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CM Final Blitzkrieg - ALLIED (Defense) BETA Battle Report


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On tenterhooks waiting for next installment....

How will that Panther fair...

I'm sure the Panther will be fine... but I too am getting a tad impatient for the next turn.. it's getting on 24 hours since I returned the last one.

Is it worth sliding the TDs on KT1 a bit to the left in an effort to see 'past' the end of the L-shaped wood to the side armour of the JgPz VI? If that mortar fire is "aimed" rather than speculative, too, it might break contact and return a measure of uncertainty to Baneman. Or doesn't the terrain permit that sightline from the "shoulder" of KT1's ridge?

What I am doing actually, is a little shoot and scoot action with the three Hellcats on the ridge to keep the Panther's attention while I move both of the Hellcats near KT1 forward a bit in an attempt to get a flank shot or two.  I hope he doesn't get too aggressive with that JT yet... I want to take care of the Panther first, then I will worry about the JT.  I wonder if he will get aggressive or tentative with that JT now that he knows I have five TDs and two tanks in the general vicinity.

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Very enjoyable.  My first internet stop each morning with a hot cup of java.  Almost take as much pleasure reading these as I do playing the game.  Thanks so much!

Seconded.  A cup of Kona coffee and Bil's AAR make for a very satisfying way to kick off a Sunday morning.

Thanks for taking the time to write such engaging updates, Bil.  I remember how much time and effort it used to take when I wrote a few AARs for the CMBB and CMAK forums; it is not a trivial task!

Looking forward to the next instalment.

Tux

[Edit: typo correction]

Edited by Tux
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Seconded.  A cup of Kona coffee and Bil's AAR make for a very satisfying way to kick off a Sunday morning.

Thanks for taking the time to write such engaging updates, Bil.  I remember how much time and effort it used to take when I wrote a few AARs for CMBB and CMAK forums; it is not a trivial task!

Looking forward to the next instalment.

Tux

I appreciate it Tux.  Sorry I don't have a Sunday morning update for you to enjoy.  Baneman must be busy, on the road, or simply confused on how to proceed... I hope its the latter!  ;) 

Edited by Bil Hardenberger
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I wouldn't be surprised.  I am reading this AAR from your side, only, to maximise the suspense, so I will be fascinated to learn why Baneman's attack is so infantry heavy so early.  Given how little I assume he has known about your defenses (until very recently, at least) I am surprised to see such large numbers of dismounted infantry committed to advancing under their own steam.  A few scout teams screening for/supported by a powerful complement of feline steel would have been my preference, I think, on such an open map.  Then I'd have had some mounted Grenadiers and mortars held back out of harm's way but ready to dig out any defensive infantry positions you might have deployed.

As it stands (and it is obviously still early days) it looks like Baneman might be going for a 'overwhelming pressure'-style infantry foot assault, with relatively light tank support to help with tough obstacles.  It might be hard for him to find anything for such an attack bite down on against so mobile and 'slippery' a defense as yours...

Edited by Tux
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I appreciate it Tux.  Sorry I don't have a Sunday morning update for you to enjoy.  Baneman must be busy, on the road, or simply confused on how to proceed... I hope its the latter!  ;) 

Hell I know I'd be hesitant.  One gun hit on that beast and suddenly he is in the crapper.  The speed at which those Hellcats can move is scary and that thing can't possibly turn fast enough to track them.  He'd have to keep it's flanks protected if he wants to get aggressive and that starts tying down more of his force.  Franky I think that piece of Kit is a liability in an attack.  His best bet is to put it on overwatch while using something else of whatever he has to try and hunt your Hellcats.  Maybe even use some arty to deny locations to them.  One 81mm shell in that open topped turret.....  My personal suspicion is that thing is gonna go down without ever having found a target.  The cost to do that however may be paid by taking losses to whatever supports it.

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It can take the loss of only one or two dismounts to stop a dismounted infantry advance in its tracks.

Right now in the terrain he is in dismounted is okay I guess, the problem is going to be when he has to exit that terrain, not as much cover as the terrain moves towards the second Phase Line objective... he is going to be moving very slow and could be caught in the open by rampaging armor.  I would at least have a good portion of my force mounted and ready to perform a deep attack to take advantage of any hole in the defense I could identify, any dismounts would be scouts...

Baneman seems to have his entire infantry force (at last what I have identified so far) dismounted.. and yes I question that decision, his reactions are simply going to be too slow.  It's possible he still has a mounted force in hiding and if so, then bravo.

Thanks for the response, Bil. And of course, thank you for the great AAR. Superb as always!

I don't think we are disagreeing about anything except the timing of when to expose any mounted infantry. Absolutely I would want to have a mounted exploitation force. It just seems too early to expose it yet. That's all.

I wasn't putting forward that an all-dismounted infantry force in the snow is better than having a mounted rapid reaction force. Not at all. I just meant that, at this stage of the battle, I would keep my mounted force hidden while working to gather a better intel picture and degrade the defender's forces.

-Lookin' very forward to the next installment and beyond!

Edited by Macisle
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Thanks for the response, Bil. And of course, thank you for the great AAR. Superb as always!

I don't think we are disagreeing about anything except the timing of when to expose any mounted infantry. Absolutely I would want to have a mounted exploitation force. It just seems too early to expose it yet. That's all.

I wasn't putting forward that an all-dismounted infantry force in the snow is better than having a mounted rapid reaction force. Not at all. I just meant that, at this stage of the battle, I would keep my mounted force hidden while working to gather a better intel picture and degrade the defender's forces.

-Lookin' very forward to the next installment and beyond!

Yeah, I don't think we are disagreeing about anything at all.  Baneman could still have a mounted force waiting in the wings to shoot forward at the right moment.. I am not even saying a dismounted force is a bad thing.. but from what I can see it looks like he has around two dismounted rifle companies (maybe more) moving forward.. and they are not moving forward like you would expect a scouting force would... but they appear to be in full multiple platoon strength on at least two axes.  

It is possible that he has bought a battalion or more of infantry and could have a company or two mounted, but he only had so many points to spend, so to have a force like that it would cost him in armor... I don't think he would skimp on that aspect of his force, so I am in doubt that he has more than a company, or probably even less in a mobile exploit role.

We will see as this battle continues to unfold.

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Bill, with regard to your last post, it is interesting to see how the picture is developing, this is what you posted very early on in this thread:

ENEMY:  This component of METT-T will evolve throughout the battle.  As of now I know almost nothing, but I do expect to see something like the following:

  • Pz Grenadier or Motorized Infantry Battalion (-) - I expect any infantry to be mounted either on trucks or halftracks.  
  • Tank Company (-) 
    • Expect to see mainly Panther tanks (perhaps two platoons)
    • Expect to see at least one JagdTiger or SturmTiger (Intel says at least one of these is in the area)
  • Light to medium artillery of at least one battery, could be as many as three

I'm guessing that you are still fairly happy with that initial assessment - my question is, do you ever go back into the QB force pick menu and play around with the points to refine your force strength assessment or do you just stick with what you see and rely on judgement/experience to refine your assessment?

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Excellent grapics!

But they look as if they were created on a drawing tablet?! When you refer to paper, do you mean actual paper? A sketch, maybe, to be scanned for final drawing?

Best regards,
Thomm

Actual paper, drawing and inking is always faster in meat space. color was done in Photoshop though. Digital is great for broad strokes, not so good at lineworking, so its best used for painting and adding color.

Edited by Cobetco
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Actual paper, drawing and inking is always faster in meat space. color was done in Photoshop though. Digital is great for broad strokes, not so good at lineworking, so its best used for painting and adding color.

Just want to say I love your graphics, really well done and you always manage to impart humour and fun. That's a good thing. :)

 

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TURN 11 (1:20-1:19)

These kinds of turns are hard to report... disaster strikes my Hellcat platoon as you will see:

HELLCAT PLATOON:  Of the two rounds that were left in the air after the last turn, only one hit, and it bounced... the Panther (Panther-1) immediately fired back and hit the middle Hellcat (Hutchinson) knocking it out.. that was within the first four seconds of the turn...

Turn%2B11-Hutchinson.PNG

MACE & ZEIGER:  These two Hellcats moved forwards in the hopes of getting a flank shot on the Panther spotted last turn... they never did spot that panzer, instead, they both spotted a second Panther that I had no clue was near the L Shaped Wood.. how did that get there!!??  They fired several rounds all of which missed, this Panther (Panther-2) took out first Mace, then Zeiger in quick succession with two rounds.  I do not know if my TDs were hulldown to this panther (Panther-2), as they were intended to be hulldown to Panther-1, their intended target. 

Turn%2B11-Mace%2526Seiger.PNG

SITUATION (L Shaped Wood):  So my little attempt to perform a spoiling attack on Baneman's forces in the L Shaped Wood has turned disastrously wrong... but this happens in war.  The presence of that second Panther took me by surprise, but the loss of three Hellcats was even more of a surprise.

Te recap, I fired around six rounds at the two Panthers, only one of which hit, and it bounced... he fired three rounds at me all three resulted in a smoking Hellcat.  Sometimes you are not outplayed, simply out-gunned, and there is no shame in that.  It is my fault as my recon was not thorough enough to make the decision for such a hasty set of moves.

Turn%2B11-L%2BSHaped%2BWood.PNG

Edited by Bil Hardenberger
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Bill, with regard to your last post, it is interesting to see how the picture is developing, this is what you posted very early on in this thread:

ENEMY:  This component of METT-T will evolve throughout the battle.  As of now I know almost nothing, but I do expect to see something like the following:

  • Pz Grenadier or Motorized Infantry Battalion (-) - I expect any infantry to be mounted either on trucks or halftracks.  
  • Tank Company (-) 
    • Expect to see mainly Panther tanks (perhaps two platoons)
    • Expect to see at least one JagdTiger or SturmTiger (Intel says at least one of these is in the area)
  • Light to medium artillery of at least one battery, could be as many as three

I'm guessing that you are still fairly happy with that initial assessment - my question is, do you ever go back into the QB force pick menu and play around with the points to refine your force strength assessment or do you just stick with what you see and rely on judgement/experience to refine your assessment?

Combat-Man, I haven't forgotten your question (sorry it's taken so long to get to it).. I will answer it later today, along with what I think he might be fielding.

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Ouch Bil, that was tough luck. Hopefully Lady Luck will be on your side next time.

Did the tanks really have the US star painted like that on the front? To me it looks like "a bulls-eye please hit me here" kind of thing. But I suppose identifying tanks in the Bulge was hazardous at times and don't want friendly fire.

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My, my...In your previous report things looked really good...But now...

Two Panthers and that JagdTiger identified and possibly more enemy armour still unspotted...

Will these losses force you to adopt a more defensive (passive) tactic or do you still feel that you can maintain the initiativ and be agressive ?

Do you attribute the missed shots to low experince levels of the crews or simply bad luck ?

 

 

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You know, these sorts of things happen to me all the time: 

  • in the CMBN BETA AAR I lost several Pz-IVs before I started killing any Shermans...
  • in the game against ChrisND (CMFI BETA AAR) I was getting my ass handed to me and only squeaked out a victory on the last turn
  • in my Wittman's Demise AAR I lost a couple Tigers and a couple other tanks before I killed my first Sherman..

So yeah, $hit happens.. time to stop and think about how to approach this game from here on out.. I can promise you it will be a different game when he has to cross into the open area between objective 1 and objective 2.

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