DAR Kampfgruppe Engel (Mission 2) Warning Spoiler alert!

[Hilts]

GENERAL SITUATION. German troops have advanced up as far as the main street. We occupy most of the houses on the north side and there is sporadic fire coming from the south side but American resistance in this sector seems to have crumbled.

LEFT FLANK: A curious incident here as American forces are in retreat. One man throws down his rifle and surrenders then two minutes later picks it back up and starts firing! My men, (who were fortunately still behind cover) return fire with the inevitable result.

[Hilts]

CENTRE: Stummel opens fire on enemy troops seen occupying a house at the other side of the Square (right background)

Occupying buildings on the northern side of the main street. Mark V in support if required.

Wrecked and abandoned American vehicles in the Town Square.

RIGHT FLANK. Stummel moves up with a view down the main street to the town Square. German troops occupy the terraced houses on the left. There is a white flag waving from the middle building on the right but after what happened before I am tempted to put two HE shells into it....

[Oddball_E8]

Hmm... never seen an enemy surrender and then attack again.

I've played this battle 2-3 times now and I have always used the spotters 105mm to take out the stuart and sherman in the town.

With great success I might add.

I've never made it to this battle with any PzII's intact tho :/

Maby I should stop using them as recon vehicles and start using them as infantry support. Treating them like halftracks might actually keep them alive hehehe

[Seedorf81]

Hmm... never seen an enemy surrender and then attack again.

I recall that this behavior is described in the manual; when a surrendering unit isn't approached/"touched" by enemy troops within a certain amount of time, they get back in the fight, though their morale is much worse.

Looks like a real-life thinghy: I mean, when one tries to surrender but no enemy shows up to tell you where to go/what to do, some soldiers will pick up their guns and fight on or head back to friendly troops.

[Oddball_E8]

I recall that this behavior is described in the manual; when a surrendering unit isn't approached/"touched" by enemy troops within a certain amount of time, they get back in the fight, though their morale is much worse.

Looks like a real-life thinghy: I mean, when one tries to surrender but no enemy shows up to tell you where to go/what to do, some soldiers will pick up their guns and fight on or head back to friendly troops.

Oh yes definately, I just haven't have it happen to me (yet)

[Seedorf81]

Oh yes definately, I just haven't have it happen to me (yet)

You probably only have "Churchillian" (We shall NEVER surrender) men under your command, no cowards in your army, you lucky SOB!

[Hilts]

Most of the action in these turns takes place either on the right flank or in the Town Square sector.

RIGHT FLANK: The Pz II moves down the main street at speed to take up position overlooking the Town Square, whilst a scout team runs across to occupy buildings on the south side.

The Western Approach is secured. The town Square will be secured shortly, then we will begin the assault on the Town Hall and Market

More troops rush across. The buildings on the southern side are all deserted apart from a few troops who seem very keen to surrender.

[Hilts]

The anti-tank gun in the Town Square, one of the first victims of the battle.

Troops occupying the south side of the main street report the presence of an enemy tank. It turns out to be a Stuart. The schreck team races across the road in case they are needed. They only carry two rounds however.

They are in the building right foreground. The Stuart can be seen in the centre.

Dispositions after 45 minutes of fighting. Forward troops have reported hearing the sounds of armour approaching the town from the south. I think it may be the three (or more) Shermans.

[Hilts]

LEFT FLANK: A sapper team of six men dash across the main street to occupy a house on the NE corner of the Town Square. They spot one of the Shermans and some infantry approaching the town from the south.

They open fire but with no effect. The Sherman cranks it's turret around and puts two shells into the house.

Five of the six are killed. Oh man, I hate taking casualties!

[Erwin]

I have really enjoyed this campaign. Am up to battle 7 right now. But, this AAR makes me want to replay from the start. I'd forgotten how much fun it is.

[Oddball_E8]

I still cannot understand how you still have your panzer 2's...

I have played the first mission of this campaign four times now (havent finished the campaign once yet tho, because i really really enjoy these first two missions ) and no matter how carefully I use the PzII's I always lose at least one.

[Hilts]

GENERAL SITUATION: The assault on both the right and left flanks has stalled. On the right the presence of the Stuart is prohibiting my infantry from advancing. I am assuming it is probably armed with canister so am not risking a dash across open ground to the next buildings. On the left flank my men are nervous to advance any further due to the casualties incurred by the Sherman that has LOS to buildings in that sector. My men are taking this opportunity to get some rest whilst I bring up the Panther. Enemy infantry are seen pouring into the town from the south. They are reinforcing the areas around the Town Hall and the Market.

Four men from a squad are seen here advancing into the town. They run into a hail of bullets moments later and three of them are cut down:

More enemy troops pour in.

This time they are spotted by the Panther who by now has moved to the North-west corner of the Town Square.

He opens fire!

[Hilts]

TANK HUNTING: The Stuart suddenly reverses back to this position. I think he must have heard the sound of the Mark V engine in the next street and got spooked...

The Stuart's new position is radioed to Lt. Ober. He rounds the corner (somewhat clumsily) to get a bead on the Stuart which panics and reverses some more, right into Ober's line of fire.

The Stuart can be seen just beyond the abandoned Sherman.

Well, you can see for yourselves what happens next!

[Hilts]

I still cannot understand how you still have your panzer 2's...

I have played the first mission of this campaign four times now (havent finished the campaign once yet tho, because i really really enjoy these first two missions ) and no matter how carefully I use the PzII's I always lose at least one.

Four times!..... I have been playing Combat Mission since 1999 and I don't think I have ever played a scenario more than once. I usually play H2H so it's a while since I played the first KE mission but IIRC one of my Pz II's came under serious fire from a Greyhound but managed to reverse out before being knocked out. I did however manage to lose both PZ IVs. I don't really understand how you keep losing one if you know where the enemy is or does the AI set up differently each time?

[Oddball_E8]

Four times!..... I have been playing Combat Mission since 1999 and I don't think I have ever played a scenario more than once. I usually play H2H so it's a while since I played the first KE mission but IIRC one of my Pz II's came under serious fire from a Greyhound but managed to reverse out before being knocked out. I did however manage to lose both PZ IVs. I don't really understand how you keep losing one if you know where the enemy is or does the AI set up differently each time?

They do set up slightly differently each time (well there are more than one AI plans to pick from anyway).

And I have never had my PzII's survive an initial encounter with any kind of AT weapons in that campaign. 37mm knock them out on the first or second hit each time...

[Hilts]

They do set up slightly differently each time (well there are more than one AI plans to pick from anyway).

And I have never had my PzII's survive an initial encounter with any kind of AT weapons in that campaign. 37mm knock them out on the first or second hit each time...

And what about your Pz IVs? Did they manage to survive the first mission? I should imagine that this second mission would be a hell of a lot easier with them around........

[Oddball_E8]

And what about your Pz IVs? Did they manage to survive the first mission? I should imagine that this second mission would be a hell of a lot easier with them around........

Most of the times they have taken one casualty.

First time was immobilization. Second was damage to the gun. Third time they both made it, and this last time one was blasted into smithereens from close range by a sherman

[Erwin]

Since PzII's are in the "recon category" I find it more useful to pull em out of the main battle and maybe use em only for flank protection or vs infantry holdouts once one is pretty sure there are no enemy AT assets that can hurt them in that location. Aside from invading Poland, PzII's are not for combat.

[Hilts]

RIGHT FLANK: Trucks have been brought up and my men are currently resting and re-supplying before the assault continues on the market.

There is a jeep and an enemy mortar in the field between the house and the barn. This mortar team quickly deploys behind the hedge and gets ready to attack.

A Sherman tank trundles into town from the south along the road of death.....

He rounds the corner and straight into the sights of Ober's Panther, which is in the Town Square, ready and waiting.

[Hilts]

Almost unbelievably a minute later another Sherman tries the same thing....

[Erwin]

I just completed Battle 7 of the 8 in this campaign and can say you guys are in for a treat in the later battles.

What impresses me about KG Engel is that each battle is significantly different from the others, so you don't get that feeling that you're replaying the same sort of battle over and over again.

Note that it is three "acts" and the result you achieve in each of the first two "acts" will affect the enemy forces in the 2nd and 3rd "acts". So, you have motivation to do well in the early battles.

Am looking forward to Battle 8. And am tempted to afterwards replay from the start as this campaign has been xnt.

Kudos to the designer. Hope you do many more, mate.

[Hilts]

SIT-REP: My men are now rested and re-armed and have moved into their positions for the final assault on the Town Hall and Market. These are the two final objectives having already secured the Northern and Western Approaches and the Town Square. What is supposed to be the climax of the battle may well turn out to be a complete anti-climax for there is hardly any sign of the enemy and interrogations of prisoners have confirmed that their morale is extremely low. There is at least one Sherman still unaccounted for however, which hasn't been seen since it entered the map. We will proceed with caution until that threat has been eliminated.

German mortars made short work of the jeep and enemy mortar team.

A Hanomag pulls up loaded with much needed ammunition

The positions of troops prior to the final assault. 1 Zug plus pioneers will capture and hold (should there be any sort of a counter-attack) the Town Hall, whilst 2 Zug will take and hold the area around the Market.

[Hilts]

The assault on the two remaining objectives begins with both Stummels bombarding buildings in the vicinity of the Town Hall and Market as scouts move up. No sign of any enemy troops in the immediate vicinity but more troops are seen trying to enter the town from the south. They are being harried by machine gun fire from a team in the top floor of a house near the Town Square.

Market:

Town Hall:

[Hilts]

Town Hall sector:

A sapper blows a hole in the wall of the Town Hall and rushes in but the place is deserted.

The hanomag moves into position on the left flank. Pioneer platoon HQ rushes into the back to man the machine gun if required.

The building alongside the Town Hall is also blown and occupied. It is also deserted.

[Hilts]

The Market:

Troops from 2 Zug occupying houses in the Market.

Enemy troops try to flee from the house in the centre background.

They are cut down as they try to exit the building by 2 Zug troops and the Lynx

Dispositions after just over one hour of fighting. Both objectives taken and are being reinforced. No signs of an enemy counter-attack or the remaining Sherman(s).