Stug in the trees as the turn comes to an end.

305Minute128-127-Achillies-Hit.jpg

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Near the town the Stug I sent forward to find and destroy that Stuart comes under fire from something much nastier than a 37mm gun. Even the infantry start running after this.

306Minute128-127-ChurchillWithStuart.jpg

The crew remain in their Stug and start backing off but are hit again.

307Minute128-127-HitAgain.jpg

Found them. That Stuart has a Churchill as a buddy right near by.

308Minute128-127-ThePair.jpg

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Over near the bridge head the fighting heats up. First the Stuart the pulled up alongside my point Stug loses the quick draw. The Stuart crew must have been slow to notice the Stug in the trees given that they were pointing across the river at the end of the turn.

309Minute128-127-StuartLoosesQuickDraw.jpg

The Panther’s have a little success hitting Churchill tanks. They get penetrations but no kills this turn. Starting with the one in the treeline that chewed up my infantry last turn.

310Minute128-127-PantherHitsChurchill.jpg

And then an new arrival on the other side of the field.

311Minute128-127-AnotherChurchillHit.jpg

312Minute128-127-Again.jpg

Three hits later we see he has a friend.

313Minute128-127-HitAgainButMoreShowUp.jpg

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My infantry make it to the tree line along with their Stugs in support. I am very glad to have Panthers there too.

314Minute128-127-InfantryAtTreeline.jpg

Meanwhile over the river in the orchard 5 Company’s supporting Stugs from 1 Battery score a kill on another Stuart trying to get close to the orchard.

315Minute128-127-GotTheStuart.jpg

And the crew bails only to get blasted.

316Minute128-127-AndCrew.jpg

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It turns out the Stuart has an armoured car friend behind it. I give the same Stug a similar shoot and scoot order again. Hopefully he can get that armoured car too.

317Minute127Orders-HuntTheAC.jpg

The final moves to take up positions on the next field. On the right hand side of the picture you can see the “backup and keep your front towards the enemy” orders I gave to the panther. I need to finish off that Churchill on the far right if I am to make any progress here but I cannot just turn the Panther to face it because of the new arrivals on the other side of the field. My hope is that the Panther can keep its front armour towards both enemies and finish off that pesky Churchill.

318Minute127Orders-TryAgain.jpg

Near the town I am backing off the Stugs and infantry to let the Panther’s through to face that Churchill.

319Minute127Orders-PullBack.jpg

The spotting rounds for my 150mm barrage are due soon so time to move my FO back over the crest of the hill so they can call the spotting.

320Minute127Orders-SpottingRoundsAreDue.jpg

Back at the ambush I give orders for the last remaining AFV to move forward into the tress and then back up under cover to escape the Achilles. It will all come down to how fast the driver can get that beast moving and how close the Achilles crew is to pulling the trigger. This is going to be close.

321Minute127Orders-TryToEscapeAchillies.jpg

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Ian,

Most of your tank engagements appear to be at knife-fighting range. If you run out of ammo your tank crews can just throw empty shell casings at the enemy. This is all pretty intense.

Your StuH commanders were probably shaking their heads in sad amazement when you ordered them up against those Churchills. The call goes down the line....Panthers Vor!!

I am following all this with great interest. Good screenies. :D

Heinrich505

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Ian,

Most of your tank engagements appear to be at knife-fighting range. If you run out of ammo your tank crews can just throw empty shell casings at the enemy. This is all pretty intense.

Yeah this map is very interesting. There are some opportunities for over-watch but once you close to contact most of the fighting is fairly close.

Your StuH commanders were probably shaking their heads in sad amazement when you ordered them up against those Churchills. The call goes down the line....Panthers Vor!!

Probably :( Sorry guys!

I am following all this with great interest. Good screenies.

Thanks.

Had coffee with Dungeon tiger this morning. He watched the turn but did not get a chance to play it. This last one took me an hour and a half to watch and play.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Panzergrenadiers finish off that Churchill. Aim…

322Minute127-126-TakingAim.jpg

Fire…

323Minute127-126-Hit.jpg

Over by the bridge the lead Stugs end up facing a Churchill and even with help from units from the other side of the river nothing happens.

324Minute127-126-BlockingTheWay.jpg

The Panther in the field has more luck. It Destroys the Churchill while keeping its front armour facing the enemy across the field.

325Minute127-126-FinallyKOed.jpg

The armoured car approaching the 5 company in the orchard has disappeared so no more fun for the Stug.

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Now that that pesky Churchill is taken care of we can begin to move forward: starting with a Panther moving to a hull down position in the field to engage the enemy Churchill tanks on the other side. I also ordered a Panther to move around the left to face that Churchill the Stugs met last turn and the Stugs are ordered to pull back.

326Minute126Orders-PrepareNextField.jpg

Now that the spotting rounds are starting to fall it is time to position the assault infantry so they are ready to go. As soon as the FFE starts the Panthers will lead the advance against the enemy Churchill at the edge of the town and the infantry will begin to move into the buildings once the enemy armor is neutralized.

327Minute126Orders-MovingOnTown.jpg

The last surviving Stug from the ambush on my right flank escaped the Achillies successfully. I have ordered the nearby platoon commander to move into position to call some organic 81mm mortar on to the ridge where the Achilles are hiding.

328Minute126Orders-HuntingAchilles.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

The full barrage begins to fall on the town.

330Minute128-127-ArtilleryFalls.jpg

At the entrance to the town where the FO, elements of 3 Battery and a Platoon from 3 Company are on over watch there is Achilles. Excellent right now he is right under the second barrage of artillery.

331Minute128-127-EntranceToTown.jpg

The Stug facing the Churchill is taken out before it can be saved by the Panther.

332Minute128-127-PantherTooLate.jpg

Meanwhile the Panther in the field takes a 95mm shell in the main gun. The tank is intact and the crew are fine but they now have no main gun. Not good – one Panther down.

333Minute128-127-LosingMainGun.jpg

Right now the only real way I have of winning this is to deal with his Churchill tanks. So far the Panthers are the only thing that has been capable of dealing with them directly. I believe that my infantry, once in the town, will have some chance in the town itself but I need those Panthers to stay operational to succeed.

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One of the 150mm barrages is in progress now – time to launch the assault on the town.

334Minute127Orders-Artillery.jpg

At the far end of the ridge the Platoon HQ is not quite in position to see the Achilles on the opposite ridge.

335Minute127Orders-GettingIntoPosition.jpg

1 and 2 Company are given advancing orders in the woods near the town along with their supporting Panthers and Stugs. Nothing to aggressive yet, just advance to get a better view.

(no screen shot)

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The advancing infantry face fire from the Churchill that was spotted a while ago. It has shifted position so that it can see my troops but the lead Panther cannot see it – yet. Getting into the town could be messy.

336Minute125-124-AssaltTown.jpg

The lead Panther does spot – and destroy – the Stuart that was with the Churchill.

337Minute125-124-TakeOutSutart.jpg

More 150mm rounds fall…

338Minute125-124-Barrage.jpg

Meanwhile over in the orchard 5 Company’s mortars drop shells on the Churchill tanks they are facing. I am not expecting much from 81mm mortar rounds but I am hoping to disable the tank. Or at least force them to withdraw a little.

339Minute125-124-FiringOnChurchills.jpg

The target tanks…

340Minute125-124-TheTargetTanks.jpg

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At the bridge head one more Churchill tank goes down. This time it is one of the 95mm howitzer tanks.

341Minute125-124-PantherScores.jpg

But its friend manages to put a round on target too. Luckily it cases no direct damage but it does cause the crew to pop smoke and pull back.

342Minute125-124-PantherTakesOne.jpg

Over on the road next to the river the Panther and the Churchill exchange fire before the Churchill withdraws. The Churchill hit a tree and the Panther hit the Churchill with no effect.

343Minute125-124-ExchangeFire.jpg

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