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AXIS AAR--CMPzC Campaign: The Road to Eindhoven--Dommelen Counterattack


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If you don't mind a piece of advice, make sure you have the latest version of Fraps, and tweak your texture and model quality down a couple notches. That should give you a better framerate when recording video. I usually run Improved/Improved instead of Best/Best when recording video.

Excellent work with those JPanthers, keep smashing those tanks!

KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL!

 

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No problem, SLIM.  I keep changing the Frap settings around. I hardly ever like the way they turn out no matter what I do.

 

During this time, my barrage hits Deelshurk.  Although I saw some damage to his troops and vehicles, his mortars, lined up along the stone wall running west to the Destroyed Bridge, remained largely intact, as well as some other important units I was not aware of at this time.

Did manage to put a mortar round into a bren carrier:

[carrier%20about%20to%20get%20it.png

carrier%20hit%201.png

Dommelen is finally invested. Man, what a slog and the cost was too high for the gain.  But operationally, I guess it was worth it.

Dommelen%20invested%20finally.png

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I want to finally get us caught up, even as this battle winds down (as of today, Chappy and I have 4 minutes left).  Because there simply wasn't any infantry combat to speak of, the pics and video show more tank on tank (well, there is one series of infantry on tank) action to report.

 

Minutes 17 - 11

 

The general situation is that as of around Minute 15, as Kraemer and Winiiholt are messing around west of the Dommel, Chappy's Firefly and the other Sherman at first pulled  back behind the house after my flakwagon hit the Firefly.  But they almost immediately returned to the fray, and in a big way.  He fired a ton of smoke all across my left flank (white lines show the eventual drift), in order to create a screen for those two tanks to move toward Valkenswaard and as I eventually deduced, to get flank shots on my Jagds.  (I at first thought he was heading for the town in an effort to shoot up my FJ infantry which was moving out to support the 10th company platoon headed for Deelshurk.) In the picture below, you can see his smoke screen, and the movement of his tanks on my left.  I thought he would turn west earlier than he did (the dotted blue line), but instead, he got right in among my infantry.  Luckily, I had 4 schreck teams that moved to counter this unsupported advance.

 

T15.png

 

 

Edited by mjkerner
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As he got in amongst the infantry, his Firefly took out one of my flakwagons.  Frustratingly, the flak had an Armor Arc covering the Firefly, but it simply wouldn't fire.  I think the crew was too busy cleaning their underwear:

 

 

No fear, steely-eyed schreck gunner, Jaeger Poppe, knows how to handle armor:

 

 

Scratch two British tanks!

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As these actions were taking place, I spotted another AT gun moving into position almost straight south up the tree-lined road from where the Firefly was located and in a bit of sweet justice, mortared it to death!  My spotters lost sight of it and the carrier almost as soon as the turn started. If you look quickly as the title fades, you can see the gun.  Suffice it to say that the area where the gun was located was pounded, and it was destroyed along with the carrier. (For reference of its location, you can see its dead carrier's smoke plume in the overview picture above.)

 

 

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SLIM, I think Chappy made a desperate move to try to get a flank shot on my Jagds.  He commented to me last week that something had "not happened" in this battle that was apparently supposed to, which led him to that desperation move.  The more I think about that, I think he was referring to air support. Kohlenklau had mentioned in a pre-battle post something about needing the flakwagon unit i had.  And I had been waiting for an air strike to hit throughout the early stages of this battle, but it never appeared.  I guess the airbases in England and those across the Channel are socked in!

 

More action from approximately Minutes 15 - 5

Since Kraemer took out the two Shermans near the Destroyed Bridge, I got cocky and sent the flakwagon ahead (south) to engage more infantry and vehicles in positions on the west side of Deelshurk, hopefully exposing and eliminating his verdammt mortars in the bargain.

Bad decision...

 

If you recall, I moved Detmers, who lost his main gun to that puny armored car earlier, to the bank of the road leading from the Destroyed Bridge to Valkenswaard.  I wanted him to use his machine gun on the 3 mortar teams lining the stone wall running west of Deelshurk to the river, on the opposite side of the field where Detmers is positioned. You can see them in their smug insolence, calmly dropping more rounds on my poor pixeltruppen!  How many frickin' mortar rounds does Chappy have, anyway?????

 

(Sorry, an even more hurriedly-video than usual)

 

 

Detmers Jagd actually was only immobilized by these shots.  Although he was killed, 3 crewmen survived and beat a hasty retreat.  I thought that we might be able to salvage this beast after the battle, but Chappy sent a team (anti-tank or maybe engineers) forward to successfully finish it off several turns later.  

Detmers%20Dies.png

 

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So, this will catch us up.  At 5 minutes to go, Dahm is roaming to the left of Deelshurk, getting a bead on the vehicles, guns and infantry inside and to the rear of Deelshurk.  Winiiholt and Kraemer are across the river, trying to stalk the Shermans left in the Southwoods. Here's Dahm  (I goofed on the title...Dahm is on the west side of Deelshurk; Valkenswaard is to his right (north)....

 

Edited by mjkerner
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SLIM, I think Chappy made a desperate move to try to get a flank shot on my Jagds.  He commented to me last week that something had "not happened" in this battle that was apparently supposed to, which led him to that desperation move.  The more I think about that, I think he was referring to air support. Kohlenklau had mentioned in a pre-battle post something about needing the flakwagon unit i had.  And I had been waiting for an air strike to hit throughout the early stages of this battle, but it never appeared.  I guess the airbases in England and those across the Channel are socked in!

I do remember that, I guess I'd have to head over to the Allied thread to see what happened. Now that things are winding down I guess it's okay.

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Mjkerner,

That was a fantastic set of action videos.  Poppe must have icewater for blood.  He calmly set up his second kill shot knowing the enemy tank was firing shots to engage him.  It looked like he balanced his schrek on his assistant for the first engagement.  The assistant must still be deaf.

I was sorry to see Detmer's demise.  Even still, the Jagdpanther didn't succumb to enemy AT fire - it had to be blown up by an assault on the abandoned vehicle.  Even when they idle, they growl.  Amazing vehicles.

Crazy action.  Thanks for keeping us in the midst of it all.

 

Heinrich505

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Ahhhh, thanks for the clarification.  That same ATG, which I thought Dahm would spot and nail once he got around the east edge of Deelshurk, got an LOS/LOF way across the Dommel and immobilized Winiiholt in the last minute of play!

So as a wrap up, It was a Draw.  Dahm shot up a few more carriers and infantry teams. Winniholt was immobilized, and turns out Chappy had four unharmed Shermans left in the way across the Dommel Southwoods.  I thought he only had 2.  I lost 1 Jagd destroyed and 1 immobilized,  2 flakwagons, and 64 (IRRC) KIA with 66 WIA.  I destroyed 7 Shermans  (2 Fireflies) and 16 other armored vehicles, mostly carriers, and a couple of trucks.  He lost about 100 men, 60+ KIA and the rest WIA.  He holds Deelshurk, I hold Dommelen.  Because it was a draw, I think that's how it will stand operationally. 

Overall I am pleased that I was able to grab Dommelen just to deny that hex to him, and to have destroyed a lot of vehicles. But he probably will be able to replace them easily, at least historically he would be able to.  I told myself I could live with losing 1 Jagd if I got my objectives, but of course I didn't get Deelshurk, and now another Jagd is immobilized as well.  And Dommelen was a little too expensive in that I lost in essence a complete company of infantry, which includes one platoon of FJs.  Still, having done that well on the attack, I can't wait to use them and my FJ (and Waffen SS, I believe) schreck teams on defense, in the city no less.

 

Heinrich, SLIM, thanks for your comments and encouragement.  Everyone else, if there was anybody, that is,:P hope you enjoyed the show!

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Thanks Doc and Baneman.  B, I think I should be able to recover the jagd, but it may not be ready in time for the next battle.  It's up to Phil's die rolls. 

 

I forgot the Scorecards:

 

Dahm

Screenshot%202015-12-11%2022.12.11.png

 

Kraemer

Screenshot%202015-12-11%2022.14.08.png

 

Wiinholt (I spelled his name wrong throughout the battle.  Hope the war correspondents get it right!)

Screenshot%202015-12-11%2022.13.47.png

 

Detmers

Screenshot%202015-12-11%2022.12.53.png

 

Poppe

Screenshot%202015-12-11%2022.18.44.png

Edited by mjkerner
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Mjkerner,

  This was really well done.  And I mean both in the storytelling and the battle plan.  I thought you did really well with your force.

  And...Jagdpanthers....[there is no emoticon for drooling]...say nor more.  It was a special treat just seeing those babies in action.  They are fearsome beasts, but they do have their limitations.  I thought you played them very well.

  Of course the little battles, the individual acts of the pixeltruppen, are what I look for the most. I'm glad y'all showcased them as well. 

  Thanks for all the hard work and dedication.  It is always well received, even if we are drawn off from time to time by the CMFB action.  Looking forward to the next struggle.

Heinrich505

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