New war stories....

[Polar]

I find this a fun way of learning new strategies and equipment that I may not have considered otherwise (like the Greyhound).

[Polar]

I'll start...

Setting: Solo game, playing Allies.

2000 pt. Meeting Engagement, Armor Battle, Large Town Map, moderate hills and forrest.

My forces:

2 Super Pershings

1 Churchill IIIV

1 Churchill AVRE

3 Greyhounds

1 Weapons Platoon

3 Rifle Platoons

2 Wasps

(I know, I know... how predictable! )

I think the map might have been the deciding factor in this game (both in terrain, and border restictions (which can't be helped).

Here is as close a representation of the map as I can reproduce

HHHOOOOOOOOOHHH

HHOOOOTTTOOOOHH

HOOVVOTTTOOHOOH

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOHHOOOOOOOOOO

OOOHHOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

H=Major Hills

V=Major Valleys

T=Town

I started in the south, Axis to the nothern hillier side.

I set one Pershing on a road that leads right into town, the other closer to the eastern edge. My greyhounds I generally gave 1/3rd of the map each which I will dub Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3 (from left to right)

I devided up my troops into three seperate command units each broke down as follows:

Group 1- 4 Rifle Squads, 1 Bazooka, 1 Medium MG, 1 HQ, 1 Flame Thrower, 60mm mortor. Support: Churchill AVRE, 1 Wasp

Group 2- Same as above, replacing AVRE with VIII

Group 3- 3 Engineers, 1 .50 cal, 2 HQ (Rifle and Engineer), Flame THrower, 3 Rifle, 1 60mm Mortor. Support= None

Group 1 I setup south and just east of town. Group two setup south and west. Group three setup south of Group 2 in support/reserve.

Now, this left Zone 3 essentially unprotected at setup... BUt with the large hill to the North east, I figured I'd see a push long from there far in advance.

My general strategy was to move my infantry from group 1 and 2 into the sount of town as quickly and quietly as possible.

Group 1 met with almost immediate resistance from the North Eastern hill, where a Wirblewind was frim down on them as they moved towards town. The Pershing in Zone two picked up on it and returned fire.. missing, but forcing it to pop smoke and disengage. I set the Pershing to hunt towards that hill. The supporting Wasp and AVRE continued towards the town.

Group 2 Entered town unmolested, and quickly set up sop in two objective buildings on opposite sides of a square (east and west). The Churchill VIII stopped at the south edge of the square. The wasp moved to a spot just outside of town to the south.

When the Pershing reached a spot where the North East hill became clearer, he saw no less than 5 AFVs and 10 Supporting HTs and mobile artillery moving in the direction of the town (*yipe...*)... he popped smoke and beat a hasty retreat. I ordered my other second Pershing in for support.

I was affraid at this point of a second attack now coming from the west, so I set my Churchill VIII to the west of town, and set two M8s out toward the western valley to hide and wait.

In one turn everything started happening at once. The Eastern Armored column caught my AVRE as it just entered town and took it out with a few rounds from two Panthers, my Pershing that was retreating behind smoke caught a mobile gun as it rounded a small hill, and the Pershing that was moving up for support avenged my AVRE with a perfect shot on on oth the Panthers Turrets.

On the West (in the same turn) my M8s that were hunkered down in the valley (deep depresion really) caught a Hetzer as it moved up on the lip of the depression... perfect side shot, it never had a chance.

Center stage, in town, the German infantry was spotted as it entered the town to the north. My Fire zones forced them to move through the middle of town.

Next turn I set one of my M8s to retreat out the back of the depressionto get a view of what was with the Hetzer. He immediately caught 2 HTs crossing towards town, further ahead was another Hetzer, and a PzIV. My second M8 sprung up on them as they passed and got a perfect rear shot on both. Nothing else seemed to be in the area, so the Churchill VII moved back into town to help herd the German troops toward the center of town.

To the East, the second Panther made a fatal mistake, and popped smoke instead of returning fire, and he reversed right into view of my lead Pershing, who quickly dispatched him with a 200m side shot... he blowed up good! By this point, the rest of the Axis armor moving off that hill was in a state of pannic... with the panthers gone, and cornered, they couldn't do anything... in real life they would have beat feet off that hill, but as is, they could only mount a lame attempt to hold off the Pershings as they slowly closed the vice. My lead Pershing pushed north, my support Pershing pushed east, and when the met there wasn't an piece of axis armor or crew left alive on the hill.

The battle in town wasn't any kinder to the Axis forces. A few time they sent forces across the square to on the western side of town, only to first be turned back by the MGs and Rifle Squads, and finished off by the Churchill. After those failed probes, the Axis troops hunkered down in their Heavy building to reassess their possition... but I wouldn't let them. At that poiint I rushed my Western wasp straight through the square, with the MGs laying a smothering cover fire into the building... and the wasp set it ablaze. The troops that escaped to the south and east of town came under fire from the Rifle Squads and Churchill... if any escaped to the North I didn't know (or care).

A repeat was being played out to the East... only more insane. Who knows why the Germans though it necessary (maybe they were privy to reports from the west of town) but the what appeared to be the entire force to on the east hit me at once. Group one was situated in a very large house on the souther side of an unusually wide road. The forces started swarming across the road and were immediately hit by the Wasps flame... a few luck squads broke and retreated, the rest (3 squads?) pressed forward, knocking out the Wasp only to be cut to pieces by my rifle squads ... the remaining forces were pinned down in a large building that to the North.

In my last move I again laid down heavy fire on that building and raced my other Wasp across town and set the building ablaze... with similar results... men cam running out, were quickly eliminated.

At the end of that turn (Turn 27) the Germans Surrendered. They suffered 205 casualties to my 10. They had 65 KIA to my 10 (no survivors from the AVRE or Wasp. Of their starting force of 275 men, only 12 were Ok when the battle was over. Of my 220 men (?) 167 made it out without a scratch.

It was a total victory.

Joe

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"I had no shoes and I cried, then I met a man who had no socks." - Fred Mertz

[This message has been edited by Polar (edited 01-24-2001).]