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White Manor AAR: c3k as ALLIES


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While pretty aggressive, as expected, your plan looks pretty solid so far. Given that sending scouts out with the rest of the platoon covering them is the right thing to do there is no need for me to sound my refrain to slow down and do things properly. :)

On a more serious note, I do want to ask you about the covered arc though. I would hesitate to use an arc like that - what if the shrek team moves along the bocage to their right and out of the arc?

I would have given them no orders - if they see the Shrek team the will attack it. Or perhaps I would have considered giving them a Target Briefly command just to be sure they spent some time shooting at the Shrek team but leaving them to defend them selves from any other threats should something new appear.

Or in keeping with your desire to prevent them from firing at the opposite bocage line you could have given them a circular arch that reached almost to the other bocage line. That way the Shrek team cannot step out of the arch without fully withdrawing and if some enemy broke free from the opposite bocage line and charged your position they would come under fire as they crossed the field.

my 2cents from the peanut gallery

The pie wedge arc focuses them in the direction I want. A circular arc could allow them to fire elsewhere... If the schreck team manages to cross the field and gain that little wedge of safety, then they woud've earned the martial right to kill my men. ;)

As you noted, I cut the arc short of the far bocage so I wouldn't get sucked into a firefight at any Germans up there. These guys are there to suppress the Germans covering the tall grass. I've lost two guys there already; if I push the entire platoon across (in teams, staggered), the unsuppressed Germans will only get more kills. The far bocage is not a threat right now.

I don't know what else sfhand has in that plowed field, or who he may rush in to reinforce it. I've got the "dead" angle covered from their position; B3 elements moving forward will be free to fire. The two man team has to stay tight on their immediate assignment.

Ken

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More Turn 4, Time 16:01

WMTurn4Bside.jpg

This provides a better view of what's going on in my B3 right hand corner. This is a slightly different perspective than what I showed in the Turn 4 Overview, above. The orange box guys are area targeting the bocage junction. I've got to assume that sfhand has someone there: it's a prime location. More of B3 has moved up to the bocage and are helping to shoot the remnant of German 1 Squad/B Team. My scout (yellow circle) is buddy aiding his WIA comrade.

Over by the green circle is another team. They're getting that far corner to put eyes on the next bocage line. Once their intel comes back, I'll deal with any Germans, or continue to reinforce the right.

The guys outlined in blue are my base of fire. The LOS is pretty crappy, but someone there should have each part of the far line covered.

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Turn 6, Time 15:00

WMTurn5overview.jpg

This is the overview.

The left is where the movement is occurring. C1, far left, is consolidating. I've got one of the squads relieving some scouts from C's 2nd platoon. Those scouts were too far to C2's left: they're way out of command. I'm moving them back to the right. My MMG in the middle road is starting to advance. Once the arty hits the corner (big red box), that MMG team will move in and use some .30 caliber goodness to clear the bocage covering the field o'death. I'd like to bag all those guys in there. I'm sure sfhand thinks they'll pull back and defend the village. I think they'll die!

Here's what the MMG team sees, at 15:01...

WMTurn5endMMG.jpg

Not much. I wonder what's over the top of that road? I think I'll send some men up there to satisfy my curiosity.

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The pie wedge arc focuses them in the direction I want. A circular arc could allow them to fire elsewhere... If the schreck team manages to cross the field and gain that little wedge of safety, then they woud've earned the martial right to kill my men. ;)

LOL OK then good attitude

As you noted, I cut the arc short of the far bocage so I wouldn't get sucked into a firefight at any Germans up there. These guys are there to suppress the Germans covering the tall grass. I've lost two guys there already; if I push the entire platoon across (in teams, staggered), the unsuppressed Germans will only get more kills. The far bocage is not a threat right now.

Fair enough. My plan to use the target command would not guarantee they would not shoot across the field. Still not totally sold on the pie shaped arc vs a circle but I appreciate the explanation.

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Turn 6, beginning, time 15:00

WMTurn6C2.jpg

The picture shows the plan for C2. That little cluster of buildings in the corner of the field will help the MMG team get (and a rifle team) get into position.

More to the left, C1...

WMTurn6C1.jpg

They've taken over from C2 in that field.

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Just out of curiosity what kind of arty are you calling in (60 or 81 mortars) and what kind of call time is your FO able to get?

Some of both. ;) The platoon HQ used 60mikemike with about 6 or 7 minutes on call. The FO has one of each with 4 or 5 minutes. They should hit around the 1:10 point or so. Shrug. If my men are not in position, they will attack from wherever they are.

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(Edited because I got ahead of myself)

On the right...

Turn 6, early:

WMTurn6midearly.jpg

Turn 6, a few seconds later...

WMTurn6midplowedfieldlastGerman.jpg

And then, well-timed...

WMTurn6midplus.jpg

The end of Turn 6, 14:05.

WMTurn6overview.jpg

I've loaded one engineer team and sent them to the left. I'll use them to assist C2 near the building cluster. (My chief of staff failed to alert me to the lack of access! He's been properly chastised.) I'll use that mis-allocation of resources to help sell the left push. I've got the jeep FASTing across a dirt road. Hopefully sfhand will see the rooster tail of dust and think I'm sending resources from my right to my left. (Well, I am, kind of...)

Also, now that the tall grass field by B3 is secure, I've introducing my first tank, circled in blue. He'll move up to the plowed field. The remaining engineer team will have to breach the bocage. I'll do an angular BLAST near the gap so only one charge will be needed to make a vehicle-sized hole.

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One more view at 14:01, the end of Turn 6:

WMturn6B3.jpg

B3 is advancing. Next obstacle: the road. I'm sure that what I've faced is just a screen. The road would make a nice demarcation for the HKL or MLR or, what I prefer to call "The Line of Death!"

(Just to add: notice that B3 is out of command w/Company B? They've just moved and radio comms take a little bit to establish. As well, with the unit HQ double-clicked, all unit icons are highlighted. Any friendly which is unknown is given a FOW spotting symbol.)

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That 'Field o'Death' has your cannonfodders.. ehm I mean soldiers, names written all over it! But unlike the name suggests, there have been no deaths glorifying it. It's a Virgin Field o'Death!! How are you wasting this opportunity to christen it, before the enemy will defeat you to it?? Now is the time to fix bayonets, sound the horns and CHARGE!!! :)

By the way, very entertaining AAR!

Keep the blood runny!

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Gah! While English Professors sharpen their sense of irony, REAL MEN sharpen their blades of iron! Grr... ;)

Turn 7. 1:14:00 down to 1:13:00, not much happened. My men went where I so ordered them to go. At the end of the plowed field, the road has a dip. Some would label it something like "Named Area of Interest 146h" or somesuch. I have decided to call it..."dip". THAT is leadership!

The dip is important: it is a blindzone and it provides transit from the gate at the end of the plowed field to a section of hedge in the midst of the bocage lining the field across the road. Tanks and men can travel across the "dip" and enter the next field.

Onto the "dip"!!

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Turn 8. 1:13:00 down to 1:12:00.

Overview at the end of the turn...

WMTurn8overview.jpg

Some details which I'll expand on in the next post. I've moved an engineer team next to the plowed field to blast a gap for the tanks to use. I've pushed elements of B3 towards the end of the plowed field. They are my eyes. I need to sweep the fields across the road and get them safe for the tanks and follow-on forces. In the Field o'Death, another spotting round has landed. Soon it'll be time to stack my assault element from C3 to gain the corner position dominating that bocage. I'd dearly love to trap all of sfhand's central screening force inside that block. Almost a pre-packaged POW cage...or a DEATH CAGE! Yeah, baby... With that in mind, I'm pushing the MMG team, ammo carriers, and a rifle team from C3 up the center road. C2, on the left of the center road, is getting eyes on their building cluster. Once they take that, the C3 MMG-led center push will have overwatch from their left flank.

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Same turn, 8 at 1:12:01, close view of the lead team from B3 at the end of the plowed field...

WMTurn8B3onright.jpg

You can see some of the incoming fire hitting the foliage, circled in yellow. Their suppression meter has ticked up... I'm ticked OFF! My men will hunt down sfhand's huns who are hurling their hollow points upon my humans!

Over on the left, this is the situation:

WMTurn8overviewleft.jpg

You can see that I've found some Germans. Excellent. Now I can find out which of my men has learned their marksmanship lessons! The poor shots will close to within grenade range.

C1 has spotted the enemy. C2 is in a great position to flank the enemy. C2 will send a team or two up by the leftmost orange arrow. If C1 is suppressing the enemy, C2 will have a field day picking them off. Over on the right, the rest of C2 will invest that building cluster. That cluster MAY have overwatch over the wheat field. If so, my men will have some excellent opportunities to prove themselves! The plan is to get a scout up to the cluster, then fill in a base of fire, then send a volunteer or two into the cluster and look inside. I think it's an excellent plan. I'm sure whoever I pick to go in there first will agree with me.

C1 will hold up while C2 secures. C2 is getting spread. A single platoon should have single job. I've given it two, in different directions. I've beefed them up with an MMG, but they still shouldn't be going in two different directions. After the C2 flanker is done, then I'll reconsolidate.

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Turn 9... a few seconds after the above screenshot.

WMTurn9earlyB3closeup.jpg

Good job! They successfully spotted the enemy, and it only took a few seconds of being fired upon. That's a good German position; I semi-expected someone to be there...

While that is going on, I'm moving in with the rest of B3 and some tanks...

WMTurn9midB3.jpg

This is the plan: the demo-man opened the hole and the tanks are moving in. They'll follow the dashed orange line, but only cross the road after the infantry clears any bad men from the bocage. I've got a "?" in the box on the left flank. I'll put some men on line over there. Maybe use a tank in the gap to area fire. The blue-box tank will area fire on the spotted enemy by the dip.

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Getting a more solid contact:

WMTurn9midB3casualty.jpg

I love it when my men carry ammo and weapons forward and then remove themselves from the rations list! Good job! If you look closely, you'll see three survivors next to the red cross. They're currently huddled behind the bocage.

And then, behind them...

WMTurn10B2sitrep.jpg

B2 sits, as still as mongoose, biding their time...

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Gah! While English Professors sharpen their sense of irony, REAL MEN sharpen their blades of iron! Grr... ;)

Turn 7. 1:14:00 down to 1:13:00, not much happened. My men went where I so ordered them to go. At the end of the plowed field, the road has a dip. Some would label it something like "Named Area of Interest 146h" or somesuch. I have decided to call it..."dip". THAT is leadership!

The dip is important: it is a blindzone and it provides transit from the gate at the end of the plowed field to a section of hedge in the midst of the bocage lining the field across the road. Tanks and men can travel across the "dip" and enter the next field.

Onto the "dip"!!

Well, even though it was a ruthless beat-down, I'm glad you chose to name a bit of terrain after me... Great AAR, btw.

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Give that man a ceegar!

QUICK is far better for scouts. HUNT would maximize their ability to spot and duck. That's not their job. Their job is to absorb enemy bullets. How can they do that if they're on the ground hiding? QUICK gets them into the fire zone that much faster!

;)

Seriously, HUNT isn't what I like when I suspect they're about to be shot. QUICK ensures that they will keep moving through the killzone. HUNT will drop them into the muck and leave them there, even if their morale is still good.

If I'm feeling out a =distant= enemy, then I'll use HUNT. Within the confines of a small bocage field, I want them moving, unless I've given them a pause. I PAUSED the scouts in the tall grass to give sfhand a chance to expose his men...and my men a chance to spot. Then I moved them forward to try to trigger another ambush. :)

More screenies tomorrow...

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