hollister21 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 So this will be my first DAR, and I'm really hoping to get some feedback on my strategy / tactics. I'm still learning a lot about CM, especially german doctrine, so I hope I can continue to learn from this. I also really enjoy reading all these DAR/AAR threads, so I figured why not write one up? Anyway, my opponent and I landed on a random medium quick battle map (coincidentally the same map as the "Hedgerow Hell" scenario). My selected force is as follows: 1 Battalion Waffen SS Panzergrenadiers - 1 Company - 3 Rifle Platoons - 1 Attached Tank hunter team - 1 Support (Machinegun) Platoon - 2 Company - 3 Rifle Platoons - 1 Attached SPW250/10 (support halftrack) - 1 Support (Machinegun) Platoon - 2 81mm Mortar Batteries (off map) - 1 75mm Infantry Gun (off map) - 2 TRPs Because of the bocage - heavy layout of this map, I’ve decided to put essentially all of my points into infantry, rather than armor. I do have the single support halftrack with a 37mm cannon, and some armor piercing rounds. If my opponent has chosen to attack with armor, I’m hoping that my panzerfaust - armed infantry will be able to cause enough problems while hiding in the bocage. My initial plan is to send 1 company north / north west to secure that flank and occupy structures within that part of the victory location. 2 company with the support halftrack will primarily provide flank security and ultimately make a final push to take the victory location once contact is made. My basic plan: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 No contact made on the first turn, although I do hear the sound of a demo charge going off, presumably through some bocage, about 10 seconds in. Not sure where my opponent may be heading with that ... My forces on the move... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 Another demo charge goes off soon into this turn north of the “main road.” I quickly see a sound contact in that area, which seems to be moving east. No definite contacts yet. My plan begins to work out a little more clearly - I hope to lay ambush / kill zones and play a defensive battle, as most of the victory location lays within my LOS. I’m going to try to leave my AFV in place until I know where the primary threat is coming from. As soon as my tank hunter team is finished blasting through bocage, I’ll move 2nd Platoon north to face the large wheat field that I suspect my opponent will try to cross. I’m also going to move one of my HQ teams slowly up to the main road and try to get eyes down the road. While I don’t expect my opponent to send any significant force up this road, I’ve realized that it is one vulnerable spot where I won’t have any strong group. Moving to occupy the farmhouse Moving out the get eyes down the main road 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 Much of the same this turn, as I move my men into final positions. My tank-hunter team blows through some bocage to allow 2nd Platoon through the an overwatch position over a field north of the main road. I do have the first confirmed enemy contact of the game, when my HQ team spots a Sherman peeking sort-of hull-down from the farm house. I’m starting to get an uneasy feeling after spotting Yormsha’s armor. I will need to keep my men in hidden ambush positions to effectively take out armor, as I don’t have anything that can trade rounds with a tank. With that in mind, I’m going to re position my tank-hunter team into a more flexible position. Again, if my opponent is able to drive his armor into a field and spot my infantry, he can probably blow them to bits before I’ll be able to do a thing about it. I’m calling my first artillery strike of the game on this turn into the field where the Sherman currently sits. I don’t expect to nail the Sherman, but I’m guessing there will be some infantry moving through there shortly, and I’ve learned to call arty where I expect infantry to be, not where they currently are. Because of a nearby TRP I’ll have one 81 mm mortar with rounds falling in about 3 turns, and another to catch retreating infantry in about 6 turns. At the end of turn 3: Dang Sherman: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Outstanding, another DAR! It is tough initially to air out your tactics on the forum, but even without feedback I think it helps to force yourself to explain why you are pursuing a particular plan. Question for ya, what kind of AT weapons do you have Shrecks or PF? It'll totally alter your tactics. I love Shreks and have no issues going toe to toe in hedgerow country against armor. Fighting with just PFs is a lot harder. I am still struggling with them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDork Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 No contact made on the first turn, although I do hear the sound of a demo charge going off, presumably through some bocage, about 10 seconds in. Not sure where my opponent may be heading with that ... I'll tell ya... I would have loved to have some demo charges. Damn bocages are a pain to move through when you are constrained to the whatever little gaps you can find. I love seeing another AAR and think it's great you ended up on the same map I'm currently on. I look forward to following your battle. Thanks for taking the time to put this up! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 hollister21, Welcome aboard--if I haven't done so already! New DARs are always welcome. If my eyes are working properly, I believe that's a 76mm gunned Sherman, evidenced by the relatively slab sided turret. YMMV! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZPB II Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Great, more DARs! At a quick glance, I would worry about the lack of AT capability. While the German infantry in this time period did have plenty of Panzerfausts, they were of the 30 and 30K variety. The 30 comes from the maximum range of 30 meters. This will likely prove to be a liability. The more potent 60 and 100 variants will enter production at a later point in the war. That single Shreck will need to be babysitted. If your enemy has bought 76mm armed Shermans, that is lucky for you. They are more expensive and they are worse against infantry. The HE round for the 76mm has less explosives in it than the 75mm round and the higher velocity means the shell can dig in before exploding, muffling it a bit. The flatter trajectory also translates into a less than optimal pattern for shrapnel dispersion upon detonation. Can't think of much else to say right now. I would avoid clustering too many men behind a single piece of bocage as a linear artillery strike can wipe them all out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heinrich505 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 hollister21, Yet another DAR - this is great! I concur with sburke on the shreks. I had one just duke it out with a Sherman through a gap in the hedgerow. He managed to hit a tree twice, but so did the Sherman - talk about nailbiting. Then he nailed the bugger in the turret and it was all she wrote. The Pleasure Beast is right - watch them carefully. Moments after my shrek boys nailed the Sherman they were dusted by angry Brit infantry. Keep us deep in screen shots - we love to see all the action. Thanks for posting. Heinrich505 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 So this will be my first DAR, and I'm really hoping to get some feedback on my strategy / tactics. <snip> Excellent - I love reading AARs too. Your force selection with no armor will be challenging but German Infantry in bocage country is about as good as it gets when fighting tanks with Infantry - should it come to that. My basic plan: I have a question here - your infantry plan looks good to me. I wonder about the TRP on the left (from the screen shot). Why put one there? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I’m calling my first artillery strike of the game on this turn into the field where the Sherman currently sits. I don’t expect to nail the Sherman, but I’m guessing there will be some infantry moving through there shortly, and I’ve learned to call arty where I expect infantry to be, not where they currently are. Because of a nearby TRP I’ll have one 81 mm mortar with rounds falling in about 3 turns, and another to catch retreating infantry in about 6 turns. Stripping away the tank's infantry is the right thing to do. Trying to fight tanks with infantry is hard but if those tanks have an infantry screen it gets much harder. The other technique that I find helpful is smoke. Some of your infantry can probably pop a smoke screen. Often getting some smoke to bind the tank will allow a squad to get close enough t use a PF or even close assault. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 I'll tell ya... I would have loved to have some demo charges. Damn bocages are a pain to move through when you are constrained to the whatever little gaps you can find. My 2-man tank hunter does have 2 demo charges, one of which I've used already to move 1 company, 2nd Platoon north of the "main road." It would be nice to have a few more, but I think there should be enough gaps on my side of the line to move around OK. I have a question here - your infantry plan looks good to me. I wonder about the TRP on the left (from the screen shot). Why put one there? When placing TRPs, I usually flip the map perspective and imagine myself attacking into my positions. I saw that flank and stretch of bocage as a place where I would probably set a base of fire and try to move from - so as a defender, I wanted to be able to pin my opponent with small arms from across the field and then drop 81mm on top of them relatively quickly. I wish I could say there was more thought than that, but I've so far found TRP location to be rather challenging. Sometimes I'm right, and sometimes they do not good at all. At a quick glance, I would worry about the lack of AT capability. While the German infantry in this time period did have plenty of Panzerfausts, they were of the 30 and 30K variety. My entire division has a total of 21 panzerfausts, most of which are of the 30 variety, with a few being the 30K (what is the difference between the two?) I also have 9 panzershreks, each with 6 rounds (total of 54 rounds) spread between my 6 rifle platoons. Thanks for the comments so far, I'll post the next turn as soon as it's in my inbox! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 9 Shreks? Baaahhhaahhahha He better bring a lot of tanks Add to that all those PFs and Ian's suggestion of using them in conjunction with smoke and your opponent better make sure those Shermans are hanging back in a support role behind a nice Infantry screen. Even then, the shreks have a really good ability to reach out and touch him. I had one nail a Sherman at 267 meters. No I didn't plan that. I just hadn't set a limited arc as I didn't think anything was near or in sight. Next thing I know this rocket arcs across the sky, kills the tank and a halftrack next to it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZPB II Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Oooooooo...9 stovepipes! Now I am starting to feel sorry for the Shermans. The "Panzerfaust Rush" is a legit tactic. A few times my hand was forced to select two man antitank teams from several squads and order them to rush enemy tanks in the open from multiple directions while doing the snake dance. Hopefully the smoke would give them a chance. Sometimes when 105mm armed vehicles cook off it looks the same as JDAMs from CMSF and the low range of the Faust means that...they were really brave men. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 10 seconds into the fourth turn, another demo charge goes off. I also get my first confirmed infantry sighting of the morning, a Commonwealth motorized infantryman. Because of the “random” set up I did know until now what allied army I would be facing. And I’m still not 100% sure, but I believe they are Polish. A second demo charge goes off seconds later, providing the enemy access into the large northern wheat field. 2nd Platoon arrives at their position just in time to catch several Allied infantrymen spilling over the berm into the wheat field. Seconds later, four MG42s open up on the exposed men, who are quickly pinned. I count at least 2 casualties by the end of the turn. I also spot infantry moving further north up the road - I’m not too worried about them yet as I have significant fire superiority, as well as 81mm mortars falling on the road in about 2 minutes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 No contact yet south of the “main road.” My men will stay put there for this turn. I am moving my tank hunter team towards the farmhouse down “main road.” I want them in a more centrally located position, and since I haven’t seen any activity on the road I want to be able to catch any armor thats getting ready to roll through the gap in the bocage. I am moving one of my MG42 squads and one of my rifle squads from the farmhouse area across the road to the south bocage of the wheat field. I’m hoping to gain an enfilade position on the gap and inflict some more casualties. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 It appears my opponent wisely sent a 3 man scout element through the gap, which are now all casualties, as no other infantry appear behind them. As my repositioning rifle squad moves across the road, they spot yet another demo charge blasting north of the intersection. Shortly after, they spot more infantry sprinting across the intersection from north to south. This intersection is conveniently located in a deep depression the road, so my visibility is limited. I don’t think they spotted my men, but I’m going to retreat back across the road to cover. This is because my HQ team at the far east side of the map has now spotted a Wolverine tank destroyer accompanying the Sherman. My infantry is exposed all the way down the road, so I will sacrifice the possible enfilade position. I think I’ve also already demonstrated to my enemy that the wheat field is well covered from the east. I am preparing for a possible enemy probe into what I am calling the “south sector.” I am setting covered arcs for my infantry watching over this area to fall a few meters short of the far bocage. I’m hoping to lure a larger infantry element into my interlocking fire zones. I am also preparing to possibly see some spotting rounds on my previous successful ambush point. I’m going to leave the 2 rifle platoons there for now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 Turn 6 and 7 are fairly quiet, for me at least. The tank destroyer backs down the hill out of sight, and I spot at least one infantry section moving toward the crossroads from the North. Fortunately for me, my 81 mm mortars begin to rain down very accurately right where they were moving to. I’m hoping there is some more unseen infantry in that area. I am sending some scouts on the (so far) quiet south/western front out for a look. Yormsha is doing a good job so far of concealing his main force. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 Another fairly quiet turn for me. I see the first evidence of enemy infantry in the “South Sector” as a sniper team peaks their head through a gap in the bocage. My cover arcs apparently were just a little too long, as two platoons open up immediately. The sniper goes into hiding, so I’m unsure of his fate. This is enough evidence for me to call in a fire mission for my 75mm infantry gun on the TRP on that bocage line. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 My artillery continues to pound the field northwest of the crossroads. Hopefully I’m inflicting some casualties ... One of my reserve rifle platoons spots two Shermans racing east through that field, heading towards the road and the wheat field. I’m going to sprint my tank hunter team up to the crossroad and try to make my enemy worry about sending armor that way. I’ve spotted the first confirmed casualty of my bombardment, crumpled onto the road near the intersection. Another soldier is pinned across the street, with rounds falling nearby and small arms fire from the west. So, plan for this turn: not many changes. Tank hunter team is still on the move toward the intersection. I’m going to mobilize one of my MG teams to cover the road. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Now that my MG team is deployed covering the road, I’m going to move them off the road right back to cover. This is because Yormsha has rolled a Sherman onto the main road, facing east. It rolls to a stop about 90 meters west of the crossroad. My tank hunter team arrives at the other side of the bocage, facing the crossroad. Hopefully they haven’t been spotted yet. I just need that Sherman to creep a little bit closer for my Panzerfausts. I’m calling in some more artillery on the road where the Sherman now sits. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 My tank hunter team apparently was spotted, as the Sherman opens up on them with HE and machine gun fire immediately as the turn begins. My first casualty of the game comes as a piece of shrapnel appears to incapacitate one of them. The Sherman draws the attention of one of my rifle platoons currently near the farmhouse. They decide to try their luck with a panzershrek, which unfortunately sails high and out of danger. This does, however, bring the powerful Sherman’s attention to my inaccurate infantry. Several HE rounds pound into the bocage around them, injuring several soldiers. No casualties are taken there, at least yet. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollister21 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 By the end of the turn, two of my rifle squads are pinned, and my tank hunter team is down to 1 injured man who is pinned behind the bocage. Yormsha has moved another Sherman in the field across from me, and I’ve spotted at least 2 sections of Polish infantry heading south. I’m evacuating my forces that are under fire, and I have now split off three separate panzershrek teams to head towards the crossroads and try to deal with those tanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 hollister21, You have a most amusing inadvertent homophone error going. Panzershrek is this guy, in a black uniform mit pink Waffenfarbe. http://www.dan-dare.org/FreeFun/Images/CartoonsMoviesTV/ShrekWallpaper800.jpg I believe you want one of these instead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerschreck Am enjoying you DAR. Here's hoping your antitank units have better luck! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 hollister21, You have a most amusing inadvertent homophone error going. Panzershrek is this guy, in a black uniform mit pink Waffenfarbe. http://www.dan-dare.org/FreeFun/Images/CartoonsMoviesTV/ShrekWallpaper800.jpg Regards, John Kettler Okay I can't resist - that would be Panzer..... Myers... ta dum 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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