CMPC Normandy 44 H2H Operation Turn 2 Camilly Battle Axis DAR

[noob]

The images below show the map, both sides OOB, and the set up zones for the battle for Camilly.

Kuderian an i have decided to reduce the CM battles from 60 to 45 turns to conform more to the PzC time and motion parameters.

The battle starts at 10:00am, the temperature is cool, and the weather is clear, with a gentle wind coming from the West.

I have two platoons of Grenadiers and three Flak 88 guns.

All units are Green with Low motivation, and are currently flanked, which has caused Isolation.

I have completed and sent my set up file for this battle, so the first turn should be posted soon.

There is no artillery attached to the 736th Grenadier Regiment, therefore the Axis forces in this battle have no indirect fire support.

The Allied forces consist of five companies, one Mortar Carrier section, and one 6 pdr AT guns section.

Based on the withdrawal rules, the Axis forces cannot use the exit zone until turn 9 of 45.

I have completed and sent my set up for this battle, so there should be a turn 1 post soon.

[noob]

An image was posted as part of a comment on another DAR thread of mine, so this is just a message to say that while i appreciate any comments pertaining to these DAR's, i would prefer people to not post images, as it upsets the visual flow.

[noob]

Here are the artillery rules that will be applied in the forthcoming battle:

Only the attacker can call in a pre planned strike from an off map fire unit.

All off map fire unit targeting must be Area fire, where one gun has a shell dispersal area of 35 metres per gun, therefore a 4 gun battery would have a shell dispersal area of 4 x 35 = 140 metres, which translates to an area fire circle of 140 metres.

All on map indirect fire unit targeting must be point targeting.

[noob]

Ok, here goes with my first operational CM battle, also my first game with Bill Hardenberger's excellent WW2 icons, also i forgot to change the time limit to 45 turns, which means there is an 8 turn exit zone ban for the defender not a 10 turn one.

Turn 1

I have split my infantry squads into SMG and LMG teams, and then place my long range weapons (LMG's and 88's) with the longest fields of fire possible. however the guns are on hide, as my opponent has on map mortars, so i want to get him to use them on other targets before i open up with them.

The LMG teams are on fire at will, as i want them to engage targets at the longest possible range, and also to draw mortar fire, as i intend to move any unit that fires during this and subsequent turns.

The ground slopes down on my right flank and consequently creates a blind spot, so my Shrek teams are deployed forward to observe that flank.

I will keep my SMG teams out of the way until he starts moving units within 150m of the village.

As i look at the open landscape on my front, i can appreciate the irony of my 88's have nothing better than Bren Carriers and infantry to shoot at....sigh.

The lights go on and it looks like my opponent has opted to bring the bulk of his infantry on as reinforcements, as all i can see are two empty carriers, two manned carriers and a truck.

I suspect the empty carrier are there to trigger my guns, if they are....you are a sneaky chap Kuderian, but i'm one step ahead of you, as they are on tight cover arcs and hide.

[noob]

Now we come to a very strange incident indeed, the units you see start reversing before they are fired at, and drive into the exit zone and are gone for the duration of the battle, that's one HQ section and it's XO out of the game ???

[noob]

As those units exit, artillery starts falling, which is great news, as i thought Kuderian would move all his artillery to within range of the Buron sector, but he hasn't, or at least he has chosen to use it on what i regard as an irrelevant battle, so whatever battery is firing now, cannot be used in any defensive battles he has to fight after my operational turn 2 movement / assault phase.

An airburst causes the first Axis casualty of the operation, and it's a HQ section....ouch, my troops are brittle enough without their leader to egg them on, however they recover from rattled so it could have been worse, also, in the background you can see another casualty to the 88's ammo team caused by an airburst, but thankfully the gun crew were unharmed, and the ammo team recovered their composure.

So after the video, i decide to relocate the units in the artillery strike area and the LMG unit that fired at the units that exited, however, just as the turn ends, i hear a chorus of destruction presaging another round of HE, so there is obviously a long delay between barrages, so i put the units that are going to relocate on a 10 second timer, which should allow them to move just after this new barrage has stopped.

I also decide to move an LMG team into the top floor of a two storey building, i was loathe to do this at the start, in case Kuderian had his forces laying down area fire on any of the buildings with an over watch on his set up zones.

Now to wait for Turn 2 to see if my units relocate successfully.

[noob]

Turn 2

This turn proved to be full of surprises.

The artillery struck again, pinning the troops i wanted to relocate, but fortunatley there were no casualties, and it turned out that they were better off staying put, as i will reveal later.

The LMG team sent to the top floor of the building spotted some new threats, more empty carriers, however the jeep has a HQ unit in it, so i have ordered the LMG team to fire at it, with the intention of forcing it to reverse into the exit zone.

Now for the suprise, my LMG teams in the house on my right flank get an enemy contact.

More carriers

But these are different, i forgot that the MG Company had MG's mounted on carriers, and also that they were deployed on my right flank, i had assumed that Kuderian's flanking once were infantry, and they would approach up the slope on foot, bad mistake.

[noob]

I should of paid more attention to the white crossed box on the PzC unit info box, as that denotes an MG company, and if i had known that i might of placed an 88 in this position.

It's a good move by Kuderian, he has placed them there to cut off any attempt of mine to withdraw to the exit zone, however, i have no intention of exiting, so while it's all quiet on my front, i will now move my units to engage those carriers while the two LMG teams pour plunging MG42 fire onto the nearest ones, lets just hope i manage manouver in the pause between the next artillery barrage.

One more thing, the Shrek in the orchard lost a man that turn, and it was the man with the Shrek, so i am having to buddy aid him to get the weapon, this was annoying, as the Shrek is the closest unit i have to those carriers, and is the perfect weapon to use against them.

[Fenris]

Good write up on an interesting match. Whilst it's obviously not the "ideal" match up that you often get in scenarios I think it a good indicator of one of the things that an op layer brings to the game, uneven or unexpected forces pitted against each other.

Looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Cheers

Fenris

[noob]

Good write up on an interesting match. Whilst it's obviously not the "ideal" match up that you often get in scenarios I think it a good indicator of one of the things that an op layer brings to the game, uneven or unexpected forces pitted against each other.

Looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Cheers

Fenris

Thanks, this is the first time i've written up a CM battle and i'm getting into it, it's battles like this that make operational play so interesting, as it gives players the chance to create CM battles no quick battle or custom scenario designer would ever make, and when you add to that the operational context, as in this case, it is an ideal match up operationally, because it means my opponent has over committed to a less important area of operations.

Even if i get wiped out, which i will, my force of 66 infantry will have tied up over 500 men for two hours of operational play, and that's a big mistake by the Allied CO IMO, given that the bulk of the VL's are on the other side of the operational map.

[noob]

Turn 3

As i try an relocate my SMG teams the artillery starts up again, i was expecting a window to manouver as in the previous turns but alas that is not to be, two squads get pinned and a HQ squad loses half it's men to an airburst.

Now for one of those comical moments that CM battles inevitably create.

As my Shrek team run across the road to the cover of the hedge they are in for a nasty surprise.

Run !!!

Run !!!

And relax.

And now the cavalry arrive, so the Shrek team might survive long enough to get off a shot from close range.

[noob]

On the other sice of the battlefield my LMG teams have inflicted the first enemy casualty of this operation, hopefully my opponent will now realise it's a lost cause

As if the gods have heard me, the carriers start to reverse.

To my front i can hear the sound of mortars coming from the empty carriers, i should of guessed that the crews were hiding in the fields nearby, so now i plan to open up on them with my 88's.

As expected the mortar rounds start falling, i only hope he hasn't got an accurate sighting, so i can fire at least a couple of HE rounds.

[noob]

My orders for the next turn are to engage the carriers with the Shrek and SMG teams, with support from an LMG team in the house.

I also order two LMG teams to the top floor of some two storey buildings to see if i can get a shot at the mortars, along with ordering an 88 to fire at a suspected carrier with the hope of creating some collateral damage to any mortar teams nearby.

[Frankster65]

Very cool stuff noob! Really enjoying this.

[noob]

The video for turn 3 commences.

If this guy misses i'm outta here !!!

Right..........i'm still here.

Now with the one carrier dispensed with, a second one gets in on the act.

I especially like this action, as it involves one Axis, with an SMG, and one Canadian, with a HMG, who will win ?

I win, let the bells ring out, i will offer Kuderian a ceasefire.

The immediate aftermath of that little skirmish didn't go to well for the Canadians, the second carrier is retreating while firing, after another crew member manned the MG (how kind) so i don't expect any more trouble from that quarter.

But i typed to soon, another carrier does makes an appearance, i have to hand it to Kuderian, he is a pain in the arse, which is the highest compliment one can give to an opponent.

Looking at the hit report on the third carrier, it struck me that if a famous 70's UK ventriloquist was sat on the shoulders of a clone of himself who was sitting in the carrier, and he was shot, the message would read "

HIT: Upper Rod Hull".

[noob]

Ok, back to this futile carrier attack, a desperate move by Kuderian, who is obviously reeling at the immensity of my tactical genius.

My prediction is that it will back off as soon as it realises what the situation is.

As i predicted, it disgorges three tough looking troopers, who look like they mean business, and by business, i mean **** noob PLC.

My Shrek team decided to make a tactical withdrawal, and one of them fell over and injured himself just as some wind blew some dust up, it didn't have anything to do with those men peeping over that hedge....ok ?

[noob]

Elsewhere on the battlefield one of my 88's finally gets a shot off at a carrier, unfortunately it missed, however it won't next time.

Unless, of course, this happens.

The same fate greets another 88, it's looking like game over for those weapons.

[noob]

On a lighter note, my SMG team, and HQ sections, survive the artillery strikes relatively intact.

Now to issue fire and move orders.

I order the SMG teams in the hedge to engage with the Canadian troops that attacked my Shrek team, with area fire support from the LMG in the house.

I then order my exposed teams to fast move to cover, i also order the LMG team near the MG carriers to move cautiously back to the second floor to retrieve the MG42 belonging to the one casualty they sustained.

My attempt to move some LMG teams to get an overwatch on the enemy mortars results in them being caught in the blast areas of the mortar rounds directed at the 88, so i order one to relocate, however i will have to wait to move the other one, as it is shaken.

[noob]

Turn 4

My SMG teams engage the Canadian team that attacked my Shrek team, and suppress them enough to allow the surviving member of Shrek team team to make a move back to his lines.

The teams that i ordered to run for cover from the artillery do so.

The carriers that were retreating stop retreating and two engage the LMG teams in the buildings successfully suppressing them, preventing one from recovering the lost MG42.

[noob]

The surviving member of the Shrek team in the orchard gives aid to his downed comrade and retrieves the Shrek plus 5 rounds.

Remarkably, despite taking casualties, two of my 88's are weathering the storm, the third however is cowering and understandably shaken.

[Heinrich505]

Noob,

I am loving the action and the screenshots. I will be waiting to see if the former loader and now newly designated Shrek Guy re-engages and gets retribution for his partner. The two of them barely escaped that dash across the street through the hail of MG fire earlier so they were living on borrowed time already.

It is exactly this sort of personal activity by the pixel-truppen that makes this game so fascinating - you get drawn in and start cheering for your individual soldiers.

Heinrich505

[noob]

Thanks for the compliment, The SMG teams will have to win their skirmish with the three Canadians before the Shrek loader can retrieve the weapon, however the other Shrek loader will be on the hunt in the next video.

[noob]

It is exactly this sort of personal activity by the pixel-truppen that makes this game so fascinating - you get drawn in and start cheering for your individual soldiers.

Yes, it's a world within a world

[noob]

Now for the orders.

I order the Shrek carrier to quick move to the hedge, there he should get a shot at one of the MG carriers lurking in that area.

The LMG team in the house is then ordered to fire at the carrier moving in support of the three man team pinned by my SMG teams.

I then fast move the LMG teams not engaged into cover to recuperate.

Finally, i send an LMG team to cover the rear of the village.

[noob]

Turn 5

The Shrek team i ordered to move to the hedge and engage the carriers does so.

The shot misses, and consequently draws the attention of the enemy, and considering it was brittle, i cannot see much action coming from that weapon anymore.

Elsewhere on the battlefield two of my 88's have succumbed to the mortar fire and have been abandoned.

With over half my forces shaken i have decided to do what any decent CO would do in this situation and surrender, as i cannot see my troops inflicting any serious casualties on my opponent in future turns.

Kuderian played this well, because given the disparity in forces it would of been easy for him to be reckless with his forces, however he only gave me one real opportunity to inflict any meaningful casualties, also his use of artillery was good, by using it to pin my troops, or at least make it dangerous to manouver, he allowed his forces a relatively safe journey to the outskirts of the village.

So congratulations to my opponent for achieving the first CM victory of this operation, and because i prematurely surrendered my troops, his will be regarded as rested for future operations, and their motivation will remain at High.

I should of posted a link to the operational Axis DAR at the start of this thread so here it is: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=105828