c3k Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 So, the gods of war smile upon the warrior who decides to attack. Now is the time to press your advantage! Morale is the key!! Crush him! (/froth off) Nice job. (Were you staring at the crewmembers to see if they were going to go into their aiming/firing/spotting jig again?) Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 So, the gods of war smile upon the warrior who decides to attack. Now is the time to press your advantage! Morale is the key!! Crush him! (/froth off) No $hit.. I'm pressing hard from here on out.. and keeping in mind that he has a Pzschreck team just on the other side of the hill.. so I'll press with my PIATs primarily... although.. just doing my turn, and my Sherman has a spot on his remaining Pz-IV and it doesn't look like he has a spot on me.. so fingers crossed. Nice job. (Were you staring at the crewmembers to see if they were going to go into their aiming/firing/spotting jig again?) Ken Actually no.. I was watching at first from near his tanks and initially thought it was a PIAT that got him.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 Just sent the turn to GaJ.. my Sherman is unbuttoned with a spot on his Pz-IV.. he is buttoned (thanks to my PIAT rounds) and I don't think his tank can spot mine (based on his turret positioning).. I am holding my ground and taking a shot.. I expect GaJ to try to move his tank... which would play right into my hands. Stay tuned. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 The Twenty-Ninth Minute The remaining Pz-IV on my right was hit and penetrated by my Sherman... ...however it is leading a charmed life and reversed out of danger.. not shocked obviously as it proceeded to take one of my teams under fire (no casualties).. then it drove into the field of fire of my Stuart.. one hit form the Stuart did nothing, the second penetrated.. no effect.... uh oh... he spots my Stuart right at the end of the turn... Next turn will see three of my units attempting to finally kill this beast.. the Stuart, a PIAT team and the Sherman I have on my far left... my center Sherman is also maneuvering to get a spot as well. I won't mind losing the Stuart if something else can take the Pz-IV out... Here is the situation on my right at turn start and turn end... showing movements. The Pz-IV reversed this turn. The 6th Co. HQ that I reported as killed a few turns ago still had one man alive at the start of this turn.. but not anymore. On my left this is how things played out.. GaJ started an artillery barrage.. but luckily it hit behind my troops.. if that had landed on the ridgeline I think I would have lost this Platoon... looks to me like his advance here has stalled. 5th Platoon HQ was killed by the Sherman this turn... many other casualties.. including the gunner from the PzSchreck team seen in these images and two light mortar teams spotted now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 Thought I owed you guys an overview of the map at this stage of the battle... note how his forces have been isolated. I am holding the nose of each of these forces and maneuvering behind them. If you can spot them, there are a total of three full platoons in reserve waiting for orders. Also note the faded contact in the top left corner.. I haven't been able to investigate that yet (that entire back ridge is under the view of his forces on my left)... but hope to soon. I suspect its one or two medium mortar teams. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Units in reserve awaiting orders? This is a public AAR. You have your orders! ATTACK!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForwardObserver Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Things are shaping up nicely for you, Bil. That zoomed out map picture tells it all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herr_oberst Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Thought I owed you guys an overview of the map at this stage of the battle... note how his forces have been isolated. I am holding the nose of each of these forces and maneuvering behind them. I fear that surrendering the center has cost GaJ dearly. Well played. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 The Thirtieth Minute On my right he is now withdrawing his forward teams (and losing several men in the process)... on my left he is trying to sneak a Faust team up on my Sherman... but that's all boring, let's get to the meat! Panzer Death Ride I don't think he ever spotted my Stuart... My Stuart put three rounds into the Pz-IV, two of which penetrated.. it was him standing his ground and putting round after round into the enemy tank that I believe forced it to reverse onto the hill behind... ...as the panzer reversed to get away from the Stuart's pin pricks, he ran right into the sights of my center Sherman. In this image you can just make out the panzer on the hill in the background silhouetted against the sky. The first round killed it. I'm afraid my units kind of picked on that tank and crew for the rest of the turn... but it is very dead now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuser Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Well, it's been a lovely AAR so far, but after these last 3 or 4 turns the Doors song comes to my mind,...."this is the end,....". Good job Bill. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Thanks Fuser.. but the final stage of a battle can be very dangerous. Especially with the firepower he still wields, those light mortars are murder. I have come up with a sure technique against them though... don't let them see you! Seriously.. I have to be careful now as he must be feeling like a cornered dog at this point.. I am thankful that there is around 500 meters between his two forces which means the likelihood of him breaking out on one flank and joining his two forces is very slim. The key is going to be to maintain the pressure and don't give him anytime to think, or any event to celebrate, I want him feeling down and depressed and unsure of which way to turn. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Orders for turn 31: LEFT SIDE On the left I am pushing most of my infantry into the valley to get under his light mortars.. I would like to get close enough to deal with them Sten style. The Sherman is redeploying to get away from the smoke and away from the faust team that is slowly climbing he hill. Not that I'm worried about him but one never knows. The Stuart on my left is proceeding a little deeper into the valley to get a better angle. In the center one of my reserve platoons is starting the slow climb to the ridge overlooking the bowl on the backside of those twin mountains GaJ is set up on (I want this entire platoon to crest at the same time)... my scouts are easing forward to get a peek into the bowl to see what they can see... RIGHT SIDE My forward teams are working deeper into the valley (far right of the hill) pursuing his retreating teams... the Stuart is rushing to the ridge on the map edge, both to keep far from any schrecks and also to get a view into where I think his mass must be located. My teams on the far left of the right side hill are swinging around his rear like a door to close any escape route (followed by the center Sherman) and to take out the light mortar that is slightly to his rear on this flank and very close to my troops. My reserve platoon on this side is climbing the hill in order to pop over the top as soon as I know what I am faced with. ____________________ The truck mounted platoon is driving towards the center.. I will be using them as my mounted reserve and deploy them where they wind up being needed most. So basically I am putting the pressure on both forces at once. It will take a few turns (maybe several) for the left side attack to develop, the right side attack is starting now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 End of Game So.. it seems that GaJ has called 'er quits... Too bad really.. I thought with his force he could have made the end game very painful for me.. but I totally understand . Losing that second Pz-IV really meant the end was near. Casualty counts: Me: 42 infantry (dead and wounded); 1 tank GaJ: 82 infantry (dead and wounded); 2 tanks Here are the final positions.. I have not analyzed this yet.. hopefully later today but thought you guys can use this information to tell us where our faults lie. Now I'll spend some time reading GaJ's thread the peanut gallery (really looking forward to that one) Thanks for a great game GaJ.. if you had gone hunting my center Sherman with your two Pz-IVs then this could have ended far differently. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wodin Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Never understood really what GAJ was wanting to do..I thought he was going to try and attack you from two sides as you went up the center..it seemed though he kind of froze and his troops esp on the left became static. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 End of Game Too bad really.. I thought with his force he could have made the end game very painful for me.. but I totally understand . Losing that second Pz-IV really meant the end was near. I think it would have been a slaughter. It was apparent to a lot of us in the peanut gallery thread that this game was all about the armor battle. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 On the bright side, the two players can now read those Peanut Gallery posts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 That end game screen looks like a classic example of 'filletting' (see: Lt-Col IM Stewart, 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Malaya, 1942) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Bil, you played a very good game. You used every bit of intel to gain leverage over GaJ and you did it in an outstanding manner. Well played. Congratulations! (Next time, attack sooner! ) Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnart Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Good game Bil. Thanks for the entertainment, and for taking the time to post the fine pics, and descriptions. I thought for the size of the map GaJ could have used at least one more tank to cover the area. 5 to 2 armor didn’t seem like good odds from the start on this terrain. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Thanks for the entertainment, and for taking the time to post the fine pics, and descriptions. Hear, hear! And the same goes out to GaJ. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 That end game screen looks like a classic example of 'filletting' (see: Lt-Col IM Stewart, 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Malaya, 1942) Hey Jon, do you have a link to this? Just curious.. my searches are coming up empty. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Bil, Scarily well played! I do note with interest that GaJ hasn't a single recoilless rifle anywhere to be seen. I thought his weapon company had a bunch? Did he pull some slick bit of maskirovka on all of us? Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Thanks John... is scarily a word? He must have stripped them out.. I haven't seen him make mention of them.. they might have come in handy.. I wonder how fast their crew can push them around... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Bil, Methinkest! http://www.google.com/search?q=scarily&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a YMMV. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Hey Jon, do you have a link to this? Just curious.. my searches are coming up empty. This book has a good discussion of Stewart and his tactics ... including the time he got it totally wrong and his own bn (and ultimately his whole bde) was filleted and destroyed at the Slim River. The context is a little different, of course. I'm not clear how much filleting depended on being conducted in jungle terrain, but I suspect it was a fair bit. Nevertheless that end-game picture - and the collapse it documents - vividly reminded me of it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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